Chapter 4
Night whistled to himself as he wandered through Canterlot Castle’s hallways. According to his previous scouting, he knew that the Princess would be taking her lunch in the castle solarium. He continued to whistle, taking a left into the large, open room with the glass roof. “Hello, Princess,” he said as he took a seat opposite her.
Twilight glanced at him, looking over her Hayburger Hay meal, with enough decency to look ashamed over being caught with ketchup on her lips. “You weren’t announced,” she said, pointing out the fact that seemed more pressing for her at the moment.
“By the way, you did a better job on the door to the magical, world-ending artifacts. Of course, now you need to actually protect the normal valuables,” he said, placing a vase on the table. “2nd era piece, very nice,” he said casually.
Twilight blinked. “Excuse me?”
Night smirked, before reaching for one of Twilight’s hayfries.
That got the first real reaction out of her, as she snagged the fry back. “Do not touch my fries!” she warned. “Why are you even here?” she asked suddenly.
Night smiled and set a book in front of her. “This is the ledger of none other than Blackjack, a leader of a gang. Specifically, it deals with allocating funds taken from ponies that have been forced into a protection racket by that gang leader.”
Twilight set her burger aside before carefully picking up the ledger.
“It took quite a bit of work to get this book, you know,” Night said. “A decent job, if I do say so myself.”
Twilight began scanning the lines in the book.
“Yup, I managed to nab this thing just last night.”
---$---
Night watched from the alley next to the small apartment building, as the rain poured down around him. The warehouse stood like a wraith in the distance, hidden by the curtain of the storm. Night smirked as he glanced at it before he prepared his equipment. A small grappling hook, made of left-over rebar, hovered next to him in his magical control matter grasp. The old thing was one of his first pieces of proper thieving equipment, and while he felt that he mostly had grown beyond it, he occasionally broke it out of his old storage shed for a job or two.
This was going to be one such job.
He slipped across the street, avoiding the occasional carriage that rattled by, before pressing himself against the wall. Working carefully, he slowly lifted the hook to the top of the storage container and secured it.
Sure, he could have thrown the hook, it certainly would have drained his magical reserve less than lifting it up the entire way, but he wanted to make as little noise as possible right now. Hooking the rope on tight, he began to climb, using the knots he tied into the rope beforehand to give him a grip as he rose.
He pulled himself over the edge of the storage container, grabbed the hook, and then jumped down into the shadows, rolling into cover. He quickly coiled the rope into a small bundle, as he began to glance around the courtyard.
He could barely see either side of the courtyard from where he stood, though the building was far easier to see by now. More importantly, he could just notice the open container where a pair of ponies played cards by lantern light.
He slipped up next to it and listened carefully to the conversation.
“...heard that she’s on the warpath again. Something about the 6th Street Gang in Baltimare cutting in on their turf.”
“Match,” a female voice said with a sigh. “That’s what you get for listening to Shoeshine. That stallion’s got less brains than a parakeet.”
“Parakeets are actually considered to be some of the most intelligent birds out there, Pearl,” the first one said with a sigh.
“And I didn’t ask you, did I?” Pearl asked back. “Now, play your damn cards.”
Night frowned.
They certainly didn’t sound like they hated each other, even if they were on each other’s nerves. He could use Control Image to literally put words in one of their mouths, but it wouldn’t change the face to match. Changing their face to look angry would take a different spell, and while an incantation could exist to change both, he didn’t know how to twist his soul to get that.
Starting a fight like that was a little too risky. He’d have to try a different one.
He reached out with his magic, using Create Matter to form a small item on one of the pony’s sleeves.
“What’s that?” Pearl asked.
“What’s what?” Match asked back.
“Is that a card?”
“What?”
“There, in your sleeve!”
“What? H-how’d that—”
“You cheater!”
“I wasn’t cheating!”
Night peeked his head around the corner, where he saw the mare barking into the slightly smaller stallion’s face.
“That’s a load bullsh—”
“I wasn’t cheating!” Match yelled back, pulling the card from his sleeve. “I didn’t put this here!”
