The Drop of A Feather

Chapters

Chapter Two - Pay Back
Chapter Three - The Prince
Chapter Four - A Taste of The Norm
Chapter Five - Vices
Chapter Six - Flyin' Solo
Chapter One - First Impressions

Chapter Two - Pay Back

My alarm went off at 11:00. I wasn’t in a heavy sleep at all. Too many thoughts had been plaguing my mind. I wasn’t sure why I was actually going to go along with Raven. I never thought I would want to break the law or hurt somepony, but I guess after years of neglect from my father and having a lack of ponies who understood how I felt I didn’t care.

I lifted myself out of bed not feeling any trance of tire yet no feeling of energy or excitement. I pulled my only black hoodie over my body and put the hood up. My room was only lit with the light reflected off the moon and through my window. I looked up into my mirror to see a shadow laden across my face. I didn’t look like me. At the time I hadn’t realized I was changing, but it didn’t really matter at that moment.

I lofted about for a bit before I left. I thought about when I was a younger filly and I used to go play with Applebloom and Sweetie Belle and quest for my cutie mark. Things used to be so nice back then. I felt like I belonged and somepony cared about me. Now both of them are too busy to ever hang out or do something. Applebloom is always in Fillydelphia helping her uncle with his carpentry business and Sweetie Belle is always focused on her singing, trying to become as famous as Sapphire Shores probably.

I pushed the nostalgic thoughts out of my head and left the house. Dad was probably asleep from having worked another long day. I started off toward Cheerilee’s house. I had no idea what Raven had in plan. I saw him standing under the tree close to her house. He also had a black hoodie on, but more than just that. He also had black saddle bags on his back and something that he wore on his hooves. As I neared I realize that small spikes were jutting from his hooves. Across the bottom and up to his shin.

“Glad you could make it,” He whispered without looking to me, “Here’s the plan. We are going to go into that window. I’ll climb this tree and jump and you fly up and open the window. We aren’t going to completely raid her house. We are just going to send her a subtle message. Subtle enough that she notices something, but not enough that she would know 100% it’s us. A few small things will go missing and she won’t be sure why, but she won’t call the police. Only take things a single ring or two out of a jewelry box. More than anything be silent. I’ll tap you on the shoulder three times when it’s time to leave. Are you ready?”

I gave him a nod even though I wasn’t very sure. He ran and jumped onto the tree. Using the spikes on his hooves he clung to it and ascended. He walked like a cat across a branch that was nearest the window. I flew up and lifted it open. I swore under my breath when I noticed the screen that lay over our entrance. I looked back to Raven for direction. He just smiled and lipped the words “watch this.” A slim knife slid out of his saddle bags as he backed up on the branch. To my amazement he ran across the thin branch and leaped using his magic to carry the knife with him. He slit an X into the screen right before he plowed through it. I was surprised not to hear a single sound come from inside when he landed. I flew into the window and landed trying not to make any noise. Raven stood crouched in the moon light. It was hard to spot him due to his grey coat in the near grey light. The only thing that stood out was his fire red hair that was revealed when his hood fell off. He pulled it back over his head.

He turned back to me and gave me a nod. We were in what seemed to be a guest bed room. He walked out of the room to search others. I began to scour around the room searching for some sort of item to steal. The only thing I seemed to find was a gold band. I realized then that this was a guest bed room and that nopony would keep anything of value in here. I left in search of other things. I knew I couldn’t steal much because it would make it obvious that we were to ones who broke in. I walked out of the bed room to see what other goods I could find.

I was opened into a ledge over the entrance of Cheerilee’s house. To my left was a stair case, a door directly in front of me, and what seemed to be a bathroom to my right. I noticed Raven creeping up the stairs. He saw and approached me. He put his mouth millimeters away from my ear and whispered, “That door leads to her room. When we go in there you can’t make a single sound. Jewelry boxes are usually on vanity mirrors or dressers. Remember only to take out a couple of things, not all of it.”

I became a bit distracted after having him that close to my face. I noticed that he actually smelled extremely good. His mouth came close to mine as he turned around to face the door. I caught a hint of his breath which smelled like mint ice cream for some reason. I forced myself to focus on the task at hand. We entered the room and found Cheerilee asleep in her bed. I slipped the gold band into Raven’s bags with my wing as we went separate directions. Raven headed strait towards her night stand and opened a drawer. I looked atop her dresser. There was a polyester case with different designs on it. I recognized it as a jewelry box. I opened it and peered inside. It was hard to make out the different shapes inside due to the lack of light but I picked up a ring that looked a bit odd. I pulled it close to my face and tried to examine it, but I couldn’t see much about it. I decided to look later and I closed the box.

I felt the tap of a hoof on my back three times. It was something I hadn’t expected at all because of how intent I was focusing on the ring. I jumped out of surprise and produced a slight sound. Cheerilee stirred in her sleep. I swore under my breath when I realized she was probably going to wake up. Raven signaled with his hoof towards the door. He quickly, yet silently dashed through it and closed it behind me as I followed. He jumped out the window we had come though and I flew out and closed it. Once he was on the ground he started off in full gallop. I flew over head finding it easy to keep up. He was extremely fast for a unicorn, but flying is always faster than hoofing it. He stopped outside a house that didn’t seem to be any different than other houses in Ponyville. I landed beside him.

“Well that was a bit close wasn’t it? Not bad for your first time. Come inside and we’ll see what you got.” He sounded like he was completely out of breath. He opened the door and lead me into his house. I scanned the room I was in. There was an old pink couch in the center of the room facing a small furnace. A blue mare was asleep on it. A kitchen area was connected to it, but slightly separated by a bar that held a refrigerator and a stove behind it. I walked upstairs with Raven. He flipped the light switch on in his room. It was a normal white room that held boxes in corners. There was a desk with several different composition books on it. Raven levitated all the good out of his saddle bags and laid them across the bed. It wasn’t really much. Most of it just small bits of gold or silver jewelry. All but that one ring I stole.

