Thief of the Frontline

Chapter 4

Breaking into a government building was something Nightfall hadn't done in years.  Stealing weapons was a first for him.  Before his life fell apart, anything he stole was usually made of jewels or precious metals.  Not always, but most of the time that was the case.  Consequently, he didn't know what to expect for security.  Ponyville was relatively small and unimportant compared to the bigger cities, such as Canterlot and Manehattan.  This meant less guards.

The armory was built into an old wine cellar under a large house that was now being used as a small outpost.  It had large  green lawns on all sides of it, and the whole property was surrounded by a steel bar fence with a brick base.  From what Nightfall had observed in days previous to planning this small heist, he now knew that two guards watched over the outside cellar door at all times.  There were also always two more guards guarding the front door to the house and two sentries that sat in small watch towers constructed from wooden planks in the front yard on the right side of the path that led to the front door and one in the opposite corner of the outpost. These positions remained during the night as well, with the addition of two more guards that patrolled the house perimeter in a random pattern.  This brought the count up to nine guards.

Nightfall looked up from a small sketched out map on the table.  Paper Cut was across from him staring into space, obviously not sure what he was supposed to be doing.  "This setup is pretty normal," Nightfall said.  "About what you'd expect for a place this size."  He pointed to the towers on the map.  "We're going to have to be careful with these guys.  The one up front has an entire view of the both the north and east lawn.  Keep an eye on him when we get to the door.  The other one will make it hard to sneak in through the rear.

"How exactly do we get to the door?" asked Paper Cut.  "The only entrance to the whole place is guarded."

"We're going to need something to lure them away then.  A distraction.  That or we'll need to convince them that we have business with the base commander, which is unlikely."

"Wouldn't it be much easier to buy what we need on the black market?" Paper asked.  "You still have connections there don't you?

"Yes, I do," Nightfall answered."  But they never really went that deep.  That and I don't trust weapons dealers."

"Why not?"

"They're like rats.  They see an opportunity and take it no matter what.  Also they're ruthless and will stab you in the back as just as easily as they would look at you.  If the guards start asking questions about who they've sold to, we'll start popping up on wanted posters all over Equestria."

"So I take it that corruption runs pretty deep in the government."

"All the way to the core."  Nightfall looked back at the map.  "So let's see.  Unless we can figure out a way to get over the wall without being seen by a guard, we only have two other possible options.  The front gate we were talking about or an escape tunnel that may or may not actually exist."

Paper Cut now seemed a little confused.  "What makes you think there may be an escape tunnel?" he asked.

"Back when Luna had just been over thrown, the king had some trouble keeping ponies in line.  Apparently, there were some pretty bad riots.  So government officials and nobles that supported the king started putting escape routes under their houses just encase an angry mob came knocking on their door.  I've used a few of them before to get into places that were to heavily guarded on the surface."

"So how exactly do we find the entrance to this tunnel, that is, if it even exists?"

"Well, we're going to need some luck.  The building is around one hundred years old, so we should be able to find some architectural plans in the library somewhere.  They often store them there to preserve the town's history or something like that.  The only problem is that when the house was converted to a military installation, the guards more than likely came and collected those plans to keep them out of the hooves of ponies like us."

"I'm guessing you have a way around this."  Paper Cut said.  Nightfall always had a way around these kind of set backs.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I do, but..." Nightfall paused, sighed and then continued.  "I'm going to have to get in contact with an old associate."  He frowned as he looked back at the map on the table.

"What's wrong Nightfall?  You don't seem to excited about this."

"His name is Border Sketch, and he's not exactly what you would call mentally stable.  He helped supply me with plans in the past and we became pretty well acquainted, but I haven't talked to him in years and he probably thinks that I'm dead.  So I don't know how he may react when he sees me for the first time in ten years.  If we're lucky he'll have a copy of what we need."

Before Nightfall could even close his mouth, Paper was already up from his seat and putting his saddle bags on his back.  "What are we waiting for then?  Lets go find this Sketch guy and get those plans."  He started walking in the direction of the door and then stopped to wait for Nightfall who was unenthusiastically dragging his hooves across the floor.

"We're checking the library first," he said in an unhappy tone that almost seemed a little tired.

