Quoth the Raven: Into the Lightby LordLycaonChaptersVengeful Thunder, Ducking Shadows, Part 2Let There Be Light, Part 1Let There Be Light, Part 2Drama! Part 1Drama! Part 2Metal Madness, Part 1Metal Madness, Part 2Vengeful Thunder, Ducking Shadows, Part 1Vengeful Thunder, Ducking Shadows, Part 2Kyoshi wasn’t making them do basic chores in their second session with him. However, he made up for this by making them run laps around the dojo building. With twenty-pound weights on their backs. At noon, when the sun was at the apex of its daily route. As Swirling and Summer, along with a few other ponies who’d signed up for lessons, ran around the dojo, Kyoshi sat by the koi pond, quietly sipping some tea and occasionally tossing pieces of bread into the pond for the fish and birds. Although she’d done her fair share of heavy-lifting as the Raven, she’d always had Nevermore’s shadow magic on her side, boosting her strength for that kind of stuff. Running in circles with what might as well have been a bag of bricks on her spine would’ve been simple if she’d had that upgrade right now, but she didn’t dare risk anypony discovering her secret. Oh… and the sunlight would’ve killed her if she changed now. That was also a powerful deterrent. Once she and the rest of the class had worked up a sweat and were breathing heavily in near exhaustion, Kyoshi called for them to gather. As the class sat around the koi pond, the wizened, gruff, old stallion stood to look up at clear sky above. “Many of you have come seeking my teachings so that you can improve yourselves for your daily lives. Others have come because they wish to be able to defend themselves from aggressors they might face on a daily basis.” He looked back to the assembled students. “But now I ask you all this simple question: what is it that you truly know of karate?” One of the other students lifted a hoof. “It’s a martial art, isn’t it?” The old stallion gave a flat stare before continuing. “Karate is not a simple martial art. It is a way of viewing the world from a very different perspective.” He motioned around with a wing. “What is it you see here today?” Swirling looked around, as did the other students, many of whom had confused expressions on their faces. All Swirling saw was the cherry blossom tree, the other ponies, the koi pond, some shrubs, the odd building, and a cranky, old stallion who liked to use his wooden sword far too often. “I see a beautiful yard, Mr. Kyoshi,” Summer Streams said after a long, awkward silence. “Mm.” He nodded. “You see only that which your eyes can see, child, but in truth, there is so much more. All that is around us radiates an aura that we can’t see, feel, or hear. Everything has it’s own aura. From the trees, to the water, to the stones, to the fish…” He paused. “Even ponies themselves give off their own aura.” “You mean, like magic?” Swirling asked, sharing a quick glance with Summer. He shook his head. “No. Magic is something of an entirely different nature. The aura I speak of is, in and of itself, everything. Those with true understanding can harness this aura. Bend it, manipulate it, and perform feats that magic users would typically be incapable of without their magic.” “Soooo… it’s not magic?” Swirling asked, earning a wince from Summer. Rather than resort to the wooden sword, Kyoshi shot her a disapproving glare. “You still have much to learn, child. When one controls their own aura, and uses it to influence the aura of other things, physical boundaries are but an illusion. Stone becomes paper, grass becomes iron, water becomes glass. It is told in legend that masters of aura can even break the the supposed laws of physics, defying gravity itself.” Swirling hummed in thought for a moment, taking in Kyoshi’s words.‘One’s own aura…’ “That’s crazy,” one other student, an earth pony, claimed. “Nopony without wings can fly. And you can’t just turn rocks into paper.” Kyoshi murmured something in Neighponese before replying. “You are taking my words much too seriously. I do not mean that you will be able to literally turn one thing into another. Such things would fall under the rule of alchemy, and I assure you, I am no alchemist. What I mean is that stone may as well be paper to one who has mastered their aura. Grass can become a shield as strong as any metal. Water can be tread upon as if it were solid. These are the things that a master of one’s aura can do.” “Prove it,” another pony said. There was a moment of silence as Kyoshi apparently considered the challenge. He sighed out of his nose before turning to the koi pond and walking towards it, stopping at the water’s edge. The old stallion stood there for a second, looking as if he was gathering his thoughts. Eventually, he stepped forward, setting hoof into the pond. And another. And another. And then another. He walked until he was at the center of the pond. He was standing atop the water as if it were dry ground. There was an awed silence amongst Swirling, Summer, and their fellow students, all staring in shock with mouths agape as Kyoshi sat down in a meditative position on the water’s surface, stroking his beard casually. Could ponies really do that, or was he just using some kind of smoke-and-mirrors trick? Earth ponies might be able to, Swirling thought, if they focused that weird form of magic that they have well enough. Unicorns definitely could. Just a wave of their horn, and they could probably cast some kind of spell. Pegasi? There was no way. And yet, here was an old pegasus sitting on the surface of a pond as if it were perfectly normal. Kyoshi finally opened his eyes, sighing slowly. He looked at the pony who doubted him and lifted his head. “Do you now see? This is but one of many things a master of aura is capable of,” he said. “Many of you will never reach such a point, however. Do not let that discourage you, though, for by the time you complete your training here, few outside the walls of this dojo will match you.” Swirling reminded herself that her jaw was hanging open when Summer spoke up. “S-so… you’re using your aura to sit on the water?” He turned his gaze to her. “Not entirely, child. I simply bring my aura into balance with that of the water’s. It is not about forcing your aura upon something else’s, but working with or against, depending on what it is you wish to do.” “But isn’t working against another aura for—” Swirling snapped her mouth shut as Kyoshi glared at her. “The point is that this awareness and understanding of auras will open a pony’s mind to possibilities that they never even dreamed possible.” Flapping his wings he flew back to his spot beside the pond. “Always remember that there is more to this world that what we experience with our senses.” ‘He’s wiser than I expected him to be.’ ‘So this isn’t just a load of bull?’ Nevermore scoffed skeptically. ‘...If only I had a wooden sword.’ ‘Wouldn’t do much good against an entity that has no body of its own.’ Swirling scowled at how right Nevermore was at that moment. Nopony seemed to notice, thankfully, as Kyoshi had them all go through several steps for different stances. The whole time, his speech about auras and one’s abilities kept running through her head. Something about how he said it made it feel as though he was talking directly to her alone. Maybe she could actually learn something from this… -o- A bottle crashed over the head of the tavern patron, sending glass flying everywhere. The struck pony now lay sprawled across the floor as the burly earth pony wearing a red bandana stood over him. “Ha! You ain’t nothin’!” the bandana-wearing stallion sneered. “Now get the hell outta here before we get real mad!” The patron’s friends collected their babbling friend, shooting narrow glares at the Red and his buddies behind him. The burly stallion returned to the cheers of his friends, triumphant. “Ain’t no one messes with the Reds, boys! Nopony!” They gave a resounding cheer as a bored-looking waitress brought them a tray of hard cider before fetching a broom to clean up the mess. “Nopony but the Raven,” she muttered with disdain towards the thugs. Unfortunately, she wasn’t unheard. “What’s that?” one of the goons growled at the waitress, who froze when she realized he was talking to her. She said nothing and continued with her cleaning, hoping that they’d just ignore her. She had no such luck, however, as the stallion who’d spoken to her stomped over, grabbing her by the mane. “You answer me, nag! What’d you say?” The waitress whimpered as the stallion came close to tearing her hair out. “Sounded to me like she’s a fan o’ that wacko who’s been flyin’ around at night these past few months,” another Red snarled as the others began to circle the mare. “Maybe we should show her what happens to ponies who like that freak?” “N-no,” the mare murmured. “Please, I’m sorry…” “Sorry don’t cut it,” the thug holding her mane said with a sneer. “We’re gonna need to teach you a lesson!” He drew back his hoof, preparing to strike the trembling waitress. “What kinda Reds beat on a mare who can’t fight back?” Everything stopped at that question from a new arrival, and the Reds faced the speaker. The gray-coated, white-maned earth stallion scowled as he entered the bar, approaching the thugs and shoving them away from the mare. He glared at her and barked at her, “Get out.” She was quick to comply, and fled the bar. Before long, the Reds present recognized the stallion before them, immediately stepping back. “J-Jolt,” one of them stammered. “You’re… outta jail. When’d that happen?” “Not long ago,” Jolt stated flatly. “But that’s not what I’m here about. The guy who bailed me out gave me a job that I couldn’t say no to, but I’m gonna need some help. There’s a big payout if we manage this.” “What’s the job?” one of the Reds asked. Jolt smirked. “We’re gonna kill the Raven.” The others looked at him as if he’d grown a second head. “What?” “Er, well…” one of them mumbled. “It’s just… no one’s even come close yet. Ponies say she’s not even alive. Some kinda ghost or somethin’.” “I heard she’s a monster from Tartarus,” another Red spoke up. “Sent up here to beat the crap outta guys like us.” With a groan and a roll of his eyes, Jolt said, “Oh, you gotta be kidding me! She’s just some filly using smoke and mirrors! She’s no ghost, she’s no monster, and she’s certainly no living shadow or whatever the buck ponies call her!” He slammed a hoof onto the bar, his gauntlet sending a powerful electrical current across it, causing all the bottles along its top to explode. “She’s been a thorn in our side for too damn long, and it’s time someone put her in her place! You pansy-ass bucks are either with me on this, or you’re dead! Any other dumbass remarks you wanna make?” He was met only with silent compliance. “Good.” He turned to leave the bar. “Now come on. I know exactly where we’re gonna start looking for that birdbrained freak.” -o- Bright Day hummed a light tune to herself as she went through her inventory of ingredients and sweets, checking off several things on her list. She’d have to remember to get some more sugar the next time she went grocery shopping, if only to keep up with Swirling Line’s love of the stuff. It never ceased to surprise her how much the pegasus could put away, yet never put on a single pound. ‘Must be a pegasus thing,’ she mused with a silent chuckle. “Sunny!” she called. “Did you finish your chores?” The little filly answered from outside the storage room, “Yes, Mom!” “What about your homework?” “I finished it a few minutes ago!” Bright smiled as she left the storage room, finding her daughter at the counter nabbing some candy. “Sunny…” she warned. The filly perked up, looking at her mother in surprise. Bright shook her head with a small laugh. “Only one piece of candy, then go take a bath and get ready for bed.” The filly’s ears flattened back against her head. “Aww, but, Mom, I’m not even tired!” “Doesn’t matter, sweetie. It’s a school night, and you need your sleep.” She gave Sunny a hug and a kiss on the forehead. “I’ll be up to tuck you in shortly. I just need to close up shop.” Sunny moaned and trudged up the stairs, and Bright couldn’t keep a chuckle to herself. She remembered herself doing the same thing when she was a little filly living with her mother, though she wondered if she drove her mother to the edge of sanity like Sunny did on occasion. Her ears flicked as she heard the entry bell chime, and she smiled. “Welcome to Daytime Daylights, where every treat is sweet as sunshine!” She then beamed at the all-too familiar pegasus. “Swirling! Great to see you! You’re here a bit later than usual.” The white-striped mare sighed, sounding almost exhausted. “Karate lessons dragged on today,” she explained. She motioned to a tan-coated unicorn with a verdant mane. “Summer and I were hoping you’d have some kind of pick-me-up. Got anything sweet enough to create a guilty conscience?” She smiled wider. “Of course I do.” She turned to the unicorn. “Hello there. You’re one of Swirling’s friends?” A wide smile cut across Summer’s face. “I’m her best friend. We’ve known each other since she moved to Manehatten.” Swirling chuckled. “Summer and I both work at Lou’s Diner. For better or worse,” she muttered. “Oh, my.” Bright said with a chuckle. “I’ll bet you can tell me a few stories about Swirling’s first few days in town, can’t you?” Summer’s grin turned wicked. “Remind me to tell you about what we now call the Great Kitchen Fiasco.” “Summer!” Swirling exclaimed, her face going red. “For the last time, it’s really hard to tell spoons and sporks apart when the lights go out like that! I didn’t mean for that poor old mare to go to the hospital!” Bright blinked in confusion. “Wait… what do spoons and sporks have to do with an old mare going to the hospital?” “Oh, you’re gonna wanna sit down for this one,” Summer recommended, ignoring Swirling’s pleas for her to stay silent on the matter. “Trust me, it’s a real doozy.” With a nod, Bright went into the back room to fetch some snacks for her two visitors, an eager smile on her face. “Summer… I beg of you, don’t,” Swirling pleaded. ‘Okay, even I’m curious,’ Nevermore spoke up. ‘No!’ Summer shook her head, looking rather smug. “Oh, I just have to tell the story now.” If there was ever a time Swirling could have used a distraction, it was now. And, for better or worse, her prayers were answered just as Bright came back carrying a box of candy. A brick flew through the display window, hitting a small stand and spilling sweets all over the floor, startling the mares in the room. Outside, there was chaos. Numerous ponies wearing various red accessories were ransacking the streets, throwing bricks, rocks, and small chunks of metal through windows and attacking any pedestrians unfortunate enough to cross their paths. Some of the aggressors were vandalizing parked carts, mailboxes, newspaper stands, and anything else they could swing a blunt instrument into. Among them was a gray-coated, white-maned stallion wearing gauntlets that launched bolts of lightning with every punch. “It’s the Reds!” Summer shouted. “B-but it’s almost night! They never come out at night, not since the Raven came! What do they want?” “Best guess?” Swirling said, looking over at Jolt, who blasted a cart into a building. “They want the Raven to come out.” As if to prove her theory, Jolt yelled, “Bird freak! Come out and fight us, you cowardly nag!” He struck out with his gauntlets again and blasted apart another cart. His fellow Reds cheered and redoubled their vandalizing efforts. “You don’t, and my boys and I’ll tear this neighborhood apart piece by piece!” This was not good. There was no way she’d be able to just slip away and change unnoticed, not with the street being as wild as it was, and especially not without rousing suspicion in her friends. She’d need to— “Let’s go!” Summer hollered, heading for the door. “Whoa, wait, what!?” Swirling had to dash in front of Summer to stop her. “Are you crazy? What do you think you’re gonna do out there?” Summer rolled her eyes. “Come on, Swirl! We know karate! We can take them!” “We’ve only had two days of training at most!” she countered. “It’s more than those guys probably have.” “Please, listen to her.” The two turned to see Bright holding Sunny as the little filly whimpered in her mother’s embrace. “They’re thugs who’ll hurt you.” Summer shook her head adamantly. “We can’t just sit back and let them do whatever they want! Someone needs to teach them a lesson!” She looked the filly in the eye before she continued. “They’re bullies, and bullies don’t stop unless you stand up for yourself. And I’m gonna make sure they learn not to mess with ponies anymore!” And with that, she galloped out of the store. “Summer!” Swirling shouted after her. She cursed under her breath and looked back to Bright and Sunny. “I-I… I’ll go get help. Bright, you take Sunny upstairs and stay safe, all right? I’ll be back, I promise!” She heard Sunny calling out to her as she took off, zipping into the air to find a good place to change without getting spotted by anypony. On the ground, Summer caught a Red off guard with a punch to his face, staggering him. A confident smirk crossed her face as she saw another Red charging at her. She took her stance and leaped inside his swing. Remembering to keep her hoof straight, she slugged the thug twice across the face before whirling and bucking him away. As the Red groaned, Summer stood triumphantly. “These lessons do work!” “They ain’t gonna save ya.” She spun and found four burly Reds leering at her, each one bouncing a blunt instrument in their hooves. Gulping, she backed away, her legs shaking. “S-Swirling?” she asked, her eyes darting around. One of the thugs chuckled. “Ha! Not so tough now are ya? We’ll show ya what we do to heroes in this town. The same thing we’re gonna do to that freak!” When the first thug charged in, she got her hoof up to block his attack, but was too slow to react in time to stop his second swing. She landed on the pavement, holding her sore face as he stood over her. “I always did like me a mare who thinks she can fight like a stallion.” Her eyes widened and she scooted away from him. “Swirling! Help me!” “Get away from her!” the distorted voice of the Raven called. Before the thug could react, he was blasted away by a fierce punch that sent him flying into a cart. The other three thugs’ eyes widened and they snarled at the sight of the shadow-covered mare. “About time you showed up, you coward!” “Says the gang who picks on mares and foals.” The Raven took her own stance. “Time to put the trash back where it belongs!” As the force of Reds charged her, she slipped away, diving into the shadows.She surfaced to pounce on her opponents, landing a punch into a thug’s jaw before spin kicking another goon in the face, sending him flying into two of his cohorts. Then she dived into the shadows again just in time to avoid two more Reds, who ended up tackling each other and rolling down on the ground in a heap. She spun around at the angered roar of another burly ruffian as he hefted a street sign over his head. Her eyes widened and she dove to the side as the sign dented into the pavement. “I see someone ate his wheaties when he was little.” She slipped through the shadows and landed an uppercut on the thug’s jaw. Expecting him to be sent flying away, she didn’t react in time when he swung the sign again—thankfully only hitting her with the pole, rather than the sign itself. “You’re goin’ down, freak!” he bellowed as he swung the sign again. ‘Use a bit more power on this one, Line.’ ‘You don’t say,’ she grumbled at Nevermore before flying over the swing. Spinning around once, the thug took her kick to the face, and he bounced away like a rubber ball, grunting in pain as he crashed into a newsstand, sending papers scattering on the ground. She really didn’t have time to savor her victory, as more and more Reds came rushing a her. “Geez! How many of you grunts are there?” She flapped her wings to get away from the assault, but found herself assaulted by the pegasi of the gang. Swirling struck out against one of them with a kick, sending him flying into a nearby window, while another was met with a hoof to the face. As the Raven fought off the goons, Jolt grinned viciously as he watched her begin to struggle. Taking aim, he readied his gauntlets. Without a care for his fellow Reds, he threw a punch forward, launching a bolt of lightning at his sworn enemy. The shot missed, the Raven diving at the last minute as she ducked under a pegasus Red’s punch. The Red’s eyes went wide as Jolt’s attack hit him in the chest. Screaming in pain, his body locked up, and he hit the pavement with a sickening crack. Another Red whirled on Jolt. “What the hell, Jolt!? That was one of our guys you just fried!” Jolt shrugged and held his crackling hoof in the upstart’s face. “Your point?” he snarled. The Red backed off as the white-maned stallion returned his focus to the Raven. “Hold still you stupid bird!” He unleashed a flurry of lightning shots at her, eager to bring her down to the ground and finish her properly. While dodging the stallion’s attacks, the Raven said, “Why does anyone even work for you!? You just killed one of your own cronies!” “Fear is a hell of a motivator!” was Jolt’s only response as he continued firing off electrical blasts. “Hell, I don’t even need these idiots! With these gauntlets, I’m unstoppable!” As if to prove his point, he sent out yet another blast, which Swirling just barely managed to evade. The shot struck a building, however, sending large chunks of debris falling to the ground, some heading for bystanders just watching the fight. Cursing under her breath, Swirling dashed towards the civilians, four in all, pushing them out of the way barely a second before the rubble came crashing down. They stared at her, dumbfounded, as she shouted, “Get out of here! It’s too dangerous!” The four ponies scrambled away at that, no longer holding any desire to stay. Her ears flicked when she heard more shouting. “Buck you, Jolt! We ain’t stayin’ if that’s how you is!” one Red shouted at the bristling Jolt as he found his fellow Reds all glaring at him. Before he had a chance to say anything, they all turned tail and galloped off. The gray-coated earth pony growled. “Fine! To hell with the lot of you bucks!” He turned his scowl to the Raven. “I can kill this bird on my own.” He pulled back a hoof, preparing to send out another shot. ‘Whatever you’re doing now, it’s not working,’ said Nevermore as she dodged another bolt. “What do you think I’m doing? I can’t get close enough with him trying to cook me!” “Quit yammering to yourself and die already, you feathered freak!” “Okay, now you’re just being racist!” Swirling called out, only angering her opponent further. ‘I need an idea here, Nevermore! Tell me you have… something…’ She eyed Jolt as he fired off his blasts. Her mind took a moment to process some vague semblance of an idea. “With these gauntlets, I’m unstoppable!” ‘Nevermore, you wouldn’t happen to have been paying attention to what Kyoshi said during the karate lesson today, were you?’ ‘Hard to say. I was a little distracted after he started walking on water. Seriously, what the hell was that all about? It’s like something out of a bad, fan-made story about some dumb product for younglings.’ The pegasus shook her head. ‘He said something about using your own abilities.’ She grinned under her shadowy mask as her idea steadily morphed into a plan. ‘I think it’s time to mix it up just a bit.’ She swooped down close to the ground, but still far out of Jolt’s reach. “You want me, tough guy? Try to keep up, then!” At that, she took off, heading towards Central Park. “Get back here, freak!” Jolt shouted as he gave chase. With Nevermore’s speed boost, Swirling made it to the park in good time. It’d be little while before Jolt could catch up with her. Plenty of time to get everything ready. -o- Jolt grunted as he arrived in Central Park, growling as he looked around for his rival. The park was quiet and dark tonight. Almost bizarrely so, he’d think if he weren’t so dead set on finding the Raven and ending her as brutally as equinely possible. He glanced around, watching the ground, trees, and shadows carefully, waiting for her to leap out at any moment. “Where are you, freak?” he muttered as he wandered through the grounds. “Show yourself, you stupid chicken-horse!” “Wow, rude,” came the voice of the Raven, hailing from above. Looking up, Jolt saw her standing atop a cloud, looking down at him as if she were superior. “I mean, really, didn’t your mother ever tell you it’s not nice to call pegasi ‘chicken-horses?’ That’s just slightly more racist than ‘feathered freak.’” “My mother didn’t teach me nothin’,” he snarled and crashed his hooves together, sending another burst of sparks. “Now, you gonna fight me or hide in the clouds like a coward?” “Only if you say please, Mister Double Negative,” the mare taunted. His ‘please’ was another burst of electricity that singed off the ends of her mane. She yelped, hopping into the air in surprise before glaring down at Jolt again. “I’m getting this sneaking suspicion that you don’t like me very much.” “SHUT UP!” Jolt screamed as he launched another lightning blast. ‘Perfect,’ Swirling thought as she kicked her cloud as hard as she could, summoning a bolt of lightning of her own. The bolt tore through Jolt’s shot and struck him square in the barrel, making him scream as the electricity shot through his system, his gauntlets sparking uncontrollably and smoking like fire. “T-the hell did you do?” he managed past chattering teeth. She lifted her head at him, since she knew he couldn’t see her smug grin. “Why, I’m fighting fire with fire… well, lightning in this case.” He growled and pushed himself up, his gauntlets still sparking wildly. “You stupid nag! I won’t go down so easy!” Standing on his hind legs, he punched out with both forehooves. Just as he did, Swirling gave her cloud another kick, and two bolts of lightning lashed out. Their two attacks struck, and once again, the blast rebounded back at Jolt. He barely managed a gasp before the shock and resulting force sent him bouncing away—his gauntlets falling apart into ruined scrap. Somehow, he managed to get back on his hooves, staggering limply and pulling back a hoof as if to attack again. All he managed to do was flop onto the ground with a groan. “And that, my friend,” Swirling quipped, “is why you never fight a pegasus with lightning.” -o- The next day, Swirling and Summer found themselves trotting down the street for Kyoshi’s dojo. Despite being tired from the fighting—and finally taking down Jolt—Swirling couldn’t help but beam with pride. Not only did she save ponies’ lives, but she actually did it with a lesson she’d learned from the cranky old stallion. A feat to be truly proud of, she told herself. She smiled as her friend practically bounced down the road, Summer’s mouth running a mile a minute. “And then I blocked his swing and punched him right in the nose!” She paused to dramatically recreate the punch. “And he fell on his flank and ran off crying! It was great!” Swirling laughed, clearly remembering something else, but commenting so would have brought questions on how she knew that when Swirling Line hadn’t been there. “Did he cry for his mom, too?” “Mm-hm!” Summer nodded vigorously. “You should’ve seen it, Swirling, but I suppose you had your own hooves full trying to keep the candy store safe.” “Uh, yeah. I couldn’t let Sunny or Bright get hurt, right?” She rubbed at the back of her head, wincing at a sore spot she had earned from the fight. “But even so, the way the Raven took down all those Reds was amazing!” Summer smiled all the wider. “Not only is she really strong, she’s also fast, and amazing! The whole shadow thing just makes her so awesome!” ‘She really knows how to flatter a spirit, doesn’t she?’ ‘She’s talking about me, Nevermore. You were just there… sort of.’ Swirling’s amusement was cut short as she felt her hoof slip out from under her, causing her to land on her front with a grunt. Summer was by her side in an instant. “Swirling? Are you okay?” “Yeah,” she said, dusting her coat off. “Just slipped.” She growled inwardly at her inner inhabitant. ‘I hate you, Nevermore.’ ‘The feeling is, oh, so mutual, Line.’ Shutting the irritating spirit away, she followed after her friend until they arrived at the doors to Kyoshi’s dojo. When they got there, they found it oddly quiet, with none of the other students present. “Huh… I wonder where everyone is?” Swirling said as she looked around. A small frown formed on Summer’s face. “Did Master Kyoshi cancel class today?” Before Swirling could answer a curt shout came from inside the dojo. “Swirling Line! Summer Streams! Inside, now!” Her instinct to run had never been stronger, Swirling thought as both she and Summer hunkered down at the shout. It really sounded like Kyoshi was angry. “Should we make a run for it?” Swirling asked her friend, giving her a quick glance. Summer shook her head, her own eyes wide with worry. “N-No, we should see what he wants.” She stood straighter and forced a smile on her face. “Maybe he wants to praise us for fighting the Reds?” Swirling gave her a flat look. “Did that even sound like he was happy?” “Inside!” Resigning themselves, the two mares walked into the dojo, heads hung low in fear of whatever awaited them. Peering up, they found their master sitting on his haunches in the middle of the training floor, his gaze stern as he regarded them, that dreaded wooden sword resting ominously on his shoulder. “G-good evening, Master Kyoshi,” Summer said. Swirling could feel her friend shaking beside her. “Sit down, Summer Streams. We have much to discuss.” He turned his gaze to Swirling. “You as well, Swirling Line.” “Fantastic,” Swirling muttered to herself as she sat beside Summer and across from Kyoshi. The old pegasus sat there, staring at them for a long, uncomfortable moment that seemed to last forever. The longer Swirling sat under that stern, stone-like gaze, the more she fidgeted. As much as she wanted to just bluntly ask him what was up, she knew that doing so would earn her a whack on the head with that nightmare of a stick in his hooves. Finally, when he spoke, his voice sounded so much like a father scolding a foal that Swirling was briefly reminded of the lectures her own father would give her. “Just what in Equestria where the two of you thinking?” She heard Summer gulp beside her, but Swirling was quick to speak. “What do you mean?” His gaze settled on her and he shifted his shoulders, the wooden sword moving threateningly. “What did you say, Swirling Line?” She felt the blood drain from her face. “I mean, well… we were only trying to help.” “The Reds were everywhere, Master Kyoshi,” Summer explained in as calm a tone as she could muster. “They were destroying everything and hurting anypony they could get their hooves on.” Her statement was met with a whack on the head. “What you did was foolish!” the old pegasus growled. “You are barely apprentices! Your first action should have been to find the proper authorities! You are fortunate that you were not killed!” “But, Master Kyoshi, they were attacking bystanders! We couldn’t just stand there,” Swirling said, and flinched, expecting a swat from the sword. Instead, Kyoshi just glared at her. “As honorable as that is, rushing blindly into any fight, especially with criminals like the Reds, would only see you among to the injured!” He looked at the two of them in turn, Summer rubbing at her sore noggin, and Swirling staring right back. “I did not take you two under my wing so that you could get yourselves killed thinking you can use my teachings to do the job of this city’s law enforcement.” Swirling blinked, turning her head away nervously in a way she hoped didn’t look suspicious. She silently cleared her throat to try and calm her nerves a little, which didn’t do much to help. “As punishment for being so rash and lacking in forethought,” Kyoshi said, “the two of you are to do twice the work of your fellow students. Twice as many laps around the dojo and twice as many exercises until further notice. Am I understood?” Both mares visibly paled at that. Kyoshi was enough of a slave driver as it was. Doing twice the work of the others would be borderline torture. They looked to each other anxiously. Neither wanted to quit without the other quitting first, though, which left them with only one option. “Am I understood?” Kyoshi repeated even more sternly. “Yes, sir,” the two mares replied, knowing full well how exhausting the next few days were going to be. -o- When Jolt opened his eyes, he was greeted with a dark room. A groan escaped him as he rose off the ground and onto his haunches, glancing around to try and figure out where he was. He had no such luck, however, only seeing a door ahead of him. Just as he thought to try and knock the door down, it opened, and in walked a familiar earth stallion with a bandaged face. Jolt frowned, having expected a cop or maybe even that bird-crazed nag. “Where am I?” the white-maned stallion demanded more than he asked. The Benefactor shook his head. “Impatient, are we? Fine. You’re in a warehouse outside of Manehatten. You’re lucky I had one of my… ‘employees’ got to you before the police did.” He trotted closer to Jolt. “You did better than I expected.” A sneer crossed Jolt’s face. “The nag beat me. Again.” He practically spit out that last word. “I didn’t expect you to beat her,” the face-wrapped stallion confessed, earning a confused look from Jolt. “I wanted to see you in action. And you proved to me that you can hold your own fairly well. For a Red. Which brings me to my main point…” He stood tall, looming over Jolt like a titan. “I can give you the payback you want. But only if you’re willing to leave that bunch of idiots and help on a little… project of mine.” He offered a hoof. Jolt stared at the masked pony for several moments, his eyes flicking between his face and his proffered hoof. Slowly, he lifted his own hoof to meet the Benefactor’s… only to see it sparking with electricity. The gray stallion pulled his hoof away, raising his other one and staring at them, then down at his body. Little trails of electricity darted across his body like quick flies zipping through the air. Morbidly curious, his moved his front hooves closer together, a grin gradually forming on his face as a trail of lightning linked his forelegs together. Looking up at the Benefactor, who’d lowered his hoof, Jolt said, “You’ve got yourself a deal.” Author's Note Battle Theme of Jolt: Let There Be Light, Part 1“Maybe you have to know the darkness, before you can appreciate the light.” - Madeleine L’Engle -o- A chilly nighttime breeze ruffled her fur as she left the theater, causing a shiver to course over her body. Her teeth chattered for a second before she felt a warm coat being draped over her withers. Summer Streams smiled up to her boyfriend as she pulled the coat about her tighter. “Thank you, Page. It’s getting really cold out here.” The stallion—Page Topper—gave her a warm smile. “You’re welcome. I can’t let a pretty mare like you catch a cold, can I?” A faint blush crept up under her dark tan fur, and she brushed a lock of her verdant green mane out of her eyes. “You say the sweetest things.” He nuzzled her behind the ear. “And I mean every word.” Again, she felt the heat rise up to her face and she nuzzled at him back. “That was a good show, Page. How did you get us tickets? I was sure it was sold out.” A cockier grin crossed his face. “Well, when I interviewed the director for the newspaper, he was kind enough to invite me and a date back to watch. Just another perk you get for dating the best journalist in Manehatten.” “And certainly the only perk.” She chuckled as it was his turn to blush, but a soft frown crossed her face as a thought occurred to her. “I do feel kind of bad I ditched Swirling Line for our date. We’d planned a girl’s night out, but…” She gave him an impish smile. “I think this was the better idea. She’d understand.” “I should hope so,” Page said, and the two shared a laugh before another breeze blew through. “How about we get something warm for the road home?” She smiled widely and nodded. “That sounds like a great idea.” The two started walking down the streets of Manehatten, ponies of all walks of life passing the two without much notice. Skyscrapers loomed over them like giants, and the street lamps gave the grimy streets a warm glow. As she walked, Summer cast a warm look in Page Topper’s direction. She had only been dating him for a few weeks, and he kept their relationship romantic but respectful. If she was a good judge of character with stallions (and she had known her fair share), she knew that he was going to take an extra step tonight. The thought of their first “special night together” caused the mare to smile softly, and she walked closer to him, even going so far as to lean into him as they walked. He caught himself before he could stumble and looked at her. “Is everything okay?” “Mmm.” She nodded. “I’m still cold.” He tilted his head curiously at her. “But I gave you my jacket, it isn’t enough?” “Oh, it’s warm.” She leaned into him again. “But, you’re warmer.” He blushed rosily. “Oh… Well, that’s okay the—” Summer screamed as a large pony landed in front of them. It wasn’t the fact that he seemed to have jumped out of nowhere at them that caused her to scream, but the fact said pony wore a suit of green and yellow spandex—with a ratty brown mane sticking out of the top—and wore a set of the most hideous goggles she’d ever seen. The way the wide lenses had large googly eyes in them caused the mare to almost jump out of her skin. “Nya ha! Scream all you want pretty mare! For I, the Frog, am here to steal your valuables! Hoof them over, or face my froggy rage!” While Summer had fallen on her haunches, staring up at the insane pony in a frog suit, Page stood protectively in front of her. “Buddy, I don’t know who you are, but—” The googly eyes turned their attention to him. “Are you trying to get froggy with me? The Frog?! Hoof over your bits, tough guy, or we’re gonna bounce!” “Listen you—” Page didn’t have time to react as the spandex-wearing pony suddenly leaped off of all fours and kicked Page squarely in the chest. The fierce kick sent him soaring into the side of the building, all the while knocking his bit purse into the air. “Page!” Summer screamed in horror as the bit purse landed in the waiting hooves of the Frog. “Nya ha! A heavy purse for once.” The pony suddenly turned his attention on her. “Now, pretty mare, let’s not make things worse and hand over your valuables!” She stuttered as she reached for her bit purse. “P-Please, d-don’t hurt us.” He snatched the purse from her shaking hooves, a wide happy smile on his face. “Nya ha ha! I, the Frog, would not harm a pretty mare as long as she gives me her—” His head snapped to the side. “Eh?” “Don’t you ever quit?!” They heard a distorted voice say. Summer screamed again as a pony made of living shadow sped through the air and tackled the Frog to the ground. The spandex pony landed with a grunt and kicked off his attacker. The shadowy pony flapped their wings and landed near the stunned Summer Streams. “Are you alright?” it asked her in a voice that sounded like a mishmash of two different voices. Summer’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped open when she looked at her rescuer. The way the shadows seemed to swirl around the pony’s body, the way the mane, tail and wings seemed to drift off like flames, and the pure yellow eyes that looked at her in concern, it could only be one pony that stood before her. “T-the Raven…” she said breathlessly. The Raven nodded to the groaning Page Turner and turned to face the Frog as he got back to his hooves. “See to your boyfriend. I’ll take care of this guy.” “Nya ha! The Raven thinks she can take down the Frog? No one can defeat the Frog!” The Raven facehoofed. “Are you kidding me? This is the fourth time this month that I’ve run into you! How do you keep getting out of jail?” The Frog posed dramatically. “No bars of iron can keep the slippery Frog locked up, and the Frog certainly did not crawl through sewers to make his escape either!” The Raven sighed in exasperation. He laughed arrogantly. “If the Raven thinks she can capture the Frog, then I dare her to leap!” “You asked for it!” The Raven gave a flap of her wings and lunged at him, but he quickly leapt above her tackle and she crashed through a number of trash cans. “Nya ha ha ha! The bird will have to try harder!” He darted for a nearby fire escape. “Alleyoop!” With an impressive leap, he caught hold of the platform and leaped from one to another before he got to the rooftop of the building. The Raven spit out a bit of muck and glared up at the bouncing crook. “I hate that guy…” She quickly looked in Summer’s direction as the unicorn helped her struggling boyfriend. “Don’t worry, I’ll get him.” “Don’t let him get away,” Summer said while the stunned Page Turner leaned on her shoulder. “Promise!” the Raven yelled before she flapped her wings and took to the sky. Summer watched as the shadow pony disappeared over the roof’s edge. “Get him,” she said nastily as she realized her night was now completely ruined. -o- ‘This guy is really starting to get on my nerves.’ Swirling Line hopped from shadow to shadow as she chased down the crazy thief who called himself the Frog, a guy who dressed up like a frog and robbed ponies in the street. Who even does that? Seriously, at least guys like Mafioso and his thugs Knives and Brawn were somewhat understandable, albeit all of them were insane (though she had to wonder whether Mafioso was crazier than that sadist Knives). ‘Let’s just get this over with and go back home,’ muttered Nevermore. The shadow spirit who inhabited her body was just as fed up with the Frog’s endless antics as she was. At first, he’d annoyed her with snide, frog-themed quips when they encountered him, but the stallion was already rapidly losing whatever charm he might’ve had. “Nya ha ha! Still think you can take down me, the Frog, crazy bird lady? Someone’s feeling froggy, and it ain’t just me!” The Frog called back at her as he laughed and leaped from one building to another. Swirling growled. “That does it!” She flapped her wings furiously, quickly catching up to the leaping Frog. “Nya ha!” he laughed before he caught hold of a hanging pole. He flipped over it and spun during his flip and caught her squarely on the chin with a kick. She grunted painfully as she flew back and crashed into a shed on the roof they were on. Gardening tools showered all around her as the wall of the shed fell on top of her, the shadows around her body protecting her from any sharp objects that might’ve cut her open normally. ‘You flew right into that one,’ Nevermore said with more than a hint of exasperation. ‘If you make one more joke, Nevermore...’ Swirling said as she rubbed at her pained chin. She looked up to see the Frog striking a pose atop another shed, it’s dramaticness enhanced as the moon shone behind him. “Now you see that the Frog is superior than any black birdie mare thing! Nya ha ha ha!” “You’re aware of how childish you sound, right?” the Raven asked with eyebrow raised in annoyance. The Frog, apparently ignoring her stated question, only continued laughing victoriously. This guy really liked the sound of his own voice. “Whatever. Time for you to go night-night.” “You fool! The Frog isn’t even sleepy! In fact-!” He was interrupted by a shadowy hoof to his face, sending him flying across the roof until he skidded to a stop near the edge. He briefly raised his head, babbling incoherently, before completely surrendering to unconsciousness. Swirling sighed as she picked the stallion up, silently thankful for her strength enhanced by Nevermore’s shadow magic. “This took way longer than necessary.” ‘Let’s just get him back in jail before he wakes up,’ suggested Nevermore, to which the pegasus nodded and took off, making sure to bring Summer Streams’ purse back to her. All things considered, not the worst night of her life. -o- A pair of eyes followed the Raven as she soared across Manehattan after having discreetly brought the audaciously dressed stallion to the nearest police station. The pony watching narrowed her eyes. She had heard tell about the Raven, though, until now, she had never seen the mysterious being in action. She knew the magic that the shadowy mare used. Perhaps a meeting with this supposed hero was in order… -o- She beamed happily at the all the ponies before her. Every one of them spoke of how wondrous the works of Swirling Line were. Such masterful artistry, such creativity! Even Princess Celestia spoke of how great the pegasus’ paintings were, how they conveyed such incredible emotion, how well the colors blended to create true masterpieces. “It’s nothing, really,” Swirling said as ponies showered her with praise. “It all just comes to me.” Her many adoring fans and admirers gave their approval of her modesty through applause and nods of encouragement. A hoof fell on Swirling’s shoulder, and she turned to see an alicorn with a navy blue coat and a mane like the night sky looking down at her with an oddly serious expression. “Swirling Line,” said , “we must—” “WAKE UP!” The purple-and-white pegasus’ head shot up from the counter as the sound of a stallion’s voice hollering at her, her eyes wide in shock as her dream fell apart, forcing her back into the waking world. Her eyes darted around until she found her boss, Lou, leaning out of the kitchen window with an irate glare. “Get back to work, Line!” he shouted. “We got customers to feed! Get your flank in gear, or get out!” “Sorry,” she muttered as she pushed away from the counter, stifling a yawn with a hoof. “Still no sleep again, huh?” asked Summer Streams, who was busy at the cash register. “Only enough that I don’t sleep through the entire day,” Swirling answered. “About three hours.” “Ouch. That can’t be healthy.” The unicorn huffed and flattened her ears as she helped another customer. “At least you didn’t have a date ruined by some crazy guy in a frog suit.” Swirling’s head snapped back in apparent surprise, but she struggled to keep a knowing smirk off of her face. “A guy in a frog suit? Your dates keep getting crazier and crazier, Summer.” The unicorn gave her an irritated glare, her tail swishing. “Real funny, Swirling. The guy mugged us and kicked Page Topper so hard, he had to go to the hospital to make sure nothing was broken.” Swirling hoped her gasp was realistic sounding. “He did? Is he okay?” Summer nodded. “Yeah, he was just sore.” A smile ran across her face. “But we were saved by the Raven! Can you believe it?” “No way!” Summer’s smile only widened at Swirling’s apparent surprise. “It’s true! She chased that goon down and even got our money back!” “She sounds pretty amazing,” Swirling said, unable to keep the grin off her face. ‘Ego,’ Nevermore grumbled. ‘Oh, be quiet. I’m allowed some recognition.’ ‘Ponies...’ “She is!” Summer grinned wide. “I hope I actually get to thank her some time.” Swirling shrugged grandly. “You never know, you just might.” “It would be—” “GET TO WORK!” they heard Lou yell from the kitchen. They both turned towards the window but they saw the owner of the restaurant hard at work making meals. “How does he do that?” Swirling asked with a bemused stare. “It’s like he has eyes in the back of his head,” Summer said, with similar smirk. The two shared a humored giggle, and as Swirling went back to catering to an ungrateful lot of customers, her mind couldn’t help but drift back to her daydream. Who was that strange pony who tried to talk to her? She was certain she’d seen her likeness somewhere before, but couldn’t put her hoof on where. -o- Manehattan was a hive. All the ponies in this city ran around like bees, scurrying and flying about as they made their way to and from work and home, ran petty errands, trotted around the streets with supposed friends, and blathered on and on, completely unaware of the very real danger that skulked in the shadows of the night. An evil that could undo all the good that the Disciples of Light had worked towards for decades. White Star looked up at the sky, squinting her eyes at the sun slightly. Loathe as she was to admit it, sunlight didn’t sit well with her on a physical level. Being albino meant she burned easily, forcing her to wear a cloak around her body that hid her pristinely white coat and mane. She despised having to wear it. It felt too much like a disguise. ‘It is a curse I must bear,’ she always told herself whenever she lamented her unfortunate genes. ‘An eternal test of my faith. A test I must not fail.’ As she walked along the street, passing ponies who only occasionally gave her a passing, curious glance, she spotted an older stallion standing by the entrance of an alleyway. She scanned him briefly, her crimson eyes quickly spotting a necklace bearing a symbol reminiscent of an eye hanging from the stallion’s neck. She approached him, and he nodded at her the moment he spotted her, already knowing who she was. He led her down the alley, arriving at a door marked with the same symbol that his necklace bore. He knocked on it three times, then four more, then twice. After a few moments, a slot on the door opened, a pair of eyes scrutinizing them. The pony behind the door said, “I am here all the time, even if you cannot see me. I appear to be as big as a dime. I am able to do something different, but closer than another galaxy. I am important in your life in more than just a couple ways. What am I?” “You are the sun,” said White Star and the stallion at the same time. The slot on the door closed, and the sound of locks being opened, followed by the door turning inward, a scrawny pegasus stallion motioning for them to enter. White Star lowered her hood once she was inside, immediately receiving respectful bows from everypony before her as she removed her cloak. “Mistress White Star,” the older stallion said, his head low. “We are grateful that you saw fit to grace us with your presence.” The snow white mare nodded. “Unfortunately, I am not visiting for pleasure. I have received word of this… Raven creature. What do we know of it?” The stallion looked back at his fellow Disciples, all of whom bore looks of shame. “Not much, I’m afraid. Only that it’s capable of melding into the shadows, as it were one itself, and is much stronger and faster than any normal pony. From witness accounts, it strikes from nowhere, and returns to nowhere, usually attacking petty criminals.” She thought on that for a few moments. Why would a creature of the Dark hunt only criminals? The Darkness was all-consuming; it didn’t leave anyone behind to evade its hunger. Unless… “The creature is leading the citizens of Manehattan into a false sense of security,” she said surely, confident in her hypothesis. “There must be greater forces at work than one lone demon.” She narrowed her eyes at them, her mouth turning down in a frown. “This is all you have learned of it?” The Disciple lowered his head. “I am sorry, Mistress. We’ve worked long into the night and day to learn what we can of it, but there is only so much for us to work with.” Her glare bore down on him. “I am not pleased.” The stallion balked and hung his head in shame. “Forgive us, milady.” One Disciple approached the stallion, whispering something to him that made his eyes go wide in shock. Upon seeing White Star’s curious expression, he said, “There’s just been a development. The Corrupted One is coming to Manehattan.” “What?” It was more a surprised statement than a question. Why would the Corrupted One come here? What could she possibly… It clicked. “She is here for the Raven.” Her Disciples’ eyes widened in shock. It made sense. Both seemed to only really appear during the night, and the Corrupted One claimed sovereignty over the night. Perhaps she’d even sent the Raven as a part of some plot. Or perhaps the Corrupted One saw a potential pawn in the Raven. Either concept was terrifying, as the Raven, from they could tell with what little they knew, was certainly a grave threat if allowed to roam freely. “We must approach this situation with the utmost caution,” White Star said calmly. “The Corrupted One is now our primary target. In order to truly deal a blow to the Dark, we must strike at one of its greatest assets. The so-called ‘Princess of the Night’ must be dealt with.” “But… how, milady?” the stallion asked. “Fear not. I already have a plan of action.” Her face scrunched up slightly. “We must be take each step as if it could be our last, for these steps very well may be such.” The stallion looked at her, his eyes still held submissively low. “What will you have us do, milady?” “Gather your peers. We will be there to greet her and her pawn.” “H-How are we to… defeat the Corrupted One?” A faint smile crossed her face. “Worry not, for I have long prepared for this.” Her hoof touched something that hung around her neck. “The Darkness will know to fear the Light.” -o- Swirling stifled a yawn as she flew across the skies over Manehattan, lazily scanning the ground below for any sort of wrongdoing. Ever since taking down Mafioso and rendering his organization leaderless, things had calmed down somewhat, and the Raven had earned something of a reputation amongst the criminal underworld. Most criminals had learned that they shouldn’t try to commit crimes at night anymore, or risk the Raven’s fury. At least, that’s what she gathered from her informant Tricky (whom she still didn’t quite completely trust). Her head turned suddenly as a shout reached her ears. She banked to the side and found a stallion hopping around clutching a hoof while his friends were all laughing. The dropped crate and the moving van was all she needed to know it wasn’t a job for the Raven. With a sigh, she turned and continued on her way. ‘Slow night,’ came Nevermore’s dry tone. “I guess that’s technically a good thing,” Swirling replied as another yawn fought its way out of her. “Sweet Celestia, I’m tired.” ‘You’ve hardly done any work.’ Her ears flattened. “I worked ten hours today, and I spent the past few nights doing hero stuff. I’m allowed to be tired, Nevermore.” While she couldn’t see it, she felt his eyes rolling at her. Another yawn took her and she pulled up to hover. “I’m going take a break. Maybe something will happen later.” ‘Fine. If that’s what it takes to get you to stop complaining.’ She blew a raspberry at him, to which he reacted with a grunt of disapproval. Touching down on a rooftop, Swirling willed the shadows on her body away for now, knowing that they would return the instant she commanded them to, and lay back on the roof, gazing up at the sky with a somewhat dreamy expression. Stargazing was an old hobby of hers, one she’d picked up when she was a little filly back in Cloudsdale. Back home, the stars were much easier to see. She would lay on the roof of her house and watch them, even when she was supposed to be sleeping. There was something about the beautiful, celestial display that touched her deep down. She was first inspired to try painting because of the those little lights called stars. A whimsical smile crossed her face as she remembered that old painting—the artist inside her today would’ve cringed if she saw it. Speaking of the artist inside her, her mind gradually put little pieces together, putting together a puzzle that, hopefully, would become a new work, or perhaps the final adjustments she would need to truly complete her Rebirth painting. That one was coming along fairly well. She’d been working on a more detailed final draft for a few weeks now. She would’ve been done by now, if it wasn’t for her job and superhero stuff getting in the way. ‘The arts always suffer,’ she heard Nevermore quip. Her expression flattened. “I hate you sometimes.” The spirit’s only response was a grunt followed by silence. The mare sighed as she returned her attention to the beautiful night sky. She wished it was clearer; all the lights in Manehattan made it difficult to make out most of the stars. It was one of the few things she didn’t really like about Manehattan (accompanied by her boss and all the thugs around every other corner). After a few more minutes of watching the few visible stars, Swirling stood, stretching out her wings before willing the shadows back over her body. She stood over the ledge of the roof, preparing to take off when she heard the sound of hooves touching down behind her. With a sharp turn, her now-yellow eyes caught the sight of a tall, dark blue mare with wings and a horn, her mane an ethereal mass that resembled the night, her gaze stoic and calm. She was less than four feet away. “Holy-!” Swirling stumbled back in surprise, tripping off of the roof and falling into an alley, landing unceremoniously in a dumpster before she realized what was happening. She poked her head out of the garbage, a banana peel resting atop her scalp as she climbed out of the large receptacle. “That was less than graceful, I confess.” The sudden voice startled the shadow-cloaked mare, who instinctively flew off as fast as she could into the night sky. ‘How courageous of you,’ Nevermore commented dryly. “Shut up!” She stopped when she felt she’d put a fair amount of distance between her and the other mare. Now that she thought about it, the other mare seemed vaguely familiar somehow. Had she seen her somewhere-? “The rumors of your swiftness are true, then,” the voice from the alley said. The Raven turned sharply, jaw agape at the sight of the mare from the roof. “I had nearly lost sight of you. If it wasn’t for your unique magical aura, I may not have found you again.” “But… I… you…” Swirling fumbled with her words. “Who are you!?” The mare narrowed her eyes, then sighed in disappointment. “I suppose I should have expected that. There are bound to be ponies who do not recognize me, even so long after my return.” She motioned towards a nearby flat-roofed building. “I would like to speak with you, Swirling Line, in regards to your nightly activities. I would much prefer that we do so in a less open area.” Swirling did a double-take. “Wait, how did you know my name?” The navy blue mare simply gave an amused smirk and headed for the building she’d pointed out. Every instinct in Swirling’s body screamed at her to flee. Ponies knowing one’s name before one met them was always a lure towards some kind of disaster. She followed the taller mare, landing atop the roof and watching her carefully. The alicorn turned to her, looking her up and down, her gaze analytical to the point of being judgmental. “I am Luna, Princess of the Night,” she finally said. Just then, it clicked in Swirling’s head. To Luna’s surprise, Swirling dropped low, bowing in such a way that clearly showed that she wasn’t exactly used to being faced with royalty. “I am so sorry for being disrespectful, Princess!” the pegasus said, scrambling to try and fix her mistake. “I’ll do whatever you say to make up for it! I—” “That is not necessary,” the princess said coolly, raising a hoof to quiet her. “I merely wish to speak with you.” “W-with me?” Luna’s nod was serious and deliberate. “I am fully aware of your nighttime exploits, Miss Line. I cannot say that I approve of you taking the law into your own hooves.” ‘Oh, this’ll be good,’ Nevermore said snidely. Just before Swirling could chastise her tenant, Luna said, “I can assure you, spirit, that this is not a good thing.” Swirling Line stared at the alicorn before her with her jaw agape. “Y-you can hear him?” “Yes,” came the princess’s curt reply. “I visited you in your dreams earlier this morning, and am familiar with your mind now, as well as the spirit’s.” “Wait, you… that was you I saw just before my boss woke me up!” “Indeed. However, we are straying off topic.” She stood straighter, looking down on the smaller pony. “You are breaking the law by doing the work of those who enforce the law. I cannot condone such acts, even if you are doing so for supposed good.” Her eyes widened; she couldn’t do that! “B-But, Princess Luna, I’ve done so much as the Raven! I haven’t done anything wrong.” The Lunar Princess raised an eyebrow at her. “The news reports have claimed you have taken lives.” She cringed, stepping back. The image of her hoof buried deep into a thug’s chest on the day he had tried to kill her, his eyes glazing over and blood drenching her foreleg, still haunted her dreams to this day. “Princess Luna, please let me explain. He would’ve killed me. I-I—” She choked back on the words, unable to say them with confidence. “I didn’t want to kill him. I just… reacted.” Luna dipped her head. “That is why you must stop, Swirling. You are not prepared or trained to handle the power you have been given. It will only be a matter of time before another is hurt. Mayhap not of your intention, but it will happen.” ‘I’m more than capable of looking out for her,’ she heard Nevermore snap at the alicorn. ‘Your concern is appreciated, but we don’t need or want you telling us how we will go about our business.’ The teal eyes of Luna narrowed dangerously. “I would suggest watching your tone with me, spirit. I am within my right to banish you back to your realm.” Nevermore scoffed. ‘You can’t, and you know it, Princess. We’re bonded. To banish me is to kill her.’ Swirling felt her blood run cold. “WHAT?!” she screamed at him. ‘Yeah… probably should’ve mentioned that. Anyway, it’s unlikely we’ll ever end up split apart like that.’ “You tempt fate, spirit,” Luna said, her eyes narrowed. “I know not what your intentions are, but your words and tone will lead you both into disaster someday. And I fear you may not be the only ones affected by such.” “Just like you will lead Equestria to ruin yourself, Princess?” they heard a voice spit in disgust. Both Swirling and Luna turned swiftly to find themselves face-to-face with a number of white-robed ponies. Each of them kept their hoods up to obscure their faces, but the one to speak wore a white porcelain mask, their eyes hidden behind a thin black cloth. Luna turned to face them, her horn already glowing with power. “I know not who you are, but I would suggest you turn tail and flee. You are intruding upon royal business.” The two of them could almost hear the sneer in the masked pony’s voice. “Threats, princess? You make threats against your own ponies? You are truly the Corrupted One. Equestria is rotting from the inside with you sharing the throne.” Swirling saw Luna’s lips turn up in a snarl. “Who are you? How dare you speak to me in that manner?” The masked pony held up a hoof, daring to silence the regal alicorn. “I’ll not hear more words from you, Princess, unless they are words of surrender.” He made a motion, and the robed ponies quickly encircled both Swirling and Luna. “I don’t know who you jerks are,” Swirling said, “but if you don’t leave now, I’m going to kick your flanks back to the cleaners where you got those ugly bathrobes.” The masked pony turned his attention on her. “The pawn dares to speak? Begone creature of darkness. It is your master we want.” “I am not anyone’s pawn!” Swirling set herself and charged the masked pony. “S-Raven, no!” Luna cried, but it went unheeded. Just as the Raven about to tackle the mask-wearing jerk, a bolt of magic struck her in the side, winding her as she hit the rooftop with a grunt of pain. A robed unicorn’s horn was glowing brightly, as were all the other unicorns present. She stood back onto her hooves and shook her head. “You guys wanna do this the hard way?” she said, golden eyes narrowed. “All right, then. Let’s do this the hard way!” “STOP!” Swirling and the robed ponies both flinched at the use of the Royal Canterlot Voice. They turned to see Princess Luna glaring fiercely at them. “I will not abide violence!” She turned back to the masked pony, who only glared in her direction. “I will not ask again; who are you?” He stood tall, proudly puffing out his chest. “We are the Disciples of Light. We are the ones who will banish the Darkness and all of its corrupting influence. You, Corrupted One, will be the next of the vile Darkness that we will eradicate from this world. You and your pawn.” “I told you, I am not a pawn!” Swirling shouted in an indignant rage. She flew after the masked pony again, only this time, she saw the sneak attack coming and dodged the magical bolt. Just as she swung her hoof at him, another of the Disciples rushed forward and threw up a hoof to block her approach. Whatever he had planned to do was foiled as her enhanced strength blasted him away. A pegasus flew at her, a spear in his hooves, aiming to skewer her. She quickly went to the ground, sinking into the shadows as the pegasus’ spear pierced the concrete of the building, only for the Raven to leap out again, delivering a powerful uppercut that sent the stallion flying back against his volition. The Disciples didn’t discriminate. Several charged at Luna as well, unicorns’ horns blazing, while earth ponies and pegasi brandished a number of bladed weapons. The Lunar Princess frowned and charged her horn, sending out a pulse that knocked away her would-be attackers, blasting them against walls and onto other rooftops. “Fall, Corrupted One!” Luna whirled to see an earth pony Disciple bring back his blade to strike. His eyes shone with wild fanaticism, while foam lined his mouth. She dodged his attack and ducked his follow up swing, but whirled to deliver a two-legged buck to his chest. The Disciple groaned as he was blasted through an adjoining building’s window. Luna shook her head and turned her focus back to the Raven, who was currently fending off four other Disciples, while the masked pony and his allies stood by, as if they were waiting for something. Even as centuries’ worth of warrior’s intuition screamed at her, a sudden jolt of pain shot through her, running out from her left side to the rest of her body, effectively crippling her. The princess’s scream of pain caught Swirling’s attention, distracting her long enough for somepony to clock her in the face. ‘Pay attention to the fight!’ Nevermore scolded her. “Princess—” Swirling was cut off when a bolt of crimson magic struck her, blasting her to the ground. “Such a pitiful creature,” said the voice of a mare, who leaped down from a perch upon a nearby water tower. Her coat and mane were both the purest white, her eyes a bright red hue. She trotted calmly towards the Raven, her eyes scrutinizing and cold. “You are the Raven, then? I had expected you to be… larger.” She shook her head, turning away from the shadow-clad mare and approaching the princess, who still was in very apparent agony. “No matter. You are of no consequence now. The Corrupted One is the true prize this day.” Luna struggled to stand, but her legs gave out with a pained yelp. “H-How are you… What have you done to me?” The white mare replied with a bolt of power into Luna’s chest, winding the princess. “Be silent, wretched creature.” Her voice was neutral, void of emotion. “You are a living plague that must be cleansed from this world.” “I don’t think so!” Swirling growled as she charged at the unicorn, only to be met with yet another burst of magic, this one from the masked stallion, who had knocked her away with a spell more powerful than those of the other Disciples. “You will not interfere in our affairs, demon,” the mare said, giving her a disdainful glare. She turned to the masked Disciple. “Ensure that the Corrupted One is properly restrained. I will end her threat myself once we have returned.” The mask-wearer bowed his head. “As you will it, Mistress.” He motioned to his fellow Disciples, who all followed him toward Luna, placing what must’ve been restraint spells on her wings and legs before putting some kind of bulky, metal ring on her horn. “Let… her go…” Swirling panted out. What did that mask guy hit her with? ‘It’s a sleep spell,’ Nevermore quickly explained. ‘I’m trying to keep it from getting to you, but I can’t hold it off for much longer.’ As Swirling struggled to stay on her hooves, fighting her body’s steadily growing urge to fall and rest, the white mare turned to her again, her crimson gaze like daggers. “Annoying,” she spat dispassionately, her horn lighting up with a red aura. “Sleep, creature. We will return for you when we are finished with the Corrupted One.” A single bolt flew from her horn, striking the Raven square in the barrel and launching her off the roof to fall into the alleyway below. Swirling’s last sight before blacking out was the pavement below her. -o- Vision was blurred. Everything hurt. Her body ached as she slowly struggled onto all fours, her legs shaky and unbalanced. As her view became less and less obscured, Swirling saw that she was in an alleyway (not having landed in a dumpster or trash can for once). She was no longer in her Raven form. It was still night out, too. Her memory of what happened was vague as she tried to recall. Something about… She gasped as the memory hit her like a bulldozer. “Princess Luna!” she shouted, sitting bolt upright. She looked back to the roof of the building she had fallen from, a sudden sense of urgency taking her. Reverting back into the Raven, she flapped her wings to land on the roof. She looked around and felt a knot of dread forming in her gut. “Oh, no! Where have they taken her?” ‘How should I know?’ asked Nevermore. ‘I can’t see anymore than what you see, and you were out cold for at least two hours.’ A desperate search didn’t yield any clues as to where the Disciples had gone, or Princess Luna’s whereabouts. She grabbed her mane in frustration. “This isn’t good, this isn’t good! We can’t let them do anything to Princess Luna!” ‘Why do you care?’ Swirling blinked in momentary confusion. “What?” ‘She wanted the Raven gone,’ the spirit explained. ‘So what if she was kidnapped by a bunch of nutcases in bathrobes? No skin off our backs.’ “How can you say that, Nevermore? She’s our princess!” ‘Not my princess,’ he declared hotly. ‘I don’t see the need to risk my neck for someone who would banish me from this realm.’ Her ears pinned back. “But… she’s still an important pony! She—” ‘Important to who, exactly? When she was Nightmare Moon and originally banished to the moon, Celestia controlled the moon for a thousand years, and everything was fine.’ That… was a very unsettlingly good point. Swirling could feel her resistance to Nevermore’s cold logic starting to wear out as she fell to her haunches, her head hanging low. “But… but… it’s not right.” ‘Doesn’t really matter in the long run. Ponies forgot about Luna before. They’ll forget about her again eventually.’ Swirling closed her eyes, digesting what he had told her. It was true that Luna had been forgotten long ago before her fairly recent return—even she never knew that Princess Celestia had a sister. Still… it was a depressing thought. Princess Luna didn’t seem that bad. Maybe a little strict, sure, but Swirling would’ve been willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. She shook her head to get the thoughts out of her mind, but they kept coming back like a swarm. A sigh escaped her as she walked towards the building’s edge. “Maybe you’re right…” ‘Of course I am.’ Her eyes fell over the streets below as carriages and ponies went about their night, all of them oblivious to the fact their Princess was in danger. What would they think if they learned that Princess Luna was kidnapped, or worse? Her head snapped up as she peered ahead. What if they knew that she had known and that she did nothing to help? What would Summer Streams think? Or the Day family? Could she really turn a blind eye to somepony in need? Even if it was a pony who wanted her time as the Raven to end. “...No.” ‘What?’ “I said no,” she reaffirmed, standing resolutely on all fours. “I can’t just walk away from this. I have the power to do something, and I’m going to use it. I won’t turn my back on anypony who needs help, no matter what. Leaving the princess to her fate is as bad as if I’d killed her myself, if not worse.” There was moment of silence between the mare and her tenant. ‘You’re not going to change your mind, are you?’ She shook her head adamantly, and the spirit sighed in irritation. ‘Do you even know where to look? Manehattan isn’t exactly a narrow corridor.’ “Well… I…” She gritted her teeth as she silently admitted that he had a point. Those ponies could’ve taken Princess Luna anywhere in the city. Heck, they could’ve taken her to the train station and be halfway to Los Pegasus by now. She needed a concrete plan! She needed to know where the Disciples took the princess! She needed… ‘Information,’ Nevermore suggested. That one word made it click. “Tricky! We could go and see if he knows anything about the Disciples!” When Nevermore grunted in agreement, she took off in the direction of Tricky’s apartment, heading for the biggest rathole of a neighborhood in all of Manehattan. As she soared through the night sky, she pleaded with whatever deity may have been listening that the shifty stallion would have something - anything - that could help. He had to have something. -o- Luna groaned groggily as she opened her eyes, a pervasive feeling of exhaustion draping her body, preventing her from getting any further onto her hooves than to sit on her haunches with her head hanging low. The only time she’d been this weak before now was after she had been freed from the Nightmare. It was not a feeling she enjoyed very much. She glanced up at her surroundings through bleary eyes, squinting at the bright light coming from the ceiling. She was in what looked like a… a cell, maybe? It was difficult to make out most of the details. The room was almost a sterile white, devoid of any furniture or decoration. She attempted to stand, but only tumbled back to the floor, her exhaustion claiming the better part of her body. She found chains on her hooves holding her in place. An experimental twitch of her wings revealing that a viselike clamp had been placed over them. She barely had the strength to cast any kind of spell, but a brief and failed attempt at such told her that her magic was being restrained somehow. “What… what is this?” she muttered quietly. She look around her cell, finding it devoid of any markings. The walls were plain and uninviting, cold and without compassion on the architect’s part. The only sound was that of her own breathing. “Hello? I demand that you release me! As your Princess of the Night, I will not be bound and chained like a common knave! Answer me!” The sound of ponies quietly speaking to each on the other side of the door directly in front of her was heard before somepony sounded as though they were walking away. Several moments later, she heard more hoofsteps, followed by the sound of the door being carefully unlocked. A bright red aura enveloped the door, pushing it open and ushering in a pure white mare with bright, crimson eyes, a peculiar amulet resembling a stylized eye hanging from her neck. Her cutie mark was a featureless outline of a five-pointed star. “Who are you?” Luna demanded. “What have you done to me?” The white mare narrowed her eyes at the princess, frowning at her. “If you must know, Corrupted One, I am White Star, leader of the Disciples of Light. As such, it is my sworn duty to destroy any and all creatures of the Dark.” She motioned a hoof toward her amulet. “As for what I’ve done to you, the credit goes to this. The Eye of Hyperion. It saps away the magic of whomever its bearer targets.” Luna scowled. “Such artifacts only lead to ruin.” White Star’s response to that was a noncommittal grunt. The Lunar Princess shook her head, glaring at her captor. “Why are you doing this at all? Why risk your own life in capturing me? Surely, you know that my sister will never stand for such a crime. You would be lucky if she banished you to the furthest reaches of the world for this.” White Star turned a nasty snarl at her. “Princess Celestia will see the value in what the Disciples do for Equestria. Our beloved homeland had known peace for years since you were done away with, but the moment you made your return, our world has been ravaged by all manner of dark and fell creatures. Discord, the changelings, Sombra—” She growled at the mention of the villainous unicorn king. “—and lastly, the Dark Lord Tirek. Do you think us all blind? You are the cause!” Luna’s eyes widened. “You are mad! I have not—” “Silence!” Luna arched her back as another wave of agony rushed through her body. Her scream echoed through the bare room as she writhed under the sudden strain. “I will not abide your wicked words, Corrupted One,” White Star said as the magical assault on Luna ended, leaving the alicorn panting for breath. “Soon, the cause will be no more, and Equestria can finally know peace again.” The princess panted heavily as the pain in her body gradually subsided, and she glared up at White Star. “You are a madmare. You seek to destroy the one who guards the night and protects the dreams of others.” “A mere ruse on your part,” the white mare growled. “Equestria was safe and peaceful when only Celestia sat upon the throne. It shall be so again.” “Then why not end me here and now?” Luna inquired. “That would certainly be easier than keeping me prisoner.” With a menacing scowl, White Star said, “Your presence in this world must be completely purged. A ritual is being prepared. Your body will be burned to ash, and your soul condemned to the deepest reaches of Tartarus, as you deserve for your endless, continuing sins.” Luna tried again to stand, but the pain was too much, and she fell back with a grunt. “My sister will not allow you roam free once she finds out what you have done.” White Star smirked insultingly. “She will thank us and welcome us with open arms. Just as Cerberus will welcome you to the fires of hell.” At that, she turned and made to leave the room, briefly acknowledging a robed stallion. “Ensure that the Corrupted One stays put. The ritual is nearly ready.” The guard nodded, and the door closed, cutting Luna off from the world once again. The princess sighed weakly, looking down at the chains on her hooves and the clamp upon her torso. She reflected on White Star’s words, and shook her head. She had it wrong; all of it was wrong. Considering the power the unicorn had used on her, she might very well have the means to carry out her threats. She looked to the ceiling, her eyes pleading. ‘Celestia… help me.’ Author's Note Theme of the Frog: Theme of White Star: Let There Be Light, Part 2“I don’t have much for you,” Tricky informed her with a faint shrug. The Raven sighed in exasperation at the yellow stallion's continued stubbornness. Despite waiting for him in his cluttered apartment—which was adorned with file cabinets, maps, and other things that the pony kept in his long-running information business—he still took it personally that she was able to get around the traps he had set up to protect his residence. “Come on, Tricky, you of all ponies should have something I can use,” she asked the dark-yellow earth pony. “Didn’t you once tell me there wasn’t anything that happens in Manehatten you weren’t aware of? Or was that just you making empty boasts?” He leaned forward on his desk, running a hoof through his unkempt dark-blue mane. “Listen, Raven, believe me when I tell you I’ve tried. These Disciples of Light are a stingy group that doesn’t let just anypony in. I’ve tried getting ponies in their ranks, and each time, I lose spies. Whether they get killed off or converted to the Disciples’ cause is anyone’s guess. All I can really tell you is that they’re dangerous and not to be trifled with.” She shifted her weight as she stared down at the seated pony. “I need to trifle with them anyway. It’s important.” He rolled his eyes at her with a sigh of his own. “Why am I not surprised?” A snort escaped through his nose. “Care to tell me why?” Pure yellow eyes narrowed at him. “Quit trying to fish information out of me. Isn’t there anything useful you can tell me?” The stallion rubbed his chin in thought for a few moments. He briefly looked around the room, scanning every detail. After a while, he stood from his seat and approached one of the file cabinets and began sifting through the files within one drawer at a time. Eventually, he seemed to find something he approved of, opening a file and quickly reading through it before tossing it to the Raven. “Last guy I lost contact with disappeared somewhere up Chancellor Avenue in uptown. They may have moved from there, if they were ever really there to begin with. It’s not much, but I figure you’ve got a decent chance at finding them. Just try not to get whacked. It’d be pretty inconvenient for me to lose such an effective bodyguard.” She rolled her eyes. “You’re hilarious.” She read over the file he’d given her, committing as much of its contents to memory as she could before closing it and giving it back to the info dealer. “Thanks. I’ll be sure to bring you back a souvenir or two.” Tricky smirked. “Anything that can expand what I know about these Disciples will do very nicely.” With a nod, the Raven headed for the nearby window and leaped out of it, taking off into the night and leaving Tricky to himself. He blinked at the window for a moment. “She does realize I have a door, right?” he muttered to himself. -o- Swirling walked alongside Summer Streams as they traversed the main thoroughfare of Manehatten the next day. As much as she wanted to hunt down the Disciples that night, she knew her Raven form would not last long enough to find Princess Luna, let alone save her. Swirling only prayed to Celestia that they hadn’t done anything to the Lunar Princess while she waited for the magic of the Raven to recharge. The evening hours were quickly giving way to dusk as the sun gradually lowered on the city. “I’m so glad you decided to come with me, Swirling,” Summer said with a gleeful smile. “I’ve been wanting to shop in uptown for a while now, and I can’t wait to try on some new saddles and boots!” Swirling’s smile wasn’t as genuine as she had hopped. “I’m happy to hang out with you, Summer. It’s been way too long since we last had a girls’ night.” Summer bounced as she walked. “Maybe we can find us a nice spa and have our manes done! Wouldn’t Page just fall over if I showed up all dressed to kill?” She gave her friend a sly smile. “We might even pick you up a nice stallion while we’re at it!” Swirling closed her eyes tightly, trying to ignore the blush creeping up on her face. “You just won’t stop until I find a special somepony, right?” Her friend gave an arrogant toss of her head. “You know me so well.” “Too well…” she deadpanned. Summer pranced a bit more before she stopped, an odd look crossing her face. “Hey!” A warm laughed escaped her and she wrapped Swirling up in a hug. “You’re too easy sometimes, you know that?” Summer harrumphed but a smirk crossed her face as she tugged Swirling along. “Come on, we’re wasting time.” A short time later, after some solid pampering from some spa ponies, Swirling and Summer stepped back out into the warm lights of the city nightscape. Swirling’s hoof instinctively went to her mane as it was held up in a fashionable curl. She and Summer both had decided to wear the identical look at Summer’s suggestion. ‘Great. Now you can look fabulous for your date with the Disciples,’ Nevermore snarked. ‘I can’t just blow Summer off just like that, Nevermore. It’ll look suspicious.’ ‘Well, you better come up with something. There’s the street you need.’ She looked to the street sign and saw that it was indeed Chancellor Avenue. If she was going to save Princess Luna, now was the time to get started. A worried frown crossed her face as Summer bumped into her. “Hey, why the frown? You look great. Don’t worry about it so much.” A smile tugged at her face despite it all. “It’s not that. It’s…” Her eyes settled on a nearby clothing boutique, and her eyes brightened slightly. “I think we need to get some clothes to match our new look.” Summer squeaked in excitement, and tried to pull her along, but Swirling stopped her. “But I’ve got to go to the little fillies’ room. Meet you in there?” Her friend nodded excitedly. “I’ll be waiting!” Swirling watched as her friend galloped for the store, nearly bowling over a pair of ponies leaving said store. ‘Remind me not to get in her way...’ Nevermore said with a touch of nervousness in his tone. ‘It’d hurt worse than when Brawn punched me.’ The spirit snorted. ‘Now’s your chance. Let’s get going already.’ Swirling quickly headed down the street, a sudden feeling of guilt rising up in her chest for ditching her friend, but she knew she had to rescue the princess. As soon as she was certain that no one had paid her any mind, she changed form and charged down the street, moving swiftly through the shadows. She shot through alleys like an loosed arrow, looking through windows from building to building and scouting out floor after floor to find whatever it was she was looking for. Eventually, she stumbled upon a door that bore an eye-like symbol that resembled the one that was on the mask of one of the Disciples from last night. “That’s it, right?” Swirling asked as she approached the door, cautious curiosity taking her for a moment. ‘It fits what Tricky told us. I’d bet your next paycheck that there’s a trap waiting for us.’ “How are you going to bet my money? Little as it is…” she groused finally. She could practically feel him rolling his eyes at her. ‘Just open the door.’ With a nod, the pegasus faced the door and reared back, readying her forelegs before slamming them down, blasting the door off its hinges and sending it crashing into the opposite wall. She charged in, battle ready and poised, prepared for… absolutely… nothing. The room in front of her was empty, though it looked only recently vacated. There was a plate of food on a table not far from her, and it still looked fairly warm. Had the Disciples left this building in such a hurry that they couldn’t finish some baked potatoes? ‘This screams of a trap.’ ‘Will you shut up about—’ “Well, well, well. If it isn’t the Corrupted One’s little pawn.” The Raven quickly spun around toward the door, facing the same masked stallion from last night (probably). ‘Nevermore, if you say anything, I swear I’ll find some way to buck you.’ ‘Told you so,’ he said anyway. “Lady White Star was correct in assuming you would come.” He shook his head in mock pity. “So unfortunately predictable, it seems.” Swirling felt her hackles rising at the masked pony’s tone. “What’s pathetic is you hiding behind that ridiculous mask. Are you so ugly that you have to hide your face behind that glorified Nightmare Night decoration?” He snarled at her. “Bark all you want, dog. You will not leave this place alive. The Light shall cleanse your taint from this world. Disciples!” At his word, a dozen robed ponies rushed in, some coming in through the door, others entering through another door on the far side of the room, all looking ready for a fight. They surrounded her in an instant, standing ready with weapons drawn and aimed at her. Her eyes darted around to the dozen ponies all staring at her with open hatred, though she saw a few weapons were shaking in their grasp. For some reason, this put a smile on her face. “So, you think it’s gonna take twelve of you to beat little, old me? I’m actually flattered you think so.” “Take her!” the masked one shouted, and the robed ponies charged with battle shouts of varying confidence. In response, Swirling dove into the shadows beneath her, the Disciples’ weapons meeting only each other before she reemerged and crashed her hooves into the backs of two ponies’ heads. The other ten reacted quickly, swinging their spears and blades at her with murderous intent. “Too slow!” she taunted as she grabbed a stabbing spear just below its head. She yanked the Disciple that stubbornly clung to it and slugged him hard enough that he did an inverted flip before landing painfully to the ground. She then swung the spear’s non-lethal end into the side of another Disciple, breaking the shaft in half and winding the opponent, a sense of satisfaction hitting her right before a sword almost did the same her neck. ‘Do I have to say it?’ ‘Keep moving and don’t let the enemy catch you,’ she repeated in a dull monotone. ‘I get it already!’ A buck sent the sword pony flying across the room, and she quickly ran off, the remaining Disciples following after her. She dashed up a flight a stairs before a pair of pegasi cut her off, their spears trained on her. “You’re going nowhere, demon!” “All right, I’m getting tired of the insults!” She charged ahead, ducked under the pegasus’s swing, and came up with an uppercut that caught him under the chin. The blow sent her opponent flying over the side of the stairwell, but she had no time to celebrate, as his companion tackled her to the ground. “Your days of skulking in the night are over!” he yelled as he raised his spear to impale her. “Indoor voices, please!” she said, kicking the stallion in the back with her hind legs, sending him off of her to collide with a wall. When he slumped over in unconsciousness, the Raven darted off further through the building. She stopped as the hallway she was running down just suddenly dead ended. “Great…” “Nowhere to run now.” She turned to find the remaining Disciples and the masked one blocking her way out. “You put up an admittedly admirable fight, pawn, but this ends now.” She bared her teeth, though the Raven form wouldn’t show it. “Call me ‘pawn’ one more time, and I’m going to buck you so hard, you’ll be kissing the moon!” “An empty threat.” The remaining Disciples charged ahead. With a snarl she lunged forward catching two of them by the neck and slamming them to the ground, but the move cost her as another Disciple nailed her across the flank with his blade. She hissed in pain as the blade got past the magic’s protection and cut at her side, thankfully not deep enough to cause serious damage. ‘You need to be more careful!’ Nevermore scolded her almost eagerly. “Oh, shut up!” Swirling exclaimed out loud, not caring what the Disciples would think of her talking to no one as she retaliated against the pony who’d hit her with a heavy punch to the barrel. She then grabbed him by his forelegs and spun, twirling around faster and faster before letting him go, launching him into the crowd of his colleagues, knocking away several and startling others. The Disciples who were still standing looked at her with very obvious surprise on their faces. She glowered at them, solid yellow eyes narrowed in what she was assumed would be a menacing fashion. For several moments, nopony did anything except glare at the opposition. Eventually, Swirling decided she’d waited long enough and stepped forward. The Disciples grimaced and readied themselves, preparing to fight to the last. “Enough,” said the masked stallion, stepping in front of them with cold determination. “I will handle this myself.” The others bowed, moving away to give him the space they apparently believed he deserved. Swirling eyed the masked pony cautiously, unsure of what to expect here. “So, you and me, huh, chuckles?” She assumed he was glaring at her. “My name is Zeal. I hope that you remember it well, for it will be the last name you ever hear, Raven.” His horn glowed, and a blade of hard magic appeared beside him, ready to pierce her flesh. “Did you take an acting class or something?” she deadpanned, her ears flattening. “That was stupidly dramatic.” “Insolence!” He charged ahead, blade leading. ‘I won’t be able to stop that blade. Do not get hit.’ Growling softly, she jumped away from his slash and backpedaled as he followed up with another attack. The cut came within a hair’s breadth of slicing her across her barrel. She could feel heat coming from the blade, almost like a very pointy furnace. She lunged in after his swing, but found herself on the receiving end of a punch to her face as she got close. With a gasp, she barely ducked under his countering swing, the blade tearing through the ethereal mass of her mane. He stopped his attack mid-swing and inverted the blade for a stab. She rolled out of the way to find the blade tearing through the wood of the floor like a hot knife through warm butter. ‘How do I get to this guy? He’s too good!’ she shouted to Nevermore as she found herself in full retreat from Zeal’s ferocious attacks. ‘It’s probably why he’s their leader, and I bet he’ll expect you to jump from the shadows at him, so that won’t work either.’ ‘What do I do?’ ‘I’m going to try something. Next opening you get, punch.’ She swore at him inwardly, wondering how she was even going to find an opening. Her eyes widened as Zeal aimed a stab right at her face. She barely got out of the way to avoid being skewered, but his blade sunk into the wall behind her. ‘Now!’ She brought her hoof back and connected solidly to his barrel, he staggered back from the hit, but remained standing. “You will pay for that!” He charged back in, but found his hooves stuck to the floor, his shadow suddenly darker and binding his hooves still. “By the Light! What is this!?” He looked back in time to see the Raven draw back her hoof and punch out. The sheer force of the punch cracked and split apart his mask and sent him soaring down the hall to land with a pained grunt—his magical blade dissipating into nothingness. He groaned as he covered his face with his hooves, glaring at the shadowy mare with a milky white eye, his other eye blocked by his hoof. “What in the…?” Swirling asked to no one in particular. ‘Bleeding hell, he’s blind,’ Nevermore said, unable to hide his astonishment. “Master Zeal!” the remaining two Disciples shouted and leveled their weapons at the Raven. “Enough!” he shouted. “The demon has won this day.” He grunted as he staggered to his hooves, still clutching at the side of his face. He pulled the hood of his robe further over his head, making it impossible to see what he really looked like. The two looked at each other, clearly not understanding what they should do. The Raven turned to them. “I suggest you boys start running before I hoof you your flanks.” They scowled and set themselves. “We’ll not let you harm Master Zeal further, monster!” “I said stand down!” Zeal shouted to the two, who backed away in surprise. “It will not be us who ends this pawn; that pleasure will belong to Mistress White Star.” “White Star?” asked Swirling. “Who’s White Star?” Zeal faced her coolly. “She is our leader. She will be the one to cleanse the world of the Corrupted One’s vile presence, and you along with it.” Swirling bristled, stepping forward menacingly. “Where have you taken Princess Luna? Tell me before I beat the three of you into a pulp!” He scowled, but winced in sudden pain. “You will find your master in warehouse 121 in the docks district. Go and try to save the foul creature. The Disciples, and Mistress White Star, know you will be coming.” Underneath her shadowy form, Swirling smirked. “Well, I’d better not keep them waiting then, should I? But I don’t want to leave anything here up to chance.” Just as Zeal was about to say something, Swirling sank into the shadows, then blasted out from under him, landing an uppercut square in his jaw before striking the other two Disciples with her hind legs, knocking all three of them out cold. With that deed done, she dashed out of the building, taking off for the docks. ‘Hold on just a little longer, Princess. I’m coming.’ -o- White Star held her amulet close to her chest as she knelt before a hastily constructed altar, prostrating herself before a depiction of the very eye that represented the center of her faith - the same faith that was shared by hundreds. The Light’s Eye bore into her, staring with a perpetual calm, judging her worth and testing her merit as she offered forth prayers and praise to the Light. “Glory be unto the Light that gives us life,” she whispered. “Praise be unto that which warms us at day and shows us the path at night. I pray for strength to endure the challenges placed before me, and for the forgiveness of sins I have wrought in the name of the Light. I pray for the Light’s warm embrace, not only for myself, but for the Light’s faithful, and for all those who know not the magnanimous compassion of Light.” She placed a hoof just below the eye sigil, head low in respectful submission. “May the Light’s radiance grace those who dwell within the Dark, and banish the profane from this mortal realm. May the Light’s guiding beacon lead those trapped within the Darkness against their will, and offer their pitiful souls peace in Elysium.” The snow white mare then hummed an old hymn passed down within the Disciples’ leadership for generations. No doubt, it was not the original melody - decades, if not centuries, of only word of mouth tended to muddle details. Still, the tune’s hauntingly serene tones were as wondrous as when she’d first heard the song from her mentor, the late stallion who’d led the Disciples before her. “Mistress.” White Star sighed as a voice called to her just as she finished the hymn. She turned to the speaker, a stallion wearing the white, undecorated robes of a novice Disciple. “Speak.” The stallion quickly bowed his head. “Forgive my intrusion, Mistress, but I was sent to tell that the ritual is ready whenever you deem it time to punish the Corrupted One.” With a quiet nod, White Star stood and approached the low-ranking Disciple. “Thank you, my friend. Let our Brothers and Sisters know that we will begin at dawn. Barring any interruptions, of course.” “You mean the Raven?” the novice asked. “Surely, milady, your second-in-command will be able to handle the demon.” She turned away from him, returning her attention to the altar. “Zeal is a skilled warrior, in spite of his handicap. Or… maybe even because of it. Either way, I do not believe even his skill will be enough to keep the Raven at bay for long. A demon is no easy foe to conquer.” She faced the novice again. “I expect the creature will attempt to save its cursed master before the night ends. We must be ready for that.” The stallion bowed deeply. “As you say, Mistress White Star. I’ll spread the word amongst the others.” He rose again and headed out to perform his given task, leaving White Star alone with the altar once again. She turned to it one last time. “When the Raven comes,” she said, making a promise to herself and the Light, “I will personally remove its dark presence from this world.” She offered one more prayer, pleading for the strength of will and body to carry out her oath. The Eye of Hyperion, she knew, would be a tremendous aid in the coming battle, but she would not be able to rely on it exclusively. A shadow could not be swallowed by anything other than larger shadow. To destroy a shadow, one must cast light upon it. -o- Summer was not going to be happy when Swirling saw her next. The pegasus hated having to ditch her friend like this, but it was either that or let the Disciples do whatever it was they were planning to do with Princess Luna. In the grand scheme of things, saving the Princess of the Night was a little more important than choosing between two different colored dresses. She’d have to find a way to make it up to Summer later, though. She touched down from her flight upon the edge of a roof, out of her Raven form, with decent view of the docks. With a quick search, Swirling spotted her target; warehouse 121 had a number of ponies trotting around it, looking fairly ordinary. None of them wore those robes the Disciples had. None that she could see, anyway. There were too many for her to take out in a head-on fight. ‘You’ll need to be quiet if you’re going to do this,’ Nevermore warned. Swirling nodded, willing herself into the Raven before leaping off the roof and diving into the shadows like a pool. She darted towards the warehouse, stopping behind a pile of crates and peeking out at the ponies patrolling around the building. Two stallions stood side by side at a door, both occasionally looking off to the left or right. One surly-looking mare was sitting back against a crate a ways off from the two guards, a cigarette hanging out of her mouth while a third stallion paced around her, looking beyond nervous, his attention turning to every little sound, as if he expected something to jump out at him. “Will you stop?” the smoking mare asked irritably. “You’re driving me crazy, walking around like that.” “Can you really blame me?” the fidgety stallion asked. “We’re all out here waiting for the Raven to pop up from who-knows-where, and the odds of us actually beating that monster are slim to none.” “Can’t be that bad,” the mare said dismissively. The stallion gritted his teeth, glancing around with a frantic look. “You weren’t there the other night when we caught the Corrupted One. If it weren’t for Master Zeal and Mistress White Star, I doubt we’d have made it out of there, Corrupted One or no.” He gulped anxiously. “Man, I’d rather be inside helping to get the ritual ready.” The mare merely grunted in response, while Swirling Line couldn’t help but smirk to herself. It seemed she already had a bit of reputation with the Disciples. With their grunts, at least. ‘Why not give them something to really be afraid of?’ she heard her spirit ally suggest, and for once, she couldn’t agree more with him. She jumped into the shadows behind her, but not without knocking on the crate she was hiding behind. The stallion and mare jumped at the sound, the mare’s cigarette falling out of her mouth and the stallion’s eyes nearly popping out of his skull. An anxiety-filled silence made itself known as the pair glanced at each other. The stallion bit his lip nervously and approached the crates. Unbeknownst to both of them, the Raven darted past them, unseen within the shadows. While the pair’s attention was distracted, she knocked on the crate the mare had been leaning against, startling the mare, who quickly turned, but not fast enough to catch sight of Swirling. The pegasus was gone from sight, hiding right under the mare’s nose. “What was that?” the stallion asked, clearly on the edge of losing it. “N-nothing,” the mare answered, though her tone betrayed her newfound nervousness. “What’s over there?” The stallion grimaced. “Nothing but boxes. I swear, something—” He was cut off as he was pulled away by his tail, letting out a yelp before the mare heard sounds of a very brief struggle. She shot up from her position and galloped over to where her fellow Disciple had been, and found… nothing. “What in Tartarus?” she muttered, a sense of fear now running through her spine. Where was that stallion? What happened to him? There was a clang of metal behind her, and she spun around, stepping back to put distance between her and whatever had made… Her eyes went wide as she felt herself bump into something, and turned again to see a living silhouette with solid yellow eyes piercing her like daggers. “Boo,” the being said in an unnatural, otherworldly voice. The mare didn’t have it in her to scream, it seemed. Instead, she fainted, falling over right into the Raven’s hooves. Swirling blinked briefly as she set the mare down. “Nighty-night, Princess What’s-Your-Name.” ‘Two down,’ said Nevermore. ‘About three dozen more to go.’ Swirling nodded and looked over to the two guards at the door. They didn’t look like they noticed what had just happened, nor where she hid the unconscious stallion. Either they were deaf, or they didn’t care what the mare and third stallion were doing right now. She dove into the shadows again, dashing towards the door, ignoring the stallions and slipping under the door and into the warehouse. She rapidly climbed up the wall to the roof and stuck her head out of the shadows, giving the building a once over as she planned out her next move. At the far end of the warehouse was what looked like an altar of some kind, with large, heavily decorated table that had several lit torches surrounding it. Off to the right was what she assumed was once the manager’s office, with the windows closed and shuttered. A line of bright light was emanating from under the door—it was probably where the princess was being held, if the armed guards stationed there were any indication. ‘This reeks of a trap, Line,’ Nevermore said. ‘Yeah, I figured.’ If that room was where Luna was being kept, then she’d have to find some way to get the guards out of there so that she could bust the door down and get the princess out of this place. She rubbed at her chin as she watched the Disciples walk about the warehouse, preparing for… something. Whatever they were getting ready for, it couldn’t be anything good. ‘That stallion from earlier said something about a ritual. What do you think they’re planning?’ She furrowed her brow as her partner didn’t immediately answer. ‘Nevermore?’ ‘I’m not sure,’ he finally said, his voice unsettlingly neutral, ‘but all signs point to them getting ready to kill the princess. That white unicorn from the other night did say she was going to ‘end’ Luna.’ The pegasus’ eyes went wide. Of course that’s what they were planning! But… why would a ritual be required to kill one pony, alicorn or not? There had to have been something that she was missing here. Something wasn’t quite right with… okay, there was nothing quite right with all of this, but something was certainly fishy. ‘Maybe we should try—’ “Up there! It’s her!” Her head darted to the side as a Disciple was pointing frantically towards her perch. “The Raven is here!” “Oh, horseapples!” she swore and dropped from her perch as a multitude of magical beams and arrows struck the wall. ‘So much for stealth.’ ‘Now is not the time, Nevermore!’ She flapped her wings frantically as more attacks sailed her way. It seemed that the Disciples were almost spawning out of thin air, many as there were. In their rush to catch her, she noticed that the Disciples at the office door had left their posts. She speed for the office, ignoring the ponies below her. ‘What are you doing?’ Nevermore demanded. ‘If I can get to Princess Luna, she can help us!’ ‘What makes you think she would?’ ‘We’re trying to—Whoa!” She banked sharply to the right as a beam sailed in, missing her by mere inches. ‘You’re going to get us killed!’ Nevermore hollered at her. Before she could retort, a pegasus Disciple tackled her in midair, roughly bringing her to the ground as others swarmed around her. She managed to kick the pegasus off of her, only to be dogpiled by no less than a dozen other ponies. She struggled against their combined weight before sinking away into the shadows beneath her and reemerging outside of the pile of ponies, a grin on her face beneath her black hide. Her slight triumph was short-lived, however, as she was blasted by a crimson bolt that slammed her against a wall, winding her as she fell to the floor. “We were expecting you, Raven,” said a familiar mare’s voice. Swirling looked up to see that white mare from the other night, her horn glowing a bright red and her eyes narrowed with a mixture of spite and pity. “Yeah, I figured as much,” Swirling said with a scowl, getting back to her hooves. “Let Princess Luna go.” White Star frowned venomously, her horn not losing its aura. “I cannot do that. Her presence is required for the ritual to be completed.” Swirling dug a hoof into the ground at her. “And just what’s this ritual of yours about, exactly?” “It is something beyond the understanding of a pawn of the Dark.” “Stop calling me a pawn!” It took everything she had to not try to throttle the unicorn where she stood. “Pawn or not, it is not something you would understand, even if I took the time to explain it.” The albino mare glowered at shadowy pegasus. “All you need to know that the Corrupted One’s death will usher in a new era, one in which the Light shines upon all of creation.” The Raven blinked at her for a moment. “If I didn’t think you were crazy before, I do now.” White Star shook her head. “As I said, you could never understand.” Suddenly, a beam flew out from her horn, too fast for Swirling to dodge. The attack impacted against Swirling’s barrel, knocking the air out her and stunning her. For a brief moment, her shadow form wavered, but remained. She glared up at White Star, who was eyeing her curiously. “Your form is…” the white unicorn began, gears turning in her head. Evidently, something clicked. “You are possessed, aren’t you?” “Not what I’d call it,” Swirling answered in an attempt to be cryptic. “That’s as close as you’ll understand, though.” White Star sneered. “Not that it matters. You will be no more once we are done with your master.” She glanced to the closest Disciple. “Bind her. She will witness the Corrupted One’s destruction before she joins her in oblivion.” He dipped his head obediently. “Yes, Mistress.” Swirling set herself to meet their attack. “Bring it on! I’ll take you all down before—” She gave a strangled scream as White Star hit her with another beam, and she felt her muscles lock up. She fell to the side with a thud, her body not reacting to her brain’s commands. “Not fair,” she managed to gurgle out as the Disciples quickly bound her wings and hooves together. White Star ignored the Raven, turning to the other Disciples. “Let all our Brothers and Sisters know that the Raven is no longer a threat. The ritual will proceed as planned.” -o- ‘Well, this is a fine mess you’ve gotten us into.’ ‘Shut up, Nevermore. Just shut up.’ She growled at her resident in annoyance. She sat against a wall, bound tightly and guarded by four Disciples that had spears leveled at her, ready to thrust if she so much as twitched. White Star stood before the altar, singing another hymn as the other Disciples joined her. A sigil had been painted into the floor, it looked almost identical in shape to the eye emblem on the wall, though runes and other etchings encircled the eye. A pair of iron rings had been bolted to the floor within the emblem, but she hadn’t the foggiest what they could be for. ‘Is there anything you can do, Nevermore? They’re going to kill Princess Luna and then us if we don’t do something!’ ‘You don’t say? I’m working on it, just hang tight.’ ‘...Was that a pun?’ ‘I don’t do puns.’ She snorted quietly, earning herself a painful jab from a spear. “Quiet, you!” As much as she wanted to take that spear and do something rather unpleasant to him for poking her, she wisely kept her mouth shut. But she couldn’t stay quiet forever. She needed to free herself, preferably without getting impaled. Or sliced. Or… anything bad, really. The more she thought on on her situation, though, the more hopeless it seemed. The paralysis she was under made it impossible for her to slip away into the shadows, and even if she could, she had no doubts that that would only put the Disciples on high alert, making a bad situation even worse. The office door opened, and two robed stallions trotted out, carrying a drastically weakened Luna. The Raven’s eyes widened at the princess’s condition, but stopped herself from speaking up. The Disciples were mostly silent, save for a few baleful murmurs and whisperings of spite for the Princess of the Night, some of which Swirling could hear. Most of what she heard were wishes of death to the “Corrupted One,” and some of them were sickeningly imaginative. The two stallions half-dragged, half-carried Luna along a path made open by the Disciples as they made their way towards the altar, where White Star stood annoyingly tall and irritatingly proud. The stallions carrying Luna roughly dumped the alicorn upon the sigil on the floor, binding her hooves and wings with iron clamps and chains, bowing to White Star before joining their fellow zealots. “My Brothers and Sisters,” White Star spoke, her voice loud enough to carry within the warehouse, yet still retaining its calm, collected tone. “We are gathered here now for a monumental occasion, a great victory for which we have all prayed, that we may use as a weapon to strike fear into the hearts of those who skitter within the foul Dark.” There was silence as the white mare descended from the altar, slowly approaching Princess Luna, who managed lift her head to glare at the uncaring unicorn. “This eve,” White Star continued, “we destroy the being who brought with her chaos, deception, darkness, and would-be tyranny. This eve, we slay the foul Corrupted One.” The Disciples all released a roaring cheer of approval, while Swirling Line fought off the urge to scream about how insane all of this was. “You are mad!” Luna managed to croak out, despite the uproar. “You know not what you do. In destroying me, you would doom Equestria to—” “Silence!” White Star screamed, her amulet flashing again. Luna’s back arched as she screamed in unbridled agony, tears of pain running down the alicorn’s face. White Star barely even gave notice Luna’s suffering, instead turning to another robed pony. “Do you have the ceremonial blade?” the cult leader asked. The pony nodded, taking out an incredibly ornate knife, which White Star took in her magic. She examined the blade before facing Luna again after the magical torment had ended. ‘Nevermore, whatever you have planned, you’d better hurry!’ ‘Oh, no, I thought I’d just take a break, watch the bloodbath, maybe take a nice nap afterward.’ ‘Please… help me.’ Swirling felt that Nevermore was just as shocked as she was when a third voice entered her mind. She looked towards Luna, and saw her teal irises looking directly at her. ‘Princess Luna?’ ‘If I… do not make it… please, get a message to my sister… Do not allow them to roam free. This madmare must be stopped.’ The pegasus had no idea how to respond. She sat, gaping at the princess as White Star began leading her cult in some kind of song. The blade of the knife began to glow with an eldritch light, as did the sigil that Luna had been placed within. At the continued chanting, the blade lifted up, and lights began to dance around the sigil, bathing the entire building in an otherworldly glow. Whatever was happening, it was very painfully obvious that it was bad. The fear in Luna’s eyes was unmistakable. ‘I have an idea,’ Nevermore finally said. ‘It’s about time! What is it?’ ‘I can try to counter White Star’s spell, but it’ll likely cut your time as the Raven in half.’ ‘How much time would that leave me with?’ ‘Around forty to fifty minutes.’ Plenty of time in Swirling’s mind. ‘Do it.’ The spirit gave a grunt of affirmation, and Swirling could already feel him working his magic. She was beginning to regain feeling in her hooves and in the tips of her primaries. As the Disciples sang their weird song, the guards around her included. She could feel legs and torso now, and decided now was as good a time as any to take action. With no shadows beneath her anymore, thanks to the unnatural lights flying around that grew steadily brighter. She was going to have to rely on more mundane methods. With a strong flap of her wings, Swirling took off towards White Star before her guards could even blink. Time itself seemed to crawl to a near halt as the Raven brought back a hoof to strike. She saw White’s red eyes widen in utter shock before the sheer force of the punch sent her soaring to crash through the altar, earning a collective gasp from the Disciples all around. Then, with grunts of effort, Swirling whirled and grabbed hold of the chains. She felt her body strain with the effort, but the chains snapped with a resound clatter of metal. The princess stood slowly and shakily, all while wearing a thankful smile directed at Swirling. Before either of them could say anything, however, an enraged shout erupted from the altar. White Star stood from the ruins, her eyes and horn blazing with unrivaled fury. “You will pay for defiling this sacred ritual, demon!” She pointed a hoof at the shadowclad mare. “Kill her!” Without hesitation, the horde of Disciples charged, dozens of weapons held at the ready. ‘Ignore them!’ Nevermore ordered. ‘Go for White Star’s amulet! Get rid of that, and she’ll have no way of depowering Luna again!’ Swirling nodded, turning to face Luna, who gave a quick, approving nod. “I will hold them at bay, while you deal with their leader,” Luna said as she turned to meet the charging horde. The Raven, with no reluctance, charged for White Star. Swatting aside the two guards that thought to stop her. The albino mare scowled, erecting a crimson barrier that caught the Raven. White Star then fired off a beam that struck her square in the barrel, sending her end over end into the air. Shaking her head, Swirling saw Luna fending off the Disciples hoof-to-hoof before grabbing a spear from one of her many opponent and expertly beating them back with the blunt end. Knowing the princess was safe in her own hooves, Swirling made another dash for White Star, this time zigzagging in an uncertain pattern, the unicorn firing blasts at her from the shattered altar. The red beams soared past her, many missing only narrowly, but all of them leaving destruction in their wake. Swirling dove forward and brought her forelegs back for a smash, but White Star threw a barrier up that stopped the attack, though cracks did appear along the barrier’s surface. “Are you so eager for oblivion, demon?” White Star hissed with a cruel edge in her voice. “If you had only waited, you would have known it soon enough!” “You really are crazy, you know that?” Swirling flew back as the barrier shattered outwards, the shards cutting past her painfully. White Star fired off more beams as the Raven scurried to dodge them. “You call me insane, but it’s you who cannot comprehend the magnitude of the threat the Darkness brings to Equestria. We are trying to save this world!” Swirling ducked behind a crate and kicked it at the unicorn who rolled aside. “By killing one of its princesses? Yeah, that makes a whole lot of sense. For someone who worships the Light, you’re not very bright!” “You ignorant fool!” Star gathered her power and unleashed a massive beam at the Raven’s hiding place. Crates and things burst apart and burned from the magical onslaught, and White Star watched the devastation, her sides heaving in ragged breaths. As the dust settled, she could see no sign of the Raven. “Pitiful fool.” That was when something jumped out of her shadow. “Yoink!” In a fit of instinct, White Star loosed a beam at the Raven, knocking her away. The pegasus rolled across the floor into a wall, apparently out cold. Not wanting to take chances, Star charged her horn. “I will end you once and for all, you pawn of Darkness!” Just as she was about to unleash a blast of raw power, she heard the Raven… laughing. “What’s so funny? Do you find your imminent death humorous?” “I keep telling you,” the shadowy mare said, lifting a hoof that held White Star’s treasured Eye of Hyperion. “Don’t call me a pawn.” The unicorn’s eyes went wide, her hoof scrambling to her neck before she glared at the Raven. “Give that back!” “Sure.” At that, Swirling crashed her hooves together, the amulet trapped between them. The relic shattered to pieces and fell to the floor with small, metallic clinks. “How much of it do you want?” White Star’s jaw went slack, her eyes wide in a blend of rage, shock, and horror. She turned to her followers. “What are you waiting—” She was silenced at the sight of Princess Luna beating down the last of her conscious Disciples, the alicorn’s horn now glowing steadily. As the last of them fell, she turned to regard White Star. “Your followers could do with more thorough training. They make for poor soldiers.” the princess quipped, tossing aside her borrowed spear. Swirling wanted to laugh so badly at how much White Star was shaking now, but she forced herself to remain serious as she approached the cult leader. “It’s over, Star,” she said. “You lose.” White Star hung her head low, scowling vehemently before lifting her head again, her horn glowing brightly. “As long as the Dark exists, it is never over. The Light will never cease its radiance!” Before either Luna or the Raven could react, the albino mare was enveloped in a flash of red light, leaving nothing but a scorch mark where she had been standing. Swirling looked around and dove to the floor. Luna lifted an eyebrow at her. “What are you doing?” The pegasus lifted her head cautiously. “I thought she was going to attack me with another beam again. Or… something.” ‘Very smooth.’ A slight smile adorned the princess’s face. “That was a teleportation spell. She has quit this place.” Her small smile became a serious frown. “I have no doubts that she will show herself again in the future.” “Oh, goody,” Swirling sighed. She would’ve greatly preferred if this whole mess was just a one-time thing. There was a moment of quiet as Luna briefly looked around at the unconscious bodies around her. “I shall summon the authorities to deal with these criminals,” she said before looking back to Swirling. “For now, I recommend we leave this place. We’ve more to talk about now.” Swirling gulped back the sense of anxiety Luna’s words called out. She nodded and followed the princess out of the warehouse, where they stopped a fair distance away from the building. The Lunar Princess turned to face the pegasus with a serious expression upon her visage, her eyes bearing an analytical stare. “I am still uncertain that leaving you to your own devices is wise.” Swirling hung her head at the taller mare’s words. “However, it would seem that I now owe you my life, Swirling Line. Had you not interfered with the Disciples’ ritual, I would likely be dead now. Or worse.” The princess took a single step forward and rested a hoof on her shoulder. “For that, you have my gratitude.” Swirling Line, unsure of how to respond at first, slowly looked up to meet Luna’s gaze. “It-it was no trouble, Princess. I only did what anypony else would’ve done.” ‘Including getting caught?’ said Nevermore. “Hey, that was, er, all a part of my plan!” ‘Sure it was. And I’m Mother Faust.’ The mare huffed angrily, earning what sounded almost like a giggle from Princess Luna. “Whether or not it went as you had planned, you still saved my life. As thanks, I will, admittedly against my better judgment, allow you to continue your nightly endeavors.” The Raven glanced up at the princess with wide eyes. “Know this, however: should you ever cross the fine line between vigilante hero and menace, I will not hesitate to stop you by any means necessary. Do I make myself clear?” “Crystal clear, Your Highness.” To further display her understanding, she gave what she hoped was a respectable salute. Her ears perked up as she heard Nevermore grunt. “What’s wrong, Nevermore?” ‘Remember when I said you had forty minutes or so left?’ Her ears laid back. “Yeah?” ‘I lied...’ Swirling blinked as the Raven form faded away, reverting her back to her natural state. Her eyes widened and she looked to her hooves. “Nevermore!” ‘Tired. Going to sleep now. Wake me up when I tell you to.’ “Wait, sleep? You’re a spirit in my head! Why do you need to sleep?” The shadow spirit gave no response, frustrating Swirling further. The mare grumbled at the spirit’s laziness, cursing how tired she felt, but wasn’t about to get any sleep soon. There was another laugh from the princess, who wore an amused grin. “I suppose you and tenant do not always see eye to eye.” Swirling gave a flat stare. “That’s putting it mildly.” “I shall escort you back to your home, if you wish. If you desire to keep your secret, I shall cast an illusion of invisibility upon us both. No one who saw the Raven come here will see Swirling Line come from here.” “That would be an enormous help, Princess. Thank you.” Nodding, Luna took to the air first, with the pegasus following soon after, a brief flash covering them both as Swirling led the way back to her apartment, where she planned to flop down in bed and try to sleep away tonight’s troubles. -o- After the evening she had just had, Luna desired nothing more than to just go home fall into her sinfully cozy bed just as her new acquaintance did. But while Swirling Line was ultimately harmless, the Raven was far from such, and despite her abilities, she could not watch the supposed “superhero” every waking moment. She needed another pair of eyes and ears. Touching down upon a rooftop, still in Manehattan, she briefly glanced around, searching for the pony she had in mind. From the reports he usually sent, this was where she could expect to find him most often, and it wasn’t long before she felt eyes on her back. “I know you are there,” she said aloud. “Reveal yourself. I’ve a task of great import for you.” At her words, a form leaped out of its hiding place in the nearby darkness, stopping in front of her. A dark blue stallion with a wild black mane and the wings of a bat knelt before her, his head low in respect. The thestral rose silently, his slitted, golden eyes serious and calm. “It’s not often you come to places like Manehattan, Highness,” he said. “Places like Manehattan are not completely to my liking,” she admitted. “There is too much noise for my tastes.” The stallion nodded. “What task do you have for me, Princess?” “I take it you know of the Raven?” He nodded. “She is, in truth, a mare named Swirling Line. I will have a profile delivered to you soon. I want you to watch her, and report all her actions to me.” She stared down at the kneeling thestral. “I would prefer that you do so in the most silent manner possible; she is not to know you are there. Is your mission understood?” “Keep an eye on a mare with unusual abilities,” said the thestral. “She won’t go for a leisurely flight without me knowing about it, Your Highness.” Luna nodded. “I do not believe I need to tell you what you need to do if she ever goes beyond simply fighting criminals.” The stallion bowed his head, understanding perfectly. “Good. And be careful. I fear I may have found a great threat to Equestria’s peace. A cult by the name of the Disciples of Light.” He dipped his head to her. “I’ll keep an eye out for them as well, Princess.” With one last nod of approval, Luna spread her wings and took to the air. As she flew, leaving the city of Manehattan behind her, she found herself pulled back to thoughts of the cult who had captured her, particularly their mad leader White Star. So long as that organization stayed afloat, Equestria was in great danger. Whatever the “Light” truly was, it could only spell disaster. -o- The sun felt so good. She lay stretched out on the grass in Manehatten Central Park, rolling on her back. It felt so good to have finally slept in for once, and now, with the sun warming her fur, Swirling was in bliss. A giggle escaped her, drawing a few curious looks her way, but she ignored them. “What a beautiful day,” she said aloud. Her thoughts drifted back to the events of the previous night, and a slow smile tugged at her lips. She rested her hooves behind her head and stared at the cloudy sky above as she remembered the awesome move she pulled that sent White Star through the altar. That surprised look in the albino mare’s eyes brought about another giggle. “I wish I had a picture of that. I could laugh at it for hours.” She took in a deep breath, inhaling the scent of the grass around her. To think that she, some nopony waitress in the biggest grease hole in all of Manehattan, not only beat the pulp out of an insane cult, but also saved Princess Luna. Princess Luna! How many ponies could say that besides the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony? Nopony, that’s who. Nothing could bring a damper on her good mood now. “Swirling Line!” Her golden irises widened as she recognized the irate voice. She looked up to see Summer Streams glaring down at her, her hooves crossed in a pout. Swirling gave a nervous chuckle. “Uh… hi, there, Summer.” The unicorn flattened her ears. “Don’t you ‘hi there, Summer,’ me, Swirling! You ran out on me!” Realization struck Swirling like one of White Star’s magical bolts. She’d completely forgotten all about Summer! “I, ah, I just… had to go to the mares’ room,” she said, rolling back to stand on her hooves. “For four hours?” the unicorn asked, half-deadpanning the question. “It was… stressful.” Summer slapped a hoof over her eyes. “Swirling, I don’t want to hear about your escapades in the bathroom!” She then jabbed a hoof in Swirling’s sternum. “You owe me big time!” Swirling hunkered down from Summer’s rage, ears pinning back. “You’re right, you’re right. I do. Just name it, and I promise I’ll do it.” It never ceased to amaze Swirling how fast Summer could go from justifiably angry to smiling cheerfully. “I was hoping you would say that, because there’s going to be a fashion show coming up next week, and I want you there with me.” Her eyes shrunk to pinpoints, and her jaw dropped open. “A fashion show? Please, Summer, anything but that!” Summer glared at her so fiercely, she was sure even Princess Luna would have taken a step back. “Big!” Swirling let her head droop, knowing full well that she did owe it to her friend for ditching her to save Princess Luna. But she was a hero! Surely heroes aren’t supposed to suffer for saving the day. Another look at Summer, and Swirling let the argument die before it could start, sighing in resignation. “Fine…” Summer squealed in excitement and wrapped her friend up in a big hug. “Oh, I just can’t wait! You and me, seeing the newest, hottest looks before they even hit the shelves! Aren’t you excited?” “Not as much as you are,” Swirling said, trying to sound earnest. Even as she spent the day with her friend at the park, and knowing that she was going to have to suffer through so tedious an event as a fashion show in the following week, Swirling felt her smile return. It felt good to be alive, but it felt even better to be a hero. ‘That is literally the cheesiest thought you’ve ever had,’ said Nevermore, his sardonic tone killing her good mood. ‘Oh, shut up.’ Author's Note Theme of Zeal: White Star Battle Theme: Drama! Part 1“The number one rule of thieves is that nothing is too small to steal.” - Jimmy Breslin -o- Manehatten’s Museum of Antiquities was a proud monument that stood behind a large yard of well maintained grass and shrubbery. The tall, marble walls stood proudly as they housed many priceless artifacts from Equestria’s rich history. Many ponies from all over Equestria, and even visitors from faraway countries, would visit the museum to catch a glimpse of the countless items that housed so much cultural value. Many of the citizens held the monument as a source of pride for their city, and took great care to respect it. Tonight though, it stood quietly. The waning half-moon shone down on the lawn as crickets sang their nightly chorus and fireflies danced their night away. Only a few guards patrolled within and without the museum as they tiredly made their rounds. Glowing horns or flashlights would illuminate the area around them as they kept watch for any unexpected visitors. Upon the museum’s roof, two figures dashed to the domed skylight in the center of the building. Clad in all black, the guards would not have seen them immediately, even if they had used the front door. One of the pair, a stallion, opened a saddlebag on his side, allowing his partner, a mare, to take out a glass cutter with an attached suction cup, carefully adjusting it as she set it upon the skylight. When she was certain she’d gotten the perfect size, she spun the cutter around, the suction cup keeping the piece of glass from falling and shattering on the floor below. Setting the cutter and glass aside, the stallion pulled out rappelling gear from the mare’s bag, quickly fastening it to the belt around her torso. They nodded to each other as the stallion got a tight grip on the end of the rope, the mare climbing through the hole in the skylight to be slowly lowered to their target: a gleaming, gold statuette of Princess Celestia. As the statuette came closer in view, the mare couldn’t help but to smirk under her mask. That trinket was worth a fortune. Just a little closer… She suddenly jerked to a stop just as the statuette was right in front of her, briefly winding her. She glared up above, her partner looking down and apparently shrugging. The mare shook her head, wanting to shout at him, but thinking better of it. The last thing they needed now was to alert the whole city to their presence here. Returning her focus to the task at hoof, she dug through her bag, bringing out another glass cutter, this one more knife-like in appearance, and brought it to the statuette case. Carefully, she cut as round a hole as she could manage, the piece of glass falling inward without a sound. Smiling under her mask again, she reached into the case, grabbing the statuette and pulling it out. She took a few moments to just admire the artifact, taking in its smooth sheen and expert craftwork, being a perfect effigy of the Princess of the Sun sitting upon her throne. The thing sparkled brightly, even in the dark of the museum. The mare gave a few quick tugs on the rope, and the stallion began to pull her back up. She quickly stored the statuette away in her bag as soon as she was out. “Did you get it?” he asked quietly, his voice muffled under his mask. Her smile matched the one on her mask. “Right here.” She lifted up her saddlebag flap, the moonlight gleaming off the golden statue within. His grin didn’t match the frown on his mask. “What a night. And right out from under their noses, too.” He looked around for a moment. “We better go before—” He grunted as something tackled into him, startling the mare as he and some dark shape crashed through the skylight. “Tragedy!” she called after him. She rushed over to the edge of the skylight to see him wrestling with something in the air. He managed to turn enough that he landed on the thing that hit him, and with the same momentum, push off it to land easily on his hooves. The dark form picked itself up from the floor with a grumble. “That was not supposed to happen.” Two piercing, pure yellow eyes glared at the stallion ahead that watched her. “The Raven?” he uttered. She stood tall and spread her ethereal wings out wide. “So, you know me, huh? Then that means you know how this is going to work out. Give back the statue and turn yourselves in, or do I have to pound you into submission first?” He snorted, tugging his frowning mask on tighter. “You caught me by surprise, but you’ve already forgotten one thing.” She lifted her head proudly. “And what’s that?” “Her.” Before the Raven could turn, the other masked pony swung in on a rope and kicked her fully in the side, sending her through a display case and spilling several ancient weapons across the floor. The Raven stood with a grunt, shards of glass falling from her shadow-covered body. “You two are going to pay for that, in more ways than one.” She shuddered, flinging the last of the glass away. “Last chance. Give up now, or I take you down.” The two masked ponies shared a look, though the Raven wasn’t able to see their expressions. “Sounds like a challenge to me, Comedy.” “You’re right, Tragedy. I think somepony needs to be taught a lesson,” the mare with the grinning mask said. “Wait… Your names are Comedy and Tragedy?” The Raven snorted. “Wow. That is so dumb. You’re thieves, not actors! Why not something stealthy-sounding, like… I don’t know, Night Stalker and Shadow Thief or something. At least give your names an edge.” “Like ‘the Raven’ is any better?” Comedy asked with a laugh. “Hey, you come up with a better name for a superhero with shadow powers and wings!” “Night Stalker was actually pretty good,” Tragedy admitted. “I would’ve gone with Blackbird, honestly,” said Comedy. “Or Nyte Blayde.” “Or the Nightwatcher.” ‘Did they just forget you exist?’ Nevermore asked as the two rambled on. ‘I… don’t even know,’ she said to the resident shadow spirit in her mind. Personally, she had to admit that all those names probably were better than the one she’d stuck with. Maybe she could get the city to start calling her— “Oh, what about Black Biddy?” the mare said, which only made the other laugh uncontrollably, in spite of what his name and mask implied about him. It didn’t help that Nevermore was also laughing in her head. “What does that mean?” she demanded of them. ‘She basically just called you a black chicken,’ Nevermore answered between fits of laughter. “What?!” the Raven bristled, glaring at the two. “I am not a chicken!” The two thieves stared her, their expressions hidden, but she could tell already tell what they were thinking. “Looks like we just found us a winner, eh, Tragedy?” “Looks like it, Comedy.” Tragedy turned to face the Raven. “You mad, Little Biddy?” The shadowy mare’s eye twitched. “That’s it! Taking you both down now!” Without thinking, she rushed at the, forelegs extended and wings beating rapidly. The pair of thieves quickly leaped out of the way, letting the Raven soar past them and tackle an innocent display stand. She pulled herself from the wreckage, still seething. “Hold still so I can pound you!” She dashed for the mare this time, but instead of leaping out of the way, she leaped above her and kicked her to the side, directly towards her waiting partner, who lifted a hoof to roughly slap the Raven aside, right into the hard, marble wall. She groaned as she hit the ground. This was the trouble with fighting earth ponies; why did they have to be so darned strong? Seriously, that just wasn’t fair! Even with the enhanced strength that Nevermore gave her, the fact that earth ponies were already five to six times stronger than an average pegasus like herself was a distinct disadvantage for her. ‘The way these two are fighting,’ Nevermore said, ‘they must’ve been working together for a long time. This could be rough.’ ‘What do you think I should do?’ She heard him hum to himself for a second. ‘Choose one, and go after them. Watch the other, but focus on the one. I’d suggest the mare, since she has the statue.’ “Right,” she said aloud, standing up from the ground. “What’s right?” Tragedy asked. Her gaze darted to him before it shifted to Comedy. “How right it’s gonna be when I knock you two on your flanks!” She gave another flap of her wings and took off for Comedy. The masked mare chortled and turned to run. ‘Watch it!’ Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tragedy leap to intercept her charge. She smiled to herself as she ducked under his swing and caught him by the tail. He gave a startled gasp as she flung him across the room, bouncing painfully off the marble floor. Even as she tried to turn her attention to the other, she found the masked mare had rushed back in and planted both of her hind hooves on her barrel. With an amused snort, she springboarded off the Raven’s chest, sending her back across the museum floor. The Raven hit the ground running and charged back in, swing punches at the mare, who ducked and weaved under the blows. “Ha! Maybe we should have called you the Penguin! You’re way too slow to be a chicken!” Comedy taunted. “Stop. Calling. Me. Names!” She brought her hoof back in a fierce blow that Comedy only managed to dodge. The blow left a spiderweb of cracks in the marble floor. Comedy took the opening to whirl and buck her. The Raven skidded back from the attack, but didn’t see Tragedy rush in with a body blow that winded her. Gasping for breath, the Raven gave her wings a flap to get above their reach. “Aww, no fair!” she heard Comedy complain. “Biddies aren’t supposed to fly!” Her eye twitched again and she had to choke back a growl. ‘I so hate them.’ ‘Keep it in check. They’re baiting you.’ ‘But they’re so frustrating!’ She swooped down towards Comedy with as much speed as she could muster, tackling the mare and rolling violently across the floor. With a fierce yank, Swirling tore Comedy’s bag off of her back and pulled out the statuette within, its glittering gold surface unblemished. “Hey! That’s ours!” Comedy, having regained her footing, leaped at the Raven, who disappeared from sight with the statue, leaving the masked mare to skid onto the floor with a rough grunt of dissent. She turned quickly and saw the Raven reemerging from the shadows, statuette in hoof, near the display case where the artifact had been placed. “Tragedy!” Without a word, the stallion jumped as if from nowhere, slamming his whole body into the Raven’s form, knocking the statue out of the shadow mare’s grasp. With a grunt, the Raven spun around and kicked the masked stallion away, then scrambled for the statuette. She stood quickly, facing the pair of thieves, who were probably returning her glare. The sounds of hooves from down the hall could be heard, along with shouts from guards who sounded less than pleased with the ruckus they were causing. Comedy and Tragedy both cursed, and Tragedy reached into his bag and pulled out several small pellets, which he threw at the Raven. The pellets exploded into a cloud of smoke, nearly suffocating the startled pegasus, who coughed and wheezed as the sight-clouding gas entered her lungs. When the smoke cleared, she caught her breath and quickly turned her head to find her opponents, but they had disappeared. In their place, several guards were entering the room, unicorns with their horns glowing, pegasi and earth ponies with weapons lowered and ready. “She’s trying to steal the statue!” one pegasus yelled with an accusing hoof pointed at the mare. Swirling shook her head, looking at the statuette in her hooves, then back at the guards. “N-n-no! You’ve got it wrong! I—” A bolt of magic flew at her, yelping as she ducked under the attack, which was only followed with more blasts, probably spells to stun her with. She leaped to the left to avoid another bolt that struck a display case behind her. Now running on autopilot, she took to the air, shooting towards the nearest exit, flying out of the broken skylight on the ceiling and touching down on the museum roof. She sighed as she sat back against a vent, mentally berating herself for letting two lowlife robbers get away. How could she have been so careless? ‘I’d hate to interrupt your moping,’ said Nevermore, ‘but it looks to me like you’ve picked up a souvenir.’ “Souvenir? What’re you…” She looked to her hooves, and her eyes went wide; she still had the statuette of Celestia! The pegasus groaned as she leaned her head back. “Oh, pony-feathers.” All of a sudden, she heard a snapping sound, and briefly saw a wiry rope coil around the statuette, which was yanked right out of her hooves, straight up to another rooftop, where she caught of glimpse of Comedy giving her a mocking salute before disappearing from sight. The Raven was left in befuddlement, staring at where she saw the thief, then at her hooves. She then asked herself the most important question of that night: “What just happened?” The sounds of approaching guards from the stairwell told her now was the time to leave. With a strong flap of her wings, she faded into night, just as the guards burst through the door of the museum’s roof. -o- Why is that she always has to work the next day after a painfully long night of bad heroing? It seemed every time she had a night where Nevermore found something to berate her for, she found herself at work the next day, being yelled at by her greasy-maned boss. She ran a hoof over her face as she watched Lou work in a frenzy in his kitchen. Vegetables and fruits and other things just seemed to fly around as he stacked plate after plate on her tray. Despite the chaos in the kitchen, she privately admitted that the setup on the plates looked professionally set. “How do you do it, Lou?” she asked as he finished with her tray. “By working hard, unlike you. Get to work!” he groused as he had already turned to another order. Muttering something dark under her breath, she took the tray and balanced it between her wings. She moved through the tables with ease, having walked around them so long that she could likely do so blindfolded. As she approached her destined table, her ears flickered towards a small group who sat talking over their meals. “Hey, did you read the headlines today?” one of the customers asked his fellows. “Yeah. Something about that weirdo in the black outfit stealing something out of the museum.” The first speaker nodded. “That’s what the paper said. And here I thought she was supposed to be some kinda hero or something.” He snorted dismissively. “Just another thief, I guess.” ‘No! No! NO! I’m not a thief! I wasn’t the one who stole the statue!’ She heard a soft hiss in her mind. ‘Do you really have to shout? Why yell at me?’ ‘Because I have a secret identity to maintain, thank you very much!’ Scowling to herself, she headed for her table and dropped off the food in short, if not gruff, order. When she got back to the counter, she set her tray in the window for Lou to fill up again. “You know, Swirl, it seems every time I see you lately, you’re more grumpy than the day before,” she heard a voice say to her. She turned to see her friend, Summer Streams, giving her a soft, humored smile. “Long night,” Swirling answered dismissively. Summer brushed a lock of her dark tan mane behind an ear and gave her friend a curious look. “You’re not lying to me about having a boyfriend, are you?” Swirling shut her eyes tightly, a blush creeping on her face. “No, Summer. If I did, you’d be the first to know about it.” “I’d better be,” the verdant-green unicorn said, giving her friend a sly wink. “You’ll have to share all the juicy details with me. I want to hear about it all.” Swirling felt her blush grow stronger, turning her purple and white fur a darker hue. “Summer, you’re a mean one.” Summer turned her nose up with a soft snort. “I wouldn’t have to be if you’d just find yourself a special somepony.” “Moving on,” Swirling said, eliciting a warm chuckle from her friend. “You know, Swirl, if you’re having a bad day, maybe a walk around the park is what you need.” She levitated a few napkins on her own tray as Lou began to fill it up with plates of food. “How about it? After work, you and me, a few laps around the lawn to walk off our stress?” A soft frown crossed her face. She knew that Nevermore was going to make her take another night of getting used to her powers as the Raven, and that usually meant longer nights without much sleep. That lifestyle was beginning to drag her down. Maybe a change of pace would be a good thing for her. A walk around the park with her best friend, talking about silly, pointless things, might just be what she needed. Now if only she could get Nevermore off her back. An exasperated sigh erupted in her mind. ‘You could always ask, you know?’ ‘Why? You’d only tell me no and say I need the practice,’ she shot right back at him. ‘When was the last time you let me have a night off, Nevermore?’ ‘That… one time.’ ‘That was weeks ago!’ ‘Cry me a river.’ Another sigh escaped him. ‘Now really isn’t the time for taking a break. Have you forgotten that those thieves are out there and you’re being blamed for their crimes? I would think that hunting them down would be more important than talking about stallions, clothing, art, or whatever you ponies prattle on about in this day and age.’ ‘One night, Nevermore, then I promise I won’t ask for another week,’ she all but pleaded with him. She heard him groan. ‘Fine. Tonight, then, but don’t say I don’t do anything for you.’ ‘You rarely do.’ ‘And I intend to keep it that way.’ Smiling to herself she turned back to Summer, who had watched her curiously as she had her inner conversation with Sir Cranky Feathers. “Are you all right, Swirling? You kind of zoned out on me there.” “What?” Swirling shook her head. “Er, yeah, I’m fine. Just… tired is all.” “Well?” Swirling tilted her head at her. “Well what?” Summer gave her own exasperated sigh. “Do you want to go for that walk with me or not?” “Oh. Uh, sure. I’m up for it.” A faint smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “It does sound like a good idea, actually.” Summer’s smile almost looked ready to split her jaw. “Good! I’ve got a lot to tell you. Did you know that Page—” “Work, you two!” “Sorry, Lou!” they said in unison and quickly ran off with their trays. -o- The feel of the grass underneath her hooves as she trotted beside her friend was more relaxing than she thought it would be. Despite working up a lather, Swirling could see why Summer ran everyday. Concentrating on her pace and her breathing allowed her to forget about the troubles she was having. In a way, it felt relaxing to just forget about it all and run. “So, what do you think of that one?” she heard Summer say. She blinked in confusion and their pace slowed to a brisk walk. “One what?” “Him.” The unicorn pointed towards a group of stallions that were lounging together by a park bench, chatting about something or other. “The one with the blonde mane is pretty hot, don’t you think?” Swirling looked at the stallion in question and closed her eyes, trying in vain to stop the blush growing on her face. “Well… he’s cute, but no.” She felt Summer nudge her in the side. “What about his friend then? We should go talk to him.” Swirling turned a raised eyebrow at her. “We?” She gave an innocent roll of her eyes. “For you, of course.” “Riiight… Don’t you already have a boyfriend of your own?” “Well, it’s not like I plan on spending the night with any of them,” Summer replied with a somewhat indignant look on her face. “Besides, I’m sure Page wouldn’t mind me being your wing-pony here. Come on, what’ve you got to lose?” ‘Perhaps your dignity.’ ‘Quiet, Nevermore!’ “I don’t know, Summer. I’m not really looking for—” “Hey, you won’t find one if you don’t look, now will you?” Her horn lit up, and Swirling felt one of her forelegs being tugged. “Now, come on. And don’t forget to smile.” “Summer! Wait! No!” She hobbled after her friend on three legs. “I can walk on my own, you know!” She stumbled until she felt Summer’s magic let her go, but by then, the three stallions had already seen their approach. She felt her cheeks flush as the stallions gave her humored grins. “Good afternoon, ladies. Nice day for a walk, huh?” one of them asked. Summer gave her mane a toss and smiled at him. “Oh, it is. My friend and I were enjoying our walk when she—” Swirling’s eyes grew as big as dinner plates. “Summer!” “—saw you and mentioned how good you looked,” the unicorn said without paying her a single mind. “I hate you…” Swirling whispered at her, her cheeks turning a bright scarlet. “Shush, you’ll thank me later,” Summer whispered. She turned to the stallions again with a disarming smile. “Don’t let her words fool you. She’s just shy. Poor thing doesn’t even really go out that often. No reason to, her being single and all.” “All of my spite,” Swirling muttered at the unicorn, who continued to ignore her protests. The one stallion turned his attention to Swirling and gave her a pleasant smile. “Single, huh? Me too.” Swirling hung her head a bit as Summer practically pranced in place beside her. She did privately admit that he was kind of cute. Maybe she could at least take a chance. She rubbed at the back of her head for a second. “Soo… what’s your name?” He gave her a sly, confident smirk. “What’s your name, beautiful?” Again, she felt the heat rising on her face. “S-Swirling Line.” She so badly wanted to whap Summer as she felt the unicorn prod her side hopefully. “Well, Swirling Line, why don’t you and your friend here give us your money?” “I- wait, what?” Swirling blinked, then turned to Summer. “That’s not normal for flirting, is it?” One of the other stallions brought out a pocket knife and pointed it at Summer, who flinched back at the sight of the weapon. “You heard him, girls. Give us whatever you got, and we’ll all pretend this never happened.” Summer’s jaw gaped wide open as Swirling groaned in irritation. “I hate you so much right now,” said the pegasus. The third stallion smacked a hoof into the other. “I wouldn’t suggest screaming either, if you know what’s good for you.” She felt Summer slink up next to her. “P-Please, don’t hurt us.” The first stallion gave that coy smile of his. “We won’t, as long as you fine mares do as you’re told. Drop your money and walk away. Simple as that.” He slid a hoof blade onto his foreleg and leveled it at Swirling’s neck. “Don’t make me ask twice, beautiful.” ‘She really does have all the luck with the stallions, doesn’t she?’ ‘Nevermore, what do I do?’ she pleaded in her mind to the spirit. ‘As much as I hate to say it, you’re going to have to go along with it.’ ‘But I can take them!’ ‘And show them, and Summer, who you really are?’ ‘Well, I—’ ‘Besides, it’s broad daylight. Remember what happened the last time you were exposed to sunlight as the Raven?’ Oh, she remembered that day vividly. She’d nearly died at the hooves of the crime lord Mafioso because of sunlight. Her whole body felt as though it had exploded into a bonfire. It wasn’t exactly a sensation she was eager to experience again anytime soon. “S-Swirling, what do we do,” she heard Summer whisper to her. She glanced at her friend and saw the unicorn was shivering under the expectant gazes of the stallions. ‘I’m going to hate myself for this.’ “All right, you win.” Reluctantly, she reached for her pouch of bits, presenting it to the stallions with a grunt of disdain. Meekly, Summer followed her friend’s example, offering her own bit pouch as well. “See? Now that wasn’t so hard, was it?” the stallion said as he scooped up the coin purses with the flat of his blade and tossed them to one of his buddies. He then gave them the same smile, though with a bit more teeth to it. “You ladies have yourselves a wonderful day.” With a nod, he and his two buddies quickly ran off. Swirling watched them go with a deep scowl, wanting nothing more than to go after them and beat the tar out of them for mugging them. Her gaze snapped to her friend as she heard Summer fall to her haunches with a sob. “Summer, it’s all right. We’re not hurt.” She rested a hoof around her friend’s shoulder. “Don’t cry, we’ll go to the police and report them. They’ll find them.” Summer sniffed. “I-I was just scared they were going to hurt us. When he pulled out that knife, I thought for sure he was going to hurt you or me.” “I’ve seen scarier knives,” Swirling muttered. “What?” “Nothing. Come on, let’s just go home. I’ll walk you to your apartment.” -o- Tricky couldn’t help but sigh at the sight that greeted him when he came home. Considering where he lived, messes were to be expected. Personally, he preferred his messes to fall into the category of ‘controlled chaos,’ in which he could always find exactly what he needed, whenever he needed it. That is, until the Raven came along and started asking for info on things. After a short while, she saw fit to just come whenever the mood struck her and dig through his files for one reason or another. It really was quite exasperating, he thought. This was going to be one of those nights, it seemed. He stepped over a pile of papers as he approached the shadow-clad mare, who was currently flinging files about haphazardly, briefly looking through them before moving onto the next. She only stopped when she heard him heave an exasperated sigh. “You do realize that I have a business to run, right?” he asked with a quirked eyebrow. “And you’re not helping.” The Raven shrugged. “Sorry about the mess. Just trying to find something on a couple thieves I ran into the other night.” “Thieves, is it?” he asked with a faint tone of curiosity. “No shortage of them in this city, if you haven’t noticed yet.” She muttered something and nodded. “Couple of weirdos wearing drama masks. They called themselves Comedy and Tragedy.” The stallion rubbed his chin for a moment, muttering the names to himself before heading over to a filing cabinet and digging through it. Not finding what he was looking for, he began shuffling through the mountain of files covering his floor, setting aside irrelevant files for later reorganization and use. Soon, he found what he was looking for, smirking slightly as he cracked open the file. “Here we go,” he said. “Comedy and Tragedy.” He quietly read the file, his expression becoming more serious than before. “Oh, wow. Now this is a pair you don’t wanna cross.” He tossed the file over to the Raven, who opened and read through it herself. “Master thieves. They steal valuable items to sell on the black market. And they don’t seem to take kindly to witnesses. Most ponies who’ve seen them aren’t exactly out and about anymore.” “Thieves and murderers?” she said as she looked over the relatively sparse information in the file. Their crimes weren’t limited to larceny and murder. They’d also committed arson, had kidnapped ponies for ransom without getting caught, and espionage that bordered on treason. “Wow. Real pieces of work, aren’t they?” “One of my informants told me they kicked an old mare after she fell once.” Swirling glared at him. “Tell me you’re joking.” His shoulders rose in a grand shrug. “Who knows? They might’ve.” “So, in summary, they’re a pair of kleptomaniacs with a penchant for assault, killing ponies, and burning thing. How delightful.” She spat and tossed him the file back. “You sure know how to pick ‘em, don’t you?” Tricky said with a humored tone as he caught the file. “First Mafioso, then that freak-ass cult, now Comedy and Tragedy of all ponies. You’re just making new friends all over the place, aren’t you?” “All over the place,” she said dryly. “Do you know anything else about them? Who they really are?” Again he shrugged and put his file back in the cabinet. “No clue, and even if I did, I can’t just give out information like that without getting something in return.” “Hey, I’ve been keeping vengeful thugs from getting to you ever since I took down Mafioso! The least you could do is be thankful enough to give me complete information.” “Business is business, Raven,” Tricky answered. “Unless you’re willing to—” She leveled her ears at him. “No, I’m not telling you who I am.” The stallion sighed with a light chuckle. “Well, you can’t blame a guy for trying.” The Raven shook her head with a small groan. “One more thing before I go.” Tricky looked up at her again. “They stole some kind of statuette. One that looked like Princess Celestia sitting on a throne or something. I know they go after valuable things and all, but they seemed really eager to get their hooves on it.” “A Celestia statuette, huh? The one in the Museum of Antiquities?” The mare gave a nod. He tapped at his chin in a show of contemplation. “Well, I heard from one of my guys that the Museum of Antiquities is expecting a new little trinket that’s supposedly similar to the one of Celestia. An obsidian statuette of Princess Luna, recently relinquished by Celestia herself to be paired with its sibling statue. Security’s supposed to be tight.” ‘Give you one guess why,’ Nevermore said to Swirling. “Why wouldn’t they have waited until the Luna statue actually arrived and taken both at the same time?” she asked. “Or at least waited until everypony there to see it had left.” “It’s supposed to be a one-time thing,” Tricky explained. “After the exhibit, both statuettes are to be taken to the royal vaults in Canterlot. Not even Comedy and Tragedy would be able to get through that kind of security.” ‘As arrogant as they were, I’d say they meant it as a dare for someone to try and stop them.’ ‘Everypony’s got their limits, Nevermore, even criminals.’ “Thanks, Tricky. I’ll be sure to bring you back some gossip if I find anything out.” “Please do.” After she left through his window, he looked at haphazard mess she had left him. “I’m charging her for this…” -o- The door swung open to the hotel room, two ponies walking in, the mare humming to herself and the stallion grunting as he tossed his bag onto one of the luxurious beds. “As far as stakeouts go, that one was boring,” he muttered as he tossed aside his frowning mask to one of the two beds. “All of those guards and not one of them bothered to look at the roofs of the other buildings.” The mare yawned as she flopped onto the other bed, throwing her own grinning mask to the floor. “You think you were bored? I was the one who had to sit next to you with nothing do while you stared at them through that midget telescope of yours.” He glowered at her. “It’s a spyglass.” “Whatever. At least we know they still don’t stand a chance.” She rested her hooves behind her head. “This is gonna be a piece of cake, and then we can live the high life for the rest of our lives.” She gave a wide smile. “And all we need to do is steal another little statue.” The stallion hoofed at his nose. “It’s thinking like that that got us spotted by the Raven—” “Black Biddy.” His tail swished in annoyance. “Her, and caused that show at the museum. It was supposed to be an in-and-out job, all quiet like.” “Oh, please,” Comedy said with a long roll of her eyes. “Her showing up was fluke, and now the cops think she stole the first statuette. They’ll be on the lookout for the Biddy, not us.” “It’d still be good to plan for her in case she shows up again. From what I understand, she only appears at night, and the other statuette will be arriving at nighttime in few days’ time. We’ll need to be quicker and more careful than last night.” His bed groaned as he sat down with a sigh. “Tragedy, you worry too much.” The mare rolled on to her belly to stare at her brother. “What would mom and dad say if they heard you whining so much?” He glowered at her, leveling his ears. “They’d agree with me that you’re not taking this seriously enough.” “Would not!” Now it was Tragedy’s turn to roll his eyes. He rummaged through his bag, pulling out his equipment - glass cutters, a grappling hook, rope, a specialized blowtube, a spyglass - before removing a blueprint of the museum layout and unrolling it on a small table between the beds. “Let’s just go over the plan one more time tonight,” he said. “We don’t want to leave anything to chance.” “Oh, but leaving things to chance makes everything so much more exciting!” That comment earned her a glare from her brother. She sighed and lay down facing the blueprint. “Fine. Let’s go over the boring details.” As they went over the details, there was a knock at their door. “I’ll get it!” Comedy said eagerly, leaping from her bed and running for the door. Her brother sighed again as she did everything but tell him how bored she was. She opened the door a crack, peering out. Almost the instant she saw who it was, she wanted to slam the door shut out of sheer annoyance. “Radiant, baby!” said the heavyset earth pony stallion at the door. “How’s the hotel treatin’ ya, huh? Pretty swanky, ain’t it? Say, where’s your brother? Huh, he here?” “Uh, yeah, he’s here. Just a minute.” She quickly shut the door, and hurried to her brother. “It’s Done Deal.” Tragedy sucked in a breath. “Put the gear away, and I’ll let him in.” His sister nodded and cleaned up the mess while he went to the door to meet with their agent. “Lambent, my friend!” Deal greeted with wide grin, showing off perfect teeth that contrasted atrociously with his dark tan coat. “Listen up, I got ya somethin’ for that new gig you got on Bridleway. The New Yoke Times is sendin’ a reporter to interview you and your sister before the big play! Your names’re gonna be in one of the biggest papers in the city! Extra publicity!” “That’s… great.” He looked back into the room, seeing that his sister had just finished hiding their equipment. “Why don’t you come on in, and we’ll talk about the rest of the deal?” “Well, far be it from me to turn down such a generous offer!” Deal beamed greedily, wrapping a hoof around his shoulders. “Ya got one of those little mini-bars, right? With the tiny wine glass things? You know how much I love those miniature drinks in these big name joints!” “Of course,” Tragedy grumbled. Planning for their big heist would have to wait until later, it seemed. -o- Swirling couldn’t help but scowl at the sight of the many newspaper headlines on the nearby stand declaring in large, bold text that the Raven had stolen some nearly priceless artifact from the antiquities museum. She was ready to fly right up to every single editor-in-chief in the entire city and tell them all about what really happened, but she doubted they’d believe her. Nevermore had also managed to convince her that it would only be a waste of time and energy. She shook her head and sighed as she sipped down a drink of her coffee, setting the mug down on the outdoor table of her and Summer’s favorite cafe, a small place where they would get together whenever they had days off from work at Lou’s Diner. She’d spent most of last night looking out for those two thieves, earning nothing but another sleepless night. Exhausted as she was, the coffee in her hooves was the drink of the gods. ‘Why, exactly, are we here again?’ Nevermore asked. He wasn’t exactly all for the idea of taking a coffee break. ‘Because I don’t get enough time to spend with my friend lately, thanks to my night job.’ ‘Wasn’t that your idea to begin with?’ ‘Not the point. I just want to hang out with my friend with no distractions for once.’ She took a gulp of coffee. ‘Besides, she mentioned she had a surprise for me to make up for getting me mugged.’ ‘Is she bringing Brawn and Knives to coffee then?’ ‘...I hate you so much.’ As if on cue, Summer exited the cafe with a small tray of small sandwiches and a cup of coffee held in her magic as she made her way to the table. She took her seat across from Swirling, setting the tray in the middle and taking a long gulp from her drink. She let out a pleasant sigh before speaking. “This is so nice. Us just sitting here, having a drink and pony-watching.” She took another sip of her drink. “We don’t get to do this nearly often enough.” “I know,” Swirling said with smile as she took one of the sandwiches. “With work and hobbies and everything, it’s been awhile since we’ve just sat and talked.” She bit into the sandwich, relishing the delectable flavor of daffodils. “So, what’s this surprise of yours?” The unicorn grinned. Swirling could hear her clicking her hooves under the table before the unicorn’s horn lit up, and pair of what looked like ID cards floated out of her bag. “Page got a job for the New Yoke Times interviewing some of the actors in The Merry Mares of Windsor, and he got backstage passes! One for himself, and two extras!” “The merry who of what?” ‘It’s a play by Shaken Spear,’ Nevermore informed her. ‘How do you know that?’ ‘Who do you think gave him all his ideas?’ ‘Oh, well— wait, what?’ Before Swirling could get an answer from the spirit, Summer dropped one of the passes in front of her. “Page gave me the extras and said that I could invite a friend, so you’re coming along with me! It’s the least I can do after that incident in the park.” “You mean where I got mugged for flirting with a stallion?” Summer’s cheeks turned a darker hue. “Come on, Swirl. You know I couldn’t have known they were going to mug us!” A faint smirk crossed Swirling’s face and she shook her head. “Only you, Summer. Only you.” The unicorn turned her nose up with a snort before looked back at her friend. “Well? Are you going or not?” She took another sip of her coffee. “Well, when’s the play?” “Thursday night this week, then there’ll be another showing on Saturday.” The pegasus smirked. “You’re sure I won’t get mugged by the director?” The unicorn groaned and planted her face on the table. “Will you quit bringing that up already?” Swirling gave a velvety laugh, seeing her friend’s face flush in embarrassment always brought a smile to her face. ‘And you call me the cruel one.’ Ignoring him, she gave her friend a faint nod. “All right, I’ll be there. I’ve never been backstage to a play before. It might be fun.” Lifting her head from the table, Summer smiled at her friend. “Great. I’ll tell Page the good news! This is going to be awesome, I just know it!” Swirling grinned as she took another bite from her sandwich. With any luck, this coming Thursday might turn out to be one of the better nights she’s had in a while. No crooks, no Raven, no cranky Nevermore telling her what to do. ‘Good luck with that,’ Nevermore scoffed. -o- The Riverside Theatre was one of the larger and more grandiose theaters on Bridleway, boasting seating for anywhere between three hundred and four hundred ponies. With large stone pillars and brightly colored lights, the theater was a sight that wowed both tourists and locals alike. Tonight, though, many ponies waited patiently in line as they awaited opening night of The Merry Mares of Windsor. Chatter filled the streets and many of the patrons complimented each other on their manner of dress. A certain pegasus only fumed at the dress she found herself in. She stood next to Summer Streams, who wore a bright red dress that hugged her body well, showing off her curves almost perfectly. Swirling, on the other hoof, felt restricted. She wasn’t one for dresses if she were to be completely honest. Yes, her wings fit nicely through their holes in her dress, but they chafed at their bases and caused her to squirm in discomfort. It didn’t help that it was almost impossible to find a well-fitted dress that went with her fur and mane. She eventually had to settle for a simple black outfit, since black apparently went with virtually everything. She felt her side being prodded as she adjusted the dress again. “Stop squirming. You look fine,” Summer said as she held her head up high. Swirling heaved out a sigh. “I can’t help it. You know how I feel about dresses.” She spread her wings to check the bases, where her dress was digging into her just enough to be an irritation. “Seriously, do I have to wear this? It’s not like clothing is that important.” “It is when you’re at a high society event like this.” Summer primped her mane a bit more before settling down again. “Sometimes you have to dress nicely for everyone else, Swirling. Besides,” she gave her a sly smile. “You could—” Swirling stuffed a hoof over her mouth. “Don’t. Remember the last time you said that?” Summer’s growl almost sounded like a dog’s. “Fine, but keep it in mind. You need to get yourself a boyfriend at some point, Swirl.” “Like I need a second Nevermore screaming at me,” the pegasus muttered quietly. “What?” “Nothing.” She looked around the chattering crowd for a moment. “Where’s Page? Shouldn’t he be here by now?” Summer looked around as well, blinking at the lights. “He should be here. He said to meet us at the door, but I don’t see him.” Summer gasped as a pair of tan hooves wrapped around her eyes. “Guess who?” Swirling turned to see Page Topper give a silent shush as he held his hooves over Summer’s eyes. “Hmm… Handsome voice, soft hooves, and a faint scent of ink. There can only be one pony.” She turned quickly and planted an affectionate kiss on him. “My Page Topper.” Swirling cleared her throat. “And now I feel like the awkward third wheel.” Summer turned a teasing smile her way. “Well, if you would—” “Summer!” Her friends had a laugh at her, and Swirling felt her cheeks flush. “I am so going to get you back for that.” Another giggle escaped the unicorn. “Sorry, I just couldn’t pass it up.” She looked back at Page as he stood beside her. “You look handsome in that suit, Page.” Swirling glanced over and saw that he wore a standard tuxedo. “Thanks, and you look lovely in that dress.” He wrapped a hoof around the shoulders of his girlfriend and looked at Swirling. “And Swirling, you do look nice in that dress. It suits you.” She muttered again and tugged it away from her wings again. “If you say so. I can’t wait to get home and get out of it.” He gave her a slight nod. “Still, I think you’ll like the play. It’s actually a comedy, and some of the performances in other cities all gave it good reviews.” He gave Summer another peck on the cheek. “I think we’re all in for a good night.” Swirling felt she was going to be rolling her eyes often tonight at the two, but that didn’t curb her enthusiasm to seeing the play. It was a rare occurrence that she ever had the money to see even a cheap film at the movie theater, let alone a high end play on Bridleway. As they entered the theater, and the usher showed them to their seats, she couldn’t suppress a smile. Though it faded just a bit when she saw the grinning and frowning masks that adorned nearly every live theater in some form or other. ‘It’s like the universe just wants to keep reminding me how I screwed up.’ ‘You did.’ ‘Not helping, Nevermore.’ “Shall we head backstage while we wait for the play to start?” Page suggested with a grin. “We could meet the actors and stagehooves that bring it to life.” Summer beamed excitedly, almost bouncing in place. “Oh, yes, yes, yes! Let’s do that! I might even be able to get some pointers from professional actors!” Swirling blinked at that, then nodded as she recalled Summer’s aspirations for a career in acting, and got back to her hooves. “Come on, Summer, let’s go meet them before the show starts.” “Yes!” Swirling wound her forelegs towards herself as Summer burst past her, about knocking her clear out of the aisle in her rush. ‘You’re right. Don’t get in her way when she’s after something...’ Swirling rubbed at her head. ‘You would’ve thought I’d learned by now.’ Following the ecstatic unicorn, Swirling, followed by Page, made her way down the aisle and through the crowd of yet-to-be-seated ponies. Summer was showing her pass to a large stallion wearing suit standing in front of door bearing plaque reading ‘Backstage,’ the guard nodding and opening the door for her. Swirling and Page flashed their own passes, and the overdressed bouncer allowed them through as well. Finding Summer again wasn’t any grand feat. All they had to do was listen for the exuberant squeals of joy and excited babbling. The red-and-green blur of motion didn’t hurt in picking the unicorn out, either. A soft smile crossed Swirling’s muzzle; even with the irritating dress she was wearing, it was more than worth it to see her friend run around like a little filly in a toy store. Her gaze drifted to a pair of actors as they exited a dressing room. A mare and a stallion who looked strangely much like each other. Both were earth ponies with golden coats of fur and bright green eyes, but the mare had a brilliant blonde mane, while the stallion’s mane was a silvery color. The mare wore an elegant blue dress, with her mane done up in a tight bun, while the stallion wore what Swirling guessed was medieval formal attire or something, with bits of old-fashioned armor on his barrel and hooves. Before Swirling could comment, another squeal left Summer’s lungs, and she dashed over to the two ponies, who stepped back in surprise with awkward looks to each other. “Oh, my gosh!” Summer shrieked in glee. “I know you two! You’re Radiant and Lambent Voice!” The mare blinked, looking to the equally confused stallion for a moment before looking back at Summer. “Uh… who are you?” she asked with a raised eyebrow. Certain that Summer might say something that could come out wrong, Page stepped in, smiling sheepishly. “Sorry about her. Summer tends to get excited.” “Nothing wrong with it, Page,” the stallion said coolly. “‘Page’?” Swirling parroted, turning to the stallion in question. “Wait, you know these two?” The earth pony nodded. “Summer told you I got a job interviewing the actors for the play tonight, didn’t she? Radiant and Lambent were two of the actors I got to talk to.” It was amazing that Summer wasn’t foaming at the mouth with how excited she was. “You know them personally!? Why didn’t you tell me!?” Page shrugged with a grin. “I wanted it to be a surprise. Not every day I get to introduce my girlfriend to her top idols.” Summer turned her eager smile to the two. “I’m such a huge fan! I’ve followed your acting careers since your first played in Los Pegasus! You’ve been a huge inspiration for me!” Radiant raises an eyebrow at her. “You act, then?” A fierce blush crossed her dark tan cheeks. “I… want to. I just haven’t caught my break yet.” Her voice returned to her excited tone. “But I am trying. I hope to one day be as renowned as you.” “Well, it’s not an easy job,” Lambent pointed out. “The paparazzi alone makes life hell for us. Hard to get any privacy when you’ve got cameras constantly flashing in your face.” Swirling tilted her head slightly as the others chatted away together. Something seemed… off about these two, but she couldn’t quite put her hoof on it. Their voices were vaguely familiar for some reason. Had she seen one of their plays before without recognizing them? The golden mare glanced over to Swirling, as Summer continued to talk with them. “Who’s your friend?” Summer’s gaze snapped behind her and she paled just a bit. “How could I forget?” She motioned to Swirling. “This is my best friend, Swirling Line. She’s an aspiring artist, and already a darn good one!” Swirling felt her own cheeks flush a bit at the attention. “Pleased to meet you.” Lambent’s green eyes traced her over for a moment. “That’s a nice dress you’re wearing, Miss Line.” Swirling felt her blush growing brighter. “Um… thank you. You look… ah…” He gave her a humored smirk. “Please, this costume is gaudy, but it’s for the act.” He gave her a wink. “Thank you, though.” Swirling stared at him, her blush remaining brightly on her cheeks. She felt her side nudged, and she saw Summer lifting her eyebrows suggestively at her. “Go on!” she whispered intently. “A boyfriend who’s also a famous actor! You can’t let a chance like this go to waste!” She covered her face with her hooves. “Summer… I really do hate you.” “Did you say something, Miss Line?” She looked up quickly to see Lambent staring at her curiously. “No, no. I was just—” “Five minutes, everypony!” they heard the stage manager say, as he hustled about making sure everything was ready. “Pity,” Lambent said, and turned a smile back to her. “Perhaps I’ll see you again after the show?” Swirling felt her mouth go dry. Did a famous (and admittedly very handsome) actor just admit that he wanted to see her again? Could she really have gotten that lucky? “Lambent,” Radiant said, giving him a pointed look. He looked at her and sighed. “Well, perhaps not tonight, but again, and soon,” he said as he looked back at Swirling. “Y-Yeah, sure!” She felt Summer nudge her again, only with a faint shake of her head. “Um, yes. I’d like that.” Lambent offered a shining smile as he and Radiant headed to their positions behind the curtain. Page and a reluctant Summer made their way out of the backstage, with Swirling following while also keeping an eye on Lambent. She pretty much had a date lined up with him now. The first date she’d have since her senior year in high school. Still, something about the pair just felt… odd. That sense of familiarity refused to leave her. Something just wasn’t right about those two. Author's Note Theme of Comedy: Theme of Tragedy: Drama! Part 2The feeling of familiarity didn’t go away, even hours after the show had ended. Now, flying high over the city as the Raven, Swirling’s mind picked away at the details of her meeting with Lambent and Radiant Voice. The two seemed amicable enough, though Radiant was rather dismissive of Swirling, but maybe that was her just being sisterly. She growled to herself as she flew towards the Museum of Antiquities. If only that nagging thought would go away. ‘One’s instinct tends to be on the money,’ said Nevermore. ‘Something about those two struck me as odd as well.’ ‘Maybe, but you don’t like anyone.’ ‘A fair point.’ She couldn’t suppress a light chuckle as she settled on the roof of an adjoining building that overlooked the museum. Looking out over the top of the building, she could see that the museum was being protected by a legion of security ponies. A large carriage surrounded by a cadre of guards was making its way to the museum’s rear entrance. The Luna statuette had to be in there. ‘Come to think of it, this’ll technically be the second time you’ve saved Luna. If you don’t screw up again, that is.’ She snorted at the spirit’s comment and turned her gaze back to the other buildings around here. “If I were a pair of thieves, where would I hide?” A number of options popped into her head; they could be disguised as guards, lurking somewhere just out of sight, using some weird earth pony magic to… cling to the walls, or something. Clinging to the walls like a spider… she shuddered at the thought. Who’d want that sort of superpower? She cursed her dearth of knowledge about these two crooks as she craned her neck side to side, looking for anything out of the ordinary. “Maybe they got scared off by all the security?” she muttered under her breath. ‘Doubt it. They didn’t seem the type to just give up because something got a little difficult.’ He paused a moment before speaking again. ‘Like a certain someone I know.’ “Sounds like someone I’d like to meet,” Swirling replied with a smarmy grin, earning a grunt from Nevermore. She looked out to the buildings next to the museum, briefly noticing… something. Leaning forward to get a closer look (while silently thanking Nevermore for her Raven form’s night vision), she glimpsed two figures at the edge of a building overlooking the museum. One was crouched low, while the other was leaning toward the edge. ‘Think that might be them?’ she asked, squinting at the figures. ‘Why not just go and find out?’ No sooner had he said that, did one of the figures move from the edge of the building and hold something out. The sound of something bursting drifted to Swirling’s ears and she watched as a hook sailed out towards the museum, locking onto the roof. “Yeah, that’s them all right.” With a flap of her wings, she took off just as Comedy and Tragedy began to zipline from the higher roof down to the museum. As soon as the pair rolled onto the roof, she flew straight for Tragedy, tackling him across the roof. They landed with a grunt, but she felt him roll with the tackle and then toss her off of him. She flapped her wings to land easily on the roof, glaring at the two as their masked faces stared back at her. “You know, if you two wanted your masks to be put out on display, I’m sure a jail cell would work just as easily.” Comedy scoffed. “Is that the best you could come up with, Black Biddy?” Swirling felt her hackles rise. “Hey, you try coming up with a good museum quip. And don’t call me Black Biddy!” ‘Remember last time,’ Nevermore warned. She growled, but stood straighter, flaring her wings out. “I’m not going to give you another chance. Turn yourselves in and give back the statue you stole.” The two shared a quick look. “Did you hear that Comedy? She says we stole the statuette.” “I know, Tragedy. But that’s not what I heard. All the papers seem to say otherwise.” He tapped at his chin. “Oh, who was it they said was the actual crook?” Comedy placed her hoof over her heart dramatically. “Why, I do believe she’s standing right in front of us!” The Raven growled vehemently, glaring spitefully at the thieves. “You framed me! Because of you, the whole city thinks I’m a thief!” “Well, aren’t you?” Tragedy snarked with a tilt of his head. “No! I’m nothing like you two!” She took a step forward, narrowing her eyes at them. “Last chance; surrender now, or I’ll take you both down.” Tragedy grunted. “Yes, because you did such a fantastic job last time.” “Not this time,” she growled and lunged forward after Comedy. The mare leaped above Swirling’s charge, but when Swirling feinted upwards, she caught the surprised thief with a right hook that sent her skidding across the roof. Her attack left her open to Tragedy, however, and he landed a solid buck to her side. The force of the kick sent Swirling through the skylight with a grunt of pain, the glass shards falling beside her until she righted herself and landed easily on the floor below, startling a pair of guards who stood protectively beside the Luna statuette. “What in the?” one shouted in oath. “It’s her! The Raven! Get her!” the other shouted and brought his club up to swing at her. “Oh, come on!” Swirling groaned as she quickly took to the air again, making her way straight to the skylight, only to be blasted by a magical bolt from one of the guards, knocking her back down to the ground. “You’re not getting away this time, thie—” The guard grunted as a form slammed into his side. The other guard only had time to start before a second form kicked him across the muzzle. The Raven looked up to see Comedy and Tragedy pick themselves up from dropping the guards. “Keep her busy, I’ll keep the guards out!” Tragedy shouted as he headed for the room’s only door. Comedy giggled behind her mask. “Oh, this is going to be fun!” Before Swirling had a chance to react, the masked mare charged at her, pouncing at the shadow-covered pegasus with brutal left hook to her face, sending the Raven flying back into a display of old stone tablets, several of the relics falling and shattering against the floor. ‘Well, there go a few small fortunes.’ ‘Not now, Nevermore!’ she snapped as she got back to her hooves. With Tragedy busy with keeping the guards out, this might be her chance to take down Comedy before he could join the fight. A smirk crossed Swirling’s face, unseen to Comedy due to the shadows covering the Raven’s face. “Just you and me, you cheeky little monkey.” “Who are you calling a monkey, you—” She grunted as the Raven tackled her to the ground. The two mares rolled around violently, each trying to gain the advantage over the other. Display stands teetered and artifacts went skittering across the floor as they struggled. While Swirling’s strength was enhanced by Nevermore’s shadow magic, pegasi didn’t have nearly as much muscle mass as earth ponies (or even unicorns, for that matter), and she found it increasingly harder to hold Comedy down. Said mare slipped a foreleg loose and lashed out with a strike to Swirling’s chin, staggering the pegasus and giving herself enough space to get back on all fours, glaring poisoned daggers at the other mare. “Not so much fun when you’re the one losing, is it?” Swirling asked, a sneer making its way into her tone as she spread her wings. A soft growl escaped Comedy’s mouth. “I’m not losing, Biddy. You haven’t seen anything yet!” She rushed ahead, bringing her foreleg back in a punch. Swirling leaped ahead, bringing her foreleg back as well, but when Comedy lashed out, she ducked under the punch and lifted the overbalanced mare over her back. Comedy flailed before landing on her front, turning in time to take a buck to her barrel that sent her skidding across the floor. ‘Clever,’ Nevermore quipped. Swirling couldn’t help but smile as he actually congratulated her for once. ‘Don’t get used to it.’ Good feelings gone, she braced herself as Comedy came back in with a flurry of punches. As Swirling dodged or blocked the blows, her brow furrowed but a grin erupted across her face, hidden by the shadows enveloping her visage. “What’s the matter, Comedy, not finding this as fun as you thought?” A louder growl escaped from the masked mare. “Shut up!” When Comedy brought back a fierce punch, she saw her opening. As the punch flew in, she caught hold of it and used Comedy’s own momentum to pull her off balance. As Comedy struggled to right herself, Swirling brought back her own punch and sent her flying away. Comedy bounced twice before slamming into a marble pillar. Comedy staggered to her hooves, shaking her head, only to see the Raven charging at her. “Tragedy!” Swirling felt the other masked thief slam into her side. The two went rolling across the floor, the stallion doing his best land as many blows as he could. “Don’t you ever touch my sister!” She grunted under his attack but used her hind legs to launch him off of her, sending him through the display case with the Luna statuette. “Oh, don’t cry all over me, Tragedy. Even though that’s obviously all you do!” She snarked as he got back to his hooves. He stood straighter. “Keep running your mouth, but you won’t get under my skin,” he said as he charged at her again. Swirling braced herself to meet him. “Yes, because that would be a tragedy, wouldn’t it?” Uttering a curse, Tragedy again ran at her, throwing a series of rapid punches at the shadowy pegasus. Evading several hits, the Raven sank away, disappearing into the shadows beneath Tragedy’s hooves. The stallion blinked quickly, his eyes running through the room to find his opponent just before something rammed into his stomach, winding him and knocking him several feet into the air before rolling painfully across the floor with a loud grunt. Smirking, Swirling flew at him, tackling him into a wall, where he groaned as she stood over him victoriously. “And now for the other—” Something impacted the side of her head, knocking her away and into a display of masks from Zebrica, one of which fell onto her face. She shoved the wooden artifact out of her view to see Comedy holding a broken stone relic in one hoof and the statuette of Princess Luna in the other. She tossed the shattered relic at Swirling before the pegasus could react, conking her in the head again, which would’ve knocked her out cold if Nevermore hadn’t been protecting her. It did manage to daze her, though. By the time she managed to come to her senses again, Comedy and Tragedy were already most of the way up a rope to the skylight, with Comedy leading. ‘Darn it!’ Flapping her wings roughly, she took to the air and made to grab Comedy, who spun in time to deliver a relentless kick to Swirling’s face, once more knocking the Raven back and buying the thieves time to get out of the building. As if Fate wasn’t done ruining her evening, the door to the room was knocked down, and several ponies in police uniforms galloped in to see the Raven hovering just below the skylight. She slumped her shoulders with a groan and a face-hoof. “Yeah, that figures.” She took the unicorn guards firing at her as a hint to leave, and flew out of the building and out of the guards’ view, immediately searching for Comedy and Tragedy before spotting the pair reaching the roof of the building from which they’d ziplined earlier. ‘Fast little buggers,’ said Nevermore in a tone that made him sound mildly impressed. “No time!” She gave a flap of her wings and took off in a burst of speed. As the two reached the other building, she landed in front of them. An audible growl emitted from Comedy. “You just don’t give up, do you, Biddy?” Growling to herself, Swirling braced herself for another attack. “You can’t outrun me! Just give yourselves up already!” Her eyes darted to Tragedy as he reached into his suit and she bristled, ready for him to throw whatever he was reaching for. She didn’t have time to process what he was doing until he threw whatever it was to the ground between them. “Wha—” she managed before a bright flash erupted and she jerked her head to the side with a surprised yelp. She rubbed fiercely at her eyes before she felt something slam into her side, bouncing her against a nearby wall. “Go!” she heard Tragedy yell, followed by the sounds of retreating hoof steps. ‘That… was unexpected.’ ‘Nevermore, I can’t see! Help!’ ‘Give me a moment,’ he groused. With a shake of her head, her vision gradually returned. She blinked numerous times as little lights danced across her vision. When it finally cleared, she saw the two in the distance, hopping across the rooftops in the direction of the city’s train station. “They’re making a run for the trains!” ‘Then go after them.’ She muttered at the dryness of his tone and took after them, still trying to clear her eyes of the dancing lights. She scowled and flapped her wings harder to make up for lost ground, following the thieving duo as the pair fled. Just as they leaped down into the crowd at the train station, she again cut them off. Rather than waste words, she tackled Comedy to the ground and tore off her saddlebags. As the crowd fled in terrified screams, the Luna statuette rolled out of Comedy’s bag and tumbled across the ground. Swirling made a leap for the statuette, but felt a tug on her tail, causing her to slap her chin to the pavement below. Tragedy jumped over her, grabbing the statuette in his hooves and turning to the Raven, his frowning mask hiding a derisive sneer. Swirling snarled fiercely and made a lunge for the statue, only for Tragedy to toss it into the air. When she stopped to try and catch it, she felt a hoof meet her chin in an uppercut, knocking back several feet. Tragedy easily caught the statuette again, stowing it away in his bag and assuming a stance as the Raven reoriented herself on all fours. “Well, Biddy, it was fun, but this is where you take a hike,” he said with undisguised arrogance. Just as he made a move to join Comedy, he found his hooves stuck to the pavement. “What in the world?” “Wha—” Swirling started. ‘You’re welcome,’ she heard Nevermore say. With a fierce grin, she realized that Tragedy’s shadow had grown darker, his hooves now bound by Nevermore’s magic. She took off like a shot at the bound stallion. “Hey, Tragedy!” The masked stallion looked up, and she could imagine the horror in his expression that the mask hid. “Cry me a river!” She slugged him with a fierce haymaker that sent the stallion soaring into a magazine vendor’s stand. Tabloids and other magazines fluttered around the stallion as he groaned in pain. Swirling stood over the beaten stallion, her head held high. “And get over it.” “You nag!” Swirling whirled at the sound of Comedy’s shout and the scream of a terrified mare. She saw that Comedy held an earth pony mare by the mane, a knife pressed against her throat. “Get away from my brother, or I’ll kill this one!” The mare quaked in her grasp. “Please no! I have a family! Don’t hurt—” “Shut up!” Comedy glared back at the Raven as she had turned to face her fully. “I swear, if you so much as move, her death will be on your hooves!” Swirling growled at the masked mare. “Don’t you dare do it! If you hurt her, I’ll—” “You’ll what?” Comedy challenged. “You’re supposed to be the big hero, aren’t you? You don’t have the guts to do anything worse than a few bad one-liners.” She drew the knife closer to her hostage’s neck, drawing a slight trickle of blood. “Let Tragedy go, and I let Miss Bystander here go. Even trade, wouldn’t you say?” The shadow-clad pegasus narrowed her eyes at the mare, unable to discern whether this was bluff because that accursed grinning mask. She looked over to Tragedy, still trapped in Nevermore’s shadow magic, then to Comedy’s hostage, who wore a look of desperation like none she’d seen before. She couldn’t see this working out well for her regardless of what choice she made here. She grumbled under her breath before saying, “Fine.” ‘Nevermore, let him go.’ ‘You do realize that this is one mare’s life stacked two lifetimes of thievery, right?’ ‘Just do it.’ There was no further argument from the spirit as he released his hold on Tragedy’s hooves. The stallion grunted as he stumbled back into freedom again, quickly joining his sister, who who held onto her hostage, slowly stepping back toward the train tracks. A train’s whistle could be heard in the distance. “We had a deal, Comedy,” said the Raven. “Let her go.” Comedy’s response was a short laugh. “Oh, I will. I’m just waiting for some insurance first.” Swirling felt her hackles rise. “What are you talking about? Just let her go!” The horn of the approaching train grew closer. Far off, she could see a light from what must’ve been the train’s engine. “You know, Black Biddy, this is why stupid heroes like you don’t ever win in real life. Because you care too much for ponies that you’ve never even met.” She stepped closer to the edge of the platform, taking the hostage with her. “You had your chance to stop us, and you blew it on this little mare.” She jerked the sagging mare back on her hooves, who gave a whimper of fear. Swirling raised her voice as the train grew closer. “Let. Her. Go!” “Fine!” Comedy shot back. “You want her, you’d better catch her!” She whirled and kicked the mare onto the train tracks. The mare landed with a grunt and looked up to see the bright lights of the train bearing down on her. “N-Nooo!” “You—” Swirling lunged after the fallen mare, who flailed and tried to scramble as the train rushed at them. “Celestia’s mane!” Swirling swore before she roughly grabbed the mare and made a desperate leap to the next set of tracks, the train speeding past them. Swirling heaved out a relieved sigh as she helped the mare off the ground. “Are you all right?” Instead of speaking, the mare screamed again, pointing behind the Raven, who spun to find another train barreling toward them. ‘Oh, come on!’ Instinct took over, and Swirling grabbed the mare again, leaping out of the way and off the tracks, rolling across the ground as the train skidded to a gradual halt that still would’ve killed them both. The Raven let another sigh and faced the mare again. “Let’s try this again: are you all right?” “Y-y-yes,” the mare said in a quiet, reluctant voice. “Thank you… thank you so much!” “Next time, take a cart,” she uttered dryly as she flapped her wings to look around the station for Comedy and Tragedy. She cursed when they were nowhere to be seen. She shook her head irritably. “Gone… I should’ve figured.” ‘I tried to—’ ‘Not now, Nevermore.’ Looking down at all the stares she was getting from the ponies in the station, she huffed and quickly took off across the sky. “Can I not catch a break?” -o- Summer watched her friend worriedly as Swirling grumbled to herself, her forelegs crossed as she slumped in her seat. She turned to Page, sitting next to her, who could only offer a shrug. It had taken an absurd amount of borderline begging on Summer’s part for Swirling to come along with them to the second showing of ‘The Merry Mares of Windsor,’ and the pegasus had outright refused to dress up for the occasion. It was rare for Summer to see her like this, and Swirling Line tended to be a difficult mare to please at times. Finally, Summer gave a faint sigh and nudged her friend, speaking in a low whisper as the actors played their roles. “Swirling, what’s wrong with you? You’re being more of a grump than usual.” “I’m fine,” the two-toned pegasus mumbled with no small amount of unhidden disdain. Summer rolled her eyes. “Again, you’re lying to me. If you don’t stop, I’m going to make you pay me a bit for every lie you tell.” She smiled. “I might be able to afford a new apartment in uptown if I do that, actually.” Swirling leveled a flat glare at her. “Funny…” She took in a breath and let it out slowly. “I’m sorry, Summer. I’m just… I haven’t really had the best week of my life.” “Well, if you would just talk about it for once. Maybe you’ll finally feel better.” The pegasus only grumbled in answer, leading Summer to roll her eyes. “Hey,” Page chimed in. “Maybe, after the play, we can go talk to the actors again. I’ll bet Lambent would be able to turn that frown upside down.” Summer giggled. “One way or another, probably.” The way her friend turned a bright cherry red brought a wide smile to her face. “And just what were you thinking, Swirling?” “That you’re the worst friend ever.” She rubbed at her face in a vain attempt to make the blush go away. Summer chortled, which drew a shush from another audience member. After a sheepish apology, she turned back to her friend, who’s red coloring had faded somewhat. “Well, we’re still going backstage once the play is over. It’ll be your chance to snag yourself a famous actor as a boyfriend.” Swirling lowered her gaze, a low, hopeful smile tugging at her lips. It’d be nice to have at least one win after the mess of a week she’d had. “Yeah… maybe it’s what I need.” Her friend nudged her, a wicked grin on her face. “That’s not all you need.” It took her a moment, but she quickly covered her face. “Summer… why?” -o- Even after the play was over and done with, the backstage was flooded with stagehooves running around and working cleanup for whatever performance was to come next for the theater. Actors were busy removing the makeup that had been smacked onto their faces as they headed for the dressing rooms, all congratulating each other on a job well done. The ponies receiving the most praise were the very same pair that Swirling, Page, and Summer had come to visit. Radiant Voice’s grin was wide with her impeccably white teeth, Lambent’s calm demeanor contrasting his sister’s jovial attitude perfectly, though he was also wearing a rather prideful smile. Swirling couldn’t help but blush at the sight of him still wearing his dapper costume from the play. “Good evening, Radiant, Lambent,” Page greeted as the crowd around the twins dispersed. “Great show tonight.” The earth pony mare beamed at the compliment, brushing her hoof against her barrel. “Oh, that was nothing. You should’ve seen when Lambent and I took a role in a play for a bunch of angry griffins. We had them crying from our performance in no time!” “And all because you forgot to put on your makeup for the show,” Lambent snarked with a smirk, earning a glare from his sister. She snorted at him, turning her nose up. “I say it was your flat singing that night that had them bawling.” Lambent offered a small chuckle of amusement in response, interrupted by a groan of pain as he rubbed his chin with a hoof. Swirling stepped forward with a somewhat worried look. “You okay?” “Yeah, I’m fine,” the stallion answered. “Jaw’s a little sore. Long story.” “Don’t worry about him. He just has four left hooves,” Radiant joked impishly. The way he glowered at his sister caused a giggle to escape Swirling. The way the two went back and forth was charmingly cute, especially that pouting look on Lambent’s face. She felt her side nudged, and she turned to see Summer giving her the ‘go for it!’ eyes. A nervous sigh escaped Swirling as she quickly tried to think up something that didn’t sound silly or embarrassing. ‘This might be better than the show.’ Ignoring the no-doubt-smirking spirit, she went with what first came to mind. “I-I really liked your performance tonight, Lambent. I thought the scene where the actress kept fainting, and you having to catch her, was really funny.” ‘Lame.’ ‘Shut the hell up, Nevermore!’ He turned an appreciative smile her way. “Thank you… Swirling Line.” He turned his jaw a bit before continuing with a slight grunt of effort, which struck her as odd if it just sore. “Glad to know my fans enjoy my work.” She tilted her head curiously at him. “Are you sure you’re okay? Maybe you should have a doctor look at that.” He waved her away. “No, I’ll be fine.” He gave her a faint wink. “Don’t worry about me, beautiful.” ‘And cue cliche blushing like an idiot.’ If it wasn’t for the fluttering in her stomach, she might have cursed him out. That still didn’t stop the blush from creeping across her cheeks, however. “I-I…” ‘And there’s the stutter...’ Luckily, Summer came to her aid. “What she means to say is ‘thank you,’ and she has something she’d like to ask you.” Lambent turned a curious look her way. “You do?” “I do?” Summer nudged her firmly. “I mean… um…” She took in a deep breath and let it out. “Lambent, would like to go out for dinner sometime?” He gave her a coy smile, looking her over for a moment before his eyes seemed to sparkle. “Yeah, I’d like that.” The butterflies in her stomach suddenly became storm of excitement in her chest. It took everything she had to not squeal like a little filly right then and there. A date with a famous actor! How did she do it? A velvety chuckle broke her trance and the four turned to see Radiant laughing. “Oh, brother, you heart throb, you.” He turned a glower her way again. “Quiet, you little monkey.” Her eye twitched before she scowled at him. “I’m not a monkey!” Swirling blinked, the warm feeling in her gut fading. The way Radiant had said that just now. It sounded so familiar, but where did she hear that before? ‘That… did sound familiar. Where did I hear that?’ ‘I don’t know, but—’ “So, Radiant, Lambent, a quick question for the article I’m writing,” Page Topper chimed in with grin. “I’ve been wondering, and this wasn’t question chosen for the interview: what genre of plays do you prefer acting in?” The twins blinked for a moment and looked to each other, then back to Page. “That’s actually a tough one to answer, honestly,” Lambent admitted. Radiant only smiled. “Not for me. Personally, I love performing in comedies. I don’t get into serious stories very often.” ‘Comedies...’ Something clicked, and her eyes went wide as she suddenly found herself focusing on the sounds of Radiant and Lambent’s voices. The tones and pitches, the volume with which they spoke, even Radiant’s mild cockiness and Lambent’s comparatively quiet demeanor. It couldn’t be… “Hey, Swirl?” The pegasus shook her head and looked to Summer. “You okay? You zoned out on us for a minute there.” She blinked and gave a soft shake of her head. “Y-Yeah, I’m fine. Just… thinking.” The way Summer’s eyes widened and her wicked grin spread told her that she should’ve phrased that differently. “Summer, don’t even.” The unicorn gave her a pouty expression. “You’re no fun.” Swirling’s ears turned as Lambent finally answered the question as well. “I’ve always been partial to tragedies, myself. I’ve always enjoyed bringing the raw emotion to the audience. Dry eyes means I didn’t do my job well enough.” Swirling felt her blood run cold, and she stared at the stallion for a long moment. ‘Tragedies? No… no, it can’t be...’ ‘Can it be anymore obvious at this point? It’s them, Line, and you know it.’ ‘N-no! I-it’s gotta be a coincidence! It’s not him!’ She could hear a disgruntled and agitated sigh from the spirit just before being nudged by Summer. “Hey, will you stop spacing out already? You’re starting to make ponies worry about you.” “I… I, uh…” She shook her head once again and stepped back a few steps. “I’m sorry. I have to go, uh… do a… thing. Bye!” She tried to leave, but found her tail being tugged firmly. She saw that it was held by the green aura of Summer’s magic, and she saw her friend giving her a disapproving frown. “Oh, no, you don’t. You already asked him on a date, now find out when.” Swirling looked back to Lambent and Radiant as they talked with Page, and she bit at her lip. If she ran out without asking more about the date, it would look suspicious. That, and she still held hope that he was innocent, and not a cruel master thief. ‘You’ve got to be kidding me...’ Ignoring the spirit again, she took in breath and approached the three. As she did, Lambent turned that charming smile to her. “Ah, sorry about that. You know how reporters can be.” “Y-yeah, I was just wondering…” She rubbed at the back of her neck for a moment before speaking further. “When did you want to go on that date?” His smile grew just a bit wider. “How about tomorrow night? Give me a chance to rest up before we go out on the town. We can meet back here and go from there.” Despite the nagging worry and crushing anxiety, a hopeful smile crept across her face. There’s no way Nevermore could be right about him. “Great! I’ll see you then?” He gave her a broad wink. “Count on it, beautiful.” She only replied with an awkward laugh before taking her leave. Feeling Summer’s hopeful stare, she prayed that Lambent wasn’t who Nevermore thought he was. -o- The two actors staggered their way through the streets of Manehatten on their way to their hotel, and Swirling could tell that they had enjoyed their fair share of drink at the cast party. Radiant and Lambent laughed and teased each other as they walked. Swirling could only watch the latter with worry as she stalked after them in the form of the Raven, bouncing from shadow to shadow to keep the pair within her line of sight. She still held out hope that her hunch was wrong. Lambent was too nice of a guy to be Tragedy. Well… from what she could tell from the two times she’d met him so far, at least. She wasn’t sure how she’d react if she found out otherwise. ‘Are ponies always so stubborn and emotional?’ asked Nevermore, sounding more derisive than genuinely curious. ‘Seriously, Line, look at the evidence. Sore jaw? You uppercutted Tragedy in the jaw just last night. Both Radiant and Comedy reacted similarly to being called a monkey. And now this “favored genre” thing? It couldn’t be more obvious if they wore t-shirts saying “We’re Comedy and Tragedy!”’ She shook her head stubbornly. ‘No! You’re wrong, Nevermore! It’s just a coincidence. Lambent is a nice guy, and he’s cute. Cute guys can’t be evil thieves.’ ‘...Please tell me you’re joking.’ ‘I’m dead serious.’ If he could, Nevermore would’ve been pinching the bridge of his nose in disappointment and annoyance. ‘You know what? Ponies aren’t stubborn and emotional; they’re outright stupid.’ ‘What would you know?’ She continued to follow after them until they finally made it to the door of the hotel. She paused, looking around to the brightly lit entry of the hotel; there was no way she was going to be able to shadow walk in with all of those lights glaring at her. “How do I get in?” she mumbled to herself. ‘You have wings, don’t you? They’re famous actors. I’d bet money they have the royal suites on one of the uppermost floors.’ She slapped a hoof over her face. “Right… duh.” She emerged from the shadows and spread her wings out, taking flight. With a small grunt of effort, she rose through the air and circled around the tall building, peeking into windows to find the twins and seeing more than a few things she’d need to bleach her brain to forget. This would seem to be another Mafioso hunt, it seemed. ‘Minus the thugs chasing after you.’ ‘Don’t remind me. I still don’t like how that turned out.’ She cut him off before he could start. ‘I know, Nevermore, I don’t want to hear your justification speech again.’ She could feel him rolling his eyes at her while she continued scanning the windows as she flew past. Just as she was beginning to doubt if they had the royal suites, she caught the lights turning on in one of the penthouses. She turned and hovered by the window, peeking in curiously. Within, she finally spotted her targets. Radiant was laughing giddily as she flopped onto one of the beds, while Lambent carefully took a seat at the mini bar across from them, facing his sister. He wore a small grin as he reached behind the mini bar, struggling to grab something. “Man, that was great!” Radiant said gleefully, her voice muffled slightly by the glass between them and Swirling. “I can’t believe that guy drank all the vodka in one go! I mean, damn! That’s just impressive.” “Also murder on his liver,” Lambent added, “but that’s his problem.” He pulled a bag out from behind the bar, unzipping it and rummaging through it for a few moments. Radiant readjusted herself to lay flat on her back, her back legs kicking circles in the air. “Are our souvenirs still with us?” Right on cue, Lambent pulled a golden statuette of Princess Celestia and set it on the bar, then an obsidian statuette of Princess Luna. “Yep. And nary a scuff or scratch to boot. These girls are gonna make us a mint on the black market.” Seeing those statues laid out for her to see caused a whimper of grief to escape her. No! It couldn’t be! It was a trick! It had to be! “Did you hear something?” she heard Lambent’s voice ask. With a quick curse, she flapped her wings and got above the window just in time for Lambent to to step out on the balcony, looking around suspiciously. “Whaddya hear?” the slurred voice of Radiant Voice—no, Comedy said. Lambent, Tragedy, flicked his ears at his sister’s voice, looking around for a moment. After a moment, he sighed and turned back for the room. “Guess it was nothing,” he said, closing the penthouse door behind him. Swirling Line sat on the roof above the penthouse, her hind legs pulled close as as she tried so hard to fight back the tears of disappointment. Why? Why did he have to be Tragedy? It just wasn’t fair! She scowled as anger bubbled up inside her, clawing to get out. Right now, all she wanted to do was scream and punch Lambent right in the face. ‘What’s stopping you?’ Nevermore inquired. ‘He deserves it, doesn’t he?’ The pegasus wiped a hoof over her eyes, and nodded. “For once, you and I are in complete agreement.” “And who might you be talking to?” Swirling leaped with a yelp at the sudden voice, spinning to face the speaker. Standing across from her was lime green pegasus mare with a mane of a light shade of green, wearing a police uniform with a set of hoofcuffs as her cutie mark. She had smirk on her face, her green eyes glinting with amusement, like she knew a joke and refused to share it. “Uh… no one.” She stepped back awkwardly, looking this policemare over for a moment. “I guess you’re going to try to arrest me?” The mare rolled her eyes and shook her head, not losing her smirk in the slightest. “Not my plan, but I’m flexible.” She approached the Raven until she was just a foreleg’s length away. “I saw you tailing those two ponies. Figured I’d do the same to you. See what your reasons are. Considering you haven’t done anything horrible to them, and your current record when it comes to Manehattan’s unfriendly residents, I doubt you’re going to.” Swirling narrowed her eyes at the policemare, feeling that something was off about her. She also felt a bizarre sense of familiarity with this mare, but she was certain that she’d never met her before in her life. “Who are you?” “You can just call me Cuff,” the mystery mare answered. She just kept on smiling with that insider’s grin. “So, why are you stalking two of the most famous actors in Equestria? I’m betting it’s not to get an autograph.” A scowl erupted across Swirling’s muzzle, though it was hidden by the Raven form. “I’ve found out that they’re a pair of thieves that call themselves Comedy and Tragedy. It was them who stole the statuettes from the museum, not me.” The pegasus’ eyebrow inched upwards. “And you know this, how?” She motioned over the side of the building. “I saw the statues in their room. Lambent, the stallion, said that they’re going to sell them on the black market.” “Are they now?” Cuff hummed thoughtfully before looking back at her. “Well… one cop alone won’t be able to take down two vicious criminals like Comedy and Tragedy, so I’ll have to call for backup.” A sly smirk crossed her face. “Well, whatever happens between now and then happens, as I won’t be there to see it.” Swirling turned to the mare, who had already taken to the air, but had stopped. “Oh, before I forget, you might want some evidence to prove your innocence.” “And how would I get that?” Cuff smirked once again and began digging around in her uniform’s many pockets before pulling out a small, portable camera and tossing to the Raven, who caught it in her hooves. “Always keep one on me, just in case.” Swirling looked down at the camera, then back at Cuff, slightly befuddled, but nodded nonetheless. This would definitely come in handy. “Thanks. I owe you one.” “Don’t thank me,” Cuff replied. “I’m just doing my job.” She spread her wings and took off, quickly disappearing over the ledge of the building. ‘...There’s something not right with that mare.’ ‘What do you mean?’ His continued silence caused her to frown to herself. “Nevermore?” ‘It’s something for another night. We have a pair of thieves to catch, remember? Including Lambent Voice.’ The mere mention of the stallion caused the bile to rile up inside her. She remembered that cute smile he gave her, and realized it was through false teeth. He wasn’t an actor that did a little thievery on the side. He was a thief who used his acting as a means to hide who he really was. A thief who’s murdered. A thief who’s destroyed lives for profit. A stallion who needed to be put in his place. The disappointment, the bitterness, and the regret boiled over as she grabbed the camera and zipped over the side of the building. As she hovered next to the patio window, her eyes bored figurative holes into him. ‘How could you?’ She lifted up the camera, and took a shoot as Comedy absently tossed the Celestia statuette into the air. As Lambent marveled at the Luna statuette, she took another picture. And that was enough evidence for her needs. Hiding the camera on the roof, she flew back down to the window and pulled back a few feet, readying herself before taking off toward the glass pane. The window shattered as she flew through it, showering the two startled occupants with glass fragments. She rolled across the floor and spun to face them, her eyes narrowed and glaring daggers at them both. “What the hell!?” Radiant hollered as she rolled off her bed, the Celestia statuette falling on the mattress while she hit the floor. “You!” Lambent shouted, quickly dropping the Luna statuette he’d been examining. “How did you find us?” A growl escaped Swirling’s throat. “You’re both going down.” She didn’t wait for any retort, instead tackling into the mare also known as Comedy. The two crashed through a nightstand, and Swirling pulled back a hoof to slug her across the muzzle. The shadows across her body rippled, her ethereal mane and tail beginning to whip and flicker like fire as she drove her hoof forward, slugging the other mare across the face with a satisfying crack. As she felt a pair of forelegs wrap around her, an angered hiss escaped her hidden lips as she struggled to break free. “Get off my sister, freak!” Lambent howled as he pulled her away and dropped her into a suplex, slamming her head against the floor. Swirling grunted from the head-first impact, but got back to her hooves to swing at the staggering Lambent. Just looking at him sent a bristle of rage through her nerves, and she snarled angrily at the stallion before leaping at him with a hoof drawn back. He rolled with the tackle and used his hind legs to launch her off of him. She flapped her wings and righted herself to land against the wall on all fours, her wings flared out to keep her balance. Lambent’s eyes widened before she lept off the wall and slugged him across the muzzle. He staggered back with the blow, crashing into the minibar and knocking the Luna statuette to the floor. Shaking his head to clear the dizziness, he felt himself lifted up and slammed against the wall. His eyes widened as the peered into the rage filled eyes of the Raven. Her yellow orbs now seemed more narrow, more slanted, and he felt the first vestiges of fear as he stared into them. “Why did you do this?” the Raven demanded, the shadows churning across her body. “You were a famous actor! You had everything most ponies could only dream of! Why would you choose a life of crime over being a star!?” He grunted past the pain to glare back at her. “You don’t know anything. Someone like you couldn’t understand if you tried!” She shook him viciously before slamming him again. “I want to know why!” Lambent actually managed a small grin. “You really wanna know?” He snickered. “My sister and I, we do it for the thrill. The rush of getting away with it. Surely, you feel the same way whenever you nab a crook on the street, right? The adrenaline in your veins, your heart pounding, that little tingle in the back of your mind telling you to keep going and going? It’s the same for us. We couldn’t care less about the money we get from it. All that matters is the thrill.” She pressed her muzzle into his, her glare even more seething. “And you kill for that thrill? How many mothers and fathers have you killed just for your thrill!?” At that, the stallion scowled. “I stopped counting a while ago. It’s their own fault for getting in our way. Besides, Radiant takes the most active approach when it comes to dealing with witnesses.” Shooting a scathing glance at the unconscious mare proved a mistake as the moment she turned away, Lambent grabbed a wine bottle and smashed it over her head. Glass and wine mixed in with her fur and mane, stunning her for a brief moment. Lambent used the distraction to plant both hind hooves into her barrel and launch her off of him. The force of the kick sent her sailing back through the broken remains of the patio window, bouncing her into the railing with a pained grunt as she tried to shake away the dizziness. Looking up as she heard the sounds of crunching glass, she saw Lambent walk towards her as he slipped on his scowling mask. “It seems I’m going to have to deal with witnesses this time around.” She tried to move, only to feel him stomp on her side and pin her down. He drew back a hoof and drove it into her face, dazing her, but causing no permanent damage. That would be brought into question eventually, as the stallion continued to strike her for a second, third, fourth time, then grabbed her by her tail and lifting her by it. He spun on his hind legs, spiraling the Raven around in a powerful swing, only to release her and send her flying into the mini-bar, knocking numerous beverages off the shelves hidden by the counter, glass bottles shattering on the floor. Already, she felt him pulling her back, and her hooves scrambled to grab onto to something. Her left hoof met an object, and she immediately spun and swung a bottle of whiskey into Lambent’s face, glass breaking apart and digging into his skin. The stallion screamed as the shards cut through his mask and into his face, letting the pegasus go and stumbling away to fall onto his back and writhe in pain. ‘Now’s your chance! Buck!’ ‘It hurts, Nevermore! You’re not the one getting punched and tossed like a ragdoll!’ ‘No, I’m the one keeping you from being cut up like cheese. Now buck!’ Growling in anger, she lashed out with both legs and caught the surprised Lambent square in the barrel, her rage enhanced strength sending him flying out the patio door. He scrambled for the railing, but missed and plunged with a scream. “NO!” Ignoring the pain, and Nevermore’s disapproving shouts, she took off out the window, descending desperately to catch up with the plummeting stallion. She refused to have another pony die because of her! She wouldn’t let him die, even if he deserved it! Lambent’s terrified shrieks drew the attention of a small number of ponies still out at the late hour, all shocked as they witnessed a pony falling to the ground. Swirling pumped her wings harder than ever before, barreling past Lambent before arcing back up and snatching him out of the air, forcing a grunt of pain out of him from the rough catch as she soared back up to the ruined hotel room, where she dropped him unceremoniously onto the floor. He gasped and panted, his breath shallow as his mind processed that he was no longer falling to his death. He glanced at the Raven, who glared at him as if she regretted setting him back on solid ground. “You… you saved me…” he muttered shakily. She narrowed her eyes. “I’m not like you. I’m not a murderer.” She scowled under her shadowy mask. “That’s not to say that you don’t deserve it.” “I—” She didn’t let him finish, swiftly dealing a blow to his face to knock him back and out cold onto the floor. ‘You never cease to surprise me with how stupid you can be.’ ‘Shut up, Nevermore. I’m very angry and I don’t want to have to deal with your crap right now.’ Nevermore’s only response was a noncommittal grunt. Swirling looked over the two groaning ponies and spat disgustedly. She tore down a curtain and ripped it to long shreds, tying the two up with the material. Turning towards a glint, she saw the two statuettes beside each other. She walked over and lifted them up, admiring their craftsmanship. Even as angry as she was, she could still appreciate fine art, and the two statuettes were breathtaking in their detail. ‘Thinking about keeping one?’ She glowered at the spirit, but it quickly gave way to wonder as she looked them over. “No, but this’ll probably be the last chance I get to see them, so I wanted to at least look at them. Can’t you see how amazing the detail is? Whoever made them was a master!” ‘Artists...’ “You’re darn right I am,” she quipped. -o- Famous Actors Caught! Formerly beloved actors Radiant and Lambent Voice exposed as the criminal duo Comedy and Tragedy! Swirling couldn’t stop a wide grin from breaking out on her face as she read the article in the paper. It went on to describe how the twins had been delivered to the police with photographic evidence that proved their guilt and the Raven’s innocence, pushing her back up from criminal to vigilante once again, and that the statuettes had been transferred to police holding until further notice. Today was shaping up to be pretty good already. “Why are you smiling like that?” asked Summer, pulling Swirling’s focus away from the newspaper she’d been reading. “Lambent’s a criminal! I almost hooked you up with a felon! Again!” A chuckle escaped Swirling and patted her friend on the shoulder as they walked through the streets of Manehatten. “It’s alright, Summer. I’m sure you’ll set me up with someone who isn’t a scumbag. Eventually.” “That’s not funny, Swirling!” The dark tan unicorn stamped a hoof with a huff. “First it was that mean thug in the park, and now Lambent… it just doesn’t look good on me if I set my best friend up with criminals!” “It’s not that bad. It at least makes my love life more interesting than most ponies’, right?” Swirling said, giving her friend a teasing wink. The unicorn groaned. “You’re mean.” A warm laugh escaped Swirling as she looked around the street they walked through. Many ponies walked past them, or rode past on carts. Conversation rang all around them, and Swirling felt a bit uplifted on having a normal day for once. ‘I can change that, you know.’ A sinking feeling formed in her gut. ‘Please… don’t...’ ‘Needs to be said, Line,’ he said, not a trace of mercy to be found in his dry voice. ‘All three times you faced Comedy and Tragedy, you were sloppy. I had to work hard at keeping the worst of the damage done to you from actually hurting you. I was taxed many times, and almost couldn’t hold the form with your carelessness.’ ‘Oh, come on! I couldn’t have been that bad!’ ‘You were bad enough, and that’s what worries me.’ She shook her head at that. ‘I beat them, didn’t I?’ He groaned. ‘At the near cost of your life, plus the fact that they were drunk the third time. We can’t afford to keep going in flailing madly all the time the way you do.’ A sigh escaped her, and she was lucky Summer wasn’t paying attention to her. In fact, she’d wandered off to a collection of flyers on a wall nearby. The unicorn tore one of them off the wall and bounded back over to Swirling, grinning excitedly as she held the flyer in her magic. “Check this out, Swirl!” she said eagerly. “It’s just what we need!” Curiosity piqued, Swirling took the flyer in one hoof and looked it over. There was a Neighponese style hoof-made drawing of a pair of ponies wearing martial arts uniforms, both in fighting stances. Beneath the artwork was writing for what was being advertised. “‘Master Kyoshi’s Karate Dojo’?” she read. Beneath that was the address of the dojo, a date for when it would be open, and the deadline for ponies to sign up before it opened. “Why do we need this?” “Duh! So that we don’t get mugged again, of course. Who’s gonna mess with a mare that knows karate?” ‘This… is oddly convenient,’ Nevermore stated in a somewhat baffled tone. Swirling looked to her widely grinning friend, and tried to imagine the bubbly unicorn in a karate outfit. She snorted a laugh and about doubled over. The unicorn blinked in surprise before glaring at her cackling friend. “What’s so funny?” “I just—” another round of giggles escaped her. “I just imagined you in a karate outfit doing a flying kick like in one of those cheesy kung fu movies, and I just couldn’t hold it in.” “Hey! It’s not funny! I’m being serious, Swirling.” She took the flyer back in her magic. Swirling took in a deep breath to finally get her laughter under control and tilted her head at her friend. “Why, though, Summer? You just don’t seem the type to want to fight ponies.” “Because…” She lowered her head and gave a soft huff. “I just don’t like being a victim. After we got mugged, I felt so helpless, and I didn’t like it. I just… don’t want it to happen to either of us again.” “But don’t you have your magic? Why didn’t you just blast the thugs?” Summer turned a glower at her. “Do I look like Princess Twilight? I can’t shoot giant blowy-uppy beams! I barely can knock a fly out of the air, let alone fight.” Swirling brushed her two-tone mane out of her eyes and studied her friend. The unicorn looked really serious, something Swirling rarely saw in the other mare. Maybe she had a point after all. ‘And you could use some formal training,’ Nevermore suggested, actually being helpful for once. ‘Guess that settles it.’ She smiled at Summer. “Okay, you win. We’ll go sign up to join.” Summer’s smile returned, and she clapped her hooves giddily. “Great! This going to be so cool! We’ll be learning karate together, and we’ll show those crooks who’s boss!” ‘I’m betting on the crooks.’ ‘Aren’t you funny?’ ‘Hilarious, yes.’ She rolled her eyes, but managed to keep her small smile as she and Summer continued on their way. Summer continued listing off all the great things they could learn from an actual karate master, occasionally stopping to do an approximation of a fighting stance that was probably about as accurate as a foal’s rendition of a Shaken Spear play. Still, she couldn’t help but smile wider at her friend’s antics. “Waiter!” a loud, obnoxious voice called out as the pair passed a cafe, catching their attention. “Get me another of those little martinis, would ya!?” A pony wearing a waiter’s uniform frowned at the shouting stallion. “Sir, you’ve already had five martinis and a glass of tequila, and you haven’t even touched your food yet. Anymore drink, and we’ll have to kick you out.” “Hey, what about customer service, huh? Come on, I’ve had a rough day! Cut me some slack, will ya!?” The waiter rolled his eyes and called for security. “Whoa, no need for strongarmin’, I’m goin’.” The portly stallion grumbled as he left his outdoor table, stumbling past other customers and bumping into Swirling. “What’s your problem?” she asked, more curious than anything else. The stallion mumbled something before turning to Swirling. “My problem, lady, is that my two biggest clients turned out to be criminals, and the damn paparazzi’s been hounding me about it all damn day! I tell ya, there’s no trustin’ ponies these days!” The pegasus blinked, glancing at Summer for a moment before eyeing the stallion again. “Clients? You wouldn’t happen to be Radiant and Lambent Voice’s agent, would you?” “Used to be,” he corrected. “Why? You’re not more paparazzi, are you? If you are, then whatever you’re thinkin’, fuggedaboutit.” A wide smile erupted across Swirling’s face, an idea suddenly blooming up in her mind as she processed this new information. “Well, if you’re looking for a new client, I might know an actress looking for an agent.” “Swirling?” Summer asked quietly, looking at her friend with nervous eyes. “Yeah?” the stallion asked. “And who would that be?” “Why, my friend right here!” She waved a hoof to Summer, who gaped at the development in mixed bafflement and shock. “She’s an aspiring actress who could use a good agent, and you’re missing two clients now. It’s a win-win for both of you!” Summer sputtered, her face turning a bright scarlet red. “But-I-what-I can’t—” He looked Summer over, a grin slowly growing on his face. “Ya make a strong argument, lady.” He rummaged through the pockets of his coat, pulling out a card and offering it to Summer. “Name’s Done Deal. Here’s my card. I’ll be here in Manehatten for a while. We’ll meet up sometime and hammer out the details later. Look forward to workin’ with ya, Miss…” He looked to Swirling. “Her name’s Summer Streams.” “Right! Lookin’ forward to working’ with ya, Miss Streams!” With that, Done Deal turned and trotted away with a noticeable bounce in his step. Until a number of ponies appeared from nowhere and started chasing him with flashing cameras. A giggle made its way past Swirling’s lips as the pudgy stallion ran from the mob, and turned to her still-astounded friend, who held Done Deal’s card in her magic, staring at Swirling with a slack-jawed look. “What just happened?” the unicorn asked. “I just boosted your career, that’s what happened.” Swirling grinned while Summer just continued to look back and forth between the card and the pegasus… and promptly fell over, out cold. “Crap! Summer, wake up!” -o- Her eyes narrowed slightly when the door across from her opened, letting in a stream of light as a wealthy-looking stallion entered, a grin on his face as he saw her. He closed the door, and she returned the smirk, carefully adjusting the bag hanging from her shoulder. The weight of its contents wasn’t exactly comfortable, but it was bearable when weighed against the reward she was to receive for it. “Good to see you again,” the stallion greeted her. “You certainly wear that face well. Who are you this time?” The mare gave a proud smile and subtly shifted into a rather sultry pose. “I like to call her Cuff. A personal favorite of mine, actually. Nopony suspects the policemare.” She pulled the bag off of her shoulder and set it on the floor. “I think you’ll appreciate this little present I’ve brought you.” The stallion grinned in anticipation as ‘Cuff’ opened the bag, revealing a pair of statuettes carved in the likeness of the Royal Sisters. Each of the two was valuable alone, but they were almost priceless when together. A truly worthy acquisition for a collector such as himself. “Glorious,” he said as he reached for them. The mare, however, quickly pulled them away, giving him a seductive pout. “You know how this works,” she said. “Money first, toys second.” “Of course.” He returned to the door and knocked on it. A second stallion, this one a burly unicorn, entered the room, carrying a briefcase in his magic. “This should be more than enough to cover your expenses, my dear.” Just then, the mare was enveloped in a burst of green flame, which vanished as quickly as it had appeared, revealing an insect-like being with a near-black exoskeleton and dark green eyes, her gorgeously alien face framed by a carefully brushed teal mane. Her curved horn glowed green, taking the case and opening it to see the sparkling gold of hundreds of bit coins, each worth a hundred bits on their own. If her current employer was true to his word, the contents of the case was around five hundred thousand bits. Add to that her advance payment, and she’d made eight hundred thousand from this job. She just couldn’t hide a fanged grin. “Aren’t you beautiful?” she whispered before facing the two stallions again and floating the statuettes over to them. “Have fun with your new collectibles, boys, but do be gentle with them. They’re not easy to come by.” The first stallion nodded gratefully. “You’ve done me a great service, Miss C, though I wish you would have more confidence in me. I would love to know the name of such an exotic creature.” The changeling chuckled in a low, sultry tone. “Sorry. Business before pleasure, I’m afraid. Our business may be concluded, but I plan on have my pleasures elsewhere.” “A shame,” the collector said with a sigh. “Well, I’ll send for you the next time something catches my eye. Until then, my dear.” With that, the two stallions left, taking the statuettes with them. The changeling couldn’t restrain an amused giggle as she shifted back into the form of Cuff, making for the nearest window while carrying the money-filled briefcase in her hooves, taking off into the night sky. Who knew this job would be so easy? It’d taken longer than she would’ve liked, but it worked out perfectly in the end. Taking down two of her biggest competitors for free was just icing on the cake. Manipulating the Raven into doing the hard part was so ludicrously simple, too. The fact that she was so mad at Comedy and Tragedy made it almost too easy. And once more, the Raven proved to be an intriguing character. ‘I might just take her for myself,’ she thought with smirk. ‘I think I’ll enjoy having her around for a while.’ Another giggle escaped her as she flew past the buildings of Manehattan, already planning out how she would accomplish the next job on her to-do list. Metal Madness, Part 1“Learning and innovation go hand in hand. The arrogance of success is to think that what you did yesterday will be sufficient for tomorrow.” - William Pollard -o- Canterlot was alive and bustling, with high-class ponies sauntering about running high-class errands, enjoying high-class food, and speaking high-class words (which was really just glorified gossip), all more or less unaware of a gathering of guards and other officials in the guards’ training grounds just outside of the castle. The princesses themselves, Celestia, Luna, and even the young Princess Twilight, were in attendance as well, several armored ponies flanking them, spears held to deter any who would dare approach the Royal Sisters and the Princess of Friendship. Before them, a tan-coated unicorn stallion with graying mane tinkered away at something covered by a large tarp. It appeared to be multiple, pony-sized somethings as well, five in all. Silence dominated the air, only interrupted by the occasional clink of metal from under the tarp. “What do you think he wants to show us, Princess Celestia?” Twilight asked as she leaned closer to the tall alicorn. She’d tried to sneak a peek under the tarp when she arrived, but the stallion, a scientist of some renown named Savant, “politely” shooed her away. She squirmed, her curiosity was beginning to get to her. Celestia gave a soft hum. “I’m not sure,” she admitted, “but Dr. Savant has provided us with some very innovative inventions in the past. I remember a few years ago, he demonstrated something he called a ‘telephone,’ but he seems to have lost interest in that.” Twilight nodded, remembering that herself. She was still Celestia’s student at the time, and had been fascinated by the doctor’s demonstration of the plausibility of instant, two-way communications between ponies. From what she’d heard, he’d passed it off to a colleague, who had yet to really perfect the invention. It was still years from mass production, and what they had was typically reserved for government use. Luna shook her head, her ethereal mane swaying with the motion. “I am still unsure of this advancement. Such… creations do not sit well with me.” The elder sister chuckled lightly at her sibling’s words. “It’s nothing to worry about, sister. You’ll get used to it.” “I’ve had three years now to ‘get used to it,’” the Lunar Princess muttered, only to get another giggle from her sister. “I doubt I will ever understand ‘modern technology.’” “Things have a way of changing before our very eyes, sister, and we must learn to adapt to the new changes, or be left behind to stagnate.” Celestia’s eyes swept the collected tarps. “But we must also remember the lessons of the past so that they are not repeated.” Luna’s gaze fell to her hooves and Celestia wrapped a wing around her sister’s withers. “You know what I mean, Luna.” Luna took in a breath and let it out in a huff, nodding. “I do.” Her teal irises eyed the tarps with some hostility. “But that does not mean I have to like it.” Just then, Twilight waved a hoof. “I think he’s about to start.” Sure enough, Savant had pulled himself out from under the tarp, smiling to himself with an eager glint in his eyes as a small wrench hovered in his yellow-orange magic. Setting the tool aside, he turned to the princesses with a confident grin. “Thank you for your patience, Your Highnesses,” he said in a somewhat calm voice, sounding eager and ready to get the show on the road. His strong accent made his origins in Trottingham rather obvious. “Just a few last-minute adjustments. Anyway, now is as good a time as any to begin, hmm?” Twilight and Celestia leaned forward, Twilight much more eagerly, while Luna withheld any enthusiasm as Savant cleared his throat. “Dear Princesses,” he began, “I thank you all for seeing me today and for the chance to show you my newest—and perhaps my greatest—creations yet!” His horn lit up, the tarp glowing with his aura. “Your Highnesses, I give you… the Pawns!” The tarp lifted off its contents, revealing five metal, pony-shaped… things standing rigid as statues. They looked like armor that would’ve been too small to wear for an average pony of any race. Celestia quirked an eyebrow, while Twilight tilted her head curiously. Luna began to show just a bit more interest now. “Doctor,” Celestia said, “what, exactly, are we looking at?” The inventor chuckled. “I’m glad you asked, Princess. These Pawns are whatever you want them to be! Loyal house guards, law enforcement, heavy laborers, or even soldiers on the front lines! They can perform tasks normally deemed too dangerous for ponies, such as mining miles belows the surface, handling and disposing of dangerous chemicals, fighting large beasts, you name it!” “We have magic for such things,” Luna pointed out, seeing the “inventions” as unnecessary wastes of metal that could’ve been used to forge armor, weapons, and building materials. “Perhaps, Princess Luna, but that still requires putting living ponies in peril to perform these laborious tasks. With a Pawn, you see, there is no fear of losing a life. If a Pawn is destroyed, we can simply build another!” “Question,” said Twilight, who raised a hoof instinctively. “Why ‘Pawns?’ That seems a little derogatory, doesn’t it?” “I enjoy a good game of chess,” Savant answered quickly. “And they’re only machines. You can’t insult that which lacks feelings to hurt.” “Perhaps you can give us a demonstration of what your… Pawns are capable of, Dr. Savant,” Celestia suggested, her cerise eyes looking over the collection of metal ponies. “Of course.” The inventor turned to the nearby guards. “Perhaps one of you would be willing to spar with one of my Pawns? Only as a demonstration.” The guards looked to each other for a few moments, all of them unsure, until one finally stepped forward with a frown pointed at his comrades. “Come on,” he muttered. “They’re just glorified scrap metal.” He stepped up and bowed. “Allow me the honor, Princesses. I’ll show everypony here that no metal toy is a match for the training of the Royal Guard.” Celestia gave a pleased smile and nodded her approval, and the guard turned towards Savant. “Get one of your toys ready. I’m about to break it.” Savant nodded, unfazed by the guard’s tone, and lit his horn again. One the Pawns, the one in the center, vibrated, its hollow “eyes” lighting up the same color as Savant’s magic. It turned its head to its creator, who motioned to the challenging guard and said, “You are to spar with this gentlecolt here. Incapacitation only, nothing permanent. You are not to begin until I give the word.” Amazingly, the metal pony nodded, stepping toward the guard, spreading its legs wide in a battle stance. The armored stallion blinked in surprise, recognizing the stance as the standard of the Royal Guard, albeit stiffer, and no doubt lacking in fluidity. Still, it was nothing to be worried about. “Are you prepared, sir?” Savant asked. The guard nodded as he sank into his own stance, ready to leap at the Pawn. “Very good. Begin!” With a whir of machinery and a clanking of gears, the metal Pawn charged ahead, its glowing eyes unblinking as it charged the guard. Even as he settled into a defensive stance, the Pawn brought back its foreleg in a punch and swung. The guard accepted the hit on his armored shoulder, and he felt himself skid back from the blow. “All right, so they’re strong,” he muttered and charged after the Pawn as it turned for him again. The Pawn again brought back its foreleg, but he ducked under the swing and whirled to give it a full buck in the side. A jolt of pain hit his legs, as if he’d just kicked the side of a mountain, but was rewarded with the sound of metal clanging heavily against the ground. He turned to see the Pawn scrambling on its back, its head turned at an unnatural angle. “Ha!” the guard bellowed. “Looks like your toy is—” He and others gasped in shock as the head of the Pawn rotated independently of its neck and clanked to its hooves. “By Celestia…” the guard uttered as the machine’s head soon clicked back into place, not unlike something from a horror movie, or some twisted novel. It then lunged at the guard, heartless eyes blazing as it tackled him to the ground. It pulled his forelegs behind his back with its left hind leg to just below the back of his neck. “And there you have it!” Dr. Savant said with a wide grin that hadn’t faded once since his showing began. “My Pawns are—” The sound of pained groans interrupted him, the Pawn still holding onto the guard. It didn’t take long for the guard’s groans to become pained shouts. “Get it off me!” the guard shouted as the machine continued to pull his forelegs back. “What’s happening?” Twilight asked in a frantic tone. Savant hurried to the machine. “It’s over! Release him!” The Pawn gave no indication of obedience, instead pulling harder. A sickening crack was heard, and the guard screamed in agony. “Pawn 3, I order you to—” A burst of gold struck the Pawn, blasting it apart in a shower of cogs and gears and sheets of metal, freeing the guard, who was helped up by his comrades, all of whom gave Savant angered looks. Nervously, the doctor turned to the princesses, seeing a frightened Twilight, an angry Luna with her horn’s light dimming, and an unreadable Celestia, whose own horn was still burning with her potent aura. “I-it’s new technology!” Savant assured them halfheartedly. “Th-there’s bound to be some problems! Science is eighty percent trial and—” “I believe we’ve seen enough,” Celestia said as she turned her gaze to the injured guard. “Take him to the infirmary. I will see to his injuries personally.” The other guards dipped their heads. “Yes, Princess.” As they helped their whimpering companion away, more than a few guards shot Savant a scathing glare. Celestia returned her focus to Savant, her horn’s light finally dying down. “Your ‘Pawns’ as you call them are impressive, but it is clear that they are too dangerous.” “B-but I—” “I’m sorry, Dr. Savant, but you will not be receiving any funding for this venture. These creations of yours…” Celestia trailed off, apparently thinking on her choice of words. “They clearly place no value on life,” Luna finished for her sister. “Such cold, dispassionate… machines are useless to us.” “As fascinating as they are,” Twilight added, “I’m inclined to agree. They’re not safe.” She motioned to the Pawn Celestia had blasted. “And on top of that, they’re clearly not very efficient.” She held one piece of the destroyed Pawn in her magic, resembling a large bulb. “This arcane engine is already a quarter empty. It would’ve broken down too quickly to be of any real use in extended combat. It’d need constant refueling to keep the Pawn running properly.” “Not quick enough, it seems,” Luna said with a bit of a snarl in her voice. She looked at the stunned Savant with a disapproving glare. “Aside from the mechanical problems these ‘Pawns’ possess, your automatons would devalue the cost of life in war.” He sputtered. “B-But, they would save lives! Nopony would have to die if my creations were the only ones to see battle!” “And then war would have no meaning,” Luna said, standing taller. “It would be nothing more than a simple game in which the two forces would just continue to throw away lifeless machines to the point where the true meaning of what war is would be forgotten. A war is not for machines; it is for those who have reason to fight beyond simply being told to. To show their valor and fight for what they feel is for the betterment of their civilization and their families.” “But—” Celestia raised a hoof, silencing Savant before he could start. “Take your Pawns and leave us. If you have something else to share with us in the future, we will gladly grant you an audience. Good day, Dr. Savant.” And with that, she and her fellow princesses turned and took their leave, leaving Savant to stand alone on the grounds with no company but his voiceless Pawns. He collapsed to his knees, staring at the ground. How could this be? This can’t be happening! His creations were near flawless! A minor tweak and everything would have been fine! He, the most brilliant inventor Equestria has ever seen, was snubbed! When he lifted his gaze, he bore figurative holes in the backs of the departing princesses. “I’ll show you,” he murmured quietly under his breath. “I’ll show you that my creations are flawless.” He snarled before he turned to collect his remaining Pawns. -o- Another glorious day in the city of Manehattan! The streets were crowded, the carriages ran past without a care if ponies were out of the way or not, and Swirling Line’s boss was shouting her name again. Yes, it was a flawless day in Manehattan. ‘I think I’m starting to rub off on you,’ said Nevermore. ‘Don’t start,’ the pegasus warned her spirit occupant as she weaved through the tables of the restaurant, carrying her tray full of fried foods drowned in grease that practically clogged her arteries just from looking at them. Honestly, Lou was a good cook and all, but was all that slime really necessary? Setting the tray on a table of waiting patrons, she made sure she got everything to them, checking her list and occasionally eyeing the wall clock hanging above the cash register, eagerly awaiting when she could clock out and head over to Daytime Delights for some well-deserved sweets. The thought of devouring something chocolatey was almost too much for her to bear at this point. ‘You know, come to think of it, I’ve never actually had chocolate. Always been curious, though.’ Nevermore’s confession made Swirling freeze for a moment before she forced herself to continue back to the counter to receive the next tray of food. ‘Seriously? You’ve never eaten chocolate?’ ‘Couldn’t even if I wanted to. No physical body. At least, none that your mind could really wrap itself around. Shadow spirits are physically incapable of eating.’ ‘Well… that bites.’ There was a long, suffering groan from her mind. ‘Did you really have to do that?’ ‘Yes. Yes I did.’ A loud sigh echoed in her thoughts. ‘I sometimes regret choosing you as my host.’ Swirling held back a chuckle as she heard Lou yell at her to get back to work again. Shaking her head, she picked up her notepad and headed for a table of customer who had yet to make an order. The casual drone of the chatting patrons caused her to rub at the sides of her head. Maybe after a chocolaty visit with the Days, she’ll head home and listen to some relaxing music for a change. Her ears swiveled as she heard a group speak. “Hey, did you read the news today?” “Nope. Why?” “Apparently, there’s some scientist out there that’s claiming to be working on some kind of serum or something that’s supposed to enhance a pony’s magic. Make it stronger or something.” “You mean like those muscle pills that… you know?” She glanced over and saw the first speaker shrug. “I don’t know. I’m just telling you what I read. I think it’s crazy, honestly.” Seeing how it wasn’t anything she cared about, Swirling continued towards the bar where another platter of food awaited her. The whole while, she only craved Bright Day’s homemade sweets and baked goods more and more. -o- Pushing the door to his Manehattan University lab open with a snarl, Savant slammed the door behind him, trotting past a menagerie of mechanical parts and tools, occasionally stopping to try and get his mind off his troubles by working on unfinished products. Ultimately, his tinkering failed to distract him, and he eventually found himself brooding at his desk at the back of the room. He clicked his front hooves together, running recent events through his mind over and over, his brilliance forcing him to analyze every detail of what had happened. Pawn 3 had clearly suffered some sort of mechanical error. Perhaps he made a mistake somewhere along the line constructing the machine’s head? Intelligent as he was, even he couldn’t account for every little detail in the moment. There could’ve been a misplaced wire, or a loose bolt or two within the skull casing. As he had told the princesses, this was new technology, fresh from the womb of scientific thought. There were any number of possible reasons why Pawn 3 reacted the way it did. As he mused on his invention’s flaws and ways to fix those flaws, he heard a knock on the door. Letting out a brief sigh through his nose, he said, “Come in.” The door opened, and a lanky young stallion wearing a postal uniform entered. He pulled an envelope from the bag hanging from his shoulder. “Are you…” He took a look at the envelope. “Dr. Savant? I was told this was your office.” Savant nodded, taking the letter in his yellow-orange magical aura, then waved a hoof to the mailpony, dismissing him with a mumbled thanks. The lanky stallion rolled his eyes, muttered something about snooty, uppity types, and left the inventor to his mail. The gray-maned unicorn eyed the envelope curiously, wondering who it could be from. There was no return address. He narrowed his eyes at that; he was no expert in the field of postal service, but wasn’t there a law that mail had to have a return address? Regardless, it was very clearly addressed to him. Tearing the envelope open, he unfolded the letter within and began reading: To the good Dr. Savant, We are admirers of your work, and always enjoy seeing your latest creations. Such marvels of science must not be overlooked as they are. We are especially awed by your latest inventions: your Pawns are truly an ingenious and astounding feat of engineering. He froze at that last sentence. How could whoever sent this letter possibly know about the Pawns? And how could they have sent a letter so quickly? His intrigue now officially piqued, he read on. The princesses are foolish not to see the potential in your works. We, however, refuse to let such an invaluable tool fall from the reach of ponykind. On the back of this letter, you will find an address where you will find a significant sum of bits awaiting you. You will meet an earth pony mare there who will ask you what sort of supplies you will need. We feel that you know as well as we do that Celestia, her sister, and former student are clearly no longer fit to lead Equestria. It would be for the good of all that they step down from their positions, but it is doubtful that they will do so willingly without extensive persuasion. We feel you already know by now what must be done. Best of luck, An Interested Party He reread the letter. He re-reread the letter. And he read it again. Flipping the letter over, he indeed found an address that, if he had his mental map of Manehattan right, would lead him into the slums of the city. If he were to follow this letter’s instructions, he would have to be careful going there, so as not to attract the attention of the crooks, lowlifes, and thugs that called that part of town home. ‘As if I’m stupid enough to follow directions from something so blatantly suspicious,’ he reasoned to himself. There was no way this was legitimate. He looked around at his lab, his amber eyes falling on the half-completed frame of what would be the sixth Pawn. He clicked his tongue against the top of his mouth for a moment as he studied the unfinished project, pondering what he would do with it. He eyed the letter again, his right hind hoof tapping against the floor. ‘Then again, I suppose I could stand to gain some extra funding,’ he told himself. ‘It’s not like I’ve much to lose anyway.’ He had never really cared much for his title as a professor of even one of the most respected schools in Equestria. It just didn’t feel… large enough for his tastes. Ever since he was just a colt tinkering with his toys in his father’s workshop, he’d always seen himself holding a far grander position. And that train of thought brought him back to the letter. He had made his decision. -o- “Never stop baking, Bright,” Swirling said as she stuffed her face with a chocolate-glazed donut. “You create nothing less than perfection, whether you’re baking or making candy.” The bright red earth mare smiled at the compliment as she wiped the counter with a rag before setting a jar of freshly made gummy candies next to the register. It was always a delight to have Swirling at her shop. The pegasus ate sweets like a fish drank water. One who didn’t know her would think she needed all that sugar to stay alive. “I can assure you,” the baker/confectioner said, “I won’t stop making these treats anytime soon, or my name isn’t Bright Day.” A wide, glaze-covered smile spread across the pegasus’s face. “Well, I hope it is, or I’m in the wrong place.” Bright gave a warm laugh and nodded. “So, how was work today, Swirling?” She gave an exaggerated groan. “Horrible, like every day I work. Between the customers constantly demanding this or that and Lou breathing down my neck, I’m close to just losing it.” She took a large bite of her seventh donut. “Do you know how hard it is to work with a guy like that screaming at you all the time?” Bright chuckled a bit. “Lou isn’t that bad, he’s just… gruff.” Swirling muttered. “Not the word I’d use for him.” Turning a raised eyebrow at her, Bright asked, “Oh? And what word would you use?” “A great, big piece of—” The door swung open, and Sunny, Bright’s young daughter, trotted in just as the last two words left Swirling’s mouth. She hesitated before saying, “Chocolate would be good! Yeah, a real big piece of chocolate, please!” Bright Day smirked at her, an eyebrow quirked up in amusement as Swirling saved her sentence. “Swirling!” Sunny called excitedly as she hurried over to the two-toned mare’s side. “Hey, kiddo,” the pegasus greeted, tousling the filly’s mane. “You learn anything useful at school today? Or just the same mumbo jumbo that they spout out every day?” The little light yellow filly beamed at her. “We got to spend the day hoof painting! Our teacher said that we should all get a chance to draw something we like.” Her smile somehow got wider. “Just like you!” Swirling giggled at the foal’s chipper tone. “And what did you draw?” “Oh!” Sunny quickly dug into her saddlebags, shuffling around a few items before taking out a sheet of paper and holding it up for her mother and friend to see. Bright’s smile shrank a little at the painting, while Swirling tilted her head before realizing what it was and barely keeping her eyes from going wide in surprise. The painting depicted was clearly supposed to be Sunny, complete with yellow coat, pink mane, and green dots for eyes. Next to her was a larger, jet black pegasus with large yellow eyes and no other discernible features. “It’s me and the Raven!” the filly said with beaming, giddy grin. “We were supposed to draw something we like, so I drew her, because she helps out everypony! She’s a real life superhero!” “Y-yeah,” Swirling said with an awkward smile. “I guess she is.” “She is!” Sunny bounced in place, smiling at her. “Do you think she’d join up with the Power Ponies, Swirling? I think it’d be really cool for her to team up with the best superhero team ever!” Swirling blinked at that. A grin broke out across her face at the thought, however impossible it would be. The idea of her teaming up with the coolest comic book heroes of all time? That would be amazing! Absolutely incredible! Totally— ‘Idiotic.’ ‘Shut up and let me dream!’ “Swirling?” The pegasus shook her head and turned to Bright, who was giving her a slightly concerned look. “Are you okay? You just had the goofiest smile I’ve ever seen just now.” “Er, yeah, I’m fine. Just, uh… I’m… a fan of the Power Ponies comics - I have pretty much every issue so far - so the idea of them—” She was tackled by a small form, almost knocking her off her seat. Sunny was staring at her in amazement, hugging her with a big, excited smile. “You have all the Power Ponies comics!?” “Yeah. Even that terrible clone saga and that weird time-travel series that made no sense.” Suddenly, Sunny let go of Swirling, darting over to her mother, bouncing eagerly. “Mommy, can I go to Swirling’s place to see her Power Ponies comics?” Swirling Line could only blink in confusion before the words actually hit her. She wasn’t opposed to the idea, but nor was she really prepared to let a foal into her apartment. “Well…” Bright said thoughtfully. “It is a Friday. I suppose it’s okay. Swirling?” Immediately, Sunny spun to face the pegasus again, giving her large, puppy-dog eyes and showing off an adorable pout. Swirling bit her lip, fighting against the sad eyes to really think about this, but Sunny’s expression was already wearing her defenses down without mercy and with extreme prejudice. Eventually, all she could do was concede defeat with a heavy sigh. “Sure,” she said, instantly earning another hug from the filly, who cheered happily, thanking Swirling profusely. The mare couldn’t help but smile and gently pat the filly’s head. The little thing certainly was adorable. And she was frighteningly good at getting what she wanted. Swirling shuddered to think what Sunny could do with that talent as she got older. ‘You’re thinking too much,’ Nevermore commented dryly, earning a harsh shushing from his host. “Well, Sunny, if you’re going to go to Swirling’s place, you better get your tooth brush and a few toys, don’t you think?” Bright said. The little filly’s eyes widened and she nodded vigorously. “Yes, Mommy!” She turned to smile at Swirling again. “Don’t leave without me!” At that, she darted off into the back room of the store, the sound of her tiny hooves scampering up the stairs audible from the shop itself. Bright smiled warmly after her daughter, and let out a low sigh. “She’s such a ball of energy.” A smile crossed Swirling’s face. “She is, isn’t she? She reminds me of me when I was her age.” A laugh erupted from Bright Day. “And I bet you drove your parents just as crazy.” Swirling laughed as well. “I think my dad went bald because of me, actually.” The two shared another laugh before Bright turned an appreciative grin her way. “Thank you for taking her, Swirling. I actually have a large order I need to fill tonight, and I wouldn’t have time to watch or play with her. This way, she gets to spend the evening with her ‘big sis.’” She gave Swirling a knowing wink. “Hey, I always wanted a little sister,” the two-toned mare confessed. “Thinking about it, I guess it’d be nice to have company, even if that company is filly that’s still in first grade.” ‘Are you saying I’m not good company?’ Nevermore asked in a faintly humored tone. ‘You are nowhere near as adorable as she is.’ ‘...I’ll accept that.’ ‘Besides, you live in my head. You don’t really count as company if you already live with me.’ ‘I…’ The spirit went silent for a moment before speaking again. ‘I despise when you make sense.’ Taking that as a victory, Swirling’s smile grew wider. When it came to arguments with Nevermore, she took every little win she could get. With how painfully logical he could be at times, it was rare for her to triumph in little battles like this. -o- Savant scowled as he walked along the street to his destination, ignoring the glares and continuing along his way. This seedy neighborhood (that was putting it kindly) was normally the type of place he would never allow himself to be caught dead in, but he supposed the times necessitated the measure. He checked the back of the letter again, making sure he was on the right street as he stopped in front of an abandoned apartment complex. The faded address next to the door matched what was on the letter. ‘Hmph. This isn’t suspicious in the least.’ He turned to look both ways down the street, checking to see if anypony was watching him. No one seemed particularly interested in him, so he took a deep breath and trotted forward, opening the old door and stepping inside. It was just as ugly inside as it was outside. Paint was peeling off the porous walls, the floor creaked as if one were stepping on a cat’s tail, and the ceiling showed clear signs of degradation. Why anypony would want to meet him here of all places was beyond him. If they wanted privacy, then they could’ve sent whomever he was supposed to meet here to speak with him in his office back at the university. The old floorboard creaked underhoof and kicked up a cloud of dust. He sneezed as the dust tickled at his nose. “Confound it!” He wiped at his nose irritably. “Who would have me come to such a derelict hovel as this?” “That would be me, good doctor,” a feminine voice said. He scowled darkly as the source of the voice hadn’t made itself known. Savant spun his head to find the speaker, but to no avail. Finally, he shouted, “You can come out and talk to me face to face, you know!” There was a brief silence as the inventor awaited a reply. The familiar sound of a door opening caught his ear, and he turned in time to see an earth pony mare enter the hall and approach him with a collected, almost detached look on her face. She was fairly pretty, with an azure coat complimented nicely by her midnight blue mane. She wore a white robe of some sort over her body, the kind of outfit one would expect to see a religious official wear. She carried herself like a dutiful soldier, a mare on a mission. She bowed her head respectfully. “Forgive the secrecy, Doctor. Our organization is not in the best standing with the Royal Sisters at the moment, so our meeting must be held in private. I hope you understand.” Savant raised an eyebrow at the mare’s statement. Hers was a group of fugitives from the law. No good could come from associating with such company. Still, it would likely be for the best to simply play along. For now, at least. “There’s no problem,” he said. “I just wish you’d chosen somewhere less… dated. In any case, I do believe you have me at a disadvantage, miss…?” “Arrow,” the mare answered. “Midnight Arrow. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Savant. If I may be so bold, I must say that I’m actually quite the fan of your work. The rapid-fire crossbow you invented is a personal favorite of mine.” A proud, borderline arrogant smile spread across his face. “Indeed? I’ve always seen it as one of my better creations for the military yet.” She tilted her head at him. “Save for your most recent creations, yes?” His prideful smile quickly turned into a derisive sneer. “Yes. The princesses fail to recognise true works of scientific genius when they stand right in front of them. They are utter fools for dismissing the possibilities my Pawns open up to all of Equestria!” The slightest of a sly smile danced on Arrow’s muzzle. “Indeed so. The princesses have lost their vision for our beloved country. For the past few years, our homeland has been assaulted by all manner of horrid monsters and fell abominations. It’s my organization’s belief that your Pawns will be able to even the playing field against such invaders.” A snort escaped him. “I would think so. My Pawns are more than a match for even the Royal Guard. They are not limited in any fashion as a living pony would be.” Her grin grew a bit more, and she motioned to the room she had entered from. “Come. We have much to discuss. Especially considering the nature of your Pawns, and the hope they represent for Equestria.” Savant gave a nod as Arrow led him to the room she’d been in earlier. It looked like it might’ve been an office, or a study at some point. Perhaps even a reading room, considering the large bookcase built into the wall off to the right. There was window on the wall opposite the door, though it was covered with drapes, likely to prevent would-be onlookers. A foldable table stood in the center of the room with a sizable briefcase resting on it, two chairs sitting on opposite sides of the table. Arrow nodded to one of the chairs, and Savant quietly took a seat while the mare claimed her own. The robed mare pulled the briefcase closer to herself, spinning it to pop open the locks, then facing it towards the stallion again. “Within this case is a hefty sum of bits we are willing to donate to fund your research and inventions. I hope it’s enough to satisfy.” She then opened the case, revealing what had to be hundreds of bit coins, each worth one hundred bits alone. Savant instinctively ran the calculations through his mind; judging by the size and approximate volume of the briefcase, and the average size of hundred-bit coin, along with some simple multiplication, he calculated perhaps around… five to six hundred thousand bits sitting in front of him. He couldn’t stop a greedy grin from tugging at his features. The inventor reached out with a hoof accept the payment, only for a dark blue hoof to slam the case shut once more. She gave him a glare that warned him not to touch. “First, however,” Midnight began, “my organization would like to see a full demonstration of your Pawns’ abilities.” Savant eyed the earth mare for a moment, an eyebrow raised curiously. “Is that so? What sort of demonstration?” Arrow’s odd smile returned. “We would like to see what one of them can do against a specific target. And there is one surefire way to bring her running to meet the challenge.” -o- Swirling found herself chasing after the little filly in front of her through the bustling streets of the city, said filly giggling her head off as she ran ahead for the brightly colored store ahead of them. “Come on, Swirling,” Sunny Day called back at her. “I wanna see if they have new Power Ponies comics today!” The pegasus found herself breathing hard trying to keep up with the filly. How did her mother ever manage raising this ball of living energy? “We’ll get there, Sunny. Just slow down. I don’t want you to get hurt.” Sunny reared up with a laugh. “Don’t be silly. I won’t get hurt. Come on!” She dashed ahead into the street for the store, not even looking to see if anything was coming. Swirling’s gaze darted to the side to see a cart coming down the street, and her eyes widened in panic. “Sunny!” She burst ahead with a flap of her wings, nabbing the filly into the air before the driver of the cart could see her. Sunny gasped as she felt her hooves leave the ground, watching as the cart that had nearly hit her rode by. Swirling landed on the other side of the road with a huff, setting down the filly and giving her a firm glare. “And just what were you thinking!” Sunny lowered her head and looked up at her, an ashamed look in her puppy-dog eyes. “I was just—” “You almost got hit by a cart, Sunny Day!” Swirling felt her anger rising. “You could’ve gotten hurt, or worse! What would your mom think if I had to tell her you were in the hospital because you ran into the street without looking both ways? Do you know how scared and sad she would be?” Sunny sniffed and lowered her head even more, her shoulders slumping. “I’m sorry, Swirling, I was just…” She sniffed. Swirling watched the little filly, and she felt a pull on her heartstrings as it seemed that Sunny was about to burst into tears at any moment. Why did she suddenly feel so bad about yelling at her? ‘Because the little thing is playing you like a lyre, and you’re falling for it badly.’ ‘Oh, be quiet, Nevermore. She’s just a foal. I made the same sort of mistakes when I was little.’ ‘You were almost hit by a moving cart as a child?’ ‘...Wild clouds don’t count.’ Taking in a breath and letting it out (all while ignoring Nevermore’s derisive chuckling), she rested a hoof on Sunny’s shoulder and gave her a smile when she looked up at her. “Hey, sorry for yelling at you, but you scared me pretty badly. Promise you’ll look both ways before crossing the road again, okay?” Sunny wiped at her eyes and nodded quickly. “I will. I didn’t mean to. I was just…” “Excited?” “Mm-hmm. I know you like the Power Ponies, so I wanted to get to comic store quick so we could buy some of the new issues and talk about them when we get to your place.” Swirling chuckled, privately touched Sunny thought so much of her. “Well, then, let’s go! We’ve got stuff to find!” Sunny gave a happy little squeal, and the two dashed inside the store that stood across the street, where a clerk at the register near the entrance lazily greeted them as he read a comic book. He ignored them as they roamed the store, stopping at a wall of comic books featuring all kinds of masked heroes on their covers, some less child friendly than others. Swirling did her best to keep Sunny’s attention glued to the foal friendly books. Once they spotted a line of the newest Power Ponies comics, Swirling immediately broke out into a grin and had to fight the urge to squeal as she grabbed one, already eager to pull it open and immerse herself in the artwork and story. Sunny just as readily took a few other comics off the shelf. Each one seemed to be all a part of the latest arc, which featured a new villain constructing an army of golems to rampage across Maretropolis. From what Swirling had read from the first issue of the arc, this promised to be a good one! “Swirling! Swirling, look at these!” She tore her gaze from the comic book with some effort to see Sunny Day exciting pointing at a display case. “Look!” “What is it?” Swirling asked before her eyes widened and her jaw hung slack. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at the realistic looking figurines inside the case. Hoof crafted and painted perfectly, was a whole set of the Power Ponies! She pressed her face against the glass, marveling at the craftsponyship. “Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh! Look how they’re painted, Sunny! They’re beautiful! Whoever made them is a master! I gotta have one of Masked Matter-Horn!” Sunny bounced in place, her little body shaking with excitement. “Can we!? Can we!?” “How much are these?” Swirling yelled over at the cashier. The worker barely lowered his comic book to look at her. “The figurines are thirty bits each, hundred-fifty for the whole set.” A strangled gasp escaped her, as she felt her blood run cold. “A hundred and fifty bits!? That’s almost two paydays for me! How are they so expensive?” “Hoof-crafted and made locally,” he said with a dismissive snort and went back to his comic book. “Let me know if you want them.” ‘How can the world be so cruel...’ Swirling lamented as she looked at the figurines, her tear ducts threatening to give way. She mentally shut out the laughter of her ever-smarmy companion. “Swirling?” She turned back to see Sunny looking up at her with saddened eyes. “Are you okay? I got some bits in my piggy bank if it'll help.” Swirling had to choke back the “aww” that tried to burst out of her. The little filly was just so kindhearted that it almost made her want to scoop her up in a big hug. ‘If she gets any more adorable, I am stepping directly into the sunlight...’ Nevermore remarked, and she could almost feel the sickness radiating from him. Swirling gave the little filly a touch smile and ruffled her mane. “Nah, they’re only toys. I don’t really need them.” She cast a forlorn look at the display case. “But it would be cool…” Sunny’s smile returned to her face. “Maybe we could—” From outside the store came the terrified screams of ponies, followed by the sounds of something heaving and wood bursting apart. “What was that!?” Sunny shrieked. The two ran to the window to peer out. Swirling saw ponies running past the store in a stampede as many of them screamed of a monster. “I don’t know. I—” Her eyes widened as she watched a cart fly for the shop’s window. “Get down!” She turned and scooped up the filly and barely cleared the window as the empty cart smashed through the pane. Glass shards and display cases crashed down on them as Swirling used her body to protect the terrified Sunny Day. Outside, a myriad of ponies were scrambling to get away from something that was throwing carts and chunks of the street like baseballs. Whatever was doing this was probably huge. With a glance to Sunny, she said, “Stay here. I’m gonna go get help.” She stood and made her way to the exit. Before leaving, she turned to face the filly again. “And I mean it, Sunny! Stay here!” Sunny could only nod as Swirling charged out of the comic book store, entering the chaos that was once a bustling Manehattan street. Ponies galloped as fast as they could toward her right, loud crashing sounds going off somewhere to the left. She briefly looked back at the store, where she could see Sunny hiding behind one of the stands, accompanied by the trembling and terrified store clerk. Without a word, Swirling took flight, getting out of sight and landing atop a nearby roof. She looked up to the sky. They must’ve been in that store longer than she thought, because the sun was already almost completely out of view. That was good for her, she told herself as she changed into the Raven, shadows engulfing her body and turning her bright green eyes into solid yellow orbs. With another flap of her wings, she took off towards the mayhem. ‘So, what do you think it is this time?’ she asked Nevermore as she barreled through the air. ‘Why bother asking me? For all we know, it could just be a really angry minotaur.’ Minotaurs in Manehattan? That’s certainly a rare sight. From what she knew, minotaurs tended to keep their distance from large pony settlements, especially fully-fledged cities. ‘Well, at least that’d be interesting.’ Soon enough, she arrived at the scene, where she didn’t see a minotaur wreaking havoc, but rather a single, fairly average-sized earth pony wearing what looked like full body armor. The armor looked pretty well polished, and Swirling couldn’t stop her inner artist from admiring the simple, yet simultaneously complex style. At least, she admired it until the pony threw a half-wrecked carriage at her. “Right, art appreciation over.” With another flap of her wings, she zoomed toward the ground, landing with a loud thud that sent cracks spider-webbing through the concrete beneath her hooves. She looked up to her would-be opponent, who turned to her as well. This close to them now, she realized how little she saw in their eyes, which glowed with a yellow-orange light, bearing no emotion. She also saw that the armor looked like it must’ve been uncomfortably snug, too, as it left little of the pony’s shape to the imagination. ‘Something’s wrong,’ Nevermore said with some drop of worry in his tone. ‘I don’t think that thing is a pony at all. It has the shape, but not the form.’ ‘So, what is it then?’ ‘It may be some sort of golem, but those are usually made using rocks, mud, wood, and other things typically found in nature. They’re never made of metal, like this one is. A new model of sorts, perhaps?’ The shadow spirit muttered that question, but it did nothing to deter Swirling from her self-imposed duty. “Whatever you are, I hope you’re ready for a beating!” With a whir of machinery, the metal creature charged at her, its metal shod hooves chipping the pavement. Swirling flared her wings and rushed to meet the thing. ‘Don’t!’ “I’ve got this!” She brought her foreleg back and punched. The metal pony didn’t even bother stopping her blow, its head snapping to the side. The same time she punched it, it brought its hoof in an uppercut. Swirling felt the air blasted out of her before the creature followed it up with another punch that sent her sprawling. ‘Is today Don’t Listen to Nevermore Day?’ “Shut up…” she groaned as she picked herself up off the ground, returning to her original stance and facing her metal adversary again. “All right, so you’re stronger than you look. So am I.” When the machine rushed back at her, she met its punch with one of her own. The two blows caused Swirling’s teeth to rattle in her mouth. She ducked under its next blow and uppercutted the metal monstrosity square on the chin, flipping its head back in a way that would’ve killed a normal pony. The machine flew back and crashed into a vendor’s stand, causing the wooden structure to collapse on the metal pony with a shower of splinters and magazines. “Ha! Told you I had it!” ‘Duck!’ “What—” She grunted as the remains of the stand crashed into her. She burst from the wreckage to find the machine hoisting another cart at her. “It just doesn’t give up!” She flapped her wings to catch the flying cart in her hooves. “Here, catch!” With a heave, she sent the cart right back at it. The machine stood unfazed as the cart barreled toward it, and it smashed into the large window of a grocery store, carrying her adversary along with it and knocking large amounts produce off of their shelves. With a huff, the Raven landed in front of the store, eyeing where the golem thing had been hit towards. When several pieces of debris rumbled, she dropped into a stance. A metallic hoof burst from the mess and pulled out the body. Its head had been spun and bent to the side, but that didn’t seem to deter the thing in the least. With a series of unnatural clicks and the sound of grinding gears, the head twisted and fixed itself back into its original place, like something out of a horror movie. “Okay, yeah, that’s not creepy at all.” Swirling wanted to make another statement, but was preemptively interrupted when the machine charged at her, slamming a mechanical leg into her barrel and blasting the wind out of her. She barely had time to let out a pained grunt before the golem grabbed ahold of her mane swung her around in an arc, relentlessly slamming her into the pavement over and over. ‘Line, if you are going to pull something out of nowhere, now is the time!’ She moaned, and the machine hurled her across the street until she slammed into the side of a building. ‘What about you?! Don’t you have some sort of special shadow spell that will work on this thing? I can’t even seem to hurt it!’ ‘If it’s a golem, magic isn’t going to hurt it! They’re designed to be immune to all magic except for that of their creators!’ Just when she was about to retort, Swirling felt the cold touch of metal against her throat, pressing against her windpipe agonizingly. The machine glared down at her with those soulless eyes, watching her as she struggled to breathe under the pressure it placed on her. All she could do at this point was fruitlessly grasp at its foreleg and desperately try to move it away. ‘Nevermore!’ she screamed within her mind, her voice rising in her panic as she couldn’t begin to move that limb. She felt the shadow spirit panic just as much as she was, and she knew that he had nothing to help her with. Even as the lights began to swim around her vision, there came the sound of steam being released, and she felt the pressure thankfully lift off her neck. She managed to push the golem off of her, coughing and wheezing to get air back in her lungs. The machine landed with a loud clatter of metal on concrete, its already emotionless eyes devoid of whatever life they once held. Swirling stared at the thing nervously, slowly reaching out with a hoof and gently tapping its shoulder before jumping back, ready to fight if need be. “Is it… dead?” ‘Technically, golems aren’t living creatures to begin with.’ “You know what I mean, smart-flank.” A muffled groan left the spirit. ‘It must’ve run out of power. Odd. Most golems can run indefinitely, so long as their makers are still alive. Then again, the art of golem making is largely unpracticed in modern societies. This might be the work of an amateur trying to make something similar.’ “I’m just glad it—” She screamed as the machine gave off another burst of steam before it finally settled. She stared at the thing, her heart racing in her chest as she felt the fur along her spine standing straight. ‘That… was a very girly scream,’ Nevermore chuckled. ‘I am a girl, thank you!’ Swirling snapped back. ‘It just surprised me, that’s all.’ ‘Whatever you say, Line. Best that you get out of here before the authorities show up and blame the collateral damage on you. Besides, you’ve a filly to keep an eye on, don’t you?’ “Oh, horseapples!” She spread her wings and took to the shadows of the alleyways, flying as fast as she could for the comic book shop. -o- The chaos outside seemed to have finally stopped, from what Sunny could see from her and the comic book store clerk’s hiding spot behind a tall stand displaying a bunch of superhero figurines. The clerk was rocking back and forth in the fetal position, while Sunny kept an eye out for anything that might’ve been dangerous. After a few minutes, she finally spotted a familiar white-striped purple pegasus. “Swirling!” Sunny called out as the mare entered the store. The filly galloped toward her and tackled her in a hug, earning a gasp of surprise from Swirling. “Hey, there, kiddo,” Swirling greeted the foal with a grin. “Are you all right?” Sunny’s head bobbed up and down with astonishing speed. “I’m fine! What happened? Was there a fight? Did anypony get hurt?” Swirling’s smile widened a little. “Heh, you won’t believe what I saw out there: the Raven was fighting a golem!” Sunny’s eyes grew twice their size and she gasped. “She did? And I missed it? Tell me, tell me! Did she beat it?” The pegasus’s smile faltered slightly, but remained in place. “Uh, yeah, she beat it. But it managed to get away. The police are looking around the scene to try and find it, so it’s best to stay out of their way and let them do their jobs for now.” “Okay,” Sunny muttered in disappointment, wishing she’d been there to see the Raven in action. She looked up again as Swirling approached the store clerk, who was peeking past the display stand. Swirling knelt down to the clerk, going to eye level, and said, “So, about those Power Ponies figurines.” -o- Midnight Arrow scowled as she tapped her hoof on the floor, Savant sitting nonchalantly across from her. The unicorn was busy writing something - probably blueprints or ideas for his Pawns - that he didn’t seem interested in sharing just yet. Arrow remained distinctly unamused for what felt like several hours, waiting for something to happen. They had sent out those Pawns some time ago. Where were they? As if on cue, the door opened, its hinges creaking noisily as two Pawns entered, one of them carrying an inert Pawn on its back. The carrier dropped the inactive one on the floor in front of Savant, who immediately set to work checking the damage. “It failed,” Arrow stated plainly, with more than a little disappointment in her voice. Savant only laughed. “Hardly, my dear. The damage to its plating is superficial at most. A few dings and dents, but nothing that can’t be buffed out.” That earned a deeper scowl from the blue earth mare. “If your Pawns brought this one back, then it means that it failed to kill the Raven.” “How shortsighted you are.” The inventor’s horn lit up, and the dormant Pawn’s chest opened, revealing an empty arcane engine within. “The only reason it failed is that it ran out of power. If I can improve upon modern designs from arcane engines, my Pawns could prove even more effective.” He nodded to himself. “Yes… improving fuel efficiency is certainly the key here. Augment the armor with a sturdier alloy… I’ve been using steel. Tungsten, perhaps? No, too heavy. Although, I could make different models for different uses… yes, tungsten armored units, built larger, used for frontal assaults and sieges… use lighter materials for stealth units… I’ll have to find a middle ground—” “That’s enough, Dr. Savant,” Midnight interjected before Savant could ramble any further. “How soon can my organization expect to see the new Pawns?” The doctor chuckled to himself. “With your funding… provided that you supply me with the right materials, maybe send a few extra workers my way…” He hummed in thought. “A week at the most. I should have the new and improved model done by then. A full squad of five by the end of the month. Just as long as you keep your end of the deal, of course.” Arrow nodded. “This may prove to be a very rewarding endeavor for both you and my organization.” Savant smirked. “Indeed.” -o- Swirling Line shifted to the side a bit as she read from her book. Sunny Day lay next to her on the couch in her apartment, snoozing as peacefully as only a little filly who spent all of her energy for the day in one go could. Swirling lowered her book as Sunny gave off a soft snore, smiling at the sight. “Too adorable.” ‘Only when they’re asleep. They’re a nightmare otherwise,’ Nevermore quipped in a jaded tone. “You’re a nightmare all the time, Nevermore,” she said, glowering at the spirit in her mind. ‘Keep up the attitude, and you’ll see how much of a nightmare I can be.’ A chill ran up her spine as she set her book down. She stiffened, however, as Sunny nuzzled into her side and gave a happy little sigh, offering quiet, peaceful snores. The mare bit at her lower lip to keep from ‘aww’ing out loud. ‘I always wanted a little sister.’ She could feel Nevermore rolling his eyes. ‘Siblings are overrated. Trust me, you’re better off an only child.’ Swirling blinked at that. “That sounds like you have family of your own.” ‘I’d really rather not get into that. In fact, just forget those questions before you even think about them.’ “Wow. What’s your problem? Parental issues? Sibling rivalry?” ‘Don’t start.’ A sigh escaped her as she gently rubbed at the sleeping Sunny day, her eyes taking on a distant glint. “Still, it would’ve been nice.” ‘Maybe.’ He huffed before speaking again. ‘Put her to bed. We should take the opportunity to learn more about that metal golem we fought earlier. The more information we have, the less likely we’ll get killed fighting another.’ She bristled at the thought fighting that thing again—she barely survived the first! “What makes you think we’ll fight another one?” ‘People who make golems rarely settle for just one. Trust me, there will be another.’ “You’re just a bundle of everlasting optimism, you know that?” She slumped and looked at Sunny again. “Not that I can go anywhere anyway. I can’t leave Sunny by herself.” ‘Sure you can. Just leave her here and go out the window.’ Her tail swished. ‘You know darn well I can’t just leave her alone, Nevermore! What if she wakes up and I’m not here?’ A groan escaped the spirit. ‘Fine. Then have somepony watch her while you’re gone or something. Say you’ve got a quick errand you’ve got to run.’ Swirling sighed as she carefully lifted Sunny onto her back and carried her to the bed. ‘All right, all right. I’ll see if my landlord can watch her if I’m out for too long. That guy never sleeps anyway.’ As she slid Sunny into the bed and pulled the covers over her withers, Swirling’s ears flickered as Sunny spoke in her sleep. “Swirling…” the little filly mumbled, snuggling deeper with the pillow. ‘All right, if she doesn’t quit with the cuteness, I’m going to get sick,’ Nevermore grumbled. “Can that even happen?” Swirling asked. “I figured you couldn’t get sick at all, especially because of the whole ‘I can’t eat’ thing.” ‘Are you still on that?’ A light chuckle escaped her. Having something on Nevermore, even if it was just one little detail, was without a doubt going to be fun for her. After checking with her landlord, a tall, lanky, stick of a stallion with a voice that was like if a rottweiler could talk, she made her way outside and assumed the form of the Raven. The sky above had turned overcast from the local weather team pushing a storm through, and the rain had only just begun to fall as she took flight through the buildings of the busy city. ‘Do you think she’ll be okay, Nevermore?’ ‘Will you stop worrying and pay attention to what we’re doing? We have to learn more about that golem so that we don’t die the next time, remember?’ ‘Sheesh, okay, don’t get your magic feathers in a twist. Eat a candy bar or something.’ Hearing a satisfying groan from the spirit, she smirked and continued along her way. With any luck, Tricky might have something for her. If nothing else, she could go to a library and read up on golems. Either way, something would be better than nothing. Author's Note Theme of Dr. Savant: Theme of Sunny Day: Theme of Midnight Arrow: Metal Madness, Part 2“Well, that was a bust,” Swirling said as she landed on the roof of the Manehatten Central Library. “I think that’s the first time Tricky’s ever not had anything we could use.” ‘To be honest, I’m not surprised. Golem making hasn’t been in practice for centuries, and what happened is too recent for him to have anything concrete for us just yet.’ “So here I am at the library, after hours, when I could be home sleeping.” She lifted the skylight—which was thankfully unlocked—and soared down to land below with a soft clacking of her hooves on the tiled floor. “Well, if anything, maybe something here will put me to sleep.” ‘If it’s not about art, it’s boring?’ “I don’t only think about art, you know,” she groused as she started searching the bookshelves. “I do have other dreams that I fantasize about.” ‘Do you mean the one about you being part of the Power Ponies, or the one that involves that faceless stal—’ “Stay out of my dreams, Nevermore!” She blushed so fiercely that one could almost see it through the shadowy form of the Raven. Grumbling at the cackling spirit, she began walking along the main aisles of the library. The yellow eyes of the Raven having no difficulty seeing in the dark. Trotting towards the section on magic, she scanned the book covers for anything she could use. “Hmm… I’m not seeing anything on golem making here,” she said as she put another book back on the shelf. “I can’t make out half of what I see in these books anyway. How do unicorns use this stuff?” ‘As I understand it, their magic involves a special sort of rhyme that only they understand, along with focusing of their respective energies through their horn, that allows them to create magic.’ He scoffed. ‘Ponies are odd creatures.’ “Said the shadow spirit from an unknown dimension,” she deadpanned. Suddenly, her hoof gave out from under her, and she landed on her front with an indignant grunt. “Hey! What was that about?” ‘It was fun, that’s why.’ Dusting herself off, she muttered something darkly under her breath. Nevermore really needed to develop a sense of humor that didn’t involve humiliating her. An hour of searching later, she slumped at one of the tables, thumping her head against its oaken surface. “Ugh, there’s nothing here either.” Nevermore hummed. ‘I’m disappointed myself. We might have to wait and see if these golems surface again so we can track them back to their creator instead. It seems conventional research is a dead end here.’ She lifted her head. “Does this mean I can go home now and check up on Sunny?” He grumbled. ‘Yes, it means you can go home and check on the little demon.’ Pushing back her chair, she muttered, “Said the shadow ‘demon.’” ‘Don’t make me hurt you.’ Just before she could spread her wings for the skylight, something caught her eye. It looked like a newspaper, but the image on the front page made her pause. “What’s this?” Folding her wings back down, she trotted over and lifted the newspaper from the tray. There was a clear image of a pony and what looked like three of the metal golems she faced earlier on it. She read the article over a moment before tilting her head. “Huh. It says here that this Dr. Savant guy tried to show something off to the princesses. They didn’t seem to take kindly to it.” ‘And Dr. Savant would be…?’ “Not a clue. I guess he’s some kind of inventor.” She reread the article again. “He called them ‘Pawns.’ Do you think that these are what I fought earlier?” ‘Possibly. Won’t know until you find out more about him. If he’s behind the golem from before, it would do us and Manehattan some good to make sure he’s not making more to ravage the city.’ “But why would a respected scientist like this guy send one of his own inventions to wreak havoc on Manehattan?” She wasn’t really asking Nevermore, and he didn’t give any answer. She read further through the article, trying to find anything else to help her out. “It says here that he does most of his research in a lab in Manehattan University.” ‘Then that’s where we’re going.’ A groan escaped her before a yawn did. “Can’t it wait, Nevermore? I’m beat, and Sunny is all alone.” She heard him grumble before speaking. ‘Fine, call it a night, you little whiny filly.’ “I’ll take it if it means I can get some sleep.” She spread her wings and flew for the skylight. Once out, she made sure to close it before flying back to her apartment and the warm, comfy bed that she felt was beginning to think she was cheating on it. -o- The bright sparks flew past his face as Savant concentrated on his magic. The welding mask protected him from both them and the bright light as the magic sealed the pauldron onto the shoulder of his newest Pawn. With the pauldron in place, he lifted his welding mask to analyze his work. Sneering, he levitated half of the Pawn’s metal barrel to its place and channeled his magic once again. ‘Reinforced Minotaurian steel over Equestrian silver-metal. Perfect combination for durability and mobility.’ He frowned under his mask as he continued to work. ‘Now, if only I could find a—’ He heard the sound of a mare clearing her throat, and a growl of annoyance escaped him. Could she not leave him in peace so he could work? “Dr. Savant,” he heard the voice of Midnight Arrow say. “I trust the construction of the new Pawns is going as scheduled? My superiors are beginning to lose patience.” He lifted his mask to narrow his eyes at her. “I would be ahead of schedule if not for the constant interruptions, Miss Arrow.” Setting aside his mask, he regarded the dark blue mare as she continued to wear those odd white robes. “What is the meaning of this current disruption?” “As I said, my superiors are losing patience,” Midnight answered calmly as she looked over the newest Pawn. “The head of my organization is especially eager for results.” The inventor rolled his eyes and snorted. “Perhaps I’d be more motivated if I knew literally anything about your organization.” Arrow shook her head. “I’m sorry, Doctor, but my mission here is strictly clandestine. My superiors made it very clear that they don’t want anyone to know that they’re involved in this. All I can tell you is that our goals are aimed much higher than most groups like us.” “Hmph. As you say.” He levitated a number of cogs and gears and started setting them in their places within the chest cavity. “But as long as your group continues to fund my research, I suppose it doesn’t matter one way or the other what you do.” She hummed as she toyed with an odd contraption set out on a table, poking it carefully. Savant’s eyes widened and he hissed as he took the device from her. “Fool! Don’t touch any of my equipment! This is a very delicate process that should only be handled by a true master of the art, not some filly with wandering hooves!” She scowled as she stepped back from him. “I was merely curious. What is that?” Savant huffed as he gently wiped the device with a hoof. “If you must know, it’s a modified arcane engine. If my calculations are correct - and they usually are - we should see at least a fifty percent improvement in the Pawns’ fuel efficiency.” “Fifty percent?” Arrow asked, eyes wide. Most tinkerers who fiddled with arcane engines could usually only get a ten or twenty percent boost in their efficiency, and even that was difficult to pull off, as it required a level of precision spellcasting that most unicorns would find a challenge at its simplest. “What is your secret, Dr. Savant?” “A lot of elbow grease,” Savant snidely replied. “It’s a secret, I’m afraid. Rest assured, I’ll have more such engines ready for whatever your organization needs.” She hummed again. “Then your reputation is well earned. To be honest, I had my doubts when I was first tasked to this assignment, but now I see that I was wrong.” Savant didn’t respond, only returning to his work after setting the engine back down on the table. Eyeing him as he tinkered, Arrow asked, “Might I ask you something?” “Hmm?” “What led you into your career?” For a brief moment, he stopped working. Only for a second, however, as he got right back into the flow of his task. It wasn’t until he stopped several minutes later that he finally answered: “Imagine that you can see things. Things no one else can. Imagine that you’ve grown up all your life seeing those things. You wonder why no one else can see them. All the details, all the tiny dots and specks and pieces of information that only you can find. They’re there, but you’re the only one who seems to care, or even notice. “It’s maddening,” he continued, turning to her with a strangely aged look in his amber eyes. “I became an inventor so that I could show ponies what they were missing, and give them something that could improve their lives at the same time.” He went silent for several moments more, then went straight back to work, sparks flying as he welded new pieces of armor into place. “There were but a few others who shared the burden of such a powerful mind,” he said, levitating the arcane engine into place, carefully sliding it into the center of the new Pawn’s chest. “I had a roommate in university who held similar goals of improving upon the lives of ponies, though he preferred a biological route. Genetics, and the like. But for most of my life, all I could focus on were those innumerable, overwhelming details. The countless little shards of information, taunting me for being the only one who saw them, screaming at me to simply turn away.” Finishing his speech, he placed the chestplate over the arcane engine and welded the plating to the body. “A rare mind indeed,” Arrow lamented. “A pity there is no room within my organization’s ranks for one of your talent. Such an ally would doubtless prove invaluable.” Savant scoffed, a smirk forming on his face. “I’ve always been invaluable. The royals seem to have forgotten that, though. With luck, these new and improved Pawns will remind them exactly what type of pony they denied.” A sly smile played across Arrow’s features. “We hope that it will, Doctor. We hope that it will.” She once again looked towards a nearby window. “Remember, we need them within two days’ time. Delivered, discreetly, to the train station in the warehouse district.” She turned for the door, but not before casting one final glance over her shoulder. “The compensation will be well worth all of your time, effort, and… sacrifice.” “Sacrifice?” Savant snorted with a chuckle. “You make it sound as though I’m giving something up. Believe you, me, I’ve not given up anything just yet.” He began rummaging through a toolkit sitting next to him, and frowned after a second. “Ah, blast. I’m missing a crucial component to the energy flow system. Where did I put that piece?” He rubbed his chin a moment before turning to Arrow. “I’ll need to head back to my lab at Manehattan U. I may need help finding what I need.” Sighing through her nose, Arrow nodded and opened the door, allowing Savant out before following. Silently, she hoped that this wouldn’t take too long. She would prefer to be somewhere safe, come nighttime in Manehattan. -o- ‘This has got to be the most idiotic idea you’ve ever had,’ Nevermore muttered as Swirling pushed the cleaning cart into the office. ‘And you’ve had some doozies before.’ “Oh, hush,” Swirling said as she took off her cap, freeing her violet and white mane from its confines. She honestly hadn’t expected the janitor act to work, but she wasn’t about to complain. If anything, she should be complaining about having to use her day off from work for this. The blue janitor uniform she was wearing now was baggy, uncomfortable, and itchy in all the wrong places, and she couldn’t wait to get out of it as soon as possible, which made her certain that nopony would miss it if she had to make a break for it. “We needed to find out what Dr. Savant was up to, and we couldn’t wait for night to search for clues.” She looked around the large office for a moment, looking at the many diplomas that adorned the wall. “Geez, how many degrees does this guy need?” ‘Considering what he does for a living, a lot of them are probably necessary, if only for credibility. Now hurry up and look around. We don’t know when he’ll be back.’ With a nod, Swirling took a quick look at the room she’d be searching. It was fairly bigger compared to what she’d been expecting from a college lab, even if it was one of the best universities in Equestria. A number of desks covered in tools, parts, rough sketches, and diagrams dotted the room, which was well lit by a large window on the wall opposite to the door. That unsettled her a bit; if trouble happened, she likely wouldn’t be able to go Raven and fight her way out, especially since sunlight was currently pouring in at the moment. She eyed the desks around her, trying to figure out where to start. Finding anything useful wouldn’t be easy in all this clutter. Eventually, she simply shrugged and decided to wing it, heading for the closest desk, which had mostly large sheets of paper displaying what she admitted to be very good sketches of a number of things that took her a few moments to recognize, like one of those telephone things she saw in a courthouse when she had jury duty once. There was one that seemed to be a planning stage for something called a ‘gun,’ though what its purpose was escaped her. Frowning from not finding anything, she turned for the next desk—this one covered in cogs and gears. She tilted her head as she looked at the confusing mass of machine parts. “You think this is what he uses to build those golems of his?” ‘Why are you asking me? I’m not a master golem builder. If I was, I would’ve built my own body to inhabit.’ She snorted, and began sorting through the parts. Eventually, Swirling found an odd metal box that had a few tubes full of some purple liquid, and frowned. “This looks important.” ‘Maybe.’ Unscrewing one of tubes, she slipped it away into one of the pockets on her uniform. ‘What are you doing?’ “You never know. He might need this, or we can use it for something.” She dug around for a bit more before she stumbled over a piece of scrap paper. “Hello? What’s this?” Her amber eyes scanned the paper. “Hmm? Forty-one, station ten? What does that mean?” ‘Hmm… Station ten? A train station, you think?’ Her wings shifted slightly as she pondered on the question. “Maybe, but what about the forty-one? An address?” Just as Nevermore was beginning to answer, her ears stood erect as she heard the handle of the door turn, an audible click filling the room. Her face paled. ‘Horseapples!’ ‘Drop the paper!’ She quickly let go of the scrap, just as the door swung open. In a panic, she dove behind the desk and curled up, keeping her head low enough to see under the desk. Two sets of hooves were visible, one set a tannish color, the second a dark blue. “Ah, good to be back,” said a stallion’s voice. The tan hooves moved as the stallion trotted through the room, stopping at the cleaning cart for a moment. “Hmm. The caretaker must’ve come through.” “And why would he leave his cart?” asked a mare, probably the blue pony. “Likely needed to get something,” the stallion reasoned. “Now, to find that missing part.” The stallion clacked a hoof on one of the desks, and a loud, thudding sound was heard, like metal on wood, and a set of armored hooves became visible. Swirling had to hold her breath to avoid gasping as she realized just what those hooves belonged to. “You know what to look for. Help me find it.” In quiet agreement, the thing that was undoubtedly one of those golems marched through the room, stopping at desks and searching them briefly one at a time. “I must confess, Doctor” the mare said, “your Pawns are a little… unsettling. Their blind obedience just isn’t natural.” “A good soldier follows orders,” said the stallion, who was without a doubt Dr. Savant. “And my Pawns are the best soldiers you could ever find, Miss Arrow.” “I should hope so, Doctor. My organization has a lot riding on this.” ‘I need a better angle,’ Swirling said as she tried to position herself better. Nevermore said nothing while she managed to poke her head out from behind the desk, getting an easier look at the other two ponies in the room, getting her first real glimpse of Savant. The unicorn stallion was fairly tall, with tan fur all over and a graying mane. His eyes were an amber color, and his cutie mark was a wrench and a screwdriver. The mare was a dark blue, with a lighter blue mane. She wore some kind of white robe that looked weirdly familiar to… her… “Sweet Celestia…” Swirling gasped, immediately covering her mouth with a hoof. She slipped back behind the desk just as Savant and Arrow looked in her direction. ‘Nevermore, did you see that?’ ‘Of course I did. That mare’s clearly a Disciple. But why would a Disciple be working with someone like Savant?’ ‘Maybe they want his golem things?’ “Did you hear that, too?” asked Savant. She didn’t hear Arrow say anything. She might’ve nodded, though. “Pawn 6, investigate.” The clanking of metal on the wooden floor steadily drew closer and closer, and Swirling could feel her heart beating almost in time with the artificial hooves. A faint clicking could be heard for just a moment, and for an instant, she thought she might actually be safe. She was proven wrong when the Pawn unceremoniously pushed the desk away, startling the pegasus into hopping into the air, where she hovered briefly before realizing she’d just been caught. “Uh…” she said. ‘How articulate.’ Savant raised an eyebrow at her even as the blue mare scowled at her. “And just what, exactly, are you doing in my office, little filly?” ‘Think! Think! Think!’ she screamed in her mind. “I’m, uh… I’m filling in for the janitor. He’s… out sick.” “Then why were you hiding?” asked the blue mare. ‘Horseapples!’ ‘Improvise!’ Nevermore snapped. “I… heard you coming, and I guess I panicked.” She blushed, rubbing at the back of her head. “I’m sorry, it’s my first day!” Savant snorted dismissively. “An uneducated youth, dredging up the bottom rung menial tasks. An admittedly easy role to pretend to be in.” He gave her one of the harshest death glares she’d ever seen in her life. “I’m quite the opposite of a fool. If you were telling the truth, you wouldn’t be sweating.” “Uh… w-well, your, um… metal thing. It’s kinda…” The blue mare put a hoof on Savant’s shoulder. “Doctor, whether she’s telling the truth or not, she’s a witness now. My organization can’t have anyone knowing about our agreement.” Savant pursed his lips in thought, probably weighing his options, before saying, “Very well. Pawn 6, terminate the intruder.” “Say what now?” Swirling squeaked just as the Pawn’s eyes lit up with an amber glow, and the mechanical pony lunged for her. With a loud yelp, she jumped off to side, away from Savant and the Disciple. The Pawn crashed into a desk that had been behind Swirling, sending papers and parts flying and scattering across the floor. “Pawn 6! Quit foo—” he grunted as Swirling rushed out of the way and fled for the door. She barely dodged a gear part that buried itself into the wall by the door as she passed by in her escape. “Damn it! She could ruin everything!” said Arrow as her toss of the gear missed the pegasus by a hair’s breadth. “After her, Pawn 6, now!” Savant shouted. The Pawn readily complied, giving chase to the fleeing pegasus, galloping relentlessly after her. Swirling uttered every curse available to her as she flew through the halls of Manehattan U, as well as a few she made up on the spot. Here she was, fleeing from a metal not-golem thing built by a scientist who has clearly either lost it, or never really had it to begin with, and to top it all off, the Disciples of Light were involved in all this! “Why did it have to be those crazies!?” she shouted as her wings furiously beat the air. “Of all the possible evil organizations in the world, why them!?” ‘Perhaps you just attract that sort of attention.’ “Nevermore, I swear, I will make another food joke if you don’t shut up!” Her ears swiveled at the sound of metal on stone and she turned to see the Pawn still chasing after her, its glowing eyes locked onto its target. “Oh, come on! Leave me alone!” She flapped her wings harder for another burst of speed and blasted through a door, startling a number of staff and students, who only grew more terrified as the metal pony crashed in after her. ‘Get to the air! Put yourself at a distance!’ How she wished it was nighttime so she could just turn into the Raven and turn the metal monstrosity into scrap! But with the sun out and shining bright, that wasn’t an option. She took to the sky and watched as the Pawn seemed to fade into the background behind her. Flying ahead, she came to a cart stop to catch her breath. “Whew… I think I lost it. That was too close,” she said between ragged breaths. She never heard Nevermore’s reply as a cart along the road burst apart, and the Pawn emerged from the wreckage, its eyes still trained on her. “Do these things ever give up!?” She took off again, and she could feel her heart hammering in her chest, and not solely from the exertion. She had to lose it somehow, but without other ponies getting hurt. This could be a problem. ‘They would prove the distraction you would need to escape.’ ‘No! Not in a million years, Nevermore! I would never do that. Besides, this thing doesn’t seem interested in anyone but me right now.’ ‘Stubborn mare,’ he groused. ‘Then get to some shadows, and we’ll deal with it.’ ‘Shadowy places aren’t exactly easy to come by in the middle of the day, Nevermore, even in this city!’ As she argued with the spirit, her ears caught the sound of a train’s whistle. Looking to the source, she spotted a train station, with an engine chugging rapidly along the rails. Slowly, a small grin worked its way onto her face as an idea came to mind. ‘Okay, you’re going to get us killed one of these days,’ Nevermore commented as Swirling looped down and descended to the tracks, turning to face the Pawn that was climbing its way onto the rails. She looked back, seeing the train charging towards her. She faced the Pawn again, the machine already having made it to the tracks and galloping toward her. A glance over her shoulder saw the train still coming full force. “Come on, come on,” she murmured to herself, bracing herself for just the right moment. She yelped as the Pawn put on a burst of speed, and she had to dodge a blow at the last minute. “Can’t I catch a break!?” She flapped her wings to keep out of the Pawn’s reach. Remembering her fight with one as the Raven, she knew she couldn’t begin to hurt it without Nevermore’s help. ‘Lead it back to the tracks!’ “Working on it!” She rolled away from another heavy swing and ran past it. Once across the tracks, she turned to it. “Over here, you oversized toaster!” The Pawn turned its gaze to her and blindly charged across the train tracks. Right into the path of the oncoming train. With a crunch of metal, the Pawn was blasted out of her sight and into pieces, shards of ruined metal flying everywhere as the train’s conductor pulled the brakes, and the wheels screeched to a halt. The conductor poked his head out the window of the locomotive, looking ahead and back until he found a winded Swirling Line. “You okay!?” he shouted to her. “What in Celestia’s name happened!?” With a weak laugh and triumphant grin, Swirling answered, “I’m fine. Nothing to worry about. You actually kinda saved my life just now.” The conductor gave her a confused stare as she lay herself on the station floor, finally having a chance to catch her breath. ‘You need better cardio,’ quipped Nevermore. ‘You need a digestive system,’ Swirling snapped back, earning a very satisfying grumble from the spirit. ‘Whatever. We still need to find Savant and that mare again. It’s pretty clear that the Disciples want that inventor’s machines as weapons. We need to stop them. One of those things is completely relentless. Imagine a whole army.’ The pegasus groaned and ran her hooves over her face. ‘I’d really rather not.’ ‘Then we need to find which station they are going to be at, and stop them before they complete their work.’ She watched as the passengers of the train began to disembark from the train, many of them looking at the ruined remains of the Pawn and talking with each other. Getting to her hooves, she discreetly left the station’s platform. ‘That note said station ten and the number forty-one. We know which train station, just not what the forty-one means.’ ‘An address, perhaps?’ Nevermore suggested. ‘With no street name, or even an apartment complex listed? Not likely.’ ‘Point.’ A silence fell between them as Swirling continued down the street, pondering on where to go next. ‘Well, what about those old warehouses on the other side of the city? We found the Disciples in one. It may be worth investigating them. Find the forty-first warehouse, perhaps we’ll find the good doctor and his associate.’ Swirling was going to respond, until her own mind pieced together the logic her partner’s theory. ‘I hate it when you’re smarter than me.’ ‘You must be hateful all the time, then.’ Rolling her eyes, Swirling took flight, feeling the need to take a nap at home before going after Savant and his merry death machines. Whatever that Disciple mare had in store couldn’t be very inviting either. Hearing a small tink in her pocket, Swirling mentally slapped herself. She’d been in such a rush, she’d completely forgotten she was wearing the janitor uniform. Not stopping, she pulled out the source of the noise, looking at the small vial of purple… stuff in her hooves. Something in the back of her mind that wasn’t Nevermore told her she needed to be careful with whatever this purple liquid was. Who knows? It might actually come in handy at some point. Stowing the vial away again, she continued forward, eager get this stupid uniform off and reunite with her bed. As the pegasus flew, she was unaware of a stallion watching from a rooftop nearby, his yellow eyes trained on her like a falcon. He silently cursed the fact that he may have to become directly involved in this, which was against the parameters of his assignment. He’d have to take the risk, though. Equestria’s safety was his top priority. -o- A scowl crossed Arrow’s face as she and Savant made their way to the warehouse where Savant had ordered his Pawns to bring all the tools and equipment from the abandoned apartment. She knew what it meant if the machine sent after that pegasus didn’t arrive soon. The Disciples couldn’t afford witnesses of their involvement in Savant’s new field. Having the Raven and the princesses as enemies was bad enough already, but if word got out that their order was deliberately abling a stallion that was building weapons, it could permanently tarnish their reputation among the public before it’s even built. She watched as the three remaining Pawns carried the equipment into their warehouse, the damaged remains of the Pawn that first engaged the Raven carried on the back of another. The good doctor was so invested in building the new Pawns that he had completely forgotten to repair the one that was already built and ready. Even with four operating Pawns, Arrow knew better than to underestimate the Raven. She had foiled Lady White Star’s plans to banish the Corrupted One, and had even defeated Zeal, one of the best fighters in her entire order! “Dr. Savant, how soon can you get the other Pawns up and running?” she asked again as the tan unicorn began rolling out his schematics along the wall in his makeshift laboratory. He cast her an annoyed glare. “My Pawns will be completed on time and in proper working order when they are ready, Midnight. You cannot rush perfection.” Her tail swished as she gritted her teeth. “The Pawn you sent after that intruder has not returned yet, and it should have a long time ago.” She looked to the side as a Pawn set a large container nearby. “We have to assume that it was destroyed, and that the Raven has learned of it. It will only be a matter of time before she tracks us down. We cannot afford that.” “Oh, please. My Pawn will not fail, and no snooping mare is going to best my creation.” He rubbed his chin. “I will admit that the current models are limited in their abilities to take a pegasus in flight. However, she will inevitably tire. My Pawn will not.” He moved to the container and nodded for one of the Pawns to open it. Once the lid fell away, he levitated the nearly completed Pawn from within. “Once Pawn 7 is complete with the new, more efficient arcane engine, not even the Raven will be able to defeat it.” “I hope you’re right, Doctor,” Midnight said in a warning tone. All she got in return was another irritated glare and a roll of the inventor’s eyes. Her lips turned back in a snarl at the unicorn’s arrogance. “Need I remind you that my organization is funding the creation of these Pawns? Were it not for us, your dreams of creating artificial life would be as dead as your reputation would have been after the lecture the princesses gave you.” A snide smirk crossed her face as he paused in his work for just a second before resuming his work. “Then we are in agreement?” “Trust me. Everything will work out exactly as planned,” he said, not bothering to look up from his work. “Pawn 1, go and keep the exterior secure. I don’t want any interruptions. Try to be subtle about it. No need to draw any more suspicion than we already have.” The mechanical pony complied easily, walking towards the exit, its metal hooves clanking loudly on the concrete floor. Confident that the doctor would do as told, Midnight Arrow entered the nearby office to rest, never knowing that they were being watched. -o- The Raven eyed the two from the skylight above, the wind blowing her ethereal mane around as she contemplated her next move. ‘Despite it all, those two don’t appear to like each other very much.’ ‘No, they don’t,’ Swirling said as she watched the other two Pawns spread out to patrol the warehouse. ‘Are you sure about that purple stuff, Nevermore? I really don’t want anything blowing up in my face.’ ‘Don’t do something stupid, and you won’t,’ the spirit deadpanned. ‘Now that they’re splitting up, this might be the best time to take them out one by one. That gel has a highly volatile magical signature, not unlike materials used in fireworks and explosives, which will help get through their armor.’ She shifted a bit, knowing that the vial she had taken from Savant’s office earlier was being held for her by the Raven form, and that she could conjure it up with just a thought, but the knowledge that it was explosive didn’t exactly set her mind at ease. ‘So, which one are you taking out first?’ Considering the question, her yellow eyes traced the paths of the two Pawns and Savant at work. She knew that if she tried to take one of the two inside first, it might attract the other, and that was even accounting for Savant or the Disciple that was inside the office. Her ears swiveled as she heard the footsteps of the sole Pawn outside, and a smirk crossed her face. “I could take out the guard outside and see if that won’t bring the others running. If they do, I can get to Savant and force him to stop working.” ‘I’m actually impressed. I must be rubbing off on you… finally.’ Growling softly at the irritating spirit, she spread her wings and took to the sky. Quickly locating the patrolling Pawn, she hovered over it. Thankfully, the metal pony didn’t bother looking up. She conjured the vial up, holding it in her teeth carefully. ‘A small amount is all it should take. Aim between the shoulder blades. We might find a weakness there with the armor gone.’ She felt a tightening in her throat as she considered what she was about to do. Remembering her fight with that first Pawn was enough to remind her of just how tough they were. If she messed this up, she could be in a lot of trouble. Steeling herself, she uncorked the vial. There was no going back now, she reasoned. Once the glob fell from the vial she quickly flapped her wings to get away. The resulting explosion was not as dramatic as she expected. While the alley way did light up—causing her to hiss at the sudden brightness—it didn’t level buildings as she expected. Instead, the explosion was enough to knock the Pawn clean off its hooves, the metal plating on its back and neck falling away. The exposed gears inside whirred and groaned under the stress as the Pawn tried to turn in her direction. ‘What are you waiting for? Attack it now!’ Stirred by Nevermore’s persisting voice she descended and brought back her hoof to punch through the exposed inner workings of the machine. The Pawn stiffened up and jerked a roughly before the light went out of its eyes and collapsed into a metal heap. Its limbs spasmed a bit before the machine settled with a hiss of steam. “Did I just… beat it?” ‘You caught it by surprise. An element which you no longer have over the others. They likely know you’re here now.’ On cue, there came a shout from Midnight Arrow from the warehouse. “It’s the Raven! She’s here!” “Pawns 2 and 5, keep close and protect me! Do not let her in here!” came Savant’s shout. “Oh, fantastic…” Swirling groused and took to the sky again. Landing on the roof she ran for the skylight. “On the roof! I heard her!” Arrow screamed in a growing panic. “Quiet, mare! I need to focus!” “So much for subtlety,” Swirling said before she crashed through the sky light, showering the Pawns below with the shattered glass. She quickly sank into the shadows of the dimly lit warehouse, flitting rapidly across the floors and walls as she thought out her next move. One drop of the exploding grape juice for each Pawn should be enough. It was just a matter of getting them to hold still long enough to get the stuff on them. She peeked out of the shadows to see the Disciple pacing back and forth, her eyes constantly darting to every shadow in the building. “Dr. Savant, we cannot let her disrupt all we have worked for. If she isn’t stopped here, my organization will not continue to support your projects.” Savant never looked up from his work. “Once Pawn 7 is completed, there will be no issue.” He briefly glanced over his shoulder. “If you’re so worried, deal with her. Just make sure you keep her off of me.” ‘A new model?’ Swirling asked her residential spirit. ‘A fair assumption. You need to stop him.’ A confident grin grew across her face before she slipped away into another shadow. “So, Dr. Savant, is it?” The inventor jumped and spun to face her. “Can you tell me why such a prestigious doctor such as yourself would side with a bunch of regicidal whackjobs like the Disciples of Light? Seems like a really dumb career move on your part, honestly.” “Get back, demon!” Midnight Arrow shouted. The Raven turned to face her, only to for a white robe to hit her in the face. Arrow, clad in bandoliers of crossbow bolts and equipped with a rapid crossbow on each of her hooves, took position between the Raven and Savant, aiming one of her crossbows at her. “Savant, finish your new machine! I’ll handle the Raven!” Nodding, Savant continuing working while Arrow charged at the Raven, who’d only just gotten the discarded robe off of her. The earth pony tackled the pegasus, knocking her through a door and into the next room, where there lay a multitude of abandoned crates. Swirling groaned as she managed to pick herself up off the floor. “All right, new rule. No more fighting earth ponies. Unfair strength advantage.” Just as she finished her statement, a brief whooshing sound caught her ears, and a crossbow bolt embedded itself in a crate behind her with an unquiet thunk. Across from her stood Midnight Arrow, an armed hoof held up and aimed at the shadowy pegasus. “That was a warning shot, Raven,” she said. “Leave now, and you will be spared the agony of exorcism.” “Huh, what do you know?” Swirling snarked. “A Disciple with some knowledge of common courtesy. So there are miracles in the world after all.” Arrow sneered coldly at the vigilante’s insulting remark, but resisted the urge to unleash a hail of bolts. “You truly are as insolent as Lady White Star claimed. Leave now, or face the judgment of the Light. I won’t say it a third time.” “What? Never heard of ‘three strikes, you’re out’?” Apparently, that one crossed a line, as a storm of bolts from Midnight’s crossbow flew at the Raven, who only narrowly eluded getting skewered in a number of places, diving into the shadows as the bolts buried themselves in a wooden crate. “No you don’t!” Midnight yelled before she tossed a white crystal across the room. The moment it struck the floor, a blinding flash of light erupted, stripping the room of the shadows and forcing the Raven out of hiding. The Raven screamed at the sudden burst of light, and only her quick thinking had her duck in time as a bolt ripped through her mane, drawing a painful cut across the back of her head. She lunged ahead as another bolt sailed after her, forcing her to take cover behind another crate. “So, you Disciples have some new toys, huh? I was beginning to wonder if any of you have ever heard of something called a flashlight!” Arrow snarled and rounded the crate, only to find that the Raven had vanished. “Jest all you want, demon. The Light will triumph, and you and your foul master will know oblivion.” “Funny thing. I don’t have a master. Not unlike you sheep. Speaking of sheep, is that robe you wear made of wool? It smells like it.” Swirling smiled to herself as she heard Midnight growl in frustration, and just as the Disciple rounded another crate, she lunged from above and smashed the crossbow she held. Even as Midnight brought her other crossbow to bear, Swirling deflected the shot high and slugged her across the muzzle. Midnight skidded back, grunting from the ache in her jaw. Even as the Raven ran in for another attack, she brought her own hoof up to block it and counter with her own. The Raven ducked under the attack and head butted the mare in the barrel before whirling to kick her across the room, sending her crashing into another crate, which splintered violently under the strain of the impact. Growling in a fury, Arrow shoved away the debris covering her, giving her foe a glare that would’ve scared away Discord himself. “I will end you, demon!” “Promises, promises,” Swirling quipped, earning an enraged cry from the other mare. Arrow spun suddenly, throwing up her hind legs in a kicking motion and firing bolts from the crossbows on her back hooves. With a very heroic “meep!” the Raven ducked under the surprise shower, sinking into the shadows again and darting towards her enemy. Surprisingly, Arrow smirked. “You don’t learn, it seems.” She tossed out another white crystal, which exploded with another blast of light, booting the Raven out of the shadows, blinding and stunning her. “Crystals gathered from the Crystal Empire, enchanted for use against night-dwelling creatures that avoid daylight like the plague. They seem to work quite well against you, too.” She aimed her good foreleg crossbow at the Raven’s head. “Now there will be one less demon in the world.” Just as she was about to let a bolt fly, a nearby window crashed, and a figure flew in at high speed, tackling Arrow to the ground and rolling across the floor with her. The figure, which was clearly a stallion wearing armor, turned his head to the Raven, who only now was able to see clearly again. “I’ll take care of this one!” the stallion shouted. “You go get Savant!” “Wh-who—” “GO!” She stepped back at the stallion’s harsh tone, briefly unsure of what to do. Reluctantly, she nodded and took off, flying through the doors that would lead her back to Savant. Her questions for the stallion would have to wait until later. Savant cast a quick look over his shoulder as she burst into the room, a scowl spreading across his face. “That incompetent mare! Can she not perform even the simplest task!?” The Raven spread her wings, even as the two Pawns got between her and Savant. “It’s over, Savant, give yourself up already. You’re not gonna beat me with your tin soldiers.” She smiled cockily, even if she knew he wouldn’t see it. “I enjoyed turning your others to scrap, and unless you want that to happen to these two, you’ll surrender right here and now.” He snorted and charged his horn, the eyes of the two Pawns glowing the same color. “Pawns, keep her off of me! Tear her apart if you must, but she cannot be allowed to disrupt my work!” The machines roared to life and charged at her, ready to pound her into pulp. She flared out her wings, setting herself to fight. “Bring it on, you walking wind-up toys!” The first Pawn lashed out with a punch that the Raven hopped over. She kicked out with her hind legs, sending the Pawn tumbling violently across the floor. The second charged in and caught her out of the air. Landing with a grunt, she was quick to kick the metal monster off of her before it could wrap her up in a choke hold like the first one had. No sooner did she get back on her hooves did the first Pawn come back in, launching a flurry of punches that she either barely avoided or blocked. Each time the Pawn landed a hit, she winced. ‘Darn it! They’re strong!’ ‘And you’re not? Fight back already! They’re machines! You don’t have to hold back!’ Swirling blinked at that statement, a grin forming beneath her mask of shadows. She never did get a chance to really go all out with her shadow magic-enhanced strength, and now was as good a time as any. Rearing back a hoof as the Pawn in front of her charged again, she threw it forward, right into the machine’s barrel. The blow packed a lot more power than even she had expected, her hoof digging through the Pawn’s armor like a drill, stopping only when her foreleg was halfway through its body. ‘Hold that pose,’ said Nevermore. Before the pegasus had a chance to question him, a number of black spikes shot out from inside the Pawn, piercing everything in their path, including the forelegs and head. The light in the Pawn’s eyes flickered briefly before fading out, the spikes retracting shortly after, allowing Swirling to remove her hoof from the metal beast, which thudded loudly against the floor in a heap. “What in the world was that?” she asked. ‘Magic shadow spikes. Focus on the other one!’ Spinning to face the other Pawn, she let out a small shout as she ducked under the machine’s attempt at a sucker punch. She slipped into the shadows beneath her, zooming behind the Pawn and leaping at the metallic abomination. She grabbed it by its neck, planting her rear hooves as firmly into the ground as she could. ‘What are you doing?’ ‘Something I’ve been wanting to try ever since you came along!’ Waiting for no further response from the shadow spirit, Swirling bent back, lifting the Pawn off the ground and slamming the thing’s head into the hard floor behind her, shattering its head and spilling small parts across the floor. She could practically hear Nevermore’s mind’s gears grinding as he tried to process what she’d just done. ‘Did… did you just…?’ “Suplex a metal monster?” Swirling finished for him, rubbing at her chest proudly. “Yes. Yes, I did.” ‘... I honestly have no idea what to say to that.’ “How about ‘awesome’?” ‘Just get Savant already...’ As she turned to go after the doctor, she whirled as the Pawn she’d just slammed into the ground started to shake and power back up again. The headless Pawn got back to its hooves and turned after her, an ominous amber glow emanating from the area where its head once was. “Okay, that is just creepy!” she shouted as she again had to dodge the wildly attacking monster. “What does it take to take these things down? The other one went down with one good punch!” ‘The chest!’ Nevermore answered quickly. ‘That must be where their energy source is! The other one must be out because we destroyed its core!’ “So smash the thing’s heart! Got it!” She jumped back from a punch and tackled the Pawn to the ground. As she brought her hoof back to strike, the Pawn’s own hoof shot out and caught hers. “Oh, ponyfeath—” The Pawn slugged her, sending her flying into the air. She flared her wings in midair to stop herself and saw the Pawn getting back to its hooves. “All right, buddy, that’s it!” With one last rush, she tackled the Pawn again, putting all her strength into the attack. Both of her front hooves struck the Pawn’s barrel, burrowing through the armor and crushing just about everything in their path. Nevermore didn’t bother saying anything this time as he created the spikes from before, tearing the Pawn apart from the inside-out. Pulling her hooves from the now unmoving and more or less useless hunk of metal, the Raven turned to where Savant had fled. “Time to end this,” she said as she flew after the inventor. She found him still tinkering away with a Pawn, sparks shooting out around him as he worked. He turned to face her for a moment, and scowled before returning his attention to his work. The Raven approached quietly, eyes narrowed at the stallion, ready to move if need be. After a few moments, Savant stopped working again and faced her, his scowl replaced with a cool, confident smirk. “You must be quite clever or powerful to have beaten two of my Pawns,” he confessed. “I’ll admit, I’m surprised. Before, one Pawn seemed to have you on the ropes. Had it not been for its fuel inefficiency, it likely would’ve killed you.” “It’s over, Savant. For all of those diplomas you have, you’re pretty stupid to work for the Disciples of Light,” she said simply, not wanting to hear anything else. The inventor only chuckled at her statement. “Oh, I beg to differ.” His horn lit up, its amber glow reaching the new Pawn, whose eyes lit up seconds after. “This is the newest model of Pawn. Tougher and stronger than the ones you’ve been fighting. Allow me to demonstrate. Pawn 7, terminate the Raven.” “Confirmed,” spoke a rough, scraping voice. “Target identified. Terminate subject: the Raven.” Suddenly, the Pawn charged at the Raven, who gasped in surprise and stepped off to the side to dodge the Pawn’s attack. “Okay, now they can talk,” she muttered. “As if this whole thing wasn’t weird enough.” ‘It’s still just a Pawn. Take it out like the others.’ Nodding and rearing her hoof back, she rushed at the Pawn, slamming her hoof forward in a jab into the machine’s chest. However, there wasn’t any digging through the metal this time. All she’d managed with all her strength was a large dent, doubtful at best that she’d caused any kind of internal damage. Before she could question what was going on, the Pawn grabbed her foreleg and tossed her away, sending her soaring into a wall, knocking bricks out of place as she landed back on the ground with a heavy thud. Savant’s laugh echoed through the warehouse. “Do you like Pawn 7’s new armor? Minotaurian steel plating for durability, with an Equestrian silver-metal endoskeletal structure for flexibility. An ideal blend of speed and endurance for the next generation of soldier, don’t you agree?” Swirling groaned as she got back to her hooves. “Oh, yeah, fantastic combo you’ve got there.” ‘Any suggestions, Nevermore?’ ‘Minotaurian steel is remarkably tough, and Equestrian silver-metal is known for being extremely malleable, even when solid. This one won’t go down as easy as the others. Perhaps you could go for the joints?’ “Right.” With a determined nod, she charged at the Pawn again, this time ducking into the shadows by its feet, swimming around it in search of opening before lunging out and striking at its knees. She may as well have hit solid stone. “Horseapples!” she swore before the Pawn grabbed her by the mane and slammed her into the ground. She grunted from the impact before the Pawn hurled her across the room, sending her crashing through another crate and showering her with extra Pawn parts. Her eyes snapped open, and she rolled out of the way just in time for the Pawn to stomp in the space she had just vacated. She lashed out with a buck and a smug smile spread across her face when the force of the kick flipped the Pawn over with a loud crash of metal. “Ha! Not so tough after all, are you, you walking pile of junk!?” The Pawn was back on its hooves in seconds and turned its empty, amber gaze on her. “Terminate the Raven.” “Oh, come on!” She turned and ran, the Pawn close on her fetlocks. ‘Why are you running?’ “I need to think of something. I’ve hit it as hard as I can, and it’s not staying down. What else can I do?” A mocking laugh filled the room. “There’s nothing you can do, whelp!” Savant yelled at her. “My creation is invincible! Not even the Princesses could best it!” She scowled over at the gloating doctor before her eyes widened. “Idea!” ‘Oh, no...’ She leaped above the tackling Pawn for Savant. Inwardly, she enjoyed watching his smug look turn to one of panic. “Pawn 7, don’t let her—” He grunted as she tackled into him. Holding her foreleg under his chin, she kept him from turning his horn at her. “Call off your tin soldier, Savant, and I won’t pummel you into next week!” He groaned as he glared at her. “I won’t be beaten by you, you ignorant troglodyte! I am Dr. Savant, the greatest mind Equestria has ever seen and ever will! Get your filthy hooves off of me, you damn, dirty cretin!” She sneered, pulling back her hoof to strike. “For a guy as helpless as you are right now, you—” Lights flashed in her vision, and she felt herself soar across the room to land heavily on the concrete floor. Shaking her head, she stood up on shaky legs as she looked up to see the Pawn standing in front of its master. Savant dusted himself off with an amused chuckle. “It’s so simple to play a dimwit like you. Thinking to take me down when my Pawn is the bigger threat? Utterly imbecilic.” ‘He’s right, you know.’ “Shut up!” she yelled at both Savant and Nevermore. Again, Savant laughed and looked at his Pawn. “Do end her.” The Pawn again charged at her. “Confirmed. Terminate subject: the Raven.” She set herself again to face it, but blinked as it stumbled. It jerked and fell over, but got back to its hooves. Savant blinked. “What? Pawn 7, what’s wrong?” “Term… inate… subject…” The light faded from the machine’s eyes and it collapsed in a heap, steam rising from its joints. “What?! No! What’s happening!?” The Pawn’s eyes blinked on and off briefly. “Engine system… failing. Incomplete… arcane current. Shutdown imminent.” Savant’s eyes widened so much that Swirling thought they’d pop right out of his head. “No! This can’t be! I made sure everything was correct and in place! How—” “Does this answer your question?” She bounced the empty vial that had housed the purple liquid in it on her hoof. “Because I’ve got no idea what this stuff is.” He scowled darkly. “You?! How did you get that!?” “The mare I saved from your wind-up toy gave it to me. She said it was important.” Her sneer made its way into her tone. She was really starting to hate these Pawn things. “I guess she was right.” “You fool! I designed this new Pawn with a failsafe to avoid it falling into an enemy’s grasp! It’s going to explode!” Her eyes widened. “Wait, what?” Savant growled spitefully at her. “No matter. I’ll leave you to deal with it! You can come after me, or risk my Pawn destroying everything within five blocks!” At that, he galloped off, leaving the Raven with the soon-to-explode Pawn 7. “Oh, crap, oh, crap, oh, crap!” Her eyes fell on the Pawn as it began to glow a faint yellow light, slowly brightening with intensity. “Nevermore, what do I do!?” ‘There’s nothing you can do! There’s nowhere to take it, so run!’ She galloped for the door but a groan from the nearby room had her stop in her tracks. Her eyes went from the room, to the exit, to the Pawn, then back. “Sweet Celestia,” she swore and ran for the room. Inside she found the bound and gagged Midnight Arrow, panic in her eyes. Swirling looked around, but saw no sign of the guard she had seen earlier. Had he run off somewhere? ‘What are you doing, Line!? Get out of here now!’ “I can’t just leave her to die!” ‘She’s a Disciple! Leave her!’ She rushed over and grabbed the Disciple and tossed her on her back. Running out of the room, she had to avert her eyes from the brightly glowing Pawn. ‘Line!’ Both Nevermore’s scream and Midnight’s muffled whimpers drove her to flap her wings frantically, and she burst out the front door, flying as fast her wings could carry her. Looking back, the light of the Pawn shone from the windows and doors into a blinding hue just before the entire warehouse district burst with a thundering boom that sent the Raven into a tailspin. She grunted as she slammed into the ground, skidding painfully until she met a wall. The Disciple mare fared no better, her head having struck the ground, rendering her out cold. The warehouses across from them burned in a towering inferno, but they weren’t connected to anything important that she knew of, thankfully. She heaved out a sigh as she morphed out of her Raven form, running a hoof through her mane and letting herself catch her breath. “Okay…” she muttered. “I’m officially done with warehouses.” ‘The same.’ Swirling actually laughed at that. It was a rare treat when she and her partner agreed on something. She turned to the bound mare lying next to her, unsure of what to do with her. She couldn’t just take her to the police. ‘Hello! I found this tied up mare out cold in front of a bunch of burning warehouses, and I think she might be a part of a psychotic cult bent on world domination.’ Yeah, that’d end just hunky-dory. The sound of hooves meeting concrete reached her ears, and she turned to see that same stallion from earlier. By the light of the fire not too far away, she could make out details about him now. He wore dark, plated armor, for one, and his eyes were yellow with slitted, catlike pupils. His coat, near as she could tell with the unstable lighting, was a shade of dark blue. His most surprising trait, however, were his wings, which were large and batlike, complete with a little, bony hook claw at the bend. “You could’ve handled that better,” he said simply, approaching the unconscious Midnight Arrow. “But all things considered, I suppose you did all right. I’ll just take this one off your hooves.” Swirling eyed him quietly as she got to her hooves. “Who are you?” “Just a stallion with a job to do, ma’am,” he answered, hefting Arrow onto his back. “I’ve been watching Savant for a while now, under orders of Princess Luna. I’m taking this mare into custody for questioning.” There was a silence between them as the stallion steadied Arrow between his wings. Something about him was just unsettling for some reason, though Swirling couldn’t quite place why. “So…” she said, “I take it you know about me?” “Swirling Line, AKA the Raven,” said the stallion immediately. “The whole Night Guard was briefed on you. We have… special orders regarding you. That’s all I can say on the matter, though. Just don’t disappoint the princess. She’s one mare whose bad side you don’t want to be on.” And with that, he took off, his leathery wings flapping with more power than a pegasus. Her gaze drifted from the retreating form to view the burning destruction left behind by the detonated Pawn. Warehouses burned and collapsed in on themselves, and Swirling could only watch in horror. All of this, caused by a stallion that had sacrificed other lives for the sake of his own. “Sweet Celestia… please tell me there wasn’t anypony in those buildings.” ‘I don’t know, Line. For now, though, we need to leave before the authorities arrive and start asking questions.’ She closed her eyes, and she felt the first of the tears starting to roll down her face. Shifting back into the Raven form, she spread her wings and took to the sky. ‘Please… don’t let there have been anypony else there… I can’t take having more blood on my hooves. One was more than enough to deal with.’ ‘Even if there were ponies in there, their blood is on Savant’s hooves, not yours. Keep that in mind.’ ‘Yeah…’ She sighed as she flew, thinking back to the events of the past few days. A lot of crazy stuff had happened ever since she met Nevermore and took his deal. Looking back, she wasn’t sure whether or not becoming the Raven was such a good idea. Would everything she’d encountered so far have turned out worse if not for her? Or would things have ended better than they have? And… what if…? ‘Nevermore?’ ‘Hmm?’ ‘Savant was a respected inventor, right?’ ‘According to what we read, yes. Why?’ It took her a moment to really process what she was about to ask. ‘If a guy like that… someone who’s famous, has a lot of respect from his peers, and all that stuff… if he could become something awful, then…’ ‘You’re afraid you might turn out the same someday.’ Swirling nodded quietly, and Nevermore made a sound akin to a sigh. ‘I don’t know, Line. I’m no foreseer. Maybe you do go mad, maybe you don’t. Power tends to have varying results depending on who you give it to. Savant is just one example of power going to one’s head. We can only hope that you and I don’t end up in that same sorry state.’ Swirling stayed silent, taking in the spirit’s words as she flew through the night sky. Neither of them could read the future, so all she could do was hope that she made the right choices. A small part of her told her to quit before things got even more out of hoof than they had with Savant and his metal monsters. However, the rest of her knew that as long as she had the powers granted to her by Nevermore, she could never just sit back and let things happen. A small groan escaped her. Why couldn’t this superhero business be more like her Power Ponies comics? Author's Note Battle Theme of Midnight Arrow: Battle Theme of the Pawns: Vengeful Thunder, Ducking Shadows, Part 1“Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except the ones that sang the best.” - Henry van Dyke -o- It took a real effort for Swirling to pull herself out of bed this morning. She couldn’t bring herself to go to sleep after her nightly rounds, so she spent a good chunk of time working on her art. With ‘Rebirth’ finished, she was finally able to focus on other works. If she had any, that is. If she had done her math right (and she wasn’t really the greatest at math, if she was being honest), she got exactly zero hours of sleep last night. To make matters worse, Summer had apparently decided to take a day off from work, so now she had to cover for her unicorn friend, leading to a double shift. That meant twice the yelling from Lou, and less time to herself. So when she finally stumbled through her apartment doorway, all she wanted to do was flop onto her bed and try to catch up on all of that loveable sleep she’d been missing out on. Tossing her saddlebags onto the small coffee table, she lurched into her bedroom and smiled wide at the cushiony goodness that was her bed. ‘You know, we should head—’ Nevermore started. “Not for all the art supplies in the world, Nevermore,” Swirling said as she undid the hair tie in her mane. “I’m laying on my bed and forgetting this day ever happened. I never want to see another basket of cheesy celery sticks again in my life.” ‘Or until you go to work tomorrow.’ “Don’t remind me!” She flopped onto her bed, the furniture creaking under her weight. She reached up and grabbed one of her pillows and nuzzled deeply into it. “Mm, pillow, how I’ve missed you so.” ‘I feel nauseous…’ Ignoring him, she gave a content sigh. There was nothing that was going to get her out of bed now she was in it. Except for the knock at her door. “Swirl! Are you home? It’s me, Summer.” The knock came again, louder this time. “Come on, open up!” Swirling gave the flattest, most hostile glare she could possibly give. ‘Summer Streams… why?’ Nevermore’s derisive snickering only made her grumble that much more as she rolled out of bed and headed for the door, grumbling to herself all the way. When she opened the door, she glared at a surprised Summer Streams and said, “What?” Summer looked at her friend’s disheveled state before giving her a faint smile. “I wanted to apologize for having my shift dropped on you. Page and I went to see a show and have lunch at this really nice, super authentic Chineighse restaurant, and…” She trailed off as Swirling’s glare steadily intensified, then cleared her throat. “Right. Look, I’m sorry. I owe you. Is there anything I could do to pay you back?” “You could let me get some sleep,” the pegasus grunted irritably. Giggling, the unicorn said, “Seriously, Swirl, if there’s anything you need, just let me know. I’d even model for a painting, if you wanted.” Swirling sighed, her shoulders slumping. She was too tired to argue at this point. “Maybe some other time, Summer. But right now, all I want is some sleep.” Summer smiled wider as she levitated a couple of paper bags from her saddlebags. That was when the smell of sauteed greens hit Swirling’s nostrils and caused her stomach to rumble. “Then what am I supposed to do with all of this extra food from the restaurant Page took me to? I can’t very well eat all of it all by myself.” “Is that… Chineighse food?” Swirling asked in a whisper of a voice. Summer’s smile beamed. “You know it. And I even got some extra of that General Hoof’s asparagus you like so much.” The eternal debate of food versus sleep ran through her mind, but a louder grumble from her stomach settled it. ‘Sleep is for the weak,’ she told herself. “Fine, come on in. And you’d better have brought me an extra fortune cookie!” Staying up to eat take out with Summer proved to be a worthwhile experience. Her best friend knew exactly what she liked, and had made sure there was plenty to go around. While she had been irritated with her when she took this day off without her initial knowledge, she knew her friend hadn’t done it out of spite or anything. Even so, sixteen hours with Lou and that grease hole he called a restaurant warranted at least some teasing in return. “So, when’s he gonna pop the big question?” she asked just as Summer was taking a sip from her cup of soda. The unicorn spit out her drink, coughing and pounding her chest with a hoof while Swirling laughed. “W-w-well, I, uh…” Summer’s stammering only made Swirling laugh even harder. “That’s a really huge question to ask, don’t you think? Besides, I don’t think I’m ready for that kind of commitment just yet. Page, either.” Her laughter dying slightly, Swirling wiped her eye with a hoof. “Relax. I’m just messing with you. It’s not like I expect to hear wedding bells anytime soon.” Summer hummed before floating a paper towel over to clean up her spilled soda. “So, are you ready to start our classes tomorrow?” Swirling blinked. “Classes? What classes?” “Our self-defense classes, Swirl,” Summer said as she tossed the paper towel into the nearby trash can. “Don’t you remember? We were going to take them after that mugging we went through in the park.” Swirling lowered her head. She vaguely remembered Summer mentioning something like that, but she’d blown it off as just another thing that Summer would start and forget about the next day. The memory of when they got mugged flashed through her mind. It was one of those days where she wished she could’ve used the Raven form to beat the snot out of those thugs, but explaining it (and asking Summer to keep it a secret) wouldn’t have been easy. “I think I remember you saying something about that,” she finally said, looking at her friend again. “I guess I just forgot about it.” A wide smile spread across Summer’s face. “Well, lucky for you, I remembered. And I signed you up, too. Just think! We can learn to protect ourselves and show those no-good bullies who’s boss!” ‘And be more efficient at your night job,’ Nevermore added. An eyebrow shot up as she regarded her friend. “I never really pictured you as the fighting type, Summer. Are you sure you want to do it?” Summer nodded once. “Yes, I definitely do. I don’t want to feel that hopeless and helpless ever again, Swirl.” She averted her gaze. “I was so scared that we could’ve been hurt. I don’t want to be in that situation more than once if I can help it.” She looked back up and her smile returned. “And we get to learn together! That’ll make it so much more fun!” Swirling stifled a yawn that threatened to overtake her. “When does it start?” “Tomorrow, after work. I made sure to take the classes where we both can be there.” She looked over at her saddlebags and a sheet of paper floated over to Swirling. “Master Kyoshi said he could work around our job schedules and everything.” “Kyoshi?” Swirling asked. “He’s the instructor,” Summer explained. “And he’s old. Seriously, he’s, like, the oldest pegasus I’ve ever met, but when I saw him before I introduced myself, he was breaking cinderblocks with his wing!” Swirling blinked at that. “Wait, his wing?” Summer nodded, and Swirling glanced her own wings, fluttering them lightly and briefly wondering if she could possibly do the same thing without her Raven powers. ‘Probably not,’ said Nevermore. Rolling her eyes without Summer noticing, Swirling said, “I think I’ll believe when I see it. This does sound promising, though.” Summer harrumphed, turning her nose. “Always so cynical.” She gave her friend a wink. “Just you wait. You’ll be just as excited as I am, Swirl. Trust me, we’ll never have to worry about thugs like those guys in the park ever again!” -o- The sunlight briefly blinded Jolt’s eyes as he was escorted outside of the jail he’d been locked up in for the past two months. He had no idea why he’d been released. One of the guards had mentioned something about his bail being paid, but he hadn’t really been paying attention. All he really cared about was getting back at that freak nag that got him thrown in there in the first place. As he passed the last gate to freedom, one of the guards gave him a final shove, knocking him a few feet forward. Jolt turned back for a moment, giving the guards a glare before turning away from them. ‘All right, first thing’s first,’ he told himself. ‘Gotta get to the nearest Red hideout. Get some gear, then go on a bird hunt.’ He nodded, starting down the road toward the city of Manehattan. Behind him, however, he heard the sound of hooves hitting the ground, and spun to see a closed, black carriage being pulled by a pair of stallions. They stopped after just passing him, and the door to the carriage opened. “Jolt, I presume?” came a voice that would’ve been comparable to a snake’s if a snake could talk. Reluctantly, Jolt said, “Who wants to know?” “The stallion who paid your bail,” the voice answered. “Come inside. I want to talk with you.” Jolt blinked at the revelation given to him. “You paid my bail? Why’d you do that?” “Step inside, and I’ll explain everything.” For a moment, the stallion considered just walking away. It’d probably be for the better. He had no idea what to expect from this stranger. For all he knew, this guy could be some wannabe crime boss looking to thin the competition. Then again, Jolt was already in prison; why pay bail for a pony who wouldn’t have been in the way just to kill him off? Hesitant at first, Jolt climbed into the dark carriage, closing the door behind him and taking a seat. As soon as he made himself comfortable, the ponies out front moved, pulling the carriage along. “So,” Jolt began, looking at the stallion sitting across from him. “What’s this all about?” The stallion sitting opposite to Jolt was quiet for a several moments. His expression was unreadable, hidden behind a cloth mask that had only a small slit for his eyes. He was fairly fit, though not particularly muscular. After a few seconds, he finally spoke: “We have a common enemy, Jolt. The mare who’s ruining my organization is the same one who put you behind bars.” A scowl quickly formed on the gray stallion’s face. “The Raven,” he bitterly muttered. The masked stallion nodded. “That’s right. None of my subordinates have the gumption or the sheer luck to take her out of the picture, but you have potential.” He reached under his seat, pulling out a large duffel bag and unzipping it for Jolt to see its contents. The white-maned stallion’s jaw lowered slightly at what he saw. “With these,” said the masked pony, “the Raven won’t stand a chance. I’m even willing to pay you for your troubles if necessary.” Jolt looked back at the stallion again. “How much?” The masked stallion’s eyes narrowed. “Twenty thousand up front. A hundred grand if you kill her, and an extra thirty if you bring her in alive for me to finish her myself.” Jolt’s hooves shook as he lifted the items from the duffel bag. He had heard about these things before, they were supposed to be the latest thing in magically enhanced weapons for earth ponies. But since they were a recent innovation, they were unfairly expensive, and usually reserved for the military or especially important ponies’ bodyguards. “Consider these a gift in good faith,” the unnamed stallion stated. Jolt glanced back up at his mysterious new acquaintance, somewhat suspicious, but no longer caring to ask questions, save for one: “Who are you, by the way?” The stallion was quiet again for a number of seconds before saying, “For now, just call me the Benefactor.” -o- Swirling followed behind Summer as the unicorn lead her down the path towards one of the strangest buildings she had ever seen. While she had seen pictures of Neighponese buildings before, she hadn’t thought to visit one herself. The oddly slanting roof and thick shingles, combined with the thin walls and painted designs was so out of place for the metropolitan city of Manehatten that she almost felt she had stepped out of Equestria itself. “You’re sure this is the place, Summer?” she asked, shifting her gym bag on her back. Summer glanced over her shoulder at her. “Of course it is, Swirl. I don’t get lost.” The unicorn adjusted the sweatband on her brow and flipped her mane as it hung loosely behind her head in a ponytail. “Come on already, we’re almost late for our first class.” Swirling grumbled and flapped her wings to catch up with the cantering Summer Streams. “So you’re really dead set on learning how to fight?” She shook her head, and pushed her own sweatband back up as it fell over her eyes. “It just kind of a surprise coming from you.” “I told you my reasons, Swirl,” Summer said as she pushed open the small gate to the property. “And yes, I do want to learn.” ‘Now if only you would take a hint from her enthusiasm and act the same way. Maybe you wouldn’t mess up as often as you do if you got practical lessons.’ Swirling shut him out as she looked over the lawn in front of the building. Her eyes drifted to the cherry blossom tree; it was in full bloom, pink petals blanketing its branches as it stood over a carefully made rock garden. There was a collection of bonsai trees off to the right as well, each one clipped uniquely and set with the utmost care. The whole area had a calming air about it, with a cool breeze coming through as well. “Wow,” Swirling said to herself as she took in her surroundings. “Who knew a place like this was in Manehattan?” Summer beamed. “I know, right? It’s amazing.” She grabbed ahold of Swirling’s foreleg and tugged her towards the building. “Come on, come on! We can enjoy the scenery during our break.” Swirling nearly stumbled as she was pulled along. To make matters worse, Summer ignored her protests that she could walk on her own. How she managed to not trip over the wooden stairs and faceplant into the boards was a complete mystery. The thin door was slid aside by Summer’s magic, and Swirling was treated to a sight of the dojo’s interior. Along the walls were many signs with artwork depicting warriors fighting monsters and scenes of nature (waves, mountains, and the like) on them, the floors were covered in training mats, and there were even a few training dummies standing silently along the wall. Her eyes widened, and she sucked in a breath as she caught sight of a large painting along the far wall. Bursting past Summer, she ran to the wall and studied the painting. “Ohmygosh, ohmygosh! This is Neighponese watercoloring!” Her eyes sparkled as she looked over the image of a tall mountain overlooking a picturesque lake during a gorgeous sunset. “I’ve only seen a few of these, and this one is so marvelously detailed that only a master could’ve painted it!” “Uh… Swirling, we are here to learn how to defend ourselves, remember?” Suddenly, Summer felt something whack the back of her head, making her hiss in pain as she rubbed where she’d been struck. “There is no reason one cannot appreciate the liberal arts,” said an old pegasus stallion, a wooden sword held in his hoof, undoubtedly the item that had hit Summer on the head. He had a fairly strong accent, though his mastery of Equestrian seemed spot on. His coat was a dark shade of orange, with a silvery gray mane and a cutie mark of a Neighponese sword. He had a long beard on his chin, accompanied by a thin mustache above his upper lip and the most monstrous-looking eyebrows Swirling Line had ever seen in her life. Swirling felt somewhat unnerved as the old stallion’s dark, aged eyes fell on her. He approached her, eyeing her analytically before looking up at the painting. “You appreciate art, I assume?” “Er, y-yes,” she answered. “I’m looking to be a career artist at some point.” “I see,” the stallion said in a cool tone. “Perhaps, if you are willing to stay after classes, I can teach you the art of watercolor.” “Wait, teach me?” Swirling blinked as a thought clicked in her mind. “Did you make this painting?” At the stallion’s nod, she beamed excitedly. “Ohmygosh, that would be amazing! I’ve always wanted to learn how to do Neighponese watercolor! When can we—” A wooden sword quickly fell on her head, making her squeal as she backed off to rub at where the stallion had whacked her. “First lesson of self-defense,” he said, his voice much more stern than before. “You must learn self-control. You have already failed the first test.” “I… what?” Another whack on her head. “Do not question your sensei unless asked to!” “Um… excuse me, Kyoshi?” Summer said, tapping the stallion’s shoulder. “Could you please stop hitting my friend? She’s just a little enthusiastic about art.” The stallion, Kyoshi, scoffed. “That is no excuse. She must learn discipline as all my students shall. If she cannot control herself, my teachings will mean nothing to her, and I will have wasted my time!” ‘I like his practicality,’ Nevermore confessed. Swirling rolled her eyes at her partner’s comment. She wanted to say something, but didn’t want to risk getting smacked by the old stallion’s wooden sword again. This Kyoshi guy was certainly not going to make this easy for her. He probably even lied about those watercolor lessons, too. Would this whole “learning karate” thing even be worth it in the end? Summer’s gaze darted to Swirling before she looked back at the old stallion. “Your flyer said you can teach us how to defend ourselves. Are you just gonna hit us with sticks if we don’t do as you say?” He turned a disapproving frown her way. “Of course not! My teachings are to instill confidence. They are for those who would seek to better themselves, to rise above the mire of the everyday and improve their Self.” Swirling tilted her head and dared a question. “Their Self?” “A lesson if you are to become my students.” He looked between them for a moment, scrutinizing them rather coldly. “And who are the two of you who have sought me out?” Summer gave him a bring smile. “I’m Summer Streams, a waitress and aspiring actress.” “I’m Swirling Line, a waitress and an aspiring artist.” “Hmph. That much I have reasoned, child.” Again, he looked at them, and his eyes narrowed some. “And why have you sought me out? To learn my ways so that you can use them to further your own ambitions?” The two shook their heads but Swirling spoke up, “No. We just want to learn to defend ourselves.” She flinched as Kyoshi moved, fearing the prospect of getting whacked on the head again. Instead, he simply turned and sat down on the floor beneath the watercolor painting. Summer lowered her gaze. “We were mugged not long ago, and I don’t want to go through that again.” The old pegasus nodded in understanding, though he didn’t lose his stern glare. “Many have already come for my lessons,” he said. “I have taken many students in my life. Few can stand to last through my training. Do you believe you have what it takes to endure?” ‘He’s bluffing,’ came Nevermore’s inevitable two bits. Resisting the urge to groan in response, Swirling stepped forward. “We wouldn’t be here if we didn’t think we could handle it.” She jabbed lightly at Summer’s side. “Besides, this was her idea. Someone has to make sure she doesn’t goof it up or chicken out.” “Speak for yourself, Swirl,” Summer replied with a smirk. “I plan to see this thing through. You’re welcome to call it quits anytime, though.” Swirling grinned at the unicorn. “Well, now that you’ve said that, I simply can’t back down from this, can I?” Kyoshi stroked at his beard thoughtfully as he regarded the two. “A pair of close friends? Something to be admired and nurtured.” He rested his hoof to the floor again before his visage turned stern once more. “I would like to see what the two of you are capable of.” “W-what do you want us to do?” Swirling stuttered. There was something in his tone that set her hackles to rising. “I would have you spar against me.” The two mares blinked at his statement and glanced at each other, Summer appearing considerably more nervous than Swirling. He clearly didn’t stutter, but… “Really?” Swirling asked. “I mean, I get that you’re a karate master and all, but you’re… well…” “Old?” Kyoshi finished for her. “True. But looks can be deceptive. Do not let your eyes fool you.” Again the two mares shared a look before Summer sighed and stood. “I’ll go first.” Swirling blinked and looked at her friend. She never once thought that the unicorn would be so bold as to willingly step up to fight. ‘Again, you could learn something from her.’ ‘If I could, I would slap you.’ Kyoshi looked the unicorn over a moment before he stood and adopted an upright stance. Standing on his hind legs, he made a motion with a forehoof. Sweating, Summer gulped. “C-can I use my magic?” “You are a unicorn, are you not?” She spread her forelegs in a stance, and her horn started to glow with its blue-tinted aura. The two stood staring at each other, Summer sweating and clearly on edge, while Kyoshi watched her with a calm gaze. Swirling saw her friend tense up before Summer shot a ray of energy from her horn. Kyoshi dodged to the side and leaped ahead, bringing his wooden sword out in a slash. Summer yelped and dived out of the way and turned back to blast him again… only to find he was gone. “Huh?” Swirling winced as the wooden sword smacked her friend on the back of the head, as the pegasus had leaped with Summer and landed behind her. With a grunt, Summer fell to the floor and rubbed at her head. “A unicorn who relies solely upon their magical abilities is a foe easily predicted. You, child, must learn to use all of what you were born with.” He tapped his sword against her legs and barrel. “Your body is as much a weapon as your magic, and, sadly, you have not developed either.” Summer lowered her head. “I want to learn…” “That is good.” He turned his gaze to Swirling. “And now you, child. As a pegasus, I expect agility and precision.” He again took his stance, his wooden sword held behind him. “Well, I am an artist,” she joked. “I’m pretty good with that precision thing.” Kyoshi only scoffed in response. “We shall see, child.” Without warning, he lunged at her. Yelping in surprise, Swirling managed to jump in the air, avoiding a swing from the stallion’s practice weapon, only for him to follow her with a rising, vertical swipe. She flew to the side, but the sword clipped her wing, throwing her balance off and making her tumble into the floor, landing upside-down with a groan. “Ouch…” she moaned as she pulled herself up into a sitting position, but was quickly faced with the tip of Kyoshi’s wooden weapon. “Uh… best two out of three?” “You deflect a loss with humor,” Kyoshi commented as he put his weapon away. “A sign of one who has faced failure many times before. And you move as though you have fought previously, though without discipline or training.” Swirling gave a nervous chuckle at that. “R-really? That so?” Kyoshi raised an eyebrow at her stammered question, but didn’t press the subject, much to Swirling’s immense relief. The last thing she needed was this guy piecing together just how she knew how to fight. ‘Less like fighting, more like… flailing helplessly and getting a lucky hit in once or twice.’ ‘I hate you.’ “I will take the two of you on as my students,” Kyoshi announced. “I expect you both to take all of my teachings as seriously as you regard your own chosen professions.” He reached into a chest in the corner of the room, and pulled out a pair of well-folded karate uniforms. “Take these gis. You are to wear them whenever you come to this dojo. Do not enter unless you have them on. Am I understood?” Taking the uniforms, both mares nodded. ‘A gi, huh?’ Swirling thought. ‘I was wondering what these things were actually called.’ A giggle caused her to turn to see Summer Streams already wiggling into her gi, the clean, white outfit seeming to make her vibrant green mane that much brighter. When she got it on and tied the white belt in place with her magic, she immediately struck a pose that might’ve been ripped from some movie she must’ve seen. “How do I look?” the unicorn asked as she performed several faux kicks, which Kyoshi rolled his eyes at, though he made no attempt to stop her. “Like someone from a cheap chop-chop movie.” Swirling deadpanned. Summer glowered at her. “You’re not funny, Swirling!” She gave her mane an indignant toss. “I make this look good.” Swirling gave a good-humored laugh. “Come on, Bruce Neigh. I think we’ve taken up enough of Kyoshi’s time for—” “Nonsense! Your training begins now!” Both mares blinked before giving each other a nervous glance. “Uh, what do you want us to do?” He turned without a word into the next room and came back shortly with two cans of paint. Two old paintbrushes sticking out from under the caps. “You both will begin your training by—” He flicked the lids off. “—painting the fence that surrounds my property. Remember to do so in even strokes, both upward and downward.” He turned a stern look at Summer. “No magic either.” “B-but…” Summer stammered out. “What does this have to do with—” She was answered with a whack to the head. “If you wish to learn, then do as I instruct you!” he ordered with no uncertainty in his tone. Swirling watched Summer rub at her head with a nervous look. “So… when do you want us to start?” He turned his glance to her and gave his wooden sword a bounce. “Why are you still here? Go!” With matching squeaks, the two grabbed the buckets of paint and dashed out of the dojo, nearly tripping over each other in their haste. As the two ran, Kyoshi watched them from his doorway, eyeing the two while softly rubbing at his beard. Swirling Line did seem to have experience fighting, although minimal, and her friend even less. Still, there was potential in them both. His eyes settled on Swirling as she began working almost frantically on the fence. “A most interesting encounter.” He rubbed at his beard again, humming to himself. “Yes, they will make excellent pupils.” -o- Hours had passed at a dismal crawl while Swirling and Summer worked on the fence, the sun having set about a half an hour ago. Summer occasionally crinkled her nose at the smell of the paint, which got a small laugh out of Swirling, though the novelty of it wore out rather quickly. Boredom had begun to take root in both of them. Even Swirling, the one who enjoyed painting more than anything else, couldn’t ignore the mind-numbing tedium that they were being forced to work through. With a groan, the pegasus lowered her brush into the paint bucket and looked around. To her dismay, they still had at least half the fence to paint completely. It was enough to make her want to slam her head into a wall in hope something entertaining would happen as a result. She glanced back at Kyoshi, who sat by the koi pond drinking what might’ve been herbal tea or something. She fought off the desire to yell at him to paint his own damn fence, but dared not risk another smack with that accursed sword of his. When he looked at her, she quickly turned her attention back to the fence and continued painting. “We are officially learning nothing,” Summer complained, though she didn’t stop her own painting. “I’m starting to think this was a bad idea after all.” “You’re telling me.” Swirling stretched her back, which gave off a series of wince-inducing pops. “Ow… my back.” Summer cringed. “That hurt me, Swirling.” Swirling groaned, looking around the property, lit by a number of paper lanterns. “I just wish I knew the point of this! I thought we came here to learn how to fight, and all we’re doing is chores. Next thing he’s going to ask us to do is his laundry.” “Which you will not get to if that fence is not done!” Kyoshi yelled from his comfortable seat. “Remember, even strokes upwards and downwards.” An eye twitching, Swirling growled. “I do not like this guy.” Summer gulped and picked up her brush again. “Come on, Swirling. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can take a break. Maybe this is just part of the payment for his classes?” Swirling scoffed, but said nothing else as she got back to work. The very instant her brush touched the fence, however, an explosion rang out from what was certainly not too far away. Both mares jumped back in surprise, while Kyoshi gave little to no response whatsoever, only continuing to sip his tea with a mildly annoyed sigh. “Wh-wh-what was that!?” Summer sputtered out in shock. ‘Definitely trouble,’ Nevermore stated. Swirling gave a slight nod. “I’m gonna go see what happened.” “Wait, what!? Swirl, there could be trouble!” “Well… someone has to tell the police what’s happening! Stay here, Summer. I’m just taking a peek!” Not waiting to hear her friend’s protest, she took wing and flew above and past the fence. When she was out of sight, she shed her gi and hid it on a rooftop by a vent, then immediately shifted into Raven form before once again taking flight towards the source of the explosion. There, she spotted numerous ponies fleeing the scene, with one earth pony apparently laughing as a hole in a building burned. “Now that’s what I’m talking about!” the stallion cackled. “Who wants some, huh!?” Landing on a lamppost in a pose she’d seen in a comic book once, she said, “No one likes a pony who picks fights, you know.” The stallion spun to face her, his messy white mane briefly obscuring his face. His gray coat and lightning bolt cutie mark struck the mare as vaguely familiar. “You!” he growled venomously. “That’s me,” she answered as she tilted her head to the side. “Have we met before?” His eyes widened before a deep scowl erupted across his face. “Wha… yes! We have!” The Raven blinked in mild confusion. “I’m a Red!” She tilted her head to the other side. “You’re gonna have to be a lot more specific. I’ve beaten up a ton of you guys.” She stopped a moment. “Which is probably really literal by now.” He choked back a growl. “You interrogated me about that racket we had on 10th Street!” It took a moment for it to click, but when she did, she conked herself on the forehead. “Oh, now I remember you!” The white-maned stallion grinned. “Finally, we’re getting some—” “You were the guy who cried when I finished interrogating you!” He cringed, snarling under his breath and glaring spitefully at the mare. “Oh, I’m gonna kill the living crap outta you!” She smirked widely, lifting her chin at him. “I don’t think that worked out so well for you the last time you tried it.” With an enraged yell, the stallion threw out a punch. What flew out at the Raven caught her off guard enough that probably would’ve killed her if the stallion’s aim was better. A beam of lightning-like energy blasted out of one of the gauntlets on his front hooves, which she only now took notice of. She felt the heat from the blast as it flew past her, striking a building and shattering the wall like a hammer to glass. ‘Move!’ she heard Nevermore scream at her, getting her to leap upwards just in time to avoid another blast. “What in the heck is that!?” she shouted as she landed roughly on the ground. The stallion smirked. “Like ‘em? They’re my new toys. They use the wearer’s internal magic to fire bolts of lightning. These babies are military grade to boot! Way better than my old ones!” ‘Line, I’d suggest taking this one seriously. I’ll work on building a defense against those weapons, but in the meantime, don’t get hit!’ ‘Like I need to be told that!’ She let out a gasp as she dived beneath another zap, and ducking into the nearest shadow, hoping that she could sneak up on the lightning-throwing stallion and catch him by surprise. That plan was foiled when he tossed another bolt, brightening the area enough to force her out of what was once a shadow on the ground. “Ha! Ain’t escaping that way again!” He smashed his hooves together and punched the ground, the arc of electricity splitting the pavement as it made its way towards her. With another startled gasp, she dove to the side, the energy singing off the bare tip of her tail. Scrambling like a cat out of water, she dove ahead of another blast as it soared past her. “Quit runnin’, ya wimp! Why don’t you fight me like a stallion?” He rushed in, apparently tiring of trying to hit her at range, and swung a hoof for her face. With a high yelp, she ducked under the attack. “I’m a mare, genius!” she proclaimed as she sent her own hoof towards his face. He had no chance to dodge she landed the blow, knocking him away several feet, but he didn’t go down. The stallion glared at her with the utmost venom as he wiped a gloved hoof across his mouth. “Tch, you even hit like one.” He sneered after spitting. “Let me tell ya somethin’, this is how you hit a stallion!” When he lunged forward again with a brutal haymaker, Swirling brought her own hoof back, and the two punches collided. Swirling felt a tingle of pain run up her foreleg, and even with the Raven’s protection, the force of their punches was enough for her to grit her teeth to keep from outright yelling. ‘Gah! Earth ponies and their stupid super muscles! It’s not fair!’ ‘You have wings, don’t you? Use them!’ ‘Why am I having trouble fighting him, Nevermore!? I thought you said your magic makes me stronger!’ ‘Because I’m using most of that magic to keep you safe from those gloves! Duck!’ Her eyes widened as she just barely managed to dive under a heavy swing. She sprung out from her duck and head-butted the stallion in the barrel, launching him through a nearby cart’s door. It only took a second for him to retaliate, sending out another blast from one of his gauntlets, which struck the Raven right in the chest, forcing her off her hooves and into the concrete wall of a nearby building, collapsing the loosened bricks around her. She felt her legs shake underneath her and her jaw clench tightly. ‘Sweet Celestia, that hurts. Nevermore, are you okay?’ The spirit groaned inside her mind. ‘Oh, sure, never better. I love the feeling of bricks raining down on me. I think I’ve had enough of this. He might have new tricks, but so do you. Use them.’ “Roger that,” Swirling muttered as she got back onto her hooves. Across the street, the stallion (whose name still managed to escape her) snarled as he pulled himself out of the wrecked cart, glowering at her spitefully. “By the way, think you can tell me your name? I can’t quite recall.” “Wha- My name is Jolt!” he screamed furiously. “How in the hell could you forget that!? It’s only one syllable!” “Well, you’re apparently a very forgettable pony.” She smirked. “At least you’re not the Frog.” He blinked. “Who?” With a flap of her wings, she closed the distance on him during that moment of confusion and slugged him across the muzzle—sending him bouncing away into a dumpster. “Way too easy,” she said with no small amount of cockiness. Jolt growled as he got back to his hooves, and the two turned sharply at the sounds of sirens approaching. With a scowl, he shot her a vehement glare. “This ain’t over, birdbrain! Not by a long shot!” Smashing his front hooves together, he struck the ground and caused a brilliant explosion of light. Hissing at the sudden flash, Swirling averted her eyes, a quick surge of pain rearing up all over her body and vanishing just as quickly. When the glow subsided, she found Jolt was nowhere to be found. “He really likes those new toys of his.” Her ears swiveled as she heard the approaching sirens and hoofsteps of the police force. “Uh-oh. Better high-tail it out of here.” Taking off, she soared through the alleyways until she came upon the building where she’d hidden her gi. She looked around to make sure no one was watching and dropped her Raven form to return to her natural violet and white coloring. She quickly slipped into her uniform and galloped back for Kyoshi’s dojo. “I hope Summer’s not worried about me. I did say I would be right back.” ‘I’d worry more about Kyoshi’s reaction. He never did give you permission to drop what you were doing.’ ‘Oh please. He’s my instructor, not my master. He won’t complain too much.’ -o- Bright lights swirled around her eyes as Kyoshi sheathed his wooden sword again. “You left without permission, and left your partner to tend to the task on her own. This shows a lack of discipline that you are in desperate need of, child.” Swirling groaned as she rubbed her hooves over the slowly developing welt on top of her head. Summer had left a few minutes ago, per Kyoshi’s request, leaving the pegasus to the questionable mercy of the old stallion, who showed more disappointment than outright frustration. All Swirling wanted right now was to go home as rest her poor head before this crazy old coot split it open like a watermelon, but no such freedom was bestowed upon her. “As punishment,” Kyoshi said sternly, “you are to scrub the floors of the dojo until they are completely and utterly spotless. I do not want to see a single speck of dust, dirt, or grime. Am I clear?” “B-but I have work tomorrow!” she cried in near desperation. “You should have thought of that before sneaking off the way you did,” he retorted, pointing toward door to the hallway. “The bucket and scrub brush are in the closet down the hall. You’d best get started soon.” And with that, he turned and left her to her devices. ‘Well, don’t say I didn’t warn you,’ said Nevermore. ‘Oh, shut up.’ -o- Jolt growled as he tossed his gauntlets to the wall in frustration. He was so close! If the cops hadn’t shown up when they did, he would’ve had the Raven’s head on a plate by now! Not to mention he’d be rolling in cash! “Damn bird-freak!” he howled in spite, completely assured that no one would hear him. He’d taken refuge in an old building that the Reds had once used as a hideout, assuming no one would think to look for him here. “Next time! Next time, I’ll break her in two! With my bare hooves if I have to!” Trotting over to his briefly discarded gauntlets and slipping them back on, he sneered. “And I’ll make it slow…” Sparks jumped from his gauntlets as his sneer became venomous grin. “And I know just what to do.” He’d have his win yet. First, though, he’d have to find him some help. Author's Note Theme of Jolt:
Vengeful Thunder, Ducking Shadows, Part 2Kyoshi wasn’t making them do basic chores in their second session with him. However, he made up for this by making them run laps around the dojo building. With twenty-pound weights on their backs. At noon, when the sun was at the apex of its daily route. As Swirling and Summer, along with a few other ponies who’d signed up for lessons, ran around the dojo, Kyoshi sat by the koi pond, quietly sipping some tea and occasionally tossing pieces of bread into the pond for the fish and birds. Although she’d done her fair share of heavy-lifting as the Raven, she’d always had Nevermore’s shadow magic on her side, boosting her strength for that kind of stuff. Running in circles with what might as well have been a bag of bricks on her spine would’ve been simple if she’d had that upgrade right now, but she didn’t dare risk anypony discovering her secret. Oh… and the sunlight would’ve killed her if she changed now. That was also a powerful deterrent. Once she and the rest of the class had worked up a sweat and were breathing heavily in near exhaustion, Kyoshi called for them to gather. As the class sat around the koi pond, the wizened, gruff, old stallion stood to look up at clear sky above. “Many of you have come seeking my teachings so that you can improve yourselves for your daily lives. Others have come because they wish to be able to defend themselves from aggressors they might face on a daily basis.” He looked back to the assembled students. “But now I ask you all this simple question: what is it that you truly know of karate?” One of the other students lifted a hoof. “It’s a martial art, isn’t it?” The old stallion gave a flat stare before continuing. “Karate is not a simple martial art. It is a way of viewing the world from a very different perspective.” He motioned around with a wing. “What is it you see here today?” Swirling looked around, as did the other students, many of whom had confused expressions on their faces. All Swirling saw was the cherry blossom tree, the other ponies, the koi pond, some shrubs, the odd building, and a cranky, old stallion who liked to use his wooden sword far too often. “I see a beautiful yard, Mr. Kyoshi,” Summer Streams said after a long, awkward silence. “Mm.” He nodded. “You see only that which your eyes can see, child, but in truth, there is so much more. All that is around us radiates an aura that we can’t see, feel, or hear. Everything has it’s own aura. From the trees, to the water, to the stones, to the fish…” He paused. “Even ponies themselves give off their own aura.” “You mean, like magic?” Swirling asked, sharing a quick glance with Summer. He shook his head. “No. Magic is something of an entirely different nature. The aura I speak of is, in and of itself, everything. Those with true understanding can harness this aura. Bend it, manipulate it, and perform feats that magic users would typically be incapable of without their magic.” “Soooo… it’s not magic?” Swirling asked, earning a wince from Summer. Rather than resort to the wooden sword, Kyoshi shot her a disapproving glare. “You still have much to learn, child. When one controls their own aura, and uses it to influence the aura of other things, physical boundaries are but an illusion. Stone becomes paper, grass becomes iron, water becomes glass. It is told in legend that masters of aura can even break the the supposed laws of physics, defying gravity itself.” Swirling hummed in thought for a moment, taking in Kyoshi’s words.‘One’s own aura…’ “That’s crazy,” one other student, an earth pony, claimed. “Nopony without wings can fly. And you can’t just turn rocks into paper.” Kyoshi murmured something in Neighponese before replying. “You are taking my words much too seriously. I do not mean that you will be able to literally turn one thing into another. Such things would fall under the rule of alchemy, and I assure you, I am no alchemist. What I mean is that stone may as well be paper to one who has mastered their aura. Grass can become a shield as strong as any metal. Water can be tread upon as if it were solid. These are the things that a master of one’s aura can do.” “Prove it,” another pony said. There was a moment of silence as Kyoshi apparently considered the challenge. He sighed out of his nose before turning to the koi pond and walking towards it, stopping at the water’s edge. The old stallion stood there for a second, looking as if he was gathering his thoughts. Eventually, he stepped forward, setting hoof into the pond. And another. And another. And then another. He walked until he was at the center of the pond. He was standing atop the water as if it were dry ground. There was an awed silence amongst Swirling, Summer, and their fellow students, all staring in shock with mouths agape as Kyoshi sat down in a meditative position on the water’s surface, stroking his beard casually. Could ponies really do that, or was he just using some kind of smoke-and-mirrors trick? Earth ponies might be able to, Swirling thought, if they focused that weird form of magic that they have well enough. Unicorns definitely could. Just a wave of their horn, and they could probably cast some kind of spell. Pegasi? There was no way. And yet, here was an old pegasus sitting on the surface of a pond as if it were perfectly normal. Kyoshi finally opened his eyes, sighing slowly. He looked at the pony who doubted him and lifted his head. “Do you now see? This is but one of many things a master of aura is capable of,” he said. “Many of you will never reach such a point, however. Do not let that discourage you, though, for by the time you complete your training here, few outside the walls of this dojo will match you.” Swirling reminded herself that her jaw was hanging open when Summer spoke up. “S-so… you’re using your aura to sit on the water?” He turned his gaze to her. “Not entirely, child. I simply bring my aura into balance with that of the water’s. It is not about forcing your aura upon something else’s, but working with or against, depending on what it is you wish to do.” “But isn’t working against another aura for—” Swirling snapped her mouth shut as Kyoshi glared at her. “The point is that this awareness and understanding of auras will open a pony’s mind to possibilities that they never even dreamed possible.” Flapping his wings he flew back to his spot beside the pond. “Always remember that there is more to this world that what we experience with our senses.” ‘He’s wiser than I expected him to be.’ ‘So this isn’t just a load of bull?’ Nevermore scoffed skeptically. ‘...If only I had a wooden sword.’ ‘Wouldn’t do much good against an entity that has no body of its own.’ Swirling scowled at how right Nevermore was at that moment. Nopony seemed to notice, thankfully, as Kyoshi had them all go through several steps for different stances. The whole time, his speech about auras and one’s abilities kept running through her head. Something about how he said it made it feel as though he was talking directly to her alone. Maybe she could actually learn something from this… -o- A bottle crashed over the head of the tavern patron, sending glass flying everywhere. The struck pony now lay sprawled across the floor as the burly earth pony wearing a red bandana stood over him. “Ha! You ain’t nothin’!” the bandana-wearing stallion sneered. “Now get the hell outta here before we get real mad!” The patron’s friends collected their babbling friend, shooting narrow glares at the Red and his buddies behind him. The burly stallion returned to the cheers of his friends, triumphant. “Ain’t no one messes with the Reds, boys! Nopony!” They gave a resounding cheer as a bored-looking waitress brought them a tray of hard cider before fetching a broom to clean up the mess. “Nopony but the Raven,” she muttered with disdain towards the thugs. Unfortunately, she wasn’t unheard. “What’s that?” one of the goons growled at the waitress, who froze when she realized he was talking to her. She said nothing and continued with her cleaning, hoping that they’d just ignore her. She had no such luck, however, as the stallion who’d spoken to her stomped over, grabbing her by the mane. “You answer me, nag! What’d you say?” The waitress whimpered as the stallion came close to tearing her hair out. “Sounded to me like she’s a fan o’ that wacko who’s been flyin’ around at night these past few months,” another Red snarled as the others began to circle the mare. “Maybe we should show her what happens to ponies who like that freak?” “N-no,” the mare murmured. “Please, I’m sorry…” “Sorry don’t cut it,” the thug holding her mane said with a sneer. “We’re gonna need to teach you a lesson!” He drew back his hoof, preparing to strike the trembling waitress. “What kinda Reds beat on a mare who can’t fight back?” Everything stopped at that question from a new arrival, and the Reds faced the speaker. The gray-coated, white-maned earth stallion scowled as he entered the bar, approaching the thugs and shoving them away from the mare. He glared at her and barked at her, “Get out.” She was quick to comply, and fled the bar. Before long, the Reds present recognized the stallion before them, immediately stepping back. “J-Jolt,” one of them stammered. “You’re… outta jail. When’d that happen?” “Not long ago,” Jolt stated flatly. “But that’s not what I’m here about. The guy who bailed me out gave me a job that I couldn’t say no to, but I’m gonna need some help. There’s a big payout if we manage this.” “What’s the job?” one of the Reds asked. Jolt smirked. “We’re gonna kill the Raven.” The others looked at him as if he’d grown a second head. “What?” “Er, well…” one of them mumbled. “It’s just… no one’s even come close yet. Ponies say she’s not even alive. Some kinda ghost or somethin’.” “I heard she’s a monster from Tartarus,” another Red spoke up. “Sent up here to beat the crap outta guys like us.” With a groan and a roll of his eyes, Jolt said, “Oh, you gotta be kidding me! She’s just some filly using smoke and mirrors! She’s no ghost, she’s no monster, and she’s certainly no living shadow or whatever the buck ponies call her!” He slammed a hoof onto the bar, his gauntlet sending a powerful electrical current across it, causing all the bottles along its top to explode. “She’s been a thorn in our side for too damn long, and it’s time someone put her in her place! You pansy-ass bucks are either with me on this, or you’re dead! Any other dumbass remarks you wanna make?” He was met only with silent compliance. “Good.” He turned to leave the bar. “Now come on. I know exactly where we’re gonna start looking for that birdbrained freak.” -o- Bright Day hummed a light tune to herself as she went through her inventory of ingredients and sweets, checking off several things on her list. She’d have to remember to get some more sugar the next time she went grocery shopping, if only to keep up with Swirling Line’s love of the stuff. It never ceased to surprise her how much the pegasus could put away, yet never put on a single pound. ‘Must be a pegasus thing,’ she mused with a silent chuckle. “Sunny!” she called. “Did you finish your chores?” The little filly answered from outside the storage room, “Yes, Mom!” “What about your homework?” “I finished it a few minutes ago!” Bright smiled as she left the storage room, finding her daughter at the counter nabbing some candy. “Sunny…” she warned. The filly perked up, looking at her mother in surprise. Bright shook her head with a small laugh. “Only one piece of candy, then go take a bath and get ready for bed.” The filly’s ears flattened back against her head. “Aww, but, Mom, I’m not even tired!” “Doesn’t matter, sweetie. It’s a school night, and you need your sleep.” She gave Sunny a hug and a kiss on the forehead. “I’ll be up to tuck you in shortly. I just need to close up shop.” Sunny moaned and trudged up the stairs, and Bright couldn’t keep a chuckle to herself. She remembered herself doing the same thing when she was a little filly living with her mother, though she wondered if she drove her mother to the edge of sanity like Sunny did on occasion. Her ears flicked as she heard the entry bell chime, and she smiled. “Welcome to Daytime Daylights, where every treat is sweet as sunshine!” She then beamed at the all-too familiar pegasus. “Swirling! Great to see you! You’re here a bit later than usual.” The white-striped mare sighed, sounding almost exhausted. “Karate lessons dragged on today,” she explained. She motioned to a tan-coated unicorn with a verdant mane. “Summer and I were hoping you’d have some kind of pick-me-up. Got anything sweet enough to create a guilty conscience?” She smiled wider. “Of course I do.” She turned to the unicorn. “Hello there. You’re one of Swirling’s friends?” A wide smile cut across Summer’s face. “I’m her best friend. We’ve known each other since she moved to Manehatten.” Swirling chuckled. “Summer and I both work at Lou’s Diner. For better or worse,” she muttered. “Oh, my.” Bright said with a chuckle. “I’ll bet you can tell me a few stories about Swirling’s first few days in town, can’t you?” Summer’s grin turned wicked. “Remind me to tell you about what we now call the Great Kitchen Fiasco.” “Summer!” Swirling exclaimed, her face going red. “For the last time, it’s really hard to tell spoons and sporks apart when the lights go out like that! I didn’t mean for that poor old mare to go to the hospital!” Bright blinked in confusion. “Wait… what do spoons and sporks have to do with an old mare going to the hospital?” “Oh, you’re gonna wanna sit down for this one,” Summer recommended, ignoring Swirling’s pleas for her to stay silent on the matter. “Trust me, it’s a real doozy.” With a nod, Bright went into the back room to fetch some snacks for her two visitors, an eager smile on her face. “Summer… I beg of you, don’t,” Swirling pleaded. ‘Okay, even I’m curious,’ Nevermore spoke up. ‘No!’ Summer shook her head, looking rather smug. “Oh, I just have to tell the story now.” If there was ever a time Swirling could have used a distraction, it was now. And, for better or worse, her prayers were answered just as Bright came back carrying a box of candy. A brick flew through the display window, hitting a small stand and spilling sweets all over the floor, startling the mares in the room. Outside, there was chaos. Numerous ponies wearing various red accessories were ransacking the streets, throwing bricks, rocks, and small chunks of metal through windows and attacking any pedestrians unfortunate enough to cross their paths. Some of the aggressors were vandalizing parked carts, mailboxes, newspaper stands, and anything else they could swing a blunt instrument into. Among them was a gray-coated, white-maned stallion wearing gauntlets that launched bolts of lightning with every punch. “It’s the Reds!” Summer shouted. “B-but it’s almost night! They never come out at night, not since the Raven came! What do they want?” “Best guess?” Swirling said, looking over at Jolt, who blasted a cart into a building. “They want the Raven to come out.” As if to prove her theory, Jolt yelled, “Bird freak! Come out and fight us, you cowardly nag!” He struck out with his gauntlets again and blasted apart another cart. His fellow Reds cheered and redoubled their vandalizing efforts. “You don’t, and my boys and I’ll tear this neighborhood apart piece by piece!” This was not good. There was no way she’d be able to just slip away and change unnoticed, not with the street being as wild as it was, and especially not without rousing suspicion in her friends. She’d need to— “Let’s go!” Summer hollered, heading for the door. “Whoa, wait, what!?” Swirling had to dash in front of Summer to stop her. “Are you crazy? What do you think you’re gonna do out there?” Summer rolled her eyes. “Come on, Swirl! We know karate! We can take them!” “We’ve only had two days of training at most!” she countered. “It’s more than those guys probably have.” “Please, listen to her.” The two turned to see Bright holding Sunny as the little filly whimpered in her mother’s embrace. “They’re thugs who’ll hurt you.” Summer shook her head adamantly. “We can’t just sit back and let them do whatever they want! Someone needs to teach them a lesson!” She looked the filly in the eye before she continued. “They’re bullies, and bullies don’t stop unless you stand up for yourself. And I’m gonna make sure they learn not to mess with ponies anymore!” And with that, she galloped out of the store. “Summer!” Swirling shouted after her. She cursed under her breath and looked back to Bright and Sunny. “I-I… I’ll go get help. Bright, you take Sunny upstairs and stay safe, all right? I’ll be back, I promise!” She heard Sunny calling out to her as she took off, zipping into the air to find a good place to change without getting spotted by anypony. On the ground, Summer caught a Red off guard with a punch to his face, staggering him. A confident smirk crossed her face as she saw another Red charging at her. She took her stance and leaped inside his swing. Remembering to keep her hoof straight, she slugged the thug twice across the face before whirling and bucking him away. As the Red groaned, Summer stood triumphantly. “These lessons do work!” “They ain’t gonna save ya.” She spun and found four burly Reds leering at her, each one bouncing a blunt instrument in their hooves. Gulping, she backed away, her legs shaking. “S-Swirling?” she asked, her eyes darting around. One of the thugs chuckled. “Ha! Not so tough now are ya? We’ll show ya what we do to heroes in this town. The same thing we’re gonna do to that freak!” When the first thug charged in, she got her hoof up to block his attack, but was too slow to react in time to stop his second swing. She landed on the pavement, holding her sore face as he stood over her. “I always did like me a mare who thinks she can fight like a stallion.” Her eyes widened and she scooted away from him. “Swirling! Help me!” “Get away from her!” the distorted voice of the Raven called. Before the thug could react, he was blasted away by a fierce punch that sent him flying into a cart. The other three thugs’ eyes widened and they snarled at the sight of the shadow-covered mare. “About time you showed up, you coward!” “Says the gang who picks on mares and foals.” The Raven took her own stance. “Time to put the trash back where it belongs!” As the force of Reds charged her, she slipped away, diving into the shadows.She surfaced to pounce on her opponents, landing a punch into a thug’s jaw before spin kicking another goon in the face, sending him flying into two of his cohorts. Then she dived into the shadows again just in time to avoid two more Reds, who ended up tackling each other and rolling down on the ground in a heap. She spun around at the angered roar of another burly ruffian as he hefted a street sign over his head. Her eyes widened and she dove to the side as the sign dented into the pavement. “I see someone ate his wheaties when he was little.” She slipped through the shadows and landed an uppercut on the thug’s jaw. Expecting him to be sent flying away, she didn’t react in time when he swung the sign again—thankfully only hitting her with the pole, rather than the sign itself. “You’re goin’ down, freak!” he bellowed as he swung the sign again. ‘Use a bit more power on this one, Line.’ ‘You don’t say,’ she grumbled at Nevermore before flying over the swing. Spinning around once, the thug took her kick to the face, and he bounced away like a rubber ball, grunting in pain as he crashed into a newsstand, sending papers scattering on the ground. She really didn’t have time to savor her victory, as more and more Reds came rushing a her. “Geez! How many of you grunts are there?” She flapped her wings to get away from the assault, but found herself assaulted by the pegasi of the gang. Swirling struck out against one of them with a kick, sending him flying into a nearby window, while another was met with a hoof to the face. As the Raven fought off the goons, Jolt grinned viciously as he watched her begin to struggle. Taking aim, he readied his gauntlets. Without a care for his fellow Reds, he threw a punch forward, launching a bolt of lightning at his sworn enemy. The shot missed, the Raven diving at the last minute as she ducked under a pegasus Red’s punch. The Red’s eyes went wide as Jolt’s attack hit him in the chest. Screaming in pain, his body locked up, and he hit the pavement with a sickening crack. Another Red whirled on Jolt. “What the hell, Jolt!? That was one of our guys you just fried!” Jolt shrugged and held his crackling hoof in the upstart’s face. “Your point?” he snarled. The Red backed off as the white-maned stallion returned his focus to the Raven. “Hold still you stupid bird!” He unleashed a flurry of lightning shots at her, eager to bring her down to the ground and finish her properly. While dodging the stallion’s attacks, the Raven said, “Why does anyone even work for you!? You just killed one of your own cronies!” “Fear is a hell of a motivator!” was Jolt’s only response as he continued firing off electrical blasts. “Hell, I don’t even need these idiots! With these gauntlets, I’m unstoppable!” As if to prove his point, he sent out yet another blast, which Swirling just barely managed to evade. The shot struck a building, however, sending large chunks of debris falling to the ground, some heading for bystanders just watching the fight. Cursing under her breath, Swirling dashed towards the civilians, four in all, pushing them out of the way barely a second before the rubble came crashing down. They stared at her, dumbfounded, as she shouted, “Get out of here! It’s too dangerous!” The four ponies scrambled away at that, no longer holding any desire to stay. Her ears flicked when she heard more shouting. “Buck you, Jolt! We ain’t stayin’ if that’s how you is!” one Red shouted at the bristling Jolt as he found his fellow Reds all glaring at him. Before he had a chance to say anything, they all turned tail and galloped off. The gray-coated earth pony growled. “Fine! To hell with the lot of you bucks!” He turned his scowl to the Raven. “I can kill this bird on my own.” He pulled back a hoof, preparing to send out another shot. ‘Whatever you’re doing now, it’s not working,’ said Nevermore as she dodged another bolt. “What do you think I’m doing? I can’t get close enough with him trying to cook me!” “Quit yammering to yourself and die already, you feathered freak!” “Okay, now you’re just being racist!” Swirling called out, only angering her opponent further. ‘I need an idea here, Nevermore! Tell me you have… something…’ She eyed Jolt as he fired off his blasts. Her mind took a moment to process some vague semblance of an idea. “With these gauntlets, I’m unstoppable!” ‘Nevermore, you wouldn’t happen to have been paying attention to what Kyoshi said during the karate lesson today, were you?’ ‘Hard to say. I was a little distracted after he started walking on water. Seriously, what the hell was that all about? It’s like something out of a bad, fan-made story about some dumb product for younglings.’ The pegasus shook her head. ‘He said something about using your own abilities.’ She grinned under her shadowy mask as her idea steadily morphed into a plan. ‘I think it’s time to mix it up just a bit.’ She swooped down close to the ground, but still far out of Jolt’s reach. “You want me, tough guy? Try to keep up, then!” At that, she took off, heading towards Central Park. “Get back here, freak!” Jolt shouted as he gave chase. With Nevermore’s speed boost, Swirling made it to the park in good time. It’d be little while before Jolt could catch up with her. Plenty of time to get everything ready. -o- Jolt grunted as he arrived in Central Park, growling as he looked around for his rival. The park was quiet and dark tonight. Almost bizarrely so, he’d think if he weren’t so dead set on finding the Raven and ending her as brutally as equinely possible. He glanced around, watching the ground, trees, and shadows carefully, waiting for her to leap out at any moment. “Where are you, freak?” he muttered as he wandered through the grounds. “Show yourself, you stupid chicken-horse!” “Wow, rude,” came the voice of the Raven, hailing from above. Looking up, Jolt saw her standing atop a cloud, looking down at him as if she were superior. “I mean, really, didn’t your mother ever tell you it’s not nice to call pegasi ‘chicken-horses?’ That’s just slightly more racist than ‘feathered freak.’” “My mother didn’t teach me nothin’,” he snarled and crashed his hooves together, sending another burst of sparks. “Now, you gonna fight me or hide in the clouds like a coward?” “Only if you say please, Mister Double Negative,” the mare taunted. His ‘please’ was another burst of electricity that singed off the ends of her mane. She yelped, hopping into the air in surprise before glaring down at Jolt again. “I’m getting this sneaking suspicion that you don’t like me very much.” “SHUT UP!” Jolt screamed as he launched another lightning blast. ‘Perfect,’ Swirling thought as she kicked her cloud as hard as she could, summoning a bolt of lightning of her own. The bolt tore through Jolt’s shot and struck him square in the barrel, making him scream as the electricity shot through his system, his gauntlets sparking uncontrollably and smoking like fire. “T-the hell did you do?” he managed past chattering teeth. She lifted her head at him, since she knew he couldn’t see her smug grin. “Why, I’m fighting fire with fire… well, lightning in this case.” He growled and pushed himself up, his gauntlets still sparking wildly. “You stupid nag! I won’t go down so easy!” Standing on his hind legs, he punched out with both forehooves. Just as he did, Swirling gave her cloud another kick, and two bolts of lightning lashed out. Their two attacks struck, and once again, the blast rebounded back at Jolt. He barely managed a gasp before the shock and resulting force sent him bouncing away—his gauntlets falling apart into ruined scrap. Somehow, he managed to get back on his hooves, staggering limply and pulling back a hoof as if to attack again. All he managed to do was flop onto the ground with a groan. “And that, my friend,” Swirling quipped, “is why you never fight a pegasus with lightning.” -o- The next day, Swirling and Summer found themselves trotting down the street for Kyoshi’s dojo. Despite being tired from the fighting—and finally taking down Jolt—Swirling couldn’t help but beam with pride. Not only did she save ponies’ lives, but she actually did it with a lesson she’d learned from the cranky old stallion. A feat to be truly proud of, she told herself. She smiled as her friend practically bounced down the road, Summer’s mouth running a mile a minute. “And then I blocked his swing and punched him right in the nose!” She paused to dramatically recreate the punch. “And he fell on his flank and ran off crying! It was great!” Swirling laughed, clearly remembering something else, but commenting so would have brought questions on how she knew that when Swirling Line hadn’t been there. “Did he cry for his mom, too?” “Mm-hm!” Summer nodded vigorously. “You should’ve seen it, Swirling, but I suppose you had your own hooves full trying to keep the candy store safe.” “Uh, yeah. I couldn’t let Sunny or Bright get hurt, right?” She rubbed at the back of her head, wincing at a sore spot she had earned from the fight. “But even so, the way the Raven took down all those Reds was amazing!” Summer smiled all the wider. “Not only is she really strong, she’s also fast, and amazing! The whole shadow thing just makes her so awesome!” ‘She really knows how to flatter a spirit, doesn’t she?’ ‘She’s talking about me, Nevermore. You were just there… sort of.’ Swirling’s amusement was cut short as she felt her hoof slip out from under her, causing her to land on her front with a grunt. Summer was by her side in an instant. “Swirling? Are you okay?” “Yeah,” she said, dusting her coat off. “Just slipped.” She growled inwardly at her inner inhabitant. ‘I hate you, Nevermore.’ ‘The feeling is, oh, so mutual, Line.’ Shutting the irritating spirit away, she followed after her friend until they arrived at the doors to Kyoshi’s dojo. When they got there, they found it oddly quiet, with none of the other students present. “Huh… I wonder where everyone is?” Swirling said as she looked around. A small frown formed on Summer’s face. “Did Master Kyoshi cancel class today?” Before Swirling could answer a curt shout came from inside the dojo. “Swirling Line! Summer Streams! Inside, now!” Her instinct to run had never been stronger, Swirling thought as both she and Summer hunkered down at the shout. It really sounded like Kyoshi was angry. “Should we make a run for it?” Swirling asked her friend, giving her a quick glance. Summer shook her head, her own eyes wide with worry. “N-No, we should see what he wants.” She stood straighter and forced a smile on her face. “Maybe he wants to praise us for fighting the Reds?” Swirling gave her a flat look. “Did that even sound like he was happy?” “Inside!” Resigning themselves, the two mares walked into the dojo, heads hung low in fear of whatever awaited them. Peering up, they found their master sitting on his haunches in the middle of the training floor, his gaze stern as he regarded them, that dreaded wooden sword resting ominously on his shoulder. “G-good evening, Master Kyoshi,” Summer said. Swirling could feel her friend shaking beside her. “Sit down, Summer Streams. We have much to discuss.” He turned his gaze to Swirling. “You as well, Swirling Line.” “Fantastic,” Swirling muttered to herself as she sat beside Summer and across from Kyoshi. The old pegasus sat there, staring at them for a long, uncomfortable moment that seemed to last forever. The longer Swirling sat under that stern, stone-like gaze, the more she fidgeted. As much as she wanted to just bluntly ask him what was up, she knew that doing so would earn her a whack on the head with that nightmare of a stick in his hooves. Finally, when he spoke, his voice sounded so much like a father scolding a foal that Swirling was briefly reminded of the lectures her own father would give her. “Just what in Equestria where the two of you thinking?” She heard Summer gulp beside her, but Swirling was quick to speak. “What do you mean?” His gaze settled on her and he shifted his shoulders, the wooden sword moving threateningly. “What did you say, Swirling Line?” She felt the blood drain from her face. “I mean, well… we were only trying to help.” “The Reds were everywhere, Master Kyoshi,” Summer explained in as calm a tone as she could muster. “They were destroying everything and hurting anypony they could get their hooves on.” Her statement was met with a whack on the head. “What you did was foolish!” the old pegasus growled. “You are barely apprentices! Your first action should have been to find the proper authorities! You are fortunate that you were not killed!” “But, Master Kyoshi, they were attacking bystanders! We couldn’t just stand there,” Swirling said, and flinched, expecting a swat from the sword. Instead, Kyoshi just glared at her. “As honorable as that is, rushing blindly into any fight, especially with criminals like the Reds, would only see you among to the injured!” He looked at the two of them in turn, Summer rubbing at her sore noggin, and Swirling staring right back. “I did not take you two under my wing so that you could get yourselves killed thinking you can use my teachings to do the job of this city’s law enforcement.” Swirling blinked, turning her head away nervously in a way she hoped didn’t look suspicious. She silently cleared her throat to try and calm her nerves a little, which didn’t do much to help. “As punishment for being so rash and lacking in forethought,” Kyoshi said, “the two of you are to do twice the work of your fellow students. Twice as many laps around the dojo and twice as many exercises until further notice. Am I understood?” Both mares visibly paled at that. Kyoshi was enough of a slave driver as it was. Doing twice the work of the others would be borderline torture. They looked to each other anxiously. Neither wanted to quit without the other quitting first, though, which left them with only one option. “Am I understood?” Kyoshi repeated even more sternly. “Yes, sir,” the two mares replied, knowing full well how exhausting the next few days were going to be. -o- When Jolt opened his eyes, he was greeted with a dark room. A groan escaped him as he rose off the ground and onto his haunches, glancing around to try and figure out where he was. He had no such luck, however, only seeing a door ahead of him. Just as he thought to try and knock the door down, it opened, and in walked a familiar earth stallion with a bandaged face. Jolt frowned, having expected a cop or maybe even that bird-crazed nag. “Where am I?” the white-maned stallion demanded more than he asked. The Benefactor shook his head. “Impatient, are we? Fine. You’re in a warehouse outside of Manehatten. You’re lucky I had one of my… ‘employees’ got to you before the police did.” He trotted closer to Jolt. “You did better than I expected.” A sneer crossed Jolt’s face. “The nag beat me. Again.” He practically spit out that last word. “I didn’t expect you to beat her,” the face-wrapped stallion confessed, earning a confused look from Jolt. “I wanted to see you in action. And you proved to me that you can hold your own fairly well. For a Red. Which brings me to my main point…” He stood tall, looming over Jolt like a titan. “I can give you the payback you want. But only if you’re willing to leave that bunch of idiots and help on a little… project of mine.” He offered a hoof. Jolt stared at the masked pony for several moments, his eyes flicking between his face and his proffered hoof. Slowly, he lifted his own hoof to meet the Benefactor’s… only to see it sparking with electricity. The gray stallion pulled his hoof away, raising his other one and staring at them, then down at his body. Little trails of electricity darted across his body like quick flies zipping through the air. Morbidly curious, his moved his front hooves closer together, a grin gradually forming on his face as a trail of lightning linked his forelegs together. Looking up at the Benefactor, who’d lowered his hoof, Jolt said, “You’ve got yourself a deal.” Author's Note Battle Theme of Jolt:
