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// Chapter 1: A Thief in the Night 
// Story: The Royal Thief 
// by LTBroski 
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Chapter 1 - A Thief in the Night

A light rain fell on a sleepy Canterlot.  The streets remained largely deserted, with the exception of the bar district, which still buzzed with activity in the wake of the recent coronation of Princess Twilight Sparkle.  Loud partyers stumbled through the cobblestone streets, trying to decide through an inebriated haze which bar they would try next.  Most patrons favored the ever-popular cider house, a short but sprawling log cabin that served “over 100 of the finest ciders from across Equestria”.  Ponies with harder stomachs favored the other, liquor-focused bars or the loud and flashy clubs that dotted the street.  Guard ponies lingered around streetlights, their golden armor glittering under the yellow light emitted by the lamps.  To say that they were simply keeping the peace would not fully detail their job that night.  It had been weeks since the “Black Dagger”, a master thief native to Canterlot, had performed a heist.  Last time he was suspected of stealing one of Princess Celestia’s tiaras, and it was anypony’s guess what could happen next.  
For “The Black Dagger”, drunk partyers presented far too easy targets.  Az, or Azure Wind as his parents named him, stalked the rooftops closer to Canterlot’s famous Doughnut Joe’s, waiting for his mark to emerge and head back to her suite at the castle.  His hooves made no noise on the dark red tile roof while he paced thanks to enchanted horseshoes that muffled his movement.  This mare was almost not worth his patience.  Almost.  She seemed overly trusting and an easy enough mark, plus she was staying in the castle.  The castle oozed of opulence and grandeur, and was the most heavily guarded and defended location in the city.  Anything this mare brought with her would be more than worth stealing.
Az considered himself the best in the business.  Clients often came to him with the express purpose of “acquiring” expensive or rare commodities.  This obviously cost them a great deal, but his reputation more than made up for the expense.  Most ponies considered Canterlot the safest place in all of Equestria, with a nearly non-existent number of pickpockets and petty thieves.  Az, on the other hoof, was invisible, a ghost that stole away with one’s most prized possessions while leaving them none the wiser.  Sometimes this called for replacing the item with a worthless copy, sometimes it involved convincing the owner, one way or another, that they misplaced their valuables.  The moniker “The Black Dagger” came from his earlier days, when he slipped up and almost got caught, only escaping thanks to his knife.  Events such as that never happened anymore.  
Az himself was a pegasus stallion with a grey coat and a closely cropped cobalt blue mane, and his cutie mark portrayed a winged book.  When on a job, however, he covered himself in a specially tailored set of black leather armor with a myriad of pockets, which proved useful for holding his array of distraction and infiltration tools.  These included smoke pellets, small incendiary firecrackers, ropes, grappling hooks, and a knife carved out of ebony and honed to a razor’s edge, hence “Black Dagger”.  He covered his face with a hood and mask that still allowed for perfect forward and peripheral vision.  His enchanted horseshoes were a relatively recent addition to his ensemble, and cost him several months’ earnings.  
He prided himself as an excellent flyer and had agility that rivaled that of most cats.  As such, his armor (which served solely as a precautionary element) left his legs uncovered so he remained unencumbered.  On nights like this, however, he wished he had asked for sleeves as a shiver rolled down his spine.  This mare is costing me time and money, she better have something work taking he thought.  While he primarily contracted his services to clients, he stole items of high value to ensure he had enough money for emergency expenses.  
As if on cue, the mare walked out of the doughnut shop and began to make her way towards the castle.  She was a yellow pegasus with a long pink mane and tail; her cutie mark displayed three pink and blue butterflies.  Altogether unassuming, but Az had a knack for picking out nothing but the best marks, plus the castle added enough challenge to keep his skills sharp.  He began following her along the rooftops, thankful that there was no moon to illuminate his figure against the night sky.  Good thing I kept that contact in the weather service.  Burned bridges are far too difficult to rebuild or replace, he thought as he watched his mark take a left up the hill that led to the castle gates.  He’d taken this route dozens of times before.  There were plenty of trees for a stealthy approach on street-level, and numerous chimneys for a rooftop infiltration.  
