//------------------------------// // Robbed For Your Convenience // Story: Sentry for Hire // by daOtterGuy //------------------------------// The Fast-Pass convenience store was a small gas station along the highway leading from Canterlot to Manehattan. It was a squat brick building in a wide open field that stretched far off into the horizon in both directions with the only cover being sparse bushels of thick, entangled foliage. Flash and Timber were both hunched behind one such bush as they took stock of their target.  “So that’s the store we’re robbing?” Timber asked.  “Yeah,” Flash answered. He glanced at Timber’s outfit. “Why are you dressed like a lumberjack?” Timber glanced down. An open red flannel shirt over a white undershirt, jeans, and a cheap masquerade mask. “What do you mean? I thought this would be perfect since it's loose enough to wear in my werewolf form and fits my villain name.” “That being?” “Wereoak.” Timber nodded his head proudly. “You know like the tree but with ‘were’ in front of it since I’m a werewolf?” Flash was thankful his helmet disguised his disgusted expression. “Right then. You got a plan?” “Yep.” “What is it?” “Well, we’re gonna…” Timber bit his lip indecisively “... charge in and demand they give us the cash?” “Sounds good. On your order then.” “Wait, really?” “Yep.” “... What’s the catch?” “Nothing.” Flash smirked. “This is just a low-risk environment for you to get your feet wet in a real robbery. The point is for you to be the leader. I’ll step in if things go bad, but, for the most part, I’ll be following your lead.” “Okay, then I guess I should ‘wolf up’, huh?” Timber chuckled nervously. Flash didn’t join in. “Right, job time.” Howling as quietly as he could manage, Timber transformed, his body growing into his alternate form’s size. As he readied to leap into action, he flinched as a jolt of green energy zipped across his eyes. “You okay?” Flash asked.  “Yeah, I’m fine,” Timber replied. He shook his head. “Let’s do this.” Charging forward, Timber raced across the highway and toward the store. Flash lagged behind at a reasonable jog. Slamming the doors open, Flash followed Timber into the store and up to the counter. A teenager operated the register. They had the look of an all-day gamer that smoked three joints every hour and was semi-allergic to sunlight. “Can I help you, sir?” The cashier asked. Timber roared. “That’s not an answer” Taken aback by their blasé attitude, Timber replied uncertainly, “Um, well, I’m robbing you?” “... Really?” “Yes, really,” Timber retorted, offended.  “Huh, well, if you’re gonna do that, you should have made your demands first.” “I did that.” “No, you roared in my face.” Flash held back his snicker as he leaned against the counter by Timber. “I was trying to be threatening!” Timber slammed his hands against the counter. “Yeah, sure, bud.” The cashier waved a hand. “Though, you seem to be getting pretty worked up.” “I am!” “Is that because I’m not respecting your authority?” “Yes!” “Must be thirsty work.” “It is!” “Wanna buy a slush?” “Yes!” “That’ll be $5.99, bud.” Timber bought the drink, grabbed the cup, and stomped out of the store. Flash followed after him, standing by the simmering werewolf. A moment of silence followed, broken only by angry slurps from Timber. He threw his drink on the ground. “Dammit! This isn’t even a flavour I like!” “Looks like you’re the one that got robbed,” Flash remarked. “Shut up! I’m going back in there and taking that jerk’s money!” Timber turned on his heel and marched back into the store. “Good luck!” Flash called after him as he sat down on the curb and pulled out a crossword book. He started filling in a puzzle about types of horses as he hummed a merry tune. Finishing up his crossword, Flash got up off the curb and walked over to Timber who sat on the ground with his arms wrapped around his legs and whimpering, the remains of several dozen slushies surrounding him. He looked up at Flash, pouting and on the verge of tears. “We’ll work on it,” Flash said. Timber groaned.  “Alright, let’s review.” Flash slapped the board he’d set up in the cabin, Timber across from him with his phone at the ready to take notes. “First off, though your roar was solid, don’t open with that. Make your demands. Then, if they don’t cooperate, intimidate them.” Rapid typing sounds followed. “Second, you need to assess the area before charging in. Scope the building, and have an exit strategy. For something this small, you can go with the bare minimum, but you need to get in the habit of planning things out for the bigger jobs or you’ll regret it. “Third and final point, you forgot I was there. I’m your minion. Use me . You’re the supervillain, which means you need to manage. Utilize your resources efficiently, especially when you might be the only one capable of taking down a severe threat like a superhero.” After a few more rapid taps at his phone, Timber said, “Okay, I think I got all of that. Anything else?” “Ditch the lumberjack outfit,” Flash stated bluntly.  “What, why?!” Timber exclaimed. “You look ridiculous, and I once worked for a dinosaur that wore a top hat and gloves.” Timber looked ready to argue but instead caved in on himself. “... Okay. What do you suggest?” “I’ll make you something.” “You’ll what?!” “Why are you surprised? I made this suit myself. It will take a while to finish, but will be well worth the wait.” “Alright, then what are we going to do in the meantime?” “Work on what you’re lacking, and I got the perfect training plan for it.” “Hey, Warden?” Timber asked questioningly. Flash nodded to continue. “I’m a bit confused. Why are we watching all of these old videos?” Flash hit the pause on the tv remote for the private theater they had booked. On the screen was a scene of Chrysalis interrogating a bound target. They had a bucket of popcorn sitting between them and were both reclined in theater seats. “To learn,” Flash answered. “What, exactly?” “How to be a good villain.” Flash gestured toward the screen. “This is Chrysalis, one of the most well-known supervillains in the community. A master of intimidation through hard aggression. A skill you need .” “Wouldn’t it be better with a live demonstration or like