Chaos Theory: Lone Wolf

by Littlepony115

Chapter 2: Moving Day

Chapter Two

As the sun rose, Solar rose with it. She sat up in bed and stretched, glancing at the clockface as she did every day. The arms of the clock showed it to be nine in the morning. Solar dressed in the only other casual clothing she had, a frilled white shirt and brown trousers along with her usual lace-up heeled grey boots. It wasn’t much but it was smart enough to suit her while also being loose enough to seem like a regular citizen. Slipping on her belt, she placed her knife into position on her thigh and strode to the window. However, she had gotten no further than a metre before she noticed something off, there was a bird on the other side of the glass pane. A pigeon, seemingly carrying a small note. Great, another job from Syndicate. While she enjoyed the prospect of another job she had been wanting an empty day as at some point she would be moving to her new house in that village, which she had found was called Ponyville. Thanks to the old paper map of Equestria she had spotted during a sweep of a house some time ago. Sighing, she opened the window and held her hand out, the pigeon nimbly hopped onto her finger and she unwound the note from its leg.

Solar,

The nobles are in a bit of a frenzy over that jewel. Nice job. However, I think that it would be good to strike while the iron is hot and show that we have power over all the ruling parties. As such, I would like you to make a move on Equestria’s royals. I have intel of a particularly fine necklace being used for decoration in one of the Canterlot Castle rooms on the third floor, specifically one used by Princess Celestia’s personal pupil, a Miss Twilight Sparkle. While the necklace does not belong to her and she is, indeed, not occupying the room at the moment it will be noticed as missing by the cleaners. Attached is a note that I would like you to replace the necklace with, this is to ensure they know that it did not simply go missing and so they do not blame staff. I want them to know we have power. Although, I do not want them to announce a full forced witch-hunt on us, this is why I have chosen a low priority target.

The job is rather simple on the face, get in, get necklace, get out. But, unfortunately, the room happens to be in one of the towers. I trust you can get the job done. To be clear, failure will not affect our previous dealings, only this one. Speaking of, I have not forgotten our deal. The house will be ready later today, so be sure to gather your things. I would estimate it to be wise to leave around six the earliest, as the paperwork has not quite gone through.

-Syndicate

Solar bit her lip reading the letter, the Canterlot towers were problematic. They had a strange shape and did not simply go straight up, but rather angled out of the main building. This would make climbing them very difficult… Although, that being said beneath them was a long drop, around a few kilometres. No-one would survive such a drop, but, no-one would be able to find a feather there either… It was decided then, she would fly to the outer edge of the tower and climb from there, she did not want to chance a stray feather landing on a balcony. Cursed feathers. Still, the job should be, as Syndicate himself pointed out, relatively simple from then out. All that would sit between her and the necklace would be a locked window and, she assumed, a locked case, both of which could be unlocked with relative ease. There was also the issue of the necklace being in the Canterlot Castle, she knew that most jewellery in the establishment was often held in a rune-engraved box, those however were quite faulty as you could easily bypass the enchantment. All one would have to do is find the rune and use a knife or similar tool to carve a circle around it, then chip away the wood that held the symbol. Thank Celestia for her practise with these types of situations. Solar slid the note she was meant to replace the necklace with along with the letter into her bag and slung the satchel over her shoulder. As she began to walk towards the doorway she realised, if she was on a job… Damn it, I’m going to have to change again.

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The Canterlot Castle was certainly impressive, large cream marble walls and slated gold rooves gleamed in the light of the sun, probably an intentional detail as the castle had originally been inhabited by Celestia alone, as opposed to her and her sister. Standing up, Solar scanned the structure for the tower she was meant to hit. The general buzz of the city beneath her made it slightly harder to concentrate so she tried to block it out. No easy feat apparently. There, on the left, the tower Syndicate had been referring to stood high over the side of the mountain, seemingly defying all logic and reason with its form, attached only by the bottom and being so large it stood to reason that the tower should have crumbled instantly, yet it has stood standing for millennia. Magic was the most likely reason for this, most of the castle was enchanted to resist the wear of nature and that included the pull of gravity. Having made her decision, she sprinted to the edge of the building she had been using as an observation tower and leapt to the next, making her route up as she went. A pegasus in the sky was often watched by passers-by as most loved doing tricks, so flying while dressed in her current attire would not be a good idea.