I picked it off of the bed and examined it properly. It was a ring made for unicorns to wear on their horns. Not sure why an earth pony had it. There was a purple gem that was mounted on the top, but the thing that really caught my eye was a smaller fiery stone that spun in the center.

“Whoa. Raven come take a look at this ring,” I held out my hoof toward him. He looked up from the other things we had stolen and levitated the ring. “Do you have any idea what it is?”

He looked at it for a bit longer, “I honestly don’t have any idea. It’s not like anything I have ever found before. I have this guy I know down here. He might be able to tell us what it’s worth. We’ll go see him tomorrow.” My heart lifted when he implied I’d be going with him to appraise the ring.

“You know I could get used to having a partner in crime,” I put the ring down on his bed and stood up. “You know something? I like you Scoots. You have potential. You’re also not bad to be around.” He walked towards me.

A kiss was laid onto my lips. Something I hadn’t expected at all. I didn’t fight it. In fact I returned it back to him. He broke away, but held his face close to mine. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Meet me in front of town hall in the morning.”

He fell back onto his bed and pulled a note book with a quill from under his bed. He looked up at me with a smile. “Have a good night, Scootaloo.”

I walked out with out saying a word. My mind was filled with different thoughts. Most that of confusion. Between the mystery of that ring and his sudden expressed affection towards me I wasn’t sure what to think. All I knew is that I was dead tired. When I arrived back home I fell onto my bed, but I couldn’t sleep. Thoughts raced through my mind.

Chapter Three - The Prince

My head was spinning as Scootaloo left my room. Wow, I just did that. Damn, I didn’t know I had it in me. What I had just done was dangerous. Professional thieves weren’t supposed to get emotionally involved with other ponies. I knew that, but I could ignore what I felt towards Scootaloo.

Another thing that kept me thinking was that ring. I hadn’t ever seen anything like it before. I have come across some odd things from stealing, but never anything like this. When I held it in my grasp it felt . . . strange. Like it was full of energy and potential waiting to get out. I looked at it one more time.

I lifted it off my desk where I had put the other things. I brought it close to my face again. I watched the spinning rock inside the gem. All it did was float in the middle of the purple rock and spin, yet I was entranced by it. I knew there was something off about the ring. One thing that kept pounding me was that Cheerilee had it. Maybe she had an idea of what it is, or maybe it’s just dumb luck that she had such an object. Either way it’s not like I could have gone and asked her about it.

I decided the only way I’d learn anything about the ring at that moment would be to put it on. I slid the ring onto my horn. For a moment I felt not a difference. The neutralism was short lasted when I felt a burst pound into my head and send me onto the floor. Pain coursed through my body, focusing on the base of my horn. I put my hooves on my head and screamed in pain. I jerked my head in random directions in a primal attempt to rid myself of the pain. I lay on my back as I pounded my rear hooves on the floor. I finally started thinking logically and pulled on the ring with my magic. The ring was putting up a fight to stay on. I finally forced it off.

I lay on the floor feeling the lingering pain. My mind was wasted after using my magic so much and my body was in no condition to move. I couldn’t even go down stairs to get a drink of strong booze to ease my pain. So I lay on the floor with a pounding head ache that prevented me from sleeping. After an hour or so most of the pain had left with the exception of my head ache. The ring lay on the floor.

“Gah, fuck! Stupid fucking ring! Fuck you!” I fell onto my bed after cursing out the inanimate object, if it was inanimate. I was exhausted after everything that happened that night. I shortly after fell asleep.

The next morning I drank five cups of coffee before running to town hall. Scootaloo was probably waiting for me. Wow, I actually cared about being late. I had the ring inside a small pouch around my neck. She was standing next to the fountain when I ran up.

“Hey sorry about being late.” I did something that even I didn’t see coming. I leaned in and gave her a quick kiss. Well, damn.

“I’d say you just made up for being late,” Scootaloo laughed. “So who is this guy we are going to see?”

I really am more amazing than I give myself credit to being. “He buys stolen goods here in Ponyville. He could tell you the price of almost anything from what I hear. I’ve never actually seen him, but I have a bit of a reputation among thieves so we should be able to talk to him. His name is AJ, but everypony calls him The Prince because apparently he always wears a crown. He’s at this pub on the edge of town. It’s a shady place so watch yourself when we go in,” I explained as we walked towards the place. “It’s called The Diamond Dog Pit.”

We walked in silence until we arrived at the place. I pushed open the heavy wooden door to find only about five ponies gathered around a table playing cards and one behind the bar. There was a muscular grey earth pony standing by a door in the back. The bartender looked up at us. “You sure you’re in the right place? Ponies your size don’t usually do too well here.”

I laughed. “I think you’ve mistaken my identity.” I turned and flashed my cutie mark. I knew that would get him. When I wanted ponies to know who they pissed off I generally panted a black feather onto their wall with a drip of ink on the end. Ponies came to know me as Crow from then onward. I didn’t mind that they had mistaken my raven’s feather. In a way it kept my real identity safer. From what I heard, other thieves were the only ponies who had taken the name up for me.

The bartenders expression had changed. He no longer had the same cocky smile as before. “O-oh it’s you. Let me get you a drink.” He pulled out some cider and started to pour it into a cup.

“That won’t be necessary. We’re just here to see The Prince and that’s all.”

The grey earth pony by the door suddenly spoke up, “Nopony sees The Prince without my say so and I’m not sure that you’ve earned the right.”

“Calm down you brute you look like you’ve seen a ghost or something. I’m sure The Prince knows who I am. Just mention Crow to him and I’m sure he’ll let me in.”

