//------------------------------// // The Whole Package // Story: Furry Contraband: Of Ice and Ivy // by UnweptSchlipps //------------------------------// Two pegasi sat scrunched together on a love seat, neither of them using it to its actual purpose. Instead, they both sat with large frowns for very different reasons. Fluttershy’s body was visibly shaking, her lips pursed together as she tried not to break down into a nervous heap. Rainbow Dash, on the other hand, frowned out of annoyance, her hooves crossed over her chest as her eyes followed the burly figures pacing around the house. Finally the two stallions, who were dressed in matching red shirts and black vests, stopped in front of the pegasi. One of them remarked, “Nice cottage. If you get past the smell of bird droppings, it’s a nice place." “Who the heck are you guys?” Dash inquired, her frown turning into a scowl. “Ah, you don’t need to know our names. You can just call us, uh, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum.” The other stallion quickly turned to his counterpart, confusion visible in his eyes. “Why do I gotta be Tweedle Dum?” he asked in a soft, deep voice. With a shrug, Dee replied nonchalantly, “Because you’re dumb as a sack of horseshoes, remember?” “Oh…yeah.” “So anyway, we’re here on behalf of our boss.” As he spoke, Dee slipped a cigarette out his vest and lit it, putting it to his lips. The stallion let out a puff of smoke towards Fluttershy, and she felt the smoke sting her eyes and burn her lungs, causing her to cough. While she continued her fit of wheezing, Dee continued, “We’ve need for ponies of your ‘services’.” “That’s disgusting! Take me out to dinner first, weirdo,” Dash answered defiantly. “No no no, not like that.” “Not yet anyway.” Dum let out a deep chuckle, only to be cut short by a hoof smacking the back of his head. "We got a reputation to keep up, meathead, what're you doin'?" After glaring at his partner for another minute, Dee clarified, “Ahem, word has it that you two…are the best damn smugglers this side of Equestria.” “Oh no…” Fluttershy’s eyes widened as she shrunk back into the already cramped chair. “Oh yes! You’re the lil’ ponies who slipped past Princess Luna and rainbow-nuked half of her soldiers. You’re infamous around these parts.” “It was way more than half,” Dash corrected. "If you're gonna flatter us, at least get the facts straight." “Whatever, let’s just cut right to the chase. We need you two to get something up north.” “I-I’m sorry sir,” Fluttershy finally piped. “But we’ve retired from that, er, business. We’ve been retired for months.” “Well then…I guess you just came out of retirement.” “And what are you gonna do about it?” Rainbow Dash shot out of the chair, hovering in front of Dee, pressing her snout uncomfortably close to his eyeball. The stallion simply raised his eyebrow, slightly pushing the mare backwards with his hoof. Then turning to his comrade, he began to whisper in his ear, every now and then pointing to the pegasi watching them confusedly. “Hey…heeey…I’m right here. You wanna say something, say it to my face.” Dee looked at the floating pegasus with a cynical smile, saying, “Alright miss, I think it’s time we made you an offer you may or may not refuse. You see—.” “Uh, boss,” Dum interrupted. “I think the line is ‘can’t’ refuse. Why would you give them something they are able to refuse?” “I’m just trying to be nice and givin’ ‘em choices, okay? What are you doing anyway? You’re supposed to stand there and look tough and let me to do the talkin’, remember? Shut ya trap.” Another smack to the back of the head. “So anyway…I’m gonna make you an offer of an undisclosed nature.” On that note, Dum grabbed something from behind one of couches, revealing a little furry creature trapped inside a wire cage. The white rabbit inside angrily rattled on the cage, spewing the equivalent of bunny expletives toward the brute. But the stallion furiously shook the tiny prison, causing Angel to bump his head and fall over dazed. A whimper sounded from the love seat. “You do what we want, and the bunny stays safe,” Dee stated, motioning towards the incapacitated creature. “But if you don’t…” “You really think a bunny is gonna--.” “Okay! We’ll do anything, just please don’t hurt Angel!” “Fluttershy!” “What? It’s Angel!” The stallions let out a sinister chuckle, and Dee said, “Perfect. We’ll see you two on the outskirts of the Everfree at midnight, a nice march from this here