//------------------------------// // Chapter Three: Thieves in the Night // Story: My Little Descendants // by Nerdz //------------------------------// Darkness fell across campus. Two figures moved silently through the school halls, shadows dancing as they moved. They moved quietly towards a door. With practiced silence, one opened the door, revealing a comfortably decorated room. Two beds stood side by side at the far wall, a table took up the center of the room, and a large television took up the left wall, different game consoles hooked up beneath it. A large case filled with hundreds of video games took up the right side of the room. All in all, it was a teenage colt's paradise. Flare stood facing the screen, eyes glued to his game. It was some sort of street fighter game, filled with blood and some disturbing death scenes; in other words, the villain foal's type of game. The advanced technology of the game required the player to wear a brightly colored glove over each hoof, which matched the avatar's movements to those of the player. The girls entered the room, Nyx moving to Shade after setting her bag on the table. He stood next to what she assumed to be his bed. He was dumping the contents of a backpack onto the quilt. "What are you doing?" she asked, peering over his shoulder. "Stole all this stuff today, just checking what I got." he sifted through various accessories and electronic devices. Nyx glared at the colt. "We're supposed to be keeping a low profile, remember?!" "Relax, dude, no one saw! Besides, I think I can afford to have a little fun." "Fine, whatever, but just leave it here, and we can pick it up when we take over the world." Nyx stated confidently. Lady Bug chuckled lightly, setting her purse on the table. "You sound like your mom!" she mocked. A robotic voice sounded from the television. "Finish him!" the voice demanded. "Die, sucker!" Flare screamed. He whirled around, eyes still on his game, and sent a buck flying at the screen. His character mimicked each movement perfectly, connecting with the computer generated opponent's jaw, knocking his head clean off. He turned, eyes bright, to his roommate, ignoring the rest of the death scene. "Shade, you gotta try this!" he passed the gloves to the older colt before stepping out of the way. Shade was immediately thrown into a battle. Flare and Lady stood to the side, cheering him on as he beat back his opponent. Nyx glared at the other teens. "Must I remind you three why we're here?!" Shade rolled his eyes. "Twilight Sparkle, blah, blah, blah," he threw a punch, "magic crown, blah, blah, blah!" The three teens laughed at that. Angry, Nyx slammed her forehooves against the ground before giving her wings a mighty flap, hovering in the air with her forelegs crossed. "This is our one chance to prove ourselves to our parents! To prove that we are deceiving!" Lady looked away, "That we are fearless!" Flare chewed on his bottom lip, "That we can steal anything!" Shade paused the game, "That we are evil! Right?!" "Right." her friends chorused. "Okay. Lady, mirror!" Nyx ordered. The blue filly sat at the table, pulling the green mirror from her purse. She sparked her horn, lighting up the green mass. A shimmering image of the crown formed across the smooth surface. "Zoom out." Lady flared her magic once again, zooming out little by little, until a sign came into view. "A museum!" she breathed, "It's in a museum!" Flare grabbed one of the laptops Shade had stolen, quickly finding the museum's address. "Great!" he started, writing the location down on a slip of paper, "Lady can disguise her self as Twilight, get the crown, and we're home free!" "Yeah, except for the fact that I don't know how to disguise myself!" "You're kidding, right?" Shade gestured to her obviously disguised form. "All Changelings are taught at a certain age how to transform, but you need magic to do that, and since there's no magic on the Isle Of The Forgotten, I never learned." Lady explained, "However, Changelings are also born with a disguise they can transform into without the use of magic, like a pony form of sorts. It's a defensive mechanism, mainly used by foals whose magic ability has yet to form enough for them to be trained, or a hunting Changeling in the case of an emergency." "Oh." the older colt stated sheepishly. "Lets go!" Nyx interrupted, snatching up her bag, "We can figure it out when we get there!" She peeked out to the hallway. Seeing no one, she beckoned for her friends to follow her. *** The teens moved quietly around the building. "Check the mirror." Nyx whispered urgently. Lady Bug whipped out the mirror, peering at herself in the reflective surface. "Is my mascara smudged?!" she panicked. Nyx rolled her eyes, responding with a sarcastic tone. "Yeah. Hey while you're at it, why don't you see where the crown is?" "Oh." the blue filly flared her magic, pulling up the image of the sparkling tiara, "This way!" she said softly, leading the small group to the front entrance. They peeked through a window in the door. Tapestries advertising different exhibits hung from the walls. A large map stood at the back wall. In the center of the room, on a raised platform, stood Nightmare Moon's armor, battered and dented. "That's your mother's armor? Kinda dinky." the large silvery colt snickered. "I'm sure it was much scarier with a bit of polish and when she was wearing it." Nyx defended hotly. Flare pressed the screen of a phone