The earth pony hesitated before he turned around and went inside the room. I heard muffled voices coming from within. He came back out moments later. “The Prince says he wants to see you, but if you lay one hoof on him you’ll be in half.”

“Sounds like a party in a bottle it you ask me!” I laughed when I walked into the room. A cream colored pegasus sat behind a table. A dinky gold crown sat on his head. The same one was his cutie mark.

“Well if it isn’t the famous Crow! Welcome to my establishment. Sorry if Specter gave you the scare. That’s just what I pay him for. So what did you bring for me to look at?” Damn he was cocky.

I pulled the ring out of my pouch and placed it on the table. “Me and my companion here found this last night when we were raiding a house. It’s powerful as hell. I put it on last night and got some major pain in return.”

The Prince put a magnifying glass on his eye and looked closer at the ring. We waited for a few minutes as he just sat and looked at it. “Well I’ll be honestly with you here Crow. I have no idea what this ring is. You’ve stumped me. Thank you for stabbing me right in my pride. I couldn’t give you a price on how much it’s worth and there’s no way in hell I’m going to buy it. Not if it sends ponies into pain like you say. Dead ponies look bad for a salespony.”

Hearing that news didn’t make me happy. Curiosity burned in my chest. “Well do you have anything I can go on? Anypony I could go to?”

“Actually, now that I think of it, I do. I’ve hear rumors of a unicorn that hangs out in Canterlot. Real smart guy. Knows all about old unicorn magic, but it’s not going to be easy to a chance to talk to him and your name will be of no help to you.”

I was beginning to become anxious. I slammed my hoof down onto the table. “Well who is he!?”

“He’s a magician in the Canterlot Castle. His name is Blade Point.”

My heart sank. The Canterlot Castle. How am I going to get in there? It’s not like I can just go talk to him. No way the guards would let a pony like me in . No, this is going to take some tricky work.

“Well, thanks for the info. It was really nice to meet you, but we both have to go now. Do I owe you anything?” I just realized that I hadn’t even brought any bits.

“I couldn’t, in all good conscience, make you pay. Well I could if you had bits on you, but I know that you don’t, so you can go.”

Scootaloo and I walked out of the pub and into the streets of Ponyville. I looked at her and said, “Well want to go get some lunch? I’m pretty hungry and I think we have some things to talk about.”

“Yeah, sure. Sounds like a great idea.”

We sat down at an outdoor restaurant and ordered our food. “So first things first. Obviously we have become romantically involved.”

Scootaloo blushed, which I had to admit was extremely cute. “You don’t say?” We both laughed.

“Ok, but seriously, are you sure you want to continue on with me? What we’re going into could be extremely dangerous.” I hoped she knew I serious I actually was being.

It bothered me when she responded quickly, “Yes, I’m sure. Danger is my middle name! Besides, I’ve got nothing to lose?”

Two things bothered me about her saying that. Part of me knew it would be safer for me to not get involved with other ponies, but a bigger part of me felt bad. I didn’t want to take her whole life away from her, but a selfish part of me didn’t want her out of my life. I hoped that one day, maybe after this whole ring ordeal. I’d be able to retire. That I’d be able to stop thieving and just become a normal pony. Nothing would make me happier than to have Scootaloo join me and that’s why I did it. I convinced myself that I wouldn’t throw her life away because this was only temporary.

“Well good then! Now here’s the other part. We have to come up with a good plan to get to talk to Blade Point. Now here’s what I was thinking. . .”

Chapter Four - A Taste of The Norm

I was walking towards Canterlot with Raven. The plan was to find out as much as we could about Blade Point. Raven said he would have contacts who could give us some dirt on this fellow. This stake out, or what ever you would call it, was going to take a few days according to Raven.

It wasn’t hard to convince my dad to let me go. In fact it made me tear up when he said yes so easily. He hadn’t contemplated or even asked why. Tears rolled down my cheeks when I left towards my room to pack for the trip. I always wished that he cared about me. I knew he was in debt to the government for fines caused from crimes in his past, but I wished that he would have been a dad. I always had Rainbow Dash as a mother figure, but her affection was limited.

Raven and I walked into a dusty Inn on the outer rim of the city. Most of the buildings here were made out of wood. It wasn’t necessarily a poor looking community. It seemed like merchants and travelers occupied this section of Canterlot. Mostly just stands that sold various goods.

The inn was no different from any other building it seemed. It was made only of wood. It was decorated with banners that hung from the walls. A female bartender pony stood behind the bar.

“Hi, welcome to the Silver Tankard. Would you like something to eat or are you looking for a room?” She had a very relaxed voice. Off of that I could tell that she seemed to enjoy doing her job.

“Yes, we want the best room you have!” Raven was always so confident.

“That’ll be forty bits.” She waited to be paid before she said, “Your room is upstairs. The door on the left that is separate of the others.”

We walked up the old stairs. They didn’t seem too well maintained and I was a bit frightened that they would break to be honest. We survived the stairs and opened the door to our room. A small, two pony bed occupied the center of the room with one dresser beside it. The bathroom was small and held a sink and mirror with a standing bathtub slash shower across it.

I plopped down on the bed where Raven was already occupied. He looked at me and said, “Well we should probably get to work, but to be honest, I’m feeling extremely lazy. Why don’t we just take today off? We can get to work looking for Blade tomorrow. Besides it’s friday. He’s just going to be working anyway. Let’s just be normal ponies today. For once in our lives. After we meet up with my old friend of course.”

He looked at me with a smile on his face and a shine in his eyes caused by the dusty beam of light that poor from the window above the bed. The sun brushed across the flames that lined his head. It made me flutter. We had such a weird romance, but I didn’t really mind that.

