It's Great to be "The Boss"

Boss leaned back in his chair and watched the merrily crackling fire as the sun rose over the horizon, Tea in one hoof, the paper in the other, and the paper was a good edition too. It said, in big bold letters;

"The Elements of Harmony: Stolen?!"

He chuckled to himself as he read the article, It stated that the crates that held the elements were empty, and that the guards were all completely un-aware of why, and that the bearer of Element of Honesty, who was catering the event, was missing as well. The smile on Boss' lips shrank a little, "That isn't good at all, when I tell Celestia that I took her precious Elements, I'll have to explain that I didn't take her little bearer too." He sipped his tea calmly and the smile returned to his face as he tilted his head back and closed his eyes, picturing the mountain of money that he would soon have.

There was a knock at the door, and Strike Out's silken, sultry voice sounded quietly through it, "Sir, Your "Master Group of Elite Thieves" is here to see you."

"Send them in." He ordered happily with a wave of his hoof. The door opened and his MGET walked in the room with slighty apprehensive looks on their faces... Boss didn't like apprehensive looks. "What has you so upset?" he asked in a still-mostly cheery tone, "Your mission was a success!"

They didn't look at his face, "Right?" he asked with a little bit of fear in his voice. "Don't tell me you fools dropped them in the sewers or something! He screamed in his head.

"Uhh... No... it, Uhh... wasn't." Clever Distraction stated with her dark green head hung low, the silly face on her flank a complete contrast to her actual face.

"Sorry, sir, We did the best we could." Quick Swipe said as he stared out the window, his back just as straight as his stare, "But they were not there, sir, the crates were empty."

Boss' eye twitched once, and only once, "Empty?" he said in a cold voice as his hoof came up and scratched his eyebrow, "They weren't empty because YOU grabbed them, were they?" He was being as coy as possible with the thought of being betrayed.

"N-No, Sir!" Swipe shouted like a cadet at boot camp, his feet slapping the floor as he snapped to attention, "We would never do that, Sir!"

"Enough with you military shenanigans!" Boss roared, "Just tell me HOW EXACTLY YOU FAILED ME!"

One of the earth Ponies, the yellow one, Snow Shovel, started blubbering out how the operation was going smoothly, which his brother, Snow Plow, agreed with rather hurriedly, "Yeah, uh huh, that's what totally happened!" were the only things to come out of his mouth. The unicorn, Magic Hooves, started blubbering about how he didn't want to go see Reggie, Swipe stood there, still staring out the window as he awaited his fate, Clever shook her head and stared at her hooves, and Carapace looked around like a lost tourist.

"ENOUGH OF YOU BLABBERING!" Boss roared as his open hoof slammed onto his chair-side table, spilling his tea all over the newspaper that he was so gladly reading before, they all jumped and the ones talking shut their mouths with a synchronized "Clack". "If you didn't take them..." His voice a calm, serene, icy lake once again, "Who did?"

There was no blubbering, there was no "Uh huh"s, there was just silence.

Boss worked his jaw in irritation, "So why didn't you-" He bellowed the next word,"-FOOLS," his voice dropped back to frigid once again, "Wake me when you failed, so I could deal with you then?"

Quick Swipe gulped loudly, "W-we though that we may have had something that would placate you." He motioned to Carapace, who bolted out of the room. They sat in a dense silence, no one moving even a hoof as they waited for the Changling to get back.

Get back he did, with a bag... that was hollering and kicking.

"When Ah get outta here, Ah'll cream the lot a yah!" The bag said rather unhappily. Boss was far more unhappy as he looked at his men with a glare that would give Sombra pause, Carapace's body started to clack and clatter as he shivered in place.

"What is this?" Boss asked in a deadpan tone it wasn't cold, or angry, or happy, or sad, it just... was. "I asked for the Elements of Harmony." He stated as he stood up, "Not a pony." He pointed to Swipe as he made his way to his desk, "Not a Changling." He pointed beside his desk as he sat down in his chair, "And certainly not one of the BEARERS OF THE ELEMENTS!" His calm facade shattered like a stain glass window.

