Broken Locks (Private, LoveEDovey)

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Clever or "Quick" knew she had one this so called "rivalry". She always knew she could win with a mouth like hers. Even her thoughts were helping out, even when they were out of control. They were always out of control though. She can't control them. Clasp asked her to get off the table anyway before her mind started racing again. Clever just lazily hopped off, still keeping a close eye on the shiny keys that always stole her attention.

It seemed like Clasp made his decision quickly, making Clever's mind wake up. He said to follow him. Clever just buzzed her wings and floated in the air right behind him. Clasp took his keys though, making Clever sigh. She was gonna have to work harder to get them. Clever stopped to look around the hallway, which made Clasp pick up anyway shiny or valuable for Clever to reach. The purple Pegasus then looked at the stallion, getting a little annoyed that he was literally taking her motivation for coming into this house.

But nonetheless, the two ponies walked into the bedroom. He began saying all the rules of the house. The Pegasus nodded her head while rolling her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, first door bathroom, bla, bla, bla, workshop- don't go in, bla, bla, bla, got it!" she rushed, hopping onto the bed. She didn't want to even take off her thief suit just in case he called the cops or something, so she kept it on as she began to get comfortable on the bed.

She began to lay down, closing her bright yellow eyes which almost glowed in the dark. She huffed, then heard one question that she has been already asked. "Is Quick Cash really your real name?" Clever opened her eyes again, looking at the stallion. She just rolled to the side, facing away from the stallion, deciding if she was gonna answer his question truthfully.

"Should I tell him?"

"Never! You'll get caught! He'll call the cops!"

"But we seem to be even now!"

"Even, shmeven, I don't care if he is Princess Celestia! Do. Not. Tell. Him."

"B-but.."

"But what? You want to risk your life?"

"He is letting me stay the night! Besides, 'Quick Cash' is the dumbest name in existence!"

"Who cares about how dumb the name is. You stick with it!"

Clever suddenly shook her head, clearing anything unwanted. "Uh-" she began, collecting her thoughts. "I've lied to you. My real name is Clever Clues. If you dare turn me in though, I will have my revenge!" she said in a dark tone, trying to seem all scary. He then left, saying a good night. Then Clever fell asleep.

((Yeah, next morning will do.))

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When Secure Clasp woke up in his sitting room, he was initially confused. Though it wouldn't have been out of character for him to fall asleep reading, his book was neatly positioned on the table. This was added to by the feeling of something prodding him from under the chair. As he checked and found his chain of keys the events of the previous night came flooding back. Quickly, but quietly, he rushed through to his room and was relieved to find that all was relatively normal. The various things in the room remained untouched and Clever Clues, as she had revealed herself to be, was lying in the bed, asleep. Her thief suit had edged its way slightly off her face, so several tufts of blonde and red hair poked out. Clasp smiled. Without the anger or defensiveness on her face she looked quite pretty.

He left the room quietly and made his way to the kitchen. He wasn't particularly hungry, he just needed a cup of tea to wake him up. As he made it, he also make a cup of coffee for his guest. Although he didn't know her personal preference, Clasp thought it was a good guess, as many ponies preferred it. He carried the drink into the bedroom, set it down on the bedside table, and then returned to the sitting room with his own drink. He sat in his chair once again, still noting the presence of his keys. And he waited.

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Clever Clues (as she formally told Clasp) was actually sleeping peacefully for once. She never has slept like that in a long, long time. So long, she couldn't even remember. It seems as if all the stress finally rolled away so she could have a little peace in her mind. Finally a break. But that so called break finally and suddenly ended when the bright sun started to shine in her face.

Her bright yellow eyes opened in rapid annoyance. She grunted, then slowly sight up. She was still tired, but who wasn't when they first woke up in the morning? Nonetheless, Clever looked around the bright room. It was really clean. Most the houses she broke into were not clean. She soon realized where she was though and quickly put her hoof onto her mouth. She noticed the suit wasn't on completely, so fear overridden her. But then memories from last night formed into her mind like a story book. She broke into Clasp's house for some really shiny keys, they made a deal for her to sleep in his room over her getting the important keys, she told him her real name..