he'd taken from Shade's stash. "Okay, according to the guards' website, there's only one guard on duty here. And this article says 'Due to a dispute over the hours worked by the Royal Guards, which many agreed to be too many, a petition was started to install electronic security systems in certain locations. The systems utilize cameras set up in specific locations and simply requires a single pony to monitor the footage. The change was approved by the Captain and has been put into place in the Canterlot Museum of Magical History as a test. "'In an interview, Captain Armor stated, 'Machines will never replace hard working ponies, but I do agree that my soldiers need more time with their families, and utilizing this technology will give them that opportunity. The Museum is a good start because it houses several powerful relics, including the newest exhibit: The Elements of Harmony.''" "And you read all this to us because?" Shade muttered sarcastically, earning an eye roll from the younger colt. "Because cameras are a lot harder to hide from than actual ponies. But, one guard should be easy enough to take out." he pointed towards a door to the left of the front room. A faint glow of monitors shone from within. "I'll bet he's in there." Nyx used her magic to pull her mother's spell book from her bag. She suspended it in front of her, flipping through pages until she came across the spell she needed. After reading over it a few times, she closed the book and returned it to her bag. Flaring her horn once again, she reached her magic under the door, slipping it slowly towards the armor, covering the pieces. They glowed for a few moments before the magic was cut off. The dark helm rolled to the side, falling from the platform with a metallic clank. Ducking down, the teens listened for the guard. An armored pony poked his head from within the office. He looked around, confuse, as he approached the helmet. Cautiously, he slipped under the red velvet rope separating the display from the rest of the room. He poked at it with his hoof before lowering his head to examine the piece. Within seconds, he slumped over, fast asleep. Nyx peered inside, motioning for the others to follow her example. "Not so 'dinky' now, is it?" she mocked. She pushed against the door, groaning when she found it locked. Seeing a chance to redeem himself, the large colt backed up before rushing at the door. Nyx, not seeing the colt, used her magic to unlock and open the door, causing Shade to fall through the opening. She laughed, stepping over him as she entered. Lady, too, giggled as she passed the colt. Flare rolled his eyes, helping his friend to his hooves. The youngest member of the group made his way to the office, earning a questioning glance from Nyx. "I'm gonna turn off the cameras. Don't worry, I can make it look like a virus." he whispered. While Flare was doing that, Lady glanced over the directory. 'I bet the Elements are in the Hall of Heroes...' she thought. "This way!" she whispered, leading Nyx and Shade after her. Flare quickly followed suit. The rushed down corridors, getting close, before stopping abruptly at a room called "The Hall of Villainy". The room featured nearly every foe Equestria had faced. Each child's gaze, however, was drawn to the wax figures of their own parents. Chrysalis stood to the side. Her fangs were bared as if she was mid-hiss. She was surrounded by a wax army, each Changeling Made to look like they were slipping in and out of disguises. "Mommy?" Lady Bug whispered shakily, staring into her 'mother's' cold eyes. Sombra posed with a hoof curled under himself on what appeared to resemble a crystalline balcony. A malicious sneer spread across his face, his hair seeming to wave in an invisible breeze. He wore a luscious red fur cape, not like the ratty, moth-eaten cloth he paraded around in now, and polished sliver armor. "Killer..." the stallion's son breathed. Sunset Shimmer figure was a mirror, depicting her demon form, with her bat-like minions peeking from the sides behind her. She wore a demented grin, one arm out of the surface of the mirror, forming a pony leg. "I'll never forget Mother's Day again." the golden colt vowed. Shade cleared his throat, backing up. "Okay, so, crown's not here. Let's go!" with that, he turned and bolted away, followed closely followed by Lady and Flare. Nyx, however, moved closer to the displays, mesmerized. Nightmare Moon's tribute was front and center. The wax armor was coated in a metallic paint, giving it a glossy sheen. Her spiraled horn towered from her forehead, her wings raised it a dominant manner. A shining blue fabric rose from her head and rear end, wires around the edges giving it a billowing effect. Our entire world, our future rests on your withers. Don't screw this up. Her mother's voice echoed through her head as Nyx walked closer, singing softly to herself. "Look at you, look at me Not sure who I wanna be, Mother. Is it wrong, is it right To wish for eternal night, Mother? Tell me what to do!" With a sigh, Nyx's gaze turned to the floor. Though Nightmare had never been the maternal type, the filly still found herself seeking parental guidance from the mare. She felt a hoof curl under her chin, lifting her head. She gasped, stepping back a step when she found her eyes locked with her mother's. The wax figure was gone, replaced with a living, breathing mare. Nightmare chuckled, joining the song. "I was like you, my