Eventually she neared the wall that surrounded the castle and when she did she dropped to the streets below, running up to the wall and pressing against it; the castle guards were posted on the top of the walls and rarely looked down them. In fact, most of them were asleep since no-one ever really tried to enter the castle. Or rather, most were allowed to. There was no real reason to sneak into the castle as you could simply enter through the front if you wanted to visit the gardens or visit the princesses as a lot of business owners and nobles did. However, entering through the front would not be a good idea in her current situation, as the guards would instantly think something was up with her. No-one goes around casually with a bow and a dark leather suit. It was kind of a red flag. By walking with the wall, Solar eventually came to a spot directly beneath the tower. Just a few metres opposite the wall was the cliff edge and further along the ridge she stood on a river flowed off the mountain. She swore under her breath, she hated working in the daytime. Far fewer shadows to blend into. Fortunately, her talent allowed her to make use of peripheral vision, if she could get to the side of a guard at a sharp enough angle she could go quite unnoticed. That was, if there was a guard on the wall to begin with. Turning, she used one of the boons of vampirism to her advantage, the blood vision. She could just make out the circulatory system of a unicorn guard atop the wall, he was sitting down and seemed quite drowsy, his heartbeat was slow. Not unhealthily so, just enough to show he was very relaxed. He wouldn’t notice if she whipped past. Creeping against the wall she moved to his right by a good margin, now at an almost eighty-degree angle she began scaling it. The marble bricks of the wall made a pretty decent handhold. She came to the top and glanced at the guard through the slits in the brickwork. He was awake but drowsy, clearly not concentrating too thoroughly. The gold armour he wore reassured her somewhat, she did not want to have to deal with another captain.

Hauling herself up to the walkway on top of the wall, she quickly vaulted the other side and dropped into the grounds of the castle. Her head span round as she checked on him, but his red glow did not move. She smiled to herself and looked up. The tower loomed above her and with the guard out of the way she could now fly up. That’s when she realised that, if she was on solid ground that any lost feathers would also land on solid ground. She would have to get some altitude, make her way to the beginning of the curve in the tower before pushing out over the drop. Annoying but her fault, so she couldn’t really complain. The climb was slightly more difficult than usual with the added weight of her bow, which she admittedly hadn’t factored in when purchasing it. Luckily it was quite light all things considered, so it was nothing too awkward. Pushing off the castle, she spread her wings and gave them one forceful beat. The action pushed her far out enough that beneath her was the long drop to the plains rather than Canterlot. She flew up beyond the curve in the tower and reached the third floor before landing on the room’s balcony.

There were curtains on the doors that lead to the room, but they were inside so she had free access to the locks on the doors. Quickly checking for any signs of blood in the room, she was relieved to see that no-one was currently in it. Sure, it wouldn’t have been a problem, she would just have to wait for them to leave but it would still be a bore. The lock on the doors proved simple, having only three pins, and Solar strolled into the room. It was grand, with a four-poster bed to the side of the room and a complex oak desk on the other, it certainly was the kind of environment you could imagine royalty in. To the left of the balcony doors against the curved wall sat a display case. Inside was a wooden replica of a pony’s neck and chest, upon which sat a beautiful necklace. Holding amethysts and rubies in delicate patterns within obsidian casings the jewellery was quite the marvel. Frankly, she was shocked it wasn’t treasured more than it was. The case was more of a cabinet, made of mahogany or a similar wood it had a glass panel which shielded the prize from the world.

It had a lock on it, as expected but she knew that there must be more to it. Upon closer observation she discovered a rune carved into the side of the wood. She sighed, while she had expected as much she had kind of been hoping there wouldn’t actually be one. So, she began the process of removing the mark, carving a delicate circle around the etching and then slowly pulling down with her knife to peel the surface of the wood off the cabinet. On the one hand, she hated having to ruin such a nice piece of furniture but on the other she did need that necklace. After the rune was gone, she began to work on the lock which, much like the doors, held a surprisingly low number of pins. The doors on the cabinet opened easily once the lock had clicked and the necklace was lifted from the bust, then wrapped in a cloth and transferred to Solar’s satchel. She took the note Syndicate had given her out of her bag and placed it in the cabinet. Now she just had to leave. Turning, she froze. There was someone coming down the corridor outside the main door. Quickly, she closed the doors on the cabinet and drew the curtains on the balcony before closing those doors too. Then she leapt off the balcony and soared out across the sky. Holding her breath and praying under it, she folded her wings in and let herself drop like a stone. The wind rushed past her, whistling at her speed disapprovingly. She fell past Canterlot and beneath the mountain, where she opened her wings and slowed her speed to a hover. Climbing the breeze, she flew up to the edge of Canterlot’s walls nearest to the clocktower where she dropped to the street below. The clocktower was directly in front of her and she wasted no time climbing to the top.

