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// And Then They Stole A Crystal Or Whatever (Panic!) 
// Story: Bucket of Apples (Speedwriting Anthology) 
// by applejackofalltrades 
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"So I said to myself: 'Today is going to be a great day Sunny! You will succeed.'" The orange earth pony smiled eagerly at the light purple unicorn who watched her with a mildly unimpressed glance. 

"Okay, that's great and all, but it still doesn't explain why we have to steal this jewel." 

Sunny clicked her tongue and shook her head. She pressed her body against the wall the two mares were hiding against. "Patience, Izzy. You need to trust me, okay?" 

Izzy sighed and ran a hoof through her dual-coloured mane. "Trust an earth pony? That's, like, against everything I was ever taught." 

Sunny's almost cocky smile didn't falter. "Come on, give me a chance. We'll be great friends by the end of the day, I promise!" 

Izzy looked up at the sky. The moon shone down on them, almost directly overhead. "Uh, it's already the end of the day," she pointed out with an amused smile. 

"Not yet!" the earth pony corrected with a melodic tune in her voice. "Anyway, time to get serious. We really really need that jewel." Sunny turned her head to peek out of the corner. 

Guarding the entrance to the building were two pegasi. One was a taller stallion, and the other a smaller mare. She seemed to be a little smaller than Sunny herself, but she was too far away for the earth pony to be able to tell. 

"So, what is the plan, then?" Izzy crept forward to look at the guards herself. "Surely, you won't make us just rush in blind and get kicked out on our flanks, right?" 

Sunny looked back at Izzy with a nervous smile. "Well…" 

Facehoof. "Oh sweet heavens. You have got to be kidding me." Izzy removed her hoof from her snout and adjusted her mane back to its neat style. "Okay, I have a plan, sort of. I can use my magic to cause a distraction while we sneak behind those pillars and in through the door." 

"Okay, that sounds good. But what if they have… Magic alarms or something?" 

Izzy let out a noise that was almost a snort. "Magic? They're pegasi, don't forget. Only us unicorns can do any real magic, and that doesn't include whatever weird anomalies you earth ponies can do with the plants to make them grow like that," Izzy stated as she eyed Sunny. 

"Oh, but you have to admit it's cool! Didn't they teach you about how the earth ponies would grow food for everypony back when all the pony types used to live amongst each other?" 

"They certainly taught us about how you earth ponies would take the food for yourselves when things got rough." 

Sunny's smile faltered for a moment. Come on, Sunny. Today will be great! You're going to make a new friend, and you're going to get that magical relic so you can reactivate the old harmony statue! It has to work. 

She repeated her mantra to herself before popping up to her hooves, motioning for Izzy to do the same. The unicorn stood up without a sign of protest apart from rolling her eyes. 

"Okay, are you ready? We can sneak in if we creep along the bushes on the other side of the wall," Sunny suggested. "Pegasi may be good fliers, but they don't have night vision, so we'll be fine." 

"But how are we going to see?" 

Sunny let out a short laugh and slung a hoof around Izzy, who watched her cautiously. "I can see pretty well in the dark. They don't call me Sunny for nothing. I'm like the sun in your life." 

Izzy, surprisingly, smiled genuinely. "Okay, sure, although I'm pretty sure that's just your name. But it doesn't matter, Sunny. I'll follow you. Once we reach the first pillar on the right side, I'll cause some commotion on the opposite side." 

Sunny nodded and turned the corner carefully. She made sure to go slowly so Izzy could keep up. As long as she could feel the unicorns breath on her flank, she was going at the perfect pace. They crept along the grassy lawn of the museum, trying to keep as silent as possible. 

Sunny turned back to look at Izzy as they approached the far side of the wall parallel to the pillars. She quirked her head toward the tall pillars and then winked. Izzy rolled her eyes and waved a hoof down. When Sunny didn't understand, Izzy shoved the slightly taller mare down into a crouch and then copied. 

Her white horn glowed a light pink to contrast her blue and purple mane. Leaves rustled on the opposite side, causing the pegasi guards to snap to attention and run to the source of the noise. Izzy looked back at Sunny, horn still providing a pink light, and smirked. "Okay, Sunny, are you ready to go?"