It had been a few months since the portals between Earth and Equestria had opened. In that time, peaceful relations were established between a number of countries with Equestria, and both humans and ponies moved across the portals from one world to another on a regular basis. The humans brought their technology with them into Equestria, helping to advance many facets of ponies' lives.
Of course, not everything was completely peaceful. Equestria already had a few gangs in the larger cities, but now they were slightly bigger with the addition of humans. Crime had seen a slight boost in both number and severity, but the police forces had escalated with the crime.
As for the group of criminals who were the first humans to pass through one of the portals, they had been living in the Everfree forest this whole time, waiting for the heat around them to die down. That doesn't mean they were idle, however; they took numerous trips to the edge of the forest in order to scout out the surrounding area, which led to them discovering that they weren't quite in Kansas anymore. Despite the shock to their systems, they still remained hidden. A few search parties were sent after them after the first month, which they quickly dispatched. Thankfully for them, apparently everyone in town simply thought that the wildlife had gotten them. And true enough, the crew encountered their fair share of wild animals, both mundane and exotic. But since they were still fairly heavily armed, there was little problem. Chains's SEALs experience didn't hurt, either.
Still, eventually, everyone wants to stretch their legs. Which brings us to this day; the day when the crew decided to head into the nearby town and see how things are. Bain stayed behind, manning a radio he always carried with him for talking to the four. The plan was simple: head into town, learn about the local populace while establishing a cover for them, maybe even get a proper place of living for the five.
But of course, even the simplest plans are never quite that easy...
"So, how are we gonna do this? Stick together, or split up?"
"It would probably be best to split up. You can cover more ground that way."
"What exactly do we look for? Things to steal?"
"Not yet; we'll get to that soon enough. For now, just get some info on the area. Still, anything of value you find will be worth reporting."
"I still can't get over the fact that we finally met aliens, and they're bloody horses!"
"Just keep it together, Hoxton. Who knows, maybe you'll finally find a girlfriend now!"
There were snickers among the group.
"Oi, screw you guys."
The crew walked into town, three of them still chuckling softly to themselves. There were mostly ponies milling about, but there were a few humans, as well. The group got a few looks, but no one offered more than a glance.
Dallas whispered to the others, "Alright, let's split up now. I got the north end of town."
Wolf replied, "I got the east."
"West," Hoxton added.
"Then I got south. We'll meet back here once we're done." The four of them nodded at each other before going their separate ways.
Dallas looked around. There were a few stores here and there, but none of them looked very interesting, or promising. At least, all except one; it looked rather like a carousel that you would find in a county fair, complete with pony mannequins mounted around the building. Since it looked like it could very well house something expensive, he decided to check that building out, first.
As the bell above the door rang, Dallas looked around the interior. It was awfully gaudy; there were purple curtains draped nearly everywhere from the ceiling, and various mannequins, both human and pony, displayed different dresses and suits. Notably, there were gems in a large number of the designs.
"I think I found some kind of clothing store," Dallas whispered into his mic. "It looks like they use gems in the clothes, here."
"Sorry to burst your bubble, Dallas, but it seems that gems are a lot more common here than back home. Still, if there's enough of them, it would be a hefty sum."
A door near the back of the store opened and closed. "Welcome to the Carousel Boutique!" a refined female voice said. "Where everything is chic, unique, and-" At that moment, the owner of the voice, a white unicorn, turned around a corner and saw the human- or rather, what he was wearing.
It might have been the fact that Dallas's suit was rather worn and torn. It could have even been the dark red stains that were found scattered across it. But the most likely reason that the boutique was filled with an ear-piercing shriek was that Dallas's suit was-
"Plaid! Of all of the colors and patterns you could wear, you chose plaid!" The unicorn started grabbing nearby fabrics with her magic.
"Woah, woah," Dallas started, "what are you doing?"
"I am making you a new suit! One that isn't... plaid!" She gagged to emphasize her point.
"Wait, I don't have the money to pay for that..." This wasn't entirely untrue; they had a fortune in U.S. dollars, not the local currency.
