//------------------------------//
// Iron's Place 
// Story: Flash Sentry, Defender of the Peace S5 
// by Banshee531 
//------------------------------//

It was another beautiful day in Ponyville. 

The ponies were enjoying their day to day life, including a certain gunmetal gray coated earth pony named Iron Core, who was currently on his midday patrol. A long sigh followed this as he continued to munch on a muffin he had gotten from an overly clumsy pegasus mare. He was currently going through the market place of the town, his patrol passing every stand as a bored look stayed on his face.

"Nothing ever changes..." he mumbled as he took another bite, pure boredom now consuming his mind. As for why he was like this, it was because nothing had been happening recently. After Tirek and Shade, no villain, disaster or...well, anything was happening to Ponyville. Even the crusaders hadn't made their usual once-a-week catastrophe for the past two weeks.

As such, he finished off the muffin as he sat down on a nearby vacant chair, thinking back over the past week. The usual had happened, mainly a sinkhole opening up in the middle of town, the nearby dam being damaged and several timberwolves deciding to have some town fun.

However, a long sigh followed these thoughts, remembering the events as one singular thing happened in each of them. And as he did this, he stared at the nearby streets. It was here he saw a trio of fillies walk by, all playing hopscotch. Iron looked up and now saw that they were actually at the bottom of a steep hill, the street now showing a merchant on top of the hill as they examined a few barrels. A reflex kicked into the knight as he got up, gripping his weapon as he saw one of the merchants accidentally tip one of the barrels over. The action made the object instantly fall, spinning as it picked up speed down that hill.

But as he hopped off his seat to save the fillies...something occurred. A flash of gold covered the sky, a pegasi inside that shining light appearing as he zipped past the knight, grabbing the fillies in one fell swoop. Iron felt a blast of wind from the motion alone, only to see the pegasi reappear in front of the barrel, his wings flapping as a huge gust of wind came out of them. The gale quickly consumed the barrel, causing it to come to a complete halt.

Only a minute had passed from the scene, the pegasi now transforming back to his regular pony form. The following few minutes were nothing but rounds of applause and chants of his name as the pegasi gave a wave to the crowd before flying off. And as they cheered, only one pony was not joining in.

It was Iron Core, sighing as he put his weapon away. He then began to walk away, grumbling to himself, "He did it again..." He began to rub the side of his head as he continued to trot down the streets, "No matter what I do, its always him."

His mind was now thinking about the events of this week, remembering each time Flash had appeared. For the sinkhole, Flash got there in seconds, pulling the ponies out of the collapsing ground like it was nothing. He created a wall of wind to stop the dam so Twilight could repair it, and then he turned the Timberwolves into a pile of sticks.

The Metal Guardian sighed at the memories, his legs wobbling back and forth as the thoughts kept replaying in his head. He gritted his teeth at the reflection, thinking about Springer and Lightning, wondering if they felt the same way. Despite this, his mind told him one thing.

"Maybe...maybe I should ask Skybreaker what I should do." he whispered to himself, the pony now showing a huge frown as he turned to walk down another street.

But as he did this, his face was seen by certain pony that spoke up, "Iron?"

"Hmm?" Iron muttered as he looked up, only to see the face of beauty in front of him. It was Fluttershy, his marefriend who was wearing a look of pure concern on her face. "Oh, hey Shy." The pegasus mare stepped up, the two beginning to walk side by side. "So what have you been up too?"

"Just helping Twilight up at the castle. She was talking about some special ancient tome Celestia wanted her to translate, but I didn't understand anything about it. Also, her and Spike's new beds finally arrived, so me and Rarity were helping put them in the right place."

"So they finally got settled? Even after that huge mess we all caused?"

Fluttershy did a small nod, "Oh yes. I must say, I never expected both Twilight and Flash to look so embarrassed to admit to sharing a room."

"Aren't they always like that?"

"Hmmm....I guess so." Fluttershy replied as she put her hoof over her mouth. She thought back to the moment the new couple had admitted to sharing room, both picking Twilight's room as the one they would sleep in. Flash had decided to use his old as his own personal stallion cave while Twilight preferred to not have one. (Flash then said Twilight considers her new room to be the library, which resulted in a bonk on the head)

"Guess everything's coming up Sentry." Iron grumbled, Fluttershy now seeing an expression of anger crossed with depression on his face. Blinking at this, the two passed a newsstand as its owner started yelling.

"Extra! Extra! Crimson Masquerade Gang strikes again!"

Iron turned to the pony and bought a copy, looking the paper over. It was over a gang of thieves known for wearing masks and capes that had been terrorizing Fillydelphia. They had just recently stolen a rare diamond from one of its museums. "Huh...wonder what their next target is..."

"Iron?" Fluttershy spoke up, but Iron just stared at the paper, "Iron? Is something wrong?"

"If only I was there-"

"Iron!" Fluttershy barked as she put a hoof on his shoulder, instantly getting his attention.

"Huh?! What is it Shy?"

"What's wrong Iron? I know that look."

"What are you talking about?" Iron replied as his eyes tried to dart away, only to feel her grip on his shoulder get tighter.

"Iron...I know you're depressed about something and you don't want to talk about it." She leaned up, their noses about to touch as they locked eyes. He was about to tell her not to worry about it, but he knew better. The glare she was giving was stronger than her 'Stare', it was one she used when she wanted something from him no matter what the cost. "What's wrong? Please...just tell me so I can help you."

Iron let out a long sigh, folding the paper in his hooves. "Let's go find a place to sit down." Fluttershy nodded at this, the two soon finding a nearby café to sit down at. There, Iron continued to sigh as he rubbed his face in frustration. "I uh...um..."

"Its okay Iron. Take your time." Fluttershy chimed in, showing her usual kind smile.

Iron slightly stared at her, just looking at her made her feel like he didn't deserve the mare as he said these next words, "I'm...not needed here. In Ponyville, that is." Fluttershy's eyes went wide at hearing this, but Iron continued, "I haven't done anything worth while in weeks. Every time something happens, Sentry swoops in and deals with it. I'm not needed."

"That's not true."

"It is. His new abilities give him the speed, strength and ability to handle any problem. Whenever something happens, he gets there within seconds and deals with it." Iron leaned back with a long groan, "I'm not saying I'm jealous or think he's hogging the spotlight, but...I don't know why I'm here now."

Fluttershy put her hoof to her mouth, trying to hide the frown on her face, "Well um...have you thought about telling Flash about these worries?"

"I can't do that. As much as I hate to admit it, his new abilities make keeping the peace around her much easier. If I tell him what I told you, it might make him start pulling back and not use 'em at a point when he really needs it. You know how he is...do you want him to hold back because it makes me feel better? You know he'll do it, and we might need those powers."

"So...what are you going to do?"

