> Quicksilver > by PredictableOffender > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Silver the Criminal > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yet another turn of the key only produces a the pathetic whine of the starter trying desperately to do its job. You sigh and lean into the steering wheel then let out some choice words and try to start the car yet again. It was no hope it wasn’t going to start, your attempts to repair it earlier was completely useless. Celestia’s sun shines painful rays straight into your eyes, somehow mocking you through the colorful fall canopy above. Rather than deal with the legal process of disposing of a car you get out and remove the licence plates and place them in your bag. You begin to gather anything you need for the long walk ahead of you while taking care to wipe anything that links you to the car. You have experience in doing this so it didn’t take long. You have the cash to buy twenty brand new ones anyway. This is why you doubt people who say crime doesn't pay. You and your brother's crew just successfully pulled a string of jewelry heists. You are all over the news right now so you are heading to a safehouse for rest and a place to lay low. Your job is dangerous but its this or poverty. You had broken down in the middle of the Everfree Forest Parkway. You are now stuck in the middle of a rarely used road that was likely filled with aggressive wildlife, with a long walk ahead of you. Luckily you had taken your old double barreled shotgun with you as a little piece of home. Leaves crunch under your feet as you take your first steps down the road towards your new home. You prefer pump shotguns for aesthetic reasons but this was the only one your brother would give you. You had packed light, which was easy because you didn’t own much any way. The Everfree is a cold, damp and still forest so as the journey drags on you stop appreciating the scenery. Each step you got to see more and trees and multicolored leaves, you are getting exhausted and something could jump out at you at any moment so you decide to take a break. You sit down on the side of the road and began rummaging through your backpack for anything to eat. You didn’t find anything to eat but you still have your all more or less pointless nostalgic nick-nacks. You still need a rest so you waste some time cleaning your shotgun. As you handle the weapon in your hands you realize if something does attack you it would the first time you had actually fired the gun, you just maintained your brothers guns. It wasn’t easy not being a tough guy back on the rez. You thank the gods for your brother’s kind heart and thick skull. Feeling a little more energized you get back up and continue on your journey. As the road goes on the road becomes more serpentine and mountainous, which is not to be surprised because Ponyville is on the other side of the mountain range obscured by the forest canopy that you only know about from memory and road maps. You only have about an hour until you reach the a gas station so you forge ahead. You don’t believe your eyes. about one hundred meters ahead of was an old 70’s looking gas station. You walk up to the parking lot where two trucks are parked one old, one new. The gas station sign said you were now entering Scruffy’s Gas. Once you enter you see a pair of men who are clearly father and son watching the news on a TV behind the counter. The young mans runs past you and out the door. “Sir where is your car?” The young man returns with confusion on his face. “Ohhh uhhh....” you are kind of embarrassed and determined to abandon the turd on the side of the road. “I’m a hitchhiker that couldn’t get a ride.” “Well A’h ain't surprised.” The older man stands up. “Only people that use this road are tourists and loggers and the logging companies are dealing with a strike right around now.” “Oh thanks.” You begin to look around. “Nice gun you got there.” The older man comments. “My brother gave it to me when I left home.” “It has been three weeks since the gang of jewel thieves last robbed a jewelry store in Las Pegasus.” The old man turns his attention to the TV. “Lucky Ponyville is too small to be bothered.” you chuckle at the man’s words. “You’re right.” Small towns don’t have much to rob. “I swear if I see those guys I! I! don’t know what I’ll do” you respond with a nervous chuckle. “Now what brings you around these parts boy?” Truth isn’t an option so you decide to begin spinning a web of lies. ~~~ Before you knew it you are riding in the old truck with the young man. His name is Caramel and you got along fine with him, although he is a little chatty and you soon learned quite a bit about life in ponyville. It was cool and charming at first but you soon learned about nearly everything Twilight Sparkle. ~~~ You wave goodbye to the old truck driving away from you down the dirt road in the middle of the everfree you now call home. Your new home stands tall in the middle of a lot, it wasn't anything too impressive. It was charming anyway and you wouldn’t mind using it as a permanent home. However you are now incredibly tired, everything can wait until the morning. You walk up the steps and open the door, you immediately impressed with the construction of the place. It was built like a proper house with insulation, electricity, water and strangely a garage, Gramps sure delivers. You didn’t give any thought to exploration and you immediately walk towards the bedroom and stumble your way in. Once you see the bed you toss your stuff on the floor and fall into bed. Sunlight was soon stirring you from your slumber, you quickly get out of bed, excited to explore your new home. It was minimally equipped and you didn’t find much of interest so you turn your attention to your phone. You have Caramels number and he promised to show you around town, you grab your phone to find you don’t get service out here. You had a day of shopping planned and Caramel's truck will we be helpful, however you discover a bicycle in the garage, you take the bike and leave for the town.  The path leading into town leads out of the forest then onto a neighborhood that quickly brings you to the town square. The town was built in an old English style as per most older towns in the country. The centerpiece of the town is the beautiful town hall, it was surrounded by a ring of turn of the century shops. In fact the further from the centre of town the newer the buildings get at rate of about ten years every two blocks. You phone alerted you to a few texts from caramel, he was asking for your help in exchange for his help in moving. You catch a glimpse of yourself in a nearby window. The old tattered hoodie and jeans you are wearing combined with your unkempt hair disgusts you, you’re rich now you better look the part. You cancel todays plans and decide to go on a bit of a shopping spree. Caramel seemed distressed but you really don’t care, you will take what you want at anybodies expense. First on the list was a haircut, a look in another window reminded you why, you looked like fucking Homeless Squanto. Back home you never cared but you now have a chance to change that, so you pedal towards the fancy looking barbershop you saw in the town centre. You pass a luxury car dealership and immediately stop in your tracks, you are buying a car right now. The purchasing of the car was boring but you soon owned your own luxury sedan, a Pyromancer E100 AMG. It is pretty much a Crystal Kingdom muscle car with a fancy interior. The engine’s first roar put you in a great mood and you soon are speeding down the road towards the barber shop in your new monster of leather and steel. ~~~ Cars aren't allowed in the Ponyville town centre so you had park in a parking garage, and find a place to park on the first floor. You notice another massive luxury car park nearby, you didn’t care much until you saw who got out of it. She was absolutely stunning, a brilliant shimmering dress that reflected light just like a diamond. Long purple curled hair leading down to her back, even from this distance you could see her beautiful sapphire eyes, looking in your direction. Now is a better time than any to talk to her. With the confident swagger you so meticulously copied from your brother you open your car door and exit the vehicle. You audibly laughed when you saw the expression on her face when you exited the car, she looks away from you in embarrassment. You were gonna abandon the idea of approaching her when you notice her taking two large suitcases from the back of her car. Classic. “Need a little help with that?” you call out to her. “Oh! Why yes I do?” she seems flattered. You walk over to her silver car you take one of the heavy suitcases, she tries to take the other one but you deftly take it before she can. She takes a step back before fanning her face with her hand, she stops when you turn to her. They were heavy but nowhere near as heavy as a duffel bag filled with gold and diamonds. “I’m surprised you can lift those easily” crap you gotta make up a story. “I need to keep in shape for my job.” the beautiful woman looks at you, confused then turns her attention to your car. “Oh please do tell.” you fucked that up, think fast. “Soldier of fortune.” you are only slightly lying. You have hurriedly shoved jewels under Police fire before. “You’re a mercenary then?” you can't help but smile after seeing how cute that inquisitive look on her is. “I’m surprised a mercenary can make that much money.” “It depends on the contract and how much the employer is willing to shell out. Renting your own private army is expensive.” judging on how well this is going to be a lie you are going to stick to for a long time. You already had a cover story but whatever. “Pardon me asking but what is your name.” alias time. “Silver Weld.” Your real name is Silver Creek. Your mom is Equestrian so she gave you an Equestrian first name. “Rarity Belle. Shall we?” she motions to the exit of the parking garage. “Lead the way.” ~~~ The suitcases got heavier as the blocks went on but she eventually lead you an old building with an tree that must have been growing so long it had partially merged with the building. Rarity runs ahead of you and knocks on the door, you bring her luggage next to her. Fuck me sideways. Prince Shining armour, captain of the guard and Equestria's top law enforcer is standing right before you. You and your brother are all over the news, you and your brother are among Equestria’s most wanted and are now within arms reach of Prince Shining Armour. Just stay calm and don’t let him recognize you. You almost had a heart attack when Princess Twilight Sparkle appeared behind him. Your criminal instincts are telling you to get the hell out but that would suspicious as hell. You should ask some questions and gather some info on how close the cops are getting to you and your brother. “Are you okay?” The Princess says to you with concern to her voice. You respond bowing deeply to her and her brother in an excuse your anxiety about being face to face with Equestria best law enforcers. “Hehe... ” Princess Twilight walks up to you. “I’m Princess Twilight Sparkle.” she extends her hand towards you. “I’m uhh.. Silver Weld.” you shake her hand. “I’m terribly sorry I really am. I’m just so used to seeing them.” Okay you thought this Woman is important but geez. “I’m well... sorry but I gotta leave, I have stuff to do.” No way in hell you are staying in the same building as those two. You wave goodbye to the group, just when you turn to leave you feel a dainty hand grab your shoulder. “Wait!” Rarity screams at you. She turns red when you turn to face her. “Take this.” she hands you a slip of paper. “Thanks.” You know exactly what is it is. You walked away from that place with a huge smile across your face. Although it melted when you realize you are gonna have to spend more time with Caramel if this is the same Twilight Sparkle. ~~~ One new wardrobe, one new haircut and a swaggin new car had completely transformed you. You had never seen yourself with short hair, although the expensive clothes definitely made the difference, you kind of look like a prince. All the wanted posters don’t really look like you but they all got one detail right, unwashed Indian who dresses like a hobo. You see yourself cracking an evil smile. “You must really like this shirt!” Caramel comments. “Something like that.” You are going to be living here while the heat dies down, who knows how long that is.         