Day Dreams

*Ring, Ring, Rin- Thud*

With the back of his hand, Jack slammed down on the noisy mechanical clock, silencing it. His tired eyes opened and tried to focus on the metallic hands. '6 o'clock,' he thought to himself. It felt strange to be awoken by the noisy contraption. For the past several weeks he had managed to get up before his alarm. He was coming to see it as a matter of pride, and a sign that he was in fact turning around for the better.

A sigh escaped Jack as he rubbed away the tiredness from his eyes. His legs ached all through the morning and it made sleeping difficult. He continued to lay in bed wondering if he should even bother getting up today. The thought of trying to go back to sleep seemed particularly enticing. His bed was soft and comfortable, and it would be so easy to just not get up.

That train of thought ran around his mind a few times before finally giving him pause. More thoughts began to clutter his mind, thoughts of failures and apathy. Some older memories wormed their way in as well, a letter read through his head reminding him of the last time he gave up:

It was a cold and bitter winter morning, not long after the last day of University. Clouds had been rolling in throughout the day as a threatening northeastern storm formed. Jack remembered that mail had arrived early that morning for some reason, 9:28AM to be precise. The time stuck in his head because he had been looking at the clock on the stove while his morning eggs and bacon burned in the frying pan.

That familiar clang of the front door's mail slot opening and closing had echoed through his old apartment. That defining metal clang, like a hammer striking metal work, bending and distorting it in a way the hold would not want. He had known and feared what was in that mail pile on the floor.

A single letter sat on top of a pile of junk fliers, his Old University's letter head on top. For a moment he considered pretending it never came and not even opening it, he already knew what it said. Morbid curiosity had got the better of him.

'Dear Mr. O'Connell,

You student status for next Spring has been suspended and we are sorry to inform you that you have been academically disqualified. The University has strict academic standards and we can not compromise on them.

We wish you well in your future endeavors.

-Vice Provost,

Alexis Dominica'

He had laughed after reading it, he had too. The whole thing had seemed beyond belief at the time. He just had to laugh at it all, some kind of cruel joke he had played on himself. Yet, there was one more unexpected letter to read. Tucked underneath all the junk mail was one final thorn. This one was from the air-force ROTC program.

A bit confused and worried, he had opened the letter reveling something he had not expected. Something for which he had no response for; it was a bill. For the past four years of tuition. The ROTC and the Air force had actually sent him a bill for the tuition they had reimbursed him. The Air force wanted its money back, since he was no longer going to graduate and become an officer.

It seemed only fair, but it was just that one extra thing he didn't need right now.

*Beep, Beep, Beep*

The sound of his apartment's smoke detector going off had snapped him out of his daze. In his smoky kitchen he found the frying pan with the blackened eggs and bacon in it, now smoking, treating to engulf the apartment in fire if he didn't pay attention to them. Shutting off the stove he stared at the small bits of charcoal in the pan, before throwing them out. Even if it had still been eatable, he wasn't hungry anymore.

More thoughts swirled in his mind. Ten hours wandering the nearly abandoned city. The on coming storm and a snow covered bridge; the icy water and what had been in them.

For a moment he felt some burden lift off of him as a particular purple alicorn popped up in his head, and her lectures about being more than he was. One speech in particular stuck out in his mind, "You're a good pony Jack. Don't ever forget that, and don't give up on yourself" He could almost hear Twilight's voice lecturing to him in his mind.

'I wonder if she can see into my head like Luna?' He thought to himself before remembering that Luna couldn't see into his head.

His worries about failing began to ease slightly as he focused on what Twilight would tell him. It was all far too easy to fall into that rut of self loathing and apathy. There was no way he would let it happen again. With a final shake of his head, Jack loosened the poisonous thoughts from his mind, and forced himself out of the soft trappings of his sheets.

Sitting at the edge of his downy bed he stretched his arms and back. A groan of discomfort escaped his lips as he reached around to the back of his right leg. Rubbing around his sore hamstrings, he could fell his muscle twitch in pain. He reconsidered running for a moment. Originally, Jack had promised himself that he was never going to miss a day but at the moment it seemed like he didn't really have a choice. Jack wasn't found of spiking his now daily exercise, but his mind just wasn't up to it today, to say nothing of his body.

'A single day spent recuperating wouldn't hurt,' Jack convinced himself.

