Rise Of A Nation: Equestria

Rise of A Nation: Equestria. The Thief

Book of the Unicorn.

Prologue

My name is Prowler, or that’s what everyone who knows me calls me.  I’ve gone by so many names that my real one eludes me.  So many aliases that I can’t keep track of reality anymore.  Being a thief does that to someone, especially if you’re the best thief in Equestria.

I’ve been stealing all my life and not a thing in the world is going to stop me.

A heist is a heist right?  Steal from the rich and give to me, or to whoevers paying me the highest bid to get something they want.  I’ve done a lot of shady jobs in my day, and I do mean a lot, but this one had something special about it.  Maybe it was the way the guy who offered it to me looked…maybe it was what I was stealing…maybe it was just an odd request.

I’ve stolen plenty of things.  Had plenty of requests for some rare jewelry or something like that, but this request for a necklace, and a very fancy one at that was quite odd. Especially sense the request made it seem enchanted, with what I have no idea..  Yet the old Bucks coin was good, and it was a simple heist…though that probably made this feel even more off.

I’d had a pretty good amount of time to think about this as my hoofclaws dug into the side of the rough stone wall I was climbing.  These three bladed claws held me onto the rock surface with ease, allowing me to nearly walk straight up a wall.  My purple mane blew in my face covering my eyes again; I probably shouldn't have picked to do this heist in the middle of a storm.  Then again I’ve never made a single good judgment call in my life, so this is very expected, also who would ever scale a castle in the middle of a storm?  See.  I am a clever pony.  I could see a window a short way up, yet I refused to look down to get a reference of how far I’d climbed.  I may be used to climbing buildings and scaling walls, but that doesn't mean I like heights.

Manehelm Castle was quite large, with the city’s towering walls extending around all the shops and inns, and then coming together at the base of the castle itself.  I was on the far wall across the outskirts of the city, covered with a plain black robe, though no one saw my approach, and I don’t think anyone was looking on the side of the castle for me either.

I could see some light up ahead drawing closer. I began to change my color.  This was a special spell I’d had since I was young, I’m not sure how I got it.  I’ve been to the College of Wreathoof and searched through all the books, nothing to be found about a spell that doesn’t use magic and can change a pony’s color.  I changed from dark blue to midnight black with a light grey mane.

Being hidden isn’t that hard at times like these.  Be unexpected.  Stick to the shadows. Never leave evidence.  That’s about it actually, not much to it.

The hardest part is entering.

You go to enter a room, you don’t know what is in it.  You don’t know where the guards are, if they're looking at the windows right then, or if there are even guards on that floor.

I’m not the best Unicorn, I certainly don’t know many spells.  But what I do know I’m good at, and that is Alteration.  My horn glowed with a magical sheen of light green and my eyes turned black, it’s harder to spot black glowing eyes against

darkness.  Being able to detect life was a must have spell that I learned early into my studies.

I could see guards, but they didn’t appear to be in the room…at least that was hoping the room wasn't huge.  Alas though, it is good to be a unicorn.  Spells for this that and the other, such as invisibility.

My horn glowed a light green as I flung myself upwards and dug my hoofclaws just above the dusty windowsill.  Bringing myself forward with all the force I could, I threw myself forwards through the window into the middle of the room.

What a well-lit large open room.

Okay so maybe I didn’t make it halfway but I tried.  Luckily the guards were still elsewhere from what I could see as my spell faded off. Still invisible I darted for the nearest bit of shade, because I’m sure the way my hoofclaws clanked on the floor somepony heard it.

“What was that?” someone said as they entered the room, looking around. A mare from the sound of the voice but I couldn’t see her.

Luckily I had made it over the table and behind the…what is this? A statue? Giant chair? Half built wall? Oh well it hides me, that’s what counts.

She began scanning the room looking for me, she seemed to be half asleep.  Probably from watching the play a few stories down.

It’s good to pick a heist on the right nights.  Do it when it is never expected.  During a play for instance usually there is an assassination expected so guards are typically surrounding the most likely target.  That means no guards around the expensive, steal able items.

I didn’t dare to move.  She simply looked around and left quite quickly, which concerned me more.  The guards left behind either didn’t care, didn’t notice much, or knew if they found something they wouldn’t have a problem taking care of it.  No-pony just leaves a room when they hear noises.  Especially a room in the castle made for…where was I?

Looking around the room I realized something.  I was in a museum of some sort.  Displays cases were littered around the room, filled with all things, from gems to amulets and of course jewelry.

None of which were the amulets I needed to make this deal work.  I was looking for one in particular and it was probably in its own room somewhere. From the drawing I’d seen, none of the items in this room looked anything like it.

I looked at what I was hiding behind more closely.  It was a large strangely shaped object.  I wasn’t quite sure what it was but at the moment I couldn't honestly be bothered to care.

I removed my hoofclaws and stowed them away, they make too much noise for sneaking anyways.

