Ponies; The Life of an Assassinby salchanponyChaptersChapter 1Memory 1Memory 2Chapter 2Chapter 1Any other who glanced into the building would easily believe that the formation within the barracks in front of Wholehoof Bay was a typical milliary formation, perhaps for a shift change, or new orders. However, all was not as it seemed. For, unbeknownst to the inattentive Captains standing infront of all the other guards, there was one extra guard that day. One who wasn't supposed to be there, and she knew it. This operation had been considered for the past month, and seemed rather easy to Ruby. The formation was for a change of command, and she had a plan. All he proper orders would be read, and every pony would salute. Thats when she would use a new weapon, a simple spring loaded dagger-launcher. She knew that at-least one pony would not make it home, be it the Captain or herself. The previous captain eventually came on-stage, and the ceremony began. It took a few minutes for the orders to be read, and the previous Captain made a speech. After the speech, Ruby's pulse quickened. She knew it was almost time, and as the new Captain stood at attention to deliver the order, Ruby took a deep breath. Finally. "Formation, Present Hooves!" Reacting with a sharpness that could only from her kind, she brought her foreleg up in the first half of the salute. However, during her second half, she twisted her hoof, and the dagger fired. All other ponys jumped at least a foot into the air in their shock at the noise, which, admittedly, even Ruby hadn't thought it would be that loud. The dagger sailed through the air, and found its mark, lodging itself into he new Captain's neck, which was, unfortunatly for him, exposed through the armor. The Captain didn't even flinch as he fell to the ground, his pitch black armor clanking as it hit the ground. All other pony's eyes landed on Ruby, who immediatly jumped away, and quickly slipping out of the armor she detested, but had had to wear. She prefered the outfit she had on underneath, a white cloak, with red stripes running along the side. At this, all the guards, who were, unconviently, all unicorns, magically raised thier weapons. Ruby took a quick analysis of her enemies. Time seemed to slow as she rapidly assesed her situation. She counted fifteen guards, and the old Captain... sixteen in total. Numbers were on their side, but she had skill on her's. The first of the guards ran forward, swinging his sword at Ruby's neck. Ruby smirked beneath her hood as she effortlessly dodged the strike, and brought her hoof into the guard's lower chest, where the armor separated. She knew the guard would feel her hoof, but before the guard could jump away, Ruby twisted her hoof again, launching another spring loaded dagger into the guard's chest, dropping the guard quickly to the ground. Ruby pulled the dagger out, as it was attached to her hoof, and twisted again, retracting the now blood-soaked blade. The next two, trying to use teamwork, moved forward, and Ruby decided to go on the offensive. Leaping over the two, she twisted both her hooves, bringing out one blade for each hoof, and thrusting them into the two pony's necks in midleap. Landing softly, she ducked under the sword that she knew was coming, missing it easily. A thrust, a twist, and a fourth guard left the fight. Bringing her left hoof up with a twist, she blocked another sword, and shoved her right blade through the guard's helmet's eye-hole. As she pulled out, she brought her back left leg up, and kicked hard, and met a guard in the helmet. He wasn't dead, but she knew it would give her enough time to turn around. Leaping around, away from the remaining twelve guards. Facing them, she waited for one of them to make a move. And move they did. Before Ruby could take a breath, two of them made a lunge toward her chest. Ducking under the thrusts, she threw herself between them, ending up at their rear. Throwing her hooves into her blind spot, she made contact with one of the guards, plunging her blade into his flank. Drawing it out, she swung it around, blocking another blade, and threw her hoof at the swinging pony, the blade entering the pony's neck. As she pushed away, she collided with another one of the guards, throwing them both off balance. Using the skills she had practiced many times before, she flipped around, landing chest to chest with the guard, as both landed on the floor. Giving the guard a quick teaser of a kiss, a simple peck on his lips, she smiled as she brought her hoof down, into the smitten guard's neck. Ruby jumped up, slicing her left blade through the startled guard in front of her. Her momentum far greater than she expected, she ended up at the wall. Instinct taking over, she ran a step up the wall, flipping her head around to search for a target. Finding the closest pony, who happened to be charging at her, perhaps to catch her from the rear, she launched herself off of the brick wall, her momentum carrying her into, and through the guard, whose suprised look stayed on his face as he it the ground. Continuing to charge forward, she dodged the next two guard's swords, and as she ran in between them, she stuck each hoof out to her side, ripping the blades though each guards inside chest. Skidding to a stop, and facing the remaining guards, and noticed the Captain, who was standing at the back of the other five, not at all eager to join the fight. Ruby also noticed that the other guards didn't look too confident either. Ruby took a step forward, and the guards took one back. Ruby leapt forward, and the guard's morale broke completely. Tripping over themselves, they turned tail and ran towards the entrance as fast as their armor would let them run. Raising her left hoof in their direction, Ruby considered taking out another one, but as she was about to let loose, she noticed that not all her opponents had fled, as the Captain was still standing beside her, staring at her. Turning her head toward the Captain, she said, "Braver than you look. You going to run and leave, or do you want to end up like the Captain who relieved you?" Starting to shake, the Captain looked at the body on the stage, then at the mass of now dead guards. He then glanced at Ruby before taking off toward the exit. "Hah... Coward." Ruby muttered before aiming her hoof at the Captain's backside. Twisting her hoof, she fired her second ballistic knife. Watching in content as the knife sailed through the air towards the departing figure, she smiled as the knife found its mark, settling into the Captain's left flank. The Captain lurched forward a couple more steps, before collapsing on the ground just before the door, mere meters away from the protection of the outside. Ruby glanced around, making sure there were no more guards about. Satisfied that her job was done, she began to trot her