> License to Kiss
>  by ViTheDeer
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prelude to a Kiss
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

This story is my entry in Feather Kisses' Facebook contest. Will there be a second part? Maybe, if I get enough interest in this story to do so. We'll see!
Feather Kisses is courtesy fb.me/FeatherKisses.FiM	

He flew down to the ground, wings tucked close to his side. Shortly before hitting the surface, he spread them wide to catch the air and slow his landing, hooves already trotting as they lightly kiss the soil. In front of him, a large mansion stretches to the air. The other pegasi are alighting on some of the higher balconies, where servants in tuxedos gree them, taking their coats and offering them champagne flutes. Feather opted for the floor level entrance instead, not one for flashy displays of aerial maneuvering. He is briefly stopped by the servant at the door, but after he slips him the envelope with his invitation, he is quickly ushered in. The butler didn’t bat an eyelash at the name on the card, “Baroness Flautina Imperia.”
The ball was a spectacle of showy gowns decorated by priceless jewelry. Not a pony in the crowd had fewer than three titles, or fewer than three castles, for that matter. Feather’s gaze lingered on the exquisite details of the dresses surrounding him, an air of longing in his eyes. He pressed through the crowd towards his target just the same, trying not to watch all the pretty ponies as he sipped his champagne. 
He could feel the gazes of the stallions around him, causing him to blush slightly. His dress was fantastic, CSA spared no expense on it, but that little nibbling doubt that they would see right through him still danced in the back of his mind. He pushed it aside, and looked around for the party’s host.
Finally, he saw him, mingling with some well-dressed ponies decked out in shiny jewels and tall hats. He snagged a glass of something bubbly and alcoholic from a passing waiter, and slinked his way over to him, hes sleek dress accentuating his movements. The host glanced in his direction and raised a glass to him, and Feather looked away and blushed. A move he had rehearsed on many an occasion, and had the desired effect, since the host broke away from the small crowd gathered around him, and headed in Feather’s direction.
“Lovely evening we’ve been having, is it not?” The host, a large white stallion with a cutie mark of a bag full of shining gold coins, walked directly towards Feather, catching his gaze in his own. Feather giggled coquettishly, fanning himself with his free hoof.
“You throw a lovely party. I feel honored to have been invited.” The host grinned, sidling up to Feather.
“The honor is all mine, I assure you, to have a guest as lovely as yourself present.” Feather looked away, letting his eyes wander around the well-decorated banquet hall.
“You have a lot of wonderful art on display. Is that a Van Colt print?” Feather motioned to a large painting against the opposite wall.
“Print? No. That’s an original! A priceless piece, one of three I personally have purchased from museums across Equestria.”
Feather opened his eyes wide. “Three!? Are the others on display here?”
The host chuckled. “Sadly no. But if you like, I can arrange a private viewing. They are currently hanging in my private chambers.” He emphasized the last two word salaciously. “If that interests you...”
Feather smiled and looked him in the eyes. “That would be amazing.” Feather offered his foreleg, and the host took it with a grin.
“Right this way, madame... I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”
“It’s Feather. Feather Kisses.” Feather walked along side the host as he wove them through the throngs of merrymakers towards a large marble staircase in the back of the hall.
At the top of the stairs, they were briefly stopped by a pair of guard pegasi. But the host glared at them, and they stepped aside, letting the two of them through, and the host leads them down a long marble hallway, turning to open a large, mahogany set of double doors revealing a luxurious bed chamber beyond.
Feather lowers his eyes and walks in, brushing against the host as he does so. The host’s grin grows larger, as he closes the doors behind them and locks them in.
“So, miss Kisses, which gallery did you say you worked for?” As the host turned around, he was met with the full force of two hooves to the face, and slumped to the ground, out cold.
“That would be the gallery of the Canterlot Secret Agency.” He grinned, tapping his diamond earring with a hoof.
“I’m in.” With a crackle, a tinny voice echoed in his ear.
“That fast? I have to say I’m impressed... and out five bits.” Feather shook his head.