Clever quickly flew into the air. Her mind was on full blast. Questions and answers were floating about, making her mind race even more. "Oh my Celestia what have I done?" she asked herself quiet loudly. She quickly calmed herself down, realizing that the stallion who owned the house probably was awake. "What if he saw my face?" she asked herself quietly. Then she shook her head. "He already knows who I am. Why does it even matter?!" She blinked. "What if he tells the police what I look like?" She blinked again. "He wouldn't do that.."

The purple mare then just took the black suit off, not seeing any reason to keep it on. She stretched in the air, then flouted back onto the ground, all four hooves touching the ground. She blinked her bright eyes, clearing her mind again. Her blonde and redish-pink short mane was out now. It was probably all messy but she didn't care. She took her tail out of it's band then trotted out into the hallway.

First thing she saw was Clasp sitting and drinking some tea. He had two cups next to him. Did he make something for her? "Uh- hi?" she somewhat asked, slowly walking over to Clasp. She felt awkward for not having any clothes on, even if she was a pony. She usually had either her suit, beanie, or sunglasses on, but nothing? It was.. nice.

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The sound of a somewhat muffled voice from the other room told Clasp that Clever Clues was awake. The warm tea was beginning to take effect and his brain was whirring, almost audibly, trying to develop a ‘plan of attack’ as it were. Going by the brief time he had known her, Clasp guessed that the thief would still be looking to snatch his keys. This time however, he was more prepare. He had found a small saddle bag, not so big that it was intrusive, but big enough to safely hold several small items, a chain of keys for example. This way, there was no way that somepony could take them without him noticing and he had both hooves free to get on with his day.

Clasp heard the bedroom door open and watched as the purple mare trotted in, awkwardly saying hello as she did so. “Good morning. I trust you slept well” He paused, then recalled the vague shouting he had heard a few moments earlier “You should really stop being so concerned. Keeping your word is something I regard very highly, and I gave you my word that I wouldn’t contact the police.” He got up from his seat, picked up the second mug from the table and walked over to Clever. “Here, I made you some coffee. If you don’t like it just leave it, I just guessed you might want it.” And handing the mare the drink, he turned and walked to the door of his workshop. Before he left the room, Clasp turned back once more “Sorry, I have to get on with some work. Once you’re done, feel free to leave whenever.”

As he entered the room, he acknowledged his workload for the day. He had received many custom orders recently and most were complete already. He just had to polish up the final few and then undertake the long and arduous task of trekking round Ponyville to make deliveries. It wasn't that the place was overly large, but something always seemed to happen that got him sidetracked. Just then, Clasp had an idea. He poked his head though the door and coughed to get the other pony's attention "Hey, since I did a favour for you it only seems fair that you do one for me. Could you accompany me while I make my deliveries today. I'm sure I've got a hat and glasses somewhere is you want to hide your face. It might even give you an idea of which houses not to rob next."

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Clever quickly grabbed the cup of coffee that the stallion was holding for her. She didn't want to say a "thanks" just because she'd think that would be awkward. It wouldn't be that awkward though because this was probably one of the longest times she's been with another pony in the same room, or stallion for that matter. Stallions didn't come up that easily.

Nonetheless, her hooves were burning from the boiling cup of coffee, so she gently set it down to not burn herself or to not break anything. She still felt rude for not saying anything "thanks", so she quickly mumbled, "Thanks for.. everything.." Then looked away like she didn't say anything. "Uh- yeah, I slept very well. I've never slept that well in a long time, so it was somewhat nice." Clasp then said something about her, like stop being so concerned or something. 'So he did hear me!' she thought, instant red powdering her face. "Sorry, it's kind of hard out here-" she stopped. What was she talking about?

Clasp said he needed to finish some work, so once he left she quickly started to relax and sit down on the couch. She blew on her coffee and sipped it. "Woah, this is quite good," she said to herself. She took another sip, thinking about what happened the day before again. Her mind just didn't know how to get off that topic. Suddenly somepony coughed, making her whip her head towards the noise. Clasp was standing there with a smile small, which made Clever's heart pump a little faster. 'Oh no. What ideas does he have now?'

