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Short Story

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The Apple Rolls Far From the Tree
(Takes place during The Shadow's debut episode)
Applebloom's POV

As the sun was setting for the second day, me and Granny sat up on the porch, still looking out towards the road that lead to Ponyville. Granny was still rocking back in forth in her chair, but still looked just as worried as I did. It wasn't so often that Applejack stayed outside the farm for more than a day without any kind of warning.

I wanted to go with Big Macintosh to see what happened, but he told me to stay here. I was pretty upset about it and was about to call him out on that, thinking he only wanted me here because he thought if anything was happening that I'd only get in the way. And he stayed honest and told me that was part of it, but there was something else too. Granny.

If something was really going on and I left the farm with Big Mac, then that'd mean that Granny would be all by her lonesome while something was going on. And while it obviously wasn't as dangerous as staying and 'guarding' the farm with Winona, it was still something that Big Mac and me agreed that we couldn't just leave Granny as be while we were gone. So Big Mac was entrusting me to stay and protect Granny.

I knew that a bit of it was still me being a 'little pony', but at least he didn't go so far like Applejack did. Besides, he was a little smarter about these things when it came to handling the bigger problems. Applejack usually just got all worried over nothing. At least, that's how she acted whenever I was anywhere near whatever was going on.

"They back yet Granny?" I called out to her as I tried wiping the frown off my face. Winona had come out and sat on the front deck with us, so while I played with her I handed Granny the binoculars. Granny always tended to get a bit restless whenever something was going on and she could do nothing but sit and wait for something to happen. So acting as lookout helped calm her nerves.

"Eh? What was that?" She asked me. Lowering the binoculars and looking over towards me and Winona. "I couldn't hear ya after all that clatterin' from inside tha house." She pointed towards the door with a shaky hoof.

"Clatterin'?" I asked, looking towards the door. "I don't hear no clatter-" Just then, a window from one of the upper floors of the house shattered. Followed by the glass itself, some pieces of the muntins, and an entire shelf all falling to the ground ahead of us. The shelf landing on to of the pile of shattered glass.

Winona jumped up to her four paws and raised her hackles with a growl. I followed up beside her with a jump. Not out of fear! But, just out of...Surprise is all. The both of us stared towards it with our full attention while Granny stayed in her rocking chair. Frozen in fear.

Looking carefully at the shelf itself, I recognized it right away. It had come from a small drawer dresser from the attic. Apparently when Applejack came back from Manehatten, she had brought a few dresses that Aunt and Uncle Orange had bought for her when she went to visit them.

She outgrew them and most of the dresses are now in my own dresser. Hidden behind all my bows, never to see the light of day. And the old drawer dresser only had the few dresses that didn't even fit me and some of our winter clothes too.

Knowing that the drawer didn't just throw itself out the window by its lonesome, I opened the front door for Winona. "Go on girl, go get 'em!" I told her, making Winona charge inside and up the stairs. The way up to our attic wasn't like most places, there was a staircase at the end of the hall. And the door handle to it was busted. Meaning Winona could bust in there without any help.

But after she had already cleared the stairs, Granny perked up once again. "Dang fiddlin' flies always tryin' ta get in tha house." She remarked.

"Wait a second, that ain't no fly…" I stayed quiet and listened real closely. And in doing so, I quickly realized that it wasn't coming from anywhere on the porch, it was coming from above the house. Or at least, above us anyway.

Now, what I said was kinda the truth. It wasn't a fly. But it did sound sorta like it, so I got why Granny was thinking that. But I had heard that noise before. It was the same noise that Scootaloo's wings made.

A few seconds later, somepony came into view from up above the porch. Just like I thought, it was like a younger pony like Scootaloo, but instead of her flying around, it was a colt with a small garbage bag in his mouth.

Since the bag was see through however, I noticed what was inside of it. It was a few of the dresses from the dresser and some of the winter clothes earlier. Mostly cotton hats and boots. But one thing that wasn't in the bag was instead on the colt himself. Something that wasn't for Applejack, but for me.

"That's my scarf!" I yelled out before glaring at him. He landed facing away from us, so he didn't notice us until I said something. "Give back our stuff ya, thief!"

"Wait, what are you two doin' 'ere?!" He asked, acting as if we were the ones who are trespassing. "I though't everypony was supposed ta stay in town cause a da curfew!"

His voice was a little funny. It wasn't anything like the Apple Family's voice. Not even the Apples from Manehatten. Instead, it was kinda like Pip's voice. But maybe a bit more fancier.

"Curfew?" I took a step back, hearing Winona run back down the stairs. The door opened inwards though, so she wouldn't be able to get out without us helping her out. "We didn't hear about no curfew!"

"Yeah. Obviously!" He shouted out with that same accent before tossing up the bag of clothes and resting it on his back. Also keeping my red scarf around his neck before running away from us.

"Hey! Get back here!" I yelled out before running after him. But before I could cut my hooves on the glass, I jumped up on the shelf that he must've used to bust the window and jumped off of it. Clearing the glass before I could cut myself on any of it.

"Applebloom, wait!" Granny called out as she started to step out of the chair. She had recovered and sounded more serious than worried.

"Don't worry Granny! I ain't lettin' him get away with our stuff!" I called back to her as I kept chasing him. He was about my age, but even though Pegasi were built for speed, that bag of stuff was weighing him down. Making it easier to try and catch up to him.

"Oi! Leave me alone! You lot don't even need this stuff, do ya?!" He asked desperately, looking back to see me catching up just as he got into the line of apple trees.

"Course we do! Why else would we keep it?!" I asked him as I only sped up to him. He was slowing down even more since the trees weren't organized in any kind of pattern. It was mostly like a forest to anypony that didn't know there way around.

"Well if dat's really the case, than 'ow's come I found it all cuhvered in dust?!" He debated before making a sharp turn around the tree Mrs. Apple Betty.

...Dang, I really am starting to act like my big sis, aren't I?

"Well, we only need 'em fa' da win- I mean -fer tha winter!" I corrected myself, kicking myself for almost talking like him. His voice was contagious or something.

"Hah-hah! Well ain't that somethin'?! Ya gotta taste a the Queen's tongue!" He chuckled a little bit more before yelling out in surprise.

"Huh?" I turned Mrs. Apple Bet- err -the apple tree and slowed down well enough to see that the colt was looking left to right from where he was. A decently sized apple tree standing directly in front of him.

