Skyrim: Band of Thieves

by Blackdrag-rose

Prelude: Unexpected Transfer

It was a strangely peaceful day in the Everfree Forest, as the timberwolves seemed to be silent while most of the creatures were either sleeping or were doing whatever it was that they did, something not a lot of ponies knew about since most of the population of Equestria were scared of this place. With that in mind Capper had gone to Ponyville to find one of the few ponies he had become friends with, because he had heard rumors and stories about how some or all of them had, at one point in time, gone into the forest to find the 'Elements of Harmony', powerful artifacts to stop Nightmare Moon. Of course one of his companions, Rarity to be exact, had confirmed that the tales were true, even the ones where her sister and her sister's friends had come into the forest to do stupid things, all to figure out their Cuties Marks, though usually the trio in question had to be saved from their antics. He had been sure that he could convince one of them to come with him, show him to the castle, and then he could track down a couple of items to use to settle his debt with Verko, because while his debt had been lessened significantly the mole insisted on him paying a small fraction in the end.

When he told Twilight that, since she insisted on being told all of the information on what he wanted to do, she ended up using Spike's fire breath to send a scroll to her mentor to tell her about what Capper was up to, where he suspected that she was hoping to get some backup to stop him.

To Capper's surprise he ended up watching a magical exchange of letters between Twilight and Celestia, one writing down a response to the other before sending it once they were ready to go, and he, of course, had to provide more information than what he gave Twilight earlier. What he learned was that both of the princesses of Canterlot, as Luna was present for the exchange on the other end and must have been interested in what her sister was doing, were interested in his odd request, but, at the same time, were more than willing to grant him his request. He suspected that it was due to the fact that he had aided Twilight's group in their quest to defeat the Storm King, and the fact that they likely felt that he hadn't been properly rewarded for his efforts, so this, in their eyes, was a way to square the remainder of their debt to him. With that in mind the sisters had sent one final letter informing him and Twilight that two guards, one from both divisions, were on their way to Ponyville and that they would be there within the hour, to escort him and anyone who was joining him to the castle.

Rarity, who had come in during the end of the exchange, asked if it was okay for her to join the group and Capper figured it was okay, since they would have guards with them this time around, though they didn't have to wait very long as one of the chariots, like what brought Twilight here once upon a time, brought two new guards to Ponyville. The letter had explained that the Solar Guard was Azure Blade, who seemed to be much like the rest of the members of his division, while his Lunar companion, Midnight Rose, seemed to be having fun already, if the smile on her face was any indication. From what the pair learned a fair number of guards, from both divisions, had been brought before the pair of princesses and these two were picked above all of the others, though while both were happy to be off guard duty for once, only one seemed excited by the idea of heading into the Everfree Forest. Azure informed them that the princesses weren't expecting them to run into any trouble while they were heading through the dangerous forest, but it was better to be safe since there was no telling what the group would discover once they started their trek.

Sure enough Capper found that the princesses had been right, the trek had been uneventful with no timberwolves or even the massive bears that were said to be in the forest, in fact it looked like he had picked the right time to even suggest such a thing, since he and his companions were able to reach the castle without anything attacking them.

"So, this is the ancient castle... only thing we have to be careful of is crumbling walls and creaky stairs." Azure commented, though while this was his first time actually seeing the structure in question, which was as rough and worn down as he had heard, he knew it was only a matter of time until something collapsed and the entire place came crashing down, or at least the rest of it anyway.

"Whatever. I'm just glad to be doing something that's not guard duty." Midnight remarked, where Capper found that the Lunar Guard seemed more adventurous than her Solar Guard counterpart, as Azure was more like the rest of his mates, focused on serving his princess to the letter, but even then he also appeared to be grateful for something new to do, instead of guarding the Princesses all day.

"I'm glad to have offered you two something new." Capper said, even though it was a little weird to hear the guards talk, as the ones back in Canterlot seemed to be silent and did whatever their patrons asked them to do, but at least the pair were having some fun as they looked around the castle, before he glanced around for a moment, "Now, where is that path that Princess Luna mentioned?"

