The Unusual Tale of a Human Thief in Equestria

The Unusual Tale of a Human Thief in Equestria

An Unlikely Hero.

Interlude 3 - The Young Princess.

Twilight Sparkle breathed a sigh of relief as the chariot lifted off and flew away without another incident. Dealing with Blueblood was bad enough without a certain foul-mouthed human throwing sucker punches left and right. She couldn't understand him, at times Janos was the picture of professionalism, taking his job with the utmost seriousness and acting accordingly, the next he was running around playing stupid pranks on ponies alongside Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, and at other times he was exploding in bouts of anger and behaving like a child.

It was bad enough having to keep an eye on him at all times back in Ponyville, now she had to do the same in Canterlot, where one stray offense directed at the wrong pony could ruin your career. Not that she or he were in much danger of losing their jobs over that, but the nobles of Canterlot could make your life much more difficult than it needed to be out of spite.

As she walked through the endless corridors of Canterlot, Twilight wondered if Janos was really up for this. She understood that he was a very capable thief (as evidenced by his break in on the Hollows) but he hadn't been hired to be a thief, this whole thing was well beyond his area of expertise. Furthermore, she felt like it was too soon to send him out on a mission like this. Janos was very good at pretending to be fine, but it was very clear he was still having trouble adapting to his new lot in life.

Not that Twilight blamed him, not at all. She would probably be doing much worse if she was in his hoof shoes. Never again being able to see her friends or family, stranded in a land completely alien and unfamiliar to her. The only one of her kind in the whole planet, Twilight shuddered at the thought. The fact that he could pretend everything was alright just showed how much stronger he was, Twilight would be a slobbering mess at this point.

However, there were many times when the mask fell. He was having trouble sleeping, Twilight would often find him late at night just sitting in the library with a random book in his hands. She had no right to reprehend another person for staying up all night reading books, but Janos never seemed to be reading anything, instead he just seemed to be sitting there staring at nothing for hours. Other times he would explode at the slightest affront, he usually refrained from using violence to vent his anger but he was obviously having trouble dealing with all the frustration pent up inside of him. Not to mention he refused to share any details about his life and past, at best Twilight and her friends would get vague answers, at worst he would outright lie. He would never be able to heal if he didn't rely on somepony. It seemed that he finally found somepony for that, however, although there was a limit to what he could share with Fluttershy seeing as how Princess Celestia prohibited him from revealing anything about his criminal past with the others.

Which brought her to the next issue. Twilight and Rainbow were also forbidden from discussing it with their friends. Twilight had never lied like this to her friends, and having to do so was proving to be much harder than she thought at first. Why would Celestia not trust the others? True they would have some complaints about having a dangerous outlaw in charge of their protection, but if Twilight and Rainbow could understand it then why not them? She understood the need to keep some things hidden from the general populace, but her friends were directly involved with this, they deserved the truth as much as her.

Maybe this is the price of being a princess, not being able to share everything with her friends anymore. Twilight was liking her new position even less.

But that raised a few more questions. If the princesses were hiding this from them, then what else were they hiding? Not too long ago Twilight was just another civilian like the others, did Celestia hide things like this from her too? What else did Celestia decide Twilight didn't need to know?

Did she send her to Ponyville knowing all too well the other elements were there and that Nightmare Moon would free herself? Did she know it was just a matter of time until Discord broke free? Did she know Cadence was the Crystal Princess and sent her there on purpose?

'No!' She thought, 'Celestia wouldn't do this to us. She loves her subjects she wouldn't treat them like pawns on a board.

"Equestria to Twilight Sparkle!" Celestia's voice startled Twilight yanking her out of her musings. "Still losing herself in that big head of yours I see. I've been trying to get your attention for a while now." She chuckled heartily.

"So sorry Princess." Twilight had to stop herself from bowing down, being surprised like this she almost forgot there was no longer any need for that.

"Call me Celestia, Twilight," Celestia asked her for the nth time. "We're both princesses now, there is no need for this formality."

"Sorry Celestia." Twilight sheepishly smiled at her former mentor turned colleague.

"So what's on your mind dear?" Celestia asked her fellow princess, motioning for them to continue walking.

