Possibilities: Angels of Equestria

by Apollo and Artemis

Side Story Ch. 1: Runa

A few hours earlier...

Runa yawned as they walked through the city, Emily and Irune earning some stares from the ponies they passed. Two of the three ponies who walked through the town did not really care about what others thought about them. Leo had taught them that only their opinion mattered. Irune stared ahead as they walked, ignoring the stallion who just stumbled out of a bar to their right.
"Heeeeyyy, you lookin' fiiiiinnee..." He said with a bottle of what looked like alcohol in his hoof as he took hold of Irune by the shoulder. An expression of annoyance flashed on her face as she channeled magic into her hooves. She quickly grabbed the stallion's foreleg and applied a blow to his left temple, knocking him out. She sighed as he dropped to the ground.

"I wouldn't have knocked you out if you weren't so drunk." She said out loud as she walked away, leaving a shocked crowd staring on as she left. Some of them looked to the unconscious stallion on the ground. He was known to drink a lot and thus, was very annoying. With this knowledge available to them, they ignored him. He got what he deserved.

Runa gave Irune a look as they walked away and she noticed right away.
"Before you say anything: I hate drunk people." She said as she continued to stare ahead. Runa shrugged as she responded.

"I wasn't going to say anything! I was just going to compliment how hard you hit!" She said with an enthusiastic smile. Irune shrugged as they continued walking through the town. As soon as they reached the main market area, Runa piped up. "Hey, can I walk around?" She said as innocently as possible, but Irune saw through it right away.

"You're just going to steal something, aren't you?" She said flatly and Runa flinched.

"How'd you know?" She asked and Irune rubbed her temples.

"Runa, you're a thief. It's your profession. How can I not expect you to steal something here?" She said, sounding like a mother scolding her child.

"Oh, come on! I promise that I won't steal anything! Pinkie Swear!" She said as she held out her hoof, but Irune just stared at the outstretched limb.

"We can't Pinkie Swear if we don't have fingers." She said flatly and Runa quickly withdrew her hoof, internally facehoofing. "How did I not notice that we don't have fingers!?" She berated herself for her ignorance. But as if the universe had just dropped a miracle-in-a-can on her lap, Irune had to go very badly.

"Aww, shit... I gotta go!" She shouted as she dashed for the nearest restroom, leaving the fillies alone. Runa grinned widely as Emily wore a confused expression.

"Hey, Emily? You can take care of yourself for a while, right?" She asked, her grin not faltering. The filly looked at her friend.

"Uh, sure?" She said and Runa bolted off, whooping as she dashed into an alley. Positive that nopony could see her, she took the large bag on her back down.

"This is just what I've been waiting for!" She said with glee as she pulled out an opaque, black visor and a scarf from the bag. She quickly put them on; the visor separated to the sides of her face as she emptied the bag on the ground. Now on the ground were the following items:
Eight 6" throwing knives, which she attached to her hind legs for easy access.
A pair of interchangeable and connectable chain knives, which she attached just above her tail.
Four 8" Adamant auto-blades, which were attached to her hooves for her to be able to run on walls and parry attacks.
Six DART throwing knives, which were attached just above her wings.
Two Bullet-type grappling hooks.
An ammo belt of smoke screen bombs.
An ammo belt of fast-acting sleeping gas canisters.
A belt of EMP grenades
Caltrop bombs.
Hydrogen Cyanide gas bombs along with a note on the pouch that said 'LAST DITCH EFFORT. NO KILLING'.
Pyrite coins with another note. 'use only where you know there are greedy bastards around :)'
Blood bombs with another note. 'Scare tactics are fun!'
A silver handgun with a relatively short, but effective silencer and engravings that was made by Cierra.
And a katana that she slung across her back.

She grinned like a madmare as the visor quickly shut itself in front of her face and the back of her head, sealing itself with a hiss. The visor came with an IFF, enemy stress detectors, trajectory calculators, miniature adrenaline factories, heat/night/x-ray vision, a hacking module and a skin-tight cloak shield. This was of course, not the complete suit, but she didn't think she would need it, so she didn't bring it with her. The full suit would have made the cloak last almost indefinitely and provided her with extreme shock-absorbing capabilities. This loadout alone would have won her the award for "Most Heavily Armed Minor". She deactivated the cloak, so as to give the authorities a sporting chance. She was always a good sport and she never let anyone have the chance to say that she stole something without letting the authorities at least have a chance at catching her. She climbed the building and surveyed her new little playground known as Canterlot with the zoom function of her visor. She looked around and a single building caught her eye. It was large, and if Runa learned anything from her early days as a thief is that large buildings either had really good stuff or junk. She wasn't concerned that it was junk, since the sign out front clearly said "Museum of Equestrian Mysteries". She grinned beneath her visor as she dashed across the rooftops, trying to get to the roof of the museum without being seen.