“Sounds like a good plan to me.” I leaned forward and gave him a kiss. I expecting one of us to get up and prepare to leave, but we just laid there. I didn’t want to leave that badly to be honest. We both knew that we should be going to meet Raven’s friend, but still we only laid and drifted into eachothers’ eyes.

It must of been thirty minutes that passes when Raven finally stood up. “Well, I guess we really should go meet Rory. She tends to get restless. Besides I’m getting pretty hungry.” He stretched out his legs and back while letting out a soundless yawn. He was an extremely slender pony, but you could definitely notice his fine toned muscles.

“Works for me. I could use some grub.”

We left the Inn and headed deeper inside Canterlot. I didn’t like being around all of these fancy ponies. I hadn’t been to Canterlot in a very long time, but it didn’t seem like it had changed much at all. Snooty unicorns walked by with their snouts in the air. They fancied themselves important. The world would be better without ponies like them. I realized shortly after the irony that was in that sentence. I’m a thief and I’ll probably never steal as much money as they’ve stolen. The law is weird like that though.

We walked inside a lavish restaurant. It was wasn’t hard to pick Raven’s old friend from the crowd. She was sitting at a table in the very back corner. It seemed to be semi far away from the other tables. I assumed so that no one could overhear our conversation. The tan earth pony that sat there was large. She had a very muscular build. It was apparent that should could handle herself in a fight.

“You always choose the creeper corner don’t you Rory?” She looked up and smiled.

She spoke in a very rough and gruff voice. “It’s been too long kid. It’s good to see that you aren’t dead yet. You even got yourself a girl! That’s dangerous stuff there Raven. For you and her. Just make sure to be careful.”

I wasn’t completely sure what she meant by what she said, but I brushed it off. Raven was quick to respond, “I’m not sure how you manage not to fall on a knife out here. I’m sure there are a few people who aren’t too keen on you, but then again, you are a beast.”

“That I am Raven. Now about this Blade guy. He seems like a straight shooter at first, but I’ve been in this business long enough to know that no pony is a straight shooter. We all have our vices and he’s no exception. Now after a long practice of sword fighting or after studying for hours this pony likes to relax, but he doesn’t relax in a way that the princess would approve of. No, he like to smoke moon dust. I honestly don’t understand why it’s not legal. I mean it doesn’t hurt anypony and it’s not like you can overdose, but that’s beside the point. If you follow him around a bit you might be able to catch him buying some, or you could take the more direct approach and sneak into his room in the castle. I’m sure you’d be able to find his drugs somewhere there. Whichever way you want to go. Doesn’t matter to me.”

“It’d probably be easier and safer to just follow him. I wouldn’t think breaking into the castle would be easy.” The two sat and chatted after that. They talked mostly of old friends who had died or of past mistakes that made funny stories to tell. Raven never mentioned the ring though. I guess he didn’t want many ponies to know about it.

“Well, Thanks for the info Rory. It was awesome to see you again! We have to go though. I was planning on showing Scootaloo around Canterlot a bit.” He stood up out of the chair and I mimicked his movement.

“Sounds like fun. You two have a good time! Catch you later Raven. You too Scootaloo.”

“So are you ready for a good time?” Raven said as we walked out of the restaurant. “This is my home town. I know all the cool places. One thing I love about this place is that the rooftops are placed so close together. It’s fun to run across. Of course you’re a pegasus so you can just fly, but I still think it’s cool. There is this one place that’s really easy to get to yet nopony knows about it. I’ll show you it later. Right now we should go do something fun! How about we go to a play? I think there is one on soon.” It wasn’t long after noon. Raven had a smile on his face and mine held the same expression.

We walked into the playhouse, which I hadn’t been to since I was just a little filly. It was one of the few times I enjoyed learning about something. The play that was on that day was on today was an old romance tragedy that was extremely cliche. A play that everypony knew, but they didn’t really know. They knew the basic plot, but didn’t know the actual story. Of course Raven knew everything about the play and the author of it.

“I honestly don’t like the this play, but they way it’s written is just so amazing. It’s hard as hell to write in sonnets, believe me, but writing a whole play with poems is just amazing. I’d probably forget to end with couplets when the character left.” He talked like I knew what he was saying.

I just laughed, “I have no idea what you are saying, Raven. You’re so cute!” His cheeks turned a delightful shade of red. It made me smile wider.

The play started with two servants with swords and bucklers who soon after get into a fight with another servant. One person broke up the fight, but was soon challenged to a fight and those two began to fight. I wasn’t paying much attention to the play. It was a lot of fighting right in the beginning. Although it seemed to lighten up. I smiled when I felt Raven’s hoof fall atop mine. I could hear the pitter patter of rain from the roof of the playhouse.

The play lasted a few hours. The rain lasted just as long. It stopped shortly before the play ended. I wasn’t really that entertained by the play, but I still had a great time just being there with Raven. It felt like a normal teenage date. It was nice to feel normal for once.

Pegasi were clearing the clouds when we left. There were pools of water in random spots across the brick streets. A light mist still hung in the air. I loved the smell that was produced after the rain.

“Well, since the sun has almost made its trip into the mountains we should go get some ice cream before the shops close!” I guess what Raven wanted to show me didn’t need the light of day. I was perfectly okay with eating some ice cream.

“I know this one place. It has the best ice cream in the whole damn world. It’s called Cream and Custard’s. It’s so good, baby. You’re going to love it.” My smile grew wide when he called me baby. I am definitely okay with that.

I had to admit it was some good ice cream. Raven wasn’t far off at all. I sat and waited as he finished his ice cream. He ate very slowly. Always examining the bite he was about to take. I was still very curious about what he wanted to show me. It was already dark outside. “So when are you going to show me that spot you were talking about? You have me all curious!”