way to the exit. A minute after Ruby exited, another pony snuck out from his position under the stands. As he stood up,he shook is dark mane, and made his way lazily toward the exit, stretching on his way, indicating he had been there for a while. As he walked out of the barracks, he allowed a small smile to grow onto his face. Author's Note New story, relatively new concept for me. Please criticize (constructive) in the comments, and I will adjust as necessary. Thanks :D Memory 1She was always a pony who found it hard to sleep, with any nudge or discomfort caused her to wake. This night in particular was a difficult one, as last night's dinner was a simple bowl of soup and a slice of bread. Her stomach growled at her as she woke for what felt like the millionth time. She lay in bed for a few more minutes, before deciding that she couldn't take it anymore. She took another minute to listen for any sounds that would indicate another pony moving about the house. After deciding it was safe, she slid out of bed and crept to her door. Opening it only a little, so it wouldn't creak, she slid through into the hall. Her breathing was heavy, yet controlled and quiet as she made her way through the dark hallway, the only noise being the occasional snore of a sleeping pony in one of the rooms. She had to keep every movement quiet, lest somepony wake and discover her. She knew she couldn't afford to be discovered, as the consequences would be severe. She made it through the hallway, and breathed a quiet sigh of relief. One of the hardest parts was over, and she could relax a little, but only a little. She knew she couldn't get careless. She made her way across the living room, taking extra care not to bump into anything. She made it through the room without touching any of the furniture, as she knew she would. As she crossed the threshold into the kitchen, she gave a nearly unnoticeable start, as the kitchen was already occupied. A blue unicorn was standing at the stove, horn shining as she used her magic to sir some ingredients into a bowl. Ruby took notice of a jar beside the unicorn. After a moment of inspection, she concluded that it was a jar of icing. She figured the unicorn was baking a cake, or something similar, then as smoothly and quiet as she could, backed into the living room. She ran through a mental picture of the room, hurriedly trying to find a place to take cover, as there was no way to know when the unicorn would emerge from the kitchen. Her desision-making was cut short as she heard hoofsteps moving toward the living room. Her first move was toward the hallway, to retreat, but she overrode that move as she knew she couldn't risk waking anypony else. In a motion that she knew was reckless, she darted behind the couch. In her hurry, her flank hit the side of the couch, causing her to wince in pain. In her paniced state, she also accidentaly let a tiny whimper escape her lips. The steps paused, and Ruby held her breath, not moving another muscle. She closed her eyes, hoping the unicorn didn't hear anything. The hoofsteps resumed, and eventually reached the carpeted living room, where they became harder, but still possible, for Ruby to hear. After a couple more seconds, the hooves reached the hallway, and walked into one of the other rooms. From her position, Ruby knew she had three options: to continue her mission and risk the unicorn coming back, to retreat to where she had started, or to stay put and wait. She knew the third option really didn't lead anywhere, so she discarded the idea. After a moment of intense consideration, she decided she would continue her mission. After a couple minutes wait, and no unicorn returning, she felt it was safe to leave her hiding spot. as she crept out towards the kitchen, she paused at the hallway's opening, listening intently, for any sound that may come from the other rooms. She heard nothing, so she looked toward the kitchen, and began to creep forward. As she reached the threshold again, she paused, and glanced around the kitchen. She saw nothing, except that the oven was on. This alarmed Ruby, as she now knew the unicorn was going to eventually return. The absence of a timer didn't help her either. Ruby, taking into account these new factors, immediatly decided that her best course of action was to abandon the mission and retreat, so she began to slowly creep back through the living room, again making it through the darkness without a hitch. As she entered the hallway, she sped up her pace a bit, but still managed to stay quiet. As she moved past each of the doors, however, she made sure to slow down and listen. As she neared safety, she started to relax, sure that her adventure was about to end for the better. This, however, was contradicted by the last door in the hallway. As she snuck past the door, it swung open, revealing the blue unicorn, who was greeted by a now extremely frightened Ruby. "Ruby Shadows! What in Celestia's name are you doing up at this time of night?!" the upset pegasus yelled. "I'm sorry, Momma! I was hungry, so I-" "So what? You thought you could just ignore your bedtime? You know you have classes tomorrow, you should be asleep, little missy!" Ruby seemed to shrink in the sight of her stern mother, Sapphire. All that she was able to do was whimper as the young unicorn looked into her mother's eyes. She was in trouble, and she knew it. "You will march your rump to bed right now. I will discuss your punishment-" Ruby shrunk away at the word "-in the morning. I am very disappointed, Ruby. Do you understand me?" Another whimper came from Ruby, followed by a barely audible "yes". "Good, now go." Sapphire pointed toward the door at the end of the hallway, Ruby's bedroom. Ruby quickly scampered to her room, upset, not that her mother was angry at her, for Ruby had known she would be, but that she had been caught. As soon as she made it through her doorway and had shut her door, she launched herself into her bed and covered herself with the sheets, slightly shaking as she feared what her mother would decide on as a punishment. Memory 2As was her norm, Ruby was sitting quietly in the corner of the classroom, as none of the other young ponys would find their way to their seats until about 5 minutes before their teacher came in, about 8:55. She found herself not really paying attention to anypony in particular, simply listening in to any conversation that happened to take her attention. She moved from her current one, when the conversation went from, "Hey, Slick, lets suprise somepony." to, "Whispy... do you wanna... you know...?" Ruby had almost found another conversation to listen too when she heard a sharp "NO!" from the red-coated Whispy Flowers, followed shortly after by a dull 'thud' and a loud cry of pain from an apparently rejected Slick Summers. A smirk crossed Ruby's face as she