Josh sat in a secluded spot on the opposite side of the large pool area in the center of the Red Rock Resort, half a drink in his hand and his gaze caught in a thousand yard stare as his mind fell into its usual realm of thought. Nearby, the after party for Syd's first show on tour was in full swing at the Cherry Nightclub, with people milling all about, some chatting idly with others, some dancing as music blasted out from the club. The scene was more than familiar to the young producer, who had experienced enough of these nights to know what went into it all. Hell, it was a night like this that essentially landed me in Equestria to begin with he thought, taking a sip of his drink and continuing to stare at the party before him, silently reminiscing on the events that night before he'd been transported to the place he'd soon begin to call home.

He hadn't given that night much thought over the course of the last year, instead choosing to focus on his marefriend and the life they were sharing in Equestria. Now, however, he couldn't not think about it. That particular evening hadn't really occurred to him all that much, instead adding itself to the muddled and dark painting that was his previous life before ending up in Equestria. He did know that it carried a certain level of significance though, and seeing the after party going on now had begun to conjure up images of that fateful night and everything that lead him to the place he'd call home, and to the mare he loved.

"Evening stranger!"

Josh's focus shifted from his own internal pondering and back to the world around him, forcing him to look in the direction of the voice that called to him. He smirked a little when he saw Liam striding towards him, a smile on his face and a drink in his hand.

"You're the last person I'd ever expect to see away from a party like this." Liam said, stopping short of Josh and gazing down at him.

"I've experienced my own fair share of parties like this in the past, L." Josh said simply, taking a sip off his own drink, "Don't need that kind of temptation anymore. Besides, I wanted to get out and just... think for a bit, I suppose."

"I guess you can never do too much of that, can you?" Liam asked, smirking himself as he continued to stare at Josh, "Mind if I take a seat out here with you? I'd kinda like to get away from it all for a bit myself."

Josh nodded and Liam moved towards the chair next to Josh's own, taking a seat and sighing heavily. For some time, the two sat in a comfortable silence, save for the sound of the music issuing forth from the club a short distance away. Josh's thoughts began to drift away once more as Liam sat next to him, occasionally lifting his drink up to take a sip of it, causing the ice cubes in it to clink together.

"Well," Liam said, forcing Josh's attention towards himself once more, "what'd you think of the show?"

Josh thought for a second, trying his hardest to formulate anything that would give some sort of illusion that he wasn't conflicted the whole time. He had enjoyed the show tremendously, and actually found he had more fun watching Syd on stage than he would have had he been up there performing with him. However, he couldn't help but think of Vinyl during the whole performance, and his mind continued to drift towards the concerts he and the unicorn had put on in his time there. Each and every song that passed reminded him more and more of his mare and his friends at every one of their shows, each one caught up in the euphoric bliss that came with electronic music. This caused a sort of double edged sword effect, where Josh truly had relished the music and the atmosphere once again, but also felt a great degree of sadness at thinking about what he'd lost not so long ago.

"It... was a lot of fun." he said simply, silently cursing himself for not thinking of anything better, "He's definitely great up there."

Liam raised his eyebrow slightly at Josh's response, and at that moment, the young man felt extremely transparent.

"You always were a terrible liar, Josh." Liam said, leaning forward in his seat as he locked eyes with his friend, "It reminded you of her, didn't it?"

Josh opened his mouth to try and protest, wanting to say that he was just tired or something else along those lines, but he found himself mute in that moment. Liam knew Josh all too well, and to try and lie to him would be an effort in absolute futility. In the end, the young man just resigned to slowly nod his head, prompting Liam to do the same in understanding.

"I figured as much." Liam said, leaning back and taking another sip off his drink, "I had been rather worried about how you'd react, being back around all this so soon. I didn't want you to run the risk of opening up any wounds, but I just chose to let it be, and kept my mouth shut."

"I was the one who chose to come back to it all." Josh pointed out, shrugging slightly, "I knew that it'd be hard, but I just told myself that I wouldn't let it bother me. For all the good that did..."

"Well, if you're still connected to her via the music, I can hardly blame you for making the choice you did in this case." Liam said, "I can tell you right now that I'd be more than willing to do the same were I to be in your situation. You wanted to have something that could remind you of all the time you spent with Vinyl, so you did what you deemed to be proper, even though you knew it'd be painful."

