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// Chapter 5: Back to the Grind 
// Story: Lucky Break 
// by Ferris the 1st 
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The next day found me waking to a splitting headache, but no regrets. The date had been a resounding success in my opinion, even as I stumbled out of the club with Dawn giggling at my antics to wave down a taxi. It was interesting to see how alive she became outside of work and it was a wonder how much alcohol she could tip back. I had to fall back on my innate earth pony resilience to even make it through our drinking game. She'd excused herself for a few minutes to freshen up at one point, but compared to the hours we spent there it was a drop in the bucket.

Still, even good things had to end and I'd collapsed like a sack of flour on my bed and fallen into the blissful oblivion of sleep. I mentally thanked my past-self for drawing the curtains closed last night because it seemed like the sun was a bit brighter than usual today. Of course, that may have just been the hangover talking.

Stretching, groaning, and cursing I rose from the comfort of my bed and stumbled about getting ready for the day. A quick shower helped me stabilize myself a bit in order to stagger my way toward the medical wing of the castle. Before leaving me to my own devices, Dawn had recommended stopping in when I got up and seeing a pony about some magic. Thank Celestia for unicorns and their history of over-indulgence that forced them to create an anti-hangover spell!

Refreshed and a little more alive, I'll admit that I gained a spring to my step. Despite the differences that had reared up between us from the past, Dawn and I felt compatible and I was looking forward to figuring out something to do based on what I'd learned about her from our little game. Work had to come first though as today was going to be my return after being on leave.

A quick trot carried me through the quieter sections of the castle to the small, unassuming door that opened to the HERD's Canterlot office. Within was a cramped room of filing cabinets and a single table covered with a map of Equestria. I had expected most of the agents I knew to be there, but only one was waiting for me.

Lieutenant Martial Cadence was a towering mare of a thestral that could be found in her armor vastly more often than out of it. Even now, as she looked up from a file to glance at me with her stern gaze, she was coated in plate-mail like it was a dress. Not too long ago, I found the image incredibly imposing, but I was becoming as numb to it as a lot of other things in my life. The fact that she greeted me with a nod rather than the scowl she used to give me helped that.

“Lucky,” she addressed me stiffly, “I see that you're looking chipper today. Hopefully that means you're ready to bring that much more enthusiasm today?” I gave her a salute complete with my signature grin and earned myself an amused snort. Flipping the file in front of her around, she gave it a light push across the desk.

I took a look and found a frown coming to my muzzle as I drank in the information within. Most of the papers within appeared to be missing pony reports and a broken trail of rumors and supposed sightings. The thing that caught my interest was that most of the names were last seen in the small town of Springrun. The place had been the staging ground for my first mission several months ago.

At the time, I'd been investigating reports of vanishing ponies and the claims that a cult was in the area. I'd been paired with Silent Stroke for it and after some digging and my partner getting foalnapped, I'd discovered that the cult consisted of one zealous nightmare cultist being backed by minions from a benefactor. I would find out later that the supplier of “cultists” was one crazy gryphon.

The main point of it was that the cultists had been snatching ponies as they passed through the town on their way to Manehatten. The captives were being carted off to somewhere after that, but even with the capture of some of Sunslayer's allies we were no closer to finding them. In front of me were some of the most recent reports that painted a picture moving toward the edges of Equestria.

I looked up at Martial with a raised brow and she nodded, “The HERD has been pouring resources into finding them, but we've run into a bit of trouble. Our jurisdiction ends at the border... officially anyways.” The phrasing of that made the fur on my neck stand on end.

Returning my attention to the reports, I started to compare them to the map on the table. From what I could tell, there were three main directions that the reports were heading. One set was making its way northeast and seemed to be making for the land bridge that skirted the mountain range heading toward the homeland of the gryphons. That didn't sit well with me and I didn't want anything to do with more of the cat-birds.

Another was heading south toward the Macintosh Hills with its trail going cold somewhere near Dodge City. Most of the reports from that one came directly from the Seers in the area and hinted that something else was involved down there. The final paper trail was blazing a path westward and started to peter out in the direction of White Tail Woods.

