Hex

Breeze sat across from Celestia, a few guards keeping watch.

"You don't quite look like how my guards described you..." To Breeze's surprise, the princess seemed unfazed by his appearance.

"Uh... U-Unfortunately, a curse was put on me shortly before my arrival. I came to Equestria seeking Princess Twilight, who is currently searching for a counter spell. As I said, I heard that you were looking for me."

"If you knew that I was looking for you, then surely you must know why," Celestia said lightly.

"I don't have any idea. I was told to visit you by Princess Twilight," Breeze replied. Celestia smiled at the statement.

"I knew that she was capable... Silent Breeze, a piece of jewelry has gone missing from the castle. A necklace, to be specific. The guards have reason to believe that you are responsible for this disappearance, or that you are aware of the whereabouts of said necklace. Do you have anything to say to this?" she inquired. He looked into her eyes, refusing to break eye contact. One of the guards turned their attention away from the door and to him. He smiled slightly.

"With all due respect, your highness, why do you suspect me? You must realize that I don't live here in Equestria. I am aware of my history of crime, and I acknowledge my role in this world as a thief, but coming to this land is far too much work for me. I could simply steal from one of the many wealthy residents in the capital city of my own land. It would be much easier." The guard walked over to him.

"You're treating yourself as a common thief. Thievery is your special talent, correct? It would take a team of at least 6 ponies within Canterlot to successfully get away with half of your stolen goods," he added.

"Maybe it was a team of 6. There are most likely enough thieves in Canterlot to meet this number..." He looked around. "I could help you find them, if you'd like. I know how thieves operate."

"Maybe at another time, but right now, you need to tell us what you know about this stolen necklace," Celestia urged. Breeze laughed softly and rose to the air, bringing a second guard's attention to him.

"Your castle is secure. Very secure. One of these guards here would have seen me if I tried to get in... You know, you guards have done a great job keeping this castle as protected as you do." A guard grinned.

"Well, it ain't an easy job, I can tell you that," he said.

"And it shouldn't be. You handle problems when you see them." Celestia stood.

"The guards, however, can't handle a problem that they can't see. You told me yourself that you broke in. You are clearly capable of infiltrating the castle whenever you choose," she pointed out. Breeze sat back down.

"Unequipped, possibly. Should I have my saddlebags with me, however, I would not be able to move as freely... Me being able to enter tonight was mere luck, your highness. I doubt I could repeat my steps." Celestia kept her expression. "I can see that you don't believe me. Well, that's fine, you don't have to, but two of these guards here should be able to back me up." He turned to the guards; the unicorn from the gates stepped forward.

"Princess, Steel Shield and I were responding to this... this scream that we heard in the distance. We turned back to the castle doors in time to see them closing, yet we assumed that one of the others, or perhaps you or Princess Luna, were responsible." The earth pony, Steel Shield, nodded.

"That must've been Silent Breeze entering. If we had known that somepony was planning to sneak in, we would have gone after him," he continued.

"Well, you never really know with a good thief. Have you guys had a lot of invasion attempts recently?" The guards looked at one another.

"No, not really. Why do you ask?"

"Try to stay alert. I've heard that you guards usually do really well at stopping attempts like these. Maybe ponies have given up, but that doesn't necessarily mean there won't be any more attempts." Celestia raised an eyebrow; Breeze saw her out of the corner of his eye. "Princess, you look troubled all of a sudden..."

"You seem abnormally calm for a suspect, Silent Breeze. Why is this?" He thought for a moment before replying.

"Because I have nothing to worry about. I'm used to being accused of crimes I didn't commit; if I panic, I'll be charged, and the actual criminal will get away with it. Can't have that, now, can we? I understand why you'd ask, though. This is some serious stuff; I do mean business, even if it doesn't seem like I do." Celestia nodded slowly, hesitating to believe him. "Now, as for the whereabouts of this necklace... Have you tried checking the homes of the residents?"

"Yes, but we couldn't find it. It has to be somewhere else," the unicorn guard answered.

"Did you check all of them? Even the upper-class homes?"

"Well... Why would a pony who's already rich feel the need to steal from the castle? Couldn't they just buy the necklace instead?" Breeze stood once more.

