Caliber's Partyby colt alchemistChaptersIntroductions and a New Mission. Searching the Mansion. Completing the Mission. Final NoteIntroductions and a New Mission. Introductions and a New Mission. One bright day, a private little meeting was taking place in a mansion that was located in the middle of the Canterlot. The mansion was shimmering in the sun and had silver gates surrounding the entire area. The owner of the mansion, a wealthy stallion named Dapper Metal, was in his office. He was a thin earth stallion with a neat and combed back black mane and sported blue business suit. His coat was pale yellow while his eyes were orange. He sat behind his desk in his office, which was filled with all kinds of books and treasures. From rare gems in glass cases to dusty books filled with knowledge. “I’m so glad you could make it. When I heard you were in town, I wasn’t sure if you would respond to my letter or not,” stammered the business pony. The pony he was speaking to was resting nonchalantly in her seat. She had a very peculiar appearance that Dapper couldn’t make of. She was a very lean unicorn mare with a tan fur coat. Her blonde mane was short and layered while her tail remained nice and long. However, what was strange about her was what she wore. She sported a wide-brimmed, dark brown Stetson hat that was tipped over her eyes, a henna tattered cloak, some hoof anklets and wore a necklace with a green stone on it. The stallion couldn’t see her cutiemark because it was covered by her cloak, but he didn’t bother to question it. He looked up at her hat and noticed an upside down triangle pattern wrapped around it. “I don’t see why I wouldn’t. I mean, if I see a job, I’m taking it,” she stated. “It’s always nice to make new clients.” “Yes, very true,” he replied. “Anyway, this job I have for you is very important.” “Shoot.” “Well, you see, not to long ago I purchased a very valuable item,” he explained. “The first of its kind, and it’s not even on the market yet. I bought with good intentions and I planned to give to somepony very important. However, the other day my archenemy, Bulk Buster, had his ponies sneak into my mansion and steal my item!” “I see,” the mare responded. “And what exactly is this item?” “I can’t tell you that! I don’t mean to be rude, but I feel like if I told you specifically what they stole, then you would understand why it’s so valuable and you would want to keep it to yourself. I don’t mean any offense or anything, I just want to be cautious.” “You have a right to be cautious. Sounds like the type of thing I would do.” “What?” he asked, surprised. “I’m just kidding,” she chuckled. “But seriously, how will I know what to find if I don’t know what it is?” “I was getting to that. You see, I always keep the item in a small chest that only I can open. It’s a small, brown chest with a golden lock and my initials inscribed on it. Here’s a photo.” Dapper Metal showed the mare a photo of the chest. Once she examined it, she levitated it back to the earth pony. “So, it’s like any other chest but with your initials on it? Way to be original there,” she remarked. “Yes, well.” He rubbed his hoof behind his head, sheepishly. “So basically, you want me to locate this stallions place and steal back your item?” “That’s correct! And I’m willing to pay a high price for it,” he informed. He then dropped three large bags of bits on his desk and shoved them closer to the mare. The mare looked at the three bags and rubbed her chin in thought. “There’s about three thousand bits in those bags.” “Alright. This doesn’t look like a hard job. I think six of us should do,” she replied. The stallion’s ears perked up. “I’m sorry, but there’s more of you?” “Did you honestly think I came here by myself?” she asked. “Just your typical mercenary who prefers to work alone and wanders town to town trying to take any job she can?” “Well…” he tugged at his collar nervously. “It’s cliché,” she stated. “There’s no fun in taking different jobs alone. That’s why I always travel with my group. That’s how we role. Anyway, this doesn’t look like a hard job.” “Really? So that means you’ll take it?” “Sure, why not? We’ve got nothing better to do,” She shrugged. “Oh! Thank you so much, Ms…” The mare tipped up her hat with her hoof, revealing her bright purple eyes. “Jade Caliber. Remember that. Because one day, everypony is going to know that name!” Jade proclaimed. “I see.” Dapper brought out a piece of paper for Jade to sign. She used her magic to levitate the quill and signed her name in the contract. After that, the two ponies shook hooves and sealed the deal. During their shake, Jade’s hat drooped and covered her eyes once more. “Sorry, this hat doesn’t always fit,” she chuckled, blushing a little. “Ok. Well, here’s the address to Bulk Busters mansion,” he handed her a piece of paper with his enemies address. “Oh and one more thing. Please don’t leave any bodies. I know you’re mercenary and all, but I don’t want any blood on my hooves. We’re rivals, not savages.” “Oh, and we’re supposed to be?” she raised an eyebrow. “What an insensitive thing to say to the ponies who are carrying out your dirty work.” “Oh..well…uh..” he stammered, shooting sweat off his brow. “Relax, I get it,” she assured. Dapper sighed in relief. “You’ll have your item soon.” Jade turned around and made her way out of his office. “When?” he asked. Jade turned around and tipped her hat up. “We’ll have it when we have it.” “Oh, OK then.” Dapper looked away nervously. Jade made her way out of his mansion and began to walk the streets of Canterlot. As she was walking she noticed all the high class nobles that were walking by, she couldn’t help but cough at their rich stench. “Never thought I’d live the day I trot through the most snobbishly rich pony city ever,” she said to herself. As she was walking, she accidently bumped into a mare. “Sorry.” “That’s quite alright, darling,” replied the white mare as she continued her way. “Now then, as far as finding a friendship problem goes, I suggest we start at the castle.” Jade’s left ear perked and she turned around to look back at the white unicorn mare. She noticed that the white mare had a purple swirl mane and tail with a trio of diamonds for a mark. She was also with a pink earth pony mare with a fluffy mane and tail and a trio of balloons for a mark. Jade tilted her head at the two mares, something about them seemed….familiar. She shrugged it off for now and decided to keep on walking. Few minutes later, she was on the outskirts of Canterlot. She only had to walk over one small hill to reach her destination. Once she reached the top, she looked down below. There, at the bottom of the hill, in the middle of the field, was her mercenary camp. Ponies and other creatures had just finished setting every up below. The white tents were set up, one of the ponies got a fire going, and they were all just chatting with one another. Jade raced down the hill to deliver the news to her group. Meanwhile, one of the members was showing two new recruits, a mare and a stallion, around the camp and getting them familiar with their new family. “And that concludes our tour. I hope you two have gotten yourselves familiar with your new lives and are ready to take on any job,” concluded Vlardo. He’s been in Jade’s group for a while and was always happy to show newcomers around. Vladro was a strong and lean griffon with a grey eagle front and a black lion back half. He also had a bronze-colored beak and shiny blue eyes. For a griffon, he did wear some interesting clothing, such as aviator glasses, a midnight blue cape, and a black Stetson hat. Although, the brim was nowhere near as big as Jades. “Now then!” he spoke as he turned around to face the new recruits. “It’s time for the grand finale: My area!” He flew out of the way to reveal a simple hammock tied between two trees. However, what was really surprising was what was resting on the sides of both trees. Vladro whistled. “Wake up girls! Time to meet some new friends!” Suddenly, a set of glowing eyes beamed next to one of the trees. Another set glowed on the other side as well. Then, two huge masses formed and started to crawl their way out of the darkness. The two recruits stood their motionless, their hearts raced and sweat dripped down their heads. Their eyes shrank to the size of needle points once they saw two, large timberwolves emerged from behind the trees. The timberwolf on the left side wore a dark green collar while the one on the right had an orange one. Both timberwolves growled and narrowed their eyes. “Hey! Hey! No! Knock that off!” scolded Vladro. Just like that, the two timberwolves calmed down and stopped growling. “Sorry, they’re usually really friendly.” “Are you sure? Because they look like they’re about make a snack out of us,” asked Abyssal Shield. He was the stallion and one of the newer members in Calibers mercenary group. A young unicorn stallion with a grey fur coat and a messy red mane and tail. He also had golden eyes and sported a nice, black jacket. His mark was a sword hiding behind a shield. “Yeah, I’m sure. Anyway, meet Flora,” he pointed to the one with the green collar. “And meet Amber,” he pointed to the orange collared one. “They’re my prized timberpups. We’ve been through everything together and they’ve never let me down. So, who would like to say ‘hello?’” Both recruits looked at each other with worried looks. “Um, I guess I will,” the mare said, meekly raising her hoof. “Great!” “Are you sure about this, Stardust?” asked Abyssal Shield. Stardust was the mare new recruit. She was an earth pony with a navy purple fur coat and a really long navy blue mane and tail. Her mane had a light blue highlight and she had two strands of hair falling on each side of her face. She also sported two golden diamond-shaped earrings, a headband with rhinestones on it, and a neckless with a crescent moon pendant. Her mark was that of a crescent moon with four stars surrounding it. “No,” she responded. “But there’s a first time for everything, right?” “That’s the spirit! Now, here’s what you want to do,” instructed Vladro. “Slowly approach one of them and stick out your hoof.” Stardust did so. She slowly walked forward and extended her front left hoof. Amber, the timberwolf with the orange collar, noticed her hoof and slowly approached her. Stardust’s heart raced faster than before, but her eyes never left the timberwolf. She kept calm because she knew she had to let the wolf know she wasn’t afraid. Amber’s snout soon met Stardusts hoof. She sniffed it while Stardust stood there patiently. She could feel the wooden wolf’s breath on her hoof. “That’s it, just stay calm,” instructed Valdro. It’s just a wolf! A big, killer, scary eyed timberwolf! Stardust thought to herself. The wolf sniffed her hoof some more. Before Stardust could think or do anything else, the timberwolf then rubbed her head on her hoof. A small grin formed on Stardusts face as she start to pet the giant wooden wolf. She started to scratch Amber behind her ears, causing her to moan. “Well done,” congratulated Vladro. “You now have a new friend.” “She’s so sweat,” Stardust cooed. “Yeah, she can be real softy if you pet her right. So, would you like to try, Shield?” Vladro asked. “Oh, uh, I don’t know,” stammered Abyssal Shield. “C’mon. If she can do it, then you can too.” “Yeah. They’re actually not that bad,” Stardust added. “Oh, Ok then.” Shield trotted towards the other wolf, Flora, and extended his hoof. However, when he raised his hoof at her, Flora began to growl and glare at Shield. “Gah!” Shield retracted his hoof and backed away. Luckily, before Flora could come closer, Vlad flew in front of her. “Whoa! Whoa! Easy!” he ordered as he flared his wings. Flora calmed down and sat on the ground. Vlad then turned around to face Shield. “W-why did she growl at me? I thought you said they were friendly?” “They are. You just came at her a little too quickly. She must’ve thought you were going to attack her,” he informed. “First impressions are everything to them.” “Oh,” Shield said, ashamed. “Hey, it’s Ok. It’s not like you were trying to attack her or anything.” “Of course I wasn’t.” “You want to try again?” Vlad asked. “I don’t know.” “C’mon. I’m sure she would like you if you approached her differently,” he assured. “Yeah, there’s nothing to be afraid of,” added Stardust. Except maybe a giant timberwolf trying to eat me! He thought. Shield looked back at Flora and noticed she was still lying on the ground with her eyes half open. The mere look of those shining, golden eyes sent a shiver down Sheilds spine. He wasn’t so sure that joining this group was the best idea for him. Before he could answer though- “Hey, Jade’s back!” yelled a voice. All heads turned to see Jade making it back safely to their camp. All of the mercenaries dropped what they were doing and rushed on over to greet their leader. “Look! Somepony is trotting towards us! Let’s pay attention to it!” stammered Shield as he ran far away from the timberwolves as fast as possible. While he did that, Stardust walked next to Vlad to get a good look at her new leader. She was amazed at how young this mare was, she looked to be around Stardusts age. “Is that our leader?” “Yep! That’s Jade Caliber. Probably the most enthusiastic mercenary I’ve ever met,” Vlad replied. “What do you mean by, enthusiastic?” Stardust wondered. “Oh, you’ll find out soon enough.” “O-Ok then.” “C’mon! Let’s go see what she has to say.” With that, Stardust followed Vladro to greet Jade. The other members of the group were over flooding her with questions as she was trying to walk towards her tent. Her tent was the biggest of them all, shaped in a huge trapezoid. It was white with golden edges, had all of her supplies inside, and even had small windows. Jade stood on a crate and faced her team. Even though there were only thirteen of them, including the new recruits, she still felt like they were a huge crowd. “Alright troops! Listen up! I just got our mission for today!” There was a small wave of whispers and mutters among the crowd. “What’s our mission this time?” asked a voice. “This one is not as big as the others we’ve faced, so keep,” she paused. She noticed something was wrong with her audience. “Hey, wait a minute.” She squinted her eyes at the crowd. She noticed that she was a few members short. She counted the number of members and whispered the numbers to herself. She soon found out that there were only ten members present in the crowd. Including herself, she counted eleven members altogether. “Aren’t we missing a few members?” Jade asked. All the members began to whisper among one another to check who was missing. “There’s supposed to be thirteen of us total, right?” Stardust asked Shield. “That’s what I heard, but I only counted eleven of us,” he replied. “Yeah, same here.” “We believe we’re missing December Gale,” a voice said. Both Stardust and Shield turned their heads to see that the voice came from a rather creepy looking unicorn mare. She was much younger and shorter than the other members, and had a black fur coat. Her mane and tail were red with purple strands in them and she had dark green eyes. Her mark was an eclipsed red moon with the rest being purple, but it was hard to get a clear look at her mark since most of her body was covered by a dark cloak. She also sported a star necklace. However, what was really creepy about her, was that she was carrying a small pony doll. The doll had a big, toothy smile and X’s in the eyes. The two recruits slowly backed away from the young mare and her doll. “Thank you, Eclipse. Anypony else?” “I think we’re also missing, Dead Eye,” added Vladro. “Again? Those two are always missing together. Where are they this time?” Jade asked, scanning her area. Before anyone could answer, loud rumbling and thumping noises were heard in the distance. They all turned their heads and noticed one of the tents pitched up. It was rocking side to side and the loud thumping could be heard from inside. Not only that, but loud grunts and moans escaped from flaps of the tent. Most of the moans sounded very feminine. Stardust blushed at the noises. Jade rubbed her eyes with her hoof. “Of course. Can somepony fetch them, please?” Jade ordered. “Eclipse?” “Don’t worry, we’ll get them for you,” Eclipse responded, deadpanned. She approached the tent and lifted the flaps with her hoof. “Hey! Lovebirds! Party’s over!” “Gah! We’re in the middle of something, Eclipse!” yelled a mare’s voice. “Give us five more minutes, please!” added a stallion’s voice. Eclipses horn was engulfed by a green aura and she picked up the two ponies in the tent. “Hey! What are you doing?! Not again!” they both yelled. Eclipse thrusted her head and launched one of them out of the tent. The mare was thrown out first, and she was sent screaming. She landed on the ground with a thud. “How nice of you to drop in, December Gale,” greeted Jade sarcastically. December Gale was Pegasus mare with a slender figure. She had an eggshell color fur coat while her mane and tail were long and blonde with light blue highlights in them. She had two silver stud earrings and hazel eyes. Her wings were by far her most noticeable traits, as her right was normal while her left one was covered with metal, bolts, and gears. Her mark was a wing over a wrench and she had a silver anklet on her front right hoof. “Ow! I wasn’t done yet!” she groaned as she rubbed her flank. The sound of a stallion screaming filled the air next. Pretty soon, said stallion landed face first on the ground, right next to the one wing Pegasus. “Glad you could join us too, Dead Eye,” added Jade. Dead eye, a young earth pony stallion, was a very well-toned and fit pony. His fur coat was white while his mane and tail were silver. His mane was short and spikey while his tail reached down to his knees, he also had a nasty scar on his chest. His mark was a cloak that was getting stabbed by a dagger. An actual black cloak soon floated down on top of him. “Mood killer,” he responded. “We have fetched them for you,” Eclipse said. “Yes. Thank you, Eclipse,” Jade said with much gratitude. Stardust looked down upon the fallen lovers and couldn’t help cringe at their hard landings. “Are those two always like that?” she asked Vlad. “If you mean by being all lovey-dovey at any opportunity they get, then yes, they’re like that a lot.” “Ok, I don’t know what they were doing in their tent, and I don’t want to, but I would hardly call THAT just being lovey-dovey,” Shield commented. “Anyway! Back to the topic on hoof!” announced Jade. Soon all eyes were turned towards her again. “This mission is not as big as the others we’ve had, which isn't very many, so keep that in mind. Our employer wants us to retrieve a valuable item from his rival. He hasn’t told me what it was, but he said that it was kept in this small chest.” She levitated the picture to show everypony. Mutters and whispers soon filled the air. No one knew why their employer wouldn’t tell her what was in the chest. “Even though it’s a simple mission, our employer is willing to pay us big money for it. About three thousand bits to be exact.” The entire group gasped at the high price. “Three thousand bits for one item?!” exclaimed another voice. “I know, right?” Jade responded. “I told him that we would take the job and we would get it done. Now, before you troops go crazy, I would like to point out that I won’t be needing every single one of you for this mission.” “Huh?” they all asked. “Seeing how this is merely a search and retrieve mission, I’ll only be needing about four or five of you. Also, since the place we’re invading is just a mansion and-“ “Just a mansion?!” yelled a voice. The crowd cleared away to let another griffon pass through. This one was much different and much older than Vladro. “Oh no,” Jade groaned. This griffon was rather large, muscular, and was covered with scratched up and dented plate armor. He had black fur and golden feathers on his head and sported a black eagle-like crest on his chest. His left eye was missing and it was covered by a rather nasty scar. “What’s the problem now, Guesclin?” “Just a mansion? You do realize we’re in Canterlot right? The richest and wealthiest city in all of Equestria? Do you really think that just some mansion will be a walk in the park for you? And if this item is so important, don’t you think that the place will be heavily guarded?” lectured the griffon. “First off, the mansion isn’t in Canterlot per say. Second, what’s your point?” “My point is that it would be foolish to only bring a small amount of soldiers with you.” “Yeah, but I only bring my whole army if we’re fighting against, oh I don’t know, another army!” she exclaimed. “This is just one mansion. Even if we are outnumbered, we’ve got some of the best fighters, healers, and other loveable freaks on our side. We’ll pull through til the end. Besides, if we end up losing, we’ll just retreat and try again.” “Right, because retreating should be what this group is known for. A mercenary company's reputation is everything, and right now, we don't have one. Do you really want one of our first missions to be at best petty larceny and at worst a retreat? And do you have any idea how stupid you sounded when you said ‘we'll just retreat and try again?’ The mansion will be better prepared and defended if you got caught the first time, and then what will you do? Have you thought out anything in the least? Do you have any strategy whatsoever?” Jade tuned out during his speech and groaned in silence. Her eyes shut so hard it made her brain twitch. She always hated this part about announcing missions. No matter how optimistic she sounded, this particular griffon would always be there to shut her down. She had no idea why he even bothered to stick around if all he’s going to do is belittle and lecture her. “As a matter of fact, I do have a strategy: make sure to clash my blade as loud as I can, so I don’t have to hear your annoying voice during a battle!” she shot back. Guesclin growled at her. Stardust and Shield were more than irritated by this griffon’s presence. “Who’s that?” wondered Shield. “That’s Guesclin,” answered Vladro. “He’s the merc that always doubts and our leader in any way possible.” “Why?” “Dunno. Just his role I guess.” “What do you mean?” asked Stardust. “Haven’t you ever noticed in books and stories there’s always that ONE GUY who always complains and blames the pony in charge of everything. He’s basically that. He may be old, but he still has a lot of steam to let off.” “Does he ever do anything other than complain?” asked Shield. “Well, I haven’t known him for that long. But I do know that his sword is just as blunt as his words.” “Oh joy.” Shield rolled his eyes. The trio turned back to see the mare and the griffon still barking at each other. “If you ask me, I’d say that you don’t even know what you’re doing!” he yelled. “If you’re done with your little introduction here,” spoke Jade. “I’d like to continue explaining our plan.” “Fine. But don’t be surprised when I point out another one of your flaws.” “I never am.” Why are you still here, you old vulture? She thought. “Like I was saying, I’ll only be needing a small amount of you today. We’ll need to be in and out of the mansion as quick as possible. So, for this mission, I’ll be needing our swiftest fighter. Atlas, you’re u-“ “Already here!” Jade turned to see a Pegasus mare standing right next to her. “Gah!” she lost balance and fell off her crate. “How did? Wha-Where did you come from?” stammered Jade as she brushed off the dirt of her cloak and hat. “Well, whenever I hear ‘Atlas’ and ‘Swift’ in the same sentence, I tend to show up at the spot,” she explained with a smile. “I’m surprised you don’t know this by now.” Zephyr Atlas was by far the speediest member in Jade’s group. That’s mostly thanks to her silver, mechanical wings. They shined in the sunlight and the tips were as sharp as blades. Her dark blue coat stood out and her dark brown mane and tail were cut short. She also sported a light blue captain’s garb that covered her mark, which was merely a hawk. She stood there proud and tall on Jade’s crate. “And I’m surprised that you can fly that fast with those bulky, metal wings,” she retorted. “Pff! What? You mean THESE?” She flew up and spun around the air. Then she landed on the crate on her hind legs with her back facing the crowd. She flared her large, metal wings making a loud “Ching!” noise. The sun rays then reflected off of her wings and shined at the crowd. Many tried to avert their eyes to avoid being blinded. “Yes, those. And that was totally necessary,” Jade said deadpanned. “Now get off my crate!” Atlas grumbled and hopped off the crate for Jade to take over again. “Moving on. Seeing how we are going to retrieve a special and secret item, we will be needing the pony with the stickiest hooves in Equestria,” she paused. Her eyes went wide as she realized how dirty that sentence was worded. It didn’t help that she heard slight snickers and chuckles coming from the group. She looked down at her troops. She noticed that some of them were staring at her with blank expressions. Others were covering their mouths with their hooves or claws, trying to hold in their laughter. “That came out wrong,” she said. Her only response were more snickers from the crowd. Even Shield and Stardust were trying his best not to laugh. “Why are they sticky?” he whispered to Stardust. “Shut up!” she punched his hoof. She still couldn’t help but let out a few chuckles. “You all know what I meant!” yelled Jade. “Lock, just get up here already!” Another pony was making their way through the crowd and towards Jade. A lean, orange Pegasus stallion with spikey white mane and tail emerged out of the crowd. He sported a black and gold cat burglar outfit and goggles hanging around his neck. His saddlebag was filled with all kinds of gadgets and tools perfect for theft. He approached Jade with a sly grin on his face. “Artifice Lock, at your service!” he announced. “Although, I’m not sure if my hooves are sticky enough for your needs-“ “Enough with the sticky joke! We all know what it’s supposed to be!” Jade yelled. “What is it supposed to be?” wondered Eclipse. “OH, uh…” Stardust chuckled, nervously. “Are you going to need me tonight, captain?” asked Dead Eye. “Not for this mission. Our employer specifically instructed us that we leave no corpses.” “Well that’s no fun,” sighed Dead Eye. “Aw, that’s Ok, babe,” cooed December Gale as she placed a hoof on his shoulder. “You can take out somepony on the next mission.” “You think so?” “I know so,” Gale said with a smile. “No, you know what? I agree with him!” protested Guesclin. “What kind of mercenary goes on a mission without leaving a few casualties here and there? In my opinion, this sounds like a job for delivery boys rather than for our kind.” “Well, I don’t care about your opinion, gramps!” Jade shot back. Guesclin snarled at her once more. “And I couldn’t care less what our orders are, just as long as we get paid in the end. Isn’t that what typical old warriors like yourself always want?” “See, now you’re speaking my language! Why can’t that be your objective for every job?” “Because if I did that, then it would get repetitive and boring!” “At least you’ll be making a living!” Jade glared at him. She really didn’t want to put up with him at the moment. By the time she chose the rest of her squad for the evening, it would already be the next day. Nothing she thought of sounded like a good comeback. So she did something else. “Anyway!” she yelled. “I think it’s time for my usual tradition again. Vlad, we have new recruits right?” “Yes we do,” he replied. “Good. Newbies, up and center!” she ordered. Stardust and Shield exchanged looks. They turned back to Jade and stepped forward and approached her crate. Jade looked down on them and examined them. She scanned up and down and stared at their strange appearances. “What are your names again?” she asked. “I’m Stardust.” “Abyssal Shield.” “Right, I remember now. Well, good news you two! You’re both coming along on this mission!” “Huh?” they both said. “I chose Atlas and Lock to come with me because I’ll be needing their specific skills in order to complete our mission. I’m bringing you two with me tonight to help you gain some experience points.” “Experience points?” asked Shield. “Well, you’re not going to be much to use to me if you can’t or don’t know how to fight. Or know how to do anything in general. So how else are you going prove your worth by joining us on this job? Think of it like a test. If you pass, then you become stronger. And, you can stay in my party. But if you fail, well…” “Well what?” wondered Shield. “Then there’s a high chance that you’ll probably die in the real battlefield. Not being any use to me at all.” Both of the ponies eyes shrank to the size of peas. I don’t think I like this tradition of hers, thought Stardust. “So, you two in?” Jade chimed. “I don’t know if I’m comfortable with this,” admitted Stardust. “Oh,” Jade said. “Too bad! The script calls for it!” “What?!” they both exclaimed. Before they could interject, a pair of hooves wrapped around their shoulders. They turned to see Atlas suddenly between them. Her hooves were wrapped around them as if they were