He looked up from the ice cream on his spoon. “Oh yeah! Let’s go, I’ll show you right now!” I was surprised when he dumped the rest of his ice cream into the trash can and walked outside. I laughed and flew up behind him.

“You’re crazy, you know that?” I said with a laugh.

“Yeah I know.” He too laughed. “Come on it’s just up here!” We ran towards a water tower that stood over the city. It was taller than most other things in the the city and was located on top of a hill.

“Fly up there and wait for me, but don’t look at the view! Not yet!” I flew up to the top of the tower and sat where a catwalk was located. Raven reached the tip of the ladder and walked over to be. He sat facing the city and said, “Ok, you can turn around now.”

I didn’t expect what I beheld. The lights my eyes viewed. My muscles tightened for a moment and then relaxed. The lights reflected off of all the water pools that laden the streets and rooftops. The different colored apparitions flashing and changing made me feel so small, but at the same it made me feel important to this world somehow. I knew that I was at least important to somepony. I leaned my head on his shoulder.

“When I was little I used to come up here on nights when my mom and dad were getting violent. I sat up here and wished for a better life. Not long ago, shortly before I moved to Ponyville, I sat up here, like I usually do, and felt the urge to jump.” My heart skipped a beat. “I didn’t feel like living. I hated my life so badly that I wanted to end it. I almost did too, but something kept me from it. I thought that I should let it play out a little bit longer to see what happens next. Then I moved to Ponyville and met you. Now I’m up here again and the urge to jump, it’s gone.” He looked at me with tears in his eyes and kissed me.

Both of our cheeks were wet, when he pulled away and looked back at the view. He let out a laugh and said, “Fuck me.” A smile betrayed his happiness.

I knew I didn’t have any reason to be concerned but I still asked. “What’s wrong?”

“Well, I think I’m in love with you, Scoots.” My heart let out an explosion of emotions. My belly was full butterflies and my chest felt light as a feather. For a moment I had forgotten that we were both thieves tracking down a guy to help us with an item we stole. In all actuality I forgot about everything.

“I love you too, Raven. I’m so happy I came here with you.” Tears still streamed down my cheeks. I wrapped my hooves around his arm and held him close.

“I’m extremely happy that you did too.” He wrapped his hooves around me in a hug. “We should probably get back to the hotel. We have a long day ahead of us and need our rest.”

“Yeah you’re probably right.” But still we remained on the tower. He with his hoof around me and me with my head on his shoulder, watching the world move.

Chapter Five - Vices

I sat on a bench near the castle. The sun near turning in after a long trip across the sky. Scootaloo sat next to me. To the nearby guards we were just a couple watching the sunset. In all reality we were waiting. Waiting for Blade. Although I didn’t know Blade, I knew that he was a pony of high importance. Somepony who can’t simply leave his work station during the day to pursue other things. He had to leave at night.

I knew the chances were extremely slim that he’d be meeting up with his dealer on that exact day, but I’m a thief, naturally lucky. Even if he wasn’t and I tailed him for no reason Scootaloo was going to have a look in his room. She had become fairly good at sneaking, as I had been teaching her how to improve her form the last couple of days. I knew it would be risky sending her into the castle like that, but I trusted that she could handle it. I had found out Blade’s room had a balcony, which made it easy to access. It almost seemed too convenient, but that’s a thief’s luck.

A white unicorn with a semi-short cyan mane walked out of the castle. He wore a blade at his flank. It was different from the ones the guards carried. Much more slim and light. Thin with a double edge and no curves. The sword was replicated by his cutie mark. He wore a single saddle bag. It was obvious who this was.

I realized how lucky it was that I chose to wear my dagger. Somehow it slipped my mind that he would probably be armed. I had never actually struck a pony with my dagger, or anything at all. I had never been in any direct physical confrontation. Though that was true I knew I would be ready. I had trained myself in my room, and I was pretty sure I had this whole combat thing down. Although I knew I would be no match for this pony. If it came down to a fight my best option would be to throw the dagger at him and run. I hoped it wouldn’t come to that though.

He strolled past Scootaloo and me. Of course he didn’t much but glance in our direction. He didn’t have any reason to take interest in us. I gave Scootaloo a kiss and the cheek and said, “I better get home. I love you.”

Even though that was the signal to set our plan in motion, it felt good to say it. I liked to tell her that I loved her. I felt a sense of dramatic irony. The guards didn’t have a clue. Tricking people with the truth was. . odd.

“I love you too,” Scootaloo said with a smile. She kissed me on my lips with more passion than I had expected. This wasn’t part of the plan at all, but it was an adjustment that I accepted wholeheartedly. She broke the kiss and we both stood from the bench and went our separate ways. The plan was for her to loop around and fly back to the rooftops of the castle. She knew to not fly far from the tops and to stay low. It wasn’t going to be too much of a challenge for her.

I started walking down the steps that had lead up to the castle courtyard. Blade wasn’t too far ahead of me. We walked into the downtown district of Canterlot. He entered a coffee shop that I had only been to once. The coffee there was terrible, but it didn’t really matter.

I entered the shop shortly after Blade. The ponies in here seemed to be having a mildly good time. I never understood why anypony would want coffee this late at night, but ponies still did it. Blade was sitting at a small table by himself sipping out of a cup of coffee, reading a book. Nothing fancy, just a normal cup of coffee. His saddle bag was hung up on the back of his chair. I went up to the counter and ordered a green tea with pomegranate. I sat at a table so with my chair facing the back of Blade’s head. I drank my tea slowly and relaxed. I formed a nice plan in my head.

I few minutes passed and I finished the last of my tea. I rose from my seat and approached Blade. “I just wanted to say you have great taste in books. I think that you’re actually the first pony other than myself that I’ve seen read that book.”

