Chapter 17: Breaking the Bank

The early morning air in Canterlot feels fresh and welcoming against Evening Star’s face. Taking a deep, slow, breath he fills his lungs with the crisp air and exhales slowly, a small smile spreading across his face. All around him ponies are slowly going about their business, most avoiding the large amount of guards and Reserves that shuffle along the still damaged streets of the financial heart of Canterlot. Yet, for all the dismal appearance of the city, the sun is still shining and the world is moving onward.

“Rose Moon has to be my favorite month,” Evening says slowly as he looks to the pony beside him. “What about you, Rider? Got a favorite month?”

“I’ve always prefered Grass Moon,” Wind shrugs as he takes a sip of the coffee he is holding.

“Makes sense,” Evening shrugs before finishing his own coffee. “So, we’ve been standing here a while, might as well go inside and get our part of the job over with.”

“Sorry, my old bones don’t work properly unless I’ve had my morning cup of coffee,” Wind quips with a smirk.

“You’re not that much older than me,” Evening snorts before smirking.

“Then we’re both old,” Wind shrugs, a few joints popping as he stands and starts across the street to his and Evening’s destination.

The building which they walk up to is large, easily three or four stories tall, and made of the same white marble that the rest of the city is made of, with a massive arching entrance flanked by expertly carved colonnades. Even at this early hour, Equestria National Bank has a few early risers coming in and out of the old oak doors that Evening and Wind quickly slip through. The inside is the same white stone, save for the floor which is an aged hardwood polished smooth by the thousands of hooves that have walked across it over the decades. As the two progress deep inside, mostly towards the lobby area, Evening is struck by just how undamaged the building is, as if the conflict outside had purposely avoided the hallowed monetary institution.

Then again, perhaps it did.

Stopping in the center of the room, the pair look around slowly in an effort to figure out where they need to go.

“Security guards look like they’re coming from somewhere back there,” Evening says softly, gently nudging Wind who is pretending to look at a flyer for something or another.

“We’ll need to find a way back there,” Wind nods before tapping his hoof against the flyer. “Perhaps we should look into a loan? They seem to be advertising some nice home loans for the coast near Manehatten.”

“Thinking of retiring?” Evening chuckles as he looks towards where the guards seem to be coming from, which is, ironically, near the loan offices.

“After the nearly two weeks I’ve had here in Canterlot? Buck yeah I’m thinking of retiring!” Rider says loudly, causing a few heads to turn towards him. “Honestly, I’ve had enough of being shot at, blown up, and all around being run ragged. I’m too old for that horse apples… it’s not good for my complexion.”

“You don’t look that bad,” Evening chuckles, playing along with Wind. “But, we can go look into it if you want.”

“I think I’d like that,” Wind replies with a sigh as he puts down the flyer and starts off towards the loan area.

They are greeted by a young earth pony stallion who assures Wind that they can find him and Evening a good price for a home loan someplace where there won’t be the threat of bombs dropping on their heads. Wind is, of course, all for this idea of not being in a war zone and engages the loan officer in a very involved conversation. While Wind does this, Evening looks around from where he is beside Wind, and takes note of the security guards as well as the ‘staff only: security’ sign on a door down the hall from the open office area they’re at.

“That’s all really nice,” Evening breaks into the conversation that the loan officer and Wind are having, “but what we’re really looking for…” he then leans forward, and ‘accidentally’ knocks some papers off the desk. “Crud, sorry! It’s been a hell of a week and I’m a little twitchy.”

“No, no that’s alright,” the earth pony chuckles as he scoots his chair back and gets under the desk. “I’ll just picks these up and we can continue.”

As he vanishes beneath the desk, Evening nudges Wind and nods towards the security door. The former Wonderbolt nods and smiles warmly as the loan officer sits back up and deposits the papers back on his desk.

“Excuse me, but I fear I need to use the restroom,” Wind says with a scratch of the back of his head. “Which way is it?”

“Down the hall and to your left, sir,” the loan officer replies with a friendly smile. “I can continue with this other gentle stallion while you’re gone?”

“Of course, I trust him completely,” Wind replies with a wink and a pat on Evening’s shoulder. “Now don’t go promising our life savings to him, dear.”

“No promises, you know how I get,” Evening sighs with a smile before looking back at the loan officer as Wind gets up and walks down towards the restrooms, and the security office. “Now, like I was saying before I gave into my inner klutz…”

Evening speaks with the loan officer for a good long while on loans, something he feigns no real knowledge of, while keeping an eye on the marked door as Wind slips into it. He keeps the conversation going for a while longer before he sighs and pointedly looks over towards the restroom.

“I’d better go make sure he didn’t fall in,” Evening says as he stands up. “If you’ll excuse me that is, I’m sure this won’t take long.”

Walking towards the bathroom, Evening slips in and counts to ten before he walks back out and looks around. Finding nopony looking his way, he walks quickly down the hallway and knocks on the security door three times, and is quickly admitted by Wind.

Inside, the lone security guard that had been inside is sleeping slumped over in a corner, a nasty looking welt forming on the back of his head.

“I see you didn’t have any trouble requisitioning our use of their security station,” Evening smirks as he walks over towards the large group of screens showing off different views of the inside of the bank. “It’s good to be rich, I guess, all these fancy magical stuff.”

“Yes, it’s all very nice looking,” Wind grumbles. “But I don’t have the foggiest idea how to turn it off.” Going to the desk and sitting down, Wind looks over the various objects and magical displays.