The next few days pass in peace until you remember the slip of paper Rarity handed you, you had left it on your table. Just as you suspected a phone number was written on it, you are bored so you should probably call her. “Hello?” she sounds busy. “Yeah... sorry for not callin’ earlier.” You hear Rarity gasp for a moment. “I've been kind of busy ” “With what?” Jesus her curious tone is cute. “It’s errr... been a little busy moving in.” you weren't doing shit. “It sounds like we both had busy days.” she heavily sighs after she says that. “I’ll errr... cut to the chase. You want to have dinner together?” you hear her take a sharp breath. “I’m done everything so you can pick the time. ” “How about seven today?” “Sure.” your clock says 5:30. You should get ready. “I know this great little diner near my boutique. The Eglin Street Diner.” “Alright great I’ll see you there.” You had better get dressed. ~~~ In your rebranding of yourself you had decided to really your class levels. All of your clothes are fancy and you even styled your hair. With a confident stride you step into the driver’s seat of your car, start the engine and make your way into town. You still can’t help to admire the car, everything about it is amazing. Once you reach the location the that your phone directed you to it was obvious which one was the Diner. The building is one of the classic prefab buildings wrapped in stainless steel, an old 50’s sign proclaimed the place “The Eglin Street Diner.”. You see Rarity’s car so you decide to park beside it and enter the building. The interior looks exactly like you expected it look like, although there are pictures of the restaurant dating all the way back to 1955. It didn’t take too much scanning to find Rarity sitting alone at a table with mug of coffee and her eyes fixated on her phone. You take a seat opposite her. “Like the new look?” Rarity looks up at you and cracks an inquisitive expression and begins to intensely study every single inch of you. “You shouldn’t have cut your hair.” you frown at her appraisal. “I think it makes me look more civilized.” you think it makes you look less like the wanted posters. “Still you did a great job with the clothing, although I can see plenty of room for improvement.” “You sound like a real professional.” “Well I am!” she huffs. “You are?” “Yes!” “So what do you do?” “I’m a fashion designer. A rather successful one at that. ” is she offended you haven’t heard of her work? “I made my living guarding wealthy Gryphon Kingdom warlords and shooting monsters.... and occasionally people. ” you have never fired a gun in your life. “So you are a man of danger and adventure?” “Was. I quit being a mercenary.” and you have Gramps working on fabricating documents to prove your new cover story. “Really why did you do that?” “That Gryphon Kingdom mist, it was driving me insane. Monsters everyday and barely enough ammo.” you did plenty of research and have enough stories prepared to spit out. “I’m sorry to hear that.” you feel some sympathy from her. “What’s past is past, I’ve been looking for a new job.”   “You shouldn’t be so frivolous with your money.” she motions to your car. “My savings will last me for another couple years.” your savings will last you another two decades, but you still want more. “It’s just owning a car like that is a bit of a life dream of mine.” “Is your ‘New Look’ part of an effort to reinvent yourself?” “Yeah my entire life I was the typical dirty injun so when I moved here I decided It would be nice to actually look civilized.” Rarity slightly winces every time you use the harsher language. “Ohh.” “I grew up on a reservation. It was hard to leave but I had to if I wanted a better life, not too many opportunities outside of gangs back home.” you are more of a freelance criminal. “I’m so sorry.” “Ehh it’s alright, anyway what’s your story how did you get here?” “I was born here.” “I was asking for a uhhh... jot notes version of your life story.” “Sorry.” “You don’t need to apologize.” “I am sorry.” you sigh “Anyway I have been here my entire life. I have always been interested in fashion, so much so I am now a one of Equestria’s top designers.” she looks very proud of herself. “That explains the analytical look you gave me earlier.” “I am a seasoned professional I know what I am doing.” she smiles as she gives you another once over. “Anyway things really got interesting once I met Twilight Sparkle. ” “Can I take your order?” the waitress asks. “Give me todays the special.” you say to her. “The Breakfast for Dinner Special.” Rarity Orders. “Where was I... Oh yes!” if you hadn’t meet The Princess and her brother themselves you wouldn’t have believed any of her stories. She had apparently done things from getting kidnapped by diamond dogs to confronting a Dragon. She is also apparently a close friend of Princess Celestia and fucking Discord. You are speechless the entire time, so amazed that you didn’t notice your food arrive. “You have been silent the whole time. Are you okay? ummmmm....” “Silver. Its just uhhh you are so much more impressive than I thought you were.” you smile at her because you really have nothing to say. “Shall we?” she motions to the food. You really enjoy her company and she seems to enjoy your company. You entertain her with some stories about your life back on the reservation and she details more of her friends exploits. Apparently Caramel never mentioned any of this madness because Twilight herself asked him to. Funny thing they are both enamored with each other but they are both too shy to do talk to each other. Time raced by and you soon found yourself leaning on you car, watching Rarity drive herself home. You have a feeling you are going to be seeing a lot of this girl over the next while. > According to plan > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Sweetie Belle just focus on it and try to remember the four C’s” you say as you loom over the elementary school girl as she looks at a diamond with a magnifying glass. “Carat, Color, Clarity, Cut.” Sweetie Belle falls back into her chair and sighs. “I just don’t know which one is better!” she yells. “It’s alright you helped narrow down the selection, you could go help your friends move the fabric out of the truck.” Sweetie smiles and run out of the room. “Thanks Silver!” you smile as you quickly arrange the small array of diamonds on the table from most to least valuable. “Your talent with appraising jewels never ceases to amaze me.” Rarity appears out of nowhere and grabs you in her arms, you try to get back to work but she grabs you tighter. “Where do you think you are going?” She places a hand on your  cheek and engages you in a passionate kiss. Just when you decide to take things further you feel hear the door open, when you break apart to look you all you see is an empty hallway. “Guess we forgot about the kids running around.” Rarity giggles. “I think we should go before the kids break something.” Rarity grabs your hand as you both head outside. You and Rarity have been dating for months, and things just gradually got more serious. You love spending time with her, you hope you aren't taking things too quickly because you are seriously thinking of proposing to her. You may be rushing things but this is really the first you felt at home, life in Ponyville is safe and predictable. Although there was a bit of an itching for something more exciting, your old life was born out of desperation and you are not leaving Rarity for something so self indulgent. Rarity leads you outside where surprisingly Sweetie Belle and her friends have been able to move the rolls of fabric out the back of your truck into the front of the boutique undamaged. You had bought the truck after you got a job in the Ponyville police department, mostly with fake work experience from your fake past. That fake experience made you a SWAT officer, it couldn't have been a more bizarre situation. Either way, you spend most of your days training for missions that rarely come, you have done a single drug raid in the time of your employment. Strangely what you learned as a jewelry thief come incredibly useful as a SWAT officer. You are greeted by that ever so familiar sound of The Cutie Mark Crusaders breaking something, and immediately trying to pin it on each other followed by Spike trying to calm them down. You chuckle to yourself, as the bickering continues in the background you feel Rarity tugging of your sleeve. “I like this. It feels so... so... Domestic.” she pulls you closer to her and leans into you. “Yeah, I love you to Rares.” she doesn't verbally respond. Rarity just holds you even tighter. Maybe that marriage proposal might not be a bad idea after all, she is practically burying her face in your shirt right now. “Spike! That hurt!” Applebloom screeches from somewhere behind the boutique. “I’m sorry! What are you doing AHH!” Spike yells from the same direction. “I’ll deal with them. You have to start getting ready for work don’t you.” Rarity plants a quick kiss on your lips. “Yeah I guess I do.” ~~~ You are riding in the back of the SWAT van, you had undergone training and you are now very comfortable maintaining and firing rifles now. Your sergeant had been replaced by a Royal Guard because today you are doing a “Special Mission” Assigned by the Princess herself. The royal guard looks nothing like a normal royal guard. She looks like a vampire, her eyes are like those of a cat and she has a pair of fangs, her hair is a dark jet black that looks like it sucks light out of the air. Your Squad mates, Solace, Bravery and Respite are all sitting down in their assigned seats in abject fear of your new leader. You hadn’t been told who you are trying to arrest or if you are even going to arrest anyone. Your new leader hasn’t said anything more than that you are on a special mission and you have to listen to her. “Alright boys get ready!” Your new leader speaks up with a thunderous voice. “We have info that one of the Buffalo Brothers is hiding out in this motel.” everyone looks at her strangely. “Don’t worry about the plan you guys normally do, with me here you don’t need it.” you wonder of you are going to be raiding you brother, if it was you, you would be in jail already. This is a strange situation but you are not going to go easy on your brother, now its either you or him. If your brother escapes you are going to have to talk to him, or formulate your own little plan. Either way you needed to get yourself ready. The Van screeches to a halt and the Guard gives the order to go out in full force. The doors fly open and you all draw your weapons and charge into the sunlight beyond. “This is in Princess Luna’s name! Boys take room 111. I’ll stay back here” you don’t notice