The Dark Horses

A warm breeze sailed in through the open window, ruffling the covers of the large, fluffy bed. Rainbow Dash, still asleep, gripped her bedfellow tighter, snuggling into his body and nuzzling her snout into his grey fur. Kenny laid there with her, safe and cozy under the thick cloud-woven covers. He, however, was not asleep. He was wide awake, ready for action, brown eyes round and alert. He looked around the room. It was large; he and Dash lay in a four poster bed, mattress and covers woven from pure clouds- very expensive. Expensive... yes. A thief by profession, Kenny loved expensive. And this was going to pay very, very well.

Kenny laid still as a stone, while Dash snored behind him. Jeez, she was hot. They'd been together for about a year now, and just last week they'd decided to travel to Cloudsdale so he could meet her parents. They were actually very cool, especially her father, who'd taken a liking to Kenny quickly. Oh, and being one of the most influential families in Cloudsdale, they were rich. Very rich. The house was a massive cloud construct, decorated ornately with lots of rainbow-themed decorations. He couldn't say he expected Dashie to come from a well off family, seeing as she was the polar opposite of prissy- but hey, whatever. As soon as he walked in the door three days ago, he knew he couldn't let this opportunity pass him by. He was going to make a few things, uh, disappear, and make some bits off it too.

Dashie rolled back over, slender blue body looking almost too small for the huge bed. Kenny slid out of bed, practiced hooves making not a sound. The soft cloud floor muffled his footsteps too, adding to his stealth. He snuck over to his bags, avoiding the moonbeams streaming through the windows like the plague. The shadows are your friend, he remembered. He slowly unzipped the bag, wind muffling the sound to anyone who may have been nearby. Out he pulled a brown suit of leather armor, hooded, covered with tens of pouches, brass buckles, and straps. He slid it on silently, and the boots to match over his hooves. Clad in the suit, his trademark outfit, Kenny crept across the floor, army-crawling, wings pressed tight to his body. He slowly pushed open the door to the main hall, slipping out and closing it behind him with a soft phut sound.

The hall was massive- they were on the second floor. Many doors lined the walls, and below him was the open space of the main floor. Swords and animal heads lined the walls, casting frightening shapes on the floor. Kenny spread his wings, and climbed to the railing of the balcony he stood on, looking over the room. Seeing no one, he hopped off the railing into the air, slowly descending too the floor. His shadow, caught by the torchlight, wings spread, glided over the cloudy carpet, looking like the outline of a giant bat. Hitting the soft floor, he tucked his wings in and rolled, sidling a shadowed wall. Kenny followed the wall down the hallway, marveling at the home. The clouds were shaped smoothly, beautiful in their creamy, soft textures. Nothing of particular interest caught his eye, yet. The torchlight cast strange shapes on the carpet, frightening as well as surreal.

The glint of torchlight on glass caught Kenny's eye. A large display case stood stoic under a brazier, glistening in the orange torchglow. He walked over, and standing on two hooves, marveled at the beauty of what lay inside. On a carpet of velvet sat a large dagger. The pommel and crossguard were stylized clouds, and the blade was covered by a pommel with a rainbow sheen, changing colors as he turned his head. He tried to open the case but to no avail- it was locked tight. Out of a pouch on his chest, he produced a lockpick and went to work.

After a little bit of struggle, Kenny managed to pop the lock with a pretty little snick. He took the handle of the dagger in his mouth and pulled it out, looking at the blade. It was simple, a thick steel edge, good for stabbing or slashing. He set the dagger down and belted the sheath on. After admiring the way it sparkled on his side, he slid the dagger in, and continued looting. As he explored the home, he saw nothing else he could take at the moment. Maybe if he had more time... Kenny snuck back upstairs, and went back into Dashie's room. Still sound asleep, she snored loudly, creating a lot of sound cover. He took off the stealth suit and dagger, putting them back in his bag. The navy-haired pegasus crawled back into bed with his marefriend, after his half hour search, relaxing again. She stirred in her sleep, and blinked her rose eyes open.

"Kenny? You did the... get out of bed?"

"Shh, Dashie. I was thirsty, I had to go get a glass of water."

"There's one on the nightstand, egghead." They chuckled together quietly, sounding louder than they really were in the sleepy room.  Dashie huggled close to him, and kissed him on the cheek as they adjusted themselves. They lay there quietly for a few minutes, until suddenly Kenny felt the covers being pulled off him. Rainbow's wings stuck straight out, lifting up the comforter.

"What- ooh..." He looked at her, smiling questioningly. "Wingboner?" She blushed heavily.

"N-no! I'm not..." She grinned hard, cyan fur dyed red at the cheeks.

"You know, I can help you with that if you'd like."

"Oh, really?" She laid back, spreading her legs and pushing her head up onto the pillow fully. Kenny grinned, and stood over her, smiling back, blue mane gently flowing in the breeze as he pulled the covers off of them.

"Yeah, really." He laid on top of her and they kissed roughly, a mass of blue and grey, moaning and giggling and squirming. They progressively got naughtier, as he eased himself into her slowly. He began to speed up, eliciting satisfied squeaks from his mate. Rainbow Dash was a squealer, all right, but he didn't mind. It was cute to hear her pleasure noises, and it made him happy to make her happy. After Rainbow and Kenny's sex came to a pleasurable close, they collapsed, coats sweaty and bodies tired, into the sheets again, cuddling together sweetly. The sun began to poke over the horizon, angling in through the open window.