Taking a few steps back so Wind can work, Evening looks around as well, finding nothing much of interest except a large server in one corner with cables and such sticking out of it and going to the displays. Scuffing a hoof against the carpet, because the security office has carpet and not hardwood, Evening sighs as no real ideas come to mind that will work.

Turning, he walks over towards the desk and reaches out to touch one of the metal chairs at the desk, and shocks himself. Yelping slightly, drawing the attention of Wind, Evening looks between his hoof, the chair, and then the server as a small smile forms on his face.

“Got something on your mind there?” Wind asks, raising an eyebrow.

“Just a small idea,” Evening replies, smirking as he shuffles his hooves over the carpet rapidly while moving towards the server tower. Once he reaches it, he looks to Wind. “Could you perhaps open this for me?”

Shrugging, Wind walks over and opens the side of the server tower. “Okay, so, what’s your idea?”

“Well, I was talking to some navy ponies the other day,” Evening starts as he continues to shuffle his hooves over the carpet while going in a circle. “They were talking about how they had to specially isolate some of their equipment, because if it got the tiniest shock, it’d short out!”

“Yeah, and..?” Wind prompts, waving a hoof in a circle.

“And…” Evening continues with a smirk as he stops, and reaches a wing out to gently touch the exposed server with a primary feather. The instant it touches, a loud snapping sound echoes through the air, and the server sparks, and actually catches fire. As it smokes, the display screens flicker, then go dead, as does the nearby alarm box. “Problem solved. Shall we go inform Daring?”

“Once more unto the breach, my friends,” Wind quotes as he walks to the door, before turning, “let us pray it is a short battle, I hate cramped quarters.”

Nodding, Evening joins him at the door. “Me too, now let’s break the bank.”

---

Standing at a checkpoint down the street from the bank, Daring smiles as she spots the familiar sight of her second in command, Wind Rider, on the front steps of Equestrian National. She watches as, without pausing as he starts down the steps, he whistles sharply. The sound quickly travels to all the Guards and Reservists that are waiting in the area, both in uniform and in civilian clothing, and they instantly spring into action.

Starting forward herself, Daring answers Wind’s whistle with one of her own as her own troops, comprised mostly of the extra reservists and a few guards manning the checkpoint, draw blades and crossbows and rush the bank’s front steps. Daring reaches the front door last, offers a smirk and a wink to Wind, and opens the door and enters into the controlled chaos that is a raid on a civilian institution.

“You have no right to be here!” a mare shouts at Dawn, who is staring at her impassively as the Guards and Reservists herd everypony in the bank towards the central lobby area. “This is a privately owned bu-”

“And the Princess forbade her guards to invade privately owned businesses or homes without due cause,” Dawn interrupts the mare. “However, I have cause, and I have the permission of Princess Twilight.” He reaches into a saddle bag and produces a piece of parchment, which Daring can see has Twilight’s flowing script on it. “We have reason to believe that this building is harboring conspirators who were key in causing the uprising. We are here to arrest them.”

“Let me see that,” the mare growls as she snatches the parchment. Her face pales as she looks it over, before handing it back to Dawn. “The head of the bank’s name is on there, and it says he’s a Shadowbolt.”

“So it seems,” Dawn shrugs before putting the warrant away and looking the mare in the eyes with a non-nonsense expression. “We’re going to need you to open the vaults as soon as we’ve locked the building down. Once they’re open, you will be escorted back here to the lobby by a guard. Understand?”

“Y-yes sir,” the mare replies. “Let me just go get my key and grab the assistant manager, it’ll take both of us to open the vault.”

“Alright, but be quick about it,” Dawn stated flatly as the mare runs off. Turning to Daring he smiles slightly, allowing his professional mask to break slightly. “So, first time to Equestrian National Bank?”

“Yeah,” Daring says slowly, looking around at the opulent interior. “I’ve made it a point to avoid big banks like this, always seemed like a bad idea to put my hard earned bits into the hooves of another pony for safekeeping.”

Raising an eyebrow, Dawn smirks. “So, what do you bury it all in treasure chests marked with big red X’s?”

“Well, there was this one time…” Daring starts, gesturing with one hoof.

“Really?” Dawn asks, leaning his head to one side.

“No, not really,” Daring chuckles. “The Royal Equestrian Explorer’s League has a credit system in place, you deposit money at one of their offices, and they’ll give you a voucher. I can withdraw money from anywhere they have an office.” She shrugs as the mare comes back with a wide-eyed young stallion. “The rest I keep in a locked safe at my house.”

“We’re ready to open the vault now, Commander,” the mare says slowly, her ears lowered. “Just promise you’ll be careful, there is a lot of valuable stuff down there, especially on the fourth and fifth sublevels.”

“Oh, I won’t be going down there,” Dawn shrugs as he walks over and puts an arm around Daring’s neck. “I’m sending somepony who’s used to pillaging places of all their wealth!”

“What!?” the mare gasps. “Please tell me you’re joking!”

“He is,” Daring sighs as she rolls her eyes. She then smiles softly and extends a hoof towards the mare. “At least in part; I’m Senior Master Sergeant A.K. Yearling, and I really do have some experience protecting valuable objects.”

Accepting the hoof with her own, and tentatively shaking it, the mare blinks. “A.K. Yearling? Like the author of Daring Do?”

“Yeah, something like that,” Daring chuckles before shaking Dawn’s arm off of her and stepping forward. “So, don’t worry, I’ll do my best to not destroy things down there. But, if what we think is true, then there may be some collateral.” She gestures with one hoof to the mare, a smile on her face. “Lead the way, and I’ll follow.”

