//------------------------------//
// Chapter 15: Thief's Tale (Part 2) 
// Story: Raise You Like a Phoenix 
// by Gapeagle 
//------------------------------//

So, that was how I learned about the Alicorn Amulet. I knew this thing was going to be my savior. Wing Beat started to tell me how the Royal Guards worked, how the palace was guarded, and where the amulet was located. He knew all this because he was, as all the others, told about these things when he was soldier. 

He wasn't all for it as he had his doubts in me at first. I wondered why he wouldn't do it and he told me it was because he didn't care to go get it. He told me to save my sister and that he wasn't helping in anything but training. He found it amusing how much I wanted to save Dayshine. Never really understood that. He was just a jerk I guess.

Some time went by and I did more jobs. Heh, I even broke into the palace and escaped with a ring from one of the lower parts of the place. This showed Wing Beat that I could get inside and out without alarming anypony. I was also an expert at teleporting, but I couldn't use that much since it made a loud noise. 

Dayshine told me not to hurry, but that was because she kept insisting that I would not get myself into trouble. Well, like the good sister I am, I ignored her. I planned and planned how I was going to make the biggest heist in my life. Any mistake would mean something extreme. I wasn't getting in some store or even a bank; this was the Grand Royal Palace. I either was going to steal the amulet or spend my whole life in a dungeon. It was all or nothing.

I thought the risk was worth it. I was tired of living in the jungles of Canterlot. I was tired of being a simple thief. I was tired of having a sister that could barely get about. The Alicorn Amulet was going to let me have a life I wanted. I wanted true freedom, I wanted a healthy sister, and  I wanted Wing Beat to see me as an equal. So I kept planning and working at it. It was what I did.

I'm sure you know the rest. Dayshine chased after me, telling me not to go. I didn't listen. Got my good cloak, my magic, and my brains. I was good. Getting to the vault that you kept all your goods like the amulet and those other things. Yeah, I saw just about everything. You actually found me when I was locking the vault up again; making it look like nopony had messed with it.

I know what you hide in there. Jewels, gems, all those things. Also, I could not forget this, I remember the mirror. I remember thinking why such a thing was locked in a magic vault, away from ponies. Another thing I found interesting was how clean it was. Something stuck in a vault, but with no dust at all? Yeah, it was special.

So by the light of my horn, I inspected myself in the mirror. That was when I saw it. I saw myself with wings. Big, pretty, glorious wings. It was like an omen or something. I knew there was something with this mirror. I knew there was a reason why ponies weren't allowed to look at it. Not only did it show me as an alicorn, but it also had something beyond that. Celly, I could feel the magic swarm off it like, like a fog. 

I inspected the mirror for a long time. It's one of the reasons you found me out. I was supposed to be in the palace for only thirty minutes at most, but I was there for about an hour. The mirror told me that I was going to be an alicorn. I was going to be something glorious and heroic. I thought it meant the Alicorn Amulet, so that made me really happy. Well, that idea went on until I saw Cadance.  I stepped out of the vault, shut it, and then you found me. Been here ever since.








"That's my story," Sunset finished with a casual shrug.

"Shorter than I expected..." Celestia huffed.

"Fine, I'll write my own autobiography then," Sunset rolled her eyes.

"So you wanted this amulet to save your sister?"

"Precisely."

"It will work because it grants you alicorn powers."

"Yeah."

"Then why don't you just ask me?"

"I don't trust you with my sister. I rather do it myself."

Celestia leaned back with a sigh. "I'm sorry to tell you this, but your plan is flawed right from the beginning. Magic is a complicated matter, as you should know. You can't throw magic at somepony and expect them to recover without side effects. Sunset, we have hospitals full of sick ponies. They're all across Equestria. If magic could heal such sickened ponies, would we have earth ponies in the hospitals? Would we have hospitals at all? If an alicorn could heal even the most ill of ponies, would I be here, selfishly restraining myself from saving every life? Now, it's not impossible to heal Dayshine, but it is extremely probable to make it worse. With magic and something as uncontrollable as the Alicorn Amulet, I would not be surprised if you flat out kill her."

Sunset's lips quivered. "You're just telling me that to scare me."

