The Apocalypse Ponies: Origins

by PlagenShiki

Act 3: Chapter 9 - The Thief of Cirro

I cannot believe it has only been three months since I vowed to stop the hunger in Cirro, and one month since I founded a band of thieves to help me. In the first two months I trained my body, making it both stronger and faster. At the same time I practiced moving quietly and getting from one side of the city to the other as quickly as I could without alerting anypony. I also learned how to pick locks and broke into a few houses as practice. Of course, they weren’t guarded houses and I didn’t steal anything from them, but it was good practice.

After I had gotten confident in my own skills I began to seek out others who felt the same way I did and were capable thieves. A month ago I recruited four them and we soon discovered an old church near the center of the city in the Stratos District. It had closed down due to it being hazardous and many of its patrons had died from starvation. Most of the city now attends the large church in the north. The day we found this old church, we made it our hideout and founded our band of thieves.

It was a nice place, despite being a bit run down. It was secluded and had plenty of places to hide, if we ever got raided. There was also a bell tower which gave a nice view of the city. It would be a place to hide the food we stole until we could give it away. And for two of our five members, it would be a place for them to call home. Those two, Lunk and Pocket, were orphaned brothers, whose parents died in the war, were refugees from the world below. Until now they had been living on the streets stealing to survive. Lunk had a cutie mark of a door lock while Pocket had one of a lock pick. They were both completely black and blended in well at night. Having only a dark yellow coat myself, I was a bit envious since I was easier to spot.

Even though I was only there some of the time, the rest of the group insisted I take the room which would have been the priest’s office. The room still had its desk, chair, a bookcase and some books on it. However I soon furnished the walls will maps of various parts of the cities which showed guard routes and other such useful information. I put some straw on the ground in a corner for a makeshift bed, should I need to sleep over. I also hung up our wanted posters, sort of like trophies. There were only two at the moment, because three of us didn’t have pictures. Unfortunately the other two members of the group, Sapphire, a blue coated mare with a dagger cutie mark, and Glint, a white coated buck with a cutie mark that resembled mist, were each seen stealing by some of the guards while escaping from a heist previous to joining up with us.

Sapphire and Glint both belonged to poorer families and lived relatively close to each other. They became friends before the war and once the food rationing set in, they turned to stealing together to get more food for their families, similarly to me. However unlike me, they had larger families. Since they get along and work together so well, they always stick together and I like to assign them to the same part of jobs. Personally, I think they like each other as more than friends, but neither of them will admit it or show it very openly.

The rest of the church consisted of six rooms, besides the massive one which was still filled with pews which we used to discuss our strategies for upcoming jobs. Two of these rooms we used for storage of the stolen food and storage of our spare thieving devices such as noisemakers, lock picks, spare sacks, etc. The other four rooms became the rooms of the rest of the group and each one arranged it to their own tastes. Each had a straw bed in them, but Lunk and Pocket made theirs a bit more livable, as they didn’t have homes to go back to.

Nevertheless, despite having the old church become like a second home to me, I always went back to my own home each night. I didn’t want to make my parents any more suspicious than they were already. I also continued to only bring one food item back every-so-often, despite my group getting large amounts from the rich ponies. What we didn’t sparingly eat ourselves, we would store for a few days before carefully handing it out to those starving on the streets. Slowly, the number of deaths caused by starvation alone reduced.

Despite this, malnutrition continued to run rampant and this led to sickness. While the sicknesses were easily curable, many times those who had no jobs and couldn’t afford to be treated would die of the sickness. And while the amount of dead lining the streets went down from starvation, sickness make sure that our streets would not be free from corpses.

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A loud knocking wakes me from my thoughts, “Hey. Flora. You ready? We are going to have to start things without our fearless leader if you don’t hurry up.” I shake my head to regain my senses before saying, “Yea, yea. I’ll be right out Lunk, thanks.” I heard his hoof steps as he walked to the heart of the church. ‘That’s right,’ I thought to myself, ‘Tonight is the planning of our fourth heist.’ I smile to myself as I grab a few maps from the wall and head after Lunk.

When I get closer I see that all four of my friends are already sitting and waiting in the pews up front. Sapphire sees me coming and says with a giggle, “Well, well, look who decided to show up.” I approach the altar and turn to face them, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath.

