A crowd-gathering performance

[Horizon Flare]

"An' for me next trick, be needin' volunteer amongst ye; you, bonnie miss? Nay? 'Bout ya then, sharply dressed gentlecolt, there, aye?" Horizon asked the small crowd that had gathered to follow his performance at the corner of a street near the Town Square. Flare had promised to Rarity to leave behind his criminal ways, but this morning, he had woke with an insatiable greed to trick somepony out of their valuables. He had at first tried to push the thought away, but he missed the old days of cheats and scams and gambles.

So, he had gone out to town and began a small street performance, showing off his skill at sleight of hoof and wing. The few first tricks were just to gather a crowd, but the number that now followed was he grande finale and the goal of his show. He watched an older stallion step forth from the crowd and walk beside him, the lucky volunteer to be his victim. He was well-dressed; perhaps a banker or a businessman? Nevertheless, he seemed wealthy enough to not mind being relieved of a few bits to sate Horizon's thirst for thievery.

"An' now, good sir, hand over ye watch, an' me be makin' it disappear afore ye eyes - an' don'tcha worry, me be returnin' it unharmed an' brand!" He asked, and the gentlecolt glanced around at the crowd, giving away his pocket watch to the black Pegasus, who immediately threw it in the air, causing the volunteer to gasp, and caught it in his wing. "Now, be perceptive; me be doin' this only once!"

Horizon extended his hoof so that everypony could see the watch, then covered it with his second hoof, and quickly brought them apart; and the watch had disappeared! In truth, he had simply hidden it in the feathers of his wings, but to the audience, it seemed to have vanished in thin air. "Spectac! Now, where may have me misplaced good sir's watch, me wonder?" He looked around his person and surroundings with a slightly confused look, and the audience followed to notice any hints as to where the pocket watch had gone.

"Ah! But 'course, sir!" He exclaimed, and stepped closer to his assistant, dropped the watch into his hoof while turned so nopony could notice, put his hoof inside his vest and let out a surprised, sharp breath! "An' lookie what be found here!" He pulled his hoof out and there was the watch! The audience cheered, and he gave the watch back to its rightful owner. "There ya go. Brand as new, an' shiny too, sir! Thank ye for ye assistance. Thank ye all! Shows' over for today, but surely me be seein' ya 'round! Don't be hesitatin' to ask me or a trick or two if ya do!"

The Pegasus grinned as the audience dispersed, and began counting the contents of the wallet he had stolen while 'finding' the watch inside the pocket of the colt's suit. A nice catch, it seemed to be too, he chuckled.

[staegmasque]

Staeg, out for a stroll outside town, noticed that, in the distance, a crowd was gathering, presumably for a performance of some kind. The magician, a performer himself, decided to go and get a look at the spectacle--it seemed to be centered around a lithe black pegasus with streaked red hair. Staeg raised an eyebrow, hearing the faint sounds of the peg's voice over the distance.

"Hmm..." he said, gently pushing his way into the crowd, "this looks interesting..." he'd seen plenty of magicians and performers in his time, and this one looked fairly standard, albeit good at his tricks. Staeg watched him carefully as he performed, more out of curiosity than anything else.

However, as the pegasus' hooves moved through the colt who'd been called's vest pockets, the magician's eyes narrowed--quite clever, really. It was a trick Staeg himself had used before, though much less frequently, he imagined--normally, the pay was enough. He waited until the crowd had dissipated before approaching the pegasus.

"Hey there," he called from a distance, "nice little show you put on--looked impromptu, so I have to give you props on that." He shook his head. "Good trick there at the end," he said, "I wonder how long it's going to take that stallion to realize you stole his wallet, hmm?" The magician chuckled. "Well-played."

"I'm a performer myself, you know," he said, "albeit, well...I like to think more famous than most. Staeg Masque, magician extraordinaire. Pleased to meet you."

