Deep in the Everfree Forest, near a tower a figure moved through the underbrush making no effort at concealment, not that the black and white striped hide or tan military jacket lended itself to blending into such foliage to begin with.

Captain Xenti was on a mission, one he personally looked forward to, and was only saddened by the fact he was given very clear orders in how to handle things with this group.

Within minutes, Xenti stepped onto a worn path and approached the firelight ahead of him.

The guild ahead was quiet, a few guards present on the grounds inside the timber walls, but there wasn't a huge need of guards in the place, they relied on the timber wolf pack of 20 wolves to spot intruders or those who didn't smell 'right.' It helped that the wolves took a potion once a month that kept the smell of rotting twigs and leaves to nearly complete nonexistence.

A howl began to rend the air, and Nightfall awoke, along with the two guards. They knew they only howled when they were getting a visitor, and visitors never came at night. Something was up. The two timber wolves in the fort as guards and groundskeepers were on edge, looking at the gate warily.

Xenti looked towards the howl, golden eyes watching as his ears flicked for the sound of movement.

"Motherless beasts…" He said under his breath before he began to walk again, approaching the gate.

The guild members were awoken in case of trouble, standard procedure, and Nightfall and the two guards were out in the guild grounds with the wolves quickly. The other members of the guild yawned as they got up wearily. Another howl was given from within the guild grounds, then various howls outside in the forest could be heard, the pack calling to each other.

Xenti stopped and looked around. Unlike normal prey that cowered, he stood a head like a predator. When no attack came, he walked again and entered the gates looking over the grounds

"Ho there." The guard captain called, a pegasus with yellow fur and brown mane, holding up a hoof to indicate he should wait. "What brings you to the guild so late at night?"

Xenti looked at the guard and barely contained his sneer at the worthless excuse for a soldier daring to tell him to stop.

"I am looking for the one they call Nightfall." He said in his accented voice

"And why would that be?" The guard captain asked, Nightfall standing in sight near the other guards.

"Because I have an offer for him." Xenti said, spotting his main target, recognizing him by the description he had been given.

"Then speak your piece," Nightfall said, "considering you have it so urgent you could not wait for daybreak."

As he spoke the two wolves present started to growl at the zebra, looking ready to move forward once they got permission. The Zebra looked behind him, seeing other wolves of the pack approaching from behind. He snorted before looking back.

"Perhaps we could speak where we did not need to shout." Xenti offered

Nightfall gave a small motion and the wolves stopped their growling, but did not lower their guard.

"We already are." He said simply, noting how they were only about fifteen feet apart.

"Very well we shall talk as the animals do." Xenti frowned. "I represent someone who has need of your group’s skills and is prepared to offer you whatever price you desire. Bits are no object."

"Oh?" Nightfall said, eyebrow rising, "And what exactly are they going to use our 'skills' for?"

"To further ponykind's potential."

"You're being vague. We need to know more to know how much what you're wanting would cost." Nightfall said, not liking where this was going. His old police instincts were kicking in telling him this guy was trouble.

"That is what I am at liberty to say, and you are free to list any price whether it be money or power and you shall have it. If you desire to live like kings and queens, then you will."

"Well, you know what they say about deals that are too good to be true." Nightfall said, noting their use of kings and queens rather than prince and princess. "No one is able to give an open ended promise unless they're wanting something big to lure fools in."

"I can assure you what is offered is entirely true."

"Then what's this about furthering pony-kind's potential?" Nightfall asked. "Reminds me too much of Svik."

"I know not who that is, but it would be allowing your kind to achieve full potential by removing what is in the way."

"And what is in the way?" Nightfall asked.

"Removing the one thing that is oppressing all ponies without them knowing it."

"Again, what is in the way? If you've got nothing to say then go back to Ponyville and get some damn sleep so we can talk it over when you're able to tell us anything worth hearing." Nightfall said, sounding frustrated intentionally to get this zebra to speak up.

"I am not at liberty to tell you, for the one who employs me is the one who will explain further only if you agree to be part of his organization."

"Then who is your employer or what is their 'organization' then." Night replied, his instincts kicking in stronger about how this guy was wanting something illicit.

"He would prefer to remain anonymous ‘till you meet in person and proper introduction can be done, as for the organization it does not have a name, it is simply the organization."