With a bit more effort Jack finally stood up and walk to his dress doll where his armor had been haphazardly placed the night before. He had been so tired at the end of his last shift, that he couldn't even muster the energy to place each piece properly. Still, he had to admit that it was better than just throwing it all on the floor. Taking the first plate off the stand he half heatedly began to polish it. It felt like it was going to be one of those nights.

Once Jack was ready for the night patrols he left the sanctity of his room and began a slow walk towards the throne room. It was still fairly early in the evening and in truth, Jack wasn't in a rush to start the night. Once he came to a split in the hallway, he paused to consider his options. Normally he would just head straight ahead, which was the quicker path to the thrown room, but he could also get to the main chambers by heading right as well. Hoping a walk would clear his mind a bit, Jack opted to take the longer route to the main chambers; he took the right path.

Each corridor he passed through was heavily patrolled by both the Royal and Day Guard. It made the pleasant walk he was hoping for much more stressful, and he found it hard to think as the shear number of fellow guards made him feel on edge. In just over an hour it would be the Night Guard's turn to patrol. It still seemed strange seeing so many of them active at once. Like the Night Guard, most of the Day and Royal Guard would normally be doing more mundane activities, but this rash of thefts changed all that.

None of the older guards could remember a time when the castle had been breach repeatedly like. The tension in the air was taunting and it felt like it could snap at any moment. Jack couldn't shake the feeling that something had to happen soon.

At the end of the hallway, one particular Royal Guard slowly wandered down the hallway. Her muzzle opening for a long drawn out yawn. She was a tan and yellow unicorn of advantage height, and had curiously pink eyes. Given the slight redness in her half closed eyes she appeared to have just gotten up. Her eyes opened a bit wider when she spotted Jack. A surge of realization crosses her face and she quickly trotted up to him, her ears perked and alert.

Jack was taken aback as she approached, and was even more uncertain once she started to talk to him. "Hey, your the ape Night Guard aren't you?" The enthusiasm behind her voice was annoying, to say nothing of her word choice.

With a sigh he responded, "Yeah, I'm with the Night Guard, the name's Jack." pointing to the name on his chest plate, "and I'm not an ape, I'm a human." His voice was surprisingly calm, even though a part of him wanted to yell at the guard for calling him an 'ape'. That term was really starting to get to him.

The Guard rolled her shoulder in a shrug. "Ape, human, is there a difference?" She tried to smile the rather rude comment away.

His left eye developed a bit of twitch as he desperately wanted to scream and yell at this guard to bugger off. His leg began to ache slightly as he just stood their, which only added to his desire to be rid of this annoying unicorn.

She continued to talk, oblivious to Jack's irritated body language. "But anyway, I know you're in the Night Guard and I just wanted to stop and see if there was anything I should know about night patrols? Like, do the night guards do anything different?"

The question took him a bit by surprise. He thought for a moment, having never been in any other regiment he couldn't really say for sure, "Not that I know of? We tend to focus on supplies and cleaning at night, patrols are usually more limited at night but recent events have changed that."

Curiosity was getting the best of him, and with a sigh he asked, "Why do you ask?"

She tapped her head with her hoof and gave a slight laugh, "Oh, right. You wouldn’t know. My squad is assigned to help the Night Guard tonight. Captain Janis didn't say much other than we needed to help you guys out."

She held out her hoof with a smile. "The name's Break Away, I'm actually an old friend of Star Screech."

Jack looked at the hoof and with a sigh he forces a smile and shook her hoof. "Well Break Away, it's been... fun, but I have to head to the throne room."

With the way her ears dropped, it almost seemed like the unicorn was disappointed, "Oh, ok. Well I look forward to working with you tonight, Jack." The pony trotted away from him, swishing her tail once or twice. He thought he saw a smirk cross her lips, but it was hard to see since she was walking away from him.

He continued to stair down the hallway watching her walk further and further away from him, until she disappeared around a corner.

"One of Star's friends, why am I not surprised." He whispered to himself with a light chuckle. A few thoughts began to cross his mind as he thought about her less than subtle tail swish.

With a laugh, he tried to shake the few lewd thoughts from his mind. 'When did I start to think of mares that way?', he thought to himself. Thinking back, it was probably when he first slept with Star Screech. Jack's mood shifted slightly as he thought about her.

