Author's Notes:

Added on 18 May 2016

Formerly Come One. Come Some.

A taxi slows to a stop outside of the Bank of Bernese. It is a towering building with marble pillars and a domed roof with a statue of Princess Luna at the top of the stairs with her wings outstretched and looking down on the crowd below. The dome has the same winged full moon on the top and the rim has mountains with a moon behind them carved into it.

After the taxi stops, Monte climbs out and opens the door for Trixie, and after she climbs out she gives him a suspicious look.

“Are you doing this because I called you a pig earlier?” asks Trixie.

“How about a thank you?” says Monte.

“Fine. Thank you, Monte.”

Monte smiles and closes the door. “It was my pleasure.”

Monte leads Trixie forward and as they climb the decorated stairs she spots a couple of ibexes wearing dark barding and armed with small battle saddles. She stares at them and they stare back, both parties ready to duke it out in an instant. One of the guards takes a step forward and Trixie snorts out some hot air, but Monte steps in front of her, blocking her view of the pair.

“Not to worry, Trixie, they are just guards,” says Monte.

“Cheerful bunch,” says Trixie.

Monte puts his hoof on Trixie’s back and guides her towards a pair of finely carved double doors. “If there is one thing an ibex values it is their property, and that includes-” Monte pushes the door open and lets Trixie in first “-stuff they hold in their safety deposit boxes.”

Trixie looks around the area for just a moment before Monte guides her towards their destination. The inside of the bank is decorated with warm, natural colors and pleasant pictures and healthy flora. The walls are made of stained oak boards and hanging from the ceiling are numerous crystal chandeliers. Some of the pictures are even on the ceiling, and they consist of landscaping, city views, sailing ships, and, in the case of the ceiling, the night sky and Luna. The furniture they have consists of fancy desks and red velvety cushions and couches. And to finish it off, a massive Bernese flag is hanging from the back wall, looking over everything, and next to it is a sign saying: Tage bis Luna Tag: 1.

Monte and Trixie approach an old male ibex with a fading white coat and a gray goatee sitting behind an oak table with stacks of papers in baskets and office supplies. He is wearing a gray suit with a matching vest and little spectacles that fit perfectly with someone his age. On his desk is a name placard that says “G. Bit”.

When G. Bit sees them approach he smiles and limps out from behind his desk, and Trixie tries very hard not to stare at the brace around his leg. His motions are very stiff and each step makes a small click and when he reaches the two he and Monte lightly hug each other.

["Hallo, Herr Bit,"/i] says Monte cheerfully as he pulls away from G. Bit.

"Guten abend, Herr Fountain,” says G. Bit, returning the smile and walking back to his seat, his voice quivering slightly. “Bist du hier auf dem safe zu überprüfen?"

"Ja."

G. Bit nods and gently eases himself in his seat. “Sehr gut.”

Then he looks at Trixie and smiles and says something to her. Naturally she doesn’t understand a word he said, so she stares at him with a blank expression that would make a fresh whiteboard proud. Luckily for her Monte wraps his hoof around her neck and pulls her in for a one-hoofed hug while interjecting in Bernesenese. But whatever Monte says makes G. Bit chuckle and move around his table just to kiss Trixie’s hoof. Trixie’s cheeks flush and she smiles politely, albeit with her uneasiness showing clear as day, and when G. Bit moves back to his seat she glares at Monte.

“What did you say to him?” asks Trixie.

“What? You don’t like your hoof being kissed by an old guy?” says Monte with a teasing smile.

Trixie punches him in the shoulder and he chuckles like it was nothing, but Trixie smiles when Monte brings his hoof to his mouth to stifle his whine. Then Trixie jumps when there is a loud BANG!

She sighs with relief when she sees that G. Bit had pulled out a large, locked book with a thick cover. The ibex taps the side of his brace and a key pops out, and then he goes on to unlock the said book. Once the lock clicks open, he smiles and looks at Monte.

"Sehr gut, ich muss nur das passwort ein," says G. Bit while opening up the large book he pulled out.

Monte smiles and puffs out his chest slightly. "Dweeb."

Trixie looks at G. Bit with a smug smile, glad that something is finally going in her favor.

G. Bit clicks his tongue and shakes his head as his eyes scan the page he’s on. "Es tut mir leid, Herr Fountain, aber dies ist das falsche passwort."

Monte deflates and Trixie, still holding her smug smile, albeit with a lot of force, slowly turns her head to him. She has an idea of what is going on and if Monte was paying any attention to her he would realize that her eye is twitching slightly.

