//------------------------------// // Chapter 22 // Story: Twilight Sparkle and the Master Thief // by DungeonMiner //------------------------------// The Council of Friendship came much faster than Twilight felt it should. Two days came and went, and the Princess found herself in her large chamber she sat in last month. “So, Darling,” Rarity said. “What is the state of the kingdom, as it were?” Her closest friends, including Starlight Glimmer this time around, sat around the table as the bookshelves loomed over them. A handful of boardgames sat out, ready to be played, but Rarity was, of course, keeping them on track until the business part of the meeting was done, and then they could properly relax. Twilight sighed. “Well, the things that have been taking up most of my time has been the fact that there are three organized crime factions that have been merging into a massive amalgamation of an artifact-stealing crime ring.” “Wow,” Pinkie said, before sucking on a juice box. “Sounds like you’ve been busy.” “Is this because of the thief you found last month?” Applejack asked. “And by the way, did ya ever find out why he needs so much money from the budget?” “He maintains several houses across the country to act as bases of operation. He’s done his best to pick inexpensive places, but that’s still a lot of property,” Twilight answered. “And yes, coincidentally, I found out because of him.” Applejack shook her head. “Well, at the very least, he got you some decent intel.” “Okay, so you’re going to lead the charge and taking these thieves head-on, right?” Rainbow asked. Twilight opened her mouth to respond before Rarity spoke up. “Don’t be ridiculous, dear,” the unicorn said. “Twilight’s a Princess, she has a responsibility to the country to keep. Besides, could you imagine the scandal if somepony found out? She’s smart enough to know better.” Twilight shut her mouth and took a deep interest in her snack. “You weren’t going to do that, were you Twilight?” Starlight asked. “You know, think these brownies are overcooked. There’s not enough goo in the center.” “You were,” Starlight said with a smile. “Twilight,” Rarity admonished. “You have a kingdom to rule. Surely this is a job better suited to your guard?” “Well, I’m…” “You’ve told us that he’s worked with the guard before, right?” Fluttershy asked. “He has,” Twilight said, “and they’ve done a lot of good together, but—” “Do ya not trust him to get the job done?” Applejack asked. “No, I know they’d get it done. I just—” “Then why are you getting involved directly and risking so much?” Rarity asked. “Because I like to!” Twilight said. “It’s fun to go out and adventure like I used to, and I know it’s a little irresponsible, but I’m just trying to make sure these kinds of problems don’t happen.” “I mean, I think it’s cool,” Rainbow said. “But I mean, I also get what they’re saying. You are the Princess now, and if you get captured, they can do stuff like hold you hostage and stuff.” That one bit a little deeper than Twilight thought it would. She sighed before glancing up at the top of the bookshelves to see Night staring down at her, a pleased smile on his lips. It didn’t appear to be mocking in any way, but it was that very special smug that he seemed to perfect. Twilight glanced away. “Okay...okay…I’ll keep my ears open, but I won’t go.” She glanced back up at Night, who shrugged quietly. “If it helps,” Rainbow said. “I can reach out to Daring Do and see if she can talk with Caballeron. Both of them are experts on artifacts. They’d be able to let us know what’s going on with collectors and stuff like that.” “I could also begin to speak with some of my friends,” Rarity said. “Fancy Pants may not care himself, but he knows enough ponies that do to matter.” “I have some research I can bring to the table,” Starlight said. “And I can secure the items at the school for some extra security.” Twilight smiled and brought her attention back to the table. “Thank you girls, I appreciate it. Anyway, I think that’s all our business, so what game are we playing?” ---$--- They decided on playing a cooperative card game about the Power Ponies called Mythical and were fighting a card-based version of Mane-iac, and it was the last turn. “Okay,” Twilight said. “We need 30 attack power and 15 buying power. Fluttershy, what do you have?” “I only have three Saddle Rager cards I can play. Luckily they build on each other. They do 15 attack damage.” “Wow,” Rainbow muttered. “Already halfway down? Leave