//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: We Need A Hero // by Nerobot //------------------------------// Rays of light shot in between the gaps in the canopy of a forest.  Large trees towered up to the sky, held firmly in the ground by thick, solid roots.  A multitude of fauna and flora populated the vibrant forest.  Three ponies trekked along a path that weaved its way through the trees.  In contrast to the naturally growing trees and plants, the path was the work of master masons.  Paved from large, white slabs of stone, the road was wide and seemed to run on for miles. “We’ve made good progress.  We should reach the city soon,” said a unicorn.  Cosmic Ray was at the head of the ponies’ small group. The armored unicorn held a map in front of him as he continued to trot forward. “Hey, where are we heading exactly?” Twilight asked, tailing behind the group. “We are headed towards The Five Corners,” responded Cosmic Ray. “The five corners for what…?” “...pssst idiot...that’s the name of the city,” whispered Gale Force. “You know, you call me “idiot” so much, it might as well be my real name…” groaned Twilight.  The purple alicorn rolled her eyes, if she was back home, she wouldn’t be treated this way.  “Anyways… so why is it called ‘The Five Corners?’” “The city itself is on the five corners of Equestria’s greatest empires,” said  Cosmic Ray.  He looked back to see Twilight had a look of curiosity on her face.  “Ah, I’m guessing you want to know more?” asked Cosmic Ray.  Gale Force groaned and prepared herself for another boring series of facts. Twilight, on the other hoof,  had a look of childlike wonder in her eyes. “Well Twilight, I don’t know about your Equestria, but our Equestria is divided into five grand kingdoms.  The first kingdom covers the majority of Equestria’s mainland.  This is Discord’s domain.  The draconequus has changed most of the land into a misshapen contort of chaos.  The second kingdom has a sliver of territory reaching into the heart of Equestria. This land belongs to King Sombra.  He rules mainly over the entire northern territory of Equestria. Due southwest are the minotaurs.  An honorable and noble race, these creatures have built a home in the open plains of Equestria.  Then there are the gryphons, birdlike creatures whom have made their nests in the southeastern parts of Equestria.  Last but not least are the humans… these creatures live in the smallest empire, but are not to be trifled with.” “Humans?” asked Twilight. "Ah yes, but you needn't worry about them Twilight. Every creature tends to stay away from them, not many enjoy their company. Isn't that right Gale?" “Speak for yourself...” Gale Force mumbled as she averted her gaze.  Meanwhile, Twilight was busy processing all this new information that she had just learned.  The purple alicorn reached into her saddle pack and pulled out a small white notebook as she continued to run through the information in her head. “Hey, could I have that map for reference?” asked Twilight as she paused her furious scribbling. “Why?  You want to give it away, like you did with our money?” asked Gale Force as she leaned towards Twilight with a raised eyebrow. “I already said I was sorry…” sighed Twilight as she looked down at the ground. “How long do you plan on holding that over my head?” she asked as she looked back up.                  “Until you do something royally stupid again,” answered Gale Force with a smirk. “Mares… mares.... calm yourselves.  We shall soon reach the city and I won’t enter it with you two bickering like children,” sighed Cosmic Ray. “She started it!” accused Twilight.  Gale Force blew her a raspberry in response.  Twilight, not to be outdone by the likes of Gale Force, puffed up her chest and blew the hardest raspberry she could muster.  A torrential rain of alicorn spit splattered over Gale Force.  The redheaded mare couldn’t believe what just happened. “...Amazing, hero,” said Cosmic Ray as he turned back around and began to walk down the road again.  “Maybe when we confront Discord or Sombra you could show them that wondrous display of indecency.” The unicorn then heard a deep inhale. “OH COME ON!” Gale Force was preparing a powerful raspberry counterattack. “PTHHHHHHHHHHHHHB!” Gale Force unleashed her attack right in Twilight’s face.  The alicorn was blinded by the stream of saliva and hurricane like wind. “Oh yeah you-” “PTHHHP!” “PTHHHHP!” “PTHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHPPBBPBT!” The two mares turned to see Cosmic Ray raspberrying his heart out. “PTHHHPT!.....Phth………...phth.” The unicorn was now exhausted, he gasped for breath. “Now… that… we’re… done… with… that. Can we please… get back… to saving… Equestria?” coughed the breathless unicorn. “Sure… If Twilight over here-” “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” screamed Cosmic Ray as he nearly tore out his mane. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The weary trio had travelled all day along the stone pathway, but now, night time would soon be upon them.  There was hardly a word said between the tired ponies as they finally stumbled into a silent city.  They had reached their destination, but the residents were now asleep. “Let’s find an inn,” said Cosmic Ray as he took a turn onto a paved road. “We got no money, remember?” sighed Gale Force. “Ahah! You are wrong, Gale.  Twilight was so gracious to leave us with this!” cheered the unicorn as he held a single golden coin up to the moonlight. “...Looks like we are staying in the cheapest inn… and we’re getting one room.” A sign twinkled off in the distance. “One Room. One Night. One Bit.” “Bingo…” whispered Cosmic Ray with a smile. “I don’t know about this…” said Twilight. “Doesn’t that inn look a little shady to you guys?”         “Nonsense Twilight, shady is merely a matter of perspective,” said Cosmic Ray as he trotted off towards the inn, like a moth to a flame. “Yeah...I’m beat...I just want a nice soft bed now…” Gale Force said as she let out a yawn. “Well, alright I guess…” Twilight responded still not entirely convinced. The three ponies trotted through the front door of the inn.  They were in a large wooden tavern filled with empty tables and chairs. A bar could be seen at the end of the room with a single flickering candle that struggled to illuminate the dimly lit room.  The wood was rotting in some places and cobwebs covered the corners of the room.  Planks of wood covered the walls like bandaids.  The smell of old alcohol wafted through the room and overpowered the ponies’ nostrils. “Well, you get what you pay for,” sighed Cosmic Ray as he trotted toward the bar counter at the end of the empty room. “Hello?” asked the unicorn when he found nopony in sight. “Hello?!” he asked again, but this time projecting his voice throughout the empty tavern. “HNGH!” The sound resembled an old stallion having a heart attack. Cosmic Ray fell backwards as an elderly pony sprang up from behind the counter. The clanging of bottles and rattling of mugs could be heard as the pony threw himself on the counter. “...Hello?” “HNNNNNGH!” The old pony once again dragged his torso from side to side, disturbing the pile of empty beverages behind the counter. “...who’s there?” he grumbled, still not opening his wrinkled eyes. “Good evening fine sir, me and my companions were…” started the unicorn before the elderly pony interrupted him. “Bar’s closed!” sneered the old stallion, not even lifting his head off the counter. “Great, but…” “I said the bar’s closed! Ya got shit in yer ears?!” said the grumpy pony.  Gale Force pushed Cosmic Ray aside and slammed her hooves down. “Listen here asshole!  I’ve been travelling on hoof through a desert and forest for TWO whole days!  We don’t care about your damn bar or whatever, just give us your cheapest room we can buy with one bit!” Gale Force finished, huffing for breath after her rant. “Ya want a room?! Why didn’t ya say so?” grumbled the elderly pony as he placed a key on the counter. “That’ll be one bit.” Cosmic Ray threw the single bit onto the counter and grabbed the key.  The three ponies started heading towards the stairs before they heard a wheezing chuckle. “Heheh...yer a lucky stallion, keep it down later tonight will ya?” “Eat shit,” responded Gale Force without missing a beat. “What’s he talking about?” Twilight asked. “Don’t think too hard about it, Twilight.” The weary ponies tiredly stepped into their tiny unfurnished room.  The only thing the room contained was a hard looking bed and a small wooden desk.  Cosmic Ray and Gale Force trotted up to the bed and unloaded their belongings.  Twilight watched as the two ponies removed their armour and baggage. “What are you waiting for? It’s time for bed,” said Gale Force as she glanced back at Twilight. “Oh,” interjected Twilight as she set her bag in the corner of the room. “I wish I could take a shower… a bath couldn’t come too soon…” thought Twilight as she continued to prepare for the night. “I’ll have first watch, you’ll have second, Gale will have third,” said Cosmic Ray. Twilight looked up to see the unicorn handing her a blanket. “You and Gale will share the bed,” said the stallion as he trotted off. “Where will you sleep?” asked Twilight. “Don’t worry about me, hero. The floor and the bed look practically the same anyways…” he said with a shrug. BANG! The sound of porcelain shattering. “What was that?!” asked Twilight as her horn began to glow with magic. “It came from the alleyway,” quietly stated Cosmic Ray as he crept towards the window. “This can’t be happening…” he mumbled in disbelief.  