turned toward the filly whom she considered to be her only friend. "Turned down another one? You certainly are popular, aren't you?" "Me, popular? Oh, darling, you simply mustn't under-rate me." Whispy replied, in a very pompous voice, trying to joke with Ruby. Dropping her act, she continued in her normal voice, which was flowing and fragile, befitting her name. "no, really, though... I don't like it... that everypony likes me, I don't want the attention..." Ruby was at a loss for words, as normally Whispy was an attention seeker, bathing in the attention of her fellow fillies. "Is everything alright, Whispy?" "I-" Whispy was interupted by the movements of the other fillies, who had begun to find their way to their seats. "I'll talk later..." Ruby stood in place for another moment, but eventually gave in to the swarm of fillies, and made her way to her seat, which was in the front of the room, much to her discomfort. If she had any say in the matter, she would be seated in the back, but beacuse their teacher made all the decisions, she was in front. After a couple more moments, the classroom door swung open, and the class began. As the teacher walked out of the class, everypony began to talk, and make their way to the door. Ruby hung back, trying to catch a glimpse of Whispy. Noticing that she wasn't still in the classroom, Ruby quickly stood on her hind legs with a desk as a brace in order to see everypony's head to try to find Whispy. Seeing her friend's red and blue mane at the front of the herd, she quickly leapt over the desk and started to trot through the group. Since she wasn't paying attention to the other fillies, she earned herself multiple dirty looks from those whom she brushed against. Finally clear of most of her classmates, she had a much clearer sight of her friend, and saw she was talking to one of the most outspoken ponies in the town, a young colt named Silver Hoof. Ruby smiled and began to catch up to the two of them, when suddenly Whispy shook her head and turned away from Silver, walking into an alley. Ruby became concerned when Silver began to look angry and followed Whispy. Now thankful that she hadn't brought attention to herself, Ruby went into what she she considered to be 'stealth mode', which involved nothing more than quietly following Silver at a distance. As Ruby reached the alley that her friend turned down, she looked around the corner just in time to see Silver's gleaming tail turn the next corner. Running as quietly as she could, she made the other corner and stopped short, as what she heard was appalling. "No... I don't want-" "Quiet! Now stand there!" "No..." *Thud* *Whimper* "Ok..." Ruby quickly poked her head around the corner, and saw Silver advancing on Whispy while she was turned away. The only thing Ruby could see on Whispy's face were her tears as she quietly begged Silver not to touch her. Those tears brought hatred straight into Ruby's mind, and she snapped. With a scream, she tore out of the corner and charged straight at Silver. As he turned to see the source of the scream, all he saw was Ruby's hoof as she brought it towards his face. Silver took a couple steps back as the punch connected. Ruby looked at Whispy's suprised face with a look that clearly said 'get away'. Whispy looked back at Ruby, then shook her head and turned toward Silver with a tortured look of hatred on her face. By this time, Silver had recovered from the suprise of the attack, and was ready to retaliate. All three ponies stood still, each ready for the other side to make a move. Silver, impatient pony that he was, made the first move, dashing toward some trash cans on the side of the alleyway, turned around, and bucked the lids at Ruby and Whispy. Whispy dodged the one that was heading at her, but Ruby had a different plan. She caught one on the end of her hoof, and flung it back at Silver. He ducked, and Ruby charged forward. Seeing Ruby bring her hoof up to punch him again, he brought his fore-leg up to block, then brought his other leg up to hit back. Ruby blocked as well, and she pushed him back so there would be at least a little space between her and the enraged young colt. "Why, Silver?!" Ruby cried out. "It's not like she would have taken me any other way." "So you do this to her? How stupid are you?" "Smarter than you, thats for sure." With that, Silver smirked and tilted his head toward the opening of the alleyway. Ruby quickly turned her head toward the opening, expecting to see another filly. She was even more upset when she saw that there was nopony there. "Ruby! Duck!" Whispy cried out. Even though she heard her friend's command, Ruby couldn't react quick enough. As she turned her head back toward Silver, she was greeted by Silver right up on her, back turned and prepared to buck. "Psych." With the one word, Silver bucked as hard as he could. Both back hooves connected with the side of Ruby's chest, and she was kicked into the air. After spinning though the air for a few feet, Ruby hit the wall on the side of the alley and slid limply to the ground. With all her efforts to stand back up proving futile, all she could do was watch as her friend was grabbed and tugged further into the alleyway. As it became harder and harder for her to draw breath, her vision became foggy. As she watched, however, she became convinced that her eyes were playing tricks on her, for what she was seeing was simply too good to be true. As Silver reached the end of the alley, it appeared that Whispy had blacked out. As Silver finished moving, a shadowy figure moved into view. After glancing at Ruby, the dark pony moved toward Silver. Silver apparently heard this new arrival, and glanced up, and evil smirk on his face. However, as he saw that the newcomer was much larger than him, his smirk quickly vanished, and was replaced by a look of fear. The pony stepped aside, and Silver ran past him, and left Ruby's field of view. After Silver left, the dark pony kneeled by Whispy. After a couple seconds, a sharp pain ran through Ruby, and she gasped, which hurt her more. The pony heard this, and quickly ran to Ruby's side and kneeled down. As this pony's horn glowed, Ruby's vision closed around her, and she passed out. "Hmm... I best take this one first..." As he used some more of his magic, the pony lifted Ruby up and draped her over his back. As he stood back up, he stretched, revealing a pair of sleek black wings. As he glanced back at Whispy, he whispered, "I'll be back for you." After that, he flapped his wings, and took off, flying as fast as he could toward the Equestra Medical Center. Chapter 2A couple weeks later, she found herself in a town that seemed too peaceful to be the scene of an assassination. Truly, she thought, there is no way that she's here, not now... However, as she walked by the sign, she remembered a story that her mother had