some for the rest of us!” “Rarity?” Twilight asked. “I have two Radiance attack cards, and two CHAMFRON agents for four attack, and two buying power,” she replied. “Applejack?” “I have my big Mistress Mare-velous card, which will give us five buying power, and two attack power at the same time,” the farmer replied happily. “Besides that, I’ve got two more CHAMFRON agents for a buying power each.” “So we have 17 attack power and nine buying so far,” Twilight said, standing at the table, “Rainbow?” “I didn’t get my big card in this hand, but I have four Zapps coming in with two attack and two buying each. So it was okay, I guess.” Twilight nodded. “That’s all the buying power we need,” Twilight said. “Pinkie?” “I’ve got a Fili-second with two buying power,” she said, “and then three CHAMFRONs with three attack total.” “We’ll only need two more attack power, so I think we got this!” Twilight said with a smirk. Spike smiled. “I have five Hum Drums, and they all do one of each!” “And that it!” Twilight said. Cheers went around the table as they officially defeated the big bad. “Hang on, hang on!” Rainbow said. “We still need to know who won out of all of us.” “Well, we all won,” Fluttershy said. “And currently Fluttershy still is in the lead for damage,” Twilight pointed out. “I can tell you I’m not in the running, I only have one Matterhorn card I can play, and she has one single attack power because my card luck is awful. So I guess that leaves you, Starlight.” Starlight glanced between the seven of them. “All five of my cards build off each other for seventeen attack power and ten buying power.” Both Rainbow and Applejack groaned as Starlight lay her cards on the table. “Why didn’t any of you diversify your heroes? They’re more powerful that way. That’s how the game’s designed.” Twilight smiled and shook her head. “Alright, do we want to play again?” “It’s like ten o’clock,” Spike said. “Yes, I’ll need to get up early tomorrow,” Starlight said. “I’ve got a school to run tomorrow.” “That’s a fair enough point,” Rarity said. “I need to head back to my Manehatten store and check on how things are going there.” “Yeah, I probably need to head home too,” Rainbow said. “Got to head to the Wonderbolt training area for a new show this week, and Spitfire’s been riding us all to get it right. That, and the excuse of ‘Royal Summons’ only works so many times.” “I’ll stay behind and get this thing packed away,” Applejack said, motioning to the card scattered on the table. “Thanks, Applejack,” Spike said. “I’ll start collecting all of the CHAMFRON agents.” The farmer nodded, and the two quickly began to work as they gathered the cards into the separate heroes, villains, and agents, all into the separate piles. Twilight quickly walked everyone out of the palace and made it back to the council room just in time for Applejack and Spike to finish packing things away. “Alright, there ya go, Spike.” “Thanks again, Applejack. Mythical is fun. It just takes forever to set up and put away,” the dragon replied. The farmer nodded. “Yes, thank you, Applejack,” Twilight said. “Not a problem,” the farmer replied. “But, I do have one question.” “What?” “Are you ever going to introduce us to your shadow up there?” “P-pardon?” Twilight asked. Applejack casually pointed up the bookshelves to where Night sat. “The stallion up there, or at least I think a stallion. He’s been so quiet up there, and it’s so dark I could barely tell.” Twilight glanced up at Night, who pressed himself against the wall. “I...don’t know…” “Twilight, for the entirety of the game, you’ve been glancing up at him and smiling the same way Big Mac smiles at Sugar Belle. It wasn’t too hard to figure out he was there with how many times ya stared up at him.” Twilight could feel the blush climbing her face. “I…” “I do gotta say, though, I never would have noticed if you hadn’t given it away,” Applejack said. Twilight glanced at the corner of the room, trying not to look at Night and give him away even further than she already had. “So not right now, huh?” Applejack asked with a smirk. “Alright, then. See ya next time, Shadow,” she waved back up at the bookshelves before turning back to her friend. “Have a good night, Twilight.” “Oh, yeah,” Spike said as Applejack walked out of the room. “Night is here!” Twilight’s face soured, and she stared at the dragon. “Thanks, Spike, I hadn’t noticed.” “I didn’t,” he said in his defense before Night dropped down to the floor. “Your friend has a good head on