//------------------------------//
// Green With Hint Of Black 
// Story: A Clover's Challenge 
// by dudenotactive 
//------------------------------//

Shamrock Clover groaned, his face planted on the countertop, just next to the cash register. He screamed, but all it gave him was swift smack on the back of his head from his superior. Clover could hear Cheddar silently complaining as she walked away. 

Why is our hero acting in such a way? The answer was simple. 

He was bored. 

Work was slow today, there were barely any customers at all. Only a few regulars, nothing new. And the only one who ever held a conversation with him was the old pony that worked as the janitor of this joint, Dusty Broom. He groaned once more as he raised his head, his eyes were focused on the front door, waiting patiently for something that would spice things up. Clover wished that some monster would pop into the restaurant and wreak havoc, and Clover would save the day like a hero. 

But sadly, his wish would not be granted. Luckily, something different had entered the building. 

Clover raised a brow. A very unclean mare had just walked through the door, her blue mane was frizzled, and her coat was dirty. Shamrock would've thought the mare was homeless, if it wasn't for the big pouch of bits in her mouth. 

The mare looked around as she went towards the counter, her eyes bouncing around the place as if she was new to this kind of business. But once her eyes had landed on Clover, she froze. The mare unconsciously dropped the pouch on the countertop and her mouth was agape.

Clover eyed her carefully, unsure why she was just standing there. "Miss?" His word had brought her back from the back of her own mind, she shook her head clear and smiled sheepishly. 

"Y-yeah!?" She blurted out, sweat dripping down from her brow. 

"Do you want something?"

"Of course! I uh..." She paused for a second, she looked over her shoulder to see a stallion with a mutton chop styled facial hair with a thick moustache. The stallion was old enough to be Clover's father, but not too old. His coat was grey, and his mane was brown with a few greying areas. A red cap was on his head, and his right hoof was holding a broom. 

The mare stared at him blankly as the old pony was sweeping the floor behind her, he then cleared his throat once their eyes met. "Listen kid, could you hurry up? You're kinda spreading dirt everywhere."

"Oh come on Dusty," Clover waved at him with a careless hoof. "let the girl order some pizza."

Dusty rolled his eyes at him. "Fine, but you better order a lot kid, you look like you need the extra calories."

The old stallion continued to sweep the floor behind the mare and made sure every speck of dirt was in the dustpan. She turned towards the cashier and tried to speak, but she froze once more when her eyes set themselves on Clover. "Keep calm, keep calm..." She thought to herself as she opened her mouth to make her order. "He doesn't know you, he has never ever met you or anyone you know..."

"Have I seen you from somewhere?"

"Takemymoneypleasedon'thurtme!"

The whole room went silent, all eyes looked over toward the cashier and the scrawny mare. Dusty continued to sweep, uncaring for the sudden shift in the atmosphere from normal to awkward. The mare blushed and shied away from the attention. "O-one large haywaiian pizza, please."

Quicker than any eye could follow, Clover worked on the register with his hooves tapping on the keys. "Anything else?" The mare shook her head. "That'll be 258 bits!"

The mare nudged the pouch on the countertop, Clover quickly took it and brought out the exact amount of bits and pushed the pouch closer to her. He made sure the mare saw how much he had taken and counted it in front of her. Clover was trying to keep an honest business and he would rather not get in trouble. 

"Your order will be finished in fifteen minutes, feel free to wait in one of our free tables!" Clover offered, Dusty sent him a glare knowing full well that he had to clean the table after she was gone. To which Clover only shrugged his shoulders in return to his glare. 

The mare nodded, with the receipt in her hoof, she had walked over to the one of many tables in the building, and sat waiting for her order. "So what do you think?" Clover looked over to the janitor. 

"What?" Clover asked. 

"Girl is as nervous as me on my first date. Something is up, and I'm curious about what makes her so jumpy." The old janitor pointed out. 

Clover narrowed his eyes. "Maybe she stole that pouch..."

Dusty shook his head. "Can't be, she brought a lot of bits here for some pizza, a whole pizza to be accurate. That mare doesn't look like she could finish the pizza herself, there could be a few more ponies she is gonna meet up with later."

"You think she's being pressured to buy pizza for her friends?"

"Probably, or I'm just old and bored, the day is really slow and the usual customers aren't here yet." Dusty sighed before facing Clover. "Anyways, I got myself some tickets for the local theatre, there's this interesting play next month that I'm sure would be very exciting to watch."