any other police cruisers on scene. You find yourself leading the charge towards the room marked 111. The two story motel has a mostly empty parking lot, people left and right run away in a panic, the noise and chaos increases as you pass the other rooms as you make your way towards the room. You all form up on the door, Solace signals you to kick down the door. You position yourself in front of the door and drive the heel of your boot into the flimsy door, you easily smash it beyond operation. You take the lead and charge into the motel room. You are greeted by the sight of some man in a Gryphon Kingdom Military uniform pointing some glowing rifle thing at you. Your Vision suddenly goes dark and you feel something hit you in the back of the head. You don’t even feel yourself hitting the ground. ~~~ “Luna execution is a barbaric way of going about things.” a calm and authoritative female voice wakes you. “The code of justice that you wrote yourself demands that he pay the ultimate price for his crimes. ” A much more aggressive but still authoritative voice rings into your ears. The argument between the two women continues as you begin to come back to consciousness. You found yourself on a cold, damp medieval dungeon like cell. There is a bowl with a pile of bread in it placed on the ground near the cage door. Your cell has a barred window that opens to a pitch black sky above, beyond that there is a pair of shackles attached to the wall. There is nothing else in the cell. The two voices fade into away and you are soon left in silence You take the opportunity to search the cell for any weakness or way to escape. You take the loaf of stale bread and begin to eat it as you search the area. The bowl you were given is made out of plastic so that won’t help much for digging. The bars are solid, the door is strong and all the bricks are firmly in place. You are trapped here. But that doesn’t mean this is the end. You can probably find a way out of here. One question is still on your mind. How the hell do you get in here in the first place? This may be linked to your last heist, the one that put all the heat on you in the first place. ~~~ You are dressed as a mercenary, sitting on a train, in the middle dessart and sitting among a group of jarheads and fat cats. Your employers had ensured you are the only one on the train with a gasmask, they also gave you the location of a crate of tear gas canisters. You knew exactly what to do you just had to wait for the signal, you go through the plan one more time in your head. Each of the mercenaries have a uniform that has Princess Luna’s seal embroidered on it. The plan here is to steal Princess Luna’s personal treasury. After her return Canterlot had a ton of difficulty trying to reintegrate her into the government. This gold is supposed to replace Luna’s old holdings but you are going to change that. “I fucking hate bullshit jobs like this.” a large mercenary says, he gathers some darts from a nearby dart board. “We sit here next to more loot then we can ever live to see and we get paid a shitty cut.” he hands a couple of darts to you. “I miss playing with some Gryphon Kingdom dictator.” You toss the first dart and and hit the Outer Bullseye. “You get to pocket whatever you can get your hands on.” “Yeah I like getting paid enough to justify getting up in the morning.” he tosses his dart but the train hits a bump and he misses. “Fuck!” You look around the rest of the passenger car, there are about nine guards and three passengers. You opponent takes another toss and hits the bullseye. “Yeah!” “Alright fuck this!” another merc screams. “Guess its my turn.” another background voice pipes up. This is gonna be a long ride. As the rounds of darts go on the other passengers get drunker and rowdier, a desire to tear gas them very quickly grows in you. Unfortunately several hours pass until you notice the first steps of the plan being put into action. “Vaillant isn't answering his radio! Someone go check on him!” You quickly raise your hand and make your way to the car’s back door. You quickly check your cellphone, no signal, things are going just as planned. The others are approaching with the cell phone and radio jammers active. The train car has this weird observatory type thing to look out for threats, but the only way to get to it is to climb up the side of the train. You open the door and quickly make your way up the ladder. The observatory is just a shitty open air room with a branch and a few crates on top, standing in the middle of it is a concerned looking guard. You put on your gas mask. “Look!” He points to what you know is five motorcycle headlights racing up beside the train. “The Radio isn’t working go tell the others!” You respond in the civilized way, you ram your fist into his face. He mustn't have been expecting it because he goes down in one hit. You hear the racket of gunfire flare up as your partners begin to open fire into the side of the train car. You are behind schedule you you quickly find the crowbar hidden for the crates and open the ones containing the tear gas. You grab as many canisters as you can, you lie down beside the ladder and toss all of the canisters you have into the train car, the are confused and scrambling are didn't notice you. You get back up grab more canisters when you notice one a sixth crew member pacing along side the engine, he stands up on his bike and tries to jump onto the engine. He grabs one of the side rails and quickly slides off, when he hits the ground you see one of his legs get amputated under the train. Fuck! You have to stop the train since all the others are engaged in a gunfight and probably haven’t noticed. You give the mercs a few more tear gas cans before you depart for the engine. This is gonna suck since the passenger car was in the back of the train. You vault through the window of the observatory and begin running towards the engine. You jump across onto the first car and immediately slip, a desperate motion ensures you fall safely on the train car. You have no time to lose, the more time your crew is in a firefight the higher chance of the cops finding out or one of them dying. One, two, three, four, five, as you try to jump onto the sixth one you start feeling bullets whizzing past you. When you look back you see the observatory guy shooting back at you, a few more shots are fired and you feel one hit you. It goes cleanly though your bicep, now isn’t the time to feel pain so you turn and keep running. His shooting stops but you don’t look back you have to stop the train. The adrenalin carries you to the front of the train, you can feel the burning heat of the exhaust trying to blow you off the train. You drop down to the side of the engine and pull out your handgun, fire a shot into the glass and open the door into the driver’s compartment. You don’t register the drivers words as you force him to the ground and tie him up with the zip ties in you pocket. The deadman’s switch should stop the train from here. ~~~ Long story short you got shot a while back while stealing gold from a now angry princess. That was quite a long time ago now, maybe over a year. But after that some heavy trucks came up and took the gold away and you made it home. You may have done many other little things that soon add up to the Princess being angry at you. As much as you deserve it Execution or prison are not on your list of life-choices. You take another sweep of the cell, then another, then another. No matter how many times check each brick or crack you still find no way out. You decide its best that you sit down and try to make something out about your situation. Or you should wait for a opportunity to escape. > Memories and Motivation > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- As you spend more and more time in your cell you start noticing some things about the cell. You assuming the faint rumble sound that comes and goes might be the footsteps of those above you, you have no idea what all the other sounds are. You are trying to listen to another indistinct noise but your foot slips and the noise is overpowered by your foot sliding on the ground. You sigh. You honestly have no idea how long you have been in here. You have been being fed by trays being teleported into here with cold porridge and soggy toast for breakfast. Rarity made a much better meal. ~~~ “Thanks Rarity.” you place your fork down on the table. “Its no problem Silver.” Rarity pauses, you know she wants you to say something. “Since you’ve been feeling so romantic today how about we go out today?” “Absolutely not!” you flinch at her outburst. “I’m sorry. I spend most of my free time out and about, I just enjoy our more... homely time together.” you get out of your seat. “I understand.” you walk over to her and embrace her. Rarity responds by resting her head on you chest and wrapping her arms around your waist. “So what should we do today?” “I just want to forget about the outside world today.” “I have to go the race tomorrow.” “I’ll be there Darling” ~~~ Funny about that.  You now spend most of your time thinking about the outside world. You shift some more in your cell in order to get a little more comfortable, you had considered exercising in your free time but the space in really too cramped to do much of anything. Maybe you're just naturally lazy. You still don’t know how long you’ve been in here or where you are to be exact. All you know is that the building outside look shiny, your little window faces a wall a very shiny wall. You start to hear some shouting outside. It sounds like an entire crowd is riled up about something. ~~~ “Come on Silver!” Sweetie Belle screams! “Silver!” part of the gathered crowd repeats after her. “Go darling you can do it!” You keep placing one leg in front of an other and keep plowing your way through the mud. The scent of mud, sweat and apples fills the air around you, a crowd of bystanders is gathered in stands watching you compete. “Annnd! Silver! the new kid on the block just might beat our boy Mac at his own game!” Applejacks voice booms from a loudspeaker announcement. You are competing in the annual Men’s Mud race, one of many events hosted at Sweet Apple Acres, to put your new Police training to the test. You had spend your childhood back in the Buffalo Tribe’s lands running similar events. After all sharing your criminal ambitions with your brother of course. Big Mac is in the lead with you behind and Caramel behind you. The other competitors are all far back in the dust. You, Caramel and Big Mac have become close friends in your time here and have all practiced hard for this Event. The three of you bolt your way through the waist deep mud. You are all coming up on the second to last obstacle, a steep hill. Big Mac starts up it and loses almost all of his speed and you and Caramel pass him. “Caramel!”you hear Twilight blurt out in the crowd. Just as you hit the slope of the hill you feel a wave in the mud that almost sends you into the mud. You look at the direction of the wave, it is Big Mac in a mad sprint that propels him ahead of you and Caramel again. You buckle down and run over the hill, still in third place. You nearly fall back into the mud on the downhill but you manage to pass Caramel again. You are too tired to be able to understand the cheers or Pinkie’s announcements, the next few moments are a haze of mud and Mac’s ass. You snap back to attention when you collide with the final obstacle, the wall climb. You had run straight into it, the wall is only six feet tall so it would not be a challenge in normal situations. Big Mac is struggling