Author's Note: I'm trying to keep these chapters short so I don't start taking it all too seriously. That being said, feel free to let me know if I've messed up and/or ruined something :D

Chapter 1

Chewing the last few grains of sweet oats, I waited somewhat patiently for the groom to open the gate. Stepping through, I allowed him to take my halter before turning to examine the motley crew before me.

"Form up!" I shouted, head held high. In a blink, the host of stallions rearranged themselves into something resembling proper military order. I knew quite well that none of them particularly enjoyed this. After all, this was supposed to be their liberty, but not a one of them looked at me crossways, much less gave voice to their irritation. Hours of munching grass just made a horse soft, and I would have no pudgy ponies in my outfit. After months of daring my stallions to make so much as a peep about our schedule, I had them trained.

Walking in front of them, I ran my eyes over each horse, just hoping to see that one speck of mud, that one stray wisp of hair, that one cocked hind foot so I pounce all over the poor jade.

"Corporal Felix!" I barked, eyeing a sorrel. "Your neckline is getting sloppy. Not using good posture during training, are we?"

"No, Sir!" the corporal replied, his face blank as a slate. Whatever his physical condition, at least he was still mentally sharp.

"Change it, and extra laps today. Got it?"

"Yes, Sir!"

Ignoring the last, I continued on my way, commenting on a small patch of rain rot on one bay and a few extra pounds on another. I had nearly finished inspection when I came to something that gave me pause, and that took some doing.

"What's this Demetrius?" I asked, my tone softening by the barest margin as my gaze fell on my best lieutenant; a lightly-built black who made up for it with his speed. He wasn't standing square on all four legs, and that was unthinkable in the case of a soldier as squared-away as himself.

"My foot, Sir. It feels infected."

I pursed my lips together for a moment before sighing. "Fall out," I ordered, and the stallions cleared away, all but Demetrious. After years serving alongside me, he knew without asking that I meant for him to stay. "The groom's going to love soaking that for you," I told him, something vaguely approaching a smile flickering at the corner of my lips.

"I know. I promise I'll not kick him though."

"Good. Get it seen to. We'll manage without you today," I told him, and trotted away.

A moment later, I was cantering beside the column of horses, one ear fixed on them and one toward the path ahead. Though I could not break my bearing, some part inside of me smiled to see how professional my unit was, especially when they knew I was watching them. It would not be long before we gained especial notice, not if we played our cards right. We were due some recognition, and when it came, we would be the nation's premiere Equestrian force; we'd be heroes.

Ere long we were done with my own training regimen and enjoying our liberty in earnest. The grass was sweet this time of year, and I was digging into it with especial relish as the world slowly lost its golden. I couldn't help but think back on the hard years that had led me to this spot. After all, I'd managed to get Thomas promoted to Captain of the Guard despite his best efforts. That wasn't quite true. Thomas did try to be a good soldier, and he was certainly a good man, he just seemed to be a few flakes shy of a hay bale most of the time. The fact remained though, that I'd been a driven creature and now it was finally paying off.

DONG! D-DING! DONG! DONG!

What? I let the grass tumble out of my mouth as I looked up and eyed the castle. Why were the alarms sounding? It had to be something major, or else they would have just raised a shout. Leader that I was, I spared the briefest of moments to scan my fellows and note their similar interest. Then soldiers began rushing hither and thither and yon like ants whose hill had just been scattered. That was it.

Snorting, tail high in the air, I trotted over to the fence and reached my neck across it, hoping that some soldier would overcome his natural spiecism and explain things to me. I always was overly optimistic.

A good five minutes later – though it seemed more like hours to me – Thomas came stalking up to us, shouting for his men to saddle up. Obviously, he was quite angry about something. That vessel in the middle of his forehead looked as if it might burst any moment, and I thrust my nose into his shoulder to try to get him to say something. It worked.

"Knock it off, we've got to go get that crown!"

Crown? That crown? As in the lost princess' crown? The crown that you were tasked with guarding? In a huge room filled with guards in the center of a FORTRESS? My ears disappeared altogether I buried them so far back. It was all I could do to make myself stand still so he could tack up.

He was sabotaging us! After all I had done to get us this far, this one stupid incident of gross incompetence was going to bust us back to privates if we were lucky, send us packing if we were not. I couldn't help myself any longer. I 'accidentally' stepped on his foot as he mounted up. Unfortunately, I still needed him to add legitimacy to my mission.

"Alright, men!" Thomas shouted, wheeling me about with a harsh tug on the bit, which was altogether unneeded. "It's time to bring this Flynn Rider in once and for all!" With that, he set his heels to my side and we sped off.

Flynn Rider? I knew the name. He was the kingdom's chief parasite, a thief of the worst sort, and wanted dead or alive unless I missed my mark. Perhaps then I could forgive Thomas to some extent. He couldn't hope to mentally contend with one as undeniably intelligent as the master thief.

Well, the stakes had changed now. Loosing the crown would be the end of our career, but the honor associated with recovering the crown and bringing the thief to justice could not be overestimated.