Chapter 5
It's been several hours after closing time at Canterlot's Jewelry Store. The room was dark and empty except for some jewelry display cases, a counter with a cash register in the middle of the room and a large walk-in safe on a far left side of the wall across where the register is. Not a single soul in site, until a covering of the vent from the ceiling was silently removed from the inside of the vent. Once the covering was gone, a long rope was dropped from the ceiling until it barely touched the floor. Then a dark figure descended slowly from the ceiling as she made way down to the ground.
Well, she would've been dark, if it weren't for her bright pink clothes she was wearing, including the mask right now.
Apple Bloom felt silly as she made her way down to the ground. She looked like a ninja but pink instead of black. Heck, she looked like a pink panther then a cat burglar. Even though the store had temporarily taken the cameras down for replacements, the guard of this store will easily spot them in this bright color. But as long as their identities were covered, then at least they won't get recognized in case if someone spots them.
After a minute of descending, Apple Bloom finally made her way to the ground with a soft thump. She looked around as she was crouching, making sure that no one was in the room. Once she noticed that she's the only one in the room, she stood up, pulled the mouth covering of the mask down and looked up at the ceiling.
“Okay girls, the coast is clear!” Apple Bloom called out in her hushed tone.
“What?” Scootaloo called out quietly.
“I said, the coast is clear!”
“What?”
“Coast is clear!”
“What?"
"It's clear!"
"What?"
“Just get down here!” Apple Bloom yelled somewhat loudly.
“Ooh okay, why didn’t you say so?” Scootaloo replied.
Apple Bloom rolled her eyes.
A few seconds later, a second pink figure slowly descending from the ceiling vent as she was humming a familiar tune from her favorite movie series. She kept on humming even after her feet touched the ground while making a dramatic pose.
“Scoots!" Apple Bloom snapped. "Will ya quit humming that tune? Now’s not the time!”
Scootaloo huffed and crossed her arms. “Spoiled sport!”
Apple Bloom rolled her eyes again and then looked up at the ceiling.
"Alright Sweetie Belle, your turn! Just come down slowly and quietly.”
“Oh um…okay,” Sweetie Belle squeaked quietly from the vent.
Sweetie Belle looked down through the opened vent to the floor where her friends at, only to feel nauseous when she noticed how high up she was.
“Hey, what's taking ya Sweetie Belle!” Apple Bloom called out.
Sweetie Belle shrank back with a whimper.
“Girls...I’m afraid of heights!”
Scootaloo facepalmed. “Oh for crying out- Sweetie Belle we're in a middle of a mission!”
"I can't help it!"
“Then just close your eyes so you won't be so scared of heights!”
"I can't close my eyes as I climb down! I'll fall!"
"Not with that attitude!"
"Scoots, that's not helping!" Apple Bloom scolded. "We'll figure something out!"
Unfortunately, while all of this was happening, the ceiling that's holding the vent was slowly breaking due to the weight of a person inside. The cracks grew larger and larger by the second until finally the ceiling couldn't hold the vent anymore and the large portion of the ceiling collapsed with a part of the vent that Sweetie Belle was in.
Caught off guard from the vent's sudden movement, Sweetie Belle tumbled out from the vent, screaming on her way down. Before the two Crusaders from the bottom could react, Sweetie Belle landed on top of them and they all crashed down on the floor. While this was happening, large parts of the ceiling and the vents landed on the ground. Luckily, the large chucks only landed around the girls except the dust particles from the ceiling. There were even some ceiling parts on the counter and display cases too, with some ceiling dust covering them.
The three girls lifted themselves up from the floor with a painful groan.
“Is everyone okay?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Yeah, I’m alright,” Sweetie Belle grunted.
“I think you crushed my back,” Scootaloo moaned.
“Sorry…” Sweetie Belle said quietly.
Apple Bloom looked up and cringed at the damage.
“Oh no look what you did to the ceiling!”
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle looked up and they also cringed at the sight.
The ceiling where they were moments ago now had a huge hole, with a night sky with a bright full moon at the background. The part of the vent where they desend hang loosely at a forty-five degree angle while the rest was still attach to the ceiling.
Sweetie Belle looked down, feeling guilty. “...Oops.”
“Soooo is this technically breaking in now?” Scootaloo asked, only to received a glare from Apple Bloom.