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Four in the afternoon, the day had really flown past as she had carried out that job. Syndicate really had it out for the royals recently. Not that she cared. Changing her clothing, she picked her satchel back up and left her bow in her room before exiting the tower. She had to bring the necklace to him now. Then she would gather her valuables up and get ready for a whole different life. Canterlot was the usual picturesque scene as she made her way along the streets, blending into the crowd as she ate an apple. A stall nearby offered a newspaper, which she picked up and read as she walked. As expected her little escapade from the other day was in there.

Stunning robbery at Canterlot Vaults!

Recently a shocking event unfolded at the nearby private security establishment known as the ‘Canterlot Vaults’. An unknown assailant assaulted the captain of the royal guard as he was patrolling government property. The captain in question, Shining Armour, claims that he remembers next to nothing of the incident, in his own words: “It seemed as though one minute I was being roughly grabbed and the next I was being shaken awake by somepony.”

Upon finding the prized ‘Jewel of Griffonia’ missing, establishment employees sped to the door to find Shining unconscious on the floor. No-one knows who managed to get in and out of such a guarded area, but the Princesses had some grave news regarding the situation.

“We are certain that this was meant as a threat directly to both us and the griffons. Very few people had motive to steal that gem and still fewer had its location. To infiltrate such a heavily secured zone would require more effort than the common thief would justify. Currently, we believe somepony is trying to drive a wedge between Griffonian and Equestrian relations.” Said Princess Celestia when asked of the occurrence.

“While we are sure that our enemy has an ulterior motive, neither our, nor our sister’s, attempts to analyse the area have been fruitful. With no signs of magic and not one of the detection spells alarmed we have little to go on, but thee can be assured that our attempts to find the convict will not end soon.” Stated Princess Luna during the questioning of the matter.

The royal guard are working to find the pony responsible for the heist and poisoning of Captain Shining Armour.

Solar grinned to herself and shook her head, ‘Heavily secured zone’ was an overstatement. Damn royals always twisting the truth. Frankly the job had been easy, tense, but easy. Beneath the text there was a printed picture of the royals standing in front of a crowd of disorderly ponies and griffons alike. According to the caption it showed Celestia, Luna, Shining Armour and a… Prince Blueblood. Narrowing her eyes, she came to a falter on the road and stared at the image of the second unicorn. A new royal it would seem, or at least one she had never seen before. He seemed vaguely familiar. Strange. She folded the paper up and slid it into her satchel before carrying on down the road.

Syndicate’s home base was actually relatively normal, if no-one told you then you would have no idea that it wasn’t just another occupied home. The path up to the house was maintained and clean. Indeed, the house itself was relatively large, at least, in comparison to what Solar was usually saw. This section of Canterlot was likely more for middle class citizens than lower and it wasn’t quite the right area for the higher class. Knocking on the door returned a noticeable echo from inside before the sound of a bolt sliding from a catch and the door swung open, revealing an irritated looking older earth-pony mare. She looked Solar up and down before raising an eyebrow and jerking her head, gesturing behind her. Solar smiled and walked in, continuing into the front hall. She knew the general layout and made her way to the meeting room upstairs, the room that Syndicate not only spent most of his time but also received deliveries in. Oddly enough this time a stallion was leaning against the closed door to the room. He straightened up and accosted her.

“Alright, what are you here for?” He began, with a slight edge to his voice. Clearly, he was a guard of some sort.

“Syndicate requested an item only I could provide, he should be expecting me.” She replied formally.

Like the mare before he simply looked her up and down and opened the door, gesturing her through. Inside Syndicate was leaning against the far end of an oval table, four ponies sat around the table in chairs. Most she knew as crime lords from her past employments, others she just assumed were clients of Syndicate’s. Not wanting to disturb the meeting, she leant against the wall and met Syndicate’s eye. He gestured her forward and spoke to her.