her buddies. “Alright! First night on the job! Aren’t you pumped for this?!” she exclaimed. “Uhhh,” was all they could say as they averted their eyes. “Yeah, great tradition there,” spoke Guesclin. “Bring the new recruits with you just to axe them off. That sure is a wise choice.” “How else are they going learn to fight if they just stayed here and did nothing?” “It’s called self-training! Maybe you should let them do that instead of dragging them head first into an assignment that could be dangerous for them!” “I don’t have time for a training montage! And they’re not going to get any experience if they just stayed here all the time!” “That’s your reason? Maybe you should-“ “You know what? Why don’t YOU join us!?” Jade interrupted. “Excuse me?” “Since you’re SO insistent that they’ll get hurt, you can tag along and be their foalsitter!” “Hey, we don’t need no foalsitter! We can take care of ourselves!” interjected Shield. “It’s, ‘we don’t need a foalsitter,’” corrected Stardust. “When you said, ‘we don’t need no,’ you just gave a double negative. Meaning that we do need one.” Shield stared blankly at her. His cheeks started blush into a bright red color. He looked away, feeling attacked by his own ignorance. “Fine. I’ll tag along! Just so I can see you fail!” With that, Guesclin marched right up to Jade’s crate and joined the others who were joining her. Now her squad was set, the leader, the speed fighter, the thief, the recruits, and the warrior stood there proud and tall; ready to tackle anything that was thrown at them. Well, Shield and Stardust stared at each other nervously while everypony else was beaming with confidence. “Are we really doing this?” Shield whispered. “Unfortunately,” Stardust replied. The remaining members in the crowd looked up at Jade and her chosen members. “Alright, looks like our team is ready! I have the address to our targets mansion and the plan that will get us paid. This mission will not be easy, so get ready to demolish any obstacle that gets in our way. I promise we will retrieve the item and get what we deserve. December Gale, get our weapons ready.” “Got it!” Gale replied. “We shall leave, immediately!” “Yeah!” the crowd roared. “What about lunch?” asked Lock. As if on cue, Jade’s stomach growled like a manticore. She looked around and noticed that she wasn’t the only one. Most of her other member’s stomachs were rumbling like crazy. “We shall leave, in three hours!” “Yeah!” Later It was evening and the sun was almost about to set for the day. Jade, the four ponies, and the griffon were trekking through a large, grassy terrain to get to their target’s location. “Dang it guys, I was kidding! You weren’t actually supposed to take three hours!” she yelled at her team. “It’s going to be night any minute now, let’s hurry it up!” “Hey, if you’re giving us three hours to cook and eat, we’re going to take our time,” Atlas replied. “That was a mistake on your part.” “Thank you for that lecture. But I think I can get enough of those out of Guesclin.” “Well maybe if you just led us properly you wouldn’t-“ “Did I ask you to speak?” Jade interrupted. Guesclin grumbled and continued to walk. The others were getting equally tired of walking. They just wanted to get to the mansion already and get the job over with. The very long trip was taking them hours to complete. “How far away is this place?” groaned Shield. “Your guess is as good as mine,” replied Stardust. “I thought this place was in Canterlot. But we passed the main castle an hour ago. Now we’re in the middle of nowhere!” added Lock. “Yes, thank you for pointing out the obvious,” remarked Atlas. Jade looked at the address on the card Dapper Metal gave her. She looked up and noticed a large, grassy hill. She knew she was going in the right direction, but felt lost at the same time. She looked around and saw no houses or mansions for miles. Only grass, dirt, and dirt on grass. She and her group walked up the hill. As she was trotting, her patience was starting to wear off. Ok, I swear if I don’t find something in the next five minutes, I’m let my arrows loose right up somepony’s- Before she could finish her thought. She reached the top and found what she was looking for. All of her anger went away and was replaced with joy. “Oh Luna! Troops, shut up and come up here!” she ordered. “No pony said anything,” Stardust pointed out. “Shut it and get up here! We made it!” Like that, all of her troops raced towards the top of the hill to be met with a glorious and breath-taking site. Right above them, stood the floating pegasai city of Cloudsdale. Jade and her team’s jaw dropped and they stared with awe. The city shone in the dusky sun and shimmered to the ground below. Houses made of clouds and rainbow bridges could be recognized anywhere. However, there was one small problem. “Wait, our target’s mansion is in Cloudsdale?” Shield questioned. “How the hay are we supposed to get up there?! Only half us have wings and can walk on clouds! Oh great, our first mission and we already have a big problem!” “What?” asked Jade. “No, his house is right THERE.” She pointed to the big mansion that was directly below Cloudsdale. The rest of the group scanned downwards and finally noticed the huge, blue, two-story mansion that was directly below the floating city. It was guarded by a golden gate and had several flower-filled bushes and hedges surrounding the structure. “Ooohh,” the group said, understanding what was going on. “Yeah, our client told me his rival’s an earth pony who wanted to live in Cloudsdale. But seeing how earth ponies will just fall right through the clouds and become pony pancakes, he chose the next best thing.” “That’s a weird dream to have,” pointed out Atlas. “Yeah, it’s like saying a young filly wakes up one morning and says she wants to become a dragon when she grows up and builds a clubhouse right next to a dragons cave,” added Lock. The rest of the group just stared at him with eyebrows raised and speechless faces. “That’s a…specific example,” noted Jade. “Don’t ask me how I know that!” retorted Lock as he looked away. “O…K…Follow me,” she ordered. She jumped and hid behind a large tree. The rest of the group followed. They all hid behind the large trunk, making sure not to be seen. Jade peaked around the corner and noticed two large security ponies in black shirts were standing watch at the front gate. She turned back to her team. “So, what’s your plan,” asked Guesclin. “Ok, here’s what I came up with,” Jade started. “We knock out the goons out front, somehow, then we break in. And then, we look for the main bedroom, since I’m guessing that’s where the safe is.” “How do you know it’s in there?” asked Atlas. “It’s a giant rich mansion. Every mansion has to have a safe in the main bedroom. Duh! Anyway, we break in without setting off the alarm. We find the safe, Lock will get it to open, and then, wait for it,” she paused. “We take it and go!” There was silence among the group. Atlas face-hoofed herself while Shield and Stardust tilted their heads and gave confused stares. “Really? That’s your big plan? That’s got to be the most dumbed-down and ridiculous plan I’ve ever heard,” ranted Guesclin. “What? Like you’ve got a better plan? It’s the best we got! So, shut it and just go with it,” she shot back. At that moment, a light bulb went off in Stardust’s brain. “Of course! Now would be the perfect time to us it,” she said to herself. “Use what?” asked Jade. Stardust reached into her saddlebag and pulled a small orb. The group stared blankly at the peculiar object. They had no idea where she was going with this. “A glass ball?” wondered Lock. “It’s a magical orb to be exact,” she corrected. Stardust held the orb in one hoof and began to rub it gently with the other. She rubbed it in a circular motion. She rubbed it faster and faster. As she did, the orb started to tint and glow in a bright green color. The glow was reflecting off of Stardust’s eyes as she stared intensely into the mystic object. She whispered into the orb as the glow got brighter and brighter. Every pony’s hearts beat like a mouse, they didn’t know what to make of this. Jade stared in awe at Stardust’s ability. She didn’t know whether to be scared or impressed. All of a sudden, the orb stopped glowing. Stardust’s eyes pulled back and she panted like crazy. Sweat was starting to form on her brow. “What was all that about?” asked Shield. “Oh yeah, I probably should’ve explained this sooner. But I always carry this orb with me wherever I go,” she explained holding the orb. “And whenever I need it, I ask it to foresee my or anypony else’s future. I used this a lot when I was a gypsy.” “Um, I doubt fortune telling will help us on this mission,” Guesclin doubted. “Alright, I’m just going to play along. What did you see?” asked Jade. “I saw us running out of this mansion running with the chest we’re supposed to retrieve.” “Gee, who would’ve seen that coming?” remarked Atlas, sarcastically. “Can we get this over with?” “Hold on! That wasn’t all that I saw. I witnessed another future where I saw us getting captured by the owner’s guards and getting tortured in order to get answers out of us. There was another one where he convinces us to join his side. And he was willing to pay a higher price for our services, and we just went along with it.” Looks of concern were soon aimed at Stardust. Even Jade was getting worried. “W-which one is the real future?” Jade asked. “I don’t know,” Stardust admitted. “What do you mean you don’t know?” “The orb always shows me multiple futures, but only one is true. It never tells me the exact one until it’s happened.” “Well that’s kind of lame,” admitted Lock. “Why would it not tell you which future is correct until after it’s happened? Why not just show the correct one and only the correct one?” “It just does. And at least it helps to be prepared for any outcome,” Stardust replied. “She’s got a point,” shrugged Shield. “But still, why bother to tell you a future if it might not be true in the first place?” “It doesn’t work like that!” Jade thought to herself as the group began to bicker about the purpose of Stardusts orb. So, we could end up failing on this mission? Pfff! No we won’t. That won’t happen. But what if it does? It won’t. It’s just a dumb orb, it’s not like it’s true or not. But only one future is real? What am I saying? It’s a bucking orb. Those things are never true! Why should I care about what a glass ball says? I don’t care. I really don’t care! I don’t care at all! She thought to herself. But what if….No! It doesn’t work like that. It has to be fake! Earth ponies can’t use magic anyway. Again, not that I care or anything. Focus on the mission. “Ok enough!” she yelled. The rest of the group turned to her. “We’re getting off track. Right now, we need to get into that mansion. Atlas, I need you to go over there and-“ “On it!” Atlas zoomed off before Jade could finish her sentence. The others just stared off in confusion. They all peaked around the tree to see the two guard ponies still standing watch by the gate. That’s when things started to happen. One of the guards was suddenly slammed right into the gate. It made a loud ‘Ding!’ noise and he collapsed onto the ground. The other guard jumped at his fallen partner. Both the group and the guard noticed a round dent left in the gate. It was strangely shaped like the guards head. The other guard scanned his surroundings to see who attacked his friend. His eyes were wide open and sweat running down his face. It was too late, as a dark blue blur zipped right past him, causing a loud ‘Thud!’ As the blur flew by, the group’s eyes shrank to see the other guards face and muzzle planted deep in the earth. Atlas then appeared between the unconscious guard ponies. She had a confident smile on her face and her metal wings folded back to her side. She looked at her right hoof and blew off some mane that was found on the bottom of it. Jade let out a sigh of relief, knowing that the guards were taken out. She turned back to her team and found Shield and Stardust’s eyes completely white. Their mouths were opened and stood there motionless. It didn’t take a genius to tell they were shocked. “Amazing isn’t it?” Jade said, smugly. “H-How did she do that?” wondered Shield. “It’s just something that she does. That’s actually why I brought her here tonight. We needed somepony to take out some enemies as swift as possible without killing them. That’s where Atlas comes in,” Jade explained. The recruits continued to stare in awe. They both shook their heads violently, getting out of their amazed trances. “S-should we move on then?” asked Stardust. “No I think we should stay out here and gaze the stars, I thought that might be better,” Jade replied sarcastically. No response came. The five troops came out from behind the tree and walked towards the gate. As they approached the gate, Atlas flew over the fence and unlocked it from within. As she pushed the gates opened, Lock and Guesclin dragged the knocked out goons and hid them in a nearby bush. The group then proceeded to walk along a stone path that would lead them to the door. They soon approached the giant double doors. They looked down and noticed the even larger keyhole. “What is it with mansions and giant, dramatic doors?” chuckled Jade. “Whatever the reason, no keyhole is a match for my sticky hooves,” replied Lock with a sly grin. Jade groaned. Deep down she knew she should’ve picked better words for her speech. Artifice Lock approached the giant keyhole in the door. He reached into his saddle bag and pulled out two, small, bronze rods. As he brought them out, a small glow could be seen engulfing the rods. He held both rods carefully with his wing and hoof and inserted them into the keyhole. He began to jiggle and twist the rods, trying to unlock the door. “Hey!” two voices yelled. The group turned around to see one more guard pony appearing around the left corner of the mansion. They spotted one other guard pony appearing from around the right corner. Both sported black t-shirts and charged at the group. “Alright,” spoke Shield. “Now it’s my-“ A dark blue blur zipped by leaving a gust of wind. Shield could feel the gust blow by him from left to right. Two loud thuds was heard. Shield looked back and noticed the two guards laying still on the ground. They both laid there motionless with large lumps forming on their heads. Atlas appeared next to him with her smug grin. “-Turn,” Shield finished. His eyes went wide. “Oh, did I steal your moment?” mocked Atlas. “Yes! You did, actually!” “I see. Sorry, not really. Maybe next time, or not,” she chuckled. Shield growled in silence while Stardust rested her hoof on his shoulder. That helped him calm down a little as his annoyance was fading away. Lock twisted the keyhole. Several springs, sprockets and other mechanisms went off and they could hear the lock slide open. When Lock pulled out the two rods, the double doors slowly opened up, revealing the massive hallway inside. He smiled greatly, knowing his lock picking skills had worked yet again. “After you,” he bowed and moved out of the way for Jade. In return, she gave him a satisfied nod and trotted inside. “Alright troops. This is it. It’s time to get that item!” “Hopefully this is worth every bit,” complained Guesclin. “Don’t worry. I’m confident this will all work out.” “And if it’s not, we can always ‘retreat and try again,’” teased Atlas. “Shut up and follow me!” They all shared a small group laugh, except for Guesclin, and followed Jade inside. Deep down, Jade was still worried about the different outcomes Stardust’s orb foretold. She knew she didn’t care, she didn’t want to care. She couldn’t let possible futures distract her from her true goal. She shook her head and entered the mansion, leading her team inside. She felt ready for whatever lies within that mansion, and nothing was going to stop her...... Author's Note And so concludes the first chapter. Sorry if this chapter was a little too wordy with the descriptions. Thanks to all the members out there for lending their awesome OCs for this fic. If your OC hasn't appeared in this chapter, then they'll probably be introduced in either the next one or in a later chapter. Thanks to TP Night for helping out with this chapter. Let me know what you guys and girls think. Thanks. Searching the Mansion. Searching the Mansion. The group entered the mansion and walked right into the main hallway. Lock then quietly closed the door behind him and joined the others. Jade and her group were met with a giant entrance hall with paintings and awards on every wall. They witnessed a fancy stairway, covered with ocean blue carpet, and the second floor split, leading to two separate hallways. Hanging over them was a sparkling, golden chandelier with candles burning brightly. The whole group gazed at the interior in awe. “Wow, it’s so nice in here,” mused Stardust. “Meh, I’ve seen nicer,” shrugged Shield. “Alright, enough site seeing,” began Jade as she turned around. “Right now we should look for the-“ She paused once again. She noticed that one of her team mates was not with her. A certain orange Pegasus was missing. She could see his outline blinking at the place where he once stood. “Where’s Lock?” Atlas pointed left with her wing. Jade looked and noticed Lock sneaking a blue gem off of a stand and into his saddlebag. “Lock!” she whispered. The thief turned and saw that he was caught. Not really a big surprise, but he still blushed a bright red color. He soon returned with the rest of the group. “Just taking a little souvenir for the road,” he chuckled. “Now’s not the time. Right now we just have to focus on finding the main bedroom and taking the chest,” Jade reasoned. “Do you even know where it is?” asked Guesclin. “I’m working on it! Don’t rush me.” “You don’t know, do you?” “I do! I just don’t know the exact location of it.” “What? But that would imply-“ Jade tuned out and turned away from another one of Guesclin’s lectures. While that was going on, Shield, Stardust, and Atlas were wandering around the main room. “Geez, this guy sure owns a lot of junk,” pointed out Shield. He picked up a small hoof-held trophy with his magic. The trophy had a bright star symbol embedded it and shone with his magic. “What do you think he does for a living?” “I don’t know, being really rich?” Atlas guessed. “Yeah, cuz that makes sense. Rich noble-ponies will just pay anyone nowadays just to own a mansion as long as you have ‘royal blood’ or stuff,” replied Shield, sarcastically. “What? It was just a guess. How am I supposed to know what rich snobs do to get a fancy place like this? And why should I care?” Shield shrugged. “Just good to know I guess.” Stardust wandered away from the main group and went to examine some paintings. She noticed that some of them had stallions with very muscular and, well, bulk features. In fact, the majority of paintings were just bulk Pegasus stallions in over the top poses. She noticed one painting had a bulk earth pony stallion with a battle axe in his mouth, another of a Pegasus stallion in a track uniform running a marathon, and even a white Pegasus stallion bench lifting some dumbbells. Stardust tilted her head at the paintings. Her curiosity levels were rising, she wanted to know what this stallion does. Her ears suddenly perked up. She heard voices in the distance. Not her team mate’s voices, these voices sounded more formal. She wandered to a nearby hall arch, where the voices were coming from. She peaked around the corner. Her eyes shrank at what she discovered. She spotted several noble-ponies, stallions and mares, sitting at a large dining table. They were all talking and laughing and sported fancy clothing. Not only that, but she spotted an earth pony stallion at the end of the table. The earth stallion had orange fur and a red, combed-back mane and short tail. He sported a green suit with a red tie. His mark appeared to be a plastic bottle of some sort and he was remarkably muscular. This wasn’t good. Her mouth was left open with shock. She retreated from the opening and returned to her teammates. “Guys!” she spoke. All eyes turned towards her. “We’ve got a problem.” “What is it?” asked Jade. Stardust pointed to the arch and soon enough, all of the members noticed the bright light. They all carefully peaked around the corner and discovered the muscular stallion. They fell silent as well. They stepped away from the arch and returned to the entrance hall. “Looks like our target is having a little dinner party with his friends or clients,” spoke Atlas. “Yes! Thank you captain obvious! We needed to know what we already know!” Jade scorned. “Hey! I’m just trying to help. Don’t get all snappy with me!” retorted Atlas. “I can’t believe this, how could you let this happen?” asked Guesclin. “I didn’t know he would be home tonight! I thought he would be enjoying a night out or some junk!” “Excuses! Excuses! That will get you nowhere. You should’ve checked to see if he would be here!” “How was I supposed to do that? Did you expect me to go up to him and say, ‘Oh, hi there, I’m a mercenary for hire, nice to meet you! If you could let us know if you’re going to be around when we rob your home tonight, then that would be just dandy!?’” Jade retorted. “I’d let you in if you were that formal,” Lock remarked. “This just proves how reckless you really are, Caliber! You did no research on our target, you never scanned his home inside or out, and you even managed to screw us all over by robbing him the night he happens to have other nobles in his home! Do you know what that could do to us? They could rat us out to the royal guards, have us arrested and strip us of our honor!” “Will you shut up for a moment?! In case you haven’t noticed, we haven’t been caught yet!” “Uh, guys,” muttered Stardust. “Yes?!” However, before Stardust could continue- “Now that dinner’s finished, I’d love to show you all what I’ve done to my living room!” spoke a formal voice. Everypony froze in place. Jade turned around and noticed the shadows of the noble ponies stood up and were beginning to walk out. Jade’s eyes shrank as she heard the noise of hoof steps getting closer. Buck! she thought. “Oh great! Just great! Now what do we do?” panicked Shield. “I don’t know, what do you suggest?” asked Atlas. “Should I take them out?” wondered Shield as he reached for his sword. “No! Not yet!” replied Jade. She scanned her surroundings quickly, turning left and right, up and down. Then she realized that the stairs were still there. The hoof steps began to increase in noise. “Up the stairs, troops!” Jade ordered. Jade ran up the stairs as fast as her hooves could take her. She reached to the second floor and made a right. The rest of her squad soon followed. Just in time too, as Bulk Buster was leading his guests across the hall and into the living room. All while not noticing that his blue gem was missing. Jade and her squad ran through the hallway in search for a place to hide. They busted through a door at the end of the hall. As soon as everypony was in the room, Jade shut the door. She panted and wiped the sweat off her brow. “That was close,” she panted. “Why were you running?” asked Stardust. “Because then we would’ve been caught! Wasn’t that obvious?” “Yeah, but no pony was chasing us. We could’ve just hid in the hallway until they all went into another room,” Stardust mentioned. Jade paused in place as the gears were starting to turn in her head. Her logic was starting to make sense. Nothing came to Jade’s mind as she realized her own unnecessary mistake. Her cheeks blushed a little. “Dang it!” she face-hoofed. “So, great plan so far, Jade,” remarked Guesclin. “First not knowing that the owner of this place was still here, and now almost getting caught by him. I can see the flawlessness of your plan now.” “You know you don’t have to reply!” Jade turned to see what room they were in now. She noticed the giant windows where the dusky sun shone through giving the room even more light. She noticed the giant queen sized be with a canopy, the portrait of Bulk Buster himself hanging over a dresser, and an open door that led to a closest filled with fancy clothes. Jade soon figured out where they were. “We’re in his room.” “Huh?” his squad asked. They all looked around and noticed all of the obvious signs. As they were searching, the sun finally set and it was dark outside. The light in the room started to dim, but they still managed to see where they were. “Alright troops! Spread out and find that safe!” she ordered. Her team followed through with her order and began to search the room. Atlas checked under the bed, but found only dust bunnies. Lock looked under his desk, but found old books. Guesclin looked behind the bed, but got the same result as Atlas. Stardust looked behind the dresser, but found nothing. Then she spotted something resting on top of the dresser. She found a pile of magazines lying on top of each other. Each magazine had a fit Pegasus stallion in gym clothes holding a small plastic bottle in their hooves. She picked up one of the magazines and squinted. She got a closer look at the bottle the stallion was holding. She noticed the logo wrapped around it. It read, “Buster Drinks!” in gold, bold letters. The connections were starting to click in her mind. “Oh. Now I know who this pony is,” Stardust said. “Huh? Who is he?” asked Shield. “He makes protein shakes for young stallions, specifically Pegasai. I heard his factory is up in Cloudsdale where his employee’s and close friends work. He took over the family business when his father passed. But he’s been adding his own cloud-based ingredients into the drinks to help give them a little kick,” she explained. “Does it work?” “I guess. Rumor has it he has a cousin, who’s a Pegasus stallion, in Ponyville who takes large amounts of this stuff. He ended up becoming so buff that his own wings shrank.” “Oh. You mean Bulk Biceps?” “Nah! That’s way too obvious.” “Troops, focus! We don’t have all night!” brought up Jade. She trotted in place to figure out where the safe could be hiding. Her mind hatched an idea when she turned and faced the portrait. “Of course, it’s so obvious!” She marched right up the portrait. The others didn’t understand this and they stared at her blankly. They all gathered around her. “Where else would a millionaire hide his most secretive stuff? Behind a huge painting that reflects his ego, of course!” Her horn started to glow a light green color and soon enough, the portrait was engulfed in the green glow. The portrait was lifted off of the wall and floated in midair. Jade’s horn died out and the painting dropped to the floor, revealing a blank space on the wall. “Ha-ha!” she exclaimed as she pointed to the empty space. The others continued to stare at her blankly. Jade’s smug grin did not change until she turned around. She turned back to her troops. Her eyes shrank and her grin vanished. She swiftly turned back expecting a safe, but instead found an empty spot. She turned back at her team, then back at the wall. Back at the team, then wall. She did that repeatedly. “Uhhh,” she spoke, awkwardly. She soon spotted a bench cabinet in front of the bed. She raced towards it and placed her hoof on the seat. She lifted up the cabinet seat and levitated several small pillows out. “Ha-ha!” She fell silent when she realized she was holding pillows with her magic. She scanned the room nervously again, searching for another possible hiding spot. She turned to the closet and noticed it was still open. She raced inside and switched on the light. “Ha!” she yelled as she parted away some coats. Once again, she found nothing but an empty space. Her brow furrowed and began searching through all the coats. “Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha-ha!” She had no luck. She stepped out of the closet with a defeated face. Her team tilted their heads at their confused leader. They didn’t know what to expect next. Jade just stood there, kicking the carpet awkwardly. “Umm…” “There’s no giant, secret safe,” said Shield. “THERE’S ALWAYS A GIANT, SECRET SAFE!” “Well sorry our target wasn’t kind enough to put a giant, obvious safe in his room with a label that read, ‘Hey! Secret safe! Please crack me open and steal from me!’” “Ok, shut up! Let me think!” ordered Jade. Before she could even place her hoof on her chin, she heard another voice. “Excuse me for a moment, I just need to get something from my room.” The group froze once more. “He’s coming! What now?” asked Shield. Bulk Buster entered the room. He looked around in his room to find it was empty. He turned and spotted his dresser. “There’s those magazines!” He went over and grabbed the magazines with his mouth. With that, he exited the room and closed the door shut, not suspecting a thing. “Here are the magazines where my brilliant creations were featured in,” he spoke to his crowd. Once the door closed, everypony was starting to come out of their hiding places. Stardust peaked her head out of the closet door, Shield emerged from the bench cabinet, and Jade scooted out from under the bed. Her hat was covered with dust. “There’s a dust bunny farm down here, and they’re multiplying,” she coughed. Stardust came out of the closet and approached the window. She unhooked the