"Once a thief, forever a thief!" (1x1 with Mickey Adaptus)

[Raven Rawne 1,381]

OOC:https://mlpforums.com/topic/165120-ooc-once-a-thief-forever-a-thief-1x1-with-mickey-adaptus/

@Mickey Adaptus

It was early Summer, a rainy night in Manehattan, around half past two AM. It was quet in the Museum of Early Unicorn Magic, if you count out the snoring guard that is...

In one of the rooms, two figures were huddled by a windowed display case - one on the lookout, other picking the lock. They seemed to be oblivious th the dark around them, since the window nearby gave only a hint of light in the rainy night conditions. A faint click got the figurees moving - the one that picked the lock stood up and extended their bat wings, as if stretching them out, while the other gave them a pat in the back and opened the case. Both took out something and hid it in a pouch, then replaced it with something else, and closed the case.

Both walked, cauciously, listening it, out of the room and to the place they came in from. On a corridor, they got caught in a ray of light from a window located next to a street lamp - bat ponies, stallion and a mare, in their late twenties by the look of it. Both were wearing black, tightly fitting overalls and hoofboots that dampened the sound of them walking.  They moved past a snoring guard and the mare made a lewd gesture towards the sleeping pony, while the stallion just rolled his eyes at her. They were nearly at the exit point when something went... not as expected.

Edited April 19, 2017 by Raven Rawne

[MickeyAdaptus 2,211]

In the museum Walked a colt, covered with a brown cloak that was hiding his identity.

In one of the museum rooms, there were some glass cabinets, all held valuable items from gems to artefacts that had have existed for thousands of years.

But there was one particular item the colt seemed interested in, it was a purple gem that was giving off a dim glow.

He walked up to the cabinet and pulled out some sort of bottle.

He poured the contents over the lock wich, in turn, melted the lock slowly, but effectively.

He then opened the cabinet and placed an illusion spell on the gem as he took the real one, making it appear it was still there.

He used the same illusion spell for the lock and then inspected the Gem.

But while he did so he saw faint movement coming from one of the hallways, his eyes widened at what he saw.

 

[Raven Rawne 1,381]

@Mickey Adaptus

The pair left the corridor and entered another room, en route to their exit point. Buto their huge surprise, they saw a pony walking there, and a young one too. The mare let out an alarmed screech.

"KeEEKEKeeeeeKEekKeEKeeeKEEEEkKEEEEKKeeeKeeeeee!"

The stallion tried to silence her, but the sound started echoing through the halls, causing them both to flail their ears, listening in in fright.

The snoring... ceased...

Eyes wide, the stallion pointed a hoof at the stranger. "Hey, you! Get outta here if you don't want to get caught, hear me? And you didn't see us here!" They looked at each other and started flying forward, in order to avoid making any more noise. They could hear the guard's hoof steps nearing.

[MickeyAdaptus 2,211]

The colt was very surprised what was happening.

After a few moments, he quietly murmured "I don't really understand why there just happened to be thieves at this museum at the same moment I finally try something like this.."

He then ran trough the hallways, and he spotted a closed window in one of the rooms.

He bucked the window, shattering the pieces, tough the guards heard this were heading to his location.

The colt climbed trough the window and was carefully walking over a ledge outside, but he let a surprised yelp when loud sirens were ringing, losing his grip on the ledge.

Luckily he managed to hold on, sounds of hooves could be heard trough the building and flashlights were able to be seen in the dark rooms of the museums.

[Raven Rawne 1,381]

@Mickey Adaptus

"What the hay was that?!" - the stallion hissed to his companion as they cleared another room and made it to a window. "Hey, don't diss me and star... oh buck, you  think it means...?" There was a sound of shattered glass and a comotion - their time was running out. "At least we have a scapegoat... Kid didn't look like a pegasus, so he won't talk anyway." The mare mused as they opened the window and bolted out, then picked their rain overalls and closed the window, as they planeed the whole time - no evidence of a break-in

The rain was pouring down, and it was dark all around - perfect conditions for batpony thieves. The pair took off into the air and swooped down onto the pavement, in order to look like random late night strollers. Not that thre was a crowd to blend in anyway, since the streets were empty. They decided to check if the kid met the pavement and took the news of their involvement with him.