He started to talk about how he needed some help with his work, and since he let Clevs sleep over, she could help him back. He offered clothes for her to wear and everything. "Uh- I- Y-you really trust me with this stuff? Knowing me, I can still anything in those boxes. WHAT IF THE COPS SEE WHO I AM, EVEN WITH MY CLOTHES ON?! This is why I travel at night..." she began, fear taking over her eyes. Clasp though said something useful. 'I would know which houses not to barge into..' Clever bit her lip, taking a deep breath. "Okay, okay, I guess I can help you. I just- if something goes wrong, I'm blaming you," she said, then drank the rest of her coffee and flew to Clasp. "Give me the clothes so we can get a move on. Get this stupid thing over with.."

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Clasp hid a smirk when Clever, slightly reluctantly, agreed to his proposal. Now the score was even. He trotted quickly around the house picking up various items of clothing for the mare to borrow. When he was finished he laid them out in a pile in front of her. "Okay then, there's an assortment of clothes. A few hats, a couple of sunglasses, a jacket or two. Once you're done just leave the rest in a pile in the corner. I'll just go and load everything up. If you get bored there are a few books over there, some fascinating stuff on ancient languages if I remember correctly. Anyway I'll be back in a minute or so."

With the final pieces just about finished, Clasp began moving everything from his workshop, through the house and on to his cart out the front. Each time he passed through the sitting room he gave a quick glance to the other pony, not saying anything, just making sure she wasn't getting up to any mischief. Once everything had been loaded onto his cart he gave a shout to Clever, locked the door behind her and hooked himself up to the cart. Straining slightly to move forward with the extra weight dragging behind him, he began to walk. First there was a silence between the two ponies, each going over there of thoughts. Mapping the route he planned to follow in his head, Clasp quickly came up with a path that would get round all the deliveries and finish in time for a late lunch. He was feeling slightly pleased with this, but then he realised the route in question took them directly passed the police station. Undoubtedly his associate would refuse this point blank. With this in mind, Clasp work out another route that would involve stopping for lunch in the town centre, but was still relatively quick.

Focusing on his surroundings again, Clasp was starting to feel slightly awkward from the prolonged silence and decided to make an attempt at conversation. "Well, um..., small talk. That's what normal ponies do, right?" He paused, trying to find a topic. "So, what do you do for fun? I myself enjoy a good book, l'm rather partial to jazz music..." He trailed of and then sighed, exasperated. "Sorry, I'm not exactly great at this. I'm not normally a very social pony and conversation is definitely not one of my areas of expertise."

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Clever stared at the huge pile of clothes that was on the ground for her to choose from. It certainly was more then she was expecting. There was different types of hats, jackets, even socks. The purple mare glanced at the clothes, quickly seeing some things she would like. She picked out a black jacket, a fedora, some sunglasses, and dark pants. She quickly put the clothes on, not wasting anytime. She just wanted to get this stuff over with. She did tell him she would do it, just because she got to sleep, so it was least she could to.

The mare waited for him to get ready and his things all prepared. She shoved all the extra clothes in the corner like he said, then sat on the floor. Every time Clasp walked past her as he got ready, he kept glancing at Clever. Clever caught on eventually. He obviously didn't trust her yet, if that was a thing. But she didn't trust herself either, so she could see where he was coming from. After a while though, he called Clever's name. She flew into the air, then went out the door to the outside world. It was really bright outside, even if she was wearing sunglasses.

Clasp hooked himself to the cart, then he started to walk. Clever flew beside him, only slightly above ground. There was of course silence. What were they supposed to talk about? The weather? Well it was certainly bright and sunny outside, but it was nothing special. It was always like that in Ponyville anyway. Clever soon realized that the route they were first taking was to the police station, which completely freaked out Clever, making her wings flap harder and her heart beat faster. She was going to say something about it, but then he switched routes, making the Pegasus relax a little bit. "Thanks," she mumbled, so quiet it was barely comprehensible.

