And we're back! Colt here with yet another chapter of my story. A... Well you know the title. My point is in case you haven't noticed. The chapters alternate between Swift's and Colt's POV. Now this means the people/ponies who only want to read the Swift parts or Colt parts means that you have to wait an extra week or around there. I'm not sure why you wouldn't read both, but I won't tell you how to live your life. Alright, back to the story!

Swift's POV

Me and Cloud walk downstairs to find the Blue Mare sitting at the counter sipping from a small cup of what looks like coffee. Cloud walks up to her and inspects her before getting her attention.

"Hey, uh... I'm Cloudchaser. If we're working together, would you mind telling me your name?" Cloud asks.

"I'm Kira, not like it matters. I'm not looking for friends here." She responds.

"Alright... Well I just-"

"Cloud, you know her name. Let's just get a drink. On you." I interrupt before he says anything else.

"Yeah yeah..." He waves the bartender over.

"What'll you have sir spews a lot?" The bartender teases.

"What the...?" He stops and thinks about last night.

"After you passed out you turned as green as the grass in Ponyville." Kira interjects.

"As the mare said, now what'll you have?" The bartender asks again.

"I'll just take a water. Something to clear the head. As for Swift..." He points at me to make my order.

"I'll have a tea. Add a bit of lemon if you can." I order.

"Coming right up." He says and then walks off.

"So Swift, Cloudchaser. Before we get any further with this map, I have something I need to do." Kira explains.

"Which is what, exactly?" I ask.

"I need to meet up with a client that my associates hired." She says.

"Who's your contact?" Cloud asks.

"None of your concern, besides I'm not obligated to say. You'll find out when they get to the rendezvous point." She says.

"Fine, but I want to relax for a minute." I say. "Besides, I'm the leader of this outfit."

"Ha!" Kira mocks.

"What's so funny? If you have a problem with it, you can leave." I say forcefully.

"I still have information that you don't want released." Kira scoffs.

"Fine... But you still have no control over me." I stand my ground.

The bartender approaches us again and hands both of us our drinks. I pick mine up and take a sip.

"Fresh off the pot, perfect." I say satisfied.

"So, do we know what is on this map of ours Swift? I mean we should head out to find our destination soon. I'm eager to leave Canterlot. It's been awhile." Cloud says while motioning to his sword. "I wanna see if I can actually use this thing."

"I'm not sure... But we need to do this for Kira first. She is going to help us, after all." I say.

"Alright, fair enough. So when do we need to meet this contact. And where?" Cloud inquires at Kira.

"We're meeting them in Ponyville. And the time is today at around 6." She explains.

"What time is it now?" I ask her.

"It's about 3. You two slept a long time. You especially light weight." She points at Cloud.

"I'm not a light weight! It's just that... Swift can take more than me..." He says shamefully.

"Don't worry about it Cloud. Back off of him! He isn't exactly feeling great right now." I order Kira.

"Fine, all I did was call him a light weight. Anyways the trip will take a bit. So finish your drinks and let's head out." She tells us.

Me and Cloud start to drink our beverages and make a little small talk.

"Do you really trust her Swift?" He asks me.

"Not really... But she can help us, and she has something over me. Besides I think I can pick up a few skills from her." I tell Cloud.

"Alright, I have your back if you ever need it alright?"

"Thanks Cloud, you're a good friend."

"I know." He smiles and takes a final sip of his water.

"Alright, we're done. Let's go." I tell Kira.

"Great, now we have to head to an old shack towards the end of Ponyville to meet them. They should be on their ways back. I suggest we try and figure out where we're going after this." She explains.

"Perfect, alright. I may need to get something for a weapon soon. I'm not exactly a martial artist. I prefer to stick to the shadows." I say.

"I think we all know that. When you were mugged, me and Colt had to step in. He was a pushover though ran as soon as he saw us." Cloud teases.

"Well it's not my fault I've never fought anything in my life. I prefer to avoid combat if possible. And I never want to kill." I snap back.

"It's not that bad, it can get kinda fun after awhile." Kira says devilishly.

"Keep your twisted morals to yourself. I'm not a murderer." I argue.

"Fine, let's just go, we're going to need to catch the train and that will probably take an hour or two. By the time we get there, we'll only have an hour left." Kira hurries us along and we walk out of the tavern. Kira walks ahead of us.

"So... Have you ever given any thought to getting married? At all?" Cloud asks out of the blue.

"I don't know... It hasn't really been priority number one for me. But I guess. I just don't know who. And don't really have the money to buy a house. That's one of the reasons I'm doing this whole thing. I want to give up thievery, or at least just not depend on it to barely survive." I tell Cloud. "Why? Are you...?"