"*sigh* Well so much for the loose threads... he's on the ledge up there, only a matter of time till they get him." - the stallion seemed disappointed by this sudden turn of events, if anything. The mare was more action oriented of the two. "Then I'll help him down! I won't let some kid blow up my work!" As she was about to lift off, the stallion beat her into the air and hissed back: "No way! We're not killers, remember? Help me take him down and we'll pay for his silence. Your gang friends can find him if that fails, but I'm not letting you do that!"

The mare snorted, unamused, and joined him in the air, trying not to be seen by the scrambling guards. The blasted siren woke up some poniesas lights in apartments started to shine. They were out of time to escape.

"Hey, you! I haven't told you to rush the nearest window, right? Come on, we'll let you down if you keep quiet, deal?" - the stallion negotiated as the pair of batponies hovered in the air. the mare seemed more content with givng him a shove than troubling herself with helping him.

[MickeyAdaptus 2,211]

The colt looked in surprise as he heard behind him, seeing the 2 bat ponies from earlier.

His eyes had a weird look em in them, they seemed a lot similar to those of the bat ponies, but the pupils were a little bigger.

"Don't worry, I won't tell a living soul, I wouldn't see a reason to even like the authorities in the first place."

The guards were coming closer and closer.

A weird glow could be seen from underneath the cloak, wich, in turn, made a fast reaction in where one of the display cases got ripped from its position and blocked the incoming guards from coming in that entrance.

"Now is your chance!" shouted the colt

[Raven Rawne 1,381]

@Mickey Adaptus

"You better..." - the mare snickered and nodded at her companion, who was more concerned with the guards that finally noticed he busted door. However, to their relief, the colt did something to block the path and announced it's time.

"Our chance? Boy you've got your priorities all wrong." - the mare was still at it with her quips, but both bat ponies grabbed the colt and descended onto the pavement, holding him tight in the heavy rain. As soon as he was on solid ground, the mare readjusted her rain overalls and hissed: "Now let's get as far from here as possible, and you're going along till we're in the clear! Then you can go where you want." The stallion added as they huddied away from the Museum: "Wouldn't want to read in the morning paper that all our effort to get you down was for naught."

[MickeyAdaptus 2,211]

The rain was still going at a heavy phase as they moved away from the museum.

The colt has been rather silent so far, not knowing what to say, for he was mostly lost in deep thoughts

'From the way they have been acting, they must be an experienced team, tough i do find it oddly weird how we just stumbled upon each other at the exact date of time, same day... Was this all planned before hand? No... I don't see what a group of Thieves would want with a young colt, especially one like me for that matter.'

The stolen gem was still hidden in a pouch that was hidden under his cloak.

"Living on the streets is always a rough thing" Jack mumbled

[Raven Rawne 1,381]

@Mickey Adaptus

The trio were walking fast, away from the Museum that was getting too busy for their tastes.Taking several tight turns and using back alleys to put some distance between them and all the action, the bat ponies heard thecolt muse aloud something about living on the streets. The mare was first to reast, and with, seemingly typical, disdain. "Watch it, okay? I'm no street rat, I steal to get rich, not to buy food." The stallion gave her a sern look as they walked, the rain still pouring - perfect conditions when you don't want to meet anypony. "Oh give him a break! Must be stressed that's all."

They stopped under a large umbrella of a restaurant entrance to asess their situation. The stallion spoke up: "Okay, we're in the clear now. Should be at least." He adressed the colt. "Sorry for the hijack kid, you're free to go where you want now. I didn't want you to get caught that's all. Funny how you do all the reseach, prepare for weeks, and get busted by amateurs...

