Master Thief Dragon

When Cadence was driving back to her place, Spike was sitting in the passenger seat looking out the window watching the people that passed by. Spike looked back at Cadence smiling, which didn't go unnoticed by said girl, "What is it, Master?"

"Oh, nothing. Just looking at you reminds me of how much you've changed since you first started out as my servant." Spike explained.

Cadence blushed, "Yeah. It may have only been a year, but it still feels like only yesterday."

"Time does fly." Spike noted.

When Cadence drove up the driveway of her home, she spoke to Spike, "Would you like to come in?"

"Wish I could, but I got some stuff to take care of," Spike answered, "Besides, after what happened yesterday I think Twilight might still feel embarrassed about seeing me."

"True. But I feel guilty about you having to go back on foot."

"It's not so bad. After all walking does allow me to stop and see the world around me, am I right?" she smirked.

"Right." she giggled.

"I'll see you later, Cadence." Spike kissed her.

"See you soon, Master," Cadence replied, as Spike headed off. She walked up to her door and let herself in, "I'm home!" she called out.

Coming out from the kitchen was Twilight holding Flurry Heart, "Hi, Cadence. How was work last night?"

"Well, doing papers and grading tests was tiresome, but luckily I was doing it with Spike and the other members of the staff."

"Who did you even stay with last night?" Twilight wondered.

"With Aunt Tia and Aunt Luna, of course." she answered.

"That's a relief." Twilight sighed.

"Why do you say that?" Cadence raised a brow.

"It's nothing," she dismissed it, before handing Flurry Heart off to her mom, "I'll be at the library. I'll be back before dinner."

"Make sure not to stay out too late, like that time you got locked in the library." Cadence teased.

Twilight rolled her eyes, "So I dozed off while studying in a corner and lost track of time. It could've happened to anybody!"

Cadence giggled, "Right," Twilight grabbed her bag and left. Cadence took her child and sat her down in her high chair, "Oh, Flurry Heart, it's not easy raising both you and Twilight," Flurry Heart cooed, "But make no mistake I love the both of you. It's just not always easy to balance a secret life with my other responsibilities. But your daddy always said I was a good at balancing responsibilities," she sighed, "I really do miss him, your father. He was my husband, my knight, my love...but if it weren't for Spike, I would have never found my true calling outside of being a Drama Teacher. Would you like to hear the tale?" Flurry Heart burped as if saying yes, "Well, this all began a year ago when I first began my career as a teacher..."

In the month of January, at Spike's place, Spike was standing before Cadence, as Celestia and Luna were introducing each other, "Master Spike, this is our niece, Mi Amore Cadenza. She'll be Canterlot High's new drama teacher staring tomorrow."

"Please, call me Cadence." Cadence insisted.

"It's very nice to meet you." Spike greeted her with a head bow.

"Wow, you're right, Aunt Tia. He is so well mannered." Cadence said, making Spike feel embarrassed.

Spike spoke up, "So you're the wife of Twilight's brother, Shining Armor?"

"That's right. When Shining Armor was transferred to this police division, we both knew Twilight would be ecstatic we'd be living much closer to her." she explained.

"I know. Twilight's been telling me non stop about how her 'BBBFF and her super awesome old babysitter are finally going to living closer to us'." Spike began.

"Plus it also helps since we just had our first born child Flurry Heart. Shining's parents and even Twilight can take some time to watch her whenever we need a break." Cadence said in relief.

"Parenthood, I hear it's such a chore." Spike joked.

"Yes, but it's all worth it."

"I'll bet. Well, I'll see you all soon. I promised Twilight I'd meet up with her for a milkshake." he grabbed his jacket.

"Be back soon, Master." Luna said.

"You know it." Spike took his leave.

With Spike gone, Celestia spoke to her niece, "Excited for your new teaching job, Cadence?"

"You know it."

"Good. But listen, could you do us a favor and keep a close eye on Master during your classes with him?"

"Of course. After all our family has been in service to the Lupin family, so it's naturally our job to see no harm comes to them in any form."

"Precisely," Luna nodded, "Me and Celly here can keep an eye on him while on our jobs, you just need to keep an eye on him during school hours."

"As a member of the Equestrius family, you have my word." Cadence promised. Celestia and Luna smiled, as they hugged her.

"Thank you, Cadence." Celestia said.

"You're welcome. But I'll bet you enjoy keeping an eye on him the most when your not on your other jobs," she smirked, "Especially when you're watching him in the confines of the bedroom."

The sisters blushed, as Celestia spoke, "We admit, that is one of the pleasures we enjoy when being with Master. I mean not to criticize Shining Armor, but Master Spike is a natural in bed, especially for one his age."

"And I have the research to prove it." Luna held out some notes she collected on Spike during his intimate moments.

Cadence blushed on how detailed the notes were, before asking, "Think I could borrow this? I could use it to surprise Shining Armor next time he and I are in the mood."

"You follow those notes right, and he'll be in for a surprise." Luna said, and the ladies laughed.