[Horizon Flare]

Horizon glanced lazily over his shoulder when he heard somepony greet him, and turned when noticing the brown Unicorn, hiding the wallet into his feathers once more. "Yeah, howdy, 'Corn", he greeted Staeg. He wondered what the Unicorn wanted from him. Another foal looking to make friends with everypony? He had gotten enough of those in Ponyville, and though he had made a deal with Rarity to stop stealing and was determined to stop acting like a street thug, it didn't mean he was going to become a happy do-gooder.

Horizon was already about to leave the Unicorn to his own devices and blow the scene, when he spoke of the wallet. ".. Huh", he said, turning around and beating the air a few times with his wings before folding them against his back. "Ya got a keen eye, there, 'Corn", he complimented Staeg. His manner wasn't threatening, and Flare didn't think he'd go tell anypony of Horizon's bad habits. "So, ya ain't gonna go squeal to 'em coppers, me be guessin'", he asked cautiously. "Name be Horizon Flare. Charmed." He kept his eyes on the Unicorn, trying to read his motives and person. Staeg didn't realize it, but Horizon was on very thin ice here. If word got out to Rarity of his actions when she wasn't present, she'd be very, very mad and disappointed. The Pegasus didn't want that to happen.

[staegmasque]

Staeg chuckled softly, shaking his head. "The police and I don't get on well anyway," he said, "me being a performer-for-hire and all, they're wont to assume I'm some kind of crook." He smirked at that. "I have no idea whatsoever where they'd get that impression." He perked up at the mention of his eyes. "It's an old trick," he said, "nothing we haven't all done for a little extra money every now and again."

"Horizon Flare, eh?" The magician's green eyes were just as searching, though perhaps not as imposing. They flashed with understanding. "I know you," he said, "I remember hearing about a pony whose luck was a little too good to be luck back when I was traveling in Neighvada...I imagine that's you. Then again, I don't have much room to talk--they spoke about me in the exact same way."

The performer turned, looking past Horizon for a moment. "Normally, pegasi are too focused on flying or their special talent to be a gambler, and much less a con artist. Tell me, where do you find the time?"

[Horizon Flare]

"Ah, 'em mules never 'stood the gift o' an artist. Always proddin' an' gettin' 'emselves to biz that ain't theirs", Horizon said in a dramatic voice. The Pegasus shrugged. "Aye, ye be right. Know what ye be lookin' fer be a boon", the Pegasus continued about the topic, referring to Staeg's own use of minor trickery to increase his wealth at the cost of others. He seemed like a decent type of fellow, Horizon thought. But certainly not a villain for life.

At the mention of his name, the Pegasus stood at his full length and held his head high. "Aye, that be me. Lady Luck's a trifle lass, an' sometimes be needin' a gentle nudge to the right direction, savvy?" He grinned capriciously. "So ya been tryin' he fortune at cards an' dice, too, huh? Too bad we ain't never sat at the same table, might've been a thrillin' set o' decks. Staeg, aye?" He browsed his memory, and after a brief moment, beat the cobblestone with a hoof. "Aye. Heard o' a 'Corn sorc whom got a sight fer a good hand. Ought to be ya, then." Thugs, card-sharks and con-artists didn't love anything more than rumors and gossip, so it was only natural that a word would circulate of particularly skilled ponies amongst them.

At his last question, the Pegasus merely shrugged. "Meh, that just be how me's gotten to bits me whole life. Might not be me unique talent an' whatnot, but trainin' makes perfect, aye?" He peered at Staeg and angled his head. "Ya seem like a good chat. Wanna be headin' down to tavern fer a drink or two, 'change some stories an' the like?" Horizon threw the stolen wallet into the air and caught it with his hoof. "Me be payin', 'Corn."

[staegmasque]

Staeg smirked. "I always thought I'd find another gambler in this town," he said, "though I have to warn you, I won a lot of my games without cheating--the cheating was just a fall-back." He chuckled. "Just remember that if you decide to sit down at a card table with me, Horizon."