hatch, letting all the night time breeze get in. The cold wind hit her face and made her fur shiver. “You can come in now,” she called out. Atlas, Lock, and Guesclin flew down from the roof and re-entered the room. Once they were in, Stardust closed the windows. Jade managed to get out from under the bed and brushed off all of the dust. “Well, that makes it the second time we’ve almost been caught,” spoke Guesclin. “Yes, I’m aware of that,” Jade replied. “So, what now?” asked Lock. “Hold on, I’m thinking!” Jade placed her hoof to her chin and began to ponder in thought. She tapped her chin, but nothing came up. She still couldn’t believe that there was no safe in Bulk’s main bedroom. If not there, where could it be? Is the item even in a safe? Jade had no idea, she knew it wouldn’t be long for Bulk to accidently run into her. She was also thinking about those fortunes that Stardust mentioned. If the item isn’t here, where could it be? Could we end up being caught? She thought. No way! If any of those fortunes are coming true, it’ll be the first one where I’m running out of the mansion with the item, laughing! “Alright. If the item isn’t in his room, then it must be somewhere else in this mansion. We should search the place so that we can….uh…find it,” said Jade. “You sure that’s a good idea? What about Bulk and his guests?” asked Stardust. “And what if we run into any more guards in here?” added Lock. “Simple. We just avoid them as best we can,” Jade answered. “That’s kind of lame. I was kind of expecting to take down some rich goons,” remarked Shield. “Trust me, I feel the same way. But our client specifically ordered us to leave no bodies. Dead ones, anyway. We only attack if it’s absolutely necessary,” Jade reminded. “Boooo!” “Ok how about this: the next time we have a mission that involves a castle invasion, army fighting, dragon taming, or combat of any kind you’ll definitely be joining us.” Shield gasped. “Really?” “Yep! Like I said, this mission is just to get you and Stardust some experience. I guarantee you, the next mission will be more action-packed. Or at least less boring.” A big smile emerged on Shields face. Stardust couldn’t help but chuckle at his toothy grin. “Alright! With that said, let’s move out!” Jade led her team right out of the room and back into the hallway. Even though she sounded confident, she was still worrying about their outcome. She didn’t want to fail again. Not to mention those fortunes were starting to get to her. Sweat was already running down her face and her gaze averted from her team. Nevertheless, she did her best to hide it. She kept her eyes forward as her team followed. They all soon entered the kitchen, only to find a counter table covered with dirty table clothes and a sink, overflowing with dirty dishes. The dining room looked no better, as it was covered with used napkins and empty glasses. The group was a little taken back by this. “Huh, you’d think these rich folk would be a little cleaner,” remarked Atlas. “You sure we’re not confusing slobs with snobs?” added Stardust. “Doesn’t really matter to me. Both are pretty disgusting in their own senses,” Jade replied. The group searched the entire kitchen, but found nothing that resembled a safe or a small chest. They checked all the cabinets and all the drawers, but to no avail. Some of them even went as far to check underneath the used clothes. “Nothing,” pointed out Jade. “Next room!” They all exited the kitchen. Well, almost all of them. Lock stayed behind to sneak an uneaten chocolate scone that was left on the dining table. He side-stepped next to the table and snatched it with his wing. He licked his lips at the sight of it. He tossed the scone in his mouth. The scone attacked his taste buds with savory, chocolaty goodness. The taste was enough to send a shiver down his spine. “Mmmm,” he moaned. He soon joined the others. They all entered the living room, filled with couches and chairs with bronze fabric, a glass coffee table completed with a blue and white flower vase, and even more paintings of muscular stallions. The amount of paintings in the mansion was starting to get to some of the members. “What is with this guy?” wondered Jade. “We get it, your drinks make stallions buff. What do you expect from us?” “Something tells me these paintings aren’t just to show that his drink works,” added Atlas. “Maybe he has some kind of hidden desire.” “Don’t make it weird,” grunted Guesclin. They searched all around the living room. Under the couches, behind the paintings, and underneath the glass table. Which was pretty pointless to do. It seemed like the owner didn’t have a safe in the first place. “I can’t wait to show you the living room!” announced the voice. “And that’s our cue!” proclaimed Jade. In a flash, all the members raced right out of the room. The gust was strong enough to spin the vase on the table. Bulk entered the living room with his guests. As he walked in, he noticed that the vase was still spinning. His eyebrow raised at the vase. He didn’t know why it would be spinning. “Is something the matter, Bulk?” asked a noble-mare. Bulk rubbed his chin. “No. Everything’s fine. It must be my imagination.” His guests muttered in agreement. “Anyway, I’d like for you to notice the paintings in THIS room.” His guests gazed in awe. Meanwhile, Jade and her group rested in a nearby hallway. Jade was pacing around, trying to come up with a better way of finding the chest. Nothing seemed to come up. It would only be a matter of time before they’re found out. She looked up and noticed that the hallway split into three arches. She pondered in thought. This mansion was starting to feel more like a labyrinth. “Ok, so here’s what will do,” Jade started. “There’s three corridors in front of us. I think we should split up into three teams. That way we can cover more ground and find the chest quicker. Because something tells me that we’re not even close to discovering the entire mansion.” “Really?” asked Atlas. “You know, usually in books, that’s how characters are easily axed off. Instead of getting captured, or worse, at once they get discovered one by one. Not sure if that’s the best plan,” noted Lock. “AND, the reason they were axed was because they were idiots who didn’t know how to walk and tripped over everything,” Jade retorted. “Not to mention they were being chased by some monster or monsters. The only horrifying things in this place are those paintings.” Everypony nodded and muttered in agreement. “Besides, we’re trained professionals,” “Most of us,” whispered Stardust. “If we run into any more guards, we can knock them out. And if we see Bulk or his guests, then we just run or hide.” “Best strategy,” noted Shield. “So it’s settled. We’ll split into teams of three. Guesclin, I don’t want to hear any more of your rambles, so you’ll go with Lock.” Guesclin grumbled. “The recruits will go with each other. Atlas, you’re with me.” “Cool,” Atlas replied. “If anyone spots the chest, or the room where the chest is, they are to inform me. Got it?” They all nodded. “Great. And remember, only engage in combat if it’s absolutely necessary. Now, let’s move out.” With that, they all went their separate ways. Jade and Atlas walked down the left corridor while Guesclin and Lock wandered down the one on the right. That left only Stardust and Shield with the middle one. They both walked down the hall and couldn’t help but notice it was strangely dark. They knew they had nothing to worry about, but Stardust couldn’t help but feel anxious. She kept on muttering to herself. “Hey, you alright?” asked Shield. “Yeah. Just thinking about stuff,” she replied. “What kind of stuff?” “Well, this is my first time on an actual mission with a real group. But now that we’re on our own, I just,” she paused. “I don’t know. I think it’s just nerves.” “Everypony gets nervous once in a while. But why be nervous? If we see any guards, we’ll take them out.” “I know.” “And how come you’re only getting nervous now? We’ve been here for at least forty-five minutes. Why bring up that you’re nervous now?” Shield asked. “I never said I wasn’t before.” “Oh.” “Yeah. But, I’m not just nervous about getting caught. It’s also about the fortunes I read today.” “Really?” “Yeah. I’m just worried that one of the bad ones might end up coming true tonight. I can’t really control it. And I can’t really avoid it either.” “Does that fortune telling stuff actually work? I mean, it sounds kind of farfetched when you-“ “Why not? I’ve already told you, I’ve been doing this for a while. And at least one of them always comes true,” she interrupted. “Besides, if a zebra in the Everfree forest can perform similar magic, why can’t I?” “You’ve heard those stories too?” “How can I not?!” she turned and faced him. “Eh?” Shield said, taken back. “Oh, sorry!” “I-It’s fine.” “Let’s just, keep on moving.” “Alright.” Stardust turned around and they continued on their path. Shield couldn’t help but chuckle at Stardust’s sudden outburst. It was the first time he’d seen her outside of her calm face. As they were walking, Shield couldn’t help but stare at the gypsy mare’s flank. Shield then realized what he was staring at and shook his head. He mentally slapped himself. What are you doing? You barely know her! Don’t go around staring at pretty mares! He thought. Did I call her pretty? While fighting with his mind, he couldn’t help but feel something sticking him in the back of his neck. His eyes moved and noticed that his sword strap was rubbing on his fur. He adjusted it with his magic, but the sword still felt loose. He moved it up a little, but the sword still fell on his neck. He grunted and came to a halt. He placed his sword on the ground and started to mess with the strap. Stardust reached the end of the hallway. It split into two paths, one leading left and one leading right. She was so focused on getting out that she had no idea that Shield wasn’t with her. She took the path on the left, unknowingly leaving Shield behind. While that was going on, Shield has just fixed his sword strap and placed it back around himself. He smiled to himself and walked down the hall. He eventually reached the fork in the hall, but he had no idea where Stardust went. He swerved between the left and the right, not knowing which route to take. “Where’d she go? Stardust!” The halls created a loud echo. He soon covered his mouth. He came to realize that was a dumb move. Don’t yell! If Bulk hears those echoes you’ll be spotted, dumb butt! Without thinking, he ran straight for the right pathway. As he sprinted, he just hoped that he took the right path to catch up to Stardust. Meanwhile, Lock and Guesclin were wandering down another hall in search for their targeted item. They haven’t spoken to one another ever since the team split up. Guesclin just kept his focus forward. Lock decided it was time to break the ice. “So, nice night tonight isn’t it?” he wondered. “I don’t know, is it?” Lock fell silent. His eyes kept on averting and moving everywhere. Nothing came to his mind. “Just trying to start a conversation,” he said. “Why?” “Why not? Isn’t it nice to have a chat with your friends?” “You’re not my friend,” Guesclin said, bluntly. Lock fell silent, again. The awkwardness was starting to kill him, but he didn’t want to look stupid in front of the griffon. He tried to come up with something, but nothing sounded good. “Uh-“ “We can either see this two ways: either continue to suck up to me to get more awkward responses, or ignore what just happened and focus on your mission.” “Fine.” The two mercs continued on down the hallway. When they turned around the corner though, they were met with an interesting discovery. A door swung open at the left side of the hallway. Guesclin held his claw out and moved Lock back. They peaked around the corner and noticed a guard popping out of the door. He was a Pegasus stallion with a beige fur coat and a blonde crew cut. He also sported a black T shirt, like the other guards, and sunglasses placed on his forehead. He walked out of the room carrying two plastic bottles with his wings. “Alright, time to take these bottles to Bulk so he can show off,” he spoke. He closed door and began to walk through the hallway. Once he turned around the corner, Guesclin and Lock sneaked towards the door. They both approached a handle sticking out of the wall with a thing outline surrounding it. Guesclin turned the handle and the door slowly creaked open. “They didn’t even lock it? Wow, talk about poor security,” chuckled Lock. “Hush!” The door finally opened up. Guesclin noticed some beads hanging next to the door. He yanked on it, and the room lit up. What the found inside was a little too much for words. They just stood there speechless. They both walked down the stairs to get a better look. Meanwhile, Shield was still looking for Stardust but had no luck. He wandered down the hall with no idea where he was going. He then spotted another corridor that was crossing paths with his. There were two armored suits at each end of the arch that led to the corridor. He slowly approached the cross hall. Bulk and his guests walked by laughing as he continued his tour. Shields heart skipped a beat. At the last second he leaped behind one of the armored suits. “And then I said, ‘Why don’t you just make it yourself?’” He and the rest of his guests burst into laughter. Heads thrown back and all. Shield rolled his eyes at Bulks words, even though he had no idea what he was talking about. Geez! Does this guy have to show the ENITRE place? His guests finally walked on the other side and vanished. Shield hopped out from behind the armor and peaked around the corner. He looked to his right and noticed that his tour line was not that far away. Shield turned to his left and noticed the hallway turned right. So, he ran to his right and made another right at the end. He started to wander through another corridor. It seemed that every hallway was getting longer and longer. He began to wonder just how many halls and sharp turns Bulk has. A lot of hallways and still no sign of Stardust. He was starting to worry, his heartbeat started to slow down and he stared at the ground. Where did you go, Stardust? I hope you didn’t get captured. He turned around another corner. When he did, he accidentally bumped into something. Or somepony; and they sounded like they dropped something. “Oof! Excuse me,” Shield pardoned. His eyes froze once he discovered what he bumped into. The guard pony with the crew cut stared at him, cautiously. His dropped bottles rolled on the floor. The two ponies just stared at each other. “Who the hay are you?” asked the guard. “You’re not one of Bulk’s guests.” Shields eyes shifted, unable to come with a convincing story. So, he improvised. “Yes I am.” “No, you’re not. We checked all the guests before they entered the mansion.” “Uh.” He eyed one of the dropped bottles still rolling on the floor. Time to improvise. He levitated one of the bottles twisted off the cap. As soon as the cap came off, he threw the entire bottle at the guard. “Gah!” he yelled. He was splashed with a thick, brown liquid. The drink got in his eyes and his mane was soaked. As he rubbed his eyes with his wings. “I hate chocolate flavor!” As he was rubbing his eyes, Shield raised his front hooves and made a run for it. The guard regained his vision and noticed Shield running away through the hall. “Hey! Get back here!” “No!” The guard ran after him, dripping chocolate flavor protein shake as he ran. While that was going on, Stardust was still wandering. She kept walking through her corridor until something came up. All while not knowing that she was alone. She reached an arch at the end of the hall and found herself back in the living room. “Back here again? Looks like we just went in one big circle. Huh, Shield?” No response came. “Shield?” She turned around and discovered that her partner was nowhere to be seen. Her mouth dropped as she realized what was happening. She circled around herself and still no Shield. Her heart was starting to beat faster than normal. “What? Where did he go? Oh no.” The sound of a stallion’s yell soon hit her eardrums. Her left ear perked up, she noticed that the scream was close by. She turned and faced another ach leading into another room. Her concerns increased every time she heard hoofsteps getting louder. “Shield,” she said. In her mind, she knew what she had to do. Hang tight, Shield! Please don’t get captured. Author's Note Sorry this one took so long, and that it wasn't really action packed. I start school next week so I wanted to get this chapter done as soon as possible. But since I'm starting school again, I'll have no idea when I'll post the next chapter, so it may be a while. But this fic will continue, even if it may take some time. Thanks to TP Night for helping out with this one. Hope you liked it and let me know what you think. Thanks. Completing the Mission. Completing the Mission. Jade and Atlas were wandering through their corridor. It seemed like another endless hallway for them. Unable to see the end and not knowing what to do once they reach it. They were sharing a nice conversation with each other as they were walking. “So after I beat his flank, he says to me, ‘you’re pretty fast, for a mare with fake wings.’ I couldn’t even tell if he was complimenting me or not,” Atlas ranted. “And you still went out with him?” asked Jade. “Well yeah! I mean, it’s not every day you get to meet a cool stallion who’s not your typical, cocky, masculine, Wonderbolt stereotype. And let me tell you, he was fast in ALL the right ways.” A sly smile formed on her face. “I REALLY should stop having these conversations with you,” replied Jade, deadpanned. “What? Don’t be jealous.” “As if. ‘I am a strong, independent mare who don’t need no stallion in my life,’” she replied, sarcastically. “Wow!” laughed Atlas. “Just, wow.” “So then what happened?” “Well, like most stallions I’ve dated, he changed over time. He started acting like a jerk and thought that I was his property.” “I doubt they were ALL like that.” “I know, but I’m exaggerating here.” “Did you deal with him like you did with all of your other leftovers?” “Buck yeah. I don’t mess around.” Jade knew what this meant. She knew Atlas for a while and knew how she dealt with her ex’s. She was just glad that she wasn’t on Atlas’ “left for dead” list. “You knocked him out?” Jade started. “Yep,” Atlas confirmed. “Dragged him to a deserted area with no ponies around?” “Yep.” “And you,” she paused in thought. “Chained him to a tree?” “Nope. Left him in a hot-air balloon basket.” “Oh?” “In the air.” “Oh.” “That was floating towards the dragon kingdom.” “Oh!” “While covered with gems.” “Oh…” “Yeah,” she chuckled. “You’re dark, Atlas.” “Pff! I don’t care.” Suddenly, something hit their ears. “Hold on!” Jade halted. “Do you hear that?” Both of their ears perked up, the faint sound of a stallion screaming soon echoed in their heads. It was followed by hoofs running through the halls. It sounded like two or three ponies running at once. “Oh. That doesn’t sound good,” spoke Jade. “It sounds like somepony from our team has been found out,” added Atlas. “That’s doesn’t sound good at all.” “What should we do?” “Well I think we should continue on our personal tour of the mansion and disregarded all interruptions- what do you think we should do?!” Atlas stared blankly at her. Another faint scream was heard through the halls. “Let’s go see who needs us!” she ordered and ran through the hall. Atlas followed suit. Meanwhile, the guard pony was chasing Shield through the halls. Shield ran as fast as his legs could take him. He was not about to let some typical guard be his downfall. He tried to come up with a plan as he ran, but was too busy avoiding his would-be capturer to think. What do I do? What do I do? Shield ran into a nearby hallway and spotted a door. He ran up to said door and opened it up with his magic. As soon as the door was open, he jolted inside. The guard spotted the open door and ran after him, closing the door behind him. At the same time, Jade and Atlas had entered the hallway. The searched all around but couldn’t spot the source of the scream. “Now what?” asked Atlas. “I’ll search the other hall, you continue on THAT way!” she ordered, pointing to a corner at the end of the hall. “Got it!” With that, the two mares split up. Jade entered through the door Shield and the guard ran through while Atlas flew and turned around at the corner. Her wings carried her as if her life depended on it. She stopped in her tracks and noticed Bulk Buster and his guests coming out of another room. Atlas scanned her surroundings to find a place to hide. Luck was on her side as she spotted a nearby door. She jolted, burst through the door, and closed it. “And let me tell you, he was less than impressed,” laughed Bulk. Atlas peaked through the tiny keyhole in the door to check if coast was clear. To her dismay, Bulk was out standing in the middle of the hallway, rambling on about another story to his guests. Atlas silently grunted to herself. “Where do they keep coming from?” she wondered. Meanwhile, Shield sprinted out of a random room and persuaded down another hall. Shield decided to look back while he was running. He turned around and noticed that the guard was no longer there. Something seemed off. He looked forward and spotted another cross-intersection hallway. There was a door at the end of it and Shield made a run for it. Unfortunately, the guard pony leapt out of said door. He landed on the ground and shut the door with his hooves. Shield gasped and came to a halt. The guard growled at him and was ready to attack. Shields heart started to beat faster, he was running out of options. He tried to sidestep to his left, but the guard did the same and blocked him. He tried moving to the right, but was blocked again. No matter where Shield moved, the guard wouldn’t let him by. It looked like he had to rely on the oldest trick on the book to get out of this one. Shield eyed the corridor to his left. His eyes shrank and he let out a terrifying scream. The guard swerved to his right and found that the hall was empty. When he turned back to face Shield, he was gone! The guard turned to his left and found Shield running down the other hall. He growled and slammed his hoof to the ground. “Every time!” he exclaimed and chased after Shield. Shield ran like never before, he was still surprised that the guard fell for the oldest trick in existence. “Wow. Twice in one night? Where do these guys come from?” he laughed as he ran. Shield soon found himself in the main hallway from when they first entered. “Back to the beginning?” The sound of hooves clopping suddenly became louder and louder. Shield turned back to the hall to see that the guard was getting closer. “Gah! Now what? Where do I go?” he panicked. He ran around in a circle to figure out where to go next. He had run through every hall in the mansion, he had nowhere else to run to. Nowhere to hide without getting caught or trapped. His hooves ran in place as he tried to come up with a solution. That is, until the obvious hit his head. “Oh wait!” He looked over his shoulder and realized that his sword was still attached to him. He engulfed the handle with a golden glow and slid the sword right out of its sheath. He levitated and swung it around. “Why didn’t I use this sooner?” he asked himself. He then looked forward and noticed the guard pony still charging at him. He readied himself and pointed his sword forward. His eyes narrowed as the guard got closer and closer. Shield then noticed something was off, the way he kept on running was strange. Surely, he had to have seen Shield’s sword right about now. He had no way to defend himself, the guard was unarmed. Right? Before Shield could process that thought, the crew-cut Pegasus started to take flight. His wings had spread and he was soaring just inches above the ground. Shield started sweating bullets. Then he spotted something in the guard pony’s mouth. Shield squinted as the guard flew closer. Right when he figured out what he had, the guard flew straight at him. Shield raised his sword to his face. A loud CLANG! occurred and shot Shield back. Shield stood up after the impact. His eyes didn’t lie to him as he saw the guard pony, standing right in front of him, wings flared, with a large dagger on his mouth. A Dagger? He must’ve pulled that out while he was chasing me! I think…I don’t know. Why am I thinking about this? The guard spit the dagger out of his mouth and caught it with his right hoof. “Just give up!” the guard ordered. “You’ve been caught, there’s nothing more to do than surrender.” “Uh, are you not paying attention? I have the bigger blade,” pointed out Shield. “You don’t stand a chance.” “You’d be surprised!” “Nothing can surprise-“ The guard flew straight at Shield in seconds. Shield yelped at the attack and raised his sword. The blades clashed once more. Shield could feel the guard's dagger push him back, he couldn’t believe how strong he was. Shield thrusted the guard off of him. He took to the air and carried the dagger in his hoof. The guard flew right at Shield, dagger in hoof. Shield swung his sword and countered his attack, deflecting him back into the air. The guard flew in for another aerial attack and Shield slashed at him again. The guard flew all around with his dagger, Shield counterattacking with his sword, blades clashing and sparks flying everywhere. The guard landed back on the ground. He flew at Shield, ready for another attack. The guard then started swinging and slashing his dagger at Shield, slicing in various X shaped attacks. All Shield could do was protect his face with his sword as the guard continued his assault. Even more sparks flew with every strike. Shield was starting to lose strength, his hooves started to feel strained. The guard kept on striking with the same patterns, it was starting to get to Shield. Shield jumped back and readied his sword. The guard stood there, panting and shooting sweat. Shield saw the opportunity and smirked. He charged forward with his sword, ready to attack. He charged and swung his great blade. When his attack finished, he noticed that the guard was gone. He looked up and found him flying in the air. “Forgetting about a small detail?” the guard asked, pointing to his wings. Shield growled at him as the guard came diving down on him. Shield blocked his attack and swung at the airborne stallion. He started swinging at him repeatedly, as if he was starting to swat a fly. The guard landed, and charged at Shield again, using the same X-shaped strikes. Shield did his best to block against it as more sparks flew. He then felt a razor sharp sting brush against the side of his neck and left hoof. He jumped back as the guard took to the air again. Shield couldn’t help but feel like something was wrong. He felt like he was leaking. He patted the side of his neck with his hoof. When he brought said hoof to his face, it was covered with red. Shield’s eyes shrank at the sight of the small puddle of blood on his hoof. He looked down and noticed there was a nasty slice on his left hoof too. He stumbled back, but still kept his sword up. He looked up at the stallion who was grinning down on him. “Using the same attacks over and over? Cheap move, dude!” he grunted. “It sure worked on you. And on your buddy over there,” the guard reported, pointing behind Shield. The young unicorn looked back, only to find an empty hallway. This wasn’t good. “W-What’re talking about? There’s nopony t-“ Before he could finish his sentence, a large amount of force rammed into his gut. Shield gasped and salvia was launched out of him. He was thrusted back and slammed against a wall. The impact caused him to crack his back and slam the back of his head against the wall. Shield slid down and grasped his stomach. He moaned in agony, it felt like getting run over by a station wagon, he couldn’t believe how hard that guard could buck. The crew cut guard lowered his back legs and turned around to face the fallen swordspony. He grasped the dagger with his right wing and slowly approached Shield. “In hindsight…I probably should’ve expected that,” Shield grunted. “You’re coming with me,” ordered the guard. “Bulk’s not going to like an uninvited guest in his home.” Shield used his magic to raise his sword, but due to the impact on his head his sword wobbled in his magic. “As if I’m go-“ The guard smacked the sword out of Shields grasp with his wing, sliding it to the left side of the room. He then back hoofed Shield’s horn, so that he couldn’t use any more magic. His horn stung, and the pain soon reached the rest of his body. “Gah!” screamed Shield as he held his horn with his hooves. “Are you done?” asked the guard. At the same time, Jade appeared at the end of her corridor. She found herself back at the main entrance, and noticed the guard pony pointing his dagger at the fallen Shield. Jade gasped and jumped back in the hallway, hiding in the shadows. She wasn’t expecting on finding her new recruit to get captured like this. Well, at least I know where the screaming came from. She thought. This doesn’t look good. Was Stardust’s future about us getting captured true? Are we really just going to get caught, one by one? This