Green Pastures, Cloak’s Front Porch, Equestria
50 Years After the Shadowbolt/Wonderbolt War

Cloak sighed and leaned back in his chair a bit, nostalgia creeping up on him once again. The foals were quiet once again, but Cloak knew it wouldn’t be long before one of them spoke up.

“What happened to Hoxton?” asked Cold Snap. “I don't think I saw anything about him in the history books.”

“Oh, he turned out alright,” chuckled Cloak. “Last I heard, he made some kind of bunker in the middle of the desert somewhere.”

“Mr. Broadcloth, did Rat ever get over that first kill?” asked Prism Sprint, the rainbow-maned earth pony colt. “Did he ever kill again?”

“Well, it did take a while, but eventually he did,” replied Cloak. “It wasn’t easy, but he was over it by the time I saw him again.”

“What other jobs did you take?”

“I’m glad you asked,” grinned Cloak. “After our previous dealings with them went so well, the Seaddle Mob saw fit to recruit us on a daring jailbreak assignment-”

“Are you really going to skip over details again, brother?” interrupted Dagger.

The foals all giggled at Cloak’s expense as the old stallion frowned.

“I was going to explain the rest of it as I went,” huffed Cloak.

“And skip over half of the relevant details in the process,” smirked Dagger. “Honestly, how do you expect to explain the Museum Job we pulled later without that other job we did before the jailbreak?”

“You mean the job you did,” grumbled Cloak. “I wasn’t there for that.”

“So why don’t you go inside and get another glass of lemonade, and I’ll tell them?” suggested Dagger.

“...fine, you win,” grumbled Cloak, getting up from his chair.

“Now, young ones,” began Dagger, once her brother had gone inside the house, “let me tell you a legend thousands of years in the making…”

The Diamond.

Over its blood-soaked history, it has gone by many names: The Star of Heaven, La Pietra di Sangue, the Merchant’s Demise, The Eye of Discord, and all others. To the criminal underworld, it is simply referred to as “The” Diamond.

For centuries, tyrants and fools rose to power through its influence, before being pulled into the abyss, killed in their sleep by rivals or lost to the wrath of Nature itself. It was rumored to be the initial catalyst of the Griffon-Drake conflicts, managing to slip away in the chaos. It changed hooves countless times, driving the owner mad over time if they weren’t killed first. And suddenly, without warning, it vanished.

Eleven years ago, a young archaeologist and her mentor recovered the gem in Saddle Arabia, to which they sent it to their patrons in the museum with which they worked. But, whether by the Diamond’s Curse or by the greed of ponies, the Diamond became embroiled in the politics of the Criminal Underworld once again. The archaeologists knew it would be disastrous if the gem fell into the wrong hooves. And that, young ones, is where we entered the story...

The Cirrus, Training Room 12, Equestria
11 Years Before the Shadowbolt/Wonderbolt War

Rat looked up from the running track to see Dagger waiting by the door. It had been about a week since the armored carriage mission, and Rat had mostly kept to himself. Rather than killing targets on the practice range, the young pegasus had turned to practicing dodging projectiles and remaining undetected. If he could avoid any casualties at all in missions, it kept the Shadowbolts secret better than Hoxton ever could. Rat glided gently to Dagger, who handed a sealed envelope to the young stallion as he landed.

“New assignment from Dante,” murmured Dagger. “He says it’s an escort mission for the Seaddle Mob, and there could be heavy resistance.”

“Alright, I want Moon-”

“Away,”

“Nightshade-

“Away,”

“Descent-”

“Away,”

“Sin-”

“Away,”

“... Cloak?”

“Present-”

“Good, at least we have-”

“-but he has pneumonia,” finished Dagger.

“Dammit, that’s half the team I wanted!” swore Rat. “Is Razor here at least?”

“Yes,” replied Razor.

Rat leapt a full foot into the air as the old veteran chuckled.

“You know, you should only discuss mission details with the crew you intend to work with,” chided Razor.