I open my eyes, unroll the maps, and slam them on the floor so everyone can see them. I point at the first map, the map of Cirro. “Alright. Our target for tomorrow night is Sing Crest Manor in the Cumulus District. Previous scouting has gotten us the basic layout, not to mention the floor plans courtesy of the Architects’ Guild, right, Sapphire?” She smirked and nodded, having stolen the floor plans the previous night. I continued, “We also know that their windows are barred, doors are deadlocked, and they have a private guard of around twenty.” Lunk and Pocket exchange excited glances, happy to put their skills to the test.

“Like the majority of the manors in the Cumulus District, Sing Crest has a roof access, which is unlocked, but under guard by no less than five at all times. Sing Crest is a unique manor, however, and has a cellar entrance in the alleyway behind it for deliveries, but it is kept locked. Only tomorrow, it will be left unlocked. A certain servant of the manor doesn’t particularly like the manor’s owners, and has agreed to unlock it for us for a short time. Now then, on to the actual plan.” I move aside the map of the city and bring the maps of the house to the forefront.

“Lunk, Pocket, we are going in through the cellar. Two guards are in it, and we will take them out quick and quiet. The servants and owners keep to the first and second floor at night, so we should be alone in the cellar after that. Leave the food in the cellar alone till we leave. We will then sneak up to the first floor and make our way into the kitchen. If we encounter anyone, knock them out. Once in the kitchen grab any food you can find, but don’t rob them blind. If we leave them foodless, we are no better than they are. Once we have obtained a decent amount of food we will return to the cellar, loot it, and get out.”

“Sapphire and Glint, since everypony knows your thieves already, you will be the distraction. Five minutes after we go in, fly up to the roof and take out the guards up there, if you can. If not, just get their attention and have them chase you around the city. Do what you will, but get out in fifteen minutes.”

“I want this to get done quickly and smoothly. If we get spotted split up and lose the guards. Make sure you lose them and head back to the church, don’t be followed. And if the worst happens and you get caught, remember: you work alone. Any questions?” I asked. My four comrades shook their heads. “Good, then get some rest and meet here tomorrow night before the job.” I started to roll up the maps as my friends wondered off, Lunk and Pocket headed to their rooms while Sapphire and Glint went to leave the church. I went back to my room in the church and put the maps where they belonged before heading home myself.

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Night fell the following day and we gathered in the church to go over the plan briefly one last time. We put on saddlebags, mostly empty, from the storage rooms along with other equipment like lock picks and noisemakers, and threw on black robes to blend in with the night. Having prepared for tonight’s job we set off towards the Cumulus District and Sing Crest Manor. We clung to the shadows and back alleys, moving as quickly and quietly as we could. The night continued to grow darker as we make our way to Sing Crest Manor. The night was quiet, aside from the occasional refugee coughing from sickness or groaning in hunger. We make our way past a few groups of these refugees, but they were too distracted in their own worries to pay us any mind.

It wasn’t long before we go through the gates of the Cumulus District and nestle upon a rooftop a few buildings away from Sing Crest Manor. I nod to Sapphire and Glint as Lunk, Pocket, and I fly down to the back alley and approach the cellar door of Sing Crest Manor. I look at Lunk and Pocket and say, “Ok guys, five minutes till Sapphire and Glint start the distraction. Keep as quiet as possible till then.” They nod and we quietly lift the cellar door and slip inside.

Like the servant said, there were only two guards in it. They were sitting around a table at the other end of the cellar, and I wave a hoof towards them while looking at Pocket and Lunk. They smile as they begin to creep towards the guards, whose backs were turned to us. As they near the guards they grab the guards’ heads and slam them into each other, knocking them out.

“Good work,” I whisper to them, “the first obstacle is out of the way.” I looked around the cellar and it was packed with various kinds of food and bottled ciders and wines. I noted the locations of everything while Lunk and Pocket check the hallway outside the cellar. Seconds later I joined them and quietly followed the map in my head towards the kitchen.

The hallway was basically just a divider between rooms, and the cellar door was at the end of it. The kitchen was the second door on the right down the hallway after exiting the cellar. The first door on the right was a storage closet and there was also a room on the left, which was a library. Further down the hall and on the left was an atrium of sorts with stairs leading to the second floor and other hallways branching out on the first floor leading to various other rooms.

