Metro 2033

The stall owner that had went by the name of Vigor looked up at Cedar with an eager look in his eye and began to smile. He was a fairly small stallion, who's left eye would twitch every few seconds.

"Aye friend allow me to check on the items that you have brought." In a few seconds after speaking, Vigor looked down on the items that had came upon the table. He didn't really care too much about what was being offered to him, unless it was something that would help his stand get business or large amounts of alcohol.

Cedar's request for 15 moonshine and a pipe bomb was fair, but Vigor still frowned after looking over all the items. Vigor usually tried to haggle in deals such as this, and today would be no exception.

"Friend, I don't think your offer is fair for my part. Why don't we just lower the offer to 14 Shots of moonshine and pipe bomb." Said Vigor in an energetic tone of voice. " So what do you say to this deal friend?"

Bullet saw that Cedar was begining to close the doors to the station, so he sprinted the entrance and was able to make it through right before the doors closed.

*Hey!" Bullet yelled, "you almost..." but the pony that Bullet recognized as one of the ones that had been in the group that came through right before he arrived, as well as one of the ponies he had seen by the burning house, had already moved on towords the market.

"I wonder what's up with him." Bullet sighed, he would need to be finding a place to rest soon, and this station loooked as good as any to stay for the night. He just hoped that the mysterious pony that he had been hunting earlier was still around. He could have his revenge and then be on his way.

What purpose had she in the marketplace? Surely this enterprise was star-crossed.

In a society within which interstate relations constituted the means of existence, to delay a merchant was to invoke serious repercussions. She minded the suffering which her station would have to endure should she return empty-hooved. Moreover, she minded the bullet that her superiors would thereby embed in her skull.

Victoria complied with his dismissal bearing a resentful glare, albeit compelled into submission by his severity.

"Mind you," she retorted, "when all is resolved the consequences shall be awarded. Then what of your scorn?"

To her companion, she conveyed a sorrowful expression, checked her pocket watch, and took leave.

The bustle of the market was overwelming; innumerable voices, advertising or otherwise, assaulting her very thoughts. As Victoria meandered amongst the throng, she flicked her posterior, listened for the joggling of her flask, and foresaw no purchases in the resulting silence.

Cedar started to gather up all of his things, looking at the merchant with his dead eyes. He was not a pony to bargain with. "Fifteen or I'll hop on the next caravan and take my business to Lily." The neighboring station would definitely pay more, with its closer proximity to the Round Line.

Vigor frantically brought his hoof onto Cedar's saddle bag. He always hated losing trade to others.

"Friend, don't do that." Exclaimed Vigor in a more energetic voice. "Those other ponies are only out to get you. I on the other hoof am just trying to help you, I'll give you 16 shots of moonshine and a pipe bomb instead. So what do you say friend?" Vigor's left eye started to twitch after he finished speaking.

Vigor hated the idea of giving more, but not as much as others getting what he could have got.

Bullet walked into the market-place, passing by the pony that had nearly locked him out haggling with a twitchy-eyed merchant. There were so many ponies meandering around that Bullet didn't know if he could pick out the one pony he was looking for. Then he saw her. She was wandering through the market, her destination unknown to Bullet. He briefly thought about just taking the shot and getting it over with, but reconsidered.

"too many witnesses, too much blood has been spilled today to overlook another killing." Bullet thought to himself, as he watched the grey pony walk further away. He had to act fast, unless he wanted her to get away again. He troted over to the strange merchant doing business with Cedar. It looked like their deal was wraping up, at least Bullet hoped so. He waited for Cedar to conclude his business, keeping one eye on the mysterious pony as she contnued to get further and further away.

Cedar would never understand Vigor, or how he managed to stay in business. He was too easy to negotiate with. He dropped his aura around the bag to let him have it and waited patiently for his payment.

Vigor's left eye stopped twitching as soon as the saddle bag was released.

"Why thank you for the trade, friend." Said Vigor, as he took out the items from Cedar's bag. "It is always a pleasure for us to trade."

The traded items that had been brought were placed onto a table in the back. Vigor soon took out 16 shots of moonshine and a pipe bomb off another table, and placed them into Cedar's bag.

"Enjoy the moonshine and the bomb." Said Vigor pushing the bag towards Cedar. "I'm sorry about your loss. Shala was a very good trade source, and she was a nice one. I wish you luck, friend."

Bullet waited untill he was sure that Cedar and the merchant were done. He then walked up to the merchant.

"Give me a knife," he said briskly, "sharpest one you've got." Bullet looked back to make sure his target was still in sight. Satisfied that she was, he turned back and waited for the merchant's offer.

Cedar took the bomb and his cash and left. He walked through the crowd and simply went to sit at his spot, a dark corner wedged between the station kitchens and the housing area. The pony with the record wasn't playing it now, that was fine. He removed the explosive from his saddlebag, took his mane into his aura, and proceeded to braid the bomb into his mane.