cottage. In the meantime, we’ll keep your little furry friend here safe and sound. I’d suggest you get ready. Come on Tweedle Ditz!” He began to walk out the room, only to realize his partner wasn’t following him, caught up on a cage of colorful birdies. “Hey! Meathead!” “Oh uh, coming boss!” Dum quickly stomped out of the room with Angel’s cage in tow. With a wink, Dee slipped out as well, slamming the door and leaving two very conflicted pegasi alone in the cottage. Rainbow Dash smacked a hoof to her face, plopping down on one of the couches. “Aw what the heck, Flutters. And I was actually looking forward to the weekend.” “I’m so sorry, Dash. I know we promised to never do this again after the elephant fiasco…but they were going to hurt Angel.” The timid pegasus leaning forward on the chair, nervously brushing her mane out of her face. “W-what are we going to do?” “I was thinking we go beat ‘em up, but you always say no, so…” “W-who do you think they’re working for?” “Well judging from the clothes and the bad Istallian accent, I’m guessing some foreign mob boss or something.” “W-w-what?” “Oh, don’t sweat it, ‘Shy. This ain’t the first time I’ve dealt with the mob.” She let those words hang in the air for a while, before Fluttershy responded with a quiet, “…What?” The rainbow-maned pegasus sat down next to her friend, placing a hoof over her shoulder. Letting out a sigh, she said, “Listen, I guess we’re kinda roped into this now. And as much as this sucks…like really sucks…this is literally the worst thing that could ever happen to us—.” “I think I, um, get it, Dash.” “But as long as we do this, everything’ll be okay. I know they’ve got this dumb honor code thing. So if we just do what they say, they’ll stay true to their word.” “How do you know? I didn't even know there was a mob...” “I read it in a Daring Do book.” Dash could feel the rather disapproving glare coming from Fluttershy’s eyes, so she shrugged and replied, “Hey, they’re technically nonfiction now. Don’t worry Fluttershy. If we can handle sneaking manticores and timberwolves over the border, this’ll be a piece of cake. Heck, they’ll probably give us something easier to handle than animals...like money or drugs.” “Drugs?” “So like I said, no sweat.” ~~~ The duo of pegasi trekked through the shadows underneath the moon perched in the heavens. They donned familiar saddlepacks filled with food and water and dark cloaks that draped over their shoulders. Rainbow Dash even had a black beanie fit snugly over her head, wisps of her mane sticking out from underneath. Finally, after a couple minutes of skirting the border of the Everfree, they spied a pair of large shadows leaning against a tree. “There they are. I could see those stupid-looking vests a mile away,” Dash whispered with a smirk. She looked over at her friend, and despite the darkness, she could see Fluttershy’s eyes darting around anxiously. “Hey ‘Shy. Don’t even sweat it. We’ve dealt with baddies a billion times worse than these guys. We’ll get Angel back just like that.” Fluttershy gave a meek nod, replying, “Yes…I know. But I can’t help but be a tad worried.” “Well don’t be! We’re the best smugglers this side of Equestria, remember?” Dash remarked, mimicking Tweedle-Something’s accent, succeeding in drawing a small smile from her quiet friend’s lips. They landed in front of the waiting mob member, the stench of a lit cigarette filling the air. For a quick moment, the glowing embers cast an orange light on the four, until the stub was stomped out with a muscly hoof. Fluttershy looked at Tweedle Dum, who still had Angel on his back. She exchanged a comforting glance with the scared critter, before saying, “You’ll keep him safe, right?” “Of course,” Tweedle Dee replied. “You got our word. You finish this job up right, and the bunny will be waiting at your cottage, safe and sound.” “Right, right, code of honor and all that,” Dash piped. “So anyway, you said we’re going up north, right? How far are we talking, here? Vanhoover, Crystal Empire, what?” The stallion scoffed, shaking his head as if Dash was speaking gibberish. “Of course not, too easy. We’d do this ourselves if it was that close.” “Then where are we going?” Dee nodded toward his dimwitted companion, and after a couple seconds of blank staring, the brute took out a map. Snatching it away, Dee unfolded the map, letting another cigarette illuminate the paper. A faded line marked with pencil snaked north, past Vanhoover, past