told her, about a hyper pink pony, always looking for a smile from the village's occupants. Just that thought brought a rare smile to Ruby's face. However, that smile was replaced by a look of curiosity as she saw what looked like a blue... thing bouncing toward her. As the 'thing' got closer, Ruby discovered that it was in fact not a 'thing' but a dark blue filly, with what looked like the fluffiest mane ever, and what had to have been the widest smile ever across its face. Ruby could also hear a faint "Whee, Whee!" coming from the filly. Just before the filly was going to bounce into Ruby, it stopped. "Yay! You haven't even met me and you were smiling!" "You... saw me...smile?" "Eeyup!" "From way over there?" "Eeyup!" "How?" "With these!" After saying that, it showed Ruby the binoculars around its neck, which Ruby was sure had just appeared there. "Thats... creepy... Whats your name?" "Pinkemina Apple Pie!" "Don't you have any family to get home too?" Pinkemina's mane seemed to deflate at the question. "Naw... Everypony in my family is gone..." "I'm sorry..." "Thats okay. Thats what all the other pony's are for!" Her mane reinflated as she inhaled. "Whats your name?" "My name? It's..." Ruby paused for a moment, hesitant to give the filly her real name. As she settled on another name from her mother's stories, she said, "Ditzy. Ditzy Hooves." "Are you sure?" The filly seemed suspicious, as if she already knew that name. "Yep." "Alrighty then." Pinkemina said with another wide smile. Smiling the best that she could, she decided on how to blend in to this town. "Maybe you could help me find someone... do you know a pony named Shutterfly?" "Yep! Follow me!" The two ponies started walking, or, in Pinkemina's case, slightly hopped, towards the other side of town, towards what looked like a forest. As the pair drew closer, Ruby saw that it was not a forest, but a collection of rods, glowing with a dark purple hue. "Whats in there?" Ruby asked, already fearing that she knew. "Gramma Pinkie always told me to stay away from it. She said that her friend made it for another friend, but that was all." "Huh... okay. Thank you." Ruby began to think. That glow was magical. She knew that much. The feel of the magic, even back here... it was a powerful spell. All that, plus the color and the young filly's story... There was no mistaking it. This was made by her enemy, in times long past. "See that tree, there?" Pinkemina said as she pointed towards the collection of rods, "Thats Shutterfly's house. I'm sorry, Miss Hooves... I'm not allowed to go any closer..." "That's alright. Go have some fun, for me. Okay?" "Okay!" As Pinkemina bounced off into the town, Ruby's heart fell a little. She had begun to enjoy the filly's company. It had felt good to not be alone... She shrugged off the feeling of loneliness as she walked toward the tree. When she reached the home, she stopped for a moment, and listened. Apart from the humming of the magical aura, which she figured was a container, or some sort of barrier, there was nothing. She raised a hoof, but as she was moved to hit the door, a voice came from behind her. "She's not home." Ruby flipped around, and saw where the voice came from. It was an aged pony, yellow in color, a soft pink mane and tail complimenting her appearance. "May I ask your name?" Ruby asked. "I'm Fluttershy..." She said, her voice trailing off. "Nice to meet you. I'm-" "Ruby Shadows. I know you... and why you are here. My grand-daughter is no longer in Ponyville." Ruby let out a sigh of relief, she wouldn't need to disturb the peace of this village. "Don't worry, little one. You wouldn't have had to fight here anyway. Shutterbug loved this town, and would have had the fight happen somewhere else." "Thats good... do you know where she is now? "Yes. But thats not what concerns you right now. You want to know something else, don't you?" "How-" "Did I know? Little one, you can't be with animals your whole life and not learn to read faces!" She said with a soft giggle. "Let me guess... you want to know about the barrier?" Well, that saved Ruby the trouble of asking... "Yes, please." "Well, your instincts are correct. This is a barrier, and this is Twilight's magic. She made this for me shortly after she became a princess, in order to protect the forest..." Fluttershy glanced at the magical field, "That used to be here. It used to be for keeping things out, to protect the critters... but not anymore. A few years ago, Something happened to her... She changed who she was, and everything she did. Now this field is a prison. Anypony who defied her, was sent here. She made another next to Canterlot, now this place just sits here, empty." "You were her friend, right? Do you know anything else?" "I don't think Twilight changed on purpose... I think there is someone else hurting my Twilight... and I wanna help, but I can't anymore!" She screamed this last part, and burst into tears. "You can still help! Tell me what I can do to stop her, and I can find out who is responsible." *sniff*,*hic* "Really?" "I promise." "... Okay... Have you ever heard of the elements of harmony, from long ago?" "Kind of... Weren't they really powerful, and used to defeat evil?" "Yes. Only certain ponies can use their power, though. Myself and Twilight were two of the six. All the others have passed away. Twilight's element was the base of most of her magical powers. You need to make sure she can't use her element. After that, it will be easier for you to deal with her evil." "Thank you. Is that all you can tell me?" "Yes. Give me a minute, I need to get something from inside." "Okay." As Fluttershy went inside, Ruby began to look around. The most notable thing was what looked like a gravestone. As she walked up to it, she saw, in faded letters: 'Here lies Angel, A wild, loved friend.' Using some of the magic she learned a long time ago, she made a group of roses grow on the grave, and eventually the flowers lay on their sides as if she had placed them there. A hoofbeat on the ground alerted Ruby that Fluttershy had returned. Holding a letter in her wing, she said, "Shutterfly is in Canterlot, alongside Twilight. Please give this to Twilight... and please, help her... please..." Fluttershy began to cry again, and Ruby walked up to her and hugged her. "I will. I promise." As Fluttershy broke off and began to walk away, Ruby began to walk back to the entrance of the town, hoping to see Pinkemina again. However, the friendly filly was nowhere to be seen. Slightly down, she looked towards Canterlot. "Why, Princess... Why?" Author's Note Yes, Pinkemina is a descendant of Pinkie Pie and Applejack. PLEASE DON'T ASK HOW! Yes, Fluttershy is still alive. I WILL ONLY SAY THIS IS PLOT CONSTRUCTIVE! I WILL NOT ANSWER COMMENTS ON WHY! Also, yes, Princess Twilight is one of the evil forces. AGAIN, PLOT CONSTRUCTIVE! All will be explained in time.
