A mere shadow

At dawn the next morning Shadow wakes up as she normally does, she gets up, stretches, gets water. When she places the bucket of fresh water on the floor of the kitchen Dawn wakes up.

"What are you doing Shadow?" She moans.

"Just getting fresh water, you should probably get up. We have a full day and night today."

Dawn sighs and says, "Are you sure that's the best way? Stealing age-old relics from the Canterlot museum?"

Shadow brings some toast and tea, "I've had encounters with Aegeus before... And the new captain of the Lunar guard is going to help us."

"He knows about your plan? That's not good Shadow!" Dawn says worriedly shrinking back under her blanket.

"No, I didn't tell him... I just told him that he could help with the plan after I found him again."

"What excuse will you use for the relics?" Dawn asks calming down.

"I... I'm going to tell the truth.... We'll stash the relics here and go find him. Then the next day when the robbery is in the papers we'll deliver the relics and he'll help us catch Aegeus once and for all!" Shadow answers determinedly. But Dawn is still worried.

"What if the plan goes awry? What if he just puts us in jail? AND DOESN'T EVEN LISTEN!!!"

"Calm down Dawn! I'm sure he'll understand. He's not the type of pony to jump to conclusions..."

"He won't have to! You're saying that we just waltz into Canterlot and tell the Captain of The Royal Lunar Guard That we stole the relics and gave them to a criminal and now we need his help to get them back? Shadow you're crazy..."

"No no, We will still have the relics here remember? I'll propose my plan to capture Aegeus and them we'll all be hunky dory!"

Dawn murmurs something about poison and nursing back to health but Shadow just ignored that and poured the tea into the the cups.

"Have some breakfast and calm down, everything will work out fine."

Taking the offered cup Dawn says, "I hope your right Shadow, for all our sakes."

They eat the rest of the breakfast lost in their own thoughts. When they finished and had cleaned up Shadow says coming out of the kitchen, "Well, we better go so we don't miss the train."

"I suppose your right... Are you gonna wear your cloak and knife?"

"Oh... No I'm not..." Shadow says while she stops putting on her cloak and takes off her knife. "I'm just so used to having them with me at all times..." She put on her saddlebags and commences to the door, Dawn follows her and they take off towards Ponyville.

"I've been thinking about our plan and I've brushed up on a few aspects of it. We are going to go to the museum as sisters. We just about already think of each other like that. And it's not hard to believe with our colors."

Shadow goes on going over their plan until they reach the train station.

"Remember Dawn, we're sisters and we are just going to Canterlot for a friendly visit." Shadow whispered to Dawn, Dawn nods her understanding and they board the train. They sit down at the end of the last car where only a few other ponies were, after a while Shadow fell asleep.

Shadow is in the deep forest, she looks around and sees nopony. At first she see's nopony but then out of the corner of her eye she sees something. Acting purely on instinct she takes off and lands in the right above her head. The pony comes into her view and she sees that it's Echo Shade.

What is he doing in my dream?

Echo Shade stops as if he heard something then he looks up, straight at Shadow.

"What are you doing in my dream?"

"I'm the one in a dream here, you're just a figment of my imagination."

"I can tell you quite certainly that this is my dream, I usually don't see that it's a dream while I'm dreaming but this time I do."

"But I'm asleep on the train..."

"Train to where might I ask?"

Shadow doesn't answer she feels herself being pulled not unlike the time that her father was in her dreams.

"Shadow, wake up!" Shadow opens her eyes and blinks a couple times.

"What? We can't be at Canterlot yet can we?" Shadow asks, irritated.

"You were talking in your sleep... Did you have a nightmare?"

"No, I didn't have a nightmare... Do you remember when I told you about my father walking in my dreams and beating me until I was half dead?"

"Yeah, you had a broken leg and ran away from the hospital after they found out that you were an orphan..."

"Well... I think I'm a dreamwalker.. Echo Shade was in my dream but he said that it was his dream to..."

"Why would you think that you're a dreamwalker? You just had a dream that you saw Echo Shade and he said that it was his dream too..."

"Maybe you're right... But maybe you're wrong..."

They sit the rest of the trip in silence. When they got to Canterlot Echo Shade was sitting on the bench near the exit. He saw Shadow and went over to her.

"I thought you were nocturnal..." Shadow says as he approaches.

"I am but I had... A dream.. You said that it was your dream and that you were on the train... You go sucked out of the dream before you could answer so I decided to come down to the station and wait for the next train. Turns out I was right and you were on the train here."

"Yeah, me and my sister wanted to come see the Canterlot museum..."

Dawn just nods her agreement and retreats behind Shadow a little more.

"What with her? She's rather shy."

"Yeah, she always has..."

After an awkward pause Echo Shade says, "The museum huh? I'll give you a personal escort to it..."