The area they were currently in was the main entrance of the castle, which once brought ponies and visitors to the thrones that Celestia and Luna used to sit on and rule from, though while the area that was to their left seemed to be broken, due to the collapsed walls, the right was perfectly fine. Midnight, having received instructions from her boss before they set out on this journey, beckoned for them to follow her as she headed into the passage that was to the right of the entrance, where Rarity found that the path brought them to the library and the hidden stairs her friends had discovered once upon a time. After that they headed down the stairs in question for a time, eventually reaching an underground area that Rarity and her friends had told no one about, save for writing it down in the journal Twilight kept of their adventures, before they headed down to their right for a time as the Lunar Guard followed her boss' instructions. Such a thing allowed the group to see that there were a number of lights that magically ignited as they got close to them, some of them revealing doors to other rooms, ones Rarity didn't know about, before Midnight stopped in front of a door with a gem icon on it.

Midnight produced a silver key from her bag that she slipped into the slot and unlocked the door, where Capper opened the door once she was done working on it, revealing a decent sized room that had chests that were full of gems and some that were full of gold coins, a small treasury that either the sisters kept hidden or one of them had kept from everyone, including their sister.

"You know, I was expecting it to take some time to find this place... it's nice to be surprised." Rarity remarked, where she had to guess that this was all Luna's treasure from when she lived in this castle, since it was her key that opened the door, and as they walked into the room she picked up a sapphire with her magic, "These gems are magnificent."

"Yes, they certainly are." Capper stated, where he pulled out one of the sacks he had collected previously, before traveling to Ponyville to look for a guide, and collected a number of the finer gems, because they should be enough for him to deal with his debt, and maybe leaving him with some to spare, though while he picked up a few gold coins he noticed that Midnight and Azure had followed them in, and were looking at something else.

That 'something else', as it turned out, was an odd golden statue that seemed out of place, as it was small enough to fit in his hands as he looked at it, like a brick or even a totem, though it resembled the chaotic creature known as Discord and it held a gleaming gemstone of some kind in it's hands that was shaped to look like some sort of lens, and right now it was resting on a pedestal of sorts.

"Must be an artifact of some kind... I wonder what it does." Midnight commented, as she knew that both Princesses kept all sorts of magical items under lock and key, including the Elements of Harmony when they had been recovered, so finding a lost and forgotten artifact made her curious, all while Capper picked it up.

"Well, we can ask Celestia and Luna when we get back to Canterlot, since leaving this here might be a..." Capper started to say, though as he handled the statue for a few seconds, to get a better look at it, he noticed that the eyes were now glowing, meaning the magic that was inside the artifact was activating before their eyes.

He, Rarity, Midnight, and Azure barely had time to process what was going on as the artifact burst open, as it literally broke apart and released a torrent of chaotic energy that wrapped around them, before transforming into a vortex of energy that pulled all of them into it as they wondered what might be on the other side of it.

---

Capper groaned as he finally came to, though as he started to move he discovered a few things, the first being that he and his companions, who he was sure were near him, were now outside since he could feel the ground beneath him, before he opened his eyes and found that they weren't in the ruined castle or the Everfree Forest anymore. It appeared that the vortex had dropped them off in an area that was covered in snow, as the trees and mountains definitely had snow on them, plus, from what he could see, there was a worn out dirt road a fair distance from where they had landed. As he thought about that he glanced down at his body for a moment and found that there really didn't seem to be anything wrong with him, as he was still an anthropomorphic brown cat, a term Princess Twilight had used to describe him and his people at times, complete with his dark indigo hair. He was also wearing his red open coat, where he found that his bag of gems was inside it, though below his coat he discovered that he had on what appeared to be ragged clothes, something beggars would wear when they couldn't afford nice things, which he instantly wanted to get rid of.

A groan next to him caused Capper to turn his head and discovered that the others were alright, though all three of them were no longer ponies, rather it looked like the magic that had brought them here had given them the same height that he was used to living with. In addition to that he could see that their new legs ended in hooves, they still had their tails and their pony ears, and their bodies were the same color that they had been before the vortex sucked them in, with Rarity having white skin, Azure's was a light blue, instead of the white a Solar Guard usually had, and Midnight had a light gray body. All three of them were dressed the same as him, as in they were wearing ragged clothing that might be good for a day or two, though the armor that both of the guards had been wearing was gone, likely left behind by the very magic that had brought them here in the first place. In addition to that he found that Azure's hair was a vibrant shade of blue while Midnight's was more of a dark violet, and while the Solar Guard had no wings and no horn, indicating he was an earth pony, his Lunar counterpart had a pair of dark leathery wings that were like a bat's.