"Nothing important." Twilight quickly answered, praying Celestia didn't notice her lie. "Just some research I'm in the middle of."

"Oh? What about?" Celestia asked, interested.

'Oh, pony feathers!' Twilight mentally kicked herself, she could already see Janos disapproving gaze judging her for such a feeble excuse. "Janos." She answered without thinking, grimacing just as the words left her mouth.

"Janos?" Celestia repeated, surprised. "Oh, of course!" She quickly added, nodding "His magic is very interesting indeed, I haven't seen anything like it in a thousand years."

'What?' Twilight snapped up at that. Celestia had seen something like it before? She never mentioned anything about that before.

"I can see you're surprised to hear that." The Sun Princess noticed her expression.

"It's just that you haven't mentioned that before," Twilight replied. Was this another of Celestia's cover ups?

"It's not something we speak of much," Celestia answered.

"Us?"

"Luna and I naturally." The older princess answered. "Roughly a thousand years ago there was a villain called Tirek." She began, in hushed tones. "This creature harnessed a terrible power, he could suck the magic out of any being leaving them devoid of it, he and his brother, Scorpan, tried to use this power to steal all the magic in Equestria. However, when Scorpan befriended a unicorn wizard and saw how beautiful Equestria and its inhabitants were, he began to doubt his brother's plan. He pleaded Tirek to give up his machinations and leave Equestria alone but Tirek refused. In the end, he came to us and informed us of Tirek's plan so we could stop him before he could act on it, we did and imprisoned Tirek in Tartarus where he is locked up to this day."

Twilight had never heard this story before, a being with the power to take all the magic of Equestria for himself? That was terrifying! Who knew what would happen to the ponies if their magic was taken away? There was no precedent for this sort of thing, anything could happen!

"Yes, it is a very scary concept," Celestia spoke, with a grim seriousness Twilight had not seen in her mentor before. "And that is why we need to keep a very close eye on our human friend."

"You don't think Janos would try to do something like that do you?" Twilight asked incredulously. Surely she couldn't be insinuating that.

"No, the very fact that Harmony chose him as it's champion shows that despite his appearances and past life, he has a good heart. However, we don't know what could happen should he lose control." She explained.

"But you still sent him to Ore Valley, isn't that risky?" The young princess asked her, voicing the obvious.

"I agree with you Twilight, however, that was Luna's call, not mine."

"Because he is her agent?"

"Precisely." Celestia sighed tiredly. "I asked her to take him so she could have more to do around here. Ponies still don't trust her very well and are set in their ways coming to me with their problems simply because that is how it was always done. It is affecting Luna greatly to see her little ponies rejecting her like this." She explained. "It is painfully familiar." For a second her expression waned, and a look of great sadness took her. Twilight didn't need to ask in order to know what Celestia was thinking.

"I understand."

"However, I forgot how reckless and impulsive my little sister can be." She added with a chuckle. "I suppose she and Janos make a poor pair in that regard."

"I can see that," Twilight remarked. "I just hope that talisman works."

"Luna is an expert in runic magic, I have no doubts her talisman will work," Celestia reassured Twilight. "Don't worry Twilight, I'm sure Janos can handle himself."

"Thank you, Prin- Celestia." Twilight stumbled with her words. "But about his magic."

"Yes?" Celestia hummed, turning a corner and giving a noble couple walking by a short respectful nod.

"How much of it is like Tirek's magic?" She asked, producing her trusted notepad with a simple summoning spell. Perhaps she could get more information out of the princess under the guise of her 'research'. Which wasn't technically a lie she had spent the last few days since the incident on the train reading every book in the Canterlot's Royal Library on the subject.

Celestia huffed shortly and squinted her eyes in thought. "Like Tirek he has the ability to steal other creature's magic, though Tirek seemed to do that by literally sucking the magic out of them, he would take a deep breath and in doing so absorbed their magic through his mouth as if he was breathing it. Janos seems to do that by default, simply being in his presence is enough, tough he can make a conscious effort and actively steal magic through his hands."

"I see." Twilight nodded, already taking notes.

"Tirek was also unable to sense magic, while Janos can quite literally see and feel it in the air."

