Among Thieves: Chapter III

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAFmzo19l2o

 

"Get the rope ready."

>Amethyst nods, pulling a small length of rope from her pouch.

>The Nightguard on patrol on the street below you was none the wiser to your and Amethyst's presence, as the two of you crouched on a rooftop above.

>This was the second night.

>So far you had no leads on Commander Wind Sheer's location, nor her routes.

>You had nothing.

>But tonight you would change that.

>All you needed was to apply a little pressure on a certain, aloof guard.

>Amethyst hands you the rope, and you ready yourself.

>The guard makes his way along the sidewalk, towards an alleyway.

>Amethyst takes a single bit from her pouch, and tosses it into the alley.

>A small "ting" emits from within the shadows, and the young guard freezes, before peering into the alley.

>"Hello?"

>He takes a few steps in.

>"...must have been nothing."

>He turns around, and you jump from the roof down onto him.

>Before he can call out for help, you bring a fist to the back of his head, and his snout hits the floor as well.

>Like that's he's out like a light.

>Amethyst leaps down to you and the both of you drag the guard within the alley, carrying him deeper into the dark, until you get to the sewer grate.

>Prying it open, you both carefully lower him down before going into the sewer yourselves.

>Amethyst eyes you as you prop the guard up on the sewer wall.

 

>"How do you want to approach this? Appeal to his honor or something?"

"Nah. We need to be hard on him."

>You take a bit of cloth and tie it around the guard's eyes tight, while Amethyst binds his hooves and wings.

"Anything remarkable about him? Check his armor, what's his rank?"

>Star glances at the dark chest plate, and winces.

>"Crap... this kid's new."

"What?"

>"He's only a private, Anon."

>Rising to your feet, you look to the unconscious Nightguard in front of you.

"Shit... okay. We can work with this."

>"Can we? How much is a private going to know?"

"He'll know enough. We just need something, ANYTHING on the Commander if we're going to have a chance at stealing her crest."

>Amethyst lets out a disgruntled sigh and shakes her head.

>"Hope you're right. Should we wake him up now, or?..."

"Let's wait. It'll be scarier for him if he wakes up himself, I think."

>"You're the boss."

>You crouch in front of the tied up rookie, Amethyst sitting on her haunches beside you.

>Minutes pass, and eventually signs of life return to the young colt.

>He groans, tossing his head to one side while trying to move.

>A gasp this time, as he realizes he can't see due to the blindfold.

>His wings struggle to move, but he winces in pain as they struggle against the rope that binds them.

>"Who's there?! Hello? What is this?!"

"Quiet."

>"What in Tartarus is this? Let me go-"

"Quiet."

>You slap the guard across the face, stunning him.

"You talk when we say you can talk."

 

>"...who are you?"

"Did I say you could talk?"

>"I'm a Nightguard! I can talk whenever I want to talk, so don't think you can scare me by-"

>He's cut off once more as you bring you hand back around for another smack.

"I don't think you quite realize the position you're in, friend. We have questions. You have answers. One way or another, we WILL get them out of you."

>The guard tenses up as he hears you shift on the ground.

"What is your name?"

>"I'm not telling you shit."

"..."

>"Now let me out of here and maybe I won't report you to my superiors."

"...dagger."

>"What?"

>You hold out your hand to Amethyst, who unsheathes a small dagger and hands it to you.

>You take the blade and press it to the private's face.

>"What are you-"

"Don't. Move."

>He freezes as the cold metal touches his skin.

"You're going to answer our questions, or I will cut you. And I will keep cutting you. Do you understand?"

>"...you're bluffing..."

>You glance over to Amethyst, who nods.

>With a flick of your wrist, you slice a line across the face of the guard, and he cries out in pain.

>"Aaarhg you cut me! Son of a mule, you crazy-"

"Do. You. Understand?"

>As you press the blade back to his snout, he whimpers and shakes.

>"Okay, okay okay okay alright. I'll talk. Okay? I'll talk."

"Good."

>Handing the dagger to Amethyst and nodding to her, she takes initiative next.

 

>"You'll have to forgive my partner. He can be quite impatient about these sort of things."

>"Who are you? Take this thing off my eyes!"

>"Mmm, *tch* sorry. Can't do that. Then you'd see our faces, and we would have to kill you. Discretion is key, you know?"

>The walls around you echo slightly as the guard pants and groans against his binds, breathing shakily as the reality of his situation dawns on him.

>"...what... what do you want to know?"

>You give a smile to Amethyst, and she grins back.