“Well, why do you think you’re here?” grinned Rat.

“Cheeky bastard,” smirked Razor. “Alright, let’s go somewhere quieter and we’ll sort this out there.”

The three pegasi moved quickly through the halls. Rat used this time to go over the files that Dagger had delivered. Apparently, there was a crate being held by customs that the Seaddle mob had been contracted to “liberate” and deliver to a drop point in the city. However, the mob was being harassed by the local division of Hekate Torch Bearers, who were apparently a group of private military contractors that provided security for large corporations across Equestria. It was mostly for insurance, but a contract was still a contract.

The three ducked into one of the small target ranges at the edge of the training section. Razor locked the door behind them and took a seat at one of the benches.

“Alright, just from your first look, what kind of members do you think you’ll need?” asked Razor.

“I definitely need muscle on this in case things go horribly wrong and this isn’t a simple milk run,” explained Rat.

“For that, I would recommend Tank, who I’m sure you remember,” replied Razor.

“Yes, he and I haven’t really spoken, so I don’t know much about him,” agreed Rat.

“Good luck learning it by speaking to him,” chuckled Razor. “Big guy’s a mute, mostly. Only sounds he can do are grunt, laugh, or roar.”

“Well, what do we know about him?” asked Rat.

“As near as we can tell, he’s the last surviving subject of an illegal supersoldier project,” explained Razor. “We suspect HTB or Janus Security Solutions were behind it, but they left no trace. He’s actually a very gentle giant, and loves young foals.”

“Sign him up, I guess,” continued Rat. “I’ll also want a ranged specialist to help out with long distance targets.”

“One of your contemporaries, Phantasm, would be a good pick for that,” advised Razor. “Her aim with a crossbow is unparallelled, and her reloading time is nearly non-existent.”

“Haven’t met her yet,” mused Rat. “What’s she like?”

“Level-headed, certainly,” answered Razor. “She doesn’t say much, but she’s extremely calm and collected under pressure.”

“OK, and then I’ll want one more experienced veteran besides you,” concluded Rat.

“Well, I can think of one who would fit the bill, but she isn’t exactly a team player,” sighed Razor. “Her name is Witch, and while she’s friend of Descent’s, she is extremely haughty and arrogant. She won’t be easy to work with.”

“As long as she follows orders when it counts,” replied Rat.

“Dagger and I will round them up,” nodded Razor. “We’ll meet you at the briefing room in half an hour.”

Rat paced back and forth in the meeting room anxiously. Not long after Razor and Dagger left, his nerves became live wires. This would be his first contract since the incident a week ago, and this time Descent wasn’t there to act as a safety net. Rat wondered if he would be able to kill, if he had to. He shook the thought from his head. Hopefully, it wouldn’t have to come to that.

The door to the briefing room opened, revealing Razor and Dagger, having returned from gathering the rest of the crew. As always, Tank was the most noticeable thing in the room, easily twice as large as anyone he stood by. Beneath his light brown coat, the stallion’s body didn’t seem to have even a trace of fat on it. The large stallion grinned cheerfully when he saw Rat.

“Good to see you again, Tank,” greeted Rat, extending a hoof in greeting.

“Heh, heh, heh,” chuckled Tank, grabbing Rat in a huge bear hug.

“Alright big guy, go take a seat,” chuckled Razor.

Tank grunted good-naturedly and took a seat in the front row. Still slightly shaken from Tank’s enthusiastic greeting, Rat initially failed to notice the dark purple mare standing silently by the door. Her steel-grey eyes scanned Rat’s face from behind a sky-blue mane. Her expression betrayed no emotions as she adjusted the sling for an imposing jet black crossbow. She was on the smaller side from the average mare, but she was in excellent physical condition.

“You must be Phantasm,” began Rat, clearing his throat. “It’s good to finally meet you.”

“Likewise,” replied Phantasm, her gentle voice high and cold. She bowed her head once before taking her seat.

