Las Pegasus Lifestyle
PART ONE
By CloudySkies (Breeze)
Glimmer looked up slightly from the topaz bracelet she was placing in the display when she heard the sound of rattling metal and wingbeats. The unicorn paid it no mind and locked up the display case again with a simple spell. She sat down on a small loveseat in the corner and glanced at the large mahogany grandfather clock in the corner. One... Two... Three... As if on cue, a white pegasus launched out of the air vent and managed to make a corkscrew spin to the ground without crashing into anything. It comes with practice. Nonetheess, Glimmer never ceased to be impressed by the mare's timing and agility.
"Hey, Shiny." the white pegasus said with a grin. it was almost grotesque, with her black vest and hoof gun. The crossbow slung over her back didn't help much either. Glimmer paid it no mind and hugged her sister, careful to avoid touchig the scars on the back of her neck and side of face. She released her older sibling and trotted to the other side of he counter, pulling out a shimmering opal on a gold chain.
"What do you think?" 'Shiny' asked, the pendant spinning around and glowing with a soft light. Her sister sighed.
"Purdy. But you know that you're the jewelry maker and I'm-"
"The gunpony. Right." Glimmer cut her off. "So how's businesss today, Bree?" She said with a smile. Business was always good with her sister. Still fun to ask. Bree didn't answer, just looking down at her hooves and staying quiet. "What's wrong?" Bree ignored her, straightened up with an almost angry-sounding snort and trotting to the door.
"I'm going to Summer's place for a drink. You coming?" Glimmer sighed and followed her sister, turning the 'open' sign over as she left. They walked down the sun-baked road, heat waves rising off anything that the sun would reach. Finally, they reached the sand of the beach. Flying about a foot off the ground, Bree flew to the surf shack at the other end, waiting for her sister. She soared in, bells jingling from the door. "I'll take an Applejack Daniels if you don't mind," she said jovially, sitting down on a stool at the counter.
Summer Blaze, the young earth pony mare who worked the place, nodded and took out the beer bottle from the small ice box in the corner, protected from the heat. She handed the beer to Bree and looked up to see Glimmer walking through the door. She was secretly releived. Glimmer was a nice gal, but Breeze made her nervous with her gun and her history... She grinned at Glimmer and walked over to the ice cream box expectantly. "You want your normal?" She asked, waiting. Glimmer nodded and sat down by her sister. Summer took a sugar cone and filled it with strawberry ice cream with a chocolate-dipped strawberry on top. Shiny's favorite.
"Thanks, Summer!" She said brightly, pushing a few bits across the counter and walking out, levitation the ice-cream cone. Bree handed the earth pony some bits and walked out, tossing the empty beer bottle into a recycling bin on the way out.
"They can't tell me that I'm not good for the enviroment now" She said to herself with an amused smirk as she flapped her wings a few times in a failed attempt to ward off the irritating sun. She caught up with her sister and walked alongside her, eyeing the ice cream dripping off the sides. She opened her mouth to say something about it when Glimmer bit the rest of it in her desperation to keep it from her rather gluttonous sister.
"So will you be able to take me to see Celestia?" Glim asked brightly, ignoring her sister's hurt look at the loss of the ice cream. "You promised." Bree sighed and wrapped a wing around her sister.
"Of course I'll take you. I have to go to Canterlot anyway for a meeting with the other limpdicks in the EBI high command. The boss is taking my team for extra precautions. Then you can talk with Celestia all you want, squirt." Glimmer giggled and trotted with her sister back to the store.
Glimmer sat behind the counter of her jewelry store once again with a sigh. No business, no money, only her sister snoring softly in the corner and a big fancy room full of big fancy jewels that nobody would buy. She nearly gave up when the door opened with a soft, drawn-out squeeeaak as two ponies walked in. Breeze looked up d backed into the corner with narrowed eyes, unseen. She didn't like the look of the two ponies. One of them, a large blue stallion with a black mane, looked like he had some sort of mask on. In this heat? Wierdo. She couldn't see much of his eyes but it looked like he was lacking any pupils. The other pony, a gray unicorn mare, looked a little more normal. Professionally curled mane, dark blue eyes, faint silver freckles. She was almost the definition of almost evil beauty. Her cutie mark, a black diamond with two black angel wings, almost shimmered in the sunlight. Bree's attention snapped back to the blue stallion as he looked expectantly to the mare.