“I’ll be impressed if you already have that necklace Solar.” He said, smiling. As ever, the welcoming picture he was, although she could see the worry in his face. His company was clearly quite stressful to keep.

“Caught you off guard, have I?” She joked, walking round the table to him, feeling all four of his guests watching her. Sliding the wrapped necklace out of her bag, she unwrapped it and waited for his reaction. Checking the necklace, he nodded and pulled a pouch from his pocket, giving it to Solar.

“Yeah, this looks good. Great work. Eighty bits, as promised.”

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Having spoken to Syndicate regarding their deal, Solar had discerned that the house was, for all intents and purposes, ready and that she could move as soon as she pleased. She wasted no time gathering her things, her clothing, gear and weapons. She decided to carry the bow and knife on her while her keeping her gear and clothing in a suitcase she had purchased on her way back to the clocktower. Getting to Ponyville would be easy, there was train station outside Canterlot that regularly stopped by the village. Being in her regular clothing and wheeling a suitcase, not many passed Solar a glance as she walked through the crowded platform. The train had not yet arrived, and a few groups stood at the edge of the platform, each engaged in conversation. Finding an empty area, Solar stood and waited. The train itself was due in around five minutes so she took the time to look at those around her. One particular individual caught her eye, a white coated mare with a finely shaped purple mane and tail. She was wearing a necklace, not unlike the one Solar had taken earlier, but with far fewer gems. There was a stallion talking to her, a white coated, blue haired pony wearing a suit and monocle. Intrigued, Solar listened carefully, trying to capture any titbits of information from the two unicorns.

“Thank you ever so much for having me Fancy, Canterlot is quite charming.” The mare said, clearly to the stallion, who she assumed was named Fancy. Likely Fancy something, not many ponies had such a short name.

“Oh, it’s no problem Rarity, in fact it was quite a pleasure having you here today. So, how is business in Ponyville going as it is?” Fancy replied. Ah, so this ‘Rarity’ was working in Ponyville, if she was visiting Canterlot she may even live there. It would be good to have a friend in Ponyville as soon as possible. Solar decided it would be good to try and talk to her if she could. The two faded into the background as Solar checked the rails for the train, in the distance there was a plume of light smoke as the train drew closer. Rarity and Fancy ceased their conversation beside her and turned expectantly to the rails. Whistling, the brakes of the train kicked into action and the carriages squealed to a stop.

“Here is the train, well thank you again Fancy Pants. Don’t hesitate to contact me if you need any clothes made or anything.” Rarity said as the doors on the train opened.

“Of course, goodbye Rarity, I hope to see you soon.” Fancy replied and the two embraced. Platonically, it would seem. If Solar had to guess, the two were friends; likely due to business or position. As Rarity walked into and sat on the bench of the carriage, Solar followed. Luckily there were enough ponies entering the train to sit opposite Rarity without coming off as strange. With both of them having cases, the two were clearly travelling. Rarity smiled at Solar and struck up a conversation.

“So, where are you headed, darling?” She began. Her voice was smooth and refined, clearly, she was quite the aristocrat. She had blue eyes and long eyelashes, appearance was apparently high on her list of priorities.

“Ponyville, I’ve never been there before but I’m excited to see it.” Solar replied, hoping Rarity would mention whether or not she lived there as well. Luckily, she did.

“Oh, me too! Are you visiting, or do you live there? I’ve never seen you in town before.” Her eyes had lit up at hearing Solar’s answer, evidently, she loved the place. It would make sense for her to live there if she stated not seeing her in town, only a resident would be surprised of a newcomer.

“That depends really, I’m moving there. But since I’m not there yet, I couldn’t say I live there. But then again, I fully intend on staying so I’m not visiting either, do you know what I mean?” Solar joked, smiling and enjoying the confusion on Rarity’s face as each sentence brought a new twist. Trying to hide her confusion Rarity pondered her statement before replying.

“Yes, I think I do. Well, if you are moving I could introduce you to the town once you’ve settled in if you’d like.” She responded with a little laugh, quite a generous offer and exactly what Solar had been after.