“You must be Descent’s prodigy,” sighed another voice. “Hopefully, the rumors I’ve heard about you are at least half-true.”

“I should hope to avoid disappointing you, Witch,” replied Rat. “We’ll begin the briefing once everyone is seated.”

Witch sniffed slightly before taking a seat. Razor and Dagger sat down without a word, waiting for Rat to begin.

“Alright, thank you for coming,” began Rat. “This job, at first glance, appears to be incredibly simple. The Seaddle Mob has offered a considerable sum in exchange for watching over the delivery of illicit cargo from the harbor to the city. Normally, Dante wouldn’t consider a contract like this, but the details are such that he cannot ignore it.”

“What could possibly make Dante take interest in a paltry foalsitting job like this?” scoffed Witch.

“I’m glad you asked,” continued Rat. “The first thing that Dante noted was the payout for the contract. The Mob is splitting the profits from their job evenly with us, and even that is twice our usual Small Job fee.”

“That ain’t chump-change,” whistled Razor. “Clearly there’s some kind of high risk involved.”

“That’s exactly what Dante thought, so he looked through the details of the Mob’s contract, which they shared freely with us,” agreed Rat. “Apparently, the cargo is extremely dangerous, and has been wrongfully held at Customs due to a ‘missing paperwork’.”

“If I’ve learned anything over the years, ‘missing paperwork’ is corporate code for ‘we want this’,” snarled Razor.

“It gets worse,” explained Rat. “Turns out that the Mob has recently been harassed by the Hekate Torch Bearers.”

At this Tank began to growl fiercely, causing the table to groan beneath his hooves. Dagger placed a hoof on the large stallion’s shoulder to calm him down, which somehow was effective. Even Witch looked troubled by this news. At this point, Phantasm spoke up.

“Who are the Hekate Torch Bearers?” asked the markspony softly.

“It’s thanks to them that mercenary work has such a bad reputation,” scowled Razor. “They present themselves as a legitimate security company to the rest of the world, but they’re the worst kind of criminal thugs out there. They gained legitimacy during the last Griffon-Drake war, protecting outlying corporate colonies from Sky Wing and Scale Guard attacks, for what they called a “modest fee”, and looting the burned ruins of the colonies they didn’t protect.”

“They work for the highest bidder among the corrupt elite of Equestria,” agreed Rat. “I’m fairly certain that Elysium employed them as well.”

“So what’s your plan to handle this?” asked Witch.

“Complete deniability,” replied Rat. “We should use unmarked flight suits with armor plating, just in case. Hopefully, things won’t come to that, and this will be the easiest score we’ll have this month.”

“And if it does go wrong?” asked Razor.

“Then we’ll be ready for it when it does,” replied Rat grimly. “Go get your gear. We’re moving out immediately.”

Seaddle, Harbor District, Equestria
00:29 Local Time, 11 Years Before the Shadowbolt/Wonderbolt War

“Alright, all seems quiet,” whispered Rat. “We’ll keep to the shadows and let the cart make its way to the drop point.”

The pickup had gone down without a hitch. The crate was now loaded onto the ice delivery cart and moving swiftly down the wharf. The mob wasn’t taking any chances, though, if the twenty armed mobsters said anything about it. The Shadowbolts moved silently from rooftop to rooftop, watching the cart make its way to the end of the pier.

Rat frowned as the cart turned a corner and became blocked by dock workers. There shouldn’t have been crews working this late, especially without proper lighting. He couldn’t put words to it, but Rat couldn’t help but feel dread at the sight of them.

“Hang on, there might be trouble up ahead,” whispered Rat.

At that moment, the “dock workers” threw aside their disguises and leveled weapons at the cart. Their armor was covered in dark, non-reflective fabric to prevent gleaming in light, and the looks on the stallions’ faces were those of trained killers. There was only one group they could be.

“Oh, son of a-” cursed Razor. “It’s HTB!”

