Ever since the little "incident" at the castle, Prince Blueblood was the complete laughing stock of the nobility. Every time his name reached an ear of a Canterlot citizen somepony was always bursting out in laughter. He actually overhead a few citizens speaking of their bathrooms as a "Blueblood carpet". It had taken the most expensive carpet cleaner several days to finally get the smell out.
Blueblood glanced over at a small clocktower on the streets. It was nearing midnight, and it was about time. Taking in a deep breath of commoner air, the prince trotted over to a small cafe that was still open. His noble eyes caught site of its boorish and cheap exterior and he choked on his own spit.
"I should have been the one to pick the meeting place... such rubbish!" Blueblood growled to himself before stomping his way over to the door. A bell rung, announcing that he had just stepped into the place.
"This place REEKS of the lower class... " He muttered softly to himself. Small, circular tables were placed around the cafe along with a few booths. In one of the booths sat a group of teenaged colts and fillies, chatting it up lively. And older pony was sitting at one of the circular tables and hardly looked like the pony he was trying to find.
Clearing his throat, the prince trotted softly up to the counter and rung a silver bell. In a few moments a young mare made her way over to him.
"Hello! How can I help you, sir?" She asked, smiling wide.
"Ah, yes... " Blueblood had a hard time trying to form words that a commoner could understand, "I'm looking for, " Blueblood slapped a single golden bit onto the counter, "A Mr. Ben Franklin?" The mare's smile dropped and her eyes widened.
"A-Ah, okay... " She stuttered, glancing around nervously, "Um... j-just please take a seat over at that booth." She pointed and Blueblood trotted over to it. He stared at the seat before grimacing, placing his royal rump onto its poorly crafted surface.
And so, Blueblood waited. His clean, pampered hoof was tapping onto the rough wood of the table, being careful not to get any dirt stains on his limited edition golden horseshoes from Germaney. He could taste cheap coffee in the air, his face cringing as he silently grimaced at the horrid odor.
After a few painful moments, he heard the hoof steps of somepony sitting in the booth behind him. He didn't turn to look and made sure not to pull any attention to himself.
"It's dangerous to meet in person." A deep, intimidating voice called behind him, "Say what you need to say and go."
"Ah- yes, " Blueblood suddenly grew intensely nervous, "I'm here about the-uh- contract." Being new at this, Blueblood grabbed a slip of paper in his hoof and let it hang loosely at his side. The pony behind him nonchalantly took it from him.
"It's about that ape-beast all the Canterlot ponies are going crazy about, " Blueblood began, "I assure you that the rumors are true. The creature itself is dangerous and very hostile... not to mention ugly, rotten, horrific, terrible-
"Enough with the insults." The pony replied, "I need information."
"Right... " Blueblood coughed, "You would know what it would be if you saw it. It has no coat and stands upright on two legs. It has a mane that covers the top of its head and half its face, and it has five digits on its hoof. It can also call upon three razor sharp claws from its hoof."
"Sounds unique... " The pony replied, "Catching something like that would fetch a hefty price... "
"I've already transferred the bits into your account, " Blueblood said, "The rest will be transferred when you've finished. I don't know the creature's location or anything else about it... but that slip of paper will tell you exactly where you can find the rest of the information regarding the creature and its current whereabouts. As soon as you capture it, bring it straight to me. I'll deal with it personally."
"You must hold some grudge to do this." The pony responded, "You want me to get information through the elements of harmony?"
"It's the only way." Blueblood whispered, "Unless you want to get it through means of Celestia and Luna."
"I'll keep that in mind." The stranger grumbled behind him, "Are you sure they know of the creature's status?"
"I'm not certain... " Blueblood winced, "But its the only lead I've got that won't send me to the moon."
"Fair enough." The pony answered. He felt him stand up from his booth.
Blueblood heard the pony walk out of the cafe and gritted his teeth.
"Nopony... EVER humiliates Prince Blueblood and gets AWAY with it... "
"Ugh... it's already the first days of fall and leaves are ALREADY filling the streets! While I do think they are pretty and wonderful, they just get so... so messy!" Rarity waved her hoof to prove her point, "It's also getting so cold! But that means I can break out my boots soon... yes, that is nice. I could also come up with a new line of winter wear... something warm AND stylish! I shall get right to it as soon as I can!"