"Aber du weißt, ich bin Monte und für die ich arbeite Gilda. Öffnen sie nun den safe!" says Monte.

G. Bit slams the book shut and locks it good and tight. "Nicht ohne das richtige passwort, Herr Fountain!"

Trixie facehoofs and chuckles irritably with a mix of whining when Monte gets up and shouts something to G. Bit in their tongue. G. Bit also stands up and shouts something back at Monte, and soon both of them are yelling at each other in a language that now sounds incredibly harsh to Trixie, but nobody seems to pay any mind. Everybody is either working calmly or going through the customer motions. However, when the two’s argument passes the minute mark Trixie slams her hooves on the table, eyes narrowed, teeth grinding, and horn glowing.

“Listen here, you little shit!” screams Trixie, prompting everyone in the bank to stop and stare at the table while Monte’s eyes widen. “I did not come all the way from Equestria after almost dying a bazillion times just to be told no, so give us the box!”

“No.”

That simple two letter word makes something snap in Trixie. Her ears fold back and her eyes narrow on the ibex, and he, in turn, glares back at her. Trixie’s horn glows brighter and sparks as she aims it at G. Bit.

“Monte, hold him down,” orders Trixie.

“Uh, Trixie,” says Monte slowly.

“Just do it, Monte!”

Monte’s hoof suddenly jabs Trixie's horn, making her swear painfully and collapse to the ground while rubbing her horn, which is no longer glowing. Trixie growls demonically as she glares at Monte while using the desk for support, but Monte isn’t looking at her, for he is staring at someone behind her.

Trixie turns around and stomps her hoof. “Oh great!”

Standing in front of Trixie and Monte, are four buff bank guards. All four of them are staring at the two ponies with stone cold glares and tight jaws, and Monte steps forward while putting on a sweet smile.

“Hallo-”

Monte’s sentence is cut short when the lead guard socks him in the jaw. Monte cries out in pain, pressing his hoof against his jaw as he twirls to the ground, and the remaining three lunge forward.

Next thing Trixie knows she and Monte are sailing through the air outside of the bank, and they land on a pile of garbage in the alley behind the building. Trixie swears up a storm while viciously kicking garbage bags away from her, and Monte whimpers as he tenderly rubs his jaw.

When both of them are up, Monte wobbles in his spot and wipes some blood off of his maw while Trixie screams and bucks a garbage bag down the alley and then stomps on an old box until it is nothing but a flattened mess . After destroying the defenseless box Trixie slumps to the ground panting and eyes watering.

“I can’t believe this,” says Trixie. “Our one chance to take down Brisk Wind is ruined because you forgot the damn password!”

Monte sputters incoherently for a couple of seconds while sitting on the ground and wanting to yank out his mane with his hooves.

“What? How was I supposed to know that Gilda changed her password?” says Monte.

“How did you not know that Gilda changed her password? Weren’t you one of her top guys?”

“I was her postmaster! The bottom of the bottom of leadership status!”

Trixie, slumps on her haunches, throws her head back while groaning angrily and covering her eyes.

“A bucking postmaster!” cries Trixie.

She throws down her hooves, seething and face red from rage, and focuses her mental crosshairs right on Monte’s nose, and seeing her crazed rage face, Monte takes a step back. But this does not stop him from meeting her glare with one of his own, and they both snort hot air and charge their horns. Then in a flash Monte is thrown off of his feet, into the brick wall behind him. While he struggles to get up, Trixie jumps on top of him and presses her hoof down on his neck. Them sje breaks an empty bottle and aims the jagged edge at his throat.

“What’s your play, Monte? Are you you working for Brisk Wind?” says Trixie.

Monte’s jaw drops. “Are you serious? I have done nothing but tried to help you!”

“Oh really?”

“Yes. Really.”

“Name one time you tried to help me!”

Monte uses his magic to throw Trixie off of him, towards a pile of garbage bags, and he scrambles to his feet, heart racing and face wet from sweat and tears.

“Are you kidding me?” says Monte.

“Answer the question!” yells Trixie after throwing the bottle at Monte’s head, which he barely dodges.

