Author's Note

Note: This works best if you imagine it as though you're watching a movie trailer or a TV spot, even though it's written like the rest of the chapters. I thought it would be an interesting exercise.

Season Two Promo!

A tape deck sat on a table under a spotlight, nothing else visible around it. The camera slowly began to zoom in on the tape deck. As though touched by an unseen force, the tape inside began to spin, and the Dentist’s voice came out. “Gentlemen, let me be the first to congratulate you on the successful rescue of your colleague. But this is no time to relax. There is yet more work to do in this new year, and little time to do it in.”

The scene suddenly cut to black, and a bell tolled in the background as words faded in on the screen:

THE AWARD-WINNING HBO DRAMA

A techno beat began playing as the scene cut back to the tape deck, the camera suddenly closer and still zooming in. The Dentist continued, “I have lined up several heists for you to carry out. These will be some of the largest heists in your illustrious careers. Preparation will be vital, however you decide to tackle them.”

The scene cut to black again, and more words faded in in their place:

LIKE GAME OF THRONES WITH GUNS

-IGN

The tape rewound slightly, and Twilight’s voice continued the recording. “As always, you have the option to take any jobs you deem fit. But be advised that these jobs may lead you to the truth, as well as paying out higher than any other job on Crime.net. Just keep in mind...” The camera stopped zooming in all of a sudden, the tape deck dominating the entire frame. “No matter how powerful you are, you can’t do only one thing. Causes have effects.”

KEEP THE GRAVY TRAIN ROLLING

-Professor Birch

A drumbeat backed the synth as the scene suddenly cut to the inside of a large Gothic building. Above a flight of stairs, a large pair of metal doors sat, an inactive clock hanging just above them. The scene cut to the inside of a museum, a large crowd of people standing around and admiring a large diamond, the camera panning across them until it stopped on the unmasked Dallas and Chains in the background.

A buildup began in the music as the scene cut again, this time to the middle of the woods. Before focusing on any one thing, it cut through a dockyard with a large boat, a warehouse on the Washington D.C. waterfront, a brightly-lit casino packed with customers, and even a helicopter shot of the White House.

Twilight’s voice started speaking again: “There’s no turning back once you’ve started down this path.” The scene returned to the tape deck as the music reached its peak. “But I doubt any of you intended to. It’s time to earn your payday.” The tape stopped and the lights cut out, and the music dropped.

In time with the drop, the scene suddenly cut to a large gun battle in the Gothic building, five men in clown masks shooting at an advancing wave of police officers in the lobby below. Dallas was firing from behind cover as Wolf and Houston attempted to flank the wave. A giant piggy bank suddenly fell through the skylight and landed on several officers, and the camera zoomed in on Rainbow Dash flying above the hole she’d created as the music scaled back and another bell tolled.

In slow motion, Rainbow started firing straight down with a pistol, banking off to avoid fire heading her way from the roof. The piano began, and so did a voiceover from the mare: “I’ve changed a lot more than I thought I would, being with those guys. But you can’t really blame me, right? I did what I had to do to survive, and thrive, in this world.”

The scene cut to a police interrogation room, the interrogator’s face hidden by the camera facing towards Rainbow’s face. “And what about the world you came from?” he asked. “Assuming that’s even true, and assuming you could go back there, would you want to, considering the person that you’ve become?” Rainbow stayed silent for a few seconds as images of the burning Equestria flashed across the screen. “Well, let me ask you another question. Why do you continue to defend them, even after everything they’ve done, and everything you’ve been offered?”

Rainbow didn’t hesitate to reply this time. “I won’t let anyone turn me against my friends,” she said, holding up her cuffed hooves. “Not even you. Not for anything.”

The piano was cut by another bell and the synth returned, building up again as several scenes of Rainbow and the rest of the Payday Crew flying, shooting and running cut across the screen in quick succession. Another caption suddenly appeared on a background of a blueprint.

STARRING:

Dallas’ American-flag mask appeared on the screen for a few seconds, along with an assault rifle.

Simon Kerr

Rainbow’s Element of Loyalty necklace and pistol replaced it.

Ashleigh Ball

Wolf’s white-and-red mask and a shotgun.

Ulf Andersson

Chains’ smile and slitted eyes, and a large cache of weapons.

Damion Poitier

Houston’s overshadowed pink eyes and an SMG.

Derek Ray

Hoxton’s distorted smile and two crossed pistols.

Pete Gold

WITH

Simon Viklund

Tara Strong

Dave Fouquette

and Giancarlo Esposito as The Dentist

The bell tolled one last time, and the title card appeared:

LOYALTY AMONG THIEVES

Another caption slid in underneath:

Season Two: Effects

Only on HBO and FIMFiction.net

Another caption blasted away part of the previous one:

Only on The Hub and FIMFiction.net

Coming soon*

*And by ‘soon’, I mean ‘eventually’.