didn’t look good at all. She knew she had to do something. The more time she stood on the sidelines watching, the sooner her new teammate would face his demise. Wait. This is just one guy. The bad future said we would all get captured. Besides, even if this was the case, I could always prevent it from doing THIS! Jade reached into her cloak, ready to pull out her favorite, and not-so-secret of subtle, weapon of choice. She was actually waiting all night for something like this to happen, just so she could use it. Jade was mid-way through with pulling out her “day saving device.” The guard raised his dagger at Shield, holding it in a guarding position. “Don’t take this personally. I’m just doing my job,” the guard said. He reached down at Shield with his hoof as the fallen rookie was covering his face, waiting for his capture. Right when Shield was expecting a hard grasp on his hoof, the sound of clay shattering hit his ears. Confused, Shield removed his hooves from his face to see what had happened. He noticed that the guard was just standing there, face frozen and completely motionless. Shield couldn’t help but tilt his head at the guard. “Soooo, are you going to take me or…?” Shield wondered. Without warning, the guard collapsed onto the ground, dropping his dagger. This was truly a random moment for everyone. Right behind him, appeared Stardust with a half broken vase and a very concerned expression. She was staring down at Shield with worried eyes and gave a relieved sigh. “I made it,” she sighed. “Are you Ok?” Shield was speechless. He didn’t know how to react. This mare whom he recently met saved his life at the last second. Part of him was thankful that she saved him in time, but the other half felt something else. Something he couldn’t quite grasp. He wasn’t even sure if this emotion was appropriate for this situation. He decided to ignore it for now. “Yeah. Thanks to you,” he replied. Stardust smiled and offered him her hoof, to which he gladly took. He grasped her hoof and she pulled him up. However, as soon as Shield stood up, a surge of pain coursed through his hoof. He grunted and collapsed back on the ground. “Yep, that hurts,” he grunted. Stardust gasped at Shields injury. She could see all the red slowly leaking out of his hoof and neck. She decided to do what was best and wrapped his injured hoof over her shoulder. She brought him up again, this time with Shield leaning on her for support. “How did you get lost?” Stardust wondered. “Weren’t you right behind me?” “Yeah, well, I was kind of distracted,” Shield admitted. “Distracted by what? You weren’t staring at my flank or anything were you?” Stardust joked. She knows! His face blushed redder than a ladybug. He really didn’t want her to know that he was staring at her flank earlier. All he could do was nervously chuckle as he leaned onto his fellow recruit. Unfortunately, the more he blushed, the more red leaked out of his neck. “N-No! I was fixing my sword strap! Honest!” he stammered. Stardust chuckled. Jade stood in silence in the darkness. Her moment to save the day has been taken. She still couldn’t figure out how Stardust just came out of nowhere. She wasn’t sure what to do now. Did that recruit just steal my moment? Seriously? I hardly did anything tonight-I mean, yay…she saved Shield. Jade sighed and returned her weapon back to her cloak. She covered it up and patted it to make sure it was secure. There’s always next time. She decided to make herself known and entered the main entrance hall. “Hey newbies,” she spoke. Both recruits turned and faced their leader. “Jade!” Stardust replied. “Were you standing in that hall the whole time?” asked Shield. “Well, I was going to show you what I was truly capable of, by not giving away my presence and saving your flank,” she paused. “But then somepony came in and decided to steal my thunder.” Both ponies looked at each other confusingly, then back at Jade. They had no idea what she was getting at. “I’m talking about YOU,” she whispered to Stardust. “What was I supposed to do? Let him get captured?” She wondered. “That would've helped my situation, so yes!.” “Huh?” they both asked. “Relax, I’m kidding,” Jade smiled. “Nice job.” “Oh, thanks,” she replied. “Seriously though, don’t steal my moment next time.” The recruits were silent. They weren’t so sure if Jade was still messing with them or not. Was she really upset that Stardust stole her moment? They didn’t know what to say next. All they did was exchange looks. Finally, Shield decided to break the silence. “So,” he paused. “Any luck finding our targeted item?” Jade opened her mouth, but before she could answer- “I’m so glad you asked.” All heads turned around to find Artifice Lock staring at them with his head tilted and his eyes looking confused. He looked around to find an unconscious Pegasus guard, shattered pieces of a clay vase, a bleeding Shield leaning on Stardust, and Jade with a bored face. “Did I miss something?” asked Lock. “Oh, nothing important,” replied Jade. “What about me saving Shield-“ “What is it that you need?” interrupted Jade. “I believe I have found what we are looking for!” he announced. Jade’s ears perked. “Well, what are you waiting for? Show us!” “Oh, right!” Both ponies then took off to another hall. Stardust and Shield just stood in the middle of the room, unsure what to do since both Jade and Lock seemed to have forgotten about something. “Hey guys!” called Shield. Jade and Lock returned to the hall. “What about my injuries?” Shield asked pointing to his wounds. “Oh right. We should probably get you patched up,” Jade said. “You think?” “Don’t start with me!” she turned to Lock. “Hey Lock, patch him up?” “Why me? I’m not a medic.” “Rose gave you the bandages, therefore you’re responsible for patching up any injured member.” “Who’s Rose?” asked Shield. “No idea,” replied Stardust. “Alright, fine,” groaned Lock. He reached into his saddlebag and pulled out a roll of clean bandages. “Think fast!” He tossed the bandages across the room and took off. The bandages landed in Stardust’s hoof. By the time she looked up, Lock was gone. Jade rolled her eyes. “Ok, you patch him up. Next time that won’t happen,” ordered Jade as she took off as well. Stardust and Shield stared blankly at each other. “Have you ever patched up anyone before?” asked Shield. “I’m a fortune teller, not a nurse.” Lock was patiently waiting in the hallway, tapping his hoof on the ground. Jade managed to catch up with him and found him in the hall. Lock turned and noticed her. “You know, you could give me a warning when you fly off like that,” she remarked. “Yeah, I could-Anyway, I think we found what we are looking for.” “You already said that.” “It was for emphasis.” Lock then knocked on the wall five times. Jade just stared at Lock, confused. Before she could question why he’s knocking on the wall, a few splits and creaks appeared on the wall. A door then appeared and swung right out of the wall. Jade was surprised to see a set of wooden stairs, leading downwards into a dark abyss. Lock then flipped on the nearest light switch with his hoof and trotted downstairs. “This way, milady,” Lock motioned forward. Jade followed down the stairs. The stairs creaked with every step she took. What she found at the bottom of the stairs was truly……expected. She found herself surrounded by various shelves containing multiple jars, bottles, and cans. All with Bulk Buster’s logo and face on them. Each container read “Busters Drinks!” in the same big, bold, gold letters they saw before. She couldn’t believe how many drinks were in one small room. However, something about these drinks seemed a little different than the ones they saw on the magazines. “Whoa,” was all Jade could say. “I know, right? Who knew the owner of a protein drink had his own private stash in his mansion,” replied Lock. “I can’t tell if that’s you being factitious or stupid,” grunted a familiar voice. Both ponies turned to find a bored Guesclin leaning against one of the shelves. “Oh, you’re still here,” retorted Jade. “Eh, someone has to stay here and guard this place while Lock went to find you,” Guesclin replied. “Guard it from what?” Guesclin then stepped out of the way to reveal an unconscious and tied up Pegasus stallion guard. This guard’s fur color was darker in color, dark violet to be exact, and his mane and tail were cut short and were both a light brown color. Jade and Lock both stared at the guard. “What the?” exclaimed Lock. “I was only gone for two minutes! How did you defeat a guard in that amount of time?” 2 Minutes Ago Lock and Guesclin were going over the plan at the bottom of Buster’s drink basement. Lock was making sure to go over all the small details while Guesclin just wanted their conversation to be over. His nodding head wasn’t catching onto Lock any time soon. “So, you got that?” asked Lock. “Yeah, yeah. I stay here and keep an eye on this room while you go find the others,” he replied. “Great!” “Hold on. You’re the master thief, aren’t you? Why don’t you just take the item and go?” “Because, I want to wait and show it to Jade. She ordered us to summon her when we have found it.” “Oh yeah. That makes total sense. Wait until we’re in one room to get caught for stealing instead of getting picked off one at a time,” Guesclin remarked. “Hey, orders are orders. Besides, I’m sure you’ll do fine on your own. You could use the alone time,” he muttered. “What?” “What?” Lock replied. “Anyway, if you hear five knocks, then it’s me. Be right back!” With that, Lock took off, leaving Guesclin along in the cellar. He leaned back against a wall and closed his one lone eye. Right before he could catch his first Z, the sound of a door creaking hit his ears. His eye shot open and found some the guard pony trotting down the stairs. “Huh? Did I leave the light on?” he asked to himself. The guard pony went for the nearest shelf and was about to take a bottle. The guard spotted Guesclin and turned back to the bottle. He turned back again. His eyes were the size of peas as he stared at Guesclin. The one-eye griffon stood up and walked towards the guard pony. Sweat of shooting off of the unfortunate pony. He slowly backed away from the griffon and began to reach for his dagger with his wing. “You sure you want to do that, boy?” asked Guesclin. He began to reach for his own blade. He slid half of his sword out of its sheath. Even though it wasn’t fully drawn, the blade was still covered with dents, slashes, cuts, but still somehow managed to shine. The guard pony’s heart shrank. He examined his own blade and compared it with the griffons, possibly huge, sword. He kept dotting his eyes at the griffon and back at his own dagger. In one swift movement, the guard pony drew his blade, but by the time the dagger was fully drawn, the fight was over. Present “He wanted a fight, so I gave him one,” Guesclin answered. “Though, it wasn’t very interesting.” “Dude, you’re scary,” commented Lock. “Eh, at least I finally got to do something on this mission.” That makes one of us. “This is all well and good, but why did you bring me down here Lock?” asked Jade. “Ah! Right! Our objective for the night!” He flew behind one of the shelves and came back out, lugging a big, metal safe with a bronze dial and lettering. Jade was taken back by this, it was right in front of her. “Is this…?” “Yep!” A silence soon fell on the group. “I bucking knew there was a safe!” exclaimed Jade. “Huh, who knew?” added Guesclin. “You think you can crack it open, Lock?” “Like you have to ask.” Lock reached into his saddlebags and pulled out a shining stethoscope. He cracked both of his front hooves and then his neck. He placed the ear tips in his, well, ears. After that he placed the drum of the stethoscope on the safe door and began turning the dial, trying to hear the tiny clicks and cracks the safe made, hoping to get the right combination. “I honestly didn’t expect there to be an actual safe in this mansion,” admitted Guesclin. “Oh, do I detect a sense of surprise in your voice?” asked Jade. “Bah! You just got lucky this time! It was only by mere coincidence that there would be a safe down here.” “More like common sense. Coincidence? I think not!” Guesclin just stared at Jade with his eyebrow raised. The silence continued for a while. Lock was still working on the safe. “Why did you say it like that?” “I just…well….it’s….s-shut up!” stuttered Jade. “Yo!” Both mercs turned their heads to find Stardust and Shield standing at the top of the stairs. The latter was still leaning on Stardust and his entire hoof and neck were wrapped by bandages. “Where did this place come from?” asked Shield. “From the wall, obviously,” replied Jade. “And what took you guys so long?” “Sorry, I was too busy bleeding and hurting to catch up to you,” Shield retorted. “And I was too busy trying to patch up his wounds and not dye my fur red,” added Stardust. “So WHAT took you so long?” Jade motioned to the nearly bandaged up Shield. It didn’t even look like proper bandaging. It more looked like someone tried to mummify a pony and then gave up halfway through. “What do you want from me? I’ve never bandaged up a pony before,” admitted Stardust. “Clearly. Well, there’s a first time for everything,” replied Jade. “So, you found the safe?” asked Shield. “Darn right we found it!” Jade turned back to Lock who was still trying to crack the code. “You almost done with that, Lock?” “I will be in a minute,” the thief replied. “How long will that take?” “Who knows? Could take a while with all this talking.” “I don’t think we have a while,” spoke Shield. “What with Stardust knocking out that guard in the hallway and all.” “It will only be a matter of time before somepony finds him and realize we’re here,” added Stardust. “So you fought one too, eh?” asked Guesclin. “Too?” the recruits asked. Guesclin moved out of the way once more to reveal the knocked out and bruised up guard pony. Shield and Stardust had the same reaction as Jade and Lock, full of shock and mouths open. “I thought our employer said to leave no bodies?” wondered Stardust. “Relax, he’s just unconscious. Dang fool acted like he’s never seen a one-eyed griffon before.” “What the…when did this happen?” asked Shield. “I’d love to tell you the amazing tale of how I knocked out this wimp, but I don’t think we have time for the same flashback,” Guesclin said. “I’d never thought I’d say this,” started Jade. “Yes you have,” Guesclin replied. “Whatever, but Guesclin is right. We need to get out of here once we have the item. It could be any minute before either guard wakes up. Or if somepony else discovers our presence. Lock, will you please hurry up with that safe.” “Up-up-up-up-up! Safe cracking is no easy task. You can’t just expect somepony to just walk in, spin the magic numbers, and have the safe open up like open sesame! These things take time! It’s art! It could take a while before I ca-“ CLICK! “Got it!” “Who saw that coming?” remarked Shield. The safe swung open and revealed what was inside: Dapper Metal’s small chest. It was just like the photo; the brown color, the golden lock, and his initials inscribed on it. Lock spun the chest in his hoof. Jade was left speechless. They finally found it. “Huh, I thought it would be a bit…bigger,” Jade admitted. “It may be small, but I bet whatever’s inside will leave a BIG impact,” stated Lock. Jade just stared blankly at him. “Hey, am I the only one who’s wondering why this guy keeps a safe in his protein shake cellar?” asked Shield. “Who cares? We finally got the chest!” spoke Jade. “Now, all that’s left is to find a way out of this place.” “I think I saw an open window on the way here,” said Stardust. “Well then, lead the way!” Stardust and Shield started to walk down the hall as Jade and Guesclin trotted back up the stairs. As Lock stored the chest into his saddlebags, he couldn’t help but look around at the multiple containers that surrounded him. He scanned his surroundings and stared at all the bottles and jugs. He tilted his head at them, gears were turning in his head. He tapped his hoof to his chin and thought. Something didn’t seem right. I wonder, he thought. Meanwhile, the four mercs were walking down the corridor, for what seemed like an eternity. “But it’s only been 45 seconds,” said Stardust. “Who are you talking to?” asked Guesclin. “Never mind.” Suddenly, the sounds of groaning hit all of their ears. They all paused and jumped. “What was that?” asked Guesclin. “I’m guessing it was a groan?” replied Jade. “I know that! I don’t need your sass!” The halls groaned once more. All the mercs stopped and prepared for combat. “There it is again,” Stardust said. “Is this mansion haunted?” wondered Shield. “Not sure if that’s bad because we’re all probably going to get possessed by a ghost, or good to have a little more adventure on this night.” “Shield, you fought a guard. And lost. Any more ‘adventure’ and I’ll have to turn you into a mummy,” warned Stardust. “Y-you don’t know that,” he muttered. The halls groaned again. All four mercs turned towards the end of the hall to find a shadow approaching from out of the corner. They didn’t know what to make of it. Jade reached inside her cloak while Guesclin reached for his sword. The shadow got closer and the groans got louder. The sound of hoofsteps was starting to sound louder as well. The sound of metal dragging on the floor also struck their ears. Jade cocked an eyebrow at this new sound. Hold on! Dragging metal? The shadow disappeared as a figure emerged from the darkness and walked right around the corner. The figure had its head down, slowly approached the group of mercs, and dragged her metal wings on the ground. “Wait,” said Shield. “Aaaahh, you guys!” groaned Atlas. The group lowered their guard and faced the metal winged mare. She lifted her head to reveal her pale face to the rest of the crew. She didn’t look so good. “Oh, it was Atlas all along,” joked Jade. “Looks like we solved the mystery.” “What happened to you? You look awful,” asked Stardust. “It all started, when I was born,” she started. “Really? That long?” asked Shield. “More like three minutes ago.” More like Three Minutes Ago Atlas waited patiently in the dark room for Bulk and his guests to leave the hallway. Every time she peaked into the tiny keyhole, they would still be there. Atlas grunted to herself. She couldn’t believe how one pony could be in so many places at once, and have so many boring stories to tell. “So I say, ‘why don’t you prove it by giving it to one of my workers?’ So he did! And it didn’t work!” laughed Bulk. Like always, his guests laughed a snooty laugh with their heads thrown back. “Eheheheheh, shut the buck up,” grunted Atlas. Suddenly, an unfamiliar scent found a way into her nostrils. She involuntarily inhaled and caught the scent. Her eyes shrank and her brain stopped, she even heard the sound of glass breaking in her head. She quickly covered her nose with her wing and stepped back. “Ugh, what is that smell?” As she stepped back, something damp touched her back hoof. She froze in place. Atlas slowly turned her head. That proved useless however, because when she turned all she could see was darkness. Nothing but a black space filled with who knows what? Oh geez. What’s touching me? As if it couldn’t get any worse, the unknown dampness started to swarm and engulf her hoof. Atlas gasped but quickly covered her mouth. The strange damp thing started to crawl around her hoof, it felt like a bunch of little, wet tentacles surrounding and devouring her hoof. Adding that to its horrid smell, the dark room became an abyss of discomfort. Atlas moved forward, but the creature thing followed. She peaked out the keyhole to find Bulk still talking to his guests. Atlas groaned. The smell worsened, like rotten fruit mixed with toilet water. As the scent crawled up her nose, it triggered Atlas’ gag reflex. Luckily, she caught it before she could throw it up. She gulped and moaned in agony. Between the darkness, the smell, and the strange thing wrapping around her hoof, she needed to do something. “Brilliant story, Bulk!” commented Bulk’s guest. “I know. It’s even funnier when you think about the fact that-“ “WILL YOU JUST MOVE ON ALREADY?!” Everything went silent. Bulk and his guests stood there with confused looks. Atlas covered her mouth. There was no hoping that they didn’t hear her outburst, they had to have heard her. Her heart stopped. Oh crap! I’m so screwed! The silence was killing her. She thought she was done for. That is, until the luckiest thing ever happened. “You know what, you’re all right. Where are my manners?” spoke Bulk. His guests looked at him in confusion. Mutters and whispers were heard and shared among one another. Even Atlas couldn’t believe what was happening. What? “There’s still so much of the mansion I haven’t shown you yet. I shouldn’t waste your time with my stories. Now come along, I have a piece that is to die for!” With that, Bulk’s guests shrugged it off and followed their host into another room. As soon as there was no one left in the hallway, the door swung open. Atlas collapsed onto the ground, gasping for air. Her chest felt like a balloon inflating and deflating. The smell escaped her nose the moment she felt the ground. She panted and crawled from the room. She turned around to find three wet mops fall on the ground. Atlas’ eye’s widened. She couldn’t believe that she was scared and grossed out by a wet mop. Feelings of relief, embarrassment, and anger coursed through her body. She looked down and noticed her hoof was still damp and smelled. She crawled over to the closet and grabbed a roll of paper towels. Once she was done cleaning off her hoof, she placed all of the wet mops back in the closet and shut the door. The smell was still there and the feeling of a wet mop covering her hoof was present. She groaned to herself and slowly walked away. Ok. That's enough action for tonight. Present “Ugh, sounds gross,” commented Shield. “Yeah! It was!” she shuttered. “Imagine if it was something else.” “I’d hate to be you right now,” added Jade. “Alright, do you think we can go now?” asked Guesclin. “Hold on, where’s Lock?” wondered Stardust. The crew looked around and noticed that their thief was missing. Nowhere to be spotted. “Here I am!” The crew all turned around and saw Lock running towards them, with his saddlebags flaying as he ran. “Where have you been?” asked Jade. “Sorry. I had a little trouble fitting the chest into my bag.” “Wait, you found the chest?” asked Atlas. “I know! Crazy right? Where did you go?” “Not now!” “Alright! Looks like everyone is here! Time to make our exit. Stardust, continue,” ordered Jade. “Sure thing!” Stardust, Shield, Atlas, and Lock started walk down the hall, following Stardust to their exit. Guesclin and Jade stayed behind while the rest of the team was getting ahead of them. Jade walked next to Guesclin. “You know Lock took something else from that room, right?” asked Guesclin. “No duh,” she nodded. “You going to expose him?” “Eh, not right now. I want to wait and see how long it’ll take for somepony else to figure it out. It’s more fun that way,” she shrugged. Jade ran off to join the others. Guesclin just stood there in the hallway, staring blankly at the young merc as she ran around the corner. So many things going on in his head. “There are so many things wrong with you,” Guesclin said. He then ran to catch up with the rest of the team. Later Two guards were patrolling the hallway as Bulk was still entertaining his guests. They entered the main entrance hall. They both stopped in place to find part of the hall covered with dents and scratches. They scanned the area to figure out what happened. “What the hay happened here?” asked one guard. “I don’t know!” They both fanned out and scanned the hall to find any clues as to who or what did this. One of the guards came to a halt when he came across a shocking sight. “Uh, dude!” he called. “Yeah?” “You might want to take a look at this!” The guard soon joined his buddy. He gasped in shock to find one of his fellow guards knocked out, covered with Bulk’s protein shake, have a huge bump on his head, and tied to a pillar by a bunch of bandages. That could only mean one thing. “Do you think?” “Yep!” Suddenly, another guard came running out of the other hall and joined his friends. His eyes were also wide and sweat running down his head. “Hey, did you know that there’s a guard tied up in Bulk’s shake cellar?” The other guard didn’t answer, but pointed to the one they found. The third guard turned and gasped at the tied up stallion. “We are so fired.” Jade and her crew were long gone. It was dark out, and they were running through the grassy fields, cheering and laughing as Lock tossed the chest in the air like some kind of juggling ball. “Yeah! We did it!” proclaimed Lock. “What did I tell you guys? In and out, just like I said!” added Jade. “Yeah!” they all laughed. “Well, I guess we all know which future was true!” spoke Shield. “See? My predictions are never wrong!” added Stardust. The crew laughed even more. Even Stardust couldn’t believe that they all made it out without getting caught. They all felt a river of victory flow within their bodies. “What was I so worried about?” laughed Jade. “I know! Just in and out!” exclaimed Atlas. “Yep! In and out!” “Yeah.” The laughs and cheers died down and everything went silent. The team trekked the grassy fields with victorious smiles, but nopony was no long celebrating. They looked back and noticed that nopony was even chasing them. The peaceful silence became awkward. “Kind of expected a little more action than that,” admitted Lock. “Yeah, I mean we just snuck in, split up, hid for a while, found the chest and left,” Jade recapped. “That was it.” “We also fought two guards,” added Shield. “I don’t know if I would consider mine an actual fight,” pointed out Guesclin. “Still. Good thing I saved you the last second,” mentioned Stardust. “Yeah, thanks.” The silence returned. The groups walking speed seemed to become slower with every conversation they had. “Still, we defeated two guards, so that’s something,” spoke Jade. “Yeah, I guess. Just two,” replied Shield. “In and out, like you said,” said Guesclin. “Yeah. In and out.” The silence returned. Only more awkward than ever. The teams smiles even began to fade away. “Kind of anti-climactic, to me,” admitted Shield. “Yeah.” No one spoke a word. For a full three minutes. “So, I guess we should turn this in now?” asked Lock as he held up the chest. “Right! Let’s go….do that!” ordered Jade. “Yeah!” With their first mission finally over the team of mercenary ponies made their way towards Canterlot, where they would return the chest to their client and collect their well-deserved reward……….. Author's Note Hey guys, sorry for the REALLY late chapter. I've just insanely busy with school lately that I had to focus more on my classes. Hope you can understand. But, now that my semester is almost over, I can spend part of winter break focusing on the fic more. But there are no promises that the next chapter will be uploaded during winter break (it really depends, since we all have different time breaks). Anyway, hope the wait was worth it, and that you liked this chapter, and let me know what you think. Also, thanks again to TP Night for pre-reading and helping out with this chapter. Final NoteThis should’ve been announced years ago, so I'm sorry for the big delay. I don’t know if this is obvious, but my fic, Caliber’s Party, hasn’t been updated since 2016. Does that mean it’s canceled? I am here to officially say yes. I apologize if some of you were looking forward to seeing where this fic would be heading, but I decided to cancel it for a number of reasons. Some of them are obvious such as other fics to work on and dealing with real-life issues like classes and work. Another reason I decided to discontinue this story is simply a loss of interest. The whole mercenary idea I had two years ago sounded good, but I’ve come to realize that the original story I had in mind wouldn’t really fit in the world of MLP. Mainly because it involved elements like magic guns and crime lords, that doesn’t sound it would fit in Equestria at all. Again, I apologize to anyone who’s OCs were involved in this fic. BUT, I have a possible solution. Just because this story is canceled, doesn’t mean it has to die. That is why I am giving this fic away. If there is anybody out there who would still like to see this fic continue, then please let me know. Keep in mind if someone is interested in taking this fic, then it will obviously have a much different story than my original one. I will also provide the link to the blog post that contains all of the OCs involved and their creators. You can contact them and get the information you need for the characters. The way I see it, this fic can either be a lost idea that had potential and would never be seen or heard from again or somebody can take this idea and turn it into a real story full of passion and dedication. If you want to take over this fic and turn it into something that’s completely your own, then leave a comment or PM me. I can’t tell you guys how sorry I am for doing this, but I have to focus on other things. The story may be gone, but it doesn’t have to be forgotten. Thanks for understanding. Link to the OC blog post: It's right here.