"There's only one thing I can do, but I'm not gonna do it." This made Fluttershy just blink at him, "The town doesn't need my skills anymore. The smart thing to do...would be to go somewhere that does need my skills." This statement made Fluttershy gasp, only for Iron to reach out and grab her hooves before she could say anything, "Don't worry. I said I wasn't gonna do it." He continued to hold her hooves as he turned to stare at the town, sighing, "Though I uh...I won't admit it to anypony except you...I've really grown to love this town. For the first time since I was a kid, I felt like I was home. That I was somewhere I belong...or belonged."

"Oh Iron..." Fluttershy began to move her chair so she was right next to him, "You still belong here."

"I...I don't know. I'm a Royal Knight, the Metal Guardian. My whole purpose in life is to help deal with situations that cause ponies problems. But...if I can't deal with them here, then I...I don't belong here." He showed a big frown at his lover, one that made her mirror him. "Your purpose in life is to look after animals, but...what if all the animals that live in Ponyville suddenly moved to another town?"

Fluttershy opened her mouth, but no words came out. She instantly understood what he meant, the statement breaking her heart. The mare could see the conflict in his eyes, but couldn't find the words. As such, Iron sighed again as he got off his chair, "Like I said, I'm not gonna leave you. I'll just...deal with it. See ya later Shy."

With that, he walked away, Fluttershy's mane drooping down as she stared at the leaving defender. She wanted to go after him, telling him that they would find a solution and make everything right...but nothing came to her. Her mind was completely blank as she started to twiddle her hooves, "Oh dear...what am I going to do?"

She stared down at the table as her mind went over the options, "I don't want him to leave, but I can't have him just throw his life's purpose...oh, what do I do?"

The mare looked up and saw her friends' homes in the distance, blinking at the sight, "I need some help. I just gotta make sure Flash isn't there when I ask."





That night...

In the deserts of Equestria, the peaceful quiet of the night was shattered by the sound of a train rushing down the tracks. It was a freight train carrying supplies to Fillydelphia and Applewood. As such, in one of the freight carts was a group of ponies were huddled in the corner hidden behind a bunch of boxes. They were all wearing the same thing, a black full-body suit, dark red capes and a black hood with a red mask. Each mask was a different animal, there being a wolf, owl, gorilla and lizard.

Gorilla reached up and pulled his mask off, revealing a dark green earth pony stallion with a black mane. "Geez, it's freezing in here."

Lizard pulled off her mask and revealed herself as a dark pink mare with a silver mane. "Tell me about it. And its so cramped," her cape scrunched up as a pair of wings stretched out, grumbling as she turned to the one with the wolf mask, "Why couldn't we have just taken a normal train? It's not like they'd recognize us without our costumes."

Wolf took off his mask to reveal a light brown earth pony with a dark brown mane and scars covering his face. "And what would have happened when they scanned our luggage and found the diamond?" He pulled out the large jewel, which was almost half the size of his head. "This bad boy will fetch a small fortune, but it also means we have to be extra careful. With all the increased security, there was no way we were gonna be able to get away with taking a normal train. Even Owl's abilities wouldn't have been any use, not with the anti-magic fields they were using on the station."

The final member of the group said nothing, simply slumping back against the crates while Gorilla spoke up, "So...where we selling this bad boy? Please tell me we're not waiting until we get to Applewood to get off. That's a two day trip."

Wolf shook his head. "No, we're getting off at Ponyville."

"Ponyville?" The other two gasped as Owl leaned back in.

Wolf nodded. "Yeah. After all...we're gonna pull off our biggest hiest yet. We're gonna break into the town's newest landmark."

The two's eyes went wide as Lizard yelped, "Are you nuts?! You wanna break into the Castle of Friendship?!"

"Exactly. The castle's new, so it won't have that much security. I'm sure a princess will have something valuable we can steal and sell."

"But it's not like it's completely unguarded," Gorilla countered. "What about the Knight of Friendship? I've heard about him...he's got weird abilities."

Wolf just let out a laugh, "Oh please, I've been studying the recent news over what he can do. I'm sure Owl's magic will be more than enough to hold him off so we can get away."

"Are you sure?" Lizard asked.

"Trust me. When have I ever steered you three wrong?"





The next day...

Iron was now slumped over in the park, sitting on a bench as his mind kept going over his options. He glanced down at his weapon, a long sigh following as he looked back up and saw the many ponies in the park. The defender would never admit it, but he loved seeing this sight. The happy faces on everypony as they walked by, the colts and fillies playing with cheers of joy.

It was here he turned to see a pair of elderly ponies playing a game of chess, grins on their faces as well. And as he watched them play, he stared at the board pieces, memories of his colthood after he had met Skybreaker going through his head.

The past...

"Chess?" Iron asked as Skybreaker set up the board. The two were currently staying in a small town, as Skybreaker had just got back from a mission and was now currently on rest.

"That's right," the pegasus replied as he began to setup the game. "It's a great way to learn strategy and forward thinking, all the qualities an Royal Knight needs. Commanding these pieces is similar to ordering your troops. Every decision you make will affect how the game plays out."

Iron did a small nod, "Okay...but I don't know the rules." Skybreaker nodded back before explaining how each piece moved, Iron trying to commit everything to memory. "Wow..." Iron muttered as he stared down at one piece in his hooves, "The Queen must be the best piece in the game."

"I'll admit that the Queen does have the potential to do the most damage. But that doesn't make it the most powerful." Skybreaker held up another piece with a smirk, "With the right strategy, a piece such as this Pawn could do more damage than the Queen."

Iron raised an eyebrow. "How? It can only move like...one space at a time."

"One space can be all you need. Chess without the Pawns is a loser's game. The weakest looking Pawns shouldn't be disregarded, even if you have better pieces like the Queen."

"Huh...I don't get it." Iron replied as he stared at the row of Pawns.

"You'll get it. Let's start a game, shall we?"

The Present...

Iron stared at the board, sighing. "Guess I'm just a Pawn now." He then watched as the two elderly ponies finished their game before resetting the pieces, the duo leaving after that. Iron didn't know why, but he reflexively got up and walked over and sat down at the board. The knight started to play a game by himself, his mind replacing himself as the Pawns while Flash in his new form resembled the Queen.

A long moan followed as he felt himself slump over. He watched as 'Flash' zipped around the board, knocking every Pawn away while the ones that looked like him just limped across the board. And as he did this, he didn't notice sompony walking up to him, "Hello." Iron flinched as he turned to the pony, looking up to see a cream colored unicorn stallion with red hair and a cutie mark that was a mirror with smoke around it. "Sorry if I startled you. I just thought you might like to play against an opponent."

Iron shook his head as he got out of his slump, "Uh....yeah. Sure, I wouldn't mind a game. Gives me something to do." The unicorn nodded and sat opposite him, using his magic to reset the pieces.

"I'm Double by the way," he said as he moved his first piece. "Double Take."

"Iron Core," the earth pony grumbled as he moved a Pawn.

"I know who you are. I saw you in the papers back when you were first knighted."

