//------------------------------// // Chapter 1-Fresh Off the Train // Story: Adventurer for Hire // by OcelotsRevolver //------------------------------// Dear Diary Captains Log Sup Book Dear Mom Sorry for all the weird intros, I kinda grabbed this thing from the Dodge City station at the last minute. Though, the likelihood of you reading any of these "letters" is slim so I might as well write whatever the hell I want right? Any who, I bet you're a little curious as to what I have been doing the last five years, especially since I've probably been declared legally dead and all. Well first off, I have most certainly not sleeping the eternal sleep, in fact I'm more alive now than I ever have been. I've lost weight and gained some muscle since I've arrived here, but that's expected due to what I do for a living. You see, I've set myself up as a Freelancer, an "adventurer" if you will. "But what is a Freelancer?" you may be asking yourself. Well I'm glad you asked totally real mother! A Freelancer is a pony (or human in my case) who travels the country preforming various tasks advertised on Job Boards. This can range from monster hunting to getting a kitten out of a tree, and as long as the client is willing to pay, we will complete the job. Is it dangerous? Oh yea. Does it pay obscene amounts of money? Of course (though much of my earnings go towards certain..."expenses" shall we say). Don't worry about me though, I can take care of myself pretty well. Plus, there is a Freelancer's guild that provides a ton of support with lodgings, food, etc. Now, you may have caught my mention of ponies. I may have forgot to mention that while I'm not dead, I'm certainly not on Earth anymore. It seems that I have found myself in a world populated by sentient horses, or "ponies" as they prefer, along with mythical creature like minotaurs and griffins. It was really weird at first, but eventually you get used to the candy colored horses and Greek myths as far as the eye can see. Look, I know this would be a shock for you to know after everything that happened, but if you take anything from this, it should be that I am alive and thriving. So don't worry okay? Just take care of the others and know that your oldest is doing well for himself. Your Best Son, Jackson P.S. You remember all those guns you told me were a waste of money? Well you're eating those words now! --- Satisfied with his work, the man snapped the journal closed and placed it in his duffel bag. Resting his head on his hand, he then lazily watched the sage brush rush by with blinding speed. Slowly, a grin formed on his face. "Look out Ponyville, here I come." --- Twilight Sparkle started awake at the load knocking coming from her door. "Yes?" she called, still trying to shake off the tiredness that comes from being abruptly woken. "Ma'am, Spike says breakfast is ready." replied the knocker. "Okay. Tell him that I'll be down in ten minutes." "Yes ma'am." stated the voice. Twilight then listened as the speaker retreated down the hall to inform Spike of her imminent arrival. With a yawn, Twilight turned off the reading light and pushed her chair away from the desk. She then stumbled towards the bathroom to "take care of business" and make herself somewhat presentable. After all, a princess needed to look their best, especially when looking to hire some new help. --- Spike stared at Twilight as she stared blankly at the stack of pancakes before her. "Uhh Twi? Are you okay?" he asked with concern. Twilight's head snapped up. "Oh! Yes I'm fine Spike. Just a little tired is all." "You were up all night again weren't you." Spike stated, giving Twilight a look. She sighed. "Yes. I'm just worried about today. Everything needs to go exactly as planned, otherwise it could be a disaster! I mean what if we accidentally hire an assassin! Or an alien! Or an alien assassin!" Spike chuckled at Twilight's antics. "Calm down. You're just hiring another bodyguard. Nothing crazy is going to happen." Twilight raised an eyebrow. "We live in Ponyville. Crazy is kind of the town slogan." "Fair point, but you have to admit, it has been pretty quiet lately" "Plus, if anything does happen, I will be there to keep an eye on you" stated a new voice. Twilight turned toward the newcomer. "Good morning Misty" "Good morning ma'am" Misty stated, snapping off a quick salute. "How did you sleep ma'am?" "I slept good Misty. And you don't have to call me ma'am. Just call me Twilight. The whole ma'am thing makes me feel old" "Just trying to be polite ma... err Twilight. Old habits from selection die hard I guess" That's right Twilight thought. She was the first satyr to ever make it through the Royal Guard personal protection course. "That's okay. I know that habits are hard to break" "Indeed they are ma'am" "So what's the schedule for today?" Twilight asked as she began to dig into her breakfast. "Well the candidates should be arriving for the interviews around noon. After that you have a meeting with the town council about revamping the tax code and providing more funds to education" "Don't forget that Fluttershy wants to see you something too" Spike added. "Seems like we have a full day today. We should probably start setting up for interviews" Twilight said as she polished off her last pancake. "Yes ma'am." Misty stated. She fired off another salute and strode out of the room. "I really wish she would stop using ma'am. She's worked here for what, three months now?" Twilight asked with a sigh. "Give it some more time Twi" Spike said. "She isn't going to loosen up like that overnight" "You're right Spike. As usual" she said with a grin and playfully rubbed his head. "Of course I am. I'm a dragon after all" "Well wise one, you might want to go check on the rest of the pancakes" Twilight said with a grin. Spike sniffed the air. "Oh Hayseed!" he cried as he ran to snuff out the flames consuming the once fluffy discs. Twilight giggled at this, then turned to look out the nearby window. I can already tell she thought. Today is going to be an interesting day. --- Meanwhile The pony behind the ticket counter watched as a train slowed to a stop at the Ponyville station. Being as this was one of the early trains, few ponies were waiting and even fewer got off. Those that were stepping out on to the platform however, had a curious expression on there faces. Soon the reason for their expressions made itself apparent. The creature looked a lot like a minotaur, but had a flatter face and a much different lower half. The pony watched, open mouthed, as the not-minotaur dropped his heavy looking bag with a metallic thunk and stretched his long arms out and up over his head. Satisfied, the creature then picked up his bag and approached the counter. "Excuse me" he asked. "Do you know were I can find the local bounty board?" "U-um, Its n-next to Sugar C-Cube C-Corner. The big gingerbread house at the center of town, you can't miss it" stammered the confused stallion. This thing is a Freelancer? he thought. "Thanks a bunch!" replied the creature, flashing a smile. He then trotted off in search of the board. The stallion was completely dumbstruck. While Ponyville rarely got any exotic visitors, that wasn't what threw him for a loop. It was that smile. While it had seemed intended as a calming measure, the stallion didn't get a calm feeling from it. In fact, that smile made the creature seem dangerous. --- Jackson stared at the board and grimaced. "Damn. I thought for sure that there would be search and destroy missions for monsters" he mumbled to himself. "And all the available jobs are boring and low paying." He sighed and began to turn away from the board when some thing caught his eye. "Hello, what do we have here?" He stepped back to the board and ripped off a poster left partially buried by newer ones and read it aloud. "Body guard wanted. Will be working directly for Princess Twilight Sparkle. Requirements: Good physical and mental health, combat skills, ability to work with others, ability to work strange hours, and must be good with pets. Salary is..." Jackson's eyes nearly popped out of his head as he stared at the very large number printed on the poster. "Holy crap that's a lot of bits" he stated. Looking further down the poster he noticed something else. "All candidates will be screened prior to selection. Those wishing to be interviewed must report to Ponyville Castle by noon on the fifteenth of August. Wait that's today!" Jackson glanced down at his watch. "Looks like I a few hours. Might as well get there early" With that, the human took off at a jog towards a new job and his destiny.