I quickly walked over to the door, wondering which direction the guard had walked off in.  My horn glowed as I cast the detect life spell once more and saw that she had continued down the hallway once more and was a good distance away.

I slowly opened the door and stepped through.  I then became aware of how horribly wrong the map I had been given for this place was.  From what it said I should be in a throne room styled area…not a well-lit hallway.

A long, well-lit hallway at that. I’d been walking around for a few minutes casually jumping between shadows and looking through walls for signs of life.  I may be a thief but I do enjoy the simple things.  Such as touring castles as it may be.  I deeply enjoyed the nice architecture of this…oh who am I kidding?

I’m lost.

I’m so very, very lost.

Believe it or not, this is a situation I have been stuck in before.  I’ve concluded that walking around looking in the random rooms until I find what I’m there for is actually the best option.  So far I’d found a dining room, kitchen, bedroom, and a closet. None of which were looted.

Number one rule of thievery, don’t leave evidence until your leaving.  So once I’ve found what I came here for, it’s back to the jewelry room for some loot then back down the castle wall.

“Let’s guess what’s behind door number five”, I muttered to myself as I opened the new door, pre-scanned for life inside and seeing it empty, decided to enter.

This was the kind of room I was looking for.

It had looked like a normal bedroom, only everything was a little too neat.  In a normal bedroom, even with a full staff of people to clean it, the room would look dirty, things would look like they had been moved or out of place or something of the sort.  This room looked pristine.  Like it had always been clean and never wouldn’t be.

The dressers were mostly empty and there was nothing lying about, everything seemed to have its place, and none of it ever seemed to move.

The best place to hide something is in plain sight.

Walking into the room and silently closing the door behind me, I began to look around more closely.  I know it may sound dumb to hide something in a room like this, but if it was in a heavily locked room surrounded by guards then it’s exactly where you expect it to be.  If you hide it somewhere like this, nopony will ever expect it.

I saw what appeared to be a jewelry case and decided to investigate it.  I opened it up and began looking through it.  There were many fancy jewels but nothing like what I was looking for.  I rubbed my hoof across the back of it and all around it, hoping to find a false back or something…no dice.  It was just a normal jewelry case.

This was turning out to be one of the worst heists I’d ever pulled.  Nothing in the jewelry case.  I was still pretty lost, and searching the rest of this room I found nothing.

I was walking towards the door when I thought about something.  There was a chest right in front of the bed.  I had checked it before but I just did a quick sweep and now looking back at it I realized it wasn’t standing up.  It stretched to the ground and was actually that long…but it wasn’t that deep inside.

I quickly threw it open and levitated all the materials out, being a unicorn sure comes in handy in situations of moving things.  After placing all the blankets from inside onto the bed I tapped the bottom of the chest.  Sure enough it gave a hollow sounding thump.

I slowly reached out with my magic and grabbed around the edges of the wood and lifted it straight out.

Underneath was a rather small amulet.  It could easily be worn like a necklace.  I moved it out and silently hid it in a pouch in my hair.  Changing my hair to black so as to hide the pouch meant that unless I was under very close inspection, it would probably never be found.

I cast my life detection spell yet again, so grateful that it was one actually very simple spell to cast.  I placed everything back into the chest and left the room assured that it was safe.  I quickly made my way back down the hallway only stopping to grab an apple from the kitchen, and a few minor bits and pieces of gold and silver lying around in the forms of candles and plates.

I happily made my way down the hall munching away on the apple, I hadn’t seen any guards on this floor of the castle so I just assumed they went on break or whatever guards do.  I got back to the jewelry room ready to steal everything that would fit into my bags…about half of everything in there really.

I opened the door and immediately kicked myself for being so foalish.  There was a mare standing in the room.  I noticed a unicorn behind her casting a protection ward, so I wouldn’t have been able to see her within even if I did cast a detect life spell.  She was bright purple with a yellow mane and tail.  She was wearing leather barding that wouldn’t stop a larger weapon but could stop most arrows or daggers.

“Well, well.”  She said slowly with a smile, as if she was enjoying this.  I could tell from her voice she was the same pony who had checked the room when I first entered.

“I was right.  I honestly wouldn’t have thought much of the noise but the nicks on the rug in here?” She said pointing a hoof at a few nicks where my hoofclaws had torn parts of the rug up when I landed. “I’m the head guard here.  I know what’s inside every single room in this castle and I also know that this one is almost never entered.  So when something was wrong in here, I thought I’d stick around and see what I could see.”

“Yeah well…” I started to say as I glanced around the room.

“Eyes forward.” She demanded of me, and so I did.  “You’re obviously a thief.  We would deal with you know but sadly we can’t.  We don’t need a scene and we cannot take the Jarl away from his show.  You’re going to the dungeon. Now, knock him out and move him.”

I quickly looked behind me, just in time to see a club come down and hit me in the head.

The world faded away as I dropped to the ground.