The group entered the mansion and walked right into the main hallway. Lock then quietly closed the door behind him and joined the others. Jade and her group were met with a giant entrance hall with paintings and awards on every wall. They witnessed a fancy stairway, covered with ocean blue carpet, and the second floor split, leading to two separate hallways. Hanging over them was a sparkling, golden chandelier with candles burning brightly. The whole group gazed at the interior in awe.
“Wow, it’s so nice in here,” mused Stardust.
“Meh, I’ve seen nicer,” shrugged Shield.
“Alright, enough site seeing,” began Jade as she turned around. “Right now we should look for the-“
She paused once again. She noticed that one of her team mates was not with her. A certain orange Pegasus was missing. She could see his outline blinking at the place where he once stood.
“Where’s Lock?”
Atlas pointed left with her wing. Jade looked and noticed Lock sneaking a blue gem off of a stand and into his saddlebag.
“Lock!” she whispered.
The thief turned and saw that he was caught. Not really a big surprise, but he still blushed a bright red color. He soon returned with the rest of the group.
“Just taking a little souvenir for the road,” he chuckled.
“Now’s not the time. Right now we just have to focus on finding the main bedroom and taking the chest,” Jade reasoned.
“Do you even know where it is?” asked Guesclin.
“I’m working on it! Don’t rush me.”
“You don’t know, do you?”
“I do! I just don’t know the exact location of it.”
“What? But that would imply-“
Jade tuned out and turned away from another one of Guesclin’s lectures. While that was going on, Shield, Stardust, and Atlas were wandering around the main room.
“Geez, this guy sure owns a lot of junk,” pointed out Shield. He picked up a small hoof-held trophy with his magic. The trophy had a bright star symbol embedded it and shone with his magic. “What do you think he does for a living?”
“I don’t know, being really rich?” Atlas guessed.
“Yeah, cuz that makes sense. Rich noble-ponies will just pay anyone nowadays just to own a mansion as long as you have ‘royal blood’ or stuff,” replied Shield, sarcastically.
“What? It was just a guess. How am I supposed to know what rich snobs do to get a fancy place like this? And why should I care?”
Shield shrugged. “Just good to know I guess.”
Stardust wandered away from the main group and went to examine some paintings. She noticed that some of them had stallions with very muscular and, well, bulk features. In fact, the majority of paintings were just bulk Pegasus stallions in over the top poses. She noticed one painting had a bulk earth pony stallion with a battle axe in his mouth, another of a Pegasus stallion in a track uniform running a marathon, and even a white Pegasus stallion bench lifting some dumbbells.
Stardust tilted her head at the paintings. Her curiosity levels were rising, she wanted to know what this stallion does. Her ears suddenly perked up. She heard voices in the distance. Not her team mate’s voices, these voices sounded more formal. She wandered to a nearby hall arch, where the voices were coming from. She peaked around the corner. Her eyes shrank at what she discovered.
She spotted several noble-ponies, stallions and mares, sitting at a large dining table. They were all talking and laughing and sported fancy clothing. Not only that, but she spotted an earth pony stallion at the end of the table. The earth stallion had orange fur and a red, combed-back mane and short tail. He sported a green suit with a red tie. His mark appeared to be a plastic bottle of some sort and he was remarkably muscular. This wasn’t good. Her mouth was left open with shock. She retreated from the opening and returned to her teammates.
“Guys!” she spoke. All eyes turned towards her. “We’ve got a problem.”
“What is it?” asked Jade.
Stardust pointed to the arch and soon enough, all of the members noticed the bright light. They all carefully peaked around the corner and discovered the muscular stallion. They fell silent as well. They stepped away from the arch and returned to the entrance hall.
“Looks like our target is having a little dinner party with his friends or clients,” spoke Atlas.
“Yes! Thank you captain obvious! We needed to know what we already know!” Jade scorned.
“Hey! I’m just trying to help. Don’t get all snappy with me!” retorted Atlas.
“I can’t believe this, how could you let this happen?” asked Guesclin.
“I didn’t know he would be home tonight! I thought he would be enjoying a night out or some junk!”
“Excuses! Excuses! That will get you nowhere. You should’ve checked to see if he would be here!”
“How was I supposed to do that? Did you expect me to go up to him and say, ‘Oh, hi there, I’m a mercenary for hire, nice to meet you! If you could let us know if you’re going to be around when we rob your home tonight, then that would be just dandy!?’” Jade retorted.
