//------------------------------//
// Quo 
// Story: Book 1 - The Behemoth came to Canterlot 
// by Equimorto 
//------------------------------//

Not on something edible, no. That would have been mean spirited. And awkward. And potentially really weird. Not on something that would be kept either, though. They supposed they could always pretend it had fallen and they'd found it on the ground, but that would have been lying and cheating for recognition. Quite literally pretending to find something they'd stolen.
Something that would be thrown away, then. Soon, but not somewhere it would get dirty if possible. A paper napkin, or a hayburger's wrapping? Nah. That didn't feel like it would work out cleanly. They could mess up the timing, too. Candy wrapping, though? Seeing a foal about to open it, they thought it was the perfect thing to test it on. And it worked.
The filly threw the wrapper away into the nearest garbage bin a few seconds later. Discreetly, trying not to look awkward, they got up and approached it to get a look, counting up the time. About thirty seconds, they weren't exactly sure. Maybe they should have done some more precise testing, at home, with a clock. Keeping the wrapper, they headed away.
Keep experimenting on that? It felt a little dangerous to take from themself. Having them be so close and all. They supposed they could always use other stuff they had around the house. They wondered, almost frightened but curious, if they couldn't do it multiple times in close succession, with the same object. But perhaps they couldn't do it again at all until the time ran out. More testing to be done there.
They weren't going to report about it. Probably. No real interest in doing anything fancy with it. It could probably make for some pretty cool magic tricks, but they weren't really interested in that. They supposed in general having it was more useful than not having it though. And it probably could be useful somehow someday maybe. And either way trying to figure it out entertained them.
Princess Twilight had perhaps been a little too naive in expecting ponies would just up and tell the Guard or her or whoever about them. Then again, maybe she knew perfectly what she was doing, and the real reason she'd spoken was to for everyone else to be on the lookout. It made sense, if someone was going to do something bad with one they would have done it either way.
They had no interest in it. They did acknowledge how other ponies might have rather enjoyed it though, and for less than respectable reasons. Certainly a wonderful tool for thieving and the like, and thirty seconds were plenty of time. One could pull off the perfect crime, in plain sight, in fact be impossible to judge as anything but innocent by any logical means exactly by staying where everyone could see them.
As long as no one found what they stole. On second thought, the whole thing kind of fell apart. It made stealing easier, sure, and maybe was a good way to feign being roped up in something, but it wasn't perfect. Magic tricks though, those it would have been great for. Too bad they didn't care for them. It felt almost like a waste.