with his own weight in trying to get over the wall. You jump and grasp the top of the wall and pull yourself over, you fall over the wall. You land arms first and nearly avoid breaking your neck and drowning in the mud. One hundred more meters until the finish, You burst yourself out of the mud and sprint towards the finish. The minute you cross the finish line you collapse to you knees. “Silver!” Rarity runs at you and embraces you, she is wearing a raincoat to protect herself from the mud. “arrghhh....” that is the best you can do at speech. “annnndddd the winner is Mister Silver Weld!!!” Pinkie exclaims over the microphone. You stumble through the trophy ceremony and clean yourself off and change to into a more civilized outfit. Rarity breaks off from the group and you find yourself alone together in Applejack’s farm house. “Darling you may have won but you took a horrible fall.” Rarity says as she hands you a bag of ice. “Are you sure you are alright?” “No. It hurts like a bitch but its nothing to go to the hospital about.” You put the ice on your back on the area that didn’t start to hurt until the adrenaline wore off. “I don't want you in a wheelchair.” “I’ve had worse.” “Precisely why I want you to go see a doctor!” Rarity has a sad and desperate tone in her voice. She may be overreacting but she is acting out of genuine compassion for you, a mercy you’re not used to from anyone but your brother. “Okay I understand. I’ll see a doctor in the morning.” Besides, you don't really want to live out old age are a barely mobile geezer. “Silver I!... What?” Rarity looks absolutely flabbergasted, you are normally more stubborn with injuries. “I don’t know. You probably got me to start thinking past next week.” Even with all the heist planning you never really imagined your future before. ~~~ Its a strange way the world works. Here in Equestria people are all born with a different magical ability, each inherited from the tribe they came from. Pegasus tribe have their speed and capacity for war, The Unicorn Tribe have a natural talent for magic and the Horse Tribe have a connection to the natural world. The Buffalo tribe have the unique ability of survival. The shouting outside intensifies just as you make that proclamation, then there is an explosion. Then another, then a few more. Okay something is going on outside. You hear an earth shattering but unnameable noise, screaming and sounds of gunfire. Okay something is definitely going on outside. > Escape! > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- You stand up to try and hear more of the chaos outside, you start something that sounds like a giant stomping that completely overtakes the screaming and gunfire. You jump up to grab the bars on the window, you lift yourself up to get a better look. You don’t see much else other than the shiny wall, although you hear a whistling that is rapidly getting louder. ~~~ You smell stone and smoke, your head hurts and you are lying on what feels like a pile of rubble. You didn’t have to open your eyes to understand what had happened, something blew up your little cell. You open your eyes to see that whatever it was had blasted through the wall, narrowing missing you, and melted your cell door and left a melted hole of bubbling rock in the middle of the outside of the cell block. You carefully walk outside the cell door and and see the three other cell doors in the circular room. One is empty and the other has a solemn looking man with long black hair sitting in the corner. “Hey buddy what are you in for?” you say to him. “I attempted to reclaim land that was rightfully mine.” The man says in a deep and threatening voice. “Don’t try to scare me when I am trying yo get you out of here.” You try to rattle the door open but it doesn’t budge. “It’s no use. We are Dear Princess Luna’s personal prisoners.” The man continues stands up to reveal he is clad black King-like robes. “Well I did steal her entire gold supply.” you grab a spear that was lying against a wall. “Watch out!” the man doesn’t move but you thrust at the lock as hard as you can, the lock easily breaks. “They are sure weak from this side.” You open the door and the man doesn’t move. “You are quite strong and from what I can tell more than a little greedy.” the mans says as he stands in place. “Yeah you can flatter me when we’re free.” you turn around and motion for him to leave, you doesn’t move and you spend an awkward moment staring at eachother. “I see our Dear Princess hasn’t decided how you are to pay your penance.” The man reaches his hand out to shake yours. “I have resigned myself to my fate, you seem like the despicable character worthy of me.” A little confused, you reach you hand out and shake his. The moment you get a grip on his hand a torrent of wispy shadows surrounds you and the man disappears. “Shall we get going.” the man’s voice seems to come from below you. When you look down you notice that a sword, complete with a scabbard and a belt to hold it had appeared on you. You take it out and inspect the sword, it looks like a standard historical longsword with all black features and a darkened blade with a matching scabbard. You have only one thought on your mind. “What the fuck?” “I was cursed to have to serve a master until they die, I was originally meant to serve Luna in this form but she had forgotten that swords are obsolete and her intentions for me are less than desirable.” “You’re a fucking sword.” “Yes.” “Alright let’s go. We don’t have time to waste.” You and you new talking sword run towards the staircase and into the rest of the castle. You run up a spiral stairway that leads to what you assume is the Canterlot Castle Courtyard, you notice that the background noise had completely died down and all you hear is dead silence. The castle looms over you, it is heavily damaged but no one is trying to repair it or even nearby. The white marble of the outer wall is charred on your side and has several holes in it It looks like a battle took place here but there isn’t a single body or person. You cautiously walk towards the town. At this time you would be relieved to see a guard or police officer but you made it to the front gate of the castle. Canterlot is a small town compared to some of the other places in the nation but the main street is completely empty there isn’t a soul in sight. You begin to make your way down the street and see damaged and destroyed building to your left and right, the normal bright color of the city feels muted. Then you see your first person, a woman in torn clothing wandering the road like a zombie. You call out to her but she doesn’t respond, you run up to help her but you see a blank expression on her face and eyes are completely grey. “Jesus what the fuck!” you jump back and the woman doesn’t even register your presence. “Interesting.” your sword says. “They don’t have a trace of magic inside them.” “Them?” “I can feel life-forces nearby but no magical energy anywhere near us.” “That sounds bad.” A wave of fear overcomes you when the idea of being turned into a zombie like creature come into mind. “I can assure you that whatever it was may not be able to affect a Buffalo Tribesmen.” You realize that Rarity may be in danger. “We are going to ponyville!” ~~~ Getting to Ponyville proved to be harder than imagined. It turned out that every ounce of magic had sucked out of Canterlot and the only cars that worked were Gryphon made cars that used nothing but mechanical energy to move. You sword assured you that there is magic still coming from Ponyville so the two of you drove towards the town. As you causally drive down down the road to Ponyville in a utilitarian pickup, you can’t help but continue to glance over at Ponyville to check it its still in one piece. It looks untouched every time you look over to it. Your sword does not say a single word the entire time. Ponyville looks normal but you notice a Royal Guard Barricade so you take an alternate route into town. This route takes you near your house so you decide to stop there first, there are a number of vans parked outside and a huge number of guards but they all are wandering like the zombies in Canterlot. You get out of the car and at least twenty cops ignore the escape felon in a stolen car. You realize you are still in your uniform and head to your room to change into less conspicuous outfit, you grab a jacket to hide gun inside of. You are here for a few things in you house but you start to find a number of heist related objects are missing from your home. You find them in the vans labeled “Evidence”. You see the magical jammer that was used in the train heist in one of the bags and grab it. “What is that?” your sword says. “Magical jammer, I have no idea how it works or where it came from.” your sword says nothing further. You gather all the essentials for a criminal on the run, a gun, a pile of cash, a prepaid cellphone and a suitcase full of other supplies. You take your stolen car because retrieving your E100 would be just asking to be caught again. Rarity’s place is near the river so you take a choice of back roads to avoid downtown and any law enforcement. You drive slowly and avoid detection until you find yourself driving alongside the river where people normally relax and play but you don’t see a single soul outside. You feel worried but you don’t say anything to the sword, besides if things were off he would tell you. You pull up to the boutique and notice that Rarity’s car isn’t in the driveway. You step out of the car and look up at the building styled to look like a carnival carousel ride, some of the lights are on but it looks like no one’s home. “There is a single completely healthy human being inside that building.” your sword states. “Great.” that could be anybody. “You have any other magical abilities?” “I have a range of close range attacks and ranged magical attacks. My primary role in combat.” the dark evil voice still freaks you out a little. A few silent moments pass. “Come to think of it I never introduced myself. Silver Creek, legendary hiester and former police officer.” “I am the former King Sombra” “Sombra?” he was in jail with you so you expected to have heard of him but you really have no idea who he is. “Thats a badass name for a sword.” the sword goes silent. You look back at the Boutique and wonder what you should do next, should you wait here or go looking for Rarity? How will she react to seeing you free? Would she forgive you for lying about who you are? You know and possible love Rarity and her drama queen nature is going to make a reunion a little difficult. Okay now you have to figure out what you want now. You know you want to see Rarity above all else, second you want to somehow live freely with her and most importantly you want to keep all the wealth you risked your life for. Then a crazy thought entered your mind, Discord got pardoned so maybe you can earn a pardon if you can stop whatever is causing this random chaos. “Silver!” Sweetie Belle’s voice brings you back to reality, before you could respond you could feel her collide into you and hug you as hard as she can. “Sweetie....” you say solemnly. “Rarity said you weren't ever coming back!” Sweetie says in an excited tone. “I knew you would come back!” Sweetie softens her grip and you place a hand on her back. “Rarity said you left us but Applebloom told me that you went to jail....” she loses all the excitement in her voice. You take the time to explain to Sweetie what exactly happened and who you really are. She reacted weirdly well to the news she said that she was just happy to see you back but Rarity didn’t take the news nearly as well. Sweetie doesn't know anything about what is going on, all she knows is that everybody was ordered to stay indoors. “I’m so happy that you came back!” Sweetie leaps at you again and hugs you.. “When Rarity told me to stay inside I wanted to go to Appleblooms house to see my friends, I’m worried about them.” Sweetie pauses. “Something bad is happening and I want to know if my friends are okay!” she bursts out. “Okay.” Sweetie is shocked at your words and tried to respond but she can’t find any words.