     “Wow, this is simply…..Spectacular.” Echo stood in Canterlot at the gates of the Castle of the Royal Guard, its blue tinged walls reaching high into the sky and the spires atop the walls reaching even higher. “Hm,” Echo muttered “Kinda thought it would be bigger though.” Ever since she was a filly, Echo dreamed of visiting the Castle of the Royal Guard and, for even longer it seemed, she dreamed of one day becoming a member of the Royal Guard herself. Now Echo stood staring in awe at the sight she had only read about. The colorful stained glass windows, the large, looming gates, the great watchtowers; everything she had read about in her books was really there! She took a deep breath and imagined herself among the ranks of the Royal Guard, marching into the castle after a long day of-. “No, that’s stupid.” Echo said to herself, pushing the thought out of her mind the moment it entered. “Everyone knows a bat pony, especially a bat pony like me, would never be allowed into the Royal Guard.” Though she had told herself many times, she still held on to her dream by a sliver of hope. “But that’s all it is and ever will be” she sighed, “just stupid, illogical hope.” Echo felt the crisp grass in her hooves as she walked through the huge castle lawn, being careful not to get spotted. Coming from a lineage of thieves she was particularly good at being sneaky. As she rounded the corner to the left side of the castle she saw a light and a guard, and nimbly rolled behind a nearby bush and from one bush to the next, until she came across a large archway that was halfway down the left side of the castle.

     Passing quickly through the arch and into the courtyard, Echo had to keep herself from stopping and admiring the grandeur of the castle, something that she was not familiar with. However, as she swiftly passed through the courtyard, Echo couldn’t help but notice huge statues of ponies, each artfully crafted by some royalty from Canterlot no doubt. Small, neat gardens surrounded each of the statues, with numerous fountains in each garden. Echo quickly made her way to one of the many small entrances to the castle, opened the large red door, and plunged inside. 

     The door leaded to a vast hallway with vaulted ceilings. Being the Lunar Guard wing of the castle, the hall was dark and cool, making the hair on the back of Echo’s neck stand on end. Echo could hardly contain herself. She was actually IN the castle of the Royal Guard! But now was no time for sightseeing, she had a job to do. Her stomach dropped at the thought of that. This job of a thief… Echo was never particular happy or proud about her job, especially when that job brought her to a place like this. “Why am I here?” She sighed, “How did I even get to this point in my life?” Echo’s thoughts were immediately broken by a sound at the end of the hallway. Her ears perked, her deep yellow eyes dilated, and within a matter of seconds, Echo was balancing on one of the ceiling beams, hidden from sight. The guard, fully dressed in the signature dark blue armor, passed underneath, and Echo hurried along the beam and down the hallway.

     As the hallway broke off into two separate corridors, Echo knew exactly the one to take, having planned this heist weeks in advance. “Take a left, second door, down the hall, and to the right.” she repeated to herself. Still running on the beam, the bat pony couldn’t believe just how easy this really was. She took a left, swooped down and through the narrow door, got back into the rafters, and turned right, when she suddenly stopped in her tracks. Looking down, her piercing yellow eyes could see two members of the Lunar Guard guarding the vault, one of which seemed to be dozing off. 

     “Hey!” one of the guards whispered as he nudged his companion, “Remember what the captain said about sleeping.” “What?” the guard said, immediately shooting upright “Oh come on you know that’s ridiculous, what are we supposed to be guarding it from anyway? Ghosts?” “Knowing the captain, probably" Both guards snickered. Echo was hesitant about what she was about to do but she knew that she had to do it. Spreading her huge, blue, bat-like wings, Echo swooped down off of the rafter. She took the head of each of the guards in separate wings and, with great force, slammed them together, knocking each of the ponies out cold. Echo grimaced to herself at the sight of them lying on the ground, but quickly took the key to the vault from one of the guards and opened up the large metal door.

     The air in the vault was even colder than the air outside and it made Echo shiver. The vault was huge and white, with shelves upon shelves of goods. Everything from bits, to armor, to smelted ore was on the shelves. However, Echo did not come for any of that. Her hooves clopped on the white tile floor as she made her way to the back of the vault and her jaw dropped when she saw her prize; the golden helmet of the Lunar Guard. The helmet, along with a separate outfit, was only worn on very special occasions by Princess Luna herself. Echo stood there for what seemed like minutes admiring the helmet and touching the gems that were studded on it with her hooves. Her mind strangely wandered to a different place, a happier place. She was years back, in Hollow Shades with her mother and they were out in the backyard picking fruit from the family garden. Echo could feel the warm breeze of summer blow through her mane and the sweet smell of fruit in her nostrils. Echo looked over at her mother and heard that she was humming a comfortable tune, what she always used to when they were together. “Echo dear, would you mind helping me carry some of these?” Echo smiled and walked over, “Sure mom, I would love to.” Echo’s eyes shot open at the sound of her own voice. She immediately found herself back in the vault, with her hooves still stroking the helmet. She shook her head. “Stupid.” Was the only word she could find herself to say. She quickly grabbed the helmet, put it into her small satchel, and left the vault.

     The guards were still knocked out on the other side of the vault door. Knowing that she had to quickly leave, Echo jumped back onto one of the beams and ran down the hallway and out the door. Peering around the corner into the first hallway, Echo noticed a small gathering of guards, chatting and laughing. “They must have just gotten back from their patrol. I have to be careful with this one.” she thought to herself as she slowly walked on the beam, right over the heads of the guards. She could see the door to the exit as she turned the last corner. Suddenly, when the sneaky Echo was halfway to the door, she heard an earsplitting crack and tumbled to the ground. With the guards shouting and screaming for her to halt, Echo wasted no time getting up, retrieving her satchel, and sprinting to the exit.

     Echo stepped out into the courtyard and immediately took to the air, already hearing a loud sound of a siren. She flew as fast as she could as the Lunar Guards were swiftly closing in around her. Echo smiled, her adrenaline pumping. She had trained for moments like this for ages. Swooping left and right, right and left, she sent the guards plowing into one another and plummeting towards the earth. She maneuvered around the outside castle landscape with relative ease and she made her way to Canterlot, with the guard ponies still close behind her. As she was speeding over the streets of Canterlot, Echo saw that they were lively and bright, filled with ponies making their way home from work. She had always wanted to see this city. It was a shame, she thought, that it was under these circumstances. It was at that moment that Echo felt an excruciating pain in her left wing. She screeched in agony as the pain shot down her body. Echo looked behind her and saw that a guard had pierced her wing with his spear and was pulling her towards the ground. “Got ya.”, the guard said with gruffness in his voice. Echo struggled to break free, with other guards closing in around her. Just as she was about to be grabbed by the guards, Echo gave a powerful pull as her wing ripped and she plummeted towards the busy streets below.