I woke up ten minutes before schedule. Looking at my watch's alarm, I had apparently set it too early.Better early then late. I'm after Fancy, but nopony knows me in this town. I should probably keep it that way for a bit. I pulled my .38 out from the bag and placed it in a shoulder holster. Strapping said holster over a button up white collard shirt. It was as fancy as I was getting. I pulled a pair of jeans on and pulled my hair a bit back.

In this town if you don't walk the walk or talk the talk, you're fucked. So I walked to the bar in the ghetto area of the town. It was a few blocks down the corner, so it wouldn't be an issue. I passed a few general stores, a run down pawn shop with a sign outside it. 'Remember! We buy anything you're selling!' Well I'll make a trip over there later. I didn't see it's name, it didn't have a neon sign.

Pulling around the bend just behind the pawn brought me over towards a small restaurant. It's not a bar, so I just walk right on past. Looks like this place is different then what I remember it to be. I guess it was further down then I remember. Much farther.

It was on the last block of the Ghetto. It now was a night club and bar, rather then just a bar. Not the most family friendly place, but who cares. I walked through the door to find the sounds of robotic music and even more robotic ponies. This is what they do with their lives. Most probably born rich and squandered their shot. Now all they do is live like they did back in Junior High. Sad, truly.

I waltzed on over to the bar section, the mare on the other end was wearing leather and lace, pulling tight against her body. It sent a certain jolt of energy that I hoped nopony noticed. Even if they did I wouldn't care.

"Hey honey, never seen your ass round here." She started, she wasn't from around here either.

"Well, I'm sortof new here, any pointers?"

"Well first off" her eyes wandered downwards

"Lookin's free, everything else is going to charge ya."

"Brilliant. Just what I needed to hear. Also two shots of scotch."

She giggled at that, waltzed on over to the other end of the bar. She gave a bit of a look back at me and flicked her tail, giving me a pretty decent view. She walked back down with two shot glasses and a bottle of brandy. That wasn't the most awkward thing, now that I thought more formally about her, I think I knew who she was.

She looked up at me, and it hit her the same way it did me. She sort of blushed, sort of squeaked.

"Oh my, I'm so sorry. I didn't expect to see you here!"

"Yes yes I see, Midnight was it?"

"Well that was a nickname..."

"Oh? Your real name is?"

"Well, it's Octavia."

A million memories flooded back to me. We worked in the PD at the same time, a matter a fact she was the first chair at the royal balls (that is if she wasn't ordered on guard duty to them). She assumed a more formal position when the company was together. Her normal jobs were things like responding to disturbance calls, hit and run, and other domestic incidents. Whereas I'd get missing children and pretty much everything else that came on past 7 PM.

She was a stunning mare in her own right, a dark black mane with a grey coat. She was in when the incident happened. We didn't work hoof and hoof all that often, and the only time we did was when things got far too out of hoof for me to handle. She was a dead shot too, I remember times where she shot handguns out of suicidal ponies mouths. She had a knack for things like that.

She was a true professional. The only questions I had just were things like 'What are you doing here?' and 'how much for a night?'

I went with number one.

"So, what brought you to this shit hole?"

She looked around hesitantly, then downed a shot, not before pouring me one to down as well.

"You'll need more to get this story. So those days after you jumped out that window, the PD went to hell searching for a lawyer that was even going to have a chance against Fancy Pant's dream team of lawyers. It didn't work. They almost immediately won the reckless endangerment sue."

"What was their conditions?"

"They wanted the warren fired. He left Canterlot and probably won't return. I left after that, I didn't follow him so I decided to stay. I regret it now. The new Warren isn't letting me back in even after I showed my aptitude to them. They deemed me too 'unfit' to be in the force. Rumor has it that Fancy has some say in the Law Enforcement by bribing the new warren. Probably why he is still in."

"Well, can't say I saw this coming. Or you."

I looked back down, she blushed. She was one second from slapping me across the face when she looked up. Somepony was standing on the rails.

"Listen, they sell me out and this guy has been on it for a while now. I haven't actually worked with him, but he now has the money. You get me out of this and I'll do whatever you want."

"Wait, wouldn't that be exchanging rape for rape if that's what you're shooting at?"

"Well, you're not him." I looked up at him and instantly saw what she meant.

He was a fat, brown on black zebra. Gold glasses with a gold necklace, on the necklace read the word 'Playa'. Classic. It was almost too cliche for me to believe. I looked back at Octavia.

"Listen Octy, I'm not going to work with you, but I am going to get you out of here. What I got in mind isn't a good idea but it's an idea nonetheless."

"Well then don't keep me waiting."

I turned to go but then I heard something else come from her. I turned to see what it was.

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

Well, saving a mare from a prostitution ring. This isn't going to be a normal night, especially with my idea.

"Yo bitch!" I yelled up to the Zebra.

"Ay bitch what you want motherfucker!"

Guess he didn't know how to take a joke, he's pissed now. It's just his ego, he'll grow a new one sometime soon.

"Well I got a deal for you wannabe, you think you're hot shit cause you got that grill? Then I'm your polar opposite cause I'm cold even when it's 20 degrees below freezin. So I gotta challenge bitch. Me, you, on the stage. It's a rap battle bitch!"