“I’d let you in if you were that formal,” Lock remarked.
“This just proves how reckless you really are, Caliber! You did no research on our target, you never scanned his home inside or out, and you even managed to screw us all over by robbing him the night he happens to have other nobles in his home! Do you know what that could do to us? They could rat us out to the royal guards, have us arrested and strip us of our honor!”
“Will you shut up for a moment?! In case you haven’t noticed, we haven’t been caught yet!”
“Uh, guys,” muttered Stardust.
“Yes?!”
However, before Stardust could continue-
“Now that dinner’s finished, I’d love to show you all what I’ve done to my living room!” spoke a formal voice.
Everypony froze in place. Jade turned around and noticed the shadows of the noble ponies stood up and were beginning to walk out. Jade’s eyes shrank as she heard the noise of hoof steps getting closer.
Buck! she thought.
“Oh great! Just great! Now what do we do?” panicked Shield.
“I don’t know, what do you suggest?” asked Atlas.
“Should I take them out?” wondered Shield as he reached for his sword.
“No! Not yet!” replied Jade.
She scanned her surroundings quickly, turning left and right, up and down. Then she realized that the stairs were still there. The hoof steps began to increase in noise.
“Up the stairs, troops!” Jade ordered.
Jade ran up the stairs as fast as her hooves could take her. She reached to the second floor and made a right. The rest of her squad soon followed. Just in time too, as Bulk Buster was leading his guests across the hall and into the living room. All while not noticing that his blue gem was missing. Jade and her squad ran through the hallway in search for a place to hide. They busted through a door at the end of the hall. As soon as everypony was in the room, Jade shut the door. She panted and wiped the sweat off her brow.
“That was close,” she panted.
“Why were you running?” asked Stardust.
“Because then we would’ve been caught! Wasn’t that obvious?”
“Yeah, but no pony was chasing us. We could’ve just hid in the hallway until they all went into another room,” Stardust mentioned.
Jade paused in place as the gears were starting to turn in her head. Her logic was starting to make sense. Nothing came to Jade’s mind as she realized her own unnecessary mistake. Her cheeks blushed a little.
“Dang it!” she face-hoofed.
“So, great plan so far, Jade,” remarked Guesclin. “First not knowing that the owner of this place was still here, and now almost getting caught by him. I can see the flawlessness of your plan now.”
“You know you don’t have to reply!”
Jade turned to see what room they were in now. She noticed the giant windows where the dusky sun shone through giving the room even more light. She noticed the giant queen sized be with a canopy, the portrait of Bulk Buster himself hanging over a dresser, and an open door that led to a closest filled with fancy clothes. Jade soon figured out where they were.
“We’re in his room.”
“Huh?” his squad asked.
They all looked around and noticed all of the obvious signs. As they were searching, the sun finally set and it was dark outside. The light in the room started to dim, but they still managed to see where they were.
“Alright troops! Spread out and find that safe!” she ordered.
Her team followed through with her order and began to search the room. Atlas checked under the bed, but found only dust bunnies. Lock looked under his desk, but found old books. Guesclin looked behind the bed, but got the same result as Atlas. Stardust looked behind the dresser, but found nothing. Then she spotted something resting on top of the dresser. She found a pile of magazines lying on top of each other.
Each magazine had a fit Pegasus stallion in gym clothes holding a small plastic bottle in their hooves. She picked up one of the magazines and squinted. She got a closer look at the bottle the stallion was holding. She noticed the logo wrapped around it. It read, “Buster Drinks!” in gold, bold letters. The connections were starting to click in her mind.
“Oh. Now I know who this pony is,” Stardust said.
“Huh? Who is he?” asked Shield.
“He makes protein shakes for young stallions, specifically Pegasai. I heard his factory is up in Cloudsdale where his employee’s and close friends work. He took over the family business when his father passed. But he’s been adding his own cloud-based ingredients into the drinks to help give them a little kick,” she explained.
“Does it work?”
“I guess. Rumor has it he has a cousin, who’s a Pegasus stallion, in Ponyville who takes large amounts of this stuff. He ended up becoming so buff that his own wings shrank.”
“Oh. You mean Bulk Biceps?”
“Nah! That’s way too obvious.”
“Troops, focus! We don’t have all night!” brought up Jade.