Night grit his teeth, focusing on keeping the paper together.
“Then how’d it get there? Huh?” Pearl asked.
“I don’t know!”
This was going to be the only real shot he got, he realized. So, still concentrating on his spell, he stepped across the open storage container and slipped across the courtyard. Once there, he gave himself another fifteen seconds before dropping the spell, letting the card disintegrate into pure energy.
Create Matter spells were always a little draining, but making something that large for that long was beginning to tire Night out, and he still had the warehouse to get to.
It’d be fine though; he wasn’t a Master Thief for nothing.
He got out his hook, again, before using his magic to lift it up to the roof of the warehouse proper, and quickly climbed the rope onto it. The top of the warehouse, little more than corrugated steel sheets, groaned slightly under Night’s weight. Still, the sound would go unnoticed compared to the clattering of the rain against the metal.
He glanced back for a bit as he gathered his rope, watching the open storage container for any sign that the pair in there noticed that the card disappeared.
Other than the occasional yell that cut through the storm, they didn’t make a sound.
He smirked, before glancing around to check for sentries. When he found none, he took a second to relax and try to rest and recover from his spell. He sat in the rain for a moment before he got up and pushed forward. He needed to keep moving if he didn’t want to get caught.
He moved across the roof, doing his best to move without causing the sheets of steel to bow under his weight. Finally, he found a window whose broken glass left a hole large enough for him to squeeze through and slipped inside.
As he assumed, the windows did not have a stable place to stand once he got in. However, he was pleasantly surprised to see one of the steel rafters nearby. Smiling, he slipped onto it, carefully balancing his way across the warehouse, giving him a near-perfect view of the layout.
The floor was filled with gang members. They walked across the floor, singing bad drinking songs as they drank their fill of lousy beer. The main room was divided into a bunch of smaller spaces, with the help of stacked crates and the occasional storage container. Glancing around, Night also saw a long catwalk that hugged the sides of the building. His gaze followed it’s winding paths all the way to the stairs that led up to it and the suspended office space.
More specifically, an office from which it would be incredibly easy to see him.
He quickly cast his Control Image spell to transpose his image directly above the office, where it would be safely out of sight. The spell wouldn’t last long with him still recovering from the card trick, but he would have to make do long enough to get over there. His magical reserved was running low, though. He’d begin cutting into his physical energy if he kept up his spells, so Night needed to move as quickly as he could.
Taking a moment to steady himself, he leaped over to the next rafter. His chest rammed into the rafter, knocking the air from his lungs as he focused on just trying to keep his spell up and stationary over the office. He clambered up back onto the rafter and then leaped again, onto the next.
His magical reserve was spent, and now his body was beginning to compete with his spell. His legs were starting to shake, and he silently cursed that he had to waste so much energy on making a card. He released another, long, shaky exhale, and then leaped across to the last rafter.
Finally, above the office, he released the spell and laid across the rafter. He breathed a moment, taking a rest as he tried to ready himself for the rest of the night’s thieving.
He took a few minutes before he hung his hook on the rafter and slid down the rope. He landed softly on the top of the room and began to move carefully toward the office’s edge, before pulling out a set of mirrors. Holding them in his magic, he carefully arranged them into a simple periscope and glanced into the office.
A large earth pony mare with a dull red coat and a purple mane sat at a table, apparently writing in a large book. The large brown club on her flank marked her as Blackjack herself, and she apparently had taken up log keeping.
She stood suddenly, and Night pulled the mirrors back up and out of view. The clatter of the rain meant he still couldn’t hear anything that was going on, so he had to carefully angle the mirror at the ground. That way, unless Blackjack was crawling an inch above the floor, he’d see her hooves before she would see his periscope.
Sure enough, her hooves appeared in his view. He carefully watched them as she slowly approached the window, no doubt to make sure her gang members didn’t get too rowdy as they celebrated the end of a long night of “hard work.”
Her hooves turned, and she began to walk away. Night followed her with his mirror the whole way, watching her as she slowly approached the door in the back of the office. She opened the door and walked through, leaving the book alone on the desk.
