//------------------------------//
// Dragon's Hoard 
// Story: The Equestrian Thieves Guild 
// by Wrat 
//------------------------------//

Color Swirl awoke to the sound of birds singing outside her window. She rose from her bed, stretched with a yawn, and slipped out from under the blankets. Blinking a few times to clear her eyes, she wandered over to her desk. Her desk. The thought still made her giddy. There was something about being part of a group that spoke to her, a certain satisfaction that her solo work had never quite managed to capture. 
She perused the projects she had waiting. Enchanted objects, spells of concealment to lay about the house- it was a lot to take in. She decided that they could wait at least until she had eaten some breakfast. She put on a pair of slippers and began to wander down to the kitchen. 
As she passed through the corridors, she heard muffled shouts coming from the direction of Check Mate's office. She paused. The kitchen lay to her right, while the office lay to her left. She pondered the choice for a moment, before turning left and following the sound.
She turned the corner to see Brawn standing outside Check Mate's office. She gave him a smile.
"Brawn, my favorite minotaur! How are you this fine day?" Brawn smiled back at her.
"I'm good, thanks for asking. How about you, Swirl? You settle in okay?" She shrugged.
"Well, I was having a pleasant time, until it was interrupted by a couple of stallions locked in a shouting match." Brawn grimaced.
"Yeah, they've been going at for a while now." Color Swirl glanced at the door.
"What are they arguing about?"
"You." Color Swirl rolled her eyes. 
"Let me guess. Stratus is complaining again?"
Brawn looked away and shifted his weight. "Look, you have to understand, Stratus never exactly had it easy. He's a bit...fragile. He'll get used to you eventually, you just have to take it slow. Be understanding, don't aggravate him, and... Swirl, I wouldn't go in there. Swirl? Swirl!"
Color Swirl stormed into the office. "Hey, guys, remember me! What are we talking about?" Stratus and Check Mate both turned to face her. Neither one looked happy. Brawn followed her in and shut the door.
"In fairness, it was probably a poor decision not to invite her," he said. Stratus turned back to Check Mate.
"Please don't make me work this pony," Stratus begged. 
"You've never had a problem working with Brawn," Check Mate countered. 
"Yeah, but you've never made me babysit Brawn on a job before." Color Swirl raised her eyebrows.
"Excuse me? What is this about jobs, and me, and me going on jobs? I never signed up for robbing ponies, just helping you guys rob ponies." 
Stratus scoffed. "Of course, wouldn't want to get your hooves dirty with common, menial labor." Color Swirl bristled. Check Mate groaned.
"It is not a robbery, per se, more of an...acquisition. You will not be breaking into any pony's home, if that is your concern." Color Swirl bit back a retort to Stratus and turned to Check Mate.
"So what are you doing that needs me?" 
"Recently, we have learned of a certain relic. A crystal, which casts some sort of field about it to disrupt magical divinations and the like. The only problem is the current owner, a particularly short tempered dragon who lives approximately seventy miles north of the city. The plan is for Stratus to obtain the crystal, with you accompanying him to locate it."
"I've told you, I can figure it out on my own!" Stratus protested.
"Stratus, kindly swallow your pride for a moment. You have no magical prowess to speak of, or else we would not need Ms. Swirl here."
"Yeah, but you could just tell me what it looks like. I don't need magic to find a crystal."
"You are right, it is just a large sparkly rock, I am sure the dragon will not have any of those in his lair besides the one we want." Stratus opened his mouth to continue the back and forth, but Color Swirl cut him off.
"Alright, you need me to go to the dragon's cave and point out the crystal for Status, because he's an idiot, I got it. Sounds like fun." Stratus glared at Color Swirl and was about to respond, but this time it was Check Mate who cut him off.
Precisely. Now, if there are no further complaints-" he gave an icy glare to Stratus, who glared back and shook his head, "it is of some importance that we finish this job as quickly as possible. Spend the rest of the day making your preparations, and tomorrow, you can set out." He turned to Brawn. "Brawn, I know we agreed you would not be required to go out on jobs, but it would give me comfort if you would accompany this expedition." Brawn nodded.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure they behave." Check Mate nodded back.
"Excellent. I am glad to see that at least one other member of this team can be professional." He directed his last comment towards Stratus and Color Swirl, who were engaged in a stare down. Check Mate sighed.
"Go make your preparations, please. And do try not to kill each other."
…
Color Swirl craned her neck back to stare up at the mountain before her. The peak was high enough that the clouds hid it from sight. The only way up was a thin rock path, less than a foot wide. 