“R-right,” the mare nods as she starts off with the assistant manager next to her.

Hesitating for a second, Daring whistles sharply, causing the mare to jump slightly and stop to look back. Daring, however, has started forward, her smile remaining, as Guards in heavy body armor and carrying shields and swords, and Reservists carrying crossbows and in their lighter armor, form up behind Daring who prompts the mare to keep going forward. The group moves through the bank’s lobby, through a pair of double doors at the back, and eventually down a large flight of stairs to stop in front of a massive steel door.

Whistling sharply, one of the Guards, looks over at Daring. “Thing looks like it could survive the end of the world.”

“Just about, I’d imagine,” the mare who has led them here remarks with pride. “It was designed by the same ponies who make the armor on airships! She’ll stand up to anything short of something truly catastrophic!” She then produces a key, which she levitates with her magic into keyhole. “It’s also thief proof. Nopony can pick the lock, or even get it to open unless they’re bank personnel of sufficient rank.”

“I don’t know,” Daring smirks, “I know some ponies who’d just love to put that to the test. Heck, they might even prove you wrong.”

“I highly doubt that, Sergeant,” the mare snorts, turning her nose up. “Equestrian National prides itself on being the safest and most secure bank in all of Equestria, perhaps all of Equus!”

“Oh, I am really going to tell them about you now,” Daring chuckles. “But that’s for later, open the door.”

“Right away,” the mare sighs, rolling her eyes as her and her associate turn their keys at the same time.

As the keys finish turning the massive door unlocks with a resounding boom, almost akin to the sound of a battering ram striking the steel door, as well as a few loud clicks and the sound of scraping metal against metal. The mare envelops the massive tumblr, which looks almost akin to the wheel on a sail ship, and spins it a few times, further unlocking the door with one last resounding boom before sliding it open hinges that are silent beside all the earlier noise.

The room beyond the massive door is a security checkpoint, the guards beyond starting up as the team of Royal Guards and Reservists comes into view.

“What is th-” one of the security officer starts, but is quickly cut off as Daring points forward.

“By order of the Crown of Equestria, lay down your weapons and surrender,” Daring says calmly, her hoof still pointed towards the security guards.

“Not likely!” the guard shouts, drawing a hoof blade and squaring his shoulders. “Warn the boss, we’ve been compromised!”

Another security guard nods, and sprints down the hallway, quickly hitting a button on the way out of the checkpoint. The expected alarm does not go off, however, causing Daring to smirk.

“Sorry, but you’re going to be having some technical difficulties for a while,” she quips as she steps back into the forming line of guards who have raised their shields and lowered their blades. “Right, guess the silent approach is off the table everypony. Time to go loud!”

“Hoo-Rah!” Daring’s troops shout in unison, the shield wall charging forward into the security guards with the Reserves following behind to catch any who try and get over.

They quickly overwhelm the guards, knocking them out or forcing them to the ground so they can be detained. Once the room is clear, they advance forward, the hallway beyond forcing the shieldwall down to three ponies in front backed by three behind with their shields held at an angle to protect the vanguard’s heads.

“Watch for IEDs and anti-personnel mines!” Daring shouts from where she is in the center of the line. “We don’t know what Secure has planned for us, so keep on your guard and watch your sectors!” The advance slows slightly under the order to watch out for explosives, but they keep a healthy pace until the hallway turns, and they’re faced by a group of unicorns who let loose a blast of flames from their horns.

In response to the flames, a guard unicorn levitates a small glass vial off of a belt around their barrel, pulls the pin with their teeth, and tosses it over to shield wall. “Grenade out!”

The object sails towards the security unicorns, and lands with a muted pop before a bright flash of light. The flame stop and the unicorns scream loudly as they cover their eyes, the shieldwall surging forward to overtake them as more security comes to fight. It soon becomes clear, as each group of security is dealt with, that the fighting will be yard by yard in the corridors of the vaults, as with each passing minute more dangerous spells and even weapons are dredged up out of the vaults. At one point, as Daring’s forces turn into a security checkpoint, they’re suddenly faced with the rapid fire of a mana-powered repeating crossbow, which shoots it’s payload into the shieldwall and actually forces the front ranks to kneel down in order to keep their shields upright.

The front ranks shout over the sound of the crossbolt, which makes a rapid and loud popping sound, but when they only pause to reload the monster of a machine, Daring orders up something they’d confiscated the other night from Janus.

“You sure about this?” a guard asks Daring as she gets the area behind the tube-like Dragonlance clear of her guards.

“Nope,” Daring shrugs as she picks up the ballista-like projectile the ‘lance uses as ammo. “But, we’re in a hurry, and I hate when ponies block the hallway.” she slams it into the back of the tube, and taps the shoulder of the reservist who is holding it. “Fire in the hole!”

The Reservist, kneeling on her hind legs with the Dragonlance perched on one shoulder, smiles and shouts. “KNOCK KNOCK!” as the shieldwall in front of her suddenly falls to the floor as the guards hit the deck. The crossbow team, which consists of four ponies, is in the process of rapidly reloading their weapon, and stops to stare wide eyed at the thing pointed at them. Before they’re able to recover, the reservist clicks the trigger and fires the weapon with a loud roar and a stream of fire behind her as the projectile shoots forward and impacts the weapon position with a dull thunk followed by a fountain of flames that rush back and into the quickly reestablished shieldwall.

“I’VE GOT TO GET ME ONE OF THOSE!” Daring shouts, rubbing an ear with a hoof.