As we make our way down the hallway I slightly open the doors to the closet and library to have a peek inside. As expected, the storage closet is empty and has no food in it, just cleaning supplies. In the library, however, sits an old buck reading a book next to a fireplace. While I looked at him, a large amount of hoof beats sound above us on the second floor. Moments later, a guard rushes into the library from the opposite side of the room and strides up to the buck I am looking at.

The old buck shut his book and glances up at the guard before flatly saying, “What is all the commotion? I am trying to read.” The guard hesitated a moment before replying, “Nothing to worry yourself with, sir. Just some hoodlums on the roof. We shall take care of them immediately, sorry to disturb you, sir.” The old buck narrows his eyes and said, “See that you do. And be quiet about it.” The guard nodded and left the room from the door he came from while the old buck returned to reading.

I quietly close the door and grin at my two companions. The distraction was working, all the guard should be heading to the roof. Though, those “hoodlums” might just give the guards a run for their money. I return my attention to the task at hand, and continue down the hallway towards the kitchen. However as we near the door, some hoof steps came from the atrium. I quickly wave Lunk and Pocket back and point towards the supply closet. They both quickly and quietly turn and run into the closet with me right behind them. We push together inside the tight quarters of the closet and I close the door most of the way after us, so I could just barely see outside.

As I watch the atrium door, it opens and a mare comes out, who then goes into the kitchen. “Stay here,” I whisper to Lunk and Pocket as I creep outside the closet. I stick to the wall and move towards the kitchen door and carefully look inside. The mare is getting some food from one of the pantries, I watch as she does so and begins to walk back toward the door I am at. I backpedal into the closet with Lunk and Pocket and wait for the mare to leave once again, which she does shortly after. Seven minutes have passed since Glint and Sapphire began their distraction

With her out of the way Lunk, Pocket, and I enter the kitchen and begin to fill our packs with any food we can find. There is so much it is almost dizzying. They have bread, jam, carrots, hay, apples, etc. and plenty of each. We soon have our packs almost full and head back to the cellar. By this time about ten more minutes had passed and Glint and Sapphire should be pulling out now. We fill our bags the rest of the way with the ciders and other food in the cellar and get ready to leave the way we came in.

However, just as we are about to exit the doors one of the guards we had knocked out earlier wakes up, sees us, and shouts, “Thieves! Thieves in the cellar!” without skipping a beat he gets shakily to his hooves and attempts to wake his companion. Startled, Lunk, Pocket, and I just stand there staring. But when the guard’s attempts to wake his companion fail and be behinds walking unsteadily towards us, I snap back to reality, nudge Pocket and Lunk, and hiss, “GO!” We fly out the door and the guard comes crashing out of the cellar behind us.

The three of us fly up to the rooftops and look around for Sapphire and Glint, who we spot quickly. Without wasting a moment we give them a few of our bags, so we are each carrying an equal amount, and then split up. As long as we follow the plan, everything should work out. I look back towards the manor to see guards flying towards us from both the cellar door and the rooftop entrance. I pour on the speed and dive into the alleys below, cutting off line of sight from my pursuers.

By this time word has spread and the alarm has been sounded and the city guard joins in on the pursuit. Now things get complicated. They will be watching the skies and the district gates and moving in the open will be very dangerous. Luckily I know these streets better than anypony else and there are ways to stay on the ground, move between districts, and not go through the gates. But for right now I need to stay put for a short while, maybe let the guards think I got away or wait till they thin out. I stay put in the darkness of an alleyway, huddling between two carts and waiting for a chance to escape.

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An hour later I stand up between the carts and peer around the corner of the alley. A few guards are still searching around, however not as many as there were earlier. I take note of the buildings around me and recognize my location, about two blocks southeast of the northern gate which leads into the Alto District. Once there, the western gate of the Alto District leads back to the Stratos District, and our church. With this in mind I carefully plan my main route, secondary route, and a third route if things get dicey. I begin walking the main route, which leads through the Cumulus District’s north gate.

From the corner I was just at, I walk west back into the alley I was hiding in and to the other corner and peer around that one. I see two guards walking towards me and duck around the corner again, sticking to the shadows. I wait as they pass by the alley and continue down the street. Once they are a fair distance away, I creep across the street and into the next alley. As I walk down this alley I mutter to myself, “And right about here there should be…bingo.” I turn right at a split in the alley and begin heading north until I reach the end of the alley, and another street.