She soon realized that they were probably going to a late lunch. Before her mind could wrap around lunch, he began to talk. The silent air was beginning to be a little awkward. "Yeah.. normal ponies," she began, shaking her head a little. "What I do for fun? I don't really do anything, besides think of stupid plans that just lead me to stealing something that belonged to another pony. My mind is.. unaccountable." Clasp seemed like he was a little uncomfortable. She then giggled, something she normally never did. "No, it's fine. If you're not a social pony, then I am most definitely not. I normally don't go around saying 'Hey everypony! I'm the best thief ever! I'm gonna steal your things!' That would just ruin my plans anyway." She giggled once again. "This is the first time in years that somepony is actually willing to talk to me. It's undoubtedly strange, but I can work with it." She flashed a rare smile, then took a deep breath.

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As they walked, and Clever talked, Clasp noted how much more amiable she was when compared with the previous night. Perhaps, Clasp thought, it was because she had let down her boundaries, or maybe it was just a testimony to what a good night's sleep could do for a pony. Either way, Clasp felt less of an air of awkwardness despite the silence that had once again resumed. Every so often, he would stop at a house and leave a (less important) package on the doorstep or in the mailbox. The day was moving into mid morning, warm with a refreshing breeze, and perfectly sunny. This good weather meant that the residents of Ponyville were out and about en masse.
With the presence of other ponies increasing, Clasp noticed that his companion look uneasy. Thinking on his hooves, he turned to go down a passage between two cottages and gestured for Clever to follow.

The path was dark at first, and then they emerged back into the sunlight, but without the crowds of ponies hanging around. "Don't ask me how I know about this place, I'm not even really sure myself. By some fortune, one of my bigger deliveries is to a house back here. I was going to save it till later, but since we're here." It wasn't long before they reached the house. It was old and tattered, almost to the point that normal security would be pointless. Clasp unhooked himself from the his cart and levitate three boxes from it, one big and two slightly smaller. "Hey, I'm going to give these across, so if you really want to stay out sight, just be wary" Then, moving the boxes over to the porch, he knocked on the door.

It was a rather simple exchange. Pleasantries were spoked, goods were provided and bits changed hooves. "That wasn't too bad." Clasp said to the thief "I'm afraid the next delivery goes right into the village centre. Don't worry thought, I'm sure no one will take notice." He then hooked himself up to the cart again and, as he did so, had an idea. He rather noticeable dropped a bit and then started walking as if nothing had happened.

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Clever was actually becoming a lot more comfortable around Clasp. Maybe it was because he actually was open to talk to her, let her sleep at his house, forgive her for trying to steal his keys, or letting her get out of her comfort zone and help somepony else for a change. She wasn't the villain anymore. Instead she was the sidekick. It made her smile a little, knowing that he could maybe/almost trusted her in doing something things. She could always change that. She didn't trust herself after all. Clev had an awful habit.

They would stop every few houses to drop off a box or two for the ponies who lived there. They were most likely locks and keys to help secure doors and windows from thieves like herself. It was kind of weird, helping a lock pony give away high quality locks so she couldn't break into them. At least she knew where to not try. She sort of guessed that was a win, win situation.

The two ponies came to a stop. It was an old, beat up house that obviously needed some safety. The pony/ponies living there were probably old and had trouble keeping the house safe themselves. Clever never knew why she didn't ambush this house. She's never even seen it before. It seemed like a lost cause now since they had good locks to keep them safe. There could of been valuable things in there..

She listened to Clasp, telling her to be wary of the ponies around just in case. She shrugged. She had a lot of clothes on, that were making her quite sweaty and hot from the nice sunny day outside. She must've looked out of the crowd since she was the only one covered in clothes. It was too hot to be wearing this type of stuff. "Stay out of reach of others.. I'll try my best," she said, hiding behind the cart so no pony could see her. She saw bits being exchanged. "That was quick," she said, shrugging. Then he said the next delivery was in the village center, which was the most popular place to be in the whole town. There were always tons of ponies there. "I'm not a needle in a haystack. I stick out like a leaf tree in the winter time." She sighed. "But I'll stay cautious anyway.." She flew lightly above the ground, not too high to be noticed.

Clasp hooked himself onto the cart, making Clever sigh. He seemed to drop something shiny on the ground, making her body dance in excitement. She wanted to take it and keep it. It wouldn't hurt anypony, would it?

'Should I take it?' she thought, flying slowly over to it.

