The Royal Thief

by LTBroski

Chapter 11: Discoveries

Chapter 11 – Discoveries

The night after the Princesses left contained fewer festivities and more snide jabs at Az than he would have liked. The number of Guard members who approached him and asked about him and Princess Twilight easily numbered more than there were members actually in the Guard, and it soon became very old. He retreated to his room earlier than he usual, and after taking a few moments to collect his thought on the day, resumed his studies of the archives of the Guard of the Fifth Era.

With the revelation of the hidden page the last time handled the books, he was tempted to hold each book by its spine and begin shaking them, but his better judgment took over. Clear Sky may kill me. She seems like the kind to know if I did that type of thing somehow he thought. He began flipping through each of the ancient tomes. Maybe there’s some sort of rhyme or reason to it though, like a puzzle? He liked puzzles. Az turned over each book, inspecting them for small hints that could potentially disclose the location of hidden secrets. After this failed, he conceded to looking through the contents of the book once more, this time searching for any further clues that would help his cause in finding out what was in “the room”.

His search continued late into the night, and upon looking at the clock, he discovered it was already two o’clock in the morning. Az rubbed his eyes, gave one last look at the musty tomes and began getting ready for bed. He arranged the books on the shelf once more in their order and continued about his business. Something still nagged at him, however, as he began to set aside items he would need for his trip to Canterlot the next day. He looked back at the books, discovering that below each number (likely inscribed by one of the Guard’s past librarians) was a small sigil of some sort. Each displayed a different marking, ranging from a shield to a crescent moon.

Well that’s certainly something. I wonder what happens if I arrange them in a particular order? He walked up to the books and began moving them about on the shelves, first putting the crescent moon to the front of the fifteen tomes, and arranged the remaining in any order he could muster. When this failed to produce any results he took a step back and looked again at what each sigil represented. A shield, a crescent moon, a quill, and a heart were the most prominent emblems displayed, whereas the other eleven were faded and barely distinguishable. Those four are obviously of more importance, but in what way? He racked his brain to come up with the answer. He thought back on his years of experience in ancient ruins and thieving jobs. Nothing made any sense, until he thought of the instruction he had received from Captain Shade four days prior.

Az facehoofed. I’m such an idiot. The four tenets, of course! he thought. He arranged the first four tomes in the order of the tenets. Shield for protection, crescent moon for Luna, heart for mercy, and quill for deterring war. Simple enough. How did I miss this earlier? Once he had arranged the first four books on the shelf, he took a step back and waited. Nothing happened. Worth a try he thought, ready to give up and go to bed. Just as he was about to do so, however, the four emblems began to glow white and grew in intensity over a few seconds. Az was mesmerized. I’ve never seen anything like this before. I wonder what they’re doing? As if answering his thoughts, each of the four books shot a beam of light at his chest and receded just as they hit him, causing a slight burning sensation.

Az let out a small yelp and assumed a defensive posture, unsure what to expect from the suddenly hostile literature. Instead of further beams of light, however, a ghostly pony, a unicorn stallion, appeared before Az, and shimmered slightly in the light of the books. A magical hologram of some sort? Az thought. I guess it would make sense for something like this to happen, but still, it’s kind of freaky. The phantasm began speaking.

“Greetings unto thou, member of Her Majesty’s Guard. Thou hast discovered our secret code, allowing thou to speak with me through magic. While I am but a ghost of the past to thee, my message remains the same.”

“And what message would that be?” growled Az. He was still expecting an attack from the ghostly Guard member before him and had resumed his defensive posture after the specter began talking.

“One of warning, and advice, wouldst thou receive it, thief?”

“How did you know-?” He paused and shook his head, straightening up out of his defensive posture. “Never mind, magic gobbledygook I guess. Yes, I will receive your message.”