"To the library then!" Paper said in his best adventurer voice as he stood on his hind legs and extended one hoof into the air.

The library wasn't much to look at.  It shared the same architectural design that most of the town was built in.  According to a plaque near a large oak tree that grew in front of the building that was larger than the houses and shops that surrounded it, its only distinguishing feature, the library was built to replace the original after it was destroyed in a magic battle between the evil Tirek and Equestria's "great" king Cobalt, who ruled over one hundred years ago.  "Liars," Nightfall said in his head as they passed by the misleading sign.

It didn't take long for them to find out that what they were looking for wasn't there.   All the contents of the shelves were arranged by where each building was located.  They searched in the residential plans and in the commercial plans just to make sure.  The plans were nowhere to be found.

"Yes!" exclaimed Paper as he placed a rolled up document in a cubby hole in the wall.  A pony sitting in a desk not far from him immediately shushed him.  "That's the last one," he said in a much quieter voice.  "Does this mean that we get to go meet your friend now?"

Nightfall frowned as he accepted the inevitable.  "Damn it," he said softly.  "Lets go.  Hopefully he still lives in Ponyville.  I'd much prefer it if I didn't have to track him down."

The two stallion walked out of the library and into the streets.  Paper was smiling excitedly as he hopped alongside his friend.  They only had to walk for a few minutes before they came to building with a small neon sign that said 'open.'  The window were heavily tented and another small sign hung above the door that said 'Buy something or go away.'

"This is the place." said Nightfall as he started towards the door.

When they entered, they were immediately overwhelmed with the smell of rotting wood and whiskey.  The inside of the building was much more interesting than the outside, which looked just like all the other buildings on the block.  It was also very messy.  Random scraps of torn paper littered the floor and a dead rat was lying in the corner.  There were several rows of dusty shelves that held ink wells, rolls of parchment, they all looked a little water damaged, magical charms that no longer glowed with magic, some antique furniture that had a severe case of wood rot, and a bunch of empty bottles.  It looked like a dump to Paper Cut.  "Are you sure we're in the right place?" he asked Nightfall.

"All this junk is just a cover up.  Anything worth buying, stealing, or fencing is behind the counter."  Nightfall started walking to the front of the shop and motioned Paper to follow.  Behind the counter there was a single pony with a dark sage green coat and grey main.  He was fiddling with something on a shelf and was rambling something about a legless chicken and fifty pounds of axle grease and how it would look so much better on a dolphin, quietly to himself.  When Nightfall approached, he spoke up without turning his focus away from his ship in a bottle.

"What can I get you?" His voice was very ragged and old sounding.

"I need the blueprints for the garrison here in Ponyville.  Do you have a copy?"  Nightfall spoke as if he didn't know or care to know the creepy stallion.

"Maybe.  That really defends on how much you need them."  He finally turned around.  His yellow eyes met Nightfall's and he let out a small smile.  "Aren't you supposed to be dead or something?  Hey, kid."  He moved his attention to Paper Cut who was standing a few steps back and to the left of Nightfall.  "Do you see a batpony standing here, or is it just me?"

"I'm really here, Sketch."

"For buck sake, Nightfall.  You're supposed to let the kid answer."  He pointed a hoof to the empty space to the right of Nightfall.  When his eyes shifted to look there, he corrected himself and pointed the left where Paper still stood.

"I'm Paper Cut.  I..."  He didn't get to finish his sentence before being rudely cut off.

"That's great kid.  Really something special.  Take my advice and ditch this plothole before he ditches you."  Border Sketch looked back at Nightfall who stood there unamused by the show he was putting on.  "Where the buck have you been all these years?!"  His voice, although rigid and rusty, was still capable of expressing anger.  "No warning, no goodbye, no nothing!  Just a massive 'Up Yours' and then, whoosh!  You're gone.  Like that hot mare at the diner last week."

"Listen, Sketch, I'm sorry.  But I had to move on into the next stage of my life."  Nightfall actually sounded somewhat sincere.

"And what would that be?  Swimming in the riches that you DIDN'T earn while the rest of us rot down here with the rats."

"No, I truly am sorry, about everything." He was doing his best to apologize, but he knew it would take some convincing.