Many months later, Spike was in the school's faculty lounge enjoying lunch with Cadence, Celestia, and Luna, "It's nice meet you again, Mr. Lupin." Cadence greeted while playing formal with Spike.

"The honor is mine, Ms. Cadenza. It's been a while."

"Please, call me Cadence, Spike. I see you've quite grown since the last time we saw each other. You were quite the student, one of my best."

"Gee thanks." Spike replied.

Cadence smirked, and decided to tease him, "Though I think you still have that wandering eye I remember very well."

Spike blushed and looked away feeling embarrassed, "Cadence!" the three ladies giggled. After Spike regained his composure, he spoke while looking around, "Teacher's lounge. And here I thought it would be more happening when I was a kid."

"A child tends mistake their imagination for reality." Luna noted.

"That's the ugly truth about life." Spike admitted.

"So how are you enjoying your first day teaching?" Celestia asked.

"It's not so bad, once I got all the girls to stop clinging to me and the boys to take me seriously. I mean it's a lions den for someone to teach at this age."

"We can believe it. When Luna and I started our jobs here at the school it wasn't exactly easy going." Celestia began.

"I had to deal with so many students dealing with minimal injuries, nausea attacks, and some just looking for an excuse to be alone with me." Luna rolled her eyes, and Spike laughed.

"Can you blame them?"

"I wish I could."

"And being a teacher means I don't have to constantly keep an eye on you in my own classes," Cadence added, "Still I miss the days where you were my student."

"I'll always be your student, Cadence." Spike assured her.

"I know." Cadence smiled, until the bell rang.

"Well, that's the end of our break. Time to get back to work." Celestia told the three.

"Good luck with the rest of your lessons, Spike." Cadence said.

"You'll need it." Luna warned him.

"No kidding." Spike agreed, as the four went their separate ways.

Two months later, Cadence was leaving her classroom and was heading out before stopping around a corner overhearing Shining Armor and Spike talking, "What did you want to know?" Spike asked Shining suspiciously.

"I promise, Spike, I'll tell you. But I need to talk to you privately about a certain matter." Shining Armor explained.

Spike was skeptical before answered, "Very well, but It'll have to be tomorrow. Right now I have a job to get ready for."

"I understand. I also have plans tonight. Cadence and I are having dinner with my folks."

"Again?" Spike asked in disbelief, "Jeez, how many times can you guys go out together?"

Shining Armor shrugged, "My mom likes spending time with us, especially when we made her a grandma."

"Every parents dream." Spike rolled his eyes.

"I know. So tomorrow for coffee?" Shining asked.

"Deal." Spike answered, as the two went their separate ways.

Spike walked past the hall Cadence was hiding without noticing her. Cadence watched him leave, and thought to herself, 'What would Shining Armor want to talk to Spike about?"

That night, Cadence, Shining Armor and his parents Night Light and Twilight Velvet Sparkle were having dinner at a local diner. As Shining's parents were eating, "Twilight Velvet spoke up, "Cadence, darling. How is your job at school going?"

"It's going great. Students are busy learning, and I'm doing my job in spreading the joy of theater and fine arts to their young minds." she answered.

Night Light looked at his son, and spoke, "So, son, I hear you're up for a promotion, is that right?"

"That's right." he confirmed, as Cadence leaned in close to him, and explained.

"Shining's going to be making captain of the police force."

"A captain, huh?" Night Light asked, and laughed with pride, "That's my boy! Show those rookie cops what it means to be a real officer of the law!"

"Sure thing, dad." Shining laughed sheepishly. Shining Armor glanced out the window next to their table seeing a car drive up. He squinted his eyes seeing it looked familiar. When it dawned on him, he was about to warn everyone, until someone from the car popped out and started shooting through the windows.

Shining Armor and his parents were riddled in bullets, while Cadence's arm got grazed with one. Many other guests were in a panic as they dropped and cover under their tables while the diner workers dialed for the cops. Cadence clutched her arm from the bullet graze, while making sure to stay down. When the gunshots ceased, the guests slowly peeked their heads out wondering if it was safe. Cadence however looked over seeing her husband and in-laws lying in pools of their own blood.

"Shining Armor!" Cadence cried, as she lifted the head of her husband up seeing no life in his eyes. Tears started forming in her eyes, while gazing at the corpse of her deceased husband while also having to look upon her deceased in-laws. The pain and sadness was building up so much, she screamed in anguish, "SHINING!"

Weeks later at Canterlot City's cemetery, many had gathered to mourn for the loss of Shining Armor and his parents. Among the guests included Cadence holding Flurry Heart, Twilight, Spike, Twilight's friends, Celestia, Luna, and even the police force who knew Shining Armor best. Currently speaking before the people was Shining Armor's partner Detective Benedict Gunn, who was best known for wearing a ring with a fire symbol on his right index finger, "Shining Armor was my partner for five years, and I can honestly say he was the best man I could ever work together with in protecting the city from crime and corruption. His death is a major loss to all of us on the force as well as his parents. He was dedicated to his job and his responsibilities as a husband and father. We will always hold him and his folks close to our hearts."