“I'm sorry girls,” Sweetie Belle said miserably. "Because of me, our only way out is destroyed."
“Don’t worry Sweetie Belle," Scootaloo reassured. "Luckily, I know another way we can sneak out of this store in case of situations like this!”
“Whatever, let’s just put the diamonds back where they belong and get out of here!" said Apple Bloom. "Now where’s the safe?”
“It should be at the other side of this room," said Scootaloo, pointing towards a partly dark wall in front of them.
The girls in pink made their way towards the safe.
"Alright girls, it takes a lot of skills to crack the safe," Scootaloo said in her matter-of-fact tone. "One wrong move and we’ll set the alarms throughout this building. Luckily, I watch- I mean, studied a lot of spy movies lately and I think I got the gest of it. With the right tools and patience, I can get this safe door open in the-”
“Hey girls, the safe’s already opened!” Sweetie Belle squeaked, pointing at the safe in question.
“WHAT!?" Scootaloo nearly shouted.
She turned to where Sweetie Belle was pointing at and sure enough, the safe door was open but only halfway.
"Aw man! I was looking forward to try to crack the safe,” Scootaloo complained.
“Never mind that, why is the safe’s door opened?" said Apple Bloom, giving a huge safe her suspicious look. "Don’t they usually keep it locked after store closes?”
“Maybe they’re resetting the security system for the safe too?” Sweetie Belle guessed.
“If that’s the case, then should there be someone guarding this safe?” Apple Bloom questioned.
Come to think of it, how come no one showed up when we crashed down? Apple Bloom thought. Ah thought fer sure that we'll get caught with all the noise we've been making...
“Who cares?" Scootaloo spoke up, snapping out of Apple Bloom's thought. "The safe is practically opened for us! This will make things easier for us without wasting any time!"
Apple Bloom hesitated for a moment and then she sighed.
“Ah guess yer right Scoots. C’mon girls, let’s make this quick!”
So the girls opened the safe door further and they went inside with Apple Bloom in the lead. The inside of the safe is full of endless rows of shelves with different kinds of jewelry. The whole room was very bright due to the reflection of the lights bounced from every gem in sight.
Apple Bloom surveyed the room in awe.
“Wow...this safe sure is bright and huge from the inside!”
“Yeah, it’s actually pretty cool!" said Scootaloo, walking up right next to Apple Bloom. "I wonder how they-”
SLAM!
As soon as both Apple Bloom and Scootaloo heard the safe's door slammed shut, all the lights were suddenly turned off, leaving them into darkness. Even if they can't see through the darkness, it doesn't take a genius to figure it out who done it. They turned around to where Sweetie Belle was standing.
“Sweetie Belle, what did you do!?” Apple Bloom demanded.
“Um…I closed the door,” Sweetie Belle answered nervously.
Apple Bloom shook her fists around in frustration.
“WHHHHHHHYYYYY!?”
“Hang on girls, I’ll get this door to open again!” Sweetie Belle said quickly as she turned around towards the door.
She tried to turn the handle but it wouldn't budge. She then tryed to pull, kick, knock, bang and slam against the door. But no matter what she does, the door remained locked tight.
“It won’t open!" Sweetie Belle panicked with a squeak. "Why won’t it open!?”
“Because it’s a safe, that’s what safe’s do ya doofus!” Scootaloo screamed in anger.
“What were ya thinkin’ closin’ that door Sweetie Belle?" Apple Bloom yelled in frustration.
Sweetie Belle looked down in shame. “I’m sorry, it’s out of habit! Rarity made me close the doors every time I entered or leave the room.”
Scootaloo huffed. “Well that’s just great! We’re trapped in here with no way out, our families don’t know where we are and we’ll probably end up starving to death! It’s like getting trapped in the freezer all over again!”
“Well...at least it’s not cold in this room,” said Sweetie Belle with a nervous chuckle.
Scootaloo glared at Sweetie Belle's direction despite the darkness.
“It may not be so cold in here, but at least we were able to see from the inside of that freezer!”
“Hang on girls," Apple Bloom called out as she was opening up her backpack. "Ah think Ah got a flashlight somewhere in my backpack we can use.”
“Good idea Apple Bloom!" said Scootaloo. "Hopefully it’ll help us find our way out!”