her shoulders, at least,” Night muttered. “Though I don’t appreciate being called out like that.” “Sorry,” Twilight muttered, feeling the blame fall on her. Night shrugged it off. “I don’t know what she means by this Big Mac and Sugar Belle, though.” “They’re a newlywed couple,” she muttered. “Oh…” A long silence stretched between them, and Twilight was becoming more and more uncomfortable with the silence. Spike coughed. “So do you have news, Night?” “Right!” he said. “I found something.” “What?” Twilight asked. “The item is called the Obsidian Hoof Guards, and they are what I thought they were. That being said, I’ve tracked it down to a new hideaway out by Dodge City,” Night explained. “Okay. So what’s your plan?” “Secure them, hopefully,” he replied. “I also hope to uncover more of their plan if they hope to find the Alicorn Amulet and the Tempest Crown, the other two. If they do, we can begin searching for them and securing the artifacts before things get crazy. Maybe you can take your Rainbow friend up on her offer, as I’m sure a fictional character knows so much.” Twilight smiled. “You know I’ve met Daring Do, right?” Night glanced up at her. “I’m serious. She’s a very business-oriented pony. And that business is securing artifacts and extreme archeology.” “Sure.” “I think both of you would get along.” “Uh-huh.” Twilight sighed and shook her head. “Anyway, I think I’m going to sit out on this one,” Twilight said. “My friends are right...and things are getting more serious.” “You’re giving up on me?” Night asked. “No, no,” she said. “I’m just...I’m taking a break. Let’s be honest, I got caught last time because I was confident that I could use magic to fix the problems.” “You were caught by pure bad luck,” he said. “That’s happened to everyone I’ve known.” “Yes, but I was caught, and if you hadn’t been there to save me, I’d be in trouble. Besides, I do actually have a country to run.” Night sighed and nodded. “Alright, you know that’s fair. Okay, I’ll keep you posted and let you know what I found. Go do your Princess-ing thing in the meantime.” Twilight smiled. “Sounds like a plan. I’ll see you in a few days.” Night nodded before he took his leave and left the two alone. And the moment he was out of hearing range, Spike spoke up. “Why’d you do that?” “What?” “Let him go alone?” “I just said why,” Twilight replied. “I just got caught, and I need to, you know, keep to my responsibilities as a Princess.” “Raven and I can keep your country running,” Spike said. “We’ve already been doing that. All you really need to do is let Raven know that I can sign documents in your name because I do know what you’d approve of ninety percent of the time.” Twilight smirked. “You know, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say that was a transparent attempt at taking power for yourself.” Spike glared back at her. “You know, that’s what Raven says, and so I’ll tell you what I tell her. If I wanted to rule a kingdom, I would have kept the Bloodstone Scepter.” Twilight shook her head. “She’ll learn eventually, don’t hold it against her.” “Oh, it’s too late for that,” Spike said. “Speaking of documents, did you review and sign the ones Raven brought to you a few days ago?” “Two of them, I had some questions on the third. There’s something I need you to clarify in our notes.” “Do you know which one off the top of your head?” “Not really,” she admitted. “Okay, then let’s go ahead and head up to your office.” “Sounds good,” Twilight said. “I have some other documents I need to deal with, anyway.” The pair made their way up to Twilight’s office, and as they stepped in, Twilight blinked. Something wasn’t right, and she immediately began to search her office. “What’s wrong?” Spike asked. “I...there was a scroll on my desk, a letter, did you see it?” “No. What was in it?” “It was about Night,” she explained. “I wrote it like a month ago when I really wasn’t on board with the whole thing.” “Maybe the maids got it?” Spike asked. “They know better than to throw away my documents,” she said. “Well, if you can’t find it, then I couldn’t tell you where it is,” Spike said. “I know, I know,” she replied. “Still, I need to find it and get rid of the thing. It’s was horribly wrong.” “I’ll keep my eye out for it,” Spike said. “Alright, thank you, Spike.” He nodded, and they got to work. ---$--- Dodge City sat in the eastern-most edges of the San Palomino Desert, and Night could smell the heat. The air was dry and dusty, leaving a scent in the air