Iron let out a small snort, shrugging as he responded, "Eh, I get around. So, you new in town? Haven't seen you around."

"My friends and I are just passing through. Business."

"I get ya." Iron replied as he moved another piece, the two starting to talk as they began to play, time slowly passing by.





Meanwhile...

Fluttershy had gathered the friends to the Castle of Friendship, all of them discussing over Iron. The mare had everypony frowning as they saw the worry on her face as she finished, "And...that's it. So um...what do you think I should do?"

Applejack chimed in first with crossed hooves, "Ah gotta admit, that is a toughy. If mah farm started running itself, ah sure wouldn't know what to do with mah'self."

"Me too," Pinkie added with her hoof slowly deflating, "Remember how I was when Cheese Sandwich came to town? Oh...Iron must feel so bad."

Rainbow leaned back in her chair, "Huh...well, there's gotta be something we can do to help him."

"But what?" Rarity asked while tapping the table, "He's right in the fact that Flash can't simply hold back in his duties just so Iron feels he's needed."

As they continued to talk, Twilight remained silent. Her mind was stuck between a tome Celestia had given her to decipher and her friends' problem. She knew as the Princess of Friendship that helping her friend came first, but as she reviewed the facts in her head....she couldn't find anything. As such, she raised her hoof to speak up, "Everypony...I would like to write to Celestia and ask for her opinion."

This made Fluttershy shiver. "Twilight...w-w-what if...she orders Iron to transfer?"

Twilight shook her head with a kind smile, "She wouldn't do that. And even if she did, it would probably just be on a temporary basis. Just filling in for an area that's low on pony-power for a week or two." She pulled out a scroll and began to write before letting out a low hum, "Oh right...Spike is out for the day, hanging out with Springer. I'll have to have him send it when he gets back."

As she put the scroll down, Rainbow spoke up, "You don't think Iron would really leave, do you?"

"I'm honestly not sure." Rarity answered as she looked over at Fluttershy, "I mean...sometimes a pony has to do something they don't want to do for their own good."

It was here Rainbow got up and hugged Fluttershy's shoulder, the rest all seeing the conflict in the pegasi's eyes. They knew she wanted him to stay, but didn't know what to tell her. "Oh...I hope Princess Celestia knows what to do." she whispered as Rainbow tightened the hug. "Iron..."





Back at the park...

Iron and Double had been playing for a while, playing game after game while the rest of the world seemed to disappear. Currently, Iron was about to win as he moved his Queen to take out one of Double's Knights. "Ha! You're just one move away from being in checkmate."

Double just chuckled at this, "Maybe." His horn glowed as it picked up a Pawn close to Iron's side of the board, "But you left yourself unable to defend against this move." With that, he placed the Pawn at the back of the board, "Now I can swap it for anything you captured. I think I'll pick...a Rook." Iron's eyes went wide as he watched the unicorn replace the two pieces, the Rook now taking the Pawn's spot. It was here he saw that the Rook was on the same line as his king, which he had hidden behind two Pawns. "Checkmate."

Iron's eyes darted across the board, soon seeing his mistakes. Iron had gone for a full offensive while Double had got his Pawns around Iron's straightforward tactics. The knight just shook his head at this, "No way..."

Double smirked as he reset the board, "I didn't think you would fall for that."

Iron let out a long sigh, "Skybreaker would have lost it if he had saw me do that."

"Skybreaker? Is he the one who taught you how to play?"

Iron nodded, "Yeah...he once told me that Chess without Pawns is a loser's game. That even the weakest piece looking Pawn shouldn't be disregarded."

Double shrugged at this, "The one who taught me to play said something similar. He said that Chess is the game of life and everypony fits an exact role and can only move a certain way, all in the name of protecting the King." He looked up at Iron, "It just depends on what your king is. Though I guess your King is obvious since you're a Royal Knight."

Iron chuckled back, "My King is Equestria and all the ponies who live here." He then gestured to Double, "So what about you? What's your King?"

Double opened his mouth to respond, but words couldn't form. "I uh..." He then darted his eyes, now seeing a nearby clock tower as he saw the time. "Oh no! I'm gonna be late!"

"Huh?" Iron barely responded as he saw Double hop off his seat.

"It was nice meeting you, hope we meet again sometime!" Double yelled as he went into a full-on sprint, leaving a blinking confused Iron.

"What's got him so rattled?" With that, Iron reset the rest of the board for the next ones who wanted to play. But as the day passed and he left the park, he couldn't help feel a little better. And as he walked through the town, he couldn't help but think about what Double had said, knowing he would stay as a protector, "But that means..."

He then found himself at the top of a large hill overlooking the town. The knight couldn't help but show a giant frown on his face, thinking about leaving both the town...and her.





The night...

Twilight was in her room, going over the translations she had managed to get done for the tome. It was here that the door opened to show one Flash Sentry, drying off from a shower after checking to make sure Scootaloo was asleep. Twilight looked up and closed her notebook, the action catching his attention. "You okay?"

"No. This tome is...tough." Twilight responded as she put the notebook away, "I uh...how was patrol today? Any issues?"

"Nothing I can't handle," Flash said with a shrug, "Ever since I gained the power of the Sacred Light, keeping the peace has never been easier."

"I'm sure it is." Twilight replied as she saw him get on the bed. "What about the others? Have they been having any problems?"

"No...at least, they haven't told me about it." He raised an eyebrow at this, "Is something wrong?"

"No! Er..." Twilight responded with more haste than she wanted, "Just...interested. Anyways, we should probably get some sleep. I have a long day of tome deciphering tomorrow." She magically switched off the light, "Good night."

She rolled over next, the pegasi now staring at her back, "Um...good night."

And as he laid down, snoring already coming from this mouth, Twilight's heart twisted at not saying anything. She closed her eyes next, her body slightly shivering as she thought about tomorrow.





Meanwhile...

Outside of the castle and standing on a rooftop of a nearby building, three of the four Crimson Masquerade Gang were staring at the tower. "Alright...the last light just went off."

Wolf put his pair of binoculars away, "Good. We'll give it an hour, and then you and Owl will head inside."

"If he's even here by then," Gorilla grumbled before glancing back, soon seeing a shadow sneak over a nearby rooftop. "Hmm? Wait...is that him?"

A few seconds later, the shadow got to the gang, revealing it to be Owl, "I'm here. Sorry, I lost track of time."

Wolf turned to him, "About time. Get ready, as you and Lizard are heading in soon. Be careful and if you see something you think might be valuable, get it and get out of there. Understand?"

"Understood," they replied in unison. It was here they waited for another hour before the two hopped off the roof, Lizard taking the lead as they got to the castle's main doors.

"We should see if there's a low window I can unlock," Lizard whispered as Owl went up to the front door. "Hey! Don't be stupid! They wouldn't leave the front-" Her voice was cut off by the soft creaking noise of an opening door. "Seriously?! Geez, it's like they're asking to be robbed."

