What's Yours Is Mine

Chapter 9- Both Sides of the Law

Silver's Hollow was really nothing more than a hole in the ground, really, the mouth of the cave was wide but when one entered the walls quickly closed up to surround a single wooden door that was decorated with strange symbols and markings.

Swift Hoof looked at the door for a moment before walking in like he owned the place, he had never been one for knocking. Inside the rest of the cave gave way to a large uneven cavern that was dimly lite by large basins of some sort of oil that burned a eerie green colour. No signs of inhabitants could be seen.

Swift stayed low and inches his way farther into the cave, a strange feeling was creeping up his spine. Like he was unwelcome and should leave now. He reached a turn in the cave and peeked around it, there he could see two more basins of the strange green substance and they flanked a small table and a set of chairs.

Sitting at the table was a Zebra mare. Her main was long and braided, each of her hooves was adorned with several rings of gold, her sides were painted with black symbols and her eyes were obscured by a red shawl. The Zebra turned her head a looked at where Swift Hoof was hiding.

"Why do you hide? Don't you know that Valdora is on your side?"

Swift jumped at being addressed- he was sure she couldn't see him -but she was staring right at him, cautiously he stepped out of the shadows and into the light. The Zebra encouraged him with a beckoning hoof and Swift took a few small steps forward, he didn't like Zebra's, maybe it was ridiculous but the idea of Zebra Spirit Magic had always disturbed him a bit. Plus Swift had heard many a rumour of unholy Blood and Bone magics that some Zebra's utilized to acquire power at the expense of unsuspecting Ponies, he hoped they were only rumours.

As he got within a respectable distance to the Zebra she removed her shawl, he noticed that she had what looked like the skulls of small birds handing from a necklace she wore, he also noticed something about her eyes: they were white, colourless, and vacant. They didn't focus on him nor seemingly anything in particular, Swift wondered if she was blind and then wondered how she knew he was there if she was, in fact, blind.

She spoke again "Come speak words by mouth, for are you not, the thief from the south? You came to Valdora because you were told, by the great mastermind clad in Gold."

Swift fought back the crawling sensation in his spine and found his ability to speak again "Golden Shine sent me, he said you could appraise an item for us."

"That is true, but first you must pay your dues." Valdora had a small smirk on her lips, as of she knew the pain Swift felt from having to give away any amount of coin. Biting his lip and slowly reached into his bag, as if every movement pained him, and pulled out a decently sized bit-bag. About two-hundred coins in the bag.

Achingly Swift placed the bag in Valdora's out-stretched hoof, she snatched it up quick as any peddler and smirked.

"There are those who forget, that an agreement through coin can be easily met." Valdora placed the bit-bag on a nearby table "Now show me the item that you didn't sell, and it's story Valdora shall tell."

Still looking awkwardly at her eyes, Swift reached into his bag again and pulled out the wrapped orb. He held it out and it was soon encased by a faint green glow, Valdora moved her hooves in fluid motions and levitated the wrapped orb over to a small pedestal that seemed specifically made for the artifact. The green glow stopped as Valdora lowered her hooves.

"Remove the covering and we will see, how deep this rabbit hole can be." Valdora said, she was swaying slightly in her chair, her eyes looking at something Swift could not see. More than willing to get this over with and escape this creepy Zebra, he pulled the wrapping off the orb and immediately took a step back. The orb was glowing a sickly green that was not dissimilar to Valdora's own magical energy, within the orb swirling clouds of grey and green.

Valdora chuckled "The orb recognizes the power of a Witch, this will make using it a snitch." The Zebra held her hooves out to the orb and probed at the green aura, the clouds shifted and images could be seen in the orb. Treasure Runner peeking out from a dark alley, Golden Shine sifting through mountains of paperwork and sorting through gold piles, Princess Celestia herself sitting on her throne speaking to several officials as they wrote frantically on scrolls of parchment. A disturbingly familiar purple Alicorn laying in a library and reading a book, her ears perked up as a shadow of a Pony passed behind her and her book closed with a thump.

The images faded as Valdora pulled her hooves away. She smiled.

