>Night has fallen on Canterlot Palace, and with it, so have your chances of being discovered >For you are Anonymous >Thief extraordinaire >Sultan of stealth! >Prince of pilfering! >Archduke of appropriation! >And tonight, you are going to steal something very valuable >Ever since you came to this land of ponies, you'd been making a name for yourself with your daring heists >Not that the general public knew it was you, of course >The criminal underworld, however, had its suspicions >But as far as they knew, you were only the middleman >You were pretty good at covering your tracks >Before long, the more rich and morally dubious ponies would actively approach you >Looking to hire your "expert" for various tasks >Planting evidence, taking items, taking bits... >You kept a detailed list of your clientele and their tasks >Hey, they might be rich, but that doesn't mean they're smart >Unlike you, who sees the potential in having readily-available blackmail material >But this latest task was different >The client interacted with you through a third party >A middleman to talk to the middleman >You didn't mind, clients competent enough to keep their identity secret usually had the most interesting requests >This one was no exception   >They wanted your "expert" to steal something from Canterlot Palace >You nearly lost your composure at the absurdity of the target >"Are you serious?", you had asked >"Very much so. Can your expert handle the job, or shall I go hire somepony else?" >"Heh. My expert can certainly handle your job. I just hope your employer knows what they're doing." >"Believe me, sir. My employer understands perfectly." >You snap back to reality >Can't keep daydreaming on the job, that's how you get sloppy >Getting sloppy means getting caught >And getting caught on a job like this is not an option >You check your gear >Got your utility gloves, your pack, your rope, some cloth strips, a few assorted potions (and... other medicines,) and a couple very special rings >You slip on your gloves >They're only useful possession you've got from your previous life >These gloves were fucking amazing >The enchantments on them let you grab and move stuff from a distance and even summon whatever you wanted out of them >You never needed to carry your set of lockpicks again, after acquiring those gloves >You stole them, of course >After all, you're the kind of thief who hates leaving empty-handed >You like to take something for yourself, once you've got your target >It usually made things more difficult, yes, but it also made them much more interesting >You melt into the shadows, avoiding the patrolling guards with ease >You move through the halls, effortlessly   >Something bugged you, though >Was the palace's security really this terrible? >There were far less guards than you expected there to be >You made sure to pay extra attention to your surroundings >By the time you reached your destination, you knew something was definitely up >Standing at the door were two guardsponies, a unicorn and a pegasus >You needed to get through that door >...Good thing you had your gloves >You glance further up the hallway >That vase looks nice and distracting! >You grab it with the gloves and chuck it against the wall >The sound of the vase shattering causes the guards to spin in its direction >"What was that? Is somepony there?" >The unicorn's horn glows, and a light spell shoots over to where the vase used to be >"Great, another one broke. Go get the cleaners, would you, Smiles?" >The pegasus salutes, and flies off >One down, one to go >You silently make your way up to the remaining guard >You pull out a strip of cloth and grab your bottle of chloroform "Nighty-night." >The guard doesn't get a chance to do anything but take a nice, long, nap >You smile to yourself as you slip through the door >...And find yourself in Princess Celestia's bedchambers   >Your target is finally in sight >You've stolen plenty of odd things before, in your time >Recipe books, food, clothing, bedsheets, pets... >None of those could compare to this job >Princess Celestia is sound asleep in her bed >You pull out your chloroform once more, as well as one of those special rings and some rope >Time to steal a princess >You slip the ring on her horn, preventing her from casting any magic >She stirs slightly, but doesn't seem to wake up >You grab the rope and tie down her wings >How the fuck is she still sleeping? >You work on tying her front legs together, and she lets out a short sigh >This doesn't feel right >Nothing should sleep through all this shit >You finish with her front legs and start on her hind legs >Then, it hits you. Oh, how clever of her >You finish tying her hind legs and move up to her head again >Her eyes are still closed, but her breathing seems to have picked up slightly >You pull out a few strips of cloth "You're a bad actress, Princess." >...And gag her with them >Her eyes shoot open "I'm not that stupid."   >She looks a little disappointed "Somepony is paying good coin for me to steal you, you know. You should be honored." >The look of confusion on her face is priceless "You should probably go back to sleep now." >You give her some chloroform, and pull out a couple potions >You quaff two of them, feeling much lighter than usual and far stronger >Featherfall and Fortify Strength, never go on a job without 'em >You heft the unconscious Princess over your shoulder and walk out onto the balcony >Just a simple jump and a bit of a fall down, and you're home free >But you haven't gotten anything for yourself, this time >Can you pass up this opportunity? >You glance over to your right and notice another balcony >The other Princess' room is just next door, and the lights are off >Are you a bad enough dude to steal two Princesses at once? >Yes, you are >You hop on over to the other balcony, gently setting Celestia down >You're going to need both arms free to deal with Luna >You slip inside the room, finding Luna laying on her bed, reading a book >She looks up at you, a bored expression on her face >"It's about time you got here." >You freeze >"I've been waiting all night for you to come steal me."   "What are you talking about?" >"I hired you to steal me, didn't I?" "Steal you?" >She frowns >"Were your instructions not clear?" >You facepalm "No. All I was told was to steal 'The Princess,' not you." >"I shall have to have a word with that guard." "He was a guard?!" >"Who else would I send? And anyway, if you're not here to steal me, what are you here for?" >She hops up off her bed and walks over to you "Well-" >She notices her sister's unconscious form on the balcony >She shoots you an angry look >"Really? My sister?" >She punches you with a hoof >"I have half a mind to decline your payment." >Time to think fast "If you want, I could still steal you." >She raises an eyebrow >"Oh? And what makes you think I would simply let you steal me after all this?" >You pull out some more rope and the other magic-inhibiting ring, behind your back "You're going to let me steal you, because you don't have any other choice." >"Is that so?" "Yep." >You slide the ring on her horn, and trip her >"Hey!" >You quickly tie her front legs together >"Stop it!" >And just as quickly, you tie her hind legs together >"This is highly inappropriate!" >You heft her over your shoulder "Am I going to have to gag you like I did your sister?" >"No, but-" "But nothing. You hired me to steal you, so I'm doing my job."   >You walk out onto the balcony and heft Celestia over your other shoulder >You've got your target, your client, and your "bonus," now >Time to get to the dropoff point and complete the job >You leap from the balcony, letting the featherfall potion do its job >You land safely outside the castle walls, and jog off, into the mountains >Luna is mostly silent during the trip there >She does make the occasional comment about how nice it is to be outside the palace >She also makes a few comments about how you need to "Watch where you're putting those 'hands' of yours" >You eventually find the small cabin that served as your dropoff point >You set down both Celestia and Luna, just outside the cabin >"Well, despite your screw up, we're here. I suppose you can still be paid. Untie me and remove this... ring." >You hesitate "Not until you explain where all the guards went. That was way too easy." >"Gave them the night off, of course. Now would you please untie me?" "Makes sense, I guess. And you're not going to have me arrested or anything, are you? I was technically acting under your orders, you know." >Luna sighs >"No, you won't be arrested. Untie me." >You rub your chin "Hmmm... alright."   >Luna smiles >"Finally! You know, you're not so bad for a common thief." >You smile back at her "Princess, I'm anything but common. Do you know why I didn't just leave with your sister?" >You glance over at Celestia, who is miraculously still sleeping >Confusion paints her face >"...No?" >You lean forward "I never leave a job without taking a little something extra for myself." >You give her a wink >She blushes and stammers >"Uh- um- what- er-" "Tell you what. We can forget about my payment for this job... if I can have you." >"Wh-what are you- are you asking me to- what?" "You want to have a little fun, Princess?" >Luna's eyes widen in surprise >"Um- I- ...Okay." >Celestia eventually woke up, and after you apologized and Luna explained what was going on, she decided not to banish you to the moon >You thanked her for her kindness >On the way back to the palace, you noticed her giving you a few odd looks >Luna later told you that her sister had a few... fetishes >Fetishes you may or may not have indulged when you tied her up >The palace was in an uproar over the disappearance of both Princesses >Everyone calmed down when you strode in with them >And true to Luna's word, you didn't get arrested >You did, however, decide to make this your last great heist... Almost >You stole one last thing before leaving the palace >A kiss from the Night.