The two ponies quickly tiphoofed inside, slowly going down a few hallways. But as they traveled through the rooms, all they could mainly find were just hallways and bedrooms, nothing else. "What the heck?! What kind of princess doesn't have a room full of jewels?! I was expecting at least a gold filled swimming pool or something."

Owl said nothing as he checked another door, only to blink as he saw he had now found the castle library, "Over here."

Lizard followed him inside, only to let out a sigh, "What's this supposed to get us?!"

"The princess is known to be a major book lover and magical genius. I'm sure she'll have some rare books that could sell on the black market. Just look for anything old." Old whispered as Lizard sighed again, soon following his lead. But as they snuck inside and viewed the bookshelves...they still couldn't find anything. The two couldn't even find much dust, making them think nothing was old in here.

"I can't believe it...a whole new castle and not a thing worth stealing." Lizard moaned while rubbing her face in frustration. "This is a princess's castle! Where's the lap of luxury items?! Where's the diamond-studded furniture that these slobs love having?!"

Owl was about to respond in agreement, only to spot a large chest in a nearby corner. He walked over to it and saw it had a large padlock, "Hmm...hey, take a look at this. There might be something valuable in here."

"Sure. Here's hoping for something." Lizard replied as she started to pick the lock. "Keep a lookout, would ya?"

"Got it." Owl responded as he kept watch, several minutes passing before hearing a small click, "Got something?"

"Yup. Took longer than I thought." Lizard added as she opened the chest, both looking inside as they now saw an old book with a thick green cover that had several symbols they didn't recognize. Owl took it in his hooves, now seeing it was wrapped in plastic. "Jackpot." Lizard commented as Owl gave her the book and put it under her wing. "Now let's get out of here."

Owl nodded, only to freeze up as they heard a new sound ring out in the library. The two shared a glance before hiding behind a bookshelf, listening to the noise...and noticing it wasn't hoofsteps, but they had the same rhythm. Lizard leaned her head a bit more as she saw glared at the library entrance, only to go wide-eyed.

It was Spike, the young drake yawning as he moved through the outside hallway with a plate of gems in his claws. The little one had just snuck into the kitchen for a late night snack, licking his lips as he stared at the dish, only to see that the library door was open. "Uh-oh...is Twilight still up?" The drake tiptoed over to the door, peeking in as he tried to see if Twilight was in there.

"Huh. Looks like the coast is clear-whoa!" he blurted out as he suddenly tripped, quickly recovering as one of the gems flew off his plate. "Oh no...no no no!" the drake yelped as he tried to grab the gem, the gem loudly pinging on the floor. He quickly put his plate down and got the gem, gulping it down as he looked back at the library. He expected Twilight to appear, ready to give him another lecture on how eating at night was bad...only for nothing.

Spike took a deep breath as he put his plate on a nearby table in the library, "That's strange. I thought for sure Twilight would be in here. Why would the library door-" his words came to a stop when he turned and saw a padlock sitting on the floor by an open chest. His eyes went wide before hearing the sound of hoofsteps behind him. He spun around next, only to see a blur zoom out of the library. But it was too late as the drake let out a scream.

"THIEVES!!! TWILIGHT, WE'VE BEEN ROBBED!!!"





Owl and Lizard were in a full-on panic sprint as they raced through the halls, trying to remember which way they had come from. It was here that they arrived at a four-way junction, both heads darting back and forth, "Which way do we go?!" Lizard asked, only for Owl to point at a hallway.

"Not that way!" Owl stated as he pointed at the sight of Flash, Twilight, Scootaloo and Springer all turning the same corner.

"Oh crap! This way!" Lizard yelped as her and Owl ran the opposite corridor, turning a hallway corner as quickly as they could.

"Get back here!" Flash yelled as he shot into the air after them. But as he turned the same corner they did, he pulled himself to a stop, "Whoa! What the-" He gasped as he now saw he standing in front of a wall of pure diamonds.

The others then arrived, Scootaloo asking, "Where'd this come from?"

"No clue," Flash replied as his body began to glow. "Let's find out after we get those creeps!" With that, the light exploded off his body before a set of familiar armor appeared on his form as he pulled out two light swords. "Stand back!" He spun around before slicing the wall with an enhanced sword strike, the wall shattering to pieces.

"Alright, now that's-huh?!" he yelped as the wall fell apart...only for the wall's pieces disappeared into a puff of smoke. "What the heck?!"

"Uh...does diamond usually do that?" Springer asked, Twilight shaking her head.

"No...but that's not important. We need to catch those thieves!"

"Got it. They're not getting away." Flash added as he flared his wings, his form turning into a bullet of light as he flew ahead.

While this happened, Owl and Lizard continued to run through the hallways, panic embracing their minds. "We gotta get out of here!" Lizard yelled as they turned another corner, only to gasp as they saw the main entryway right in front of them. "Yes!"

It was here a flash of light zipped past them, the blur's speed causing a tear in Owl's mask, "Ahh!" he hissed in pain as he put his hoof on the spot, both now seeing the light land in front of the door.

"Going somewhere?!" Flash growled as he rested a hoof on the sheathed light blades. "You got a lot of guts doing this. I'll give you one chance to give up and come quietly."

Owl and Lizard both remained still, sharing a glance as Lizard slowly took out the book. Flash tensed up at the sight, his eyes darting between the book and the thieves as a flame appeared near Owl's head. "One wrong move and this thing burns."

Flash blinked at this, his body scrunching up as the thought of Twilight losing it if the tome was destroyed, "You're bluffing."

"Are we?" Lizard asked before tossing the book into the air, Owl launching the fireball next. Flash quickly darted into the air, outpacing the fireball as he snatched the book in midair. But as he landed with the tome, he looked back at the door and saw the thieves were already gone.

"Shoot."

"Flash!" He turned around and saw Twilight running up to him, "Where are they?!"

"They got away...but I got this back."

Springer then zipped past Flash to get outside, closing his eyes as he released his aura. But as he did this, the scan got garbled, as the thieves had already got into town and were mingled with the rest of the townponies. "Darn...there's too many."

"Who were those two?" Scootaloo asked next.

"They must have been part of the Crimson Masquerade Gang," Twilight commented while glancing over at Flash. "Looks like they managed to get out of Fillydelphia and came here."

Flash nodded before looking down at the book. "Well on the bright side, at least they didn't get this." But in the moment, the book suddenly exploded into a cloud of smoke, making everypony gasp. "Or not. That's not good."





The next morning...

"And this is what happens when you don't set up security measures!" Iron yelled as he began to survey the castle.

"How long are you gonna milk that?" Flash barked back, only for Iron to glance back with a glare.

"Until you find a way to stop something like this from happening. That means setting up security!"

"We get it! Now can we just focus on the situation at hoof, please?"

"Yeah yeah...let's get started."

While they continued to argue, the rest of the usual group were examining the entryway, looking for clues. The only there wasn't Springer, as he had a different job. As such, Lightning turned to Twilight and asked, "So let me get this straight...these two masked ponies stole some old tome and somehow made a wall of diamond and a fake book appear?"