Standing below the window, outside in the alley was a figure cloaked in darkness.  A heavy looking creature with a roundish shape and empty hollow eyes.  As Gale Force set down her metal wing, she made her way over to the window. “What who’s-” started Gale Force but her eyes nearly bulged out of her skull and her jaw dropped as she realized who was out there.  “You’ve got to be kidding me…” “Wait who is it?  More bandits? Discord?!” Twilight asked.  She began to think of spells to use in case it was Discord. “No… It’s the-” Cosmic Ray was interrupted by the sound of shattering glass. “The mud golem…” he sighed. “Mud golem?” muttered Twilight before remembering. “Wait, do you mean the mud golem from the farmhouse?!” she asked as she moved towards the window.  “It might’ve sensed your magic, since you’re the pony who created it and all, and followed us here,” she said as she turned to face Cosmic Ray. “What does it want from us?” asked Gale Force as she looked back down at the mud creature. “Why don’t you go down there and find out?” asked Cosmic Ray as he turned to Gale Force. “Why do I have to do it! “ whined Gale Force. “Well, you did such a great job taking care of it last time,” said Twilight as she smiled coyly.  Gale Force muttered obscenities as she strapped her wing back on and slammed the door behind her.  The two ponies in the room could easily hear her stomp down the stairs.  It was safe to say that she was a little upset. “DID’NT I SAY TO KEEP IT DOWN YOU LITTLE SHITS!” growled a familiar voice before being silenced. “OH FOR ALL THAT IS HOLY, NOT THE PIANO!” cried out the voice.  Shortly afterwards, the sound of the entire octave scale was heard as a piano crashed down onto something. Twilight took a hoofstep towards the door. “No Twilight, it’s best you don’t see the aftermath,” gravely stated Cosmic Ray as he placed a hoof on her shoulder. A few minutes of silence passed before they heard hoofsteps coming back up the steps.  The door burst open and an angry looking pegasus threw herself onto the bed, her metal wing slicing the pillow in two. “Wake me up when it’s my shift…” the pegasus muttered into the mattress before she started lightly snoring.  Twilight glanced over at the form of the sleeping pegasus who took up the whole mattress.  The alicorn carefully edged herself onto the bumpy mattress and pushed Gale Force’s metal wing away from her face.  It had been a weary day and before she knew it, sleep overtook Twilight. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Hey,”          “Hey Twilight, get up,” said a voice, disturbing Twilight’s sleep. “Hmm?” Twilight rubbed her eyes as she slowly sat up. She looked up to see a shadowy figure looming over her. “WHA-” A hoof plugged up Twilight’s mouth before she got too loud. “It’s me Cosmic, remember? It’s your turn to keep watch,” said the stallion as he sat down resting against a wall.  “Make sure… you don’t… fall… asleep,” mumbled the pony as he drifted off into a calm snooze. Twilight rubbed her eyes with her hooves and patted her cheeks to try to wake herself up.  She was used to sleeping a full, healthy eight hours, but she had just barely slept for three. Twilight reluctantly got out of bed and slowly trotted over to the bathroom and washed her face. As the alicorn turned off the water the thought of Spike and her friends came across her mind. It was true that they wouldn’t even be able to notice her absence, but that didn’t stop her from missing them. Twilight yawned as she stepped back into the room and slouched down in a corner. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The lavender alicorn continued to struggle with her lack of sleep in an attempt to stay awake. She tried to study her notes, but found it hard to focus and eventually settled on staring at the torn wallpaper of the inn room. Twilight began to focus on Gale’s snoring. At first the pegasus’ snoring wasn’t bothersome, but after an hour Twilight was losing her mind. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “She snores louder than Rainbow Dash! I can’t take this anymore! I need some fresh air,” thought Twilight as she trotted towards the door. “Nothing bad’s going to happen if I step out for a minute or two.” Twilight snuck downstairs and crept outside.  She took a deep breath of relief as she closed the door behind her.  She was curious to see what the city itself looked like but the inn was on the outskirts of town and tucked away in a dark alleyway.          “I might not get to explore the town right now but at least I finally get some peace and quiet,” Twilight said to herself as she leaned against a brick wall.  Twilight began to think about all the things that had transpired that day. "Why did I have to get roped into this? It was Celestia and Luna who were responsible for defeating Discord and Sombra. So why did the spell choose me? Am I really destined to be their hero? So far I feel like I've only let them down. Alright, next chance I get to prove myself; I will show them what I'm capable of. I'm the princess of magic for crying out loud! I'm supposed to be their hero." Twilight cleared her head as she sat down. "My two companions are quite interesting... Gale seems like the type of pony who would pick a fight with a dragon. Cosmic on the other hoof seems to be more of a reserved and calm type of pony. I guess it makes sense they don't get along. They're practically polar opposites. Then again, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash get along and they aren't very similar." Twilight closed her eyes and focused on the main thing haunting her thoughts. "I just hope that we can find Celestia and Luna. If we don't then history is for sure to change. But how much will it change? Would any of my friends exist? Would ponyville even extist? " The sound of rummaging came from down the alleyway. With all traces of sleepiness gone, Twilight quickly jumped to attention as her eyes peered into the darkness. “Who goes there?” Twilight asked as her horn illuminated the alleyway. Twilight saw two stumpy brown legs wiggling back and forth from out of the alleyway dumpster.  The alicorn used her magic to pull out the creature and place it upright on its stumps.  It was none other than the mud golem that Gale Force had been assigned to deal with. The creature now reeked of trash and other foul smells. “You poor creature, that mean pegasus did such a thing to you…” Twilight said with a compassionate look on her face.  The golem responded by giving her a wide grin while trash fell from its mouth.  “Oh...you ate the trash.  What an...interesting...choice of nutrition,” Twilight chuckled uneasily as she turned her snout away.          The mud golem slowly approached the mare raising one of its forward stumps as if it were thinking about  something to say. “H-H-....H-” As the golem mumbled the letter ‘H’, trash spewed out from its mouth alarmingly close to Twilight. “Easy there!” interjected Twilight as she hopped backward. “H-H-H-...Hero,” the mud golem finally gurgled. “Ew… Wait! You can talk!?” “Hero,” the mud golem said again as it pointed a stump at Twilight. “This is amazing!” shouted Twilight as she pulled out a notepad and began to scribble furiously into the tiny notebook. “Could it be? An elemental construct achieving sentient enlightenment?” “Hey! Watch where yer going! Once we’re inside we need to be professional! The Connoisseur would collect our heads if we’re to mess up!” Twilight jumped when she heard the raspy voice. The pony popped her head out of the alleyway and caught sight of a group of hooded ponies as they stepped into the rundown inn. Twilight looked back at the mud golem before following after the shady group of ponies. “You stay here. I’ll come back to collect more data in a sec,” said Twilight as she motioned for the mud golem to stay put. The alicorn got low and silently crept through the door of the inn. She was ready for a fight, but no pony was in her sight. Twilight could hear rummaging from upstairs. The alicorn quickly trotted towards the staircase and took a hoofstep onto the aged wood. *CREAK* Twilight pulled her hoof back and spread her wings. It would be more quiet if she just flew up the stairs rather than step on the ancient wood. As the alicorn reached the second floor, she quickly pressed her back against the wall and took a glance down the hallway. Twilight saw the same group of cloaked figures standing in front of her room’s door. “What’s taking so long?” asked one of the cloaked figures. A pony smaller than the others was hunched over the room’s lock. The smaller pony wiped its forehead with a hoof before looking back. “Hey, it’s not that easy,” said the mysterious pony. “It’s just a crummy inn lock. You were hired for this very task!” violently whispered the largest of the cloaked figures. “I almost got it. Just keep your voice down for Discord’s sake,” said the smaller figure as a clicking sound filled the hallway. “Bingo.” “Shit, looks like today’s our lucky day,” said the large cloaked figure as it pulled the smaller pony away from the door. “Alright boys remember, we’re here for the valuables. The Connoisseur doesn’t like it when things get bloody... but understands when