It happened that this was true. I had never seen anypony else read the particular book he was reading. The book contained really deep stuff. Things that would make a lot of ponies scared, due to its shocking depth into things ponies don’t normally associate with.

“Thanks, I’m rereading it actually. One of my favorite books.” He didn’t seem too interested in talking to me, but that’s how I wanted things to happen.

“Yeah I love it. Anyway I have to go, or else my mom will get pissed off at me. Cya!” I played off as a normal teen pretty well. I left the shop with an addition stuffed in my dagger’s sheath. A small piece of paper that I swiped from his hanging saddlebag ever so slyly. I uncrumpled the paper not far from the shop.

Meet me behind the theatre tonight at 9:00 if you’re looking to refill.

This was definite progress. All I had to do was bust him after they make the deal. It wouldn’t be too hard. Just more pickpocket work. I walked to the theatre, which wasn’t all that far from the shop. I sat on a bench near the entrance and threw the hood of my sweater of my head. I pulled a cigarette from my coat’s pocket, put in my mouth and lit it. It had been awhile since I last smoked. I hadn’t smoked since met Scoots. I think I was only doing it then so that I could look like a badass, which I probably did.

Blade walked into the alleyway next to the theatre. He gave an unsure glance in my direction, but continued to walk. If that were me I would have known that the kid from the coffee shop was sitting just thirty feet away, but Blade wasn’t that keen it seemed. He came back from the alleyway a few minutes later. He started walking in my direction, but I kept my cool. He must have had other errands to run.

Then he did something I didn’t expect at all. Something that tore my whole plan in half. He sat down next to me and rolled his newly purchased drugs into a cigarette. He lit it and stuck it in his mouth. “Well, you were stupid to follow me. Don’t you realize that I am a master at swordsmanship and that I have military training? I know when somepony is following me, even though you made it much harder than anypony else I’ve come across. You know my secret now. Obviously you have a reason for doing this, but I’m not one to listen to reason. Not when the odds are in my favor. I could strike you down and tell the guards that you pulled that pig sticker on me, and that’s probably what I’ll do. So what do you have to say for yourself?”

I knew that this was a bad position to be in and that he held my life in his hooves, but I still had Scootaloo. “Well I wouldn’t say that is is over for me just yet. What you don’t realize is that I had somepony search your room. You know that cute little pegasus sitting next to me on the bench? Right now she’s probably back at the hotel room, with a bit of your stash. I’ve told her that if I don’t return that she should go to the guards reveal the evidence. So you can kill me and risk your job, your house and basically your whole life, or you could go along with what I have to say.”

He took another hit from his spiked cigarette. “Well I guess you got me. I have to hand it to you, you’re quite the master mind. I guess I can’t just kill you and be done with this mess. Let’s go back to this hotel of yours and talk the details of what ever it is you want from me.” We both stood from our seats. I knew that he didn’t dare attack me, so I walked with him with my defences down. These complications seemed to work out just fine.

I opened the door to our room in the inn. Scootaloo was asleep on the bed. I shook her awake. The empty wine bottle next to the bed disturbed me. “I got him, Scoots. Wake up.”

She slowly opened her eyes half way and stared up at me. “Hey, cool. There was a little bit of a hitch at the castle, but I still got the stuff. Now come give me a kiss!”

She rolled over to reveal a bleeding cut on her underbelly.

Chapter Six - Flyin' Solo

I broke the surprise kiss I had laid onto Raven’s lips. The look in his eyes told me that he enjoyed what I had given to him. We both knew that we had work to do. He turned and walked away and I walked through another entrance to the courtyard. I was nervous about what I had to do. I felt like a lot was weighing on my shoulders, but Raven had assured me that, thanks to the balcony, it wouldn’t be too hard at all. Still though.

I put my hood up and walked in a circle around the castle. Raven said that there was a series of waterways just on the other side. Not many ponies ever went there, with the exception of fisher ponies. Nopony ever went for a swim there because of the looming waterfall. He told me that would be the easiest way to get into Blade’s room. The balcony overlooked the long mountain range the river ran through.

All of the fishers had left by this time. This part of Canterlot was made mostly of wood. It was very similar to a boardwalk, but much less friendly to families. The drop down into the water was quite the steep one. Railing lined all of the edges and and a bridge that led to a bazaar that fish were sold at.

I flew to the top of one of the many shacks that bordered the walkway. I could see the balcony from where I was standing even though the lack of light took its toll on my vision. I started to run toward the castle. I had to fly across the garden in order to get to the first rooftop. I could use the trees to cover my flight.

I set my plan in motion and leaped off the roof. I flew with expert skill that I had picked up from watching Rainbow Dash when I was just a little filly. I eventually learned to mimic most of the things she could do. What I was doing didn’t really need fancy flying though. I flew close to many of the trees, through a few of them. Eventually I made it to the first rooftop within the Castle’s limits. It was a carriage house. The roof tops were close together now, but I had to be more careful. There were an extreme amount of guards in this place. My hood at least cloaked me a bit.

I was running softly thanks to my wings that I flapped lightly. Light enough to make my hooves feather weight, but not enough to take me off the ground. I saw a glow in one of the narrow passages between the buildings and slowed to a stop. I peeked over the edge to see two guard ponies. It would seem that the two used this place as somewhat of a romantic area to spend quality time with each other. I had to keep myself from laughing as I heard the sounds of their lips smacking.

Even though it was ironic to see these two guards being not so up tight, it still caused a problem for me. Their lantern lit a large part up and it was risky to just jump right over them. I looked around on the roof and found a large stone. I figured that I could probably create a distraction if these two were any good at their jobs at all. I picked it and and gave it a hard throw at one of the other buildings. I loud thud was produced as it slammed against the stone wall.

“Wait, what was that?” Said one of the ponies, releasing the grip he had on his partner.