"You have acquired quite the prize, despite it's unimpressive size." She said "When using the orb, your destiny it will tell. The past, the present, and the future as well." Valdora took the wrapping from Swift and covered the orb again "But be warned when using this thing, because in your mind it shall become King." The wrapped orb floated back into Swift's hoof.

"So... It shows you anything at any time but if you use it too much you get too attached?" Swift asked, he had to confirm his thoughts as the Zebra's rhyming was giving him a headache.

"What you say it true, even though this information is all new." Valdora confirmed.

Swift nodded and stored the orb away "Well... Um, thanks, I guess, I'll be going then.." He half expected for Valdora to say he wasn't permitted to leave but instead she waved friendlily.

"Farewell, honourable thief, have a safe journey as you exit this fief." She said, pulling her shawl over her eyes and turning back to her table and seemingly staring at nothing. Swift slowly backed around the corner and nearly ran out of the cave, he was more than ready to leave this frozen wasteland and head back to Canterlot.

                                                                        ~~*~~

Shining Armour pulled the bandage taunt on the Guards foreleg, the Stallion nodded his thanks and rested more comfortably on the ground. Shining breathed heavily and looked to the sky, it had only been a few minutes since the Mansion had collapsed and he hand sent out his emergency letter to the Princess.

But it seemed his prayers were answered as a glowing ring of golden magic formed around them and quickly built a transparent gold dome over top of them. The Guards began to shout and panic but Shining quickly silenced them.

"Stop moving foals! It's Princess Celestia, she's teleporting us out." He called, the Guards stopped moving but eyed the dome warily as it glowed brighter and the snowy streets of Stalliongrad were gone in a flash of light.

In another moment Shining Armour and his remaining three guards found themselves no longer in Stalliongrad but in a large circular room that was lite dimly by only a few torches. Across the way stood Princess Celestia and Luna, magical glow fading from their horns.

"Shining Armour." Celestia greeted "I am glad to see you unharmed, even though not all of your company can boast the same." Her gaze shifted to the three Guard's "You may all head to you barracks for food and rest, you've earned it, Shining Armour? With us please."

As the Guards exited through the side door, Celestia and Luna lead Shining through the door opposite, with Shining levitating the staff with him. Down a short hallway and into a long room with an equally long wooden table that sported several chairs. Celestia's and her sister sat down at the far end and Shining Armour took a seat opposite Luna.

"So tell us, Captain." Luna said "What transpired in the north? And why was the Thieves Guild involved?" Quickly Shining recounted the entire situation, from when they first saw the Guildmembers to when the Mansion collapsed.

"This is troubling." Celestia commented "And even now it cannot fathom why the Thieves Guild was involved."

"Coincidence perhaps?" Luna suggested.

"No, If they had the mansion marked for looting, why would they dive into it when our guards spotted them? Further more why did they remain after they inevitably discovered that the owner had been murdered?"

Shining nodded "If it's two things the Guild avoids it's murder and the Royal Guard, then again, maybe it was because that Stallion was killed that they stayed. The Duke said that several nobles had been murdered recently and I could see why the Guild would take interest in that, less nobles less income."

Celestia nodded "That makes sense I suppose, although my instincts tell me that the Guild has a deeper involvement than we are aware of. I definitely think they are a major set of players on the board." The three of the fell into silence.

"And then there's this." Celestia said, levitating the staff onto the table.

"One of the artifacts I assume?" Shining asked, Celestia nodded but Luna spoke.

"This is the Staff of Morpheus, when used it allows somepony to enter, manipulate, and feed off of the dreams of the sleeping." Luna said quietly "It does have a side-effect, in the wake of the consumed dreams, nightmares are left behind."

Shining nodded "That would explain the nightmares that the Duke had described."

Another pause.

"So let's analyze what we know." Celestia said "There is currently a group that is both well funded and very good at covering their tracks, searching for lost artifacts of magical power. Currently two Lost Artifacts have been found: The Orb of Phoebus and the Staff of Morpheus. We possess the latter and the former is at a currently unknown location, probably in the hooves of the aforementioned group..."

"Well that might not be entirely true." Luna interjected.