She trotted in place to figure out where the safe could be hiding. Her mind hatched an idea when she turned and faced the portrait.
“Of course, it’s so obvious!”
She marched right up the portrait. The others didn’t understand this and they stared at her blankly. They all gathered around her.
“Where else would a millionaire hide his most secretive stuff? Behind a huge painting that reflects his ego, of course!”
Her horn started to glow a light green color and soon enough, the portrait was engulfed in the green glow. The portrait was lifted off of the wall and floated in midair. Jade’s horn died out and the painting dropped to the floor, revealing a blank space on the wall.
“Ha-ha!” she exclaimed as she pointed to the empty space.
The others continued to stare at her blankly. Jade’s smug grin did not change until she turned around. She turned back to her troops. Her eyes shrank and her grin vanished. She swiftly turned back expecting a safe, but instead found an empty spot. She turned back at her team, then back at the wall. Back at the team, then wall. She did that repeatedly.
“Uhhh,” she spoke, awkwardly.
She soon spotted a bench cabinet in front of the bed. She raced towards it and placed her hoof on the seat. She lifted up the cabinet seat and levitated several small pillows out.
“Ha-ha!”
She fell silent when she realized she was holding pillows with her magic. She scanned the room nervously again, searching for another possible hiding spot. She turned to the closet and noticed it was still open. She raced inside and switched on the light.
“Ha!” she yelled as she parted away some coats. Once again, she found nothing but an empty space. Her brow furrowed and began searching through all the coats. “Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha-ha!”
She had no luck. She stepped out of the closet with a defeated face. Her team tilted their heads at their confused leader. They didn’t know what to expect next. Jade just stood there, kicking the carpet awkwardly.
“Umm…”
“There’s no giant, secret safe,” said Shield.
“THERE’S ALWAYS A GIANT, SECRET SAFE!”
“Well sorry our target wasn’t kind enough to put a giant, obvious safe in his room with a label that read, ‘Hey! Secret safe! Please crack me open and steal from me!’”
“Ok, shut up! Let me think!” ordered Jade.
Before she could even place her hoof on her chin, she heard another voice.
“Excuse me for a moment, I just need to get something from my room.”
The group froze once more.
“He’s coming! What now?” asked Shield.
Bulk Buster entered the room. He looked around in his room to find it was empty. He turned and spotted his dresser.
“There’s those magazines!”
He went over and grabbed the magazines with his mouth. With that, he exited the room and closed the door shut, not suspecting a thing.
“Here are the magazines where my brilliant creations were featured in,” he spoke to his crowd.
Once the door closed, everypony was starting to come out of their hiding places. Stardust peaked her head out of the closet door, Shield emerged from the bench cabinet, and Jade scooted out from under the bed. Her hat was covered with dust.
“There’s a dust bunny farm down here, and they’re multiplying,” she coughed.
Stardust came out of the closet and approached the window. She unhooked the hatch, letting all the night time breeze get in. The cold wind hit her face and made her fur shiver.
“You can come in now,” she called out.
Atlas, Lock, and Guesclin flew down from the roof and re-entered the room. Once they were in, Stardust closed the windows. Jade managed to get out from under the bed and brushed off all of the dust.
“Well, that makes it the second time we’ve almost been caught,” spoke Guesclin.
“Yes, I’m aware of that,” Jade replied.
“So, what now?” asked Lock.
“Hold on, I’m thinking!”
Jade placed her hoof to her chin and began to ponder in thought. She tapped her chin, but nothing came up. She still couldn’t believe that there was no safe in Bulk’s main bedroom. If not there, where could it be? Is the item even in a safe? Jade had no idea, she knew it wouldn’t be long for Bulk to accidently run into her. She was also thinking about those fortunes that Stardust mentioned.
If the item isn’t here, where could it be? Could we end up being caught? She thought. No way! If any of those fortunes are coming true, it’ll be the first one where I’m running out of the mansion with the item, laughing!
“Alright. If the item isn’t in his room, then it must be somewhere else in this mansion. We should search the place so that we can….uh…find it,” said Jade.
“You sure that’s a good idea? What about Bulk and his guests?” asked Stardust.
“And what if we run into any more guards in here?” added Lock.
“Simple. We just avoid them as best we can,” Jade answered.
“That’s kind of lame. I was kind of expecting to take down some rich goons,” remarked Shield.