Chapter 1Any other who glanced into the building would easily believe that the formation within the barracks in front of Wholehoof Bay was a typical milliary formation, perhaps for a shift change, or new orders. However, all was not as it seemed. For, unbeknownst to the inattentive Captains standing infront of all the other guards, there was one extra guard that day. One who wasn't supposed to be there, and she knew it. This operation had been considered for the past month, and seemed rather easy to Ruby. The formation was for a change of command, and she had a plan. All he proper orders would be read, and every pony would salute. Thats when she would use a new weapon, a simple spring loaded dagger-launcher. She knew that at-least one pony would not make it home, be it the Captain or herself. The previous captain eventually came on-stage, and the ceremony began. It took a few minutes for the orders to be read, and the previous Captain made a speech. After the speech, Ruby's pulse quickened. She knew it was almost time, and as the new Captain stood at attention to deliver the order, Ruby took a deep breath. Finally. "Formation, Present Hooves!" Reacting with a sharpness that could only from her kind, she brought her foreleg up in the first half of the salute. However, during her second half, she twisted her hoof, and the dagger fired. All other ponys jumped at least a foot into the air in their shock at the noise, which, admittedly, even Ruby hadn't thought it would be that loud. The dagger sailed through the air, and found its mark, lodging itself into he new Captain's neck, which was, unfortunatly for him, exposed through the armor. The Captain didn't even flinch as he fell to the ground, his pitch black armor clanking as it hit the ground. All other pony's eyes landed on Ruby, who immediatly jumped away, and quickly slipping out of the armor she detested, but had had to wear. She prefered the outfit she had on underneath, a white cloak, with red stripes running along the side. At this, all the guards, who were, unconviently, all unicorns, magically raised thier weapons. Ruby took a quick analysis of her enemies. Time seemed to slow as she rapidly assesed her situation. She counted fifteen guards, and the old Captain... sixteen in total. Numbers were on their side, but she had skill on her's. The first of the guards ran forward, swinging his sword at Ruby's neck. Ruby smirked beneath her hood as she effortlessly dodged the strike, and brought her hoof into the guard's lower chest, where the armor separated. She knew the guard would feel her hoof, but before the guard could jump away, Ruby twisted her hoof again, launching another spring loaded dagger into the guard's chest, dropping the guard quickly to the ground. Ruby pulled the dagger out, as it was attached to her hoof, and twisted again, retracting the now blood-soaked blade. The next two, trying to use teamwork, moved forward, and Ruby decided to go on the offensive. Leaping over the two, she twisted both her hooves, bringing out one blade for each hoof, and thrusting them into the two pony's necks in midleap. Landing softly, she ducked under the sword that she knew was coming, missing it easily. A thrust, a twist, and a fourth guard left the fight. Bringing her left hoof up with a twist, she blocked another sword, and shoved her right blade through the guard's helmet's eye-hole. As she pulled out, she brought her back left leg up, and kicked hard, and met a guard in the helmet. He wasn't dead, but she knew it would give her enough time to turn around. Leaping around, away from the remaining twelve guards. Facing them, she waited for one of them to make a move. And move they did. Before Ruby could take a breath, two of them made a lunge toward her chest. Ducking under the thrusts, she threw herself between them, ending up at their rear. Throwing her hooves into her blind spot, she made contact with one of the guards, plunging her blade into his flank. Drawing it out, she swung it around, blocking another blade, and threw her hoof at the swinging pony, the blade entering the pony's neck. As she pushed away, she collided with another one of the guards, throwing them both off balance. Using the skills she had practiced many times before, she flipped around, landing chest to chest with the guard, as both landed on the floor. Giving the guard a quick teaser of a kiss, a simple peck on his lips, she smiled as she brought her hoof down, into the smitten guard's neck. Ruby jumped up, slicing her left blade through the startled guard in front of her. Her momentum far greater than she expected, she ended up at the wall. Instinct taking over, she ran a step up the wall, flipping her head around to search for a target. Finding the closest pony, who happened to be charging at her, perhaps to catch her from the rear, she launched herself off of the brick wall, her momentum carrying her into, and through the guard, whose suprised look stayed on his face as he it the ground. Continuing to charge forward, she dodged the next two guard's swords, and as she ran in between them, she stuck each hoof out to her side, ripping the blades though each guards inside chest. Skidding to a stop, and facing the remaining guards, and noticed the Captain, who was standing at the back of the other five, not at all eager to join the fight. Ruby also noticed that the other guards didn't look too confident either. Ruby took a step forward, and the guards took one back. Ruby leapt forward, and the guard's morale broke completely. Tripping over themselves, they turned tail and ran towards the entrance as fast as their armor would let them run. Raising her left hoof in their direction, Ruby considered taking out another one, but as she was about to let loose, she noticed that not all her opponents had fled, as the Captain was still standing beside her, staring at her. Turning her head toward the Captain, she said, "Braver than you look. You going to run and leave, or do you want to end up like the Captain who relieved you?" Starting to shake, the Captain looked at the body on the stage, then at the mass of now dead guards. He then glanced at Ruby before taking off toward the exit. "Hah... Coward." Ruby muttered before aiming her hoof at the Captain's backside. Twisting her hoof, she fired her second ballistic knife. Watching in content as the knife sailed through the air towards the departing figure, she smiled as the knife found its mark, settling into the Captain's left flank. The Captain lurched forward a couple more steps, before collapsing on the ground just before the door, mere meters away from the protection of the outside. Ruby glanced around, making sure there were no more guards about. Satisfied that her job was done, she began to trot her way to the exit. A minute after Ruby exited, another pony snuck out from his position under the stands. As he stood up,he shook is dark mane, and made his way lazily toward the exit, stretching on his way, indicating he had been there for a while. As he walked out of the barracks, he allowed a small smile to grow onto his face. Author's Note New story, relatively new concept for me. Please criticize (constructive) in the comments, and I will adjust as necessary. Thanks :D