"So Janos is more efficient than Tirek," Twilight commented.

"Yes and no," Celestia answered. "He has a more efficient method of absorbing magic and his senses are more suited to that, while Tirek can't sense it at all and has a less efficient method having to stop and concentrate but there is another aspect where Tirek is clearly superior."

"Oh? And what is that?" Twilight asked, curiosity taking hold of her.

"Tirek can absorb seemingly endless quantities of magic, the more magic he takes in, the more powerful he becomes, not only magically but also physically. Also, Tirek is in complete control of his power, though if that was always the case or the result of years of training I do not know. While Janos, doesn't seem to have nearly as much control and his magic doesn't seem to enhance his physical attributes at all. And while we can't test this out now, I believe there is a limit to how much magic he can take in." Celestia explained, it was clear she had given this a great deal of thought.

"I see, so Janos wouldn't be as much of a threat as Tirek would then right?" Twilight asked, carefully.

"Janos's power is a very dangerous one Twilight, not only to the ones around but to himself as well. Do not make the mistake of underestimating it." Celestia answered, grimly.

"Of course." Twilight agreed, "I'm just asking... You know... For research."

Celestia gave the young princess a warm smile, "Would you like to join me for some tea Twilight?" She invited the young princess.

"Of course Princess!" Twilight agreed immediately.

Celestia stopped and stared at Twilight, lifting an eyebrow at her former student's insistence on calling her by her title.

"I meant Celestia, sorry." She added, embarrassed.

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"There is nothing like a good cup of tea after a busy day in Day Court." Celestia breathed a sigh of relief, adjusting herself more comfortably on the cushions.

Twilight took a small sip of the tea in front of her before setting it down again.

"So are you going to tell me what is really troubling you or will I have to read about it in a letter?" Celestia finally asked, breaking the silence.

Twilight looked up at her former mentor, sitting there grinning knowingly. "How did you know?"

"Please Twilight, I've known you since you were a filly," Celestia spoke softly in that motherly tone of hers. "There is nothing you can hide from me, my dear."

'Apparently not' Thought Twilight. What was she going to do now? Confess to her mentor and closest friend that she was having doubts about her? She couldn't do that! It would ruin their relationship at worst and hurt Celestia's feelings at best!

Seeing Twilight's inner dilemma playing out in her facial expressions Celestia smiled softly at Twilight's nervousness before reassuring the young princess, "Twilight, there is nothing you can't tell me. Though if it is something you are uncomfortable discussing then that's fine too. I'll wait for as long as it takes until you are ready."

"It's not that Princess..." Twilight explained. "I know I can tell you anything."

"Then what's the problem my most faithful former student?" Celestia asked her.

Twilight took a deep breath and worded her question as well as she could. "Why did you tell us to lie to our friends about Janos?"

Celestia's gaze immediately dropped to the table between her and Twilight. She seemed to be greatly enamored with her teacup all of a sudden, analyzing every aspect of it. "It is a very complicated matter Twilight."

"But Princess, isn't honesty one of the fundamental elements of friendship?" Twilight asked her, desperate for answers. "I can't lie to them for much longer. Applejack already suspects something, it's bad enough that I have to hide something from her, what happens when she comes asking about it?"

"I'm truly sorry for putting you and Rainbow Dash in this position Twilight." Celestia apologized, looking in Twilight's eyes when she did. "But you must understand that as a Princess of Equestria there will be things you will not be able to share with your friends, and Rainbow Dash must understand that when a Princess tells her to give her privacy then she must do so."

"I understand that Princess, but Janos is supposed to be their friend as well." Twilight continued, "This isn't me not sharing state secrets this is me hiding things from them about their friend and protector!"

"Twilight, do you truly think your friends would be as cooperative towards Janos had they known he is a dangerous criminal? Would Applejack be willing to allow him anywhere near her farm? Would Rarity agree to have a thief in her home? Would Fluttershy be comfortable around a stallion who has hurt and killed before?"

"They probably wouldn't," Twilight answered, recognizing Celestia's point. "But with you and Princess Luna vouching for him, I am sure we could move past it. I mean, we did reform Discord didn't we?"