"Imposing," she muttered. Stratus glanced at her.
"You're perfectly free to wait with the cart," he said. Color Swirl responded by sticking out her tongue.
"Okay, that's enough of that," Brawn interrupted before the situation could escalate. "This job is dangerous. You two need to stop acting like children and work together." He looked back and forth between Stratus and Color Swirl. Neither of them was listening. Each was too busy glaring at the other. Brawn groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I swear, you two are both terrible. Still, I like you both, so why don't you GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER!" He roared the last part. Both ponies snapped to face him in shock. "Is that clear?" Brawn rumbled. They both nodded meekly. "Good. May as well get started, then. I'll be down here." Stratus and Color Swirl set out up the mountain.
The two ponies climbed in silence. By the time they reached the top, the sun was nearly set. The cave entrance was set before them, a massive, smoking hole in the mountainside. The two thieves crouched by the wall and peered in. There was no sign of the dragon in the dark recesses. All that could be seen was gold, piles and piles of gold, with glittering gems and jewels strewn about. Stratus slowly began to creep out from cover, when something in the back of the cave moved. The largest mound of gold near the back of the room began to shift, coins rolling down to clatter against the stone floor. A small rivulet of coins ran away from one side, revealing a bright red scaly hide. Stratus flinched back behind the cave wall.
"Alright," he said, "You do your weird voodoo whatever, tell me where the crystal is, and I'll go in and grab it." 
"It doesn't work that way," hissed Color Swirl. "I have to be looking at the crystal to sense it."
"Then I'll just start bringing crystals out here," Stratus responded. Color Swirl rolled her eyes.
"This is a dragon's hoard, dummy. There are probably a thousand gems in there. By the time we go through them all, the dragon will be awake. I'm going in, whether you like it or not." Color Swirl brushed past Stratus and entered the cave. He reached to stop her, but was too slow. Grinding his teeth together, Stratus followed.
The two of them crept through the dark cavern. As she walked, Color Swirl reached out with her magic, seeking the signature of the item she was looking for. As she walked, she considered Stratus and laughed. The thief acted like sneaking around was some major accomplishment, but here she was, doing it just fine. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts, she didn't notice a small crack in the floor. Her hoof caught and she fell forwards, landing on a pile of gold. She froze and watched the dragon's mound. It shifted slightly, then once more fell motionless. She breathed a sigh of relief. Stratus made an impatient gesture for her to hurry up. She made a rude gesture back and resumed scanning the room. Her anxiety grew. The crystal wasn't there! She was sure of it. She had scanned the entire chamber, and had sensed nothing.
Check Mate's description of the crystal came back to her. "It shields from divinations and the such." She wondered if that included shielding against divination directed at the crystal itself. She resumed her scan of the room, searching for any discrepancy. She focused on each pile in turn. The first she scanned was normal, and then the second was normal, and then she ignored the third, and the fourth- she paused. Why had she ignored the third pile? She cast her spell on it again. She could not sense any magic, but it was almost like peering through water, with her vision distorted. She caught Stratus' eye and pointed at the pile. He nodded and crept over to it. He deftly plucked a single gem from the pile, leaving the rest of the gold undisturbed. He held it up. Color Swirl scanned it, then shook her head. Stratus picked up another. Again, Color Swirl shook her head. They continued, Stratus holding up a dozen more gems, but each one was wrong. Then, suddenly, Stratus held up a bland, opaque crystal. Color Swirl reached out with her magic to sense it, but something about the crystal was wrong. It was almost like it didn't exist. Then, to her shock, Color Swirl realized that she could no longer sense Stratus. She dropped her spell and looked carefully. To her eyes, Stratus still stood there, but he was invisible to magic. She nodded, and Stratus set the gem into a small pouch. Color Swirl slowly began to creep back towards the exit.
She was just a few feet away from the mouth of the cave when she heard it. From behind, the sound of gold coins cascading over each other. She turned around and found herself staring into an eye the size of her head. The dragon's eyes were slits, like any reptile, but there was something deeper in them. A sense of ancient power. For the first time in her life, Color Swirl truly knew what it meant to be prey. The dragon began to let out a low, rumbling sound. Color Swirl stood, captivated by the beast as it rose and shook off it's golden blanket. The dragon contemplated her. Without warning, it's mouth snapped forwards.
