Starlit Skies - The thieves masque

[A 'HUMANISED' STORY]

A lone figure sat perched upon the roof of the many noble households of Canterlot, his face pale and drawn as the moon began to reach it's peak, pulled through the skies by the concentrated magicks of Princess Celestia herself. His chin was covered in stubble, his face covered in small scars and cut marks, most prominent among them was a long cut running over his right eye and reaching the start of his stubble. A glass eye sat in the socket. A mullet reaching down the back of his neck before stopping between his shoulder blades, where a simple marking rested.

His attire was simple, black work shoes, dirt covered black trousers, a formerly white shirt and a tattered brown duster, with two large tears where ebony feathered wings flared out. Currently, the pegasus, one Starry Skies, was contemplating how to break in. At current he was thinking the unorthodox - the chimney was underrated, the window was cliché. The door was just plain stupid.

He resolved for cliché.

As he shuffled along to the edge of the roof above the nearest window, he tightened his grip before shoving off, allowing his wings to flare mid-fall and letting him hover near the window sill. Alternatively, he could have jumped onto the balcony at the front of the house, but that would count as a door. The latch was down, locking the widow in place.

He resorted for the balcony.

(_/'Ponyville market, earlier that day'\_)

Of the seven farmhands at Sweet Apple Acres, few worked with the dedication of Quick Work. To him, it was more devotion to his friend and employer Applejack than to the acres themselves. Whereas the majority of his family preferred to prowl the streets of Canterlot, hunting for some poor noble to fraud and give half of the spoils to the commoners, he lived honestly, plying his muscles to pulling an apple cart to and from town. The horses having disappeared inexplicably, leaving anyone near Big Mac's strength (he was capable of pushing a plow across a field with ease) to act as a temporary workhorse.

He found it a most unusually enjoyable experience. Laughing heartily as he pulled said cart. Today was no different, with him laughing and grabbing drinks every so often. On one such drinks trip he encountered one of his adopted brothers friends - First Aid. The doctor, like his elder brother, worked honestly, like a doctor should...though occasionally he did partake in the odd Canterlot con, being unable to betray the trust of his patients

"Mornin' ice pop." he said jokingly, waving over at the wand holding doctor, who merely growled at the childhood nickname "How're you and Redheart?"

"I'm fine, the relationship's stable, please stop calling me ice pop." the younger brother replied hastily, grabbing the glass of lemonade in front of him on the lemonade stand counter "We all know Starry was responsible for me having the popsicle stuck to my head. Thanks Lemon." Lemon Drop merely nodded as she got her bits before looking to Quick

"Another round big guy?"

"That'd be appreciated Lemon." the farmhand nodded "Awfully warm out, ain't it?" his brother merely nodded

"So, where do you think Starry is?"

"Pursuing my dream of being the Raven King, perhaps, dear brother?" a calm voice, the veiled icy undertone distinctive of the ragged form stood behind them. First Aid turned around so fast the world was momentarily a blur "Surprised to see me day walking? I'm not on serving rota till Friday, that's dance class. Hilarious." 'Dance class' was the term the thief used to describe the average shift of a Lunar Servant, a job he'd gained by accident,

Never regretted it. He got paid well, lived well, and got free access to the castle in case of rota shifts.

The thief, for most part, remained amiable as First Aid wandered back to his work place, his lunch hour having finished. Leaving only him and Quick work, who remained suspicious

"I thought you'd be on your way to the capital, be there by sun fall, all that." the farmhand said, expression blank, "After all, we know about the Masquerade."

"As do I, brother, after all, I hold the tickets." Starlit reached into his duster and pulled out a raven feather "You wouldn't believe how hard it was to grab the thief behind Gold Nuggets missing shoe...I told her he fell off the mountain. The silence was delectable." his brother merely curled his lip in disgust

"You really should be going now, brother, enjoy your masque while we prepare for closing time. Thanks Lemon." his adopted brother merely nodded before taking his leave, the raven feather floating to the ground as he took flight. Quick Work merely sighed before heading off with the glasses "I'll never understand you, Star, none of us will."

(_/'Canterlot, rooftops'\_)

The thief was running once again, the small sack attached to his belt was half full, his usual night time tithe complete. The moon shone down upon him and the pursuing guards, the usual game of cat and mouse having escalated when the bat winged night guards having joined the pleasantries. All he could do was laugh as he approached the edge of the last house on the streets roof, his wings flaring as he leapt over the edge.

Wind taking his wings he flew back up, the guards having pursued him to the edge of the roof when he leapt, they took flight as he appeared above them, a grin on his features as he spotted one familiar face

"Ah, Shadow Dancer!" he called with a friendly wave, glass eye glowing in the moon light "How pleasant 'tis to see your face in this most glorious of hunts!" the captain was, as per usual, silent behind her visored helm, the moon shaped jewel on her breastplate similarly gleaming in the moonlight as she sought to catch up to him, one of the lesser guards detaching and making his way towards the castle.

Starlit merely ignored him as he beat his wings faster, a happy grin on his face as he followed, leading the guards on the 'merry hunt' as he called it was an easy thing to accomplish, as very few of them were fit enough to fly as fast as most thieves, their armour not helping matters, but if the guard was heading towards the castle...

...Oh, the fun would double like the number of guards on his tail.

(_/'Ponyville, two and a half weeks earlier'\_)

Stood watching the dawn rise were seven men in a line, their faces a mixture of grim, to a single smile. In the middle of the group stood Starlit Skies, around him were his adoptive brothers, whose family originated in Canterlot and who had taken him in when they thought they would never have a child. Stood either side of him were the eldest of the six blood brothers - the twins Discordant Notes and Tapper, a pianist and dancer respectively. Minutes earlier a most peculiar accident had occurred.