As Shining Armor and his parents were being lowered down, the priest delivered his sermon which Cadence wasn't paying attention too. She glanced over at Twilight who was crying on Spike's shoulder, as the boy held her close, "It's ok, Twilight. It's going to be ok. I promise you." he said while bearing a dark and furious look on his face, which only Cadence took notice of.

It had been two weeks since the funeral. With the Sparkle's gone, Cadence was made Twilight's legal guardian. The two had kept silent about the death of their family not wanting to upset the other, and just tried carrying on with their lives. Twilight eventually came around and returned to school where all her friends and classmates gave her their sincerest of condolences.

Cadence herself was ready to go back to work. As she opened the closet to grab her coat, she saw Shining Armor's old police uniform. Cadence took it off the rack and held it close crying into it, "Oh, Shining Armor," she cried, before lifting her face up and saw something sticking out of the coat's pocket. She pulled it out to reveal an envelope with her name on it. Curiously, she unsealed it and saw it was a letter from Shining Armor.

My dearest Cadence. I'm writing this to you because I fear I won't be around much longer. But I have to tell you how much I love you. I loved you ever since that day we met in high school, where out of all the guys you could've had you chose me, an RPG obsessed geek whose only talent was playing the flugel horn. The day I proposed and you said yes, I knew in my heart we would have a loving life together. When Flurry Heart was born I couldn't have been more proud than to be the parent of a beautiful baby with you at my side. But now there is something I have to confess. Twilight's friend, Spike. I know about his secret identity as the master thief Dragon, and your family's history in serving the Lupin's. It wasn't hard to find out after digging deep enough into the Lupin's family history to see all of the priceless antiques Dragon had stolen were all once property of Spike's family. I wanted to talk to Spike personally about this, but if something goes wrong I need you to follow these instructions. There is a flash drive in our strong box that contains vital information about my last case which may be linked to my untimely demise and a letter which Spike needs to see. I'm sorry I couldn't give this to you personally, but I ask of you in my final words make sure Spike receives this information. Goodbye, Cadence, and remember I love you, Flurry Heart, and Twilight.

Cadence held the letter tightly, while shedding tears to see Shining Armor had a chance to leave her something before he was killed. She got herself together remembering what he wanted, "I have to get this to Spike and my aunts." she got her coat and followed her deceased husbands orders.

After stopping at the bank, she accessed their safety deposit box. When she opened it, she found the envelope for Spike with the flash drive inside it. She pocketed it and left for school. Throughout the day, Cadence kept her cool while on the job. She accepted the many condolences from her fellow teachers, while pretending to feel ok.

When school let out, Cadence, her aunts, and Spike were gathered in Celestia's office, where Cadence presented Spike the letter which Shining Armor left her. Spike read the letter and upon reading the part where Shining explained how he deduced Spike's identity started looking sheepish, "Dammit, I can't believe he was able to crack the mystery. Oh, well, suck on that Chief Iron Will. Someone below your rank beat you to it."

"Master we should probably see what's on the flash drive." Luna suggested.

"Agreed." Spike handed the drive to Luna who popped it into her laptop and opened the files stored inside.

Appearing on screen were images of many objects from jewelry, weapons, archives, paintings, any many other artifacts, "No freakin' way!" Spike gasped.

"What is it?" Cadence asked.

"This stuff featured. Most of them are all Lupin family possessions."

"How would Shining Armor know about this?" Cadence asked.

Spike who had looked at the letter that came with the flash drive spoke, "This is all pertaining to the murder case Shining Armor was working on before he died."

"The one involving the smuggler Chet Hoarder?" Cadence wondered.

"Exactly. According to this research he believed his murderer was his partner Detective Gunn."

"Gunn? How can he be so sure?" Cadence asked.

"Because he found something the cops overlooked. A marking that was on his cheek." Spike showed them an image of Chet's corpse at the crime scene and zoomed in onto his right cheek to reveal a familiar flame symbol."

"That's Gunn's ring." Celestia scowled.

"Shining Armor knew Gunn had to be aware of his suspicion and killed him along with his parents." Spike deduced.

"And covering his tracks wasn't the only reason," Luna said, as she took a look at the files, "These artifacts which were hidden from the crime scene were in fact taken by Gunn, and is running a black market scheme."

"Auctioning off my family's priceless possessions?" Spike asked in outrage, "This corrupt cop is going to pay dearly for not only that but murder as well." he frowned.

"Looks like we got work to do." Celestia said.

"Then I'm helping you." Cadence spoke.

"No way." Spike answered.

"Spike, that man betrayed and murdered my husband."

"All the more reason you shouldn't get involved. It's too personal for you."

"So I just sit back and do nothing?!"

"Your mind is overrun with the thought of vengeance, and that in turn will be your downfall."

"Spike, please. You have to let me join. I can be a big help to you. I'm exceptionally good with conversing with others. I can trick him into spilling the beans about the scheme."

Spike kept getting angry and Cadence's pleas, "No! No! A million times no! The stuff we do is dangerous. Even worse than a cops job, because we go outside the law. The last thing I want is for you to get brought up in this kind of work."