Introductions and a New Mission. Introductions and a New Mission. One bright day, a private little meeting was taking place in a mansion that was located in the middle of the Canterlot. The mansion was shimmering in the sun and had silver gates surrounding the entire area. The owner of the mansion, a wealthy stallion named Dapper Metal, was in his office. He was a thin earth stallion with a neat and combed back black mane and sported blue business suit. His coat was pale yellow while his eyes were orange. He sat behind his desk in his office, which was filled with all kinds of books and treasures. From rare gems in glass cases to dusty books filled with knowledge. “I’m so glad you could make it. When I heard you were in town, I wasn’t sure if you would respond to my letter or not,” stammered the business pony. The pony he was speaking to was resting nonchalantly in her seat. She had a very peculiar appearance that Dapper couldn’t make of. She was a very lean unicorn mare with a tan fur coat. Her blonde mane was short and layered while her tail remained nice and long. However, what was strange about her was what she wore. She sported a wide-brimmed, dark brown Stetson hat that was tipped over her eyes, a henna tattered cloak, some hoof anklets and wore a necklace with a green stone on it. The stallion couldn’t see her cutiemark because it was covered by her cloak, but he didn’t bother to question it. He looked up at her hat and noticed an upside down triangle pattern wrapped around it. “I don’t see why I wouldn’t. I mean, if I see a job, I’m taking it,” she stated. “It’s always nice to make new clients.” “Yes, very true,” he replied. “Anyway, this job I have for you is very important.” “Shoot.” “Well, you see, not to long ago I purchased a very valuable item,” he explained. “The first of its kind, and it’s not even on the market yet. I bought with good intentions and I planned to give to somepony very important. However, the other day my archenemy, Bulk Buster, had his ponies sneak into my mansion and steal my item!” “I see,” the mare responded. “And what exactly is this item?” “I can’t tell you that! I don’t mean to be rude, but I feel like if I told you specifically what they stole, then you would understand why it’s so valuable and you would want to keep it to yourself. I don’t mean any offense or anything, I just want to be cautious.” “You have a right to be cautious. Sounds like the type of thing I would do.” “What?” he asked, surprised. “I’m just kidding,” she chuckled. “But seriously, how will I know what to find if I don’t know what it is?” “I was getting to that. You see, I always keep the item in a small chest that only I can open. It’s a small, brown chest with a golden lock and my initials inscribed on it. Here’s a photo.” Dapper Metal showed the mare a photo of the chest. Once she examined it, she levitated it back to the earth pony. “So, it’s like any other chest but with your initials on it? Way to be original there,” she remarked. “Yes, well.” He rubbed his hoof behind his head, sheepishly. “So basically, you want me to locate this stallions place and steal back your item?” “That’s correct! And I’m willing to pay a high price for it,” he informed. He then dropped three large bags of bits on his desk and shoved them closer to the mare. The mare looked at the three bags and rubbed her chin in thought. “There’s about three thousand bits in those bags.” “Alright. This doesn’t look like a hard job. I think six of us should do,” she replied. The stallion’s ears perked up. “I’m sorry, but there’s more of you?” “Did you honestly think I came here by myself?” she asked. “Just your typical mercenary who prefers to work alone and wanders town to town trying to take any job she can?” “Well…” he tugged at his collar nervously. “It’s cliché,” she stated. “There’s no fun in taking different jobs alone. That’s why I always travel with my group. That’s how we role. Anyway, this doesn’t look like a hard job.” “Really? So that means you’ll take it?” “Sure, why not? We’ve got nothing better to do,” She shrugged. “Oh! Thank you so much, Ms…” The mare tipped up her hat with her hoof, revealing her bright purple eyes. “Jade Caliber. Remember that. Because one day, everypony is going to know that name!” Jade proclaimed. “I see.” Dapper brought out a piece of paper for Jade to sign. She used her magic to levitate the quill and signed her name in the contract. After that, the two ponies shook hooves and sealed the deal. During their shake, Jade’s hat drooped and covered her eyes once more. “Sorry, this hat doesn’t always fit,” she chuckled, blushing a little. “Ok. Well, here’s the address to Bulk Busters mansion,” he handed her a piece of paper with his enemies address. “Oh and one more thing. Please don’t leave any bodies. I know you’re mercenary and all, but I don’t want any blood on my hooves. We’re rivals, not savages.” “Oh, and we’re supposed to be?” she raised an eyebrow. “What an insensitive thing to say to the ponies who are carrying out your dirty work.” “Oh..well…uh..” he stammered, shooting sweat off his brow. “Relax, I get it,” she assured. Dapper sighed in relief. “You’ll have your item soon.” Jade turned around and made her way out of his office. “When?” he asked. Jade turned around and tipped her hat up. “We’ll have it when we have it.” “Oh, OK then.” Dapper looked away nervously. Jade made her way out of his mansion and began to walk the streets of Canterlot. As she was walking she noticed all the high class nobles that were walking by, she couldn’t help but cough at their rich stench. “Never thought I’d live the day I trot through the most snobbishly rich pony city ever,” she said to herself. As she was walking, she accidently bumped into a mare. “Sorry.” “That’s quite alright, darling,” replied the white mare as she continued her way. “Now then, as far as finding a friendship problem goes, I suggest we start at the castle.” Jade’s left ear perked and she turned around to look back at the white unicorn mare. She noticed that the white mare had a purple swirl mane and tail with a trio of diamonds for a mark. She was also with a pink earth pony mare with a fluffy mane and tail and a trio of balloons for a mark. Jade tilted her head at the two mares, something about them seemed….familiar. She shrugged it off for now and decided to keep on walking. Few minutes later, she was on the outskirts of Canterlot. She only had to walk over one small hill to reach her destination. Once she reached the top, she looked down below. There, at the bottom of the hill, in the middle of the field, was her mercenary camp. Ponies and other creatures had just finished setting every up below. The white tents were set up, one of the ponies got a fire going, and they were all just chatting with one another. Jade raced down the hill to deliver the news to her group. Meanwhile, one of the members was showing two new recruits, a mare and a stallion, around the camp and getting them familiar with their new family. “And that concludes our tour. I hope you two have gotten yourselves familiar with your new lives and are ready to take on any job,” concluded Vlardo. He’s been in Jade’s group for a while and was always happy to show newcomers around. Vladro was a strong and lean griffon with a grey eagle front and a black lion back half. He also had a bronze-colored beak and shiny blue eyes. For a griffon, he did wear some interesting clothing, such as aviator glasses, a midnight blue cape, and a black Stetson hat. Although, the brim was nowhere near as big as Jades. “Now then!” he spoke as he turned around to face the new recruits. “It’s time for the grand finale: My area!” He flew out of the way to reveal a simple hammock tied between two trees. However, what was really surprising was what was resting on the sides of both trees. Vladro whistled. “Wake up girls! Time to meet some new friends!” Suddenly, a set of glowing eyes beamed next to one of the trees. Another set glowed on the other side as well. Then, two huge masses formed and started to crawl their way out of the darkness. The two recruits stood their motionless, their hearts raced and sweat dripped down their heads. Their eyes shrank to the size of needle points once they saw two, large timberwolves emerged from behind the trees. The timberwolf on the left side wore a dark green collar while the one on the right had an orange one. Both timberwolves growled and narrowed their eyes. “Hey! Hey! No! Knock that off!” scolded Vladro. Just like that, the two timberwolves calmed down and stopped growling. “Sorry, they’re usually really friendly.” “Are you sure? Because they look like they’re about make a snack out of us,” asked Abyssal Shield. He was the stallion and one of the newer members in Calibers mercenary group. A young unicorn stallion with a grey fur coat and a messy red mane and tail. He also had golden eyes and sported a nice, black jacket. His mark was a sword hiding behind a shield. “Yeah, I’m sure. Anyway, meet Flora,” he pointed to the one with the green collar. “And meet Amber,” he pointed to the orange collared one. “They’re my prized timberpups. We’ve been through everything together and they’ve never let me down. So, who would like to say ‘hello?’” Both recruits looked at each other with worried looks. “Um, I guess I will,” the mare said, meekly raising her hoof. “Great!” “Are you sure about this, Stardust?” asked Abyssal Shield. Stardust was the mare new recruit. She was an earth pony with a navy purple fur coat and a really long navy blue mane and tail. Her mane had a light blue highlight and she had two strands of hair falling on each side of her face. She also sported two golden diamond-shaped earrings, a headband with rhinestones on it, and a neckless with a crescent moon pendant. Her mark was that of a crescent moon with four stars surrounding it. “No,” she responded. “But there’s a first time for everything, right?” “That’s the spirit! Now, here’s what you want to do,” instructed Vladro. “Slowly approach one of them and stick out your hoof.” Stardust did so. She slowly walked forward and extended her front left hoof. Amber, the timberwolf with the orange collar, noticed her hoof and slowly approached her. Stardust’s heart raced faster than before, but her eyes never left the timberwolf. She kept calm because she knew she had to let the wolf know she wasn’t afraid. Amber’s snout soon met Stardusts hoof. She sniffed it while Stardust stood there patiently. She could feel the wooden wolf’s breath on her hoof. “That’s it, just stay calm,” instructed Valdro. It’s just a wolf! A big, killer, scary eyed timberwolf! Stardust thought to herself. The wolf sniffed her hoof some more. Before Stardust could think or do anything else, the timberwolf then rubbed her head on her hoof. A small grin formed on Stardusts face as she start to pet the giant wooden wolf. She started to scratch Amber behind her ears, causing her to moan. “Well done,” congratulated Vladro. “You now have a new friend.” “She’s so sweat,” Stardust cooed. “Yeah, she can be real softy if you pet her right. So, would you like to try, Shield?” Vladro asked. “Oh, uh, I don’t know,” stammered Abyssal Shield. “C’mon. If she can do it, then you can too.” “Yeah. They’re actually not that bad,” Stardust added. “Oh, Ok then.” Shield trotted towards the other wolf, Flora, and extended his hoof. However, when he raised his hoof at her, Flora began to growl and glare at Shield. “Gah!” Shield retracted his hoof and backed away. Luckily, before Flora could come closer, Vlad flew in front of her. “Whoa! Whoa! Easy!” he ordered as he flared his wings. Flora calmed down and sat on the ground. Vlad then turned around to face Shield. “W-why did she growl at me? I thought you said they were friendly?” “They are. You just came at her a little too quickly. She must’ve thought you were going to attack her,” he informed. “First impressions are everything to them.” “Oh,” Shield said, ashamed. “Hey, it’s Ok. It’s not like you were trying to attack her or anything.” “Of course I wasn’t.” “You want to try again?” Vlad asked. “I don’t know.” “C’mon. I’m sure she would like you if you approached her differently,” he assured. “Yeah, there’s nothing to be afraid of,” added Stardust. Except maybe a giant timberwolf trying to eat me! He thought. Shield looked back at Flora and noticed she was still lying on the ground with her eyes half open. The mere look of those shining, golden eyes sent a shiver down Sheilds spine. He wasn’t so sure that joining this group was the best idea for him. Before he could answer though- “Hey, Jade’s back!” yelled a voice. All heads turned to see Jade making it back safely to their camp. All of the mercenaries dropped what they were doing and rushed on over to greet their leader. “Look! Somepony is trotting towards us! Let’s pay attention to it!” stammered Shield as he ran far away from the timberwolves as fast as possible. While he did that, Stardust walked next to Vlad to get a good look at her new leader. She was amazed at how young this mare was, she looked to be around Stardusts age. “Is that our leader?” “Yep! That’s Jade Caliber. Probably the most enthusiastic mercenary I’ve ever met,” Vlad replied. “What do you mean by, enthusiastic?” Stardust wondered. “Oh, you’ll find out soon enough.” “O-Ok then.” “C’mon! Let’s go see what she has to say.” With that, Stardust followed Vladro to greet Jade. The other members of the group were over flooding her with questions as she was trying to walk towards her tent. Her tent was the biggest of them all, shaped in a huge trapezoid. It was white with golden edges, had all of her supplies inside, and even had small windows. Jade stood on a crate and faced her team. Even though there were only thirteen of them, including the new recruits, she still felt like they were a huge crowd. “Alright troops! Listen up! I just got our mission for today!” There was a small wave of whispers and mutters among the crowd. “What’s our mission this time?” asked a voice. “This one is not as big as the others we’ve faced, so keep,” she paused. She noticed something was wrong with her audience. “Hey, wait a minute.” She squinted her eyes at the crowd. She noticed that she was a few members short. She counted the number of members and whispered the numbers to herself. She soon found out that there were only ten members present in the crowd. Including herself, she counted eleven members altogether. “Aren’t we missing a few members?” Jade asked. All the members began to whisper among one another to check who was missing. “There’s supposed to be thirteen of us total, right?” Stardust asked Shield. “That’s what I heard, but I only counted eleven of us,” he replied. “Yeah, same here.” “We believe we’re missing December Gale,” a voice said. Both Stardust and Shield turned their heads to see that the voice came from a rather creepy looking unicorn mare. She was much younger and shorter than the other members, and had a black fur coat. Her mane and tail were red with purple strands in them and she had dark green eyes. Her mark was an eclipsed red moon with the rest being purple, but it was hard to get a clear look at her mark since most of her body was covered by a dark cloak. She also sported a star necklace. However, what was really creepy about her, was that she was carrying a small pony doll. The doll had a big, toothy smile and X’s in the eyes. The two recruits slowly backed away from the young mare and her doll. “Thank you, Eclipse. Anypony else?” “I think we’re also missing, Dead Eye,” added Vladro. “Again? Those two are always missing together. Where are they this time?” Jade asked, scanning her area. Before anyone could answer, loud rumbling and thumping noises were heard in the distance. They all turned their heads and noticed one of the tents pitched up. It was rocking side to side and the loud thumping could be heard from inside. Not only that, but loud grunts and moans escaped from flaps of the tent. Most of the moans sounded very feminine. Stardust blushed at the noises. Jade rubbed her eyes with her hoof. “Of course. Can somepony fetch them, please?” Jade ordered. “Eclipse?” “Don’t worry, we’ll get them for you,” Eclipse responded, deadpanned. She approached the tent and lifted the flaps with her hoof. “Hey! Lovebirds! Party’s over!” “Gah! We’re in the middle of something, Eclipse!” yelled a mare’s voice. “Give us five more minutes, please!” added a stallion’s voice. Eclipses horn was engulfed by a green aura and she picked up the two ponies in the tent. “Hey! What are you doing?! Not again!” they both yelled. Eclipse thrusted her head and launched one of them out of the tent. The mare was thrown out first, and she was sent screaming. She landed on the ground with a thud. “How nice of you to drop in, December Gale,” greeted Jade sarcastically. December Gale was Pegasus mare with a slender figure. She had an eggshell color fur coat while her mane and tail were long and blonde with light blue highlights in them. She had two silver stud earrings and hazel eyes. Her wings were by far her most noticeable traits, as her right was normal while her left one was covered with metal, bolts, and gears. Her mark was a wing over a wrench and she had a silver anklet on her front right hoof. “Ow! I wasn’t done yet!” she groaned as she rubbed her flank. The sound of a stallion screaming filled the air next. Pretty soon, said stallion landed face first on the ground, right next to the one wing Pegasus. “Glad you could join us too, Dead Eye,” added Jade. Dead eye, a young earth pony stallion, was a very well-toned and fit pony. His fur coat was white while his mane and tail were silver. His mane was short and spikey while his tail reached down to his knees, he also had a nasty scar on his chest. His mark was a cloak that was getting stabbed by a dagger. An actual black cloak soon floated down on top of him. “Mood killer,” he responded. “We have fetched them for you,” Eclipse said. “Yes. Thank you, Eclipse,” Jade said with much gratitude. Stardust looked down upon the fallen lovers and couldn’t help cringe at their hard landings. “Are those two always like that?” she asked Vlad. “If you mean by being all lovey-dovey at any opportunity they get, then yes, they’re like that a lot.” “Ok, I don’t know what they were doing in their tent, and I don’t want to, but I would hardly call THAT just being lovey-dovey,” Shield commented. “Anyway! Back to the topic on hoof!” announced Jade. Soon all eyes were turned towards her again. “This mission is not as big as the others we’ve had, which isn't very many, so keep that in mind. Our employer wants us to retrieve a valuable item from his rival. He hasn’t told me what it was, but he said that it was kept in this small chest.” She levitated the picture to show everypony. Mutters and whispers soon filled the air. No one knew why their employer wouldn’t tell her what was in the chest. “Even though it’s a simple mission, our employer is willing to pay us big money for it. About three thousand bits to be exact.” The entire group gasped at the high price. “Three thousand bits for one item?!” exclaimed another voice. “I know, right?” Jade responded. “I told him that we would take the job and we would get it done. Now, before you troops go crazy, I would like to point out that I won’t be needing every single one of you for this mission.” “Huh?” they all asked. “Seeing how this is merely a search and retrieve mission, I’ll only be needing about four or five of you. Also, since the place we’re invading is just a mansion and-“ “Just a mansion?!” yelled a voice. The crowd cleared away to let another griffon pass through. This one was much different and much older than Vladro. “Oh no,” Jade groaned. This griffon was rather large, muscular, and was covered with scratched up and dented plate armor. He had black fur and golden feathers on his head and sported a black eagle-like crest on his chest. His left eye was missing and it was covered by a rather nasty scar. “What’s the problem now, Guesclin?” “Just a mansion? You do realize we’re in Canterlot right? The richest and wealthiest city in all of Equestria? Do you really think that just some mansion will be a walk in the park for you? And if this item is so important, don’t you think that the place will be heavily guarded?” lectured the griffon. “First off, the mansion isn’t in Canterlot per say. Second, what’s your point?” “My point is that it would be foolish to only bring a small amount of soldiers with you.” “Yeah, but I only bring my whole army if we’re fighting against, oh I don’t know, another army!” she exclaimed. “This is just one mansion. Even if we are outnumbered, we’ve got some of the best fighters, healers, and other loveable freaks on our side. We’ll pull through til the end. Besides, if we end up losing, we’ll just retreat and try again.” “Right, because retreating should be what this group is known for. A mercenary company's reputation is everything, and right now, we don't have one. Do you really want one of our first missions to be at best petty larceny and at worst a retreat? And do you have any idea how stupid you sounded when you said ‘we'll just retreat and try again?’ The mansion will be better prepared and defended if you got caught the first time, and then what will you do? Have you thought out anything in the least? Do you have any strategy whatsoever?” Jade tuned out during his speech and groaned in silence. Her eyes shut so hard it made her brain twitch. She always hated this part about announcing missions. No matter how optimistic she sounded, this particular griffon would always be there to shut her down. She had no idea why he even bothered to stick around if all he’s going to do is belittle and lecture her. “As a matter of fact, I do have a strategy: make sure to clash my blade as loud as I can, so I don’t have to hear your annoying voice during a battle!” she shot back. Guesclin growled at her. Stardust and Shield were more than irritated by this griffon’s presence. “Who’s that?” wondered Shield. “That’s Guesclin,” answered Vladro. “He’s the merc that always doubts and our leader in any way possible.” “Why?” “Dunno. Just his role I guess.” “What do you mean?” asked Stardust. “Haven’t you ever noticed in books and stories there’s always that ONE GUY who always complains and blames the pony in charge of everything. He’s basically that. He may be old, but he still has a lot of steam to let off.” “Does he ever do anything other than complain?” asked Shield. “Well, I haven’t known him for that long. But I do know that his sword is just as blunt as his words.” “Oh joy.” Shield rolled his eyes. The trio turned back to see the mare and the griffon still barking at each other. “If you ask me, I’d say that you don’t even know what you’re doing!” he yelled. “If you’re done with your little introduction here,” spoke Jade. “I’d like to continue explaining our plan.” “Fine. But don’t be surprised when I point out another one of your flaws.” “I never am.” Why are you still here, you old vulture? She thought. “Like I was saying, I’ll only be needing a small amount of you today. We’ll need to be in and out of the mansion as quick as possible. So, for this mission, I’ll be needing our swiftest fighter. Atlas, you’re u-“ “Already here!” Jade turned to see a Pegasus mare standing right next to her. “Gah!” she lost balance and fell off her crate. “How did? Wha-Where did you come from?” stammered Jade as she brushed off the dirt of her cloak and hat. “Well, whenever I hear ‘Atlas’ and ‘Swift’ in the same sentence, I tend to show up at the spot,” she explained with a smile. “I’m surprised you don’t know this by now.” Zephyr Atlas was by far the speediest member in Jade’s group. That’s mostly thanks to her silver, mechanical wings. They shined in the sunlight and the tips were as sharp as blades. Her dark blue coat stood out and her dark brown mane and tail were cut short. She also sported a light blue captain’s garb that covered her mark, which was merely a hawk. She stood there proud and tall on Jade’s crate. “And I’m surprised that you can fly that fast with those bulky, metal wings,” she retorted. “Pff! What? You mean THESE?” She flew up and spun around the air. Then she landed on the crate on her hind legs with her back facing the crowd. She flared her large, metal wings making a loud “Ching!” noise. The sun rays then reflected off of her wings and shined at the crowd. Many tried to avert their eyes to avoid being blinded. “Yes, those. And that was totally necessary,” Jade said deadpanned. “Now get off my crate!” Atlas grumbled and hopped off the crate for Jade to take over again. “Moving on. Seeing how we are going to retrieve a special and secret item, we will be needing the pony with the stickiest hooves in Equestria,” she paused. Her eyes went wide as she realized how dirty that sentence was worded. It didn’t help that she heard slight snickers and chuckles coming from the group. She looked down at her troops. She noticed that some of them were staring at her with blank expressions. Others were covering their mouths with their hooves or claws, trying to hold in their laughter. “That came out wrong,” she said. Her only response were more snickers from the crowd. Even Shield and Stardust were trying his best not to laugh. “Why are they sticky?” he whispered to Stardust. “Shut up!” she punched his hoof. She still couldn’t help but let out a few chuckles. “You all know what I meant!” yelled Jade. “Lock, just get up here already!” Another pony was making their way through the crowd and towards Jade. A lean, orange Pegasus stallion with spikey white mane and tail emerged out of the crowd. He sported a black and gold cat burglar outfit and goggles hanging around his neck. His saddlebag was filled with all kinds of gadgets and tools perfect for theft. He approached Jade with a sly grin on his face. “Artifice Lock, at your service!” he announced. “Although, I’m not sure if my hooves are sticky enough for your needs-“ “Enough with the sticky joke! We all know what it’s supposed to be!” Jade yelled. “What is it supposed to be?” wondered Eclipse. “OH, uh…” Stardust chuckled, nervously. “Are you going to need me tonight, captain?” asked Dead Eye. “Not for this mission. Our employer specifically instructed us that we leave no corpses.” “Well that’s no fun,” sighed Dead Eye. “Aw, that’s Ok, babe,” cooed December Gale as she placed a hoof on his shoulder. “You can take out somepony on the next mission.” “You think so?” “I know so,” Gale said with a smile. “No, you know what? I agree with him!” protested Guesclin. “What kind of mercenary goes on a mission without leaving a few casualties here and there? In my opinion, this sounds like a job for delivery boys rather than for our kind.” “Well, I don’t care about your opinion, gramps!” Jade shot back. Guesclin snarled at her once more. “And I couldn’t care less what our orders are, just as long as we get paid in the end. Isn’t that what typical old warriors like yourself always want?” “See, now you’re speaking my language! Why can’t that be your objective for every job?” “Because if I did that, then it would get repetitive and boring!” “At least you’ll be making a living!” Jade glared at him. She really didn’t want to put up with him at the moment. By the time she chose the rest of her squad for the evening, it would already be the next day. Nothing she thought of sounded like a good comeback. So she did something else. “Anyway!” she yelled. “I think it’s time for my usual tradition again. Vlad, we have new recruits right?” “Yes we do,” he replied. “Good. Newbies, up and center!” she ordered. Stardust and Shield exchanged looks. They turned back to Jade and stepped forward and approached her crate. Jade looked down on them and examined them. She scanned up and down and stared at their strange appearances. “What are your names again?” she asked. “I’m Stardust.” “Abyssal Shield.” “Right, I remember now. Well, good news you two! You’re both coming along on this mission!” “Huh?” they both said. “I chose Atlas and Lock to come with me because I’ll be needing their specific skills in order to complete our mission. I’m bringing you two with me tonight to help you gain some experience points.” “Experience points?” asked Shield. “Well, you’re not going to be much to use to me if you can’t or don’t know how to fight. Or know how to do anything in general. So how else are you going prove your worth by joining us on this job? Think of it like a test. If you pass, then you become stronger. And, you can stay in my party. But if you fail, well…” “Well what?” wondered Shield. “Then there’s a high chance that you’ll probably die in the real battlefield. Not being any use to me at all.” Both of the ponies eyes shrank to the size of peas. I don’t think I like this tradition of hers, thought Stardust. “So, you two in?” Jade chimed. “I don’t know if I’m comfortable with this,” admitted Stardust. “Oh,” Jade said. “Too bad! The script calls for it!” “What?!” they both exclaimed. Before they could interject, a pair of hooves wrapped around their shoulders. They turned to see Atlas suddenly between them. Her hooves were wrapped around them as if they were her buddies. “Alright! First night on the job! Aren’t you pumped