Skyfall’s apartment was normally a tidy home with a place for everything and everything in its place. Today, however, it resembled the site where a hurricane and a nuclear bomb had an ill-tempered baby.
Glasses and plates littered the floor as flipped over furniture landed yards away from its original position. The only thing that remained was a deadbolted table in the middle of the living room, though not from lack of effort. Skyfall frantically circled the guardian table as his pursuer did everything she could to wring his neck like a soaked towel.
Cloudchaser leered menacingly at her prey, making every appearance of a lion ready to pounce. Skyfall, shaking nervously, glared back while doing everything he could to stay out of reach from death’s hooves.
As Cloudchaser prepared to make another lunge, a voice rang out from behind her.
“STOP!”
For the second time that day, the two fighters stared at Flitter as she berated their aggressive behavior. “Cloud, stop attacking Skyfall. You could seriously hurt him if you keep that up!”
Cloudchaser glared at the quivering stallion and growled, “I know. That was the plan."
“What is wrong with you ponies? That’s the second time you’ve almost killed me today!” Skyfall yelled, blood dripping down his bashed muzzle and cut cheek.
Before Cloudchaser could make another attempt at murder, Flitter grabbed her sister’s wing in her muzzle and dragged her away from the table. “We already talked about this when we got into town. He didn’t do anything wrong, and we don’t have any proof either way.”
“Yeah, but he’s right here!” Cloudchaser shot back. “We both know what he did. Let’s just take him down now and get the cup-thingy before he knows what hit him.”
Flitter shook her head. “No, Cloud, we can’t.”
“Sure we can!” Cloudchaser argued back. “We outnumber him, and he doesn’t have any equipment on either.”
“I meant that we shouldn’t. We don’t have any claim over that goblet. He found it first, so he gets to claim the reward. That’s always been the rule among treasure hunters, and we have to follow it if we want to keep our reputation.”
Cloudchaser dismissively waved the word away. “Screw reputation! I don’t think anyone would care if we took it. He should have thought about that before lying to our faces about the cup’s whereabouts.”
“Regardless of what happened afterward, it doesn’t change the fact that we don’t have any right to the goblet. I’m sure you’ve already thought through every way he could have wronged us and came up with nothing. That’s why you didn’t go back to the guards to report him.”
Cloudchaser gaped for a few seconds, looking between Flitter and Skyfall for a place to turn. Finding none, she let out a yell of frustration and stormed out of the wrecked place, slamming the partially dented door behind her.
Flitter sighed tiredly and turned to look at Skyfall who was mopping up the blood on his face with a kitchen rag. “Skyfall, I’m really sorry about what just happened. Are you okay?”
He gave her an appreciative nod before dropping the bloody towel into the sink. “Yeah, I’m fine. I’ve taken worse hits than this before.” Looking around his destroyed home, he mumbled, “Though the same can’t be said about my stuff. She was really trying to get me.”
“Yeah, Cloud was really looking forward to buying some meat with the reward money. We haven’t been able to eat much of it for a while, so she was really disappointed when we weren’t able to get the goblet.”
Skyfall gave a nervous glance toward his bedroom. “Oh, I wasn’t expecting her to like meat since most ponies can’t stand it.”
“Well, she must have gotten a tooth for it somewhere since she’s loved it ever since we were kids. She always tells me the reason she’s so much stronger than I am is because of the protein in her diet.”
Sky nodded in affirmation. “She’s not wrong about that. I’ve been eating meat for a while and have definitely felt myself gaining muscle. I hope I can find my groceries in this mess. I had just gotten back from the market before you girls…uh... came to visit.”
Flitter adopted a guilty expression as she remembered what Cloudchaser had done to his property. “Do you need any help cleaning up? I’m really sorry for doing this to your home.”
Skyfall shook his head at her offer. “Don’t worry about it. I was actually thinking of doing a little redecorating anyways.”
She giggled into her hoof and made her way towards the door. “Very funny. Well, I guess I’ll leave you to that. I need to go make sure Cloud doesn’t try to sneak through your window later tonight.”
“Thanks, Flitter. Don’t forget to tell her that there’s a cover charge for staying over at my place.” He snickered at his own joke.