"Move!" Stratus crashed into her from the side, knocking both of them out of the path of the dragon's jaws. Teeth larger than steak knives crashed down mere inches from the two ponies. The dragon's head swiveled around faster than a creature of it's size should have been able. It opened it's maw, and Color Swirl saw a bright light building up. She seized Stratus and yanked him closer, then threw up a magic shield. Her barrier sprung into existence just as the cavern before them ignited with flame, blinding her with it's radiance. 
Color Swirl struggled to hold her shield, but the dragon was too powerful, and she felt her power begin to waver. With the last of her strength, she caused all the moisture in the cavern to condense into clouds before the dragon's eyes, blinding it. The dragon cut off it's attack in confusion, thrashing it's head about in an effort to clear it's vision. Stratus and Color Swirl struggled to their feet and raced for the exit. The dragon's whipping tail caught them both, and they were flung across the room. The force of the blow knocked the breath from Color Swirl, and she lay gasping for air. The dragon cocked it's head like a dog searching for a sound. It turned to face the two ponies. Color Swirl tried to rise, but the dragon was across the cavern in a heartbeat. It slashed with it's claws, but blind as it was, missed Stratus and Color Swirl. Instead, it smashed a section of the cavern wall just above their heads. An avalanche of boulders began to rain around them. Stratus and Color Swirl leapt backwards at the same time, just as the rocks crashed down around them. Color Swirl closed her eyes and waited for the end.
It didn't come.
She slowly opened her eyes, only to be met with darkness. Her horn ached from using so much magic, but she forced a faint light through it. She and Stratus had landed in a small alcove against the wall. The boulders had missed them, instead forming a wall sealing them in. Color Swirl's initial joy at survival swiftly changed to terror. She began to hyperventilate, staring at the walls that seemed to be closing in around her. Stratus shook his head blearily and rose.
"Ugh, last time I steal from a dragon," he muttered. He glanced back at the pile of boulders trapping them. Then he looked at Color Swirl. "Don't you unicorns have telekinesis? Can you move these boulders away?"
"Yes, Stratus, I have telekinesis," Color Swirl hissed, "But no, I can't move anything that heavy. If you would kindly shut up for a minute, maybe I could actually think of a plan to get us out of here!" She continued breathing heavily. Stratus stared at her in confusion.
"Are you alright?" He asked. "You seem a little... gaspy." 
"Oh, I'm sorry, is my breathing bothering you? You'll have to forgive me, it's just that I find the concept of being BURIED ALIVE to be a mild concern! But by all means, let's talk about my breathing!" Stratus just stared.
"Are you claustrophobic?" He finally asked. Color Swirl grit her teeth and nodded.
"Yes, Stratus, I am claustrophobic. It is a perfectly rational fear that plenty of ponies suffer from." Stratus scrunched his brow in thought.
"How about you talk?" He finally said. "I think I heard Brawn say that talking helps with your fears."
"Talk?" Asked Color Swirl in disbelief. "Talk about what? About how we're going to die in here?"
"Well, why don't you just go ahead and make fun of me?" Stratus said in exasperation. "You always seem to be in the mood to do that!" 
"Excuse me? You're the one who picks fights with me! Ever since I joined, you've done nothing but complain about me! You talk about me behind my back, you try to convince Check Mate and Brawn to cut me loose, you constantly complain about how unnecessary my magic is! You want to talk? Fine, you start! You tell me what your problem is!" Stratus glared at her.
"My problem? My problem is that I lived on the streets every day for eleven years trying to get good at thieving! I fell down, I picked myself up and I kept going. You? You were born with the power to literally rearrange the world to suit your whims! You had a family that could just erase anything you did wrong, because if the nobles say something didn't happen, it didn't happen. I earned my place in the guild, but you? You were given the world on a silver platter from the moment you were born!" Color Swirl opened her mouth to retort, but her argument fell silent.
"Not like any of that matters now," she muttered. "We may have been born in different places, but now we're both going to die in this cave." Stratus' shoulders slumped. He stared at the boulders one more time.
"I guess you're right," he muttered. "No use complaining about anything now." Color Swirl extinguished her light, and the two sat in the silence and the dark. Color Swirl lost track of time.
"How long do you think Brawn will wait for us?" She asked. 
"Who knows?" Stratus replied. "Knowing Brawn, he'll probably come to check on us when we don't come back, and then the dragon will get him. I don't think even he could beat that thing." Color Swirl sadly nodded. It was a shame that Brawn would likely die for their failures. Suddenly, an idea came to her.
"Stratus, do you have something that belongs to Brawn?" She asked. "A memento, or some kind of personal belonging?" She could almost sense his confusion.
