"God fuckin' dammit! How do I keep losing?"

I stood up from the small table. There was a small crowd gathered around, all jeering at me.

"You're a dumbass, I saw that coming from a mile away," said one stallion. "I bet you I'd win on the first try!"

I turned to look at him. "Go ahead, try it then, asshole." I trotted away indignantly, heading toward the small saloon that the table was set up at. On the way in, I passed Pro, shooting him a wink and flashing a smile. When he saw me, he got off the wall he was leaning on and walked toward the table.

I made my way inside the saloon and waited, buying a couple drinks for myself. The bar was pretty empty, with most of the patrons enamored by the happenings outside. I spied a dartboard on the wall and started playing.

After about 20 minutes, I heard the saloon doors swing open. I didn't turn around, but I heard the bartkeep call out to the newcomers.

"Duke, Deisel, I hope you didn't get swindled by that mare out there like this fella'?"

A gruff voice retorted. "Nah, you know us. Not ones for card games anyway." The hoofbeats of the two got louder as the headed up to the bar. Maybe these two could be just who we were looking for.

Thump. Bullseye. I heard them sit, and after a moment of not-so-quiet whispering I felt their eyes on my back.

Thump. Bullseye. The same voice from before: "Hey, Tonic. Can I get a Rum? Black, you know how I like it." A carbonated bottle opens, along with a corked bottle. I hear some shaking, then a drink slides across the bar top. A second voice, higher in pitch but smoother in tone, says "I'll have the same."

Thump. Bullseye. Damn, I'm good. I go and grab the darts from the board, and as I turn to head back to where I was standing I catch the eyes of the two stallions.

I damn near lost it. The bigger of the two was a sky blue coated pegasus with a cobalt blue mane. He had a mustache, and it was curled up at the ends. His eyes, while a striking green, told me that he wasn't nearly as tough as his voice made him seem. The smaller one, sitting next to him and staring more intensely, was a purple unicorn with a dark auburn mane, combed to the side. His eyes matched his mane, but his stare was colder, more calculating.

"Fellas," I greeted. They both gave me a nod and went back to loudly whispering. I shrugged and returned to my darts game.

Thump. Just outside the bullseye. The small one must've rattled me. I could hear the big one asking if the bartender had ever seen me before. "Nope, not that I remember," came the reply.

Thump. Triple 20. Nah, I'm good. Just gotta refocus. They look strong, but just how strong were they actually...?

"You're not from 'round here, are you stranger?"

Thump. Bullseye. The gruff voice damn near threw me off. Before grabbing my darts, I turned around to face the two. I took a sip of my Manehattan and flashed a cool smile.

"From a farm a few towns over, ain't been this way." I set down my drink and turned to grab the darts. "Why do you ask?"

The smooth voice replied. "We don't get many visitors here in Driftwood."

"Ain't safe for outsiders," added the gruff voice.

I set the darts on the tray next to the board. "I can handle myself just fine, but I appreciate the warning." I didn't turn back around, but gave the bartender a sideways glance. He didn't seem phased by what the two were saying, so I figured he was in on it.

"More than a warning, friend." The gruff voice was closer now, he'd gotten off his bar stool.

I felt something cold poke against the back of my head. I chuckled.

"C'mon, you're gonna tell me that's how you greet a new friend?"

"Sorry pal, that's just the way it is." The smaller stallion hadn't moved. Judging by the proximity of the bigger one, the gun pressed to my skull was being levitated by the unicorn.

"Listen, guys," I started. I won't lie, I was a bit caught off guard, so I had to think on my feet. "I may not look it, but I'm a bit quicker than I look. I don't want this to end badly for anyone, namely myself. What say we put the guns away and pretend this never happened, eh?"

Click. Guess not.

"You've got until I count to ten to empty your saddlebags before I blow your brains onto the triple 20." The small one had a way with words, very intimidating. Maybe I found our next two crew members.