"That's part of it. That, however, doesn't mean that my words are false. Magic and healing have been studied together for centuries. By Tartarus, even Starswirl the Bearded tried to start a hospital using unicorn magic. I tried as well. Early on in my reign, I started a hospital where I would try to heal every sick and wounded pony. Now, I could heal the wounds, but I struggled to fix any organ problems. Most of the time, I was so gentle, my magic would do nothing. The few times I went stronger with my magic, the patient did not recover, but grew worse. From then on, such magical healing was frowned upon by society. Like the witch doctor healers, it became a taboo. We threw away the healing practices and went into science instead. Soon, the earth pony with his hooves was a better doctor than the unicorn with his magic."

Sunset was looking at the ground. "Well, then what do I do?"

"Easy, you will stay in here and think about what you've done. I'll speak with Dayshine, see what she wants to do," Celestia instructed.

"Have fun," was the sarcastic remark.








"This is where Dayshine lives?"

"Yes, Your Highness!" Private Speed answered with unneeded loudness.

"It's not as bad as I thought it would be," Celestia remarked absently.

"No, Your Highness!"

"Perhaps I simply walk in..."

"Yes, Your Highness!"

"Private, I do not need your affirmatives on everything."

"Yes, Your Highness!"

"Report back to the palace," Celestia said with a roll of her eyes.

"Yes, Your Highness!" Speed saluted and then flew away.

Finally. Celestia fluffed her wings a bit before walking towards the small house. It was an old house, clearly been there for a century or more, and it was in a poorer side of the city. It was close to the mountain that Canterlot was on, and because of this, the sun was blocked from shining down on it. 

The princess went straight up to the door. The windows were boarded in; the bushes in front were wild and untrimmed. The door was two colors, blue and gold, as if somepony tried to add a new coat, but lazily gave up without finishing the job. It was a heavy thick door, as was the custom of older Canterlot homes. 

Hopefully I don't scare her.  She knocked on the door with her large hoof. To her surprise, this actually opened the door partly, making a horrid noise. Well then. She sighed and opened the door the rest of the way and simply entered. The inside was much better than the outside. It was clean and well-furnished. Shelves of thick books were on the walls, a jeweled chandelier hung from the ceiling, forcing the princess to keep her head low, and the floor was spotless of grim or dirt. The walls were all painted with a reddish-orange color. 

"Hello?" Celestia asked the house.

She went deeper in. A flight of steps went up a narrow path to the second floor. To the left of these stairs was another short hallway that led to what was obviously a kitchen. The kitchen appeared to be the largest room in the home. On the wall in this short hallway was a case of what appeared to be Royal Guard ranks, clean and polished behind the glass. Celestia looked at these for a second.

"Thank you for your service, Sergeant Wing Beat. It was my fault to not honor you. Well, I will not make the mistake again with future guards."

A thud upstairs pricked her ears. She slowly backpedaled to the bottom of the stairs. Wing Beat may be in here. I must be vigilant. With her horn glowing, she went up the tight steps. The upstairs had no light, as no doubt all the windows were boarded. With the light she created, she entered this small square room that appeared to be a living room of some sorts. It had two couches and nothing more. To her left was a shut door and to her immediate right was another shut door. She held for breath for a moment and heard a hoofstep in the room on her right. Readying herself, she took hold of the door handle and swung it open.

"Gahhhh!"

By the light of her magic, she saw the gleam of a sword's blade. Wing Beat! With reaction alone, she took hold of the sword bearer in her magic and threw him into the room's opposite wall. The sword fell out of the mouth, making a clang on the floor. The next sound was a moan of pain, but it sounded like a filly's groan.

"Dayshine!" Celestia gasped and rushed over to her. "I thought you were Wing Beat! I'm so sorry."

Dayshine rubbed her head with a hoof. "And I thought you were a gangster."

"Gangster? You defend this place from gangsters?" Celestia blinked.

"Done it twice."

"Oh..."

"Gah, ah!" Dayshine coughed blood on the floor and then wiped the rest from her lips. "Guh...that didn't feel good. What...How did you find me?"

