My new teacher stood in front of the classroom as I walked into the door. It was my first day attending school in Ponyville and also the first tardy. The school was small. It only had a single room so classes had to be integrated. Most of the other ponies in the class were in their adolescence like me although I knew I didn’t share any of the same interests as them. No, these ponies were more likely into things like sports or something the average pony would do. The only thing I possible shared with any of them was that I enjoyed writing. That’s half the reason for my black feather cutie mark. The other half being how light and agile I am on my hooves.
“Well you must be the new student. I’ll assume that you didn’t know when class started and let your tardiness slide. I’m Miss Cheerilee. We don’t get new ponies often so why don’t you tell the class a bit about yourself?”
I saw this as a perfect chance to creep a few ponies out; a hobby of mine. “Well my name is Raven Quill. I’m a unicorn from Canterlot. I enjoy writing,” I looked directly at a young mare with a tiara of diamonds sitting atop her head, “and thievery.” I let out a laugh as her expression changed to shock. An orange pegasus looked up from the nap she was taking on her desk. She was the only other pony in the entire room to laugh. Cheerilee obviously didn’t approve of what I had said.
“Well why don’t you take your seat then Raven? Also, because of your comment you get detention after class. The same goes for you Scootaloo.” She had a look of displeasure across her face. So that’s her name. I almost felt bad for getting her into trouble. . . almost.
The rest of the day in the classroom passed at the pace of a snail. It mostly consisted of a quick answer from some nerd and then either the filly with the tiara or the one with a spoon on her ass would have some half witted, passive aggressive insult. It didn’t matter to me. The last thing that was ever on my mind was another pony’s feelings.
The clock struck three as the bell sounded and class shuffled out. The only ones left where Scootaloo, Cheerilee and me. Scootaloo sat two desks in front of me and one to the left. Cheerilee was focused on something at her desk. A note landed on my desk.
It read: Hey thanks for getting me into detention. I really appreciate it. Although the note was obviously sarcastic I could tell she wasn’t too angry with me.
So I wrote back. Anytime. It’s good to have company while I waste my time here. I’m just glad it’s someone who’s also a bit of a trouble maker. I sent the note back using my magic.
She quickly wrote back and the note landed on my desk with a flip of her wing. We’ll probably be detention buddies considering Cheerilee isn’t that sweet on me and you didn’t make the best first impression. She had me there, but I was used to it. The teachers in Canterlot had it out for me too.
I returned the note again. I can’t complain all that much. The only thing I can do before dark is write anyway.
Scootaloo looked a bit confused. What do you do at night?
I chucked a bit. Oh, the innocent. What I told that snooty filly wasn’t a lie. Scootaloo’s face became whiter. I wasn’t sure how she would respond. I realized it probably wasn’t a good idea to go telling ponies of my habits.
She sent the note back. Why do you steal from ponies? I had never really thought about that. All things considered I didn’t really want the bits, but at the same time I had to support my drunkard mother. I think that if it weren’t for the fear and excitement of getting caught I probably wouldn’t do it. I started to write my reply when Cheerilee looked up from her desk.
“What are you writing? Are you two passing notes?” She started walking towards me. Not knowing what to do I stuffed the paper into my mouth and chewed it. It relaxed my worries about Scootaloo giving out my secrets when she laughed. Cheerilee was as amused as she was when I told tiara girl what I had.
“Well it looks like you and your partner here just earned yourself a week of detention.” It seemed like she thought her words would have more of an affect on me. I just put my hooves behind me head and leaned back. “You two get out of here. I’ll see you tomorrow bright and early.”
We both walked out of the classroom into the near ending day. “So why do you do what you do?” Scootaloo asked as she started walking with me towards where I lived. I wasn’t sure if I wanted her with me, but I didn’t object.
“You sure you want to get mixed up with me? I’m not really headed in the right direction.”
She seemed to think it over for a second or two. “Well, the thing is I don’t really come from the happiest family. Not the most wealthy either. My mom died giving birth to me and my father is always working. A lot of the time I don’t feel like he ever cares about me. I figured I could join you. I’ve kind of always dreamed of being a thief.”
I wasn’t sure what to make of it. The way she moved made me believe she was light on her hooves even for a pegasus. I figured it couldn’t hurt too bad to give her a chance although it was risky, but that’s what thievery is all about. “If you’re so eager to join me then I suppose I could use you. Meet me at Cheerilee’s house tonight when Luna’s moon has reached its tip. Wear black.”
Scootaloo’s expression changed a bit. I wasn’t sure if she was happy about getting the chance or not. I didn’t know why I was even letting her come with me. It’s not like I felt sorry for her, or did I? I hoped to Celestia I hadn’t gotten a soft spot. The only time I liked to express emotion was when I wrote. I parted ways with Scootaloo and she took off on her scooter.
When I walked into my new house my mom was already passed out on the couch with a bottle of spiked cider in her hoof. I hated having such a worthless mother. I used to sit in my room crying while she and my dad fought. Their fights always ended in violence. Violence. . . such a meaningless thing. You don’t gain anything from physically hurting someone. At least with thievery I gained from it. My father was right to leave. That bitch that laid on the couch was about as close to me as any other pony.
In my writings I often create a character who is alone, but manages to create a life for himself. Usually the main character will break away from his life struggles and find friends. My writings really depicted what I wanted to life. A large part of me wanted to give up thievery and to write novels for ponies for read. I’m not entirely sure why I never did. I suppose that it became an addiction. I felt like I needed to take from ponies. I never did much with the things I stole. I only sold them when I needed the money to eat.
I sat down onto my bed and pulled my notebook out, along with my pen. Instead of continuing a novel I started to write a short story. For the first time in my life I started writing a love story. Usually what came out of me when I wrote where emotions that I kept hidden away. Often times I didn’t know they existed. The main character was a pony who was well off and not short of money. Although he was quite happy with his position he felt like his life lacked a bit of excitement. One night he found a thief sneaking through the halls of his father’s manor. He tells the thief that if she lets him join her he won’t tell anypony of her deeds. The mare thief became attached to this pony after performing various heists with him. This mistake leads to her untimely death as she sacrifices herself to save him.
I found it interesting how easy it was to write a whole new genre of literature. I set my alarm for eleven thirty that same evening and laid down on my bed. I found it hard to fall asleep that night due to the thoughts in my head. Thoughts that included such things as wondering why I had written such a story. Was it even remotely possible that I felt an emotion towards another pony other than longing for somepony that didn’t exist? I pushed the thought out of my head so that I could rest before the heist.