Starlit Skies had been requested for a job interview by the princess herself. The brothers had shared his perplexed expression when he was told to meet the castle's head servant on Sunday. All he'd done was make the returning lunar deity welcome by saying the night sky'd be look far better with her 'fabled skill' with the stars, then walk around giving out drinks. Five minutes later and he was given a job offer by a god...dess.

The incident would probably be the subject of laughter for a while yet.

(_/'Sky above Canterlot'\_)

He'd been right about the number of guards doubling the fun. Now all he had to do was the usual routine of dumbfound and, ultimately, losing them. With this in mind he descended into the lightly crowded streets of the capital itself, the guards following him as he began to weave through the trees that lined the streets.

Still they followed, mimicking his airborne dance with the skill of veteran fliers, each one trained to fly as true as an arrow. As they neared the end of the street his movements became more and more erratic, with him performing a variety of manoeuvres before weaving away through a side street, followed up by him entering a side alley, still they pursued. Pressing him to hurry in his attempt to lose them.

As the alleyway came to a dead end he tilted upwards rapidly, beating his wings faster and faster to gain altitude before flying straight upwards. Still the guard followed, and if he had bothered to look behind him he would have noticed that the captain had departed, as had her personal squadron of elite guards. As he reached the apex of his flight the raven could feel the strength in his wings begin to deteriorate as he entered a dive into the most crowded part of the city - the bars, stores , and various common houses. Among them was the Bonbon au citron, a favourite of his hunting chases.

His wings flared as he landed, breaking into a run as he did so. The doors opening themselves as he sprinted through them, managing to wave cheerily at a dining couple

"Evening Fancy, Fleur!" he called as he ran past, heading towards the kitchen doors, the guards having begun running in like a tide. The dining couple merely continued with their meal after they waved after him. Fancy Pants merely gave a sigh

"I suppose he'll be at the pre-Gala masque as well..." he muttered before continuing with his meal. The mare opposite, a tall white mare with a pinkish mane merely remained silent and continued to eat her meal.

The kitchen doors banged open as he ran through, bobbing and weaving through the crowd of chefs and various waiters carrying meals. In the distance he could spy an open window, the open sky proving the perfect getaway. He took his chances, nearly burning his hand on a stove as he ducked under a platter being carried towards the door by a waiter, just as the guards poured through the doors he was already at the window. Clapping solemnly, his face straight

"Dear me, I can but merely think about what her lunarship must think of her prize guards, losing a humble thief in a kitchen, of all places!" he scolded them, shuffling towards the window frame as they began running "dasvidaniya!" and with that he dived out of the window, leaving the sack behind as he undid the binding, as his wings flared, he chuckled lightly at was in the bag.

A bag of nothing bearing any value.

(_/'Back in the kitchen of the Bonbon au Citron'\_)

Shadow Dancer sighed as she lead the less-than-happy band of night guard. In the bag he'd dropped on the window sill there was a variety of been bags, and various cuddly toys, and attached to one such bean bag was a note reading 'Try harder'. The guards remained stoic in visible appearance, their faces straight as the solar guard. Though she knew they were grumbling beneath their breath at the servant whose job was to make their jobs a living hell.

Then again, none of them could complain, the practical exercises served as a fairly decent means to gaining muscle. There was also the fact they were sworn to silence unless spoken to or when inside the barracks.

There was always next time.

(_/'Ponyville, the following afternoon, library'\_)

Starry Skies merely stood there, reading calmly through a cook book, the third that day. Admittedly, it would still be a few months before he would be called up to scurry around with a plate on hand, but he wasn't kitchen staff anyway. While Miss Sparkle was running about town trying to have a moment to think over who to share the Gala ticket with. His brothers didn't particularly care, nor did most of his friends.

Most.

During his time visiting Ponyville he had made acquaintances with those his brothers worked with or paid rent with. His Twin brothers, Discordant Notes and Tapper, had made a living working in the music trade, though Notes lived under rent at carousel boutique, somehow managing to sleep in an empty cupboard. Tapper...he didn't know where he lived, didn't want to know either. He went back to quietly reading the book.

The silence didn't last long before Twilight raced inside. Sensing his quiet time was over he snapped the book shut and placed it back on the shelf. He turned to face the libarian, a smirk plastered across his rough features

"Madame Sparkle, this is a public library." he muttered, loud enough for her to hear "Slamming the door shut and dashing around like a loon goes against rules! Now, I must be going, I'm on rota tomorrow."

"You don't want the ticket?" she asked, flabbergasted. He took the moment to examine the young scholar, as was usual she was wearing her hair long, the highlighted streak ever prominent against the black hair. She was also wearing a lavender shirt, black trousers, and another lavender item - the jumper. After that he merely shook his head, ignoring the crowd of people banging on the door

"Goodness no, Twilight." he said, hands clasped together behind his back as he walked - almost prowled - around the room "Why would I want a ticket? I work for your teacher. Now, farewell."

And with that he walked out the door, shutting it promptly so as to not let anyone else through. He smiled as he stretched his wings from their cape like state for the first time in hours. A grin spread across his features as he wondered whether or not to hitch a ride on the train roof, though he decided against it as he patted the small bag of bits, wading through the mob and heading towards the edge of town.

Chapter I - Fin

Author's Notes

Please, don't be too harsh on me. This is the first 'humanised' fiction I've done in a while, and I could do with some pointers from veteran writers. Either way I hope you've enjoyed reading. I also know it's shabby around the edges, but until I can get my confidence for writing back, it's the best I can do.

After all, where's the fun in not pushing your boundaries?

Till next time.