“Remember I’m a bad guy. A bad greedy guy that gets what he wants, I want you to be happy. Besides its probably safer at the Apple’s farm.” With very little words you both get back into the stolen car and drive off towards Sweet Apple Acres. You realize you are now a felon in a stolen car with a child, the police are now likely to shoot on sight. Getting to Sweet Apple Acres undetected without a police scanner was hard but you manage to avoid the authorities. You roll up the driveway the way you did many times before when you were going to hang out with Mac and Caramel. Sweetie stays quiet while you drive up to the familiar red farmhouse and park alongside the other cars. Caramel’s truck, Mac’s truck are the only ones present. You see Mac walk out onto the front porch, you exit the car the moment you see him. Sweetie gets out and runs after him. Sweetie begins barraging him with questions before he can even acknowledge you. You slowly walk up to the porch with Sombra on your belt, partly for defense and partly to show him off. Mac looks up from the little girl attached to him and got a look of fear on his face when he saw you coming. “Long time no see!” you call out as you approach the house. “What are you doing here?” although you are insulted by his tone of voice he has a good question. “Looking for the bastard turning everybody into Zombies.” You flash Sombra. “Right.” Mac rushes Sweetie into the house and tells her to get Caramel, he then takes a seat on a nearby rocking chair. Caramel soon exits the building, he looked shocked to see you but not surprised. “Twilight was right about you after all...” Caramel says as he sits down on a bench. “Okay you already know who I am but I need a little information.” “I mean I want to help you escape but...” Caramel says, Mac grunts in agreement. “No you idiot this is not what I’m asking. Besides do you really think I am that bad at evading the law?” “You were arrested” “A stopped clock is right twice a day. Anyway we could be wasting time. I want you to explain exactly what is going on right now” Mac then grunted. “Caramel ain’t gonna know much about this but here is what Applejack told me.” Mac then began to tell you a story about the return of some Lord Tirek and how he is stealing the everyone's magic, Mac then had to explain the basics of magic to you, and the last time he saw Applejack was when she told him this and ran off to the center of town. “Well that explains what Sombra told me.” The moment you say that the Mac and Caramel are immediately shocked. “Oh Sombra is my talking sword here. It’s too strange to explain.” They nod in agreement. “We should find Applejack and her friends and help them out” > Silver the Mastermind > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- You make a mental note to never go on a Road Trip with Mac and Caramel, you had spent all of five minutes in the car and they are already asking more questions than you can handle. That may just be the situation you are in, but they are still annoying. “So you are telling me that ya plan to kill Tirek?” Caramel says shocked. “I doubt Rares and her friends would like it if I did something like that, I was thinking of beating him until he cries uncle and trading in a reward for a pardon.” “Right. Now do you expect to get pardoned for your actions?” “Not really but its worth a shot.” you nearly have a heart attack when you notice that during the conversation you had driven right up to a police road block. You drive up to it and try to play it cool. You stop the car at the road block and wait for the officer to walk up, You roll down your window in anticipation but no one comes. You sit for a few more moments and nothing happens. “There is no magic in the immediate area” Sombra says out of the blue. “You still haven’t explained the talking sword.” “Shut up Caramel, Sombra is there anything else.” everyone goes tense for some reason. “I can detect an extremely powerful magic scoure up ahead, I have never seen such powerful magic. I am honestly fearing for my life.” “Alright pedal to the metal!” with that you floor it. ~~~ After some driving life seems to return to the town, at least according to Sombra. You take the car and park it in the parking Garage downtown. With Sombra’s direction you arrive at the Library, you realize something. “Are sure you’re not just sensing Twilight?” you ask Sombra. “I have encountered her, Her signature is nowhere near this strong.” In that case you Ready Sombra, and the handgun to Mac (because there is no way you would trust Caramel with a gun) and calmy knock on the door. “Twilight! It’s me Silver, you know Rarity’s boyfriend who is supposed to be in jail right now!” You get no answer so you decide to quickly pick the lock and open the front door. You walk into the library for the first time. You take a few steps inside and you notice Mac and Caramel coming in after you, Caramel spouts some nonsense that you don’t pay attention to. Before you could tell Caramel to shut up the door behind you slams, and hear Sombra warn you about what you are approaching. The library is in a state of disarray there are piles of books everywhere with charts and maps litters about the area. You see Caramel run ahead of you and up the staircase that you assume leads to Residential part of the building. Caramel looks back to you and says. “Silver, I’ll talk to Twilight.... I’ll tell her about the things you saw.” “Right!” You say as you wander over to the piles of books she assembled, most of them are on ancient magic and even the titles go over your head. “Sombra you have any idea what most of this means.” “Tirek first came before my time, I know as little as she does.” Sombra pauses. “However I still cannot explain this massive magical energy signature.” You hear Twilight and Caramel begin a bit of a heated conversation in the background. “Eyuuup. Caramel’s neva been too smooth.” Mac says as he picks up one of the complex magic books and begins to read. “You understand that?” “Eyuuupp.” Mac responds. “...hmmm If we can get on Twilight’s side my pardon is guaranteed.” You say as you continue to poke around the area and not finding anything you understand, your knowledge is really limited. Maybe you should move to the Gryphon kingdom where they don’t bother with all this magic stuff. You have to save Equestria first, as easy as that’ll be. Caramel and Twilight began to argue aven louder and you begin to hear Sombra’s name being mentioned a few times. “Sooo Mac, does has Caramel made a move on Twilight while I was gone?” “Nope.” Mac says flatly while looking up from his book. “I kind of hope their argument balloons into angry sex.” “A’hhh doubt that’s gonna happen, this ain’t some lame fiction.” “Thier both sexually repressed as fuck.” “Good point.” You wander through the library until you find a book on sword fighting that was just sitting on the ground. You pick it up and begin to study the pages. “You won’t need that.” Sombra says. “Why?” “I can take care of the technique for you.” “What! How?” “We would have to start with a first grade magic lesson.” “Fuck you.” “During my reign I got quite adept at controlling human minds and bodies.” “I don’t really want to know your history now.... Remember I am your master.” “I know how a good servant should act. I shall speak only when spoken too.” that sound more than a little passive aggressive. You spend some time wandering alone in the library before returning to the lobby to bother Mac. You start a speculative conversation about Caramel’s sexual history but you get interrupted. “Silver!” You hear Princess Twilight’s panicked voice address you. “Just stay here and defend the library... ” Twilight comes running down form the stairs. “And keep Caramel safe, If Tirek shows up hold this amulet” She says running out the door. “It’ll alert me and I’ll be able to come help.” Thats all she says, Caramel tries to run after her but Mac grabs him. “Boy, you’re under Silver’s protection now.” “The Queen’s rules are law.” you say sarcastically. You wait a few moments to be sure Twilight too far away to hear what you said. “Bitch just wants to hog the glory.” “Ya think you are some kind of war hero?” Mac says while restraining Caramel. “I’m more used to being infamous than famous.” “Just saying I’m safe but bored.” “Arrghhh!” Caramel breaks free. “We have to go after her!” “No we don’t. A good heist is all in planning and preparation.” your words calm Caramel down. “A’h think ya belong in tha army.” Mac says. “Anyway! Twilight just ran outside without a plan!” Caramel shouts again. “Then she can buy us time and we swoop in and save the day at the last moment like ballers.” Caramel tries to say something but you cut him off. “You two stay here and look for something we can borrow to use on Tirek. I’ll go find spike.” You leave before you get another earful from Caramel. You wander back off into the library, that guy may be slacking off or hiding from you. Honestly if you were a sheltered kid like he is you would be afraid of Silver too. You finish searching the main library area and find no children. When you go over to the stairs up to the second floor Caramel grabs your shoulder. “I’ve already checked up there. I don’t want you violating her privacy.” He sounds serious. “I’m a thief not a rapist.” Caramel grunts and walks off. “The only thing that has changed is your perception of me you Cheshier Cunt!” you don’t get a response from him. You almost had time to collect your thoughts when you heard a deafening whistling sound that sounds more than a little familiar. > Discord the Joker > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!  