//------------------------------// // Chapter 20 // Story: Twilight Sparkle and the Master Thief // by DungeonMiner //------------------------------// Twilight stood over a map, staring down at the pins that marked the herb pouch’s known locations. So far, it had made its way east, toward Canterlot, but it hadn’t arrived yet. “Your Highness,” a voice called, and Twilight looked up from her map to see Raven drop another stack of papers on her desk. “These need your attention,” she said flatly. Twilight glanced at the now-third stack of papers before looking back at the map. “Sure, I’ll deal with it in a second.” Raven raised an eyebrow. “I’m trying to take care of something,” Twilight said, “now if you’ll excuse me.” Raven turned and left, leaving Twilight alone with the stacks of paper growing on her desk. She stared down at the map and used a Perceive Matter spell to cause a small red dot to glow on the map. It still hadn’t moved from the road just north of the Unicorn Range. They might have a safehouse out there, where they kept the pouch until it was safer to take it elsewhere. They might be waiting for another train to pass by so that they couldn’t be caught on any specific train. She stared down at the map, trying to determine where they would go next, though she was pretty sure that they would have to move within the next few hours. They’d have to if they were going to get it to somewhere that the Leggers could secure for a seller. The only question was where they were going? Would they try selling in Canterlot? That’s where most of the buyers would be, but they’d also risk the most attention selling a recently-stolen artifact. She glanced back at the map before she sighed and turned to the stacks of paper on her desk. She picked up the first stack and began to peruse the notes that Raven left behind. It seemed to be some propositions for a new tax bill, which she did need to actually prepare and either sign or veto as necessary. She glanced back at the map. She quickly looked through it and appreciated the notes written in the margins that Spike had left there so that she could read through the bill without having to spend too much time doing the same. She read through them, including a few points where Spike admitted that he wasn’t sure about some of the details, and nodded. This one seemed to be at least well-thought-out, so she signed the bill at the bottom, slipped it into her outgoing box, and then turned to the map again. She cast the locating spell once more, and once more, the red blip that revealed the bag’s location lit up. Again, they hadn’t moved. They still were hiding somewhere in the Unicorn Range and hadn’t moved an inch. Or three miles, taking the scale into consideration. She sighed. They had to be doing something nefarious. They had to be waiting for something that she couldn’t see. And then the blip disappeared off the map. Twilight blinked. H-how did that happen? Did...did they know it was being tracked? It was not a commonly known fact that lead and other a handful of other metals could block perceive spells, so the fact that these thieves figured it out was disturbing enough as it was. They must have a mage that they were talking to. She cursed under her breath. There was no way she’d be able to follow the trace now, and it was as good as lost if they didn’t have some other form of figuring out where they were going to take the artifact. She furrowed her brow a second before she tried to remember the face of the ponies she saw the other night. Focusing on one face as hard as she could, she forced another spell to Perceive him. The scrying spell brought the pony into focus, and with a push of energy, the area around him also appeared. “Look, I get that the box does something, but why didn’t we have it to begin with?” “Because now is when we’ve got to worry about someone tracking us,” a voice beyond Twilight’s vision growled. “Not stop whining, and get this thing to Canterlot. The Boss wants to use this to start production so that we’ve got some money to spend before we get buyers or something.” Twilight cut her spell before she prepared a letter to Night. She needed to know if Night knew if there were any places that Blackjack or Boot Legger could hide things in Canterlot. If he had any clue, then they could begin to plan before the pouch even got there. The other stacks of paper stared back at her from her desk. It… It’d be fine. These laws and papers could wait for her. It was fine. ---$--- The warehouse was one of Blackjack’s. Admittedly, it took quite the effort on Night’s part to figure out where in Canterlot it was going, but he did say it was a more manageable task now that he only had one city to look through. Both Twilight and Night stood on a building just under the shadow of the castle. When the city’s granaries were first built, Celestia had ordered them to be made as close to the palace as possible while still being close enough to the town that food could be distributed during a siege. Since then, any new storage buildings were built near the original granaries, leaving almost all of them to sit in the palace’s shadow. That’s where Night said they had to strike. The pair of them stared down at the warehouse and watched as several of Blackjack’s ponies patrolled the house, and Night shook his head at the sight. “I don’t like the look of this,” he said. “It’s too many ponies guarding the same thing, and Blackjack’s ponies don’t scare easy.” “So we have to go in quietly?” Twilight