Quick Switch perched amongst the rooftops of Canterlot, and she looked towards the palace looming before her. Tonight she would forever make her mark as the greatest thief in all of Equestria, when she absconded with a treasure from the royal vaults themselves. Few thieves were foolhardy enough to even attempt such a thing, and in living memory none had ever succeeded.

Quick Switch was different, though. For years she had been a constant thorn amongst the rich and powerful of Manehattan. Her collection of pilfered goodies remained squirreled away, as she had no desire for wealth. She cared about the prestige, the thrill of the heist itself. Each day wherein the newspapers blazed with The Silver Snitch Strikes Again! or a similar headline was another victory, and each social occasion that buzzed with talk of her exploits left her glowing with pride. She would have to feign shock and outrage, but the sight of ponies speculating about her, unaware that the target of their ire stood brazenly before them, was incomparable.

Canterlot had never truly been in her sights, as it was outside her normal territory, but a little under a year ago, she’d been approached through one of her contacts. Somepony had grown rather disgruntled with the state of affairs within the palace, somepony highly-placed enough to provide her with detailed maps of the palace, patrol patterns, molds of keys as well as the runecrafting sigils necessary to ensure the magical wards were not set off. They’d asked nothing in return other than that she strike this night, and that she ensure her exit was flashy.

She’d anticipated a trap meant to snare her, and so had spent the last several weeks probing the castle, testing to see if her informant had been laying a trap, yet thusfar everything had checked out. A test run had brought her all the way to the vault itself.
That first time, she had probed the vault for nasty surprises, as her unknown partner had promised to get her that far, but informed her that they were unable to ensure further safe access. Whatever role they played in the palace hierarchy, it seemingly did not include unfettered freedom.

Not that Quick Switch particularly minded. If anything, that was another point in their favor, as a present that gift-wrapped would have raised even more alarms. The other half was that she wanted the heist to be hers, one where the prestige was a hard-earned prize she could truly celebrate.

The moon was long-risen by the time she dropped off the rooftops and into a dark alleyway. The streets were largely deserted, but she still concealed her features within a hooded cloak as she streaked across the road and along the palace wall. Quick Switch then slowed to a walk, feigning a mere evening stroll as she moved round the grounds, towards a tree that offered some minor concealment.

Once she had ducked behind the trunk, she glanced about for any passerby, then removed a rope from her pack and with a wave of her horn, looped it through a grappling hook and cinched it tight. Gentle blue pulses of light strobed the surrounding area as she whirled the hook in her magic, then hurled it up and over the long wall. She gently dragged it back until there was a quiet clacking sound and the rope went taught. A few pulls confirmed it was well-anchored, and seconds later Quick Switch was dropping onto the palace grounds, the rope winding itself up behind her to be stowed in her pack once more.

Crossing the grounds themselves was easy, as the guardsponies were hardly inconspicuous in their patrols, though tonight there was more activity than before. The closest she came to getting caught was a sudden flare of light that left her buried in a bush while two ponies passed by, snippets of conversation drifting to her ears.

“...ordered patrols tripled tonight…”

“Doesn’t really think anypony could…”

“...no way she can resist this prize…”

Quick Switch cursed silently. Somepony must have tipped off palace security. The prudent thing to do would be abandon the job now, and once the patrol passed, she crept out of the bush and towards the wall. There was always another night.

She was just about to toss her rope when something stopped her. They might be ready for her, but if she could pull it off? It would be the pinnacle of her career, she could retire in comfort, and live the rest of her life slowly fencing all the things she’d taken.

The second time, Quick Switch avoided any near run-ins with the patrols, and made her way into the palace proper through a small side door she’d been provided a key for. The door opened without any trouble, though Quick Switch still paused and awaited an alarm. None came, and she could detect no signs of magical warding either.

“Well, you know what they say, can’t win the race if you’re unwilling to gallop…” The door shut behind her, and Quick Switch surveyed her surroundings. Her first visit to the vaults had used a tour group as a way into the palace, and then she had ‘gotten lost’. It provided a convenient excuse just in case, although there had been no need to employ it. She was in a long hallway with small statue-dotted alcoves, one that led straight towards the servant’s quarters.