"Okay." I growled as I stood my ground. The thief slowly turning around to face me with a look of defeat. "First off, who are ya and who's this Queen you were talkin' about back there? And second, why are you takin' our stuff?!"

"Who's da Quee...Oh, right! Ponies from around 'ere aren't aware a who runs Trottin'am. She's really a may'a, but we call 'er a Queen. Makes it seem more import'nt." He told me, still glancing from side to side.

He was just buying time to get away from me. I took a slow step towards him as if to focus his attention back towards me. If I could just get close enough to him then I'd be able to take him down before he could get away.

"And yer name?" I asked him. Waiting for him to start glancing around some more before taking another step.

"...Quick Shillin'. But, uh, jus' call me Shillin' if'n ya want." He said carefully, looking me up and down as if to try and figure out how to get away from me. And as he did, I looked at him closely myself to see just what I was dealing with.

'Quick Shillin' or probably 'Quick Shilling' as his name probably went, was a Pegasus with a light grey coat. Lighter than Silver Spoon's, but not by too much really. His mane and tail were a darker grey and weren't as fancy as his accent, but they were still brushed back a little more than they would be if he just left it as is.

Overall, he looked really dull with his mane and coat the way were. And save for my red scarf, there was nothing to give him a splash of color other than his cocky smirk. I also noticed that he doesn't have his Cutie Mark either. Making him a Blank Flank like me. So I guess that was one thing that we had in common. But nothing else really. Especially since he was a thief.

"Alrighty then, Shillin'. My name's Applebloom." I told him with just as much caution. "Now if'n you just gimme back my family's stuff, then we can both be on our way."

"'Fraid not Bloomy." He said, smirking as he saw me just glare more at that name. "I need these clothes meself."

"Bloomy? Really?" I deadpanned. "Just because yer lettin' me say a shorter part a yer name, that don't give ya no right ta call me by anythin' else."

"Aw, ya sure? 'Cause I think Bloomy much prettia of a name then borin' ol' Applebloom, wouldn'tcha say?" He asked me, casually looking back and forth to try and get a look at his surrounding again.

I took another step and glared some more. "Would'ya qui' it that fhi-Gah! Would ya quit that?! I don't take kindly ta you callin' me whatever y'all want to!" I shouted, getting really frustrated by him. The fact that I kept speaking in his accent by accident wasn't helping either.

But to him, he was just cracking up at me. "Aw, Bloomy ya blushin'. 'Sides, ya kinda cute tawkin' like that." He teased. Making me blush even more out of embarrassment.

"Shu-shut up…" I told him, trying to just shake off my shade of red. Looking back at him, he didn't look so tense anymore. Heck, he wasn't even looking from side to side anymore. He was taking in every second of this like some sort of sick victory lap.

Thinking it all over real quick, an idea came to my mind. One that made me calm down a bit. If he wasn't so scared of me anymore, maybe I could drop his guard just enough to get close enough and take our stuff back.

Sooner or later, Big Mac was going to come back or Granny was going to get the front door open. So in the next minute, there would be somepony else to help me take him down. Somepony fast enough to catch him too.

"I just thought of somethin'." I told him, a small smile forming on my face. "That stuff yer stealin'. Ya said ya needed it fer yerself, right?"

"Uh, yeah. Why?" He asked, looking at the bag for a second before returning his focus back on me. Looking me over one more time to try and find out what I was getting at.

"I was just wonderin'." I said with a small smile. "I mean, I didn't know that a colt like you was inta dressin' up like a filly wit' them dresses an all." I said with a smile only growing bigger. So much so, that I was about ready to start chuckling myself.

"Wha-What?" He took a step back in utter confusion. "I don't wear dresses." He said bluntly, caught way off-guard now.

"Ya sure? Cause ya do look like you'd fit in 'em." I took a step back to pretend to look him over a bit carefully. "Matter a fact, ya kindly look a bit girly." I teased.

"G-Girly?! Not you wait jus' a tick there, love! I don't wear no dresses! Them aren't for me!" He defended, that part really hitting his pride.

"Then just who are they for then?" I asked, stopping after one more step.

"There...There...Uh…" He looked pretty worried now. So caught up in finding an answer that he didn't notice me take another step.

"There fer what?" I asked, stopping just close enough. It didn't matter whether he figured out what my plan was now. I was close enough to catch him no matter what he did.

He sighed in defeat, letting the bag roll off of him and land on the ground. Causing me to stop my surprise attack. " There for me sis." He gave up, having no more excuses.

"Yer sis?" I stood up straight. "Well if there fer yer sis, then why not just have yer Mom er Dad help ya buy some for her 'stead a stealin' em?"

"Well...Ya see, that's jus' it I'm afraid. Ya see...We don't exactly have…" He kept pausing, unsure of how to explain.

"Stop." I told him. I knew that he'd have some trouble answering that. It was kinda like Scoots. Heck, it was kinda like me. "Say no more."

"..." He frowned, looking almost angry at what he did. But almost immediately, he wiped that look off his face and just sighed. Sliding the bag of clothes off his back and towards the ground beside him. "Sorry I took your clothes. You can 'ave 'em back." He took my scarf out from around his neck and held it out towards me. It was as red as my mane, and I had it ever since I was five. I would always trade it out for my bows for the winter.

"I ain't that used ta this gig yet. We jus' did not want any par' a that orphanage you lot got 'ere. We though' it'd be bearable, but after seein' me sis and the time she was 'avin' there, I got us out." He explained to me with a defeated look.

"Yeah, that's what Scoots did." I told him with a frown. "She told me it ain't really so bad there, but they go' some pretty strict rules, far as I 'eard." I admitted, my voice dipping into his own accent a bit.

He chuckled once. "You're tellin' me. All in bedrooms by six, all sleepin' by nine. Two baf's a day, not one piece a mane ou' a place whenevuh ponies come ta visit, case they adopt us. Miss who runs the place got on my case 'cause ah me own accent. What a joka'."

"Applebloom?! Ya out there?! Speak up!"

I turned around as I heard Applejack's voice from the direction of the house, followed by Winona's barking. Big Mac and her must've come back from Ponyville.

I turned back to him and thought it all over. He wasn't trying to hurt us, he was just taking some of our clothes that we didn't need anymore. If he had just asked us if we had some, we probably would've handed them over.

If anything, we were all probably mad that he busted a hole through our attic window. Don't get me wrong, I was pretty ticked at that too, but it was probably an easy fix.