Star was such an odd friend, hot one minute then cold the next. Jack could feel that she held some continued sexual interest in him, but he knew it had to just be a fling. From everything she and the other ponies told him, Star never kept her lovers around for long. She was always looking for the next sexual adventure. That's part of the reason why she always chose exotic partners like himself, wasn't it?

Jack continued his walk down the long path. Paintings and small sculptures covered this part of the castle. It was definitely one of the nicer areas. A multitude of doors stood between the artworks, most of them closed and locked. Occasionally though, one would be opened reveling the rather large conference spaces with in.

Dignitaries frequented this area of the castle, hence the name 'Diplomatic Wing'. All the conference rooms provided space to discuss things such as trade agreements, contracts, and all the other mundane paperwork associated with the kingdom.

As Jack walked further down the hallway, he came across some more specialized conference rooms, reserved for particular dignitaries. Usually the heads of state.

One room in particular had a very ornate set of doors, with feathers and talons carved into the deep red wood. Of all the doors it was probably the most ornate in the hall. Which given the nature of the two realms, made sense. For this particular conference room was specifically reserved for the griffin empire delegates. Jack had never been in it before, but he could remember Twilight's description of it the last time she showed him around.

That thought further reminded him, around the corner of this room, was a hallway where a small and somewhat obscure library resided. It was a tiny little room with some very equally ornate glass doors, the handles seemed reminiscent of a griffin’s claw, and along the window were small etchings similar to the feathers on the red wooden door.

This tiny library was devoted to some rather obscure points of history between the Equestrian Kingdom and it's neighbor the Griffin Kingdoms, and contained records of most the trade and treaty agreements between the empires. As far as general books went, the library itself boasted no more than maybe a thousand in all, each of which was quite rare.

During the tour Twilight had given him several months ago, they had passed by this very library. Of course she insisted they stop inside. A Slight chuckled came over Jack as he thought about how disappointed she seemed at the size of this library. But, she was quick to remind him that some of these books existed nowhere else in the kingdom. A few were even original research she boasted with an inflated chest and pride. Thinking back on it, he began to wonder if Twilight hadn’t written a text or two inside.

For a moment he was tempted to wander about inside the small room, but as Jack passed by the library entrance he spotted something rather mundane, that just stuck in his mind. There in the hallway was an oddly familiar griffin garner watering some nearby potted ferns.

It all seemed so innocuous, so why couldn't he ignore it? Those greyish feather's and talons, his ashy colored fur, Jack knew he recognized the gardener from somewhere, and the thought burned through his mind.

He watched as the gardener continue to water the plant dumping more than half of his can on top of one now very moist fern. Yet the griffin wasn't paying attention to it, his focus seemed to be on some ornate glass spheres, sitting on some wooden stands, each of which were on either side of the entrance way. These spheres where hollow, and were protecting what seemed to be some rather plain blue and pink crystals. The griffin was clearly studying them, trying to look inconspicuous, while over watering the plants to the point that water was now pouring over the sides of the pot.

There was something wrong here, Jack could feel his instincts mumbled to him. His feet silently tapped on the marble floor as he slowly closed the distance, trying not to startle the griffin into fleeing.

The gardener jumped slightly. Weather it was Jack's quite foot steps or subtle sounds of his breathing, the gardener finally sensed someone else nearby. His head twisted and bolted around nervously for a moment till he caught sight of the human. Their eyes locked and Jack could see the bird like eyes constrict, sensing Jack as either prey or predator. The slight tremble in his beak and fluffed feathers suggest it was the later.

This was it, in that single gaze and Jack knew there was something wrong this griffin. He had to be up to something, and it was up to him to question this seemingly rouge gardener. Or at least that's what he told himself.

Without warning a voice behind him called his name, "Jack! You weren't out by the track today. I'm disappointed in you," In all his focusing on the griffin Star had somehow sneak behind him.

With a startled jump, Jack turned around. "God damn it Star! What the hell." He yelled in a whisper.

Star pushed herself back slightly and shrugged, unsure what she did exactly to upset him.

Shaking his head, Jack turned back around, but the gardener had taken the short opportunity to disappear. Rolling on the floor was his now empty watering can.

"Star I'm sorry, but can you wait here for just a moment." Jack ran to the spot where the gardener stood, but there was no trace of him.