“Trust me, I feel the same way. But our client specifically ordered us to leave no bodies. Dead ones, anyway. We only attack if it’s absolutely necessary,” Jade reminded.
“Boooo!”
“Ok how about this: the next time we have a mission that involves a castle invasion, army fighting, dragon taming, or combat of any kind you’ll definitely be joining us.”
Shield gasped. “Really?”
“Yep! Like I said, this mission is just to get you and Stardust some experience. I guarantee you, the next mission will be more action-packed. Or at least less boring.”
A big smile emerged on Shields face. Stardust couldn’t help but chuckle at his toothy grin.
“Alright! With that said, let’s move out!”
Jade led her team right out of the room and back into the hallway. Even though she sounded confident, she was still worrying about their outcome. She didn’t want to fail again. Not to mention those fortunes were starting to get to her. Sweat was already running down her face and her gaze averted from her team. Nevertheless, she did her best to hide it. She kept her eyes forward as her team followed.
They all soon entered the kitchen, only to find a counter table covered with dirty table clothes and a sink, overflowing with dirty dishes. The dining room looked no better, as it was covered with used napkins and empty glasses. The group was a little taken back by this.
“Huh, you’d think these rich folk would be a little cleaner,” remarked Atlas.
“You sure we’re not confusing slobs with snobs?” added Stardust.
“Doesn’t really matter to me. Both are pretty disgusting in their own senses,” Jade replied.
The group searched the entire kitchen, but found nothing that resembled a safe or a small chest. They checked all the cabinets and all the drawers, but to no avail. Some of them even went as far to check underneath the used clothes.
“Nothing,” pointed out Jade. “Next room!”
They all exited the kitchen. Well, almost all of them. Lock stayed behind to sneak an uneaten chocolate scone that was left on the dining table. He side-stepped next to the table and snatched it with his wing. He licked his lips at the sight of it. He tossed the scone in his mouth. The scone attacked his taste buds with savory, chocolaty goodness. The taste was enough to send a shiver down his spine.
“Mmmm,” he moaned.
He soon joined the others. They all entered the living room, filled with couches and chairs with bronze fabric, a glass coffee table completed with a blue and white flower vase, and even more paintings of muscular stallions. The amount of paintings in the mansion was starting to get to some of the members.
“What is with this guy?” wondered Jade. “We get it, your drinks make stallions buff. What do you expect from us?”
“Something tells me these paintings aren’t just to show that his drink works,” added Atlas. “Maybe he has some kind of hidden desire.”
“Don’t make it weird,” grunted Guesclin.
They searched all around the living room. Under the couches, behind the paintings, and underneath the glass table. Which was pretty pointless to do. It seemed like the owner didn’t have a safe in the first place.
“I can’t wait to show you the living room!” announced the voice.
“And that’s our cue!” proclaimed Jade.
In a flash, all the members raced right out of the room. The gust was strong enough to spin the vase on the table. Bulk entered the living room with his guests. As he walked in, he noticed that the vase was still spinning. His eyebrow raised at the vase. He didn’t know why it would be spinning.
“Is something the matter, Bulk?” asked a noble-mare. Bulk rubbed his chin.
“No. Everything’s fine. It must be my imagination.” His guests muttered in agreement. “Anyway, I’d like for you to notice the paintings in THIS room.” His guests gazed in awe.
Meanwhile, Jade and her group rested in a nearby hallway. Jade was pacing around, trying to come up with a better way of finding the chest. Nothing seemed to come up. It would only be a matter of time before they’re found out. She looked up and noticed that the hallway split into three arches. She pondered in thought. This mansion was starting to feel more like a labyrinth.
“Ok, so here’s what will do,” Jade started. “There’s three corridors in front of us. I think we should split up into three teams. That way we can cover more ground and find the chest quicker. Because something tells me that we’re not even close to discovering the entire mansion.”
“Really?” asked Atlas.
“You know, usually in books, that’s how characters are easily axed off. Instead of getting captured, or worse, at once they get discovered one by one. Not sure if that’s the best plan,” noted Lock.
“AND, the reason they were axed was because they were idiots who didn’t know how to walk and tripped over everything,” Jade retorted. “Not to mention they were being chased by some monster or monsters. The only horrifying things in this place are those paintings.”
Everypony nodded and muttered in agreement.
“Besides, we’re trained professionals,”
“Most of us,” whispered Stardust.
“If we run into any more guards, we can knock them out. And if we see Bulk or his guests, then we just run or hide.”
