The dark, rainy streets of Manehattan were largely abandoned. The ponies that were out hurried to their destinations without stopping to talk, lest they get any wetter than they were already, for the local weather team had scheduled quite a downpour that would last well into the following morning. The only place that seemed to be doing anything like a normal night of business was the city's seedy underbelly. All throughout Manehattan, ponies of shady backgrounds (and sometimes of shadier color schemes) did a roaring trade, ill-gotten bits passing freely from hoof to hoof.
A seedy bar called Babs' was opening up for business, and at a dingy table sat a lonely purple earth mare, idly nursing a cider. Her name was Raven Shadow, and she was a down-on-her-luck magician from the far end of town. The Great and Powerful Trixie had stolen much of her fanbase, and though she tried valiantly to regain what she had lost, the fact was her little magic shows were simply not as profitable as they were. Considering the rent on her apartment was coming up, she needed funds and she needed them quickly. That's why she was here, to meet with Blackclaw, the head griffon of The Bad Seeds, Manehattan's largest crime syndicate.
Around 10:30, and just as the young magician was contemplating getting up and leaving, a tall, black feathered and furred griffon with equally dark paws and mysterious red eyes entered the bar, wearing a dark leather jacket. He spotted Raven and smirked, licking his beak hungrily.
"So you're the one," he said quietly, sounding a little like a male, deeper voiced version of Babs Seed. "That magician, right?"
"I have a name, you know," Raven hissed. "Although, if more ponies knew of it I woudn't be here right now." She sized up the griffon standing before her. While most ponies would be wary of such a presence, Raven was unconcerned. Being as adept at magic as she was, especially being an earth pony, she knew she could knock him quite senseless and escape even before he could regain the ability to give chase. She motioned to an empty chair at the table. "You wanna talk, sit and talk. Otherwise, quit wasting both our time."
The griffon's smirk only widens as he moves to sit across from Raven. "You're a feisty one," he comments lazily. "Name's Blackclaw. Want a drink?"
Raven shrugs. "Sure, why not? As long as you're footing the tab. Just a cider for me, thanks." She gives him a cold stare. "Feisty, huh? You spend all day learning that word?" She let out a snort. "I didn't think you had the penchant for using such a high-brow vocabulary. I guess that's why you're the leader, eh?" Her eyes narrow. "Look, we both know the Bad Seeds aren't known for their chivalry. You want something of me and I'm low on bits. So, let's just skip the verbal foreplay and lay it out so I can get out of this place. Just the thought of coming here made me itch." She repressed a shiver - places such as Babs' weren't exactly on her list of must-stop destinations.
"Oh fine." He narrows his own eyes and roughly slides the cider to her. "There's a lotta things I could have ya do... rob Manehattan National Bank, for example. But that's too easy, I need ta challenge you." He sips his own cider. "How about... a murder?"
She nearly spit out her cider. "WHAT?" she coughed, a little too loud as the unwanted stares in her direction indicated. She looked around and blushed a bit. "Tickly bubbles... teehee," she said in her best girly voice, flashing a toothy grin. She then turned her attention back to Blackclaw, her eyes narrowing to slits. Dropping her voice to a whisper, she leaned in and asked, "You must think I'm more desperate than I let on. Asking me to kill somepony? With magic? Assuming I could even pull off such a thing, what makes you think I wouldn't just run to the cops and turn your feathered hide in?" She sat back and took another sip of her cider. Although trying to project an aura of calm, her glass trembled ever so slightly.
"Because if you don't," he says softly, holding up his sharp eagle talons for her to see, "I'll kill you myself. All it would take is a slit across your jugular vein. Just one. I don't need liabilities around here, filly. So... what's it going to be? Life or death?"
Raven's mind raced. Should she try to run? Should she attempt a spell to cripple her potential attacker? She realized both of those options were pointless... even if she did escape, the rest of the gang would hunt her down relentlessly, and the end result would be the same. She blinked and swallowed hard. "Well, when you put it that way..." she said softly, in a defeated tone, "Looks like I'm in whether I want to or not."
He smiles darkly. "That's more like it." He gives her a folder containing information on her target. "This'll tell you all you need to know. Now get out of my sight!"
Tucking the folder into her saddlebag, Raven quickly finishes her cider. "Pleasure doing business with you," she sneers, getting up from her seat and walking out into the night. It seemed the storm outside had ended early, the streets still wet and covered with puddles. Inside her head, however, a storm raged on. 'What did I get myself in to this time?' she thought as she made her way back to her little apartment.
Once opened, the folder would reveal a picture of her target, a unicorn noble from Trottingham. His name was Orion Brownmane, and in the picture he looked quite posh and important, though not cold and detached. His gaze seemed warm, almost fatherly. Below the picture was a list of things he had done to stop Bad Seeds from spreading out of Manehattan.
Raven studied the information carefully. "Hmm... manor-born, parents are nobles, highly respected in Canterlot circles... sheesh, they're not making it easy for me, are they? Magical abilities... holy cow, I wouldn't stand a chance against him." Taking the picture out of the folder, she studies it. "Shame, really... he's kinda cute." She blushed and stuck the picture back in the folder. Also included is one round-trip ticket to Trottingham, and strangely enough, a tube of lipstick. The attached note read "Kill him with a kiss." The departure time was in two hours.
Raven studies the ticket. "Trottingham, huh? This might be actually be fun..." She looked at the lipstick tube. She raised an eyebrow. "Really, Blackclaw?" she asked with amusement. "Like I'm gonna be able to get close enough to him to plant one on him. Although..." Her thoughts drifted to territories uncharted, and she shook her head to clear the images forming therein. Checking the date and time on the ticket, she made mental preparations for what to pack. Something sultry but not too obvious would be a good choice. She grabbed a valise and stuffed a few things into it, then hurried to the train station. Apparently they didn't want to waste any time on this.