Rows upon rows of archers, pike infantry, and unicorn mages emerged from their hiding spots. Arrows and crossbow bolts rained down on the mobsters. Spotlights flared upon the scene as the cart swerved and crashed in a vacant lot. Dazed mobsters rolled slowly out of the vehicle, still stunned by the crash. One of them stood up, and addressed his comrades.

“COVER!” bellowed the lead mobster. “GET TO-”

And with that, the mobster said no more, as a crossbow bolt from an earth pony guard caught him in the throat. Magic bolts and projectiles flew between the two sides as the carriage swerved into the abandoned lot near the docks. Mobsters began falling left and right as they scrambled to find cover. Rat felt the familiar sensation of the world slowing as he analyzed the situation.

“Phantasm, take down their first wave to give us all some breathing room,” barked Rat. “Tank, once she has done that, I want you to grab that armored door and use it as a shield as you disrupt their lines. If it gets too hot down there, back off and try to lose them in one of the warehouses. Razor, you and Witch provide cover for us while we grab the package, then help the mobsters escape. Dagger and I are going to make a run for the package, after which we’ll hopefully get it to the drop point. Get as many of the mobsters out as you can.”

“Why bother?” scoffed Witch. “That’s not our contract.”

“We were being paid to guard them, but they’re being paid to deliver that package,” countered Rat. “If they don’t get paid, we don’t get paid.”

Witch scowled. “Fine, but I’m not dying over these thugs,” huffed Witch. “If they want to live, they’ll run.”

“I wouldn’t want you to die, either,” replied Rat. “Get ready to open up on my mark, Phantasm.”

“MARK!” barked Rat, leaping into the chaos.

Seaddle, Dock 25, Equestria
00:39 Local Time, 11 Years Before the Shadowbolt/Wonderbolt War

Bravo-07 watched as mobsters fell beneath their onslaught, completely helpless as they usually were. The confrontations were so lopsided, he honestly started to feel bad for them. Still, he had to make his living somehow, and a few low-life thugs seemed to be a fair price to pay. Suddenly, Bravo-07 heard several familiar sounds at an unfamiliar distance and direction: Screams of ponies, close behind him. Bravo-07 turned to look at their archer lines to find most of them dead or burning, sent into complete disarray. Several sharp whistles preceded explosions that sent even more of them flying. There was almost no time between the arrows, meaning it could only be one thing...

“Marksponies!” shouted Bravo Lead. “Get your heads-”

There was a short series of whistles as Bravo Lead and three others found crossbow bolts between their eyes. Bravo-07 ducked low as he watched three pikes from Charlie get annihilated by an explosive bolt. A brief glance around informed Bravo-07 that all the archers were now completely scattered from the explosive and regular bolts. The only good news that he could observe is that Delta Team had pushed past the counterattack safely.

“Delta is in pursuit of the runners!” shouted Bravo-07. “Any and all other survivors, regroup on me!”

“What in Tartarus-” swore one unicorn.

Bravo-07 looked over to see a massive shadow, with an improvised shield made from an armored door, flying toward them fast. It landed in front of the survivors of the first wave, using its shield to block all incoming arrows. Silhouetted by smoke and flame, the massive pegasus looked like a demon out of Tartarus. Bravo-07 hadn’t even seen JSS Heavies as big as this pony before. It turned to look at the survivors, cold fire blazing in its eyes. It roared. They screamed.

Razor couldn’t help but laugh in sympathy as he watched the HTB teams tossed around like foal toys on a playground. Tank was normally a very gentle and kind pony… Normally, of course, being the key word. However, the large pegasus nursed a hatred for HTB and Janus that put the hatred between Griffons and Drakes to shame.

