Equestria Divided: Hardened Soil

by Enigmatrix

Sprinting Thief

The naturally controlled sun now in the center of the sky, dawn had passed and the time is noon. Citizens of Ponyville carried away with their daily tasks. Everything was peaceful, for a while. A scream of a mare gathered everypony's attentions, it came from afar.

"Thief!" the mare shouted, "that little colt stole my bag!"

The victim was a mare, white coated, light pink maned unicorn. She screamed for help as she tried to hit the little thief with her spell, the spell that would later be called "Magic Missile". The spell's formula was originally designed to magically launch a blunt projectile. But times are changing, most unicorns in Equestria would have to revise their formulas to fit the now much more violent scenario.

Since most unicorns aren't spell experts, most of the revised versions are flawed. There are notable versions of the spell, ice spikes and fireballs are good examples. The mare was using her own revised version of the spell; solid, conical projectiles made of wind travelling in a spiral manner.

The projectile itself is fast, but inaccurate still. Those with enough agility and dexterity would easily dodge them, and the colt was lucky to have enough of both. The crowds cleared away from their path, fearing of getting hit by any of the projectiles which would likely result in deep injuries. The earth pony colt ran by the path opened by the gathering crowds, with shrieks passing his ears often. He would just have to outrun the mare to savor his loot, like he always did. The path lead to Sugarcube Corner, a place he was fond of for their pastries. Knowing the place means knowing where to hide, he sets his sight to the bakery.

When the colt reached the entrance, he looked back. The mare was very far away, still trying to hit him with her spell. He quickly entered the bakery, some of the projectiles sticking to the door as he closed it with his hind legs. He quickly rushed into the storage room under the staircase. Not many knew the existence of the room due to lack of use and a deceptive door, it's a perfect place to hide. He shut the door close, letting the darkness filled his surroundings as he prepared his ears to monitor the outside.

He heard some noises outside, the mare no doubt trotting and looking for him. He now just have to hope that the mare whom he stole from does not know of this storage room. He closed his eyes tight as he thought what he would do, or be done if he were to be caught. Then he heard another noise of hoof steps coming from above. Now his chance of getting out of this clean has been significantly lowered.

Whoever trotted downstairs would either be Mister or Missus Cake, or Pinkie Pie. If any of them caught him, he would be reported, and he would be sent to the orphanage. He could turn himself in and try to escape later, but his loot of the morning would be for nothing. He didn't bothered to look inside the bag to know what his loot is obviously, as running without looking at the way would always results in disaster.

"Well," the colt thought to himself. "I might as well check the catch and see if it's wor-"

The saddlebag was nowhere to be found on him! He was sure that it was on him on the whole chase, where could it be? The bag had fallen off when he dashed for the room he is currently hiding. There's little time, he could still hear the sounds of ponies trotting outside, the mare is obviously still around. He could either snatch and dash away with the bag, or wait until everypony leaves and leave. If he do the latter, all his efforts would be wasted. So he dashed out of the storage room, only to be greeted by a hoof to his forehead, "Oh no"

The pony who trotted downstairs was neither the Cakes nor Pinkie, it was another mare. The hit on his forehead was so hard, he bounced back into the corner of the storage room and dizziness took the better of him. That was a hoof punch, the hardest he had ever took, ever since that orange filly hit him at the very same spot whilst chasing him with her scooter, ouch.

So he trotted out of the room, tumbling his hooves as to be expected. He lifted his head up to this, "insanely powerful" mare as he quoted her. The mare's expression showed no emotions. She looked down at him and asked, "So you're the supposed thief?"

The little poor colt trembled again, never had he ever heard such tone coming from any pony. It sounded aloof, cold. A trait he'd only known, not experienced. It was not just her tone that made him trembled. It was her eyes. Her gaze locked on to his eyes, his irises shrank by the stern intimidation. He'd only nodded twice as a reply, his voice refused to come out of his throat.

Her coat was grey, and her mane and tail were purple. She was wearing a frock, covering her cutie mark. Not a normal article for ponies to wear, but ponies here don't really care much about clothing anyway. Her eye lashes are thick, a very rare trait within the ponies. He remembered seeing a couple who had that very same trait when he and his friends sneaked into the spa, good times.

The mare continued her glare deep into his very soul. She asked, "Name?"

"Sprint!" without a second lost, the colt shouted his name, "Speedy Sprint!"

---

. . .a moment ago. . .

---

"Is that what you really want?"

Pinkie nodded with a smile, "That's what friends are for, right?"

As Maud turned to the door, "I'm sorry I didn't write any letters," said Pinkie.

"That's alright," Maud smiled. "they'll be glad to know that you're safe and happy."

Pinkie laughed, "Your first stop should be at Twilight's library, maybe you can settle there while I clean this whole place up!"

Maud gave a hug to Pinkie, "Stay safe."

THUD, THUD, THUD

The duo looked down to the source of the mysterious sound, "I should be going now."

Pinkie waved goodbye to Maud with her cheerful smile, enough to choke a giggle out of that stone face. As Maud trotted to the staircase, her expression turned from happiness to seriousness. Judging from the sound, whoever that came in the bakery most likely didn't bother to knock. Looters are an old friend to Maud, and she planned to give extra beatings to those that roamed in Ponyville.

As she went downstairs, she noticed a unicorn mare equipping her saddlebag. The mare signaled Maud to come in closer. She whispered, "A colt snatched this bag of mine back at the streets outside. I chased him up to here and it seems he's hiding somewhere."

Maud observed the bag. At first glance, it's just a normal bag. But at closer look, the texture is that of silk. The fabric is famed for its smooth texture and lavish price in the market. In all of the known world, only Chineigh produced silk in its best quality. There are many that tried to take advantage of its price by attempting to produce their own to sell in the market, but all failed to keep up with the quality of Chineigh's Silk. Consequently, most nations decided to only import silk directly from Chineigh, making the nation a monopoly in said fabric.

It has been years since Chineigh gained control of the silk market, the renowned Silk Junks being a testament to that. It would be nothing but an oddity for this silk saddlebag to not be made out of Chineigh's Silk. Pinkie was never the extravagant type, except for parties, so the possibility that she bought it is quite low. Although the bag itself might be given to her from one of her friends, Rarity. It might not be the case.

One of her last letters mentioned that Rarity had to put her business on hold to help in the peace-keeping. It would be unlikely for her to make Pinkie a new saddlebag during these circumstances. To consider that this was made before the chaos had erupted, Pinkie would've mentioned the bag in her daily letters. After all, a fancy gift from one of your best friends is definitely something to write about.

". . .so all and all," the mare concluded, "if you manage to find the little thief, can I trust that you would carry out 'appropriate' procedures on him?"

Not at all listening to this mare during the past minutes, Maud nodded anyway.

"A mare of few words, I see," the mare replied to Maud's silence, "I shall take my leave now, my group is waiting for me."

The mare left the bakery, leaving Maud alone with this mysterious thief who is hiding somewhere a midst the wreckage of what was supposed to be one of Pinkie Pie's greatest party. . .