I cautiously look around the corner and into the street, and seeing no guards I run to the other side of the street, which does not have another alley for me to go into. I stick along the walls of the houses as I continue to move west and get to the edge of the block. I look around and see the coast is clear, except for the three guards watching the northern gate at the end of the street. “Well, that complicates things.” I mutter under my breath. “Right then, route two.” I run from my corner to the corner west of me and walk down the street until an alley appears at my right.

I proceed to the end of this dead end alley and look around. I quickly notice a white hoof print on the wall above a crate and go over to it. “Found you!” I say as I move the crate aside. Beneath the crate is an entrance to the old cloud maintenance tunnels. I climb into the tunnel and replace the crate on top of it, keeping it hidden.

Once inside the tunnel, I wait a few moments for my eyes to adjust to the total darkness. Many of these tunnels were sealed off when newer tunnels were created. But we found them, opened them, and hid them with a mark, the white hoof print. Some of the tunnels were just sealed up holes, great for hiding in, but others, like this particular one, is a tunnel which happens to lead under the gate and into an alley in the Alto district.

Once my eyes adjust, I carefully move down the tunnel and a few turns later I reach the other end. I push up the crate slightly and look out into the alley, to make sure the coast is clear, before pushing it off the exit and getting out. I replace the crate and then look myself over. My coat and mane are a complete mess, covered in dirt and filthy. I sigh, “This is why I hate these tunnels, useful as they are.” We really should take some time and clean them properly, I think before I return to the task at hand.

I should be three blocks northwest of the gate back to the Cumulus District, which means I am also six blocks east of the gate to the Stratos District. I look around from the safety of the alley. As I thought, the Alto District has less guards than the Cumulus District did. But I’m sure they are still watching all the gates in the city. With the lack of guards, I decide to take to the rooftops to speed up my return home.

The Alto District’s buildings have a variety of heights, some are only one story while others are three stories, unlike the Cumulus District where almost every building is a large manor with a flat rooftop. The Alto District has roofs with peaks and shingles, and the difference in heights allow for more hiding places from aerial pursuers. The Alto District’s rooftops are like my own personal street.

I fly up to a nearby roof and begin to make my way towards the western gate, occasionally having to hug the roof to avoid the eyes of a guard. It isn’t long before I reach the gate to the Stratos District, and flying over it isn’t going to be an option. A few guards are standing at the gate while a few others are standing on the rooftops, keeping watch. “Of course,” I curse under my breath. Looks like I wouldn’t be going through or over the gate. Luckily, there is another route I can take. And thankfully, I don’t have to use the tunnels.

I glide down to a house which separates the two districts, two houses left of the gate. This house, unlike most, has its door in the Alto District and a window looking into the Stratos District. I glance in the windows to make sure no one is home before I begin to pick the lock on the door. Moments later I hear the satisfying “click” as the door unlocks. I enter the house and relock the door behind me.

I don’t often like to enter other people’s houses, unless they are the target, but cases like these are an exception. I walk through the house, passing through a few rooms, before I pass through the kitchen. I look at the table there for a few moments, thinking. My hoof reaches into my bag, grabs out a loaf of bread, and sets on the table. “Thank you for letting me use your home,” I say with a smile, before continuing on. I find the stairs soon after and reach the window overlooking Stratos District soon after that. I open up the window, climb out of it, and close it behind me, like I wasn’t even there.

The Stratos District, home to the majority of vacant buildings, poor families, and homeless beggars. A small portion of vacant buildings in the southeast had caught fire months ago, and now only the charred remains are left standing as a reminder of what once was. In this district, even on sunny days, a dark gloom hung over it. The vast difference between this district and the other five districts.

Stratos is the heart of the city, at least in location. Alto is on the east, Oros the west, and Pileus the south. Cumulus is south of Alto and east of Pileus. Nimbos is on the southwest of Oros. Stratos is the gateway between the two sides of the city. Nimbos contains all the factories, many of which have closed. Oros contains many of the homes in which the factory and maintenance workers live. Stratos is by far the largest of the districts and is split into two groups, the slums in the north and the lower-class in the south. Alto contains the middle class housing and is the district in which the majority of trade takes place. Pileus contains the hospital and Ration Station, as well as more shops and housing. And lastly, Cumulus contains the homes of the upper-class and the governing offices.

