Storm

        A young Pegasus dragged her hooves along the dirt. She had been on the path for hours, and still no sign of any inhabited land. Her leather saddlebag was small, yet it carried all of her belongings. A few weeks ago, she had traveled to Canterlot, for she had won a scholarship at a famous school for would-be clowns. ‘Pinkie Pranking’ was its name, and it had been founded by Pinkie Pie, known to be one of the best friends of the Princess Twilight Sparkle. Once she had gotten there, she had been rejected for a student with ‘more potential’’, but still offered a place if she handed over some more bits. She had turned down the offer, for she had no money, not even enough to buy herself a train ticket.

        So that was how she had ended up on this path, yearning to return to the humble village of Minicolta. She had flown at first, but when her wings started throbbing, she decided to go by hoof. Her frizzy green mane fell on her eyes, and she brushed it aside with a hoof. Just when she felt that her legs could take her no further, she caught sight of a vast city in the distance. It was on the edge of a cliff, yet it never slipped nor slided down into the abyss. The young Pegasus sulked and glared daggers at the dirt trail. In circles! This whole time, she had been walking in circles.

        Angrily, she stomped her hoof and kicked the dirt around her. Ten hours. She had been following that path for ten hours. The Sun goddess had let the sun lazily set behind the distant mountains, and the night was alight with stars. The peaceful, forgiving, night, that only one as gentle as Luna could perfect. Calming herself slowly, she proceeded towards Canterlot, and though her hooves were practically screaming at her, she continued her trekk on hoof. The steep path that led up to Canterlot was very unforgiving, but she persevered through the harsh journey, until she was at the colossal city gates.

        A grey batpony with piercing amber eyes stood on the vast wall, looking out for any intruders, beside him, another stallion, similar to the batpony, but with cobalt blue eyes and a different mane and tail colour.

--- View Change ---

        “Halt! What is your business here?” the batpony called out to the Crimson Pegasus standing at the entrance of the city. Things around Canterlot were a bit touchy since the theft of the Canterlot Caves maps 6 years ago and the recent attack, and maximum security had been called in. Even the reserve guard were patrolling the city day and night. Things were truly desperate.

        The ruby-red Pegasus stared up at him with bright lime-green eyes, and responded, “I left this place earlier today and there weren’t this many guards.”

She had obviously not been in there at the time of attack.

He answered her with a simple question, “When did you leave?”

        “Twelve-thirty! Why?”

He puzzled around her answer for a while. The attack had been commenced at One o’ clock on the dot. She might be a source of useful information, but he didn’t know for sure.

        “What’s your name, and what is your business here?” he questioned her.

She was quite the Pegasus, with a mass of emerald green hair that didn’t quite seem to obey her, and a seemingly old faded leather saddlebag that had a golden brooch used to keep it closed; the button had probably fallen off.

“My name is Raspberry Delight. All I want to do is find a place to stay for the night.” she was answering all of his questions, maybe he should let her in.

        Certainly, she wasn’t named for her personality though, because right now, she wasn’t being very enthusiastic, she was acting more to the simple co-operative side. Well, it was obvious she wasn’t a serial killer that would murder everypony in sight in the blink of an eye, but orders were orders, so he had to be sure.

        “Spearhead, reel up the gates, and once she’s through, I’ll fly down and check her bag.” Spearhead had been reasonably quiet throughout the whole of the conversation.

After all, it had been the batpony, not he, who had been given this job.

Spearhead’s reply was prompt and short, “Yes sir, Captain Shadow.”

--- View Change ---

Raspberry cursed herself for the personality change when she was addressing a member of the Royal Guard. She was only like that when she was really embarrassed or amazed, she didn’t understand why, at the time, it had happened. The gates where risen, so that she could pass underneath the wall, and straight after she had gone under, she was met with the dark-coated batpony.