foal, slightly insecure. Fought against the Darkness too, thought being good was mature. "Then, I put heart aside, began using my head! Now, I think it's time you learn where evil gets you instead!" The wicked mare tapped her daughter at the base of her horn, earning a flinch as she stepped past. "Don't you want to be evil like me? Don't you want to be mean? And make mischief part of your daily routine?" She whirled around, her magic making her look physically older as she walked around, hunched over. "Sure, you could spend your life attending to the poor," The dark mare let out a mocking laugh as she straightened her back, giving her wings a menacing flap. Nyx cocked her head to the side, curios. "but when you're evil, doing less gets you so much more! "Don't you want to be ruthless? And rotten, and mad?" She walked away, wing folded at her sides, a dramatic hoof pressed just beneath her horn. She paused a few feet away, turning her head ever so slightly to look at her daughter. "And be so very, very good at being bad?" She disappeared, only to return behind her daughter, startling her and making her jump and turn to face her fearfully with her next verse. With each word, Nightmare took a step towards her daughter, forcing Nyx to take and equally large step back. "I have worked my whole life long to be the worst I can. I pushed my way to victory, and built my master plan. "Now the time has come, my girl, for you to take your place!" Nightmare flared her magic, a set of armor identical to her own taking place of Nyx's leather clothes. "Promise me that you will be an absolute disgrace! "Don't you want to be evil like me? Don't you want to be cruel? Don't you want to be nasty, and brutal, and cool? "When you grab that crown, that's when our reign shall begin. Who wants an evil queen without her sack of sin?!" The older Alicorn once again moved towards her daughter. "Don't you want to be heartless and hardened as stone? Don't you want to be hoof licking evil to the bone?" With that, Nightmare Moon's almost happy demeanor changed to one much darker, much more somber. Her eyes glowed white as she flapped her massive wings, flying a few feet above the younger Alicorn. "This 'tis not for us to ponder; this was preordained. You and I shall rule together; freedom will be soon regained "Mistress of the universe, we're powerful and strong!" She lighted down, eyes returning to normal. "Daughter, hear me, help me, join me! Won't you sing along?!" Nyx stalked towards her mother, joining the older mare in the song. "Yes, we're gonna be evil, it's true! Never gonna think twice!" Nyx reached her mother, giving her a malevolent grin. "We're gonna be spiteful!" Nightmare returned the grin, her eyes glowing slightly. Nyx reflexively dropped her smile. "Yes, spiteful! Hmm, that's nice. "In just an our or two, our future shall be safe and sure. This mother daughter act, it's going on a tour!" Nyx backed away as her mother began rising once again. "If you want to be evil, and awful, and free, then you should thank your lucky star that you were born the mare you are! The daughter of the Lunar Queen! "That you were born like me!" Nightmare held out the last note, ending with an evil laugh. Her mane billowed out behind her, lightning striking around her as she cackled. "Nyx!" Nyx blinked, shaking her head. She found herself staring at the wax figure of her mother, her own armor gone as she was once again wearing her own clothes. Shocked, she turned to see Lady bug beckoning to her. "We found the crown, come on!" the Changeling disappeared down the hall. Nyx looked once again at the wax figure.Had she really just imagined that whole thing? She shook her head again, clearing her thoughts before following the blue filly. She found the other teens around the display that held the Elements. A soft blue light shone down on the jewelry. Something was bothering Nyx about the set up. She realized what it was just as Shade had his hoof out to grab the tiara.There was no glass protecting the Elements. "Shade, don't you dare!" she warned. Thinking she wanted to be the one to get the crown, Shade rolled his eyes and, ignoring the bout of protests he elicited from the young Alicorn, reached his hoof out to the Element of Magic. The second his hoof touched the light, he was blown back by an invisible force. An alarm blared. "Force field and an alarm?!" the silver Unicorn groaned as he pulled himself to his hooves, "That's just a little excessive, don't ya think?!" Frightened, the teens bolted back the way they came, headed for the exit. As they passed Nightmare Moon's armor display, Nyx noticed the guard was gone, probably to check the alarm. 'Thank the Darkness we didn't pass him!' the dark Alicorn thought. Flare raced into the security office, quickly turning off the alarm. The phone began to ring. Panicking, he answered. A voice he assumed to belong to the Captain spoke. "What's going on, soldier?" Flare rummaged around, quickly finding the instruction manual for the alarm set. "False alarm, sir! Malfunction in the LM 714 chip in the circuit board, sir!" The Captain yawned on his end. "Alright, then, back to work." with that, he hung up. Flare stepped from the office, seeing his friends exit the building. "You're welcome!" he muttered, following. The teens ran as fast as the could towards the school, prepared to sneak back to the dorms. "Great job, Shade!" Nyx chastised, "Now we get to go to school tomorrow!"