The library entrance was deserted. Jack wandered the outside and the inside of the small room, looking behind any shelf or door he could find. Even the small front desk, which was barely big enough to fit a chair, was searched, yet there was nothing. He spent the next five minutes trying to find the phantom creature, but it seemed that the griffin was long gone, with no trace of what he was doing. Other than drowning the poor ferns, and Jack doubted he could really stop him for drowning plants.

'What was he doing here?' He asked himself.

"Is everything alright, Jack?" Star watched the human searching around the library entrance for something or somepony. His behavior seemed quite strange, even for him.

Looking behind the book shelves one last time, Jack finally gave a heavy sighed and left the library. He scanned down the hallways, knowing he wouldn't actually find anything. Finally, his eyes made their way to one of the pedestals at the library entrance. A large and round glass fish bowel like container sat on top of it. Inside the rounded glass containers was one of a pair of blue and pink crystals. There was a small bronze plaque under bowl, which Jack began to read to himself:

"Amouth Tribute - These crystals were given to princess Celistia by the griffin king Amouth as tribute for the Equstrian Army's assistance against the baboon tribe’s aggression in the southern griffin empire's kingdom.

Originally these crystals were thought to be midnight glow stones, but they were found to have a latent magical energy to them that can not be easily described by our scholars. They are placed here to remind patrons that there are always new mystery's to be discovered."

The crystals Inside the glass ball seemed to glow ever so slightly, emitting a very subtle pink glow that shifted hue ever so slightly. It was like watching a sunset trapped in an eternal struggle to set. The objects were clearly magical in nature, but otherwise seemed completely mundane. At least for Equestrian standards.

Shaking his head Jack gave up on the library and the crystals. He walked over to the last place the griffin was standing, the only thing there was the watering can. Turning the can over in his hands he was looking for something, anything, that might identify the griffin. All he found was a single tiny downy feather that was pinched at the can's handle.

Removing the feather Jack started twisting it between his fingers observing the slight coloration in it, the grayish color on the tip caused Jack to come to a realization. He had seen this same colored feather earlier in the month. It was from the same griffon he saw by the track, the same one that caused him to pause during his run, Jack was sure of it now. But what exactly was he doing outside the library this late at night, and why did he seem to have an interest in these rather mundane crystals?

This seemingly mundane situation seemed so bloody cock eyed to him, but he just couldn't explain why. It just felt like instinct.

"Jack, is there something wrong?" Star asked again. She could tell he was bothered by something, but had no idea what.

Jack paused for a moment, continuing to stare at the small feather. Finally, he shook his head, "No, just thought I saw something odd. You didn't see a griffin here did you?"

Star shook her head, "No?" She tapped a hoof on her chin in thought, maybe she had seen a shadow, "Maybe?"

A small sigh escaped Jack's lips, he wasn't going to get anywhere just standing in the hallway. He was going to bring this up to Night Blade or someone else tonight, maybe they could do something, at the very lest maybe they could help him clear his head.

Shaking off the mysterious gardener, Jack turned his attention to Star. "So what are you doing here anyway?"

Star blushed slightly, "Oh, well I was just walking along, and happened to notice you. That's all." Her tail swished a few times, in nervous agitation.

"Uh huh," Jack wasn't convinced. "You were following me, weren't you?"

Star tried to hold back a smirk but couldn't, "Hmmm, maybe..."

"Star..." Jack grumbled in annoyance.

"Oh come on Jack, you weren't out at the track today and I was a bit worried. I wanted to make sure Night Blade didn't hurt your pride or anything."

"I'm fine Star. My legs are just a bit sore from yesterday." He rubbed the back of his right leg agin before looking around again.

After a few seconds she asked him again, "Are you sure you're alright?"

Shaking his head, Jack forced a smile, "I'm fine Star. Just something I need to bring up with Night Blade later."

The two began walking towards the main chambers, Jack turning back a few times just to see that everything was still ok. This was going to bother Jack all night, he just knew it. There was just something off about that damn griffin.

In the main chambers the Night Guard lined up in its usual formation waiting for their prince Luna to walk in and begin her nightly ceremony. Everything in the hall appeared normal, despite the heighten alert the castle was now under.

Even Luna appeared to be her normal self as she walked in between the guard. She even gave Jack a slight subtle smile, knowing his eyes were following her. Luna raised the moon as she had every evening and departed the thrown room. Leaving the night guard to their daily routine.

Night Blade turned to follow the princess, but was stopped by his guard, Jack. "Night Blade, sir. Do you have a minute?"