I take stock of my surroundings and make my way to our church hideout. It is about five blocks west of the gate I just passed and six blocks from the eastern gate. It is further into the southern part of the district, than the actual center. Lucky for me, Stratos has even fewer guards patrolling around than Altos did, so I should be safe in no time.

As I make my way closer and closer to the church my speed picks up and I quickly close the gap between myself and the church. It isn’t long before I see it rising up on the horizon and soon after, I am a block away. I slow my pace and stop before going any further. I walk around the perimeter of the church, go down a few street and then come back, walking slowly and looking around. Once I am convinced that no one is following me, I enter the church and close the door behind me, breathing a sigh of relief.

I begin to walk to the storage to put away my gear and store the food when Pocket pokes his head out from his room. “Welcome back, Flora.” I wave at him while asking, “Is anyone else back yet?” He shakes his head while coming closer, “Not yet. We all went off in different directions and depending upon where the guards concentrate, it might be a while before everyone else gets back.” I enter the storage room with Pocket standing in the doorway, “True,” I say as I began to unload my stuff, “But, I had hoped I would get back first, I guess you win this time,” I laugh. “Yea, yea,” he says, “You might know the city better than me, but I am better at getting from place to place faster, especially if I know where they both are.”

While we talk, the door of the church opens and closes again. “I’m back!” announces a familiar voice. Soon the figure of Sapphire comes into view. “Aw dang, you two are back already? I wanted to be first,” Sapphire pouted. She nudged Pocket aside and entered the storage room and began to unload her gear as well. I smile at her, “Not this time, Sapphire.” I begin to leave the room and head towards the pews.

“See Lunk or Glint while you were out there?” Pocket asked Sapphire as I walked past him. “I saw Glint a while after we all split up, but just for a moment. I haven’t seen Lunk though.” I sit down on the pew, “Yea, Lunk is the slowest of us, he will probably get back last. Honestly Pocket, you two are complete opposites when it comes to speed.” Sapphire laughs as she comes out of the storage room. “It isn’t that funny…” Pocket insists. The two of them join me in the pews, resting from our latest job.

Time passes and we begin discussing what routes we took back. “Wait, let me guess Flora,” Sapphire says, “Judging by the state of your coat and mane, you went through a tunnel, right?” I roll my eyes, “Yea. We really need to take some time and clean those out. I went through the tunnel near the north gate. It was fairly heavily guarded, so I had little choice. Then I went through a house near Alto District’s western gate and made my way here. Nothing special.”

“Yea, you always do find the best routes,” Sapphire says, “I used some of the food to pay some beggars to cause a diversion near Cumulus’s west gate and just walked on through it into Pileus. But, Pileus was heavily guarded, almost more so than Cumulus, so my progress slowed to a crawl. But I eventually got to the Pileus’s northeastern gate into Stratos and managed to talk my way through it. Then it was just a straight shot here!” she reported.

“Geez, Sapphire, sounds like you just had a walk in the park, “Pocket says, “Mine was a lot more direct than both of yours’. I went directly northwest to the wall between Cumulus and Stratos, as I took note of all the guards patrolling I tossed out a few noise makers away from the walls and the guards turned their attention away from it. Then I simply went over the wall and made my way back here.”

I laugh, “Yep, and that is how we know you and Lunk are related. There wasn’t a gate linking Cumulus and Stratus, so you just made one. Always using force when subtlety would do fine,” sapphire began laughing as well, “No wonder you got here first” Our laughter was cut short when the church door opened and closed. We all turned to see the figure of Lunk walking towards the storage room, “I’m back,” he says.

“Ha! Looks like Lunk beat Glint this time, Flora,” Pocket brags for his brother, “Not so slow now, is he?” I roll my eyes, “Yea, yea…Glint can’t beat him every time. That would be just sad.” I stick my tongue out at him. While we bicker back and forth, Lunk joins us on the pews.

“See Glint out there?” Sapphire asks Lunk. He shook his head, “No. I just kept my head down, stuck to the shadows, and walked home. I didn’t do much looking around,” he says. While waiting for Glint, the four of us continued to talk about various aspects of the job and how we got back, and even start talking about what house we should target next.

However, Glint never showed up, even as the sun began to rise.

Author's Note:

Here is Chapter 9! Chapter 10 is written, just need to edit it a tad bit, and she'll be ready for posting!