Josh merely nodded at that, unable to really find anything more that he could say. In hindsight, his decision to return to a life surrounded by music seemed like less of a good idea with all the pain he now realized he'd have to endure along the way. It wasn't so much even the music that reminded him of his mare, but the overall atmosphere of the show that night had been the trigger he'd needed to conjure up images of him standing next to her, playing the board and controller with the love of his life while the crowd went crazy.

"I just... I wish it could stop hurting." Josh said solemnly, burying his face in his hands and fighting the urge to cry.

"It'll always hurt, Josh." Liam said, placing his hand on Josh's shoulder, causing the young man to look back up and into his friend's face, "No matter what anyone says or does, it'll always hurt because you loved her so much. And there's nothing wrong with that. You are no more or less a man because you carry sadness for a lost love. Nobody's going to hold a gun to your head and say you have to move on with your life, so don't try and force yourself past something like this. It's not healthy."

Josh continued to stare into Liam's face, into his own deep brown eyes and the sincerity and care behind them. Though he hadn't experienced anything like what Josh had in the last few weeks, if there was anyone who could understand a difficult situation like this, it would be Liam. Josh knew that Liam of all people could at least level with him and not judge him for whatever he may say or do. This wasn't merely because Liam was the only one who knew what had happened with Josh, but also because he had an ability to be deep and forthright when the situation called for it. He's right Josh thought, I can't get away from this, but maybe I can ease the pain by just saying something...

"L..." Josh said, hesitating as he spoke, "can I be honest with you for a second here?"

"Of course you can, mate." Liam responded, leaning back in his seat once again, "In fact, I'd prefer that over anything."

Josh opened his mouth, trying his hardest to phrase what seemed like, in his mind, the hardest thing he'd ever had to say in his life.

"I didn't go to Equestria looking for love." Josh explained, "In fact, once I got there, I just wanted to come back home, back to the life I thought I needed, back to... back to all this, essentially."

Josh gestured to the scene of the party before him as he spoke.

"I knew in my mind that I didn't belong there, even if everyone else there thought I did." he continued, his voice beginning to waver, "I acted almost no differently there than I did here, and that got me into a lot of trouble. So much trouble that I ended up racking up enough debt that I wasn't allowed to leave till it was all paid back."

"What kind of debt exactly?" Liam asked, confused, "You weren't involved in some type of gambling thing there, were you?"

"No, nothing like that." Josh responded, shaking his head and letting out an embarrassed chuckle, "Just... me being dumb."

"I see."

"Yeah. Anyway, that's why I was gone as long as I was that first time. I had to earn the money, and the only way I could was by helping Vinyl's best friend, Octavia."

"Wait a second," Liam said, raising his hands to stop Josh, "this... Octavia, she was essentially extorting you, wasn't she?"

"That's a rather harsh way of putting it, but yeah, she kind of did."

"And you allowed this?"

"What else was I gonna do?" Josh asked indignantly, "Believe it or not, most of Equestria wasn't really calling out for a music producer, and nobody would be likely to hire me because I was a lot bigger than them and seemed intimidating. It'd be bad for their business, even though a lot of ponies liked me later on."

"That... oddly enough makes sense." Liam said, still rather dumbstruck, "So, what did she have you doing then to make the money back?"

Josh hesitated, his mind drifting back towards the first time he'd encountered Vinyl after upstaging her and making a vow to help her become the best producer she possibly could.

"I helped Vinyl out. Taught her how to make music."

Liam's jaw dropped as he made the connection in his mind.

"That's... how it happened, isn't it?" he asked in awe, "How you two... fell for one another."

"Pretty much." Josh replied, smiling as he watched Liam's sudden change in expression, "I really didn't want to do it at first, but I knew that if I ever wanted to go back home, that'd be my only way to make it happen. As far as I was concerned, she was nothing more than a roadblock that I'd have to worm my say past. But, as time went along, and I got to know her better, I stopped seeing her as just another talking pony standing in my way of going back home. I saw her as... almost human in a way, someone I could connect with on a personal level, someone not that different from me. She was another artist, trying so hard to live out her own passion but being shot down each and every time. The moment I realized that was when I truly felt it, felt that I was falling for her."