Once she reached the roof, she activated the X-ray function of her visor and surveyed the inside of the museum. Ponies walked around, admiring the exhibits of their past. Little did they know, they were about to lose them. She looked through the exhibits and found some items of interest. One was a pair of claw-shaped rocks that were positioned in a way that the tips were facing each other. She looked at the plaque positioned in front of the strange pair of rocks.
"The Rift Stone. A relic of a lost civilization that has an unknown purpose. It is said to be able to open portals to other worlds, but scientists are unable to power it." She whispered as she evaluated its value. "Hmm... I'm not gonna be able to lug that thing around. Neither am I gonna be able to sell it. That's one thing off of the checklist." She said as she continued to survey the inside of the museum.

Her eyes settled on a tablet with several strange runes carved onto it that sat in a display case. She read the plaque underneath it.
"The Continuum Imperium Tabula. A tablet found in the ruins of Alkaeza. Nopony knows what this tablet does, but scientists hypothesize that it could be some sort of control board for a machine that was lost long ago." She said and she evaluated its value again.
"There's no way I'm gonna find that machine or sell the tablet. That is not going in my shopping bag." She said and she continued her search for treasure.

Another item caught her eye. An ornate crown that sat in another display case, this time protected by four guards. It had at least ten kinds of jewels on it, four of which she recognized as diamond, topaz, opal and pearl. The body of the crown was made of solid gold and the casings of the unrecognized jewels were made of white gold. Runa's eyes sparkled as she drooled out of her smiling mouth, wetting the roof as she read its description. "The Crown of the True Goddess. It is said that this crown and necklace belonged to Princess Celestia's mother, Faust and father, Craig. Although the Princess has yet to prove or deny this, the heiroglyphics that were inscribed on the walls of the ruins this crown and necklace were found in hints that these items did in fact belong to the Princess' parents." She read aloud as her thoughts swirled in her head."That crown is awesome! I bet I can make a couple billion off of that thing!" She thought as another thing caught her eye in the display case.

It was the necklace. It had a silver chain and a black and purple flower-shaped gem stone. She smiled as she read its description. "The Shadow Blossom. It is said to have belonged to Celestia's father. Not much is known about her father apart from his name, Craig. But, it is said that this necklace has a portion of his power sealed inside it."Is that a Dark Crystal!? That's gotta be worth a couple million, easy!" She thought as she got ready to do what she did best: Steal.

The visor constructed a 3D model of the museum and its security. She laughed at it. It wasn't a giggle type of laugh. It was 'roll on the floor, gasping for air' type of laughing. Once she recovered, she looked over the security again, which was pathetic. Sixteen swivel cameras set in the entrance, main showroom and the crown showroom. Four in the entrance, eight in the main showroom and four in the crown showroom. The manpower was laughable. Forty guards in total. Three guards in the entrance, six in the main showroom, four in the crown showroom and twenty-seven on standby in other areas of the museum. She was already at the point of crying as she looked at their weaponry. They were armed with swords and mediocre combat magic. Then she took a look at the materials of the walls of the crown showroom and she put on a serious face. Reinforced steel. She couldn't cut through that without her multi-tool, which she didn't have. It took her seconds to come up with a plan of entry along with a mental checklist.
1)Turn on target locator.
2) Break skylight.
3) Throw smokescreen.
4) Turn on heat vision.
5) Throw EMP to disable the cameras in the building.
6) Jump in while guards and civilians are distracted.
7) Throw another smokescreen into the crown showroom.
8) Grab crown and necklace.
9) Put them in All-Purpose Containment Scarf.
10) Run and throw sleeping gas to knock out the guards and civilians.
She activated the Target Locator function in her visor, a green box appearing around the two items, marking them for her to easily grab them in the coming chaos.
1)Turn on target locator. ✔
She quickly raised her hoof and grinned. She brought her hoof down on the glass, shattering it and startling the guests and guards.
2) Break skylight. ✔
She pulled a smoke bomb from the belt and popped the safety pin off as the visor closed a gas mask on her nose and mouth. She threw the smoke bomb into the main hall, a thick black smoke instantly filling the room.
3) Throw smokescreen. ✔
She immediately turned on the Heat Vision function of her visor, turning her world into a deep shade of blue. The guards and civilians were lit up and their body heat glowed through the smoke.
4) Turn on heat vision. ✔
She threw an EMP grenade into the smoke, the devices letting out an electric blast that shorted out the cameras in the building.
5) Throw EMP to disable the cameras in the building. ✔
She jumped into the mess of flailing hooves, screaming and overall panic, landing without a sound. Although, the sound she would have made probably wouldn't have been noticed. She smiled as she turned to her objective.
6) Jump in while guards and civilians are distracted. ✔
She quickly dashed up to the door of the crown showroom, avoiding the panicking guests and guards and she bucked the doors open. Before the guards inside could react, she popped the pin off of a smokescreen and threw it in, blanketing the room in thick smoke.
7) Throw another smokescreen into the crown showroom. ✔
The green boxes shown on her visor blinked, signaling her that she was in close proximity to her goal. She flashed a toothy grin as she broke the glass and took the crown and necklace.
8) Grab crown and necklace. ✔
She quickly put them into the folds of her scarf, causing them to disappear. A marvel of containment technology courtesy of Cierra.
9) Put them in All-Purpose Containment Scarf. ✔
She quickly mapped her exit and dashed through the crowd. Before she reached the door, she popped the pins on two sleeping gas cylinders and threw them. The gas spread quickly, due to the pressurized ports on the canisters. The gas did its work and all the ponies in the lobby and main hall were fast asleep within seconds.
10) Run and throw sleeping gas to knock out the guards and civilians. ✔
Runa smiled. All of this happened only in a minute and a half. A new record for her. But she couldn't celebrate just yet. In the midst of the chaos, somepony managed to activate the alarm. Runa scowled.
"Dammit."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