Hmm lots of guards at the gate tonight, must have been for that big event that was up here last week.  No matter, they never leave the courtyard guarded.  He took a flying leap off the building closest to the wall, spread his wings and glided into the tallest tree in the yard.  Flapping is always easier, but gliding is significantly quieter, and only the rustle of some leaves betrayed the fact that Canterlot’s master thief had infiltrated castle grounds.  He waited for the yellow pegasus to enter the grounds, noting with particular interest how the guards treated her with respect usually reserved for the princesses.  Interesting.  This may be more profitable than I thought.  A tourist who is staying in the castle who commands respect from the palace guards.  Definitely earning my lunch tonight. He grinned behind his mask, his grey-blue eyes sparkling under his hood.
Az watched her enter the castle proper and waited, as he assumed she was ascending the stairs directly inside the giant double doors.  He looked about for another tree within the courtyard that would give him a decent vantage point of the guest suites, which if he remembered correctly, lay in the westernmost wing of the castle.  He flew to a tree nearer to the wing of the castle and waited.  The wing itself would have been an impressive sight, had he not been to the castle before.  Marble stonework, meticulously cut and fitted framed massive windows, which were set in gilded frames.  Each window came to a rounded point twenty hoof-lengths from the bottom and offered a perfect view into the hall.  Before long, the yellow pegasus entered the wing and made her way down the padded burgundy carpet to what could be assumed was her room, seven doors from the entrance to the wing.
At this point, it was only a waiting game until it could be assumed the mare was asleep.  Az figured an hour would be a suitable amount of time to wait, so he found the driest spot in the treetop he could, and huddled up to conserve heat and energy.  It was fortunate that it was raining, since the Lunar Guard, which consisted primarily of bat ponies, would not be coming out to patrol since their wings tended to not work very well in the rain.  Their ability to see better in the dark could have proven troublesome.  
After silently waiting in the tree for close to an hour, Az slowly got up, as to avoid shaking branches and drawing attention to himself, and glided to the stylized marble ledge of the window.  He quickly found the latch to open the leftmost section of the window, unlatched it with his knife, and pushed it in slowly.  The window glided silently until it was roughly halfway open, where it stopped with a small creak.  For the castle, you’d think they would be able to grease the damn window hinges he thought, slightly agitated, and continued inside, alighting on the padded carpet.  Better close this window, there’s a chance somepony could notice the breeze.  He pushed the window closed again, and secured the latch.
Az’s heart rate began to increase as the made his way to his mark’s door.  He glanced left and right before peering through the keyhole.  Good, she’s asleep.  Maybe not as challenging as I thought.  He opened the door a crack, slunk into the room, and began to scope out his surroundings.  In the middle of the far wall was the mare’s bed, where she slept quietly under a plush purple comforter.  The bedframe was a rich mahogany, and extended to the ceiling via four posts carved to imitate tree trunks.  The carpet was a high-quality Saddle Arabian weave of flora local to the desert country.  A hearth in the corner of the room glowed softly, preventing the chill of the night from entering the room from the bay window directly next to it.  
The valuables will likely be…aha! He grinned as he noticed something glittering in the glow of the coals.  Az crept across the room to inspect his finding, and pulled up next to the dresser next the bed.  He glanced at the mare to ensure she was sleeping before grabbing the jewelry with his teeth.  It was a heavy gold necklace of some sort with a pink gemstone set in the center.  Some sort of sapphire maybe? The clarity and facets seem right.  Damn this thing is huge! It could set me up for at least five years, maybe more.  Az tucked the necklace into one of the pockets on his chest.  I could pay for that vacation Ma wanted to take all those years ago.  Or at least pay for her to go there.  He peeked at the necklace again. Maybe both he grinned.  Spreading his wings, the castle grounds shrank as he made for his apartment in downtown Canterlot, nopony the wiser.