Also if he was out here instead of being at the orphanage, then that meant that he and his sister weren't there anymore. And if that was true, then he was probably going through the same situation Scootaloo was. He was probably living in one of the older shacks outside of Ponyville.

"Hold on Applebloom, we're comin'!" Applejack called out again. Her voice sounding a little closer than before.

Shilling looked to where her voice came from and back to me, now looking really scared. If he was caught, both he and his sister would be brought back to the orphanage. And if that happened, they'd have an even worse time.

I sighed deeply, knowing that I'd regret doing pretty much everything that I was about to. So quickly looking around, I spotted one tree that had a few loose apples to them.

Knowing I wouldn't have much time, I ran over and bucked the tree as best I could. Causing about seven apples to fall. Enough to last them today and tomorrow morning.

I pushed them forward so they'd roll right in front of Shilling. "Put those in the bag. Hurry!" I commanded him as I knocked the last one towards him without thinking too much.

"Uh, ya sure ya wanna be 'elpin' a thief?" He asked me, packing the apples in anyway. Using the word that I called him anyway.

"You need it more than we do! I'll keep my sister from followin' you, but you just keep runnin'." I told him as I picked up an apple he missed and packed it in for him before hoisting the bag up onto his back.

Seeing that I was actually helping him steal our stuff, he got over the shock and gave me a genuine smile. "Thank ya kindly Bloomy."

"Don't thank me yet." I told him before noticing my red scarf was still on the ground. So picking it up, I picked it up and quickly threw it over the back of his neck. "Ya still gotta get out here. Just run that way and you'll be outside the orchard." I pointed in the direction and quickly pushed him. Swearing that Applejack's hoofsteps were right behind me.

He got to the tree and turned around. Straightening his new scarf. "You know, you're much nica' than you were lettin' on, Bloomy. Glad I met'cha."

I felt my face turn red again and tried to shake it away. "Oh, shu' it an' run!" I yelled out, his accent getting to me again as I pointed forward once again. Thankfully making him get serious and giving me a quick wave before taking off through the forest.

The second he was out of sight, Applejack came running over to me. Right now, it didn't matter how fast Shilling ran. If she took off now, he was as good as done.

"Applebloom, yer okay!" Applejack cried out in joy. Hugging me so much, I didn't feel that okay now. "Granny told us what happened. You had her worried sick!"

"Oh, I'm fine sis." I said, still blushing and still talking with that stupid accent. "Jus', uh, takin' a walk is all."

"A walk?! What about that thief?! Which way did he go?!" She put me down and started looking around.

"Uh...I dunno." I said, trying to pass off as innocent and keep Applejack distracted for just a little bit longer. If I can at least hold her off for a good minute, then Shilling would be safe.

As soon as this was all over, I would explain what all happened to Applejack. She may treat me like a baby, but she still knew right from wrong. She's just a little angry right now was all. If she just hears their story, then she'll be fine with them taking a few clothes. After an apology for the window of course.

But not being any wiser to what happened, she looked towards me with a confused look. "Applebloom?...How's come yer talkin' all funny like? And why are ya smilin' like that?"

Worried she'd figure something out, I cleared my throat. Hopefully getting rid of the accent. But as for the other thing. "Smilin'? I ain't smilin'." I said, genuinely confused as to what she was saying about that.

"Yeah ya were. It was a smile as wide as yer face could let ya have." Applejack said, raising an eyebrow.

"..." I gulped nervously and thought carefully as to figure out what to say. There was no getting a lie past Applejack, but I couldn't let her know about what happened until Shilling was completely gone.

She leaned forward a bit and stared me down very carefully. Not daring to look away or even blink for a second as she tried to see through me. But even though I stayed silent, I couldn't stop myself from looking towards the direction Shilling ran off. Having a look of worry painted all over my face.

Applejack saw it and started to lean back. Her frown slowly going away and replacing itself was a small smile. One that made me feel like frowning myself. "Now...What are you so happy about?" I asked her carefully.

"Heheheh...Whelp. Guess the colt's gone." She said mysteriously, turning tail and walking back to the farmhouse. Still chuckling.

"Wait a second, how's come you know he's a col...Woah, woah! Wait a second Applejack!" I cried out before running over towards her. Now worried for myself.

"Hahaha!" Applejack broke out into a small run as she kept laughing, getting the completely wrong idea!

"Wait! Stop!"

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I know that story was twice as long as usual short stories, but I hope you will all forgive me. After all, I do have a point to my madness. Both in this chapter, and later. I do, however, have a side question. What do you think of Quick Shilling?

Like I've said before, all short stories, even the shed one, are all canon for this story. So I wanna know what you all think of that Cockney Accented character. What's your two cents? Or should I say, two shillings?

Disclaimer: I don't know anything. Save for Blitz, Joe, Big Mike, Morgue, the idea, and the word shilling...Okay, I don't own that word, but I still like the name of it.

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ACT I
Enter the Mane Humans!
AND
Introducing: The Honorable Thieves!

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Applejack's POV

"Dang!" I cursed with a sad frown, staring at the money I had earned so far that was in my hands as I sat down at the table we were all at earlier. It was a few of those green papers Joe was waving around to buy that pizza he gave us all. And as of right now, I had five of them. four of them had fives all over the corners, and the fifth one had tens around the corners. Thirty 'bucks', as the humans I got the money from, had called them.

I couldn't help but chuckle at the irony. Back home, I could buck hundreds if not thousands of apples in an hour. Now I only got thirty bucks after what's already felt like an hour. Heck, even if I was sick, I could've bucked more apples than this in just a few minutes.

"Why am I even tryin'?" I asked out loud. Since I had no one else left that was willing to bet money, I came back to the table that only Joe was still sitting at. "It ain't like I can just run around stealin' stuff like y'all can."

Joe still had his sunglasses on over top of his normal glasses and his feet were propped up on the table of the table towards the corner. I didn't even know if he was looking at me exactly. For all I knew, his eye were probably closed.

As for Big Mike, I didn't really know what happened to him. As Joe said earlier, any of us could try asking for their help if we wanted it. So I'm guessing one of the others came back and asked for some help. The more I thought of it, the more I started kicking myself for not asking for Big Mike's help. Maybe I could've used his help to get more competitions started.