One and half minutes earlier...

Officer Blue Sword was relaxing in the employee lounge in the Museum of Equestrian Mysteries. He deserved it. The week had been pretty rough on him. All the bills and his work had been getting in the way of his relaxation time. He reclined in his chair as he sniffed a steaming mug of coffee. He pulled the cup to his lips with his magic, ready to savor the sweet taste of a good cup 'o Joe. But before the rim of the mug touched his lips, a shattering sound rang through his ears, causing him to drop his coffee and burn his skin.
"AHHH!! HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT!!" He screamed as he tore off his shirt and dumped cold water on his body, relieving him of his pain. He contorted his face into a horrible scowl. Somepony was gonna pay for ruining his coffee. He bucked the door to the main hall down and black smoke greeted him by filling his nostrils with its awful smell. He recoiled from the smell and he reached for the emergency gas mask on the rack beside the door. He strapped it on and rushed into the black cloud of smoke, wondering what in Equestria did this. Instead of an answer, he felt electricity course through his body, forcing him to his knees. He gasped in pain as the shock subsided. Even though he was one of the toughest in the security business, a huge electric shock still hurt a lot.

He rose to his hooves, still dazed by the shock. He barely noticed something rush by him, knocking off his gas mask. He held his breath as he ran his hoof on the wall, searching for the alarm. He had to look fast, though. Amidst the awful smell of the smoke, he could swear he could smell sleeping gas. He frantically ran his hoof on the wall, searching for the alarm as the gas began to take effect when he released his breath. His eyelids were beginning to get heavy. A moment later, he found and pulled the alarm, and just in time, too. The gas had finally gripped him and he fell to the ground, unconscious.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Runa laughed as she ran through the streets and into the alleys, city guards following close. She activated the auto-blades on her hooves and she dashed up a low wall, leaving the unicorn and earth pony guards in the dust, but not the pegasi. They flew over the wall and Runa giggled. She dashed into the open street and into the crowd. Many loud gasps and curses sounded through the crowd as she ran through, but she didn't care. The chase was always one of the things that made stealing so fun for her. The adrenaline pumping through her veins. The wind rushing past her. The terrain making it either a challenge or a breeze. This is what she lived for. As soon as she cleared the crowd and the guards came into view from the alleys and side roads, she deployed her caltrop bombs.
"Eat this, you idiots!" She yelled as the caltrops spread across the road, stopping the earth ponies and unicorns in their tracks. She whooped as she raced through the streets, seeing the pegasi still chasing her. She grinned sadistically under her visor as she threw blood bombs at the pegasi, knocking a few of them down and scaring a few of them into helping their colleagues. She grinned as she saw a manhole in the middle of the road.
"Yes! The sewer!" She thought as she grabbed the one of the grappling hooks and fired it at the building to her left. The bullet-shaped grappling hook embedded itself in the brick, hydraulic gas blasting three hooks into brick to let the hook grip. The cord stretched taut as she zipped up to the roof and jumped towards the next building, twisting her body to face her remaining pursuers. She grinned again as she threw a charged EMP into the middle of the crowd with satisfying results. The shock knocked several of the guards unconscious. Just for good measure, she threw a smokescreen at the foot of the manhole, shrouding her escape with a huge cloud of black smoke. She lifted the cover of the manhole and slipped into the sewers completely undetected.