"Whatever you say, Rarity!" Spike smiled, carrying a stack of cloth and thread in Rarity's designing room, "I think that it would be a GREAT idea!"
"Ah, Spikey Wikey you always know how to motivate me!" The white unicorn patted the purple dragon's head softly, making Spike smile dreamily at her trotting figure.
"So, how are things with Twilight?" Rarity asked, her horn glowing as hats and dresses were being tossed through the air.
"Well... she's still indulging in her studies with Lyra." Spike answered back, "She's been looking a little frustrated lately, though."
"That dear just needs a wonderful trip to the spa! I insist but she always denies." Rarity scowled, "Maybe if she actually cleaned herself up she could find a nice stallion to settle down with."
Spike paused for a second before glancing over at Rarity, "A nice stallion, eh?"
"Yes!" Rarity smiled, "A nice intelligent stallion who would treat her right!"
"A stallion like... Logan?"
Rarity had been concentrating on putting the thread into the end of the needle at that time. At the mention of the name, the thread missed and the needle shot into her dresser. Rarity blinked as her mind tried to gather what Spike just said.
"A stallion like... who, dear?" She asked, giving Spike a disbelieving smile.
"Logan." Spike crossed his arms, "Heard about somepony named Logan. It's a strange name for a pony, but she seems rather determined to find him it seems."
"Oh- um- Logan... oh! THAT Logan!" Rarity laughed nervously before turning around to work on her sowing machine, "O-Of course you meant THAT Logan! Oh, he was just somebody we met in Canterlot!"
"Somebody?" Spike asked, "Don't you mean somepony?"
"Erm- yes! Eheh... " Rarity suddenly became very flustered, "W-Well that slips out sometimes... but yes! Logan was a... erm, dear friend to us! He left suddenly because um... there was business for him to attend to. Twilight wants to find him so that we can meet him again!"
"Uh huh... " Spike said to himself, "So what does a human do for business?"
"Well, I'm not quite sure what he's doing right now... I wonder if- " Rarity's eyes widened at what Spike had said and glanced back at the baby dragon who was tapping his foot impatiently.
"Um... Spikey Wikey, would you mind going into town for me to um... buy me some more scissors?" Rarity asked, cracking a nervous grin.
"But you have a dozen on that table... I can see them-
"I want new shiny scissors!" Rarity chimed, "Those ones are just... dull! They aren't giving me any inspiration that I need to keep going!" Spike gave Rarity a very unamused glance before sighing in defeat.
"Yes, Rarity... " Spike nodded, "I'll be back." Rarity turned back to her sowing machine as she heard Spike climb down the stairs. When she heard the door close, she immediately stopped what she was doing and leaped upon her bed, stretching out her legs in stress.
"Oh, dear... " Rarity said into her blankets, "Twilight DID say that Spike was getting sharper... oh, how he's maturing! My little Spikey Wikey... still, I don't know why she insists on not even telling him. I mean, my little Spike can keep a good secret... but I did make a Pinkie promise... breaking that would be horrific!"
"You know, I've been having these strange dreams lately... " Lyra stated, humming to herself as she stroked her harp, "Well, I know that I have strange dreams but they keep getting stranger!" Lyra and Big Macintosh were in the middle of town, with the latter quietly attending to his apple stand.
"It used to be just the image of humans, but now I'm starting to hear voices too!" She plucked a few more strings, "Sometimes I hear them babble... and sometimes they speak our own language! Isn't that cool? I wonder how similar our societies are!"
"Eeyup." Big Mac replied, nudging a basket full of apples to a happy customer. There was quite a line in front of the apple stand, and a few cast wary glances toward Lyra who was sitting on top of some barrels beside Macintosh. She received looks from some cautious mares but she didn't notice. She was sitting rather oddly with her legs in the air below her. She had seen a dream of humans sitting like this, so she decided to give it a try.
