Name: Somnambula

Race: Pegasus

Job: Thief

Sub-Job:

Weapon Type: Boomerangs

Hometown: Dunes

Residence: Somnambula

There once was a young thief long ago in the desert town of Dunes. She did her best to keep her friends fed when there was not a lot to go around. Sometimes food. Sometimes treasure. This thief would steal what little things she could to keep the light of hope alive in the unforgiving desert. She would quietly take things that wouldn’t be missed, take what money she could get with it, and bring smiles to those less fortunate. Even as a struggling streetrat, she understood that this was no way to live, but for those she assisted and herself, she persevered. As the years went on the thief’s little pilfering trips were starting to catch up with her as she would often be spotted out by authorities. The time she spent navigating the town all her life made her adept at evasion, even before even spreading her wings. If she found herself cornered, the thief’s trusty boomerang could always be used as a distraction or cause a diversion. Without fail, she would lead them away from her base and shake them off eventually, earning her friends a meal for the night.

Somnambula never asked for this lifestyle, but the Pegasus thief simply bided her time until she could steal from much richer ponies that were too dead to make a ruckus about taking their things. There were ruins in every direction from town if one walked far enough. Most of them were avoided since any visitors looking for fame and fortune rarely came back, and those that did return came back with less parts than what they left with, none the richer. Somnambula knew the dangers, but soldiered on to whatever awaited her .

The pegasus decided to plunder the first ruins she found. A heavily damaged pyramid wouldn’t have been her first choice if she had one, but the thief went in thinking of all the smiles she would bring her friends if she struck it rich. As much as an amateur she was at ruin exploration, dodging traps wasn’t as hard as she had imagined. It was a simple case of looking for signs like loose floor tiles or uneven walls. The bloodstains and skeletons in conspicuous places from previous visitors also helped to point things out.

As she continued through the shadowy pyramid, Somnambula began to notice signs of recent activity such as discarded, unlit torches that had some warmth to them. When the obvious signs that there were traps nearby began to lower in number, it finally occurred to the Pegasus that someone or something is resetting all these traps for future intruders. She had become accustomed to looking for the tell tale signs of traps by the time she noticed, so dodging them was easy enough. By the time her own torch had been growing dim, an eerie green light was showing down a corridor accompanied by tired, hoarse cries for help.

The Pegasus followed the mysterious light until she came into a room with a bright, glowing pit. IT was deep enough to where she could not see what made the light, but she could hear something bubbling. This was all Somnambula could take in due to the rather large Sphinx taking up most of her vision. A large, intimidating winged purple cat dominated the space. One of its paws was as wide and the thief was tall. The feline lowered its head to meet Somnambula as close to face to face as possible with a soft growl of warning. A voice called out from the pit asking for help once again, showing that there was yet someone else in the room.

When the situation became clear to her , Somnambula eyed the beast and asked her to release the poor pony in hopes that she would be understood. In response, the large cat laughed at such an incredulous request. To the Pegasus’ surprise, the predator responded saying that her captive is her next meal. She even went on to curiously note that the fatter in riches they are, the finer the taste. However, the Sphinx, as she introduced herself as, was feeling rather sporting with her current catch, and proposed a challenge. Solve her riddle, and the pony goes free. Fail, and they both become lunch. Without hesitation, Somnambula agreed. “What is brightest in the dark? Ever present, but unseeable. It is free to have, but costly to not.” The pegasus thought about what each part of the riddle addressed. Air? No, not bright enough. Water? No. It’s something unseeable. Then as she meditated on the riddle more, her thoughts wandered towards all the people waiting on her to return with something that every desert dweller held on to without question.

“Hope.” was the only word Somnambula spoke after a small passing of time.

She stood unflinching as the Sphinx roared in frustration at her correct response. As the Sphinx splayed her paws with claws in full view, the pegasus quickly proposed one more challenge seeing as the riddle wasn’t satisfying enough for the beast. The giant cat lowered her paw and looked toward the glowing pit illuminating the room. A few clacking noises were heard as shadows danced on the ceiling along with it. When it stopped, the Sphinx beckoned Somnabula to approach the pit. There was an enchanted, downsloping bridge going down to what appeared to be a wealthy pony tied to a post. The bridge looked like it impossibly zig-zagged part of the way down, but before she had a chance to fully see the pattern it went by, her vision cut off via unknown means. The pegasus was tasked with simply reaching the Pony without falling. Doing so would result in her becoming a well cooked future meal. Before she could comment about it, her wings began to feel like pins and needles, and refused to spread or even properly move. Clearly she had just become cursed to make this challenge live up to its name.