"One," said the big one.

"Two," said the small one.

Such teamwork! They have a system and everything.

"Three." The big one was closer.

"Four." The gun pressed a little harder into my head.

Light bulb! I hoped they couldn't see my grin.

"Can either of you pick a lock?"

Silence. I think I had succeeded. The bigger one didn't seem interested, however.

"We don't have to answer your random ass questions, idiot. Five." His voice was slightly farther though, so I must've surprised him a little. Now it was my turn to be surprised.

"Why do you ask?" The smaller one rose from his barstool, but kept the gun to my head. He didn't say a number, so I figured I was safe for now.

"Well," I mused. "My pals and I are gettin' together to have a bit of fun across Equestria. We're lookin' for muscle and somepony to pick locks, 'cuz none of us can do it."

"Deisel, you're really gonna let this guy mouth off like that?" growled the big one. "Let's just rob him and get on with our day."

Click. The gun came off the back of my head. I sighed, turned around, and gave a grin to the two. Deisel, the smaller one, floated the revolver back to his saddlebag.

"I dunno, Duke. I kinda wanna hear him out," he said.

I nodded to Deisel. "Thanks for bein' sensible. We ain't got too much planned yet, but our first score is gonna come pretty soon. Once we've got the gang together, we're gonna try a big job." I looked at the bartender, who had gone back to cleaning glasses and was feigning ignorance.

Duke huffed. "So I guess I'd be the muscle? Who else have you got?"

I looked past them to the outside of the saloon. The crowd was beginning to thin out, as Spade was running everyone out of their bits. I looked back to Duke and Deisel.

"Come have a few drinks with me, you'll meet them soon."

It took a minute more to convince them, but we eventually sat and started talking like normal ponies. I learned that they were childhood friends, both orphaned at a young age, and made money to eat by robbing and scamming travelers and traders. They worked as a team so well because they'd been doing it for years, since Duke wasn't terribly smart and Deisel was a little cold-blooded.

A little while later, Spade came sauntering in. She noticed me with Deisel and Duke, stopped for a moment, but came and sat next to me on the opposite side after I beckoned her over.

"This is Spade," I said, introducing her to the two of them. "She's our resident crackshot and sleight of hoof specialist." I looked over at her. "What's the haul?"

She smiled wide. "This town's full of suckers," she said, plopping a sack of bits on the bar top. "About 850 bits."

Deisel's eyes got wide, and Duke whistled in amazement.

"Solid, great job Spade. Where's my brother?" I asked.

"He's takin' the long way around. He helped sell it when the last few were kinda skeptical. Let him win a few times."

I nodded. When I looked over at Duke and Deisel, I could tell they were nearly sold.

Deisel caught my eyes. "What's the pay?" he asked. His cold auburn eyes bore into mine.

"About 19 percent per job? I dunno, my brother handles payroll." I shrugged. "I'm no good with money, and he handled money back on the farm."

As I said that, Pro walked in. He sat on the other side of Spade.

"Should we grab a table?" I asked. "I don't wanna be sittin' in the middle of conversation."

We all got up from the bar and found a five seated round table. Thankfully, it was close to the dartboard, so I started playing again.

While I threw darts, the rest of the gang talked around the table.

"So one of y'all picks locks?" asked Spade.

"I can," answered Deisel, "but I'd need tools. I lost my lockpicks a long time ago."

"Whaddya need?" I chimed in, mid throw.

"At the basic level, a screwdriver and either bobby pins or paperclips."

"I'm sure we could manage that." I threw a dart and looked a Pro. He nodded in agreement.

After I threw my last dart, I turned and came back to the table. "So, fella's," I started, leaning on the table and looking at Deisel and Duke. "Whaddya say?"

They looked at one another for a moment, then around at Spade, Pro and I.

"We're in," they said simultaneously.

Author's Note

I liked writing this chapter! A small confrontation, the first of many. Let me know what yall think in the comments!