//------------------------------// // Chapter Four: The Deal // Story: Piraka Don't Play Fair // by The Warmaster //------------------------------// Thok's  POV       "Ah, there's  our little Griffon friend from before." I muttered, staring across the city. The Griffon had done exactly what I thought he would do, and managed  to get a large sum of bits.    "Alright, next we find out where they are going to hide it. Right?" Reidak asked.    "Yep. So get after it. I'll be far behind you." I said, before kicking him off the roof we were crouched on.    "You are dead, you know that?" Reidak glared. I nodded.    "Yep. Now, get it in motion! They are beginning to move it!" I whispered.    ÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷    Cadence's  POV       "How did that griffon get his claws on the Crystal Heart?" Shining asked.    "The Piraka probably knew no one would buy it here, so they looked elsewhere. But that's not my concern. What is my concern is where are we going to place it?" I replied, holding it in my magic.    "We need to put it in a high security building. One that no one can break into. Perhaps up in the castle  somewhere?" Shining suggested. I nodded.    ÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷ Zaktan's  POV      I drifted back towards me and Hakann's  hiding place.    "They are gonna try to place it in the castle. I'll follow them up there. I want you to cause a...distraction." I told him. He stared at me.    "You better not be pulling a Vezok. If you are, I'm leaving." Hakann replied sternly.    "Not at all. I just need you to shoot  a few buildings, attract the guards, and possibly the other Piraka. They can  help you deal with the guards. I'll steal the heart, and we can evacuate the city. Sound good?" I promised, with two fingers crossed behind my back. I was definitely  pulling a Vezok on him.    "Fine.... let's  just get this over with...." He muttered, before lumbering out towards the streets. I dispersed myself again, and floated towards the massive castle. Pretty soon, magma balls were being sent flying, hitting buildings and other things, or just sailing through the air.    ÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷ Thok's  POV      "That's  Hakann, isn't it..." I muttered. I got up and chased after Reidak.    "That's  definitely  Hakann, Thok." Reidak told me when  I caught up.    "Yeah. You go find the crystal. I'll go help our 'compatriot'." I told him, before rushing towards where a large group of guards had surrounded the bright red Piraka. I landed in the middle of them, my Ice Gun  at the ready. I stood up.    "Sup, Hakann.  Did Vezok put you up to this? It seems like something he would have you do." I commented, and he snarled.    "Nice to see you too, Thok. Mind helping me with these morons?" He pointed at the guards surrounding us. I grinned before nodding, and standing at his back. Then a brown blur dropped down from one of the rooftops.    "Sup, Hakann, Thok. How's it been?" Avak asked, his Seismic  Pickaxe  aimed at a cluster of guards. A  dark blue Piraka then dropped down, and Vezok took point.    "Looks like the gangs all together. Where's  Zaktan and Reidak?" Vezok asked, his Water Harpoon ready.    "At the castle." Both me and Hakann stated, before  looking at each other.    "Let's deal with these guys, then head on up." I sighed, and opened fire with my Ice Gun. Hakann nodded, before hitting the same place with his Magma Launcher. The two opposites hit at the same time, burning and freezing a few guards. Avak smiled, before opening fire, his Seismic  Pickaxe launching a energy ball which exploded on contact with the guards. Vezok grinned, before firing  his impact vision, and blasting a couple of guards away. His harpoon swapped out with a buzzsaw, which shot a couple water daggers at the guards in front of him.  In moments, the guard were decimated.    "That was too easy." Hakann stated. I facepalmed as a bright pink alicorn flew towards them, anger clear in her eyes.      "You just had to say that, Hakann. Avak, could you use your powers here?" I asked. He nodded, before focusing. Soon enough, a dark red square appeared around the alicorn. She glanced around with shock, before trying to break free. However,  the square hit back, with black and purple beams of magic. She cried out in pain, before slumping to the floor of her new prison.    "Vezok, you should stay here with him. Don't let the alicorn get out, under any circumstances." I ordered, and the blue Piraka  nodded, and me and Hakann ran towards the castle.    ÷÷÷÷÷÷ Zaktan's  POV      As I gazed at the Crystal  Heart, I could feel the strange energy coming off of it. It tried to fill me with warmth, but utterly failed. I grinned, right before a black Piraka burst in.    "Reidak? It's  been a while." I greeted. He glared at me, before slamming the door shut.    "Bunch of pony guards. Too many for us to hold off. Let's just take the Heart and go." He said in between breaths. I nodded, before gripping the heart and removing it from it's  post.  I smashed through a nearby window, and Reidak followed through, not realizing  we were five stories up. He cursed.    "Mauka  bones." He said, before he began to fall towards the ground. Luckily for him, he slammed his buzzsaw into the Crystal that made up the castle, before slowly sliding down. When he dropped to the floor, I was waiting for him patiently.    "Let's  go. We need to get the others." I said. He nodded, and we dashed off towards where Hakann had begun his firefight. We were met halfway by Hakann and Thok.    "Is this everyone?" I asked. They shook their heads.    "Avak and Vezok are still back there, keeping the Alicorn in a prison." Thok replied.    "Let's go get them, and leave this  Forsaken place." I said, and they nodded, before turning back, and we ran towards where a pink alicorn floated in a red box. When we arrived, Vezok was sitting on a building, bored. Avak was still concentrating on keeping Ms. Alicorn busy.   "Come on you two. Time to move out." I ordered. They nodded, and the walls around alicorn vanished, and she dropped like a stone. We ran out of the city, meeting little resistance.    Later    "Well, here's  to getting the Piraka back together!" Hakann raised his mug, and we all did the same, before taking a drink of the cider. We had holed up in a random tavern, with a non hostile  takeover of the place.    "So, what's  our next plan?" Thok asked once we drained our mugs.     "Well, I suggest laying low until the storm breezes over us, then make a ransom for the Crystal Heart." I answered, and everyone nodded in agreement.    "Then what?" Vezok asked.    "Well,as well as a bunch of bits, I suggest we have them give us some land, where they can't  cross over the border. It could be our little safehaven." Hakann raised his hand. I nodded in agreement.    "Yes, but then we will have to be forced to not steal anything. And we can't do that. I mean, we are the Piraka! We are a band of cutthroat  thieves that care only for themselves. Instead, why  it create a massive  crime organization? Like a Thieves Guild?" I replied. They thought about it, before nodding in approval.    "What shall we call it?" Vezok asked. I grinned.    "What else? We are the Piraka. Why not make a name of ourselves?" I replied, and Vezok nodded, before taking another drink of his next mug.    "Then, if everyone's  in agreement?" I asked. They all nodded.  "Then I hereby form the Piraka Thieves Guild. A toast to our future success!" I roared.    "Here here!" They all cried, before downing another mug. I slammed mine into the table like a judges  mallet.   ÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷ 2 months later   Celestia's  POV       I was listening to the daily babble from Blueblood about how something in his mansion  wasn't  shiny enough when a maid burst through the door.    "Your Majesty! Check the newspaper!" She floated a sheet of paper over to me. I read through it.    Piraka want ransom!    Today, at eleven forty A.M, the group of cunning thieves known as the Piraka reappeared, asking for a large ransom in return for the Crystal Heart. They demand to be met at the border between the Desert and Equestria in two days time, with a whopping thirty million bits to be brought to their leader, Zaktan. Failure to do so will result in them selling it to one of Equestria's enemies.   I stared at the paper for a good ten minutes. Then it caught on fire.    "Why those arrogant.... how dare they!" I roared, my mane catching flame. Before I could lose it completely, I regained my senses, and looked down at the maid.    "Have Thirty million bits  brought to me at once. I have a deal to make." I growled. The maid nodded, before dashing out towards the door. A plan was hatching  in my head, and if it worked, we might get to learn a bit about these 'Piraka'. I grinned slightly.    ÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷ Zaktan's  POV      When we arrived at the meeting point, a blue  alicorn, a white alicorn, and the purple one from before, as well as ms. Pink, had already arrived. I noticed that there were no guards. Obviously this was a trap.    "Reidak, use your thermal vision. Make sure it's  not a trap." I ordered. Reidak nodded, and after after moment, looked at me.    "Five other equines. Unarmoured." He declared. I looked at him.    "Unarmoured? This is what they call a trap?" I asked. He shrugged. I sighed, before we continued to where the four Alicorns waited.     "Greetings, Piraka. I take it you have brought the Heart?" The white one asked.    I pulled it out, but kept a steady grip on it.   "The money first." I growled. She nodded, and a massive sack of gold coins was levitated over. Reidak caught it in his hands, before placing it on his back. I tossed her the crystal, and we started to leave.    "Wait, Piraka. Our customs indicate that, in the event of meeting a new species, each side is to give a delegate  to tell each other more about the other species. One of us will stay with you, but we also need one representative from your species." The white one said. I stared at her, eyebrow raised.    "This is your big plan? Get us to drop one of our own off at your place for 'study'? Yeah, how about no." I glared, before walking away. In front of us was Twilight, and the Elements of Harmony. I swore.    "Piraka! They dare to ambush us! Let's  show them what happens when they try to mess with the bigger prey!" I roared, and each Piraka unsung their weapons. The Elements glowed, and as we fired, the giant Rainbow light soared towards us. The two shots hit, but then something odd happened.    Six energy beams lashed out from the Rainbow, striking each of the elements. We also got hit by them,and I felt a strange energy begin to flow around my body. The two blasts exploded, and both sides were sent flying. The Piraka got up first, and we made our escape.