"Yes..." Twilight grumbled as she rubbed her chin in thought, "I think they were using some form of solid illusion magic."

"Like Trixie's magic?" Pinkie asked.

"Much more powerful. It's closer to the castle's training room, as these illusions are so powerful that they look and feel real. I bet that wall Flash smashed was as hard as real diamond. Who knows what else they can make...especially if they have that book."

Rainbow flew down to her. "How bad would it be if they get away with it?"

"Very bad. That tome was filled with ancient dark spells. I was translating it so they can be studied and have counters made in case something like this happened. If we don't get it back, who knows what dangerous hooves it could fall into."

The ponies all grimaced as Rarity gulped, "These thieves must be horrible if they wanted to steal it. I mean, their fashion sense is terrible! What kind of thieves wear something that tacky!"

"The Crimson Masquerade gang...." Iron huffed as he looked back at the group. "I read about them yesterday in the papers. There's supposed to be four of them, so we'll need to be careful."

"But how are we gonna find them?" Spike asked next, "We don't know what they look like and I doubt they'd wear that stuff in the middle of town."

"Eh, don't worry about it." Flash replied while patting the drake's shoulder, "We got Springer on the case. He's at town hall right now, scanning the whole town. If he detects an aura that's leaving the town, he'll contact me and we'll go check it out."

Twilight nodded at this, "That's good, but we'll need more. Luckily, I sent a message out saying that no trains are allowed the make station until we find out where they are."

"And I think I might have cut one of them last night," Flash added with crossed hooves. "Keep an eye on the right cheek of anypony you suspect."

"So what are we waiting for?! Let's get out there and find those creeps!" Rainbow declared, everypony nodding in agreement.

"YEAH!"





"This is a disaster."

Three of the Crimson Masquerade Gang were huddled between a pair of large buildings, all without their masks on as Gorilla turned to Lizard, "How could you let this happen?!"

Lizard hissed back, "Not my fault you all decided to just strike the place without checking it out. We were lucky to get out of there at all, so actually getting something was a miracle."

"It won't be if we can't get out of here," Gorilla replied.

"Stop arguing," Wolf barked as he crossed his hooves. "What's done is done. Let's just focus on getting out of here."

"That won't be easy." They turned and saw a pony that looked just like Caramel, the pony walking into the alleyway before being engulfed in a puff of smoke. It soon faded to show Owl, his mask now sporting a sown up cut. "I overheard some locals saying somepony named Springer is making sure nopony leaves the town undetected. From what I gathered, he has some sensor ability that lets him detect ponies. Using my illusions won't work this time...and they've shut off the trains, so no quick exits for us."

Wolf growled at this, closing his eyes. "Grr...alright, give me a minute." The others all stared at him as they watched him brainstorm, several minutes passing before he reopened his eyes, "Okay, I got it. We need a distraction, something that sensor won't be able to see through, then we split up to get out here. Here's my idea..."

As he started to explain the distraction, Lizard and Gorilla smiled at the plan while Owl grimaced, twiddling his hooves as Wolf finished, "Um...is that really necessary? I mean...that's going really far compared to what we usually do. What if somepony gets hurt?"

Wolf glared at him. "It's them or us. Do you wanna go to jail?"

"No, but-"

"Then shut up and follow my lead." Wolf stood up and pressed his hoof on Owl's head, "Don't forget who you owe your life too. I didn't need to take you off the streets, and I'm the one that made your talent flourish! That makes you mine, so you'll do as I say! Understand?!"

Owl looked away, sighing, "Understood..."

"Good." Wolf hissed as he gestured to the others, "Now let's get to work. The longer we stay here, the more chance the ponies of this town will have to catch us." He turned back to Owl, "You know what to do." He nodded and in a puff of smoke, the four were disguised as ponies he had seen around town. The three then left, leaving a frowning Owl as he sighed again.

"Got no choice...let's get this over with."





Iron and Fluttershy were travelling through the town, both glancing around as they tried to find anything out of the crowd. As they did this, Fluttershy turned to her boyfriend, now seeing his usual serious defender expression compared to the face he was wearing yesterday. And as he eyes darted back and forth, Iron noticed in the corner of his eye and asked, "What's up? Something wrong?"

"Oh! Um..." Fluttershy looked away as she did a small hidden gulp, "Nothing. Just uh...hoping we find those thieves before they get away."

"Same. But with that illusion magic on their side, it's gonna be tricky." Iron admitted before letting out a sigh, "Though I bet Sentry won't have any problem against it once we find them."

Fluttershy frowned at this, still looking away as she tried to think up a response. But as she did this, her thoughts were interrupted as another pony suddenly collided with her, "WHOA/EEP!" the two yelped as they bounced off one another, Iron managing to grab Fluttershy before she fell down. Once she was steady, they turned to the other pony as she whimpered out, "Oh dear. I'm sorry."

"No no...its my fault," the pony replied as he shook his head. "Sorry about that. Was in a hurry."

"Double?" Iron blurted, making the pony look up and gasp at the sight of the knight.

"Oh! Um...hey, Iron."

"You know him?" Fluttershy asked as Iron helped him up.

"Yeah. I played a few games of chess with him yesterday."

"You mean you lost a few games of chess to me yesterday," Double chuckled, Iron rolling his eyes as Fluttershy fought back a giggle. "So, what you two up too?"

"Looking for the criminals who stole something from the castle," Fluttershy instantly replied.

Double's eyes darted away for a slight second. "Oh...that. Yeah, I heard about that. It's making me and my friends leaving really difficult. Hopefully you'll catch them soon."

"Hopefully..." Iron grunted, his mind still thinking about Flash.

"Well....I'd better be going." Double responded as he started to walk around them. "Me and my friends are having lunch together and uh...I'm already late."

"Alright...." Fluttershy replied before putting a hoof to her mouth, "Oh...wait a moment please." She went over and pulled a large leaf off a nearby tree. "Your face is a little muddy. Must have happened when we bumped into each other." She held the leaf up to his face and began wiping it on the unicorn's cheeks.

As she did this, Iron blinked at the sight, the corner of his eye noticing the unicorn spark his horn. Once it was done, Double did a small nod, "Um...thanks. Again, sorry about running into you."

"Its okay. Go on ahead." Fluttershy replied as Double started to leave, the mare glancing back at her lover with a huge frown. "Iron..."

"Did he...just use magic?" Iron asked, only for a long sigh to come out of the mare's mouth. "Shoot. I was afraid of that. His horn sparked the moment you touched his right cheek."

"He was trying to hide the cut Flash gave him," Fluttershy added as she looked down, seeing the frown on Iron's face increase. "I'm sorry Iron. I'm guessing you were-"

"Its fine. I was...hoping it wasn't him, but he did tell me yesterday that this was his first day here. I uh..."