"Huh? No... I just thought you may be interested in somepony. Didn't know if it was on your mind or something." He explains.

I sigh and think to myself for a moment.

"If I tell you what I want to hear, will you not bug me about him anymore?" I say in a uneasy tone.

"Only if it's 120% true." He says.

"Fine... Yes, I do like him. But really, he get's on my nerves far too much for me to think of him that way. He's not a pony who's willing to settle down any time soon anyways." I confess. "I mean he's funny, charming, but have you seen him in a crowd?"

"No, what do you mean?" Cloud asks.

"Remember the rally in the slums we had a few years back?" I ask.

"Yeah, Old Windy was trying to get the Princess to notice us." Cloud points out.

"Well Colt tried to stop him by walking on stage, the second he took a step up there to stop him, he froze up." I explain to Cloud.

"He get's stage fright?" I see a grin creep onto his face.

"Yeah, he's a definite shadow. He can't stand being the center of attention." I explain to him.

"Oh, this is rich. The perfect Colt has flaws" Cloud let out a snicker.

Kira notices the laugh, turns around, and stares coldly at us.

"Are you two done? This isn't a time for jokes, we have a job to do and we need to do it now!" Kira barks at us.

"You're lucky that you have something over me. Otherwise this deal would have ended long ago." I return her cold stare.

"Well give me a clover and call me Colt-Fortune." She mocks.

"Just shut up and keep going..." I say bluntly.

Cloud leans over and whispers in my ear.

"Maybe we should talk later... When we stop at an inn or something."

"Fair enough, I guess the sooner we get this over with, the sooner we're done."

Cloud nods at me and we stay silent for a bit until we arrive at the train station.

"Here we are, the gateway to everywhere. If you don't mind numbing your bum." Cloud smiles at me for a moment.

"Very classy." I return a smile at Cloud.

"Aren't I? Here, I'll go get the tickets." Cloud walks towards the ticket vendor.

"No need. I'll handle this." Kira stops Cloud and walks over towards the ticket vendor. After a moment she pulls out some sort of stone that looks like it has a symbol on it. The vendor gulps and shakes for a minute before handing her three tickets. I tilt my head curiously at the event and watch as she approaches us with the tickets. "Let's go."

"What was that?" Cloud inquires at Kira.

"Nothing of your concern." She says plainly.

"Well the conductor was shaking, I think it is my concern. Did you put a spell on him or something?"

"Do I look like a damn Unicorn? I think you took that role after your parents... Oh wait you don't have any." She challenges him.

"I... You little... BUCK YOU! You do NOT mention my parents like that! How the hell do you even know about them?!" Cloud calls her bluff.

"I know many things for instance, your prized possessions is that sad excuse for a cloak, and that rusty blade."

"Mention them again and you'll suffer the same fate as the changelings after the Elements were done with them."

Kira thinks for a moment.

"You're fighting a losing battle, but fine. I'll cease insults for now."

Kira walks off onto the train. I shake my head look at Cloud, looking to comfort him. He looks back at me and his angry frown turned into a sad one.

"I'm sorry Cloud... As soon as the opportunity arises, we're leaving her." I try and help.

"It's fine... It's just a touchy subject. I swear I'll get my revenge on the underground if I have to."

"I'm right here to help. Don't worry, if she does that again we're done. I'm not letting her taunt my friends like that. Now let's go... We have a rendezvous to meet." I walk onto the train and take a seat, Cloud following not far behind. I look at Kira, sitting directly across from us. "Do it again and we're done. You're call."

She scoffs and sits silently for the duration of the train ride. Me and Cloud make occasional small talk and get into a debate about who would win in a race. Soarin or Spitfire. After awhile we arrive at Ponyville.

"But Spitfire has more dexterity and can make sharp turns no problem." Cloud argues.

"Maybe, but Soarin has more endurance. He can fly much longer and sprint at the end." I return.

"Both of you, quiet! You're giving me a headache, besides we're here." Kira shushes us.

I roll my eyes and exit the train with Cloud. Kira comes out after a moment.

"Now where is this shack again?" I ask Kira.

"It's on the edge of town, it's about a twenty minute walk." She answers.

"Alright, let's get going then. I want to start our mission. Besides, we get to go on an adventure!" Cloud says as his eyes light up with a bit of hope.

"Cloud, don't ever change." I giggle a bit. Kira shakes her head and starts to walk ahead.

"Follow me. Hopefully I can see your thieving skills come in handy, instead of you constantly talking about pointless things."