for this?!” she exclaimed. “Uhhh,” was all they could say as they averted their eyes. “Yeah, great tradition there,” spoke Guesclin. “Bring the new recruits with you just to axe them off. That sure is a wise choice.” “How else are they going learn to fight if they just stayed here and did nothing?” “It’s called self-training! Maybe you should let them do that instead of dragging them head first into an assignment that could be dangerous for them!” “I don’t have time for a training montage! And they’re not going to get any experience if they just stayed here all the time!” “That’s your reason? Maybe you should-“ “You know what? Why don’t YOU join us!?” Jade interrupted. “Excuse me?” “Since you’re SO insistent that they’ll get hurt, you can tag along and be their foalsitter!” “Hey, we don’t need no foalsitter! We can take care of ourselves!” interjected Shield. “It’s, ‘we don’t need a foalsitter,’” corrected Stardust. “When you said, ‘we don’t need no,’ you just gave a double negative. Meaning that we do need one.” Shield stared blankly at her. His cheeks started blush into a bright red color. He looked away, feeling attacked by his own ignorance. “Fine. I’ll tag along! Just so I can see you fail!” With that, Guesclin marched right up to Jade’s crate and joined the others who were joining her. Now her squad was set, the leader, the speed fighter, the thief, the recruits, and the warrior stood there proud and tall; ready to tackle anything that was thrown at them. Well, Shield and Stardust stared at each other nervously while everypony else was beaming with confidence. “Are we really doing this?” Shield whispered. “Unfortunately,” Stardust replied. The remaining members in the crowd looked up at Jade and her chosen members. “Alright, looks like our team is ready! I have the address to our targets mansion and the plan that will get us paid. This mission will not be easy, so get ready to demolish any obstacle that gets in our way. I promise we will retrieve the item and get what we deserve. December Gale, get our weapons ready.” “Got it!” Gale replied. “We shall leave, immediately!” “Yeah!” the crowd roared. “What about lunch?” asked Lock. As if on cue, Jade’s stomach growled like a manticore. She looked around and noticed that she wasn’t the only one. Most of her other member’s stomachs were rumbling like crazy. “We shall leave, in three hours!” “Yeah!” Later It was evening and the sun was almost about to set for the day. Jade, the four ponies, and the griffon were trekking through a large, grassy terrain to get to their target’s location. “Dang it guys, I was kidding! You weren’t actually supposed to take three hours!” she yelled at her team. “It’s going to be night any minute now, let’s hurry it up!” “Hey, if you’re giving us three hours to cook and eat, we’re going to take our time,” Atlas replied. “That was a mistake on your part.” “Thank you for that lecture. But I think I can get enough of those out of Guesclin.” “Well maybe if you just led us properly you wouldn’t-“ “Did I ask you to speak?” Jade interrupted. Guesclin grumbled and continued to walk. The others were getting equally tired of walking. They just wanted to get to the mansion already and get the job over with. The very long trip was taking them hours to complete. “How far away is this place?” groaned Shield. “Your guess is as good as mine,” replied Stardust. “I thought this place was in Canterlot. But we passed the main castle an hour ago. Now we’re in the middle of nowhere!” added Lock. “Yes, thank you for pointing out the obvious,” remarked Atlas. Jade looked at the address on the card Dapper Metal gave her. She looked up and noticed a large, grassy hill. She knew she was going in the right direction, but felt lost at the same time. She looked around and saw no houses or mansions for miles. Only grass, dirt, and dirt on grass. She and her group walked up the hill. As she was trotting, her patience was starting to wear off. Ok, I swear if I don’t find something in the next five minutes, I’m let my arrows loose right up somepony’s- Before she could finish her thought. She reached the top and found what she was looking for. All of her anger went away and was replaced with joy. “Oh Luna! Troops, shut up and come up here!” she ordered. “No pony said anything,” Stardust pointed out. “Shut it and get up here! We made it!” Like that, all of her troops raced towards the top of the hill to be met with a glorious and breath-taking site. Right above them, stood the floating pegasai city of Cloudsdale. Jade and her team’s jaw dropped and they stared with awe. The city shone in the dusky sun and shimmered to the ground below. Houses made of clouds and rainbow bridges could be recognized anywhere. However, there was one small problem. “Wait, our target’s mansion is in Cloudsdale?” Shield questioned. “How the hay are we supposed to get up there?! Only half us have wings and can walk on clouds! Oh great, our first mission and we already have a big problem!” “What?” asked Jade. “No, his house is right THERE.” She pointed to the big mansion that was directly below Cloudsdale. The rest of the group scanned downwards and finally noticed the huge, blue, two-story mansion that was directly below the floating city. It was guarded by a golden gate and had several flower-filled bushes and hedges surrounding the structure. “Ooohh,” the group said, understanding what was going on. “Yeah, our client told me his rival’s an earth pony who wanted to live in Cloudsdale. But seeing how earth ponies will just fall right through the clouds and become pony pancakes, he chose the next best thing.” “That’s a weird dream to have,” pointed out Atlas. “Yeah, it’s like saying a young filly wakes up one morning and says she wants to become a dragon when she grows up and builds a clubhouse right next to a dragons cave,” added Lock. The rest of the group just stared at him with eyebrows raised and speechless faces. “That’s a…specific example,” noted Jade. “Don’t ask me how I know that!” retorted Lock as he looked away. “O…K…Follow me,” she ordered. She jumped and hid behind a large tree. The rest of the group followed. They all hid behind the large trunk, making sure not to be seen. Jade peaked around the corner and noticed two large security ponies in black shirts were standing watch at the front gate. She turned back to her team. “So, what’s your plan,” asked Guesclin. “Ok, here’s what I came up with,” Jade started. “We knock out the goons out front, somehow, then we break in. And then, we look for the main bedroom, since I’m guessing that’s where the safe is.” “How do you know it’s in there?” asked Atlas. “It’s a giant rich mansion. Every mansion has to have a safe in the main bedroom. Duh! Anyway, we break in without setting off the alarm. We find the safe, Lock will get it to open, and then, wait for it,” she paused. “We take it and go!” There was silence among the group. Atlas face-hoofed herself while Shield and Stardust tilted their heads and gave confused stares. “Really? That’s your big plan? That’s got to be the most dumbed-down and ridiculous plan I’ve ever heard,” ranted Guesclin. “What? Like you’ve got a better plan? It’s the best we got! So, shut it and just go with it,” she shot back. At that moment, a light bulb went off in Stardust’s brain. “Of course! Now would be the perfect time to us it,” she said to herself. “Use what?” asked Jade. Stardust reached into her saddlebag and pulled a small orb. The group stared blankly at the peculiar object. They had no idea where she was going with this. “A glass ball?” wondered Lock. “It’s a magical orb to be exact,” she corrected. Stardust held the orb in one hoof and began to rub it gently with the other. She rubbed it in a circular motion. She rubbed it faster and faster. As she did, the orb started to tint and glow in a bright green color. The glow was reflecting off of Stardust’s eyes as she stared intensely into the mystic object. She whispered into the orb as the glow got brighter and brighter. Every pony’s hearts beat like a mouse, they didn’t know what to make of this. Jade stared in awe at Stardust’s ability. She didn’t know whether to be scared or impressed. All of a sudden, the orb stopped glowing. Stardust’s eyes pulled back and she panted like crazy. Sweat was starting to form on her brow. “What was all that about?” asked Shield. “Oh yeah, I probably should’ve explained this sooner. But I always carry this orb with me wherever I go,” she explained holding the orb. “And whenever I need it, I ask it to foresee my or anypony else’s future. I used this a lot when I was a gypsy.” “Um, I doubt fortune telling will help us on this mission,” Guesclin doubted. “Alright, I’m just going to play along. What did you see?” asked Jade. “I saw us running out of this mansion running with the chest we’re supposed to retrieve.” “Gee, who would’ve seen that coming?” remarked Atlas, sarcastically. “Can we get this over with?” “Hold on! That wasn’t all that I saw. I witnessed another future where I saw us getting captured by the owner’s guards and getting tortured in order to get answers out of us. There was another one where he convinces us to join his side. And he was willing to pay a higher price for our services, and we just went along with it.” Looks of concern were soon aimed at Stardust. Even Jade was getting worried. “W-which one is the real future?” Jade asked. “I don’t know,” Stardust admitted. “What do you mean you don’t know?” “The orb always shows me multiple futures, but only one is true. It never tells me the exact one until it’s happened.” “Well that’s kind of lame,” admitted Lock. “Why would it not tell you which future is correct until after it’s happened? Why not just show the correct one and only the correct one?” “It just does. And at least it helps to be prepared for any outcome,” Stardust replied. “She’s got a point,” shrugged Shield. “But still, why bother to tell you a future if it might not be true in the first place?” “It doesn’t work like that!” Jade thought to herself as the group began to bicker about the purpose of Stardusts orb. So, we could end up failing on this mission? Pfff! No we won’t. That won’t happen. But what if it does? It won’t. It’s just a dumb orb, it’s not like it’s true or not. But only one future is real? What am I saying? It’s a bucking orb. Those things are never true! Why should I care about what a glass ball says? I don’t care. I really don’t care! I don’t care at all! She thought to herself. But what if….No! It doesn’t work like that. It has to be fake! Earth ponies can’t use magic anyway. Again, not that I care or anything. Focus on the mission. “Ok enough!” she yelled. The rest of the group turned to her. “We’re getting off track. Right now, we need to get into that mansion. Atlas, I need you to go over there and-“ “On it!” Atlas zoomed off before Jade could finish her sentence. The others just stared off in confusion. They all peaked around the tree to see the two guard ponies still standing watch by the gate. That’s when things started to happen. One of the guards was suddenly slammed right into the gate. It made a loud ‘Ding!’ noise and he collapsed onto the ground. The other guard jumped at his fallen partner. Both the group and the guard noticed a round dent left in the gate. It was strangely shaped like the guards head. The other guard scanned his surroundings to see who attacked his friend. His eyes were wide open and sweat running down his face. It was too late, as a dark blue blur zipped right past him, causing a loud ‘Thud!’ As the blur flew by, the group’s eyes shrank to see the other guards face and muzzle planted deep in the earth. Atlas then appeared between the unconscious guard ponies. She had a confident smile on her face and her metal wings folded back to her side. She looked at her right hoof and blew off some mane that was found on the bottom of it. Jade let out a sigh of relief, knowing that the guards were taken out. She turned back to her team and found Shield and Stardust’s eyes completely white. Their mouths were opened and stood there motionless. It didn’t take a genius to tell they were shocked. “Amazing isn’t it?” Jade said, smugly. “H-How did she do that?” wondered Shield. “It’s just something that she does. That’s actually why I brought her here tonight. We needed somepony to take out some enemies as swift as possible without killing them. That’s where Atlas comes in,” Jade explained. The recruits continued to stare in awe. They both shook their heads violently, getting out of their amazed trances. “S-should we move on then?” asked Stardust. “No I think we should stay out here and gaze the stars, I thought that might be better,” Jade replied sarcastically. No response came. The five troops came out from behind the tree and walked towards the gate. As they approached the gate, Atlas flew over the fence and unlocked it from within. As she pushed the gates opened, Lock and Guesclin dragged the knocked out goons and hid them in a nearby bush. The group then proceeded to walk along a stone path that would lead them to the door. They soon approached the giant double doors. They looked down and noticed the even larger keyhole. “What is it with mansions and giant, dramatic doors?” chuckled Jade. “Whatever the reason, no keyhole is a match for my sticky hooves,” replied Lock with a sly grin. Jade groaned. Deep down she knew she should’ve picked better words for her speech. Artifice Lock approached the giant keyhole in the door. He reached into his saddle bag and pulled out two, small, bronze rods. As he brought them out, a small glow could be seen engulfing the rods. He held both rods carefully with his wing and hoof and inserted them into the keyhole. He began to jiggle and twist the rods, trying to unlock the door. “Hey!” two voices yelled. The group turned around to see one more guard pony appearing around the left corner of the mansion. They spotted one other guard pony appearing from around the right corner. Both sported black t-shirts and charged at the group. “Alright,” spoke Shield. “Now it’s my-“ A dark blue blur zipped by leaving a gust of wind. Shield could feel the gust blow by him from left to right. Two loud thuds was heard. Shield looked back and noticed the two guards laying still on the ground. They both laid there motionless with large lumps forming on their heads. Atlas appeared next to him with her smug grin. “-Turn,” Shield finished. His eyes went wide. “Oh, did I steal your moment?” mocked Atlas. “Yes! You did, actually!” “I see. Sorry, not really. Maybe next time, or not,” she chuckled. Shield growled in silence while Stardust rested her hoof on his shoulder. That helped him calm down a little as his annoyance was fading away. Lock twisted the keyhole. Several springs, sprockets and other mechanisms went off and they could hear the lock slide open. When Lock pulled out the two rods, the double doors slowly opened up, revealing the massive hallway inside. He smiled greatly, knowing his lock picking skills had worked yet again. “After you,” he bowed and moved out of the way for Jade. In return, she gave him a satisfied nod and trotted inside. “Alright troops. This is it. It’s time to get that item!” “Hopefully this is worth every bit,” complained Guesclin. “Don’t worry. I’m confident this will all work out.” “And if it’s not, we can always ‘retreat and try again,’” teased Atlas. “Shut up and follow me!” They all shared a small group laugh, except for Guesclin, and followed Jade inside. Deep down, Jade was still worried about the different outcomes Stardust’s orb foretold. She knew she didn’t care, she didn’t want to care. She couldn’t let possible futures distract her from her true goal. She shook her head and entered the mansion, leading her team inside. She felt ready for whatever lies within that mansion, and nothing was going to stop her...... Author's Note And so concludes the first chapter. Sorry if this chapter was a little too wordy with the descriptions. Thanks to all the members out there for lending their awesome OCs for this fic. If your OC hasn't appeared in this chapter, then they'll probably be introduced in either the next one or in a later chapter. Thanks to TP Night for helping out with this chapter. Let me know what you guys and girls think. Thanks.
Searching the Mansion. Searching the Mansion. The group entered the mansion and walked right into the main hallway. Lock then quietly closed the door behind him and joined the others. Jade and her group were met with a giant entrance hall with paintings and awards on every wall. They witnessed a fancy stairway, covered with ocean blue carpet, and the second floor split, leading to two separate hallways. Hanging over them was a sparkling, golden chandelier with candles burning brightly. The whole group gazed at the interior in awe. “Wow, it’s so nice in here,” mused Stardust. “Meh, I’ve seen nicer,” shrugged Shield. “Alright, enough site seeing,” began Jade as she turned around. “Right now we should look for the-“ She paused once again. She noticed that one of her team mates was not with her. A certain orange Pegasus was missing. She could see his outline blinking at the place where he once stood. “Where’s Lock?” Atlas pointed left with her wing. Jade looked and noticed Lock sneaking a blue gem off of a stand and into his saddlebag. “Lock!” she whispered. The thief turned and saw that he was caught. Not really a big surprise, but he still blushed a bright red color. He soon returned with the rest of the group. “Just taking a little souvenir for the road,” he chuckled. “Now’s not the time. Right now we just have to focus on finding the main bedroom and taking the chest,” Jade reasoned. “Do you even know where it is?” asked Guesclin. “I’m working on it! Don’t rush me.” “You don’t know, do you?” “I do! I just don’t know the exact location of it.” “What? But that would imply-“ Jade tuned out and turned away from another one of Guesclin’s lectures. While that was going on, Shield, Stardust, and Atlas were wandering around the main room. “Geez, this guy sure owns a lot of junk,” pointed out Shield. He picked up a small hoof-held trophy with his magic. The trophy had a bright star symbol embedded it and shone with his magic. “What do you think he does for a living?” “I don’t know, being really rich?” Atlas guessed. “Yeah, cuz that makes sense. Rich noble-ponies will just pay anyone nowadays just to own a mansion as long as you have ‘royal blood’ or stuff,” replied Shield, sarcastically. “What? It was just a guess. How am I supposed to know what rich snobs do to get a fancy place like this? And why should I care?” Shield shrugged. “Just good to know I guess.” Stardust wandered away from the main group and went to examine some paintings. She noticed that some of them had stallions with very muscular and, well, bulk features. In fact, the majority of paintings were just bulk Pegasus stallions in over the top poses. She noticed one painting had a bulk earth pony stallion with a battle axe in his mouth, another of a Pegasus stallion in a track uniform running a marathon, and even a white Pegasus stallion bench lifting some dumbbells. Stardust tilted her head at the paintings. Her curiosity levels were rising, she wanted to know what this stallion does. Her ears suddenly perked up. She heard voices in the distance. Not her team mate’s voices, these voices sounded more formal. She wandered to a nearby hall arch, where the voices were coming from. She peaked around the corner. Her eyes shrank at what she discovered. She spotted several noble-ponies, stallions and mares, sitting at a large dining table. They were all talking and laughing and sported fancy clothing. Not only that, but she spotted an earth pony stallion at the end of the table. The earth stallion had orange fur and a red, combed-back mane and short tail. He sported a green suit with a red tie. His mark appeared to be a plastic bottle of some sort and he was remarkably muscular. This wasn’t good. Her mouth was left open with shock. She retreated from the opening and returned to her teammates. “Guys!” she spoke. All eyes turned towards her. “We’ve got a problem.” “What is it?” asked Jade. Stardust pointed to the arch and soon enough, all of the members noticed the bright light. They all carefully peaked around the corner and discovered the muscular stallion. They fell silent as well. They stepped away from the arch and returned to the entrance hall. “Looks like our target is having a little dinner party with his friends or clients,” spoke Atlas. “Yes! Thank you captain obvious! We needed to know what we already know!” Jade scorned. “Hey! I’m just trying to help. Don’t get all snappy with me!” retorted Atlas. “I can’t believe this, how could you let this happen?” asked Guesclin. “I didn’t know he would be home tonight! I thought he would be enjoying a night out or some junk!” “Excuses! Excuses! That will get you nowhere. You should’ve checked to see if he would be here!” “How was I supposed to do that? Did you expect me to go up to him and say, ‘Oh, hi there, I’m a mercenary for hire, nice to meet you! If you could let us know if you’re going to be around when we rob your home tonight, then that would be just dandy!?’” Jade retorted. “I’d let you in if you were that formal,” Lock remarked. “This just proves how reckless you really are, Caliber! You did no research on our target, you never scanned his home inside or out, and you even managed to screw us all over by robbing him the night he happens to have other nobles in his home! Do you know what that could do to us? They could rat us out to the royal guards, have us arrested and strip us of our honor!” “Will you shut up for a moment?! In case you haven’t noticed, we haven’t been caught yet!” “Uh, guys,” muttered Stardust. “Yes?!” However, before Stardust could continue- “Now that dinner’s finished, I’d love to show you all what I’ve done to my living room!” spoke a formal voice. Everypony froze in place. Jade turned around and noticed the shadows of the noble ponies stood up and were beginning to walk out. Jade’s eyes shrank as she heard the noise of hoof steps getting closer. Buck! she thought. “Oh great! Just great! Now what do we do?” panicked Shield. “I don’t know, what do you suggest?” asked Atlas. “Should I take them out?” wondered Shield as he reached for his sword. “No! Not yet!” replied Jade. She scanned her surroundings quickly, turning left and right, up and down. Then she realized that the stairs were still there. The hoof steps began to increase in noise. “Up the stairs, troops!” Jade ordered. Jade ran up the stairs as fast as her hooves could take her. She reached to the second floor and made a right. The rest of her squad soon followed. Just in time too, as Bulk Buster was leading his guests across the hall and into the living room. All while not noticing that his blue gem was missing. Jade and her squad ran through the hallway in search for a place to hide. They busted through a door at the end of the hall. As soon as everypony was in the room, Jade shut the door. She panted and wiped the sweat off her brow. “That was close,” she panted. “Why were you running?” asked Stardust. “Because then we would’ve been caught! Wasn’t that obvious?” “Yeah, but no pony was chasing us. We could’ve just hid in the hallway until they all went into another room,” Stardust mentioned. Jade paused in place as the gears were starting to turn in her head. Her logic was starting to make sense. Nothing came to Jade’s mind as she realized her own unnecessary mistake. Her cheeks blushed a little. “Dang it!” she face-hoofed. “So, great plan so far, Jade,” remarked Guesclin. “First not knowing that the owner of this place was still here, and now almost getting caught by him. I can see the flawlessness of your plan now.” “You know you don’t have to reply!” Jade turned to see what room they were in now. She noticed the giant windows where the dusky sun shone through giving the room even more light. She noticed the giant queen sized be with a canopy, the portrait of Bulk Buster himself hanging over a dresser, and an open door that led to a closest filled with fancy clothes. Jade soon figured out where they were. “We’re in his room.” “Huh?” his squad asked. They all looked around and noticed all of the obvious signs. As they were searching, the sun finally set and it was dark outside. The light in the room started to dim, but they still managed to see where they were. “Alright troops! Spread out and find that safe!” she ordered. Her team followed through with her order and began to search the room. Atlas checked under the bed, but found only dust bunnies. Lock looked under his desk, but found old books. Guesclin looked behind the bed, but got the same result as Atlas. Stardust looked behind the dresser, but found nothing. Then she spotted something resting on top of the dresser. She found a pile of magazines lying on top of each other. Each magazine had a fit Pegasus stallion in gym clothes holding a small plastic bottle in their hooves. She picked up one of the magazines and squinted. She got a closer look at the bottle the stallion was holding. She noticed the logo wrapped around it. It read, “Buster Drinks!” in gold, bold letters. The connections were starting to click in her mind. “Oh. Now I know who this pony is,” Stardust said. “Huh? Who is he?” asked Shield. “He makes protein shakes for young stallions, specifically Pegasai. I heard his factory is up in Cloudsdale where his employee’s and close friends work. He took over the family business when his father passed. But he’s been adding his own cloud-based ingredients into the drinks to help give them a little kick,” she explained. “Does it work?” “I guess. Rumor has it he has a cousin, who’s a Pegasus stallion, in Ponyville who takes large amounts of this stuff. He ended up becoming so buff that his own wings shrank.” “Oh. You mean Bulk Biceps?” “Nah! That’s way too obvious.” “Troops, focus! We don’t have all night!” brought up Jade. She trotted in place to figure out where the safe could be hiding. Her mind hatched an idea when she turned and faced the portrait. “Of course, it’s so obvious!” She marched right up the portrait. The others didn’t understand this and they stared at her blankly. They all gathered around her. “Where else would a millionaire hide his most secretive stuff? Behind a huge painting that reflects his ego, of course!” Her horn started to glow a light green color and soon enough, the portrait was engulfed in the green glow. The portrait was lifted off of the wall and floated in midair. Jade’s horn died out and the painting dropped to the floor, revealing a blank space on the wall. “Ha-ha!” she exclaimed as she pointed to the empty space. The others continued to stare at her blankly. Jade’s smug grin did not change until she turned around. She turned back to her troops. Her eyes shrank and her grin vanished. She swiftly turned back expecting a safe, but instead found an empty spot. She turned back at her team, then back at the wall. Back at the team, then wall. She did that repeatedly. “Uhhh,” she spoke, awkwardly. She soon spotted a bench cabinet in front of the bed. She raced towards it and placed her hoof on the seat. She lifted up the cabinet seat and levitated several small pillows out. “Ha-ha!” She fell silent when she realized she was holding pillows with her magic. She scanned the room nervously again, searching for another possible hiding spot. She turned to the closet and noticed it was still open. She raced inside and switched on the light. “Ha!” she yelled as she parted away some coats. Once again, she found nothing but an empty space. Her brow furrowed and began searching through all the coats. “Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha-ha!” She had no luck. She stepped out of the closet with a defeated face. Her team tilted their heads at their confused leader. They didn’t know what to expect next. Jade just stood there, kicking the carpet awkwardly. “Umm…” “There’s no giant, secret safe,” said Shield. “THERE’S ALWAYS A GIANT, SECRET SAFE!” “Well sorry our target wasn’t kind enough to put a giant, obvious safe in his room with a label that read, ‘Hey! Secret safe! Please crack me open and steal from me!’” “Ok, shut up! Let me think!” ordered Jade. Before she could even place her hoof on her chin, she heard another voice. “Excuse me for a moment, I just need to get something from my room.” The group froze once more. “He’s coming! What now?” asked Shield. Bulk Buster entered the room. He looked around in his room to find it was empty. He turned and spotted his dresser. “There’s those magazines!” He went over and grabbed the magazines with his mouth. With that, he exited the room and closed the door shut, not suspecting a thing. “Here are the magazines where my brilliant creations were featured in,” he spoke to his crowd. Once the door closed, everypony was starting to come out of their hiding places. Stardust peaked her head out of the closet door, Shield emerged from the bench cabinet, and Jade scooted out from under the bed. Her hat was covered with dust. “There’s a dust bunny farm down here, and they’re multiplying,” she coughed. Stardust came out of the closet and approached the window. She unhooked the hatch, letting all the night time breeze get in. The cold wind hit her