The mare seemed content with letting the other pony speak for her, at least for now, as she stood on the lookout.

[MickeyAdaptus 2,211]

The colt looked at them for a moment before sighing.

"Even tough I need the money, you can have this."

He levitated the stolen gem towards the stallion.

"I know it seems really foolish to give this away right now, but it's the least I could after you guys saved my flank back there, see it as repayment."

"you 2 take good care" he had a smile on his face as he proceeded to walk away.

[Raven Rawne 1,381]

@Mickey Adaptus

The mare looked over her shoulder with a raised eywbrow, hearing the colt was giving them something. The stallion however, seemed confused. He accepted the gem and looked it over, then adressed the retreating colt.

"Hey! I don't need to be paid for being a civilised pony, you know." He walked to the colt and extended a foreleg, holding the gem on a hoof. "Professional solidarity. You gotta have SOME rules, you know. Besides, you said you need money, and we already have what we came for."

The mare walked over to the other side of the colt, and for once didn't seem like wanting to snap his neck. "Come to think of it, maybe our... buyer... would be interested in something extra. Unless you have somepony to sell it to at a good price, I guess we could help you get a good deal. What do you think?" 

[MickeyAdaptus 2,211]

The colt was silent for a moment, but then made up his mind.

"I didn't really have any pony to sell this gem to before, so it seems like a deal to me."

He then looked at the bat ponies.

He looked around the street. a slow but heavy breathing came from his mouth

"We hav- We have a deal," The colt said, panting over his words.

[Raven Rawne 1,381]

@Mickey Adaptus

Both ponies looked at each other for a moment in some confusion. The mare spoke up first. "Geez, you've got so much to learn if you want to live off lighting the load of others." The stallion added: "Yeah, take what you can sell or use yourself, unless somepony can tell it was stolen. But it's already late for lectures, take your gem and if you're interested in selling it, meet us at the Napoleighon Street, b the Cinema. We'll be waiting at six PM sharp, gotta do the grocieries first, heheh." The mare groaned. "You and your jokes... Thing is, our buyer is not expecting you, so it's better we take you to them in pony rather than point you to the place. They're cutthroats alright, but you're safe with us, no worries. *yawn* Uhh, time to go home, you'll be okay for now, kid?"

[MickeyAdaptus 2,211]

The colt looked down quickly to hide his expression.

"Yeah, I am."

He then walked trough the streets of manhattan, it was still raining.

His entire cloak was soaked from all that rain, leaking into his fur.

After a few minutes, he went into an alleyway and sat down against a wall.

He was shivering from the cold and all the wet coating, but he didn't seem to mind that.

He closed his eyes and eventually managed to doze off.

[Raven Rawne 1,381]

@Mickey Adaptus

"Alright, take care and see you tomorow!" - The stallion waved him goodbye now that his foreleg was free from the gem. The mare sighed and turned around, pulling him with her. "What?! He's a bit strange, and untalkative and ran through a window but, if not for us, he would go out unnoticed. ive him at least that, huh?"

They walked down the streets, getting sick of the cold rain despite wearing waterproof overalls. The duo talked about recent events and made some rudimentary plans till they reached their workshop/apartment. The batponies went inside to finally finish the long night.

 

It rained for some time more, they couldn't tell when it stopped really. By the time they got up, around one PM, it was sunny and dry already. When it was time to meet the colt, the pair left the apartment and headed out to the cinema.

 

Ten minutes to six, some ponies were meeting up for the film that would start soon, so they didn't look weird standing there. The stallion was wearing a double breasted burgundy jacket with "gold" touches, and the mare had a classy blood red overcoat with a spotless white ascot. She had the stolen item in a pouch under the coat. Together with their black shades, the pair looked dignified, but sticked out in a crowd. Being batponies, they always did, so blending in was not a viable option anyway. 

[MickeyAdaptus 2,211]

The colt eventually awoke, standing up from his sitting position.