"Then you can turn around and go get some sleep until you're ready to actually make an agreement. In case you knew nothing of the Patrol, we only take on jobs where what the person wants is clearly said." Nightfall said, again noting his use of person and not pony.

The wolves seemed to growl for a couple of seconds, as if echoing him.

"Ah pity, he did warn me this most likely would happen, but no matter." He sighed, then began to smile. "Now we move onto what I prefer." He said taking something from inside a pocket, a small orange canister, pulled a pin and tossed it behind him at the timber wolves at the entrance.

One of the wolves lunged at it as Nightfall yelled, diving away from it, "NO! Everyone, d-"

He was too late and the wolf bit on the canister, the other one going after the intruder. The guards barely reacted, turning to look at the odd object that was thrown.

The area behind the zebra became nothing but fire. A loud whooshing sound erupted, the Zebra kept his smile while the timber wolves started to be consumed by the flames. "Now, which one of you wishes to die first?"

"I won't let that happen!" Nightfall said, flaring out his wings as he hopped up onto his hind legs and adopted a fighting stance.

The unicorns of the guild fought to put out the flames on the panicking wolves, but they barely managed to hold them in place while the tall and slender blue unicorn Gallade cast her ice magic in order to put out the flames, surrounding them with controlled spheres of intense cold and snow.

The pegasi captain readied himself for combat, still lightly armored so he could fly unhindered, but otherwise unarmed for the time being and looking warily at their sudden foe.

"Ah yes, he did say you two would be the biggest threats." The Zebra said shifting into a fighting stance that had his legs slightly bent with a wide stance.

The wolves flailed about as the burns continued longer than Gallade wanted, but after a lot more effort, she put the fires out and the two wolves whimpered in pain on the ground.

Nightfall frowned as he watched them take a stance, "And what kind of fighting stance do you call that?"

"Genila." He smirked.

Nightfall said no more and fought to keep his face impassive. He had his bracelet, but the knives he would levitate with it weren’t with him, and it wasn’t strong enough anymore to do much to an opponent other than grab a wrist and redirect with a push. It would have to do though until someone brought him his gear or he could get closer to it, but the others were too busy with the wolves or too surprised that this pony was attacking them.

The Zebra kicked off the ground, not heading for Night, but Gallade who was distracted with the wolves, moving with impressive speed as he moved to strike her.

Nightfall frowned and dove after him, using his wings to speed him up, the guard captain diving at him as well in a much more telegraphed attack than Night's.

The Zebra suddenly stopped and moved onto his back legs before he clothes-lined the guard Capitan hard in the face allowing their own momentum to add to the impact.

The captain barely knew what hit him and was out like a light, falling heavily to the ground.

Nightfall tried to stay between the zebra and the two other guild members as all three unicorns were readying their magic to stop the zebra intruder.

The Zebra smiled before leaping at Nightfall, his speed still impressive.

Nightfall prepared his usual fighting stances of trying to work the Zebra's momentum against himself, intending to get him thrown over and onto his back as Gallade prepared her ice magic, unable to use it in such close quarters without affecting Night.

The Zebra grabbed Nightfall as Nightfall grabbed him, smirking and letting Night do the work. Xenti had been bracing for it and began dragging Night with him as he completed a roll on the ground to land on top of Night.

Nightfall expected to be countered, and did his best to continue the roll to come on top, trying to squeeze his opponent. He felt two hooves connect to his stomach when he managed to continue the roll. The Zebra had kicked up to drive the air from his lungs.

Nightfall grunted, having expected the punches, but the wind being knocked out of him made him crumple briefly, trying to stay moving in spite of his inability to draw breath right away.

Xenti disengaged from Nightfall and lunged at the one trying to put out the fires with her magic. Out of the two of them, she would be the bigger threat with those sorts of spells. He delivered quick precise jabs to specific pressure points on her side, causing her back leg on that side to go completely numb. He was so glad they weren’t wearing armor so he could reach their pressure points.

Gallade gasped and her magic went wild, blasting the area with cold wind and small flakes of frost as she crumpled down, the spell stopping shortly after.

Charred yelped and tried his best to growl at the zebra, despite shaking in place and barely hiding his fear as he tried to stand up and protect Gallade.

Nightfall finally gasped for air as Gallade fell and got up to fight once more, wobbling once. Xenti looked at them with a mildly amused smile on his face.