"Oh?" Celestia said.

"Yes, you see I've had my Night Guards running interference and they came across a letter sent by none other than Regal Stone, the one who discovered the Orb in the first place, according to the letter- It didn't say who it was addressed to -the Orb had been stolen."

"Stolen?" Shining Armour said incredulously "By whom?"

"Who else?" Luna said back "Regal Stone decided them as Thieves Guild members."

"Well this changes things." Celestia said "So now we know that the Orb is with the Guild, troubling news indeed, if they figure out how to use it then the citizens of Equestria will have bigger things than empty pockets to worry about." The Princess breathed a sigh and recollected her thoughts "Alright, so, the Staff is with us and the Orb is with the Guild which means they mist likely have a scope of the transpiring situation and probably seek to make profit off of it."

"Probably, otherwise they wouldn't be sticking their snouts on it." Shining said.

"And thus, we confirm that they are a player. Furthermore, several nobles have been murdered in Stalliongrad, one of which was in possession of the Staff. Murdered by who or why we do not know but we can safely assume it was not the Guild, but judging by Shining's account they are in possession of any evidence on the Stallions body as to the mode of his death."

"So, not only does a band of lowly thieves know more than we do, but they currently possess the most powerful scrying orb in existence and can easily find out any secret they wish. Additionally there is a third, possibly fourth, pair of groups that we know less about, one is hunting Lost Artifacts and the other has murdered several nobles. Did I get all of that?" Shining recounted.

Celestia nodded "That about sums it up."

"Well, I think I'll double the Night Guards efforts." Luna said, standing up "If the Guild or this mystery group so much as sneezes we'll know." With that she left.

"I need to go too, Cadence will be worried and I'll need to write." Shining began to stand up but was forced back down by Celestia's magic.

"Ah ah ah, we're not don't talking Shining Armour." She said.

"What? What else is there?" Shining asked, worried they had missed something.

"Well, it's been a while, so, we need to catch up of course!" Celestia exclaimed, a wide smile came to her lips and she leaned on her hooves "So how is Cadence these days? Is her duties with the Crystal Empire kept her from you? Or have you had enough quality time?"

Shining Armour could feel a headache building up, and he didn't think it was the Staff this time.

                                                                     ~~*~~

The Unicorn Guard- Iron Shield -Deactivated the last magical detector and allowed Secret Script to pass through.

"This is as far as I can take you." Iron Shield said "Past here is the last level of security, only the high payroll guards and the bank managers can access there. So have fun getting jailed, or worse." And with that, Iron took his leave.

Secret watched him go before turning to the hall, it was straight and walled by grey stone, the floor was polished white marble and the entire length was well-lit. At the end of the hall a heavy metal door with several locks on it.

Closing his eyes the blue Pegasus listened intently, there it was, a faint buzzing noise like small insects. It was tell-tale sign of magical wards.

Non-lethal most definitely, more likely to be detection wards or pacification wards.

Secret took three steps towards and listened again, yep, the ward was right there. Moving slowly around the edges of the invisible square he listened until he flapped up to the top right corner and put his ear as close as he dared. The buzzing was there, but it was louder, not much but enough to notice if one knew what they were looking for. That louder buzzing indicated the source of the ward, that's where the Unicorn had cast the ward from and had expanded it to the dimensions of the hall.

Returning to the ground Secret moved to the corner opposite of the ward's source, he pulled out one of his many daggers. This one was wide and was crafted out of silver and mercury and was polished to a mirror-like shine, carefully Secret inched the polished dagger into the corner and the ward.

In a moment the ward manifested, a transparent red wall, before it was reflected back at its source and with a series of sparks the ward cancelled itself out. Silently, quickly, and without fuss.

Secret smirked slightly, Never fails.

Recreating the mirror trick on at least five more wards Secret Script finally made his way to the metal door. Three large locks adorned it, all of which sported small runes that were engraved into the metal, to destroy any lockpick that soiled the tumblers.

