Back at the house, the two wet and grumpy pals walked to see Appletini shaking in the corner holding a frying pan in her hooves with the other two unconscious pegasi thieves still on the floor.
Fable rushed over to comfort the poor thing, “What’s the matter honey pie? Did these awful ponies do something’ to ya?”
“Th...th...they almost got up…” she studdered.
“Oh brother” Hoodwink put her hoof on her forehead.
Suddenly the stallion began to stir. Before Hoodwink or Fable could do anything, Appletini slung the frying pan, hitting him square on the head, leaving another, of many, bumps. Fable and Hoodwink had a good laugh at the two’s expense. Giggles aside, Fable went outside, got some rope from his shed, and began to tie the two burglars to chairs.
“How should we wake ‘em up?” Fable said, waving his hoof in front of one of their faces, getting no response.
“Hm…” Hoodwink walked up to the stallion thief and began to look him over.
She raised a hoof and smacked him across the face. No response.
“Well, I’m out of ideas.” She shrugged, but then she quickly galloped out of the room and came back with a marker.
“No, Hoody.. Just…No…” Fable face hoofed.
“Dammit…” she said throwing the marker into the next room. “Well, there is another way I can think of.”
“Does it have to do with more markers, duct tape, cuttin’ and or shavin’ manes, or doin’ anythin’ embarrassin’ to ‘em?” Fable gave her a questioning look.
“No…” she said nervously.
He raised an eyebrow.
“*sigh*…Yes…Well, I don’t hear you coming up with any ideas?” she whined.
“In fact Ah’ do, thank ya very much missy.” He trotted over to the kitchen sink.
He came back with a bucket of water.
“Erf er ern’t ind takin dis ou o mer outh.” He said with the handle still in his mouth.
“What?” she stared at him blankly.
He rolled his eyes and lowered his head, putting the bucket on the floor. He turned off the lights. “Never mind. Just pour this on our guests here.”
“Gladly.” She smiled.
SPLASH!
“*cough cough* What the hell! Where are we!” the stallion choked.
Hoodwink shined a bright light in their faces.
“The question is why not where. Who the hell are you and why are you here?” Hoodwink ordered, pressing the tip of her sword to his throat.
“Who’s asking?” the mare hissed.
“The pony ya nearly robbed.” Fable pressed.
“We don’t have to tell you anything.” She tried to kick Fable, but still blinded, she only wildly rocked her chair.
Before the chair fell back onto the hard tile floor, Hoodwink caught her in telekinesis. She dimmed down the light from her horn allowing them to see the ponies holding them up.
“I would answer our questions, or I will personally kick your ass into a stone cold prison in the Badlands.” Hoodwink threatened before throwing the chair down to the floor.
Fable began to get her off the floor.
“Pfft you guard are just a big joke.” She mocked.
Fable let her fall back to the floor. He stomped his hoof near her face, cracking the wooden chair on contact.
“Ah’ would watch yer tongue in front of a Lunar Corporal and a retired Solar Captain ya jackass.” He lowered his head to make it clear to her.
She spat on his muzzle, “You’re not getting anything out of me.”
He rubbed off the spit from his nose and looked at Hoodwink. She nodded. He brought down his mighty hoof down on the mare’s forehead, knocking her out cold, leaving a nice hoof imprint on her gray coat. The stallion looked in shock at her. Hoodwink pressed the tip of her sword a bit harder into his throat.
“Now if ya don’t wanted end up like yer mare friend here. Ah’ would spill the beans.” Fable threatened.
He nodded looking at his victims turned captors.
“Now who are you?” Hoodwink demanded.
“My name is Shimmy and she is or *gulp* was Shammy…” He nervously down at his companion, thinking of the worse.
“Shimmy and Shammy?” Hoodwink thought. She looked at the two scumbags in front of her. Both had silvery gray coats, deep navy blue manes, and if the mare wasn’t unconscious, she would probably have sky blue eyes too. He had sixteenth note and a pair of dancing shoe for a cutie mark and she had a sixteenth note and a theatre mask for a cutie mark.
“Ya’ll twin’s?” Fable questioned.
“Yes, I…I mean no. We’re triplets, but…” he just noticed the third crook wasn’t there.
“Yer brother ain’t here, and if Ah’ were ya, ya’ll tell us where he is and fast. Before mah pardner loses her patience.” Fable glared at him.
“My brother is named Scammy,” he started.
“Wow… Their parents must have REALLY hated them.” Hoodwink was unimpressed.
“And he probably went back to the camp we had set up.” He gulped.
“Scammy?… Ah’ think Ah’ know that name?” Appletini faintly said.
Fable and Hoodwink spun around seeing the mare standing at the kitchen doorway.
“Honey pie?! Why are ya still up?” Fable asked shocked.
“Ah’…ah’… Ah’ couldn’t sleep and Ah’ heard the ruckus. Ah’ wanted to make sure ya’ll were alright.” She got closer saw the unconsiuos Shammy and how Hoodwink had her sword to Shimmy’s throat, “But clearly not everypony is right as rain.”
She got closer to the stallion and looked at him. Hoodwink backed off and let her have a better look. Her eyes brightened up. “Yer one of them famous Shimmy Shammy Scammy Triplets!”
“FAMOUS!!!” Hoodwink and Fable’s jaws dropped.
“Well, now it’s more like infamous…” Shimmy’s ears drooped and eyes go to the floor.
“Really? What happened?” Appletini questioned.
“Wait how the hell do ya know these scumbags?” Fable demanded.
“Ah’ meet them when Ah’ was at bartendin’ school in Manehattan. They were stage performers and really good ones too. They danced and singed. They were amazin’! Ah’ met Scammy one day behind stage with drinks for them. He was quite a charmer and knew his way with words.” She went on.
Fable gave her a real stern glare.
“Oh honey, this was way before Ah’ met ya and it didn’t go anywhere, just a bit of flirtin’ is all. Ah’ don’t know whatever happened after Ah’ graduated and came back home, later meetin’ ya’ sweetie. They seemed to have a great path to stardom. Whatever happened to cause ya’ll to steal Shimmy?” She looked at Shimmy with sad eyes.
“It was all for fun, and we had the talent. We were going places. But then Scammy got a bit, greedy… He convinced Shammy to start pit pocketing from the richer members of our audience. She got really good at it too, but then she got really cocky…” he looked down at his sister with sorrowful eyes. “We were run out of town. Forced to stoop down to mediocre street performances. I hated it, we had it made before we started stealing. Soon, ponies caught on who we were and learned what we looked like. We could no longer perform without being booed at, hissed at and kicked out of everywhere we went. We had to steal to eat and live. I just want to go back…” he began to sob.
Appletini gave Fable a sorrowful look, he responded with shaking his head. She then gave him a fierce glare. He cowered under his wife stare and began to untie the weeping stallion. He fell out of the chair into Appletini’s embrace.
“There, there. Shhh… It will be all right. Nopony here will hurt you anymore,” She looked over at Hoodwink and Fable, giving them a death glare. Hoodwink just wanted to curl up inside of her armor to shield her from her merciless eyes, but she knew even her armor would not protect her from Appletini’s eye draggers.