The statues varied in shape and size, most busts although the third on her left was full-sized, a sculpture of several fillies at play. It provided convenient cover for her to dig into her saddlebags and quickly change from hooded cloak into a stolen palace maid uniform. She also took the time to apply softened pads to her hooves, ones that muffled her steps as she set off once more.

A minute later and she was extremely grateful for the uniform. When she entered the servant quarters proper, the first room was quiet, but the halls were swarming with ponies, each on their own errand, and none paid her any heed as she passed through their midst.

She passed by several patrols as she made her way through the corridors, taking a winding path towards her destination. The patrols were of little concern, but the number of doors that had sentries was cause for alarm, as they were beckoning ponies forward one at a time, then submitting them to some sort of magical scan.

Of course, such a scan could prove disastrous, but the sentries seemed almost haphazard, as the closer she came to the vaults, the fewer her course alterations became. This did not comfort, but rather increased her paranoia, as she hardly expected the palace security to be so slapdash as to allow such obvious security holes to exist. In a way, it was oddly comforting when she finally found her progress arrested, as all three hallways that approached the vault were guarded by pairs of unblinking sentries.
Perhaps to lesser thieves, this would be cause to turn round, but the Silver Snitch had not acquired her reputation by allowing mere hired help to stop her, and this time the castle’s wide, airy corridors would work in her favor. She swept past each guard station a second time to check for any sign of lapsing vigilance, and at the final pair, made her move.

A wall loomed before her, and she walked straight to it, and reared up against the wall. Even with her forelegs braced, the abrupt change in gravity as the wall became down still required quick reflexes, but within a moment she cantered up the wall, and another shift left her walking along the ceiling. As she passed above them, she flashed the unaware guards a cheery smile. They never thought to look up. “And they never remember to dust up here, either…” she muttered. Her tail swished behind her, and the wrap binding it close glowed, erasing evidence of her passage.

Quick Switch felt all too smug as she trotted along the ceiling, till the doubled doors of the vault lay beneath and before her. This was where a delicate touch would be most required, for she would need to disarm and unlock the doors before her without alerting anypony to her presence.

It was a daunting prospect. There were layers of enchantment linked together, and prying them apart would require a good deal of time. In the distance, she could hear hooves approaching, and she let her hornlight fade, freezing in place as a patrol approached. Two guards passed by beneath her, but they did not look up.

“I don’t even know why we’re here,” one murmured. “There’s no way she’d be inside.”

“I’d agree, but we’re still tasked with ensuring nothing has gone missing.”

The first guard sighed, but nodded his agreement, and their horns lit in tandem as they touched them to the door.

Quick Switch could not believe her luck as the doors began to grind open below her. She promised herself she could laugh later at the sheer ridiculousness of a patrol meant to ensure she hadn’t plied her trade giving her free reign to pilfer. Best of all, if she struck now, she’d have the most time to ensure her escape before anypony noticed anything missing.

She did have to shift which way was down four times more to walk down the wall, through the top of the entrance, then back up the wall and onto the ceiling. Then her eyes greedily drank in the contents of the treasure vault.

It was, in some ways, rather disappointing. Rather than the huge hoard of treasure she had hoped for, instead were a number of objects each with its own dais. None of them looked particularly notable, yet they must have some value to be kept under such high security. It wasn’t till her eyes fell upon a faded hat ringed with bells that it clicked. The vault must be meant for storing magical artifacts!

Quick Switch grinned. She didn’t have the space to take anything particularly large, which was why she’d been hoping for a cut gemstone, or some form of jewelry, but this would do just as well. The guards swept forward, but the room itself was not particularly large, and soon enough they were turning to depart.

While they had been patrolling, she had probed the room. Many of the artifacts were themselves warded, but a few showed no signs of any sort of alarm, and one was a trio of glimmering orbs that found themselves stored securely in her saddlebags. In their place was a small silver pin, a memento to prove it was her who’d come calling.