'No! I can't.. It's his.. He worked for it..'

'He works for everything! Everything you steal is worked for! Why are you now thinking this?'

'He trusts me, I think. I should give it back..'

'You can't! It's yours. You found it. Finders, keepers.'

'I saw him drop it!'

'Five second roll!'

Clever's brain was about to explode. The only thing stopping her from taking it was that she wanted a friend for once. It would doom the rest of her life. She would be scared of everything if she had a friend, but she didn't want to lose the chance. Clever scooped up the bit, looking at it for a second. It was shiny, and gold, clean, but she had to give it back. He worked for it. "Here," she said quickly, handing out the bit with her hoof. "You dropped this."

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When Clever Clues noticed the bit on the ground, Clasp could see the gears turning and the tension of the choice. This was intentional, of course, a test. One does not normally drop a bit as obviously as he did. And when she chose to hand him the coin, he beamed back at her. "Thanks, let's get going then." When he turned back, a slight air of guilt came to him. Dropping the bit had been fairly manipulative, and since a Clues had be trustworthy it was only fair that he be honest. "Umm... I should admit something. I didn't drop that bit by accident. It was... a kind of test. I'm sorry for putting you through that." He had a sheepish look on his face, and turned away to avoid her eye, starting to walk again in silence.

After a while, this feeling subsided somewhat and by this time they were heading through the town centre, continuing with the intervals of stopping to make deliveries. Clasp was trying to keep to the edge of the crowds. Making sure nopony was in earshot, he started to talk again. "So I'm curious... what does the day to day life of a thief entail? I can only see it as a logistical nightmare. If you're always on the move, where do you stay? Do you hire places or sleep rough? And where do you keep you belongings? You surely can't have a bank account. And what do you tell you're family, they surely don't know that..." Clasp trailed of, realising what he was saying. Family matters were a difficult subject for many ponies, he knew that more than most. So he hastily backtracked "I so sorry, don't worry about that last question. My mouth was running away with itself. How about you ask me a question. I'll answer anything you like."

(Sorry for how short this post is. I was pushed for time and wanted to update before I leave again.)

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Clever's heart was still beating uncontrollably. Well, you can't normally "control" your heartbeat yourself, but you get the point. Her heart was beating too fast to be normal. After giving the oh-so sparkly and precious bit back to her companion, she was feeling nervous. Ponies all around staring at her, all the heat making her heat up from all the clothes she was wearing, she just didn't feel normal. She never did, but it felt different. And after Clasp told her that dropping the bit was intentional, she didn't know what to say. "Oh, um, I guess you have to test my.. trust somehow.. right?" she nervously laughed, bringing a squeak as she said the last word. "It's fine though. I was waiting for some sort of test anyway. Who word trust a thief? Hehe."

Her wings were buzzing as she stayed airborne, keeping her bright yellow eyes (that were blocked from her sunglasses) on the ground. She didn't want to look up anymore. The purple Pegasus was still terrified of what would come next. A cop could be busting ponies out somewhere.. She had no clue. So she kept her head down, eyes glued to the sidewalk, and slowly paced her wings.

When the time came to look up, she noticed Clasp talking about his curiousness. He was asking a whole bunch of questions about her. He did only know that she was a thief after all, so she guessed this was gonna happen sometime during the trip. "Well.. uh- I wake up.. in always a different spot. In a box, under a house, inside a store, on a roof, a cloud, or in a house on a warm bed. I don't really have any belongings.. that's why I like to steal things. When I do get things, I keep them in my suit that I go 'thief-ing' in. Um, I don't have a bank account. If I did, I'd probably try and hack everything to get more shiny things. I have an addiction." She paused as he said something about her family. She barely remembered them. It was a long time ago since she's seen them. "It's fine Clasp. I don't remember a lot about them, but they knew of my... addiction was.. real. They got mad, I ran away, now I'm here. It's nothing too complicated.."

She started to slow down, rethinking her past again. She hasn't thought about it in a while. She's had many other things on her mind, obviously. So her parents had to get lost in her brain somehow.



(It's totally fine! You got words on a page so you're all good! It was enough for me to react anyway! :3)