"Do we destroy the room and run, Angel?" He asked in an icy voice. Glimmer visibly shuddered and Bree's hoof inched towards her hoofgun in the hostler under her left wing. Angel let out a silken purr.
"No, that won't be necessary Shadow. Just let me place an order then we can leave." She trotted over to the counter where the patient Glimmer Shine was waiting. "Hello, darling, would you mind putting this on a silver chain for me?" She asked sweetly, levitating a jewel identical to the one on her flanks. Glimmer examined the jewel, turning it and holding it up to the light before she was satisfied.
"Of course. I'll have it done by tomorrow and you can come in anytime then." She said with a friendly smile. Bree gritted her teeth. I could never be that nice to ponies like that... Besides, that stallion said something that's lingering... He was going to destroy the place? She stepped out from the shadows as the two ponies turned to leave.
"Hold it, you two. What were you going to do with the room again?" She asked th a growl. "You'd better not be too suspicious, someone might bring you in." She kept her badge hidden, they didn't need to know she was a fed. Yet. Angel and Shadow turned and saw her for the first time. Fear flickered breifly in Angel's eyes for a heartbeat, but Shadow remained still and emotionless. His eyes were pure white. He took a step towards her with a scowl.
"Let us leave, mortal. When we take over Equestria, you won't ask stupid questions like that!" Angel sighed and started for the door.
"I'll let you take care of this, Shadow." Bree blocked the way with one of her wings, knocking the indignant Angel back a few steps. Anger marred her pretty face and she turned on the white pegasus. "What do you think you're doing, touching me?!" She shrieked. Breeze ignored her, focused more on Shadow. The stallion still hadn't moved, but the room felt ten degrees colder. It would have been welcome if not for the tension between the ponies. Glimmer walked towards her sister, her ears back. She hadn't seen Breeze like this for a while and she was afraid. Finaly reachig her, she murmured in her ear tentativelly.
"Bree, they're customers..." She waited for the biting remark. None came. Breeze was looking down at her calmly.
"Glimmer, these ponies aren't just customers. Let me do my job kid. Go cut some diamonds or something." Breeze turned back to the 'customers' with her gun still held up. "Get out of here before I blow a hole in that mask of yours, Mr. Freeze." She said. Breeze had heard of this stallion before. Blue with a black mask, mane, and tail, he had gone to court a few times for being accused of attacking ponies and petty theft, but nothing came of it. He wasn't a threat now, but she still didn't like the look in those eyes. He thrust out his chin and lifted the corner of his mouth in a growl.
"I'm glad to go. Come on, Angel. We need to talk about the next phase of our plans..." He trotted out of the room angrily with Angel trailing him. She turned before she left.
"I'll be back at 11 to get the necklace." She said with a sniff and walked out. Breeze barely caught her last remark to Shadow. "I just hope that bitch isn't here when we're back... Ugly thing. Did you see those scars?" Then the door closed and the room was quiet. Breeze turned on Glimmer again.
"Are you an idiot? You should know not to get in between me and what I'm paid to do. I have to support you and myself and if I screw up, then that's not going to be good for either of us. Got it? Just because you--" Glimmer crept away slowly, looking up at her sister sadly.
"I... I'm sorry..." She whispered, turning and running up the stairs to her apartment in the upper floor of the building. Breeze made no attempt to follow her and just picked up the bag she left by the vent, soaring out of the door. Angrily, she shot up into the clouds. I always screw up with her.... Damn it, I'm a stupid excuse for a sister.... Landing on a cloud, she collapsed and buried her face into the damp white fluff, shaking with tears that wouldn't come.