What was I thinking. I used to do this to mock the drug dealing teens on the street. Guess all those years of listening to rap and pissing off blue blood boys are paying off.

"Oh it's on bitch! By tha way, I'm undefeated in this bitch!"

I walked down with him, we threw our insults all the way down.

"Yo gimme a minute, I need a drink for I kick your fuckin ass!"

He didn't take kindly, he shouldn't. He went on stage and got to yappin.

"YO YO YO IT'S BDAWG UP IN THIS BITCH!" He earned probably two ponies cheering for him, the rest of the crowd wondered who the fuck he was.

"WELL WE GOT THIS TAN BITCH OVER THERE, HE CHALLENGE YOURS TRULY TO A RAP BATTLE!"

This got the crowds attention. They were the party going type so I'm sure they were interested.

"Okay umm cloud, what did you do?"

"Remember that joke I had with the dealers back in the day?"

She stared at me dead in the eye, a strait face as she tried to figure out what I was saying.

"No, you did NOT do that!"

"It's for you."

"What do you need?"

"First, three shots of scotch. Second: how much are you charging him?"

"Well, it's 1,000 a night. I'm the cheap one they say. They're all assholes though."

"Alright, thanks."

I took my shots and walked down to the stage.

"AND BITCHES AND PLAYAS THIS IS THE RICH TAN BOY THAT CHALLENGED THE REAL OG BDAWG!"

The crowd laughed. I can't believe I'm really doing this.

"SO WHAT YOU GOTTA SAY BITCH!"

I took the mic out of his hoof.

"Well, for one we gotta get some stakes up in here. We gotta 2,000 dollar bit bet I win against your broke ass."

"What you talkin bout motherfucka?"

"Oh you know, you too poor bitch? It's fine we could play for twenties. Less you like the cheap hoes."

He was furious.

"Oh it's on! 5,000 bits on the winner!"

That was all I had in my pockets. Well it's going to have to do. We threw our money in backstage and he got first say.

"Yo this bitch look like Mr. Rogers, he don't even got 50 dollars. He challengin me? A real OG? Good try but look bye while I say good bye to your girl after tonight. The time is right looking real nice while I get my knife to dice. Fuckin bitch thought he'd chow like rice. This is the mice fice in the back of a rap pack yak on lak tak yakity tak now at the same time I take a lyrical acrobat stunt while I'm practicin. I'll be able to break a table on the back of the fagot and snap in half."

The crowd went wild. I swore I heard some chick yell out his name in the back. But it was my turn now.
He was out of ideas, and he couldn't think fast because those few sentences took up his whole 2 minutes. I already thought of my line.

"YO this bitch think he's makin it out like a real G, but he's the one who's livin in the back of a van with the HIV!"

This earned a laugh from the crowd

"Now you see you wanna think you're a real G, one that matches up to me. But what you don't know is you cried in the back of a cop car like you grabbed a glass shard. Man bitch I'm takin up your number thinkin you still don gotta new line?"

The crowd was paying some attention to this, I needed to grab them again. Then I saw six thugs walk onto the stage. No doubt his.

"Now quit acting like Seth, cause you def. That guy didn't say you were cool he just thought you were foxy. So get outta my proxy. So go fuck yourself and suck my dick, but I think with my dick so go blow my mind! Come on and swallow my pride! You'll be lucky to even see me if I let you get in the side of my humvee! You can't look it like the pills you went a took it, you see you think that those six dicks are pussies! I can't look it on who took it but I got the shot bar so let me pray like Allah Akbar! Lets go to my very own illegally owned metro in the bad area with a car drop. Now while you dream of changing places I have been changin faces. Bitch you couldn't fill these shoes, even though you got no shit to lose! You can't afford my ford, so just walk out the door before I let you loose like that fuckin four cords."

I was refering to Octy with that last one, four cords was a nickname because of her mane style that she wore made her look like she had cello strings in her hair.

"No you see I don't beat box I just moon walk all over the beat like no street. Now god with your army get on me I'm armed with a firearm so large my entire arm might as well be a fuckin firebomb. I'm not the fuckin fire marshal, I just burn your house down cause you ain't nopony's fucking idol! Now if you don't like when I rap on the mic and you hate what I'm like, you might just wanna be a fuckin quarterback and take a hike. Cause bitch I'm throwin up and I can feel it comin failures something I can barely stomach! I'm allergic to you just like Adolf was to Jews, so when you see me on the street you gon leave with no teeth! Now I can lift myself up when I'm down and out without a doubt I'm my own best friend, you are just a guy with fuckin yes men! You're just another target for me to shoot you on the strip with my AK on a refillable clip."

The pony I was against shook his head to the DJ, who then cut my beat.

"Oh fuck the beat I can go acapella so fuck you, your dogs and that place you live called your trailer. I know I'm not a zebra, I know I'm a bum who looks like he lived in a trailer with his mom. Well fuck it I'm outtie, tell me something they don't know about me."

I tossed him the mic, and he didn't catch it. He just let it fall and break. The DJ ran out with another mic and got it hooked up, not before announcing the vote.

