*A/N* And we're back with a much sooner update, I finally released it within my week time limit! And this will continue to be just so. Again this chapter is a Colt POV chapter. If you do not want to read Colt's story, you'll have to wait until the next chapter. Which will be up soon.

Colt's POV

"Colt, wake up! It's 10 A.M. You need to give me the details and then we head out." Gambit's voice travels through the door.

"Gah!" I awaken to the sudden yelling. "Oh, alright. I'll be out in a second!"

"Alright, I'll wait downstairs, I got a few things in town while you were asleep. One of them, I think you might like."

"Sounds like he's getting to be a good partner. Guess after all this I should get him something. He seems nice enough, if not a tad cynical at times." I thought to myself. I force myself out of bed and stretch for a moment. "Today will be interesting..." I walk out of the door and see Gambit holding a box to his side. I walk downstairs and take a seat next to him.

"Now, I wasn't sure what you would like exactly. So I kinda just guessed. But I went to this clothing store called the Carousel Boutique and got you something. The proprietor was kinder than I expected too, considering she looked like a typical Canterlot pony." Gambit explained

"Alright, so what'd you get me? Hopefully not a suit, I'm not big on casually wearing formal attire."

"No no, something I thought a treasure hunter might like." Gambit explained as he picked up the box and slid it across the table.

"Fancy wrapping, you sure it wasn't from Canterlot?" I tease.

"Heheh, yeah. I'm positive." Gambit responds. I slowly open the box to reveal a brown fedora hat.

"Haha! I love it!" I thank him with glee as I put it on.

"Thought you would, just seemed like your style. I figured, "Hey, he likes old artifacts. Why not old style hats?"" He explains. I smile at him.

"Alright, now that that's over with. I guess I should fill you in, no?"

"I'm all ears, go ahead."

"Alright." I hush my voice. "I need to get some noble clothes, somehow gain an audience with Celestia, and then distract her for a while, so the Underground can... "Eliminate" somepony.

"Eliminate? As in kill? An innocent?" He inquired, somewhat shocked.

"Celestia, I hope not! I'm hoping maybe just to throw him in jail or something."

"Don't know if I could handle that on my conscience. Killing a bandit is one thing, an innocent... That's just wrong."

"Gambit, killing in general isn't really good. I prefer a more cunning approach. Possibly bluffing my way out, or at least just a knock out. There's never a reason to kill."

"I suppose you're right, but even so, we may not have the chance to bluff our ways out of something."

"Yeah, I guess so... If we need to fight, I'm able. I just prefer to stay undetected... And in the shadows."

"We'll do our best. Are you sure you can do your mission, I mean distracting the princess, that may be a bit difficult."

"Not sure, I guess we'll find out though, it needs to be done by today though, so let's head out."

"Alright, to the train stop we go..." Gambit thinks for a minute. "Wait, aren't we going to need noble clothes?"

"You're right, what was the one store you got this from called?"

"The Carousel Boutique."

"Let's stop there first, we can pick an outfit or two up. If she has any spares laying around that is."

"Alright then, follow me."

Gambit and I stand up and exit the inn. Gambit leads the way to a fancy looking store. I walk inside and am greeted by a marshmallow white mare with a fancy curled purple mane.

"Hello Darlings!" The white mare said while walking over to us, she glances over at Gambit, then to my new hat. "Oh yes, you were the kind stallion from earlier. I see you were true to your word when you said it was for a friend. I do say that hat looks rather nice on you dear."

"Thanks miss. I do like it myself, perfect for me." I smile at the comment. "Your craft I'm guessing?"

"Yes it is! I made it just last week, it didn't sell very fast, but I knew a fashion forward stallion such as yourselves would eventually think to find it." She said.

"Well I guess Gambit here knew my sense of style well enough then."

"I do my best, like I said, I just thought it fit you." Gambit added.

"Oh where are my manners, my name is Rarity, dressmaker and fashionista of Ponyville at your service."

"Colt, Colt Fortune, and this here is Gambit. A pleasure madame." I say before giving a slight bow.

"The pleasure is all mine mister Fortune." She said with a small blush. "So what can I do for you two?"