“That sounds great, I would love to.” Solar replied. She already liked Rarity, her relaxed manner despite her ‘proper’ demeanour and her instant jump to help her when there really wasn’t a clear benefit showed she was quite a nice pony in general. Hopefully she was well connected in Ponyville, she had said she would show her around so perhaps she knew a few more of the residents. It would be good to get on their good sides.

“Out of interest, why are you moving to Ponyville? Most who live in Canterlot aren’t keen to leave their current home.” Rarity asked. Her question would be understandable from her position. Homes in Canterlot were expensive, at least those available and desirable were. Few actually knew or paid attention to the back alleys and poorer regions of the city. Granted, the guards were doing their best but sometimes they could even be the problem. For someone visiting the higher-class areas of the city it must seem insane to leave it.

“Oh, to be honest I didn’t have a house there myself. I lived with some friends of mine. Recently though my grandfather passed away and left the house to me. I couldn’t afford my own with the payrate of my current job.” Smiled Solar, being sure to get across the point that all was fine. She didn’t want Rarity to worry or pry too far into her ‘life in Canterlot’. It was here that she became glad for her talent at lying. Apparently, that came under manipulation, which made sense.

“Oh dear, I’m sorry to hear that. What do you work as then?” Rarity probed. She was probably the kind of pony to enjoy gossip and some would likely find her to be a little prying. Thinking on the fly Solar though of a job that would perfectly fit her and explain away some of her skills.

“I’ve worked as a locksmith for a good while. Although at one point I had been a guard. The guard jig was decent as far as pay goes but eventually somepony slipped up and my friends asked me to switch jobs. Since I wasn’t particularly fond of it anyway I found the job at the locksmiths and became quite experienced with opening locks.” Now that, was a good lie. Not only did it answer some questions she knew would eventually come up if Rarity ever saw any scars on her. They were hard to see since they were old, and her fur covered them.

Rarity bought her rouse and the two chatted idly about Canterlot, Ponyville and each other as the train round its way through the hills and fields of Equestria. Apparently, Rarity was a tailor and owned a boutique in Ponyville where she made ‘fashionable’ designer clothing. The stallion, Fancy Pants, was a noble and retired captain of the guard, he now threw get-togethers for those with some time and money to spend in Canterlot. The two met through Fancy’s fiancée Fleur who had asked Rarity to make her some clothing some time ago. During the endeavour the two had gotten along well and became firm friends, soon the friendship included Fancy and several other wealthy figures. However, despite her adoration of Canterlot, its environment and luxuries, Rarity’s heart still belonged to Ponyville as she had a grand circle of friends and a little sister to look after named Sweetie Belle. Solar had managed to stick to her false story, explaining the background of her with as much truth as she could. In this counterfeit version of her history her mother and father’s impact remained the same, however, she then was taken in by Ironsights as his ‘daughter’. She knew that if she had to employ her lie she could easily get the message across to him to just play along. At one point she had joined the guard but after a stab wound from a thief, oh the irony, she had been asked by Ironsights to leave the guard, to which she had agreed. Soon however she had found employment as a locksmith and lived peacefully that way. Not long after she received news of her ‘grandfathers’ passing, not her blood grandfather but Ironsights’ dad, in the letter a house was offered to him. Ironsights then decided to give the property to Solar, as he had a good business in Canterlot.

To be fair to Rarity, it was one of the most in-depth stories Solar had made. Not taking it hook line and sinker would have been an impressive feat. Unfortunately, she knew she couldn’t simply tell Rarity the truth since she would either hate her or simply think she was lying, which would likely lead to the same conclusion. It wasn’t that she wanted to lie but more that she had to.

Soon the rooves and fields of Ponyville began to appear in the distance, the glow of the town’s lights creating luminescent rings in the evening, each a small firefly in the dark. It was picturesque, and Solar could hardly wait to start a life there. Finally, a normal place where she wouldn’t feel on edge at all hours of the day. Perhaps, someone would finally care about her for something other than her skills. As the doors slid open, a few ponies filtered onto the platform. Some walked straight to their loved ones and friends, a turquoise unicorn embraced a cream coloured earth-pony and others simply began going their separate ways, each with their own destinations in mind. Likely a good few of them worked in Canterlot. Solar and Rarity walked along the platform chatting idly about the village. Despite her eagerness to show her the actual sights and sounds of the place, along with her wish to have her meet her friends, Rarity decided that it was too late to become a tour guide.