"I had one of my stallions follow you after you left," Celestia lifted the filly up and put her on the bed that was in the dark room.

"Should've known," she grunted. "Well, I guess you talked with Sunset?"

"I did. She told me that she was getting the amulet to save you," Celestia explained.

"Yeah right," Dayshine crossed her legs. "I told you not to believe her. Wing Beat has been more kind to me than her."

"I find that hard to believe."

"Well, it's true. Sunset has always wanted to get rid of me. When we were on our own before Wing Beat, she didn't carry me everywhere, I followed and hoped to not be left behind. I'd bet she's never liked me. I'm just a burden."

"Oh Dayshine, you don't have to be so harsh on yourself. I can get you to a hospital and we can help with your disease."

Dayshine frowned even harder. "I'm fine. Besides, if my sister won't help me, why would a bunch of strangers?"

"That's what doctors do. Dayshine," Celestia said motherly, "it's their job."

"And why should I trust you? You did mean things to Wing Beat. He told me all about it. Wing Beat doesn't lie either."

"Yes, I did wrong with Wing Beat. I regret it. If I see him, I'll apologize. However, this is about you, Dayshine. You are not fine, not in the slightest. Wing Beat and Sunset have kept you from getting the care you need."

"Hmph," the filly interrupted. "You're the Princess of Equestria, if I'm so messed up, why don't you just fix me?"

"It doesn't work like that," Celestia explained. "My magic can't heal you rightly."

"Some princess you are."

"Alright, there is a possibility that I can heal you, but I absolutely do not want to risk hurting you more. Listen, my child, you've had a hard life thus far, I only want to end that burden. Your sister may not care for you like she states, but I do. You don't need to be shut in this house all the time and act like you don't exist. I advise you to come with me."

"A lot of ponies have told me similar stuff," Dayshine sighed, "and none of them told the truth. Everypony spouts out things and I know not to believe them. Sunset is always going to say she loves me, but she doesn't. The orphanage ponies tell me that they would help me, but they only wanted to lock me and Sunset up. Wing Beat says he'll stop stealing one day, but he never has stopped. Now you say that you'll help me. I have no reason to believe you. There are no good ponies."

"Dayshine, that's ridiculous, of course there are good ponies. You simply haven't met a good pony."

Dayshine looked right into Celestia's eyes with a sorrowful gaze. "No, I haven't."

Celestia was hurt and her face faltered. "Oh, don't be like that. I'm not the best. I've made too many mistakes, but I'm trying, Dayshine. I'm trying every day to be the best that I can. I lost my sister long, long ago, and I'm trying to keep you from losing your sister. She's stubborn, she's arrogant, but I know I can reunite you two and save your relationship. She's the only family you have. Please come with me."

Dayshine simply shook her head. "No, I won't come with you. I'll stay here and be with Wing Beat. He's the closest thing I've had to a father in my entire lifetime. Sunset doesn't love me. I tried to get her to like me for a long time. She rather have her power and glory. Look at me. All I've done is take up room and their time. I...can't you see? Sunset left to get the amulet for her own gain. I think she knew all along that alicorn magic could not help me. She just told me and Wing Beat that so that we would help her. Well, he would help her. Sunset has never cared for me. The only reason I'm still alive is because of Wing Beat's care."

"If that is your choice, I'll oblige to it," Celestia wanted to curse, but restrained herself. "Take care. Until next time, Dayshine."

"Maybe..." was the quiet response.

Celestia reluctantly left the child in the room and promptly left the boarded house. She was not even sure what she was thinking at that moment. Half of her wanted to snatch the child away, the other wanted to oblige with the ill filly. Both options seemed right, and they both seemed wrong. 

She stopped and looked at the dark place. It was no place for anypony of a right mind to live in, and that seemed utterly true. Dayshine, Sunset, and Wing Beat all were out of their minds in some way. Are they victims or are they consequences of their own choices?  Sunset and Wing Beat appeared to have sided with being the victim. Sunset's constant rants rung through the princess's ears. Wing Beat's deformed face flashed in her eyes. Whatever they are, I surely have some blame to be had. 

"I'll give you one chance, Sunset. One last chance. That's all I have left in me..."