He looked back at the mobsters, who were now in full evacuation, removing their injured and dead to a stolen set of boats. Razor had little doubt they’d make it back safely, now that the heat had been taken off of them. The old stallion turned to check where Witch was, only to see a squad of HTB elites moving in the direction that Rat and Dagger had fled. A quick shadow behind them confirmed Razor’s suspicions, and the old veteran took a moment to pray that Witch would grant them a merciful death. He then hefted his rope dart and rejoined the fray, ready to give the order for the rest to fall back to the extraction point once the second wave hit.

Seaddle, Dock 25, Equestria
00:45 Local Time, 11 Years Before the Shadowbolt/Wonderbolt War

HTB Assault Team Delta moved quickly through the dockyard, trying to catch up to the two pegasi runners. Delta-05 could feel his heart pounding as they moved through the empty dockyard. This was his first mission with Hemlock Group, and even though he’d had plenty of training, he couldn’t help but feel uneasy as they chased the runners.

“Fan out,” barked Delta Lead, lifting his pike. “Keep your eyes open, and head on a swivel.”

The squad moved in unison, each member taking a different corridor of containers. Delta-05 lifted his pike higher, ready to strike if necessary. Sweat flowed down his brow, stinging his eyes. Delta-05 had watched that winged beast tear through the remaining lines.

No warning came before the first death. There was a brief whistling noise, a choked gurgle, and finally a thud from the nearby corridor. Delta-05 looked over at Delta Lead. Lead motioned for 04 and 07 to check it out. Two more whistles. Two more thuds. A red pool was beginning to make its way around the corner. There could be no doubt now.

“Pathetic,” sighed a mare’s voice, which seemed to come from every direction at once. “You’re the elites of HTB? I’ve had tin soldiers thrown at me that posed a greater threat than you foals.”

“Over there!” yelled Delta-03, charging ahead.

“No, wait!” shouted Delta Lead. “It’s a-”

Delta-03 was pinned to the nearest cargo container as he gurgled his last scream. Delta-02 screamed and began to flee. A whistle, and thud. Delta-05 spun around, finding himself alone.

“Don’t try to run,” chided the voice. “It only embarrasses you more. Oh, and I highly doubt you’ll be able to find me.”

Delta-05 looked over and saw the outline of a pony in the shadows near where he heard the voice. The soldier grinned, hefting his pike.

“You should have a bit more faith!” snapped Delta-05 with a grin as he plunged the weapon deep into the cloaked pony.

“Oh dear, you better call a medic,” mocked the voice.

Delta-05 looked again at the pony as they staggered into the light, recognizing them instantly now as Delta Lead. The older stallion fell forward, propped up by Delta-05’s pike protruding from his chest. Delta-05 stepped away in horror, falling to his knees.

“Found you,” the voice whispered lazily in his ear.

Delta-05 didn’t even have time to scream.

Seaddle, End of Pier 39, Equestria
01:04 Local Time, 11 Years Before the Shadowbolt/Wonderbolt War

Rat’s lungs burned as he ran through the docks, dodging arrows and magical blasts from almost every side. Dagger kept alongside him, trying to use the environment to shake them off. Rat glanced to his right and saw an opportunity. After a few brief wing signals, Dagger understood his plan. The pegasus mare grabbed a nearby lantern and tossed it at a stack of firework crates. The crates exploded just as the two Shadowbolts dived into the warehouse.

Rat peeked outside to see countless HTB troops from the city pouring into the harbor, reinforcing the first wave. While he and Dagger weren’t followed from the cart, they’d ended up running straight into the HTB reinforcements, cutting them off from the rest of the city. Rat moved away from the window and got Dagger’s attention.

“This is crazy, there’s no way we’ll be able to reach the drop point undetected!” lamented Rat.

“I was hoping you had a plan to get out of this,” sighed Dagger, brushing ash from her uniform.

“We’re really out of options, unless we decide to abandon the cargo,” mused Rat. “We’re separated from the group, and there are too many of them to fight off before we reach our contact. The area is too open to sneak our way there before the real authorities show up and blow our cover, and-”

“Quiet!” hushed Dagger. “Did you hear that?”

