You awaken to the sounds of dawn, dazedly pulling yourself out of your horribly girlish sleeping arrangements and standing up to stretch out your back until you hear a satisfying pop. Looking towards the olive sleeping bag opposite yours, you note with little surprise that it’s vacant. “Of course...“ You mutter with a heavy sigh, before hearing an odd sound outside the tent. Deciding to investigate further, you crawl out of the tent to see Gloria sitting on her pillow, her back turned to you. You clear your throat to grab her attention, noticing her ears twitch towards you as you do so.
“Good morning.” Gloria greets, her lips stained a pale turquoise, before offering you some berries of the same color “I’ve got some takio berries leftover from last night. Or would you prefer to find a spider to chow down on this time?”
“Hey, say what you will, that snake was tasty while it lasted” you retort with a mental shudder at the mention of spiders as you sit down, eliciting a slightly disgusted scoff from Gloria while you mentally recall last night’s events before deciding to bring up the final conversation of the evening. “So, want to continue last night’s conversation?” you ask, noticing her demeanor shift instantly.
“No...” Gloria says, her rainbow eyes literally glisten with a very thin veil of water in such a way that would be beautiful if not for the tragic context.
“Hrm... I understand” you reply, knowing it’ll probably take a lot of time for her to open up.
“No, you don’t understand...” Gloria says harshly as she stands up, before softening once more “but, maybe one day I’ll tell you what happened. Now come on.”
“Why? Where are we going?” you ask, as you get up to follow her to the river.
“To get you a bath, you absolutely reek” replies the winged Pegasus, pausing to put a hoof over her nose to exaggerate her point before throwing you a bar of soap.
“What, you’re not coming along?” You ask wryly, snatching the slippery projectile from it's airborne trajectory with your right hand.
“No, my curiosity regarding your anatomy was sated while I was cleaning your wounds.” The khaki-coloured Pegasus replies.
“What!? Does that mean that you looked... at my cute “son”?” you ask, with an open-mouthed expression.
“If by ‘son’, you mean that pathetic excuse of a dick, then yes. I mean, it’s not like I couldn’t ignore it; it was... ugh... protruding out of those pants that you wear underneath your pants. Honestly, I heard that most stallions have at least 16 inches on them.” the olive-haired Pegasus stutters, slightly flustered by your question.
“You ‘heard’? Are you telling me that you’ve never been laid?” you repeat with a raised eyebrow, noting the winged mare’s cheeks turn a slight shade of crimson.
“Well... no, I haven’t; But I doubt you could make that boast, Mr. 7 inches.” Gloria admits, shifting her legs in embarrassment
“And how exactly would you know that about me? Wait... did you do anything to give my ‘son’ reason to go into the 'nice to meet you' state while I was unconscious?” You ask, frightened at the prospects.
“What? No! Celestia’s tits, no!” Gloria denies, recoiling in horror at the thought.
“Oh thank God, I j—wait, what do you mean by that? Am I not good enough for you?” You retort aggressively, oddly miffed by how fast her reaction was.
“I… uh… um” The Pegasus says with a flustered flap of her now fully extended wings, her face now ruby red with embarrassment as she desperately looks for a way out of this conversation. Suddenly, her rainbow-colored eyes widen greatly, and she points behind you, towards camp.
“LOOK! A distraction!” Gloria shouts,
“What!? Where!?” you ask as you quickly turn to look for what she’s pointing at and see nothing but thick jungle brush. “Gloria, what the hell are you talking about? There isn’t anything there” You say before hearing a powerful whooshing sound that is followed by rustling tree branches, and look back to behold that Gloria has disappeared from sight. Before you can call her name a powerful kick from behind sends you flying face first onto the bank of the river. As you push your body up to kneel on all fours with a groan, you see your reflection for the first time in the flowing waters: You have a young face that is topped with straight blonde hair which is significantly longer at the back and extends to the bottom of your neck. You note with intrigue that, despite the hair on your head being blonde, your brown eyes lay below black eyebrows and you have four days worth of black facial hair growth that partially conceals the lower portion of your face. This is all you’re able to gather about your appearance before Gloria pushes you off the bank and into the frigid river with a splash.