“Also, just call me Sky from now on. Skyfall was my grandfather’s name.”
Cloudchaser didn’t say a single word the entire rest of the night. Flitter suspected she was brooding over several different ways to get revenge on Skyfall, each one more horrible and depraved than the last. Trying to prevent another conversation with the town guards, she distracted Cloud from her morning schemes with a more pressing matter.
“Hey, sis, do you have any extra bits for the rent this month?”
Cloudchaser looked up from her sadistic fantasies to give her a worried frown. “Not a single coin. I wasn’t expecting the rainstorm to flood the ancient ruin for so long.” Her expression darkened as she growled, “Of course, if it weren’t for somepony, we would have 2,000 bits to fall back on to make it through.”
Rolling her eyes, Flitter didn’t bother to correct her sister again since it became apparent that nothing short of a miracle would ever make her forgive Skyfall for his supposed transgression.
Turning back to the budget sheet on her desk, she recounted all their expenses just to make sure there wasn’t a discrepancy with the massive number staring back at her. “Well, at least our grocery costs are pretty low. If we ration out how much we eat, we might actually be able to afford rent until the ruins clear up!”
Cloudchaser froze in place as Flitter delivered the ominous news. “Oh no...”
Flitter’s eyes narrowed as her sister avoided eye contact. “What do you mean, ‘oh no’?”
Rubbing her hooves together, Cloudchaser sheepishly returned her sister's appraising gaze. “Well, I didn’t think it would be a big deal. I mean, come on, what are the odds that the ruins would get flooded and our supplies would need replacing AND we’d get shafted 2,000 bits all in the span of one day?”
Preparing for the worst, Flitter gripped the table and asked again, dreading the answer. “What… Did… You… Do?”
Starting to sweat, Cloudchaser nervously backed away from her sister’s threatening aura. “It’s not a huge deal. I just took some bits to buy a new sword sheath. My old one was getting caught when I tried to pull my sword out, and I didn’t want to get killed because a wardrobe malfunction prevented me from using my weapon.”
Flitter stared for several seconds before speaking in a contained yet dangerous tone. “You do realize that we had a combined 900 bits between the two of us, right? And that our rent alone is 700 of that?"
Cloudchaser's dry lips trembled at the look she was receiving. Feeling their world crumbling around her, Flitter prepared to hear the worst and asked, “How much was it?”
Just as Cloudchaser was about to speak her last words, a knock on the door interrupted the interrogation. Jumping up, she sprinted toward the front yelling, “Don’t worry; I’ll get it!” Breathing freely again, she silently promised to thank whoever had spared her from her sister's encompassing wrath.
“Hi, what can I do for yo-” Cloudchaser started before cutting herself off at the sight of the knocker.
“Um, hi,” Skyfall stumbled. "I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting that kind of welcome from you, Ms. Sword Swinger.”
Cloudchaser’s face contorted into a growl as she slammed the door on one of his hooves. Luckily, he was wearing his metal hoof bracers at the time, but it still hurt like Tartarus. “Ow! What the hay!? Is that how you treat everypony that knocks on your door?”
“Only the ones I don’t want to see,” she shot back, preparing to slam the door on his face when another voice called out.
“Cloud, who is it?” Flitter’s shock at seeing Skyfall again so soon after yesterday’s scuffle evaporated as his injured hoof came into view. “Oh my Celestia, are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Skyfall assured her. “The bracer took most of the blow, so I don’t think my hoof is broken.”
Flitter gave another sigh of relief before noticing a square package laying on the ground. “Oh, Sky, I think you dropped something.” She offered the parcel to his uninjured hoof, but he shook his head and pushed it back towards her.
“No, I was actually coming over to give that to you. Think of it as a welcoming gift from a new neighbor.”
Gazing curiously at the present, Flitter lifted the lid until it fell away, leaving both sisters open-mouthed at its contents. Sitting in the middle of the cushioning was the golden goblet of house Hooflepuff in all its radiant glory. Bright sunbeams reflected off the golden cup and blinded them for a moment before dimming to its usual shimmer.