Cadence who was at her wits end dropped to her knees, "Spike, I have to do this. If I don't do anything about my husband's death, this grief will haunt me until the day I die!"

Spike looked away, "My answer remains no."

Cadence was hysterical in tears, "You can't do this to me, Spike! You have to let me in on this! That bastard took my husband away! He took Flurry Heart's father away! I want his head and you can't deny-

Spike finally snapped and yelled an order to Celestia, "Celly, get her out of here!"

"Yes, Master." Celestia answered in shock, and escorted Cadence out despite her struggles.

As Celestia was driving Cadence home, the young lady spoke her aunt, "Aunt Celestia, can't you talk to Spike and get him to change his mind?"

"I cannot do that, Cadence," Celestia shook her head, "I am honor bound to serve my master. And besides I agree with him."

"You what?"

"Luna and I were trained for this line of work. When I was your age I was already going through boot camp training to prepare for the day I would serve my master. You were fortunate enough to have a normal life."

"Well, having a normal life didn't spare me the pain of losing my husband to a traitor to the law!"

"I feel your pain, Cadence, but Master's right. The state you're in is not right for you to join us in stopping this mad man," Celestia pulled up to Cadence's place, "Now go inside and stay there, while we handle this."

"Yes, Aunt Tia." Cadence sighed, as she got out of the car and Celestia drove off.

Cadence went inside and upon passing Flurry Heart's room, she peeked in and saw Twilight speaking to her baby, "So when your mom first watched me, she wanted me to tell her all I knew about your papa. But rather than just tell her I put her to a test to see if she and your daddy were truly compatible with each other to the point of having a happy ending. After much note taking and analyzing, we came to the conclusion the two were in fact perfect for each other. When daddy took mommy to prom, they knew it was the beginning of something wonderful." Flurry Heart giggled.

Cadence smiled as he watched the two important people left in her life, while recalling that day with Shining Armor. Suddenly Cadence's face bore a look of seriousness, and thought to herself, 'Sorry, Spike. But that monster is going to pay for what he did! With or without your help, Gunn is going down!' After much debating and thought, Cadence knew what to do. She grabbed her phone and made a call, "Ben? It's Cadence. Yes, I'm ok. How about you? That's good. Listen do you have time to spare for a coffee? You do? Great! How about half an hour at the coffee shop? Ok, bye," she hung up, "Time to show the world I'm not some damsel who needs people to take care of her."

Later on, Cadence went to the coffee shop where Gunn was waiting, "Ben." she greeted him.

"Cadence, come sit down." he offered, as she sat down at the counter with him, "So how're you holding up? You doin' ok?"

"Ben, I'm fine, really. I can't keep wallowing in grief and my daughter and Twilight need me to be strong for the both of them." Cadence explained.

"I can only imagine how tough it is looking after both of them."

"Well, Twilight may not be as mature, but she is helpful," Cadence admitted, "How're you holding up?"

"Well, job just doesn't feel the same without Shining covering my back." Gunn answered.

"I see. And are you sure no one at the station was able to ID the car that drove by the diner? Surely the street cams had to have caught something."

"I tell ya we've ran searches, and nothing on the vehicle came up. No license, no tag, nothing."

Cadence sighed, before switching to another matter, "It's just a shame Shining had to die in the middle of a case you two were working."

"I know. Shining was truly the brains behind that case. He felt there was more to what happened. Personally I feel Chet Hoarder was double crossed by a partner of his by putting a bullet in him and made off with the goods." Gunn explained, while Cadence noted him twisting the truth to cover himself.

"So you're just dropping the case?"

"There's not much I can do, since Shining was over half the brain behind solving it. Plus we didn't have enough clues."

"I understand." Cadence said, as the two drank their coffee while catching up on old times. Mostly Cadence was just playing the part while Gunn was oblivious.

About an hour later, Cadence left and drove to Spike's place. She was standing outside his penthouse door, and knocked on it. Answering it was Celestia, "Aunt Celly."

"Cadence, what're you doing here?" she asked in confusion

"I need to see Spike."

"Master's busy at the moment."

"I don't care how busy he is, this cannot wait!" Cadence insisted.

Celestia seeing how serious she was let her inside. Cadence followed her aunt to see Spike in his armchair with Luna serving him tea, "Master." Celestia spoke.

"Who was at the door, Celly?" Spike asked.

"It was me." Cadence stepped forward.

Spike seeing her looked surprised, "Cadence, what are you doing here?"

"I came here to let you I still desire to bring Gunn to justice."

Spike got out of his chair looking angry, "And I said before I don't want you getting involved in this work."

"Well, you're too late because I already am."

"What?" the three gasped.

"I went to join Gunn for coffee, and during our conversation I managed to get him to talk about the dead smuggler and his stolen goods. He claims someone betrayed him and stole it, but the files stated the Smuggler acted alone so no one could've betrayed him."

"Cadence, what were you thinking?!" Spike snapped.