“Best strategy,” noted Shield.
“So it’s settled. We’ll split into teams of three. Guesclin, I don’t want to hear any more of your rambles, so you’ll go with Lock.”
Guesclin grumbled.
“The recruits will go with each other. Atlas, you’re with me.”
“Cool,” Atlas replied.
“If anyone spots the chest, or the room where the chest is, they are to inform me. Got it?”
They all nodded.
“Great. And remember, only engage in combat if it’s absolutely necessary. Now, let’s move out.”
With that, they all went their separate ways. Jade and Atlas walked down the left corridor while Guesclin and Lock wandered down the one on the right. That left only Stardust and Shield with the middle one. They both walked down the hall and couldn’t help but notice it was strangely dark. They knew they had nothing to worry about, but Stardust couldn’t help but feel anxious. She kept on muttering to herself.
“Hey, you alright?” asked Shield.
“Yeah. Just thinking about stuff,” she replied.
“What kind of stuff?”
“Well, this is my first time on an actual mission with a real group. But now that we’re on our own, I just,” she paused. “I don’t know. I think it’s just nerves.”
“Everypony gets nervous once in a while. But why be nervous? If we see any guards, we’ll take them out.”
“I know.”
“And how come you’re only getting nervous now? We’ve been here for at least forty-five minutes. Why bring up that you’re nervous now?” Shield asked.
“I never said I wasn’t before.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah. But, I’m not just nervous about getting caught. It’s also about the fortunes I read today.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I’m just worried that one of the bad ones might end up coming true tonight. I can’t really control it. And I can’t really avoid it either.”
“Does that fortune telling stuff actually work? I mean, it sounds kind of farfetched when you-“
“Why not? I’ve already told you, I’ve been doing this for a while. And at least one of them always comes true,” she interrupted. “Besides, if a zebra in the Everfree forest can perform similar magic, why can’t I?”
“You’ve heard those stories too?”
“How can I not?!” she turned and faced him.
“Eh?” Shield said, taken back.
“Oh, sorry!”
“I-It’s fine.”
“Let’s just, keep on moving.”
“Alright.”
Stardust turned around and they continued on their path. Shield couldn’t help but chuckle at Stardust’s sudden outburst. It was the first time he’d seen her outside of her calm face. As they were walking, Shield couldn’t help but stare at the gypsy mare’s flank. Shield then realized what he was staring at and shook his head. He mentally slapped himself.
What are you doing? You barely know her! Don’t go around staring at pretty mares! He thought. Did I call her pretty?
While fighting with his mind, he couldn’t help but feel something sticking him in the back of his neck. His eyes moved and noticed that his sword strap was rubbing on his fur. He adjusted it with his magic, but the sword still felt loose. He moved it up a little, but the sword still fell on his neck. He grunted and came to a halt. He placed his sword on the ground and started to mess with the strap.
Stardust reached the end of the hallway. It split into two paths, one leading left and one leading right. She was so focused on getting out that she had no idea that Shield wasn’t with her. She took the path on the left, unknowingly leaving Shield behind. While that was going on, Shield has just fixed his sword strap and placed it back around himself. He smiled to himself and walked down the hall. He eventually reached the fork in the hall, but he had no idea where Stardust went. He swerved between the left and the right, not knowing which route to take.
“Where’d she go? Stardust!”
The halls created a loud echo. He soon covered his mouth. He came to realize that was a dumb move.
Don’t yell! If Bulk hears those echoes you’ll be spotted, dumb butt!
Without thinking, he ran straight for the right pathway. As he sprinted, he just hoped that he took the right path to catch up to Stardust. Meanwhile, Lock and Guesclin were wandering down another hall in search for their targeted item. They haven’t spoken to one another ever since the team split up. Guesclin just kept his focus forward. Lock decided it was time to break the ice.
“So, nice night tonight isn’t it?” he wondered.
“I don’t know, is it?”
Lock fell silent. His eyes kept on averting and moving everywhere. Nothing came to his mind.
“Just trying to start a conversation,” he said.
“Why?”
“Why not? Isn’t it nice to have a chat with your friends?”
“You’re not my friend,” Guesclin said, bluntly.
Lock fell silent, again. The awkwardness was starting to kill him, but he didn’t want to look stupid in front of the griffon. He tried to come up with something, but nothing sounded good.
