//------------------------------//
// Alternate Ending: A Lesson in Honesty 
// Story: "What's Yours is Mine!" or "Why Work When You Can Steal?!" 
// by -TheStoryteller- 
//------------------------------//

The day after Caper and Company had enjoyed their first successes on the Road, they were all feeling a bit cocky. So far, they'd met no real challenges, due largely in part to Mugger's muscle. Most ponies took one look at the burly Earth pony and gave up their goods and bits without a struggle, no doubt figuring the loss of property to be better than the loss of health, which of course worked in the robbers' favor.

Early in the morning of the next day, after sneaking into Town and enjoying a restful night of sleep at the Ponyville Inn and a fantastic breakfast courtesy of the inhabitant's "contributions," they were met by Rocky, who had come to check on their progress. Trusty smiled his toothiest smile up at him and said, "Check it out! We've made over a hundred bits already, and it's only been a day!" Both Caper and Mugger startled and looked at him when he mentioned that low number, but otherwise kept quiet. Trusty continued, "The Boss'll be right pleased, I'm thinking!"

Rocky stared at him. "Only a hundred? From this Town, I thought there'd be more by now?"

A trickle of sweat started to run down Trusty's head, but he kept his grin in place and replied, "Oh, you know, the week is still young! This place is chock full of rubes just beggin' to be parted from their bits!" He got up, placed his hoof on Rocky's shoulder, and led him toward the door. "Now, you go back and tell the Boss not to worry...he'll get his cut, and it will be huge! Bye now!" Rocky frowned, gave them all a suspicious glare, but then turned and left. Trusty sighed in relief, then rejoined his companions.

Keeping his voice low, Caper leaned in close and said, "Why in Celestia's Name did you lie to him?! You know we've made over a thousand bits!"

Trusty looked affronted. "What. Are you talking about?! I didn't lie! I said we 'made over a hundred bits!' Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't a thousand more than a hundred?"

Caper frowned. "Yes, but you gave him the impression we only have a hundred bits!"

Trusty smiled and took a last bite of his food. "I did no such thing. He drew that conclusion. I simply...hmm...failed to correct him." He wiped his mouth and stood. "Now we can stay here arguing, or we can get back out there and git rich! I vote we go!"

Caper looked at him with an unreadable expression as he and Mugger got to their hooves. As they were passing through the open Market, which was filled with vendors hawking their wares and was now bustling with shopping ponies, Caper asked, "Just out of curiosity, who named you 'Trusty'?"

His chest swelled with pride. "It's an old family name...full of well-earned respect and dignity..." He paused to wipe away a tear as they trotted along, "...me sainted Mum granted me the nickname, once she saw how honest and---ooo! just a second!" Quick as a snake he zipped behind an old mare who had dropped a few bits as she was leaving a shopping stall and nicked them up in a wink, then returned to his companions without missing a beat, "...and reliable I had become!"

"I...see..." Caper hung back with Mugger a few feet and whispered, "From now on, we keep the bits' bag..."



They soon found their spot where they had hidden the wagons and goods they'd stolen from the day before. Nothing had been touched, as they'd anticipated, as everything had been hidden so well, and if Caper's memory spell had held out still then nopony was yet the wiser. So they still had a few days to wring this Town dry before they had to move on, and, given the profit they'd made already, it looked to be a very lucrative few days indeed!

The Sun was in Her Golden phase, and just beginning to set that evening when they'd robbed their tenth wagon. All of them were in their hiding place, gleefully counting their "winnings" when they all heard a mare clear her throat and say, "Howdy!" The robbers looked at each other, then peered over the bushes. There, standing in the middle of the Road and wearing a Stetson hat and an...eerie smile, was that blonde mare from the day before..."Applesmack," or whatever her name was. Caper was the first to respond.

"Yes, Miss? Can...we help you?"

She shook her head, the...smile...never leaving her face. "Nah...but yew kin help yerselves."

Something in her voice and her face was extremely unnerving, but it wouldn't do to let her know that. Caper nodded to his cronies, then they all stepped into view, but not before Trusty whispered to him, "That's one of them Bearers! I told you she's trouble!"

Caper whispered back, never taking his eyes off the mare, "There's three of us, and one of her; how much trouble can she be?" He then straightened up and smiled, then said, "And how, pray tell, may we be 'helping ourselves,' Miss?"