"I told you I wasn't going to sit idly by and do nothing! That may betrayed and murdered Shining Armor. The least I can do for him is avenge his death. Plus I already got involved with Gunn now. So basically you have no choice." she smirked.

Spike wanted to argue, but found himself at a stalemate with her logic, as Luna spoke to him,"She definitely takes after me and Tia."

Spike sighed in irritation, "I had hoped Celestia would be the one to do it, but since you went ahead of it I guess I really don't have a choice now... Very well, I'll allow you to partake in this job."

"Thank you, Spike."

"But I must ask you to hand over Shining Armor's gun." the two adults gasped before looking at Cadence.

Cadence reached into her purse and pulled out Shining Armor's hand gun, "How did you know?"

"People driven by anger and vengeance tend to have a weapon like that on them." he took it from her, "Don't worry, I'll give it back when the time comes. Until then you will follow my orders and the orders of your two superiors." he motioned to Celestia and Luna.

"I understand."

"Which means you cannot act rash and do your own things. Otherwise you may as well join Shining Armor."

"Yes, Spike."

"Furthermore, while you're distracting Gunn while getting what kind of information he has, Celly will be shadowing you in case something were to happen."

"Understood, Spike."

"Good. Now then, we got work to do, girls." Spike told the three.

Over the course of a week, Cadence had been meeting up with Gunn on several occasions be it for coffee, lunch, or dinner. Celestia was shadowing her while pretending to be a customer as well. As Cadence was talking to Gunn, Celestia made sure to record their conversation that was being fed back to Luna's laptop back at Spike's place. Spike and Luna were listening in on the recorded conversation.

"So you and Shining Armor literally pulled over a lady just so you could check her out?" Cadence asked.

"That was all me, Shining didn't want to, but I said it was just for clean fun. Trust me, he was loyal only to you." Gunn explained.

"I know."

Luna spoke to Spike, "You have to admit, Master. Her social skills are probably better than Tia's."

"Perhaps. But it takes more than mere social skills to get information."

"I know, which is why you'll be happy to hear I've found more information on the flash drive that could help us." Luna said.

"I'm listening."

Luna pulled up some more files, "According to Shining Armor's data, Benedict Gunn has been secretly running his black market operation for years, auctioning off stolen antiquities to A-List celebrities and politicians."

"I wonder if half the stuff I stole from other places originally came from his stash," Spike said suspiciously, "So where's this auction being held?"

"That's just it. The auctions are never in the same place. To cover his tracks they hold in in select locations unknown to the police and media."

"Clever," Spike admitted, "I think I'll get the answers out of him myself."

"Be careful, Master. You know the dangers of going up to a cop is like handing yourself over."

"Don't worry, Lulu. I got this." Spike assured her.

That night, Gunn was returning home to his apartment and upon entering he saw the lights were out, "I thought I changed the damn bulbs." he used his phone for light as he went to check the fuse box. He didn't get far as he saw someone in the darkness of his kitchen, "Who's there?!" he pulled out his gun, "Talk or I'll shoot!"

Stepping into a light shined in by the lampposts through the windows was Spike as Dragon, "Shoot and you'll wake up the neighborhood." he replied.

"Dragon? What're you doing here?"

"Relax, detective, I'm not here to cause trouble," Spike started walking around, as Gunn kept his aim on him, "Rather I'm here to negotiate."

"I don't negotiate with crooks. Even if I did, what could you want to negotiate with me?" Gunn asked suspiciously.

"I've been doing some follow up on you Detective Gunn, and rumor has it you've been hoarding priceless artifacts. One's that're on my steal list."

"And where did you hear that from?"

"I have my sources. My source also informs me you've been auctioning them off to others in an illegal auction. That hardly sounds like something a cop should be doing, huh?" Dragon smirked.

"What is your point in all this?"

"I'm making you a deal, give me the artifacts and I'll leave in peace," Dragon began speaking darker, "If you don't, I'll crash your auction and take them myself!"

"You're lying. Even a thief as renowned as you doesn't know where it's being held," Gunn called it, "Even if you do, then you'll just have to try and bid on them yourself. And I doubt you have the kind of money to buy everything there. Especially since they're all worth millions. Plus I doubt you can break in since it'll be heavily guarded, much less find it." he sneered.

Dragon frowned, "If you don't hand them over now I'll do more than just steal from you."

"What, you'll kill me?" Gunn mocked, "You're a thief not a murderer."

Dragon kept his cool, and answered, "Maybe not, but I can assure you, you'll invoke the wrath of someone if you don't cough it all up."

"I'll take my chances."

"You have been warned." Dragon faded into the darkness, and when the lights came back on there was no sign of him.

Back at Spike's place, Spike was explaining to the ladies what went down, "Why didn't you just beat it out of him?" Cadence asked in disbelief.

"If I assaulted him, he would've tried to radio the cops to his place. They would've put him under protection and we'd never get the location."

"So now what?" Luna asked.

"I'll do it." Cadence offered.