I give her a frown, but she obviously doesn't notice, because she's facing the other way. Me and Cloud follow her lead.

"My ticket out of poverty ends soon... Maybe Cloud would be willing to move close to me. I could have some company. Or maybe I could convince Colt to calm down and move near me too. Maybe if a miracle happens I can settle the feud between them." I think to myself and look around at all the small buildings. "I'm so used to the stone buildings and fancy decorations. I like this place a lot more, this place seems like no pony would act superior to you." I see the small trading booths and friendly ponies aplenty. Cloud looks over at me and opens his mouth to speak, but decides to stay silent. After a minute I see him glancing at Kira every so often, almost as if he's inspecting her.

"I know I've seen her before..." He mumbles to himself.

"What's that Cloud?" I ask him.

"I'm pretty sure I've seen Kira before. I just can't remember where."

"Odd... Well if anything comes to you, let me know."

Cloud nods at me and we arrive at a shack. Kira comes to a stop and halts us both.

"We're here. The rendezvous should be here soon, I was almost certain we had arrived hours late, due to you're slow natures." Kira mocks. I let out a low growl sound.

"I'm NOT slow!" I think to myself. "Kira, where is this contact stallion you were talking about?" I say.

"Here he comes right now." Kira says irritated and points over towards two familiar stallions.

"Oh no..." Cloud says as he spots them.

"Hello Colt. I assume you have the package?"

"Colt... Out of all the possible ponies, it had to be Colt. Now I know that Kira really does have something over him." I think to myself with a worried look on my face.

"Hello Princess, Cloud, Miss... Kira I'm guessing?" Colt asks.

"Yes, now answer the question."

"Alright, alright. Yes I do right here." he motions towards a box on his back. "It was a bit more trouble then I thought it'd be, but nothing I couldn't handle."

"I didn't ask. Just hand it over." Kira maintains a emotionless composure.

"First, I want to know why there's a small city in here? Is it some sort of model? Because if it is, it must be pretty valuable to be all the way out in the Everfree Forests."

I look over at Cloud and whisper.

"She made him go to the Everfree Forest for a box? I heard that place is filled with deadly creatures!"

"I know, we must be playing a dangerous game here." He whispers back.

"I'm afraid I can't tell me, and don't even start to think I'll fall for any of your tricks. I care not for the likes of you." Kira continues.

"Fine, be that way." Colt pulls the box off his back and hands it to her. "Now I want your ponies to stay away from mine!" Colt subtly motion his head over to me.

"What does he mean by that?" The thought occurs to me.

"Don't worry, we will. Now Swift, Cloud. I believe we have somewhere to be." Kira says.

We nod at her and head off. Then Kira stops in her tracks.

"Oh and Colt, report to the Ponyville Inn to get your next job."

Cloud and Kira walk off, but I stay behind.

"Hey, what did you mean by your ponies?" I ask Colt.

"It's nothing, I'm just dealing with a bit of bad luck lately." Colt answers vaguely.

"You, Bad luck? That's surprising. Just stay out of my heist! I don't know why you were Kira's contact, but I don't like where this is going."

"Whatever you say Swift..."

"You called me Swift?"

"It's your name isn't it? I better get going, and you better be catching up with your group." Colt motions over to Cloud and Kira.

"Fine, be careful."

"Starting to admit that you care?"

I start to blush a bit before I regain my composure.

"Uh... Just... Just be careful." I run off and join the group again. "I really don't like this. Kira and Colt are keeping something from me."

"Hey Swift..." Cloud looks over at me.

"Yeah Cloud?"

"I'm willing to set aside differences with him, should we meet again. And I know we will."

"How do you know that?"

"It's Colt. We always end up running into him."

"Too true, I have a feeling that little transaction will somehow tie into this heist..."

"Let's just cross our hooves and hope for the best. For us and Colt."

"Agreed. I have a toast in mind next time we get some drinks." I brighten the serious mood and smile a bit.

"Oh? What's that?"

"That my friend, is a secret..."

*A/N* GAH! Broken wrist interfered with writing, I am SOOOO sorry guys, I just got the cast off and had half of this just laying around and decided, you know what? It's my birthday! I got a bit, now it's time to give a bit! So I hopped on at around 10 PM yesterday, threw some ideas around, and started writing around 11. Got a good amount done and am proud of the work thus far. Hope you ponies like it! Now I swear I'll keep updating weekly. As long as no bodily injuries happen again, you'll get your updates. As always it's alternation time, so next chapter is a Colt POV chapter. Alright, thanks for reading. This has been Colt, and I'm signing off! BOOP!