Dark Sides

Stained Steel flew in the cover of night. "Ponyville," he noted, seeing the famous town below him. "Now I just need to find my target, Demon Blood. I can't wait to get that reward - I'll be set for life!" he said to himself. "This is his last known target...I'll start my search tomorrow."

He looked down again, and saw two ponies under a tree. "Perfect! I'll ask them if they've seen him anywhere."

Spellbound was about to tell Moon Beam his name when Steel landed behind them and asked, "Hey, you two wouldn't know if Demon Blood was in the area, would you?" He tried to seem friendly, hoping that his many daggers and assorted knives would not cause any problems. Ponies tended to stay away from him because of all the blades he carried, and the cold way he generally acted towards them. Being friendly was a challenge for him; he hoped this time it would work.

Moon Beam turned her head quickly to look at the newcomer, a bit startled by his sudden appearance. He had many pouches full of knives and daggers, which worried her a bit. He sounds friendly enough...but all those weapons...it's a little scary! Does he realize that?

Upon receiving no answer from either pony, Steel continued. "If not, you should know that Demon Blood is hell-bent on causing chaos. He is a vile pony, and he won't think twice to kill you."

Moon Beam's eyes widened.

Steel suddenly realized they had no idea who he was. "Oh, where are my manners? My name is Stained Steel, and I'm sorry to interrupt you two, but I need to find Demon Blood, as I'm sure you can understand from what I told you."

Honestly, Moon Beam found Steel quite stunning; although, he seemed the type not to want a partner or anything along those lines. She sighed quietly to herself, then turned around fully to face the stallion.

"Well, I don't live around here or anything; in fact, I live very far away, so I don't know anything about any of the ponies here. But maybe I could help you find him," Moon Beam suggested nervously. She had a strong feeling he would say that he liked to work alone or something typical like that, but it didn't hurt to try.

***

Frost sat in his room, writing a letter to his friend in Canterlot. He had arrived in Ponyville from there only a few days ago, and was staying in the inn until he could find a more permanent place to settle. He finished the letter, rolled it up and sealed it. Putting in his saddle bags, he trotted out of the inn and down the road, listening to the music on his iPon.

After about half an hour of walking, he stopped to look around. He took off his headphones and strained his eyes; it was so dark, all he had to go by was the rather dim moonlight. He soon realized he was more lost than he was comfortable with. Ah, crap, he thought as he turned...to see three ponies conversing under a nearby tree. He was hesitant to trot over and ask for directions; talking to ponies at night didn't seem like a proper idea to him, but he figured it was worth a shot. He turned off his music and trotted over to the small group.

Moon Beam heard Frost as he approached, and turned towards the direction of his hoofsteps. She groaned. Oh no, not another one.

"Um, excuse me, but would any of you happen to know how to get to the post office?" this fourth pony asked.

Moon Beam just looked at him blankly and said, "As I just explained to him" - she gestured to the pegasus behind her with her head - "I don't live around here, so I wouldn't know. I don't know about him right here" - she motioned to the still nameless unicorn next to her - "but I have no clue. Sorry." She shrugged, and realized she might have sounded a bit more rude than she had intended, for the white unicorn looked taken aback. "I'm sorry about being so rude. I'm just a bit...agitated," she added, then turned back towards Stained Steel to await his answer.

But Steel was focused on the newcomer. "Sorry, I don't know either. I just came here looking for a criminal. His name is Demon Blood, and if you see him, you will know he used a spell to steal the wings of a dragon. He is a very dangerous pony, and you don't want to cross paths with him."

He turned to Moon Beam, officially ignoring Frost. "Well, I don't tend to work with others...but if you can prove that you can fight and hold your own against a trained warrior, then I could use the help." He looked Moon Beam over. She looks nice...but she probably wouldn't want to be with a stallion like me, Steel thought as he pulled a small knife out and handed it to her. "Show me what you got, and don't worry - I won't hurt you. I'll stop right before I break skin - that is, if I have a chance to counter," Steel told her with a smile on his face. Then he turned to Frost and Spellbound. "Can you guys give us some room? I don't know how she fights, so we could use...ten feet, I think."

