The Black Mask Brothers

by Alex Rite

Chapter 1: The Heist

The Black Mask Brothers

Written by Alex_Rite and LikeaBaws

Chapter 1: The Heist

---

Alex

I wait, sitting on the edge of the roof, waiting patiently. I look up at the stars and Luna's moon. It's a beautiful night, just how I like it. I hear a loud chime and look over at a clocktower a few blocks away.

Midnight. Time to roll.

I jump off the roof, flapping my powerful dragon wings, and land hind hooves first on another. Then I run across the roof as fast as I can and jump off again, traveling roof to roof until I reach my destination: a small warehouse on the edge of town. I start walking over to a skylight on the roof, it's surface reflecting my neon-green snout with light brown goatee, messy brown hair underneath a blue cap, and piercing, dark blue lizard-like eyes in the moonlight, when a horrible screech interupts me.

"Alex! Are you in position?!"

"Holy-!" I exclaim, fanged-teeth grinding and pointed ears ringing from the volume of my little brother's voice over my earpiece. "Dammit Sparks, not again! Turn down your mike- my ears are bleeding!"

"Whoops. My bad." Spark Plug replied in a less deafening volume. I swear, for the guy who's supposed to be the genius in our trio, he sure had trouble remembering to check his mike volume beforehand. "I guess I'm just a little nervous about this one. I mean, it's not every day you have a chance to get your hooves on the actual spell book of Starswirl the Bearded!"

"I know, bro, I know. You sure this tip is legit?"

"Absolutely! I got it from the usual source, and did a little research to back it up. Apparently, a local gang bought it off a pony who found it after Princess Twilight's battle with Tirek. I thought at first that it might be a fake, considering the chance that the real one was incinerated in the destruction of the Golden Oaks Library, but a little hacking into a few members' personal computers led me to find the book's appraisal, and it's the real deal!"

"Nice! Stealing that baby is sure to make the Black Mask Brothers front page of every paper in Equestria! So run the plan by me again?"

"At fifteen minutes after twelve, Baws will create a distraction and take care of the two thugs guarding the back door. Then, he'll enter the building, clear the area underneath your position of any remaining guards, then signal you to enter through the skylight. After that, Baws'll keep watch of the exit while you sneak around and find the spell book. After that, all you need to do is grab the book and leave the building, and we're home free!"

"And one incredibly rare spell book richer. This'll be fun."

"One final check before the heist: you got your cutie mark concealed?"

I look to both sides of my flank, where some heavy-duty makeup has my cutie mark, a yellow lightning bolt, completely invisible.

"Check."

"You got your black mask with the charm that makes you look like a normal pony?"

I reached up to my face with my taloned hand to feel the black cloth secured tightly to my face. Without this thing, everypony would know that Alex Rite, the local dragon-pony hybrid, was one of the infamous Black Mask Brothers. A very important accessory indeed.

"Check."

"You got your hammerspace cap?"

I tipped the brim of my tailor-fit blue cap. This hat was charmed to have a mystical storage space, so that I could put in or take out items whenever I wish.

"Check. We're all set. Now... we wait."

---

Baws

Oh my Celestia, hurry up time!! We don't have all night!!

12:12

I give a small sigh, rubbing the temples of my head with my hooves. You'll be the distraction, Spark says, It'll be easy Spark says. Alex thought that Spark was the best choice? Really? I don't mean to be a big bummer, but being the distracter is not easy.

I look ahead to see one male guard and one female guard. Looking up, the cloud is prepared. See, I'm Winter Frost, and it's usually my job to let it snow, but my talent is to be able to detect Heat and Cold temperatures. That's why we make predictions and schedules around Equestria. Wait...what was I...oh yeah, the mission!

12:14

A yawn came out of the female guard, and she tapped a hoof on the ground. "You know, I thought being a guard would be much more fun." She said.

"What do you mean?" He said, sounding uncertain. "You get paid way more than your last job!"

"Yeah, but, the things you said sounded adventurous and fun; this isn't fun."
It's going to be fun for me, though. I couldn't help but grin as that statement flew into my mind.

12:15

My grin suddenly turns into a devious smile as I watch the cloud rain white snow. They looked up to see an out of places cloud above them. "Is this some kind of joke?" He asked, the anger rising within him. The cloud rained a bit harder, then it became a blizzard. I run and kick a swift buck to his gut, shocking the female guard. Not giving her anytime to think, the cloud stopped, and quickly wrapped my hood around her snout. Not going to lie, she looks cute squirming. "Shh, shh shh shh." I repeated.

She struggled as much as she could, but after a few moments, she gave in. "There ya go," I slowly dragged her into the bushes, and I could tell that she was ready to cry a fountain. "The book, where is it?

All I get was a fearful, yet confused expression. I was in no mood for that. I released my hood from her about, but instead wrapped it around her neck. Once again, she started to squirm, but I held my ground. "You know where it is, do you?" I asked.