"No need! I will correct this... atrocity free of charge! Besides, that suit looks rather worn, doesn't it?"
"Well, you're not wrong... What's your name, anyway?"
"Rarity. And yours?"
"Dallas."
"What happened, Dallas? What was that scream?"
Once he was sure that Rarity was absorbed in her work, Dallas answered Bain in a whisper. "Nothing, just a pony who didn't like my suit, so she's making me a new one for free."
"Heh. Wait, she's making you a suit?"
"Yeah, why?"
"The others need new suits, too, if they're going to blend in; they're ripped to hell and back. See if you can get three more suits out of the deal."
"Got it." He looked up to see Rarity about to leave into another room with the fabrics. Strangely, she didn't seem to need any measurements. "Hey, Rarity?"
"Yes?"
"I have a few friends that have suits like mine, ripped and stuff, do you think you could make them suits, too?"
"Not for free. I still have a business to run, after all. Just have them come in tomorrow, and I'll begin working on them, and yours will be done, as well."
"Well... alright then." With that, Dallas walked out of the boutique. As he headed back to the center of town, he was wondering how the others were doing.
Hoxton stood in the middle of the street for nearly a full minute. He knew that the dominant species here was ponies, including pegasi and unicorns, but even that knowledge couldn't prepare him for the sight in front of him.
"How are you doing, Hoxton?" Bain asked. "Did you find anything?"
"...a bloody tree-house."
"That's probably some kid's, then, that's not important."
"No, I mean, an actual sodding tree that someone went and built a house inside of."
"...that's more unusual, I admit. It might be worth checking out."
Sighing to himself, Hoxton began walking towards the tree building. Once he was closer, he saw a sign showing a book above the door, along with a computer that looked as if it was recently added on.
"Looks like some kind of library," he told Bain.
"Perfect, that should be a good source of info. Do they have computers, too?"
"Looks like it."
"Even better. See if you can plug me in."
"Gotcha." Hoxton grasped the USB drive he and the others always carried in case Bain was needed for some hacking job. Making sure it was secure, he strode inside the library.
And what a library it was. One side of the room he entered into was almost completely filled with books, of all sizes and colors. The other was set up as a sort of computer lounge, with at least five PCs up and running. A young man who looked to be in his late teens, maybe early twenties came out of somewhere in the back of the computer area. "Welcome to the Ponyville Library, is there anything I can help you with, sir?"
"You work here?" the Brit asked.
"Nope. Well, kinda," the younger man replied. "I live here, so I sort of work here, too."
"Hmm. Anyway, I'm new in town, and Equestria as a whole, so I was just hoping to learn the lay of the land, as it were."
"Ah, yes, the 'newcomer' help. I remember when I was in your shoes. Now, do you want the full history lesson, or just the basics?"
"Actually, I was hoping you could just show me where to look. I never really liked lectures," Hoxton said, shrugging.
"Got it. Just go to the computer and bring up Wikipedia, then."
"That's it? I thought it'd be different than back home."
The man laughed. "Some things never change, huh?"
"Too right, mate..." Hoxton sat down at one of the computers while the younger man went about his business, straightening up a few things. Once he was sure he was not looking in his direction, Hoxton plugged the drive in. "All yours, Bain," he whispered.
"Alright, just one password here and... done. I've got access to the entire database now.... Wow, that's a lot of stuff. This could take a while. In the meantime, go ahead and look for whatever tickles your fancy."
Meanwhile, a purple unicorn came down a set of stairs. "Who was that, Kevin?"
"Just a new arrival who wanted some info," Kevin pointed to Hoxton, who gave a small wave in their direction.
"Oh, alright." The unicorn winced and held her head in a hoof. "This headache is killing me."
"Just get back up to bed, Twilight. I can handle this." The two of them shared a hug before Twilight went back upstairs. When Kevin looked back, he saw Hoxton giving him a bemused look. "What?"
"Are you and that pony...?" he asked, his voice hinting at what he was saying.
"Well... I guess you could say that."