>"Let's start out small, okay? What's your name?"

>"My-... my name is Agile. Private Agile Haste..."

>"Alrighty Agile, that wasn't so bad, now was it? See? We just have questions, and all you have to do is answer them."

>"..yeah. Yeah alright."

>"Great. My partner is going to ask you a few more, okay? Okay."

>Agile grits his teeth as you move closer to him, the blindfold on his eyes preventing him form seeing his captors.

"Your commanding officer. Who is she?"

>"Commander Wind Sheer of the Nightguard, captain of Princess Luna's main battalion."

"Very good. Where is she?"

>"...what?"

"Where. Is. She?"

>"I... I don't know. Anywhere, at this point. Her routes always change, and she never tells lower ranks what she's been scheduled to-"

"Dagger."

>"No no! Wait! Wait wait wait I'm telling the truth! I don't know! I don't!"

>You bring the dagger to his ear and unsheathe it slowly, the sound sending the guard into a terrified sputtering frenzy.

>"LOW TOWN. THE PUB IN LOW TOWN!"

 

>You stop, staring at the guard in confusion.

>Looking over to Amethyst, you can see she's just as confused as you are.

"What do you mean, "Low Town?"

>"There's a pub there! By the old air docks! Some recruits told me she goes there in her after hours or something, I swear!"

>You stick the dagger back into it's sheath and punch the guard in the face.

"Give me a name!"

>"What? Why are you-"

>Another punch.

"The pub. What is the name of the pub!"

>"Griswald's Landing! That's all I know! Please... please just let me go, don't kill me, please..."

>You rise to your feet, aggravation coursing through you and you send a foot across the guard's jaw, knocking him out as he yelps.

"Griswald's Landing? THAT shit hole? Since when does a Nightguard go to a pub in fucking Low Town?"

>Amethyst unties the binds on Agile's hooves and wings, while muttering.

>"We climb all the way up here through filth and foul smelling air only to learn our target likes cheap booze in our town. Wonderful."

"Fuck, Amethyst. Just... fuck. We're getting this done. Tonight."

>She glances back to you, eyeing you curiously.

>"Alright, "boss." How are we doing that? Griswald's Landing is crawling with pirates and scum. You know, ponies that the Guild won't even allow to become members."

"Thanks for the reminder. Let's just get down there first, THEN we'll figure out what we're doing."

>With that you toss Agile out of the sewer and back into the alley, making your way back to the roofs of High Town.

 

>The two of you leap across rooftops, your legs flying as you make your way towards the cliff overlooking Low Town.

>"Anon, wait, we need to think this over."

"We will do that when we're back in Low Town. We need to move."

>Jumping to a building, you turn around and catch Amethyst as she makes her leap, and you both continue to run.

>"Wait, we're not using the sewer?"

"No."

>"Then how are we-"

>She stops herself as she eyes the large bundle of wire and the crossbow that are still on your back.

>"...no."

"It's the fastest way down and you know it."

>"No, no. No, I hate heights and you KNOW it."

>The two of you leap from the building you're on and over the walls of Canterlot, tumbling along the grass and picking yourselves back up in another round of running.

>The moon is already high in the sky as you and Amethyst make it to the edge of the cliff.

>Homes, stores, and derelict building all rest below the mountainside.

>Low Town.

>The ass end of Canterlot's beautiful city.

>And of course, your home.

>"Anon... how did we not know? I mean, she goes to Griswald's Landing. That's not too far from... you know."

>You stop. Griswald's was a pub that the two of you stole from when you were still children. It wasn't far from the abandoned flat you both stayed in.

"Amethyst, we haven't been in that part of town in years. How were we SUPPOSED to know?"

>"...I suppose you're right."

"I am. Now hand me some bolts."

 

>With reluctance, Amethyst hands you a few crossbow bolts.

>You take the wire from your back and attach it to one of the bolts, and load the crossbow.

>"Anon, we can just take the waterworks back to Low Town. We don't need to-"

"Too late."

>With a pull of the trigger the bolt shoots out of the bow, and down to the town below, headed towards a crumbling building.

>The spool of wire unravels as the bolt makes its way down to the town.

>You hope you brought enough wire for this...

>A distant "ping" lets you know you've hit your mark, and you take what remains of the wire and pull on it, making it taut.

>Amethyst is getting nervous.

>"Seriously, we can just slide down the pipes and get there in no time! It... could be fun!"

>You stare at her for a good second or two as you bury another bolt deep into the ground of the cliff with the wire attached to it.