"Well, you've managed to get some earnings. How much of it do you have exactly?" He asked me, looking at me almost uncaringly. In fact, he looked more ready to nap in his chair than listen to me with how much he was leaning back.

"Thirty bucks. And it's already been like twenty minutes." I frowned as I just tossed the money onto the table in front of me. I didn't really need it anyway. It wasn't like I was planning on getting Applebloom any souvenirs from this horrible world.

"Sixteen minutes and thirty-one seconds to be exact."Joe corrected as he pointed towards the little kitchen timer that was ticking next to his propped up feet. "It seems that you over estimated. You still have forty-four minutes and twenty-nine seconds. And counting." He told me, not even looking towards the timer.

"How do you know the time down ta the...Nevermind." I gave up and fell back into my seat. Slumping backwords, looking like a dog that couldn't chase down a squirrel. "Still, I got no idea what I'm gonna do. I'm plum outta ideas."

"Well, think of it this way. Now you have thirty dollars to try and think of another plan." Joe told me with a yawn. Lacking any care in my situation whatsoever.

Still, what he said got my attention. "But if I use the money, won't that just put me right back where I started?" Besides, if I bought something with this money, then that's not stealing. That's buying something for a fair price.

"Not exactly." Joe answered vaguely. Causing me to raise an eyebrow in suspicion. "You've successfully scammed thirty dollars through competitions. Now you just have to get another seventy dollars. Doesn't matter what you have left by the end of the hour, it only matters what the total amount you earned and, or, stole was." Joe reminded me.

"Ya know, ya could'a told us that 'fore we went an' started...Wait a second, what'd you just say?" I asked, not able to just ignore this kinda freaky trick of his any longer.

"I say a lot of things, you'll have to be specific." He told me sarcastically, still not looking towards me.

"How'd you know just how I earned this money?!" I demanded an answer. "I was on tha other side of that there carousel and you've done nothin' but sit here! And Big Mike ain't here ta tell ya what I was doin'!" Seriously, was he reading my mind agai-

"It wasn't a mind-reading trick." He answered, making me look even more freaked out. "And judging by the look on your face, that was exactly what you were thinking."

"..." I crossed my arms and gave him a glare that would scare the leaves out of a Timberwolf. I wanted that answer. Now.

Joe sighed and took his feet off the table. Sitting up and looking at me through his sunglasses. "Do you recall the very first time we all met? Because if you do, then you should know that I already told you how I could read your mind." Joe reminded me.

"All ya said was that you looked at someone's face. And I don't think my face quite told ya that I had been arm wrestlin' the fellas over there fer money." I told him, not happy with his answer.

"Well to be clear, I didn't know that you had been competing in arm wrestling. I only knew that you had been competing in something." He corrected. "And that was only through the powers of deduction. Another skill I use to read minds." He explained, putting air quotes around 'read minds.'

"And just how does that work?" I pressed on, calming down a bit. As long as I would get my answer, then there wasn't really too much of a reason to be mad at him. Unless he had been sending someone after me. In which case, I'll soon be using my arms for more than just arm wrestling someone.

"Allow me to explain." He straightened his glasses, giving off that shiny look to them for a second. "Of course since you are on a time limit, I'll say this only once." Joe clarified.

"As you came over here, you had five bills in your hand. All five of them were folded with either one fold or two. Telling me that it was probably put into a wallet or, at the very least, a pocket. Meaning you didn't get it from a store, but instead you got them directly from a person."

"Next, I quickly thought over how you had obtained that money. After you heard me explain that you didn't have to steal anything persay to pass, you were much more willing to try your hand at this test compared to some of your friends. Meaning that you had thought you had a way to pass the test fairly."

"Finally, when you came back, you were slightly winded as well as a bit disappointed. So, that told me that your plan hadn't quite worked out as well as you had hoped. But that wasn't all I learned from your looks." He told me. "You weren't tired from walking around. So you weren't running. Meaning you didn't go too far and that you were still in the food court this whole time."

"Obviously someone as fit as you wouldn't be winded by just anything," "Hehehe, thanks Joe."

I couldn't help but chuckle at the compliment he gave me. I had been listening, but I couldn't pass up the chance to make a joke at a human that was so stone-faced. Still, he ignored me and went on as soon as I kept quiet.

"So, just how were you tired? Well, if it wasn't something to do with walking, then you must've been doing something else strenuous. Something most likely with your upper body. So just what could you do in the food court in a small amount of time with upper body strength? The simple answer was a competition. But the more specific answer was…?" He asked me with his fingers folded together and his elbows rested on the table.

"Arm wrestlin'." I finished, thinking over everything he just told me. "Woah."

"And that's how I know that you earned thirty dollars through competitions." He concluded. "Now do you know how I figured it all out?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, after explainin' it like that, ya make it sound like it was so obvious." I said, still thinking all of what he told me. "And that only took ya, what, a few seconds?"

"Seventeen to be exact." He corrected, waving the thought away. "Still, now that your plan had failed, that means you need another plan to make seventy dollars. A plan that doesn't involve you actually stealing anything."

"...Okay, ya gotta teach me that trick a yers." I told him, really wanting to know how to do that.

"Sorry 'Watson' but I'm afraid it's not that simple. It's taken me years to deduce facts like this without difficulty, and that was only a simpler thing for me to learn since I had gotten into the habit of it at a young age." He told me.

"I didn't mean it too literally." I rolled my eyes. "Still, what now? You've gotta know more about this place than I do." I admitted.

"Are you stating the facts, or are you asking for me to help you with your test?" Joe asked me, moving his sunglasses upwards so I could actually see his eyes for the first time yet.

"Am I allowed to ask for your help?" I asked, looking at him with a sideways glance. Worried about whether or not this was a trick.

"If you weren't then why would I offer it?" He asked as he stood up, reaching into his pocket. for something. "Realize that I want you six to pass just as much, if not more, than you do. So if there's an opportunity for me and Big Mike to help you all pass with more flying colors than Ms. Dash, then you'll be happy to know that that's what I'm going to try and do."

"Sounds ta me like you're tryin' ta find a way outta yer own rules." I realized with a chuckle. Something about that just sounded pretty silly to me.

"Wonderful deduction Ms. AJ. You just might have that trick down pat yet." He told me sarcastically.

He then pulled out a small notepad and a pen to write with. And as quick as he could, he started to write down a small note for whichever one of our friends came back. "Allow me to ask, do you have any problem simply sneaking into some place?"