"I'm really happy that Twilight is studying them with me!" Lyra grinned, gripping her harp to her chest as she leaned back, "We're getting into their behaviors and things today! I think that all humans are probably nice, kind, and really really smart, but Twilight doesn't think that all humans are that nice. It's almost like she knows... " Lyra tapped her chin absentmindedly, "Ah, doesn't matter! We're going to meet up later in the library so I can't wait!"
"Eeyup." Big Macintosh chuckled, taking a few bits and distributing the fair share of apples into a few more baskets. The day had gone successfully, and they were nearly out of apples to sell.
"Lyra? There you are! I've been looking all over for you!" Bon Bon huffed, walking up to her friend, "You always disappear so early in the morning so I hardly have a chance to talk to you!"
"Sorry!" Lyra replied with a grin, "I just hang out with big ole' Mac over here!" Bon Bon blinked, and then turned her gaze to the massive stallion attending to the apple cart. He gave her a quick smile and Bon Bon quickly looked at Lyra suspiciously.
"So you're saying every morning you're with... Big Macintosh?" Bon Bon asked, cocking her eyebrow, "Every morning?"
"Yep!" Lyra chirped, "He's a good listener!"
"Eeyup." Big Mac piped in, selling the last bundle of apples to a little filly. Big Mac gave her a pat on the head, and watched the small pony scamper off.
Bon Bon's faced scrunched up a little and she looked at Big Mac with narrowed eyes, "Okay... hey Lyra, don't you have to go and study with Twilight?"
"Oh! It's about that time!" Lyra gasped, looking up at the sun, "I guess I better go! See you later, you two! Mac, same time tomorrow?"
"Eeyup." Big Mac nodded, watching his friend trot off to the large tree looming over Ponyville. He didn't notice the strange look on Bon Bon's face until he looked down to see her staring at him.
"So, you're hanging with Lyra that often?" She asked, cocking her head, "Almost everyday?"
"Eeyup." Mac nodded, preparing to close his stand, "She's a friend." Bon Bon stared at him, obviously unconvinced.
"Look... " She rubbed her eyes with her hoof, "Something tells me that she probably talks to you all the time about these.. humans, right?"
"Eeyup." Big Macintosh nodded, making his way to the front of the apple cart. He clipped it onto his harness and began to slowly walk down the streets. Bon Bon was right by his side the entire time.
"It doesn't bug you?" She asked, "It doesn't bug you that all she does is talk about them?"
"Nnope." Big Mac replied, "It's interestin'."
Bon Bon sighed, "Okay, look. Lyra is my best friend, and she is one of the nicest ponies you'll ever meet. If you're just listening to her and being nice to her just to... just to hurt her in the end, I'm letting you know that I won't forgive you. She looks pretty positive and outgoing on the outside, but she's really sensitive about the whole human thing with her family. I don't want her to be upset, okay?" Big Mac chewed the sprig of wheat in his mouth and listened silently, not saying a word.
"She's a friend." Big Macintosh finally stated, "A good friend." Bon Bon stared at him, expecting him to say something else. When she was wrong, she shook her head and spun around, heading back down the street. Macintosh watched her go, a small frown crossing his features.
"Macintosh, was that Bon Bon that was with you just now!" His sister, Applejack, called as she trotted over to him with a cocked eye.
"Eeyup." Big Mac replied, his ears flicking in the air.
An expression of suspicious contorted into Applejack's face as she looked up at her big brother, "Another, mare? Macintosh, do we need to have a talk?"
Big Mac's ears dropped, and he frowned at his little sister with his lazy eyes.
"It's not like that." Big Macintosh replied, pulling the large cart with ease. Applejack watched her brother go before turning to leave with him to Sweet Apple Acres.
Barely a day had passed, and once again Logan found himself under the orders of Princess Luna. His next target was living inside of a cave just outside of the Everfree and within walking distance. Apparently, it was a pack of vicious beasts that had also made their way to Equestria from the Outlands by a series of strange underground tunnels. Despite the dangers of having to fight in the dark, he held his head high and trudged into the cave without the help of magical teleportation.
...He didn't see the first hit coming.
Wolverine was sent tumbling through the air, his body spinning in wide arcs before slamming into the wall of the dark cave, the shear force echoing with the impact. He slowly slid down the stone, grumbling to himself as he landed back on his feet as though no damage had been done.