Memory 1She was always a pony who found it hard to sleep, with any nudge or discomfort caused her to wake. This night in particular was a difficult one, as last night's dinner was a simple bowl of soup and a slice of bread. Her stomach growled at her as she woke for what felt like the millionth time. She lay in bed for a few more minutes, before deciding that she couldn't take it anymore. She took another minute to listen for any sounds that would indicate another pony moving about the house. After deciding it was safe, she slid out of bed and crept to her door. Opening it only a little, so it wouldn't creak, she slid through into the hall. Her breathing was heavy, yet controlled and quiet as she made her way through the dark hallway, the only noise being the occasional snore of a sleeping pony in one of the rooms. She had to keep every movement quiet, lest somepony wake and discover her. She knew she couldn't afford to be discovered, as the consequences would be severe. She made it through the hallway, and breathed a quiet sigh of relief. One of the hardest parts was over, and she could relax a little, but only a little. She knew she couldn't get careless. She made her way across the living room, taking extra care not to bump into anything. She made it through the room without touching any of the furniture, as she knew she would. As she crossed the threshold into the kitchen, she gave a nearly unnoticeable start, as the kitchen was already occupied. A blue unicorn was standing at the stove, horn shining as she used her magic to sir some ingredients into a bowl. Ruby took notice of a jar beside the unicorn. After a moment of inspection, she concluded that it was a jar of icing. She figured the unicorn was baking a cake, or something similar, then as smoothly and quiet as she could, backed into the living room. She ran through a mental picture of the room, hurriedly trying to find a place to take cover, as there was no way to know when the unicorn would emerge from the kitchen. Her desision-making was cut short as she heard hoofsteps moving toward the living room. Her first move was toward the hallway, to retreat, but she overrode that move as she knew she couldn't risk waking anypony else. In a motion that she knew was reckless, she darted behind the couch. In her hurry, her flank hit the side of the couch, causing her to wince in pain. In her paniced state, she also accidentaly let a tiny whimper escape her lips. The steps paused, and Ruby held her breath, not moving another muscle. She closed her eyes, hoping the unicorn didn't hear anything. The hoofsteps resumed, and eventually reached the carpeted living room, where they became harder, but still possible, for Ruby to hear. After a couple more seconds, the hooves reached the hallway, and walked into one of the other rooms. From her position, Ruby knew she had three options: to continue her mission and risk the unicorn coming back, to retreat to where she had started, or to stay put and wait. She knew the third option really didn't lead anywhere, so she discarded the idea. After a moment of intense consideration, she decided she would continue her mission. After a couple minutes wait, and no unicorn returning, she felt it was safe to leave her hiding spot. as she crept out towards the kitchen, she paused at the hallway's opening, listening intently, for any sound that may come from the other rooms. She heard nothing, so she looked toward the kitchen, and began to creep forward. As she reached the threshold again, she paused, and glanced around the kitchen. She saw nothing, except that the oven was on. This alarmed Ruby, as she now knew the unicorn was going to eventually return. The absence of a timer didn't help her either. Ruby, taking into account these new factors, immediatly decided that her best course of action was to abandon the mission and retreat, so she began to slowly creep back through the living room, again making it through the darkness without a hitch. As she entered the hallway, she sped up her pace a bit, but still managed to stay quiet. As she moved past each of the doors, however, she made sure to slow down and listen. As she neared safety, she started to relax, sure that her adventure was about to end for the better. This, however, was contradicted by the last door in the hallway. As she snuck past the door, it swung open, revealing the blue unicorn, who was greeted by a now extremely frightened Ruby. "Ruby Shadows! What in Celestia's name are you doing up at this time of night?!" the upset pegasus yelled. "I'm sorry, Momma! I was hungry, so I-" "So what? You thought you could just ignore your bedtime? You know you have classes tomorrow, you should be asleep, little missy!" Ruby seemed to shrink in the sight of her stern mother, Sapphire. All that she was able to do was whimper as the young unicorn looked into her mother's eyes. She was in trouble, and she knew it. "You will march your rump to bed right now. I will discuss your punishment-" Ruby shrunk away at the word "-in the morning. I am very disappointed, Ruby. Do you understand me?" Another whimper came from Ruby, followed by a barely audible "yes". "Good, now go." Sapphire pointed toward the door at the end of the hallway, Ruby's bedroom. Ruby quickly scampered to her room, upset, not that her mother was angry at her, for Ruby had known she would be, but that she had been caught. As soon as she made it through her doorway and had shut her door, she launched herself into her bed and covered herself with the sheets, slightly shaking as she feared what her mother would decide on as a punishment.