Being a silent pony had its advantages. One being that if you spend your life listening instead of talking, you can learn from those who do. He had heard a stalker that stored a pipe bomb in her tail. Cedar's own tail was not long enough for the task at hand, but his mane was. It took him a while to braid it properly to conceal the explosive, but he had the time. He didn't know when The Judge would show up, but he knew he had to eventually, or at least send another representative since Silver had failed, after all he had his mother's mane now.

He did have the thought that Silver could simply cut off more of her mane and present it to his employer, but it didn't hurt to prepare if this wasn't the case. If The Judge didn't arrive within a week, he would leave the station to seek out his family. And with that thought he finished his tail braids and added a few stylized ones to his front. This would only be a backup should his actual plan fail, and should he survive it.

Another trade opportunity had brought joy onto Vigor. He felt that fate was on his side for this moment, especially because he was trading with an outsider. Outsiders were Vigor's favorite source of trade, mainly because he would be the one at advantage when trading.

"My sharpest knife will cost you 4 shots of moonshine," Replied Vigor bluntly. "it is a very useful knife, you know. So what do you say to that offer, outsider?" A smirk came onto Vigor's face as he awaited for Bullet's response.

"Deal!" Bullet said, quickly taking out four shots of moonshine, and handing it over to Vigor. Under normal circumstances, he would've haggled, but he was in a rush. Bullet felt as if the merchant was moving in slow motion as he waited for the knife.

The smirk that was on Vigor's face instantly changed into a smile upon hearing that they had a deal.

"Thank you for the deal." Said Vigor pleasantly. Happiness came to Vigor from this successful deal, it seemed to compensate for the previous one he had.

Vigor turned around and pulled a random knife off of the back table. It wasn't a very sharp knife, but it was fairly long and was still in usable condition. Of course this knife was likely not the sharpest one that Vigor had, but he didn't care. As long as he made a profit from this all would be well.

Bullet took the knife without question. It probably wasn't the best Vigor had to offer, but Bullet only needed it for one purpose. He spotted his target leaving the market area, and began to pursue her, unstrapping the gun strapping on the newly aquired knife. He tried to be as stealthy as possible, to get as close as he could to the grey pony without being spotted. He was close to the mysteryous pony now. He raised the knife in order to strike, but he tripped on a small hole in the floor, and the knife made a metalic noise as it struck the floor.

"Buck!" Bullet swore under his breath, his element of surprise was most likely gone now.

The sound of the blade scraping the concrete provoked an instantaneous, premeditated response. Victoria yelped, kicked at his throat with the unarmed hind leg, and took into her dash.

"Ungodly - murderer!" she cried, galloping apace through the most populous sections of the market within reach.

With the pursuit hurdling toward an inevitable end, and with the inadequacy of her own legs in mind, Victoria could but utilize what advantages she had thus far gained. Recalling the fidelity which she had intentionally established with law enforcement, the mare started in the general direction of her befriended guard.

"Murderer!" she reiterated, searching for he whom she may despairingly appeal to.

Bullet soon found a hoof pistol pressed to the back of his head by a rather overzealous weapon merchant. "FREEZE YOU MURDEROUS ASSHOLE!" A few traveling ponies whipped out their artillery as well. Generally everypony was a bit jumpier with the recent bombing and killings.

Victoria's befriended guard put a leg around her neck and extended his other one to point at Bullet. "Throw that suka in jail!" Bullet couldn't have picked a worse time to be accused of murder. The other guards were itching to dispense a little personal punishment on somepony. They needed to vent, and Bullet became the punching bag for their pent up helplessness and rage over the day's previous events before he was finally hauled off and thrown into jail.

Bullet suddenly felt a gun pressed to the back of his head. He also saw the wrong end of a few other guns as well, untill some guards came to take him away. Before they did however, they beat Bullet within an inch of his life. He lost consiousness before the end, and woke up, badly bruised, in jail.

"Well, this is an interesting turn of events." Bullet said to himself, he had been jailed before, but not for something as serious as attempted murder. For now all he could do was sit, and wait for something to happen. He examined the lock on the door.

"Hmmm, I could work with this if I have to." He thought to himself, but for now he decided to rest, and recouperate for what lied ahead.

"My hero!" Victoria hailed, pecking the guard's cheek with vigor. When she turned to see Bullet away, knowing not if he would survive, she did not hide the satisfaction and malice in her eye. It pleased her to watch the guards brutalize the stallion who was, for her purposes, an assassin.

---

The pacing had, by now, grown monotonous. She and her pocket watch had been meticulously accounting for minutes - becoming hours - during which she was effectively helpless. The following truths were evident: to press further for a consultation with the mayor would only lead to another reprimanding; therefore, the looming overnight stay necessitated lodging lest she have to sleep on the-

The distant voice of a stallion out of sight dispelled her thoughts; one which had to it a familiar masculine groan, and one which awakened vague memories.

A piano...?

"Such a beautiful little thing," she murmured serenely, now clutching his idle foreleg. Then when she spoke again, color was restored to her tone. "A Renaissance stallion indeed. O' love, I am ever more certain now 'zat you've so many more unspoken talents," she serenaded.

She silently composed a memory of this moment. It was decidedly taking enough for her to preserve it...

Victoria resolved to investigate, trotting haphazardly towards the tunnel entrance.