"Shit, " He mumbled, his claws fully extended, "Gettin' tossed around by the first hit better not be a routine." An angry chorus of snarls and growls hit his ears, and Wolverine bared his fangs. With his superior vision, Wolverine could make out three large creatures with canines that protruded from their mouths that were the size of his forearm. They snarled and hissed, their large neck muscles flexing as they prepared to pounce.
"Saber-tooth tigers, huh?" Wolverine smirked, "I've played with you guys before... except he was a bipedal sonovabitch who had an affinity for his nails." One of the cat-beasts pounced towards him like a bullet, its jaws open wide. Wolverine snarled, leaping into the air as he cocked his arm back, his claws aimed towards his target.
Another saber-tooth crashed in from his left side, his massive teeth sinking deep into his arm as they crashed through the air, with Wolverine getting slammed beneath the 600 pound mass of muscle and teeth. Wolverine growled in pain, the large teeth cleaving through his muscle and jabbing straight into his adamantium bone. Wolverine positioned his foot underneath the creature's torso, giving it a powerful, strength enhanced kick. The strong blow took the saber-tooth by surprise, and it let go of his arm. The cat was sent flying back, landed calmly on its four feet.
Wolverine jumped back up onto his feet, the gruesome wound on his arm healing slowly but surely. "This all you got, Fluffy?" The three saber cats were now surrounding him, pacing around him like predators. He felt the muscle beneath his wound begin to build back up and he moved his fingers a little to test that. This small pack of saber cats sure knew how to use teamwork...
Wolverine already recognized their battle strategy. One of the cats would act to distract him, charging straight in as another would aim for his blind spots. The third would be on standby, and if the assault didn't work it would charge from behind and attack him. They were very intelligent, but Logan could see through them.
The saber-tooth directly in front of him turned and charged, snarling through the air in its exaggerated leap. Logan smirked, and then immediately turned to his side, the ambushing tiger from his side charging at him. Wolverine growled, dodging the beast's attack that aimed for his throat. His hands gripped onto its fur, his superior strength lifting the creature into the air. With a yell, Logan swung and tossed the cat into the air, colliding with the saber-tooth that was intended to be the distraction.
The large cat behind him pounced straight for his back, its razor sharp claws aiming for the kill. Logan spun around, his blades protruding from his knuckles. The cat's claws slashed into his face, leaving three bloody marks that crossed his forehead, nose, and chin. Logan's claws jabbed directly into the cat's throat, puncturing its muscles and slicing into its spine. The beast gave one last twitch before Logan tossed it away, its body flopping lifelessly onto the floor of the cave.
"Alright... " Logan turned, the wounds on his face slowly closing up, "Who's next?... " The two remaining saber-tooth tigers snarled angrily at him, their muscles rippling with fury. Suddenly, they both turned tail, scrambling away farther into the dephs of the dark cave.
Wolverine growled, "Pussies... " His claws sheathed themselves back into his hands. He took off into a sprint, heading further into the darkness, his boots slamming against the cold stone floor.
With his beast-like senses and his experience, Logan was able to navigate through the pitch black cave tunnels with ease. The scent of the last two saber-cats were strong, and he knew that they were never that far from him... chances were they had gone off looking for some ambush point... someplace to take him by surprise. And Logan hated surprises.
Bones crunched beneath his feet, his hands moving along the stone walls for navigation. His breaths were coming in deep, sounding like some animal stalking its prey in the night. The air soon began to grow colder and much danker, but none of these factors really affected him much... he had gone on without a shirt for quite a while now, but his body had a great resistance to temperature or weather. Such things didn't matter to him.
Logan stopped suddenly, surrounded by nothing but pitch black darkness. He had no idea how large the cave tunnel was or where it was headed... but he knew that the saber-tooth tigers were waiting... watching.... he could hear their growls echoing around him, their scent becoming covered by some... very odd stench coming from below.
He heard a loud growl and the sound of claws scraping against stone, signalling that one of the tigers launched at him. Wolverine extended his blades, his ears desperately trying to pick up the direction of the cat.... with no such luck.