“WHAT’D YOU SAY?!” the guard next to her shouts.

“NOT-” Daring starts, before coughing and going back to a normal speaking voice. “Nothing, just thinking out loud. Let’s keep going.” She waves for the line to move forward again, and to reform with the Dragonlance in the middle with her so it’s protected.

After the short battle with the fortified crossbow nest, they’re able to advance down to the fourth level without much more problems save for a few more defensive positions. However, when they reach the fifth sub-level, which houses the largest of the vaults, they run into a fortified position unlike any other.

The room before the final vault is at least as large the bank above ground, with a barricade of furniture staffed with grim looking security guards wielding crossbows. Behind that, is a concrete half-wall with firing positions for multiple of the larger repeater crossbows. The first ranks of the Royal Guard in are nearly cut down, barely able to get their shields to bear before the deadly rain impacts them. After a few seconds, Daring calls a retreat into the hallway and stairwell leading into the large room.

Unable to progress further, Daring orders her forces to hold position while she goes back to the surface for reinforcements.

And failing that, a back door into the vault.

---

From his perch at the top of the stairs to the vaults, Dawn keeps a silent vigil, guards behind him awaiting his order to enter and reinforce those below.

The sounds of battle echoing from the vaults had subsided a few minutes ago, and Dawn can’t help but be worried. Daring is, all things considered, a very capable leader and fighter, but in that silence that echoes up from the depths of the bank, Dawn can’t help but fear he’ll be giving Leaf bad news.

The sound of rapid hoofsteps coming up the stairs causes him to stand a little taller, ears perked forward as he awaits to see who will come from the entrance. Silently, he raises a wing, singling the guards behind him to stand ready to fight, or to rush to the defense of those below. However, the pony that comes from the entrance quickly dispels his fears.

“Looking a little tired there, Yearling,” Dawn comments with a smirk as his friend stops on the steps just below him.

“You would not believe the toys they have down there,” Daring pants, wiping her brow. “We’ve fought everything from flamethrowers to repeating crossbows.” She looks up at Dawn, a smirk on her face. “Plus, it’s nothing but twists and turns down there, and stairs.”

“Is it over, then?” Dawn asks, leaning slightly to one side to look down to the entrance of the vaults.

“Not by a long shot, I fear,” Daring states simply as she starts up to stand next to Dawn. “The final level is better defended than Pinkie Pie’s cupcake recipe, we need help.”

“What kind of help?” Dawn asks slowly, raising an eyebrow. “You’ve already got some of my best down there, if you can’t charge it, how do you expect to take it?”

“Well, I’m not sure,” Daring admits as she scratches the side of her muzzle. “But, I figured I’d come up here, grab the schematics for the bank vaults, and see if I can’t puzzle out the problem.”

“Makes sense,” Dawn smiles. “I might also have a pony that can help with that, and you’ve worked with him before.”

“Oh?” Daring asks as she turns and starts towards the lobby again. “Wouldn’t happen to be that earth pony, Lode Stone? I recall hearing he used to be a miner.”

“Scuttlebutt got it right on that,” Dawn agrees. “He earned his place in the guard through some heroics during the riots. If anypony will know how to fix your problem, it’ll be him.”

Nodding, Daring leads Dawn out of the back of the bank and into the open lobby area. She wanders over towards the mass of worried looking employees and over to the mare that had opened the vaults.

“So, your boss has quite the security force down there,” Daring says before the mare can compose herself. “So large, in fact, I’m really thinking he’s trying to hide something really important and damning.”

“You got to the bottom floor, didn’t you?” The mare asks, her ears going flat against her head. “I don’t know what’s in there, but Mr Savings was very protective of it.”

“We did, and now we’re going to need you to help us find the plans for those levels,” Daring says, her tone leaving no room for argument. “I don’t want to spill more blood, and I’ll be forced to if we can’t end this soon. So, help us end it, and I’ll put in a good word with the Princess.” She turns slightly, a smile forming on her lips. “After all, somepony is going to have to take over with the head of the bank in jail.”

Standing up, a hopeful look on her face, the mare nods quickly. “I’ll go find the plans. They should be in my office!” She starts off, pausing to look at Daring. “Uhm, are you coming with me ma’am?”

“Yeah, guess I should keep an eye on you,” Daring sighs dramatically before looking at Dawn. “We’ll grab the floor plans, you grab your expert?”

“Right,” Dawn nods, “meet back up at the front counter?”

“Sounds good,” Daring confirms as she gestures with a wing to the mare. “Well, lead the way, we don’t have all day…”

Chuckling, Dawn makes his way over to a group of Guards that are coordinating with the checkpoints outside. Specifically, he walks up to a deep red stallion with green patches, and taps him on the shoulder.

“Lode, I’m going to need you help with something,” Dawn says quietly, waving a hoof absently as the earth pony salutes. “No need for that, come with me over to the front desk and we’ll wait for Daring to come back so she can explain her problem to you.”

“Yes, sir,” Lode says curtly, following after Dawn, who has turned and started off towards the front desk.

By the time they reach the desk, Daring is on her way back with the mare who is holding onto a rolled up set of blueprints. They reach the desk at about the same time, and Daring clears a section of it with a sweep of a wing, sending the majority of the stuff onto the floor so the mare can spread the blueprints out.

Looking at the sketches on the paper, Dawn can only stare blankly and look over at Lode who has removed his helmet and is looking intently at the paper.

“So, I take it you can make sense of this?” Dawn asks slowly, looking over at Daring with a raised eyebrow.