things have to. So let’s not take any chances and-” “Am I interrupting something!?” exclaimed Twilight as she stepped into the hallway. “Wha?” mumbled the shocked stranger as it looked up to see Twilight. “Y-yea! Your funeral! Get her!” cried the pony as it pointed a hoof at Twilight. Unanimously all the other cloaked ponies charged Twilight. The ponies raised up the front hoofs, revealing blades that were tied around their front legs. Twilight smirked at the eager bandits as they continued to charge towards her. “Today’s not your lucky day,” said the alicorn with a smirk. Twilight’s horn glowed brightly as she lifted up the closest bandit and began crashing him against the others. The bandits yelled as they tried to scramble up to their hooves. “You bitch!” shouted the larger bandit as it reached into its saddle and hurled a dagger at Twilight. The alicorn quickly sidestep the blade and channeled her magic into her horn. “I’ve had enough of you! Somepony needs to teach you a thing or two about friendship, but that pony isn’t going to be me! As far as I’m concerned ponies like you will only learn the error of your ways… through force!” shouted Twilight.  The princess of magic’s eyes glowed as the space around her began to distort.  The old wooden planks on the floor began to rattle as they were ripped out from the floor by magic. “W-what the fuck is she?”  Shouted one of the hooded ponies. “Are you seeing what I’m seein boys? She’s got both horns and wings!” Another pony shouted before a wooden plank slammed into him and knocked him flat on his back.  The space around Twilight grew even further distorted and it became impossible to see her through the thick veil of magic.  The group of unfortunate ponies found themselves lifted into the air as they swirled around helplessly.  Twilight’s voice could be heard again over their shouting. “NOW GO LEARN YOUR LESSONS ELSEWHERE!” Twilight shouted as the magic around her launched the ponies through the wall where they became a speck in the night sky.          “What’s going on!” cried the voice of a stallion as he bursted through the door. Cosmic Ray was on full alert, four tomes engraved with magic symbols circled the alarmed unicorn.  Gale Force followed after Cosmic Ray with a metal feather clutched in between her teeth. “Twilight?” said Ray out loud as he approached the alicorn. “Did that intense level of magic come from you?” asked the stallion with an amazed look. “Yea…” replied Twilight. “I might have overdone it.” “I can’t believe… That much magic… It was… simply amazing…” said the awed unicorn. “It wasn’t that much…” Twilight said with a slight blush.  Gale Force stepped past Twilight and inspected the large hole that was now in the inn.  She turned towards Twilight. “So Twilight, who’d you launch out this hole?  Did I not hit the innkeeper hard enough?” “Just some bandits…” said Twilight. “Well, I guess that settles that then… Gale? I think it’s your turn to take watch,” said Cosmic Ray as he took a second glance at Twilight before going back into the room. “That much magic… and she’s not even out of breath…” thought the unicorn to himself. “Sure- HEY WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT THING DOING IN HERE?” Gale exclaimed as she pointed at something behind Twilight. Twilight looked back and saw that the mud golem had followed her into the inn. The lumbering block of mud stared blankly at the ponies with a bewildered expression. A voice could be heard inside the room calling out to the two mares in the hallway. “Gale, be a dear and take care of that thing again, pretty please?”  Twilight winced in preparation for the incoming outburst from the easily agitated pegasus.  To her surprise, the pegasus seemed somewhat submissive to the command.  As Gale Force turned around, Twilight realized why.  The pegasus had multiple bags under her eyes.  The pony was too exhausted,          “Just get some rest Twilight, I’ll take care of this…” the pegasus mumbled as she pushed the mud golem outside. Twilight nodded as she walked past the pegasus and into the room. Twilight was ready to get some much needed rest. Before the alicorn knew it she was already passed out, fast asleep. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “The Connoisseur will not be pleased with your performance tonight.” said an eloquent female voice from behind a shroud of darkness. “Madam, I’m telling you it wasn’t our fault!  T-there was this unicorn...no...a pegasus!  No, she was both!   