"I was looking for some formal attire, I needed something nice to wear for a special occasion." I explain to Rarity.

"Oh, are you two partners?" Rarity inquires.

"Gah! No!" Me and Gambit yell in unison.

"Ahem. No, just friends. It's for another type of occasion." I say with a somewhat shocked face. "I swear, every mare I meet thinks I'm gay if I'm with a stallion, or married if I'm with a mare. First Rainbow Dash when I met her, and now this mare." I look over at Gambit to see he has an equally shocked face.

"Oops, sorry for assuming dear. I just thought, you know "Special Occasion", "Formal Attire"." She explains herself.

"It's fine, don't worry about it. Anyways, do you have any suits or anything that I could buy?"

"Of course! Now do you need one or two?" She asked

"One is fine, thank you." I respond.

"Alright, just let me measure you and I can see what we have. Just step up on this platform and we can get started." She pointed out a platform next to her.

"Okay then, I guess I will do that then." I step up on the platform she pointed at.

"Now just stand still and it'll be over with before you know it." I do as she says and see Gambit wandering around the store.

"Hey Colt, are we taking the train to Canterlot right after this?" Gambit asked.

"Yeah, the train ride shouldn't be too long, only a couple hours." I answered. I see Rarity's eyes widen as Gambit said Canterlot.

"Oh! You're going to Canterlot? I simply adore Canterlot!" Rarity said excitedly.

"Born and raised there." I said to her.

"Really? Not to be rude or anything, but you seem... Different than most of the ponies there." She said,

"Yeah, well I guess I'm a different kind of stallion, my friend here is from... Actually where did you say you were from Gambit?" I ask him.

"Manehatten." He answered.

"Manehatten then. Our partnership is still a bit new." I say.

"Partnership? Do you two run a business?" She said while measuring my neck.

"No, it's more like... Archeology." I explain.

"Oh, I bet my friend Twilight would love to ask you some questions about that. She loves historic antiques and the like."

"I find myself more interested in the things every day now. I've found several things. I'm just glad we're in an... Independent line of work. No boss, no limitations."

"You said it Colt, my old boss was a pain. I make the slightest mistake in a drink and BAM I'm fired. I'm glad I found you when I did." Gambit said.

"You were a bartender then?" I ask him.

"Yeah, I worked at the place we were at the other night. They changed ownership though, I was there to ask for another job after the switch. But then you came along and asked me to work with you, so how could I say no?" Gambit explained his position. Rarity seems to just be listening and working at the same time.

"And juuuust about done." Rarity said, pulling away her tape measure. "Okay dear, you can relax and step down now."

"Thank you miss." I walk down from the platform and stretch my legs for a moment.

"Now, just let me look for an ensemble in your size. Any preference in color dear?" She asks.

"Grey should be fine. Thank you." I reply.

"Hmm..." She said, shuffling through a rack of coats. "Ah! Here we go. This should be perfect. Go ahead and head into a dressing room and try it on."

"Alright, I'll be back in a minute. Don't miss me too much." I said jokingly to Gambit.

"I'll try not to." He replied with a smile on his face. I head off into the nearest dressing room and put on the dress shirt, then the coat, and finally re place the fedora back on my head. I walk back out and show it off to the two ponies waiting.

"So, how do I look?" I ask.

"You look simply stellar darling! The suit looks great on you!" Rarity says happily.

"You clean up well, Colt." Gambit commented. I smile at the comments.

"Well thanks. Now how much for the suit?" I ask.

"You know what, just for you, I'll give it to you for free. Call it a formal apology for the earlier assumption." Rarity said.

"That's very generous of you Miss Rarity. Thank you again. If I ever need anything formal again, you're my mare." I thank her.

"Why thank you! I'd certainly appreciate the business. I hope to see you again soon Mr. Fortune." She said waving bye at us.

"Goodbye. It was great meeting you." I return a wave.

"Yeah, thanks Miss." Gambit says to her. We walk out of the store, me wearing the new suit, and Gambit wearing his old watch and glasses.

"So Gambit, you got a story for that watch? It seems pretty old." I ask him.

