//------------------------------//
// In The Right Hands 
// Story: Criminally Stupendous 
// by dudenotactive 
//------------------------------//

Roman smiled at the canvas in front of him, the unfinished painting of Beacon sat waiting for his brush. He looked over his work to see the school itself and a total of seven people that stood in front of him. It was Red and her friends along with Ozpin, Glynda, and the tin man himself, James. Roman raised a thumb and stuck out his tongue. 

"Um, Ozpin, a little to the right..." He requested, and the old man followed his directions. "Now, Red, could you smile a little wider?"

The young girl did what he asked and smiled as wide as she could for Roman. A few more things were said and many more of his models had shifted about until they reached Roman's expectation. The thief smiled and continued painting. He moved his brush along the canvas, the school was almost identical, and his models in the painting were perfect. So much that it looked exactly like them. 

After a few more strokes, he smiled at his art. He took a step back to admire his work. Roman sighed with satisfaction, then he motioned a hand to his models and called them over. 

Red quickly used her semblance to cover the gap. "Wow!" She gasps, completely awed by Roman's work. "This looks amazing Roman!"

"I know, I know..." Roman raised his lighter towards the cigar in his lips.

"Is my forehead really that big?" James asked as he placed his gloved hand on his head. 

"You don't have to worry about that James." Ozpin reassured the General. "I'm sure Roman's hand slipped, that's all."

"If you say so..." James could hear Roman chuckle and sent the thief a glare.

"I don't like it." The Schnee gave Roman her opinion. 

Roman frowned. "Why the hell not, Ice Queen?"

"Well for one, I am not a horse." Schnee pointed at herself in the painting, she was indeed a horse instead of human. 

"Yeah..." The blonde one agreed. "I look great though, but why do I have a long face? Huh? Huh?" She wore a goofy smile after delivering her little pun. 

Everyone groaned loudly, especially Kitty Cat. "Yellow, that was terrible."

"Couldn't agree more Kitty Cat." Roman sighed as he inspected the painting, he didn't really understand their complaints, the picture was fine in his eyes. Everyone stood on two legs, not four, they had hands instead of hooves. "I don't see what you guys see..."

"I say it's fine as it is, Mr. Torchwick!" The very alluring voice of Cinder had graced his ears. Roman turned on his heel to greet the woman, but he had only found an empty space in front of him. "Down here, Mr. Torchwick." His head tilted down to find an ash grey unicorn with raven black mane in a beautiful red dress. She gave the thief a sultry smile. 

"What the hell?"

"Roman, what are we supposed to be anyways?" He heard Red ask him, Roman glanced behind his back. His eyes widened, everyone had transformed into a bunch of horses. The painting was fine, which was great. 

"Oh..." He said as he finally understood, everything wasn't real. "I'm dreaming!"

"Indeed you are Roman." A tall mare spoke as she stepped into his line of sight. "Good evening, Torchwick."

Roman grinned and straightened himself. "Well, hello to you too." But then his composer faltered. "Oh, you're a horse."

Luna's face formed a frown. "I am a pony, not a horse."

"Po-tay-to po-tah-to." Roman wave a dismissive hand. "Is this gonna be a regular thing in my dreams now?"

"I'm sorry to disappoint, but I will only come and keep an eye on you on a daily basis."

"Is this mare bothering you Mr. Torchwick?" Cinder the evil horse took a defensive step in front of Roman. 

"And who's this?"

Roman rested his hand on Cinder's head with a grin on his face. "Oh, this was my old employer back in my world, she isn't as nice as this one... Jealous?"

Luna scoffed. "Should I be, Roman?" She glanced over to the mare and eyed her carefully, but then she noticed a peculiar sight. A grey stallion in a white uniform conversing with a brown unicorn with a white mane. "What exactly did she need from a thief like you?"

Roman cupped his chin with his free hand. "Let's see... She needed Dust, so I robbed the city for them. And then she made me in charge of some terrorist Nazi group. To be honest, all you need to know is that she was practically a super villain." Roman covered Cinder's ears and leaned forward. "She once threatened to cook my family gems when I tried to run away." He whispered. 

Luna's face grimaced. "Dear mother above, she must have been a nightmare."

"You wouldn't believe it," Roman chuckled as he released the mare. "she had her hand on my throat everyday waiting to just snap my neck for one mistake. And the worse part is that she probably got what she wanted."

"Mr. Torchwick, would you like some cookies? I baked them specially for you." Cinder presented a tray of cookies from out of nowhere. 

Luna cocked a brow. "And this is how you see her in your dreams? A submissive admirer?"

Roman shrugged his shoulders. "Trust me on this, she deserves it." His eyes widened as an idea popped into his mind.

"Here Roman, a hamburger!" Red generously offered him a juicy looking hamburger. 

"Thank you Red!" Roman graciously accepted the burger. 