“Well m’am, I’m under strict orders to check any and all bags of civilians that go in and out of the city for potential weapons, so if you would hand that saddlebag to me, I can check it. I’ll need your ID too, but I assume it’s in there,” he told her pointing toward the bag.

Raspberry felt a little uneasy about handing over all of her personal belongings, but since the armour he wore showed he was of high ranking in the Royal Guard, she made no fuss.

She handed over her leather saddlebag, giving the warning, “Please be careful with the brooch, it’s made out of gold.”

The batpony looked through her things. There were photos of members of family, old newspapers, and even a book labeled ‘101 Party Pranks’, but nothing that could be used as a weapon. He found her ID card. Her full name, Raspberry Delight, was written on it. A picture of a younger version of the mare that stood in front of him now, looked up at him from the top right hand corner, her cutie mark, three smiling emoticons, was underneath that. She had been born in 1027, and since it was the year 1048, a quick calculation showed that she was around the age of 20, and her home-town was said to be Minicolta.

The guard took a closer look at the brooch and observed, “M’am, I’m sorry to inform you, but this isn’t gold, it’s Pyrite, also known as fool’s gold.”

Raspberry felt shattered. It could have been the only valuable possession that she held, but in the end, it was only Pyrite, nothing of value, nothing worth keeping, just fool’s gold. Then he handed her back the saddlebag, and she advanced toward the centre of Canterlot. Her original plan had been to trade some bits for lending the brooch, since there was going to be a party for the nobles of Canterlot, and then use that money to rent herself a room where she could sleep until she got a job and money for a better place to stay. But nopony would go to a party wearing Pyrite in their mane. She could see herself sleeping on the streets once more.

        “Wait!” The batpony guard called after her. She stopped and turned around just in time to face him as he skidded to a halt in front of her. “Do you have anywhere in the city to stay?”

        “No…” She was slightly taken aback by his forthrightness.

        “Well… I have a spare room at my place. You could stay there while in Canterlot, if you want,” He offered. She was even more taken aback, now.

        “Umm… Okay.”

        “Great! I’ll show you to the house when my shift’s done. Which will be in half an hour, by the way.”

        She planned out what she could do, which was in reality, not much. Without any bits on her, she couldn’t buy anything, and nothing that she had in her saddlebag would be of much use. She didn’t want to hang around at the entrance of the city though.

        “Meet you at the entrance to Foal’s Park?”

        “Actually, there’s a favorite meeting place of the guards. If you want to meet me at The Shady Trough, that’s fine. Foal’s Park is a little out of my way. Whatever you do, don’t go inside the tavern, though,” He replied, a serious glint in his eyes.

        ‘The Shady Trough’ didn’t sound any more welcoming as a name than his tone of voice, and she didn’t plan to go in.

        “Note to self, The Shady Trough is not to be entered,” she reminded herself, so that it at least had a remote chance of sticking in her mind. She headed off toward the center, planning simply to browse, but not buy. She passed by an alleyway of small shops, the simple ‘table and cloth’ presentation caught her eye. This was the type of place where they’d buy fakes, and sell them off to the rich and noble for the price of a real one.

        Though she could get a few bits for the pyrite brooch, she didn’t want to get involved in this dark business, so she let it slip her mind. However, she did notice a figure standing in front of one of the stalls that stood out to her. They seemed to be holding a piece of parchment, but it was too difficult to tell for sure. All that she could see was a silhouette, but she could just about make out the body of a bulky gryphon. He glared at her for a moment. His green eyes flashed with hatred, but he said nothing, and continued on with whatever he was doing previously.

        She had come to an area of the city that she hadn’t seen before. There were a few cafes and souvenir shops, nothing much. She scanned the area, she hadn’t seen anything unusual, but after the griffon that she had seen in the alleyway, she had expected something more… exciting. Sure, she was staying at the apartment of a member of the Royal Guard, but really, sticking around in an apartment all day could not be considered ‘fun’ to her, unless it involved something sweet.