Sketch stood there for a minute.  He didn't blink.  He just stared into Nightfall's eyes, as if trying to pierce his soul.  "I don't believe you," he said as he shook his head.  "I lost a lot of money after you left.  Do you really think that an apology is going to fix that?"

Nightfall reached into his saddlebags and pulled out a long bottle of alcohol.  It was a fancy brand that he had been saving.  "No, but this should." He placed it on the counter with a thud.

Border Sketch immediately diverted his attention to the tall glass bottle.  "Forget you," he said, not taking his eyes off the bottle.  "I think I just found me a new lady to court."  He ran a hoof through his dirty mane.  "Hey there good lookin."

Nightfall slid the bottle away from Sketch.  "My blueprints," he said with a slight grin on his face.

"Alright Nightfall.  You win.  I still don't like you after what you did."  He pointed an accusing hoof at Nightfall, and his voice still sounded a little angry.  "I'll do business with you, but only because you're willing to pay.  There's just one thing.  I'm going to need a little more than that.  One bottle doesn't exactly seem like a fair trade.  Not that I'm actually in the business of making fair trades."

"What do you want?"  Nightfall was eager to get this over with.

"I'm glad you asked."  Border Sketch pulled a piece of paper out from nowhere in particular.  "I want all these ponies dead and the hit pony is a bit to expensive right now.  There should be some pikes out back for when you're done cutting off their heads."

"I'm not committing murder for you Sketch."

"I don't see why not.  You killed one pony already, might as well do it..."

"I said no!"  The anger was now in Nightfall's voice.  "I'll triple my original offer."

"I don't know..."

"I'll give you ten bottles," Nightfall quickly shot back.

"Deal."  He put the rolled up plans on the counter.

"I need to go get the rest of it. I'll be back soon."

Sketch grabbed the bottle of fancy wine and clutched it close to his chest.  "I'm keeping this as a little insurance."  He bit the top of the cork and pulled it out of the top of the bottle and took a long drink.

A sinister smile spread across Nightfall's face.  "Oh sure.  Go ahead.  I'm sure it will be quite pleasing to your tastes."

Sketch hardly understood the last words that came out of Nightfall's voice.  Everything sounded so weird and distorted.  His vision began to blur into one large color that slowly turned black as he lost his hoofing and fell to the floor.  He couldn't feel his legs.  He couldn't feel his face.  He couldn't feel anything!  "Nightfall what have you done to me!?!"  That's what he tried to say.  What actually came out of his mouth was more of a slurred tongue twister.  Then he passed out completely.

By this point, Paper Cut couldn't believe what he was seeing.  "Nightfall, what did you do?!" he exclaimed, clearly panicking.

"Relax Paper.  He's just knocked out," Nightfall reassured his unicorn friend.  "When he wakes up, he won't remember us at all.  It's better this way.  Trust me."  Nightfall knew all this for a fact.  He had worked hard to cut his ties with most of the criminal underground.  He wasn't about to let some drunken fool screw all that up.

Paper still couldn't believe what he had just seen.  Nightfall didn't seem like the kind of guy who would poison somepony else.   "You're sure he'll be alright?"  He was genuinely concerned.  Even though Border Sketch gave him the creeps, he still didn't want to see him get drugged like that.

Nightfall nodded back to Paper.  "I made extra sure to get all the lethal stuff out before I filled it with the memory loss potion."  He put a hoof to his chin and looked up toward the ceiling.  "Then again, I do have a few other bottles that look exactly like that one."

Paper's face turned pale and his eyes widened.  He looked as if he was about to freak out.  "I'm just joking," Nightfall said before he did.

Paper seemed to relax a little.  "So I guess we should get going, huh?"  He pointed in the direction of the door.

"Yeah, this place is a dump."

Twilight's day was going pretty well.  She got a good sleep the night before.  She spent some time with Paper Cut and helped with the flag, and now she was getting to spend some time alone so she could read her new book.  There was so much on every page that it was taking her longer to read than anything before.  So far she had learned that she and Celestia disappeared exactly 107 years ago.  Princess Luna took charge of the government in place of her sister.  A search was conducted and it lasted over two years.  Luna, grief stricken by her sister's disappearance, struggled to hold a panicking Equestria together.