Cloudchaser gaped at the glimmering artifact as Flitter looked up in alarm. “Sky, are you sure you meant to give this to us? You must know what it is and how much it’s worth, right?”
Skyfall smiled wryly as he rubbed the bruised spot on his hoof. “Yeah, I saw the bounty poster in town hall. I figured that you two could use it more than I could right now with the flood cutting off the ruins.” Seeing the trepidation and scorn growing on the two sisters' faces, he added, “If you have to, think of it as an apology for the way I tricked you two last night.”
Flitter waved off his apology with a hoof. “Oh no, you don’t need to apologize. It’s smart to be wary of strangers, especially in our line of wor--”
"HOLD IT!”
This time, Cloudchaser was the one that silenced the others as she glared suspiciously at Skyfall. “What are you playing at?”
Flitter gasped at her sister’s rude accusation towards their generous neighbor. “Cloud, don’t be rude! Sky just offered us a really valuable relic that he had every right to keep for himself.”
“That’s exactly why I’m so suspicious,” she retorted, still eyeing him with distrust. “Back in the cave, he did everything he could to hide it from us, but now all of a sudden he’s Robin Hoof giving us thousands of bits like they grow on trees? Something’s not right here.”
Flitter prepared to reprimand her sister again, but Skyfall cut her off with a hoof. “No, it’s okay. She’s not wrong about me having another motive.”
He pulled a flier from his pack and held it out. "I’m not sure if you girls know, but there’s going to be a new dig site being excavated after the flood passes. The archaeological community announced that there’s going to be a ton of buried treasure, so more treasure hunters are going to be in the area soon.”
“Okay, so why are you bringing this up?” Cloudchaser questioned, still cautious of his intentions.
“As more hunters show up, we’re more likely to run into each other as we search for the same loot. I’m sure I don’t need to remind you what happens when treasure hunters fight for gold.” The three of them flashed back to the moment Skyfall rammed his shield into Cloudchaser, and Flitter had tried to turn him into Swiss cheese. “I just thought that if we teamed up and worked together, we’d all have a better chance of making it out alive with some bits to our names.”
The two sisters glanced at each other before Flitter clarified, “Basically, you want to form a search party together to fend off any competing treasure hunters that might attack us during the expedition, right?”
“Yep!” he confirmed. “I know you two are experienced treasure hunters and capable fighters, so I figured you were my best bet for trustworthy partners. Oh, and don’t worry about the goblet. I’m not expecting you to decide now, and you can still claim the reward whether you accept the deal or not. I just wanted to present the offer before next week when the dig site opens up to explorers.”
Flitter smiled and tucked away the golden cup. “Well, we’re grateful for your offer and generosity. Cloud and I will need to discuss this for a bit, but I promise we’ll let you know our answer before the mine opens.” Turning to Cloudchaser, she murmured, “Go on, say ‘thank you’.”
Cloudchaser bit her lip and averted her gaze. Eventually, she swallowed her stubborn pride and grumbled, “Yeah… sure… thanks I guess.”
Skyfall smirked and raised his injured hoof. “No problem, Cloud. Just promise not to smash my hoof in anymore doors, okay?”
Cloudchaser glowed beet red and spluttered before growling, “My name is Cloudchaser. Only my friends can call me Cloud.”
His grin only widened as he trotted back to his own apartment. “I hear you. I have to go now, so get back to me soon with your answer. See you later, Flitter. You too… Cloud~”
Cloudchaser gave one more indignant grunt before his door shut behind him. As the disgruntled mare imagined all the horrible things she wanted to do to him, Flitter began giggling at her sister's frustration.
“What’s so funny?” Cloudchaser barked.
Flitter calmed down enough to quip, “Well, it seems you and Sky are getting pretty close to each other. When should I schedule the wedding for?”
“Not funny, sis,” Cloudchaser groaned, knowing the joke wasn’t going away any time soon. “I don’t even want to think about getting married to that jerk. Just the thought of it makes me want to hurl.”
Flitter burst into another fit of giggles, trotting back inside to hang the flier and store the goblet away for collection.
“Hey, and since when do you call him ‘Sky’?”