"I came back home the first time because I wasn't sure of myself, wasn't sure that I was what she needed. As far as I was concerned, I'd be nothing more than a burden to her, someone who would hold her back from achieving her own goals she'd been trying so hard to hit since before I came along. On top of that, I feared that my past would catch up to me and that I'd be tempted to make the same mistakes there that I had here. If there was one thing I never ever wanted, it was to hurt Vinyl in that way, like I had so many others. But, in the end I realized that it would hurt her more for me not to be by her side, loving her and being there for her whenever she needed me."

"See, I'd spent so much of my time thinking that what I needed was to be back here, continuing my tours and moving on with my life. It turned out that the thing I thought I needed was just something I wanted because it was all I'd ever known. When I fell in love with Vinyl and was separated from her the first time, I realized just how empty and lonely my existence had been, and that what I really needed was to be back in Equestria with her. I guess Princess Celestia knew all along that I'd make that decision, and so she was kind enough to return me to where I belonged."

Another round of silence fell as Josh finished speaking, the only sound to be heard being the music issuing forth from the nearby club. Josh continued to stare at his friend before him who had finally taken his gaze off the young producer and was now staring at the ground, taking in everything Josh had said. While waiting for some type of response from his friend, Josh felt an odd type of freedom at having just shared his thoughts with Liam, a feeling that he'd not known since leaving his home in Equestria. It had felt genuinely good to have someone he could talk to about everything that had happened and who he knew wouldn't just give him a blank stare and write him off as some type of insane person. After some time of silence, Liam smirked and looked back up to Josh, his eyes sparkling a little in the flashing lights coming from the club.

"You know, I can't pretend to understand what it is that you've gone through." Liam said, locking eyes with his friend once more, "I don't think most men would. I fact, when you left to go back and live there, I was wracked with confusion over why you made the decision you did. The most obvious thing was how and why you fell in love with a pony from another dimension, but I also questioned why you'd leave behind everything you had here, sacrifice all the money, fame, and adoration to go to some far off world and spend your life there. It just didn't make any sort of sense to me, and it wasn't until I found Samantha that I began to truly understand."

Liam leaned in closer to Josh, not once taking his gaze off the young man's blue eyes.

"You had found the one thing that can truly change a man, can take him from being cynical and lonely to ecstatic and excited about life. You had found love, albeit in the form of a small equine, but love never the less. Once I realized that, I didn't have any more questions."

Liam placed his hand on Josh's shoulder, giving it a slight, comforting squeeze before continuing.

"I can only imagine how hard it is for you right now, and I know full well that it's not going to get better anytime soon. The pain will always remain, but so will the memories, and those very memories are the thing you need to look upon for comfort and guidance rather than the hurt you feel when you realize that she's not here. That doesn't necessarily mean that you move on, but it does mean that live every day for the very love you lost."

Josh nodded in a rather solemn understanding as he took in his friend's words. Liam pulled Josh into a light embrace, which Josh returned in full force.

"I didn't know Vinyl that well." Liam said once they relinquished their grip on one another, "I only met her once and maybe said three words to her if I was lucky. But, I can understand what she meant to you, and like I told you before, if there was any possible way I could get you back home to her, any way at all, I'd give everything I have if it means you get to be happy."

Josh just smiled at Liam, feeling a warmth spread through his body as he looked upon his old friend.

"Thanks, L." he said.

"No problem, mate." Liam responded, looking back towards the party in the club, "Well, I'd probably better get back in there. Syd was already drunk when I left and I'll need to make sure he hasn't broken anything."

Liam rose from his seat and took a few steps toward the club before turning back around to face Josh.

"You coming along?" he asked, gesturing behind him towards the party.

"I think I'm good out here for now." Josh said, smiling a little, "Just gonna... enjoy the atmosphere for a bit longer."

"Alright then." Liam said, turning back around and making for the club.

"Hey, Liam?"

"Yeah?" Liam said, stopping and turning around once again.

"Thanks... for listening to me." Josh said.

"Anytime." Liam responded, smiling wide as he turned back around and headed towards the thumping music.

With that, Josh was alone once again, only his thoughts to occupy his time. He leaned back and stared up at the stars, watching the tiny sparks of light twinkle freely in the inky black night sky. As he looked towards the immeasurable heavens, a small shooting star streaked across the canvas of dark, causing him to crack a small smile and close his eyes as his thoughts drifted back towards Equestria and his mare.