"How could you do this!" He bellowed, "This is the one of the THREE things that I tell you not to do, you can Rob-" He slammed his balled up hoof, "Steal-" he slammed his hoof again, "And PILLAGE-" Slam, "All you want, the only thing I ask is that NO ONE GET HURT!" His fist slammed against the table one final time, the bag was as silent as the rest of the room. He pointed to Carapace, then he point to the otherside of his desk. Carapace quickly hustled over to where the invisible line ended, being quite sure to go EXACTLY where Boss was pointing. Boss was trembling as his hoof popped up the dreaded panel, Clever never even looked up as it clicked, the brothers hugged eachother and the unicorn cried as Boss slammed the button, only Clever didn't scream as they fell to their doom.

Boss looked at his hoof, he had hit the green button, he looked back at the trap door as it closed with a "Ka-chunk", "Pony feathers!" He shouted as he slammed the desk again.

"Can Ah come out now?" the bag asked, "Please?" Boss' eye twitched as his face sank into one hoof and he waved at Carapace with the other.

"Yes..." He declared with a sigh, the Orange earth pony tumbled onto the floor.

"Hey, watch what cher doin'!" She scolded Carapace as she shook her head, stood up reached into the bag and pulled out a ratty, beaten, old stetson and plunked it on her head. "So..." She drolled out as she looked around the room, "Can Ah go now?"

Boss' eye twitch for the third "once and only once" today, "No, you cannot." He stated flatly, "Not yet anyways."

The earth pony glared at him as she clopped loudly up to the desk, which didn't do anything for Boss' now -rather intense- headache, "Why the Hay not?" She grilled into him as her hooves came down on his desk with a resounding thud.

"Because your not in..." Boss paused and finally looked up from his hoof, "Where are you from?" he asked in a rather defeated tone.

"Ponyville, and don't you ferget it." She told him with finality.

His face fell back in his hoof, "Great..." He sighed, "Well, we'll have you escorted to Canterlot in the morning then..." He shook his head and waved for Swipe to take her to one of the guest rooms.

"Just wait one apple bucking minute!" Boss looked at the rather foul mouth mare and raised both his eyebrows, signifying his dislike it. "You take me back to Ponyville right now, or Ah'll beat the snot outta the lotta yah." He hoof crashed into her other hoof with a healthy smack.

"You threatening me..." Boss asked with a purely sarcastic questioning tone, "Me, who is going to give you a bed for the night as he arranges an Escort for you to return to your putrid mud puddle..." He raised his eyebrows even higher, "Because it's a day later then you would like?" He placed his elbow on the desk and leaned over it, eyeing her with a single eye, "That seems rather... Counter productive, don't you think?"

The Mare stuck her face in his, "Ah don't care if it's "Counter productive" or not, take me home-" She slammed her hooves on his desk, "-NOW!"

Boss lost his coll, so he shoved his face in her's, and his nose but a hair from her's, "I can't do that on such short notice!" His hoof flailed to the side, "If you haven't noticed, my men are IDIOTS!"

She shoved her face hard against his, "Ah don't care if their dumb or not, just get them to take me home!"

"ENOUGH!" Boss howled as he pulled his face back the foul little mare's obnoxious muzzle, "Swipe, remove her, NOW!" Swipe quickly grabbed her.

"Hay, let me go, Ah'll beat the tar outta yah-" The door slammed as the two fools left the room, Boss massaged between his eyes as he flopped back in his chair.

He sighed loudly as he looked at a terrified Carapace, "I suppose your wondering why I don't just throw her to Reggieor his kids?" Carapace just shivered and stared as Boss continued to drone on, "It's only because Celestia would probably annihilate my whole organization," His hoof slid up to catch his falling forehead, "From the lowliest street urchin to my best and brightest thieving Demi-gods..." He sighed again, "All because of one ill tempered Mare..."

After a few minutes Boss looked up from his hoof, to find Carapace still standing in the exact same spot, "Your still here?" Carapace shook his head slowly, "Your dismissed..." He stated with a wave of his hoof, Carapace hopped up in the air, legs flailing before the even hit the floor, "Make sure to send in Strike Out," He spun his chair around and watched the new day arise, full of hope and glory, all of which were shattered and broken.

Strike out walked into the room a few minutes later, as calm and stoic as always. "Sir?" She asked with a slight waver, "You sent for me?" Boss followed the suns assent a few more moments before he turned the chair around again.

With a loud sigh and a heavy heart, he told her exactly why he called her in:

"I have a few things to settle before I take what wretched mare back to her princess."