Night and Twilight slipped next to the Vanhoover warehouse, filled with the stone they needed to secure. Night told Twilight exactly how to get in, over the chain-link fence, and down next to the storeroom proper. Night pointed carefully toward the door, and Twilight cast a Perceive Body spell, “Ruby’s Rites of Life-Seeking,” to see that eight ponies were inside the warehouse, and three were slowly making their way around the perimeter.
“We have three coming this way. We have a few seconds,” she whispered.
“How many inside?” Night asked.
“Eight.”
Night shook his head. “Too many for the front door. We’ll have to go up.”
Twilight nodded, and they each cast their own catapult spell to launch themselves up onto the roof. Twilight landed softly, but Night, who was still new to the spell, sent himself straight into the air. The Princess caught him, though, holding him in the air and slowly bringing him back down to the roof without breaking any of his legs. “Thank you, Twilight,” he whispered.
Twilight nodded back as they both quickly made their way to the skylight. They both glanced down into the warehouse below, where the eight ponies they saw were posted around a single chest. Inside that chest, both ponies knew, lay a shard of Chrysalis’ throne.
Further research by Night and Newsie revealed that a shard of this size, just by itself, would sell for millions of bits on the black market, and Boot Legger was in line to make nearly a million on his own from moving it from seller to buyer.
Twilight glanced over to Night. “So how are we going to do this?” she asked.
“Couple ways,” he replied. “We could try scaring the ponies away with illusions, and secure the chest once everypony’s gone. We could try distracting them and grabbing the stone while they’re looking the other way, my favorite. The last idea would be for you to lift the chest up here while I transpose the Image of the chest where it’s sitting right now.”
“The last one seems like the easiest,” Twilight said. The chest would undoubtedly be large enough to use a lot of her magical energy in one go, but she could certainly do it. With Night focusing on the Image, they could probably grab the stone before either pony noticed.
“Or it would be, but the stone might actually make it impossible for me to lift the box. It’d probably eat the magic as soon as it gets close.”
“Fair enough,” Night said. “Distraction then?”
The smile on his face said that he really wanted to run a distraction.
And, for some reason, so did Twilight. “Distraction,” she agreed. She glanced back down through the skylight. “Can you put an image of yourself behind that one right there?”
“The one in the east corner?” Night asked.
“Yeah, put your image there, and try to run him into the shadows that way.”
“What if I run him outside?” Night asked. “There’s more places for a pony to hide out there. With luck, it’ll keep a few of them outside while we grab the rock.”
“That could work,” Twilight agreed, smiling wide as she began to plan over the warehouse like it was a chess match. “But, we don’t know how many would follow it. So we should have a follow-up distraction ready.” She glanced up at Night. “Can you make a pony illusion, one that isn’t your image?”
“I can,” he said. “What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking that they’re going to find a team of ponies attacking them,” she said.
“Okay, the problem with having a team is that they’d expect someone to try and grab the case while everyone’s distracted. No matter what, they’ll leave at least two ponies behind to watch the case.”
Twilight frowned and pursed her lips.
And then she smiled. “Do you have your hook?”
Night pulled it free. “Always.”
Twilight used the amulet, and her muscles bulged. “Here’s the plan.”
---$---
Bronze Bouncer stood in the warehouse and sighed.
The large earth pony carried a baseball bat over his shoulder and a bored expression on his face. A pegasus nearby, Gale Glider, stared in another direction, equally bored. At least, Gale had some gum to chew, but the constant smacking of his jaw made Bronze tighten his grip on his bat.
Another pony, the rookie, yawned, before speaking up. “So...what’s in the box?”
Gale sighed. “You don’t get to know, Rookie,” he said. “You only get to know if you’ve been running with the crew long enough.”
“And...how long does that take?” the Rookie asked.
“As long as it takes,” Gale said.
“Both of you, shut up,” Bronze said. “Can’t hear nothing for all your talk.”
Both ponies went back to silence.
For a second or two anyway.
“But like, why don’t I get to know.”
“Because we don’t trust you yet—”
“I said, shut up!” Bronze yelled, turning to face both of them. “You want to know what’s in this box, Rookie? A life sentence. And the only thing standing between us and that is making sure the guard don’t get to us. So shut up, so I can hear them coming. Because if somepony’s going to get that life sentence, it’s not going to be me.”
A rock slammed into the back of Bronze’s head, and he turned to see a dark-grey unicorn. He blinked before the unicorn ran out to the door leading to the courtyard. “Gale, grab him!” Bronze ordered, and the pegasus, along with two other ponies, ran out.
Another rock slammed into Bronze, and he turned to see a pegasus mare flying above him with a blue coat, blowing a razzberry. The pegasus dove for the door, almost begging to be followed.
Bronze frowned. This was too obvious. They couldn’t let those ponies go if they reported to the guard, but they were also obviously leading everypony away. “Rookie, grab some ponies and go after her, Rock, stick here with me.” Another earth pony nodded as Rookie and another pair of ponies both chased after the mare.