Rat looked around the abandoned warehouse, but other than a dented archaeologist's helmet, he didn’t see anything- Wait, archaeologist’s helmet? thought Rat, before the world exploded.

“Anyone ever tell you it’s not a good idea to talk while sneaking?” The voice of a young mare asked. “And that it’s rude to steal from others?”

Dagger whipped around, drawing her signature weapon and leaping toward the source of the sound. Rat sprung away into the rafters, hiding within the beams. A light gold mare in an archaeologist’s getup stood defiantly on a set of crates nearby. Dagger lunged toward the mare with her weapon, but was easily sidestepped. Rat slipped silently along the rafters, trying to move into the ideal position to strike from.

“I don’t know who you two are,” the mare continued, bucking at Dagger as she passed, “but they really couldn’t have sent more… skilled combatants? I swear, I’ve fought more dangerous foals!”

Rat’s signature knife was at the mare’s throat before she could throw another blow. “If we wanted you dead, we would have killed you, but I told my friend to distract you until I could get into position,” hissed Rat. “Now, who are you and what the hell are you doing out here?”

“Oh, you know. Just a pretty face out for a walk at night along the pier!” the mare stated tersely before striking at Rat’s family jewels with a free hoof. As the strike connected, she leaned forward suddenly to toss the off-balance stallion over her shoulder.

Rat’s mind spun in surprise as he suddenly found himself tumbling with the mare across the room, sending the cargo flying. The crate popped open on impact, sending a large blue diamond skidding along the ground toward Dagger’s hooves. Dagger moved her hoof toward the diamond slowly, before a very panicked voice caused her to freeze in her tracks.

“Don’t touch that!” the mare yelled out, “the thing is cursed!”

“Cursed?” repeated Rat, slightly muffled from his face being pressed to the floor. “How so?”

“It’s the Eye of Discord,” the mare replied, coolly as she continued to hold Rat to the ground. “It brings the owner wealth and power beyond imagining, but then it enacts its price.” She eyed the gem with a worried, though awe-filled look. “Every owner that has ever held that gem, even for a moment, has died a horrible death.”

“You can’t be serious,” scoffed Dagger. “Are you trying to tell me that this pitiful rock is ‘The’ Diamond? If you think I’m going to listen to some floozy in a cheap cosplay-”

“I just got back from Saddle Arabia after spending a month hunting for that thing!” the mare stated, cutting Dagger off. “Distant and I had to use tongs to get it out of what remained of the last pony who held it.”

“‘Distant’?” interrupted Rat. “As in ‘Distant Horizon’?”

“Yes,” the mare said slowly, “and I’m Daring, her student.”

“...Your mentor was furious when Customs withheld the jewel, right?” asked Rat, feeling he already knew the answer.

“Oh, I bet you could hear the yelling from Canterlot!” Daring sighed, rolling her eyes. “I swear, I’ve never seen ponies dive under tables so fast…”

“Furious enough to hire the mob to steal it from Customs and deliver it to her?” pressed Rat.

Daring opened her mouth, then closed it and looked to Rat, “Oh… so… you two are?” Daring facehoofed and let Rat up.

“Technically, we aren’t, but we’ve been hired by the mob to help,” explained Rat. “Our greatest interest in this is to keep the damned rock out of HTB’s hooves.”

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” barked Dagger at Rat. “She’s a civilian, you idiot!”

“She’s an associate of the client,” retorted Rat firmly. “She’s already involved, and if she hadn’t ran into us, HTB would have killed her as a liability.”

“They could have tried.” Daring chuckled with a nervous smirk. “I am better at hiding and blending in than those thugs.” She then frowned. “And I am hardly a ‘civilian’ I am a card-carrying member of the Royal Equestrian Explorer’s League! I am an adventurer, thank you!”

“How dry is the ink on that card?” snapped Dagger. “It can’t be too dry, otherwise you’d know that you’d never stand a chance against a JSS Type-1 Jaeger!”