“You didn’t have to do that” you grumble, as you wring out your drenched clothes before placing them on a small boulder to dry, leaving your underpants on for modesty’s sake.
“If you were stupid enough to fall for that ploy, then you deserved it, Dye Job” the Pegasus says dismissively while looking up at the sky with her hooves folded behind her head as she lounges on a fluffy cloud.
“Oh-ho, are we using nicknames now? In that case, I'd prefer to be called Super Devil Bomb, or something like that. Anyways, you can’t still be mad. Besides, you’re cute when you’re embarrassed” You say, scratching the back of your head casually.
“Shut it, Blondie; I still say you deserved it. Also, don’t call me ‘cute’ ever again” The relaxing Pegasus says, dragging her brown fedora over her face momentarily.
“So, what’s the plan for today?” you ask, trying to change the subject as you take your now dry clothes off the rock and put them on.
“Well, while you were splashing about, I took the opportunity to scout out the surrounding horizon. From what I could see, Volkiba and his troops are not as far ahead as I feared, judging from the fact there’s still smoke coming from their camp, which is strange. We should be able to get there well before noon. It’s said that they have outposts hidden all throughout Equestria, including at least one in this jungle, each with their own standing army. If they have come to possess a medallion as I suspect, then they’re probably heading to the nearest outpost to booze it up pretty hard. Which means... they’ll be incapacitated for a good 12 hours afterwards. Plenty of time to sneak in, find their newfound trinket, snatch it right from under their noses, and sneak out before they realize they’ve played host to a pair of uninvited guests. All we have to do is continue following them until they foolishly lead us to their front door.” Gloria states triumphantly, flapping down and softly touching down right beside you.
“Yeah, somehow I doubt it’ll be that easy...” You skeptically reply,.
“Sure it’ll be, it’s a foolproof plan; I came up with it after all. Besides, I’ve been doing this type of stuff since I was a filly. This is just another job.” The tomboyish mare replies, looking up at you.
“Hm...” You grunt out noncommittally, before the both of you go back to your camp site, pack up the supplies, and head out in the direction of the Wandering Wolves’ campsite.

As you follow Gloria through the thick and humid forest, you start to contemplate your friend’s motives. “Why is she doing this? Is it for power? That seems possible considering what these medallions are apparently protecting. But then, those who lust for power and wealth are rarely concerned with the well-being of others, meaning I would be dead right now if that were true. Is it for honor or justice or peace? That seems more her style, considering she chose to save me... but something still doesn’t fit, she may have saved me, but I can tell she wants something... something other than the medallions, yet something her quest can give her nonetheless... but what? Hrm, I guess I’ll have to stick around to find out. Not that I have a choice.” you think, before letting your mind wander for the next two hours.

“Okay, we’re here” Gloria whispers as the two of you reach the now uninhabited camp site. You find a log on the outskirts of the camp and relax while watching the khaki Pegasus occasionally tap her right hoof on the ground as she scrutinizes every detail, from the still smoldering camp fire, to the myriad of hoof prints imprinted in the ground, before settling her rainbow-colored eyes on a few drained bottles of Pony Plot Pint, which has a somewhat disturbing image of a dark blue mare with green hair in a yellow string bikini looking over her shoulder with a suggestive wink as she shows off her hindquarters. Gloria seems slightly troubled by the presence of the bottles, causing you to inquire about the importance of such a mundane detail.
“Simple, the Wandering Wolves may be a bunch of brutish marauders, but for the most part they tend not to cut loose all that much while on the job unless it involves murder. So... what would give this bunch of uptight assholes reason to drink?” The troubled mare ponders, before casting you a knowing look and tapping her snout with her left hoof.
“They must already have the medallion. Am I right?” you ask, already knowing the answer
“Bingo, seems a few of them decided to celebrate a bit earlier than the rest.” Gloria confirms, before something dawns upon her. “Which means Volkiba’s close enough to the outpost for him to allow his troops such luxury. He probably joined them in such recklessly inhibitive behavior last night, and held up the rest of the team this morning until his resultant migraine abated. Come on, we can’t be that far from them now. This will probably be the only time I ever thank Celestia for the existence of hangovers. Hm, I wondered why the smoke coming from their site was so thick this morning. Normally, they’re on the move before I wake up.” The winged mare continues as she started to follow the tracks leading to the north.

