Dark Town

by Michael Hudson

Prologue: Childhood

Thief snuggled further into his hiding place as the rain started soaking through his cloak. He was thankful it had stayed to a light drizzle, but after having stayed hidden outside the alley for five hours, even his thick wool cloak was having difficulty keeping dry. However, he knew that soon he would be moving, and the cloak would be discarded.

A light went out at the end of the street and Thief’s eyes flicked over, taking in the elegantly dressed ponies quickly attempting to trot off of the streets. Night was falling, and they didn’t want to be out when the thugs came out. They’re too weak, too vulnerable. They relied on guards and walls to keep them safe. He smiled to himself as he turned his attention back to the mansion across the street from him. That will not be enough tonight

Shadows rarely drifted across the windows of the lower floors, but there were always shadows within the third floor. That was where the family slept, so of course a higher amount of caution was taken there. That was where their jewels were kept. That is also where one of Luna’s accountants rested his head at night. A smaller shadow passed one of the windows and the constant shadow left as he possibly escorted the accountant’s daughter to bed. I can only hope my intel is right on that.

However, the other guards were changing as well, and none of the guards downstairs were looking outside. Now was his time to move.

Thief stood up and shifted his cloak off, leaving it on a pile of boxes beside him. Even in this part of town a heavy wool jacket will be gone by sunrise. However, he didn't need it. It was only here to make sure the guards saw what they wanted to. That he was out here, and they were safe inside.

He went to a low crawl, constantly scanning the windows as the guards shifted into position. He froze on the dark lawn as the front door slowly creaked open. Out came a guard who scanned the area as he yawned. For a moment Thief felt the stallion’s eyes on him, but it was only a glance over before he headed inside.

He continued his crawl until he got to the east wall. It had only one window, and no side exits. This meant no accidental guards or servants, but the hall the window was supposed to lead into was on the other end then the accountant’s bedroom. Thief sighed to himself as he pressed into his iron boots.

They weren’t quiet, they weren’t subtle, but they were effective. He brought one of his hooves up to his face to inspect the razor sharp needles that now protruded them. For the earth pony who needs to be high as a pegasus.

He rolled his eyes as he remembered the sales pitch from the tale, but was grateful for it at the same time. His father had been one of the only people to realize how useful they could be before the man was killed and the product lost. Now Thief put a hoof against one of the stones in the wall and pressed the spider boot down. The scraping burned into his mind, but the nails were made to drive into stone and soon sank into it like butter. Cold butter, but butter nonetheless.

Thief slowly climbed up the side of the building, his short purple tail flicking back and forth as he got closer to his prey. However, this excitement mixed with the burning in his legs as he reached the window made him careless. He forced the pane open and hopped in, causing the table in front of it to come crashing down and the guard to be immediately notified of his presence.

Thief moved quickly, slamming an iron boot into the stallion’s head, but not before he got out, “Intrudargh!”

He clenched the release mechanism in the boots (admittedly the biggest flaw in them) and gave up stealth as he rushed down the hall. He knew he still had plenty of time, but only if he hurried. A door opened and he readied to slam down of his front hooves and buck the obstacle away.

However, it wasn’t an obstacle. It was a small filly with black hair and a gray coat in soft silk pajamas. She turned to the black stallion rushing down the hall and gave him a small smile and waved. Thief slammed his hooves down on the tile and stood towering over her, staring down at her with piercing green eyes.

“My name is Octavia. What’s your’s, and why is there so much noise? Is something wrong? Do I need to hide?”

Thief spent a few moments studying the filly. He figured the girl to be maybe five or six years old, and yet was still very cute for being at the snot nosed brat stage in life. However, he was here for her father and not her.

He stepped forward and the filly put a soft hoof onto his boot. “Please stay. I’m scared. We’ve never been attacked before, and a guard is supposed to come to my room when I go into hiding. Are you supposed to come to my room? I haven’t seen you before. Please tell me you’re new.”

Thief bit into his lip as he stared into the watery purple globes of fear. She is so young. His mind turned much darker as a scowl crossed his face. And you weren’t much older when Luna ordered your father dead simply to take care of a nuisance! Now go finish your job. Thief glanced back into the eyes and felt another tug on his heart as he heard the clattering of hooves coming up the stairs.