"You know, I honestly expected better from you lot with the tales I was told." He said and delivered a swift back-kick with one of his hooves to the magic user’s ribs to make sure he stayed down. "But I am beginning to think the stories were quite inflated."

With that said, he lunged at Nightfall.

Nightfall adopted his defensive stance, ready to deflect as long as needed, "Char! Get your flank in the air and get help!"

"But G-" Charred called only to be cut off.

"GO!"

Xenti threw several swift strikes at Nightfall. "Yes, run away little pony like a good little coward."

Charred shook, getting angry and upset when Gallade said something to him and nodded. Charred teared up and opened his wings, "You’d better stay safe!"

He took off, crying but flying swiftly straight for the town of Ponyville, half an hour away by trot.

Nightfall managed to deflect the majority of the strikes at himself, deflections turning blocking as he grew tired and slowed.

"Well, now that he’s out of the way, I can focus much better." Xenti said.

Suddenly his strikes came harder and faster. Xenti had been holding back since he had to focus on multiple targets, but with one now fleeing, it allowed him to focus.

Gallade gave a subtle smirk despite her pain, and started casting her spell. She hadn’t wanted to affect them without notice, but now that Nightfall looked like he was in trouble, it was time to take a risk. Her horn began to glow and enveloped the pair in a localized blizzard.

Nightfall grunted with almost every blow, trying his hardest to hang on in the fight, appreciating that Gallade was trying to help. He was glad he already had some snow training from his home, so he had some resistance, not to mention the cold was helping dull the pain of his aching bruises.

Xenti look at the snow and frowned, attempting to hop backward out of the area of effect.

"Seems the horned one didn’t bother learning her lesson." He said, frowning slightly as the spell continued to be centered on her and grew more intense as he separated from the others.

"Very well." Xenti said.

With a quick motion and a bang, a bullet buried itself in Gallade's shoulder from the Zebra’s pistol.

Gallade groaned in pain and her spell faltered, flickering out of existence, snow and frost still on the ground.

Nightfall growled as he saw the pistol, but didn’t let his anger get to him, now noting they were armed. His bracelet began to glow where the gem was, and he tried to get his knives from inside the building, now that he had been maneuvered within range.

"Hmm. Seems my sights are off… I will have to try and correct them. Pity I wasted the shot." the zebra said, re-holstering the firearm and looking at Nightfall. "It is just you and me now little pegasus."

"Yeah." He said, and then quickly used all of his magical force to pull the gun to the side out of the way of danger while his belt of knives floated out of the building and fixed itself on his body.

Xenti smirked, still keeping his grip. "I see you do have something under those ears of your little pony, normally that would have surprised me."

Nightfall drew his handleless knives and quickly started making them move in position, ready for attack or defense based on what they were about to do. He realized just how dangerous this fight had become, the zebra openly admitting they were disappointed they didn’t kill and now his friend and guildmate was bleeding.

The Zebra did not move. "Hmm ,so you're looking for a knife fight are you?"

"I’m looking for you to give yourself up." Nightfall said, "You have attacked us and it will not go without retaliation."

The Zebra began to chuckle before it slowly became an outright laugh.

"Oh you want me to attack do you? I was simply testing myself against this nation’s "best" fighters." He said smiling. "If you wish for an attack, then I shall happily oblige your request"

Xenti moved fast, his hooves darting into his clothing, and out in a fluid motion as two small hiltless knives flew at Nightfall, designed for this kind of attack.

Nightfall realized they were reaching for something and swiftly moved to dodge, suspecting something would be thrown. Before he knew it, let alone intercept the throw, he was wincing sharply as the Zebra’s knives cut his legs. He retaliated by doing similar in an attack with his own, held by magic and keeping his grip so they returned to help with defense.

Xenti attempted a dodge of his own, jumping to the side but still getting cut as the knives adjusted their course from the magic of Nightfall’s bracelet. The zebrican jacket ripped and small cuts grazed him but he stood once again and smiled in satisfaction at the pegasus before him.

"Impressive, but I am afraid you have lost this fight, dumb little pony."

Nightfall kept up his assault as best he could, trying to gain distance as he looked for a way to defeat this foe. He knew he was at a disadvantage. All his friends were down, he lacked his police equipment he had trained with, and the training he had for without still wasn’t as useful on all fours. He stole a glance to Gallade, confirming she had stopped the bleeding somehow but was out cold, the bullet somehow having fallen out onto the ground nearby.