The final path was the one that Martial gestured to with a free hoof, “I'd like for you to investigate these places and see what your luck can turn up. If fortune favors you,” she gave me a knowing stare, “then you'll find those missing ponies before they get too far out. HERD agents are set along the southern and eastern borders at the moment, so I'm going to hope that they can keep the foalnappers from flying to coop.”

I nodded slowly, then met her gaze levelly, “Alright. What kind of resistance should I prepare for?”

“Lethal,” she stated without a moment of hesitation, “I don't feel like underestimating these individuals. They're continuing to act without Sunslayer which is problematic. I'm assuming that Sunslayer had some form of underlings with orders to operate independently in case of the worst. As a secondary mission, if you can capture a command element, do so as long as it doesn't endanger your primary mission of bringing the prisoners home.”

All things considered, it wasn't all that bad compared to other things I'd done. Nearly falling into a volcano held the cake so far. Once Martial dismissed me, I made my way to the sealed and magic-proofed room that contained the equipment available to HERD agents. Locked behind doors and walls crafted by the HERD's Builders, every inch was carved with runic arrays that made it one of the most secure places in all of Equestria, second only to the personal vault of the princesses.

Amid enchanted armors, hoofrings, amulets, weapons, and so on, I was glad that most of them had been organized and labeled recently. I had some personal preferences at this point, such as the cloak enchanted with a Notice-Me-Not spell that I had brought up from an older armory. Putting it on was a soothing experience and helped clear my mind for picking out the rest of what I might need.

Featherweight hammer hooves, a flare band, and an energizing amulet followed and I picked up a trio of long range communication crystals in case I needed to inform Martial about anything. With all of that squared away, I had to wonder who I was getting paired with for this mission. As a security precaution, agents in the field always worked in pairs.

You can imagine my surprise when, arriving at the meeting point, I noticed a familiar pegasus waiting for me. Dawn looked positively radiant this morning with her mane pulled back into a hairband and a form-fitted suit of leather armor. I did my best not to stare.

Approaching her, I waved a hoof, “Well, long time, no see,” I joked, “this is quite the pleasant surprise. You look ready to go out into the field rather than sit behind a boring desk all day.”

Her giggle was music to my ears as she nodded, “Of course! A lot of things have come up recently that made me realize that I need to get back out there,” her head dipped slightly, “a lot of silly things happened to you and the others and I wasn't there to help you... maybe if I'd come with you to that warehouse...”

Seeing her shoulders droop and ears flatten against the top of her skull, I felt my heart crack. Deciding to be a little forward, I wrapped a hoof around her shoulders and gave her a firm look, “Dawn, you can't blame yourself for that. Sunslayer was waiting for us when we got there. If you'd come with us originally, you would have been captured too. Then who would have freed the others in time to warn the EUP about what was going on? You did everything you could and in the end, it turned out just fine, didn't it?”

That elicited a smile, which was a score in my book! I was caught off guard by the sudden embrace of her wing, however. From what I knew about pegasus culture, doing so was a gesture reserved for close friends or loved ones. So, of course, when she broke the embrace and cantered forward slightly, I hoof-pumped victoriously before quickly turning it into a motion of checking my equipment when she turned back toward me.

“So, our destination isn't too far away,” she mused aloud, “I went ahead and too the time to prepare transportation for us.” Not wanting to fall behind, I trotted forward and walked beside her. I had to wonder what sort of transport required us to make our way toward the landing-

I gulped as the simple, armored chariot came into view with a pair of slim-built speed fliers hitched to it. Recent experience with flying had left me with a bit of a sore spot for the activity. Oblivious to my internal struggles, Dawn hopped into the chariot and looked back at me curiously, “Lucky? Is everything okay?”

Smiling as best I could, I nodded, “Yeah, peachy keen.” I lied. Crawling up into the chariot beside her, I had only a moment to wonder just how fast the fliers in front of me could go.

...Too fast.