It took Apple Bloom a minute to feel around in her backpack until she finally found her flashlight. She took it out of her bag and turned on a switch. She had to tap it a few times until a light came on, illuminating parts of the room around them.
“Alright, now Ah can see what Ah’m doing!” Apple Bloom cheered.
“See anything around here that can help us escape?” Scootaloo asked hopefully.
With squinted eyes, Apple surveyed the room with her flashlight, pointing at each object she sees.
“Well let’s see...there’s some jewelries, boxes, more jewelries, an angry Diamond Bandit, and Ah think that may be a-”
Apple Bloom froze up in her mid sentence as she and her friends faces went pale. Apple Bloom slowly turned the light towards the previous source until the light hits directly at an older girl, glaring furiously at them.
The girls screamed. They continued to scream as they backed away from the glaring girl until their backs were against the wall. They kept on screaming as Apple Bloom shifted the light around at each of their faces including the glaring girl. They let out a final scream as Apple Bloom shined her light at the intruder's face who still kept glaring at them.
While the Crusaders were whimpering and shaking against the wall, Apple Bloom took a good look at the glaring stranger. Her eyes widen when she noticed that the girl standing in front of her look exactly like Applejack, however she looked slightly different than her sister. From what she could make out from her flashlight, the color of this person's skin was dark red and her hair was different shades of green.
That's when it hits her.
Applejack is not the thief after all. Relief and happiness filled up Apple Bloom's heart, knowing that her sister is innocent.
Well...she would've felt relief, except for the fact that she and her friends are now facing the real Diamond Bandit.
And she did not look happy.
“A-a-a-a--Apple Bloom!" Scootaloo called out fearfully. "I think that may be the Diamond Bandit!”
“Ya think!?” Apple Bloom yelled just as fearfully.
“Apple Bloooooom!” Sweetie Belle yelled out in fright.
“Yeah?” Apple Bloom answered.
“I sure wish that Diamond Bandit was your sister!” Sweetie Belle screamed in terror.
“I sure wish you hadn’t closed the door!” Apple Bloom moaned in dismay.
“GIVE ME THAT FLASHLIGHT!” the Diamond Bandit snarled.
“SURE!” Apple Bloom said quickly, handing over her flashlight with haste.
“In fact, you can keep it!” Scootaloo added quickly.
Sweetie Belle nodded rapidly. “Yeah, we'll just use our flashlight apps from our ph-”
Sweetie Belle was cut off when the Diamond Bandit used the flashlight to shine a harsh light at the three terrified girls. Caught like a group of deer from the headlights, the girls were too scared to move, let alone to speak. With some ounce of courage, Apple Bloom spoke up.
“Um…Miss Diamond- Miss Bandit- Lady Diamond? Um…Ah guess you’re kinda mad at us for closin’ that door huh?”
“YES I AM!” the Diamond Bandit answered angrily.
“I bet you’re really mad at us for ruining your heist, right?" Scootaloo asked nervously.
“YOU GOT THAT RIGHT!” the Diamond Bandit stated loudly.
All of the sudden, they heard loud police sirens coming from the outside. This would've been a bad thing to get the attention from the police, but they were actually relieved that they will get rescued from an angry thief.
Assuming they'll get out right away.
“Oooh, now you’re really, really mad!” Sweetie Belle squeaked.
The Diamond Bandit growled in fury as she made her way towards the Crusaders.
The girls screamed again.
At the same time, Shinning Armor and two other officers were waiting near the safe's door. The fourth officer with a stethoscope was concentrating with the safe's door by turning the dial back and forth.
“How much longer Code Cracker?” asked Shinning Armor.
“Almost!" said Code Cracker as he was turning the dial. "Just a couple more turns.”
Code Cracker turned the dial a couple more times until he heard a 'click' sound from within the safe.
“Got it!” Code Cracker announced.
The two officers turned the latch and opened the safe's door, revealing three quivering girls in pink outfits. They quickly stepped out the safe before the Bandit got a hold of them. The Crusaders pointed at the Bandit behind them.
“SHE DID IIIIIIIT!” The three screamed in union.
Before the Diamond Bandit could act, she was immediately seized by the police. Shinning Armor approached her as she was handcuffed by one of the officer.
“Diamond Bandit, you are under arrest for multiple thefts in Canterlot City!"
The Diamond Bandit let out a loud grunt. "Those diamonds would've been mine if it weren't for these meddling kids!"
