White Shadows

You know, I never really thought about how things worked. But when you have a Flintlock pointed at your head, you seem to notice every detail.

Oh look, it seems that the weapon about to take my head offs barrel doesn't have a shot in it.

Here I was, a griffon holding a pistol over my head, and a small crown in my hoof.

"Hand over the crown, horse." Said the Griffon.

"Over my dead body, bird." I said, and I heard the hammer click back.

"Fine, I gave you a choice. You chose to die." Said the Griffon, and he pulled the trigger.

The only thing that came out of the gun was a burst of black gunpowder, and I kicked the griffon square in the groin. He fell to his knees, gripping his testes. I stood up, and reared back a punch, landing a shot square into his eye. He fell to the ground, groaning in pain. I picked up the small crown, and brushed the vines and gunpowder off of it. I grabbed my small curved talon knife, and delivered the coup de grace to the griffon. He gurgled in pain as I slit his throat, and sighed.

"One less problem to deal with, I guess." I said, putting the knife back in its sheathe.

Suddenly, a massive blimp came over the canopy of the forest, its steam engines shooting out green water particles from the back. A small rope dropped from the blimp, and I climbed up.

"Got the crown?" asked the pony on the blimp.

"Yeah, got it. What took you so long, Diamond?" I asked, and she scoffed.

Diamond was my sometimes assistant, as well as I was hers. We worked together often, collecting artifacts for Queen Celestia and Princess Luna. She was a pure white Pegasus, with a glowing ruby for her cutie mark. She had a red mane and tail, and was probably the only attractive mare explorer out there, with the exception of Daring Do.

Ooohh... Daring Do. Why the hell did those books get me into this shit?

"I had to deal with Flying Griffons. Blasted them of the air with the steam cannon. Pretty sure their particles are still lingering on the blimp." Said Diamond, and I sniffed the air.

"Yeah, I can smell 'em." I said, with my thick, airy Equine accent.

"Tell me, why are you helping Celestia when your homeland is Equine?" asked Diamond, and I smugly smiled.

"Because she's got her head screwed on straight, not exploiting steam as my countrycolts did." I said, walking over to the water heater.

I shoved a few logs in, and we started back to Canterlot.

"So, how much do you think the crowns worth?" asked Diamond, and I shrugged.

"An easy 10,000. It's kinda crummy lookin', do it could have been worth more." I muttered, looking off at the castle perched on the side of the mountain.

"So we'll split it, like last time." Said Diamond, and I sighed.

"No, I'll kill you at the castle, and take all the money for myself while doing to rain dance." I said sarcastically.

"You know, you could have just said just said 'yes'." Said Diamond, and I sighed.

"It was a stupid question, so it deserved a stupid answer." I said, turning the steering wheel on the blimp.

"You're kinda a jerk." said Diamond, and I just scoffed.

"I didn't get this far on kindness, I had to get people killed just to get out of Equine." I said, looking in the general direction of Equine.

The lowland neighboring country were the ones who created Steam technology, but without any type of limitations at all. The once beautiful country known for its massive marble statues, vineyards, and rolling hills, was now a brass and iron city, basing its economy off of steam production and factories. Black clouds blotted out the sun, and the flames that heated the steam sent off ashes all over the cities. Half of the population was mutated due to all the intake of magically enhanced steam, and they were on the verge of war with Equestria. I still fathom why ponies want to visit the place.

I turned back to Diamond, who was leaning off the edge of the railing. She was looking off into the sunset, the light reflecting off her white coat, her mane and tail flowing in the wind. I turned back to the front of the blimp, and sat back, letting the blimp drive itself all the way to Canterlot.

"So, what are your plans after this job? I mean, you have enough money to actually start a legitimate business without loans, or even be set for life." Said Diamond, still leaning on the edge.

"Keep exploring. To tell you the truth, I don't do it for the money, I do it for the rush." I said, leaning on my hoof.

"I see... I'm probably going to find a nice Stallion, settle down, and have a family." Said Diamond, who moved away from the railing.

"Shouldn't be to hard, expecially with a mare of your looks." I said, doing my sarcastic smile.

"I sensed sarcasm. Was that sarcasm?" asked Diamond, and I tapped my chin.

"Uhhhh... Nope. No sarcasm here." I said, and Diamond just scoffed.

"I'm going into the back. I'll be out when we dock." Said Diamond, walking into the blimps inside.

I sighed, and turned back to the sunset, watching Canterlot grow closer with each passing second. How many times have I seen this view? Hundreds. How many times will I see it again? Well, if fate goes as planned, a hundred more times. I loved this life, and it loved me. Though sometimes I did ponder. When would it end?