"You had a feeling he was one of them?"

"Yeah..." Iron grumbled as he rubbed the back of his head, "We need to tell the others."

"Agreed. Let's-"

KABOOM!

They spun around at the sudden interrupting sound, both going wide-eyed as they saw a large smoke cloud rise above some roofs in the distance. The duo quickly went into a full-on sprint, soon seeing the smoke's source as a series of house on fire.

"Oh no!" Fluttershy gasped, only for several more explosions to ring out as even more houses lit up. "This is horrible!"

Iron froze for a second at the sight, his hesistant moment soon ceasing as a flash of light shined above him. He looked up to see Flash with Springer and Twilight, Flash asking the jakhowl, "Is anypony in those?!"

The jakhowl closed his eyes, only to point at one of them, "That one! That's got somepony in it! The others are all clear."

"Got it! You all save that pony, I'll deal with the flames!" Flash yelled as he took the air, the pegasi flying around in a cone-like shape.

"What's he doing?" Fluttershy asked as they ran towards the building.

"He's creating a vacuum," Twilight replied, "That'll suffocate the fire."

It was here Lightning appeared with a flash of light, Rarity appearing with him. "What in the name of Celestia is happening?!"

"No time," Twilight responded before pointing at the building. "There's somepony in there!"

"Got it!" Lightning pulled out one of his knives and tossed it at Springer, "Here." The jakhowl caught it before the unicorn went inside, the smoke instantly consuming him. Everypony gasped at the sight as the flames grew over the top of the building, making them backpedal.

"Twilight!" They turned to see Rainbow and several pegasi pushing rain clouds across the sky, "Where do you need us?!"

Before Twilight could answer, a flash of light signalled Lightning's return as he appeared in front of his dagger while holding a mare. Fluttershy and Rarity quickly went over, scanning them for injuries. As they did this, Lightning quickly replied, "Don't worry. We're fine."

"But Lightning, the fire-"

"Didn't affect me." Lightning responded as he dusted himself off, "It was weird. I breathed in the smoke but...well, it felt just like I was breathing air. Heck, I don't have any burn marks."

The mare nodded in agreement as Fluttershy and Rarity continued to look them over. As they did this, another voice rang out, "Everypony!" they turned to see Flash floating while pointing at the houses behind him, all of them still ablaze. "I don't get it. I can't make them go out."

Twilight raised an eyebrow at this, glared at the fire, "I wonder..." Her horn sparked as her magic aura started to cover teh house. As she did this, the flames suddenly disappeared in an instant, all gasping as they now saw that the house didn't even have a singe. "It's an illusion!"

"I'm guessing this one is too!" They turned to see Rainbow standing on a cloud over a burning building, the rain not doing a thing to quell the flames. But as they saw this, another building's flames began to die down as a cloud's rain started to affect the fire.

"That figures. We shouldn't assume they're all fake," Twilight announced as she gestured to her friend, "Let's get to work!" They all nodded and began to spread out, Iron glared at the sight. As he did this, a click went off in his brain before turning around, staring at a certain direction.





Half an hour later...

Wolf and Owl were running through the canyon leading out of Ponyville. Lizard and Gorilla weren't with them, each going their own way to narrow the chances of being caught. A giant grin was on Wolf's face, his body feeling the diamond and tome in his cape's pockets.

As they ran, Owl was wearing the opposite expression as he stayed behind Wolf. He had hoped that Wolf would change his mind about setting the buildings on fire, using special rune stickers that could produce the flames, coupled with the illusions. However, his leader said it was the only way, the distraction more than enough to get the whole attention of the town off their backs.

And as the exit of the canyon came into view, Owl was about to show a tiny smile, only for the ground to start shaking. Both pulled themselves to a stop, as a large wall of iron suddenly appeared in front of them. "What?!"

"Look out!" Owl screamed as he pushed Wolf, an iron projectile missing the leader before hitting the side of Owl's head. "Augh!"

The unicorn fell to the ground, grimacing in pain as Wolf just shrugged him off. He then glared at the pony that had fired the shot, yelling, "How?! How did you find us?!"

Iron put his weapon on his shoulder as he briskly walked up to the thieves, "Wasn't that hard to figure out. The fires were all located in the south side of town, so it wasn't too hard to figure you go north." He pointed the spear at the duo, "I won't let you get away. Just give up."

"HA! You think you can catch us?!" Wolf laughed before glaring down at Owl, "Get up."

The unicorn's hooves shook as he slowly got up, his mask falling off while he did this. Iron sighed at the sight, now seeing Double Take with a cut down his face. "Why?" Iron asked the young stallion, "Why are you doing this Double?"

"I'm sorry..." Double muttered out as his horn began to glow. "I don't have a choice." Several puffs of smoke appeared around him, which faded to reveal several sharp buzz-saw blades.

A spark of the horn later, the saws flew at Iron, who quickly deflected them with Piecemaker. As he swatted the last attack, Iron pointed his spear at the two, "Iron Lance Fury!" A barrage of spikes flew out of the weapon, Double blocking them by creating a brick wall. But as this appeared, Iron charged while Piecemaker's head shifted to a hammer.

THOOM!

That was the sound of the wall shattering at Iron's hammer, the strike making Double backpedal. The unicorn now saw the long sad glare on Iron's face as the defender spoke up, "You don't have to do this. Just give up and I promise I'll work to make sure the court goes easy on you."

"I'm sorry," Double repeated as his horn created a large boulder above his head. "I have to do this, for Wolf." The rock was flung at the Metal Guardian, Iron sticking his weapon in the ground. An iron ramp was formed from this, taking the boulder and flinging it over the knight.

The ramp disappeared after this, Iron putting the spear on his shoulder again, "Double...you're not fighting with full strength. I've fought true fighting unicorns, and you're not trying." He pointed the spear at Wolf, "What does he have on you? Blackmail? I can help you with that."

Wolf just laughed at this, "Oh, I have nothing pedestrian like that. His life belongs to me, simple as that." Iron gripped his spear, his glare tightening as Wolf continued, "You see, if it wasn't for me, he would have starved to death long ago."

Iron raised an eyebrow, turning to Double as he saw a huge frown on his face. But before he could ask anything, Double began to explain, "My parents died when I was young. I had no friends, no family, nopony to look after me. Eventually, I was left on the street, no food till I was all skin and bones." He then created a bunch of pony sized rocks, all flying at Iron as his weapon began to turn into a sword, slicing them all in half.

"What does that have to do with him?!" Iron yelled as he struck each one down.

Wolf kept laughing, "I'm the one who found and took him in. I fed him, kept a roof over his head and helped him master his magic. I knew when I first found him and saw his cutie mark...oh, he was perfect. His magic is the real deal, able to make true illusions. And his power is all because of me." Iron then smashed the final rock, Wolf sighing as he saw the knight was unharmed, "Double...stop messing around and finish this."