"No, why do you need something like that?" He asked. Color Swirl's shoulders slumped.
"Forget it," she said. "If we had something that belonged to him, I know a spell that could let us talk to him. We could explain the situation, and then if he could lure the dragon out, he could probably clear these rocks. But without a personal belonging, I can't target the spell." Stratus was silent for a minute.
"What about a secret?" He asked suddenly. 
"What?"
"If I had one of Brawn's secrets, could you use that to target him?" Color Swirl thought about it.
"Maybe," she said. "I guess it's worth a shot. What's the secret?" Stratus hesitated.
"If I tell you, you can't tell Brawn that you know," he said. Color Swirl rolled her eyes.
"Stratus, come on, our lives are on the line here, I think Brawn will forgive you spilling his secret." 
"Promise you won't tell!" Color Swirl was taken aback by the insistence in Stratus' tone.
"Alright, alright, I won't tell Brawn you told me his secret. Now what is it?" Stratus took a deep breath.
"Brawn uses his paycheck to pay for his mother's medicine." Color Swirl waited for more.
"That's it? That's the secret?" Stratus nodded. "Stratus, that's not really much of a secret, I need more to go on. Why is Brawn's mother in the hospital?" Several seconds passed before Stratus continued.
"Brawn was a warrior in his tribe. Another tribe of minotaurs attacked them, a much larger one. Brawn lead the defense, but he got hurt, badly. His mother was some kind of shaman, and she used some ritual to heal him, but it took most of her own life to heal him. That's why he took her to Equestria. It's the only place the doctors could help her." Color Swirl was taken aback.
"Okay, that's... wow. I can't believe he never told me."
"You can't tell any other ponies about this, not even Check Mate. If any pony found out, they might use it as leverage against Brawn." Color Swirl nodded.
"Don't worry, I understand. I'll keep his secret safe." She focused on the secret, the details of Brawn's past, and tried to reach out to him. It was like pushing through molasses. She forced her magic out, seeking Brawn. Just as she was about to give up, she felt something. A faint murmur, like a ponies thoughts.
"Brawn?" She mentally called out. There was no reply, then she heard his voice.
"Swirl? Is that you? What's going on?"
"The dragon trapped me and Stratus under a rockslide in it's cave. We can't get out!"
"Alright, calm down," Brawn's voice called out. "Is the dragon still in there?"
"I don't know, but I think it is," Color Swirl responded.
"Okay, just sit tight. I think I have an idea," Brawn's voice grew weaker. Color Swirl struggled to hold the connection open.
"Brawn? Brawn!"
"Just hang on," Brawn's voice softly called out, and then there was nothing. Color Swirl ended her spell and slumped back against the wall.
"Did it work?" Asked Stratus.
"I think so," responded Color Swirl. "At least, I hope it did. But it might be a while." Stratus slumped down next to her. 
"Guess there's nothing left to do but wait," he said. Silence descended back over the two of them. They remained that way for several minutes.
Stratus took a deep breath, then mumbled something unintelligible. Color Swirl glanced over at him.
"What did you say?" She asked.
"I said I'm sorry," Stratus finally forced out. "You're right, I was a jerk, and I didn't give you a chance. It's just that... well, the guild is almost like a family for me, and I guess I was worried you would force me out." Color Swirl listened carefully, then began to laugh. Stratus grumbled. "I know, I know, it sounds stupid."
"No, it's not that," said Color Swirl. "I get it. I know what it feels like to want your families attention." Stratus scoffed. "No, it's true. I have an older sister, and trust me, she is better than me at everything. When I was growing up, that was all my parents could ever talk about. 'Oh Swirl, your sister already mastered her advanced magical techniques, why haven't you? Oh Swirl, your sister made so many more friends than you, why don't you have more friends?' Ugh, I hated that so much. And then the icing on the cake; my sister got into Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, and I didn't."
"Why not?" Asked Stratus. 
Color Swirl chuckled. "Well, you see, part of the entrance exam is that you have to write an essay. The essay has to be about some problem that exists in Equestria today, and how you think it could be solved. Most ponies write about solving hunger, or poverty."  She paused for a moment.
"What did you write about?" Stratus finally said.
"I wrote about the potential of abolishing the monarchy, and instituting an elected body of government." Stratus frowned.
"So wait, to try and get into a school run by royalty, you wrote about how we should get rid of royalty?" Color Swirl burst out laughing.