“Very well. We speak with thee across the centuries to warn you of the return of the Nightmare. On the thousandth year after her banishment, she will return to bring the world into everlasting night.” Missed the boat on that one Az thought wryly. “The second thing,” the ghost continued, “is the location of our most dearly held secrets. The chamber of secrets, hopes, and loss is located in the Grand Capital, the home of our dear Princesses, within the Hall of the Elements. We of the Guard only hope that we have given you this information in time, as the return of the Nightmare surely marks the end of days, as chaos and disharmony will reign…” The spectral pony vanished.

“A little late for that.” Az mumbled at the space previously occupied by the magical apparition. He noticed that the rug where the stallion had been standing was smoking slightly. “At least could have left my rug undamaged… This saves me a trip though I guess. I’ll have to tell the Captain in the morning.” With that, Az hopped onto his bed, and with Rarity-esque precision, crawled under his covers and fell asleep.

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The next morning Az awoke to the sound of chirping birds, the sun shining through his window, and the smell of food wafting up from the main hall. Everything seemed peaceful, as it had over the past few days, and Az got out of bed with a smile. A real, genuine smile. He paused, surprised by his own reaction. How long has it been since this has happened? Years? At least a decade he mused. Since before I started stealing for a living. What’s changed? Why are things so different all of a sudden? The memory from the previous day of Luna stating that he had found his niche returned to him. I guess I needed to do this all along. He chuckled quietly while walking to his door and out into the hallway. It’s a shame it took this long to figure out. It’s good having friends around me that I can depend on, even if I just met them.

Az made his way into the main hall, and instead of going to get his food, went directly to Captain Shade’s office. He knocked twice before hearing a gruff reply come from behind the door. Az walked in and shut the door behind him as the Captain looked up from his seemingly ever-present paperwork.

“What’s up kid? I thought you’d be back in Canterlot by now,” he asked, looking at a clock, “or at least on your way back. You didn’t get up that early did you?”

Az gave a small laugh. “And give up valuable sleeping time? No way. I managed to find the solution to the problem without needing a map though. Have you ever gotten to take a good look at the records from the Fifth Era?”

“How do you mean?” Shade placed his hooves together on the desk, giving Az a quizzical look.

“The spines of the books, specifically.”

“Since you put it that way, no. Why?”

“There was a secret message encoded on four of the tomes. I figured out there was a pattern to how the books lined up and some sort of magical apparition told me about the location of “the room”. Or at least as it called it, the “chamber of secrets, hope, and loss”. It’s apparently located in the old Hall of the Elements in the Old City.”

Captain Shade froze momentarily before looking Az dead in the eye, a cold look on his face. “Are you sure this apparition called it the chamber of secrets, hope, and loss?”

“Positive, why?”

“That is the only lost secret of the Guard that we have been unable to uncover throughout the years. When you told me about “the room” I had a suspicion that you might be onto something. Since you apparently are, I’m dispatching teams Shadow Wing and Heavy Squad to assist in the recovery of any potential artifacts and other lost items of interest.”

Az stood still for a moment, absorbing what he had just heard. Something isn’t right here. He didn’t seem this interested yesterday. “Captain,” he began saying slowly, “what do you expect us to run into on our way there? Or in the chamber for that matter?” He stressed the word “in” as he said the sentence. Captain Shade, who was about to return to his paperwork, paused and looked up at Az with a slight grin on his face.

“You’re smarter than I gave you credit for, kid.” He sighed and stood up from behind his desk and approached the bookshelf resting along the side wall of his office. He retrieved a helmet from the shelf that had previously been obscured from Az’s vision and rested it on his desk. “This a helmet from a member of the Guard of the Fifth Era. It was specially crafted for the battles that were characteristic of the War of the Sun and Moon.” Az took a better look at the helmet. It was jet black, as if made from shadow transformed into metal, and designed to look menacing and streamlined, no matter who wore it. It was designed for a unicorn, as it had a hole for their horn, but in front of the hole rested a two hoof-length long blade. Captain Shade spoke again before Az could further inspect the helmet. “This helmet is made from a special blend of metals. While we are able to come close to its strength and durability with modern materials, the specifics of making anything like this are lost to us. If there are weapons made with similar materials to this, they would be nigh unstoppable in a battle. Best case scenario, we find the process of making this sort of metal. Worst case, we find a bunch of the weapons.” He placed a hoof on the helmet. “Given new budgetary constraints with the addition of the Lunar Guard, we could use any edge we can get from this room. There’s trouble brewing in Tigra, and I want us to be ready to eliminate any threats to Equestria.”