“We don’t have time for this!” snapped Rat. “Daring, you said that you were able to safely move the Diamond with a set of tongs?”

“Yeah… though I’d rather it be in that box…” Daring replied slowly.

“Not an option,” countered Rat. “HTB is going to be all over that box and whoever’s carrying it. They’d never make it to the first traffic light.”

“What’s in your head, Boss?” asked Dagger. “If you’re thinking what I think you are, I don’t see any tongs around here.”

“Would cloth or fabric work just as well?” Rat asked Daring.

“It should, so long as we’re not touching it.” Daring replied with a growing smile. “Thick cloth, though, just to be safe.”

Rat looked down at his unmarked flight suit, made from the unique graphene weave that the Shadowbolt armorers swore by. Working quickly, he removed the suit and tossed it to Daring.

“Take this,” commanded Rat. “It may look thin, but that stuff can stop a crossbow bolt at close range. Don’t bother trying to cut it, either, since you’d only dull the knife. Once my friend and I have left, wait five minutes, wrap the Diamond in that, and then make a break for the city. Do you understand?”

“I understand,” Daring said in a serious tone, quickly going to the gem and scooping it up carefully in the flight suit. She then looks to the two and nods. “Good luck you two… if I ever catch you on the flip side, drinks are on me.”

“Go ahead and keep the suit,” replied Rat. “Consider it your cut of the payment. Plus, it would be a pity if a nice mare like you got hurt in her adventures.”

“We better move, Boss,” interjected Dagger.

Rat nodded and picked up the box. With a short salute, the two Shadowbolts burst from their hiding place and made a break for the extraction point. Six airborne HTB regulars chased after them while two more squads pursued them from below. As the crossbow bolts flew, Rat began to question his decision to abandon his flight suit. Thankfully, he didn’t have to evade them for too long, only long enough for the young Daring to escape with the Diamond

After about ten minutes of carefully staged acrobatic skill, Rat took the box and threw it as hard as he could into Seaddle Bay. The instant that the box left his hooves, every HTB soldier moved to intercept it. Rat and Dagger wasted no time in fleeing the scene. After a few minutes, Dagger spoke up.

“That was reckless,” began Dagger.

“We didn’t have a lot of options there,” replied Rat. “HTB had us surrounded.”

“Still, are you sure we can trust her?” countered Dagger. “She could have been an HTB plant.”

“Not likely,” replied Rat. “Her reactions were too genuine to have been lying.”

“Are you sure that’s not your infatuation talking?”

“What?!” stuttered Rat. “I’m not infatuated with her!”

“Why give her your suit, then?” countered Dagger.

“You’ve heard the legend about the damn thing!” snapped Rat. “Even the slightest touch of that gem, and you’re doomed for all time!”

“Well, I hope you can explain all this to Dante,” replied Dagger.

“Maybe, but I have a feeling this’ll all turn out alright,” replied Rat.

The Diamond.

That morning when the Princess raised the sun over Seaddle, the infamous gemstone was in the hands of the local Museum of Natural History. The Hekate Torch Bearers reported that they conducted a narcotics raid at Pier 39 earlier that morning, but they were unsuccessful in capturing the suspects. Officially, the story of the customs mix-up was resolved when the proper paperwork had suddenly been “found” in the harbor official’s office under the wrong stack of paperwork.

However, these “official” lies are irrelevant. The Diamond was recovered safely, and kept out of the wrong hooves. The young archaeologist, Daring Do, had completed her first foray out in the field with great success, taking her first steps down the path that would lead her to greatness. Eventually, both gem and adventurer would cross paths with Rat and his group of misfit mercenaries.

But that, dear foals, is a tale for another time…

To be continued...

Author's Notes:

And now, after far too long, I now present Chapter 7 of Shadowbolts: A Memoir. No clue when the next one will be out, but hopefully it will be out soon.

Special thanks to Sylvian for letting me use his version of Daring Do, and for his help in providing her dialogue here.