"Uh, well…" He ripped the note out and left it face up on the table. "I suppose not. Why, what'd you have in mind?" I asked him, not getting just what kind of plan he had up his sleeve.

"We're going to go watch something." He picked up the bag of small boxes that Big Mike had brought over earlier when he was with Blitz and Spike. Looking carefully at it, I could tell that there were small boxes inside of it. Each with different colors. "Let's see, the time is...1:32 PM. Perfect, that means it started fifty minutes ago. Come Ms. AJ, let's go."

"Go? Go where?" I stood up and started following Joe. Not having any idea as to what Joe was planning now.

"We're going to earn you your seventy dollars without stealing. Just like you wanted. Now come on. If we hurry, we can make it in time to see the part where they get to Greece." Joe just kept talking all cryptically. Making me have to just trust whatever his plan was. But I guess as long as I don't really have to steal anything, I could go along with his plan for now.

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Joe's POV

"Alright, now do you get what the plan is?" I asked as we finally arrived. The whole way here, Applejack was left completely out of just what it was I was doing. And for good reason.

If I had told her exactly what the plan was, then she'd keep asking about every little thing on the way. And if someone, say a concerned fellow shopper or a mall cop was to hear us, security would pull us aside and ask just what we were doing.

I would easily be able to talk our way out of it, but if they decided to ask Ms. AJ to see if our stories matched up or something to that effect, then her horrible lying would be sure to get us both locked in mall security until someone came to pick us teenagers up. Obviously not a good idea seeing as how Ms. AJ doesn't even exist in this world.

Now, think about this. By not telling her what the plan is, she would just be flat out confused and barely know what to even begin asking me what I was doing. And by only now telling her, she wouldn't have much time to question the plan and therefore, not much time to mess it up.

Sure she won't have much time to rehearse her actions, but she won't have much time to get cold feet or question why this is our plan. Meaning that since she only has a limited time, her mind will have an easier time just accepting the plan and doing as she's told.

"Yeah, I see what yer gettin at." Applejack said, nodding along with me as we walked up to the girl that was running the ticket booth.

There was only one group of people in front of us, and they had conveniently finished and left the line. Leaving us to make our way over and get to the booth where the ticket taker was quickly counting up the money.

After about half a minute had passed, Applejack took another step forward. Her anxiety getting the best of her. "Uh, excuse me?" Applejack put on her best smile as the ticket taker quickly looked up. And already Applejack was starting to look suspicious.

"Sorry about that." The girl looked back down and closed the cash register before giving us her full attention. "For a second I thought some money was missing."

"M-Missin'? Why would the money be missin'? It wasn't stolen or nothin', was it?" Applejack asked, help polite smile now turning to that of worry.

"No, it's not stolen. It's just that I don't trust the guy who has the shift before me, so I always check the register. Don't worry about it." She tried to calm her down. Though already I could tell that she had a hint of suspicion to her appearance. "My name's Melissa. What movie would you like to see today?"

The two of us were standing outside the movie theatre where the plan was to take place. And right now, we'll be lucky to even get into the movie theatre at all with how nervous Applejack was acting.

"Oh, uh, two fer tha...Tha Muppets one." She said, thankfully remembering enough to recall the movie I told her to pay for.

"Two?" Melissa asked, looking a bit confused. And for a well enough reason I suppose. After all, I wasn't standing next to Applejack and we didn't exactly look like we were in the same group.

"Yeah. Me an' my cousin Joe." Applejack said, quickly pointing towards me before snapping her attention back to Melissa. And if it wasn't for the fact that she was stuck trying to figure something else out, she would've probably spotted Applejack's unnatural movements.

"Joe?" Melissa asked, looking at me with a very confused look. "I didn't know you had a cousin." She said, looking very unimpressed with the story Applejack had told her.

"Ah. Ms. Renaud." I said, kicking myself for somehow overlooking this big detail. Melissa was a fellow high school student. One that knew of me more than a simple word of mouth. "I didn't know you worked here." I told her, thinking it all over once more. Careful to overlook any other details.

"And again, I didn't know you had a cousin." She repeated, a small smirk growing on her face. "Who is this really Joe?"

"W-Wait, how's come I can't be his-" "Alright fine. There's no point in trying to make such an impossible lie." I cut off, knowing that it was pointless. Only my immediate family moved to America. Meaning that if I had any cousins, they definitely wouldn't be the prime definition of an American.

"This is actually Morgue's cousin." I went on. "But since Morgue's not exactly around, me and Big Mike are showing her and her two siblings around. Hence why Big Mike, Mr. Johnny, and Ms. Becca aren't here with us. Right Ms. AJ?" I asked her, mentally begging for her to catch on.

"..." She looked off to the side in confusion. Thinking it all to herself. "That, reminds me," She said very slowly. "Where is Big Mike anyway?"

"He's showing them around the second floor of the mall." I said, so glad that she was able to go along with the plan. I then turned the attention back towards Melissa. "But seeing as how are movie's going to be starting in about four minutes, we'd like to buy those tickets. Unless you'd like to play Twenty Questions that is." I told her, remembering that the movie was to start at 1:40. We left the food court at 1:32 and it took a few minutes to get here, so whether Melissa believed our story or not, her job wouldn't allow her to hold us up in line forever.

"..." By the look in her eyes, she obviously had her doubts. But the both of us knew that she only had so much time to waste on each customer. After all, the average transaction time was only a minute. An amount of time that we had already passed by this point.

"That'll be sixteen forty-six." She said, carrying on her job with the same amount of emotion that I usually had. Not liking that she had no other choice than to serve us.

"Oh, here." Applejack, who had just been standing between the two of us awkwardly, passed her the ten and two of her fives just as I had instructed. To which Melissa quickly took and gave back three dollars and fifty-four cents faster than any usual cashier would. As well as the two tickets.

"Enjoy the show." She said, flashing the fakest smile as we made our way into the theatre. "And see you at school tomorrow Joe." She added before the entrance could even close behind us.

"Oh believe me, I know." I retorted with a sigh. The last thing I needed right now was for others to be suspicious as to what was going on. Especially now considering how I was now harboring seven aliens and a teenager that had been reported missing for an entire year now.

Once we were finally out of earshot, a position I was so very thankful for, we kept walking forward to try and pull off the plan without any more issues.

But of course silence is too loud for my acquaintance over here.

"So how did she know you anyway?" Applejack asked as we made our way to the man who would check our tickets. A man who thankfully didn't know me.