The captain had to keep from rolling his eyes. "What is it rookie?"

"Well sir, I wanted to talk to you about this griffin gardener I saw early tonight. He was outside the Griffin Historical Library near the diplomatic wing. He was over watering the plant and eying some crystals on display. He seemed really off when I saw him, and he ran off not long after."

Blade stared at him for several seconds after Jack had stopped. He showed no facial expression beyond boredom. "That's it?" He finally asked, "You saw a gardener over watering plants?"

"Well, sort of. Like I said wasn't just over watering them, he was staring these crystals."

Blade sighed and tapped a foot against his forehead, producing a light taping sound as his hoof tapped at the metal helmet.

"He was probably just tired and late finishing his duties." For a second Blade paused. He wanted to just dismiss Jack, but with all the thefts, and all the mistakes his group had made a little caution may be warranted. "Ok, look. I'll make sure we have a patrol near the area. You said it was the Griffin Historical library?"

Blade walked away, leaving Shadow to deal with the rest of the squad and their assignments. As he walked out of the hall, he paused to scan the corridors. It was getting late, and he still had to meet with the princess for their nightly briefing.

Turning away from where the princess was Night Blade headed towards the Royal guard's barracks. There standing in front of a small squad of Royal Guards was Janis, giving the last of his own nightly briefing to his guards.

Janis' blinked at seeing Night Blade in his barracks, “Night Blade, what brings you over here?”

"Evening Janis, my squad is spread pretty thin and I want to see if you could put an extra patrol in the diplomatic wing near the Griffin Library."

"That seems like an odd request. Why do you want to do that? Afraid the thief is going to steal a few books." Janis nervously laughed at the thought.

"No, my one guard brought up some concerns about it, and... I think it's worth having somepony patrol the area."

The statement caused Janis to raise his eyebrow, "Oh, which Guard? Was it the ape?"

Blade reluctantly nodded his head. "Yeah, Jack had some concerns, but I think it's worth considering."

Janis sighed as he thought about the request. "Look, I'll see if I can't make a round myself tonight, but I'm not making any promises."

Blade nodded “Thank you Janis. I have to get back to my duties.”

“Oh so you're just going to talk business and leave like that?” Janis gave his usual infectious laugh, which Night Blade returned.

“Yeah, sorry Janis. I have to get back to princess Luna for our nightly briefing.” Blade held his hoof out and shook Janis's, “Thanks again for the help. I'll owe you a cider later.” With that he quickly turned off to find princess Luna. He didn't hear Janis swear once he left the room.

Back in the throne room Moon Shadow had just about finished giving orders to the squad for the night. All that remained were Star Screech, Jack, and Mani. "You two will be patrolling tonight. You've both had recent experience with the loading zones, so I want you two to focus there."

Shadow turned his attention towards Mani, "Mani, I want you to watch over these two."

Mani nodded at the instructions before Shadow turned around to focus on his own assignments.

The three guards made their way to the loading zone, Mani talked the whole way there. Explaining what he expected each of them to do tonight. Jack wasn't really paying attention as his mind wandered back earlier in the night. He wondered for a moment if Blade was really going to take him seriously?

Star looked up at her human companion and his quizzical expression.

“Careful Jack, you already tore up your legs, you don't want to strain that muscle up their too.” She pointed her hoof at his head, and gave a quick smirk.

“Ha ha...” he responded in a dead pan voice, but her comments altered his thought train, “Hey Star, do you know a Day Guard by the name of 'Break Away'?”

“Yeah. We met back during basic. Almost never see each other anymore. She was... fun to hang out with though. Why? Did you meet her?”

“She kind of meet me, and I think she needs to learn personal space.”

Star started to laugh out loud, attracting the attention of Mani, “Something funny Star? You are paying attention to my directions right?”

“Oh yes. Patrol this hallway, make sure we're revealing each other every hour...”

Mani's eyebrow raised, he was surprised she was listening at all, “Well then, as I was saying-”

Jack leaned down to whisper to Star, “I didn't think you were listening at all.”

She shrugged, “I wasn't but this is a basic patrol. I might be lazy, but I know my job duties. Anyway, yeah. Break Away is a cool mare. She tends to be very forward, if she likes you she'll let you know...” Star paused, thinking about something for a moment.