"Are you... asking me out?"

"What!? Heavens no, I'm as straight as Celestia's horn!"

Clover sighed in relief. "Oh thank god, I'm not interested in guys also... So, who do you plan on taking then? Your wife?"

"Nah, she's dead to me. I'm aiming for a fruit a little more fresher than an old rotting mango." He leaned closer to Clover with a grin. "I'm gonna see if the boss is interested."

"Dusty, you're old enough to be her father, I doubt she'd be interested in you, let alone an employee of hers."

"Bah! We'll see." Dusty had pretended to be working so he could chat with Clover a little longer. "Heard you were late last time, something about strawberry jam and timberwolves." He grinned. 

"Uh... yeah! Nasty timberwolves kidnapped me because I was a messy eater." Clover chuckled nervously. 

The old janitor shrugged his shoulders. "Weird, first time I'm hearing about those beasts being attracted to strawberries. Usually they go after sap, or honey." That's when his grin shifted into a smile. "You were out chasing monsters, weren't you?"

"Is it that obvious for you?"

"Yup, I know you Shamrock, and just take my advice. Don't. You're still young, you still have time, don't just go recklessly charging into the Everfree. The chances you would ever come back isn't slim, sure, but there's still a chance."

"Hey, if I ever get stuck in a pinch, then I'm sure someone would come to save me, like Steel! He always has my back."

"And if he doesn't?"

Clover smiled brightly. "Then you would come to my rescue."

This got a laugh from the janitor. "Yeah, sure, why not. If Steel doesn't show up, I'll come running."

And speaking of Steel, the unicorn had just entered the building, he went straight over to the cashier. "Sup guys!" He greeted, but then his eyes noticed a particular mare. Steel faced Clover and tapped his right hoof against the floor then he tapped his chin. 

Clover stared at Steel oddly, the unicorn groaned and repeated the action, but he was answered with the confused look Clover was giving him. "Are you hungry or something?" Clover spoke. 

"He's asking about the blue headed mare alone at the table." Dusty whispered to Clover. "You know, the one covered in dirt?"

"Then why didn't you say so?"

Steel groaned louder. "Because I didn't wanna sound rude. So what's up?"

Clover shrugged his shoulders. "Just some random mare, never seen her before though, but I feel like I did actually."

"Yeah, but we can't really say she's new, we are not Pinkie Pie who basically knows everyone in town." Dusty pointed out. "We shouldn't really talk about ponies, it's rude and we should just mind our own business."

Steel nodded. "Alright. So how's the family?"

Dusty sighed once more. "They're fine, nothing much new."

"Ahem, are you gonna buy something Steel?" Clover waited patiently. 

"Oh, right." Steel coughed into his hoof. "Just lasagna, I'm also in a hurry."

"Really?" Dusty smiled. "Meeting a pretty girl?"

"No, I'm just going to speak with an old friend from afar."

Dusty smirked mischievously and winked. "Sure, an old friend."

"Get your mind out of the gutter old man, it's just gonna be two ponies talking about old times."

"Sure it is." Dusty chuckled deeply.

"Ugh, whatever. Hey, can you start my order now?"

"Oh sure, just let me take this to the... kitchen. I forgot to tell them to make the haywaiian!" As fast as lightning, Clover dashed towards the kitchen. 

"Did he really just get distracted?" Steel turned towards the old janitor. 

Dusty shrugged his shoulders. "Well that's on him. Guess I'll go back to my work."

"Alright, I'll just go wait then..."




Crimson stared at the pizzeria from the branches of a tree that was close enough, his eyes focused on the clear glass doors, waiting for Squire. Soon enough, after twenty minutes, she emerges from the establishment. She carefully trotted along the dirt road with the pizza box balancing on her back. He quickly dropped out of the tree and down on the grass, he quickly dived behind the tree itself, hiding himself from the public eye. 

He waited a little longer until Squire was close enough. "You sure took your time." The mare froze, she turned her head towards the tree. 

"I-it's not my fault, I ran into... him."

Crimson winced in shock. "Impossible, I didn't see him enter and leave all morning."

"No, he works here." She took a step closer. 

"Don't get close!" Squire froze on her spot. "Eyes forward, pretend I'm not here." She did as he directed. "Good. Now, did he recognize you?"