“Of course,” Daring shrugs. “Remember the Reserves are more than just a combat force, we’re also search and rescue. I had to learn how to read blueprints and floor plans when I became an officer in the event of a collapsed building.”

“Okay, that makes sense,” Dawn concedes as he looks over at Lode. “How about you?”

“Sir, I’m a miner, I know how to read these things,” Lode states absently as his eyes scan over the blueprints for a few moments before looking up at Daring. “So, what’s the problem?”

“Well, we reached the final level here,” Daring explains quickly, pointing to the largest of the vaults on the bottom of the blueprint. “However, it looks like they’ve set up extensive defenses and have bottlenecked us in the stairwell. We can’t move the forces into the room to attack without serious casualties.”

“You need a back door, then?” Lode asks as he looks to the blueprints again. “I might be able to make one, but the entire vault area is surrounded by solid rock, like the rest of Canterlot. And, if I recall correctly, there aren’t any tunnels near here.” He looks up to the bank mare who nods to him. “So, unless you want to wait a few more hours, or even a day, I can make a tunnel from behind or even under.”

“No, that’s too long,” Dawn speaks up. “We need this done soon. There’s no telling who they might be able to call in or do if we give them time.”

“Skylight it is, then,” Lode chuckles. Pointing to the vault above the lowest one, he looks to the mare again. “Who’s vault is this?”

“That belongs to House Grey,” the mare states simply. “They’re one of our oldest patrons.”

“Oh, well then I guess I’ll have to hide behind my sister after this,” Lode sighs. “Ember might be able to shield me from Witch’s family.”

“I’m part of that family, Lode,” Daring chuckles with smirk. “And, if you’re Ember’s brother, I guess I don’t have to worry about your skills.” She looks to the mare and gestures to the blueprints. “You’re going to need to open House Grey’s vault, I’ll just explain to my husband’s dear grandparents that it was a required sacrifice on their part, and I’ll have Twilight compensate them.”

“I don’t think I can do that,” the mare says slowly as she shakes her head. “I don’t want the Earl or Countess angry at me because I let one of their grandkids blow up their family vault, or whatever you’re planning on doing.”

“Well, how about having a Marchioness angry at you?” Daring questions the mare, turning a steady gaze towards her.

“Uhm…” the mare replies blinking slowly. “I, uh, oh yes I think I actually can open that vault, ma’am.” She steps back from the table, ears against her head.

“Good,” Daring states simply as she looks back to Lode. “What do you think you’ll need to get through the floor?”

“We’ll need something to break through the vault’s floor,” he taps the blueprint, “which looks to just be normal stone, so some blasting powder, perhaps water and ice spells depending on the composition of the floor.” He then frowns and looks up at Daring. “Then perhaps some thermite, we’ll need to cut a hole in the metal roof of the vault beneath it, because if I am reading this right it’s reinforced with steel.”

“Okay, me and our friend here will go unlock the vault,” Daring sighs. “Dawn, I’m going to take some of your troops up here down there to help move things around. No point in damaging whatever is in there, Leaf’s grandfather will be angry enough with us blowing a hole in the place.”

“Fine by me,” Dawn replies with a smirk. “While you do that, me and Lode here will go get what he needs and meet you there.”

Nodding, Daring puts a wing over the bank manager’s back and escorts her off as they talk about things not related to the current military operation around them. Smirking at the display, Dawn nods to Lode and makes his way to the front doors of the bank and then quickly down the front steps into the street where a crowd is already gathering to stare at the massive amount of guards keeping the area directly in front of the bank clear.

The sun has progressed well into the morning sky by now, bringing the full terribly glory of the ruined city into full view. The sight stops Dawn in his tracks at the bottom of the steps, a deep chested sigh escaping him as he looks over the ruined houses and businesses.

“It’s not easy seeing your home in ruins,” Lode says from beside Dawn, his own eyes locked on the burnt out ruins.

“No, it’s not,” Dawn agrees with another sigh. “I just feel so... “

“Violated?” Lode provides with a frown on his face, his eyes distant. “Like everything you’ve ever cared for and loved has been torn away from you, and destroyed before your very eyes.”

“Sounds like you have experience in this,” Dawn says softly, looking to his newest recruit from the corner of one eye.

“You could say that,” Lode replies in an equally soft voice before blinking and looking around. “So, where do we need to go to get the supplies I need?”

“This way,” Dawn coughs as he heads towards a group of guards clustered around some covered wagons. “Hey, Red, you in there?” Dawn shouts knocking on the side of one of the large covered wagons.

The sound of something dropping on the wooden floor followed by profuse cursing issues forth from inside the wagon, followed by the door flying open and a very irritated looking bright red earth pony wearing an old army uniform stomping out.

“Damnit, Dawn,” Red growls. “I told you to not bang on the side of the wagon when the door isn’t open! I was working with very volatile components in there!”

“So, you were making your lunch over that grey stuff you use to blow up walls again?” Dawn says with a straight face.

“That’s not the point, and you know it,” Red grumbles. “Now, what do you need?”

Looking to Lode, Dawn gestures with a hoof towards Red, “Well, you’re up, Lode.”

Clearing his throat, Lode clears his throat. “I need some supplies for breaking through a layer of rock, followed by a layer of steel.”

“Alright, I can set you up,” Red says in a serious tone as he turns to completely face Lode. “Were you thinking chemical or powder explosives for the stone?”

“Powder, black if you have it,” Lode replies, then pauses. “Small charges, nothing larger than a tenth of a stick of TnT? We’re breaking through the bottom of House Grey’s vault, and I don’t know how much damage I can reasonably cause.”