>"What if we fall? I mean, we could totally fall. C'mon, we can just-"

>She's silenced as you pick her up and kiss her on the nose, a small "eep" emitting from her.

"Comfortable?"

>"I... I uh..."

>You snap her out of it when she feels the rope being tied around your waists. You've secured her. Good.

>Giving her a smarmy grin, you take the crossbow in your hands and leap from the cliff, Amethyst screaming at the top of her lips as you use the weapon to zip line down to Low Town.

>Wind whips at your face as you laugh into the air, Amethyst still screeching in terror.

>God you loved doing this.

 

"Woo!"

>"I HATE YOU! CELESTIA DAMN YOU FOR MAKING ME DO THIS!"

"Oh shut up and enjoy the ride! Haha!"

>Rushing air fills your ears as you and Amethyst race down to Low Town, the "whirr" of the crossbow along the wire ramping up your adrenaline.

>Amethyst holds onto your chest for dear life, burying her face into you as she screams and pounds a hoof against you.

>You'd made her do this once before, and even then it terrified her.

>But you? You loved this. And whenever the chance to do it arose, you took it.

>As you whiz into the old, decrepit city, you ready yourself as you get closer and closer to the building you've shot.

"Okay Star, here's our stop!"

>"What? Wait, Anon NO!"

>Your hands release the crossbow, and the both of you fall to the earth below.

>Hitting a rooftop, you roll across the surface of the building with Amethyst cursing at you the entire time.

>As you come to a stop, you realize you've been laughing the entire time.

>Amethyst doesn't take it well.

>"Buck you, Anon! What in Tartarus were you thinking?!

>She punches your shoulder once more and huffs at you as you keep chuckling while lying on your back.

"Hey, we're here now aren't we? Hahah."

>"Shut up! That scared the crap out of me! And WHAT was with that... that nose kiss?!"

"Oh, that? That was just to distract you."

>You give a cheeky smile, and Amethyst puffs her cheeks at you.

>"I despise you."

"Love you too."

 

>Amethyst dusts herself off as you shed the leather armor from your body, leaving yourself in simple street clothes.

>"What are you doing?"

"We're going into a pub in the bad part of the slums. I'd rather blend in than look like I'm ready for a fight."

>"Anon, you walk on two legs and aren't a pony in the slightest. You don't blend in."

"Shut up, you know what I mean."

>She rolls her eyes and removes her suit as well, the two of you dropping to the streets and dawning a pair of robes as you make your way down the streets of the slums.

>"I swear, if we get this done I will make your life a living hell, Anonymous."

"If we get this done we'll be on a job that'll set us up for life. Just calm down and let's do this, alright?"

>"Ugh, fine... prick."

>Sooner than you thought, you're both outside of Griswald's Landing, the sound of a piano and loud voices emanating from within.

>"Alright, genius, where's your great plan?"

>Walking over to the window of the bar, you can see what lies inside.

>Oh hell...

"That... is a lot of Nightguards..."

>Indeed, it seems Wind Sheer brought along her platoon for a night on "the town."

>Great.

>"Pftt. Terrific. We are screwed."

>You grimace at her, but look back within the pub.

>Hm... a stage, a piano... wait.

"I have an idea."

>"Really? Okay, out with it."

"You need to make your way to the back. Hold on."

>You take a piece of paper and scribble a few words onto it.

"You need to sing this."

>"What?"

"You heard me. You're a show girl."

 

>"WHAT?"

"Just give the guy at the piano this-"

>You hand her a pouch of bits.

"-and tell him to play this song. Same thing with that small band over there."

>"Oh what, and then I just get up on stage and SING?!"

"...yes?"

>"What makes you think I can sing?"

"Well... you all sing. Ponies. You guys just KNOW how to sing."

>She puffs her cheeks at you.

"What? Am I wrong?"

>"...no."

"Good. Now get back there and get to work. You're distracting all the testosterone in there while I chat up our little Commander."

>Amethyst gives a short laugh at you.

>"Pffthaha! What, you think you can go in there and interrogate her without her getting suspicious?"

>This time it's you who laughs.

"No, but I do intend to get her out of that armor..."

>"You-... oh you are NOT going to try and-"

"Chop chop, beautiful. Let's hear those lungs."

>Amethyst lets out a groan and shakes her head before trotting to the rear entrance of the pub.

>Giving a smirk, you carefully open the door of the pub and walk in.