Az’s gaze snapped up to Captain Shade’s face, and made eye contact with this superior’s dark brown eyes. “Trouble? What sort of trouble? Why hasn’t anypony been told?” he asked, his grey-blue eyes boring into the Captain’s.

“Trouble trouble. I don’t know the specifics right now” he answered nonchalantly. “As for not telling anypony, they knew already. I don’t do paperwork unless there’s something about to go down. The only reason you didn’t know is because you’re new around here.” Captain Shade replaced the helmet on his bookshelf. “Now, Nighstalker, Shadow Wing, and Heavy Squad are to prep for an immediate departure via train to Ponyville.”

“Ponyville? Why there?” Az asked, deeply confused. If this is some sort of jab about Twilight…

“Because it closely borders the Everfree forest, where the Old City resides.” Captain Shade answered, interrupting his thoughts. “As you will be travelling through an area primarily populated with civilians, each member will be required to wear a cloak to conceal their armor. While this is not the most inconspicuous method of travel, it conceals your identities as Guard members. I’ll brief Lieutenant Flow and the others shortly. Do you have any questions for me before I send you off?” Az shook his head in the negative. “Good, now go get ready, and we’ll have you off by the end of the day.” Az walked towards the door. “Oh and another thing,” Captain Shade said, causing Az to look back over his shoulder, “no flirting with the princess while you’re there.” Captain Shade grinned, and Az scowled at the jab. It had to figure in there somewhere. He continued walking out the door and into the main hall.

After a largely uneventful breakfast, Az went back to his room to sort out his gear before he left on the mission. He began by checking the inventory already in his armor’s various pockets and supplementing his supplies where necessary. I seriously doubt that I’m going to need any of this he thought, but it doesn’t hurt to be prepared. Hall of the Elements or no, that place is still in the Everfree Forest. Not many jobs had taken him there over the years, and he was never able to get out of any of them fully intact. Nothing more than a few cuts and bruises, but it was still enough to unsettle the master thief. After he had successfully double checked his armor, he went about tidying his room before leaving on the mission.

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Later that day, Nighstalker, Shadow Wing, and Heavy Squad assembled in the courtyard to depart for the ruins of the Old City. The sun was low in the sky, causing long shadows to stream from the hooves of each Guard member and from the treetop parapet of the complex’s wall. Each member was clad in their armor, and garbed in or carrying a nondescript brown cloak. After checking in with Flow, Az looked around at the other teams to determine what he would be working with. Shadow Wing consisted of only pegasi, each clad in varying configurations of leather armor. Heavy Squad, on the other hoof, consisted of earth ponies, and was adorned in the heaviest-looking plate armor Az had ever seen. They were busying themselves attempting to find ways to conceal their bulky weapons: great swords, axes, and halberds, beneath their cloaks, with varying degrees of success. All told, the three teams showed a particular lack of variety, which could be assumed would be made up with by skill.

Captain Shade left the long house and made his way over to the group to give them their official send off on their mission. As he approached across the field, the three teams lined up so as to resemble a military unit preparing for battle. Shade sat down across from the group and began to address them, “Everypony, you know what you need to do. This isn’t a particularly high-risk mission, but remember to keep your guard up as you are going to be entering the Everfree Forest under cover of darkness. This is an unfortunate necessity as the residents of Ponyville must not be alerted to your presence if you can help it.” He locked eyes with each Guard member before continuing. “To that end, avoid a business called ‘Sugarcube Corner’ at all costs. You’ll know it by how it looks: a large gingerbread house.” There was some grumbling along the line of Guard members. Shade raised his hoof to call for silence, and once it was given to him, he continued. “Hard to believe, I know, but that’s just how it is. I have it on good authority that there is a civilian who resides in the establishment that likes to throw parties for newcomers to the town, so that’s why you’re avoiding it.