He took off his cloak and checked to see if he was still wet, his coat was dry, but he groaned when he was his body.

He looked like somebody who just escaped a prison, his entire coat was dirty and was pretty out of place.

''I cannot believe I haven't even suffered from starvation yet... Never really did understand that concept anyways.." he mumbled.

He then put his coat back on and headed towards the cinema.

He tried to locate the bat ponies but he was having them trouble location them.

"Stupid sun," He said as he tried to block out the sun rays shining in his blue bat-like eyes."

 

 

[Raven Rawne 1,381]

@Mickey Adaptus

The mare was rhythmically stomping her hoof as they waited, both somewhat on edge. She leaned to her companion and asked: "You think he'll come? Or we'll get busted by the Police?" The stallion shook his head. "He wouldn't give us in, unless they caught him. Oh,  there he is! Looks like a mess too..." The mare nodded in disdain. "Some friends you make."

The batponies readjusted their shades and walked to the colt. The stallion waved to him on approach. "Hi there, ready to earn some bits?"

[MickeyAdaptus 2,211]

When the colt arrived, he quickly nodded.

"I hope I haven't let you guys waiting too long, it was hard finding you guys in the crowd, not to mention that the sun is pretty bright"

He looked around, then sighed.

"I hope this is going to work, this is the first time I am actually selling something of this value to somepony." he said with uncertainty.

[Raven Rawne 1,381]

@Mickey Adaptus

The bat ponies shrugged in unison and the mare flickered he wing dismissively. "Nah, we're still ahead of schedule." The stallion added, looing up at the sky. "Yeah, and the place we're going should be more bat-friendly. I don't like going out in weather like this either but, shades help. C'mon, we've got a bit of a walk akead of us" - He motioned to the colt with a wing and made some shade for him to see properly.

"We're going to a long time business associate of ours, so try not to make us look bad, alright? I don't know what this gem is worth, but i can vouch he won't give you a bad price for it, not with me around." The mare said with some measire of pride as the three went the streets of Manehattan to the yet unspecified location.

[MickeyAdaptus 2,211]

As they walked trough the Manehatten, the colt was looking around the streets, an uncomfortable look on his face.

"This might be an unnecessary question, but with what kind of ponies will we be dealing with? While I have never been to a deal like this before, I know how some ponies can be when it comes to these things."

"I mean, could it escalate to a fight if things take the wrong turn? I have heard of deals where the buyer had hired 8 ponies, armed with the teeth to force over their possessions."

He was then silent for a few moments before speaking again.

"I won't be doing anything stupid, I will even be quiet for the entire duration if that is what asked of me, I am just worried about how this will go. Trust is hard to find these days."

Those words were said during their long walk towards their destination.

[Raven Rawne 1,381]

@Mickey Adaptus

They walked down the street, and haven't moved far from the cinema proper before the colt askd his forst question. The stalion was far more eager to actually talk to him, so he answered in a friendly manner. "A middle aged stallion and his asistant, no thugs if that's what you are thinking. We're civilised ponies, and professionals too, so, really, no need to be scared that something will go wrong."

They took a turn into a side alley at some point, between the tall buildings. Through the communal backyard, strangely empty at this time of day, and into another narrow passage, leading to the back door to some establishment. "Here we are, just be respectful and things will be fine, no need to pretend you're mute or anything." - the stalion said as the mare tapped some melody into the door, in lieu of simply knocking.

The doors opened, slightly, and a stallion in his thirties peeked through the slit, then opened the doors wide. "He's expecting y- who's that?"  he pointed at the colt. The bat pony mare sighed as she removed her shades with a wing. "Just a kid we ran across on the job. He was also pocketing a goodie and we kind of met. The rest you know from the morning paper. he's got his stuff for sale." The strange stallion nodded, but wasn't happy. "Knew something was off, you never leave a mess like that. Come on in, all three."

 

The doors closed as soon as they stepped inside.