"Yeah, I think that's good," Moon Beam answered as she smirked a bit. She didn't need to fight often, but she had learned a thing or two about fighting from her dad when she was young, and over time as she traveled and such.

Steel paused. "I didn't catch your name - what was it?"

She hesitated for a moment, then replied, "Moon Beam."

That's a nice name, Steel thought.

Then Moon Beam gripped the knife Stained Steel had given her to use in this mock fight, took up a fighting stance, and narrowed her eyes at the rather gorgeous stallion across from her. She looked him over as he followed suit; he was magnificent to her, and she got so caught up in him, she almost forgot that they were supposed to fight.

Steel pulled out his favorite dagger. It was ornate with a stainless steel grip that was carved with his family crest. The blade itself was a swirl of black and silver, and so sharp, it could split a hair. He decided to use his second, and considerably simpler, solid black dagger as well.

Moon Beam changed then. Her posture, her expression, her attitude, everything about her shifted. She was no longer just Moon Beam - she was a fighter. But she didn't know what kind of fighter Stained Steel was, or how good he was, which scared her. He looked like a rogue warrior type that was used to killing...which she honestly didn't mind.

She yet again lost her train of thought, but regained herself again, shaking her head and narrowing her eyes, thinking of a way to take him down and prove herself as a worthy partner. Steel took note of how her focus had slipped not once, but twice. Why would her focus slip at a time like this? It could mean life or death.

"Ready?" Moon Beam asked as she grinned deviously.

"Not to seem cocky, but I'm always ready," Steel replied. "The real question is, are you ready?" he asked with a bored expression on his face. He twirled his daggers and spread his wings as he went into his fighting stance. He was ready. Even though he had no knowledge of Moon Beam or how she fought, he was sure that he wouldn't be bested by her - mostly due to his cutie mark, which said he was a master with small blades, especially daggers. Steel watched Moon Beam with anticipation.

Frost had felt slightly frightened at the drawing of the knives, for he wasn't fully comprehending the situation. But after a few seconds, he calmed down and studied the two ponies' stances closer. Strange...their fighting stances are far from what I've seen, and those daggers... he thought, turning his gaze to the knives. "So well sharpened, it's scary," he muttered, thinking of his internship as a blacksmith back in Canterlot. He reached into his saddlebags and pulled out the custom dagger he had made as his final project for the blacksmith. Its curved blade was covered with engravings. Shifting his gaze to the handle with its leather strappings and brass hoof-hole for hoof-to-hoof combat. What I would give to be able to use you again, he thought, flipping and spinning his blade around in an elegant fashion.

Steel saw Frost doing this and thought, I'll challenge him next. He turned his attention back to Moon Beam. That smile...I don't know why, but for some reason it's putting me on edge. I'll have to be careful to at the very least not get angry. A TNT dagger enchainment would cause me to kill her, because she would be attacking me, and I don't want that, Steel thought as he shifted his weight back and forth. When she does attack, I'll be ready for a dodge and most likely a counterstrike of my own. Hopefully she will prove to be a challenge...if so, I wouldn't mind keeping her around. He changed his expression to a cold and heartless stare. No matter what he thought about, he was always ready for Moon Beam to strike; he had fought so many others that it was second nature to him. All he did in fights these days was react, but if need be, he could still make the first move...Not this time, he decided.

As Moon Beam stood, waiting to fight, she thought of just how she would fight him and prove herself worthy. She knew it would be tough, considering that his cutie mark showed off his skill in fighting. She was a bit worried that he would actually hurt her, but she seemed to trust him more than anypony else.

"Moon Beam, since I'm seeing how well you fight, you make the first move. After all, you know what they say - ladies first," Steel said, chuckling, and breaking Moon Beam's thoughts.