“Mmm, yes I think I have some smaller charges,” Red replies with an absent nod. “Though, I should give you something larger, just to spite that pompous idiot. Scuttlebutt from the seahorses are that Earl Black Velvet is defending the Nobles.”

“I wouldn’t know, sir,” Lode replies with a shrug. “But, please stick to the smaller charges. I’m going to need a controlled space for the next part of the demolition.”

“Yes, the steel,” Red chuckles. “Thermal Lance or Thermite? Heck, I can lend you some of the explosives I’m cooking with!”

“Thermite only, please,” Lode chuckles. “Explosives would be a bit too excessive.”

“Right, right, stay here and I’ll go dig up what you need,” Red states simply as he turns and heads back into the wagon.

“So, he’s interesting,” Lode says with a smile as he looks over to Dawn.

“Red? Yeah, he’s an old-hoof at this sort of thing,” Dawn shrugs. “He was the pony who worked out the supply routes during the Griffin-Drake War.”

“No kidding?” Lode says with a wide smile. “I’d heard some of the drakes cursing ‘Redball Express’ I thought that was the name of the supply routes, but it’s the pony?”

“A little of both,” Dawn nods. “They named the routes after him.”

“And he is working for you, why?” Lode asks, raising an eyebrow.

“Because I like blowing stuff up, and they wouldn’t let me retire,” Red grunts as he walks out of the wagon with a saddlebag loaded down with supplies. “Here, everything you’ll need to crack the floor of that vault, plus some extras for good measure.”

“Thanks, Red,” Lode says happily as he takes the saddlebag. “When this is over, we should sit down for drinks or something, I’d love to talk shop.”

“We’ll see,” Red replies. “Now, if you two will excuse me, I’m going back to my lunch.”

“Alright,” Dawn laughs. “Don’t go blowing yourself up, y’hear? I’ve got a lot of bits riding on you making it to seventy.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Red grumbles as he goes back into his wagon.

Shaking his head and chuckling again, Dawn waves for Lode to follow him and heads back to the bank.

Once back inside, they transverse the bank and quickly head to the back, then down into the vaults. The first few floors are full of guards keeping a watchful eye on captured security guards, or dragging body bags out of the walkways to allow reinforcements to head through. Once and a while, they find a vault that has had its door damaged, Royal Guards standing on the sides of the entrance and keeping a watchful eye on the contents so that nothing is stolen or misplaced.

The fourth level of the vaults finds small pockets of resistance being crushed, but the main hallways are clear and well guarded as Dawn and Lode make their way to the far end of the hallway to a door bearing the crest of House Grey. Daring is already inside the vault with a small detachment of Guards and Reserves, her voice echoing from inside as her troops labor to remove valuable objects.

“WHERE THE HAY DID THEY GET THIS!?” Daring’s loud question causes Dawn to stop and blink, the ranting mare stepping out of the vault with a painting under one wing. “Dawn! Do you know what this is? Do you know how much it’s worth?”

“No,” Dawn states simply, “but I am sure you’ll tell me anyway?”

“This is an original Van Goat!” Daring proclaims, shaking the painting at Dawn. “THIS BELONGS IN A MUSEUM!”

“You say that about a lot of things, Daring,” Dawn shrugs.

“Well, this isn’t all. They’ve got things in there that I know were sold on the black market! We have to confiscate them, put them where they’re rightfully meant to be!” Daring states, passing the painting off to a Reservist. “We need to-”

“No, we don’t, Daring,” Dawn states firmly, raising a hoof to stop her. "We're already stretching our legal authority as it is. Anything we take from there would be counted as an illegal seizure."

“But, but…” Daring starts.

“We can’t give Earl Grey any more ammunition than he probably already has for his defense of the Archduke, Yearling.” Dawn continues gently, a smile on his face. “We’ll get him later, Daring. Now that we know it’s here, we’ll be able to come after it.”

“Fine,” Daring sighs, her shoulders slumping. “But it’s not fair.”

“No, it’s not,” Dawn agrees. “But that is life, and legality.” He looks to the vault and smiles. “So, how goes emptying the place? Sooner it’s emptied, sooner we get to blow a hole in it.” He looks back to Daring and winks. “And I know you’ll feel better if you get to blow a hole in the bottom of the vault.”

“I might feel a little better,” Daring concedes. “And it’s nearly done, the Van Goat was one of the last things in there.” She thens and goes back towards the entrance to the vault, and looks in as a Reservist exits. “And, actually it looks clear now.”

“Well, looks like I’m up,” Lode smiles as he trots over to the entrance, quickly going around Daring to set to work. He looks at the floor and taps the floor, muttering to himself as he goes. “No, too firm here... “ He moves to another section and taps the floor again, a smile forming on his face. “This should do nicely.”

From where he is standing at the door next to Daring, Dawn watches as Lode pulls out a small hoof-drill and makes some holes in the floor in a roughly box-shape with an ‘x’ going through it. Once the holes are drilled, he pulls out small cylindrical charges and places them in the holes, ties all their fuses together and lights them before retreating out to where Dawn and Daring are standing.

“Cover your ears, it might be a bit loud,” Lode warms as he sits down behind the wall and follows his own advice. Dawn likewise gets behind the wall, Daring not far behind him, and covers his ears with his armored hooves as a loud, though not forceful, explosion rips through the air from the vault.