“Uh-“
“We can either see this two ways: either continue to suck up to me to get more awkward responses, or ignore what just happened and focus on your mission.”
“Fine.”
The two mercs continued on down the hallway. When they turned around the corner though, they were met with an interesting discovery. A door swung open at the left side of the hallway. Guesclin held his claw out and moved Lock back. They peaked around the corner and noticed a guard popping out of the door. He was a Pegasus stallion with a beige fur coat and a blonde crew cut. He also sported a black T shirt, like the other guards, and sunglasses placed on his forehead. He walked out of the room carrying two plastic bottles with his wings.
“Alright, time to take these bottles to Bulk so he can show off,” he spoke.
He closed door and began to walk through the hallway. Once he turned around the corner, Guesclin and Lock sneaked towards the door. They both approached a handle sticking out of the wall with a thing outline surrounding it. Guesclin turned the handle and the door slowly creaked open.
“They didn’t even lock it? Wow, talk about poor security,” chuckled Lock.
“Hush!”
The door finally opened up. Guesclin noticed some beads hanging next to the door. He yanked on it, and the room lit up. What the found inside was a little too much for words. They just stood there speechless. They both walked down the stairs to get a better look.
Meanwhile, Shield was still looking for Stardust but had no luck. He wandered down the hall with no idea where he was going. He then spotted another corridor that was crossing paths with his. There were two armored suits at each end of the arch that led to the corridor. He slowly approached the cross hall. Bulk and his guests walked by laughing as he continued his tour. Shields heart skipped a beat. At the last second he leaped behind one of the armored suits.
“And then I said, ‘Why don’t you just make it yourself?’”
He and the rest of his guests burst into laughter. Heads thrown back and all. Shield rolled his eyes at Bulks words, even though he had no idea what he was talking about.
Geez! Does this guy have to show the ENITRE place?
His guests finally walked on the other side and vanished. Shield hopped out from behind the armor and peaked around the corner. He looked to his right and noticed that his tour line was not that far away. Shield turned to his left and noticed the hallway turned right. So, he ran to his right and made another right at the end. He started to wander through another corridor. It seemed that every hallway was getting longer and longer. He began to wonder just how many halls and sharp turns Bulk has. A lot of hallways and still no sign of Stardust. He was starting to worry, his heartbeat started to slow down and he stared at the ground.
Where did you go, Stardust? I hope you didn’t get captured.
He turned around another corner. When he did, he accidentally bumped into something. Or somepony; and they sounded like they dropped something.
“Oof! Excuse me,” Shield pardoned.
His eyes froze once he discovered what he bumped into. The guard pony with the crew cut stared at him, cautiously. His dropped bottles rolled on the floor. The two ponies just stared at each other.
“Who the hay are you?” asked the guard. “You’re not one of Bulk’s guests.”
Shields eyes shifted, unable to come with a convincing story. So, he improvised.
“Yes I am.”
“No, you’re not. We checked all the guests before they entered the mansion.”
“Uh.”
He eyed one of the dropped bottles still rolling on the floor. Time to improvise. He levitated one of the bottles twisted off the cap. As soon as the cap came off, he threw the entire bottle at the guard.
“Gah!” he yelled.
He was splashed with a thick, brown liquid. The drink got in his eyes and his mane was soaked. As he rubbed his eyes with his wings.
“I hate chocolate flavor!”
As he was rubbing his eyes, Shield raised his front hooves and made a run for it. The guard regained his vision and noticed Shield running away through the hall.
“Hey! Get back here!”
“No!”
The guard ran after him, dripping chocolate flavor protein shake as he ran. While that was going on, Stardust was still wandering. She kept walking through her corridor until something came up. All while not knowing that she was alone. She reached an arch at the end of the hall and found herself back in the living room.
“Back here again? Looks like we just went in one big circle. Huh, Shield?” No response came. “Shield?”
She turned around and discovered that her partner was nowhere to be seen. Her mouth dropped as she realized what was happening. She circled around herself and still no Shield. Her heart was starting to beat faster than normal.
“What? Where did he go? Oh no.”
The sound of a stallion’s yell soon hit her eardrums. Her left ear perked up, she noticed that the scream was close by. She turned and faced another ach leading into another room. Her concerns increased every time she heard hoofsteps getting louder.
“Shield,” she said. In her mind, she knew what she had to do.
Hang tight, Shield! Please don’t get captured.