The guards were just approaching the doors once more, and Quick Switch matched their pace, lingering a bit behind just in case one thought to look up.

The exit was easier than the entry, and she sat, frozen triumphantly on the ceiling as the doors locked behind her. She had done it! She had no idea what she’d taken, but it hardly mattered! She was the first pony to actually plunder the palace vaults, and all that was left was -

“Enjoying yourself?” came a smug feminine voice, and Quick Switch felt her stomach drop out from under her. Instinct took over, and rather than reply a burst of light exploded from her horn, accompanied by a loud bang as she broke into a wild gallop. She hated having to make hot exits. They were the mark of a clumsy thief, and Quick Switch prided herself on being the best.
Still, it was better than being caught, and there was no way she was getting out quietly now. She could hear confused shouting from all round her, but the first set of guards galloped beneath her, towards the very point she was now wildly fleeing.

“The ceiling! She’s on the ceiling!” came a shout from behind her, the same voice that had made her. The guards realized their mistake too late, though, and she was past them as they wheeled and began chase. On hoof, she was quicker than them, but they had other ideas as wings spread and they launched themselves into the air. Her lead began to shrink, though another flashbang sent the pair of pegasi behind her crashing to the ground.

Quick Switch readied another spell, while also shifting gravity again, so she abruptly dropped away from the ceiling and towards the wall. The corridor ahead was covered in windows, windows meant exits. The spell itself was crude blunt force, and a shattered window meant risk of cuts, but what it lacked in luxury it made up for in speed.

The spell never left her horn. Her magic suddenly drained away, and the ground abruptly became down again. Quick Switch yelped as she began plummeting towards the floor, only for her fall to be arrested in a glowing dark blue aura, leaving her delicately touching to the ground.

“A valiant effort, but the victory is ours,” came that same voice from before. “Still, I commend you on your boldness, although I must express confusion as to what you were thinking.”

Quick Switch slowly found herself spinning in midair, and her eyes went wide as she found herself face to face with…”Princess Luna?” The words came out in a bare whisper.

“Princess?” echoed Luna. “Hah! As if a flimsy attempt at formality could confuse us. No, you have played well, but now the time has come to abandon this foolishness and admit defeat.” She touched her horn to Quick Switch’s muzzle, and only then did her smug expression falter when nothing happened. “How have you not changed back?” Luna muttered. Quick Switch suddenly gasped as a wave of coldness swept over her, leaving her shivering in her airy prison.

Luna, for her part, looked even more flummoxed. “You aren’t...but then who...oh, horseapples!” Luna placed a hoof against her face, and muttered something further, before coolly regarding Quick Switch. “A common thief. How clever.” By now, the pair had been joined by several guards, and Luna turned to them. “Take her to the dungeon. I shall have many questions for her when I return.” A flash of magic later, and Luna was gone.

---

The night princess appeared within the palace kitchens moments later, but it was too late. The snores of slumbering ponies greeted her, and Luna stormed past them, approaching the eye of the storm, where her sister sat radiating supreme contentment. A massive cake was nearby, its perfection marred by a single large slice that had been cleaved away, the very last bite now passing Celestia’s lips.

Luna fumed as she fixed Celestia with a withering glare, only to receive a cheeky smile in response. “Do you have anything to say for yourself, sister? You aided a thief in nearly robbing us!”

Celestia licked chocolate stains off of her own muzzle, and then said softly, “Oh, Luna, she would never have succeeded, and you know it. You’re just angry because you fell for my distraction.”

Luna pointed to the cut cake, “And what are the chefs to do? They can hardly serve a cake today that says ‘Happy Birthday elestia’ on it!”

Celestia giggled. “Well, I suppose they’ll have to make another one. As for this one, I’ll be happy to give it a good home. It was made for me, after all. And as my trap for the Silver Snitch has worked, I think it only fair I be rewarded for my efforts.” She rose, and pecked her sister on the cheek. “The victory is mine this year, fair sister.”

Luna watched as Celestia ambled away with the cake in tow. Then she swept her head about the room, and muttered, “She’s supposed to be on a diet.”