Run for the fucking exit! Run for the Hills! Run for your fucking lives!” You scream but all your senses are overwhelmed and you soon blackout. ~~~ “Silver. Dear please just relax.” You fidget in your seat, the cool ocean breeze or warm sunlight can’t calm you down. “It’s just... There is too much stress. Work has been hell lately.” You just told her a complete lie. “Thats the reason Fancy Pants purchased this cottage in the first place dear.” That’s exactly why you are nervous, the last time a rich guy let you borrow his cottage he tried to kill you. Those memories are a little too vexing for you to easily forget, you haven’t even met this guy. “Arrghhhh. Let’s go to the beach.” Maybe you’ll forget about all this after a swim or something. “Isn’t it a bit too early for that. We haven’t even had breakfast yet!” “Alright we hit the beach afterwards.” You get out of the lounge seat you had been resting in and walk towards the kitchen where Rarity had been talking from. You get lost in the luxury of the place. Everything around you looked more expensive than anything you own, even down to the wooden floor. You know you have the cash to buy a place like this but honestly you have the fiscal responsibility of a toddler. The threat of arrest is the only thing keeping you from going haywire with you bank account. You had better get to the kitchen. Once you enter you see Rarity dressed in her elegant white bikini with a assortment of pans and ingredients on the counter in front of her. Like always her hair is style exquisitely. “Silver I understand you’ve been stressed lately. Just relax and let me take care of you.” You feel genuine concern in her voice, concern for the completely wrong thing. You chuckle to yourself, because you actually have to go on a raid with some Lunar Guard the day after you get home. You move behind Rarity and wrap your arms around her, she relaxes herself and leans back onto you. “Rarity...” you pause to collect your thoughts. “I love you.” ~~~ You stumble for a few steps before you regain your balance. Your eyes are completely out of focus, all sounds may as well be muffled static and you're too dizzy to really be sure if you are still standing up. You can’t think too straight but in an effort to resist something you begin to take steps forwards. Your mind clears itself with every step, you force one leg before another until you are no longer walking on rubble. You turn around to face what in the hell just happened. You turned to see Twilight’s Library completely destroyed. Nothing smoke, fire and rubble where the Library once stood. The smoke and fire dance in the wind, slowly enveloping and destroying anything thats left of the building. Although you recognize the smell, you didn’t notice it at the time but this is like odor left behind after you cell was blasted open. “Silver while you were napping some of Twilights friends took Caramel and Macintosh away to be kidnapped by something.” Sombra states. “What?” you see green glow on the street ahead of you. “They were taken that way. It wasn’t too long ago and I can sense a truly massive energy signature over there.” “No Bullshit with you.” “Yes.” “Alright it’s a Heist!” You take a began running towards the arrows that Sombra has laid out for you. The city is the exact way Canterlot was, everything was left unattended and there are some of the zombie looking dudes roaming around. Strangely every few buildings you find something completely out of place like a Giant rubber duck or huge amounts of birthday balloons. Most noticeably sections of the road are for some reason had tuned into black and white floor tiles. Before you can think of any concrete explanations of what you are walking though you hear a loud, deep and menacing voice in the distance. Must be Tirek. The voice was accompanied by the voice of an effeminate old man. You can’t make out a word that they are saying so you decide to sneak closer. A nearby storefront had been blasted open and you can see a path to an alleyway behind. You take a few delicate steps and you find yourself in a blasted out corner store, there is glass everywhere so you gotta be careful. You silently scoot your way to the door into the alley, you move through the alley to the building closest to where you remember the voices coming from. The back door was locked but a window was broken so you just climbed through it. You hop into a unremarkable kitchen and avoid a couple of zombified residents on your way to the second floor. On your way to the second floor you notice that this family is well off, you mentally stop yourself from looting the place. You sneak into a bedroom with a big window and a vanity. Rarity is the only reason you know what that thing is called, there might be some jewelry inside that You mentally chastise yourself and get back to work, you crawl up onto the large bed and take a look out the window. You see some strange musclebound centaur guy talking to Discord (who you had the misfortune to meet) in the roundabout just outside the window. You can’t make out much more than muffled shouting and the sound of magical spells being cast and things crashing in the distance. You crack open the window so you can hear better. “Discord remain here and I shall continue to search for the purple one.” “As you say sire. I would leave her until last if I were you she can really be quite a bother.” Discord leans back into the air and begins to float as if he were lying on a hammock. “Discord deal with this intruder please.” The man who you assume is Tirek makes eye contact with you before disappearing in a puff of smoke. “Well well Silver I thought Rarity had already gotten rid of you.” Discord appears behind you. “Say that again Asshole.” you draw Sombra and slash at Discords direction. Strangely you use very good technique and your body automatically followed up with another slash which hits discord but just bursts into a cloud of smoke. “Leave the swordsmanship to me Silver.” Sombra says, you reach into your pocket and grab the jammer. Discord reappears to your left and your body charges him again. “In a bad mood Silver? Did I strike a nerve?” Your body strikes at him again but Discord puffs away again. “Come big guy on we can hug it out.” The draconequus leans back and summons a small watermelon sized cloud above his hand. The ground suddenly turns into pudding and you begin to sink in, it solidifies when you are trapped where you stand. Sombra begins to emit a black mist. “Now you have calmed down we can have a proper conversation like grown ups.” you regain control of your body. “Don’t you fucking insult me like that again.” you sheath Sombra but keep you hand on the handle. “Again with the foul language Silver. Your Ex girlfriend must've hated that.” Discord tosses the watermelon sized cloud in your direction and it stops just to the right of your face. “Stop talking about Rarity like that.” you try to remain civil, Sombra starts pulsating in your hand. “Come on isn’t obvious she ratted on you. You know how strong her sense of justice wouldn’t let her stand by as you walked free and unpunished for your many crimes.” “She let you walk.” “Yes but I never hurt anyone, I have never ended another living beings life. Compared to you I am a saint!” Discord floats up to you and knocks on the cloud. The edge of the cloud flattens and begins to display static. Discord knocks on it a few times before summoning a hammer from nowhere an bashing it, this causes an image to come into focus. It is like bad security footage but you can instantly recognize Rarity and her friend Flutershy. They are both trapped in a large cartoon like cage and Rarity is comforting a the Crying Fluttershy. “I bet here is so much footage of you like this. Maybe masked and ready to do something really bad.” Discord says from somewhere behind you. “She didn’t visit you when you were in jail didn’t she?” “.....” He isn’t wrong. “So Silver I have a proposition for you. Join forces with me and Tirek and you can steal more riches than you can even imagine.” “Did Rarity ever say anything about me when I was locked up.” you fight to hide the sadness in your words. “She didn’t exactly give you a positive review.” you release your grip on Sombra’s handle and place the jammer back into your pocket. “.... Alright I’ll do it.” “Perfect I can tell we are going to be the best of friends.” Discord leaps at you and embraces you like an excited child. You were mistaken to think you can live a normal life. > Scorpion and the Frog > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- You feel dizzy and your vision is blurry and you can’t make out much other than fuzzy colors and the sun. You stumble around a bit before propping yourself up on a wall, you shake you head and take a few deep breaths. It's going to take a while before you can recover to get a better look on where you are. As your vision returns you can tell you are in the Ponyville streets. You are in the main square, the shops are wrecked and there are signs of a fight with Discord, an assortment of childlike and improperly sized objects strewn about. You can see some impacts of magical blasts and explosives or something like that. You regain your balance and check if Sombra is in you belt and he is. “Thank you for waiting for me Silver. I like to interview new employees before we hire them.” Discord appears in his human form, an old man with wild hair. He summons a stately desk before him and sits at like a manager would. “Great.” The moment you answer a movie camera poofs into existence behind Discord. “Excellent. Firstly what do you want to gain at our fine company?” “A decent payday.” You decide to respond honestly. “Magnificent! Greed is an asset here. Now, secondly I hear you have a criminal record, is this true?” you sigh. “Yes. Burglary, breaking and entering, assault, selling stolen goods, assault with a deadly weapon, speeding, murder, grand theft auto and armed robbery. ” you mentally recount. “Oh and escaping jail and resisting arrest.” “Would you call yourself a good man Silver?” “No.” “Silver we only hire the very worst of men here. Before we can hire you full time we have to test you skills, you will be working with some very experienced co workers.” Discord check his watch. “I need you to subdue Princess Twilight Sparkle for me.” “Its as good as done.” Sombra lights up to confirm. “Ohhh Twilight you are just in time for the performance evaluation of our new employee!” You turn around to see Twilight Running into the town square, she is dressed in her usual librarian outfit but she is roughed up a little. “Discord! What have you done with my friends!” Twilight fires a magical bolt at Discord as a form of greeting, he dodges and floats up into the air and summons the camera to his hands. “Oh no you are not fighting me, he is the one you want to tussle with.” Discord points the camera at you and Twilight takes notice. “Silver what are you doing, His special power is controlling people!” You heed her words but you don’t care, if being manipulated means getting paid you are going to do it. You can always force payment out of him if you need to. “Action!” Discord snaps a clapperboard in front of his camera and tosses it aside. “Silver! Snap out of it!” You draw Sombra and your magic jammer and begin closing the distance between you and Twilight. You feel Sombra take control of your body when you are within meters of Twilight, you let him take control with no resistance. You feel a huge surge of power within your body as you launch your first strike, Twilight barely escapes your swing with her life but you quickly follow up with another attack which she barely avoids. She surrounds your body with a magical force field to capture you, this is the same spell the cops use so you easily counter it and unleash another attack on the princess. “Bravo Silver. Who knew he could attack a friend with such brutality.” You keep slashing at Twilight and keeping her reacting to you, you plan to wear her down then take her down with a non fatal slash. Twilight’s dodges become more planned and less panic as you go on, you swing wide and miss and in this second Twilight uses her magic to summon a sword of her own and swings at you. She hits and cleanly cuts open your free arm at the tricep, it must be very deep because you just lost a ton of movement in that arm. You back off. “Silver I am so sorry but I have to do this to get you back to normal.” “Fuck. You.” things are looking desperate. She must be a better swordsman than Sombra you try to regain control of your body but Sombra Resists and charges Twilght. “Twilight I shall cut you down here!” Sombra screams before lunging at her again. Your body begins attacking her like a wild animal, Twilight is easily blocking and countering. You are avoiding being hit by pure luck so you take partial control and in the next exchange of blades you knee Twilight in the stomach. Your body immediately follows up and nearly removes her head but Twilight counters with a powerful magical blast that sends you flying backwards. You