Memory 2As was her norm, Ruby was sitting quietly in the corner of the classroom, as none of the other young ponys would find their way to their seats until about 5 minutes before their teacher came in, about 8:55. She found herself not really paying attention to anypony in particular, simply listening in to any conversation that happened to take her attention. She moved from her current one, when the conversation went from, "Hey, Slick, lets suprise somepony." to, "Whispy... do you wanna... you know...?" Ruby had almost found another conversation to listen too when she heard a sharp "NO!" from the red-coated Whispy Flowers, followed shortly after by a dull 'thud' and a loud cry of pain from an apparently rejected Slick Summers. A smirk crossed Ruby's face as she turned toward the filly whom she considered to be her only friend. "Turned down another one? You certainly are popular, aren't you?" "Me, popular? Oh, darling, you simply mustn't under-rate me." Whispy replied, in a very pompous voice, trying to joke with Ruby. Dropping her act, she continued in her normal voice, which was flowing and fragile, befitting her name. "no, really, though... I don't like it... that everypony likes me, I don't want the attention..." Ruby was at a loss for words, as normally Whispy was an attention seeker, bathing in the attention of her fellow fillies. "Is everything alright, Whispy?" "I-" Whispy was interupted by the movements of the other fillies, who had begun to find their way to their seats. "I'll talk later..." Ruby stood in place for another moment, but eventually gave in to the swarm of fillies, and made her way to her seat, which was in the front of the room, much to her discomfort. If she had any say in the matter, she would be seated in the back, but beacuse their teacher made all the decisions, she was in front. After a couple more moments, the classroom door swung open, and the class began. As the teacher walked out of the class, everypony began to talk, and make their way to the door. Ruby hung back, trying to catch a glimpse of Whispy. Noticing that she wasn't still in the classroom, Ruby quickly stood on her hind legs with a desk as a brace in order to see everypony's head to try to find Whispy. Seeing her friend's red and blue mane at the front of the herd, she quickly leapt over the desk and started to trot through the group. Since she wasn't paying attention to the other fillies, she earned herself multiple dirty looks from those whom she brushed against. Finally clear of most of her classmates, she had a much clearer sight of her friend, and saw she was talking to one of the most outspoken ponies in the town, a young colt named Silver Hoof. Ruby smiled and began to catch up to the two of them, when suddenly Whispy shook her head and turned away from Silver, walking into an alley. Ruby became concerned when Silver began to look angry and followed Whispy. Now thankful that she hadn't brought attention to herself, Ruby went into what she she considered to be 'stealth mode', which involved nothing more than quietly following Silver at a distance. As Ruby reached the alley that her friend turned down, she looked around the corner just in time to see Silver's gleaming tail turn the next corner. Running as quietly as she could, she made the other corner and stopped short, as what she heard was appalling. "No... I don't want-" "Quiet! Now stand there!" "No..." *Thud* *Whimper* "Ok..." Ruby quickly poked her head around the corner, and saw Silver advancing on Whispy while she was turned away. The only thing Ruby could see on Whispy's face were her tears as she quietly begged Silver not to touch her. Those tears brought hatred straight into Ruby's mind, and she snapped. With a scream, she tore out of the corner and charged straight at Silver. As he turned to see the source of the scream, all he saw was Ruby's hoof as she brought it towards his face. Silver took a couple steps back as the punch connected. Ruby looked at Whispy's suprised face with a look that clearly said 'get away'. Whispy looked back at Ruby, then shook her head and turned toward Silver with a tortured look of hatred on her face. By this time, Silver had recovered from the suprise of the attack, and was ready to retaliate. All three ponies stood still, each ready for the other side to make a move. Silver, impatient pony that he was, made the first move, dashing toward some trash cans on the side of the alleyway, turned around, and bucked the lids at Ruby and Whispy. Whispy dodged the one that was heading at her, but Ruby had a different plan. She caught one on the end of her hoof, and flung it back at Silver. He ducked, and Ruby charged forward. Seeing Ruby bring her hoof up to punch him again, he brought his fore-leg up to block, then brought his other leg up to hit back. Ruby blocked as well, and she pushed him back so there would be at least a little space between her and the enraged young colt. "Why, Silver?!" Ruby cried out. "It's not like she would have taken me any other way." "So you do this to her? How stupid are you?" "Smarter than you, thats for sure." With that, Silver smirked and tilted his head toward the opening of the alleyway. Ruby quickly turned her head toward the opening, expecting to see another filly. She was even more upset when she saw that there was nopony there. "Ruby! Duck!" Whispy cried out. Even though she heard her friend's command, Ruby couldn't react quick enough. As she turned her head back toward Silver, she was greeted by Silver right up on her, back turned and prepared to buck. "Psych." With the one word, Silver bucked as hard as he could. Both back hooves connected with the side of Ruby's chest, and she was kicked into the air. After spinning though the air for a few feet, Ruby hit the wall on the side of the alley and slid limply to the ground. With all her efforts to stand back up proving futile, all she could do was watch as her friend was grabbed and tugged further into the alleyway. As it became harder and harder for her to draw breath, her vision became foggy. As she watched, however, she became convinced that her eyes were playing tricks on her, for what she was seeing was simply too good to be true. As Silver reached the end of the alley, it appeared that Whispy had blacked out. As Silver finished moving, a shadowy figure moved into view. After glancing at Ruby, the dark pony moved toward Silver. Silver apparently heard this new arrival, and glanced up, and evil smirk on his face. However, as he saw that the newcomer was much larger than him, his smirk quickly vanished, and was replaced by a look of fear. The pony stepped aside, and Silver ran past him, and left Ruby's field of view. After Silver left, the dark pony kneeled by Whispy. After a couple seconds, a sharp pain ran through Ruby, and she gasped, which hurt her more. The pony heard this, and quickly ran to Ruby's side and kneeled down. As this pony's horn glowed, Ruby's vision closed around her, and she passed out. "Hmm... I best take this one first..." As he used some more of his magic, the pony lifted Ruby up and draped her over his back. As he stood back up, he stretched, revealing a pair of sleek black wings. As he glanced back at Whispy, he whispered, "I'll be back for you." After that, he flapped his wings, and took off, flying as fast as he could toward the Equestra Medical Center.