"Are you perhaps familiar with the Galus flower of Zebrica?" Xenti asked as they focused on dodging the attacks with an amused smile on his face.

Nightfall made no response, pulling his knives back into a defensive posture, being held between him and them. He still wasn't sure how to handle this zebra and wanted to simply drive them off if Char can't get help there fast enough. He was worried about his wolves, the ponies and the timber wolves both.

"Figured, you ponies all live in your own little bubbles" he said, beginning to smirk as he explained. "It’s a wonderful little flower used in a lot of our medicines… it's a powerful muscle relaxant in its purist form."

'Oh shit…' Nightfall thought without changing his expression, already realizing what he was implying. Deciding to delay him further, he replied, "Must be very nice, bringing your equipment from another world with you then."

"Oh yes, the ponies here are even stupider then the ones back home, cannot even remotely see what is in front of their noses."

Nightfall took a few deep breaths, trying to force himself to otherwise relax and slow his heartrate so the poison would spread slower, and continued to be ready to fend off an attack, grateful he will have a way to hold them off with the magic in the bracelet when he eventually fell, even minutely. If they used another bullet or knife, the spell could catch them and slow them down.

Xenti remained where he was, a smile still on his face as he enjoyed watching them struggle.

Nightfall continued to wait, then fumbled as he tried to fiddle with his golden guildmaster badge. He watched as the zebra smirked more and began to frown before he finally managed to pull it off, then threw it on the ground.

"Calling for help hmm? … Don’t think they will be here in time." Xenti commented idly.

Nightfall stamped on the medal and broke it in half against the rock under him but still saying nothing. As a guild leader, his medal when broken would appear not only on his own guild's table map, but also notifying the guards in Celestia's castle as well. He only hoped they could get here in time to help defend. The Aerial Guard was a bit more capable or if nothing else, they could swarm their opponent.

Xenti and Nightfall both kept waiting for another couple minutes, Xenti smiled at his prey and Nightfall waited defensively. Xenti just waited with him, continuing to smile.

"Tick Tock little pony." Xenti commented.

"Same could be said of you." Nightfall replied, "Not gonna run away?"

"Why should I? The Galus will take effect long before your help arrives." he said. "You are the one with a ticking clock."

"Oh, I don't know about that." Nightfall smiled in a bluff, "What if I told you my messenger pony should already be coming back with reinforcements?"

"He is fast, but the guards in town are slow. I’ve been watching them. They will take time to mobilize and get here. Not exactly a force meant for rapid deployment like some I am familiar with." He said smirking. "Also, I am waiting for you to move and think by now, your leg is numb and most of the other parts of your body are too at this point. However… if you feel time is so short… perhaps we should finish this now."

Nightfall watched as the zebra nodded behind him and kept his eyes on his opponent, not wanting to fall for such an obvious bluff. His body felt like it was turning to jelly, but he kept standing by memory. To keep his mind active in spite of his body gone numb, he rotated the blades.

He hadn’t expected that the zebra had actually nodded to someone. He suddenly felt a sharp pain and felt himself fall forward. His body was so numb, he didn’t manage to feel the rope going around his back legs as he tried to get up just by muscle memory and failing. His struggles only elicited a chuckle from the Zebra.

"Foolish little pony, to busy watching one direction to see the threat coming up behind you."

Nightfall groaned, trying to stay conscious as his knives clattered to the ground. The guildmate Silent Step, known for their stealth operations and history with various rogue underworld elements, continued to tie him up while staying out of sight, then grinned angrily at him, pulling a knife out of his cloak.

"Thought you'd get away with blackmailing me huh? Can't hold a secret over my head if you're dead!" Silent grunted, having looked forward to this moment for a while, though the pay from the Zebra was nice too.

"Now, now my dear Step, I do not think that is necessary, he is not worth it." Xenti said standing over Night and smirking down at him. "He and his little group are not worth the effort to kill them."

"Fine... then how about a little preventative maintenance," He smiled, "so he doesn't get the idea of trying to use me again."

"Oh, I do not think he will because think of it. What would people think if they knew his precious guild employed a bandit for as long as you have worked for him? My my, if they employ such a person, who else do they work with? Theives, smugglers, killers? My my, such an untrustworthy group that would be. Some might even think some of the jobs you did were all orchestrated by you to make money." He said smiling. "It is amazing what just a few words at the right time to the right people can do. What was that term you ponies have? … A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth even gets its shoes on?"