"No, he did say that he thinks he had seen me before, but that's very unlikely since I have never set a hoof onto this town or anywhere near him before." She reported her experience.

Crimson smirked. "Good, take that pizza back to camp, I'll be right behind you."

Crimson Bolt scaled the tree and started tailing Squire from tree to tree. His light steps helped him from traversing the branches of the trees. "Anything else to report?" He asked her as he moved through the leaves. 

"Um, he seems to be very close to the janitor of the place. I think his name was Dusty Broom."

"I'll look into that, anymore?"

"Oh, there was this Steel fellow, a white unicorn with a pink mane. He seems to be the target's best friend from what I have seen." She paused for a second. "Oh, his cutie mark is a silver seven. I think he's a gambler."

"Steel huh? We better keep an eye open and find out who these two are to the target." Crimson stopped in tracks, he snapped towards behind them with a crossbow raised. "Keep moving casually, and pretend that you don't know me."

Squire didn't question it, she trotted along through the dirt road heading straight to her camp. 

As for Crimson, he eyed the trees that he had used to travel, now it hosted something sinister. He heard a branch snap from the nearest tree, the leaves shook as something entered the thicket. Crimson held his breath as he moved the crossbow and pointed it towards the noise. He made no sound, he listened to the wind for anything that he deems dangerous. 

"I know exactly where you are!" A voice boomed from behind him, Crimson dashed away in time for a very sharp row of claws to tear the branch to pieces. He fell off the branches and landed on the ground. The unicorn was not hesitant, his crossbow trained on the anomaly in the tree. "Impressive, my friend." The creature spoke as he descended down to Crimson's level. "But you will not be lucky, again." The way he spoke was calm, and collective, he was not bothered by his mistake and the fact that Crimson was still standing. 

The creature was obviously a griffon, but his body was covered in black. A cloak that hid him from the world, a tight suit underneath, a large brim hat with a flat top. Gloves that had holes for his sharp talons. And finally, the only thing that isn't black, a white mask that resembles a plague doctor's. The most intimidating part of this griffin was the single glowing red dot in one of the black lenses of the mask.

"Perhaps an introduction will... lighten the mood." The griffon bowed his head. "I am Gunner, at your service." There was a short pause between them. "It is customary to introduce oneself when the other is finished."

The unicorn scoffed. "Crimson Bolt, don't forget that after I turn you into a pin cushion."

"Such hostility, my friend, this is merely a very strange meeting between two... skilled creatures. So please, aim for the head, and I'll do the same." Gunner brandished his talons, his cloak shifted to the gust of wind. 

Crimson tried to make a feint, but Gunner showed no reaction, the griffon was still as a statue. His glowing red eye stared deeply at Crimson's soul, Crimson may not be able to see it, but he knows that Gunner was grinning under his mask. 

The crossbow shot up and sent out a single bolt, Gunner ducked down below it as it sailed and then dashed towards Crimson with both of his claws out. Crimson only had a second to dodge as Gunner cleared the distance quicker than the eye could see. Using his magic, Crimson had pulled himself away from the deadly griffon, loading another bolt as he did so. Another shot was launched, but Gunner was still quicker, Crimson needed a new approach or else he would be done for. 

"It appears that you do not know any magic spells, for a unicorn that is very rare." Crimson gritted his teeth, Gunner had noticed his lack of magic usage.

"Damn it, there goes plan B." Crimson thought to himself as he reloaded his weapon. "Well, I never met a griffon who's pretty nice like you, usually the griffons I meet are always so rude."

"Ah yes, the stereotype," Gunner snickered. "I always loved that about all races, it makes us all so unique from each other."

Gunner's head shifted towards his left, he chuckled loudly as a pony covered in armor burst through the bushes with a very large sword in their hooves. "Die monster!" He shouted as he used all his strength to throw his sword down at Gunner. 

But to both the armored pony and Crimson's surprise, the sword simply phased through the griffon and embedded itself into the ground. "I'm guessing that unclean mare from earlier is a part of whatever this is." Gunner hopped away from Silver, the sword still buried deep in the soil. "That is the only logical conclusion explaining why you're here, Mr. Knight."

Crimson scowled. "Go anywhere near her and I'll hunt you down like it's duck season."