"...you're dating a pony," Hoxton deadpanned.
"...yep."
"A bloody pony... isn't that a little... weird, don't you think?"
"It kinda was, at first, but I got over it. They're sentient, and all that."
"...right."
"Who knows, maybe you'll find that you enjoy the pony form, as well," Kevin said with a smirk.
"No chance," Hoxton replied with a wave of his hand. "I never had time for human gals back home, anyway."
"What, you that into your job?"
"...you could say that."
"Well, anyway, if you need anything else, I'll be over here." With that, Kevin walked off to another part of the library. Hoxton just shook his head in disbelief.
"Alright, it's done. How did things go on your end?" Bain asked.
"Oh, you know," the Brit replied while removing the drive and placing it back in his pocket, "just conversed with some locals, learned that human-pony relationships are a thing."
"Really? Huh... That's odd."
"Bloody right it is. But, different strokes for different blokes, I suppose." Standing up, Hoxton strode back out of the library, hoping that his mind didn't wander to unpleasant places after that encounter.
Wolf looked around the park he had walked into. A few ponies were milling about, either conversing with friends or simply enjoying the noon sun. There were a couple of humans, too, but they seemed to be just passing through.
Finding an unoccupied park bench right by a local school, Wolf sat down. He wasn't exactly the most sane of his team, but he was still good at his job. Still, he occasionally had to be kept on a leash, as it were, and Bain had to remind him to not be too rough with hostages on a normal basis. Still, he liked his team; they were like the brothers he never had.
Hearing barking, Wolf broke out of his reflecting just in time to see a dog bounding up to him. It jumped on his leg, and he petted it while looking around for a possible owner.
Just out of his vision, a soft voice said, "There you are, Winona!"
Turning, Wolf saw a yellow, pink-maned pegasus approaching, a soft yet stern look on her face. "What did I tell you about running off?" she told the dog, who whimpered slightly and walked to the pegasus's side, still panting. "I hope she didn't cause you any trouble, mister," she said to Wolf.
"Oh, no trouble at all," he said, smiling. "This your dog?"
"Oh, no, I'm just watching her for a friend."
"Alright." The two of them remained silent.
"Well, um..." the pony started. "...bye."
Wolf waved goodbye as the pony walked off, the dog on a leash. Behind him, a bell rang on the side of the school building, followed by several children's voices filling the air. Turning, Wolf saw that they were all small ponies, and it looked to be recess. Chuckling, Wolf turned back around, reminiscing on his own childhood.
Soon, an argument made its way to his ears, and he sat still as he listened.
"Why would I invite a couple of blank flanks like you? It's my party!" a snobbish voice said.
"That ain't fair!" a southern voice said back. "Just 'cause you got your cutie mark first doesn't mean your any better than us!"
"Yeah!" a slightly tomboyish voice backed up the southern one. "And what the heck does your cutie mark mean, anyway? It's just your name!"
"It means," the snobbish voice said, "that I am a rich pony, and should be treated as such!"
Wolf started listening a bit more intently at the word rich.
"You didn't earn any of that money!" a fourth, high-pitched voice added. "That's all from what your dad did, not you!"
"Regardless, none of you are invited to my birthday party this weekend! I don't want to see mane nor tail of you three anywhere near my mansion!"
"Ah wouldn't go that far out 'f town anyway!"
The four of them continued arguing, but Wolf tuned them out to speak into his mic. "Did you hear that, Bain?"
"What?"
"Apparently, there's a mansion nearby owned by a pony who's pretty rich, and his daughter's having a birthday party this weekend."
"This could be like the Garnett heist all over again... Nice job, Wolf. I'll look into it."
Standing up, Wolf adjusted his tie before walking back towards the center of town.
Chains glanced around. This part of town seemed to be where most of the restaurants were located, which meant quite a lot of ponies and humans were around. As he glanced around, he noticed that there was actually a steakhouse here, almost exclusively filled with humans. He laughed softly to himself; even in the midst of a race of herbivores, mankind needs their meat.