The mare looked down, took a slow breath, removed her hat, then looked back up at them. The change in her eyes made them all step back. "Yew kin all clear outta here like the polecats yew all are...an' yew kin leave all the stuff yew stole!"

Mugger stepped forward. "Who says we stole anything, girlie? And who are you to tell us what to do?!"

The mare's eyes swiveled to him like gun turrets. "Mah friend Golden Harvest is missin' her crop which she had on this Road yesterday, as well as all her bits! Plus she's all loopy, like somepony cast a spell on her," she looked at Caper, "...some unicorn, Ah'm guessin'..."

Caper grinned. "Well, I guess you have us there, Miss. But you see, the problem we have is we like it here, and we're not going anywhere. So, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to run along like a good little filly, or, sadly, my big friend will have to "help" you change your mind."

The mare smiled once more. "Ah was hopin' yew'd say that." She reached down and picked up a small rock. "But...first thang's first." Then without warning, she tossed the rock up, spun on her heel, and kicked the rock with one of her back hooves. This sent the rock screaming through the air, where it crashed into Caper's horn! He in turn screamed in agony as he fell to his knees, while magic discharges sparked and flew from his cracked horn. He looked up at her as he held his horn.

"Why did you do that?!"

Her smile never wavered. "Ah know a thang or two 'bout unicorns. Y'all cain't cast no spells once yer horns have bin damaged, and Ah don't need no distractions while Ah'm dealin' wit dis here big fella..."

Mugger looked down at Caper and said, "You alright?"

But Caper shouted, "Don't worry about me!" He still held his horn with one hoof then pointed his other shaking hoof at the mare. "GET HER!!"

Mugger slowly turned, stared at her, and smiled. "Youse are gonna pay for that, girlie..." Then he rushed her.

For such a large stallion, he was surprisingly fast and agile. Not an ounce of fat was on him, due to his overactive metabolism and his strict workout regimen. No mere brawler, he had trained for years with some of the best instructors he could afford, until he had reached what he felt was his peak performance level, and could outrun, outsmart, and outfight any opponent.

It didn't do him one ounce of good.

His first mistake was to try to finish her with one punch. As the blow was incoming, she grabbed his hoof, again spun on her heel, then used his weight to flip him over her shoulder and slam him into the ground! He landed hard, as dust and debris flew in all directions into the air and the ground shook from the impact, making a sizeable crater in the ground and knocking the wind out of him. She then heaved him out of the hole and slammed him hard against the ground again. Crater. Then again. Crater. Then up into the air, where he spun in place like a pinwheel for a few seconds, giving her time to look behind him, pick out a decent spot, then turn and unleash her full years of apple-bucking back hooves into his center mass. He flew crashing through several trees, leaving Mugger-shaped holes in each one, until he finally fetched up against a big rock, slid down it, and fell into a boneless pile. His last word before losing consciousness was, "...ow..."

She then looked at Caper, who sighed, and said, "My turn now?"

She nodded and replied, " 'Fraid so."

As she closed on him, he held up a hoof and said, "I...don't suppose I could get you to start on my other friend first?"

The mare looked around. "Whut other friend?"



"...and so I got the heck out of there before I was next!" Trusty wiped the sweat from his face as he sat before the Boss and Rocky, still shaking. The Boss gestured for Rocky to lean down, then whispered in his ear for a few moments.

Rocky straightened up. "The Boss wants to know what happened to the bits you did get?"

Trusty put on his most winning smile. "You don't gotta worry about that, Boss!" He reached into one of his many pockets and took out a rather small bag of bits. "Here it is! Sorry it's so tiny, but as you know, I was telling you about that mare, and how she stole everything back from us...but good ole Trusty was able to hang onto some bits just for you!" He smiled again. "You're welcome!"

The Boss stared at him, took a puff from his cigar, then made a quick hoof motion to Rocky. Then Rocky walked up to Trusty, grabbed him by the neck, turned him upside down, then began shaking him.

"Hey! What gives?! What are you doing---" Trusty shouted but stopped when several huge bags of bits fell out of his pockets.

As he hung there upside down, Trusty grinned again and said, "Oops?"