Night smiled, and he made his move, slipping across the office roof until he made it just above the door. The door did have a guard, a single pony that glanced about occasionally, and stared down the stairs that led to the ground floor.
Now, this would be the most challenging part of the entire operation. He didn’t have the strength to take out the guard himself, nor could he use sounds to distract him, because of the rain. All of his real solutions for taking care of him would very quickly devolve into a fight and get a lot of attention on him very quickly. So he had very little that he could use to deal with the guard.
Or it would if it weren’t for the noise.
He cast a “Create Image” spell, and an illusionary blindfold covered the pony’s eyes. He turned back and forth suddenly, trying to find something. He reached for his eyes, but his hooves slipped through the blindfold. Night could see the pony begin to breathe wildly, and Night smiled as he started to panic.
Honestly, he could watch him do this all night, but he didn’t have the energy to keep the spell going. Night dropped, kicking the guard in the back. The guard let loose a yell that was barely heard over the rain, and he tumbled down the stairs.
Night knew he wouldn’t have much more of a chance, so he rushed into the office and checked the book. A list of names met him, and he knew he found precisely what he needed.
---$---
“From there, it was a simple matter of getting back onto the roof and getting out before they could notice me,” Night explained, having finished recounting his night’s story. “Normally, I like to work a little quieter, but considering I couldn’t distract him with some noise, I thought it was a rather elegant solution.”
There was silence at the table for a second, before Twilight spoke up. “That’s it?”
Night blinked. “Excuse me?”
“That’s it?” Twilight repeated. “You snuck into a warehouse, exhausted yourself by casting a few spells, and then grabbed a book of names and numbers?”
Night bristled. “I snuck into a warehouse filled with at least a hundred ponies, and only one of these was even aware that I was there because I blinded him. I cast a powerful Create Matter spell, which would exhaust any number of unicorns off the street. Then I managed to grab a ledger that proves that a pony is running a protection racket in your city, and your guards can’t do anything about it!”
“A hundred drunk ponies, according to your own account,” Twilight noted before she held the book up. “But beyond that, look at this. This could be a normal business ledger. This isn’t proof that you uncovered a ring of highly-organized criminals running a protection racket. Besides, if they were, my guards could take care of that.”
“They try!” Night said. “They try, and then the criminals get out for nearly nothing! If your guards had this book, they could begin the biggest arrest of the decade!”
Twilight shook her head. “Look, before I was Princess, I used to go out on adventures with my friends. We could have done something like this. In fact, we had a time where we were competing to get past the palace’s security ourselves. We managed to get into the throne room, and we are by no means 'Masters' at thieving. If you want to impress me, you’re going to have to do better than that.”
Night felt his eye twitch. “I know you used to adventure, that’s why I thought you’d be a better judge of how difficult a job is.”
Twilight shrugged and set the book back down on the table. “Sorry, Night, I’m just not impressed.”
Night took a deep breath and stood. “I see. I’ll return then, hopefully with a better job for you, Your Highness.”
“Actually, since I have you here, I’d like to discuss something with you.”
“Would you?” Night asked.
“I would. I have unfortunately not been able to corroborate your story with Celestia as of yet,” Twilight said. “I’m expecting a letter from her within a few days, but I do want to hear what kind of jobs you’ve claimed to have done for Celestia.”
Night glared at her for a moment before he spoke. “I would love to be able to discuss this with you, Princess. Unfortunately, I don’t have the time right now. Can we discuss it in the tea room in an hour?”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “What’s wrong with now?”
“Well, for one,” Night said. “Your guard is currently looking for me.”
“What?”
“Oh, I snuck past them for this audience. That’s how I managed to grab the vase there.”
“What?” Twilight asked again, sounding scandalized.
The smile on Night’s face was beginning to return. “As I said, Princess, I’ll see you in an hour.” Then without another word, he walked out of the room.
Twilight didn’t even have the time to return to her now-cold hayburger before the guards burst in, Captain Azure at the lead. “Your Highness, we’ve had reports that Night Silk infiltrated the castle again. I hate to interrupt you during your meal, but have you seen him?”