Twilight wished she could have been there, to help somehow.  She felt that if she had been there, maybe things could be better.  The nobles that lived in Canterlot who were later found to be allied with changelings saw Luna's weaknesses and tried to stage a coup that failed miserably.  Their leader, a unicorn named Longsword, was tried and executed for treason and conspiring with the enemy.  His motives are still unknown to this day, although many believe that he may have simply been a pawn for queen Chrysalis.  Slowly, things went back to normal.  New security laws were passed that temporarily limited the influence that many higher class ponies had on government decisions as a precaution.

Twenty six years after what was referred to as "The Alicorn Vanishing" and three years after the attempted coup, Luna was overthrown by a much more prepared coup that had united large gangs of thugs from all over Equestria and beyond, against Luna.  A pony named Cobalt took over the thrown and proclaimed himself king.  He used violence and aggressive tactics to keep the citizens in line and afraid.  Over the next several months, Equestria went through several changes in its government.  The councils that once helped represent the populace in royal court, were dissolved and all former members were executed to prevent any kind of rebel groups forming under them.  The king took full control and never let go.

That was all Twilight had managed to read.  Every little detail was broken down into even more details.  There was almost to much.  Twilight was halfway through a paragraph talking about the unknown fate of the last alicorn when the door opened, and two ponies walked in.

"Hey Twilight.  How's it going?"  Paper asked in his usual cheerful voice.

"Great," Twilight replied with a smile.  "This book is absolutely fascinating.  It gets to me a little though."  She sounded a little sadder now.  "It's just that all this happened while I was gone and I can't help but feel like I should have been here."

Paper sat  down next to her and put a hoof on her shoulder.  "Hey it's alright."  He was trying to be as comforting as possible.  "You don't even know how you ended up gone.  It's not like you can blame yourself."

"He's right," Nightfall spoke up from across the room as he placed his saddle bags down in their corner.  "You can't blame yourself for things that happen when you aren't around."

Twilight looked up from the floor at the two stallions with her.  "Thanks," she said.  "Having somepony say that helps."

"If you ever need to talk we're always around," Paper said.  "Most of the time at least."

Nightfall motioned for Paper Cut and Twilight to come to the table that he was standing at.  The blueprints for the house were spread out on top.  "Alright," he said as he picked up a marker.  "This is our target."  He circled the room that was now used as a makeshift weapons cache.  "Inside there should be all sorts of things.  From basic swords and shields, to what we're after.  Guns.  There's an entrance to the former wine cellar where they should be kept, on the outside, but it's always guarded.  There's another entrance inside the building.  That will be our best bet."

"How do we get inside?" Paper asked.  "I don't see any escape tunnels."

Twilight pointed to a spot on the map where several walls converged on a loadbearing column.  "There," she said.  "If you're looking for some kind of secret tunnel, then it won't be on that side of the house."  She picked up a marker of her own with her magic and circled the top and right walls of the cellar.  "Those are your most likely spots where the tunnels connect to the house.  They can't run under the house or else they would weaken these three support beams."  She circled three spots on the map.  "The tunnel would either have to run toward the Everfree forest or toward the stone bridge that extends over the creek."  Satisfied with her work, Twilight smiled and put the cap back on the marker.

Paper looked at Nightfall.  "I told you she was smart."

"Good work, Twilight."  Nightfall looked at the clock on the wall. There were only a few hours left in the day.  "We can search around tomorrow morning for an entrance.  Until then, go ahead and relax.  Catch some sleep.  You'll need it for tomorrow."

"Where are you going?" Twilight asked Nightfall, as he started for the door.

"Bridge," he replied.  "If the entrance isn't there, then we can search the Everfree tomorrow."

"Can I come?"

"Do you really think that's such a good idea?" asked Paper.  "What happens if you get spotted?"

Nightfall walked over and grabbed a large brown hooded cloak out of chest under his hammock.  He threw it to Twilight who caught it with her magic.  "Paper, stay here and cover for us if Solar gets curious." Nightfall walked over to the door, followed by Twilight who was now wearing the cloak with the hood down.  It covered her entire body and her hooves could barely be seen.  As they left, Paper Cut waved goodbye.