Capper honestly wasn't sure what sort of species Midnight was, though for the time being he focused on making sure that all of them were alright as he gently roused them, finding that each one let out a groan as they opened their eyes and took in the world that was around them.

"Where... are we?" Rarity asked, because at a glance she would have assumed that they were somewhere near the Frozen North, near the Crystal Empire to be exact, before she glanced down at her body and found that she, along with both of the guards, were in the same situation as she paled as she noticed what she was wearing, "Wh... What happened to me? What am we wearing?!"

"I have no idea... honestly, I have no idea where we are or what happened to you guys." Capper said, though he was happy to see that, despite their circumstances, none of them seemed to be hurt or in pain, since he was able to get up and walk just fine, which made sense due to the fact that his body seemed unchanged, "As for what we're wearing, I would imagine that the vortex gave these rags to us... maybe to help us fit in with the residents of wherever we are?"

"We... We can't go out looking like this... we need something nicer to wear." Rarity replied, where she wished that she had some of her materials with her, because it would have helped her create something to replace what they were wearing at the moment, while at the same time she and the guards started to try out their strange new bodies.

As Capper thought about what to do, however, he heard something and ducked down low for a moment, though that was when he noticed that there were some bushes in front of them and moved so anyone looking their way from the road would be unable to see them. Rarity, on the other hand, stayed still for a few seconds before pulling herself over to where he was positioned, which Azure and Midnight did as well, allowing the group to discover whatever was on the road while trying to remain unseen, so if someone was coming they would be able to remain undetected for some time. It wasn't long before they discovered the source of the noise, three individuals were coming up the road and two of them seemed to be talking, about what neither of them knew, while the third seemed preoccupied with glancing around the area every now and then. Based on what Capper could see none of them were like him or his companions, as they had no animal features to speak of, though he could see that two of them were well dressed, meaning they had have some valuables on them, while the third was wearing what looked like the attire of a soldier.

Behind them was a horse, similar to the ponies that Capper was used to seeing but without the abilities or intelligence he was used to seeing, who was hooked to a carriage of some kind that had a number of crates stacked on it, where he had to assume they might find some gear on it, though as he shifted his stance he found that Midnight did as well.

"Midnight, what are you doing?" Azure whispered, because he really didn't know anything about the Lunar Guard that was observing the carriage at the moment, mostly due to the fact that they worked different shifts and he almost never saw her around Canterlot, but even then he knew of Capper's reputation and suspected that they were up to no good.

"Simple: we're going to try and take the carriage, or maybe just some boxes and see if they have better clothing to wear, so we're better prepared for this land." Midnight replied, also keeping her voice low as the carriage got close to them, since Azure had done the same when he spoke up, mostly because he likely didn't want to be attacked, before she glanced at Capper for a moment, as if there was more she had to say, "That is the plan, right?"

"Yeah, that's exactly what I was planning on doing." Capper said, which was impressive in his mind, as she had figured out the plan in the span of a few seconds, so that, combined with the fact that she was already ready to do some sneaking, told him that Midnight must have been a thief before becoming a guard, while he could see that Azure was frowning over what they might do next.

Rarity stared at the pair for a few seconds, weighing their options and debating whether or not they should be doing this, before lowering her head as she gave him and Midnight a brief nod, allowing them to do whatever they were going to do, while she and Azure kept an eye out for additional trouble. Capper, used to his body more than the others were, decided to keep himself low for a time as the trio started to move by the area they were in, allowing him and his companion to silently observe the wagon. Apparently the nobles were coming to this end of the 'empire' for a wedding, as that seemed to be what the pair were talking about, where the male seemed to indicate that they were on their way to 'Solitude' and that the bride was someone called 'Vittoria Vici', a cousin of the Emperor, and, more importantly, the gifts they were hauling to the wedding were their gift to the bride. Fortunately the male noble reminded his wife of the expensive stuff that was inside the crates, such as all sorts of jewelry, clothing, potions, and other items, like the trio were hauling a small fortune with them, though Capper did think it was strange for them to not be riding on the wagon since there was an area for people to sit on.