hit the ground and can barely move, you forcefully regain control of your body. You see Twilight slowly but cautiously approaching you with her hand extend as if to help you. You grab the jammer and place in your bad hand. “Silver what happened to you?” she offers you her hand. “I was weak. I was ready to do anything to be with Rarity again.” you take her hand and she helps you to your feet. Your wounds are so bad you have to lean into her to stay on your feet. “It’s okay Silver we can work something out. We can talk to Rarity after this okay.” she embraces you like a mother would embrace her crying child. You refuse to embrace her back, you place your thumb on the activation button of the magical jammer. With you other hand you reach into your jacket and draw your weapon of choice, the firearm feels heavy in your hand but you flip the safety and prepare to fire. Accuracy doesn't matter too much at this range. “Silver I know Rarity still loves you, maybe we can pardon you like Discord was pardoned and we can get you a new life. This time fighting for good not profit.” A wide smile forms across your face and activate the jammer. You fire your gun but your hands are too weak to handle the recoil, the handgun frees itself from your hands and falls to the ground. You feel Twilight tense up and release you and she takes a few steps back, her body shaking. She puts a hand to her gunshot wound and inspects the blood. “Why? Why? Silver you said that... Do you have any idea what you just did!” Twilight's voice is trembling. She tries to use her magic to heal herself but the jammer is keeping her pacified. “Twilight I am a scorpion. It’s in my nature.” ~~~ “Now Rarity do you really want that monster in you house again?” Discord asks Rarity but she is too in shock on what she just saw to answer. The other Girls are also in shock and disbelief at what they just saw. “How can Silver....” Rarity gasps at the TV screen that she had just witnessed Silver shoot her best friend on. “Calm down Rares there is no way I am going to let Twilight die here can I?” Discord hugs Rarity and begins caressing her hair. “How about I go get Twilight and we can have a slumber party! We can talk about boys who broke our hearts or bond over treating bullet wounds!” Discord begins laughing uncontrollably among the group of speechless women. “Silver....” Rarity places her hand to the screen, tears running down her cheek. > Hostage Situation > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- You head feels hazy and you can’t think straight. You roll onto your back and notice all your injuries are gone, you decide you have to find Discord so you can find out what you have to do next. When you rise to your feet you notice your vision is blurred again, although you can tell you are still in the town square. Your body feels refreshed and vitalized, maybe everything that just happened was a bad dream. However the state of the town square and the sword on your belt tell you the opposite.   You have no orders and no objective of your own so you have no idea on what to do next. You decide to return back to your home, you begin looking around for a car to hijack but there is nothing that isn’t destroyed. You realize that the only trace with of your scuffle with Twilight earlier are the pools and splatters of blood, that mostly belong to you. Maybe you imagined that whole fight and you just got up after the explosion at the liberty.  You notice some movement in your peripheral vision, a shape darts past a window in a nearby window. You draw Sombra. “Sombra is there anyone in that building?” you point Sombra in the direction of the building. “I can detect two magical signatures, average humans.” “Average humans can still use guns we better check them out.” “They seem to be afraid of us I wouldn't waste the effort on them.” “Discord’s mission looks like it is to take all this human magic for himself.” You begin to approach the building. “Have you forgotten your own objective?” “It’s probably better I do.” Sombra goes quiet. You Enter the building but after a search you find nothing in the building of note and Sombra refuses to respond to your requests for further guidance. You decide to not get mad Sombra because two dudes are barely worth the effort. You return to the town square to find Twilight laid down on a bench, she has a letter in her hands. You carefully approach her, she doesn't move so you move up to her and take the letter. There is nothing on the envelope so you open it only for it to blast you with confetti. Besides the prank there is a piece of paper in the in the envelope, you take it out to find a message written in red crayon. “Take her to elm street.” Okay this is a little creepy. You get to your job and pick up Twilight, you feel bandages on her stomach where you shot her. You get a good hold of her and begin walking towards you destination, Twilight doesn’t look like she is gonna wake up any time soon. At this you realize point she is absolutely beautiful, a little frumpy unlike Rarity. You suddenly get a piercing headache like someone had driven a metal spike through your head. You decide you should look where you are going instead of ogling the hostage. You start to feel Twilight’s arms wrap around you, she is holding onto you like you are anyone but Silver Weld/Creek. This reminds of you of your date nights with Rarity when she is traveling for work and you decide to tag along. She would always work herself to death and insist on accompanying her clients to the afterparty or the event itself. She would never have the energy to make back home by herself so you would have to carry her, only difference is that you don’t think Twilight is conscious. You keep catching something darting out of the corner of your eye every now and then, they are too insignificant to warrant further attention. For some reason just when you thought that they start to appear more often and for longer periods of time. You reach your destination before you can formulate a plan of any sort. You feel Twilight hold you tighter when you stop walking, she looks like she is scared of something. You stop to look around, you don’t see anyone around you but you feel eyes on you. Maybe you are just paranoid but you want to just do your job and get your paycheck without any complications. All of the sudden a huge cloud of pink dust appears in front of you, it floats around in a strange ball like formation. Before you can react it explodes in a pink mushroom cloud and the the dust begins falling down like snow. You quickly turn you head towards where the the explosion came from, the first thing you notice is Discord standing there like that gay circus ringmaster you used to take jobs from. You once had to steal animals from the zoo for that damn circus, you also worked as an enforcer for his other criminal activities. Behind Discord is a huge circus style cage with all of Twilights friends, you hear a familiar voice scream out from the background. You turn your head to see Caramel bursting out from behind cover, he doesn’t get far before Discord picks him up with magic and stuffs him in some bizarre pink fluff. The screaming and wiggling mass was thrown on the ground and covered in even more pink fluff. You watch on in apathy as Mac is pulled out of nowhere and given the same treatment. The two are collected into one wriggling mess of pink fluff and placed in front of the cage of concerned looking women. They all look at you in sync with either a look of rage, disappointment or fear. You see Rarity but she looks like she is crying in the corner and actively refusing to look at you, you feel a pain in your chest. Two of the girls approach Rarity, they look they are trying to talk to her but you still hear nothing. You decide to ignore the cage and all the distractions inside it. Discord snaps his fingers and Twilight wakes up, she makes eye contact with you but before she can say anything Discord begins to speak. “Twilight. Twilight. Oh dear it looks like it finally happened, you lost. I want you to say it.” Discord begins to dance. “Come on say it! You lost I won!” “....” your head hurts. “Fine! Maybe you will talk to my new friend?” A huge thunderstorm suddenly brews, the sun gets blotted out and the wind suddenly goes berserk. Lightning begins flashing in the background and a volley of thunder signals Tirek’s arrival. The musclebound minotaur appears in a lightning strike, he is freaky to say the least. Red skin, black fur, a damn beard and a giant pair of horns on his head. The ground shakes when he steps and you can tell from his breathing he is dangerous. “Excellent work Discord. Unfortunately you had to rely on this Human to complete your work.” Tirek blasts you off your feet with a magic force, you tried to evade it but you didn't move. With Twilight still in your arms you rise back to your feet. “Dispose of him.” Crap. To be perfectly honest you deserve this. How many people have you killed? How many lives destroyed livelihoods stolen. You deserve to die based solely on what you did today don’t you? You are pure evil. What a moment, you never felt remorse like this before. “Good idea Tirek, less power to share.” Discord places his hand on your shoulder before being blasted by a purple burst of magic and shot somewhere behind you. “I’m not gonna let you hurt anyone in Equestria!” Twilight shoots another shot at Tirek but he simply staggers backwards from the impact. Another thunderbolt strikes and Tirek lights a great fire around the his cage of prisoners, he uses a magical force to draw Discord to his side. “Oh Tirek my hero! Silver, my employee of the month please drop Twilight so we can get this over with quickly.” You feel an incredible force urging you to drop her but you resist with all your willpower. “Discord control your puppet!” Puppet. You are no puppet. “Silver I am only going to....” before Discord could finish he is struck to the ground by Tireks Mighty hand. “Discord. I can see your power can be put to better use in more competent hands.” You feel Twilight move in your arms and see her try to blast Tirek again. Tirek simply lets the blast hit him, he just shrugs it off and snaps his fingers. The fire around his cage intensifies. “Twilight...” Before he can finish another more power magical blast throws him off his feet and sends him flying backwards, he lands with a mighty thump. At that very moment you feel your mind become clearer than it ever was, you body feels healthy and you are ready for a brawl. You open your mouth to inform Twilight. “Fool! Continue to resist and I will kill your comrades!”  