A pegasus unicorn hybrid!,” one of the ponies whom Twilight had defeated was pleading with the figure. An upright humanoid stepped out from the darkness, it was a female diamond dog, but unlike the hulking brutes that diamond dogs tended to be, she was a refined creature, resembling that of a french poodle. The diamond dog was covered in curly white hair, she was dressed in black pants and a button down white shirt. A pair of tiny glasses sat on the edge of her snout. She looked down at the groveling pony and then back at her clipboard. “If we collected excuses, I assure you, we would’ve collected them all by now,” said the poodle diamond dog as she clicked her pen and wrote something on her clipboard. “Please, no need to tell The Connoisseur!  We will pull double- no triple the usual!” the pony begged. “No need to tell me what now?” said a silky voice from behind the pony.  The terrified pony’s heart jumped up into his throat  as he spun around and bowed down to the voice’s owner. “M-mr. Connoisseur!  W-we weren’t expecting to meet you-” the pony began but quickly bit his tongue when The Connoisseur shut him up. “Silence, you filthy mongrel,” The Connoisseur interrupted.  The pony continued to tremble as he stared at the cold, hard ground, not daring to look up at his employer.  After what seemed like an eternity of silence, the pony heard a clicking noise.  The clicking noise began to get closer to him and then he noticed the black four-inch high heels right next to his face.  The tall heels belonged to the female poodle. “Ah, Valentine, looking as beautiful as always, Amour de ma vie!” said the smooth voice.          “Monsieur, you flatter me!  But unfortunately, I have some rather...tragic news.  You see, our dear employee here as failed to bring anything back after a night’s work,” responded Valentine. “Tsk, tsk, Valentine, you are mistaken!  Our dear employee has brought back something quite valuable.  Tell me Valentine, what is most important to a collector besides the collectible?” “Monsieur...forgive me, but I do not know the answer to that.” “Information, Valentine, that is what is most important.  Especially valuable information in regards to a rare collectible,” said The Connoisseur as he approached the prostrate pony.  “So, I hear that you have encountered quite the interesting creature.  A creature that is supposedly one of a kind.” “Y-yes, a half-pegasus, half-unicorn pony.  I swear!” “I believe you, after all there is no reason for you to lie to me about such a thing.” “Monsieur, I must interject here!  I believe this trash is simply trying to save his own skin by deceiving you with some fanciful tale of a unicorn-pegasus hybrid creature,” Valentine interrupted. “Mi amour, after being in this business for so long, you gain a talent for sniffing out a good lead.” “Please, Mr. Connoisseur, allow me to make up for my mistake and go after this pony myself!” the begging pony pleaded. “Do you really think I would let a bumbling oaf like yourself handle such an important task?  Do not kid yourself, you’re calling is robbing stagecoaches and travelers in the dead of night.” “Please!” the pony yelled as he looked up at his boss. The Connoisseur was a diamond dog, like Valentine and much like her, he greatly differed from the typical brutish ones. He resembled a husky with his black and white fur and piercing icy-blue eyes.  Whereas the typical diamond dog was hunched over, The Connoisseur stood up straight and proud.  He wore an expensive looking black coat over a fancy white silk vest.  He wore brown trousers that were tucked neatly into decorated black boots that reached up to his knees.  The Connoisseur looked at the pony with an amused look on his face. “Ah, what a shame.  You have seen me now.  It seems that I will now be forced to permanently terminate your...employment.” “W-what!? My lord please I did-” the pony pathetically cried out but was ignored.   “ Gorer, Ripper please come in here..we have some trash that needs to be taken out,” The Connoisseur said as he clapped his hands together twice.  No more than a second later, the door swung open and two massive monstrous diamond dogs stalked in and grabbed a hold of the now hysterical pony.          “Valentine, could you please put out a bounty for me?” said The Connoisseur as he began to remove his gloves. “Place it on the half-unicorn half-pegasus pony for about… 100,000 bits. Make sure they apprehend her alive though.” “Is there anyone in particular I should contact monsieur?” asked Valentine. “How about… Ghost Flower, she always seemed like a capable young mare. Can’t forget the classics though, make sure to inform Buck Wild and Meltdown as well. “As you wish, monsieur,” said Valentine as she bowed before the husky and left. The Connoisseur walked over to a cabinet and poured himself a glass of cider. “How exciting. And here I was beginning to think that my collection was complete.”