“Well darling, as much as I would love to show you around and introduce you to some of my friends I must say that you would probably rather find your own house first.” She began. It was here that Solar had a slight moment of uncertainty, did she even know where the house was? Suddenly she remembered, during their talk earlier Syndicate had given her a map. Bringing it out she began to read it, Rarity leaned over her shoulder and tried to make out the buildings around the house. It didn’t take long for her to point out some key places, such as the town hall and a few of the shops around the place. Solar’s house was situated to the edge of the village, near to the ‘Everfree Forest’, which Rarity implored her never to enter, warning her that it was a “Horrid place with vile and dangerous creatures.” Apparently, her time in the forest had been less than welcoming. There was however a nicer forest nearby named the ‘Whitetail Woods’ that Rarity and some friends sometimes camped in. That peaked Solar’s interest, she hadn’t left Canterlot all her life and had never actually been in a forest.

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After finding the house and fiddling with the key, Solar put her case inside the hall and said her goodbyes to Rarity. It was getting dark and both mares were eager to turn in for the night. Before she left Rarity offered her services in case Solar needed any clothing.

“Well, before I go it would be wrong of me not to offer you some help. I couldn’t help but notice that your case is rather small, and it seemed implied you weren’t having anything sent to you so… If you need any clothing or anything I would be happy to make some for you, my boutique is just in town. If you need anything don’t hesitate to let me know.” She offered with a smile before walking down the path and into the heart of Ponyville, eventually turning the corner and leaving Solar’s sight. Really, quite the kind soul. The house was good, quite large and homely. It was rather dusty and had a few cobwebs, but that could be fixed easily. Certainly, it was nice. There was a large living room with a hearth and a sofa in the centre of the wall that separated it from the hall. There were a few comfortable looking armchairs and a large wooden coffee table between them. The kitchen had a tiled floor with large work tops and cupboards, while she had never cooked Solar was sure she could learn to. A doorway led to a dining room with a large table surrounded by chairs. The curtains were drawn in every room and she decided to leave them that way for now, it was dark anyway. All the magic-based lighting worked and while she had nothing to light any candles with, she didn’t feel she needed them.

Creaking, the stairs in the hall led to a landing in the house. Several rooms branched off from the room, one was a bathroom which mirrored the one downstairs. Two guest bedrooms laid on either side of the landing, opposite each other and behind the stairs was a door that lead to the master bedroom. Her bedroom. It was the biggest room on the upper floor with access to a balcony and a large double bed. An en-suite bathroom and walk-in wardrobe showed just how impressive this home was. Which begged the question, why did Syndicate give it to her? Granted it wasn’t free, it was payment but surely too much so. That job wasn’t worth… All of this. Not to mention the fact he had payed her as well. She tried not to linger on this thought for too long as it certainly soured the mood. Instead she unslung her bow and quiver, placing them against the wall and making her way back down stairs. Idiotically, she had forgotten to lock the door once Rarity had left.

Once she was sure the lock was… locked, she slid the door’s bolt across and walked back up the stairs. Her boots were placed next to her quiver and her belt soon after. She wasn’t quite comfortable with sleeping in the bed without her shirt and trousers until it had been cleaned, so she chose to take the sheet covering it to the balcony which, it turned out, required a key. Luckily it was on the bedside table, despite its state, the house was left with the intention of being used again and she opened the door before adding the key to the current one’s chain. Shaking the sheet into the night showed that there was one Tartarus of a lot of dust in it. She wasn’t even sure if it was originally white. Quickly, she decided against sleeping under the sheet and instead to sleep on top of it. After turning off the lights in the house, she laid on the bed and closed her eyes and drifted to sleep.

Author's Note:

Mmm, another chapter. Honestly, I have a lot of ideas for this. Also, I had no clue that 'Main 6' was a character you could add so... they're there now. Since this story will heavily include them. Anyhoo, I didn't have time to listen to this long thing with the 'Read Aloud' option so any run-on sentences I do apologise for.

Lemme know if there is anything I'm doing wrong, any mistakes etc.

Oh, also thanks to the nineteen of you that skipped the prologue and to the one guy who just disliked the story without saying why, really helping me develop my writing there. Real methodical-like, no feedback at all. In all seriousness though, please do let me know what you guys think of the story in the comments.