[MickeyAdaptus 2,211]

As the mare was talking, some of the words made the colt feel uncomfortable.

They all 3 stepped inside, the colt gave a deep glance at the strange stallion before following the 2 bat ponies.

He occasionally at both bat ponies before readjusting his cloak, looking at the ground to cover his entire face from everypony.

"Please.." He said an in really quiet voice, making it hard to hear.

He then followed the bat ponies to their salesman, awaiting what was going to happen.

[Raven Rawne 1,381]

@Mickey Adaptus

The inside was poorly lit, for the guests sake most probably. The bat ponies took off their shades and nodded at each other with slight smiles, then followed the stallion who was simply used to the surroundings and didn't need any light to know his way. All in all, the corridor they entered was gloomy, lit by a few shrouded lamps. The stallion exchanged the shades for another pair of glasses, this time round ones, as for reading. the mare snickered but led the way to an adjacent room, after the pony who let them in.

"Not too dark for you? We kind of prefer slight gloom but, no problem with cranking up the lights if you can't see shuff." - the stallion ushered the colt to the other room.

It was an office, with a large desk made of dark wood, walls filled with bookshelves and various trinkets of unknown properties. while the room was also rather gloomy, the desk was well lit by a desk lamp, and a bearded stallion sat comfortably behind it, smoking a pipe. His assistant stood so the side. "Countess, Second, I've heard you had some... adventures last night?" The mare shook her head and smiled in a way that accented her fangs. "Oh Mr Silver, always well informed, are you? We had some noise but on the up side, you have a chance to buy something extra from our new young aquaintance here."

She paaroached the desk and fished a golden disc with gemstone decotrations on it, along with some symbols. "Our part of the deal." She turned to th colt and motioned him to the desk. "So, would you like to have your loot evaluated? You don't have to sell it, but he'll tell you what it's worth."

[MickeyAdaptus 2,211]

As the group walked trough the building, the colt replied to the stallion.

"I prefer darkness over light, my eyes do... nevermind, dark is okay for me" The colt quickly said

When they arrived at the office, the colt stared at the ground during their conversations, but his ears were sharp as ever under his cloak.

'So far it is looking good, I guess I was expecting it to be different.'

The colt got snapped out of his thought when the mare asked him a question.

"It would be best to let it get evaluated if it is worth enough I am even willing to sell it right now."

The colt's tail was sticking out from the cloak, it could be seen making wild movements as he stood there.

[Raven Rawne 1,381]

@Mickey Adaptus

"WWell Mr Silver, talented as he is, can't do that while you keep the stuff on you now can he?" The "Countess" replied, as the older stallion started inspecting the bat pony loot under a magnifying glass. He mumbled something to himself occasionally while the pair of thieves just respectfully stayed quiet as he did so. Finally, it seemed he was pleased with his findings and motioned his assistant, who, I'm turn, procured a bag, most probably with the agreed payment. "Sorry it took so long, you know I vouch for my merchandise with more than my good name,  after all... here's the agreed sum, as usual."

The mare tossed the bag go her companion, who just shrugged as he put it across his barrel. "Always a pack mule... So that leaves us with the young one and his own loot. Come to think of it,  if not for our meeting, you'd probably finish the job without a hinch, eh? Some talent there, I guess."

Mr Silver finally got the gem for evaluation and joined the chorus from over his magnifying glass: And with a good eye for shiny things too... You just snatched yourself an early Focus Gem son, rare and valuable both because they're made off flawless stones only,  but also because of their magical properties. Now it does help channel unicorn magic somewhat but, don't expect too much from it. There's a reason they fell out of use after all... Now, the price..." - the older stallion thought hard under the watchful gaze of his "business associates", then nodded slowly.  "Eight hundred tops,  cash. That's my offer. If you sell it without any middle ponies,  it should go for eleven hundred or so but, we all know it's already flagged as stolen all over Equestria. So, are you interested?"