the Crystal Empire, and going right into the range of mountains at the top. “Wait,” Fluttershy said, her eyes following the line. “You want us to go to the Crystal Mountains?” “Through it, actually.” The stallion quickly rolled up the parchment, tossing it at the hooves of the mares. “You’re going to follow this river until you reach the Crystal Empire, then head over the mountains to cross the border into the Northlands. That map'll tell you where to go once you're in.” “Y-you want us to scale the Crystal Mountains? Nopony’s supposed to venture there! It’s far too dangerous.” “And that’s why youse two are the ones going, not us.” “You’re crazy!” Dash yelled, prompting violent rustling from inside the Everfree. Fluttershy quickly hushed her companion, so through gritted teeth, Dash continued, “You want us to risk our lives like that for some stupid package? I mean, I’m usually all for that stuff. But I ain’t becoming an ice cube just for some delivery.” “Well miss, I’m afraid you don’t got much of choice. We work for some very powerful ponies, you know. So you’d best do this thing right, because she’s very important to the boss.” Rainbow raised her brow. “She?” Tweedle Dee responded with a simple nod, then knocking a hoof on the tree behind them, saying, “Hey. You ready back there or what?” To Dash and Fluttershy’s response, the tree answered with a quiet—and somewhat annoyed—whisper, “Yeah…hold on a sec.” To their surprise, a small figure started to appear from behind the trunk, draped in a black cloak matching their own. The being stood pat just out of hoof’s reach from Tweedle Dee. A dainty hoof appeared from underneath the cloak, slowly pulling the hood back. Fluttershy and Dash simultaneously took a step back, caught off-guard by the face underneath the hood. For it obviously wasn’t a manticore, or timberwolf, nor a sentient box of drugs. It was a pony. And not just a pony…but a young unicorn, probably a couple years younger than the pegasi themselves. Fuchsia fur covered her body, and her blue eyes were turned to the side in disinterest. Her mane and tail, both carefully braided, were slightly darker than her coat, with purple streaks flowing through like violet rivers. She was just an inch or two shorter than the pegasi; if it wasn’t for the circumstances, they would have guessed she was just another teenager from Ponyville. Tweedle Dee, who for some reason maintained his distance from the mare, motioned towards the smugglers muttered, “So…Ivy, say hi to your best friends for the next couple of days.” She looked at the duo for a quick second, and said half-heartedly, “…Hey.” “Uh…hey,” Dash replied, while Fluttershy remained silent. “So uh…what’s with the kid?” “She’s it,” Dee replied. “It?” “She’s the package.” A pair of puzzled eyes turned towards him. “Any problems with that?” “No…” Fluttershy whispered. “W-we just weren’t expecting the ‘package’ to be a…pony.” Ivy rolled her eyes and gave a soft scoff, turning her head away once again. “She ain’t just another pony. She’s very important to the boss…Daddy’s little girl.” “You know you’re not supposed to call me that,” she interrupted, prompting Dee to clear his throat and back away. “You’re gonna make sure she gets to where she needs to go safe and sound, you hear? The boss is waiting up north for her. Something happens to her, you can bet this bunny ain’t the only thing getting hurt, understand?” He took a menacing step towards Fluttershy, slowly shifting his hoof across his neck. Fluttershy got the message, responding with a silent, trembling nod. “Good. Now then…I think everything’s been covered. Go. Scram. And never forget who you’re dealing with.” “Same goes for you, pal,” Rainbow Dash spat, helping her friend from the fetal position back to her shaky hooves. After taking one final look at the duo of mobsters, Ivy crept forward, walking past the pair of pegasi without so much as a glance or word. And with no other choice, the duo reluctantly followed with map in hoof, making their way to the north. One the trio of mares disappeared into the night, the stallions started to trek in the opposite direction. “It’s ‘bout time we got that kid outta our hair,” Dee murmured, running a hoof through his mane. Dum asked, “You think they’re gonna make it, Dee?” “Maybe. Probably not, heck I don’t know. I just gotta feeling with those girls…anything’s possible,” he replied, stamping out his last cigarette, plunging the world into darkness once again.