Bronze and Rock, the other earth pony that stayed behind both, stood back-to-back with the chest in between them. They stared out into the darkness of the warehouse, daring anything from the shadows to charge them.
Bronze readied his bat, sure that another pony would make a dash for it. The good news was that the chest had something in it that made it immune to unicorn magic, so whoever had to grab the chest needed at least a large earth pony to move it. So there was no way that—
“Well Gentlecolts,” a voice said behind them, and they both turned to see a grey-coated unicorn standing on the chest with a hook attached to its handle. “It’s been a pleasure.”
The rope snapped taut, and both unicorn and chest went flying up toward the skylight. They both shot through the roof, the chest smashing through a still closed skylight, and Bronze cursed. “Get to the roof!” he yelled.
He and Rock rushed for the stairs that led to the roof access. They stormed up the stairs and burst through the door just in time to see two figures, one a unicorn launching himself into the night, and the other a pegasus flying away. The chest lay in front of them, open and empty, without a single sign of any stone left behind.
Bronze cursed again before dropping his bat and turning around.
“Bronze, Bronze, where are you going?” Rock asked.
“Anywhere but here.”
“Why?”
Bronze glanced back at Rock. “We just lost Boot millions in a deal he had lined up, and he’s going to have to pay the buyer to make it up to her. So why do you think I’m leaving?”
Rock stared back at him. “Room for one more?”
---$---
Night landed on a skyscraper rooftop, his catapult spell throwing him into the roof a little hard, but he was getting better. Twilight landed right next to him, changing back into a unicorn, the changeling magic of her amulet immune to the stone’s influence. “Good job, Twilight!” Night said, “Wonderfully done.”
Twilight smiled and bowed. “High praise from a master, I suppose.”
“I may be a master, but you, dear Twilight, you are a natural! You may have very well missed your calling as a thief.”
Twilight’s smile faded. “This is saving the world, not thieving.”
“Same difference, Twilight. Same difference.”
Twilight shook her head. “Sure.”
“More importantly, did you remember what I said about the buyer?” Night asked.
“Yes, yes,” Twilight said. “I need to wait a week before I receive the ‘anonymous tip,’ that Lady Orchidshade is moving these. That way, Boot Legger pays her back to save his reputation before we arrest her.”
Night nodded. “Do as much damage as possible. Will I be seeing you again next week?”
“All the way up until Saturday,” Twilight said. “The Gala runs Saturday, and I need to attend.”
“I’ll see if I can get anything before then,” Night said. “And who knows, maybe I’ll get the hang of this spell by then.”
Twilight nodded. “You did pretty well,” she said. “You figured out the basics in a day.”
Night shrugged. “Well, it’s not like it’s a new word or anything,” he said.
“That doesn’t mean you didn’t do a good job.”
Night blinked. “Well,” he said, “I’ll hopefully see you before the end of the week then,” he said with a smile before he secured his hook on a vent. He slipped the rope into the harness beneath his cloak and slipped down to the side of the building.
His magic unhooked his rope a bit later, and he was catapulting his way across the city.
Twilight watched him go before she used the amulet to drop her disguise. She took to the sky, carrying the shard of the throne in her hooves, heading for the train station. She had a letter to write to King Thorax when she got back to the castle, and she needed to talk to him about securing the shards better if they were being sold on Equestria’s black market.
That was a problem for tomorrow, though. Tonight, she just had to worry about coming back home after a great night’s work.
---$---
Spike closed court that night and jumped off of his advisor’s seat with a smirk. Things went by so much easier when you didn’t have an idiot who literally could not understand that the Princess was unavailable.
Twilight left earlier that day, and she was supposed to return by morning with the long train ride from...Vanhoover, was it? Spike wasn’t super sure. Ah, well, he had a dinner to eat right now, and that was far better than thinking about where Twilight was coming back from.
Spike’s mood was immediately ruined when Raven Inkwell stood in the doorway between him and the kitchen. “There you are.”
“Can I help you, Miss Inkwell?” Spike asked.
“You can help us,” Raven said, revealing Azure behind her.
The Captain didn’t appear as angry as Raven did. In fact, other than a slight frown to his bearing, he seemed normal, but the fact that he was frowning at all meant enough.
Spike sighed. “Can I at least get a meal while you yell at me?” he asked.
Raven didn’t move, but Azure stepped to the side to make sure the dragon had enough room to move past.
“Was this your idea?” she asked.
“What?” Spike asked, walking past.
“This stupid idea the Princess got into her head, about rushing out into who-knows-what to steal!”
“No, it was Night’s idea,” Spike said, “and honestly, it’s a great idea.”
“How, on earth, did you think this is a good idea?” Raven asked, nearly shrieking. “She is literally going out there, working with criminals, and putting her life in danger!”
“That is not something I appreciate, either,” Azure said, calmly. “It is difficult to secure the safety of the Princess when she runs across the country, in the company of a thief.”