Warden slowly trotted through the dark hallways of Ponyville city hall, on his way towards the office of Filthy Rich. He'd received a late letter from Filthy saying that he wanted to meet and discuss matters of importance. The police chief had considered disregarding the notice, if nothing else so he didn't have to be around Filthy, whom he'd already disliked, but had grown to hate with a passion after his move to make the princess send Josh back home had worked. However, he realized that any attempt to ignore the new (and in his opinion, undeserving) mayor would be an effort in absolute futility. So, he reluctantly made his way towards the office of Filthy Rich, praying that whatever sort of meeting the stallion had planned with him would be a quick one.

After heading up the stairs and turning the corner, he spotted the front door to the mayor's office and directed himself towards it. Standing before the entryway to Filthy's new office, Warden hesitated for a moment, looking the door up and down with distaste. I could just turn around and go home he thought, grimacing as he thought about Filthy on the other side Then again, he'll just send for me again... That thought caused Warden to let out a heavy sigh, knowing that there was officially no way out of this now. Slowly, he raised his hoof and knocked on the door, prompting a response from within.

"It's open. Come in."

Using his magic, Warden opened the door and stepped into the room. The entire office was filled with a soft, orange glow from the nearby fireplace, which crackled gently as it burned. The large desk in the center of the room reserved for the mayor was vacant, save for a small stack of papers in one corner and the lamp on the opposite side. Closing the door behind him, Warden stepped further into the room, glancing all around for where Filthy Rich could be.

"Evening, Warden." a voice called from nearby, causing the police chief to jump slightly and whirl in the direction it came from.

Upon turning his attention towards the region he'd heard the voice come from, Warden noticed Filthy standing in front of one of the large windows at the head of the office, staring out of it to the darkened streets below.

"Mayor Rich,." Warden said, standing tall and saluting, "you wanted to see me, sir?"

"Yes, I did." Filthy replied, not turning from his position, "Have a seat."

Warden nodded and dropped his salute, taking a seat in front of the mayor's desk. Upon sitting down, he fixed his gaze back on Filthy, who continued to stare intently out of the window. For some time, the two stallions sat in silence, only the fire crackling softly in the nearby grate to break up the lack of noise. The police chief continued to watch Filthy, waiting for him to say something or make an attempt at addressing him further. However, Filthy made no such action, his body still turned towards the window before himself as he stared out of it to the dimly lit streets below. After a few more seconds, Warden cleared his throat loudly, hoping to achieve some sort of reaction from Filthy, to no avail.

"No disrespect sir," Warden began, trying his hardest to keep any level of irritation out of his voice, "but were you going to tell me exactly why I've been summoned to your office in the middle of the night?"

Filthy continued his silence, though Warden did hear him let out a little snicker and saw his mouth twitch into his usual smirk. The unicorn was now definitely at the end of his patience, and was truly regretting having come out to city hall when he could just as easily be back at home, in bed with his wife and sound asleep. Just when Warden was ready to give up hope on getting anything more out of Filthy, the earth pony stallion turned slightly, not taking his gaze off the window.

"Tell me, Warden," Filthy began, turning and peering at the police chief out of the corner of his eye, "do you ever just... sit and take some time to appreciate all you have in your life, all the things you've received because of your hard work and dedication?"

Warden raised his eyebrow a little, confused as to why Filthy would ask him something like that when clearly he hadn't called him down for some sort of idle banter.

"I have in the past, yes." Warden replied, "Why do you ask?"

"I just figure that you and I are very much alike in that regard." Filthy said, making for his desk and taking a seat, "After all, we both have accomplished many things that we've strived for in our lives, and in some cases received a bit of a bonus for all that we've done."

"And what exactly would your bonus be, sir?"

"You're looking at it, my friend." Filthy replied, smiling and gesturing around the room.

Warden was taken aback by Filthy's statement, and it clearly showed as Filthy let out a slight chuckle.

"You seem surprised."

"I just... didn't realize that becoming mayor wasn't what you'd intended to do from the get go." Warden said, regaining a little of his composure, "I just assumed that your getting rid of Josh and uniting the ponies here in your cause was means to an end."

