//------------------------------//
// Night 
// Story: Dreams 
// by Vocal 
//------------------------------//

	The cold of the night, the tension filling the darkness around him, the knowledge he very well may die tonight. All these were less than foreign to the young red unicorn colt as he lay on his stomach on top of a building. Here in Manehatten, he was in his element. Despite being bright red and even part zebra as evidenced by the black streaks through his mane and on right above his knees, he easily blended into the crowd. Perhaps that’s why he was always the member of the gang he was in to do the bold things, the things that needed to be done in plain view, the things anypony else would consider suicide.
An apricot colored earth pony filly trotted up next to him, dropping down to her knees once she got next to him. “So, Stripes, You ready for this?” The entire gang called him Stripes since they found his real name a mouthful to say. “Snow’s counting on us to get this part done.”
Stripes looked to the filly. “Yeah, Alleycat, I’m ready.” He said. The gang called her Alleycat, not only because her cutie mark was a cat, but because her name was Catherine. It seemed to be an easy link. Stripes looked to his cutie mark, a pair of headphones. He sometimes wondered why they didn’t call him ‘Phones’ but, he decided Stripes was good too. “Don’t wanna disappoint Snow. That’s for sure.” Snow Luck, or Snow, was the leader of the group. She was a pegasus pony, who seemed to either be really smart or really lucky. In either case, she could either be really sweet or really scary. Nopony in the gang wanted to be on her bad side. Using his magic, he pulled open an envelope and took out a picture of an earth pony mare. “So, who’s the target anyway? Did Snow tell you?” Stripes asked.
Alleycat just shook her head. “No. She did say that the target was someone important from out-of-town, though.” She looked at the picture. “Hopefully, those glasses help distinguish her from everypony else. After all, I can’t see her--” Stripes pulling out a second picture caused Alleycat to stop in mid sentence. It was a picture of her cutie mark. A scroll with a blue ribbon tied around it. “Oh. Okay then. That’s a strange cutie mark. This should be no problem. Hop down, take her bags, and then deliver it to Snow. But… Did Snow tell you any special instructions?”
“Only to make sure that there was a map in the bag.” Stripes said. “No idea what that has to do with anything but… eh. I suppose she knows what she’s doing.” Stripes’s attention was suddenly drawn to a noise in the alley below. A pony was slowly trotting out of a side door and into the alley. Stripes held up his right hoof, indicating Alleycat to be quiet and stay still. Stripes quietly observed the pony that strolled though the alley. He mumbled to himself. “Mare… Tan fur… Silver mane… and either a scroll cutie mark, or an arrow through a log.” He lowered his hoof, pointing in front of the mare and Alleycat hopped off the side of the building, landing in front of the mare.
“Well, Hello there.” Alleycat said. “Such interesting glasses you have…”
“What do you want from me?” The mare said, backing up.
“I think you know.” Alleycat said, looking to the bags on the tan mare.
“Oh, please, take what you want, I’ll do whatever you want, but please, don’t take my money!” The tan mare said, falling to her knees. She never even suspected that Stripes had now blocked off her escape.
With a quick flash of magic, the knot of a rope found it’s way into the mare’s mouth  and the rope knotted itself behind her head. Another flash of magic and the mare’s hooves were tied, bound with more rope, causing her to fall to the ground. Stripes came up behind her, and said “Anything, huh…?He used his magic to keep the mare’s head looking forward, preventing her from seeing him, assuming this would make him sound even more intimidating.
Unable to look back and unable to make any noise, the mare just nodded her head. Her glasses fell off, and her second nod pushed them to the side.
“All right then. How about this…?” Stripes paused, taking the mare’s bag from her. Alleycat took it and placed it in front of the mare. “Do you have a map in here? A map you would most likely hide from other ponies?” He asked. When the mare shook her head, Stripes made a jerking motion with his own head.
Alleycat opened the bag and dug through it. “No map. At all.” She said.
Stripes brought his head close to the mare’s and began to whisper in her ear. “Now, It is very important that we get this map. Do you understand?” The mare nodded. “Good. Now, I’m going to ask you a question. Think hard, and then answer.” He paused. “Do you have the map on you?” There was a pause, a muffled noise from the mare’s mouth, and then, finally, a nod. “Good. Now, look to where it is.” The mare looked at the collar she was wearing. Stripes looked to Alleycat. Alleycat just nodded. “Kay then.” He said, and undid the green ascot and looked it over. There was no map on it, or within it. He sighed, and then began to undo the collar itself. There was a snag, something was caught on something. Stripes looked at the mare. “Close your eyes.” He told her and when she did as she was told Stripes took a closer look at her collar. He drew his face closer to the fastenings, watching himself un-snag the collar. He watched the collar come off, and noticed the map was sewn into her collar itself. He glanced back at the mare’s face, and noticed she was staring right at him.

“Stripes… Stripes wake up.”







“Stripes. Wake up.”

Stripes woke up. He wasn’t in Manehatten at night. No, That was last night. He looked around. He was on a train. The train was still moving, so they couldn’t have already arrived at their destination. He looked to the direction that he heard the voice from.
“You looked like you were having a nightmare.” The white pegasus told him. She brushed her brown and red mane out from in front of her eyes with one hoof. Her cutie mark, a four-leaf clover, befitted her name.
“Ah, Snow Luck…” Stripes said. “I guess you could say that.” He didn’t tell her that he dreamt of his job last night. It wasn’t like him to dwell on the past. He just kept moving. That’s all that mattered to him.
“Stay awake. We’re almost to Ponyville.” Snow Luck said. “Who would have thought that the mayor of a small town like that would be mixed up with gangs like the Diamond Dogs?” She said it with such surprise that, even though he knew better, he almost believed she was really astonished. “But, remember what we’re after, everypony. Our employer needs to get the gems instead of whoever the mayor was supplying.”
“Ever going to tell us who our employer is?” Alleycat said.
“You mean I haven’t told you yet?” Snow Luck asked with an innocence that almost sounded sarcastic. Almost. “I thought for sure I did.” However, she still did not state who hired them.
Stripes looked over to Snow Luck. Although he was one of the newest members of the gang, he was the only one able to read her mood. “What’s bothering you?” He asked.
Snow Luck laughed and said “I’m that easy to read?” There was a long pause, as if she wasn’t going to answer his question. At last, she finally said “Just… Stay out of sight of the locals, okay?” She looked to the other members of the gang too. Pearlshine, a cunning earth pony filly with a flowing orange mane, Alleycat, Libby, a blue earth pony filly with a black mane like smoke, Zephyr, a strong, golden unicorn filly with an tornado eclipsing an ouroboros for her cutie mark, Ryder, an earth pony colt who could be quite intimidating, and Archer, an example of the ghostliest earth pony colt you’d ever see. He was chalk white with a purple mane. His yellow eyes were quite unnerving, and his cutie mark of a crossbow hinted at his lethality.
Stripes looked at Snow Luck, a little bit concerned, but decided not to press the issue further. He knew he wouldn’t get anything else out of her.
The train slowed to a stop at Ponyville Station and the gang got off. “Come on, Let’s go. Quicker we get this done, the quicker we get paid.” Zephyr said. She trotted off, leading most of the gang with her. The only pony who lagged behind was Stripes.
He stood there for a moment, thinking. Thinking about last night with the mayor. After Alleycat had run off with her bag, Stripes had stayed behind. He made a deal with the mayor. A deal that, if it went according to plan, would help get him out of Manehatten, unharmed. He just wondered… Could he pull this jewel heist off?