“And don’t tell me you actually believe she needs to be protected?” Spike asked. “It’s not like she’s called the ‘Archmage Ruler’ for nothing. Not to mention the years she spent dealing with world-ending threats. I mean, be honest, the palace guards are more here to guard her stuff than anything.”
Azure gave Spike a look that made it clear he didn’t appreciate the comment, but his lack of an answer made it clear he didn’t disagree.
“That’s not the point!” Raven said. “She’s affiliating herself with thieves and criminals! If somepony found out, it would be devastating to the country! Can you even imagine what would happen if the press found out Princess Twilight Sparkle was moonlighting as a thief! She would lose all respect! Nobles everywhere would be using it as leverage, the entire country could fall apart!”
“And that’s why Celestia gave her an amulet which physically changes her body,” Spike said. “That’s why she used them when she went out and pretended to be a normal pony on her yearly walkabouts, which, if anything, just sets this whole thing up under precedent.”
“The point is that you told the Princess that this was a great idea,” Raven said. “When obviously this just puts her in more danger than she needs.”
Spike shrugged as the three of them walked into the dining hall, where a bowl of gems was waiting for him, as usual. “And if you think that Twilight isn’t totally on board for unnecessary danger, then you don’t know the mare.”
“What are you talking about?” Raven asked. “She’s the most careful and most thorough mare I know! She’s always talking about reducing risk, and limiting danger for ponies.”
“She also spent nearly a decade as a pony who dealt with all kinds of problems, of all kinds of danger levels, doing all kinds of risk. She loves it, even if she doesn’t realize, or admit it,” Spike said. “She makes friends while being in danger. She misses it, and being Princess, where she has none of that is what’s going to drive her insane before anything else.”
“So you tell her to join a thief. One who is galavanting across the entire countryside, on a one-pony crusade to fix the justice system?” Raven asked. “Night is barely functional, and certainly not stable.”
“He’s trying to do his best,” Spike said, “and trying to help us, at that.”
Raven snorted. “I wouldn’t go that far.”
“You may not want to, but it’s the truth.” Spike grabbed an enormous sapphire before popping it into his mouth. “He’s trying to deal with ponies that are doing their best to take advantage of the system. He’s trying to take care of the ones that we can’t deal with. That’s important, and that’s a service we can’t ignore. Celestia didn’t, after all.”
Raven scowled, before turning to Azure. “Are you going to back me up or not?”
Azure shook his head. “I told you that I did not like the decision that the Princess came to, but I also told you that there was not much that I think could be done about it. As Master Spike has said, there is nothing the Princess has done that does not have precedent.”
Raven ground her teeth together. “So you’re going to ignore the fact that this lizard here is abusing his relationship with the Princess to make her do stupid things?”
“And you’re abusing the fact that you’re a ‘professional’ at this to make Twilight miserable,” Spike said. “So stop being a hypocrite for a second, and realize that you’re going to drive her to an early grave.”
Azure stepped between them. “Alright, alright, that’s enough. Both of you need to calm down and remember your stations. You have the dignity of the Princess to uphold. You can’t devolve into petty arguments.”
Spike grabbed his bowl. “Then I am going to eat my dinner in my room.”
“Sounds fair enough to me,” Raven said, before walking away.
Spike walked the opposite way, leaving Azure in the dining hall alone.
He stood there for a long second, making sure that no one else was nearby before he slammed his legs into the table, teeth clenched. He gave a barely-suppressed roar before he dropped his hooves, and then made sure the table was undamaged. He set it back into place, straightened his armor, and walked away.
---$---
Night slipped into his Vanhoover safehouse and smiled as he made his way to his cot.
That last job went by perfectly! Having the Princess nearby to help him with these jobs almost made it too easy. Her knowledge of all things magical opened up so many opportunities.
The rocks she threw, she made with a Create Matter spell. She made those stones, with their velocity, all in such a way that no pony at the warehouse would know they hadn’t been thrown. Combine that with his illusions, and there was no way anyone could spot the problem.
He glanced up at the large slate board that hung on his wall, trying to think of what to do next. He needed to come up with something that the Princess could plan with him, or at least something he could arrange with her watching over her shoulder in a reasonable time.
A proper plan would take too long, and he wouldn’t make the deadline. He couldn’t risk doing anything half-way, if he wanted to keep his hide, anyway.
Maybe...maybe he could do some counter-thieving with her? Those were more crimes of convenience anyway, so he could probably get away with a little less.
Yeah, he could probably do that. He grabbed a bottle off of a shelf filled with green fire and a rolled-up parchment. He quickly wrote a message to Newsie, asking for any news on Moon Light’s movements before he rolled up the scroll and opened the bottled, magical fire. The flame consumed the parchment, turning it to a subtle, green magic smoke that flew off toward Manehatten and Newsie.
Yes, he and Twilight were going to have a great time.