"Hardly, though you seem to have a knack for piecing things together." Filthy replied, opening a cabinet under his desk and pulling out a large glass flask filled with a dark, amber liquid, "Care for a drink?"

Warden shook his head, to which Filthy shrugged and removed the top of the flask, sniffing at the contents inside.

"From what I've heard, this is a very fine year of whiskey that Mayor Mare kept in here." he said, brandishing a glass and pouring in some of the liquid, "But, in answer to your confusion, I had no intention of ousting our lovely mayor from her long held position. In fact, I assured her that she may remain in my cabinet at the highest position she so desires, short of running this town, of course."

"If you believed her to be so capable, then why'd you take over anyway?" Warden asked as Filthy placed the flask back in the cabinet and picked up his glass.

Filthy took a quick swig off his drink before replying, letting out a slight hiss as the alcohol made its way down his throat.

"The ponies of this town spoke loud and clear, Warden." he said, setting his glass down and throwing his back hooves up and onto the desk, "Though I have much respect and adoration for Mayor Mare, they clearly didn't, and who would I be to refuse them what they want? Plus, call it a bit of narcissism, I suppose, but I'm not gonna just turn down a lofty position like this."

As Filthy took another sip of his drink, Warden felt a white hot burning rage enter his mind. It wasn't enough to get Josh tossed out of here he thought, fighting the urge to vault over the desk and attack the pompous stallion on the other side he had to take over the town as well? As Warden's angry diatribe against Filthy continued in his mind, the mayor suddenly removed his hooves from their position and returned to a normal seated position, fixing his eyes on Warden once more.

"However, I didn't invite you down here to discuss matters of politics." Filthy said, pushing his drink off to the side.

"What exactly am I here for then?" Warden asked, unable to keep the ire from entering his voice.

"I have a task for you, Warden." Filthy began, "It's one that I know I can only entrust to you. What with your impeccable record as police chief, and your loyalty to me throughout this ordeal over the past few weeks, I believe you're the perfect pony to come to for what I need done."

"And what exactly would that be, sir?"

"As I'm sure you're well aware, Ms. Vinyl Scratch was recently released from the hospital after being held for several days." Filthy said, jumping down from his seat and pacing back and forth behind his desk, occasionally stealing a glance out the darkened window nearby.

"I had heard that, yes." Warden replied, "They reported it in the Ponyville Express recently."

"And did the report actually say why she was admitted?"

"Yeah," Warden said, thinking back to what he'd read in the paper, "If I remember right, she'd fainted from malnutrition, hadn't been eating. Somepony took her to the hospital so they could get some food in her and get her rehydrated."

"Hmm." Filthy said, stopping suddenly and placing a hoof on his chin, "That's not exactly what I told them to write... It'll have to do though."

"Wait a second," Warden said, raising his hooves and forcing Filthy's attention back towards him, "what do you mean that's not what you told them to write? Are you... censoring the media here?"

"Not necessarily." Filthy replied, smirking a little as he continued his pacing, "It was just one detail I wished to have omitted for... political reasons."

Warden opened and closed his mouth, unable to find any words that would be of any use here. Only in the land of the griffins had he ever heard about media being censored in any form, and the ponies didn't live in that type of paranoid monarchy.

"The truth about Ms. Scratch's situation is that she was admitted for self inflicted wounds." Filthy continued, stopping at the window once more and looking outside, "She cut her own fetlocks so deep that she hit a major artery and lost so much blood that she came dangerously close to Death's door. Thank Celestia for the quick actions of her friend, Octavia, otherwise the poor girl might not be among us today."

At this point, Warden's jaw was almost completely slack and was in danger of falling off completely. Only a few times in his life had he ever heard of somepony attempting to commit something as drastic as suicide, and though he could understand somewhat Vinyl's actions, the news that she'd tried to take her own life was beyond jarring.

"I... I can't believe she'd try to do that..." he said, almost all of his previous rage gone and replaced by disbelieving curiosity, "I mean, she does have a bit of a history of being... emotionally unstable, but to attempt to take her own life..."

"It is sad, and we should all be thankful that she was unsuccessful in her endeavor there." Filthy said, walking back over to his desk and taking a seat behind it, "After all, it'd be a shame to lose such a sweet and lovely young mare by her own actions."