Once the dust settles, Dawn peeks around the corner as Lode goes back to work. The floor in the area Lode had drilled is now nothing more than chunks of rock, which is quickly cleared away by the former miner to show off the steel of the vault beneath them.

“Well, part one is done,” Lode sighs as he continues to clear the stone. “Part two is going to be the fun part.” He looks out to Dawn and Daring, a smile on his face. “Could I beg some help with this? We need to get the stone cleared so I can lay down the thermite.”

“If it makes this go faster, sure,” Daring nods as she walks in, quickly getting to work clearing the rubble.

“A fresh recruit giving a Commander orders?” Dawn chuckles as he walks in and gets to work himself. “What has the world come to?”

“A demolitions expert respectfully requesting aid from his superior, sir,” Lode states calmly, a smirk creeping onto his face.

They work for a few minutes to clear the area, work which is made quicker as a few more Guards shuffle in and aid the three with their excavation. Once his work area is clear, Lode ushers everypony to the entrance again, and sets to work spreading a combination of powder and gel to the steel that is visible, once more forming a roughly box shape. This time, however, when he is finished, instead of setting a fuse he simply walks out and sits down against the wall and pulls out a red canister grenade.

“Alright, so, when I toss this in, things are going to get hot in there really quickly,” Lode explains as gestures to the grenade. “Really hot, it should melt through the steel quickly, we’ll have at least a minute or more depending on the thickness of the steel.”

“So, I should get the guards ready to jump in,” Dawn states calmly.

“Yes, sir, you should,” Lode agrees.

Nodding, Dawn passes word to one of his lesser officers to gather as many Royal Guard as possible in the main hallway on this level, and that they should be ready for combat shortly. The officer runs off to issue the orders and, within minutes, the hallway facing the vault is lined with grim faced guards.

“Light it,” Dawn orders Lode, who nods as he pulls the pin and quickly tosses it around the side.

As the grenade lands, there is a loud pop followed by a sudden rush of heat and an intake of air towards the vault which glows with a bright, almost white, light from within. The sound is quickly followed by smoke and sparks of white hot metal. The scene plays out for a few minutes, only to stop abruptly as a loud clang issues forth from inside.

“Way’s clear!” Lode shouts.

“Alright, everypony move!” Dawn yells, waving the first rank of Guards into the vault to assault their foe on the next floor. The Guards rush forward, shields held aloft and blades ready, many of them yelling wordless battlecries as they rush into the smoke filled vault.

After the first three ranks are through, Dawn stands up and draws his own blade before rushing in with the fourth rank. Beyond the door to the Grey Family Vault, the room is smoky and the sound of combat echoes from the hole in the floor. He charges forward, diving into the hole quickly to escape the noxious smoke, and quickly finds himself in the midst of a melee between his Guards and various ponies wielding everything from knives to tabled chair legs.

Moving forward so as to not block the hole, Dawn searches for a target of opportunity, and quickly spots a pony giving orders to the defenders. Smirking around the hilt of his sword, Dawn starts towards his target, barreling through or quickly disabling ponies who try and block his advance. Halfway there, the pony spots him and points towards Dawn, causing more defenders to try and stop his advance.

Forced to contend with the ponies that are blocking his way, Dawn crouches low and tucks his wings tightly to his sides as his eyes dart from opponent to opponent. When he makes no move to attack, one of the ponies rushes forward when Dawn’s eyes are not on them, and swings a crude mace, nothing more than a table leg, down to try and hit Dawn across the head. The strike finds nothing more than air, as Dawn easy side-steps the blow before rushing forward and easily catches the pony across the head with the flat of his blade to send them tumbling to the ground. The others, numbering now at least five, take a step back, and become more cautious of Dawn.

However, before they can attack again, Dawn finds himself flanked by Daring and Lode who both simply crouch down without a word. The hostile ponies hesitate for a brief moment, their advantage now slightly smaller, but a sharp word from the one leading them sends them into combat.

Dawn and the others spring into action as soon as the security forces are in range. Dawn continues to mostly dodge out of the way of the blows of his foes, jumping over or sliding around them when he can, and striking out only when he is sure to gain a hit and remove his opponent from play. Daring, true to her unorthodox personality and mindset, all but dances around her own foes, striking out with wing and hoof at multiple opponents, while also never giving them an opening to strike back.

And then, there is Lode Stone. Knowing who, and what he is, Dawn still can’t feel a bit surprised, and no small amount reassured, when he spots Lode wading into battle and fighting like a force of nature. Unlike the two pegasi, Lode simply blocks the blows coming at him, and returns the attention in kind to whichever pony he is currently fighting. Years of working underground in mines and tunnels has clearly left its mark on him, as he is able to defend himself against opponents he isn’t even looking at, and when he strikes back many of the ponies are sent flying into others or into objects to rarely get back up again.

The fighting only lasts a few minutes, though like all combat it seems to last much longer to Dawn, before the amount of guards in the room outnumber their foes and the defenders are forced to surrender.

The only exception to the general surrender is the pony at the back of the vault who has taken up a blade in his magical grip. Sneering darkly, he holds the blade up and points it at Dawn.

“You have no right, Guardspony!” he shouts. “This is my bank, and I shall not have your filthy hooves tainting what I have built!”

“You’ve already tainted it,” Dawn replies coldly, stepping forward with Daring and Lode at his side. “Shadowbolt.”

His sneer turning slightly manic, Secure Savings chuckles. “Ah, so I see the game is up. I really shouldn’t have trusted Blueblood with that crystal, but orders are orders.” He keeps the blade pointed at Dawn as he starts to step backwards towards the wall. “I’m sure you understand?”

