//------------------------------//
// The Hand-Off 
// Story: An Eque$trian Payday 
// by The card holder 
//------------------------------//

As the sun started to shine its first light over the landscape, Celestia watched from her position on the bridge. Gathered around her were a few of her pegasus guards, standing at ready attention.

Thankfully, there was pretty much no traffic this early in the morning, making it an easy task to wait for the criminals she more or less hired to retrieve the Elements. The only vehicle that passed by was a semi-truck, and a quick magical scan showed it held nothing of interest.

She just hoped that they would uphold their end of the bargain, and leave Equestria behind.

She was broken out of her thoughts when she spotted something approaching from the distance. Once it got closer, she could see that it was an unmarked blue van.

The van rolled to a stop ten feet in front of her, and after the driver cut the engine, the four men she had apprehended earlier emerged from the back, wearing their masks. They all had guns, but they weren't aimed at her, simply held at the ready. One of them was also carrying a duffel bag on their back, which no doubt held her greatest asset.

Wanting to get this over with, Celestia spoke. "You have the Elements?"

Wordlessly, the one holding the bag threw it forward, and Celestia caught it in her magic. Quickly opening it, she saw that it did indeed hold the box that the Elements were housed in. After opening that, she could see that all five necklaces and the tiara were accounted for, and undamaged.

She nodded. "Good. Now, you will have one day to-"

Suddenly, there was the sound of multiple guns being drawn, along with the sound of a helicopter bearing down on them, shining a spotlight on the four masked men. They whirled around in response, finding a large amount of armored men wielding rifles surrounding them. Celestia noticed that the new arrivals had a patch reading "FBI" on their back.

To further cement this new development, one of them started shouting. "FBI! Down on the ground, now!"

The four whirled around, looking at all the feds surrounding them, and begrudgingly complied, putting down their guns and putting their gloved hands in the air.

While Celestia was trying to process what just happened, another human walked forward, this one wearing a simple vest under his suit. A patch on his shoulder identified him as also being from the FBI. "Sorry to intrude on your territory, Princess," he began, "but when we have several sources saying that you have some of America's most wanted criminals in custody, we see no reason to let them go free."

The princess was shocked. "But I never contacted-"

"You didn't need to." The man looked at the bag still being held in her telekinetic grasp and smirked slightly. "Also, don't worry about any ramifications for your decision. In your place, I'd do the same thing."

Both of them looked at the masked men, who were now handcuffed and on their knees. One of the armored men started roughly removing their masks, but Celestia found that the faces under those masks weren't the ones she remembered in the castle's dungeon.

"Those aren't-"

Beside her, the man from the FBI reached the same conclusion, though his reaction was much less subdued. "God fucking dammit!"

While he started shouting at the others to start looking for "those crafty fucking assholes", Celestia looked at the Elements. If those men weren't here, then where could they be? The only other vehicle that passed on this bridge was-

The realization hit her like a five ton truck.



"Hey, Wolf, we need some more gas over here."

"On it. Got the new van ready?"

"Of course. What, after all that, you think I have trouble finding another van?"

Wolf laughed, applying the last of the gasoline to the semi that him and the rest of the crew were smuggled away in. "Just making sure, Houston."

Not too far away, Dallas shook his head. "I still think that name is kinda dumb..."

"Weird aliases aside, nice work everyone," Bain said. "Just like I thought, the feds jumped at the chance to nab you guys, and they took the bait perfectly. Now hurry up and get that truck torched, they're gonna have a country-wide hunt for that thing."

"You know, Bain, I can't help but feel that you have a backup plan for literally every situation," Hoxton commented.

"How else am I going to keep you guys alive in case things go south?"

Not too long afterwards, Dallas used a lit cigarette to ignite the gas, quickly turning the semi and its trailer into a raging inferno. Soon after, the five of them got into the new van and pulled away from the abandoned gas station before anyone noticed.

"So, what's next?" Chains asked.

"The heat's gonna be pretty bad here in Equestria, so I'll arrange for you boys to be sent back home."

"What about you?" Dallas asked Houston. "You coming with us?"

"Sorry, Nate, but I kinda like it here in Equestria. I'll be ready in case you need me again, though."

"Well, say farewell to Equestria for a while, gentlemen. We'll probably return later, but until then, see you at the safe house."