face and made her fur shiver. “You can come in now,” she called out. Atlas, Lock, and Guesclin flew down from the roof and re-entered the room. Once they were in, Stardust closed the windows. Jade managed to get out from under the bed and brushed off all of the dust. “Well, that makes it the second time we’ve almost been caught,” spoke Guesclin. “Yes, I’m aware of that,” Jade replied. “So, what now?” asked Lock. “Hold on, I’m thinking!” Jade placed her hoof to her chin and began to ponder in thought. She tapped her chin, but nothing came up. She still couldn’t believe that there was no safe in Bulk’s main bedroom. If not there, where could it be? Is the item even in a safe? Jade had no idea, she knew it wouldn’t be long for Bulk to accidently run into her. She was also thinking about those fortunes that Stardust mentioned. If the item isn’t here, where could it be? Could we end up being caught? She thought. No way! If any of those fortunes are coming true, it’ll be the first one where I’m running out of the mansion with the item, laughing! “Alright. If the item isn’t in his room, then it must be somewhere else in this mansion. We should search the place so that we can….uh…find it,” said Jade. “You sure that’s a good idea? What about Bulk and his guests?” asked Stardust. “And what if we run into any more guards in here?” added Lock. “Simple. We just avoid them as best we can,” Jade answered. “That’s kind of lame. I was kind of expecting to take down some rich goons,” remarked Shield. “Trust me, I feel the same way. But our client specifically ordered us to leave no bodies. Dead ones, anyway. We only attack if it’s absolutely necessary,” Jade reminded. “Boooo!” “Ok how about this: the next time we have a mission that involves a castle invasion, army fighting, dragon taming, or combat of any kind you’ll definitely be joining us.” Shield gasped. “Really?” “Yep! Like I said, this mission is just to get you and Stardust some experience. I guarantee you, the next mission will be more action-packed. Or at least less boring.” A big smile emerged on Shields face. Stardust couldn’t help but chuckle at his toothy grin. “Alright! With that said, let’s move out!” Jade led her team right out of the room and back into the hallway. Even though she sounded confident, she was still worrying about their outcome. She didn’t want to fail again. Not to mention those fortunes were starting to get to her. Sweat was already running down her face and her gaze averted from her team. Nevertheless, she did her best to hide it. She kept her eyes forward as her team followed. They all soon entered the kitchen, only to find a counter table covered with dirty table clothes and a sink, overflowing with dirty dishes. The dining room looked no better, as it was covered with used napkins and empty glasses. The group was a little taken back by this. “Huh, you’d think these rich folk would be a little cleaner,” remarked Atlas. “You sure we’re not confusing slobs with snobs?” added Stardust. “Doesn’t really matter to me. Both are pretty disgusting in their own senses,” Jade replied. The group searched the entire kitchen, but found nothing that resembled a safe or a small chest. They checked all the cabinets and all the drawers, but to no avail. Some of them even went as far to check underneath the used clothes. “Nothing,” pointed out Jade. “Next room!” They all exited the kitchen. Well, almost all of them. Lock stayed behind to sneak an uneaten chocolate scone that was left on the dining table. He side-stepped next to the table and snatched it with his wing. He licked his lips at the sight of it. He tossed the scone in his mouth. The scone attacked his taste buds with savory, chocolaty goodness. The taste was enough to send a shiver down his spine. “Mmmm,” he moaned. He soon joined the others. They all entered the living room, filled with couches and chairs with bronze fabric, a glass coffee table completed with a blue and white flower vase, and even more paintings of muscular stallions. The amount of paintings in the mansion was starting to get to some of the members. “What is with this guy?” wondered Jade. “We get it, your drinks make stallions buff. What do you expect from us?” “Something tells me these paintings aren’t just to show that his drink works,” added Atlas. “Maybe he has some kind of hidden desire.” “Don’t make it weird,” grunted Guesclin. They searched all around the living room. Under the couches, behind the paintings, and underneath the glass table. Which was pretty pointless to do. It seemed like the owner didn’t have a safe in the first place. “I can’t wait to show you the living room!” announced the voice. “And that’s our cue!” proclaimed Jade. In a flash, all the members raced right out of the room. The gust was strong enough to spin the vase on the table. Bulk entered the living room with his guests. As he walked in, he noticed that the vase was still spinning. His eyebrow raised at the vase. He didn’t know why it would be spinning. “Is something the matter, Bulk?” asked a noble-mare. Bulk rubbed his chin. “No. Everything’s fine. It must be my imagination.” His guests muttered in agreement. “Anyway, I’d like for you to notice the paintings in THIS room.” His guests gazed in awe. Meanwhile, Jade and her group rested in a nearby hallway. Jade was pacing around, trying to come up with a better way of finding the chest. Nothing seemed to come up. It would only be a matter of time before they’re found out. She looked up and noticed that the hallway split into three arches. She pondered in thought. This mansion was starting to feel more like a labyrinth. “Ok, so here’s what will do,” Jade started. “There’s three corridors in front of us. I think we should split up into three teams. That way we can cover more ground and find the chest quicker. Because something tells me that we’re not even close to discovering the entire mansion.” “Really?” asked Atlas. “You know, usually in books, that’s how characters are easily axed off. Instead of getting captured, or worse, at once they get discovered one by one. Not sure if that’s the best plan,” noted Lock. “AND, the reason they were axed was because they were idiots who didn’t know how to walk and tripped over everything,” Jade retorted. “Not to mention they were being chased by some monster or monsters. The only horrifying things in this place are those paintings.” Everypony nodded and muttered in agreement. “Besides, we’re trained professionals,” “Most of us,” whispered Stardust. “If we run into any more guards, we can knock them out. And if we see Bulk or his guests, then we just run or hide.” “Best strategy,” noted Shield. “So it’s settled. We’ll split into teams of three. Guesclin, I don’t want to hear any more of your rambles, so you’ll go with Lock.” Guesclin grumbled. “The recruits will go with each other. Atlas, you’re with me.” “Cool,” Atlas replied. “If anyone spots the chest, or the room where the chest is, they are to inform me. Got it?” They all nodded. “Great. And remember, only engage in combat if it’s absolutely necessary. Now, let’s move out.” With that, they all went their separate ways. Jade and Atlas walked down the left corridor while Guesclin and Lock wandered down the one on the right. That left only Stardust and Shield with the middle one. They both walked down the hall and couldn’t help but notice it was strangely dark. They knew they had nothing to worry about, but Stardust couldn’t help but feel anxious. She kept on muttering to herself. “Hey, you alright?” asked Shield. “Yeah. Just thinking about stuff,” she replied. “What kind of stuff?” “Well, this is my first time on an actual mission with a real group. But now that we’re on our own, I just,” she paused. “I don’t know. I think it’s just nerves.” “Everypony gets nervous once in a while. But why be nervous? If we see any guards, we’ll take them out.” “I know.” “And how come you’re only getting nervous now? We’ve been here for at least forty-five minutes. Why bring up that you’re nervous now?” Shield asked. “I never said I wasn’t before.” “Oh.” “Yeah. But, I’m not just nervous about getting caught. It’s also about the fortunes I read today.” “Really?” “Yeah. I’m just worried that one of the bad ones might end up coming true tonight. I can’t really control it. And I can’t really avoid it either.” “Does that fortune telling stuff actually work? I mean, it sounds kind of farfetched when you-“ “Why not? I’ve already told you, I’ve been doing this for a while. And at least one of them always comes true,” she interrupted. “Besides, if a zebra in the Everfree forest can perform similar magic, why can’t I?” “You’ve heard those stories too?” “How can I not?!” she turned and faced him. “Eh?” Shield said, taken back. “Oh, sorry!” “I-It’s fine.” “Let’s just, keep on moving.” “Alright.” Stardust turned around and they continued on their path. Shield couldn’t help but chuckle at Stardust’s sudden outburst. It was the first time he’d seen her outside of her calm face. As they were walking, Shield couldn’t help but stare at the gypsy mare’s flank. Shield then realized what he was staring at and shook his head. He mentally slapped himself. What are you doing? You barely know her! Don’t go around staring at pretty mares! He thought. Did I call her pretty? While fighting with his mind, he couldn’t help but feel something sticking him in the back of his neck. His eyes moved and noticed that his sword strap was rubbing on his fur. He adjusted it with his magic, but the sword still felt loose. He moved it up a little, but the sword still fell on his neck. He grunted and came to a halt. He placed his sword on the ground and started to mess with the strap. Stardust reached the end of the hallway. It split into two paths, one leading left and one leading right. She was so focused on getting out that she had no idea that Shield wasn’t with her. She took the path on the left, unknowingly leaving Shield behind. While that was going on, Shield has just fixed his sword strap and placed it back around himself. He smiled to himself and walked down the hall. He eventually reached the fork in the hall, but he had no idea where Stardust went. He swerved between the left and the right, not knowing which route to take. “Where’d she go? Stardust!” The halls created a loud echo. He soon covered his mouth. He came to realize that was a dumb move. Don’t yell! If Bulk hears those echoes you’ll be spotted, dumb butt! Without thinking, he ran straight for the right pathway. As he sprinted, he just hoped that he took the right path to catch up to Stardust. Meanwhile, Lock and Guesclin were wandering down another hall in search for their targeted item. They haven’t spoken to one another ever since the team split up. Guesclin just kept his focus forward. Lock decided it was time to break the ice. “So, nice night tonight isn’t it?” he wondered. “I don’t know, is it?” Lock fell silent. His eyes kept on averting and moving everywhere. Nothing came to his mind. “Just trying to start a conversation,” he said. “Why?” “Why not? Isn’t it nice to have a chat with your friends?” “You’re not my friend,” Guesclin said, bluntly. Lock fell silent, again. The awkwardness was starting to kill him, but he didn’t want to look stupid in front of the griffon. He tried to come up with something, but nothing sounded good. “Uh-“ “We can either see this two ways: either continue to suck up to me to get more awkward responses, or ignore what just happened and focus on your mission.” “Fine.” The two mercs continued on down the hallway. When they turned around the corner though, they were met with an interesting discovery. A door swung open at the left side of the hallway. Guesclin held his claw out and moved Lock back. They peaked around the corner and noticed a guard popping out of the door. He was a Pegasus stallion with a beige fur coat and a blonde crew cut. He also sported a black T shirt, like the other guards, and sunglasses placed on his forehead. He walked out of the room carrying two plastic bottles with his wings. “Alright, time to take these bottles to Bulk so he can show off,” he spoke. He closed door and began to walk through the hallway. Once he turned around the corner, Guesclin and Lock sneaked towards the door. They both approached a handle sticking out of the wall with a thing outline surrounding it. Guesclin turned the handle and the door slowly creaked open. “They didn’t even lock it? Wow, talk about poor security,” chuckled Lock. “Hush!” The door finally opened up. Guesclin noticed some beads hanging next to the door. He yanked on it, and the room lit up. What the found inside was a little too much for words. They just stood there speechless. They both walked down the stairs to get a better look. Meanwhile, Shield was still looking for Stardust but had no luck. He wandered down the hall with no idea where he was going. He then spotted another corridor that was crossing paths with his. There were two armored suits at each end of the arch that led to the corridor. He slowly approached the cross hall. Bulk and his guests walked by laughing as he continued his tour. Shields heart skipped a beat. At the last second he leaped behind one of the armored suits. “And then I said, ‘Why don’t you just make it yourself?’” He and the rest of his guests burst into laughter. Heads thrown back and all. Shield rolled his eyes at Bulks words, even though he had no idea what he was talking about. Geez! Does this guy have to show the ENITRE place? His guests finally walked on the other side and vanished. Shield hopped out from behind the armor and peaked around the corner. He looked to his right and noticed that his tour line was not that far away. Shield turned to his left and noticed the hallway turned right. So, he ran to his right and made another right at the end. He started to wander through another corridor. It seemed that every hallway was getting longer and longer. He began to wonder just how many halls and sharp turns Bulk has. A lot of hallways and still no sign of Stardust. He was starting to worry, his heartbeat started to slow down and he stared at the ground. Where did you go, Stardust? I hope you didn’t get captured. He turned around another corner. When he did, he accidentally bumped into something. Or somepony; and they sounded like they dropped something. “Oof! Excuse me,” Shield pardoned. His eyes froze once he discovered what he bumped into. The guard pony with the crew cut stared at him, cautiously. His dropped bottles rolled on the floor. The two ponies just stared at each other. “Who the hay are you?” asked the guard. “You’re not one of Bulk’s guests.” Shields eyes shifted, unable to come with a convincing story. So, he improvised. “Yes I am.” “No, you’re not. We checked all the guests before they entered the mansion.” “Uh.” He eyed one of the dropped bottles still rolling on the floor. Time to improvise. He levitated one of the bottles twisted off the cap. As soon as the cap came off, he threw the entire bottle at the guard. “Gah!” he yelled. He was splashed with a thick, brown liquid. The drink got in his eyes and his mane was soaked. As he rubbed his eyes with his wings. “I hate chocolate flavor!” As he was rubbing his eyes, Shield raised his front hooves and made a run for it. The guard regained his vision and noticed Shield running away through the hall. “Hey! Get back here!” “No!” The guard ran after him, dripping chocolate flavor protein shake as he ran. While that was going on, Stardust was still wandering. She kept walking through her corridor until something came up. All while not knowing that she was alone. She reached an arch at the end of the hall and found herself back in the living room. “Back here again? Looks like we just went in one big circle. Huh, Shield?” No response came. “Shield?” She turned around and discovered that her partner was nowhere to be seen. Her mouth dropped as she realized what was happening. She circled around herself and still no Shield. Her heart was starting to beat faster than normal. “What? Where did he go? Oh no.” The sound of a stallion’s yell soon hit her eardrums. Her left ear perked up, she noticed that the scream was close by. She turned and faced another ach leading into another room. Her concerns increased every time she heard hoofsteps getting louder. “Shield,” she said. In her mind, she knew what she had to do. Hang tight, Shield! Please don’t get captured. Author's Note Sorry this one took so long, and that it wasn't really action packed. I start school next week so I wanted to get this chapter done as soon as possible. But since I'm starting school again, I'll have no idea when I'll post the next chapter, so it may be a while. But this fic will continue, even if it may take some time. Thanks to TP Night for helping out with this one. Hope you liked it and let me know what you think. Thanks.
Completing the Mission. Completing the Mission. Jade and Atlas were wandering through their corridor. It seemed like another endless hallway for them. Unable to see the end and not knowing what to do once they reach it. They were sharing a nice conversation with each other as they were walking. “So after I beat his flank, he says to me, ‘you’re pretty fast, for a mare with fake wings.’ I couldn’t even tell if he was complimenting me or not,” Atlas ranted. “And you still went out with him?” asked Jade. “Well yeah! I mean, it’s not every day you get to meet a cool stallion who’s not your typical, cocky, masculine, Wonderbolt stereotype. And let me tell you, he was fast in ALL the right ways.” A sly smile formed on her face. “I REALLY should stop having these conversations with you,” replied Jade, deadpanned. “What? Don’t be jealous.” “As if. ‘I am a strong, independent mare who don’t need no stallion in my life,’” she replied, sarcastically. “Wow!” laughed Atlas. “Just, wow.” “So then what happened?” “Well, like most stallions I’ve dated, he changed over time. He started acting like a jerk and thought that I was his property.” “I doubt they were ALL like that.” “I know, but I’m exaggerating here.” “Did you deal with him like you did with all of your other leftovers?” “Buck yeah. I don’t mess around.” Jade knew what this meant. She knew Atlas for a while and knew how she dealt with her ex’s. She was just glad that she wasn’t on Atlas’ “left for dead” list. “You knocked him out?” Jade started. “Yep,” Atlas confirmed. “Dragged him to a deserted area with no ponies around?” “Yep.” “And you,” she paused in thought. “Chained him to a tree?” “Nope. Left him in a hot-air balloon basket.” “Oh?” “In the air.” “Oh.” “That was floating towards the dragon kingdom.” “Oh!” “While covered with gems.” “Oh…” “Yeah,” she chuckled. “You’re dark, Atlas.” “Pff! I don’t care.” Suddenly, something hit their ears. “Hold on!” Jade halted. “Do you hear that?” Both of their ears perked up, the faint sound of a stallion screaming soon echoed in their heads. It was followed by hoofs running through the halls. It sounded like two or three ponies running at once. “Oh. That doesn’t sound good,” spoke Jade. “It sounds like somepony from our team has been found out,” added Atlas. “That’s doesn’t sound good at all.” “What should we do?” “Well I think we should continue on our personal tour of the mansion and disregarded all interruptions- what do you think we should do?!” Atlas stared blankly at her. Another faint scream was heard through the halls. “Let’s go see who needs us!” she ordered and ran through the hall. Atlas followed suit. Meanwhile, the guard pony was chasing Shield through the halls. Shield ran as fast as his legs could take him. He was not about to let some typical guard be his downfall. He tried to come up with a plan as he ran, but was too busy avoiding his would-be capturer to think. What do I do? What do I do? Shield ran into a nearby hallway and spotted a door. He ran up to said door and opened it up with his magic. As soon as the door was open, he jolted inside. The guard spotted the open door and ran after him, closing the door behind him. At the same time, Jade and Atlas had entered the hallway. The searched all around but couldn’t spot the source of the scream. “Now what?” asked Atlas. “I’ll search the other hall, you continue on THAT way!” she ordered, pointing to a corner at the end of the hall. “Got it!” With that, the two mares split up. Jade entered through the door Shield and the guard ran through while Atlas flew and turned around at the corner. Her wings carried her as if her life depended on it. She stopped in her tracks and noticed Bulk Buster and his guests coming out of another room. Atlas scanned her surroundings to find a place to hide. Luck was on her side as she spotted a nearby door. She jolted, burst through the door, and closed it. “And let me tell you, he was less than impressed,” laughed Bulk. Atlas peaked through the tiny keyhole in the door to check if coast was clear. To her dismay, Bulk was out standing in the middle of the hallway, rambling on about another story to his guests. Atlas silently grunted to herself. “Where do they keep coming from?” she wondered. Meanwhile, Shield sprinted out of a random room and persuaded down another hall. Shield decided to look back while he was running. He turned around and noticed that the guard was no longer there. Something seemed off. He looked forward and spotted another cross-intersection hallway. There was a door at the end of it and Shield made a run for it. Unfortunately, the guard pony leapt out of said door. He landed on the ground and shut the door with his hooves. Shield gasped and came to a halt. The guard growled at him and was ready to attack. Shields heart started to beat faster, he was running out of options. He tried to sidestep to his left, but the guard did the same and blocked him. He tried moving to the right, but was blocked again. No matter where Shield moved, the guard wouldn’t let him by. It looked like he had to rely on the oldest trick on the book to get out of this one. Shield eyed the corridor to his left. His eyes shrank and he let out a terrifying scream. The guard swerved to his right and found that the hall was empty. When he turned back to face Shield, he was gone! The guard turned to his left and found Shield running down the other hall. He growled and slammed his hoof to the ground. “Every time!” he exclaimed and chased after Shield. Shield ran like never before, he was still surprised that the guard fell for the oldest trick in existence. “Wow. Twice in one night? Where do these guys come from?” he laughed as he ran. Shield soon found himself in the main hallway from when they first entered. “Back to the beginning?” The sound of hooves clopping suddenly became louder and louder. Shield turned back to the hall to see that the guard was getting closer. “Gah! Now what? Where do I go?” he panicked. He ran around in a circle to figure out where to go next. He had run through every hall in the mansion, he had nowhere else to run to. Nowhere to hide without getting caught or trapped. His hooves ran in place as he tried to come up with a solution. That is, until the obvious hit his head. “Oh wait!” He looked over his shoulder and realized that his sword was still attached to him. He engulfed the handle with a golden glow and slid the sword right out of its sheath. He levitated and swung it around. “Why didn’t I use this sooner?” he asked himself. He then looked forward and noticed the guard pony still charging at him. He readied himself and pointed his sword forward. His eyes narrowed as the guard got closer and closer. Shield then noticed something was off, the way he kept on running was strange. Surely, he had to have seen Shield’s sword right about now. He had no way to defend himself, the guard was unarmed. Right? Before Shield could process that thought, the crew-cut Pegasus started to take flight. His wings had spread and he was soaring just inches above the ground. Shield started sweating bullets. Then he spotted something in the guard pony’s mouth. Shield squinted as the guard flew closer. Right when he figured out what he had, the guard flew straight at him. Shield raised his sword to his face. A loud CLANG! occurred and shot Shield back. Shield stood up after the impact. His eyes didn’t lie to him as he saw the guard pony, standing right in front of him, wings flared, with a large dagger on his mouth. A Dagger? He must’ve pulled that out while he was chasing me! I think…I don’t know. Why am I thinking about this? The guard spit the dagger out of his mouth and caught it with his right hoof. “Just give up!” the guard ordered. “You’ve been caught, there’s nothing more to do than surrender.” “Uh, are you not paying attention? I have the bigger blade,” pointed out Shield. “You don’t stand a chance.” “You’d be surprised!” “Nothing can surprise-“ The guard flew straight at Shield in seconds. Shield yelped at the attack and raised his sword. The blades clashed once more. Shield could feel the guard's dagger push him back, he couldn’t believe how strong he was. Shield thrusted the guard off of him. He took to the air and carried the dagger in his hoof. The guard flew right at Shield, dagger in hoof. Shield swung his sword and countered his attack, deflecting him back into the air. The guard flew in for another aerial attack and Shield slashed at him again. The guard flew all around with his dagger, Shield counterattacking with his sword, blades clashing and sparks flying everywhere. The guard landed back on the ground. He flew at Shield, ready for another attack. The guard then started swinging and slashing his dagger at Shield, slicing in various X shaped attacks. All Shield could do was protect his face with his sword as the guard continued his assault. Even more sparks flew with every strike. Shield was starting to lose strength, his hooves started to feel strained. The guard kept on striking with the same patterns, it was starting to get to Shield. Shield jumped back and readied his sword. The guard stood there, panting and shooting sweat. Shield saw the opportunity and smirked. He charged forward with his sword, ready to attack. He charged and swung his great blade. When his attack finished, he noticed that the guard was gone. He looked up and found him flying in the air. “Forgetting about a small detail?” the guard asked, pointing to his wings. Shield growled at him as the guard came diving down on him. Shield blocked his attack and swung at the airborne stallion. He started swinging at him repeatedly, as if he was starting to swat a fly. The guard landed, and charged at Shield again, using the same X-shaped strikes. Shield did his best to block against it as more sparks flew. He then felt a razor sharp sting brush against the side of his neck and left hoof. He jumped back as the guard took to the air again. Shield couldn’t help but feel like something was wrong. He felt like he was leaking. He patted the side of his neck with his hoof. When he brought said hoof to his face, it was covered with red. Shield’s eyes shrank at the sight of the small puddle of blood on his hoof. He looked down and noticed there was a nasty slice on his left hoof too. He stumbled back, but still kept his sword up. He looked up at the stallion who was grinning down on him. “Using the same attacks over and over? Cheap move, dude!” he grunted. “It sure worked on you. And on your buddy over there,” the guard reported, pointing behind Shield. The young unicorn looked back, only to find an empty hallway. This wasn’t good. “W-What’re talking about? There’s nopony t-“ Before he could finish his sentence, a large amount of force rammed into his gut. Shield gasped and salvia was launched out of him. He was thrusted back and slammed against a wall. The impact caused him to crack his back and slam the back of his head against the wall. Shield slid down and grasped his stomach. He moaned in agony, it felt like getting run over by a station wagon, he couldn’t believe how hard that guard could buck. The crew cut guard lowered his back legs and turned around to face the fallen swordspony. He grasped the dagger with his right wing and slowly approached Shield. “In hindsight…I probably should’ve expected that,” Shield grunted. “You’re coming with me,” ordered the guard. “Bulk’s not going to like an uninvited guest in his home.” Shield used his magic to raise his sword, but due to the impact on his head his sword wobbled in his magic. “As if I’m go-“ The guard smacked the sword out of Shields grasp with his wing, sliding it to the left side of the room. He then back hoofed Shield’s horn, so that he couldn’t use any more magic. His horn stung, and the pain soon reached the rest of his body. “Gah!” screamed Shield as he held his horn with his hooves. “Are you done?” asked the guard. At the same time, Jade appeared at the end of her corridor. She found herself back at the main entrance, and noticed the guard pony pointing his dagger at the fallen Shield. Jade gasped and jumped back in the hallway, hiding in the shadows. She wasn’t expecting on finding her new recruit to get captured like this. Well, at least I know where the screaming came from. She thought. This doesn’t look good. Was Stardust’s future about us getting captured true? Are we really just going to get caught, one by one? This didn’t look good at all. She knew she had to do something. The