asked. “Quietly as ghosts,” Night agreed. “Then let’s get to work,” the Princess said with a smile. She turned and cast Transform Image on herself before turning to Night. “Do you want me to try and cast this on you?” she asked. “Worst case scenario, I accidentally make you shorter for a few days.” “And I can’t fix it myself?” he asked. “Thanks, but no thanks.” Twilight shrugged, and they dropped down to the warehouse proper. They slipped up next to the old building, avoiding the roving patrols of Blackjack’s guard. “Head that way,” Night whispered. “I’ll head this way, we’ll meet on the other side, and we’ll talk about entrances.” “Got it,” Twilight replied. They split up, and Twilight began to search for any way inside. Her eyes carefully scanned the sides and walls of the warehouse, looking for any access she could manage. Her half of the building didn’t have any doors, and Night claimed the half with the main entrance. So far, the only thing that seemed genuinely viable as a way in was the windows. They were high, Twilight can see that quickly enough, and a little thin, but it would also prove to be the best way in if Twilight had to put money on it. She came back around to the other side and bumped into Night. “Ow, pay attention!” she hissed. “You ran into me,” he shot back. “Yes, but I’m the one with an Image that actually corresponds to my location. You have to keep an eye out.” “Looking for a pony the size of a mouse isn’t easy.” “Then you need to look harder,” she replied. Night sighed. “Did you find any back doors?” he asked. “No, just windows.” Night nodded. “Then can you peek inside and see which windows would make the best entrance?” She nodded and cast her spell, her perception shooting to the inside with Morning Glory’s Eye. She glanced around carefully, and the first thing she noticed was the number of ponies. Thirty ponies milled about the floor of the warehouse, each one easily the size of her friend’s brother Big Mac. Each one also seemed armed with some sort of weapon. Some seemed armed with simpler weapons, whether that be a bat or club, while others had more professional tools, like actual spears marked with her guards’ small tell-tale insignia. How those got into these ponies' hooves, she never knew, but she’d certainly have to talk to Captain Azure about it. Taking another moment to glance around at the ceiling, Twilight gathered everything she needed to know. “There are a lot more ponies inside,” she said as she cut the spell, and her vision returned to her body. “Most are armed in some way, and while I could probably take them, I’d like the building to still be standing when we’re done.” “All the more reason to go in quietly,” Night said. “Do you have our way in?” Twilight nodded and pointed to one of the open windows. “That one is close enough to one of the beams holding the roof up to grab onto it.” “It’s supporting the roof?” Night asked. “Great, that means we’re going to have to do some climbing.” “There is a catwalk going down the middle of the warehouse. We can land on that to look for the pouch,” Twilight explained. “Sounds as good a plan as any,” Night replied. “Let’s go.” Using the catapult spell, they both shot up into the air and landed as carefully as they could on the window before slipping inside. Twilight immediately turned as she did so and grabbed onto the I-beam that ran up the building’s width to the peak of the roof. Wrapping her hooves around the beam the best she could, she began to shimmy her way up until she was over the catwalk she saw earlier. Of course, getting down to it without rocking the entire thing and letting everypony know that something just landed was definitely going to be the more difficult part of the whole thing. Twilight almost wished she had her wings again, but the magic of the amulet would be far too bright, and far too obvious, and would no doubt get the attention of almost literally everyone. “Twilight,” a voice whispered, and she glanced behind her where Night was supposed to be. “I’m going to pass you my hook. We can use that to slide down to the catwalk.” That was a much better idea than what she had. “Good idea,” she whispered back, reaching out. “I’m sticking my hoof out. Hand it to me when you—” Her hoof touched metal, and she grabbed it tightly. “Alright. I’ve got it. I’ll hide the rope on the way down for you.” “Sounds good,” he whispered back. Twilight stuck the hook onto the I-beam and let the rope fall down to the catwalk. She quickly and quietly slipped down the rope to land softly on the metal grating below her. She immediately cast a control image spell and hid the rope, just in time for her to hear a pony slide down. She felt Night’s weight bend the grating, and then she grabbed the rope in her magic and pulled it down to safety. “Okay, we need to move quickly. If a pony comes this way, we’ll have to leap over the rails and hold on tight and pray to Celestia that they don’t notice us.” Twilight frowned. “I don’t like our chances on that,” she said. “Do you have a better idea?” Night asked. “As a matter of fact, I do,” she said. “Care to enlighten me?” he asked. “We’ll get there,” she replied. “Let’s go.” She heard Night sigh behind her as they pushed forward, heading toward the back of the warehouse where an enclosed office waited for them. As they planned, the patrol hadn’t met back up with them yet, leaving them a large open catwalk to cross. So they managed to get all the way up to the office without being stopped. Night peeked through the