Double flinched before creating a large puff of smoke, which faded to reveal a tatzlwurm. The snake slammed down at Iron, consuming the pony in one fell stroke. Seeing this, Wolf let out a long sigh of relief, "Finally. Now, let's-"

"Going somewhere?!" yelled a voice, an iron wall appearing in front of the two while the worm turned into a puff of smoke as Iron in armored form appeared. His tail spike turned into a sword as he charged straight at Wolf, only for Double to appear with a metal stick that he had just created. The two weapons clashed, both coming to a standstill as Iron glared into Double's eyes, "Don't do this Double. You know this is wrong."

Double flinched at this. "I...I don't have a choice." His eyes shook, his lips quivering as he replied, "Pawns like me do what we're told in order to protect the King."

"Pawn? What are you-" Iron's voice came to a stop as he now remembered their conversation from yesterday. "So...you're a Pawn to him?!"

Double did a slow nod, "That's right. As a Pawn, my life's only purpose is to serve him. My future...is his."

"I don't believe that!" Iron yelled as he leapt away and pointed his weapon at Double. "If that were true, you wouldn't react that way! You don't want to do this!"

"But I-"

"Oh stop! If you wanted to do this, then you would have made those flames you created to distract us real." Wolf raised an eyebrow at this. "I know you can do it, but you didn't. You don't wanna hurt anypony, and this fight proves it! You're holding back!"

"I-"

"He's right." Wolf interrupted, making Double glance back at him, "You're better than this. Summon something to fight him properly, or I'll find somepony who will."

"Oh, shup up! Stay out of this!" Iron yelled as he began to run at Wolf, only to feel his hooves come to a stop, "What?!" he yelped as he looked down and now saw he was stuck in a pool of tar. He looked back up at Wolf and pointed his tail at him, only for a vine of tar to shoot out and wrap around the end of his tail, slowly pulling it back. It was here that the tar began to creep up his body, covering everything but Iron's head. "No way..."

Wolf laughed again, "HA! So much for you! That was good Double...real good." Wolf's face shined a giant grin under his mask, "Now finish him."

"What?!" Double yelped as he turned to Wolf with pure panic on his face, "But why?! He can't stop us from escaping." To show his point, a staircase appeared next to the metal wall in a puff of smoke.

Wolf let out a hum, "Maybe...but he's seen what you look like. He'll tell everypony else what you look like and what your abilities are. No...he needs to be taken out." Wolf pointed at the knight, "Now do it. Finish him." Double did a small gulp, backpedaling as Wolf growled, "Double...do as I say."

The unicorn looked back at Iron, the Metal Guardian now feeling the tar begin to move up to his neck, slowly going up to his mouth and nose. Iron began to crane his neck as he muttered out, "No...don't do it."

"I'm sorry," Double replied. "I have to-"

"No you don't! You don't have to do anything you don't want to do! He doesn't control you!"

"Oh, yes I do," Wolf snickered. "I saved his life-"

"But that doesn't give you the right to decide how that life turns out! You fed and sheltered him...so what?! That's something any decent pony would do...and they wouldn't ask for a reward!" He craned his head back to Double, the tar almost covering everything but Iron's eyes and mouth, "You said you're a Pawn...and a pawn can only move in one direction."

"That's right. But why are-"

"But there's something you're forgetting!" Iron yelled as the tar began to slow down, "If a Pawn is brave enough...it can become something more! Just like in our game, it can become something even greater!" Double said nothing as Iron's eyes began to be covered, "Being a Pawn...doesn't make you weak! It means you have limitless potential, but only if you make the right choices." The tar had now covered all but his mouth. "You know this isn't the right choice! You can either keep following him and remain a Pawn, or chose to become something greater! You know what you have to do!"

Those were his last words as the tar covered his mouth and nose, a now tar knight statue standing before them. Wolf chuckled at this site, patting Double's shoulder as he held up his mask, "Excellent work. There's no going back for you...you're mine."

A snap inside Double's brain went off, those words making his horn spark reflexively. As the magic shot out of the horn, the tar statue disappeared in a puff of smoke. Wolf's eyes went wide as he saw a now free Iron fall over, panting for air as he shook his head.

"Wha...what have you done?!"

"I'm making the right choice," Double replied as he went over and helped Iron up.

Wolf's hooves clenched as a low growl came out of his mouth. "Why you-"

"Oh stop it." Iron interrupted as he got control of his breathing, "It's over. Come quietly, or this'll get ugly."

Wolf's reached into his cape, "I don't think so. You're not catching me!" He pulled out several pieces of paper, throwing them into the air. Double instantly recognized them as more rune tags, but these were different from the ones used in town. The runes glowed as they activated, only for a bunch of blast of magic to fly out, explosions hitting every side of the canyon.

A rock slide began to form, all three now seeing a pile of dirt about to devour them. All three began to grimaced at the sight, the rubble now burying them all. It was here the rock slide continued, a minute passing before settling down. And as this happened, a few rocks began to roll away before revealing a hole. Here, Iron and Double climbed out of the dirt, both coughing as they dusted themselves off.

Double then turned and saw that no rocks had landed on the staircase he created earlier, making him gasp, "No! He got away!"

The unicorn started to run at the stairs, only for Iron to call out, "Don't bother."

"But-"

"Don't. Trust me on this." Iron interrupted as he gestured for Double to follow him. "Let's get back to town."

Double opened his mouth to ask why he was giving up, only to see a sudden flash of light to fly overhead. The stream of light caused a small boom of sound vibrate the canyon, making Double flinch, "Whoa! What was that?!"

"That's why we don't need to bother."





Meanwhile....

Wolf was in a full sprint, no longer stuck in the rocky terrain of the canyon. His hooves could feel the grass under them as his face was half scowl, half smile. "Double...you traitor." he grumbled as he felt the book and jewel in his cape. "Then again, if my other 'teammates' get caught like him, well...more money for me."

But as he continued to run, a smile starting to fully form on his face, his ears began to spike up. He could feel the ground slightly shake as he heard a small boom. The pony looked back, now seeing a bright flash of light flying over him. And as it flew over, the light suddenly struck down instantly in front of him. The sight made him come to a screeching halt, his grin now gone as his eyes went wide.

Out from the light was one Flash Sentry, a slight glare on his face as he pulled one of the light swords off his back. He didn't say a thing as the thief started to backpedal, "Wait...no...NO!"





A few hours later...

With all the fires now put out, the town went back to normal...or as normal as Ponyville can be considered. Currently, our heroes were all at the town jail cell, Flash now tossing Wolf into a cell alongside Lizard and Gorilla. After taking care of the fires and illusions, Lightning and Springer caught Gorilla at the train station, believing he could catch one despite the trains being put on hold earlier. Rainbow had managed to find Lizard running off to the east side of the town, and fired off one of Pinkie's new fuseless fireworks to signal Twilight, which she teleported the girls too. With all six there, they had no problem capturing the mare, safely putting her behind bars.