"That right there. That's exactly why. The thief would be counting on you not suspecting the rich, therefore not inspecting their homes. They have enough money for you to assume the necklace was bought, but if the necklace is indeed theirs, the store it was purchased from should be able to notify you."

"That's a good idea. There aren't many of this kind around; it shouldn't take long at all." Celestia then walked out of the room. "Alright, stallions, prepare to search the rest of the homes in Canterlot. If all goes well, we should be able to retrieve the necklace before morning. And you, Silent Breeze, you're free to go. Thank you for your cooperation."

"A'ight, cool, cause I gotta get home, like, real fast. I'm out." As he left, Steel Shield watched him from the ground, his suspicion slowly rising.

Not many ponies in Canterlot were out on the streets that night, aside from the few trying to make their way back to Ponyville, or catch a late train to Manehattan. Breeze had landed minutes earlier, his wings tired from flying. "Let's see if anypony's around..." he murmured. Spotting a mare looking around for the train station, he slowly approached, avoiding lights on the street and occasionally jumping into alleyways whenever she would turn around. When he was close enough, he cleared his throat. It's all up to chance now.

"Oh, hello there, sir," the mare said happily, turning in the direction of his voice. "Tonight's a lovely night, isn't it?"

"Hello, miss... Say, you wouldn't happen to have gotten a necklace recently, would you?" Breeze asked. The mare looked puzzled.

"Um... yes, why do you ask?" He chuckled.

Alright. Let's do this. he thought, attempting to build his confidence. "A necklace has gone missing from the castle; the Royal Guard is currently searching for it around Canterlot. Anypony could be in possession of it... Do you have yours on you, by any chance?" He stepped closer, making sure he would remain hidden in the shadows.

"Yes, actually, I have it right here." She reached into her purse and retrieved it, allowing Breeze to take it from her.

Wait a minute... I could steal this, he realized. She can't see me; I could just fly off... Nah, nah, let's not do that. Shaking the thought from his head, he gave the necklace back to the mare. "Yeah... this looks just like it..." he said slowly. The mare gasped. "Where did you get this?"

"It was a prize... I won it in a baking contest... Oh dear, I guess I should turn this in..." Suddenly, she dropped the necklace in front of him. "Well, here you go, sir. I didn't know this was stolen, honest!"

What is she doing... he wondered. Hesitating, he reached out and took it. Hold on, she must think I'm a royal guard! Regaining his composure, he responded with, "Thank you, ma'am. I will be sure to inform Princess Celestia of this discovery; I'm sure she will be glad to hear of this wonderful news. Now that we are in possession of this necklace once again, we shall begin our search for the thief behind the disappearance." The mare nodded.

"Happy to help, sir! Have a wonderful night!" she said sweetly, seeing the train station out of the corner of her eye and briskly walking towards it. Breeze watched her leave, waiting until she was far away, then turned away and, along a separate route to avoid running into the mare again, began making his way to Sweet Apple Acres, smirking.

"Alright, cool, got me a free necklace..." he whispered to himself. The moon was high in the sky, allowing him to find his way around easily. When he saw the farm in the distance, he quickened his pace. Carefully opening the door to the house upon arrival, he trotted to his room. He pushed open the door to find Applejack standing beside the bed, glaring straight into his eyes. "Oh, hey! What are you doing in my room?" he laughed.

"You sure were gone long, Breeze. Canterlot ain't that far from here..." He walked past her, keeping his smile.

"Ah, I just ran into somepony." He turned and approached her, eyes narrowed. "Didn't know you missed me so much." She immediately stepped back, turning her head to the side.

"Woah, now, it ain't nothin' like that. Just took you a while to get back, that's all," she blurted out. Breeze shook his head.

"Well now, you didn't have to be that direct. By the way, I brought you a gift." He tossed the necklace her way. She caught it and looked it over.

"Thank ya kindly, but I ain't really a jewelry type of mare," she finally said. Breeze lied down on the bed.

"What, you think I'm gonna wear it? Anyway, we should probably get some sleep. I'm real tired."

"I hear ya. Hardly got any sleep myself before I noticed you were still gone. Ah well, g'night."

"Night."