The pony at the bottom began shouting at the unfairness of the challenge. The Sphinx merely glared at him as he continued ranting and raving. Even without her sight, she could at least make out where he was, but there was one last thing she needed to confirm. WHile listening to his voice, she took out her trusty boomerang and threw it towards the voice. When the sound of wood hit her ears, she started sprinting down the bridge. The pony began to loudly beg her to not throw her life away for a stranger. Before he could even finish his plea, she made a huge leap. The large room fell silent as she flung herself through the air.

Somnambula landed on her backside after losing her footing on the rather smooth wooden bridge. She slid rather ungracefully into the tied pony’s chest headfirst, knocking the wind right out of him. Somnambula didn’t get a chance to see the full bridge before losing being cursed and blinded. The pegasus needed to confirm that the end of bridge straightened out at the end, since she was confident she could leap over most of it if it did.

With the success of the challenge, the Sphinx once again let out a displeasured roar. Her paws slammed the ground, causing the entire room to rumble. WIth her teeth grit in anger, the large cat dug her claws into the floor. The wager was settled, and any interference would curse the Sphinx herself. Undoing the rope bindings revealed the pony to be a pegasus as well. Somnambula guided the rather decorated pony back up the bridge. They pair paid close attention to not look the Sphinx in the eye to keep from inciting her rage into having another challenge, and quietly snatched a small decorative torch.

As the two pegasi made their way out of the winding pyramid, they made small talk after properly exchanging names (Hisan was a bit odd if not familiar to her) as they relit any abandoned torch they could find. It was all they could do to cut the tension down. The Sphinx wouldn’t go against any challenge she gives, but the traps laid about could still do them in. An odd feeling washed over them as they felt somehow nostalgic for the unforgiving desert sun. Before they parted, Hisan handed her a small jewel, and told her to hold onto it for a spell. Somnambula didn’t think much of the request, but at least she had something to show for her first venture, even if it was something she couldn’t hawk.

A few weeks had passed when a large commotion was over taking Dunes. The Prince was visiting the busy town on rather short notice. There was a hastily put together celebration for his visit, but before it could even start, high ranking guards began to use simple megaphones to call out Somnambula. They insisted she would not be detained. Naturally, this seemed like some sort of poorly thought out yet intricate reverse psychology trap to the Pegasus. That was until she heard a familiar voice call out to her. It was Hisan’s. His family and personal honor would not allow a perilous rescue of any one of the royal family to go unthanked. All that he asked was for the jewel back.

Somnambula came out of hiding to do as she was asked. They didn't know each other long,m but he seemed like a trustworthy pony from what she learned about in the conversations they had in the pyramid. When she approached him surrounded by his entourage, the pegasus cautiously handed him his jewel. With a smile on his face, he congratulated her on passing his test. The truth of the matter was that even at his high post, he’s heard Somnambula’s name in passing when talking to the guards who’ve watched over Dunes. The concept of an honorable thief, as she’s known throughout the village, amused him, and when he was rescued, he had little doubt he just met her. He just needed to give an excuse to visit.

Hisan wanted to strike a deal in front of the whole village. Return the jewel, and this large village will never again know hunger. Somnambula immediately accepted without hesitation. In that moment, she went from a thief to a hero. For all the time after, the Prince was true to his word. Food was distributed to every person asking for it. Those she aided through her pilfering skills were now eating with no one getting stolen from. Hope had washed over the city like a tidal wave, and with it came more and more people from far away, hearing about the well off citizens. Everyone was accounted for, and Somnambula watched the town grow before her eyes.

However, she would not be able to see the true fruition of her efforts. Her escapades got the attention of a Unicorn looking for help with a group of heroes seeking to add to their strength. Some time later, Somnambula would disappear, and this legendary thief would fall into history books and tall tales. Both of which would only house incomplete truths about what befell her, but neither of which could have predicted her return centuries later. She herself was met with surprise at her dusty village of Dunes becoming a jewel in the desert. A city named Somnambula, in honor of a selfless thief who would never let go of hope in the face of adversity.

Wood Edge - A Boomerang that Somnambula carved herself out of spare planks she found in the village. She’s gone through many boomerangs. The last one she made in Dunes was the seventh. There’s always more spare wood to remake another one even better than the last, so there’s not much love lost if one breaks or gets lost. However, her plucky nature tends to make her poor in naming sense, and she insists everyone call it the Somnamerang. No one does.

Thief's Garb - Thieves have existed since someone owning something someone else wanted, but after Somnambula put her name in the history books, green became the color of choice. The look had differed as time moved forward, and while bandanas among other inexpensive and light clothing became the norm past her time, Somnambula had a style all her own. She was not above charming others with her looks and motions. In a way, Somnambula set the tone for most if not all female thieves that followed.