"Yes, and what is your friend's stance towards him?" Celestia asked back.

"With the exception of Fluttershy, they still don't trust him."

"Precisely." Celestia continued. "Sometimes Twilight, we princesses must keep some things to ourselves in order to ensure the safety of our subjects."

Twilight's eyes widened at what Celestia had just said. So she had been hiding things all this time! From Twilight and her friends. What else was she keeping to herself?

"And so we must keep Janos's past hidden from your friends in order to ensure he can do his job properly." Celestia concluded, "I won't lie to you and say it will be easy or pleasant to keep this facade but it is necessary."

"I don't like it," Twilight said, dejected.

"And that fact comforts me greatly," Celestia said. "A lie should never be easy and enjoyable. Unfortunately, it is a necessary evil in our lives but we must take care to not get used to it, it doesn't take much before you become a prisoner to the lies you built around you. Janos would know much about that."

"What do you mean?"

"Lying comes as second nature to him Twilight, surely you've noticed that." Her mentor explained. "I suppose it is a trait one picks up in his line of work, but now all of his relationships are based on lies and half truths. It is no wonder he has so much trouble opening up to somepony, his true nature is always hidden beneath a mask."

"Yes, I've noticed." The young princess agreed, remembering how easily he would lie to her friends. "Do you really think he is a good person, though? The elements must have chosen after all." Twilight asked her, eager to hear Celestia's feelings on the matter.

"Not at all." The princess answered sipping her tea. "I believe he has the potential to find redemption, though, like Discord, Janos would have much to offer Equestria should he use his powers and skills for good."

"So you want us to reform him like we did Discord?"

"I thought that much was obvious, Twilight," Celestia answered amused.

Twilight took another sip of her tea trying to collect her thoughts, her mind was everywhere right now, and she didn't even know how to continue this conversation. It was getting dangerously close to a topic she did not want to approach the Princess with right now. Surely Celestia wouldn't like Twilight sticking her nose where it didn't belong. Though she was a princess now wasn't she? Maybe she deserved to know? But how would she go about asking? She could easily end up sounding confrontational and accusing, and Twilight never wanted to seem to be losing faith in her mentor.

"There is something I've been meaning to ask you," Twilight said, hoping to change the subject.

"Go ahead." Celestia motioned for her to continue.

And Twilight did. "What about the other humans that came to Equestria? One of Luna's guards told me of one today. Lady Alexia."

Celestia immediately perked up at the name. "Ah yes, Alexia." She repeated, letting the name roll off her tongue as if it had been a long time since she said it and had forgotten what it felt like. "Remarkable woman that was. I trust he told you her story?"

"Yes, how she served King Grover, fought the dragons and assisted in unifying Griffonia."

"Yes, she was quite important to Griffon history. Well, besides her there were three more." The Sun Princess continued. "One was a brilliant scholar, who taught Starswirl everything he knew."

"What?! A human was Starswirl's mentor?!" Twilight nearly jumped on top of the table in her excitement.

"Yes." Celestia chuckled at Twilight's surprise. "Though I never met him, Starswil said he died long before he finished his studies. But he was said to have been a genius when it came to magic despite not being able to cast a single spell."

"Amazing." Twilight breathed out, so stunned she forgot to write this new piece of information down. "I never read about this anywhere."

"Well, it was during Discord's reign, we have very few records of that time. The only mention of this human that I know of is found in Starswill's private journals, which aren't available for public use for obvious reasons. Strangely enough, he never mentioned his mentor on his books."

"What was his name?"

"Starswil called him Paidagogós. Though that seems to be a title rather than a name." Celestia explained.

"Another language?" Twilight asked, already filing that topic under 'Things to ask Janos about later.'

Celestia nodded in confirmation. "Yes, I do believe it was this human's native language. Unlike Janos, he didn't understand equestrian when he arrived."

Another mystery. How did Janos know how to speak equestrian when he arrived? "What about the other?" She asked, eager to learn more.

"The next human to show up was Alexia, but some years after she died another one arrived in our world. He was a good friend of mine." Celestia continued. "He walked out of the Badlands some decades after Luna's banishment. I had had plenty of time to get used to not having my sister around anymore but I still really needed a friend then."