You make a gun with your fingers and point it at Tirek, you give Sombra the ok to start casting. “Silver stop!” you hear Twilight yell out, she begins coughing up blood after she screams. You feel pings of guilt every time you feel her convuse in your arms. She recovers and faces Tirek. “I will give up all my magic if you promise to let them all free.” Tirek smirks and the cage disappears, he even frees Caramel and Mac. You have seen crime bosses do things like this before, you draw Sombra just to be safe. You have barely any time to react before you feel someone jump on you and embrace you as hard as she can. You can even see her but you recognize her touch as Rarity, you turn to face her, you try your best not to look at her. You hand Twilight off to Applejack. She looks at with her stunning azure eyes, even of they are red and framed by running mascara. She buries her face in your chest and begins crying again, you softly wrap your arms around her in return. You make a decision not to say anything because it would ruin the moment. Before Rarity can calm down you notice Tirek behind the group with a massive ball of magical energy aimed right at you. Regretfully you shove Rarity aside and charge Tirek. > Showdown > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- You push and shove your way through the crowd surrounding you. You draw Sombra on the run and let out a magical slash in Tirek's general direction, using the distraction of the slash to cover more ground, when the slash hits him his charges bolt hits the ground beside you and nearly knocks you over. You feel Sombra take control and use your arm to blast a counter spell at Tirek and you follow up with a few slashes with your sword. You are literally slashing at his ankles, he tried to step on you with his massive hoof but you dodge and get back to wildly cutting. All of your attacks aren't even scratching him, you need to find a new tactic or you count yourself dead. While searching where Tirek is gonna stomp next you notice that the rest of the group is staying and watching. “Get the fuck out of here!” you say, not looking their way, instead focusing on the battle at hand. “Someone carry the damn wounded!” Tirek nearly stomps you but you dodge and let out another assault on Tirek’s ankles. You hear Tirek grunt and the ground starts to rumble. The ground beneath you shatters and gets thrown up into the air, Tirek tries to attack at this moment but you manage to avoid it. You were keeping under Tirek’s legs so he can’t hit you but he suddenly gallops forwards and turns to face you. He launches a volley of magical arrows at you, to which you dodge; while dodging these you discover that Sombra can block and deflect magical attacks. During you dance of ten thousand arrows, Tirek charges a massive magical blast just beneath your feet and don’t have time to react before he sets it off. You black out momentarily but find yourself standing in the same place with Tirek preparing another volley. You don’t have time to think about what he just did so you rush forwards. Tirek responds by sprinting you direction and nearly running you down, this cycle repeats a few times. Presumably out of frustration, Tirek shrinks himself down to your height and teleports himself in front of you. He made the rookie mistake of cocking his fist back to punch you, and you put all your strength into a thrusting attack but Sombra just bounces off his chest. You manage to avoid Tirek's attacks but you can't seem to hurt him no matter what you do Tirek charges at you, when you try to dodge your left hand gets hit and you immediately lose control of it. You don't feel pain at this point, but you are forced to use Sombra with one hand. It doesn’t matter so you try to slash at Tirek again but even if his movements are slow and predictable you just can't hurt him. You are being whittled away and there is nothing you can do about it. After another uncoordinated but still savage attack you remember you have the jammer, you think how you should have gone into this with a plan. Tirek begins swinging more punches your way, to which you easily avoid but you still need a plan. You throw Sombra at Tirek and draw the jammer with your now free hand, activate it and put back into your jacket. Tirek tries to attack you again but you return Sombra to your hand and try to slash him, the sword just bounces off of his neck. You nearly get hit but you manage to disengage him and back off. When you are ready to launch a new plan of attack the ground beneath you explodes again and you momentarily black out. You regain consciousness only to feel another explosion rock you again and throw you to the ground. ~~~ You awaken again and take a sharp and deep breath and get a chest full of dirt. Coughing, you stumble back to your feet all you can see is a mess of colors and lightning striking around the general area. You notice that Sombra is not in your hand and you try you return him but nothing happens. Remembering that you still have your gun you draw and stumble towards what you assume is the fight. Your vision is not returning, but as you get closer, you see a large figure that is clearly Tirek. Multicolored sparks are flying off of him and you can see six glowing orbs circling him. You see a huge shockwave emanate from Triek, but you don’t feel anything when it hits you. The colored orbs get scattered; they must have been Rarity’s friends. You raise the gun and aim as best you can but you arms continue to shake, you take a deep breath and fire. Another shock wave rocks the area and sends you flying into the air. It feels like you just landed with you head in some woman's lap but you must have been knocked out again. You'll have to check in with a doctor after this. You recognize the tight fitting skirt as Rarity’s before you even open your eyes. You reflexively lick your lips and taste blood, shocking you into opening your eyes. You gasp and realize you had not been breathing until this moment. A shock of pain shooting through your nerves keeps you in Rarity’s lap. Even if it's a little emasculating you meekly look up back at Rarity who looks like she just came back from a brawl at a funeral. You sit up and move to wipe your face but your left hand is just a big ball of blood stained bandage. “Silver darling you need some rest.” In response you force yourself back to your feet, you ignore all the pain in an effort to save face. “Silver!” You almost fall over but Rarity catches you. As much as you enjoy her holding you, you have to get to your car. With Rarity’s help you stumble forwards but give up and seat yourself on a nearby rock. You try your best to ignore the pain, having Rarity with you and a bunch of women to try to keep up appearances in front of helps. Rarity takes a seat beside you and puts her arm around you. “Silver, please you have to be careful.” Rarity starts slowly sobbing and collapses onto your chest. You try to say something but you can’t think of anything comforting. “Please, if you die now I won’t forgive myself.” “No way I’m going down that easily.” you say calmly. “Silver I’m so sorry I put you through all this. If you want to leave I won’t blame you.” Rarity sobs a little and holds you tighter. “If you fixed everything, then I guess the guards are going to be looking for an escaped convict.” Rarity looks pained but also surprised when you say that. “I mean I can always visit under cover” “That isn’t what I meant.” “Okay...” “I... I feel so bad for doing this.” “...” You have a suspicion on what she might say. “When I was visiting your home the other day I had come across a few documents and items that were out of place.” You know exactly where this is going. “Together they were evidence of your ‘profession’ I didn’t want to ask you up front because I was sure it was a coincidence.” Rarity lets go of you and scoots away from you. “I had told Twilight but I didn’t know she would tell her brother, he ordered an immediate warrant for your arrest.” “That’s why you brought me out to the cottage.” “I wanted to tell you but I had thought about what you had done and if you were really safe, if I am doing something wrong by letting you go free. I am so selfish to want you to stay but I think I can come to a deal with the princesses.” You can’t help but break into laughter. “It’s alright I can’t forgive you but I’ll just forget about it.” “How you can be so blase about this!” Rarity is absolutely shocked. “I had betrayed you! Taken your trust and stabbed you in the back!” “I didn’t tell you who I really was.” ““For your own protection. Silver, you can’t just brush this off!” “Yeah but I just want to get back to what we had. I love you and I just went through all of this to get you back and I am not going to let anything get in my way. We can sort things out later, now I just wanna get things back to normal.” “Silver...” “We can deal with it later. I just wanna go home.” > A new normal > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- You awaken in a dark place in the softest bed you had ever felt, you roll over and nearly fall out of the bed. Your flail around in the all consuming fluff but all you accomplish is irritating your wounds. You stop and take a more deliberate approach to getting out of bed and this time you make it to your feet. The windows in the room let in a bright midday light. You collect your clothes off the ground and your wadded bandaged hands and broken ribs make getting dressed a very delicate process. You wonder if Rarity will tolerate you dressing the way you used to. You exit the room and descend down the stairs towards Carousel Boutique storefront. You walk through the kitchen that had looked like it had been ground zero of Sweetie Belle’s cooking. You chuckle to yourself and limp into the storefront to find it empty, with only a group of fashionable mannequins to accompany you. You take a look at yourself in the multiple mirror stage thing that Rarity had set up for customers. You are battered and bruised, you short hair is a complete mess, your shirt is very poorly buttoned up and you are clearly limping. It had been a few weeks since your encounter with Tirek and you managed to talk yourself into a community service role. Princess Celestia herself had sentenced you to be the first knight in Princess Twilight’s guard corps, Twilight has yet to come up with a better name. When you step off the stage you hear Rarity come down the stairs in a panic. “Silver! Please you are not healed enough to be walking!” you turn around and open your arms. “I’ll be okay Rares.” she embraces you in an attempt to shoulder some of your weight. You lightly kiss her forehead before pushing her away. “Look I can stand on my own.” “You shouldn’t even be out of the hospital, let alone walking.” “All Tirek did was beat me up a little.” “He also drained all your life force.” “And Twilight invented her new spell just in time.” “That wasn’t even a guarantee, Silver please I just want you to be more careful.” “I’ll try but I can promise you one thing.” you step closer to her and grasp her hands. “I am never going to leave you.” she looks you in the eyes with a mix of exasperation and relief. “You are worse than Rainbow sometimes but I still love you.” she leans in to kiss you but before your lips make contact the doorbell rings. She settles for quickly pecking your lips before leaving to answer the door.  You try to guess who would be at the door but your questions gets answered by a woman in a business suit barging into Rarity’s home. She has pink and black hair and is very bad at concealing weapons because you notice a pistol holster in her jacket. “Silver Creek.” “Yeah?” “We have a problem that we need your help with.” She motions outside, where you see Rarity recoiling in horror. You approach in the door in curiosity. There is a mob of skeletons aimlessly wandering the town, not really harming anybody. The town is going absolutely insane and are causing going to level the town in a blind panic. The screaming and crashing only intensifies as time goes on. “Rarity I know Twi is out of town but gather your friends and try to calm the town down. I’ll take... errr.” “Sweetie Drops.” “Her.” you point to your new friend “We will go and investigate the source of these Skeletons, they look mostly harmless I’ll be fine.” Rarity sighs in exasperation and steps towards you. She kisses you as deeply and passionately as she can, you follow suit and let her lead but before you can get to enjoying it she pulls away. “Silver, just be careful.” “I will.” You summon Sombra to you hands and jog off in the direction the skeletons were coming from.