The Incantation

‘I've really done it this time,’ I told myself as I sprinted away from the site of my latest thievery. ‘Of all the things I could've stolen, of all the places I could've hit…’

I dared to pause and look back, worried that I might have picked up some pursuers. But the coast was clear, and I resumed my flight from the scene of the crime.

My hooves clopped noisily on the cobblestone path as I made my way towards my apartment, which was not far from where I'd just robbed somepony. Canterlot was a crowded town; distances between two points were almost always just a few minutes' stroll away from each other. This was both a helpful fact and an unfortunate burden, at least for me and my current profession.

I rounded a corner and raced down the path, nearing my residence. Normally I would have had to negotiate my way past pedestrians, but it was just after midnight, so I was making good time getting away.

The object that I'd stolen was shoved hastily into the right side of my saddlebag, swinging to and fro as I ran. I had no idea what it was, save that it was some kind of ornate crown that was unreasonably heavy.

I looked over my shoulder once more, but I was still alone.

And home.

The cream-colored apartment building loomed before me at the end of the street, a t-shaped intersection. It was a tall, three-story stone building owned by a wealthy unicorn from Las Pegasus. The owner was hardly ever around, despite this being one of his biggest money-makers. As far as I knew, he only showed up to collect rent.

I hurried silently through the front doors, taking care not to disturb the other residents. I took the stairs two at a time to the second floor, then crept down to my room at the very end of the hall. As I got to the door and flung it open, I realized I was panting. Granted I stole on a fairly regular basis, I had never before been caught in the act and forced to run.

I went over to my couch, centered on the wall in the living room, tossed my saddlebag on the carpet and collapsed on the couch, facedown. Exhaustion overwhelmed me momentarily. ‘If I hadn't taken such a risk this time, if I hadn't been so desperate, if the owner hadn't been somehow conveniently coming back from wherever, I wouldn't have been spotted,’ I thought bitterly. ‘I went too far this time.’

When I had been walking around earlier, scouting for a target, I'd come across a nice two-story home with the front door open a crack. I stopped, thinking it a perfect opportunity for quick money, but the resident was home. I patiently waited for a better time to go in, as he was visible in the home through the front door. Moments later, he left, heading into another room, so I pushed the front door open and snuck in.

The home was a jackpot.

All kinds of jewelry and pottery were scattered about the room on shelves and such. I'd practically drooled. I was certainly not going to go hungry this month. Unfortunately, the guy returned before I could get anything, so I'd grabbed something at random and taken off with the guy yelling at me.

That was it.

As bad as my "career" as a thief sounded, it was not for selfish reasons. After losing my job a few weeks ago, I was unable to find a new one. As the end of the month neared, I was too low on bits to pay rent and provide for myself simultaneously, and so resorted to petty thievery to make up for what I lacked. I would steal small valuable items and sell them. Unfortunately, this time I'd been caught in the act. Now I wasn't sure what to do. Surely the princess would be on my case by tomorrow night. Princess Celestia was good at keeping crime suppressed in Canterlot, though some slipped past her, as with my case.

I shot a look down at my saddlebag on the floor. The crown was halfway out of the bag, and was glistening in the light from my lamp by the front door.

I stared at it for a moment and thought, ‘I've never stolen anything like this before.’

I slid off the couch onto the floor beside the bag and picked up the crown. It was definitely of high value. The whole thing was gold, with strange carvings and patterns, including one on each side of the centerpiece in the shapes of lion heads. The centerpiece was a large blue stone, a sapphire, most likely, cut into the shape of a diamond. Smaller multicolored stones were scattered about the rest of the crown.

I flew into my bedroom next to the kitchen and carefully placed my catch in a small chest by my bed and locked it in. I turned to go back out into the kitchen for a light snack before bed but stopped when a picture on my nightstand caught my eye. It was of my mom and dad.

I fluttered over and gently held the small framed photo of the two side-by-side up to my face. My heart ached as I stared into their eyes. They would not be proud of who I'd become.

I set it back down and went on my way, but I couldn't help but think about how I'd lost them.

A hiking accident. They'd fallen to their deaths while hiking around in the mountains here, in Canterlot and the surrounding area. Never knew the details. They were gory anyway, and I didn't care to hear them.

I poured myself a bowl of wheats, dry. I would have given it some milk, but that was too expensive. I had to ration things out as much as possible so as to not run out too soon. If my parents were still alive, I wouldn't even be in this mess, but fate had other plans, apparently. Now I struggled here on my own, a lonely pegasus with no friends and no family.

A pity.

I shuffled back into my room after turning out the lights in the living room. As I plopped down on my bed, I gave the picture on my nightstand another glance.

‘I look so much like my dad,’ I thought with a slight smile. ‘I should carry myself a little better.’ I did look a lot like my dad. The only differences were our eyes (his were blue, mine green) and our manes (his was dark gray, mine green and black). Both our coats were white. My mom looked nothing like me, her coat being light red, almost pink, and her mane being a light shade of blue. Her eyes were red. I guess genetics wanted me to look more like my dad.

I put the picture back and finished my wheats, put the bowl on the nightstand, and went to sleep.