"Now if you're voting for 'BDAWG' make some fucking noise!"

There were a few ponies who were shouting, on further examination they were the same six ponies that went on stage with him. All fucking yes men. Guys who can't disagree with the ring leader.

"Now if you're voting for the new guy, make some noise!"

I went def in my left ear, and Octavia was shouting behind the counter. Her boss was next to her as well. She pulled the leather off and threw it in his hoofs, he didn't know what was going on until I saw it. She swung her leg hard into his testicles. I heard the crack from where I stood. The rest of the crowd had quieted down a bit, which gave me the window to hear it in the first place.

I scooped the money up in my jacket, grabbed her under my right arm and walked through the door.

Two blocks down, I heard a voice.

"AY BITCH!"

Shit, same guy I was against. He can't be happy.

"I get it, you wanted to be a rapper but nopony signed you cause you suck. That right?"

I turned around to see him with a .357 in my face, the other thugs with bats and whatever else they could grab. They must've not used their head enough to see the firearm blatantly sticking out of my holster.

"Yo motherfucka we don't want nothin with you, just drop all yo money and get the fuck outta here."

I handed Octavia my knife, she wasn't defenseless. She pressed the button instinctively and then closed it.

"Well, I'd hate to turn this around on you" I pulled my .38 out from it's holster. They were blind to it at first. "But I'm going to ask you to put everything you got on the floor."

He turned his firearm sideways, though it's meant to look threatening, the real meaning behind it is that he doesn't want to shoot me.

"Yo get moving before I pop one in yo ass."

"Oh that's not happening."

I fired a shot into his neck, he began chocking and coughing up blood on the street, then the thugs ran at me, I fired as many shots as I could. Most missed, but one caught the closest thug in the leg, he fell to the ground in pain. Octy went to work with the knife. She put it against the side of a thug with a pipe and pressed the button. He screamed something as he twisted towards her and swung hard into her ribs. Something cracked there.

This wasn't a conventional fight, this was a brawl. Anything goes. Then I got hit in the face with a two-by-four that another buck was carrying. Rather then stay stunned on the ground, I pushed my body upwards with one leg and threw the other in a direct snap to his jaw. The kick landed right on the lower plate of the jaw, that soft spot that makes the jaw just rattle.

The jaw, instead of rattling, broke in two. He backed up and started trying to close his mouth. Due to the injuries he couldn't do that. I got up off my ass and rammed him. Rather then just tackle him, I kept pushing him until he met the corner of a building hitting his head. He was out cold. Looking at Octavia, she was on the floor, getting hit again and again with the pipe. I ran at him and punched him across the face.

Octavia began stumbling up, slowly like a hurt deer. She grabbed the knife in her jaw and ran towards me, not at me though. She ran right past me.

'What the...'

She ran past me and stabbed something behind me. I looked back to see the fifth buck with my knife in one eye and out the other. He looked like a dead fish. She pulled the knife out and he fell down. I turned back to the matter at hand. The other pony was recovering from the punch. So rather then wait, I swept his feet out from under him. I beat him with my hoofs until he stopped protecting himself.

After that I heard the sirens. Guess it was time to get out of there. We rushed over to my apartment, as soon as we got through the door she thanked me a thousand times. Well or at least tried, she was panting and coughing throughout her speech. She needed some help.

She seated herself on the couch, not without me asking of course. I reached under a cabinet and grabbed a first aid box. Walking back over to her, poured hydrogen peroxide on a strip of gauze and began my long way down. She had a laceration just under the eye, no doubt from when she was struck with the pipe.

"You're lucky you know. If that pipe hit you in the eye you'd be blind."

"Yea, you know me."

I giggled as I applied the gauze. She didn't flinch at all, she was used to pain. I grabbed the medical tape and taped the bandage on. It was secured tightly to her face, that wound should be gone in a few weeks. The next one was a little worse. It was a cut on her ribs. Looks like nothing broke, but she had a serious cut between two of them. It didn't require stitches though, so it was right up my alley.

I got some more gauze and tape out. Dampening yet another surgery grade bandage in peroxide, I put this one against her ribs, she grunted at this one. Guess she isn't the almighty I remember her being. Well whatever, we all got a breaking point, this was not hers. I taped it on and she adjusted to the new weight. The bandage under her eye was fizzing, good that I put that on or it'd get infected.

I put another strip of gauze in peroxide, and applied it to a less serious wound on her forehoof. I continued the procedure until there were no wounds that didn't need tending to. The legs would be done by tomorrow morning. Until then I picked her up.

"What are you doing?"

"Carrying you to bed, I don't want you messing up the leg bandages by walking."

"This isn't the Cloud I remember?"

"A lot's changed, you'll see very soon."

I prefer to sleep on the couch, so I carried her to the bedroom and lied her down. She got under the covers and began to rest. On the way out I turned the lights off. The alarm clock signaled that it was 12 AM. As soon as I noticed however, Octavia had said something.

"I'm glad you came."

"I am too."

For the first time in years, I was truly happy.

Author's Notes:

Well finally a happy ending. we got a new character this chapter as well, looks like we're going to have some fun in Canterlot ...