As he thought about that both he and Midnight paused as the steed stopped and nibbled on the bush, like it was hungry or something, and, to their surprise, it didn't seem to freak out as it stared into both of their eyes, allowing him to gently brush it's face for a moment as the trio kept going further and further up the road. When the nobles were a fair distance away, still unaware of their idiocy, Capper raised his other hand for a moment and beckoned for Midnight to move, where she carefully got up and made her way to the back of the wagon, making sure not to trip since that might alert the figures to what was going on at the moment. Of course, since she wasn't used to her body, it took her a while to do so, a minute or two based on what Capper counted, but she was able to reach the back and looked at the crates that were back there, each one labeled so the nobles could remember which one contained which item, causing her to open the food one and pull out an apple. With that in hand Midnight handed it to Capper, who, in turn, gave it to the horse, who seemed to enjoy the offering, which was when he nodded and his companion climbed onto the wagon without wasting time, allowing him to carefully move the horse in a way so it was facing the way that it had come from, doing so slowly since he didn't want to ruin everything.

After a few more moments he found that the nobles and their guard still had no idea what was going on, causing him to climb up onto the front of the wagon, while at the same time allowing Azure and Rarity to take the back as Midnight took the seat to his right, and once they were all on it he silently got the horse moving, only to come to a stop when he found a curve in the past, providing them with some cover.

"I can't believe you guys did that... nor can I believe that it worked so well." Rarity remarked, though she wasn't sure how she should feel about this event, that they had just stolen a small fortune from some people who make the mistake of not riding their wagon like a bunch of normal individuals, but her focus was on the crates as she found the clothing one and opened it, finding what looked like the very clothing that the nobles had been wearing, "Out of curiosity, do you guys have a color preference?"

"Not really." Capper replied, which was followed by Rarity handing him a brown suit and pants that he was sure went with his coat, while she had picked a light blue dress that had blue pants with it, while Midnight was given a brown set that was more like the male noble's, though Azure refused and went with a more plain white shirt and brown pants, likely a set that the guard would wear later.

Capper had to admit that the clothing would only provide them with some protection against the weather, even though they weren't in a blizzard or anything, but this was better than the rags they had started with, though they would have to get something for Azure later, once they knew more about the land they were in.

"Well, what do we have here? Four bandits, possibly thieves, scoring a big haul." a new voice commented, where the group found a female cat creature, similar to how Capper looked he wagered, who wore dark brown armor on her body, arms, legs, and her feet, leaving her head exposed, revealing her light gray coloration to them, "Unfortunately, you might be out of luck: there's an Imperial patrol further down the road, about fifteen minutes away... however, I have a proposition that will benefit all of us. How about I join you, as another member of your 'guard'? The patrol won't even give us a second glance if they see that we're a group of nobles with their guards, then we can continue on to the fort that my clan calls home, where I can convince the bosses that you guys are new recruits and make sure you get a bigger cut of the spoils."

Rarity resisted the urge to groan, as this wasn't what she had envisioned when she and the guards agreed to help Capper out, though her companion seemed to be considering the offer the cat was giving them, especially since they were in a land that none of them knew anything about, and it wasn't long before Capper and Midnight nodded.

"Sounds fair to me. I'm Capper, and this is Rarity, Azure Blade, and Midnight Rose." Capper said, taking a moment to move his hand towards each of them so the cat knew who was who, before he held a hand out, which the other cat shook with a smile on her face, which was fair since this was an easy payday for her since they had done the hard work of stealing the wagon and it's various treasures, causing them to climb up onto the wagon once more, "So, what do we call you?"

"La'nari. It's a pleasure to meet you." the cat replied, where she reached into the pack she was carrying on her back and pulled out a wooden bow, plus a quiver that was full of arrows, meaning she was going to present herself as an archer type guard to whoever happened to get in their way, while Azure and Rarity sat in the back with the crates as Midnight sat next to Capper, "Well then, let's get underway."

Capper nodded as he got the horse moving again, allowing them and their new companion to settle in for a trip since they had no idea where La'nari's base was located or what path needed to be taken, but it only made him all the more eager to see what the world had to offer them.

Comments

[Yogiboy]

I'm loving this story already.

[Night_Moon60606]

back to Skyrim eh? well then, i predict that Capper is going to end up running the Thieve Guild in Riften, the Thestral is headed for Whiterun and the Companions, Mr Solar Guard is going to wind up in Solitude and working with the Legion, and Rarity is a shoe in for the Dark Brotherhood...

[Sunset_Shimmer7]

hmm, i love it, dont see enough fics that have a character from the movie, and this skyrim fic seems pretty well written so far. i look forward to future updates.