As he continued down the street, Chains's gaze rested upon what looked like a literal gingerbread house. Curious, he walked inside, where a few ponies were in some of the booths. He walked up to the counter, which was currently unmanned. Looking back to the kitchen, he saw a pink pony bouncing around to various cooking devices, while humming an upbeat tune. When she turned around and saw him, the pony grew a huge grin, and after depositing a tray of cupcakes on the counter (with her head, no less), she bounded up to the counter where Chains was waiting.
"Welcome to Sugarcube Corner, Mister..." She seemed to be trying to remember a name, but then she said, "Huh, I don't recognize you." Suddenly, her large grin grew to massive proportions. "I don't recognize you! That means you're new in town! Right?"
"Uh... yeah, but-"
"I knew it! I knew it knew it knew it!" She bounced back into the kitchen, and returned with a cupcake in her hoof. "Here ya go!"
Chains held up a hand to refuse the cupcake. "No thanks, I don't have any money."
"This is your 'Welcome to Ponyville' cupcake! It's on the house!" Realizing he didn't have to pay, Chains shrugged and grabbed the pastry. "I used to throw welcome parties," the pony continued, "but with so many new humans coming in, I thought it'd be easier to just give out cupcakes."
Chains bit into the cupcake, and it wasn't half bad, actually. In fact, it was rather good, but there was a taste he couldn't quite identify. "This is good, but what's in this cupcake?"
"Oh, the usual, flour, a bit of salt, chocolate, aaaand, my new secret ingredient," the pony leaned almost uncomfortably close to Chains's ear before whispering, "gold."
He nearly choked on the cupcake at that last word. "Gold?"
"Yep!" The pony went over to a side door, did some kind of special knock, and opened it to reveal a hefty amount of gold bars stacked inside. Chains's jaw went slack. The pony closed the door again, and held a hoof out to the human. "By the way, my name's Pinkie Pie!"
Chains kept staring at the door for a second, then recovered and shook Pinkie's hoof. "Chains." After eating the rest of the cupcake, he said, "Well, I guess I'm gonna leave, now."
"Bye Chains!" Pinkie said, waving in an overly-exaggerated manner. "Good luck in whatever you're doing in Ponyville!"
The irony of that statement was not lost on Chains, who chuckled to himself. Once he was outside, he keyed in his mic. "Bain, you won't believe what I found."
"What?"
"One of the ponies here runs a bakery, and she put actual gold in some of her cupcakes!"
"Really? That's something."
"Not only that, but she has plenty of bars of the stuff, too! She's loaded, and she might not even know it!"
"Well, if she doesn't know it, she won't miss it, then... Can you remember where that building is?"
"Oh, don't worry," Chains said, looking back at the bakery, "it's pretty iconic."
"That's good. The others probably have some good news, too."
"I hope so. New dimension, new town, new jobs, same ol' action..." Chains laughed again as he walked down the street.
Back at the town center, in front of the town hall, four suited men walked towards each other.
"I just plugged Bain into the local database," Hoxton started. "What did you do, mates?"
"I just got us arrangements for new suits, tomorrow," Dallas said.
"I could use a new suit," Wolf lamented, inspecting a tear near his tie. "I found out about a mansion not too far away, which is apparently loaded with loot."
"Mansions are always good," Chains commented. "I found a bakery that uses goddamn gold in their cupcakes."
"Gold? Bloody hell... these ponies sure are something."
"Good job, guys. Now get back here; I think I might have found a new safehouse for us..."
"You heard him, move out," Chains ordered. As the four were walking back out of town, Hoxton spoke up.
"Did you guys know that apparently a few humans got... well, 'friendly' with some of the locals?"
The others had mixed reactions. Wolf gagged slightly, Dallas was confused and slightly disgusted, and Chains laughed.
"Exactly my thoughts."
"Well, Hoxtifier, that just means you won't be alone, right?"
Dallas and Chains both laughed heartily.
"Wolf?"
"Yeah, Hox?"
"Shut your mouth."
All of them laughed the whole way back to the forest edge.