window and frowned at what he saw. “Well, there’s the answer as to why they wanted it,” he whispered to Twilight. “What do you mean?” she asked as she glanced through the window after him. Inside, ponies were feeding herbs back and forth, rolling and unrolling them as they prepared cigars and incense sticks. At the center of the operation was Meadowbrook’s pouch, which another pony was carefully watching as it produced more and more of the herbs. “They’re making Bane,” he said. “Bane?” “I believe it’s called Luswite leaves in the medical field,” he said. “Inhaling the smoke makes you apathetic. It makes for a great sedative for insomniacs and such, but obviously, there’s a demand.” Twilight mentally slapped herself. Of course, drug production would be a prime use of Meadowbrook’s Herb Pouch. Sure, it wouldn’t be useful for many processed materials, but if they worked with herbs, then… “Okay, we need to get this out of there.” “Question is how? It’s pretty well defended and very well watched in there. We’d have to find a way to distract those ponies inside without—” Anything else he was going to say was cut off by the sound of hooves thumping against the metal grating of the catwalk. Both ponies turned to see one of the patrolling guards making their way toward the pair, and both of them immediately shot into their plans. Night slipped over the railing and held on tight. The only sound that could give him away was the metal creak as he bent around the side. However, Twilight leaped into the air and pulled herself up into the air with her own telekinetic might. The guard stopped and blinked. The moment he did, Twilight realized her mistake. Yes, her Image was the size of a mouse, but that didn’t mean she was truly invisible. Especially if the rodent-sized pony suddenly shot into the air. She dropped onto the office as carefully as she could before casting a Control Image to take her small Image and throw it across the room. The guard, armed with a spear, saw it fly and followed it as it flew across the room until it disappeared. “Was that a bat?” he asked aloud, looking to the far wall, while Twilight cut her spell and watched as her Image reappeared at her hooves. She breathed as quietly as she could, watching as the pony continued to stare out over the warehouse in the direction of Twilight’s distraction when he turned suddenly, and the spear, which had been resting on the guard’s shoulder, slammed into Twilight. Smacked in the face by the spearhead, Twilight’s vision went spinning. Her balance was thrown, and she stepped to try and steady herself. Her hoof found the edge of the office, and she tumbled, falling to the floor below. She crashed into a few crates, wood splintering under her weight as she fell to the ground. Her vision went white as wood slammed into the back of her head. A voice called out, one she didn’t recognize, and she felt pain course through her body. A hoof to her head came away bloody, which, considering that her Image sat a few inches over her stomach, meant that the blood hovered in the air. A spear pointed at her, followed by another, and soon several other ponies surrounded her. “Hey, why is she the size of a mouse or something?” one of the ponies, armed with a club, asked. “She must have some magic,” another one said. “Get the rock!” Twilight sighed before she considered her options. She was probably going to have to fight her way out of here at this rate. Luckily, her Image would count to her advantage, as it made it harder for— Her Image reverted back to its proper size, and Twilight blinked in surprise before she saw an earth pony step forward with a small crystal shard of Chrysalis’ throne. And now this just got a lot harder. Luckily, her form still remained in her disguise. She wondered why she hadn’t been caught for a moment before remembering the branch of magic that her amulet and the stone shared, but that was only a small mercy. She began to move before a spear poked at her chest. “You stay right there, filly,” one of the spear ponies warned. “You’re not going anywhere unless we say so.” Twilight glared up at her, bringing her best intimidating glare, which worked so much better when she was sitting on a throne with a crown on her head, but the pony didn’t flinch. “We need to let the Boss know about this,” another one of the ponies growled. “Well, what do we do with this one?” another pony asked. “Get her in chains,” the first one said. “Keep the shard near her, so she can’t use her magic.” “You’re going to have a tough time getting me in anything,” Twilight said, hoping that her bravado would make them think twice about it at least. The ponies glanced at each other before one of the spear ponies stepped forward and struck her temple with the butt of his spear. And Twilight fell unconscious. ---$--- Night watched as the ponies began to hold up the Princess and bind her in manacles, chains, and ropes. They weren’t taking any chances with her. That much was obvious. He sighed quietly to himself as he watched them take her back to one of the corners of the warehouse. He’d have to get her out. And it was going to be tough. They knew she was here, they’d be more alert now, and the moment he got close to the Princess and the shard of Thronestone that these ponies had would mean his primary method of hiding in the open would disappear. He’d have to come up with a way to get close without drawing anypony else’s attention. He sighed. Well, it looked like his streak of luck had just run out. Wonderful.