"Actually yeah. I'll tell you on the way to the train station." He responded.

"Alright then, let's get going." I say motioning towards the direction of the train.

"Okay, let's get started then. Save all your questions until the end." He said, followed by clearing his throat. "Well, it was the day I left Manehatten and headed off to Canterlot. I had just moved out from my apartment and bought my ticket, so I took the first train there and went to my friend's place, where he said I could stay until I got settled in. So I headed over there and unpacked my stuff. My friend was out of town for a couple weeks, so the place was mine for myself for a bit. I decided I needed to get a job, so I went to the tavern, to look for any job postings or anything. Unfortunately there weren't any, so I just took a seat and ordered a drink. I saw a poker table over on the far side of the room. I took my drink and headed over there. There were 3 other ponies there, if I remember correctly. A mare. And 2 stallions who seemed to look like they were sharing the winnings. I took a seat and we started playing. I won hand, after hand.

One of the stallions suspected me of cheating... I wasn't. He said if I beat him one more time, with my hooves on the table the whole time, he would give me his watch. Now I've had this thing for a couple years now, it used to look a lot better. But now it's just a watch with worn leather, and a fancy glass casing. So the stallion dealt the cards, I even saw him sneak one. I didn't call him out on it, because I knew I'd win. So the last card was dealt, and I got a royal flush. I bet all I had on it, and he went all in as well, in addition to the watch. Turned out, he had a royal flush too. In fact, the next 3 hands were all royal flushes. The second and third time he wasn't even cheating. So here comes the final round, the cards are dealt, and I'm a queen short of the flush. With the smile he had on his face, I knew he had a full. So I called the waiter over and he tripped, landing right next to the stallion. He looked down to help him up, and I stole his queen. I ended up winning the watch, and over 2,000 bits. That's also when the bartender offered me a job as the bartender, and fill in Blackjack dealer. I've never lost a single game of cards since I started.

And that my friend, is the story behind this watch."

"A good story Gambit. Who knew you conned some poor sucker out of it. Well done." I praise him. We arrive at the train station and we buy our tickets. Gambit took his seat.

"Hey Colt, I'm gonna rest for a bit. I got up pretty early today." Gambit says, while letting out a yawn.

"Alright, sweet dreams." I say with a smirk at Gambit. He laughs, and closes his eyes, before too long he's passed out. "Hmm... Nothing to do, I guess I'll just take a walk." I walk around the train, and after a minute I arrive at the back of the train, outside. I gaze at the clouds for a minute. "Hmm... I wonder if Princess would mind some extra company after my part's done. Somepony needs to keep an eye on that Underground slime that she has with her." I thought to minute I stared at the clouds turned into one hour, then that hour into two, then we arrive at our destination. "I guess I should wake up Gambit." I walk back to the original train cart I was in to see Gambit is already up.

"Hey, the engine woke me up. Don't worry about it." Gambit said, stretching his legs, then walking off the train, motioning for me to follow

"Alright, now we need to figure out how we're getting an audience with the princess."

"Don't worry about that. I have an idea. Do you still have your old guard armor?"

"Yeah, back at my place. Why?"

"We can pose you as a foreign dignitary. And I could act as your bodyguard. They keep guard armor locked up pretty tight. They won't think that I'll be just anypony."

"Genius! I knew I picked you for a reason Gambit!" I say excitedly. "Alright, let's head back to my place. We can pick it up, then we can head to the castle. Let's hope this works.

Me and Gambit head off to my small shack of a house...

*A/N* Ehh? Ehh? How'd I do? I even got it finished EARLY for you guys. See, I keep my promises when bad stuff doesn't happen to me. Anywho, yeah. How about that, Colt and Gambit are basically pulling a suicide mission, this reminds me of this one time in Mass Effect... Never mind. Anyways, I'll be back with an update either this or next weekend. No promises that it will be up any earlier than Friday next week. But until then, enjoy this chapter. As usual the alternation is still applying here. The next chapter is a Swift chapter. So if you don't want to read those, you'll have to wait until the update after that. That being said, this has been Colt. Signing off. BOOP!