She smiled and replied, "I was planning on it." Then she began rocking back and forth slightly with her wings open and down by her sides. Her ears lay back against her head and her eyes were narrowed and focused on the stallion ahead of her.

She hesitated for a bit, and noticed that Steel was steadily shifting his weight to either side. She knew what he was doing, and had an idea for a strike.

Moon Beam steadied herself for a moment, and focused on the stunning pegasus. Then in an instant, she was bolting towards him at top speed, making an obvious first move. Then, as she neared him, she jumped into the air and flipped above Steel, landing behind him. She quickly turned around to find him staring at her, so she jumped to the side, just in case he would try to attack. As she was turning to face the stallion yet again, she caught a glimpse of the moon, and her eyes flashed red instead of their normal silver. She gasped as she saw the red flash of her eyes shifting colors, then looked back at Steel. "Wait!" she yelled abruptly.

Moon Beam suddenly felt dizzy, and swayed. She dropped the knife, and before she could fall to the ground, caught herself. She stared at Stained Steel with horror and worry. "No..." she said softly and in disbelief as she looked down at the ground and closed her eyes. "This can't be happening now...no..." Her eyes then shot back to Steel, who was asking her what couldn't be happening. She didn't answer, instead keeping her eyes on her hooves, for they were moving on their own, stepping forward towards Steel. "What?" she said to herself as she watched herself take one step, then another, and then another.

Steel had been shocked by how Moon Beam had read his movements, and had admired her when she had jumped to the side. He was even more surprised by her eyes changing color. Eye shift...that happens with my dagger, but not like that, he thought. He watched her as she came closer to him.

Suddenly Moon Beam looked up to find Steel's face only inches away from hers. She looked into his eyes and blushed. "Sorry - I don't know what's going on!" She tried to step away, but found she couldn't. Their lips were so close, they were almost touching. She wanted to reach her head forward and kiss him, but knew that wouldn't be a good idea. She stared into his eyes again, and found herself moving even closer.

Meanwhile, Frost had turned away from the fight to see if he still had the old tricks his teachers had taught him. He tied his chain onto his hoof and connected it to the loop at the end of his knife. "It's tighter than I remember, but all the same, it will have to suffice," he muttered under his breath. He stood up and walked over to a compact group of small trees, standing as close to their center as he could get. He held his blade, curled up the chain and released; when he did so, the knife launched straight forward, cutting one tree in half and stabbing into the tree behind it. The severed half of the first tree toppled.

"Whoa - forgot just how sharp you were," he chucked quietly, wrapping some of the chain around his hoof again. "Now how bout this," he growled as he spun around quickly, ripping the knife out of the tree. He swung it wide, cutting down three more trees before slinging it back towards him and letting it go under and between his legs. When he heard the blade stab another tree he performed a front flip and yanked the knife forward, ripping the tree from the ground and slamming it back town. Not too shabby, he thought, walking back out to see the two ponies from before face to face.

"Ohh...ummm...ok?" he muttered, sitting back down and interpreting the scene only a little differently from what it was.

Stained Steel stepped back, brandishing his daggers. "What do you mean, you don't know what's going on? How can you not? And while I'm asking, why did your eyes shift color?!"

Moon Beam sighed. "It's my curse. That's the whole reason I'm here in Ponyville. I was supposed to find the princess at the castle to see if she could lift the curse," she explained as it pushed her closer and closer to him. She tried again, did her best to stop herself, but it was no use. "I'm sorry, I honestly don't know what's going on - this has never happened before."

All at once, she stopped moving, and found she had control of her body again. "Good," she breathed.

She looked up at Steel, then down at the knives he was holding to defend himself. She hung her head and closed her eyes tight. A tear fell down her cheek as she exhaled deeply. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have started fighting you. I knew about the curse, and it's unpredictable...I should have known better." The tears started falling faster, and she turned away from Steel. "I'm sorry," she said softly as she began walking away from him.