She couldn't look at her attacker, but it looks like she didn't even want to. "P-please let me go." I hear her stutter quietly.

I squeezed a bit tighter, not wanting to make her pass out. "I'm asking you a question. Answer it. Where is the book?"

"I-I don't know!!"

I give another small sigh. "Your useless." I say, before covering her snout once more. She struggled even harder, but her body slowly became limp, and she slipped unconscious. I wipe off the dirt she spread all over my nice blue coat, gently let down her body, and I headed into the building.

Not going to lie, it was dang dark in that part of the building, and I couldn't see ten inches in front of me. Luckily, Luna's beautiful night lid up the rooftop, and I headed there. Going upstairs and opening the door, I see Alex waiting for me. "You already cleared the guards in the room?" He asked.

"Its to dark. Your a dragon, you have that night vision mumbo-jumbo. Help a brother out." I say, motioning him to come in.

---

Alex

After telling Baws to keep watch over our exit strategy, I began looking through the warehouse. As I traversed the hallways, I thought to myself, 'For such a small warehouse, there sure are a lot of friggin doors.' For indeed, there were many doors around me, and the intel Spark Plug had obtained was not specific on which one the item of our interest lie behind. Which meant I had to check every last one.

'Oh, I love a good game of hide-and-seek,' I thought sarcastically.

Thankfully, being half-dragon came in handy for situations like this. My senses were ten times as powerful as that of any average pony, and I'd spent many years training myself to put them to use, even if I didn't always like it. I reluctantly put my nose to the ground and took a large whiff. Sweaty hooves (gross), sewer rats (disgusting!), moldy old cheese (sweet Celestia, that burns!!), thousand-year-old ink and paper- bingo!
Following the scent, I came to a door with a sign that, originally, said 'Starswirl's spell book inside', but was poorly crossed out and had 'janitor's closet' written underneath. I couldn't help but take a moment to think about how these gangs really needed to recruit smarter members. Though, their current occupants did make my job easier.

I placed my ear up against the door and listened for any signs of life. No breathing, no heartbeat- the room was totally empty. I tried the doorknob, but it was locked. At least they were smart enough to do that. In response, I blew a steady stream of fire breath on the knob, until the thing melted off completely. I pushed the door open without any resistance. Piece of cake.

In the center of the room, laying on a pedestal underneath a glass case, was the spell book. I approached the pedestal and listened closely. A faint humming noise was coming from the case- a security spell. If the case was shattered or removed without the spell being disabled first, an alarm would go off, sure to bring unwanted attention my way. Very carefully, I used my claws to cut a large circle in the glass, then pushed it in. Removing my cap from my head, I proceeded to place the spell book in. Then, I pulled out the piece de resistance- the Black Mask Brothers' calling card- and put it where the book had been. Perfect.

"Hold it right there," said a feminine voice, one I knew all too well. When I turned around, my suspissions were confirmed- standing before me was a unicorn mare. She wore a navy blue vest over her red coat, and a gold badge cutie mark on her flank confirmed her law enforcement career. Her neatly groomed mane was violet, same as her captivating eyes. A vision of beauty as always- here was Inspector Gold Heart, a police officer who had been assigned the case of capturing me and my brothers. As usual, she didn't seem happy to see me. Time to turn on the charm.

"Why Inspector Heart," I said nonchalantly, "It's been a while. What brings you to this fine establishment?"

"If you must know," she replied, a smug grin appearing on her face, "I recently got intel that some gang members had Starswirl the Bearded's spell book hidden here. Knowing that such a rare and valuable item would be too much for you to resist, I organized a stakeout, that way we could capture you, your partner, the gang members, and retrieve the spell book all in one fell swoop."

"My my, beauty and brains. You truly are the full package." Gold Heart began to scowl at me, but the blush of pink on her cheeks was evident.

"This place is completely surrounded!" she retorted, her horn beginning to glow. "Even if you get past me, there are officers waiting everywhere to catch you! You won't be able to escape this time!"

I smiled smugly. "Oh, I'm sure I'll find a way. After all, you always get angry when I escape, and you truly are lovely when you're angry."

With that, I made my move. In the blink of an eye, my body turned black and flattened onto the ground- I had become a shadow. Quickly, I passed underneath Gold Heart, whose shocked face was priceless, and made my way down the hall. I thought to myself how, at times like this, I was so very lucky to have been born with the extremely rare power of darkness. Returning to my three-dimensional form without missing a beat, I began trotting toward my brother. We needed to leave. Now.

---

Baws

Dragging the last unconcious body, I hide it behind the vent of the building, and wiping off the sweat from my head. Suddenly, warm heat surrounded me, and I couldn't help but sweat even more. Seriously, where is all this heat coming from? I look over the building to see guards with flashlights, then waving it around like Celestia was doing a one-night concert.

