Sleipnir Colony - A Short Story Collection

Striving Step was not happy.

Firstly, he had been dragged away from his rather comfortable office.

Secondly he was being talked to like a child by a rather overconfident Fireflash.

Thirdly, he was hungry. But then he was always hungry. He had to interrupt this childs incessant drivel.

“Look this is all very well and good, I’m sorry you lost your job through your own negligence but we came here to do a deal and plan getting hold of this thing.” Striving Step said, the two of them were in a rather isolated part of the factory, one of the many stockrooms. He had placed a guard outside to the door to make sure they weren’t interrupted.

“Hey I’m a stakeholder in your company now. I think you can afford me a little time to embellish my master plan.” Fireflash said with a grin. He was holding most of the cards and he knew it.

“Fine, look, we’ve had R&D verify that your photos of the pad were in fact genuine. No tampering, picture perfect. You’re at least telling the truth about that. Now what else have you got to tell me about it?” Striving said with a huff, he was trying to push Fireflash towards the point as quickly as possible so he could get back to his comfy office.

“Right, well it’s kept well concealed in the ceiling of the largest Blubber King branch on planet, where I used to work until recently as you well know.”

“Trust me I am well aware at this point.” The fat stallion sighed.

“Anyway, if you go in through the kitchens, you’re going to have issues because you’ve got to go up right? The pad is stored in the ceiling.” Fireflash starting to have a comical thought of a bunch of heist ponies all stacked on top of each other trying to make their way up, their blubbery mass crashing against each other in their slick black suits jostling around trying to get to the best point of attack in the roof.

“I’m sure we could find some solution.” Striving Step replied. “Not speedy though. Pads also don’t like hovering above their standard operating height for too long.”

“Exactly. You need to get in and get that pad fast and be away before anypony knows what you’re up to.” Fireflash said, he at least made a good point there.

“So, you have an idea?”

“Rip the roof off.”

“I-I’m sorry what?” Striving Step sputtered slightly. If he had any tea he would have spat it out rather indignantly. “Rip the roof off?”

“Simplest and easiest plan right? You get a bunch of ponies on their own pads with some drills and other construction equipment. Probably around four, that will make it quick. I’d estimate if they work fast they can have the roof off in a few moments, then all they have to do is anchor their pads to it when they break through and away they go. Solves the hovering height issue too, they gotta get them up there but once their hovering on the roof all is a-okay.”

Striving Step thought for a moment. Logically the best way in would be from the top down. He wondered if he should play the hand he had been holding onto and finally get one up on Fireflash.

“So, now you’ve told me the best way to do this and where it is. What’s to keep me from ripping up your contract and tossing you out on your fat butt?” He said with a small smile. Fireflash just smiled back.

“Well you don’t know exactly where in the roof it is for a starters, sure you could get one of the current employee’s and grill them, but why bother with all that trouble when you’ve got me already willing to just help you get it? Give me a pad to start with and I’ll be accompanying your hired goons on this little heist.” He said, immediately seeing Striving Step’s face drop. “Secondly if you try and even think about cutting me out of this sweet little deal I’ve got going on there’s nothing to stop me just going to the cops and pointing the hoof at you as the thief. It’s not going to be hard to link up a missing Equestrian pad and suddenly a few months later you guys bringing out a model that matches what it can handle and trust me, I’ll have an alibi and protection if you try it.” Fireflash finished. He still had some tricks, knowing Striving Step was going to do all he could to get rid of him as quickly as possible.

“...Right, well I guess we’re going to have to keep you around.” He said. ‘Or make you have an accident, It wouldn’t take much to get rid of a fat blimp. Protection can be bought too.’ The stallion thought. But he’d save any sort of such mishaps for after they actually had the pad. It would be unwise to bump Fireflash off so soon.

“What’s the best sort of time to steal it?”

“Probably around 2am, after the place closes usually they have deliveries coming in, sometimes they’re late too. Latest I’ve heard of one coming in however is about 1am. That should give us enough of a gap after.” Fireflash said.

“Fine, I’ll go through my channels to find three other accomplices. You realise though you’re incriminating yourself further by actually being a part of the team that is going to steal this thing?”

“Do you really think that matters at this point? Also I’m not going to be implicated if your guys screw it up.”

“Again, fine. Give me a week. I’ll be in touch and we can arrange a day to actually get this pad. I’ll make the necessary preparations. It won’t be hard to get hold of equipment, there is plenty of construction sites on the colony we could get some heavy duty equipment from. But I need time to find the right crew. We may even have to get them in from off world.” Striving Step said, his mind already whirring at the best way to deal with all this.

“You’ve got my number. If I find out you’ve tried to steal this without me, you can kiss all this…” Fireflash waved a flabby hoof to try to encompass the entire room and the factory beyond it. “...Goodbye.”

“Hmm, indeed. There is a guard on the door. Ask him to lead you out, stakeholder.” He said with a small grunt. The flabby Fireflash waddled his way outside and the door to the stockroom shut behind him, leaving Striving Step alone on his pad for a moment.

Very few times in his life had he stolen and generally it was little insignificant things. A snack or meal here, the odd dine’n’dash without paying for a meal as long as he could easily get away with it. This was something else though, an opportunity to push his company to new heights. Well, new weights. They had to do something, R&D was failing to push current designs much beyond what they could currently handle. There was no denying they needed something, anything to help. Fireflash’s offer couldn’t have come at a better time, he wasn’t going to let him know that though.

He rotated his pad around to leave the room, his comfy office calling him. Plans needed to be made.