more time she stood on the sidelines watching, the sooner her new teammate would face his demise. Wait. This is just one guy. The bad future said we would all get captured. Besides, even if this was the case, I could always prevent it from doing THIS! Jade reached into her cloak, ready to pull out her favorite, and not-so-secret of subtle, weapon of choice. She was actually waiting all night for something like this to happen, just so she could use it. Jade was mid-way through with pulling out her “day saving device.” The guard raised his dagger at Shield, holding it in a guarding position. “Don’t take this personally. I’m just doing my job,” the guard said. He reached down at Shield with his hoof as the fallen rookie was covering his face, waiting for his capture. Right when Shield was expecting a hard grasp on his hoof, the sound of clay shattering hit his ears. Confused, Shield removed his hooves from his face to see what had happened. He noticed that the guard was just standing there, face frozen and completely motionless. Shield couldn’t help but tilt his head at the guard. “Soooo, are you going to take me or…?” Shield wondered. Without warning, the guard collapsed onto the ground, dropping his dagger. This was truly a random moment for everyone. Right behind him, appeared Stardust with a half broken vase and a very concerned expression. She was staring down at Shield with worried eyes and gave a relieved sigh. “I made it,” she sighed. “Are you Ok?” Shield was speechless. He didn’t know how to react. This mare whom he recently met saved his life at the last second. Part of him was thankful that she saved him in time, but the other half felt something else. Something he couldn’t quite grasp. He wasn’t even sure if this emotion was appropriate for this situation. He decided to ignore it for now. “Yeah. Thanks to you,” he replied. Stardust smiled and offered him her hoof, to which he gladly took. He grasped her hoof and she pulled him up. However, as soon as Shield stood up, a surge of pain coursed through his hoof. He grunted and collapsed back on the ground. “Yep, that hurts,” he grunted. Stardust gasped at Shields injury. She could see all the red slowly leaking out of his hoof and neck. She decided to do what was best and wrapped his injured hoof over her shoulder. She brought him up again, this time with Shield leaning on her for support. “How did you get lost?” Stardust wondered. “Weren’t you right behind me?” “Yeah, well, I was kind of distracted,” Shield admitted. “Distracted by what? You weren’t staring at my flank or anything were you?” Stardust joked. She knows! His face blushed redder than a ladybug. He really didn’t want her to know that he was staring at her flank earlier. All he could do was nervously chuckle as he leaned onto his fellow recruit. Unfortunately, the more he blushed, the more red leaked out of his neck. “N-No! I was fixing my sword strap! Honest!” he stammered. Stardust chuckled. Jade stood in silence in the darkness. Her moment to save the day has been taken. She still couldn’t figure out how Stardust just came out of nowhere. She wasn’t sure what to do now. Did that recruit just steal my moment? Seriously? I hardly did anything tonight-I mean, yay…she saved Shield. Jade sighed and returned her weapon back to her cloak. She covered it up and patted it to make sure it was secure. There’s always next time. She decided to make herself known and entered the main entrance hall. “Hey newbies,” she spoke. Both recruits turned and faced their leader. “Jade!” Stardust replied. “Were you standing in that hall the whole time?” asked Shield. “Well, I was going to show you what I was truly capable of, by not giving away my presence and saving your flank,” she paused. “But then somepony came in and decided to steal my thunder.” Both ponies looked at each other confusingly, then back at Jade. They had no idea what she was getting at. “I’m talking about YOU,” she whispered to Stardust. “What was I supposed to do? Let him get captured?” She wondered. “That would've helped my situation, so yes!.” “Huh?” they both asked. “Relax, I’m kidding,” Jade smiled. “Nice job.” “Oh, thanks,” she replied. “Seriously though, don’t steal my moment next time.” The recruits were silent. They weren’t so sure if Jade was still messing with them or not. Was she really upset that Stardust stole her moment? They didn’t know what to say next. All they did was exchange looks. Finally, Shield decided to break the silence. “So,” he paused. “Any luck finding our targeted item?” Jade opened her mouth, but before she could answer- “I’m so glad you asked.” All heads turned around to find Artifice Lock staring at them with his head tilted and his eyes looking confused. He looked around to find an unconscious Pegasus guard, shattered pieces of a clay vase, a bleeding Shield leaning on Stardust, and Jade with a bored face. “Did I miss something?” asked Lock. “Oh, nothing important,” replied Jade. “What about me saving Shield-“ “What is it that you need?” interrupted Jade. “I believe I have found what we are looking for!” he announced. Jade’s ears perked. “Well, what are you waiting for? Show us!” “Oh, right!” Both ponies then took off to another hall. Stardust and Shield just stood in the middle of the room, unsure what to do since both Jade and Lock seemed to have forgotten about something. “Hey guys!” called Shield. Jade and Lock returned to the hall. “What about my injuries?” Shield asked pointing to his wounds. “Oh right. We should probably get you patched up,” Jade said. “You think?” “Don’t start with me!” she turned to Lock. “Hey Lock, patch him up?” “Why me? I’m not a medic.” “Rose gave you the bandages, therefore you’re responsible for patching up any injured member.” “Who’s Rose?” asked Shield. “No idea,” replied Stardust. “Alright, fine,” groaned Lock. He reached into his saddlebag and pulled out a roll of clean bandages. “Think fast!” He tossed the bandages across the room and took off. The bandages landed in Stardust’s hoof. By the time she looked up, Lock was gone. Jade rolled her eyes. “Ok, you patch him up. Next time that won’t happen,” ordered Jade as she took off as well. Stardust and Shield stared blankly at each other. “Have you ever patched up anyone before?” asked Shield. “I’m a fortune teller, not a nurse.” Lock was patiently waiting in the hallway, tapping his hoof on the ground. Jade managed to catch up with him and found him in the hall. Lock turned and noticed her. “You know, you could give me a warning when you fly off like that,” she remarked. “Yeah, I could-Anyway, I think we found what we are looking for.” “You already said that.” “It was for emphasis.” Lock then knocked on the wall five times. Jade just stared at Lock, confused. Before she could question why he’s knocking on the wall, a few splits and creaks appeared on the wall. A door then appeared and swung right out of the wall. Jade was surprised to see a set of wooden stairs, leading downwards into a dark abyss. Lock then flipped on the nearest light switch with his hoof and trotted downstairs. “This way, milady,” Lock motioned forward. Jade followed down the stairs. The stairs creaked with every step she took. What she found at the bottom of the stairs was truly……expected. She found herself surrounded by various shelves containing multiple jars, bottles, and cans. All with Bulk Buster’s logo and face on them. Each container read “Busters Drinks!” in the same big, bold, gold letters they saw before. She couldn’t believe how many drinks were in one small room. However, something about these drinks seemed a little different than the ones they saw on the magazines. “Whoa,” was all Jade could say. “I know, right? Who knew the owner of a protein drink had his own private stash in his mansion,” replied Lock. “I can’t tell if that’s you being factitious or stupid,” grunted a familiar voice. Both ponies turned to find a bored Guesclin leaning against one of the shelves. “Oh, you’re still here,” retorted Jade. “Eh, someone has to stay here and guard this place while Lock went to find you,” Guesclin replied. “Guard it from what?” Guesclin then stepped out of the way to reveal an unconscious and tied up Pegasus stallion guard. This guard’s fur color was darker in color, dark violet to be exact, and his mane and tail were cut short and were both a light brown color. Jade and Lock both stared at the guard. “What the?” exclaimed Lock. “I was only gone for two minutes! How did you defeat a guard in that amount of time?” 2 Minutes Ago Lock and Guesclin were going over the plan at the bottom of Buster’s drink basement. Lock was making sure to go over all the small details while Guesclin just wanted their conversation to be over. His nodding head wasn’t catching onto Lock any time soon. “So, you got that?” asked Lock. “Yeah, yeah. I stay here and keep an eye on this room while you go find the others,” he replied. “Great!” “Hold on. You’re the master thief, aren’t you? Why don’t you just take the item and go?” “Because, I want to wait and show it to Jade. She ordered us to summon her when we have found it.” “Oh yeah. That makes total sense. Wait until we’re in one room to get caught for stealing instead of getting picked off one at a time,” Guesclin remarked. “Hey, orders are orders. Besides, I’m sure you’ll do fine on your own. You could use the alone time,” he muttered. “What?” “What?” Lock replied. “Anyway, if you hear five knocks, then it’s me. Be right back!” With that, Lock took off, leaving Guesclin along in the cellar. He leaned back against a wall and closed his one lone eye. Right before he could catch his first Z, the sound of a door creaking hit his ears. His eye shot open and found some the guard pony trotting down the stairs. “Huh? Did I leave the light on?” he asked to himself. The guard pony went for the nearest shelf and was about to take a bottle. The guard spotted Guesclin and turned back to the bottle. He turned back again. His eyes were the size of peas as he stared at Guesclin. The one-eye griffon stood up and walked towards the guard pony. Sweat of shooting off of the unfortunate pony. He slowly backed away from the griffon and began to reach for his dagger with his wing. “You sure you want to do that, boy?” asked Guesclin. He began to reach for his own blade. He slid half of his sword out of its sheath. Even though it wasn’t fully drawn, the blade was still covered with dents, slashes, cuts, but still somehow managed to shine. The guard pony’s heart shrank. He examined his own blade and compared it with the griffons, possibly huge, sword. He kept dotting his eyes at the griffon and back at his own dagger. In one swift movement, the guard pony drew his blade, but by the time the dagger was fully drawn, the fight was over. Present “He wanted a fight, so I gave him one,” Guesclin answered. “Though, it wasn’t very interesting.” “Dude, you’re scary,” commented Lock. “Eh, at least I finally got to do something on this mission.” That makes one of us. “This is all well and good, but why did you bring me down here Lock?” asked Jade. “Ah! Right! Our objective for the night!” He flew behind one of the shelves and came back out, lugging a big, metal safe with a bronze dial and lettering. Jade was taken back by this, it was right in front of her. “Is this…?” “Yep!” A silence soon fell on the group. “I bucking knew there was a safe!” exclaimed Jade. “Huh, who knew?” added Guesclin. “You think you can crack it open, Lock?” “Like you have to ask.” Lock reached into his saddlebags and pulled out a shining stethoscope. He cracked both of his front hooves and then his neck. He placed the ear tips in his, well, ears. After that he placed the drum of the stethoscope on the safe door and began turning the dial, trying to hear the tiny clicks and cracks the safe made, hoping to get the right combination. “I honestly didn’t expect there to be an actual safe in this mansion,” admitted Guesclin. “Oh, do I detect a sense of surprise in your voice?” asked Jade. “Bah! You just got lucky this time! It was only by mere coincidence that there would be a safe down here.” “More like common sense. Coincidence? I think not!” Guesclin just stared at Jade with his eyebrow raised. The silence continued for a while. Lock was still working on the safe. “Why did you say it like that?” “I just…well….it’s….s-shut up!” stuttered Jade. “Yo!” Both mercs turned their heads to find Stardust and Shield standing at the top of the stairs. The latter was still leaning on Stardust and his entire hoof and neck were wrapped by bandages. “Where did this place come from?” asked Shield. “From the wall, obviously,” replied Jade. “And what took you guys so long?” “Sorry, I was too busy bleeding and hurting to catch up to you,” Shield retorted. “And I was too busy trying to patch up his wounds and not dye my fur red,” added Stardust. “So WHAT took you so long?” Jade motioned to the nearly bandaged up Shield. It didn’t even look like proper bandaging. It more looked like someone tried to mummify a pony and then gave up halfway through. “What do you want from me? I’ve never bandaged up a pony before,” admitted Stardust. “Clearly. Well, there’s a first time for everything,” replied Jade. “So, you found the safe?” asked Shield. “Darn right we found it!” Jade turned back to Lock who was still trying to crack the code. “You almost done with that, Lock?” “I will be in a minute,” the thief replied. “How long will that take?” “Who knows? Could take a while with all this talking.” “I don’t think we have a while,” spoke Shield. “What with Stardust knocking out that guard in the hallway and all.” “It will only be a matter of time before somepony finds him and realize we’re here,” added Stardust. “So you fought one too, eh?” asked Guesclin. “Too?” the recruits asked. Guesclin moved out of the way once more to reveal the knocked out and bruised up guard pony. Shield and Stardust had the same reaction as Jade and Lock, full of shock and mouths open. “I thought our employer said to leave no bodies?” wondered Stardust. “Relax, he’s just unconscious. Dang fool acted like he’s never seen a one-eyed griffon before.” “What the…when did this happen?” asked Shield. “I’d love to tell you the amazing tale of how I knocked out this wimp, but I don’t think we have time for the same flashback,” Guesclin said. “I’d never thought I’d say this,” started Jade. “Yes you have,” Guesclin replied. “Whatever, but Guesclin is right. We need to get out of here once we have the item. It could be any minute before either guard wakes up. Or if somepony else discovers our presence. Lock, will you please hurry up with that safe.” “Up-up-up-up-up! Safe cracking is no easy task. You can’t just expect somepony to just walk in, spin the magic numbers, and have the safe open up like open sesame! These things take time! It’s art! It could take a while before I ca-“ CLICK! “Got it!” “Who saw that coming?” remarked Shield. The safe swung open and revealed what was inside: Dapper Metal’s small chest. It was just like the photo; the brown color, the golden lock, and his initials inscribed on it. Lock spun the chest in his hoof. Jade was left speechless. They finally found it. “Huh, I thought it would be a bit…bigger,” Jade admitted. “It may be small, but I bet whatever’s inside will leave a BIG impact,” stated Lock. Jade just stared blankly at him. “Hey, am I the only one who’s wondering why this guy keeps a safe in his protein shake cellar?” asked Shield. “Who cares? We finally got the chest!” spoke Jade. “Now, all that’s left is to find a way out of this place.” “I think I saw an open window on the way here,” said Stardust. “Well then, lead the way!” Stardust and Shield started to walk down the hall as Jade and Guesclin trotted back up the stairs. As Lock stored the chest into his saddlebags, he couldn’t help but look around at the multiple containers that surrounded him. He scanned his surroundings and stared at all the bottles and jugs. He tilted his head at them, gears were turning in his head. He tapped his hoof to his chin and thought. Something didn’t seem right. I wonder, he thought. Meanwhile, the four mercs were walking down the corridor, for what seemed like an eternity. “But it’s only been 45 seconds,” said Stardust. “Who are you talking to?” asked Guesclin. “Never mind.” Suddenly, the sounds of groaning hit all of their ears. They all paused and jumped. “What was that?” asked Guesclin. “I’m guessing it was a groan?” replied Jade. “I know that! I don’t need your sass!” The halls groaned once more. All the mercs stopped and prepared for combat. “There it is again,” Stardust said. “Is this mansion haunted?” wondered Shield. “Not sure if that’s bad because we’re all probably going to get possessed by a ghost, or good to have a little more adventure on this night.” “Shield, you fought a guard. And lost. Any more ‘adventure’ and I’ll have to turn you into a mummy,” warned Stardust. “Y-you don’t know that,” he muttered. The halls groaned again. All four mercs turned towards the end of the hall to find a shadow approaching from out of the corner. They didn’t know what to make of it. Jade reached inside her cloak while Guesclin reached for his sword. The shadow got closer and the groans got louder. The sound of hoofsteps was starting to sound louder as well. The sound of metal dragging on the floor also struck their ears. Jade cocked an eyebrow at this new sound. Hold on! Dragging metal? The shadow disappeared as a figure emerged from the darkness and walked right around the corner. The figure had its head down, slowly approached the group of mercs, and dragged her metal wings on the ground. “Wait,” said Shield. “Aaaahh, you guys!” groaned Atlas. The group lowered their guard and faced the metal winged mare. She lifted her head to reveal her pale face to the rest of the crew. She didn’t look so good. “Oh, it was Atlas all along,” joked Jade. “Looks like we solved the mystery.” “What happened to you? You look awful,” asked Stardust. “It all started, when I was born,” she started. “Really? That long?” asked Shield. “More like three minutes ago.” More like Three Minutes Ago Atlas waited patiently in the dark room for Bulk and his guests to leave the hallway. Every time she peaked into the tiny keyhole, they would still be there. Atlas grunted to herself. She couldn’t believe how one pony could be in so many places at once, and have so many boring stories to tell. “So I say, ‘why don’t you prove it by giving it to one of my workers?’ So he did! And it didn’t work!” laughed Bulk. Like always, his guests laughed a snooty laugh with their heads thrown back. “Eheheheheh, shut the buck up,” grunted Atlas. Suddenly, an unfamiliar scent found a way into her nostrils. She involuntarily inhaled and caught the scent. Her eyes shrank and her brain stopped, she even heard the sound of glass breaking in her head. She quickly covered her nose with her wing and stepped back. “Ugh, what is that smell?” As she stepped back, something damp touched her back hoof. She froze in place. Atlas slowly turned her head. That proved useless however, because when she turned all she could see was darkness. Nothing but a black space filled with who knows what? Oh geez. What’s touching me? As if it couldn’t get any worse, the unknown dampness started to swarm and engulf her hoof. Atlas gasped but quickly covered her mouth. The strange damp thing started to crawl around her hoof, it felt like a bunch of little, wet tentacles surrounding and devouring her hoof. Adding that to its horrid smell, the dark room became an abyss of discomfort. Atlas moved forward, but the creature thing followed. She peaked out the keyhole to find Bulk still talking to his guests. Atlas groaned. The smell worsened, like rotten fruit mixed with toilet water. As the scent crawled up her nose, it triggered Atlas’ gag reflex. Luckily, she caught it before she could throw it up. She gulped and moaned in agony. Between the darkness, the smell, and the strange thing wrapping around her hoof, she needed to do something. “Brilliant story, Bulk!” commented Bulk’s guest. “I know. It’s even funnier when you think about the fact that-“ “WILL YOU JUST MOVE ON ALREADY?!” Everything went silent. Bulk and his guests stood there with confused looks. Atlas covered her mouth. There was no hoping that they didn’t hear her outburst, they had to have heard her. Her heart stopped. Oh crap! I’m so screwed! The silence was killing her. She thought she was done for. That is, until the luckiest thing ever happened. “You know what, you’re all right. Where are my manners?” spoke Bulk. His guests looked at him in confusion. Mutters and whispers were heard and shared among one another. Even Atlas couldn’t believe what was happening. What? “There’s still so much of the mansion I haven’t shown you yet. I shouldn’t waste your time with my stories. Now come along, I have a piece that is to die for!” With that, Bulk’s guests shrugged it off and followed their host into another room. As soon as there was no one left in the hallway, the door swung open. Atlas collapsed onto the ground, gasping for air. Her chest felt like a balloon inflating and deflating. The smell escaped her nose the moment she felt the ground. She panted and crawled from the room. She turned around to find three wet mops fall on the ground. Atlas’ eye’s widened. She couldn’t believe that she was scared and grossed out by a wet mop. Feelings of relief, embarrassment, and anger coursed through her body. She looked down and noticed her hoof was still damp and smelled. She crawled over to the closet and grabbed a roll of paper towels. Once she was done cleaning off her hoof, she placed all of the wet mops back in the closet and shut the door. The smell was still there and the feeling of a wet mop covering her hoof was present. She groaned to herself and slowly walked away. Ok. That's enough action for tonight. Present “Ugh, sounds gross,” commented Shield. “Yeah! It was!” she shuttered. “Imagine if it was something else.” “I’d hate to be you right now,” added Jade. “Alright, do you think we can go now?” asked Guesclin. “Hold on, where’s Lock?” wondered Stardust. The crew looked around and noticed that their thief was missing. Nowhere to be spotted. “Here I am!” The crew all turned around and saw Lock running towards them, with his saddlebags flaying as he ran. “Where have you been?” asked Jade. “Sorry. I had a little trouble fitting the chest into my bag.” “Wait, you found the chest?” asked Atlas. “I know! Crazy right? Where did you go?” “Not now!” “Alright! Looks like everyone is here! Time to make our exit. Stardust, continue,” ordered Jade. “Sure thing!” Stardust, Shield, Atlas, and Lock started walk down the hall, following Stardust to their exit. Guesclin and Jade stayed behind while the rest of the team was getting ahead of them. Jade walked next to Guesclin. “You know Lock took something else from that room, right?” asked Guesclin. “No duh,” she nodded. “You going to expose him?” “Eh, not right now. I want to wait and see how long it’ll take for somepony else to figure it out. It’s more fun that way,” she shrugged. Jade ran off to join the others. Guesclin just stood there in the hallway, staring blankly at the young merc as she ran around the corner. So many things going on in his head. “There are so many things wrong with you,” Guesclin said. He then ran to catch up with the rest of the team. Later Two guards were patrolling the hallway as Bulk was still entertaining his guests. They entered the main entrance hall. They both stopped in place to find part of the hall covered with dents and scratches. They scanned the area to figure out what happened. “What the hay happened here?” asked one guard. “I don’t know!” They both fanned out and scanned the hall to find any clues as to who or what did this. One of the guards came to a halt when he came across a shocking sight. “Uh, dude!” he called. “Yeah?” “You might want to take a look at this!” The guard soon joined his buddy. He gasped in shock to find one of his fellow guards knocked out, covered with Bulk’s protein shake, have a huge bump on his head, and tied to a pillar by a bunch of bandages. That could only mean one thing. “Do you think?” “Yep!” Suddenly, another guard came running out of the other hall and joined his friends. His eyes were also wide and sweat running down his head. “Hey, did you know that there’s a guard tied up in Bulk’s shake cellar?” The other guard didn’t answer, but pointed to the one they found. The third guard turned and gasped at the tied up stallion. “We are so fired.” Jade and her crew were long gone. It was dark out, and they were running through the grassy fields, cheering and laughing as Lock tossed the chest in the air like some kind of juggling ball. “Yeah! We did it!” proclaimed Lock. “What did I tell you guys? In and out, just like I said!” added Jade. “Yeah!” they all laughed. “Well, I guess we all know which future was true!” spoke Shield. “See? My predictions are never wrong!” added Stardust. The crew laughed even more. Even Stardust couldn’t believe that they all made it out without getting caught. They all felt a river of victory flow within their bodies. “What was I so worried about?” laughed Jade. “I know! Just in and out!” exclaimed Atlas. “Yep! In and out!” “Yeah.” The laughs and cheers died down and everything went silent. The team trekked the grassy fields with victorious smiles, but nopony was no long celebrating. They looked back and noticed that nopony was even chasing them. The peaceful silence became awkward. “Kind of expected a little more action than that,” admitted Lock. “Yeah, I mean we just snuck in, split up, hid for a while, found the chest and left,” Jade recapped. “That was it.” “We also fought two guards,” added Shield. “I don’t know if I would consider mine an actual fight,” pointed out Guesclin. “Still. Good thing I saved you the last second,” mentioned Stardust. “Yeah, thanks.” The silence returned. The groups walking speed seemed to become slower with every conversation they had. “Still, we defeated two guards, so that’s something,” spoke Jade. “Yeah, I guess. Just two,” replied Shield. “In and out, like you said,” said Guesclin. “Yeah. In and out.” The silence returned. Only more awkward than ever. The teams smiles even began to fade away. “Kind of anti-climactic, to me,” admitted Shield. “Yeah.” No one spoke a word. For a full three minutes. “So, I guess we should turn this in now?” asked Lock as he held up the chest. “Right! Let’s go….do that!” ordered Jade. “Yeah!” With their first mission finally over the team of mercenary ponies made their way towards Canterlot, where they would return the chest to their client and collect their well-deserved reward……….. Author's Note Hey guys, sorry for the REALLY late chapter. I've just insanely busy with school lately that I had to focus more on my classes. Hope you can understand. But, now that my semester is almost over, I can spend part of winter break focusing on the fic more. But there are no promises that the next chapter will be uploaded during winter break (it really depends, since we all have different time breaks). Anyway, hope the wait was worth it, and that you liked this chapter, and let me know what you think. Also, thanks again to TP Night for pre-reading and helping out with this chapter.
Final NoteThis should’ve been announced years ago, so I'm sorry for the big delay. I don’t know if this is obvious, but my fic, Caliber’s Party, hasn’t been updated since 2016. Does that mean it’s canceled? I am here to officially say yes. I apologize if some of you were looking forward to seeing where this fic would be heading, but I decided to cancel it for a number of reasons. Some of them are obvious such as other fics to work on and dealing with real-life issues like classes and work. Another reason I decided to discontinue this story is simply a loss of interest. The whole mercenary idea I had two years ago sounded good, but I’ve come to realize that the original story I had in mind wouldn’t really fit in the world of MLP. Mainly because it involved elements like magic guns and crime lords, that doesn’t sound it would fit in Equestria at all. Again, I apologize to anyone who’s OCs were involved in this fic. BUT, I have a possible solution. Just because this story is canceled, doesn’t mean it has to die. That is why I am giving this fic away. If there is anybody out there who would still like to see this fic continue, then please let me know. Keep in mind if someone is interested in taking this fic, then it will obviously have a much different story than my original one. I will also provide the link to the blog post that contains all of the OCs involved and their creators. You can contact them and get the information you need for the characters. The way I see it, this fic can either be a lost idea that had potential and would never be seen or heard from again or somebody can take this idea and turn it into a real story full of passion and dedication. If you want to take over this fic and turn it into something that’s completely your own, then leave a comment or PM me. I can’t tell you guys how sorry I am for doing this, but I have to focus on other things. The story may be gone, but it doesn’t have to be forgotten. Thanks for understanding. Link to the OC blog post: It's right here.