>The smell of cheap liquor and smoke fills the air around you, and the top layer of the place is filled with smoke from pipes, cigarettes, and cigars alike.

>This place was a fire hazard just waiting to happen.

>Scanning the room, you spot your mark.

>Commander Wind Sheer.

>Despite the fact that she could clap you in irons at any second if she knew who you were, you had to hand it to her. She was a looker.

>In that mysterious "bat-pony" kind of way, at least.

 

>You hang off at the back of the pub, your robe's hood covering most of your face.

>All you had to do was-

>Ah.

>There we go.

>Wind Sheer gets up from her table, sauntering over to the bar to order more drinks for herself and her men.

>And then the music starts, right on cue.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUrSIw3XCUE

 

>Every single eye in the pub turns to the stage, as Amethyst steps from behind the curtain and begins to sing.

>You glance around at the men in the bar.

>All eyes are on Star.

>Perfect.

>You walk over to the bar and take a seat next to Wind Sheer, as she rolls her eyes at the performance on stage.

>"Pfft, what do they see in that whore?"

"I know, right? Just a piece of flank for them to look at it seems."

>Sheer turns to you with a raised eyebrow, looking you up and down.

>"Well hello there. Now what are you?"

"Just a man looking for a drink. Mind if I buy you one?"

>She smiles a bit, her yellow eyes gleaming through the smokey air.

>"Go right ahead."

>You give the bartender a wave and he passes you two some whiskey.

>"What's your name, stranger?"

"Don't have one, I'm afraid. What about you? You have a name for that pretty face?"

>She gives a sly smile as she takes a sip of her drink.

>"Trying to butter me up in a bar huh? Hehe, you'll have to do better than-"

>She's cut off when the rest of the bar goes crazy as Amethyst flings the blue dress she was wearing, revealing fishnets on her hind hooves, and Sheer turns to look.

>Perfect.

 

>As quick as you can, you crush the small caplet Amethyst gave you before you left the guild.

>The one that causes memory loss and a pretty quick knock out.

>You dart your hand to her cup, dropping the powder into her drink and watch as it fizzles into the liquor.

>Just in time too. Wind Sheer turns back to you as she sips her whiskey.

>"Ugh. Men. So... you didn't tell me your name."

"You didn't tell me yours either."

>Time to push your luck, Anon.

>You bring an arm to her shoulder, running a finger along one of her leathery wings.

>She gives a sharp gasp, and a smile grows on her face.

>You haven't been slapped yet, so something it working it seems.

>"Hmmhmm~... hands huh? You part minotaur or something?"

"You could say that."

>Giving another toothy grin, you bring the hand that was caressing her wing up to her ear, giving it a soft tug.

>Hey eyes go half lidded, and she bites her bottom lip.

>"You know... we don't have to stay in here. We could go somewhere less... crowded. Maybe then you can tell me your name, stranger."

"Maybe you can tell me yours as well."

>You rise from the bar and leave, and just as planned so does Wind Sheer.

>You turn the corner and walk a bit down the alleyway before you're pinned to the wall on your back.

>Lips meet yours, as Sheer makes her best efforts to kiss you more and more.

>Any second now.

>As you grab hold of her, kissing her as you do, you unbuckle the breastplate that she's wearing and discard it to the ground.

 

>"Oh, a quick one huh? That's fine by me-"

>She stops, her eyes going wide for a split second and then growing heavy lidded and tired.

>"I can... we... tired."

"Nighty night, Commander Wind Sheer."

>"How do you know my-"

>Before she can finish, she slumps to the cold ground, passed out.

"Thank Celestia, that pill took longer than I wanted..."

>Crouching to her armor, you find what all of this was for.

>The crest.

>A large, sapphire disk that looked like a cat's eye.

>Pulling a dagger from your boot, you wedge it between the gem and the armor, eventually plucking it out of the breast plate.

>"Did you get it?"

>Your head darts up to see Amethyst as she cuts the stockings from her legs.

>Smiling, you raise the crest up to her.

>"Anon, I bucking love you right now."

"That's what they all say."

>"Yeah yeah, shut up loverboy. C'mon, we have to go. Now."

>Nodding, you pocket the gem and hoof it away from the pub and back towards the tunnel entrance of the Guild.

>You'd done it.

>You'd stolen the crest of the Nightguard Commander, and in the morning she wouldn't even remember what happened.

>And now? Now you would go on to be a part of the biggest scheme Canterlot has ever witnessed.

>Little did you know, that scheme would probably be the last one you ever pulled.

>Life was funny that way.

 

END