"Gold Heart said the bandits were here, right?" One of them asked. The other guard nodded, then pointed towards the building. "She says their right in there." He says.

That fast?! Who sounded the alarm?! The rooftop door banged open, and I turn to see Alex in a panic. "One to ten, how bad?" He asked me.

I looked over, back to him, back to the guards, then back at him. "Seven if we get out of here to late. Nine if they catch us up here."

I don't know if Alex had to sneeze or what, but he looked pissed doing it. He turned back to me with a stern expression. "You didn't see Gold Heart enter the building?" He asked.

I smirked as he said that. "Your marefriend's here? No wonder we got caught so fast." I say, twisting my blue hoof around. I could see the blush on his face, and I had to hold in my laugh for us to not get caught.

"Screw you." He said.

---

Alex

I pulled Baws up through the skylight and on to the roof, then put a finger to my ear.

"Sparks, we got Gold Heart on our tail!"

"Bet you wish it were the other way around."

"N-now is not the time for that!" I feel my cheeks burn and hear Baws laughing under his breath. "We're surrounded and need a new escape route!"

"Okay, there's two ways you can get out of there. There's a ponyhole near-"

"Okay- let me stop you there. I am NOT going into the stinky disgusting sewer."

"Uh, I second that motion." added Baws. "And also third, fourth, and fifth it."

"And thus, the motion is is carried. What's plan B?"

"Well, plan B is you fly out of there."

"Uh... Sparks, how do I put this?" Baws said. "Oh I know: HAVE YOU LOST YOUR DAMN MIND?!!"

"Okay, that was unnecessary." I observed, sticking my pinkie into my ringing ear. "But nonetheless, I have to agree: if we try flying away, we'll be magic blasted till we've got more holes than Swiss cheese!"

"Not if you follow my new plan..."

---

Baws

"And what is that, exactly?" I asked, looking down as more guards crowd the building. Suddenly, a mobster comes out of the building, a wrench in his mouth. "Hey!" He muttered through the solid wrench. The guards look at him, and my eyes shrink.

"Holy Celestia I forgot one!"

"How did you forget another gang member?! How do you mess that up?" Alex looked at me like I aced the stupidity test. I looked back at him the same way. "You try to take down the guards in pure dark, A-hole." I said, looking back down.

"Alex, what's going on?"

"Winter forgot a mobster--" Suddenly, two more gang members come out, holding Inspector Gold Heart in a custody. "--And they have Gold Heart!" Alex yelled in a quick panic.

The mobster holding Inspector Gold Heart looks at them with insane, wicked eyes. "LET US GO, AND WE WILL PEACEFULLY GIVE YOU BACK THE GIRL!!" He yells out.

Great...we can't leave now. Thanks, Asshats.

"Baws, can you give me an opening?"

"Yeah, I can, but you won't last a dang second without someone touching your mare." I interrupt his moment of thinking and he glares at me. I give a good laugh of mockery before settling down. "Alright, alright, I'll see what I can do." I say, still laughing under my breath.

I look over to see them trying to hand the mare over, and guards holding their freakishly long spears at the gang. Chariots are surrounding the area, so I guess we have to leave fast. A bit of thunder can temporarily blind them; don't want to use that dragon magic just yet. The trees over there could be a bit more useful than taking off into the air. We can hide there until the heat dies down. Guess we're taking the trees.
I spin my tail to form a cloud, Alex becoming confused of my actions. "What are you doing?!" He whispered angrily.

"Forget taking off in the air, we'll get caught that way. We're taking the trees instead." I whisper back. Looking at the cloud, which was only as big as a cardboard box, I hovered it over the commotion. I hopped on it, and bounced to cause some rain above the gang. "H-hey!! Who's doing that?!" one of the mobster's yelled out. I give the cloud a good kick before blinding everyone with lighting. I got back on the building, and took the book from his hands.

"Go save your mare friend or whatever. I'll take the book home." I said. I didn't even let him speak as I took off into the Everfree.

He better owe me a hay burger for bringing my flank to this heist while I was asleep.

---

Alex

I sigh. Well, at least he gave me an opening. Without hesitation, I shadow slided down behind Gold Heart and the goons. I jumped out from behind them, catching them off gaurd and grabbing Gold Heart. Then, before they could regain their composure, I rocketed into the air, Gold Heart clung tightly to my chest.

"You looked like you could use a lift." I said.

Gold Heart blushed. "Put me down. Now!"

As requested, I set her down on the roof.

"So, I suppose this is the part where you try to arrest me even though I saved your life."

Gold Heart glared at me for a while before sighing. "Ten seconds. After that, you're back on my list."

"Thanks, beautiful! We should do this again sometime."

"Now you've got eight."

"Right." I flew off to find my brother.