Roman eyed it hungrily, the scent of meat was strong and alluring. The lettuce between the bun and the party was beautiful, the melted cheese that compliments the burger was appetizing. It was everything he had remembered, and he already knew that it would taste just like home. One quick bite out of the burger was all it took to defeat the thief, a tear ran down his cheek as he savoured the burger and chewed slowly to lengthen his moment.

Torchwick stumbled back into a random couch, his knees were weak but his mind and soul was stronger than ever. For the first time ever since he had awoken on this planet, Roman was the happiest man ever. And before he even knew, the burger was already gone. Yet the taste is still present on his tongue. 

"That was certainly an interesting show, Torchwick."

He turned to face Luna who sat next to him on the couch. "You wouldn't understand." He said as he waved another hamburger in the air with his hand. "My kind are omnivores, and I already miss the taste of meat."

"Oh Roman," Cinder hopped on top of his lap and snuggled deeply on his chest, much to Roman's disapproval. "I can give you more if you want." She traced a hoof on his chin very uncomfortably. "Maybe I can even give you something different." She whispered. 

Quicker than Red's semblance, Roman shoved the mare off him. "Gross." He muttered aloud. 

"What's wrong Roman, didn't you like her this way?" Luna asked. 

"I just have some standards when it comes to females, more preferably, women."

"Oh, is that so?" Luna smirked. "There are no humans on this planet, and I can't say you are human since you have an equine body. It is better to give up and accept your new life such as it is."

"I'll accept it once I give up, and let me tell you how stubborn I am." He turned to face pony Cinder. "Hey, how about you go to the store and buy some headlight fluid?"

"Of course Roman!" With that, she went off to fulfill Roman's request. 

Somehow, the two had become alone in Beacon's courtyard. Red and her buddies were not around anymore, and Ozpin and his secret Illuminati team are nowhere to be seen. "So..." Roman began. "I never expected the Grimm to be on this planet."

Luna glanced at him once before going back to admiring the school. "What do you know of them?"

"They're nasty, soulless, and annoying. Really bad for business."

"They pose a threat to Equestria ever since the races were united, throughout history, they have been attacking settlements across the country. To fight them back, Captain Thorn Hoof had banded together mercenaries, warriors, and bandits to fend off these beasts. They were later known as the Iron Legion."

"So that's what they are meant for," Roman leaned back on the couch. "I gotta say, I'm impressed. They aren't like hunters though."

"Hunters?"

Roman smirked. "Back in my world, we have an occupation where you hunt Grimm for a living." He pointed a thumb over his shoulder and at the school behind him. "Behold, Beacon Academy, the most prestigious Hunter academy in all of Remnant. This is the place where you polish up what you've learned as a kid, and become an official Hunter/Huntress."

"So they teach you how to hunt these beasts? And you've studied on the Grimm from this school?"

"I spent three and a half years in this dump learning how to be a Hunter, and I was the top student when it came to Grimm studies." Roman grinned as he eyed the tower behind him. "Back when I had to use an oversized garden tool."

"Wait, three and a half?" Luna became quizzical. 

"Yeah," Roman sighed. "I dropped out of school before I could even graduate. Didn't get me my Hunters license, but I learned more things from that school, honestly."

"And what would that be?"

A villainous smile crept on his face, he gazed into Luna's eyes as his smile stretched side to side. "I learned how to fight a human. My real goal when I entered this school was to gain the advantage against humans and faunus. The best part is, I succeeded more than I thought I would."

"I see, truly, you are despicable." Luna glanced at the school once more. "I would like to learn more of this school and how it works."

"Visit me tomorrow, I'll tell you everything I know." 

"The Grimm as well?"

"That information ain't cheap, Luna."

Luna scoffed, she knew that she wouldn't easily get through him. It was better left as it is. "Aura, I wish to learn more about aura."

Roman paused for a second, he pondered about it. Then shook his head. "I just can't let that happen Luna, aura is priceless. In the wrong hands, who knows what they'll do."

"Hands like yours, Roman?"

Roman stuttered, he smiled at her. "Heh, touche."

"You must understand Roman, that aura is useful in more ways than one." She hopped off the couch and onto her hooves. "This could save lives Roman, the Iron Legion may be fearless against the horde of Grimm, but with aura, they can fight with more than their spears and swords. Roman, please."

Roman stared into her eyes, his expression was blank. After a second of silence, he answered her with an irritated groan. "Listen, I stand by what I say. Wrong hands, bad." He cleared his throat and sent his hand into his jacket. After digging through his dream items, he produced a piece of paper. "So how about you go find someone better than me."

Luna reached for it with her magic, she quickly scanned over the paper and read the contents. Her eyes widened. "Is this..."

"Those are the keys needed to unlock someone's aura, but it's useless to someone like you. Dash on the other hand..."

"Roman," She smiled. "I thought you would never give it up so easily."