"As you can see, even as a child, I possessed a natural politeness and subtlety. Needless to say, the board was unimpressed, and I got rejected. I had to teach myself pretty much everything I know about magic. Only problem was, not many ponies want to get magic from a self taught wizard. That's why I made up that whole story about Light Show, and the illusions. Ponies were much more willing to go to a former professor than they were to go to me."
Silence resumed, but this time, it was a comfortable silence. After an unknown length of time, Color Swirl felt a bit of dust rain down onto her head. She glanced up just as one of the boulder's in the ceiling began to shift. The rock was abruptly pulled away to open a hole in the rocks. Brawn's face filled the hole.
"Brawn!" The two ponies shouted in excitement. The minotaur grinned.
"Quite a pickle you've gotten yourselves into. Don't worry, I'll have you out in a jiffy." He began to pull away boulders. It was slow going, as he head to avoid causing the pile to collapse. 
"How did you get rid of the dragon?" Asked Stratus.
Brawn continued to work. "After I got Swirl's message, I went and built a massive bonfire a ways away. I lit it up and ran for the cave. By the time I got here, the fire was burning high enough that the dragon saw it. Dragons are territorial, and I figured if this one saw a fire that size, it might think another dragon was pushing in on it's territory. Sure enough, the dragon left to investigate." Finally, he cleared out a hole large enough for Stratus and Color Swirl to climb out of. The three of them raced for the cave entrance. Just as they reached the mouth, they heard an earth splitting roar. The dragon had returned. It's bulk filled the sky, scales shining red even in the night sky. It caught sight of them and roared once more. Brawn raced back into the cave and emerged, hefting a boulder the size of a basketball. He held it in one hand, like a pitcher ready to throw a fastball. 
The dragon swooped in close, it's jaws wide open and fire building up in it's gullet. Brawn hurled his boulder. It struck the dragon directly at the joint between wing and body, causing it to veer off course and crash into the mountain side. The whole mountain shuddered from the force of the impact. Brawn, Stratus and Color Swirl all watched as the dragon fell to the ground below.
"Do you think it's dead?" Asked Stratus. Color Swirl thought back to the look in the beast's eyes, the primeval power it possessed.
"No," she said, "I think it's just angry." She turned to the others. "We should go before it recovers." Brawn looked at the cave.
"Are you sure?" He asked. "There's plenty of good stuff in there, we could grab a bit-"
"No, she's right," Stratus interrupted. "Let's not annoy that thing anymore than we have to." Brawn shrugged.
"Alright, then. Let's get out of here." The thieves quickly descended the mountain. By the time the dragon had reached it's lair, they were long gone.
…
When the three of them returned to the mansion, they found Check Mate smiling. He stood in the main entrance, with a bottle of champagne in one hoof and four crystal glasses on a table.
"I presume your mission was a success?" He asked. In response, Stratus produced the crystal. Check Mate's smile grew.
"Excellent. Every pony, I would like to propose a toast." They each took a glass, and Check Mate filled them with champagne. "Here is to making the most of opportunities." They clinked glasses together and each took a drink. Stratus immediately gagged.
"Blech, how do rich ponies drink this stuff?" 
"It's a little thing called class, Stratus," taunted Color Swirl. "Don't worry, we all know you don't have any."
"I have class!" Retorted Stratus. "I have class up to here!" He lifted a hoof up above his head. Check Mate looked back and forth between the two of them.
"Interesting. I see that the two of you are still arguing, yet I do not sense the usual hostility. Have the two of you finally made peace with one another?" Stratus and Color Swirl looked at each other and nodded.
"I suppose we have," said Color Swirl. Check Mate smiled.
"That is good to hear." Brawn contemplated his drink.
"If you don't mind me asking, what's the occasion? We don't normally celebrate with champagne." 
"A job," said Check Mate. "A very special job." Brawn nodded along.
"Alright, when do we start working on this, special job?"
"Oh, we haven't received the job yet," Check Mate clarified, "but we will. Just give it some time." 
"How do you know we're going to get the job?" Asked Stratus. 
"How does a mathematician know that two and two make four? Because events progress logically. Manipulate one event, and you can predict the outcome of the future. And I have manipulated many events." Check Mate raised his glass once more. "Soon, we shall take our rightful place in this world. We will no longer have to hide in the shadows, but we shall walk openly in the light. Gentleponies," he concluded, "a toast, to the future of the Guild." Stratus, Brawn and Color Swirl raised their glasses high.
"To the Guild!" They all called out, and drank. Outside, the clock tower tolled the midnight bells. A new day had just begun. A new day, full of opportunity.