"Ms. Renaud is a girl who goes to the same school as I do. She's takes the same Latin and advanced English classes that I take and is also on the debate team. And as you've probably witnessed, she doesn't simply take it to pass the time." I told her before handing my ticket to the man. As did Applejack after seeing me do so.

"Muppets Most Wanted is playing in theatre 4. Down the hall, to the left, second to last room on the right." He instructed us as he gave our parts of the tickets back.

"Thanks." We both said, Applejack catching on quick enough as we walked down the hall. The man not caring too much for the two of us as some people were bound to come up behind us sooner or later.

"Wait, so y'all still go ta school? 'Cause ya look a year older than I do." Applejack commented with obvious confusion.

"Human school makes all children attend school whether they want to or not for thirteen years. And they make us go Monday through Friday. And considering how today's Sunday, me and Big Mike have to go to school tomorrow." I explained to her.

"Do me an' the other girls gotta go to?" Applejack asked.

"No." I quickly shot that idea down. "This isn't the movies Ms. AJ," I told her as we walked down the theatre's corridor. "We can't simply have all of you go to 'd take a few days just to have you enroll, and even so we don't plan on you staying for that long."

"Well, that's a relief. For a second, I was worried that we'd have to go to a school in a whole new world and spend the next few days tryin' ta fit in." Applejack told me with a calm smile on her face.

"Oh please, that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Not to mention cliché." I rolled my eyes as we walked toward the end of the corridor. Which was also the one thing about this theatre that gave it a weakness.

The theatre was a nice place to go to, that wasn't the problem, but it had one fatal flaw. After giving the man your ticket, you would walk down a long corridor that led to a fork in the hall. Forcing you to go left or right. Meaning that all of the rooms that were showing the movies were out of the ticket taker's view. Not to mention, directly behind him in the first place.

Now that's not something you could particularly blame the management for, it was more the architect who mapped out this designs for this place. Because with it the way it was made, people could just walk into whatever movie they wanted to.

And it wasn't like each theatre had a guard to ensure that you were going into the right movie. Which meant that all you had to worry about was the custodians catching you exiting one movie and going directly into another one. And even then, I doubt they even cared about a couple of teenagers they didn't even know.

That being said, this was the key to Applejack making her hundred dollars. As the rules stated, it doesn't matter if it's a good or service you're taking. As long as you earn money or obtain something that's worth said money, then you've achieved the goal. And for a matinée ticket for the mall's theatre, it was eight dollars plus tax.

Not only that, but with Applejack's thirty dollars which she obtained, she bought both me and herself entry into the theatre. So for every movie playing that both of us walk into without paying, that's sixteen dollars earned for her. Not counting the one we actually paid for of course.

"Hey, I've been meanin' ta ask ya. Do you have any friends besides Big Mike and Morgue?" Applejack asked as we walked into the movie playing in screen one. "'Cause ya always seem ta call anypony else Ms. or Mr. Even if they ain't ponies like me or tha girls."

We stopped just before the turn to where the seats were. That way none of those watching the movie could spot us watching the movie. And while Applejack was waiting for her answer, I wanted to get explaining the movie out of the way before someone saw us in here.

"Here we have our first movie, titled Bad Words. A comedy. Lead role and director is Jason Bateman. The story is that a grown late-twenties man finds a loophole and enters a spelling bee for young children, where he befriends one of said young children and introduces him to the adult world. A very E-X-P-L-I-C-A-T-I-V-E outlook on mature humor." I spelled out the word, possibly just confusing her greatly.

But nonetheless, it described the main plot of the movie, and that was all I needed it to do. So after about half a minute more of watching the movie, I began walking out of the movie with her directly behind me. Thankfully getting out of there before the scene changed to anything other than average.

By letting her and myself see a good minute or so of a movie, a movie neither of us paid for mind you, that earned Applejack sixteen more dollars since we're not allowed to watch what we didn't pay for. And the reason both of us seeing the movie counted for her was because it was her money that got us into the theatre in the first place.

So with one movie down, that gives Applejack sixteen dollars plus her initial thirty. Forty-six dollars accounted for and the theatre still had a good four more movies to easily reach Applejack's limit.

"And as for your question, Big Mike and Morgue aren't my friends." I told her as we both kept walking onward towards screen two.

"What?!" She asked in shock, before I quickly shushed her.

"Quiet, people are watching movies." I said sarcastically, not particularly caring. I simply wanted to hurry and get her hundred dollars so we could see the actual movie I wanted to see.

So that in mind, I quickly walked across the hall towards the door. Opening the door for her as a doorman at a hotel would and politely gestured for her to follow. Her going in while glaring at me the entire way.

She wasn't going to let me off the hook so easily. But if I could at least get through these movies, then at least we won't waste so much time.

"Next up is Divergent. A Sci-Fi, action-Adventure movie set in a futuristic world that divides the human races into groups based on their personalities." I explained to her once I caught up to her inside the theatre. Being sure that I was quiet enough so no one actually watching this slightly quiet scene would notice us.

"And when the lead role, played by a Ms. Shailene Woodley, learns that she cannot fit into any one group, she is pulled right into the middle of a conspiracy. Sadly the title of the movie is a bit ironic."

"Ironic? How's come?" Applejack asked as she saw a scene where the lead was in a testing room towards the beginning of the movie. She was definitely mad at me for what I said, but I had said everything so quickly that she didn't really have enough time to think of something else to say.

"Because this movie is so much like every other Sci-Fi movie ever made that it doesn't 'diverge' from anything." I told her, bringing her back out into the hallway. To which she quickly followed. Not really wanting to see any of the movie herself anyway.

And as that made our second illegal movie, the total was now at sixty-two dollars. Now that only left three more movies to check.

"Alright, hold up." As we crossed the hallway towards screen room seven, she resisted me trying to guide her from screen to screen in record time. And sadly since she's much stronger than me, I wouldn't exactly be able to force her into the next screen room. "I want an answer for what ya said. How can ya not like yer own kin?"

Upon hearing her question, I turned around and shook my head. "Don't get me wrong Ms. AJ, I'm not saying that I don't see them as less than friends." I watched as she looked to have her doubts, knowing that she had jumped to that very conclusion. "Just the opposite really."

She simply crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. Remaining stern until she got the full answer. Oh yeah, she definitely had her doubts. Already, she was forming the idea that I was as heartless to them as I was to every other stranger. "Keep goin'." But luckily, she was willing to hear me out.