"You're gonna bring Neo into this world, I just want to show you that I can be trusted. But I need you to promise me something."

"What is it?"

Roman's face hardened. "I want you to promise me that you will only unlock the aura of those you trust the most."

"Very well, I have a few ponies in mind." She cleared her throat. "Roman, I pro-"

"Royal promise, promise with your crown and title that you'll fulfill our deal."

Luna smirked. "I promise by my crown, my heart and soul, that I will only grant aura to those I trust the most."

"And leave Twilight out of it, don't give her aura until I give my say!"

"Why's that?" She felt a little confused. 

He only shrugged his shoulders. "I just don't like her that much, to be honest."

"Granted, I shall not unlock her aura. Though I am a bit confused that you would be indifferent with Twilight, she is the one who've summoned you here."

Roman rolled his eyes. "Yeah but... Wait, did she already tell you?"

"No, it was just easy to figure out." She smirked victoriously towards him. "Twilight Sparkle is a talented mage, maybe the only mage in Ponyville, so it would be no surprise that she could open a rift between worlds. You should be grateful, with her knowledge, I can bring your friend to this world even quicker."

Roman stopped to think about it, and as much as he disliked the unicorn, Luna's point did make a lot of sense. "Alright, I'm happy, but I still don't want her to have aura. Maybe Applejack, but not her."

"I shall fulfill your request." Luna turned to leave, but then she looked back as her hooves stopped. "Roman... what do you plan on doing when I summon your friend?"

Roman grinned. "We play a game."




Roman awoke with a sharp gasp. He had pulled himself off the desk he had recently acquired with all sorts of paper and blueprints littered on top. He groaned loudly as he wiped the drool off his cheek and groaned once more when he noticed the stains of his saliva on the blueprint he was working on.

"Mr. Torchwick sir!" Lavender sang as she approached him, he turned towards her groggily, still slightly asleep. "The Flim Flam brothers are here!"

Roman groaned one more time before digging through the mess on his table. After a few seconds, he fished out a few blueprints from under the pile and yawned. "Give them this... get me some coffee after..."

"Yes sir Mr. Torchwick!" She welcomed the number of blueprints on her back and made her way towards the exit where the twins waited.

Roman sighed as he tried to keep himself up, there were so much things to be done. "Boss!" Roman groaned. 

"What is it, you idiots?" The thief now fully awake, glared at the twins as they rushed over to his side. 

Both quickly skidded to a halt once Roman's glare landed on both of them. "B-boss." Flim stuttered. 

"We're sorry if we are bothering you boss, but, my brother and I are just glad to see you again." Roman raised a single brow. 

"Flam is right, when you left, Trixie had been hounding us with orders!" Flim almost cried, but he was man enough to keep the tears from dropping. "It was so stressful that we considered running away!"

"But we didn't, boss. We knew that you'd come back!"

Roman groaned, but then he smiled. "Alright boys, enough with the reunion. I miss you too. We got a lot of work ahead of us and you guys got a job to do. So hop to it and bring in the money!"

Flim couldn't hold back anymore, he broke down to tears in front of Roman. "W-welcome back, boss!" He said between sobs. 

Roman only chuckled and shrugged his shoulders, Lavender tried not to stare at the crying unicorn. As for Flam, he was fighting his own battle against his emotions as he patted his brother on the back. 

"There, there, Flim, our boss is back and Trixie can't hurt us anymore." Flam reassured his brother. 

Roman then glanced over to Trixie, the mare immediately jumped behind her wagon to hide from the Roman's gaze. 

"So what's on the agenda boss!" Flam brought up the blueprints that were given to them, his eyes scanned over it curiously. 

"You and your brother are going to do some business, a different kind of business that is." Roman grinned. 

"More than Dust powered toasters?"

"Yup."

"But boss, we've just started our company! We can't just do something like this!" Flim waved the blueprint in the air. "This just seems too much!"

"Listen, I thought Candlewick was just gonna be a simple source of income. But then I met those Grimm monsters at Ponyville." Roman chuckled. "Some may see the attack as a tragic event, but I see it as an opportunity. So you boys get started with this project, and I'll prepare the letter."

The twins looked at each other, for a second, it was if they were conversing with each other telepathically. Then both nodded before facing the thief. "On it, boss!" Flam saluted. 

"We won't let you down!" Flim promised to Roman before the two unicorns rushed off to the exit with the blueprints, leaving Roman's hideout for now. 

Roman returned to his work, a simple schematic of a VTOL bullhead. Unfinished, yet he was almost done. Roman checked his scroll for reference, a regular bullhead was his main reference. Soon he would be done, and only the future could tell him where he would go after. But the hardest part of this project was the materials, it just costs so much money and he doubted Lucky Spice would invest on it alone. Roman needed more support, and he knew exactly where to get them.

"Sigh... Lisa, where's my coffee?"