***

They awoke some hours later, birds chirping outside, sunbeams blaring into the room. Blinking awake, Kenny and Dash clumsily went about their morning routine, brushing teeth, showering, eating breakfast. Flying was a useful skill to have when you were trying to move fast, and they appreciated it fully. After getting ready, (and for Kenny, dressed) they both left the house, Dash to help out the weather patrol and Kenny to get rid of this... item. She didn't know that he was a thief. He'd told her he was a salespony, which wasn't strictly a lie. He flew fast and low over the floating cloud city, marveling at the beauty of his hometown. Smooth white spires and Greco-Roman style architecture were everywhere. The city had been around since forever, inhabited by the Ancient Pegasi thousands of years in the past.

Kenny spotted his destination, a low building hiding in the shadow of two cloud spires.He landed softly, tucking his grey wings into the sides of his brown armor. He pulled the hood up as he walked inside- who knew what kind of ponies could be in here? It was better to be safe than sorry. All kinds of goods lined the crowded shelves- blades, tools, armor, magical junk, potions- you name it. Former property of other thieves. He navigated through the maze of ceiling high shelves, looking for the back counter where he knew he'd find a fence. Hearing movement behind a shelf, he pulled the knife from his saddlebags and lowered his head so that the dark brown hood shadowed his face in the dim light. He walked toward the counter he saw out of the top of his vision, partially obscured by the mess of blue hair in his vision. Lifting his head to face the rainbow-maned, navy stallion, he produced the knife and- Wait. Navy stallion? Rainbow hair!?

"Oh my Celestia! Rainbow Blitz?!" Kenny leapt backwards, knocking a rack of magical staves to the floor. Rainbow Dash's father was the fence? Oh, boy.

"Kenny! Is that my knife?"

"Yes! Sorry, I have to make money somehow!"

"Yeah, well, steal from somepony else then, kid! Does my little filly know you're thieving scum?"

"I'm thieving scum? You're the fence here!"

"I- oh. Right." They stared into each other's eyes, brown and yellow orbs shining in the dimness, at a loss for words.

"So..."

"Uh..."

"My daughter..."

"Yeah..."

"I uh, heard some noise upstairs last night, you two have fun?" Rainbow Blitz grinned.

"No! I... wait, you're okay with that?"

"Sure I am. Kids will be kids, you know?"

"Oh-kay then..." Kenny handed the knife over to Blitz. "This belongs to you, I think." Rainbow chuckled. "No, kid, I don't need it. Keep it, a gift from me. Future father-in-law to son."

"I...uh...wow, thanks! Wait... future father-in-law?"

"I hope so. Don't buck this up, kiddo. She likes you, and so do I."

"This is weird..."

Just then, there was a terrible ruckus. The door burst open, and there was shouting.

"Anyone in here, show yourselves! We have a warrant for Kenny... somedamnname I can't pronounce. Come out with your hooves up!"

The two criminals could hear the clank of armor, and they tried to hide. Blitz ducked behind the counter, producing a sparkly crystal sword from underneath it, and Kenny braced himself against a shelf, drawing the knife slowly, peeking around the corner.  Kenny swore under his breath. Guards. Somebody had ratted them out. He heard the soldier's metal horseshoes clanking on the tiled floor- specifically installed to prevent ponies from being able to sneak around. That's why Kenny wore leather boots, to stay silent on any surface. As the soldier rounded the corner, poking his head out, Kenny grabbed him, wrapping his hooves around the guard's face to prevent him from calling for help. He held the soldier down on the floor, pressing into his neck.

"Shh shh shh... don't fight it," Kenny whispered as the guard passed out on the floor. Nonlethal was always better. Bloodshed should be avoided when possible.

Then he felt a hard pain at the base of his neck. The hood negated some of the impact damage, and he yelled out.

"MotherFUCKER! What the hell...?" Spinning around, another soldier stood over him with a spear. He rolled away as the soldier thrust down, lodging the spear in the floor. Spinning around, Kenny pulled the dagger as the soldier coughed up blood onto him.

"Wha..." A long shard of crystal protruded from his chest, covered in warm, sticky blood. The blade retracted, disappearing back, and the soldier fell, revealing a heroic looking Rainbow Blitz, now clad in a black variant of the armor Kenny wore. "Where did you..."

"No time, kid. You have to move!" They hurried out of the store, checking for other soldiers. A few were coming down the street, standing in a line, spears raised. Rainbow pulled on Kenny's sleeve. "Go, kid. I'll lead them away. Run, do whatever, just get away from here. Alright?"

"Sounds like a plan!" Kenny started to dash off, but stopped. "Dad, promise me you'll keep Dashie out of this?"

"Whoa, kid, I'm not Dad yet." He smiled. "Go!" Kenny took off into the afternoon sky. He knew he could lose the soldiers in the air, but he still worried about Dash. He hesitated for a moment, but made his decision almost instantly, resuming flight. Her father could take care of things. Now, he was a wanted fugitive- somepony wanted him dead.