As you followed Gloria through the woods throughout the remainder of the day and an hour into the night, the sounds of the forest slowly gave way to sounds of a different, but equally wild, nature. The closer you got to the unseen source, the louder it became, and the clearer you realized just how many individuals it would require to make this level of noise. You and Gloria slowly crawl over a small hill onto a ridge, and your eyes widen at the sight you behold. You realize now why Gloria was so keen to follow this group, instead of doing aerial reconnaissance; because it would have been suicide. In front of you is a large complex surrounded by a tall barbed-wire fence spanning the perimeter. Looking past the fencing, you see a path that splits in three directions. The road to the left leads to a sea of canvas tents for the complex’s standing army; the right road goes past a significantly smaller sea of tents presumably reserved for visiting grunts, before continuing to a small prison area that’s surrounded by an additional layer of fencing; and the middle road leads past what appears to be 10 storage buildings before reaching an area which contains what you assume to be the main compound, which is protected by a massive wall of concrete. The majority of the grunts are in the larger tent area, boozing it up just as Gloria had predicted. There are about 500 grunts in the left area, not all of them conscious, and another 50 in the right. You note that there are 5 searchlights scattered throughout the complex, each manned by a grunt attentively scanning the area, in addition to about 30 grunts that are patrolling the entirety of the complex’s landscape. Further to the left the altered landscape drops off into a deep chasm with a length stretches into the horizon, before rising once more with thick natural jungle on the opposite side of its width. You don’t know how many are patrolling the complex’s interior, but you doubt that number will be very high.

“Okay… new plan, we sneak down the middle road, thus completely bypassing the majority of troops, and make our way into the main building. After which, we try to find our way to Volkiba’s quarters and steal the medallion, and make our way out” Gloria says, smiling slightly when you remark that you prefer a challenge.

You and Gloria slowly make your way down the ridge, keeping your moonlit bodies as close to the ground as possible to blend in into the darkness and dirt. You spot a gate in the fence and silently point it out to Gloria, who proceeds to pull a bit of wire out of her right sidepack’s second compartment before unsheathing her blade and attempting to pick the lock. You hear a sharp but quiet click as the gate’s lock yields to Gloria’s delicate influence. She slowly opens the gate, and the two of you make your way past the fence. Gloria stops you from continuing with her left foreleg and pulls what appears to be a small scoped crossbow out of her left sidepack’s first compartment, before pulling about 40 bolts out of the second compartment. Each bolt starts with a tiny needle that leads into a small vial filled with a green substance before ending with a notched and fletched shaft.

“Careful,” She whispers “These are tranquilizer darts, see that vial? It’s very fragile, because the needle is designed to absorb the impact, which forces the anesthetic into the bloodstream. If you were to attempt to plunge this into an enemy with your bare hands the vial would break and the glass would cut you, giving the anesthetic clear access into your bloodstream. In short, if you don’t use the crossbow, the bolt will backfire on you and put you to sleep. Got it?”
"Yep” You say, taking the darts as you and Gloria continue start down the middle path. You approach a watchtower and silently make your way up its stairway to the top, before creeping up right behind the spotlight’s operator, who is a red stallion with green hair, and getting him in a chokehold. You immediately tighten your grip, cutting off the horse’s air supply, as he desperately struggles for a free breath. Eventually, after what seems like minutes, his struggles cease and you relinquish your grip, letting the unconscious stallion slide to the floor with a quiet thud. You turn off the spotlight and make your way down the watchtower to reunite with Gloria, before the two of you continue up the road towards your objective. You and Gloria weave past the guards, and are just about at a red metal door leading past the concrete wall when someone says “Who’s there?” from behind you. “Fuck me” you think to yourself, before Gloria spots a pile of crates and dives behind them, with you following suit in the opposite direction behind a storage building. You peek out momentarily the see a purple Unicorn mare with pink hair and blue eyes approaching your location. The guard’s hoofsteps steadily approach, and right when she’s about to turn the corner and spot you, you spring on her, getting her into a chokehold, pulling your knife out of it's sheath and bringing it to her throat in one smooth motion.
“P-please, d-don’t kill me. I have a wife and two adopted daughters waiting for me in Ponyville, and I haven’t seen them in 5 months” The surprised guard says, her eyes focusing inwards as she strains to see the knife you have beneath her maw.
“Don’t worry, I’ll spare you if you can give me some information about this place” you say, calmly pressing the tip of your blade against the mare’s neck to accentuate what’s at stake for her, causing a small amount of blood to dribble from the tiny puncture mark.
“S-sure, what do you want to know?” she asks desperately as you drag her behind the cover of the storage building.
“How do I get to Volkiba’s quarters?” you inquire, keeping an eye out in the off chance that one of her friends comes along.
“S-simple, you just go t-through that door” the mare says, pointing at the red door, “And then you go straight to the end, take a left down the stairs, take an immediate right up another flight, and you’ll reach the administrative building. Officer’s quarters are second from the top, and Volkiba has the entire top floor to herself.” The terrified Unicorn says, tears slowly filling her eyes.
“One more thing, and then I’ll let you sleep a while,” You say “How many guards between me and her room?”
“I don’t know, no more than 5; everypony’s having fun in the camps.” The mare says, before hysterically begging you to let her go. You comply and strangle her into unconsciousness, before you and Gloria make your way through the door.
The two of you make your way to the administrative building, tranquilizing a horse guarding the area between the two stairways. Gloria picks the lock, and the two of you enter and press yourselves up against the corners of a short hallway that leads to a flight of stairs.
“Well, I guess your plan might just work after all.” You whisper to Gloria, before she suddenly puts a hoof to her lips.
“Shh... Did you hear that?” Gloria asks quietly, causing you to strain your ears to reveal a steady tapping sound coming towards you from the hallway.
“Hm... Yeah, I hear it” you quietly state as you ready your blowpipe and peer around your corner to see a Unicorn guard walking in your direction, its eyes cast downwards at the ground.

