In the Shadow of the Moonlight
Ch1 First Success
"I love the night" The dark stallion whispered to himself as he slowly approached the sleepy cottage. Hoof steps falling silently among the grass, he slowly surveyed the small town of Trottingham. It seemed different at night; the sleepy town was now in complete silence, all the windows dark and not a pony around. Dusk had planned this night for countless weeks. The excitement he felt threatened to make him shout in joy, but he knew shouting now would ruin the whole adventure before it had even begun.
"This should be interesting" Dusk thought to himself as he climbed through the window. The same window that he had earlier unlocked as he came over to buy tea from the general store he was about to dupe. The target would be a family heirloom, a certain tea pot with an interesting red floral design. There was nothing of real value about it but it did seem hundreds of years old so its disappearance wouldn't go unnoticed.
As he began crawling through the small opening he felt a tug on his black cloak. "Why did a bring a cloak" he murmured angrily to himself, he already was dark as could be on this moonless night, his deep purple fur seemed to absorb the little light around him, the little bit of star light radiating from the starry sky, making his movements seem more like a living shadow then a physical creature. The cloak would provide no extra protection if he was caught and the only reason he took it was because of the fact that it made him feel a little bit more like an actual thief rather then a petty felon. It also matched well with is dark mane.
He moved to detach the burden, but then again he could use it to bundle the ancient pot with. No point of stealing something if he just drops and breaks it against the floor or the dirt. Instead he gave it a few tugs till it came loose from the rose bush growing by the side of the windowsill it had caught on. He fell onto the cold floor with a muffled *Whump* and quickly hid himself from the approaching face of Mr. Earlgrey who owned the shop and lived in the second story that rested on top of it.
In the few seconds of pause between heavy breaths Dusk suddenly felt aware of his surroundings. He no longer felt the bitter cold of this winter night. He saw the white puffs of warm air coming from his snout. He became aware of the counter he had taken refuge covered was about 6 hooves from both the door and the open window meaning he had multiple escape routes if one was to prove to be blocked. He heard every small creak in the wood, every chirp of the crickets, the wind brushing the rose bush against the window sill. He could smell the lingering sent of tea, the same brew he had smelled earlier when he entered the store that very day. All this he became aware of. But sound he dreaded most, the sound of steady and loud hoof steps coming from the stairs never came.
Dusk lost track of how long he waited there. He saw paralyzed behind the granite counter a state of fear and awe. Never before has he felt such understanding of his surroundings, of the minuscule details in things he had never seen before. He smiled slyly to himself, and whispered to the darkness around him "Now this is an adventure".
The pot was located on the second floor, in the room Earlgrey slept in. Dusk made his way stealthily taking step by step up the stairs careful to listen from any squeaks or creaks coming from the floor boards that may give away his presence. He made his way across the dark hallway into the room he knew to be Earlgrey's. He opened the door to find a closet with a broom and bucket and some towels. Dusk sat there puzzled
"This should be his room… I think." He mumbled to himself, as he continued to check all the other nearby doors. After finding the bathroom, a study, and a small guest room, and then finally finding his objective.
The room Earlgrey slept in was small, the bed lying against the back wall only left about a full grown pony length of space between it and the doorway. The ancient pot was on the shelf to the right of the door. Dusk made his way into the small space between the bed and exit while Rubino slept snoring loudly, with his back to the door. Dusk crept over quietly to the shelf, his goal within reach when suddenly there was a loud crash.
The broom from the closet had apparently fallen over, no doubt pushed by one of the many rodents which infested the shop and Dusk stud paralyzed once more this time in disbelief over his terrible luck and slowly turned to find the waiting eyes of an awake and disgruntled stallion. He was not mistaken as those eyes now rested upon him as he stood there wondering if he should run or just confess the whole thing now and beg for mercy.
But before he could do either, Rubino simply shrugged said something to himself about "damn rats" and went back to snoring so loudly it was surprising he could have heard the fallen broom at all. Dusk was bewildered. Those eyes looked straight at him, almost matching his exactly but somehow they failed to see the thief no more than a few feet from his bed. Was the old pony blind? Did he just dismiss Dusk as a dream? Was there something else going on that he didn't know about? All these questions and more Dusk wanted to ask, but with no pony the answer him he grabbed the pot, bundled it in his slightly torn cloak and made his way back down the stairs and back through the open window.
He did it, he just stole something. Dusk couldn't wait for tomorrow's paper, he could see the headline now "Local store robbed by unknown mysterious thief" and they would talk about how he left no evidence and how they have no leads onto who this mysterious pony was. He smiled proudly as he gazed at his slightly tacky prize. Now he just had to stash it until part two of his plan. He could just stash it in his cottage for now back in town, later he would need a much safer place to stash his loot but for now as long as he stayed small he could just keep it in the attic.
"Tomorrow might just be a good day" The excited stallion said, nearly jumping in joy back to his tiny little shack he called home. He hadn't had a good day in a long time and it would be nice to be able to wake up for once where he didn't feel like leaving society forever and moving into the ever free forest. With giggles and smiles he laid himself to rest, unable to wait for all the fuss over his first success on what he hoped would be the biggest crime spree in equestrian history.