“Once you have completed your objective within the Old City, wait again for the cover of darkness to return to the train station. The train itself will be on lockdown until you return, under the premise that it is in for repairs. Bring anything that could be of use or value back, and we’ll continue from there. Any questions?” He looked up and down the line of Guard members, and once he had determined that there were no questions, nodded curtly. “Very well. Lieutenant Flow, if you would raise the gate.”

Flow nodded and turned to the wall. His horn began glowing with a vibrant blue light and a section of the wall glowed to match it. To Az’s surprise, the section of illuminated wall moved inwards, then straight up, revealing a small train station on the other side. The train looked toy-like, almost as if designed by the same architect as the one who made Sugarcube Corner. The smokestack of the train began puffing out small white clouds of steam as the engine began to turn. The three teams loaded themselves onto a section of train, and Heavy Squad loaded a cart per member on the following train car.

Upon entering the car, Az noticed that the furnishings did not match the quirky exterior of the train. They were plain, Spartan even, with the exception of the use of couches and armchairs instead of traditional seating. Each window was covered up with a maroon shade, drawn all the way down since it was still light out. Az trotted to the opposite side of the car and peaked underneath the shade to see what was on the other side of the train. To his astonishment, what appeared to be a medium-sized airship loomed in the shadows of the treetops. It appeared to be all black, much like everything else on the base. On the side of the dirigible, a large rendition of the Guard’s emblem was emblazoned in silver thread. The car on the bottom of the airship was also burnished in silver.

“Impressive, isn’t she?” Flow walked up behind Az to see what he was looking at. “Not exactly covert with all that silver on it, but it gets the job done.” He seemed highly pleased with himself at the last fact.

“And what is its job, exactly?” Az asked, “and why do you seem to have a bit of pride in it?”

“Covert drops into areas that trains don’t necessarily run to. The pain is that we can only travel at night with it due to its coloration. As to the pride thing you mentioned, I’m the airship’s primary caretaker and pilot. If you can’t find me around, just check the hanger back here.” Az let the curtain drop back into place and fixed Flow with a dubious look.

“They let a unicorn pilot something? Now I’ve heard everything…” he quipped sardonically. “I imagine you’re going to tell me that Longshot has been caring for puppies and kittens next.”

Flow gave a snort of laughter “that’d be something wouldn’t it? They let me pilot it since all the systems require minute adjustments generally only doable with unicorn magic. She works great, just don’t expect her to pull any insane maneuvers.” The train gave a jolt as it began moving. “Looks like we should find out seats, this ride may take a little while.” Flow walked towards the front of the compartment to meet with the other Lieutenants, leaving Az looking around the car for somewhere to sit. He spotted an empty bench in the back of the car and sat down in it.

The train was unnaturally quiet, considering the amount of boisterous energy that typically permeated the main hall. I guess none of these guys have been into Everfree before. He gave a bemused snort. Hardened veterans my flank. He turned his attention to looking through a crack in the curtain. They were still passing through a forest, but the trees were beginning to thin, and show signs of small farmsteads. Sunlight was continuing to fade across the countryside, as evidenced by lengthening shadows cast by the now fruit-bearing trees that dotted the landscape.

It did not take long before a small town came into view, its skyline punctuated by a few tall buildings dwarfed by a large clock tower standing next to an equally large building resembling some sort of governmental office. It did not take long before the train rumbled into a station with a sign greeting the three teams with “Welcome to Ponyville”.

Author's Note:

Well that took a long time to finish up. Sorry for the wait folks, I'll try to be more regular about it in the future.
Anywho, thanks for reading!

Comments

[ShadowlessNight]

Cool!
This story definitely needs more love. Maybe you could put it in some groups or something. Can't wait for the next chapter!
Have a moustache.