training me to fight?” “I don’t know about you, but I don’t know too many people that would be down for being interrogated that won’t make things awkward for both of us,” Flash remarked dryly. “We’ll do some sparring and I’ll show you some fighting techniques since we have a while to go before you’re ready to try again, but, realistically, you have raw power already, it's the social aspect you’re lacking.” “So, the ‘how to villain’ part?” “Exactly.” Warden shot a finger gun at Timber. “You need to learn that, and the fastest way is to show you the best in the business doing their thing.” “So, you want me to copy what other villains do?” “Yep. Use their skills as they are, then start adjusting them into something that works for you. You don’t need to be the next Chrysalis, but it wouldn’t hurt to adapt her techniques.” “I guess that makes sense,” Timber conceded, still unsure. “Also, how did you get a private theater for this?” “Blackmailing Juniper Montage,” Flash replied. “... With what? I thought she’d gone clean?” “She told everyone most of what she’d done. There are still a couple of things that she would really like others not to know that I happened to catch her doing when I worked for her.” “That sounds ominous.” “Eh, it’s mostly creepy.” Flash looked down, bemused. “Also, I’ve been meaning to ask, but why have you been holding my hand this entire time?” Timber looked down at their entwined hands then jerked his own away, flustered. “Oh, shoot! Sorry, it’s a habit!” “From?” “Back when Twilight and I were dating, which… ugh, that whole thing was a bad idea from the start. What was I thinking, going out with one of the campers ?” Timber sunk in his seat with a groan. “Anyways, Twilight liked horror movies and I was a wimp, so she’d hold my hand through the whole film.” “That’s cute actually,” Flash said. “The holding hands during horror movies part, not the dating a camper thing.” “... Yeah.” Timber turned bright red and sunk further into his seat. “You know, if you really want to hold my hand while we watch movies, I don’t mind. Wouldn’t want you getting scared,” Flash teased. “Wouldn’t that be awkward since I’m your boss and all?” “I mean, if you acted like that, maybe, but you’ve already paid me for the job, and, at this point, I’m teaching you how to do this more than actually working for you.” “I guess, yeah…” Timber went quiet for a moment. “So, uh, why are you teaching me then? This seems above and beyond what I asked for.” “... I dunno. I guess I just like working with you.” “Really?” “Best answer I can give you,” Flash replied. “Now, pay attention, we got a bunch of tapes to get through before the end of today’s viewing session.” Timber sat up as Flash clicked the play button on the remote. As various villainous deeds unfolded across the screen, Timber entwined his hand in with Flash’s.  Timber slammed open the doors of Fast-Pass convenience. He strutted inside outfitted in a dark full body combat suit that stretched comfortably over his bulky werewolf form with a domino mask that covered his eyes, and a large jacket filled with internal pockets. His gaze scanned the store slowly before resting on the cashier, the same one from his last attempt. “Warden, grab as much as you can from the shelves.” Flash slipped past him, his bat slung over his shoulder. “On it, boss.” As Flash began to gather up random items into a bag, Timber stalked toward the counter. The cashier eyed him up and down. “So, here for another—” Timber slammed a sack down between them. “Empty the register and put the cash in here.” The cashier glanced at the bag and then back at Timber with a disinterested expression. “Yeah, sure, bud. So—” In one swift motion, Timber grabbed the cashier by the collar, lifted him off the ground, and bared his teeth in their face, a low guttural sound emanating from his throat. “Money. Now,” Timber demanded. He released the cashier who immediately got to work emptying the register and shoving the cash into the bag. Flash dumped his own sack filled with goodies next to Timber’s. “Got the goods, boss.”  “Head out back, secure our route, and start up the truck.” Flash gave a mock salute, then ran out the backdoor of the store, goodie bag in hand. He checked for any potential witnesses, then, when he found none, leaped into Timber’s jeep that had been parked out back earlier, and cranked the ignition while tossing his bag onto the backseat. Racing out the back door, Timber leaped through the open passenger window, tossed his own bag into the backseat then yelled, “Move it!” They wheeled out of the parking lot, racing toward the horizon and the Everfree Forest. Timber laughed as he maneuvered himself comfortably into his seat. “Did you see that?!” He slammed the dashboard. “That was amazing!” “Well done. Glad to see the video watching paid off. Tirek?” “Yeah.” Timber sunk in his chair, reverting to his human form. “His hyper-aggressive style seemed right up my alley.” A ping sounded off. Flash took out his phone and checked the message that showed up on the screen. “Nice, five stars. Checkers even said we were the best theft they’ve been through in months.” “Checkers? Who’s that?” Timber asked, confused. “And what do you mean by five stars?” “They were the cashier at the Fast-Pass, which doubles as a testing ground for villains to try stuff out.” “That wasn’t real?!” “Oh, it was, you just don’t end up in jail if you mess up since Fast-Pass is reimbursed by the Villain Collective.” Flash jerked his thumb at the bag of money in the backseat. “That money is all real. Consider it a welcome from the association.” “They’re different from Minion-For-Hire?” “VC is the association for the big-time crooks. Minion-For-Hire is mostly freelancers.” Flash hung his arm out the window, enjoying the wind whipping past. “I called in a favour to give it a try. Seems worth it with how much you improved.” “Hehe, yeah. Thanks for helping me out.” “No worries. All part of the job.” “Yeah… just part of the job,” Timber mumbled.  Flash glanced at Timber through the front view mirror. He frowned at Timber’s disappointed expression. He mulled over the idea of asking about it but ultimately decided not to.  They had the bank job to prepare for.