"As you have probably noticed, I don't have too many ties to others. Nearly everyone else I seem to communicate with, I act as if I don't care at all. And you, as well as the rest of the girls, have all noticed this. Am I wrong?" I asked her, testing out my theory to see if she and the other girls had been thinking about this just as I was predicting.

"Nah, yer right. That is how you act towards everypony. Me an' my friends 'specially." She added, keeping them in mind as she talked with me.

"As I thought. This is something you've all been trying to figure out for a while now." I noted outloud, her simply nodding aloud. What I had said was merely the factor that brought her thoughts to life. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if this was one of the only things that all of them have been trying to figure out.

"If I agree to tell you the basics as to why, will you agree to leave that topic alone until everything is taken care of? As well as the rest of your friends?" I asked her. Hoping to strike a deal with the Honest one of the group.

"You mean until we're all back in Equestria, right?" She tried clarifying. Not fully understanding what I had meant.

"Or until all eleven of us are safe within our own group. Whichever comes first if that makes the thought any better." I was willing to compromise with that. I couldn't care less if they wanted to talk amongst themselves about the whole thing. But with the chance to make the whole lot of them leave me alone, I was more than willing to come to a truce.

"...Seems fair enough. Deal." She spit into her hand and held it out. Causing me to cringe in disgust. But seeing as how I was lucky enough to get this far, I didn't want to test my luck any further. So swallowing my own manners for a few seconds, I complied and spit into my own hand. Shaking hands with her and trying to keep from shaking too much at the handshake.

"Bwahahaha! Wow! I didn't actually expect ya ta go as far as ta do that!" She started laughing as I simply glared at her in anger. Resisting the urge to slap her upside the head with my now spit covered hand.

"Yes, well, I've been through much worse." I said before wiping my hand on my pant leg and reaching into my pocket with my still clean hand. Pulling out a small pocket sized pack of sanitizer I always kept on me. "Well listen as I explain, because I'm only saying this once."

She stopped giggling to herself and stayed silent as I started using a heavy amount of sanitizer. "You see, to me there are only three types of people. Firstly, there are those like you and your friends. They're not my friends, but I don't really hate them either. And by keeping a neutral opinion of all of you, I won't be kept too surprised by what may happen."

"Wait. What do you mean by 'what may happen'?" She asked, not liking the sound of what I had said.

"I agreed only to tell of the basics. Or would you like to go against the 'sacredness' of the spit oath?" I asked her sarcastically. Earning only a roll of the eyes.

"Next under them are the people I hate that I think I'll probably never forgive. A very select group fit here for being a bad person or for just being hopeless beyond help. Ms. Sparkle almost being a prime example herself for thinking she's as smart as I am." I explained to her.

"Aw, come now. Y'all are just as smart as the other. The only problem is yer bickerin'." She tried to wave the thought away. "Besides, yer just too proud ta admit it."

"True, that is a fault of mine. Just as you have a fatal flaw of your own. Like your stubbornness." I told her matter-of-factly.

"..." Applejack chose not to respond to that and instead looked away. Stubbornly.

"Besides, what I say is true. Ms. Sparkle isn't as smart as me. In fact, she's one of the dumbest of us all." I told her. Earning a glare from Applejack in defense of her friend. "But that's beside the actual point."

"Finally, there's Big Mike and Morgue. Who are the two closest people I've come to know. My family." I concluded. "And they're also the only two people I will possibly ever see as family."

"Ahehe. Well, at least until Pinkie Pie makes ya say her name four more times." Applejack pipped in. "Then you'll be forced ta have a little sister."

"Ugh, don't remind me." I told her, massaging my temples with my second hand as I kept the bag I had brought with me in my right hand. Hoping to get rid of my already troublesome headache. And after doing so, I quickly made my way to the third illegal movie of the day with Applejack right behind me.

"May I welcome you to the next movie, Need For Speed. An action movie based around a dangerous cross-country race where the underdog main character Tobery Marshall, played by a Mr. Aaron Paul, races for redemption." I introduced as she and I witnessed a scene where the final racing scene was taking place.

"Huh. Sounds like a movie Rainbow Dash would like." Applejack commented as she watched the movie. Looking interested as multiple cop cars kept driving after the remaining racers. The race going so fast, the trees and hills on either side were blurred.

"Possibly. Although, I doubt that she would care much for the drama that follows through most of it. I hear it's pretty slow for a movie about racing." I began to walk out of the theatre, and as the opponent's car ended up getting flipped, the shock of it snapped Applejack out of watching and she came right behind me.

"Seeing as how I agreed to answer your question, do you mind if I ask you one?" While I asked her this question, I kept walking forward. Not looking back towards her since I already knew she was still behind me. "You see, there's been something that's been boggling my mind and I wouldn't mind having an answer to it." I asked, deciding that now may be a better time than any to get an answer.

"Sure, what is it?" Applejack asked as we kept walking over to the fourth movie so we could turn seventy-eight dollars into ninety-four dollars.

"Oddly enough, when you all learned that we were thieves most of you were pretty shocked about it. But for some reason or another, you all seemed to calm down pretty quickly. As if it wasn't too big of a problem." I told her. "Obviously you all knew what the average thief is like, but none of you seemed too familiar with just how many faces the act of thievery can actually have."

"Uh...Wait, ya lost me at stealin' havin' a face." Applejack said defeatedly.

Sighing, I pinched the bridge of my nose in my momentary annoyance. "I mean that you didn't know that stealing can be for different reasons both good or bad. In fact, it seems that a few of you still don't want to accept that fact. But that's what's been getting to me."

I stopped beside the door and turned back towards Applejack, who was patiently waiting for me to ask my question. "It all seems to contradict itself. By seeing your reactions fluctuate from one emotion to the next, I take it that you're world is usually very peaceful. Meaning that you don't often have thievery take place. That is, unless there's a reason for it. Yet, all of you seem to have a grudge against stealing. Or at least us in addition to being thieves. There are so many possibilities as for why this is, but I want to avoid jumping to conclusions. Which finally leads me to the question," I looked her directly in the eyes. Hoping to show her that I was serious. "What's the real reason?"

"Ya mean, tha reason we ain't as friendly as y'all thought we'd be?" Applejack clarified.

"Yes." I nodded.