"Oh..um... That's really not necessary... And shouldn't you be sleeping so you aren't tired for your job tonight?"

"I can certainly get plenty of sleep after I escort you two pretty young mares to the museum."

There can't be any harm in letting him escort us... Why is he looking at me that way?

Echo was looking at Shadow through the corner of his eye but enough that Shadow could sense that he was looking at her.

"Um... I guess you can escort us to the museum..."

"Excellent, come this way." Echo turns and leads the way to the museum.

Why is he so eager to escort us to the museum? And why does he keep glancing at me that way?

They reach the museum and Echo Shade opens the door for them.

"Here we are ladies, now I must return to my sleep if I am to serve Luna this night." He flies off and they go into the museum and pay for there stay.

"I think he likes you." Dawn says quietly as they walk slowly down the hall.

"What? Why would he like me?" Shadow asks quickly, quickening her pace.

Dawn smirks before answering, "The way he waited at the train station to see if you were on the train, the way he kept looking at you when we were coming over here. And I think you like him too."

Shadow blushes at this remark but as she's still ahead Dawn doesn't see it.

"W-why would I like him?"

How do you tell if you like somepony?

Dawn just rolls her eyes and catches up with Shadow.

They spend a pleasant day in Canterlot despite the darker motive they had for going there in the first place. Now it's sunset and they are preparing to go make the theft.

"I'm really scared about tonight... Are you sure there's no better way?" Dawn asks nervously putting on a black cloak over a brown tunic and putting on a bandana over her nose.

"I'm scared too, Dawn. But I'm certain that this will work..." Shadow answers dressing herself the same way. "Nopony will be able to identify us like this. The light will be uncertain so they won't be able to discern our colors and the cloaks will hide the rest of out bodies."

"What about my hoof tips?" Dawn asked uncertainly.

Shadow ponders this for a moment then she goes into her room and comes out with 2 pairs of leather shoes. "These will cover your hooves." Shadow says tossing them to Dawn.

"It's like you've done this before Shadow..."

"I've never stolen from a museum before... But on more than one occasion I've had to break into a highly guarded establishment.. How different could this be?"

Dawn finished dressing and went onto the balcony looking at the moon. Shadow comes and joins her putting a wing around her friend to comfort her.

"It'll be ok Dawn... And the fly to Canterlot will help us clear our heads."

"You're right, Shadow, it just seems so... Wrong."

"It isn't actually wrong... It's kinda like that old story.. About the knight and his squire, who were so tired of this woman coming and asking for them to go get her son that they did. But for the wrong reason... I guess you can't exactly do the wrong thing for the right reason... But this..." Shadow trails off looking uncomfortable.

"I understand what your trying to say, Shadow. Why don't we just go and get this unpleasant business behind us?"

"Best suggestion I've heard all night, lets go."

The two best friends take off and fly into the night heading towards Canterlot.

~~~~~

The Sapphire Statue of wealth and Gryphon's Goblet of great power sat innocently in their glass cases. Then two black ponies dressed alike, except one had leather shoes on, came into the room and made their way directly to the cases.

"How are you going to get them out?" Dawn asks quietly.

"Shh! Aha, there's the opening... How am I going to get it open?" Shadow muttered mostly to herself, then she turns to Dawn. "Go guard, I'm sure that busted window won't go unnoticed for long..." And turns back to the case puzzling how to open it without smashing something. Dawn goes and stations herself a few yards away. Shadow is picking at the opening with a needle now. A small click and Shadow exclaims,

"Ow.. Got it.... Now for the other one." Shadow licks her lips and moves to the other case, opening the second with more ease.

Dawn comes flying over quickly, "I heard a clattering! The guards are coming!" Dawn almost screams.

"Dawn, calm down we're almost there. We just need to grab the relics." Shadow says hushedly prodding open the cases and grabbing the relics stuffing them into her saddlebags."

The pair of black pegasi launch into the air right over the heads of the unicorn guards, only to be blocked by pegasi when they try to get out.

I knew it was going to smooth... But I can't let them catch us!

Mind racing at a million thoughts a second Shadow grabs Dawn and bowls through the pegasi taking a couple cuts but keeping herself under control and racing out of the museum.

"We should... Split up... And meet at my house." Shadow says punctuated because of the cut on her leg. They split up and go in different directions. Shadow takes some trick turns and flies as fast she can into the forest dodging the trees naturally. Dawn tries her luck heading towards the end of Canterlot where there are more high buildings, intending to use her agility to the limit. After a wild chase later they meet in Shadow's house.

"They almost had me! Those guards are so picking fast!" Shadow says in between breaths.

"I thought they had me as well. I'm so scared..."

"They won't be able to recognize us... And the relics will be save back in the museum the day after tomorrow..."

The two friends huddled on the floor the floor a while, both taking in what they had done that night.