"I thought you couldn't stand Vinyl Scratch, sir." Warden said flatly, "If I remember right, you called her a slut and have mentioned on more than one occasion how she's unnatural and a traitor to her own kind for living with a human."

"We all say things in the moment that we don't really mean, Warden." Filthy replied, grabbing his drink once again and taking a sip off it, "I have nothing but concern for Ms. Scratch at this point. I'd hate to see her gone from us so soon, and by her own hoof."

"If that's the case, then please explain your reasoning for censoring the truth from the citizens here." Warden, trying his best to keep a level and calm voice.

"My reasoning there is two fold." Filthy replied, "I don't wish to have her looked down upon any more than she already is, and I'd like to maintain my seat as mayor here without it being jeopardized by her."

"What?" Warden asked, confusion sinking in again as he took in Filthy's words, "How could she do that?"

"Think about it, Warden, "Filthy began, leaning over the desk as he spoke to the police unicorn, "If she were to expire by her own actions, then somepony would have to place blame for her death. I was the one who had her 'lover' sent out of here, so it'd only be natural for the blame to fall on my shoulders. The ponies of this town may be loyal to me now, but that loyalty will always take a backseat to the death of one of their own. She already garners enough sympathy from her friends, it wouldn't be hard for them to do the same thing that I did and gather ponies against me for inadvertently causing her to die."

Warden tried to find anything he could use to refute Filthy's argument, but was unable to come up with a feasible hole in the point that he'd made. Indeed, it would make sense for ponies to band together in the defense of one of their own, even if she had had a bad reputation at one point. Loyalty is a powerful force, but sympathy for another can tear apart anything that stands in its way, and Warden knew that Vinyl's untimely death could have been used as a huge weapon against Mayor Rich.

"But, wouldn't she just tell everypony here what happened anyway?" Warden asked, hoping in vain that he could catch Filthy off guard.

"You really think she'd want that kind of attention, after what she's been through?"

Warden hung his head slightly and sighed, unable to find anything more that could be of any use.

"So," he began after a short silence, "what exactly did you have in mind that you needed me to do?"

"I'm glad you asked." Filthy said, leaning back in his chair, "You see, I'd attempt to do this myself, but my position as mayor doesn't exactly allow me a whole lot of freedom to just leave the office as I please. So, I called you here to take on the task of spying on Ms. Scratch for me."

"Spying on her? What do you need to spy on her for?"

"Call it a... precautionary measure, I suppose." Filthy stated, taking a sip off his whiskey, "All I need you to do is keep an eye on her and ensure that she doesn't try something like this again, and if she does, you can see to it that she doesn't succeed in her attempt. By keeping her alive, I can remain where I'm at, and she gets the chance to move on with her life. It's a win win situation."

"And if I refuse to do this?" Warden asked, venom entering his words as he spoke.

Filthy chuckled a little and smirked, standing up from his seat and walking around to where Warden sat, placing a hoof on his shoulder in an attempt at a comforting manner.

"Tell me, my friend," he said staring into Warden's face as the stallion wheeled around to face him, "how long have you lived in Ponyville now? Fifteen years? Ten of those you've been married to your beautiful wife, Stargazer, have you not?"

Warden nodded slowly, prompting Filthy to continue.

"And, if I'm not mistaken, you have an adorable young colt about the same age as my own Diamond Tiara, correct?"

"Yes, I do." Warden replied coldly, a feeling of dread creeping into his mind as Filthy continued.

"That's wonderful." Filthy said, stepping around to Warden's other side, "You know, they think the world of you. In their eyes, you're practically a superhero, an amazing individual who can do no wrong."

Filthy trotted around to face Warden, staring into his face once more, a wide smirk on his face.

"But, you never told them exactly what it was that you used to do, did you?"

"What do you mean?" Warden asked, glaring at Mayor Rich, "They know exactly what I did before I came here. I told them both all about my time in the Canterlot royal guard. My son asks me about it all the time."

"Come now, Warden." Filthy said, now smiling devilishly, "We both know that that's not exactly what I'm talking about. You may be able to lie to them, but not to me."

Warden felt his stomach drop as he realized what Filthy was eluding to. How in Celestia's name could he possibly know about that? he thought, panic rushing through his mind.