"Oh. Well...I'm not too sure I can answer that." Applejack told me, thinking it all over in her head. To be honest, I didn't really expect a clear answer right away. Not after my monologue anyways. "After all, I think the rest a tha girls got their own reasons."

"Meaning that it'll be a scavenger hunt to figure out what those reasons are." I said, more to myself than to her. "But what about you? What's your reason for not liking us?"

She opened her mouth to answer. "..." But after a few seconds, she closed it right back. Going over what she would've said one more time. And as she did so, I could tell that for whatever reason she had, it wasn't much of a reason anymore.

"I'm...I'm not too sure." She admitted, shaking her head. "I mean, I get what y'all meant. 'Bout stealing bein' a good thing some a tha time. Heck, I always catch some pests tryin' ta make off with some a my apples an' I simply shoo 'em off instant I see 'em. But I know they ain't doin' it 'cause their bad or nothin'. They're jus' doin' it cause they need ta eat."

She started to laugh a bit "Matter a fact, it kinda reminds me about this young colt that Applebloom told me about one time. How he made off with some clothes and a few apples fer him and his little sis'." She told me. Apparently going over that happy memory. "Gotta say, I didn't blame it for him neither."

She paused for a few more seconds. "...That's what yer brothers an' you try ta do, ain't it?" She asked. Finally figuring it out. "Y'all are like that colt."

I gave a faint smirk. "Correct. It seems that you figured it out much sooner than I expected."

"Guess I was more smarter than ya gave me credit for." She gave a wide smile. "So, we friends then?" She asked me, extending a, thankfully non-spit covered, hand as if she expected me to actually go along with her happy ending idea.

"I already told you Ms. AJ," I reached into my back pocket and pulled out my wallet. "I don't make friends. And I'm afraid that you're no family of mine either." I told her, utterly killing the mood.

"Uh. Yeesh, ya really are as cruel as ya say." She told me, retracting her hand and giving me a frown that was more jokingly annoyed than upset or disappointed. Showing that she wasn't too hurt by that.

"Well, I did warn you that I was pretty cruel the second I met all of you." I reminded her, not even giving her the courtesy of making eye contact with her. Instead, I focused as kept rummaging around in my wallet. Pulling out a single five dollar bill while 'accidentally' allowing a ten dollar bill to fall out.

"But if it makes you feel any better, I don't think of you as being anything close to an enemy." I let the ten fall to the ground as I turned on my heel. Walking off in a random direction as soon as I saw Applejack notice the fallen dollar.

"Through those doors is the fourth and final illegal movie that we'll need to see. Which will put you at ninety-four dollars. Meaning that you'll need to find the last six on your own." I explained to her as I kept walking.

"...And what happens if I end up goin' over that amount?" She kept watching as I kept walking away. A faint smile on her face.

"Possibly some light teasing from Morgue, a questionable look or two from Ms. Rarity and Mr. Zeke, and some friendly competition from Ms. Dash since she's probably turned this whole thing into a contest in her head...You thief." I added, throwing a backwards wave towards her as she started picking up 'something' that was on the ground.

Once she snickered, I knew she had finished whatever she was doing. So I took that moment to turn around and face towards her. And as I saw her stand there I could've sworn that I had dropped something. Huh. Guess not.

"I'm going to get a soda from up front. Then I'm going to watch the end of the movie your standing outside of. After all, it'll end just before the hour's up. Do you want anything to drink?" I asked, not wanting her to spend her money. After all, if I remember correctly, she only had thirteen dollars and fifty-four cents of change left from that initial thirty dollars. And seeing as how movie prices were high enough as they were, I thought it best to do her at least one favor.

"Sure. Let me try that Pepper drink er whatever it's called." She told me with a nod. "I guess I'll just be watchin' this movie too 'till the test is done. What's it called?"

"Mr. Peabody and Sherman. It's a children's movie about how the world's smartest dog and his adopted son brings a group of people into a whole new world. Calamity ensues. Sound familiar?" I asked sarcastically before turning around to head out to get the drinks.

She burst out laughing before heading off into the screen room. "All too much." She answered, before heading inside. Both of us completely unaware of just how ironic the last part of my little joke was about to be.

---

And it looks like Applejack has passed her test with a grand total of $104 dollars! Earned, not stolen. Although, I guess there may be a bit a dishonesty from wherever she got that last ten from. Ah well, name a the game and all.

Now with Applejack's test finito, that only leaves five more of the girls. But before I go on, I go two notes to mention here. Don't worry, neither are bad, and neither are long. They'll be quick enough I swear. :)

First thing is that as some of you may have noticed. The movies that are playing in theatres. You see, when I originally wrote this, I had all the plans out and ready. And in the time of the story, this was to take place right after winter. So in the story, we're in March of 2014. Not December like right now. So please keep that in mind.

(Also, please don't spoil Mr. Peabody and Sherman. I've always wanted to see that movie and I haven't yet. So no spoilers on that please.)

NOW LISTEN CLOSELY, THIS IS IMPORTANT. The second part is that this chapter and the next few are all taking place at the same time. So the beginning of the chapters will take place only a few minutes into the test, and will end somewhere before the test ends. Meaning that everything has its own schedule here.

Meaning, remember how Big Mike wasn't at the table? Yeah, that'll be important in one of the coming chapters. Just wanted to tell all of you in case you got confused.

Okay, now with that said, onto the QotC!

---

QotC:

Well according to the randomizer I used to switch around the stories, Twilight's up next. And if you know just how much of a bookworm she is, I think we all know just where this is headed next. Meaning that she'll need some books.

But the problem is, there are just SO MANY! How are we to decide? Hmm, tricky, tricky...Oh! How about this!

What's your favorite classical book?

Has there ever been a Shakespeare story that didn't put you to sleep?
Something folks-ey like Mice and Men or Huckleberry Finn?
Did something like Les Misérables or Hachiko bring a tear to your eye?
Maybe you're a Sherlock Holmes person like me?
Or what about something about Myth like Odyssey or Beowulf?

Or if none of those boring stories are at all interesting, is there anything modern that you've read and liked? Anything other than Twilight: the Book? Because I'll tell you right now, I'm not making the ol' "Twilight found a book with her name on it!" joke.

Can't wait to see what you all put down! Until next chapter, goodbye every Brony!

P.S. The voting has been reset on my profile. Please vote to see which thief is the better of the three. It'll reset again in the future, so be ready for that!

Okay, now bye every Brony!