        She gazed up at the rusty clock that was resting on the wall of one of the nearby buildings. ‘10:55’ was what the pointers told her. She had last seen the batpony at 10:30, he had told her to meet him at ‘The Shady Trough’ in thirty minutes, when his shift ended. To put it plainly, she had five minutes to get there.

        Galloping as fast as she could towards the shady areas of Canterlot, Raspberry hunted desperately for the place he had told her about. She wasn’t about to embarrass herself, especially not in front of a member of as high of a ranking as he. She spotted a sign, and sure enough, it said:

The Shady Trough

        Thankfully, she couldn’t see the batpony. She was in time. She wasn’t late. Finally! She wanted to jump for joy, but she kept it to herself, knowing this area of the city well. She peaked in through the tavern window, the dirty windows needed some serious spring cleaning. There were a few batponies sat around the tables, along with a mixture of gryphons, and by the look of it, changelings. She could barely notice the sharp fangs that stuck out, but she had been taught how to recognise changelings when some big, secret thing had happened, and the whole of Minicolta was on high security.

Soon after she had arrived, she heard some hoofsteps. She turned around to see the amber-eyed batpony. He was still wearing his indigo armour, but held his helmet under a wing, and now, he too, had a saddlebag.

        “Well, I’m here, we can go now.” his voice was deep, but he sounded like he was trying to hide something.

        “You know, you never told me your name.”

        “Steel Shadow.”

        She looked at Steel. He was well built, and though his body wasn’t too visible with his armour on, she could tell that he could easily knock her unconscious.

        There was an awkward silence, though neither of them wanted to break it, eventually Raspberry gave in,

        “What’s your rank in the guard? I heard that unicorn - I think his name was Spearhead, - call you Captain Shadow.”

        “He calls me ‘Captain’ because that’s what I am, among Hunters, anyway. In the guard, my rank is much higher. I’m actually a Lieutenant Colonel.”

        Raspberry was impressed. Even she, who had never had anything to do with war, knew that was a high rank, especially for a stallion of his age.

        “You’re a bit young for that rank though, don’t you think?”

When Steel Shadow responded, his voice was blended with a mixture of both confidence and defensiveness, and was that a little hurt that she heard?

        “I worked hard for this rank, I’m not planning on letting go of it.” he told her, his face set in a stoical expression. The rest of the walk back to his apartment was mostly quiet, except for Raspberry’s occasional humming. She sped up and slowed her pace at times. but Steel’s was constant, and this was one of the many ways in which they were different.

        She almost wanted to ask him ‘are we nearly there yet?’ but pushed the thought aside when she saw the tall white building in front of her. She could see that the palace wasn’t too far away, but she knew it was probably because most of his work was centred around the palace, so the closer, the simpler.

She couldn’t say the building was grand. ‘Rustique’ or ‘vintage’ would probably fit better, for unlike most of the other buildings in Canterlot, this one was composed completely out of brick. Only the oldest buildings, like Canterlot Palace, were built out of stone. Other alternatives such as crystals, glass, and even a newly developed plastic were being used. The walls were painted white, and gold lines filled the empty spaces with a metallic touch separating the floors and framing the windows.

        Raspberry kept quiet as they entered through the mahogany doors into a large hallway with a curved ceiling. There were a few other doors, and each of them had, painted in silver, their numbers. They walked up three sets of stairs, and the air got vaguely colder. Then they walked along another hallway and came to a door labeled:

48

Steel Shadow took some keys out of his own saddlebag and unlocked the door. He, of course, having been brought up in Canterlot and taught at the best of schools, was extremely polite, and followed the ‘mares first’ tradition. Raspberry advanced into the room ahead, and was followed soon after by him. As she took in the features of his room, he carefully placed his armor on a stand, making sure that not even the slightest dent could harm it.

