//------------------------------//
// An Unfortunate Truth 
// Story: The Story of a Powerful Thief 
// by TaylorTheFailure 
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	It's been several days since we'd adapted to our new "home" in this Celestia-forsaken alley. 

Mom and Rider continued to eat the scraps of what they could find in the garbage, while I refused to do so. I'd grown hungry. But I ignored it as I became more infuriated at the sight of seeing my family squander for the leftovers of this village's trash as the days passed. I thought about all the ponies that my Mom used to buy food from at the market, and the ponies she talked to and called her friends, and now, when she needed them most, they were nowhere to be found. As if we were worthless to them now! Now their garbage and unwanted goods became my Mom and brother's only source of food. It was sickening!

We can't live like this forever! There has to be a way out of this hell for Rider and Mom. If nopony else is willing to help us, what can we possibly do?!

And then, an idea hit me. A plan that was so righteous and justified, that even the princess herself would approve of it! I would take from those that have stood by and watched as my family had suffered and been humiliated, and give my Mom and brother a chance at a redeemable life.

I felt so eager to finally give my family the chance they deserved! But, as I began pondering how I would accomplish this, I realized just how difficult this would be to do on my own. So, I decided to inform Rider of my plan, and hopefully get his help.

I trotted over to Rider, whose head was searching amongst the inside of a trash can.

"Hey Rider," I said, causing him to dislodge his head from the garbage and turn his attention towards me. "Can I speak to you for a second?" I continued.

"Sure" he responded with his common cheerful grin. "Is everything okay?"

His question caught me by surprise. As if he thinks that our lives couldn't get any better.

"No, everything is not okay! Look at you," I said, pointing a hoof at his coat which was covered in what I could only imagine was mold from the inside of the garbage cans.

I continued, "How can you stand to live like this?! How can you watch as our Mom continues to live like this?!"

I was furious, more so at the world, but still a little agitated that Rider pretended that everything was fine.

Then he spoke up after exerting a heavy sigh, "Well, there's not much else we can do right now. We just have to make do with what we have here. Things will get better, I promise," he said, rustling my mane with his hoof.

"And if they don't?" I quickly retorted.

Rider was caught off guard by my response. "They will," he said.

"But if they don't?"

Rider paused a moment after I asked him this question again. "Why do you ask?" he questioned.

"Well, I think I may have an idea on how to make our lives better."

With a new intrigued look, he quickly responded, "How?"

I took a deep breath, not knowing how he would take my idea. "What if we borrowed some food from the nearby markets?"

Rider's look changed into one of disgust and disappointment. "I can't even believe that stealing would cross your mind Blue! We're not going to rob a bunch of innocent ponies."

"Innocent! Do you mean the innocent ponies who have literally left us to die in this alley! Are you really going to let Mom suffer more because it wouldn't be fair to the other ponies who won't even look us in the eye?!"

"Just because they wronged us, doesn't mean we need to stoop to their level" Rider responded.

"I don't think you understand Rider, they've put us below their level! That's why they've left us in an alley to eat out of garbage cans!" I said with anger escaping through my words.

"Just because they've put us as 'inferior' doesn't mean we get to act like it!"

"Are you really going to put your morality before the life of your own Mom?!" I asked.

Rider paused after this, unsure of how to respond. He turned to face Mom who was sleeping at a distance away, obviously in distress and cradled inside of her cardboard box. And then, Rider turned to me and said, "Let me think about it." He then turned away and headed back into the same trash can I had found him in.

I went back to my own cardboard box and laid down for a bit, waiting for Rider to come and give me a response. And then, the moment finally came. My brother walked over to me and with a determined look said, "I'll do it."

His response gave me so much satisfaction and reassurance that what we would be doing was right.

For the rest of the day, and much of the night, Rider and I thought of schemes and ideas on who to target, and how to outsmart them. We agreed that since we had never done anything like this before, we would need to target someone easier and less risky.

Rider mentioned a market pony by the name of Hay Barrel, who well, sold barrels of hay. Rider especially didn't like this pony. He said that whenever Mom used to go to the market, Hay Barrel was the most rude and obnoxious pony she'd ever come in contact with. "One time," Rider said, "Mom bought a barrel of hay from him and when she got back, he'd ripped her off and given her an empty barrel!"

The story alone gave me enough justification for having him be our first target. He seemed like the kind of pony who had this coming for a long time.

We devised a simple, but smart plan. And then, once we were fully set and prepared, we decided to head to bed, knowing we'd need the sleep for tomorrow's endeavor.

For the first time since arriving here, I went to sleep eager to wake up the next morning. I knew that Rider and I were going to make a difference for our Mom and give her back the life she deserves.