"Good luck, guys," he said.

When Nightfall and Twilight got to the front door of the castle, Nightfall stopped and turned to Twilight.  "There are a few rules," he said in a tone of voice that was kind, but stressed importance.  "First, stay close at all, and I mean all, times.  No matter what you see or hear."  Twilight nodded.  "Second, your name is not Twilight Sparkle.  If a guard approaches you for any reason at all, act completely natural.  You're just another harmless commoner."

"I'm ready, Nightfall"  Twilight assured him.

"Another thing before we head out, don't call me Nightfall around any guards."

"Got it."

After walking through the Everfree in silence for a few minutes, Ponyville came into view through the tree line.  It was exactly as Twilight remembered it, almost.  The only difference was that it was bigger.  There were a few more buildings that weren't there when Twilight left for Canterlot 107 years ago.  But for the most part, it was the same.  The small town still had its old architectural design throughout and it was still dwarfed by the bigger cities of Equestria.

The two ponies walked into town to find that all was relatively normal.  A few ponies walked through the streets on their way back from work and the children played outside as the sun was beginning to set.  As they walked down the road, they would come across a guard every now and then.  After passing by each time, Nightfall would begin to walk a bit closer to Twilight, who strangely felt nervous when they looked at her.  It was an odd feeling for her.  When she was a little filly, the guards always made her feel safe.  It was an odd feeling indeed.

The armor that the guards wore was different than she remembered.  Instead of gold plating and insignias that represented the sun or other important royal symbols, the armor was a shiny steel color with red straps.  The blue star in the middle of the chest piece was replaced with a red gem in the shape of a diamond.  There was more plating on the legs and the helmet covered the sides of the head more.  The armor was more rigid.  Instead of the sleek and smooth original design, the guards looked more like they were ready for war.  Besides the new color scheme and extra protection, the rest of the armor was mostly the same.  Another thing that Twilight noticed, was that none of the guards held swords or spears.  They all held long pieces of metal that had what looked like wooden paddles on the ends.  There was something about the way they were held that made them more menacing.  As Twilight became lost in her thoughts, she didn't even notice that they were already at the bridge.

"Here we are," said Nightfall as he stepped of the road and onto the grass.  He looked at Twilight and pointed a hoof down towards the area under the bridge.  "Right this way."

They slide down the steep slope leading down into the creek.  Under the bridge there was a lot of algae and moss, but the only thing that was interesting was a door directly under the spot where the bridge met the ground.  If they hadn't come down here, they would have never seen it from the road.

Nightfall grabbed the doors rusted handle and opened it.  The room was small and dark.  There wasn't much inside either.  A pile of stones rested in a corner and several shelves of mortar and tools lined the walls.  It looked just like an ordinary maintenance shed.

"Stop right there!"  a firm voice yelled before either Twilight or Nightfall could step into the room.  "You two can't go in there.  It's government property."  A unicorn decked out in the royal armor slid down the slope that lead under the bridge.

"I'm sorry sir," Nightfall said in a calm, neutral tone.  "My hearing isn't to good.  You said that we can't go in there?"  He pointed a hoof towards the open door.

"That's right!  You are in direct violation of the law!  I could arrest you both for trespassing and tampering with federal equipment right now!"

"Sure you will."  Nightfall was still talking in a monotone voice, but it had a defiance to it.  "I'm not going anywhere."

"Then I'll just have to arrest both of you.  It's time you damn bats learn your place.  All you do is come out at a late hour and cause trouble.  Your kind is nothing, but scum!"  He pointed his weapon at Nightfall.  "Now move!"

Nightfall stepped into the room and disappeared inside the darkness.

"Hey!"  The guard walked into the room with his weapon drawn, nearly knocking Twilight, who was standing there not sure what to do, over.  "Where are you?!" the guard yelled in the dark.  Just as his horn was starting to glow so that he could see, Nightfall came down from above and tackled him.  The guard was knocked clean off his hooves.  The unicorn was only on the floor for a second before he sprang back to a standing position, only to take another strike into the jaw upward.  Nightfall grabbed him by the throat and shoved him up against the wall.