This Horizon reminded Staeg a lot of himself, albeit with a much darker and more rough-and-tumble cast. He even wore his hair in much the same way Staeg had when he was a little younger. Truthfully, he was mostly telling the pegasus what he wanted to hear--it was clear that he was very, very nervous beneath that rough exterior and inconceivable accent, for whatever reason. Having this type of information under one's hat was never a bad thing.

"I take it your talent is something rather spectacular," the magician said, "though to be perfectly honest, your cutie mark isn't much help in deciphering it." He paused a moment, considering the offer to head to the bar. "Sure," he said, with little commitment, "Let's get going, before it gets dark--I hear these places ain't safe in the dark."

[Horizon Flare]

"Ya be right, but an ace in ye feathers never hurt nopony.. 'cept if ya playmates found out, 'course", he shrugged as the two began to walk down the street to a small bar nearby. "Always been sayin'; ev'ry hoof's a winner, an' ev'ry hoof's a loser, savvy?" He grinned wolfishly, having somehow conjured up a black ace he held between his teeth. He dropped the card in his hoof and slid it back into a hiding place between two feathers. Those wings were abnormal in size; lockpicks, wallets and small valuables were easily covered in them.

Horizon, too, noticed something familiar about Staeg. He was very, very much like Wild Card, except, of course, an Unicorn and much younger, and not nearly as much of a treacherous villain. Though there was something he didn't let out, some odd sense of deceit that Horizon couldn't quite place. Meh, it's probably nothing. At least I got a chance to think of the good old times with a fellow rogue.

Flare tilted his head and nodded to Staeg's question. "Me a flyer, 'Corn. The best there is, an' ain't no boast. Your truly here's been flown in dangers and threats no Pegasus could live an' tell the tale o', excludin' I. That be me game; danger be in me blood, savvy? Always been escapin' death like a beam o' light be fleein' from an eclipse!" He spread his wings and fetched a proud smile. He was so certain of his superiority in the skies that he'd instantly accept any challenge without a second thought, no matter how insane or mortal.

The Pegasus entered a bar, Dry Barrel, and chose a seat near the door. There weren't many ponies in right now, only him, Staeg, and two other lone customers. "Bartender! A whiskey fer I, no rocks!" He hollered and looked at Staeg, waiting for his order.

[staegmasque]

Staeg watched the pegasus closely as they walked towards the Dry Barrel. This one was definitely one to keep his eyes on--he was a little younger, sure, but Staeg could sense in him a certain kind of cunning usually belonging to older ponies. If he wasn't careful, this pegasus would turn the blackmailing situation around on him roundly.

As they entered the bar (it was decent enough, albeit a bit of a dive), and sat down at one of the stools near the counter. After Horizon had ordered his drink, Staeg turned to the bartender and smirked. "Uh...just a Bloody Mary for me, please. Three cubes of ice." Three had always been his lucky number.

[Horizon Flare]

Flare received the drinks and paid the bartender with a few bits, sipping of his own and grinned at the Unicorn. "Bloody Mary, eh? The stuff tastes like rotten guts, if ya ask me", he shrugged. The Pegasus examined his companion more closely, attempting to discern his real motive. A rogue didn't contact another unless he had some kind of a goal in mind, he thought. "So, what's brought you to the 'Ville? Just doin' shows, or got 'nother grander goal in mind, eh? Tell me 'bout it."

He leaned down on the table and smiled - a capricious grin of a trickster, wide and almost Cheshire-like. Staeg Masque.. he thought of the name, and the pony behind it. It held some kind of a familiarity, and the Unicorn himself seemed to be a fairly tricky one, not one to easily be deceived and possessing a keen set of eyes that would quickly observe any sort of attempt to trick him. Horizon had no reason to do so, however, and simply made note of that feature.

"S'pose a 'Corn o' ye talent would be off in a bigger place, chasin' fame an' mares, ain't I right?" The Pegasus raised his glass again and emptied it, slamming the empty container on the table. "The stuff they serve tastes like watered barley.. me be missin' 'em Manehattan brews. They be a real drought for a stallion at the end o' his luck, ken?"