Chapter 2A couple weeks later, she found herself in a town that seemed too peaceful to be the scene of an assassination. Truly, she thought, there is no way that she's here, not now... However, as she walked by the sign, she remembered a story that her mother had told her, about a hyper pink pony, always looking for a smile from the village's occupants. Just that thought brought a rare smile to Ruby's face. However, that smile was replaced by a look of curiosity as she saw what looked like a blue... thing bouncing toward her. As the 'thing' got closer, Ruby discovered that it was in fact not a 'thing' but a dark blue filly, with what looked like the fluffiest mane ever, and what had to have been the widest smile ever across its face. Ruby could also hear a faint "Whee, Whee!" coming from the filly. Just before the filly was going to bounce into Ruby, it stopped. "Yay! You haven't even met me and you were smiling!" "You... saw me...smile?" "Eeyup!" "From way over there?" "Eeyup!" "How?" "With these!" After saying that, it showed Ruby the binoculars around its neck, which Ruby was sure had just appeared there. "Thats... creepy... Whats your name?" "Pinkemina Apple Pie!" "Don't you have any family to get home too?" Pinkemina's mane seemed to deflate at the question. "Naw... Everypony in my family is gone..." "I'm sorry..." "Thats okay. Thats what all the other pony's are for!" Her mane reinflated as she inhaled. "Whats your name?" "My name? It's..." Ruby paused for a moment, hesitant to give the filly her real name. As she settled on another name from her mother's stories, she said, "Ditzy. Ditzy Hooves." "Are you sure?" The filly seemed suspicious, as if she already knew that name. "Yep." "Alrighty then." Pinkemina said with another wide smile. Smiling the best that she could, she decided on how to blend in to this town. "Maybe you could help me find someone... do you know a pony named Shutterfly?" "Yep! Follow me!" The two ponies started walking, or, in Pinkemina's case, slightly hopped, towards the other side of town, towards what looked like a forest. As the pair drew closer, Ruby saw that it was not a forest, but a collection of rods, glowing with a dark purple hue. "Whats in there?" Ruby asked, already fearing that she knew. "Gramma Pinkie always told me to stay away from it. She said that her friend made it for another friend, but that was all." "Huh... okay. Thank you." Ruby began to think. That glow was magical. She knew that much. The feel of the magic, even back here... it was a powerful spell. All that, plus the color and the young filly's story... There was no mistaking it. This was made by her enemy, in times long past. "See that tree, there?" Pinkemina said as she pointed towards the collection of rods, "Thats Shutterfly's house. I'm sorry, Miss Hooves... I'm not allowed to go any closer..." "That's alright. Go have some fun, for me. Okay?" "Okay!" As Pinkemina bounced off into the town, Ruby's heart fell a little. She had begun to enjoy the filly's company. It had felt good to not be alone... She shrugged off the feeling of loneliness as she walked toward the tree. When she reached the home, she stopped for a moment, and listened. Apart from the humming of the magical aura, which she figured was a container, or some sort of barrier, there was nothing. She raised a hoof, but as she was moved to hit the door, a voice came from behind her. "She's not home." Ruby flipped around, and saw where the voice came from. It was an aged pony, yellow in color, a soft pink mane and tail complimenting her appearance. "May I ask your name?" Ruby asked. "I'm Fluttershy..." She said, her voice trailing off. "Nice to meet you. I'm-" "Ruby Shadows. I know you... and why you are here. My grand-daughter is no longer in Ponyville." Ruby let out a sigh of relief, she wouldn't need to disturb the peace of this village. "Don't worry, little one. You wouldn't have had to fight here anyway. Shutterbug loved this town, and would have had the fight happen somewhere else." "Thats good... do you know where she is now? "Yes. But thats not what concerns you right now. You want to know something else, don't you?" "How-" "Did I know? Little one, you can't be with animals your whole life and not learn to read faces!" She said with a soft giggle. "Let me guess... you want to know about the barrier?" Well, that saved Ruby the trouble of asking... "Yes, please." "Well, your instincts are correct. This is a barrier, and this is Twilight's magic. She made this for me shortly after she became a princess, in order to protect the forest..." Fluttershy glanced at the magical field, "That used to be here. It used to be for keeping things out, to protect the critters... but not anymore. A few years ago, Something happened to her... She changed who she was, and everything she did. Now this field is a prison. Anypony who defied her, was sent here. She made another next to Canterlot, now this place just sits here, empty." "You were her friend, right? Do you know anything else?" "I don't think Twilight changed on purpose... I think there is someone else hurting my Twilight... and I wanna help, but I can't anymore!" She screamed this last part, and burst into tears. "You can still help! Tell me what I can do to stop her, and I can find out who is responsible." *sniff*,*hic* "Really?" "I promise." "... Okay... Have you ever heard of the elements of harmony, from long ago?" "Kind of... Weren't they really powerful, and used to defeat evil?" "Yes. Only certain ponies can use their power, though. Myself and Twilight were two of the six. All the others have passed away. Twilight's element was the base of most of her magical powers. You need to make sure she can't use her element. After that, it will be easier for you to deal with her evil." "Thank you. Is that all you can tell me?" "Yes. Give me a minute, I need to get something from inside." "Okay." As Fluttershy went inside, Ruby began to look around. The most notable thing was what looked like a gravestone. As she walked up to it, she saw, in faded letters: 'Here lies Angel, A wild, loved friend.' Using some of the magic she learned a long time ago, she made a group of roses grow on the grave, and eventually the flowers lay on their sides as if she had placed them there. A hoofbeat on the ground alerted Ruby that Fluttershy had returned. Holding a letter in her wing, she said, "Shutterfly is in Canterlot, alongside Twilight. Please give this to Twilight... and please, help her... please..." Fluttershy began to cry again, and Ruby walked up to her and hugged her. "I will. I promise." As Fluttershy broke off and began to walk away, Ruby began to walk back to the entrance of the town, hoping to see Pinkemina again. However, the friendly filly was nowhere to be seen. Slightly down, she looked towards Canterlot. "Why, Princess... Why?" Author's Note Yes, Pinkemina is a descendant of Pinkie Pie and Applejack. PLEASE DON'T ASK HOW! Yes, Fluttershy is still alive. I WILL ONLY SAY THIS IS PLOT CONSTRUCTIVE! I WILL NOT ANSWER COMMENTS ON WHY! Also, yes, Princess Twilight is one of the evil forces. AGAIN, PLOT CONSTRUCTIVE! All will be explained in time.
