[Open] Like a Grouchy Green Thief in the Night

[diediediediediedie]

[Staying in hiding seemed fairly prudent with that awful Rose Quartz about, but there were necessities, things to be done. She had eyed the warehouses as a fair location for a hideout, but there was still too much foot traffic there...which is to say, any at all.

But a base needs protection, and protections comes from technology. For now, motion sensors would do. She could certainly booby trap any place she found later, but hiding and running would do. It would need to be portable. And quiet. And she would need to do it with inferior human (is that what this was?) tech.

That was a snag. Another one is that the shops seemed to not want to let her have what she needed. Apparently, she needed green pieces of paper and very specific small metal discs to exchange for the components she required. This made absolutely no sense to her because the paper and the disks had no apparent use whatsoever. The first few attempts had gone poorly, with lots of screaming and accusations of an activity called "shoplifting" which was apparently criminal. Attracting that kind of attention with so many enemies around seemed...unwise. Very unwise.

However, she had determined that there was another way to obtain the objects she needed. During the night, the owners left their shops, leaving them protected by only a relatively thin layer of glass, one that couldn't stand up to even a fraction of the punishment that Gem barriers could. One that was down, it was simply a matter of taking what she needed (or thought she needed, it was so hard to tell with such primitive technology.)

She has been doing this multiple nights. Human tech apparently needed a lot of little bits, and she was learning as she went. Replacements...different sizes...different models...she simply had to adjust as she goes.

So that's where she can be found often enough: about to break a window into a store, rooting through that store, or about to fly away from same. They've started to increase security, but nobody escapes like Peridot...]

Comments

[letteropener]

If you're doing what I think you're doing, you probably should not.

[Celestia is not intentionally sneaking up on people from the sky and harassing them out of surprise. She's just... used to being quite visible in the day. Sometimes she forgets that when she flies around at night, it's dark! And she's not a very loud flyer!]

[So yeah, flying pony totally saw Peridot's shenanigans from up high. She's pretty sure that the woman (?) is indeed gearing up to break that window...]

[diediediediediedie]

GAH!

[Peridot hates when creatures sneak up on her, but then again she hates...well, most things. Celestia caught her in mid-window-punch.]

Don't do that, you colorful clod! And I don't know what you think I was doing but I'm certain you're mistaken. Now please leave.

[letteropener]

[The insult skips right off Celestia as the pony drops to the ground, landing gently.]

I am very curious as to how I could be mistaken. I would love to see what gesture exactly resembles you smashing open a window, but isn't that!

[Celestia's bright smile and cheerful tone don't literally scream 'busted', but they might as well.]

[diediediediediedie]

[YOU'RE NOT HER MOM, PONYLADY.]

Obviously, your eyes are defective. I hope you're cured the next time you regenerate if your kind regenerates.

Now leave, I have very important work to do.

[letteropener]

Oh, if it's important, I'd hate to leave you to handle it all alone. [The terms of engagement having been defined, Celestia drops into a more mischievous mode.] That would be rude of me!

[diediediediediedie]

...Then you...plan to help me?

[Gems can lie, but they don't quite get sarcasm.]

[letteropener]

[Worse, it isn't even quite sarcasm. Irony, perhaps?] Well, you say it is important, and it isn't smashing the window...

[diediediediediedie]

[Oh great, she's trapped herself. The hoofed beast is clever.]

I require the components for a motion detector. I'm being hunted. By a madwoman.

[letteropener]

A motion detector and a madwoman? That sounds like quite a story. Could you elaborate?

[Celestia seems pretty intent on getting some information here. And yes, she IS clever.]

[defactodefector]

[It's hard not to hear the sound of glass breaking nearby as Rose walks around town. And generally, in her experience, humans don't tend to just break glass for fun. Well, they might throw glass bottles sometime, but this sounded bigger than that.

When she comes to the source of the noise, huge sword in hand, the first thing she sees is a familiar green gem crawling out of a broken window, ill-gotten goods in hand.]

Peridot! What do you think you're doing?

[diediediediediedie]

AUGH!

[Wait, try again.] I mean- uh, what do you think you're doing! You're not supposed to be here!

[defactodefector]

I don't have anywhere else to be right now, and I'm not the one ruining other people's property. [She says, as her footsteps leave cracks in the ground while advancing towards Peridot.]

Now, put these nice people's things back.

[diediediediediedie]

[Peridot keeps pace with Rose, but backing up.]

NO! I mean...why are you alive? You were a Steven! You caused Jasper to break from the mission! You destroyed everything!

[defactodefector]

[Rose was a what? What's a Steve- Oh, riiiight, the kid that she has. No wonder Peridot seems so confused.]

Magic.

[Not that Rose feels like helping, really.]

[diediediediediedie]

[She pulls her blaster out. It won't WORK but maybe it will intimidate her.]

Don't even try that! No Gem magic could account for what you've done!

[No, she has no idea how to quantify that statement. She barely understands what's happening in this city, let alone what Rose's larger plan is.]

[defactodefector]

[If Rose was the type to be intimidated, she wouldn't have started a rebellion in the first place. Really, it just makes her feel less like she's picking on a tiny unarmed gem.]

Well, it's the only answer you're going to be getting from me.

[Partially because she doesn't really know the details of what Peridot's referring to, but mostly because Rose is done talking with her. She doesn't seem interested in listening, so Rose summons her shield- it doesn't seem to work for blocking the magic here, but she should still be able to chuck it at Peridot's face.]

[diediediediediedie]

[Peridot has a sense that the only way out of this is to keep Rose talking until she can find an opening and fly away. As far as she knows, Rose cannot fly. As far as she knows.]

Jasper wanted to deliver your Steven form to Yellow Diamond personally, you know. It's the whole reason she was on her way to earth before I was pulled into this mess. You can't tell me you have nothing to say to that!

[batdweeb]

[The thing about stealing on a regular basis is that someone's bound to take notice when things keep going missing or getting broken. In this case, that "someone" is the Batman, and the broken something is a storefront window.]

[He's done this regularly enough at home that it's not really a problem for him to slip into the store and greet the thievish gem rooting through the stock.]

You don't look like an employee.

[diediediediediedie]

[Some criminals are intimidated by the trappings of the bat, frightened of the justice that they know lurks in the dark.

...And some criminals have no useful idea what a bat is.]

Pffft, hahaha! Your costume is ridiculous!

[batdweeb]

[...Well the lack of intimidation usually means this is going to be more complicated than he'd like but whatever, this isn't the first time someone's taken one look at the Batman and gone "ha ha what a nerd."]

[Stern-interrogation-bat-voice is go:]

What were you planning on stealing?

[diediediediediedie]

[UGH. Peridot openly rolls her eyes.]

I don't see how this is any of your business! Why are you humans always interrupting my work?

[batdweeb]

I make it my business. And most humans don't like having their things stolen.

[Duh, Peridot.]

[diediediediediedie]

Well, that's just too bad for the humans, isn't it? I need supplies and they have supplies.

[Logic.]

[batdweeb]

We're not going to debate this.

Either you leave this store without causing anymore trouble, or I'll remove you myself.

[diediediediediedie]

Great! I'll-oh.

[She thought the discussion was over.]

And just how do you plan to do that?