that Night could only describe as the smell of a desert evening. He stood a few miles south of the town, on one of the dunes that would slowly begin to build in frequency until they made the Macintosh Hills. Behind him, the city shone like a star on the horizon, lit by the lamps of taverns, inns, and houses of hard-working folk. In front of him sat the cave. The cave waited with an open maw, and hidden inside, Night knew, was the collected forces of the big three criminal organizations he worked against. The problem with a natural hideout like this was that there typically could only be one entrance and exit, specifically the cave mouth. He couldn’t really approach the place from another angle, despite his best efforts. What’s worse, the varying width of the passageways didn’t guarantee him anywhere to hide if he suddenly found himself sharing the same space. That meant that he could only hope that nopony would come up the way he was coming down. Well, there wasn’t anything else he could do. Taking a deep breath, Night rushed the cave mouth, casting his Transposement spell and keeping his Image high above the ground. Then, before he knew it, he went underground. He slipped into the darkness beneath and quickly found himself squeezing through tight passageways that led deeper and deeper into the depths. And then, just as Night was beginning to feel lost, he found the main chamber. Inside, he found a handful of ponies, some guarding the entrance, a few feet away from where Night snuck in, while others worked at a set of tables. Night observed them as they carved and smoothed their materials and blinked as they carefully touched pieces of metal and stone. He glanced between them and quickly realized precisely what they were doing. They were making counterfeit hoof guards. The original sat on a table nearby, ready to be picked up and referenced as the ponies around it made cheap stone and metal copies of the artifact. Night raised an eyebrow, confused. Any unicorn with Perceive Energy could tell that the fakes wouldn’t have the magical signature to match an artifact. There was no way they’d sell these to proper buyers. So why on earth were they doing this? His ear flicked behind him, and he turned to see another pony coming down the passage. Night ran into the chamber, avoiding everypony he could as he dove between the tables. The pony coming in behind him vaguely looked like one of Legger’s pony, and the guard glared at him as he approached. “What are you doing here?” he asked. “I’m here to get the merchandise moved to Baltimare for the enchanting.” “Enchanting?” Night thought. “Are they just making fake artifacts? No real buyer would take them. They’d know that they wouldn’t have the magical reserves, even if they were decently made.” “Unless…” “Unless they’re not selling to real, experienced buyers.” Night frowned at the thought, but the good news was that he had everything he needed. He knew where these “Obsidian Hoof Guards” would be sold, and he knew what the game was. The problem was that he didn’t know who they were selling to, even though he had his suspicions, nor did he have the full scope of what exactly they were doing. Still, he had a direction. He glanced over at the Hoof Guards, the real ones, and smiled as he began to work a plan in his head. He glanced at one of the packed crates before glancing up at the lanterns that lit the chamber. He wouldn’t have a lot of time, but it just might be enough. He carefully began to pry open one of the crates, pulling it open slowly as the ponies in the chamber were busy on their carvings or their conversations. Then, the moment he was confident he could work with it, he made his move. In what was one of the riskiest moves of his career, Night dropped his Transposement spell. He appeared in the middle of the room, shocking the ponies around him before reaching up and grabbing one of the lanterns. He smashed them together, and with a flash of light, they both went out. Cries echoed, and someone yelled. “Block the entrance! Get the light back on!” The lanterns were re-lit, and the ponies found themselves in the chamber alone. “Look for that pony! He was in here a second ago!” one of the guards ordered, and they quickly began to search around. Night was nowhere to be found. “You,” the guard growled, pointing to another pony. “Check the passage, see if he got past me somehow.” The pony nodded as the guard stepped aside to let him through. And Night squeezed past and made his way out.