"I looked at your file some time ago." Filthy began again, stepping back around and taking a seat at his desk, "From what I remember, they called you an... how was it they put it... 'espionage and tactical expert'. Nothing more than a fancy term for a spy, and a good one at that to be active for ten years."

"S-so what if that's what I used to do?" Warden asked, his voice shaking as his heart raced, "I doubt that you'll be able to use something like that against me like you did Josh, sir."

"Perhaps not, but I also know that there's another aspect to your former job, one that's significantly more messy than just... keeping an eye on a suspicious pony or two."

Warden opened his mouth to respond, but was stopped short as Filthy leaned forward in his seat, glaring back at the police chief.

"How many ponies did you kill in the name of Equestria, Warden?" Filthy continued, his voice becoming low and menacing, "Was it ten, twenty, maybe more? Perhaps you did it so much that you can't remember the number anymore."

Now, Warden was truly speechless. The only response he could muster was to sit and stare at Filthy Rich, his mouth agape and his face deathly pale as the stallion opposite him continued to smile evilly.

"How..." the unicorn said quietly as Filthy leaned back in his chair.

"You think Luna's the only pony I can get information out of in Canterlot?" Filthy asked, "This time, I didn't even have to come across it by accident."

Again, silence fell between the two stallions, with one unable to speak for disbelief, and the other not needing to say anything more. Warden now understood how Josh had felt, the fear he must have experienced at having all his secrets aired out for everypony to know and use against him. Here he sat, frozen and silent at knowing that in one move, the stallion seated across from him could ruin his life.

"So, you're going to extort me now?" Warden finally said after what seemed like an eternity.

"Oh no no no, Warden." Filthy said, waving his hooves in a defensive manner, "I have absolutely no intention of doing something like that to you. That little tidbit of information will remain solely between you, myself, and Princess Celestia, presuming she already knows about it. I'm just showing that you may have a bit more of an incentive to do this task for me than you previously thought."

Warden looked down at the ground, his mind racing. So, it's either I spy on a completely innocent pony, or possibly lose my family... he thought, knowing that there was no way out of his situation at this point. He'd told himself long ago that he wouldn't ever return to doing something like what he used to, but now it was clear that if he wanted to hold on to any sort of semblance of his life, he'd have to take up the job he'd left so long ago.

"So, allow me to ask you," Filthy continued, forcing Warden's attention back up towards him, "will you take on this duty for me, Warden?"

The police chief didn't answer for some time, a combination of rage and fear stealing his words. He was half tempted to attack Filthy Rich here and now, to subdue him with his magic and beat him senseless for even thinking about attempting to extort Warden. But, as he thought about it more, he realized that he could use the opportunity as a way to help keep Vinyl safe, not even for Filthy's political agenda, but for his own conscience. Though he detested the idea of having to take up the mantle of a spy again, he knew that as an officer of the law, his duty was to keep the ponies of Ponyville safe. His mind now completely made up, he looked back to Filthy Rich, who still has his usual pompous smirk on his face.

"Of course I will." he said coldly, saluting Filthy Rich, "It would be my honor, sir."

"I was hoping you'd say that." Filthy said, "You'll start tomorrow, bright and early. I want regular reports at the end of every day, and if you hear anything even remotely suspicious from her little camp, you're to tell me straight away, understood?"

Warden nodded, his icy glare still locked on Filthy Rich.

"You're dismissed then, Warden." Filthy said, waving his hoof lazily.

Warden once again saluted and stood from his seat, making for the door. An angry determination had taken his mind as he'd sat there, being forced into an action that he so despised. *But just because he's going to use this as a means for his own selfish agenda doesn't mean that I can't turn it for some sort of good* Warden thought as he reached the door, opening it with his magic.

"Oh, and Warden?" Filthy called back at him from his desk.

Warden turned around mid stride and faced the mayor once again, silently dreading whatever it was he had to say next.

"You're doing Ponyville a greater service than you possibly know." Filthy stated simply, smiling at the police chief.

"Of course, sir." Warden replied flatly, making his way out the door and through the darkened halls till he reached the city hall entrance, heading out into the darkened streets of Ponyville and back towards his home and family for the night.

Author's Notes:

This chapter is essentially "unedited". I couldn't wait any longer for it to be looked over, so I went ahead and put it out. Hope you all enjoyed it!