"I can tell that she isn't a fighter, and I promise to you and this... armored pony, that I will not harm a single hair on her head." Both looked surprised to hear it from Gunner, but they didn't believe his words at all. "While the two of you on the other hand, I shall cleanly dispose. Do not worry, as a professional, I shall make it quick."

"Excuse me, but are you three LARPing?" All three heads turned towards Clover as he stood at the edge of the road with a bag of fries in his hoof. 

"Retreat!" Silver ordered Crimson, and both scrambled away.

Clover stared at the shrinking duo, the one in full armor was very loud as he ran away. "What?"

"Yes," Gunner took a step closer to Clover. "We are indeed LARPing. But it seems they had other things to be done, so it is best for me to leave. Enjoy your lunch, Shamrock Clover."

Before Clover could even question how Gunner had already known his name, the griffon unfurled his wings and shot to the sky. And as he ascended into the air, a trail of smoke was left, then the griffon disappeared into the clouds above. Clover tried to see where he had gone to, but his eyes were not as great as a hawk's.

"Huh, I want to join in, seems like a lot of fun." Clover muttered to himself. 




"They have been gone for too long." Squire couldn't keep herself from fidgeting in place, her hooves moved erratically as she stared towards the direction of the town. 

"Meh, probably dead." Hunter chuckled as she stoke the campfire. 

"You do realize that if Silver is dead, then he can't pay you." Fang pointed out to her. 

"And I doubt sir Silver Heart would ever lose!" Squire added. 

Just then, the two ponies in the subject had barreled through the bushes and into their encampment. Crimson collapsed on the spot, while Silver approached the rest of the party. "We have a problem."

"Oh, was the monster too tough for you, oh sir knight?" Hunter jeered, Silver's temper started to run thin.

"It wasn't a monster, it was a griffon named Gunner."

Hunter froze. "Wait, Gunner? Did he dress like a plague doctor?"

"Do you have information?" Silver didn't ask her, he demanded it. 

Hunter scoffed at his disrespect, but she didn't want to displease her employer. "He's a mercenary, worked for Jackpot Star, another big name back home."

"I have heard of Jackpot Star, but not about this griffon."

"Long story short, he should not be here at all."

"Unless Jackpot Star themself is here..." Silver finished for Hunter. 

The whole camp went silent, Fang gasped, Squire nearly fainted, but she steeled herself. Crimson slammed his hoof against the ground in frustration. While Hunter only snickered at the thought. 

"What is so funny, Hunter?" Silver approached her. 

"Nothing..." She stood up to leave, but was stopped by Silver's hoof. 

"Must I remind you who the leader is, or shall I just end you here, mercenary?" His face was unreadable under the helmet, but Hunter knew that he was glaring at her with the fury of a thousand suns.

"No, you don't need to." Hunter sat back down, clearly peeved off about what had just happened. 

"Good," Silver faced the rest of the party. "though I do not trust this Gunner character, he had promised to not harm Squire. From now on, you shall scout for us and see to it that our target will not know about us. We had a very dangerous close encounter with him."

"I understand, sir Silver Heart!" She saluted to the knight, with that, she rushed off to attend Crimson. 

"Are you sure we should send her into enemy lines?" Shadow Fang questioned the knight, she tried not to speak too loudly for Squire to hear. 

"Yes, unlike you four, Squire is... disposable. I can't risk any of you getting hurt unless I devise a perfect plan to capture the target."

"Isn't that kinda harsh?"

Silver sent a glare at the rogue. "I have promised to the gods themselves that I shall see to it that our mission is successful. I will not let Jackpot Star hinder my chance. Not now, not ever."

With all things said and done, Silver turned to leave for his tent, his armor rattled as he walked past Hunter who had a displeased look under her hood. While Fang couldn't help but feel... divided with Silver's plan. It was unfair to her eyes, but she couldn't really give her full opinion after her blunder with her first attempt. 

Meanwhile, Crimson was exhausted, he had ran all the way here starting from the pizzeria, to the northern side of town. To the west, east, back to north, and then to the camp. It was the only way to be sure that the griffon didn't follow them. Now that he knows that there is another dangerous creature in town, Crimson had to make a note to himself that he needed to keep an eye out when he sneaks around town. The griffon was strong, he could tell, but Crimson was sure that he was quicker than him.

As for Squire, she was just excited to finally be a part of a plan. She just hopes that she doesn't screw it up.