Secret, however, was not one for lockpicking. Reaching into a small pouch he pulled out a tiny blue crystal and pushed it into the key hole, the runes flared brightly before dissipating, leaving the lock unclasped. After inspection it appeared the crystal had disintegrated into dust, not something Secret had anticipated, Silver Lock had assured him that a single crystal  could neutralize at least ten magical locks before breaking.

Secret snorted, clearly Silver had exaggerated the effectiveness of the crystals as he did with everything else, Secret made a mental note to tell Silver just how effective his crystals were. Luckily Secret Script had brought several and he made quick work on the locks, after confirming that there was no ward on the other side of the door he pushed it open.

Inside was a large circular room, the sides were lines with an abundance of crates and chests, some were propped open to reveal hulking piles of coin, jewels, and other assorted treasures. Secret ignored these and stepped cautiously farther in, he spotted what looked like a small display case to the right side of the room.

Secret approached it and peered through the glass. There it was, a thin gold chain held onto a single medallion in the shape of an angry looking Alicorn with glowing ruby eyes. The lock was mediocre and non-magical, Secret made quick work of it.

Holding the necklace up he examined it, he couldn't identify what metal the black medallion was made of but the rubies... They were beautiful, enchanting, he could keep it couldn't he? Fancy wouldn't know and the Guild could easily find the information themselves, all he had to do was slip it on...

Secret blinked and shook his head, those had not been his thoughts, he looked back at the medallion and immediately those thoughts entered his mind again. Quickly he stuffed the thing away, he didn't like the greedy feeling that the medallion gave him, he liked control and this was not control.

No matter, it wouldn't be his problem.

                                                                      ~~*~~

Fancy Pants was still in his study when Secret Script faded in from the shadows.

"You have it then?" Fancy said without turning.

Secret pulled out the amulet and held it out, taking care not took look at the rubies. Fancy took it in his magical glow, he barely glanced at it and placed it on his desk.

"Now, what was this information that you wanted?" Fancy asked, looking at the Thief with tired eyes.

Secret pulled out a scrap of paper, on it the sun and eye symbol that Swift and Treasure had found previously.

"There is a group that is currently seeking out magical artifacts, we have reason to believe that this group consists mostly of nobles and had deep connections with the mining industry." Secret said "This here is there symbol, we want to know what you know."

Fancy didn't even look at the parchment "Your information is correct, the group calls themselves 'The Watchful Sun' they are a conjoined group of nobility and aristocrats working towards two goals: To uncover the Lost Artifacts and to control the government of Equestria."

Secret blinked "Control? You mean they want to over through Celestia?"

Fancy shook his head "Not as much, they want to perfect the system as it were. To eradicate corruption, impurity.... And crime."

Secret blinked again "Do you think they have a chance of succeeding?"

Fancy hesitated "....I would say yes, with the progress they have made and the resources they possess, I think they are a real threat to the government and your.... Business"

Secret nodded and moved over to the window "Thank you for that information, we'll be in touch." The Pegasus flew out into the night. Fancy Pants key out the breath he hadn't realize he was holding.

"Well go on then, take it, your masters will be eager to get their hooves on it."

A dark chuckle came from behind him.

"All in due time, you know, when you said you could easily acquired the amulet I never would have guessed you were in with the Thieves Guild."

"A good tactician uses any resource he can."

"Quite, now there's the matter of the information you just gave away."

"I am a Stallion of my word, he wanted information, so I gave it."

"I understand, I respect your integrity, unfortunately you have demonstrated that we cannot trust you to keep your lips sealed, you have become a liability." Hoof steps approached Fancy from behind "You understand of course, nothing personal, just business."

"Of course." Fancy said "Just business." He closed his eyes and felt the pressure of cold metal on his throat.

                                                                      ~~*~~

A series of knocking came to the study door.

"Dearest?" Fluer called as she opened the door, the room was dark, the candles were out "Don't tell me you've been working all da-" she stopped as she stepped in something wet, flaring her horn she illuminated the scene before her. And screamed.

Fancy Pants was lying on his side, his face strangely calm but his throat was cut open in a bright red smile. Blood leaking onto the floor into a large pool. Fluer looked up and to her horror there was writing on the far wall, written in the blood of the rich.

TRAITOR