It was almost dawn when Breeze woke up, her long black and cyan mane tangled and bits of damp cloud stuck in it. She looked around, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness. I wonder if there's anyone else awake... She peered down at the streets, a chestnut flash darting by the corner of her eye. She turned her head and narrowed her eyes at where it had been, uneasy.
Leaping down from her cloud, Bree opened her wings to glide down to the pavement. "You may as well come out from wherever you're hiding!" she called out into the darkness. Irritation pricked at her pelt until she heard a familiar crash. She's breaking into Glim's shop! Bree sped into the alleyway and saw the brown tip of a tail disappearing into the air vent. She dived into the vent after the pony, groping blindly from a limb or the rest of that damned tail. Bree found nothing, instead falling out of the vent onto the polished hardwood floor, driving the air out of her. She stood with a grunt, shaking her head to clear it and taking large gulps of air. "Damn it, where'd you go?" The white pegasus mare looked around the dark room, panicking, until she heard a thump upstairs. No, not there! She flew up the stairs instead of walking, careful to keep quiet. Emerging into the small hallway, Bree saw a chestnut pegasus with cream colored blotches over its fur like melted butter rummaging through a chest. She cleared her throat, then slammed one hoof into the pegasi's jaw.
"That's for breaking into my sister's house." She said with a smirk, then sighed as she came under the realization that she had to call the cops, not counting herself for being off duty, clean up the broken glass downstairs, and get the body out of the way. Hopefully without waking up her little sister.
"Better get started," she grumbles and she grabbed the unconscious mare and dragged her down the stairs to the downstairs room. "Now where'd I put my phone..." Bree walked over to her bag by the wall where she'd left it and pulled out an Applejack Uphone. Scrolling through the list of names with her wing like a human finger, she finally found the distinctly numbered 1011 for emergencies. Just as Bree was about to select the pesky button, she felt a small tickling sensation at the base of her skull and she thudded to the floor, the thief standing above her with a triumphant grin and one of her front hooves still raised.
When the mare woke up, she was on the floor in the same spot she'd fallen. Her hooves itched, and Bree glanced over her shoulder. Binding? Why was she-- The thief. The bitch woke up.
How dare she?
No, it was my mistake, please...
You know you want to hurt her for what she did. Hitting you, threatening the safety of your only little GLIMMER of hope in this world.
She only broke in. Get out of my head.
Why should I leave? You'll just get lonely again. I rather like it here.
Shut up. Get out. GET OUT!
Silence. Blessed silence.
Bree tried to work her hooves out of the ropes but with every movement, the binding dug tighter and she let out a small gasp of pain. Looking around, she saw nothing but her phone about a foot away from her when she dropped it. Bree inched her way towards it but a chestnut hoof came down and kicked it away, sending it under the guest bed in the next room over. Bree looked up at the mare accusingly, faintly registering that her mouth was stuck with a gag. Her wings, hooves, and mouth were all out of commission. And to make things more absurd, the mare had, of all things, antlers. Stag antlers that were sharpened to points and lacking the fuzz that most deer grew on their antlers for a period of time. Bree was no girl scout but she figured the antlers resembled that of a white tail deer.
Worry about that later, get these damned ropes off of our hooves! Bree gave an inward groan, realizing the annoying voice in the back of her head was back.
May as well listen to him.
Sliding her hooves in circular motions behind her back, Bree quietly started to work off the ropes despite them digging into her skin. The intruder had long since become distracted again by going through more cabinets and chests. She must have just wanted me out of the way... Ignoring all the extra thoughts imposing onto her mind, she finally freed her hooves and brought them up to her face quietly, freeing the gag and getting a tighter grip on it with her hoof.
Leaping up and pinning the intruder to the floor on her stomach, Bree shoved the gag in her mouth and placed her free hoof on the base of the other mare's neck.
"I want a name. Now." she hissed into her ear.