“You know... I never thought she was into stallions before. You must have quite the charm to turn a mare chaser.” Star began to chortle at her own comment.

Mani wasn't amused, “Well, since you're so familiar with our rounds I'm going to have you take the first two shifts Star.”

And then there was nothing. For nearly four hours Jack and Star took turns walking down the hallway, patrolling the constantly dark, and quite palace.

Out of the corner of Jack's eye he could see Mani slouching at the end of the hallway. For a moment, Jack though Mani had fallen a sleep, but the gaurdpony shook his head and returned to attention.

Jack's own mind began to wander as his eyes gazed into the dark. Visions of dancing shadows and haunting whispers started to cloud his thoughts. The castle could be creepy at night. He tried to shake it off.

*Creak*

There off in the distance was a light sound, barely on the range of his perception. It sounded as if a door was opened and closed. Jack gazed around the loading dock doors, searching for the entity who made the noise. Probably Star doing patrols, he thought. Yet he was compelled to search further.

Leaving his post, he wandered off to investigate, and find the maker of that noise.

Walking down the hallway, he passed closed door, after closed door. Every one was shut tight, and there was no evidence that any had been opened recently.

Except perhaps for one. A smaller slight reddish door, whose hinges were slightly rusted from lack of used. Jack ran his hands over the door seem. It wasn't shut properly and when he pulled on it, he found that it opened without effort, making the same hunting groaning noise he heard just moments ago.

In the very corner of his left eye, there was a flash, barely perceivable. Just another haunting shadow, maybe. Looking around, couldn't see what caused it, and for all he knew it was just in his head.

A sudden shiver fell down his spine. He felt like he was being watched, like the darkness itself was observing him.

All down the hallway were support pillars, giving a person, or pony plenty of opportunities to hide, and plenty of objects to cast menacing shadows.

He scanned the corridor, but all he saw were the shadows, and another hallway.

Taking a chance, Jack hugged the wall as he peaked around the corner. He wasn't quite prepared for what he saw, a griffin, dark feathers grayish feet. Jack felt a surge of adrenalin once he recognized him. It was the griffin gardener from early, there was no question about it.

Jack didn't have to wonder about why he was here so late, he knew. From the first moment he saw him he knew there was something off about him. The griffin looked around, as if sensing that someone was following him.

Pushing himself tightly against the wall, Jack could only hope the griffin hadn't seen him yet. He held his breath while the griffin glared around the corridor. His feathers around his head puffed out slightly. For a moment Jack though he had been spotted, he was tightening his muscles about to charge him, but then the griffin turned around and started pushing his feathers down before running deeper into the castle.

A sigh escaped his lips as he stopped holding his breath.

"Jack what- Mh? MM!" Star Screech sneaked up on Jack, and without thinking Jack had grabbed her muzzle to silence her.

He leaned in close to her ear, "Star I need you to be very quite, understand?" Star looked at Jack quizzically, but nodded her head in agreement.

"I don't know why, but that same griffin from earlier is running around the castle corridors right now. I'm following him." He whispered.

"What? Why would a gardener be-"

*Thud*

Off in the distance, there was the sound, as if something soft had smacked itself against something hard.

Jack and Star jogged a few meters down the hall where they saw a night guard laying on the ground. Given the lack of insignia he was only a rookie. His helmet as dented and lightly scratched, like something with claws had grabbed it and impacted it into the wall.

Reaching down, Star felt along his neck for a pulse. There was one, but it felt faint.

"Is he ok?" Jack whispered.

Star shrugged her head, "He's got a pulse. I don't think there's anything wrong, he's just unconscious."

*clink, clink*

Down the black hallway, the sound of tiny metal objects hitting the ground could be heard. Jack's mussels contracted as his blood began to surge. Glaring down at Star he spoke, "We'll help him later, we need to stop that griffin."

The two guards broke into a run. Jack's leg was already burning as he moved down the hallway. Then, in the middle of the hallway all along the ground, were some bits of metal, tiny star like objects that reminded Jack of the old kung fu movies he used to watch.

Looking around, there was no one around. The Griffin had clearly dropped his gear, but had already run off.

"I don't see him Jack." Star looked around.

The sound of Jack grind his teeth was all that could be heard in the darkness. He was frustrated that the griffin had gotten away, until he remembered something. "Star lets go, I think I know where he is."