“Fine!” screams Monte as he lunges closer to Trixie, making her take a couple of steps back in a defensive stance. “Let’s count shall we? First, I have offered you a job by my side. Secondly, I took on a crazy zebra and then I carried you on my back for miles and sat by your bed practically the entire time you were out. I let Fancy take care of you first. I helped him get those stitches in and out of you and then I forked out a fortune to get you that last minute ticket for Bernese. And lets not forget about magic. I freaking adored you for what you were able to accomplish and when I had shown you what I could do I had hoped you would say ‘Gee, Monte, that was a cool trick. Let’s work together.’ or 'Hey, why not try this'. But no! I tried to help you get out of your hole, but you are so... so messed up that you'd rather be some poor sap stuck at an entry level job rather than face failure again!”

Trixie grits her teeth and growls at Monte, and he, in turn, does almost the identical thing. So now both of them are practically touching horns, their veins are throbbing, and their eyes are magnetized by the furious state they are in.

“Don't talk to me about failure! I almost got a bunch of people killed because of a lie and nobody would hire me or support me because of it! How the fuck am I supposed to recover from a failure like that?” says Trixie, her angry eyes now flooding with tears and her cheeks drenched.

“You just do it, Trixie!” says Monte. “You see an opportunity and you take it.”

“Like how you were offering me an opportunity?”

“Right.”

Trixie scoffs. “Bull. You just wanted to use me to make your shows better!”

“Your sponsors used you but you didn’t seem to mind that little detail, now did you?”

Trixie screams furiously and stomps the ground. “It was just business! Just like this. This is all business. And I will be glad when this business is done because then we can part ways because you suck.”

Trixie finishes with a heavy panting and shaking body with tears dripping off her cheeks, and Monte remains planted in his spot, keeping his tearful glare fixated on her.

“I forgot to mention that I’m here in Bernese risking my life for you,” says Monte.

“Oh you’re so full of shit,” says Trixie.

Monte shakes his head. “No I’m not. You are my priority. Not me. Not Gilda. You. I am doing this for you, even though your father practically enslaved me because of how much I owed him. Even though your arrogance made a couple of idiots bring in an Ursa Minor to Ponyville. Even though you ruined Hank’s career. I’m still doing this for you, but right now I am really regretting it.”

Trixie stares at Monte with wide eyes and her disbelief replaced with shock, and the zony brushes his loose mane away while trying to keep his eyes off of Trixie. She goes to grab his hat, but he uses his magic to snatch it away and place it neatly on his head, still keeping his eyes off of her.

“But you know what? You were right about me. I am a pig. I’ve done terrible things to others and I basically deserve this crap. I don't deserve my casino, I don't deserve Hank, I don't deserve your trust, I don't deserve you,” says Monte. “Really, what I deserve is a bullet to the head.”

Trixie's eyes are wide at that point and she quietly watches Monte as he sulks away from her. Trixie stares at him for a couple more seconds before looking down at the box she mutilated during her fit. As she stares at the box, she tries to think of something, anything, but her mind is completely blank. All she can really do is register the sounds of passing vehicles, the warmth of the sun, and the alley dirt under her hooves. Nothing about what had just happened within the past few days, or more importantly, the past fifteen minutes. She looks up to say something to Monte, but she sees that he is already near the end of the alley, so she gallops after him, calling out his name. When she catches up to Monte, he is levitating a book and a bag of bits, but he is still not looking at her.

“Look, Monte, I'm sure we can figure this out,” says Trixie. “I can always break into the vault and steal it if we have to go that route.”

Monte shakes his head. “No, these banks are a lot more secured than Equestria's. You'll be dead before you leave the bank, and even if they do capture you alive bank robbery is an instant death penalty in this country.”

Trixie cringes. “Oh.”

“By the way, I need to give you this.” Monte gives Trixie the small book and bag of money. “Its some money and a basic Bernesenese language book. It’ll have all the greetings, leavings, and basic questions and a small map of the city in there. Relax. Have fun. I’m going back to the hotel. I need to figure out Gilda’s new password, anyway.”

“Wait, you're just leaving me out here in a foreign city?”

Monte starts walking. “Yep. You got a spare key. You'll be able to get back in the room.”

Trixie walks after him. “But I'm your bodyguard. I have to watch you. And what if I get lost?”

Monte stops and turns, making Trixie stop as well.

“Trixie, I don't think we can look at each other, right now,” says Monte. “Besides, you got a map, so walk in the other direction, please.”

“But my bodyguard stuff,” says Trixie with drooped ears and a panicking heart.

Monte holds up his hoof sternly. “As my bodyguard I am ordering you to enjoy the sights. So go and let me work in peace.”

Monte then turns and trots away, leaving Trixie alone with the book and money, and she watches him until he is out of sight, and then she looks at her items, sighs heavily and sulks in the opposite direction.