In the sewers, she skipped down a path she mapped with her visor while humming a merry tune. She certainly was a happy pony. She had just stolen several billion bits worth of artifacts without so much as a sweat drop going down her face. She thought about how much money she would make by selling these things. She'd be able to retire early and maybe buy a mansion with a few billion bits to spare. But that would mean giving up her thief career, so it wasn't an option for her. Then she thought about something she really should have thought of before she stole the crown and necklace. She wasn't back home. She didn't have anywhere to run and she couldn't depend on Leo to bail her out. She stopped skipping and let the truth sink in. Her skin paled several shades and she calculated a new route. She didn't have to, though. She was already at her newly decided destination: Canterlot Castle.

She slowly opened the manhole and looked around. Ponies and guards were outside, the guards probably on the lookout for her. She scowled and tried to map a new route to the castle, but the visor told her that this was the only way to the castle without a multi-tool. Seeing no other way, even with her heightened natural instincts, she opted for the approach that Leo might have gone with: Brute force.

She opened the manhole all the way and dashed for the entrance of the castle, alerting the guards.
"There it is! Catch it!" One of the guards said as he reached for his sword. Runa gritted her teeth as she ducked just under the guard's chin, surprising him. She quickly used the momentum to slam her hoof into his jaw, knocking the sword out of his mouth. She flew forward and she dispersed her built up energy by rolling and continuing her mad dash for the castle. The visor let out a few warning beeps as it highlighted incoming arrows. She activated the adrenaline factories and rolled forward to dodge the arrows. Time seemed to slow as the arrows flew by her, some missing by millimeters and some missing by meters. With her body strengthened by the effects of heightened epinephrine and endorphin production, her running speed was greatly increased. She acquired tunnel vision as she rushed by the guards, now automatically dodging the arrows coming her way. The main gate was now getting closer.
"Almost there!" Her brain told her just before the doors opened to reveal some guards coming at her. Her body acted on instinct this time. She braced her legs and jumped as high as her adrenaline-fueled legs could take her, which was pretty high. She activated the auto-blades and latched onto the wall, simultaneously continuing her run to the inside of the castle. The guards stood there, shocked for a moment, then they went inside the castle to catch the thief and intruder.

Runa was breathless. She had never felt this way before. The feeling was familiar, but it was so extreme. The wind blew past her face, lashing at her body. Adrenaline pumped through her veins, carrying the endorphins that made her feel alive. Her muscles barely felt strained. She felt alive for the first time in a long time. Before she could enjoy it, however, she could see her destination coming in sight. She targeted the ledge that led to the courtyard and braced her legs again for a moment. She released the tension in her legs and she shot skyward, clearing the ledge.
"Oops. I missed." She thought as she landed in the courtyard, between the two alicorns in the center.
"Leo! Cover me!" She said as the visor folded back and she pointed him towards the ledge she just jumped from. The adrenaline was beginning to clear from her system and she was beginning to feel the strain she had put on her body. Her legs felt tired, but she could handle it. She was used to running a lot.

"What? What did you do this time?" Leo asked, his tone one of annoyance. Runa smiled guiltily before explaining.

"I may or may not have stolen a crown and a necklace from the museum..." She said as she removed her scarf, letting the items drop into her hooves. Leo groaned.

"Ugh... How many times have I told you to stop stealing?" He asked. Before she could answer, Luna piped up.

"Um, Leo? Who is this?" She asked. Feeling obliged to answer a question about her, Runa spoke up.

"I don't think we've met. I'm Runa! Master Thief and Queen of Blades! Or Dagger Princess. Whichever one you prefer." She said as she waved her hoof dismissively, telling her about her own nicknames. Before she could explain the reason behind her nicknames, the doors to the courtyard were bucked open, revealing at least thirty guards.

"Stop there, criminal scum! You have committed crimes against Celestia and her ponies! What say you in your defense?" The lead unicorn said as he brandished his blade and Runa shut her visor.

"Aw crap."

Comments

[Apollo and Artemis]

2323236 The answer to both questions is that I wanted to leave that to the imagination of the reader. What do you think happened?