The saber-tooth's large teeth dug into his back, the canines drilling through the muscle. He growled out in pain before spinning, slamming the 600 pound beast into one of the cave walls. The cavern shuddered with the impact, and the feline let him go with a yelp before escaping his reach.
The other cat smashed into his side, its claws slashing into his side as it desperately snapped its heavy jaws at his face. Logan dropped to the ground, yelling as he eagerly slashed at it in the dark, hitting nothing but air as the beast retreated.
"...Shit... " Wolverine panted, blood leaking down his body as he struggled to stand, "I never thought I'd ever say this... but I could really use a spidey-sense right now... " He wiped his mouth, the wound on his back slowly closing as the slash on his side pumped blood out profusely. Bending his neck he felt a loud satisfying crack and sighed in relief.
"Alright, " He snarled, "Come on, you piss-brains. I killed your buddy Garfield back there, so I bet you guys are pretty mad." The beasts snarled around him, their growls echoing in the cavern. Logan smirked, taking a few steps into the black abyss.
"I don't know what your extinct asses are doing here, and I don't know why my own hairy ass is either... so let's get this over with, alright? I'm sick of eating fish, and you guys look like you're full of protein." He smirked. The cats almost seemed to understand him and yowled in fury, their nails scraping against the stone.
Logan waited in the middle of the dark.... a grin still on his face.
He felt the powerful body of the cat hit him directly in the front, his jaws attempting to engulf his head. Its teeth bit into its skin, but the cat soon painfully realized that Wolverine's skull was harder than hell. Before the saber-tooth could get away Logan grabbed a handful of its fur, their bodies slamming into the floor of the cave.
"Got you, you little shit!" Wolverine yelled in victory, stabbing his thick blades into its hide just to pull out and repeat the process. He felt its warm blood spill over his body, sounds of agony and anger screaming from its throat. Its body finally fell limp, and Logan rolled it off of his body.
As soon as Wolverine got onto his knees the second cat attacked, pouncing on him from behind as they rolled painfully on the stone floor. Their bodies scraped over jagged rocks and sharp bones, the contact slicing them both up as they struggled against one another. The tiger was in a rage, trying to claw and bite at the mutant in the dark. Logan had a hard time getting his blades positioned, giving the large cat minor cuts and scrapes as they continued to tumble through the tunnel.
Suddenly, the ground below them dropped off, and Wolverine and the cat were sent tumbling down a dirt tunnel that ran into the earth, their bodies clashing with random rocks as they continued their vicious fight during the descent. The growls of the cat and the snarls of Wolverine echoed through the tunnel loudly, blood flying off their bodies in equal amounts.
Soon, the strange passage ended, and Logan was on top of the tiger as they suddenly dropped through the air. He managed to fumble around enough to have his claws aimed directly for the beast's throat, grinning in victory as he waited for the impact with the ground.
When it came, the force shot his claws directly into the body of the tiger, slicing its throat and cutting into the base of its spine. The saber tooth snarled and clawed at Wolverine helplessly before succumbing to its mortal wound, its body growing still beneath the body of the vicious mutant. Logan grinned, yanking out his blades before sheathing them.
"Good night, bub... " He grumbled as he stood up, "I'll remember you when I have my cat burger later." Brushing off his pants, Logan finally looked up to grow familiar with his new surroundings.
The room wasn't pitch black like the cave... it was lit with torches. Torches that appeared to have been burning for just a short while, meaning that whatever lit them was nearby. The other strange thing was.... Logan was completely surrounded by piles and piles of jewels, gold, and other precious materials. In fact, he killed the tiger directly in the middle of it all, its blood running over the shiny objects.
"The hell... " He scratched his head, "Somebody likes sparkly things. " He grumbled, reaching down and gathering a small pile in his hands. He wasn't very interested in it, but he noticed that while some of it was raw the rest of it seemed... stolen...
"Hm, " He grunted to himself, looking up to notice a tunnel leading directly out of the small underground cavern. Now that he took a closer look, everything appeared to be dug out by hand... something was making its home down here. Gripping into the fur of the dead saber-tooth, Logan began to make his way toward the single tunnel, dragging the cat with him. He was eager to find out what was hording all the stolen gems.
And find the way outta the goddamned place.