“I heard it too. I hope it’s not another guard. The Princess will be pissed if she finds out about this. We better go check it out.” The two of them instantly went back into serious guard mode and run towards the noise, taking their lantern with them. I didn’t tarry; I leapt up onto the next rooftop. I was extremely close to the balcony.

The glow of the moon, mixed with the faint light of the city on the other side of the castle guided me. I took a leap off of the final roof and flew as fast as I could toward the balcony. I landed and rushed inside, while trying not to make any noise. I hoped that nopony had seen me.

There was very little light, but using that produced by the moon I examined the room as best I could. There were many bookshelves that lined the wall. A rack of swords hung on another wall, a desk was just next to it. Blade’s bed sat under a large window with its back to the east. The sun would rise I wake him up early. A nice substitute to alarm clocks I, had to admit.

I had no idea where he would hide his stash, but I didn’t think it would be too hard to find. After all, it’s not like many ponies were inclined to search his room. He was held too high for that kind of nonsense.

I started searching around his room. I looked under his bed, and into all the boxes under it. While I didn’t find any drugs, I did find a pipe which I stuck under my wing. The next place I looked was in the drawers of his desk. Nothing there, only old papers. His swords glinted off the moonlight. I had never actually held a sword in my life, so I was naturally curious. I knew that he couldn’t get mad at me for touching them because he wasn’t here. I pulled one of them off of the rack and swung it around a bit. As I was putting it back I noticed a hole behind it. I stuck my hoof in and felt a plastic baggy. Jack pot.

Suddenly, the door to the room opened. “What do you think you’re doing in here!? Breaking into the castle is punishable by death. Either you come with me and live a little bit longer, or you resist and I kill you now.” A unicorn stood at the doorway, just feet away from me with his sword drawn. I made a dash toward the balcony door, but he was closer. He beat me there and blocked the exit.

He slashed his sword in my direction, which I dodged by inches. I ran out the door he had come through and he chased after me. He fired magic missiles, which flew past my head. One came close enough to burn my ear slightly. I cringed in pain as the intense heat lingered on my flesh. I continued through the corridor despite my newfound pain. Another missile flew past me and smashed into one a window, breaking it. I took this chance to escape. I ran and jumped out of the window.

What I didn’t realize is that a shard of glass still remained standing in the window. It scraped across my underbelly and created a large wound. The pain that I felt in my ear now felt like nothing more than a mosquito bite. I nearly fell to my death, but I tried not to let the pain get the best of me. I flew up and onto the roof of the castle. The unicorn guard came rushing to the window and looked out. I think he assumed I had flown off already, but in all reality I was just meters away from him.

I took my cape off and wrapped it around myself. I flew up, fighting the pain that urged me to stay where I was. I had to get back to the inn. There I would be safe. I flew as fast as I could through the pain. Eventually I made it back. I ran up the stairs before anypony could see the cut, or the drugs I still carried.

I closed the door to the room behind me. I didn’t have any other way to bandage myself other than my cape. I remembered the bottle of wine that Raven had bought last night. He and I shared a glass, before we put the cherry atop our wonderful night. I took the bottle out of the ice tray and opened it. I chugged it down as fast as I could, which wasn’t fast enough. Eventually I felt the pain start to dull. I passed out onto the bed, dizzy from blood loss and intoxication.

I don’t know how long after I had past out that I woke up, but I woke up to see Raven’s face. His beautiful grey face with the fiery mane. Damn was he hot. “Hey, cool. There was a little bit of a hitch at the castle, but I got the stuff. Now give me a kiss!”

I leaned forward to kiss him, but was stopped by a sudden pain on my belly. I had completely forgotten about the cut. I fell back onto the bed and passed out again.

I woke up back in the hotel, only now I had proper bandages. My sobriety had returned and sunlight shone from the window. Raven sat on a chair next to my bed. His hair was a mess and he had heavy bags under his eyes. Not only bags, but his eyes were a tint of red, and watery.

I spoke in a slow voice, “Raven?”

He looked up at me quickly. His eyes brightened and he wrapped his lips around my own. “Scootaloo, I’m so sorry! I didn’t know that you would get hurt! I should have never let you go by yourself!”

Tears streamed from his eyes. I didn’t know what else to do, so I kissed him. I kissed him with as much passion as my heart held. I didn’t want him to feel bad about me getting hurt. I knew the risks when I decided to go along with him. “Raven, don’t be sorry. This isn’t your fault,” He just stared at me with wet eyes. “I love you. Don’t hold it against yourself. It’s nopony’s fault.”

He gave me a small smile and kissed me. “Good,” I said with a smile. “Now come on in bed. You must be exhausted.”

He walked around where I was laying and fell into the bed with me. “We are going to meet Blade tomorrow. I showed him the ring and he seems more than interested, but I don’t want to think about tomorrow. I’m too tired.” He wrapped his hooves around me. “I love you, Scoots. I’m never going to let you get hurt again.”

-Raven knew the best way to protect Scootaloo, but he felt too in love to leave her now.

Chapter One - First Impressions

My new teacher stood in front of the classroom as I walked into the door. It was my first day attending school in Ponyville and also the first tardy. The school was small. It only had a single room so classes had to be integrated. Most of the other ponies in the class were in their adolescence like me although I knew I didn’t share any of the same interests as them. No, these ponies were more likely into things like sports or something the average pony would do. The only thing I possible shared with any of them was that I enjoyed writing. That’s half the reason for my black feather cutie mark. The other half being how light and agile I am on my hooves.

“Well you must be the new student. I’ll assume that you didn’t know when class started and let your tardiness slide. I’m Miss Cheerilee. We don’t get new ponies often so why don’t you tell the class a bit about yourself?”