“Honestly, I don’t,” Dawn admits, matching Secure’s backwards advance by moving towards him. “I know a Shadowbolt, and he is a better stallion than you’ll ever be.”

“You must mean that half-wit, Prose,” Secure spits, his eyes aglow. “His skills are like his writing, all show and leaving you wanting for more. He’s not been a proper Shadowbolt since he married that traitor to Unicorns he calls a wife.”

“Now that’s not very nice,” Dawn frowns as he continues his advance, which has brought him just outside Secure’s sword range. “If anything, I’d say helping to destroy Canterlot makes you a traitor to unicorns. Corrupting the Archduke? Crimes like these are hardly the work of a patriot.”

“Sometimes, you must burn all to the ground, start anew, before all can be made right!” Secure counters as he reaches the wall. “But, I would hardly expect the Guard who is Luna’s personal pet to understand. You should be happy your daughter is not here to see how badly you’ve let the ponies of Equestria down, how many you let die.” He raises a back hoof and strikes a section of the wall which starts to slide inwards. “I fear, though I cannot stay and educate you.”

He moves to try and get into the passageway that is just starting to open, and for a brief moment takes his eyes off of the Guards.

Without thinking, Dawn and Daring both spring forward towards Secure who tries to raise his blade again to defend himself. Dawn easily parries the blade, and strikes a solid blow against Secure’s head just below his horn as Daring quickly sweeps his hooves from under him. Their combined attack shorts out his magic and sends Secure to the floor of the vault with a strangled cry that cuts off as Dawn puts a hoof against the fallen unicorn’s neck.

“I think you should stay,” Dawn says quietly as he leans down to glare at Secure. “After all, I would hate for you to miss your appointment with the Princess.” Looking to a pair of nearby Guards Dawn points towards Secure with a wing. “Secure him, and then take him to the Castle.” the guards nod and quickly take Secure between the two of them as one of them puts an anti-magic ring on his horn.

“Well, that battles over,” Daring sighs, watching the guards drag Secure away. “Now what?”

“Now, we see what they were up to,” Dawn replies as he looks to Lode. “Lode, I need you to explore the tunnel that Secure opened. Take some of the other guards with you. Once you’ve figured out where it terminates at, I want you to collapse it.”

“Yes, sir,” Lode replies, saluting before running off to do as he is told.

“And Daring,” Dawn says, turning to his fellow officer. “I need you to go through this place with a fine toothed comb. Find everything and anything you can to figure out what they were doing, and if there is any more danger to Canterlot and it’s citizens.”

“Right away, Dawn,” Daring agrees, the serious tone in his voice making her obey instantly.

Sitting down as everypony starts to go about their tasks, Dawn sighs heavily and hangs his head. For a moment, a very brief and fleeting moment, he allows himself the comfort of believing that everything is over. That the Shadowbolt threat is ended, that the ponies behind Blueblood’s rebellion have been brought to justice, that he can go take a long and well deserved nap in his favorite spot in the Castle’s garden.

But, like all dreams, that thought ends suddenly.

“Dawn! You need to see this!” Daring calls out causing Dawn’s head to snap up.

“What is it?” Dawn asks loudly as he stands up and canters quickly over to where Daring is standing.

“You have to see for yourself,” Daring states softly, her tone shaken.

Blinking as he reaches the long table Daring is at, Dawn quickly scans the wall it sits against. It is full of papers, charts, pictures; the majority of the last being of Twilight, Prose, Knight, and even himself. Stopping beside Daring he looks to where she is pointing and recoils slightly at the open iron box on the table, five softly glowing pink crystals resting inside on a silk cushion.

“If there was ever any doubt,” Dawn starts slowly.

“Yeah, there isn’t any now,” Daring nods. “Secure works for the Shadowbolts.” She then pauses and looks to Dawn. “And that’s not all. The papers and stuff? They’re fallback plans should what just occurred ever happen. We’re lucky we caught as many as we did here, because their backup plans were to go on a killing spree.” She taps a stack of paper next to the box of crystals. “This? This is an accounting of how to get into the Castle and murder Twilight,” she points to a drawing on the wall with her wing. “That? That is a drawing of the Guard Barracks, with yours and Knight’s rooms highlighted.” Once more she stops, her face growing dark, mournful even. “And this, this is the worst of all.” She slides a final piece of paper over towards Dawn. “That is the name of every Cutie Mark Crusader in Canterlot, including where they’re currently staying, and who their families are.”

Looking over the documents, Dawn can’t help but stare blankly at each piece of evidence. Deep down inside he is fighting against the outrage and disgust, barely holding it in check so that he can do his job and think with a clear head. How had he missed all of this? How had Knight?

Quietly, he whispers under his breath which draws Daring’s attention.

“You say something?” Daring asks, raising an eyebrow.

“Remember when I said we shouldn’t give your husband’s grandfather anymore ammunition?” Dawn replies slowly with a question of his own.

“Yeah?” Daring nods.

“I think it’s Hearth’s Warming Eve for him,” Dawn sighs. “And we’re the ones giving him the presents.”

Author's Notes:

So, hope you enjoyed the Bank Raid!

There were a few references in here to stuff, including the "Benevolent Bank" hiest which the chapter is based off of. A few of them sort of a blaring like Van Goat being Van Gogh and Red Ball being The Red Ball Express, while others were simply inspired by things like the Heavy Repeating Crossbow being the Maschinengewehr 42.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, there are three more to come!

Up next: THE TRIAL!