“How much time do we have?” He began frisking the host’s tuxedo, finding the key card he was looking for tucked inside a pocket.
“About twelve minutes before the window closes. Sure you can make it?” Feather rolled his eyes, even though his contact on the other end of the line wouldn’t have been able to see it. Without a word, he unlocked the door, looking both ways before slipping down the corridor, away from the party and towards the vault.
“Careful Feather, I see movement in your quadrant.” Twirling, Feather ducked behind a statue of Princess Luna, matching her pose in profile so that he would be invisible to those further down the hallway. Sure enough, a pair of guard ponies crossed the corridor ahead of him, but didn’t suspect a thing as they passed. Feather breathed a sigh of relief, then silently darted around the corner the guards had just come from, his wings stretched out to keep his hooves from striking the ground with much force. Before long, he found the door hidden behind the potted plant just where their intel said it would be, all but blending seamlessly with the wall. He gave it a push, and it swung open, revealing a staircase leading down into the darkness. He gulped, beginning to grow slightly nervous, then stepped through. The door closed behind him, plunging him into total darkness, and now the real trial began. 
The walls began to glow green, and he could feel the magical forces powering up. The scanner, designed to screen for mares - the sexist pig, Feather thought - did its work, clicking off with what sounded almost like a smug sigh, then the recessed lighting flicked on. While he may have fooled the host, since he wasn’t currently being sucked through a pipe into a pit of spiders, he figured that the scanner wasn’t quite as gullible. He shuddered. Spiders.
Pulling himself together, he continued down the stairs, reaching the heavy iron door. Fishing out the host’s keycard, he slid it through the slot on the left side of the door, and heard the locks click open. Grinning, he again tapped on the earrings.
“I think you owe somepony another five bits.” A muffled curse was the response.
“Okay, intel says there should be four armed guards in there. Think you can handle them?”
Feather snorted. “I thought you were going to give me a challenge!” He opened the door, and quickly sized up the situation. Two of the guards were lazily watching video screens, the third was fetching himself a cup of coffee. Only one was actively watching the door, gun hovering by his side surrounded by a magenta glow. 
Feather lept into action. Spreading his wings for lift, he took advantage at the moment’s hesitation the armed guard took at the view of the lovely mare standing in the doorway to land a hind hoof to the top of his head, then spun around in a three-hooved roundhouse kick that hit the coffee pony square in the chest. As the pot of hot brown liquid flew into the air, the two ponies watching the screen scrambled to their feet. Making use of his surroundings, Feather head-butted the pot of coffee in their direction, sending the scalding beverage into their eyes and causing them to cry out in agony. With a gallop, he launched himself in their direction, flooring them both by clapping their skulls together.
With a self-satisfied smile, he surveyed his surroundings... just in time to see coffee pony finish his slow, breathless crawl to the wall, and his hoof land on the emergency call button.
Crap. He launched himself towards the still-conscious guard, but it was too late. The hoof fell on the bright red button and...
... nothing happened. Thank Celestia Gadget had disabled those alarms, he thought to himself as he knocked the guard out. Sighing in relief, he called to Gadget again. “Guards neutralized. How much time left before the alarms are active again?”
“Five minutes.” The voice was crackly, the signal poor this far underground. Feather pulled out his hairclip, actually a portable hacking device, and plugged it into the guards’ workstation. Within seconds, the butterfly-shaped decoration began lighting up in a regular pattern, indicating the download had begun. Suddenly, klaxons started blaring, and a red light lit up the room.
“Dammit, I thought you said I still had time!” Feather’s voice was frantic, as she willed the download to complete faster.
“I did,” Gadget yelled back over the comm link. “They must have engaged a backup when they found the host unconscious.” Feather muttered a curse, mentally mapping out the layout of the mansion and planning her escape. Just another few seconds, he thought. On the monitor, he could already see the guards converging on his location. I just hope that’s enough. Suddenly, the hairclip lit up a bright green. Feather snatched it in his teeth, and turned to face the door.
Here goes nothing...

To be continued...