Nightfall listened and didn’t think much of that threat. He was disappointed in Silent, they had helped the guild a lot and seemed earnest in getting an honest start in life. The rumors weren’t likely to get around to the right ponies, since they were known to be a place where ponies would get a second chance. At most their character would be questioned when someone failed to do right by others, but that wouldn’t be on the guild, it would be on the pony who failed.

"Fine… Then let's leave a message behind before help comes. I'd say we've got ten minutes before that mailpony comes back with any guards that would bother to listen to him… I know…" He grinned, "Let’s have a good campfire before we go."

"Hmm.” Xenti smiled, “I was thinking the very same thing."

Xenti walked toward the guild hall, a repurposed inn they were using, very carefully stomping on one of Night's wings hard enough for there to be a sickening pop and a yowl of pain by Nightfall before he fell unconscious.

"That should keep him from trying to follow us." He said as he started to walk towards the main building.

Silent showed him the building, where the fireplace otherwise was, and where most of their supplies were so they could start by ruining those and the fire could spread from there, lamp oil being available in one corner of the storeroom.

Xenti smiled. It wasn’t gas, but it would do. He began to pour around the floor and through the building with the main barrel being left in the middle of the building for a nice, big boom.

Silent took special joy in torching his old chambers, and when the oil ran out, he brought a flame lamp to the entrance, "Time to make our exit."

"Yes, I think this will be enough to satisfy my benefactor." Xenti said, going out to turn the ones outside so they could see their building burn. He smiled sadistically at the thought and nodded at his new ally.

Silent threw the torch on the oil, watching with a kind of angry satisfaction that the fire was spreading easily through the building, the wood not easily getting on fire without the oil.

"I would recommend stepping away before it reaches the barrel."

Silent snorted and walked away, donning his cloak that seemed to make him less noticeable while he wore it. It held an enchantment that distorted what ponies saw when they looked at him and he was proud he found it, making sure he put it to good use like making this new temporary alliance.

Xenti found it interesting as he found not looking directly at Silent seemed to help a bit. He made note of it for the future so this stupid pony wouldn’t gain an edge over him later.

"Come now, we have a long journey ahead of us." Xenti said as they started to walk towards the gate of the guild.

Silent nodded and walked behind Xenti, following and demonstrating his name was earned, not given.

Xenti smiled, knowing the fool followed. This dumb pony had no idea that once he was done with him, their employer would have Silent Steps… dealt with. Anyone who would so readily betray their allies would not be one to be kept around long, and loose ends always needed to be tied. Xenti hoped he be the one allowed to do it when the time came.

Ironically, Silent knew full well they would be betrayed at a later date. He was confident he could gain the upper hoof at a later point and was using this group to get out from under the guild’s control and set himself up for later. After all, he could disappear later when things grew too hairy with this group. Already he had three different hideouts only he knew of that he had built over the last year with the guild in downtime, and he trusted no one with their locations. He would stash what he earned little by little there, and once he got what he needed, he would disappear without a trace.

<<o>>

Five minutes later, Charred Salamander was flying toward the smoke of the everfree forest amidst howls of anguish and anger from the timber wolves. The guardsponies were galloping as fast as they could, but it was clear they were too late to do any more than save the survivors.

He pushed his smaller wings as hard as he could, wanting desperately to make sure that his hero and his close mare friend were ok.

Amidst the blazing, crumbling guild house, an eerie glow scattered across the ground and he could see once he was under the smoke cloud that everyone was lying on the ground away from the fire.

He nearly dove to the ground and slid across the grass as he tried to get to Nightfall and Galacian, quickly checking them to make sure they were all right.

“Nightfall? H-hang in there, help is on the way!” He said loudly, trying to shake Night awake, but all he got in reply was a groan. He quickly moved over to Gallade, crouching by her side and gasping as he saw the bulletwound and the blood. “Oh no… no no no no no, Gallade, y-you’re ok, you’re gonna be fine! Please… please be fine…”

A loud crack of burning wood could be heard and the embers shifted, crumpling more of the building down onto the foundation it rested upon as Char did his best to shield his friends from the intense heat while the guardsponies only just got on scene. The tower that was near the building still stood, being made of stone, but that brought no one much comfort that night.

Author's Notes:

They were warned.

I have a PATREON with fair rewards. Every bit is greatly appreciated and helps me out.