//------------------------------// // Loop 60 // Story: The Time Thief // by Reading4HalfMyLife //------------------------------// The Royal Bank of Equestria was one of the oldest in the world, older than the Royal Sisters, being around since Princess Platinum was still alive. It was also the most popular, with it’s state of the art security, highly trained guards and efficient staff. And yet, even the serious tellers and the well accustomed guard did a double take at the sound of a song that was very familiar to any young ponies in the bank. “What song is that? “What?” A plump Pegasus googled at the pony next to her. “Haven’t you heard of A Catlike Tread? From Ponies of the Caribbean?” “No . .” The sound got closer, going from a distant melody to a very audible chorus With Cat-Like Tread  Upon our prey we steal  In silence dread  Our cautious way we feel  No sound at all  We never speak a word  A fly's foot-fall  Would be distinctly heard At those words, one of the tellers, a stallion working there for three years, shuffled back, ears flopping anxiously as a little Unicorn pushed in the doorway. Astral Plane smiled at the staring ponies and opened her mouth to continue the song from one of her all time favorite movies as she walked up to the tellers booth. So stealthily the pirate creeps  While all the household soundly sleeps Come friends, who plough the sea  Truce to navigation  Take another station  Let's vary piracy  With a little burglary Sadly, she didn’t have enough time to finish the song, as by then she had reached the tellers booth. Leaning up on her hind legs so she could place her front hooves on the desk, she smiled her most charming smile, which seemed to relax the teller a good bit. “Hello, are you looking for someone?” “More something, actually,” Astral said, undoing her saddlebags latches and pointing inside of them. “Money, jewels, in here, now.” She said in her most pleasant voice possible. At this, several ponies exchanged a look, unsure as to what to do. Bank robbers were uncommon in Equestria and even the ones that did, didn’t look like a teenage filly. As if sensing their apprehension, Astral drew a sharp breath between her teeth and turned her head to the door leading towards the vault. It was heavily guarded with magic, cross checked and rechecked, and you needed to be both magically gifted and intelligent to even have a snowball’s chance in hell to open them. Astral’s magic was still weak from fighting Luna and Celestia, but still, she had fought Luna and Celestia. No magic door known to ponykind was going to hold a candle against that. So, with a quick flick of her horn, Astral unraveled the vault’s defenses like a cat with a ball of wool. At this, the guards, who had been more baffled than anything, immediately raised their Shards, taking a step forward. One tried to grab Astral in a telekinetic hold, only for Astral to break the hold just as easily as the vault. She sidestepped a Pegasus with a somersault, landing on her hooves as she casually brushed the bangs from her eyes, summoning Aegis without thought. Splintering her blade, she used them to knock most of the Shards out of the sky, using her still kind of weak concussive blast to finish them off. The tellers looked shocked as civilians began to scream, all frozen by the sight of the guards, all lying on the ground, unconscious. Astral gave a little wink and a wave, then vanished into the vault. Astral knew that Celestia and Luna would be called right away, but she didn’t think they would actually get here this fast. “Damn” she muttered to herself as she raced down the halls, hooves slipping on the shiny metallic surface. “That’s impressive.” Astral’s magic was weak, but even so, she reached out, all the way back home, pushing her magical boundaries to the point of a migraine, and threw herself through space. She ended up just past the Ponyville border, which was actually quite impressive, all things considered. Not that she had time to consider that. Luna and Celestia would undoubtedly track her teleport back to here, which meant she had to get distance. Using the last of her magic reserves to go invisible, Astral ran. Years of physical activities had given her stronger legs, which quickly ate up the ground beneath her. But not quickly enough. She heard the pop and turned back to see Luna and Celestia, in full armor, appear a ways away. Her spell spluttered and died, and even though she was too far away to see clearly, Luna could make out the shape taking off in the opposite direction. Without any other words, the sisters took off after her. If Astral had been fast before, there were no words for her current speed. Her strides lengthened beneath her, hair being blown back as her cheeks mildly stung from the branches she kept running into. Luna and Celestia, were, of course, faster than her, being Alicorns and all. But she knew what the DemiGods did not; there was a river ahead. She did not attempt to jump the river, knowing the gap was far too wide. Instead she jumped in, the ice cold water shocking her senses for a moment before she was buffeted from all sides, thrown head over hooves and forgot which way was up. Astral relaxed slightly, and felt the current start to carry her rather than push her along through hell. Flipping around, she saw light overhead, and swam towards it, coming up through the water gagging and retching from the foul tasting liquid. The current was so strong, and so fast, that she had been pulled along all the way into Ponyville. She staggered up onto the riverbed, and took off down the street, wary of the idea of Luna and Celestia following her. She got several odd or sympathetic looks as she tore down the street, looking like a drowned rat, but it was only when she started to shiver in the dusk that somepony did something about it. “Here ya go, sweetheart” it was an elderly mare, sitting on the side of the road on a cardboard box and a blanket, the latter of which she was offering to Astral. “T-thank you.” Astral accepted the blanket gratefully, teeth chattering slightly. “Why are you all wet, dear?” “Oh, you know, tried to wrestle a fish.” The mare let out a short bark, before frowning at her slightly. “You’re Princess Twilight’s daughter, aintcha?” She asked, before shaking her head. “Princess Twilight’s always been so kind to me. She and her friends always have some bits to spare an old mare.” “You aren’t that old. You’re younger than Granny Smith, that’s for sure.” “Thank you?” “Don’t mention it, and don’t tell her I said that.” The two laughed again before Astral got up and gave her back her blanket, as well as a velvet bag. “Here you go, miss” she said, waving as she turned the corner and vanished. The old mare stared after her for a moment, before opening the little velvet bag, and staring at the giant emerald that fell into her hoof.