It was here that Iron returned with Double, telling everypony what had happened. Seeing what Double was, Twilight wrote to Celestia over what had happened, asking for advice over a judge for the unicorn. As she did this, Double was apologizing to the princess. "I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused. I know I helped steal that tome and-"

"Its fine." Twilight interrupted with a big kind smile, "You didn't hurt anypony, and that's what matters. Iron has vowed for you, and you helped us get the stolen property back." She then showed the book and diamond in her hooves, only to sigh as she saw the frown on his face, "However-"

"I know," Double muttered as he stared at the ground. "I still stole, and I'm gonna be sent to prison."

Flash shook his head, "Eh, you might get off easy. With the right judge, you could get off with community service."

"Maybe..." Double looked back up, only to see a confident smile on Iron's face. The sight made his frown try to disappear, "Whatever they decide...I...I'll accept. Once I've paid for my crimes, I can really start my life anew."

"And I'm sure it'll be a bright one," Fluttershy added as she patted his side. "I'm sure your magic has tons of uses instead of stealing."

Rarity nodded in agreement, "Indeed. Have you ever thought of going into show business? I just know your magic would work brilliantly for stage effects."

"Or you could become a party entertainer," Pinkie cheered. "Just think of all the fun things you could make to entertain everypony!"

Double's face started to show a smile at the mares' ideas, his gaze returning to Iron as he did a small bow, "Iron...Thank you. Thank you for showing me the right way to live my life. You were...you were right when you said that I decide how it turns out."

"It was my pleasure." Iron replied with a chuckling grin. "Come on, we'll setup something for ya so you don't have to stay in a cell with them."

Double shook his head at this, "If you don't mind...I'd like to talk with them." He pointed at Gorilla and Lizard, his face trying to express confidence. "You know...maybe I could help them. I know they'll be stuck in jail, but..."

"I understand." Iron responded while the others gave slight hesitation at the idea. Despite this, Iron quickly assured them that Double could be trusted.

As they agreed to this, the group decided to go back to the castle. While they trotted through town, Fluttershy spotted a frown on Iron's face. "Are you okay?" He just looked away, making a frown appear on her face.

"I just..." He turned to see if Flash was watching, his reply slowly coming out. "I just wish I could have been the one to take the leader down."

"Oh Iron..." Fluttershy put her head on his shoulder, "You should be proud of what you did. You helped Double do the right thing, and that's what matters."

"I know....I know." Iron responded as he thought back at the past two days, thinking how he saved Double. As he did this, he glanced back at Fluttershy, seeing a huge grin on her face. "Yeah...you're right. Who cares if Sentry got to have all the glory again."

"Excuse me?" They turned to see Flash, glaring with a raised eyebrow, "Did I do something to upset you?" This made Iron and Fluttershy sigh while the rest of the girls and Spike gulped at the reaction. The pegasi instantly noticed the reactions, making him growl at Iron, "Alright....come on, out with it. Don't think I haven't noticed you acting strange around me the last few days."

Springer and Lightning both blinked at this, their eyes glancing between the two knights before Twilight walked in front of them, "Alright, here's the deal."

One awkward conversation later...

Flash's eyes were now wide as he tried to glare at Iron, "Really?! That's your problem?!" He then turned to the other defenders, "Have you two been feeling like this as well?! That I'm butting in and taking all the glory?!"

Springer shook his head, "No...but I will admit I've been feeling a little...unchallenged the last few weeks."

"Same," Lightning added while scratching the side of his face. "Though I gotta admit, this is the first time in a while I've actually broken a sweat."

Flash let out a long sigh, "Why didn't you tell me?! Didn't we just go through talking about being more open?!"

"We did it because we were worried you'd feel guilty," Twilight instantly replied.

"And that you might start holding back," Iron continued while crossing his hooves, "Which we don't need you doing. You have your powers for this exact reason, and today proves how much we need you to use them."

"Maybe...but I don't want to make you feel useless. Heck, today proves how much I need you." Iron raised an eyebrow at this. "The only reason I was able to get Wolf was because you held him up. I never would have found him once he had gotten too far out of the canyon." He turned to Lightning and Springer, "And there was no way I was gonna be able to catch all three at the same time. Not only that, what about when I'm called out of town?! Like for the map or Royal Knight work. Somepony needs to keep this place in one piece."

The others all nodded at this as Iron spoke up, "Even so, stuff like that are few and far between. We'd just end up laying around waiting for something big to happen, which isn't a good use of my time."

"I..." Flash opened his mouth to reply, only to sigh, "Oh...yeah, that is a good point. Hmm....there's gotta be a way to fix this."

It was in that moment that Spike suddenly started coughing, a burst of magical smoke shooting out of his mouth. A scroll appeared next as Twilight caught and unfurled it. "Dear Twilight, excellent work on catching the Crimson Masquerades. I've already dispatched a guard troop to come and pick them up. I'll also help you with what you told me over the reformed member." She silently read the rest until she reached the last part. "Finally, I'm sorry for not responding sooner to your previous letter. Preparations for the Grand Galloping Gala and Fantasia Parade have been keeping me quite busy. As for your little issue, I was thinking it over and even told the problem to Grand. He had a suggestion that I think you might like to hear. Simply have the defenders work in shifts."

This idea made everypony raise eyebrows as Springer asked, "Shifts?"

"It does make perfect sense," Twilight replied while still reading. "Think about it. Celestia doesn't have every single one of her guards working at the same time. She spreads their work out."

"So...you're saying we could have Flash spend a day on patrol and the rest of us do it the next day?" Springer asked, which Twilight nodded at. "That sounds good to me."

Lightning clenched his hooves, "Yeah, and that'll give use all more time to train. Nice."

Flash nodded as well. "Not only that, if something happens that requires all of us, we can simply call each other."

Fluttershy turned to her boyfriend, "What do you think?"

Iron shined a big grin, "Let's do it. Starting tomorrow, we'll work in shifts." The defenders shook hooves and paw at this, everypony else happy the issue was resolved. That is, till Iron's grin got a cheeky twirl at it's ends, "But that starts tomorrow. Today..." he turned to Twilight and Flash, "We're gonna start working on some actual security features for your castle."

"Seriously?! After what happened to today?" Flash asked, only for Iron to lean in with narrowed eyes.

"Oh yeah. And you're helping me over every single bit Sentry. Remind me...who failed to keep the thieves out last night?!"

"Uh-"

"You! That means we need double security!" Iron gloated as Fluttershy prepared to rein him in before the knight went into full gloat mode. "Now come on, we need to setup everything."

Twilight poked her head in at this, "Iron, I have to decipher-"

"Everything!" Iron yelled as he restarted to trot back to the castle. "Let's go!"

The two sighed at the sight, Fluttershy apologizing at this. They told her to not worry about it as they followed him, smiles on everyponies' faces as they saw Iron shine a huge grin. Fluttershy had the biggest smile though, happy she knew the knight was not only happy, but his place in the village was secure