Picking up the pace again, Jack broke into a run. He forced his mind to ignore the pain in his leg. If he had the time to think about it, he would have been grateful that he didn't exercise today.

The two ran down the hallway, passing a few guards as they did so. A few starred at the two, the rest seemed to ignore them.

Ruining, down the halls, and around corners until.

*Crash*

The sound of breaking glass could be heard.

"STOP!" Jack yelled as he saw the griffin reach into the glass spheres. The thief grabbed the crystals and turned to face the two Guards.

Scratching at the marble ground, he charged them. Jack stood his ground, expecting the Griffin the impact the two of them, but instead he jumped. His wings allowed him to bound over the two and run off back down the hallways, the same way they had come.

The smooth marble stone work made it hard to get traction with his talons. He stretched his wings, out trying to steady himself, but all the hallways ahead were just to narrow for the larger griffin to fly.

Jack and Star sprinted after the thief. As they turned a corner, Mani was waiting for them. "Jack, Star, stop!" He yelled, but it did no good. Mani swore once before picking up the pace to join them. He was closing in behind them.

"Jack! Star!" He yelled. "What's going on, who are you chasein-"

*Bang, Crack*

The stone and marble pillar next to Mani exploded as the thief threw something at them.

"Dear Celistia!" Mani cried.

The hallway ran back towards the loading zone and the split in the path came up. Jack tried to remember the castle layout, down the hallway to the left was the barrettes and an exit to the courtyard. If the thief ran down there he could just fly off into the night and escape.

He had to think of something. On his left side Mani was running after the griffin, the bat pony was clearly quicker, but too small to actually stop him. 'That's it,' Jack thought.

“Mani! Go left!” Jack called to his squad member as they approached the split. The griffin thief heard the command and veered to the right. Jack smiled, he did exactly what he wanted. Mani stopped in his tracts blocking the griffin from reaching the hallway.

The griffin skid to a halt and took a hard right, his sharp talons leaving some scratches on the polished marble floor as he ran in the opposite direction from the Guards.

Near the end of the hallway, was a large window. Big enough that the thief could fly through it. He took a second to think, before picking up speed. Breaking through the glass would hurt. He was sure to be badly cut up, but it was a way out. It was his best hope of escape.

Seeing the window, Star and Jack knew what his plan was. They saw him speed up, neither of them were fast enough to catch up with the griffin. But Star had one last trick up her sleeve.

“Jack!” Star Screech yelled to him and opened her mouth. He nodded his head once he realized what she was going to do. Jack stopped and covered his ears as tight as he could.

The griffin thief leaped into the air as he was going to bound through the window.

"EEEEEEEEEE" Star's Screech was loud and ear piercing. Even with his fingers in his ears Jack could still feel some of the effects of her soul screech as his legs began to wobble under him.

The griffin tried to move, tried to twirl or shift, but his body wouldn't respond. Star's screech had paralyzed him. The thief ended up missing the window entirely and impacted into the wall face first.

*Crunch*

There was a loud crunching sound, as part of the griffin's beak crumpled and broke off.

The griffin fell to the ground and began rolling around in pain. He tired to reach up and rub away the sharp numb pain in his face, but his front legs refused to work.

Jack and Star ran up to him to hold him down, and keep him from getting up.

As he tried to roll on the ground, he began to scream and yell obscenities. A small trickle of blood started to flow down his broken beak.

Jack began to feel along the griffin's side, looking for weapons. Instead, the first thing he found was some coiled length rope. Using this fortuitous luck, he quickly proceeded to hog tie the now flailing thief.

The griffin laid on the floor with his back and front legs tied. As he regained control of his extremities, he started to struggle and move under the rope, trying to get out from the bindings he found himself in. His powerful wings knocked Jack back.

Star took the opportunity to bite down on his wing, hard. The griffin screeched at the pain.

Jack picked himself up and using the last of the rope, he wrap the griffin's wings up. Preventing them from moving. Once the thief was fully bound, Jack undid the belt around the griffin's waste and removed the daggers he had found and a other objects he had been throwing at them.

"Jack, Star!" Mani called from around the corner, clearly out of breath. He broke his run once he saw that the griffin was incapacitated.

"Wow, good job you guys." Mani walked towards the three and looked over the griffin's bindings.

"By the ancestors I'll scratch your throats out!" He tried to squawk but the break in his beak added an unexpected whistle to his cries.