I saw this as a perfect chance to creep a few ponies out; a hobby of mine. “Well my name is Raven Quill. I’m a unicorn from Canterlot. I enjoy writing,” I looked directly at a young mare with a tiara of diamonds sitting atop her head, “and thievery.” I let out a laugh as her expression changed to shock. An orange pegasus looked up from the nap she was taking on her desk. She was the only other pony in the entire room to laugh. Cheerilee obviously didn’t approve of what I had said.

“Well why don’t you take your seat then Raven? Also, because of your comment you get detention after class. The same goes for you Scootaloo.” She had a look of displeasure across her face. So that’s her name. I almost felt bad for getting her into trouble. . . almost.

The rest of the day in the classroom passed at the pace of a snail. It mostly consisted of a quick answer from some nerd and then either the filly with the tiara or the one with a spoon on her ass would have some half witted, passive aggressive insult. It didn’t matter to me. The last thing that was ever on my mind was another pony’s feelings.

The clock struck three as the bell sounded and class shuffled out. The only ones left where Scootaloo, Cheerilee and me. Scootaloo sat two desks in front of me and one to the left. Cheerilee was focused on something at her desk. A note landed on my desk.

It read: Hey thanks for getting me into detention. I really appreciate it. Although the note was obviously sarcastic I could tell she wasn’t too angry with me.

So I wrote back. Anytime. It’s good to have company while I waste my time here. I’m just glad it’s someone who’s also a bit of a trouble maker. I sent the note back using my magic.

She quickly wrote back and the note landed on my desk with a flip of her wing. We’ll probably be detention buddies considering Cheerilee isn’t that sweet on me and you didn’t make the best first impression. She had me there, but I was used to it. The teachers in Canterlot had it out for me too.

I returned the note again. I can’t complain all that much. The only thing I can do before dark is write anyway.

Scootaloo looked a bit confused. What do you do at night?

I chucked a bit. Oh, the innocent. What I told that snooty filly wasn’t a lie. Scootaloo’s face became whiter. I wasn’t sure how she would respond. I realized it probably wasn’t a good idea to go telling ponies of my habits.

She sent the note back. Why do you steal from ponies? I had never really thought about that. All things considered I didn’t really want the bits, but at the same time I had to support my drunkard mother. I think that if it weren’t for the fear and excitement of getting caught I probably wouldn’t do it. I started to write my reply when Cheerilee looked up from her desk.

“What are you writing? Are you two passing notes?” She started walking towards me. Not knowing what to do I stuffed the paper into my mouth and chewed it. It relaxed my worries about Scootaloo giving out my secrets when she laughed. Cheerilee was as amused as she was when I told tiara girl what I had.

“Well it looks like you and your partner here just earned yourself a week of detention.” It seemed like she thought her words would have more of an affect on me. I just put my hooves behind me head and leaned back. “You two get out of here. I’ll see you tomorrow bright and early.”

We both walked out of the classroom into the near ending day. “So why do you do what you do?” Scootaloo asked as she started walking with me towards where I lived. I wasn’t sure if I wanted her with me, but I didn’t object.

“You sure you want to get mixed up with me? I’m not really headed in the right direction.”

She seemed to think it over for a second or two. “Well, the thing is I don’t really come from the happiest family. Not the most wealthy either. My mom died giving birth to me and my father is always working. A lot of the time I don’t feel like he ever cares about me. I figured I could join you. I’ve kind of always dreamed of being a thief.”

I wasn’t sure what to make of it. The way she moved made me believe she was light on her hooves even for a pegasus. I figured it couldn’t hurt too bad to give her a chance although it was risky, but that’s what thievery is all about. “If you’re so eager to join me then I suppose I could use you. Meet me at Cheerilee’s house tonight when Luna’s moon has reached its tip. Wear black.”

Scootaloo’s expression changed a bit. I wasn’t sure if she was happy about getting the chance or not. I didn’t know why I was even letting her come with me. It’s not like I felt sorry for her, or did I? I hoped to Celestia I hadn’t gotten a soft spot. The only time I liked to express emotion was when I wrote. I parted ways with Scootaloo and she took off on her scooter.

When I walked into my new house my mom was already passed out on the couch with a bottle of spiked cider in her hoof. I hated having such a worthless mother. I used to sit in my room crying while she and my dad fought. Their fights always ended in violence. Violence. . . such a meaningless thing. You don’t gain anything from physically hurting someone. At least with thievery I gained from it. My father was right to leave. That bitch that laid on the couch was about as close to me as any other pony.

In my writings I often create a character who is alone, but manages to create a life for himself. Usually the main character will break away from his life struggles and find friends. My writings really depicted what I wanted to life. A large part of me wanted to give up thievery and to write novels for ponies for read. I’m not entirely sure why I never did. I suppose that it became an addiction. I felt like I needed to take from ponies. I never did much with the things I stole. I only sold them when I needed the money to eat.

I sat down onto my bed and pulled my notebook out, along with my pen. Instead of continuing a novel I started to write a short story. For the first time in my life I started writing a love story. Usually what came out of me when I wrote where emotions that I kept hidden away. Often times I didn’t know they existed. The main character was a pony who was well off and not short of money. Although he was quite happy with his position he felt like his life lacked a bit of excitement. One night he found a thief sneaking through the halls of his father’s manor. He tells the thief that if she lets him join her he won’t tell anypony of her deeds. The mare thief became attached to this pony after performing various heists with him. This mistake leads to her untimely death as she sacrifices herself to save him.

I found it interesting how easy it was to write a whole new genre of literature. I set my alarm for eleven thirty that same evening and laid down on my bed. I found it hard to fall asleep that night due to the thoughts in my head. Thoughts that included such things as wondering why I had written such a story. Was it even remotely possible that I felt an emotion towards another pony other than longing for somepony that didn’t exist? I pushed the thought out of my head so that I could rest before the heist.