She gave the younger girls her hateful glare while the Crusaders coward behind Shinning Armor.
"Get her out of here!” Shinning Armor commanded.
The two officers led the Bandit out of the room leaving the Crusaders, Shinning Armor and Code Cracker remained in the room. The girls sighed in relief, until they see Shinning Armor stood in front of them with his arms crossed and narrowed eyes.
“Hello Crusaders, you three mind telling me what’s going on and how you all roped into this?”
“M-m-Mr. Armor, we can explain!” Apple Bloom stuttered.
“I-it’s kinda funny really!” Scootaloo chuckled nervously.
“Y-yeah, it was pretty hilarious!” Sweetie Belle said with a fake laugh.
Shinning Armor face remained stern. “Start talking!”
Scootaloo spoke up. “See, it all started when Applejack started stealing some diamonds and-”
“NO SHE DIDN’T YOU DODO!” Apple Bloom yelled angrily at Scootaloo.
Apple Bloom then turned to face Shinning Armor.
“Um…you see, yesterday my friends and Ah watched Equestria’s Most Wanted and…we thought that was my sister…who had the same looks as that bandit. We found the diamonds and…we only came here to put the diamonds back so my sister doesn’t go to jail!”
Shinning Armor tapped his chin in thought. “Ah yes, the Diamond Bandit episode, the one that they showed that footage in black and white?”
Stunned, Apple Bloom merely nodded.
“Can’t say I blame ya," Shinning Armor trailed off. "I would’ve freaked out too if I seen someone who looked like Twily as the Diamond Bandit. If the camera they used in color on the other hand, then I would know that the person I'm seeing is not the real deal.”
“You mean the footage we saw are from a camera that records in black and white?” Scootaloo asked incredibly.
Shinning Armor nodded. “Yes, the quality and speed aren’t the only reason why Rich requested for a better camera.”
The three girls looked down in embarrassment.
“Well I felt silly,” Sweetie Belle muttered.
“We all do Sweetie Belle,” said Apple Bloom.
Shinning Armor went back on topic. “Is that your only reason to break-”
“Sneak,” Sweetie Belle corrected.
Shinning Armor rolled his eyes. “To sneak into the jewelry store?”
Apple Bloom nodded. “Yes, that’s all we did! Honest! We were in the safe to put the diamonds back, but the Diamond Bandit was messin’ around and-“
"She was?" Shinning pressed.
Apple Bloom nodded.
“Okay, show me!" said Shinning Armor as he and Code Cracker led the girls inside the safe. "Just don’t touch anything!”
“Okay, so we walked in up to that spot,” Apple Bloom began as she made her way in.
“And the bandit was probably standing over there by one of the shelves,” Scootaloo added as she was following the group.
“And then I closed the door like this,” Sweetie Belle squeaked as she was closing the door behind her.
Before anyone tried to stop her, the door slammed shut behind her, leaving them all in the dark once more.
“…Oopsies," Sweetie Belle said awkwardly.
There were only silence within the dark room, until Sweetie Belle spoke up again.
"By the way Scoots, I want my five bucks back!”
One more chapter to go! 
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Oh Boy! At last the meeting between the Crusaders and the Diamond Bandit didn't become dangerous as I was afraid.
The camera twist was a good one.
And Sweetie Belle!
Now three final mysteries to solve: How Applejack will react to the Crusaders' mess and the reason of her strange behavior and the hidden diamonds...
But if AJ is not the Diamond Bandit, then what is she doing late at night?
7086137
7086159 You'll see.
W8... aren't safes supposed to be airtight?! Does that mean the CMC's and Shining Armor are gonna DIE?! Oh shit.
I was tempted to click on the link labeled "theme song" of Scootaloo's favorite spy movie series. My mind picked up what you are referring soon after.
So if Applejack isn't the Theif... What is she doing at night?
GOD DAMN IT SWEETIE BELLE
(laughing) EVERY TIME!!!!!
7086247
Usually, yes. Maybe this one was faulty.
Would you rather get caught over humming it?
Huh, looks like we got something in common. I myself happen to be afraid of heights too.
Welp, looks like they won't be using that to escape through.
Perfect.
tried to pull,*
Guess they're not alone!
They're not out of the woods yet!
Thx a lot Sweetie!