"Cadence, I allowed you to join us by trying to get the information out of him is not easy," Spike warned her, "The bastard's a natural at keeping his guard up. And if you try to make him talk through force he'll know you've been trying to spy on him."

"So I won't use force," Cadence replied, " Though I hate to admit it, but in high school I was gifted in wooing boys to do what I wanted due to my popularity and beauty. And I still have that charm to me."

"Hormonal teenage boys is one thing, but a trained cop is another."

"Actually, it might not be as hard as you think," Cadence retorted, "I've been seeing him for a week, and it's become clear he trusts me. If I play my cards right, I think I can get him to tell me the location."

"You're taking a big risk, Cadence." Spike warned her.

"Risks have to be taken, Spike. And we're running out of options." Cadence reminded him.

Spike struggled on his choice, until finally he gave in, "Very well. But be careful, and don't give yourself away. Can you do that?"

"You know I can."

"Then you got a job to do tomorrow."

"Thank you, Spike." Cadence said, as she took her leave.

"Master, are you sure she can truly do it?" Celestia asked.

"Tia's right, she's merely been sweet talking him on the job. But getting a confession could be tricky." Luna added.

"I know. But sometimes you just have to have faith in someone for the sake of having faith."

"Understood." the two nodded.

The next day after school let out, Spike was at home sitting in his arm chair with Celestia and Luna who were waiting for something, "Are you ready?" Celestia asked.

"Coming," Came Cadence's voice. They watched and saw Cadence step into the clear to reveal she was wearing a black strapless dress with a short skirt, and her lips looked as red as a strawberry, "What do you think?"

"Cadence, you're beautiful." Luna answered.

"You truly are," Celestia agreed, before turning to Spike, "What do you think, Master?"

Spike stared in awe at Cadence, seeing just what she meant about being able to turn heads back in high school, "You look perfect."

"Thanks. Well, I'm gonna be meeting Gunn soon. So I better hurry."

"Stay safe, Cadence. And make sure the wire tap you have on you remains hidden." Celestia warned her.

"I will, auntie." Cadence took off.

"Celly?" Spike asked.

"Yes, Master?"

"When this is all over...I want you to get that nun's outfit of yours and punish me for having really impure thoughts." he said with wide eyes.

"But I can help you with that, Master." Luna complained.

"He asked me first, Lulu." Celestia teased.

"Aw..." Luna moaned.

Later on at Canterlot's most pristine restaurants, Gunn and Cadence were at a table, "Gunn, how did you manage to score a table in here of all places?" Cadence asked in wonder.

"It's all about who you know, and when you make the big bucks." Gunn boasted.

"I didn't know a cop gets paid so much." Cadence says slyly.

"Well, it's not just my job. I do other things too."

"Like what?" Cadence asked curiously.

"Just a bit of odd jobs from time to time."

"I see," Cadence answered, wishing he would've brought it up to her, but continued to play it casual, "And I'm glad you invited me out. With having to take care of Flurry Heart and Twilight, I need this time to get away."

"Kids can be such a handful." Gunn joked.

"Got that right." Cadence sighed.

"What's wrong?" Gunn wondered.

"It's just, it's not easy affording to provide for the two, and Twilight will be going off to college soon. She's a shoe in to get accepted in one of the most prestigious of academy's and I don't know if I'll be able to afford that for her," she sighed, "Which is a shame since she has such a gifted mind that needs to be challenged."

Gunn saw how dismal it was making Cadence, until an idea came to mind, "How about I loan you the money with no strings attached."

"Gunn? No I couldn't accept that from you."

"Trust me, it's the least I can do for the wife of my old partner." he insisted.

"But a cop's pension wouldn't be enough for Twilight's education."

"Hey, I said before I make more money outside my job as a cop."

"And how?" she questioned.

Gunn looked around feeling cautious be whispering to her, "Come find me at this location tomorrow night at Eight, then you'll have all your answers." he slipped her a card with an address on it.

Cadence looked at the card with the address on it before pocketing it, "All right." she whispered back.

"Until then, let's just enjoy dinner, shall we?"

"Yes." Cadence smiled, as she decided to enjoy dinner.

After dinner, Gunn dropped Cadence home. After going inside she saw Spike, Celestia, and Luna waiting for her, "Based off what we heard, it was a success." Spike said.

"Yes. This may be the address of the auction's location." Cadence showed them the card.

"Hmm, 325 Browels Grove," Luna read it before pulling it up on her laptop, "Only place there is an old Elementary School that shut down years ago."

"No one would suspect an illegal auction being held there." Celestia said.

"Then that's where we're going tomorrow night." Spike told his girls.

"Me too, if I go in and act as Gunn's date I won't draw too much attention." Cadence explained.

"Agreed, but, Cadence, while on the job things do get messy," Spike began, "So when it comes to that and it will, you must get yourself to safety and out of sight."

"I understand."

"Good. All right, girls. Tomorrow we're crashing an auction and bringing home a treasure trove of artifacts." Spike smirked.