“Hmpm, piece of cake” you think to yourself as you nock a bolt and get the guard in your sights before pulling the trigger, sending the dart flying true with an audible fwip that causes the guard to look up far too late to dodge the incoming projectile. The tranquilizer pierces the Unicorn’s neck, its contents instantly draining through the point and into the guard’s bloodstream, causing the horse’s eyes to roll into the back of its head as it collapses to the ground with a noticeable thud that is soon followed by light snoring.

You and Gloria make your way up the flight of stairs, knocking out the remaining 3 guards, until you arrive at the top floor, which is visibly more regal than the barren concrete that marks the rest of the Admin building's walls and floors. You make your way around the hallway that covers the outer edge of this floor, before coming upon a door titled “Commander’s Bedroom”. Gloria quietly picks the lock, the moment tense until a satisfying click announces her success. The door slowly opens with an almost inaudible creak, and the two of you note the sound of light snoring emanating from within before entering. Volkiba’s living quarters are surprisingly fancy for a room that probably gets less than a couple days of use throughout the year, with various gem-encrusted pieces of furniture placed against extremely ornate wallpaper. You and Gloria scan the room, looking for anything that the medallion might be contained in before being distracted by the slumbering figure. You sneak up to the bed, to get a look at Wandering Wolves leader, Volkiba. You and Gloria are both surprised to see that the fearsome and brutal leader of this pack of bandits is... A female. Her fur is blood-red, her thick and messy mane is black as night, with a crimson horn much sharper than any you’ve seen so far rising from the thick mane to crown a face that has a 7-inch long scar extending vertically over her left eyelid. Shifting your gaze down her form, you note very muscular front and hind legs extending from Volkiba’s battle-scarred body, with an equally powerful-looking pair of wings to boot. On her flank, you notice a cutie mark that portrays a knife dripping with blood. “Great, she’s an Alicorn, and she looks like she’s very experienced in how to handle herself in a fight. Or against a pair of uninvited guests, for that matter” You think to yourself with a mental sigh, feeling a hint of fear emanate from your gut.

“Hey, I found something” Gloria whispers from the other side of Volkiba’s bed, you force yourself to tear your attention away from the slumbering Alicorn and silently stride over to the khaki Pegasus, noticing that she’s standing next to a nightstand upon which sits a small jewellery chest that is in sharp contrast to the rest of the room in its utter plainness. The box is almost as scarred as Volkiba, the fact that it’s still in her possession shows that it somehow has sentimental value to the visibly violent horse. You grab the box and pop the lid, revealing a ruby-red medallion 3 inches in diameter that is embossed with a caricature of a raven pecking away at a carcass, with the words “The Fury” engraved near the bottom.
“Well, we found it” you say, plucking the medallion from the battered box and bending down to slip it into your right boot before turning to leave the silent bedroom.
“Yep, only five more to go, now let’s get out of here” Gloria responds, as the two of you reach the door.
“And exactly where do my two uninvited guests think they’re going?” A husky voice sharply asks from behind you. You and Gloria are only given enough time to glance at one another before the unseen owner of the voice smashes your heads together with its hooves, instantly sending the both of you into the pit of unconsciousness.

Author's Note

Author: Big_Boss_MSF
Editor: Big_Boss_MSF

Well, new and improved... I can actually say that I'm now... moderately satisfied with this chapter. As reader's of this chapter will note, I'm currently in the process of retconning character appearances. I'd originally wanted Gloria to have a ruby-red left eye and a sapphire-blue right eye (or vice-versa), because... I think heterochromia is cool. However, it was too difficult to implement that without mucking up the 'narrative flow' as I call it. So... I decided that if she couldn't have two different eye colors... Then she'd have rainbow eyes! *overly-exaggerated evil laugh*. ahem, yeah, Simply put, you can just type in 'rainbow eyes' in google images and it'd be the 5th image on the top row.