Taking a quick look around, Raspberry saw that the walls were all painted a drab shade of grey, unlike most other walls in this building, and the grey almost matched Steel Shadow’s coat perfectly. The ceiling was a slightly brighter shade of the walls’ grey. The floor in this room was covered in pristine, white tiles. There was a window with a light shade of grey blinds ahead of her, a leathery sofa and in front of it sat a coffee table. There was a step up on her right which led to an organized kitchen, and to her left there was a corridor about three ponies wide that led to more doors.

        A picture hung up on the wall. It was painted of a scene at night, and a couple sat peacefully having a picnic. There were a few fallen leaves on the ground, and behind them, there was a forest. They seemed happy, but something about the picture was unnerving. Then she noticed. Two white eyes stared out from the forest. Then she noticed another pair, and another, and soon, the painting seemed to be filled with treachery and betrayal.

“Your room is second on your right,” he told her, gesturing to the corridor. A warm white light hummed above the sofa, and both stood speechlessly, waiting for the other to do something. Steel advanced toward the corridor, but diverted his steps toward a chair.

“I thought you might want to unpack, so I’ll give you time in there.” Raspberry thought about it for a moment. She had never been given her own room, she was always sharing, whether it was with her siblings or a roommate. This would be her first own, personal, private, room. She stared down at the corridor. There were five doors, two on either side, and one at the end.

She nodded quickly and moved toward the second on the right which he had told her to go in. She pushed the door gently forward, and without a creak, or a groan, it opened. In this room, the walls were not the shade of grey that consumed most of the walls, but a golden yellow that faded into white. On one side, there was a window which was perfectly positioned to see the sun set, though it had already gone down. Hanging firmly from the other side, there was a work of art which was quite pleasant. It was set in the day; the sun shone on a large mansion, surrounded by greenery along with a path which led up to a fountain spurting  out cool, fresh water. Finally, In the centre of the room, there was a bed with white sheets, well made, not a crease in sight.

She undid her saddlebag and laid it down on the bed and spread out her belongings on the covers. She hadn’t much to unpack, really. She put down her wallet, which was empty except for her flying license and ID card, on the bedside table, and stored ‘101 Party Pranks’ on a shelf which had an absence of reading material. There, she found a photo album which had not yet been used, and decided to keep her photos in there. Soon the shelf was full with her newspapers and other personal belongings.

When Raspberry was done with her packing, which was quite soon considering what she had in her bag, she returned to the main room, and saw that Steel Shadow was preparing some sort of dinner or lunch. He looked a tiny bit hilarious, and Raspberry barely suppressed a giggle. When he saw her, he was holding a pan in his mouth, apparently, about to flip whatever was inside.

“Sorry, didn’t know what you liked, so I just made pancakes, since I reckoned you’d like them. I’m used to being alone, I guess, so I don’t know how to cook.” he explained, averting his gaze toward her. Well, at least he had tried. She took a glance at the attempted pancake. It was burnt around the edges, but not too bad.

“I’ll take it from here,” she said, for she knew that stallions were quite prone to ‘accidents’ in cooking.

“There’s really no need,” he argued, but he sounded more relieved than stern.

“I’ll take it from here,” she repeated, her voice more confident this time.

He sat down at the table, this time with no objections.She worked quicker than him, and her hooves were more delicate. His pancake was almost complete, so it just needed to be flipped, and with a quick flick, it was on its front. She managed several pancakes with the ingredients she had, and soon enough, she had used up all she could. On a plate, she had piled the pancakes about four centimeters high, and she carefully balanced some maple syrup along side it.

After they were finished, they both departed to go to sleep, for it was almost midnight.

“Remember, I’m right across if you need me,” Steel had reassured Raspberry.

She had simply nodded, too tired to say anything. Once she was inside of her bedroom, she let herself drop onto the covers, and in a few seconds, she was in a deep sleep.

The night was fairly silent from then on, until the sound of shattering glass echoed throughout the apartment.