The very next night, Spike, Celestia, and Luna were suiting up for their mission, while Cadence was getting all dolled up for when she'd meet Gunn at the auction. Later on, the four arrived at the location seeing the old school building that was crawling with guards at every entrance and exit. Spike dropped Cadence off on the ground, and she walked along side the other guests who presented the address card given to them by Gunn at the entry way. Cadence presented hers and was admitted inside.

Dragon and his ladies watched her enter the building, "There she goes." Celestia said.

"Uh-huh." Luna nodded.

"Ok, while Cadence keeps Gunn distracted, Celestia and I slip in and take him and his guards down. Luna, be ready when I give you the signal to alert the cops." Dragon instructed.

"Yes, Master. Plus with the spy camera hidden in Cadence's corsage, she'll be filming all that's going down."

Dragon nodded, "Let her get as much footage as she can before we pull her out. Ok, girls. Let's break." he and Celestia moved out.

Inside the building, Cadence followed the guests before entering the gymnasium to see hoards of artifacts on display. They were the same artifacts that were on the flash drive. She made sure her spy camera was getting all this footage, until she saw Benedict Gunn all dressed up, "Ben!"

Gunn looked over, "Cadence, you made it!" he went over and embraced her, "You look wonderful."

"Thanks, you look good too, outside the uniform."

"Well, I look good in just about anything," he laughed, "Please come let me show you around." he escorted her off.

"So you run an auction here?" she asked.

"Oh, yes. I'm actually a collector of rare objects."

Outside the entrance, the two guards who were on patrol before keeping an eye out for anything suspicious heard a cry from a woman in need, "Help! Please! Someone help!" They heard it come from around the corner, and as they went to check it out, they got knocked unconscious by both Dragon and Celestia.

"You make for a good damsel in distress, Celly."

"Thank you, Master. But I wish it could've been you who'd save me and not these two lunk heads." she said in disappointment.

"Hey, next time you're in trouble. I'll be there." he promised.

"Oh, Master." she swooned.

"All right, let's go." Dragon said, as they went inside.

They entered, while ducking around anything in sight to hide from the guards until it was clear. They peeked into the gymnasium, where they saw Gunn standing by a podium with Cadence at his side, "Welcome, everyone. So nice to see you all could make it," he spoke into a mic, "Tonight we have a lot of priceless objects to pick from if it's in your price range." he joked.

Spike frowned, as Celestia spoke, "We can't let him sell them off, Master."

"I know. So we'll have to swipe them," he touched his ear piece, "Luna, are you ready to kill the lights?"

"All set, Master."

"Then douse them."

Suddenly the lights in the gymnasium went out leaving everyone in the dark. The guests started panicking, as Gunn spoke, "Uh, just some minor difficulties with the power. But I assure you it'll all be taken care of," he reached for his phone and spoke, "You idiots, fix the power!" he reached over, "Stay close to me, Cadence. Cadence? Cadence, where are you?"

When the lights came on, all the guests were in shock as they saw all the artifacts were gone, "Where'd they go?" a lady gasped.

"Stolen!" a man cried.

Gunn was in outrage, especially when he saw no sign of Cadence either, "But how?!" he demanded.

"I warned you, Detective." came a familiar voice, as everyone turned and saw Dragon standing atop the bleacher.

"It's Dragon!" one of the guests cried.

"You!" Gunn growled.

"You wouldn't hand over what I asked for, so I just took them myself."

"How'd you even know to come here?" he demanded.

"I said before, I have my sources." he smirked.

"Guards!" Gunn shouted, as his guards stormed into the gym, "Shoot him!" he ordered, as the grunts opened fire on Dragon who started dodging. The guests immediately began to evacuate, while Celestia and Cadence hid behind the bleacher while keeping down.

Cadence watched as Spike was dodging the shots while taking out the guards like it was nothing, "Amazing." she gasped.

"Yes. Despite what training I went through to become Master's servant he was the one who went through the real hardcore training." Celestia explained.

Dragon cleared through the guards before going to Gunn, "So you not only been holding an illegal auction, but you also stole this stuff from Smuggler Chet Hoarder." he began.

"Yes, I did," he confessed, "I knew this stuff would be worth a fortune. So I located his hideout without telling about it and took him down and moved all this stuff away. And none of the cops suspected a thing."

"But I'll bet Shining Armor did, didn't he." Dragon smirked.

"What?"

"He saw the marking on Chet's face, which looked exactly like your ring. You were worried he'd expose you, so you took his life to cover your tracks!"

"Why do you care? Why would some petty crook like you care so much about a cop with no ambition!? "

"You have no idea how close he was to me, and those you took him away from." Dragon replied, until he saw a smug look on Gunn's face. Feeling something about to happen he jumped away to avoid a bullet being shot from an uzi gun held by one of the guards who made one last attempt to gun down Dragon.

Because Dragon dodge, the bullet ended up going right through Gunn's side making him drop to the ground while clutching his wound in pain, "You asshole!" he cursed his guard.

"Sorry, sir!" he replied, only to get sucker punched by Dragon.

"Oh, dammit!" Gunn cried in pain, as blood was leaking through the crevices of his fingers.

