Workday

Well, I suppose an apology is in order, last chapter was REALLY short, also, quite a while ago, but I hope to be able to have another chapter of this each saterday, which should be easier now that i have a plot in mind.. For anyone who noticed the new Mare-Do-Well tag, yes, she will be included, I mean, a master thief needs some challenge, right?

Words of wisdom; "Sometimes people do things because they enjoy it, sometimes they do them for others. My reasons? Im just bored." ~Mischief Master, leader of Ponyville sector, Thieves guild.

"Wake up, Buttercup."

"Ugh, Five more minutes, please Surge." Scarfs eyes popped open, that wasn't his old sergent. he whirled around to see a very unimpressed looking Applejack. good thing, his old drill sergent from militatry camp would have 'tanned his hide' for asking to sleep in.Then again, Applejacks face suggested worse.

"Nuh uh, you best be gettin up right now, you agreed to work on the farm, and because of you ah had to set mah alarm thirty minutes early so ah wouldn't waste time huntin' you down all mornin'." Hidden Scarf looked at her Scrutinizingly. This was a completely different pony from the other day. He shrugged.

"Alright, then, give me a second to get ready." He paced around the room, looking for his saddle bags while at the same time making sure everything was covered, then it hit him. Applejack could have searched his room while he was sleeping. "You didn't touch anything, did you?"

"Of course not!" she sounded rather irritated that he had asked that, "Just hurry up, your makin' me run late." AJ stormed out.

Scarf watched her leave and waited a few minutes before following, Hasn't she ever heard of breakfast? he proceede to go through his male, inspecting each letter carefully before coming to a dead stop at a light blue envelope.

"Cloudstrider?" he read aloud the sender.

"What?" Horsefeathers, Applejack was still there.

"Just a penpal from Cloudsdale." Scarf hastily explained before tearing open the letter from the missions executive.

Dear HiddenScarf,

All I wished to say was thank you for you package the other day, and you were right, girls realy do like gemstones, I suppose thats because it makes them feel just like a princess. Anyway, your advise was

great and I finnally worked up the nerve to take her to her favorite place, the town center was lovely

today, you should have been there, all the shops were open, which is how i managed to get my little gift

for her. Anyway, I eagerly anticipate hearing from you again, Knowing you, any job you get down there

Is sure to be a succes.

Sincerely, Cloudstrider.

"Well, it's good to be getting mail again." Scarf said, quickly decifering the mission assignment from the rest of the letter, target, owner, location were always the first three speciffic nouns in the letter. he looks up to Applejacks impatient hoof-tapping. "Oh, right, lets go."

What followed was a rather uneventfull day of applebucking. Finding just kicking the trees rather simple, Scarf decided to make a challange out of it with Applejack to see who could buck the must apples in between breaks.

"Yer on." Applejack said, "what are yer terms of challenge?"

"Loser has to buck the remaining apples in this part of the orchard if it's not done by supper." They each spat in their hoofs before shaking on it, Scarf was quickly getting used to farm life, it was quite a bit like his training before he became a thief.

As it turns out, no matter how use Hiddenscarf thought he was to hard work, he was still far outmatched by A.J.s experience in the orchard. By the agreed time she had bucked almost three more baskets than him, and was about to buck the last tree in that section when dinner was announced.

"Looks like this ones yours," she laughed before raceing off to dinner. Scarf sighed, tow more buckets than me he chuckled as he got ready to buck the tree.

"Hello!" his vision was filled with pink. He missed the tree and collapsed on the ground. "Oh, im so sorry. I just wanted to invite you to a party, it would be really cool."

"I dont do parties." Scarf mumbled as he stood up and brsuhed his matted mane out.

"Dont be silly, I'm the one doing the party, you just have to go there!" Scarf stared at her incredulously.

"Go where?" he might as well keep appearances with those who hadn't blown his cover.

"It's just over at the barn." Pinkie explained as she hopped away, bouncing all the way back. The barn? Applejack had to have had something to do with this then.

It took a good five hours before the party had finnally subsided, only pinkipie, Applejack, and four others remained.HiddenScarf, who had remained on the sidelines during all the games, was forced to talk with his hosts instead of avoiding conversation like he did all night.

"So, HiddenScarf, you said you were from Canterlot?" a purple unicorn mare adressed him first, they were all just laying in the middle of the barn, faceing each other. Scarf nodded. "funny, I dont recognise your, where exactly in Cnaterlot, if you dont mind saying?"

"The outskirts." Scarf replied cooly, almost with a bite.

"Oh..." The mare suddenly became very interested in her drink.

"So, what kinds of things were there to do on the outskirts, did you have parties?" the never satiated Pinkie inquired. A second unicorn, this one white with three gemstones for a cutiemark, coughed suddenly.

"Um, Pinkie, I think Scarf would like to talk about something else."

"Why? if its in Canterlot, then theres gotta be alot of cool things going on! say, what kind of things did you do there? ever see the wonderbolts? I hear they were performing in canterlot last year." A rather noisy cyan pegasus began talking rapidfire, ignoring her friends prior statement.

"I didn't have the pleasure." Scarf said, also ignoring the unicorns, he wasn't ashamed of his former home.

"So what did you do there?" Applejack was the one with the question this time.

"Mostly I had to forage in the trash from the others in the city in order to help my family survive, once i was old enough I got a proper job as a street cleaner." The blue pegasus looked puzzled.

"What kind of place has that low of a life style?"

"The slums." there was an akward silence.

"So, uh, what kind of things did you do once you, you know, flew the coup? I mean, I doubt y'all were living life in the slums all the time up 'till ya decided to come to Ponyville."

"Well, once i got tired of cleaning the streats, I went to militay camp, to join the royal guard." There was a collective dropping of jaws.

"whoa whoa woah, you were in the royal guard? how come i never saw you? I was living right next to the palace!"

"I bet it was just fabulous, you've probally met all the highest class of ponies."

"And you never saw the wonderbolts?"

"No wonder y'all are so good at bucking apples, you probally got alot of practice with stuff like that."

Scarf grimaced, they were all talking at once, so he couldnt even make out what they were saying. "Actually, I never graduated, I dropped out" he eventually explained, feeling this would answer all the questions. If jaws hadn't hit the floor yet, they all certainly did so now. Well, all but one.

"And Oatmeal was all, Pinkie, since when have you known me not be.... oh, sorry."

"Why'd yall do some foo thing like droppin' out?" Applejack intterragated, "Your family could've been set fer life!"

Scarf shrugged non-chalantly, as if it wasn't such a big deal. "I just figured I wanted a different line of work, the princesses had enough guards, and I had learned my last remaining brother had just moved out and found a job in trade."

"Seems he's found some friends, thats good, people need to trust him."

"I dont see the point, he shouldn't be getting so attached, regardless of 'trust'"