"Get the door," Nightfall demanded.  Twilight jumped a little at the sound of his voice.  It was rough sounding.  It still sounded like him, but at the same time, didn't.  Twilight closed the door and the darkness consumed them.  "Light," Nightfall said in the same angry voice.  Twilight's horn lit up and the room was instantly illuminated by its bright purple glow.  Nightfall was holding the guard against the wall by the throat with one hoof.  His other hoof was holding the gun under the guard's chin.

The unicorn was now breathing heavily, at least that's what he was trying to do.  He sounded more like he was choking because of Nightfall's hoof placement.  "Look buddy," he barely managed to cough out the words.  "When I... uh... said scum," he was clearly shaking now.  "I didn't... really..."  Nightfall began to press harder against the guards throat.  He  choked and gagged as he began to panic.  "Help," he managed to say as he felt the batpony crushing his wind pipe.

Nightfall let go of the guard, who then dropped to the floor.  The guard took in a massive breath and coughed violently as he put his hooves to his neck.  He laid on the floor for a few more seconds before sitting up and staring into the barrel of his own gun.  He thought death would come next, a loud bang and then silence, but instead there was only a voice.  It was Nightfall's.  His real voice.  Much more calm now.  "Is this where the entrance to the tunnel under the outpost is?"

"I don't know what you're..." the guard took another deep breath, "...talking about."

"I think you do."

"There is a tunnel, but I don't know where the entrance is.  We bricked it off a few years ago."

"Good enough for me.  I'll find it later."  Nightfall lowered the weapon and handed a bottle, about the size of a wine bottle, to the guard.  "Drink this."

"What is it?"

"Just drink it!"  Some, but not all of the anger was back in Nightfall's voice.

The guard took the bottle in his hooves and looked at it.  He looked up at Nightfall again and decided that it couldn't be poison.  Being shot would just be easier and make more sense.  Why waste whatever was in the bottle when all that had to be done was a single trigger pull.  He pulled the cork out with his magic and took a sip.  It tasted bitter.

"More," Nightfall said, still aiming the rifle.

The guard closed his eyes and took a few big gulps of the distasteful fluid.  He stopped drinking and placed the bottle down.  He felt funny.  And then he felt nothing at all, right before collapsing to the floor.

Nightfall dropped the weapon to the floor and looked back at Twilight.  She looked at him with a "Oh crap what do I do? What do I do?" sort of look.  "Memory loss potion," he said.  "When he wakes up in a few hours, he won't remember us."

"That was a little much, don't you think?"  Twilight's voice was shaky.  She was still trying to process what had just happened.  "Were you really going to shoot him if he didn't comply?"

"I did what I had to, and no, I wouldn't have shot him.  I can't tell you how glad I am that he did what I told him to do."

Nightfall and Twilight searched the dark room for a decent amount of time.  They scooted shelves around and looked under every bag of mortar.  The only place they didn't look was under the pile of large rocks that were used to repair the stone bridge above.  They began to dig through the pile fairly quickly thanks to Twilight being able to levitate large amounts of the rocks out of the way all at once.  Each rock was moved to a corner until there were none left to move.  All that was left was a whole in the floor with a few steps leading farther underground.  Nightfall looked up at Twilight.  "This is it."

After dragging the unconscious pony outside and covering the hole in the floor up with a waterproof tarp to hide it, the two ponies began their walk home.

"Listen, Twilight," Nightfall said in a sincere and almost sad tone.  "I just want you to know, that what I did back there was just my job.  I have to keep you safe.  I know it wasn't nice or perhaps even right, but I couldn't take any chances."

"I understand," she said.  "Sometimes good ponies have to do bad things for a greater cause."  She paused and thought for a second and then looked back up.  "Be careful.  There are so many who have tried to do the right thing and only ended up making things worse.  I think you're a good pony, so please.  Be careful."

"Thank you, Twilight."

They continued back to the castle from there without any further interruptions.  The sun had set and the moon was now rising.  The stars began to show up one by one until the entire sky was adorned by them.  It all reminded Twilight of Luna.  "I hope she's okay,"  she thought to herself.  It scared her when she thought about the possibilities.  All she could do was hope she wasn't to late.