"I told you someone's wrath wold be invoked from this. And it's not mine. But rather... hers." Dragon side stepped to reveal Cadence.

"Cadence?" he gasped.

"You lied to me," She began with anger, "You lied to me, the force, everyone!" she cried tears.

"Cadence, I-"

"Shut up!" she shouted, "There's nothing you can say to justify what you did. You're a murderer and a liar. And you have no right to live."

"Cadence," Dragon said, before presenting Shining Armor's gun to her, "Take it. Do what you want. I won't stop you."

"Dragon" she gasped in surprise.

"It's not my place to tell you what to do about this."

"Very well," she took the gun and pointed it at the weakened man's head, "It's because of you my husband is dead. Twilight lost her brother and her parents. And Flurry Heart was denied having a wonderful father! You talked about Shining to everyone like he was a comrade and a friend, but all you said was lies. You dishonor him and the police force."

"So kill me," he beckoned her, "Shoot me and the truth goes with me."

Cadence frowned at his smugness, before thinking of Shining Armor, Twilight, and Flurry Heart. Suddenly she started hesitating before lowering the gun, "No. I'm not gonna let you walk away like this. The truth won't die with you. We have the evidence we need."

"You lie!" Gunn groaned.

"She doesn't." Dragon confirmed.

Cadence shook her head, "Instead I'll let you die slowly. Let you savor whatever time you have left," she turned and started walking away, "Have fun in hell ,Benedict." she called out before going out the exit.

Dragon looked back at Gunn on the ground in pain, "I may not be a cop, but I know there's no honor in betraying your own partners. Celly, let's go."

"Coming, Master." Celestia answered, as the two left.

"No! Don't leave me! Don't..." he trailed off, while succumbing to his blood loss. His vision started growing distorted, as he thought he could see Shining Armor standing before him. That was the last sight he saw before growing limp.

Outside the school, Dragon turned to Luna who met up with them, "You have the disk containing all the footage Cadence caught on camera?" he asked.

"All edited and ready. I left it taped to the podium." Luna explained.

"Good. Now let's get the stuff back to my place." Dragon said, as they walked to the back and entered a truck disguised like it was for a furniture company.

The next morning, Spike, Celestia, Luna, and Cadence were watching the morning news, "And in a shocking revelation, former Detective Benedict Gunn was found shot and dead at the abandoned Little Oaks Elementary school. Police found planted on him a recording of footage of him not only to have been running the illegal black market auctions, but confessing it was he who was responsible for not only the murder of Smuggler Chet Hoarder, but of also Detective Shining Armor, Night Light, and Twilight Velvet Sparkle." the newswoman explained.

Cadence smiled seeing Shining Armor and his parents were avenged without her having to kill Gunn. Spike laid a hand on her shoulder giving her a smile, "I'm very proud of you Cadence."

"We all are.' Celestia said.

"Really?"

"Yes. You had the chance to kill Gunn, but I'm glad you didn't go down that road. "

"I just figured Shining Armor wouldn't want me to bear the weight of murdering him on my conscious."

Spike nodded, "And now that Shining Armor's been avenged, you can move on with your life."

"I know. Thank you all for helping me even though you never wanted me a part of this." Cadence said gratefully.

"Well, I'd be going against Shining Armor's wishes if I just left you alone." Spike admitted.

"Against his wishes?" Cadence was confused, "Spike, did Shining Armor leave more to you in that letter of his?"

Spike answered, "He asked for me to take care of you, Flurry Heart, and Twilight because despite me being a thief...Shining said that the three of you would be in no safer hands than mine."

Cadence smiled, "Shining Armor."

The flashback ended, as Cadence told Flurry Heart, "After then I started seeing more of Spike getting to know him better as a person. And I won't deny he was so much fun to flirt with. It was then I decided to officially become part of his operation as one of his servants. Much like before he denied my request, but I used my feminine charms until he gave in," she giggled with her daughter, "And since then we've been doing so many jobs together. Your father left me, you, and Twilight in the care of someone he could truly trust." she smiled.

Meanwhile, Spike was walking back while keeping to himself. As he passed a nearby fountain, he looked at his reflection before pretending to see Shining Armor, and smiled. He pressed on and remembered the letter Shining Armor wrote to him.

Spike, I want you to know I'm glad you've been such a good friend to my little sister, Twilight. And I also want to tell you I know the truth about you and your family. You are the Master Thief Dragon that Chief Iron Will's been trying to catch. Don't be alarmed, I have no intention of ratting you out. It wasn't hard to figure it out after doing a background check on all the artifacts and such Dragon stole were once owned by your family, and that Cadence and her aunts family have been in secret service to the Lupin's for generations. I haven't told Cadence I learned of this, but I'm hoping you and I can talk about this. But I have my suspicions I won't live long enough to discuss it with you, so I wish to leave some parting words to you. I want you to take care of Cadence, Flurry Heart and Twilight. Even though you are an international thief, I could think of no safer hands to leave them in but yours.

Spike smiled and thought to himself, 'Shining Armor, your wife is one of a kind.'