She frowned and pointed toward the door he just left through. “You just missed him, Captain.”
The Captain’s face darkened, and he barked at his guards. “After him! He is not going to get away with this in broad daylight!”
“Yes sir!” came the guards’ chorus, as they all began to pile through the door.
Twilight hesitated a moment before calling out. “Captain?”
“Yes, Your Highness?” he replied, coming to her side instantly. “Captain, can you tell me anything about a group of ponies known as Blackjack’s gang?”
The Captain hesitated for a moment. “They’re very dangerous ponies, your Highness. Ones that have been a plague all across Equestria for too long.”
“So why haven’t you dealt with them?” she asked.
“We lack evidence, Your Highness.”
Twilight frowned, as though lost in thought for a long moment. “And if you had proof that they were running a protection racket in Manehatten?”
“It would be a start, Your Highness. One that I feel is long overdue.”
Twilight nodded. “Would this help?” she asked, sliding the ledger over to him.
He glanced at it and picked it up, flipping through the pages for a moment, before he nodded. “Did Night bring this in?”
She nodded.
“This would be enough to launch an investigation, certainly,” the Captain said. “Unfortunately, as it has been obtained by illegal means, it’s not something that I can use. Especially because I can’t prove that it came from Blackjack’s gang.”
Twilight nodded. “I see,” she stared at the door that Night had escaped through. “Thank you, Captain. Can you do me a favor?”
“Anything, Your Highness,” Azure said.
Twilight picked up the vase from where she hid it under the table. “Can you put this back where it belongs? I’m afraid I have no clue where it should be.”
The Captain looked down at the vase with a scowl that Twilight would admit was not too different from the expression he usually wore. “Of course, Your Highness. I assume Night is responsible for this as well?”
Twilight nodded.
Azure sighed before carefully taking the vase in one hoof and walking away.
Twilight watched him go for a second, before finishing her burger and fries. “There’s one more thing that’s bothering me about all of this,” she thought to herself. “Why does he keep calling spells by their Techniques and Forms?”
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First
Also, love the story
Ah, yes, the bane of white hats in Law and Order spinoffs everywhere - the rules of evidence forbidding fruit of the poisonous tree.
You just have to bring that up in every conversation, don't you?
Okay, two things, Twilight--one: I'd like to see you pull off that same feat, and two: you're going to get him killed trying to egg him on into upping his game, and then you'll have that hanging over your head on top of everything else on this matter.
Okay, you have a point there--I'm sure Blackjack will make that same argument in court, assuming this even gets that far.
But that's just naive--if it was really that simple, Twilight, don't you think said guards would've already done that so much so neither of you would even be there discussing it?
Really, what Twilight needs is a good debriefing on the affairs of her guards and their operations Equestria-wide, with no details left out or held back, so to give her the true picture of what's actually going on out there, because clearly she doesn't understand this, and it's leaving her at a serious disadvantage as well as making her grossly underestimate these sort of problems.
Really, Azure's not doing anybody favors trying to keep Twilight out of the loop on these sort of affairs, regardless of whatever his reasons for doing it are.
Another valid point, and again one that could be used in Blackjack's favor in a court of law. Honestly, I'm sort of surprised Night didn't think of that himself--he's previously demonstrated the ability to consider such details, after all.
I've wondered that too, but I hadn't thought it was actually going to be a plot point. Hmm...
Silly Azure, let me introduce you to the magic of Parallel Construction...
Night Silk can seal a book just fine, but the princess's fries... That's a death penalty!
Typo for "her flank".
Stray apostrophes are attacking!
Typo for "within".
10437971
He would have not had to if twilight had not made him have to get the physical item to prove a point to her.
I am really enjoying this so far. I love the Sly Cooper franchise, and the parallels (even to Sly's comparative inability in the first game) are quite blatant but used in an excellent way. Methinks that instead of getting gadgets or ancestral techniques like Sly did, Night may instead get proper magical instruction.
Twilight is having some interesting parallels to Carmelita, despite not being actively antagonistic or law enforcement. She definitely is painfully naive, though.