The three guards started to laugh at his futile efforts. "Damn, that was one hell of a trick Jack. I don't know if I should be impressed or mad that you used me like that." Mani glared at Jack with half a smile on his face.

Jack finished with the insult by removing the thief’s bag, and searching though it's contents.

The thief looked at Jack and growled, before finally giving up.

Mani walked around the griffin and felt along parts of his body, looking for any other contraband or possible weapons on him. While he didn't find any more weapons, there was a folded bit of parchment in a small pocket under his leg. Mani opened it up and started reading it.

Meanwhile, Jack was rummaging through the bag, he pulled out some more of the magical daggers, also some jewels and of course, the crystals. He looked at them, and quickly placed them as being from in the display cases by the library.

The crystals were quite pretty and almost seemed to glow with a light pink light, but again for Equstria, they seemed very unremarkable. It seemed odd for a thief to break into Canterlot castle just to steal some rather trivial objects. What did he want them for?

"Hey Mani, what do you think about these crystals?"

Mani held a vacant look in his eyes as he read the note over one more time.

"Mani," Jack queried again.

"I, umm, sorry Jack, but what?"

"These crystals, is there anything special about them?"

Mani thought about the question for a moment, "Not that I know of. I mean they aren't common, but nor are they particularly rare either. Should probably ask someone more qualified than me though." Mani looked over the note once more, "Jack, I need to grab the rest of the squad. You and Star keep an eye on our thief. DO NOT let the Day Guard near him." Mani Barked before running off down the long corridor and disappeared.

Jack thought the statement odd, but he wasn't going to question Mani's orders. Instead, he walked around the griffin surveying his binding to ensure they wouldn't come lose. As he did so Jack couldn't help but notice the rather small package between the griffin's legs and had all he could do to keep a smirk from forming. “You know Star. I can see what you mean about griffins being small.”

Star hit Jack between his armor plate. A clear blush could be seen beneath her fur. "Shut up Jack."

The sound of hoof steps could be heard down the hallway. Star's ears perked up as the sound grew louder, and louder.

"Sound like a small army." She tried to joke, but the sweat on her forehead spoke to her true feelings.

Around the corner a fairly large group of Royal guards appeared, who were trailed by two Night Guards, Luceppie, and a newer rookie who Star and Jack didn't recognize. At the front of the pack was the Day Captain, Janis.

Seeing the griffin tied up on the ground the Captain scowled at Star and Jack.

“What is the meaning of this?” The captain yelled at the two night guard.

“What are you doing with that griffin? There's a thief on the loose you should be helping us catch them!” Janis walked to the griffin, but was stopped by Jack who put his hand against the captain's chest.

“I'm sorry captain, but I have orders not to let anyone near the prisoner.”

The rage in the captian's eyes grew. If it was possible, Jack could have sworn he saw literal fire in them.

"Listen to me rookie." The guard captain growled between his teeth. "I said let. him. go."

Jack stepped back a pace, giving the guard captain a bit of breathing room Obviously he couldn't let just this thief go. He had no idea what this guard captain was on about, but judging from the look in his squads eyes they would be more than willing to defend the captain, even if he was wrong. Luceppie and the new rookie took a stance against the Day Guard squad.

All of the Day Guard appeared to be read for a fight, even if none of them knew why. Jack had to admit they were well trained, even if wrong.

"Actually captain, I was wondering if you could explain this?" Mani ran back to the two Guard squads and held up the note he had been holding, by his side was Night Blade, and Princess Luna.

Janis looked back at the three. “What note?” He cleared his throat and stood tall, “Why, I'm just trying to protect an innocent citizen for unnecessary detainment.”

Mani slapped his hoof against the note, “Captain, this note is written in your hand writing. After all the shipping manifest I process for your group I couldn't mistake it. Then there's the codes and access points. Much of this data only a Captain would know.” The three approached the now cowering captain, “Finally, there's the final nail in the coffin, one particular code, the magic sequence needed to unlock the special storage room. Every captain has their own code, Princess Luna told me this is indeed yours.”

The Captain was about to put a fight before finally realizing the futility of the action.

"Captain..." One of his subordinate half whispered in disbelief.

Janis couldn't look his squad in the eyes as he was escorted out of the hallway by the princess. However, there was one that he could look at. Janis glared at Jack as he walked by him and whispered "I'll see you again. Ape."