Twilight was listening intently, Celestia rarely discussed her past like this. She did have plenty of anecdotes and stories from her past that she was more than happy to share with visiting dignitaries, but she rarely ever talked about anything that was truly personal. Perhaps when you get to be one thousand years old there are some memories that are just too painful to bring up.

"His name was Samson. I met him many years after his arrival. I was attending a festival in a small town to the north of what today is Baltimare." She began, a look of recollection lighting up her face as she stared intently at the teacup resting on the small table between them, almost as if she could see that memory playing out right there. "They had a tournament for the local nobles, they were mostly barons and such, small families that owned small holdings in the edges of Equestria," She continued. "Somehow he managed to befriend one of the local barons and took a position at the town's guard. He came in second at the tournament and driven by curiosity I requested a private meeting with the baron and his guard. We were fast friends after that."

"What happened to him?"

"He died." She answered, finally looking up to meet Twilight's eyes. "He was hardly immortal after all," Celestia added with a rather forced chuckle.

"Yes, of course." Twilight agreed, feeling rather awkward about that question. "What about the other?"

"The last one I know very little of," Celestia admitted. "There were rumors coming from the minotaur clans some three hundred centuries ago. They spoke of a creature very much resembling a human walking about Minors uniting all sorts of criminals under him."

"Rumors?" Twilight asked, rather surprised. "So we don't know whether or not there was actually any truth to it?"

"Actually, we do," Celestia answered. "He eventually got greedy and tried expanding, setting up shop in Yakyakistan. A joint operation formed by several minotaurs war parties and the yaks military destroyed his operation and he presumed killed in a particularly violent and chaotic battle."

"Presumed?"

"They never found a body -or perhaps they never claimed to find a body- so they assumed he was dead or dying. Since humans don't usually live three hundred years I feel very safe in declaring him dead now."

"I had no idea there had been so many humans in our world already." Twilight said, "To think that Janos is already the fifth. I spent entire days in the Royal Library, how come I hadn't heard of this before?"

Celestia chuckled. "Well, Twilight, contrary to popular belief you have not, in fact, read every book in the Royal Library thrice over."

Twilight blushed. "Ah, yes that is true." Twilight Sparkle was not yet aware of this but by the time she turned thirty she would have read every book in the Royal Library at least once, that's not nearly as impressive as the rumors that circulate around the Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns but it is commendable nonetheless.

She would be awarded a medal to congratulate the fact. No other pony would ever come close to being awarded the Medal of Unwavering Bookworminess.

"Most of this information is hidden away in ancient tomes and forgotten books if it is present on any of our records at all that is. Griffons are remarkably stingy and unwilling to share such things with outsiders and the minotaurs don't put much trust in the written word, preferring instead to rely on passing down stories and such to record their history. I pity their Keepers of Stories greatly." The princess explained. "The only human we managed to properly record in our books was Samson."

Twilight was about to say something when a knock came from the door. "Your Highnesses?" Came the voice of one Celestia's guards.

"Yes, Bright Shield?" Celestia asked. "Please come in dear." She invited him.

The guard opened the door and his helmet adorned face peeked out from behind it. "Prince Ichor is here to see you, Your Majesty."

"Ah! I see." Celestia said, immediately frowning at the name. Blueblood's father was almost as much as a bother to deal with as the young prince. If anything his particular brand of manipulation was more enjoyable because at the very least he was smart about it, instead of annoyingly on his technical relation to the princesses to get what he wanted. "I'll be with him in a moment." She told the guard, who promptly left to deliver the message.

"I'm terribly sorry Twilight, but it seems I must inform old Ichor why exactly I dispatched his son to a backwater town on the edge of the most dangerous territory in Equestria." She said in a tired tone of voice. "Heavens forbid Luna to actually deal with the consequences of her actions..."

"It's all right Celestia, I should be getting ready for the trip back to Ponyville anyway."

"Perfect then. I hope to repeat this with you soon Twilight." Celestia spoke, getting and motioning for Twilight to follow her. "I do terribly miss our weekly meetings from when you lived here."

"Me too Princess, me too."