Let There Be Light, Part 1“Maybe you have to know the darkness, before you can appreciate the light.” - Madeleine L’Engle -o- A chilly nighttime breeze ruffled her fur as she left the theater, causing a shiver to course over her body. Her teeth chattered for a second before she felt a warm coat being draped over her withers. Summer Streams smiled up to her boyfriend as she pulled the coat about her tighter. “Thank you, Page. It’s getting really cold out here.” The stallion—Page Topper—gave her a warm smile. “You’re welcome. I can’t let a pretty mare like you catch a cold, can I?” A faint blush crept up under her dark tan fur, and she brushed a lock of her verdant green mane out of her eyes. “You say the sweetest things.” He nuzzled her behind the ear. “And I mean every word.” Again, she felt the heat rise up to her face and she nuzzled at him back. “That was a good show, Page. How did you get us tickets? I was sure it was sold out.” A cockier grin crossed his face. “Well, when I interviewed the director for the newspaper, he was kind enough to invite me and a date back to watch. Just another perk you get for dating the best journalist in Manehatten.” “And certainly the only perk.” She chuckled as it was his turn to blush, but a soft frown crossed her face as a thought occurred to her. “I do feel kind of bad I ditched Swirling Line for our date. We’d planned a girl’s night out, but…” She gave him an impish smile. “I think this was the better idea. She’d understand.” “I should hope so,” Page said, and the two shared a laugh before another breeze blew through. “How about we get something warm for the road home?” She smiled widely and nodded. “That sounds like a great idea.” The two started walking down the streets of Manehatten, ponies of all walks of life passing the two without much notice. Skyscrapers loomed over them like giants, and the street lamps gave the grimy streets a warm glow. As she walked, Summer cast a warm look in Page Topper’s direction. She had only been dating him for a few weeks, and he kept their relationship romantic but respectful. If she was a good judge of character with stallions (and she had known her fair share), she knew that he was going to take an extra step tonight. The thought of their first “special night together” caused the mare to smile softly, and she walked closer to him, even going so far as to lean into him as they walked. He caught himself before he could stumble and looked at her. “Is everything okay?” “Mmm.” She nodded. “I’m still cold.” He tilted his head curiously at her. “But I gave you my jacket, it isn’t enough?” “Oh, it’s warm.” She leaned into him again. “But, you’re warmer.” He blushed rosily. “Oh… Well, that’s okay the—” Summer screamed as a large pony landed in front of them. It wasn’t the fact that he seemed to have jumped out of nowhere at them that caused her to scream, but the fact said pony wore a suit of green and yellow spandex—with a ratty brown mane sticking out of the top—and wore a set of the most hideous goggles she’d ever seen. The way the wide lenses had large googly eyes in them caused the mare to almost jump out of her skin. “Nya ha! Scream all you want pretty mare! For I, the Frog, am here to steal your valuables! Hoof them over, or face my froggy rage!” While Summer had fallen on her haunches, staring up at the insane pony in a frog suit, Page stood protectively in front of her. “Buddy, I don’t know who you are, but—” The googly eyes turned their attention to him. “Are you trying to get froggy with me? The Frog?! Hoof over your bits, tough guy, or we’re gonna bounce!” “Listen you—” Page didn’t have time to react as the spandex-wearing pony suddenly leaped off of all fours and kicked Page squarely in the chest. The fierce kick sent him soaring into the side of the building, all the while knocking his bit purse into the air. “Page!” Summer screamed in horror as the bit purse landed in the waiting hooves of the Frog. “Nya ha! A heavy purse for once.” The pony suddenly turned his attention on her. “Now, pretty mare, let’s not make things worse and hand over your valuables!” She stuttered as she reached for her bit purse. “P-Please, d-don’t hurt us.” He snatched the purse from her shaking hooves, a wide happy smile on his face. “Nya ha ha! I, the Frog, would not harm a pretty mare as long as she gives me her—” His head snapped to the side. “Eh?” “Don’t you ever quit?!” They heard a distorted voice say. Summer screamed again as a pony made of living shadow sped through the air and tackled the Frog to the ground. The spandex pony landed with a grunt and kicked off his attacker. The shadowy pony flapped their wings and landed near the stunned Summer Streams. “Are you alright?” it asked her in a voice that sounded like a mishmash of two different voices. Summer’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped open when she looked at her rescuer. The way the shadows seemed to swirl around the pony’s body, the way the mane, tail and wings seemed to drift off like flames, and the pure yellow eyes that looked at her in concern, it could only be one pony that stood before her. “T-the Raven…” she said breathlessly. The Raven nodded to the groaning Page Turner and turned to face the Frog as he got back to his hooves. “See to your boyfriend. I’ll take care of this guy.” “Nya ha! The Raven thinks she can take down the Frog? No one can defeat the Frog!” The Raven facehoofed. “Are you kidding me? This is the fourth time this month that I’ve run into you! How do you keep getting out of jail?” The Frog posed dramatically. “No bars of iron can keep the slippery Frog locked up, and the Frog certainly did not crawl through sewers to make his escape either!” The Raven sighed in exasperation. He laughed arrogantly. “If the Raven thinks she can capture the Frog, then I dare her to leap!” “You asked for it!” The Raven gave a flap of her wings and lunged at him, but he quickly leapt above her tackle and she crashed through a number of trash cans. “Nya ha ha ha! The bird will have to try harder!” He darted for a nearby fire escape. “Alleyoop!” With an impressive leap, he caught hold of the platform and leaped from one to another before he got to the rooftop of the building. The Raven spit out a bit of muck and glared up at the bouncing crook. “I hate that guy…” She quickly looked in Summer’s direction as the unicorn helped her struggling boyfriend. “Don’t worry, I’ll get him.” “Don’t let him get away,” Summer said while the stunned Page Turner leaned on her shoulder. “Promise!” the Raven yelled before she flapped her wings and took to the sky. Summer watched as the shadow pony disappeared over the roof’s edge. “Get him,” she said nastily as she realized her night was now completely ruined. -o- ‘This guy is really starting to get on my nerves.’ Swirling Line hopped from shadow to shadow as she chased down the crazy thief who called himself the Frog, a guy who dressed up like a frog and robbed ponies in the street. Who even does that? Seriously, at least guys like Mafioso and his thugs Knives and Brawn were somewhat understandable, albeit all of them were insane (though she had to wonder whether Mafioso was crazier than that sadist Knives). ‘Let’s just get this over with and go back home,’ muttered Nevermore. The shadow spirit who inhabited her body was just as fed up with the Frog’s endless antics as she was. At first, he’d annoyed her with snide, frog-themed quips when they encountered him, but the stallion was already rapidly losing whatever charm he might’ve had. “Nya ha ha! Still think you can take down me, the Frog, crazy bird lady? Someone’s feeling froggy, and it ain’t just me!” The Frog called back at her as he laughed and leaped from one building to another. Swirling growled. “That does it!” She flapped her wings furiously, quickly catching up to the leaping Frog. “Nya ha!” he laughed before he caught hold of a hanging pole. He flipped over it and spun during his flip and caught her squarely on the chin with a kick. She grunted painfully as she flew back and crashed into a shed on the roof they were on. Gardening tools showered all around her as the wall of the shed fell on top of her, the shadows around her body protecting her from any sharp objects that might’ve cut her open normally. ‘You flew right into that one,’ Nevermore said with more than a hint of exasperation. ‘If you make one more joke, Nevermore...’ Swirling said as she rubbed at her pained chin. She looked up to see the Frog striking a pose atop another shed, it’s dramaticness enhanced as the moon shone behind him. “Now you see that the Frog is superior than any black birdie mare thing! Nya ha ha ha!” “You’re aware of how childish you sound, right?” the Raven asked with eyebrow raised in annoyance. The Frog, apparently ignoring her stated question, only continued laughing victoriously. This guy really liked the sound of his own voice. “Whatever. Time for you to go night-night.” “You fool! The Frog isn’t even sleepy! In fact-!” He was interrupted by a shadowy hoof to his face, sending him flying across the roof until he skidded to a stop near the edge. He briefly raised his head, babbling incoherently, before completely surrendering to unconsciousness. Swirling sighed as she picked the stallion up, silently thankful for her strength enhanced by Nevermore’s shadow magic. “This took way longer than necessary.” ‘Let’s just get him back in jail before he wakes up,’ suggested Nevermore, to which the pegasus nodded and took off, making sure to bring Summer Streams’ purse back to her. All things considered, not the worst night of her life. -o- A pair of eyes followed the Raven as she soared across Manehattan after having discreetly brought the audaciously dressed stallion to the nearest police station. The pony watching narrowed her eyes. She had heard tell about the Raven, though, until now, she had never seen the mysterious being in action. She knew the magic that the shadowy mare used. Perhaps a meeting with this supposed hero was in order… -o- She beamed happily at the all the ponies before her. Every one of them spoke of how wondrous the works of Swirling Line were. Such masterful artistry, such creativity! Even Princess Celestia spoke of how great the pegasus’ paintings were, how they conveyed such incredible emotion, how well the colors blended to create true masterpieces. “It’s nothing, really,” Swirling said as ponies showered her with praise. “It all just comes to me.” Her many adoring fans and admirers gave their approval of her modesty through applause and nods of encouragement. A hoof fell on Swirling’s shoulder, and she turned to see an alicorn with a navy blue coat and a mane like the night sky looking down at her with an oddly serious expression. “Swirling Line,” said , “we must—” “WAKE UP!” The purple-and-white pegasus’ head shot up from the counter as the sound of a stallion’s voice hollering at her, her eyes wide in shock as her dream fell apart, forcing her back into the waking world. Her eyes darted around until she found her boss, Lou, leaning out of the kitchen window with an irate glare. “Get back to work, Line!” he shouted. “We got customers to feed! Get your flank in gear, or get out!” “Sorry,” she muttered as she pushed away from the counter, stifling a yawn with a hoof. “Still no sleep again, huh?” asked Summer Streams, who was busy at the cash register. “Only enough that I don’t sleep through the entire day,” Swirling answered. “About three hours.” “Ouch. That can’t be healthy.” The unicorn huffed and flattened her ears as she helped another customer. “At least you didn’t have a date ruined by some crazy guy in a frog suit.” Swirling’s head snapped back in apparent surprise, but she struggled to keep a knowing smirk off of her face. “A guy in a frog suit? Your dates keep getting crazier and crazier, Summer.” The unicorn gave her an irritated glare, her tail swishing. “Real funny, Swirling. The guy mugged us and kicked Page Topper so hard, he had to go to the hospital to make sure nothing was broken.” Swirling hoped her gasp was realistic sounding. “He did? Is he okay?” Summer nodded. “Yeah, he was just sore.” A smile ran across her face. “But we were saved by the Raven! Can you believe it?” “No way!” Summer’s smile only widened at Swirling’s apparent surprise. “It’s true! She chased that goon down and even got our money back!” “She sounds pretty amazing,” Swirling said, unable to keep the grin off her face. ‘Ego,’ Nevermore grumbled. ‘Oh, be quiet. I’m allowed some recognition.’ ‘Ponies...’ “She is!” Summer grinned wide. “I hope I actually get to thank her some time.” Swirling shrugged grandly. “You never know, you just might.” “It would be—” “GET TO WORK!” they heard Lou yell from the kitchen. They both turned towards the window but they saw the owner of the restaurant hard at work making meals. “How does he do that?” Swirling asked with a bemused stare. “It’s like he has eyes in the back of his head,” Summer said, with similar smirk. The two shared a humored giggle, and as Swirling went back to catering to an ungrateful lot of customers, her mind couldn’t help but drift back to her daydream. Who was that strange pony who tried to talk to her? She was certain she’d seen her likeness somewhere before, but couldn’t put her hoof on where. -o- Manehattan was a hive. All the ponies in this city ran around like bees, scurrying and flying about as they made their way to and from work and home, ran petty errands, trotted around the streets with supposed friends, and blathered on and on, completely unaware of the very real danger that skulked in the shadows of the night. An evil that could undo all the good that the Disciples of Light had worked towards for decades. White Star looked up at the sky, squinting her eyes at the sun slightly. Loathe as she was to admit it, sunlight didn’t sit well with her on a physical level. Being albino meant she burned easily, forcing her to wear a cloak around her body that hid her pristinely white coat and mane. She despised having to wear it. It felt too much like a disguise. ‘It is a curse I must bear,’ she always told herself whenever she lamented her unfortunate genes. ‘An eternal test of my faith. A test I must not fail.’ As she walked along the street, passing ponies who only occasionally gave her a passing, curious glance, she spotted an older stallion standing by the entrance of an alleyway. She scanned him briefly, her crimson eyes quickly spotting a necklace bearing a symbol reminiscent of an eye hanging from the stallion’s neck. She approached him, and he nodded at her the moment he spotted her, already knowing who she was. He led her down the alley, arriving at a door marked with the same symbol that his necklace bore. He knocked on it three times, then four more, then twice. After a few moments, a slot on the door opened, a pair of eyes scrutinizing them. The pony behind the door said, “I am here all the time, even if you cannot see me. I appear to be as big as a dime. I am able to do something different, but closer than another galaxy. I am important in your life in more than just a couple ways. What am I?” “You are the sun,” said White Star and the stallion at the same time. The slot on the door closed, and the sound of locks being opened, followed by the door turning inward, a scrawny pegasus stallion motioning for them to enter. White Star lowered her hood once she was inside, immediately receiving respectful bows from everypony before her as she removed her cloak. “Mistress White Star,” the older stallion said, his head low. “We are grateful that you saw fit to grace us with your presence.” The snow white mare nodded. “Unfortunately, I am not visiting for pleasure. I have received word of this… Raven creature. What do we know of it?” The stallion looked back at his fellow Disciples, all of whom bore looks of shame. “Not much, I’m afraid. Only that it’s capable of melding into the shadows, as it were one itself, and is much stronger and faster than any normal pony. From witness accounts, it strikes from nowhere, and returns to nowhere, usually attacking petty criminals.” She thought on that for a few moments. Why would a creature of the Dark hunt only criminals? The Darkness was all-consuming; it didn’t leave anyone behind to evade its hunger. Unless… “The creature is leading the citizens of Manehattan into a false sense of security,” she said surely, confident in her hypothesis. “There must be greater forces at work than one lone demon.” She narrowed her eyes at them, her mouth turning down in a frown. “This is all you have learned of it?” The Disciple lowered his head. “I am sorry, Mistress. We’ve worked long into the night and day to learn what we can of it, but there is only so much for us to work with.” Her glare bore down on him. “I am not pleased.” The stallion balked and hung his head in shame. “Forgive us, milady.” One Disciple approached the stallion, whispering something to him that made his eyes go wide in shock. Upon seeing White Star’s curious expression, he said, “There’s just been a development. The Corrupted One is coming to Manehattan.” “What?” It was more a surprised statement than a question. Why would the Corrupted One come here? What could she possibly… It clicked. “She is here for the Raven.” Her Disciples’ eyes widened in shock. It made sense. Both seemed to only really appear during the night, and the Corrupted One claimed sovereignty over the night. Perhaps she’d even sent the Raven as a part of some plot. Or perhaps the Corrupted One saw a potential pawn in the Raven. Either concept was terrifying, as the Raven, from they could tell with what little they knew, was certainly a grave threat if allowed to roam freely. “We must approach this situation with the utmost caution,” White Star said calmly. “The Corrupted One is now our primary target. In order to truly deal a blow to the Dark, we must strike at one of its greatest assets. The so-called ‘Princess of the Night’ must be dealt with.” “But… how, milady?” the stallion asked. “Fear not. I already have a plan of action.” Her face scrunched up slightly. “We must be take each step as if it could be our last, for these steps very well may be such.” The stallion looked at her, his eyes still held submissively low. “What will you have us do, milady?” “Gather your peers. We will be there to greet her and her pawn.” “H-How are we to… defeat the Corrupted One?” A faint smile crossed her face. “Worry not, for I have long prepared for this.” Her hoof touched something that hung around her neck. “The Darkness will know to fear the Light.” -o- Swirling stifled a yawn as she flew across the skies over Manehattan, lazily scanning the ground below for any sort of wrongdoing. Ever since taking down Mafioso and rendering his organization leaderless, things had calmed down somewhat, and the Raven had earned something of a reputation amongst the criminal underworld. Most criminals had learned that they shouldn’t try to commit crimes at night anymore, or risk the Raven’s fury. At least, that’s what she gathered from her informant Tricky (whom she still didn’t quite completely trust). Her head turned suddenly as a shout reached her ears. She banked to the side and found a stallion hopping around clutching a hoof while his friends were all laughing. The dropped crate and the moving van was all she needed to know it wasn’t a job for the Raven. With a sigh, she turned and continued on her way. ‘Slow night,’ came Nevermore’s dry tone. “I guess that’s technically a good thing,” Swirling replied as another yawn fought its way out of her. “Sweet Celestia, I’m tired.” ‘You’ve hardly done any work.’ Her ears flattened. “I worked ten hours today, and I spent the past few nights doing hero stuff. I’m allowed to be tired, Nevermore.” While she couldn’t see it, she felt his eyes rolling at her. Another yawn took her and she pulled up to hover. “I’m going take a break. Maybe something will happen later.” ‘Fine. If that’s what it takes to get you to stop complaining.’ She blew a raspberry at him, to which he reacted with a grunt of disapproval. Touching down on a rooftop, Swirling willed the shadows on her body away for now, knowing that they would return the instant she commanded them to, and lay back on the roof, gazing up at the sky with a somewhat dreamy expression. Stargazing was an old hobby of hers, one she’d picked up when she was a little filly back in Cloudsdale. Back home, the stars were much easier to see. She would lay on the roof of her house and watch them, even when she was supposed to be sleeping. There was something about the beautiful, celestial display that touched her deep down. She was first inspired to try painting because of the those little lights called stars. A whimsical smile crossed her face as she remembered that old painting—the artist inside her today would’ve cringed if she saw it. Speaking of the artist inside her, her mind gradually put little pieces together, putting together a puzzle that, hopefully, would become a new work, or perhaps the final adjustments she would need to truly complete her Rebirth painting. That one was coming along fairly well. She’d been working on a more detailed final draft for a few weeks now. She would’ve been done by now, if it wasn’t for her job and superhero stuff getting in the way. ‘The arts always suffer,’ she heard Nevermore quip. Her expression flattened. “I hate you sometimes.” The spirit’s only response was a grunt followed by silence. The mare sighed as she returned her attention to the beautiful night sky. She wished it was clearer; all the lights in Manehattan made it difficult to make out most of the stars. It was one of the few things she didn’t really like about Manehattan (accompanied by her boss and all the thugs around every other corner). After a few more minutes of watching the few visible stars, Swirling stood, stretching out her wings before willing the shadows back over her body. She stood over the ledge of the roof, preparing to take off when she heard the sound of hooves touching down behind her. With a sharp turn, her now-yellow eyes caught the sight of a tall, dark blue mare with wings and a horn, her mane an ethereal mass that resembled the night, her gaze stoic and calm. She was less than four feet away. “Holy-!” Swirling stumbled back in surprise, tripping off of the roof and falling into an alley, landing unceremoniously in a dumpster before she realized what was happening. She poked her head out of the garbage, a banana peel resting atop her scalp as she climbed out of the large receptacle. “That was less than graceful, I confess.” The sudden voice startled the shadow-cloaked mare, who instinctively flew off as fast as she could into the night sky. ‘How courageous of you,’ Nevermore commented dryly. “Shut up!” She stopped when she felt she’d put a fair amount of distance between her and the other mare. Now that she thought about it, the other mare seemed vaguely familiar somehow. Had she seen her somewhere-? “The rumors of your swiftness are true, then,” the voice from the alley said. The Raven turned sharply, jaw agape at the sight of the mare from the roof. “I had nearly lost sight of you. If it wasn’t for your unique magical aura, I may not have found you again.” “But… I… you…” Swirling fumbled with her words. “Who are you!?” The mare narrowed her eyes, then sighed in disappointment. “I suppose I should have expected that. There are bound to be ponies who do not recognize me, even so long after my return.” She motioned towards a nearby flat-roofed building. “I would like to speak with you, Swirling Line, in regards to your nightly activities. I would much prefer that we do so in a less open area.” Swirling did a double-take. “Wait, how did you know my name?” The navy blue mare simply gave an amused smirk and headed for the building she’d pointed out. Every instinct in Swirling’s body screamed at her to flee. Ponies knowing one’s name before one met them was always a lure towards some kind of disaster. She followed the taller mare, landing atop the roof and watching her carefully. The alicorn turned to her, looking her up and down, her gaze analytical to the point of being judgmental. “I am Luna, Princess of the Night,” she finally said. Just then, it clicked in Swirling’s head. To Luna’s surprise, Swirling dropped low, bowing in such a way that clearly showed that she wasn’t exactly used to being faced with royalty. “I am so sorry for being disrespectful, Princess!” the pegasus said, scrambling to try and fix her mistake. “I’ll do whatever you say to make up for it! I—” “That is not necessary,” the princess said coolly, raising a hoof to quiet her. “I merely wish to speak with you.” “W-with me?” Luna’s nod was serious and deliberate. “I am fully aware of your nighttime exploits, Miss Line. I cannot say that I approve of you taking the law into your own hooves.” ‘Oh, this’ll be good,’ Nevermore said snidely. Just before Swirling could chastise her tenant, Luna said, “I can assure you, spirit, that this is not a good thing.” Swirling Line stared at the alicorn before her with her jaw agape. “Y-you can hear him?” “Yes,” came the princess’s curt reply. “I visited you in your dreams earlier this morning, and am familiar with your mind now, as well as the spirit’s.” “Wait, you… that was you I saw just before my boss woke me up!” “Indeed. However, we are straying off topic.” She stood straighter, looking down on the smaller pony. “You are breaking the law by doing the work of those who enforce the law. I cannot condone such acts, even if you are doing so for supposed good.” Her eyes widened; she couldn’t do that! “B-But, Princess Luna, I’ve done so much as the Raven! I haven’t done anything wrong.” The Lunar Princess raised an eyebrow at her. “The news reports have claimed you have taken lives.” She cringed, stepping back. The image of her hoof buried deep into a thug’s chest on the day he had tried to kill her, his eyes glazing over and blood drenching her foreleg, still haunted her dreams to this day. “Princess Luna, please let me explain. He would’ve killed me. I-I—” She choked back on the words, unable to say them with confidence. “I didn’t want to kill him. I just… reacted.” Luna dipped her head. “That is why you must stop, Swirling. You are not prepared or trained to handle the power you have been given. It will only be a matter of time before another is hurt. Mayhap not of your intention, but it will happen.” ‘I’m more than capable of looking out for her,’ she heard Nevermore snap at the alicorn. ‘Your concern is appreciated, but we don’t need or want you telling us how we will go about our business.’ The teal eyes of Luna narrowed dangerously. “I would suggest watching your tone with me, spirit. I am within my right to banish you back to your realm.” Nevermore scoffed. ‘You can’t, and you know it, Princess. We’re bonded. To banish me is to kill her.’ Swirling felt her blood run cold. “WHAT?!” she screamed at him. ‘Yeah… probably should’ve mentioned that. Anyway, it’s unlikely we’ll ever end up split apart like that.’ “You tempt fate, spirit,” Luna said, her eyes narrowed. “I know not what your intentions are, but your words and tone will lead you both into disaster someday. And I fear you may not be the only ones affected by such.” “Just like you will lead Equestria to ruin yourself, Princess?” they heard a voice spit in disgust. Both Swirling and Luna turned swiftly to find themselves face-to-face with a number of white-robed ponies. Each of them kept their hoods up to obscure their faces, but the one to speak wore a white porcelain mask, their eyes hidden behind a thin black cloth. Luna turned to face them, her horn already glowing with power. “I know not who you are, but I would suggest you turn tail and flee. You are intruding upon royal business.” The two of them could almost hear the sneer in the masked pony’s voice. “Threats, princess? You make threats against your own ponies? You are truly the Corrupted One. Equestria is rotting from the inside with you sharing the throne.” Swirling saw Luna’s lips turn up in a snarl. “Who are you? How dare you speak to me in that manner?” The masked pony held up a hoof, daring to silence the regal alicorn. “I’ll not hear more words from you, Princess, unless they are words of surrender.” He made a motion, and the robed ponies quickly encircled both Swirling and Luna. “I don’t know who you jerks are,” Swirling said, “but if you don’t leave now, I’m going to kick your flanks back to the cleaners where you got those ugly bathrobes.” The masked pony turned his attention on her. “The pawn dares to speak? Begone creature of darkness. It is your master we want.” “I am not anyone’s pawn!” Swirling set herself and charged the masked pony. “S-Raven, no!” Luna cried, but it went unheeded. Just as the Raven about to tackle the mask-wearing jerk, a bolt of magic struck her in the side, winding her as she hit the rooftop with a grunt of pain. A robed unicorn’s horn was glowing brightly, as were all the other unicorns present. She stood back onto her hooves and shook her head. “You guys wanna do this the hard way?” she said, golden eyes narrowed. “All right, then. Let’s do this the hard way!” “STOP!” Swirling and the robed ponies both flinched at the use of the Royal Canterlot Voice. They turned to see Princess Luna glaring fiercely at them. “I will not abide violence!” She turned back to the masked pony, who only glared in her direction. “I will not ask again; who are you?” He stood tall, proudly puffing out his chest. “We are the Disciples of Light. We are the ones who will banish the Darkness and all of its corrupting influence. You, Corrupted One, will be the next of the vile Darkness that we will eradicate from this world. You and your pawn.” “I told you, I am not a pawn!” Swirling shouted in an indignant rage. She flew after the masked pony again, only this time, she saw the sneak attack coming and dodged the magical bolt. Just as she swung her hoof at him, another of the Disciples rushed forward and threw up a hoof to block her approach. Whatever he had planned to do was foiled as her enhanced strength blasted him away. A pegasus flew at her, a spear in his hooves, aiming to skewer her. She quickly went to the ground, sinking into the shadows as the pegasus’ spear pierced the concrete of the building, only for the Raven to leap out again, delivering a powerful uppercut that sent the stallion flying back against his volition. The Disciples didn’t discriminate. Several charged at Luna as well, unicorns’ horns blazing, while earth ponies and pegasi brandished a number of bladed weapons. The Lunar Princess frowned and charged her horn, sending out a pulse that knocked away her would-be attackers, blasting them against walls and onto other rooftops. “Fall, Corrupted One!” Luna whirled to see an earth pony Disciple bring back his blade to strike. His eyes shone with wild fanaticism, while foam lined his mouth. She dodged his attack and ducked his follow up swing, but whirled to deliver a two-legged buck to his chest. The Disciple groaned as he was blasted through an adjoining building’s window. Luna shook her head and turned her focus back to the Raven, who was currently fending off four other Disciples, while the masked pony and his allies stood by, as if they were waiting for something. Even as centuries’ worth of warrior’s intuition screamed at her, a sudden jolt of pain shot through her, running out from her left side to the rest of her body, effectively crippling her. The princess’s scream of pain caught Swirling’s attention, distracting her long enough for somepony to clock her in the face. ‘Pay attention to the fight!’ Nevermore scolded her. “Princess—” Swirling was cut off when a bolt of crimson magic struck her, blasting her to the ground. “Such a pitiful creature,” said the voice of a mare, who leaped down from a perch upon a nearby water tower. Her coat and mane were both the purest white, her eyes a bright red hue. She trotted calmly towards the Raven, her eyes scrutinizing and cold. “You are the Raven, then? I had expected you to be… larger.” She shook her head, turning away from the shadow-clad mare and approaching the princess, who still was in very apparent agony. “No matter. You are of no consequence now. The Corrupted One is the true prize this day.” Luna struggled to stand, but her legs gave out with a pained yelp. “H-How are you… What have you done to me?” The white mare replied with a bolt of power into Luna’s chest, winding the princess. “Be silent, wretched creature.” Her voice was neutral, void of emotion. “You are a living plague that must be cleansed from this world.” “I don’t think so!” Swirling growled as she charged at the unicorn, only to be met with yet another burst of magic, this one from the masked stallion, who had knocked her away with a spell more powerful than those of the other Disciples. “You will not interfere in our affairs, demon,” the mare said, giving her a disdainful glare. She turned to the masked Disciple. “Ensure that the Corrupted One is properly restrained. I will end her threat myself once we have returned.” The mask-wearer bowed his head. “As you will it, Mistress.” He motioned to his fellow Disciples, who all followed him toward Luna, placing what must’ve been restraint spells on her wings and legs before putting some kind of bulky, metal ring on her horn. “Let… her go…” Swirling panted out. What did that mask guy hit her with? ‘It’s a sleep spell,’ Nevermore quickly explained. ‘I’m trying to keep it from getting to you, but I can’t hold it off for much longer.’ As Swirling struggled to stay on her hooves, fighting her body’s steadily growing urge to fall and rest, the white mare turned to her again, her crimson gaze like daggers. “Annoying,” she spat dispassionately, her horn lighting up with a red aura. “Sleep, creature. We will return for you when we are finished with the Corrupted One.” A single bolt flew from her horn, striking the Raven square in the barrel and launching her off the roof to fall into the alleyway below. Swirling’s last sight before blacking out was the pavement below her. -o- Vision was blurred. Everything hurt. Her body ached as she slowly struggled onto all fours, her legs shaky and unbalanced. As her view became less and less obscured, Swirling saw that she was in an alleyway (not having landed in a dumpster or trash can for once). She was no longer in her Raven form. It was still night out, too. Her memory of what happened was vague as she tried to recall. Something about… She gasped as the memory hit her like a bulldozer. “Princess Luna!” she shouted, sitting bolt upright. She looked back to the roof of the building she had fallen from, a sudden sense of urgency taking her. Reverting back into the Raven, she flapped her wings to land on the roof. She looked around and felt a knot of dread forming in her gut. “Oh, no! Where have they taken her?” ‘How should I know?’ asked Nevermore. ‘I can’t see anymore than what you see, and you were out cold for at least two hours.’ A desperate search didn’t yield any clues as to where the Disciples had gone, or Princess Luna’s whereabouts. She grabbed her mane in frustration. “This isn’t good, this isn’t good! We can’t let them do anything to Princess Luna!” ‘Why do you care?’ Swirling blinked in momentary confusion. “What?” ‘She wanted the Raven gone,’ the spirit explained. ‘So what if she was kidnapped by a bunch of nutcases in bathrobes? No skin off our backs.’ “How can you say that, Nevermore? She’s our princess!” ‘Not my princess,’ he declared hotly. ‘I don’t see the need to risk my neck for someone who would banish me from this realm.’ Her ears pinned back. “But… she’s still an important pony! She—” ‘Important to who, exactly? When she was Nightmare Moon and originally banished to the moon, Celestia controlled the moon for a thousand years, and everything was fine.’ That… was a very unsettlingly good point. Swirling could feel her resistance to Nevermore’s cold logic starting to wear out as she fell to her haunches, her head hanging low. “But… but… it’s not right.” ‘Doesn’t really matter in the long run. Ponies forgot about Luna before. They’ll forget about her again eventually.’ Swirling closed her eyes, digesting what he had told her. It was true that Luna had been forgotten long ago before her fairly recent return—even she never knew that Princess Celestia had a sister. Still… it was a depressing thought. Princess Luna didn’t seem that bad. Maybe a little strict, sure, but Swirling would’ve been willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. She shook her head to get the thoughts out of her mind, but they kept coming back like a swarm. A sigh escaped her as she walked towards the building’s edge. “Maybe you’re right…” ‘Of course I am.’ Her eyes fell over the streets below as carriages and ponies went about their night, all of them oblivious to the fact their Princess was in danger. What would they think if they learned that Princess Luna was kidnapped, or worse? Her head snapped up as she peered ahead. What if they knew that she had known and that she did nothing to help? What would Summer Streams think? Or the Day family? Could she really turn a blind eye to somepony in need? Even if it was a pony who wanted her time as the Raven to end. “...No.” ‘What?’ “I said no,” she reaffirmed, standing resolutely on all fours. “I can’t just walk away from this. I have the power to do something, and I’m going to use it. I won’t turn my back on anypony who needs help, no matter what. Leaving the princess to her fate is as bad as if I’d killed her myself, if not worse.” There was moment of silence between the mare and her tenant. ‘You’re not going to change your mind, are you?’ She shook her head adamantly, and the spirit sighed in irritation. ‘Do you even know where to look? Manehattan isn’t exactly a narrow corridor.’ “Well… I…” She gritted her teeth as she silently admitted that he had a point. Those ponies could’ve taken Princess Luna anywhere in the city. Heck, they could’ve taken her to the train station and be halfway to Los Pegasus by now. She needed a concrete plan! She needed to know where the Disciples took the princess! She needed… ‘Information,’ Nevermore suggested. That one word made it click. “Tricky! We could go and see if he knows anything about the Disciples!” When Nevermore grunted in agreement, she took off in the direction of Tricky’s apartment, heading for the biggest rathole of a neighborhood in all of Manehattan. As she soared through the night sky, she pleaded with whatever deity may have been listening that the shifty stallion would have something - anything - that could help. He had to have something. -o- Luna groaned groggily as she opened her eyes, a pervasive feeling of exhaustion draping her body, preventing her from getting any further onto her hooves than to sit on her haunches with her head hanging low. The only time she’d been this weak before now was after she had been freed from the Nightmare. It was not a feeling she enjoyed very much. She glanced up at her surroundings through bleary eyes, squinting at the bright light coming from the ceiling. She was in what looked like a… a cell, maybe? It was difficult to make out most of the details. The room was almost a sterile white, devoid of any furniture or decoration. She attempted to stand, but only tumbled back to the floor, her exhaustion claiming the better part of her body. She found chains on her hooves holding her in place. An experimental twitch of her wings revealing that a viselike clamp had been placed over them. She barely had the strength to cast any kind of spell, but a brief and failed attempt at such told her that her magic was being restrained somehow. “What… what is this?” she muttered quietly. She look around her cell, finding it devoid of any markings. The walls were plain and uninviting, cold and without compassion on the architect’s part. The only sound was that of her own breathing. “Hello? I demand that you release me! As your Princess of the Night, I will not be bound and chained like a common knave! Answer me!” The sound of ponies quietly speaking to each on the other side of the door directly in front of her was heard before somepony sounded as though they were walking away. Several moments later, she heard more hoofsteps, followed by the sound of the door being carefully unlocked. A bright red aura enveloped the door, pushing it open and ushering in a pure white mare with bright, crimson eyes, a peculiar amulet resembling a stylized eye hanging from her neck. Her cutie mark was a featureless outline of a five-pointed star. “Who are you?” Luna demanded. “What have you done to me?” The white mare narrowed her eyes at the princess, frowning at her. “If you must know, Corrupted One, I am White Star, leader of the Disciples of Light. As such, it is my sworn duty to destroy any and all creatures of the Dark.” She motioned a hoof toward her amulet. “As for what I’ve done to you, the credit goes to this. The Eye of Hyperion. It saps away the magic of whomever its bearer targets.” Luna scowled. “Such artifacts only lead to ruin.” White Star’s response to that was a noncommittal grunt. The Lunar Princess shook her head, glaring at her captor. “Why are you doing this at all? Why risk your own life in capturing me? Surely, you know that my sister will never stand for such a crime. You would be lucky if she banished you to the furthest reaches of the world for this.” White Star turned a nasty snarl at her. “Princess Celestia will see the value in what the Disciples do for Equestria. Our beloved homeland had known peace for years since you were done away with, but the moment you made your return, our world has been ravaged by all manner of dark and fell creatures. Discord, the changelings, Sombra—” She growled at the mention of the villainous unicorn king. “—and lastly, the Dark Lord Tirek. Do you think us all blind? You are the cause!” Luna’s eyes widened. “You are mad! I have not—” “Silence!” Luna arched her back as another wave of agony rushed through her body. Her scream echoed through the bare room as she writhed under the sudden strain. “I will not abide your wicked words, Corrupted One,” White Star said as the magical assault on Luna ended, leaving the alicorn panting for breath. “Soon, the cause will be no more, and Equestria can finally know peace again.” The princess panted heavily as the pain in her body gradually subsided, and she glared up at White Star. “You are a madmare. You seek to destroy the one who guards the night and protects the dreams of others.” “A mere ruse on your part,” the white mare growled. “Equestria was safe and peaceful when only Celestia sat upon the throne. It shall be so again.” “Then why not end me here and now?” Luna inquired. “That would certainly be easier than keeping me prisoner.” With a menacing scowl, White Star said, “Your presence in this world must be completely purged. A ritual is being prepared. Your body will be burned to ash, and your soul condemned to the deepest reaches of Tartarus, as you deserve for your endless, continuing sins.” Luna tried again to stand, but the pain was too much, and she fell back with a grunt. “My sister will not allow you roam free once she finds out what you have done.” White Star smirked insultingly. “She will thank us and welcome us with open arms. Just as Cerberus will welcome you to the fires of hell.” At that, she turned and made to leave the room, briefly acknowledging a robed stallion. “Ensure that the Corrupted One stays put. The ritual is nearly ready.” The guard nodded, and the door closed, cutting Luna off from the world once again. The princess sighed weakly, looking down at the chains on her hooves and the clamp upon her torso. She reflected on White Star’s words, and shook her head. She had it wrong; all of it was wrong. Considering the power the unicorn had used on her, she might very well have the means to carry out her threats. She looked to the ceiling, her eyes pleading. ‘Celestia… help me.’ Author's Note Theme of the Frog: Theme of White Star:
Let There Be Light, Part 2“I don’t have much for you,” Tricky informed her with a faint shrug. The Raven sighed in exasperation at the yellow stallion's continued stubbornness. Despite waiting for him in his cluttered apartment—which was adorned with file cabinets, maps, and other things that the pony kept in his long-running information business—he still took it personally that she was able to get around the traps he had set up to protect his residence. “Come on, Tricky, you of all ponies should have something I can use,” she asked the dark-yellow earth pony. “Didn’t you once tell me there wasn’t anything that happens in Manehatten you weren’t aware of? Or was that just you making empty boasts?” He leaned forward on his desk, running a hoof through his unkempt dark-blue mane. “Listen, Raven, believe me when I tell you I’ve tried. These Disciples of Light are a stingy group that doesn’t let just anypony in. I’ve tried getting ponies in their ranks, and each time, I lose spies. Whether they get killed off or converted to the Disciples’ cause is anyone’s guess. All I can really tell you is that they’re dangerous and not to be trifled with.” She shifted her weight as she stared down at the seated pony. “I need to trifle with them anyway. It’s important.” He rolled his eyes at her with a sigh of his own. “Why am I not surprised?” A snort escaped through his nose. “Care to tell me why?” Pure yellow eyes narrowed at him. “Quit trying to fish information out of me. Isn’t there anything useful you can tell me?” The stallion rubbed his chin in thought for a few moments. He briefly looked around the room, scanning every detail. After a while, he stood from his seat and approached one of the file cabinets and began sifting through the files within one drawer at a time. Eventually, he seemed to find something he approved of, opening a file and quickly reading through it before tossing it to the Raven. “Last guy I lost contact with disappeared somewhere up Chancellor Avenue in uptown. They may have moved from there, if they were ever really there to begin with. It’s not much, but I figure you’ve got a decent chance at finding them. Just try not to get whacked. It’d be pretty inconvenient for me to lose such an effective bodyguard.” She rolled her eyes. “You’re hilarious.” She read over the file he’d given her, committing as much of its contents to memory as she could before closing it and giving it back to the info dealer. “Thanks. I’ll be sure to bring you back a souvenir or two.” Tricky smirked. “Anything that can expand what I know about these Disciples will do very nicely.” With a nod, the Raven headed for the nearby window and leaped out of it, taking off into the night and leaving Tricky to himself. He blinked at the window for a moment. “She does realize I have a door, right?” he muttered to himself. -o- Swirling walked alongside Summer Streams as they traversed the main thoroughfare of Manehatten the next day. As much as she wanted to hunt down the Disciples that night, she knew her Raven form would not last long enough to find Princess Luna, let alone save her. Swirling only prayed to Celestia that they hadn’t done anything to the Lunar Princess while she waited for the magic of the Raven to recharge. The evening hours were quickly giving way to dusk as the sun gradually lowered on the city. “I’m so glad you decided to come with me, Swirling,” Summer said with a gleeful smile. “I’ve been wanting to shop in uptown for a while now, and I can’t wait to try on some new saddles and boots!” Swirling’s smile wasn’t as genuine as she had hopped. “I’m happy to hang out with you, Summer. It’s been way too long since we last had a girls’ night.” Summer bounced as she walked. “Maybe we can find us a nice spa and have our manes done! Wouldn’t Page just fall over if I showed up all dressed to kill?” She gave her friend a sly smile. “We might even pick you up a nice stallion while we’re at it!” Swirling closed her eyes tightly, trying to ignore the blush creeping up on her face. “You just won’t stop until I find a special somepony, right?” Her friend gave an arrogant toss of her head. “You know me so well.” “Too well…” she deadpanned. Summer pranced a bit more before she stopped, an odd look crossing her face. “Hey!” A warm laughed escaped her and she wrapped Swirling up in a hug. “You’re too easy sometimes, you know that?” Summer harrumphed but a smirk crossed her face as she tugged Swirling along. “Come on, we’re wasting time.” A short time later, after some solid pampering from some spa ponies, Swirling and Summer stepped back out into the warm lights of the city nightscape. Swirling’s hoof instinctively went to her mane as it was held up in a fashionable curl. She and Summer both had decided to wear the identical look at Summer’s suggestion. ‘Great. Now you can look fabulous for your date with the Disciples,’ Nevermore snarked. ‘I can’t just blow Summer off just like that, Nevermore. It’ll look suspicious.’ ‘Well, you better come up with something. There’s the street you need.’ She looked to the street sign and saw that it was indeed Chancellor Avenue. If she was going to save Princess Luna, now was the time to get started. A worried frown crossed her face as Summer bumped into her. “Hey, why the frown? You look great. Don’t worry about it so much.” A smile tugged at her face despite it all. “It’s not that. It’s…” Her eyes settled on a nearby clothing boutique, and her eyes brightened slightly. “I think we need to get some clothes to match our new look.” Summer squeaked in excitement, and tried to pull her along, but Swirling stopped her. “But I’ve got to go to the little fillies’ room. Meet you in there?” Her friend nodded excitedly. “I’ll be waiting!” Swirling watched as her friend galloped for the store, nearly bowling over a pair of ponies leaving said store. ‘Remind me not to get in her way...’ Nevermore said with a touch of nervousness in his tone. ‘It’d hurt worse than when Brawn punched me.’ The spirit snorted. ‘Now’s your chance. Let’s get going already.’ Swirling quickly headed down the street, a sudden feeling of guilt rising up in her chest for ditching her friend, but she knew she had to rescue the princess. As soon as she was certain that no one had paid her any mind, she changed form and charged down the street, moving swiftly through the shadows. She shot through alleys like an loosed arrow, looking through windows from building to building and scouting out floor after floor to find whatever it was she was looking for. Eventually, she stumbled upon a door that bore an eye-like symbol that resembled the one that was on the mask of one of the Disciples from last night. “That’s it, right?” Swirling asked as she approached the door, cautious curiosity taking her for a moment. ‘It fits what Tricky told us. I’d bet your next paycheck that there’s a trap waiting for us.’ “How are you going to bet my money? Little as it is…” she groused finally. She could practically feel him rolling his eyes at her. ‘Just open the door.’ With a nod, the pegasus faced the door and reared back, readying her forelegs before slamming them down, blasting the door off its hinges and sending it crashing into the opposite wall. She charged in, battle ready and poised, prepared for… absolutely… nothing. The room in front of her was empty, though it looked only recently vacated. There was a plate of food on a table not far from her, and it still looked fairly warm. Had the Disciples left this building in such a hurry that they couldn’t finish some baked potatoes? ‘This screams of a trap.’ ‘Will you shut up about—’ “Well, well, well. If it isn’t the Corrupted One’s little pawn.” The Raven quickly spun around toward the door, facing the same masked stallion from last night (probably). ‘Nevermore, if you say anything, I swear I’ll find some way to buck you.’ ‘Told you so,’ he said anyway. “Lady White Star was correct in assuming you would come.” He shook his head in mock pity. “So unfortunately predictable, it seems.” Swirling felt her hackles rising at the masked pony’s tone. “What’s pathetic is you hiding behind that ridiculous mask. Are you so ugly that you have to hide your face behind that glorified Nightmare Night decoration?” He snarled at her. “Bark all you want, dog. You will not leave this place alive. The Light shall cleanse your taint from this world. Disciples!” At his word, a dozen robed ponies rushed in, some coming in through the door, others entering through another door on the far side of the room, all looking ready for a fight. They surrounded her in an instant, standing ready with weapons drawn and aimed at her. Her eyes darted around to the dozen ponies all staring at her with open hatred, though she saw a few weapons were shaking in their grasp. For some reason, this put a smile on her face. “So, you think it’s gonna take twelve of you to beat little, old me? I’m actually flattered you think so.” “Take her!” the masked one shouted, and the robed ponies charged with battle shouts of varying confidence. In response, Swirling dove into the shadows beneath her, the Disciples’ weapons meeting only each other before she reemerged and crashed her hooves into the backs of two ponies’ heads. The other ten reacted quickly, swinging their spears and blades at her with murderous intent. “Too slow!” she taunted as she grabbed a stabbing spear just below its head. She yanked the Disciple that stubbornly clung to it and slugged him hard enough that he did an inverted flip before landing painfully to the ground. She then swung the spear’s non-lethal end into the side of another Disciple, breaking the shaft in half and winding the opponent, a sense of satisfaction hitting her right before a sword almost did the same her neck. ‘Do I have to say it?’ ‘Keep moving and don’t let the enemy catch you,’ she repeated in a dull monotone. ‘I get it already!’ A buck sent the sword pony flying across the room, and she quickly ran off, the remaining Disciples following after her. She dashed up a flight a stairs before a pair of pegasi cut her off, their spears trained on her. “You’re going nowhere, demon!” “All right, I’m getting tired of the insults!” She charged ahead, ducked under the pegasus’s swing, and came up with an uppercut that caught him under the chin. The blow sent her opponent flying over the side of the stairwell, but she had no time to celebrate, as his companion tackled her to the ground. “Your days of skulking in the night are over!” he yelled as he raised his spear to impale her. “Indoor voices, please!” she said, kicking the stallion in the back with her hind legs, sending him off of her to collide with a wall. When he slumped over in unconsciousness, the Raven darted off further through the building. She stopped as the hallway she was running down just suddenly dead ended. “Great…” “Nowhere to run now.” She turned to find the remaining Disciples and the masked one blocking her way out. “You put up an admittedly admirable fight, pawn, but this ends now.” She bared her teeth, though the Raven form wouldn’t show it. “Call me ‘pawn’ one more time, and I’m going to buck you so hard, you’ll be kissing the moon!” “An empty threat.” The remaining Disciples charged ahead. With a snarl she lunged forward catching two of them by the neck and slamming them to the ground, but the move cost her as another Disciple nailed her across the flank with his blade. She hissed in pain as the blade got past the magic’s protection and cut at her side, thankfully not deep enough to cause serious damage. ‘You need to be more careful!’ Nevermore scolded her almost eagerly. “Oh, shut up!” Swirling exclaimed out loud, not caring what the Disciples would think of her talking to no one as she retaliated against the pony who’d hit her with a heavy punch to the barrel. She then grabbed him by his forelegs and spun, twirling around faster and faster before letting him go, launching him into the crowd of his colleagues, knocking away several and startling others. The Disciples who were still standing looked at her with very obvious surprise on their faces. She glowered at them, solid yellow eyes narrowed in what she was assumed would be a menacing fashion. For several moments, nopony did anything except glare at the opposition. Eventually, Swirling decided she’d waited long enough and stepped forward. The Disciples grimaced and readied themselves, preparing to fight to the last. “Enough,” said the masked stallion, stepping in front of them with cold determination. “I will handle this myself.” The others bowed, moving away to give him the space they apparently believed he deserved. Swirling eyed the masked pony cautiously, unsure of what to expect here. “So, you and me, huh, chuckles?” She assumed he was glaring at her. “My name is Zeal. I hope that you remember it well, for it will be the last name you ever hear, Raven.” His horn glowed, and a blade of hard magic appeared beside him, ready to pierce her flesh. “Did you take an acting class or something?” she deadpanned, her ears flattening. “That was stupidly dramatic.” “Insolence!” He charged ahead, blade leading. ‘I won’t be able to stop that blade. Do not get hit.’ Growling softly, she jumped away from his slash and backpedaled as he followed up with another attack. The cut came within a hair’s breadth of slicing her across her barrel. She could feel heat coming from the blade, almost like a very pointy furnace. She lunged in after his swing, but found herself on the receiving end of a punch to her face as she got close. With a gasp, she barely ducked under his countering swing, the blade tearing through the ethereal mass of her mane. He stopped his attack mid-swing and inverted the blade for a stab. She rolled out of the way to find the blade tearing through the wood of the floor like a hot knife through warm butter. ‘How do I get to this guy? He’s too good!’ she shouted to Nevermore as she found herself in full retreat from Zeal’s ferocious attacks. ‘It’s probably why he’s their leader, and I bet he’ll expect you to jump from the shadows at him, so that won’t work either.’ ‘What do I do?’ ‘I’m going to try something. Next opening you get, punch.’ She swore at him inwardly, wondering how she was even going to find an opening. Her eyes widened as Zeal aimed a stab right at her face. She barely got out of the way to avoid being skewered, but his blade sunk into the wall behind her. ‘Now!’ She brought her hoof back and connected solidly to his barrel, he staggered back from the hit, but remained standing. “You will pay for that!” He charged back in, but found his hooves stuck to the floor, his shadow suddenly darker and binding his hooves still. “By the Light! What is this!?” He looked back in time to see the Raven draw back her hoof and punch out. The sheer force of the punch cracked and split apart his mask and sent him soaring down the hall to land with a pained grunt—his magical blade dissipating into nothingness. He groaned as he covered his face with his hooves, glaring at the shadowy mare with a milky white eye, his other eye blocked by his hoof. “What in the…?” Swirling asked to no one in particular. ‘Bleeding hell, he’s blind,’ Nevermore said, unable to hide his astonishment. “Master Zeal!” the remaining two Disciples shouted and leveled their weapons at the Raven. “Enough!” he shouted. “The demon has won this day.” He grunted as he staggered to his hooves, still clutching at the side of his face. He pulled the hood of his robe further over his head, making it impossible to see what he really looked like. The two looked at each other, clearly not understanding what they should do. The Raven turned to them. “I suggest you boys start running before I hoof you your flanks.” They scowled and set themselves. “We’ll not let you harm Master Zeal further, monster!” “I said stand down!” Zeal shouted to the two, who backed away in surprise. “It will not be us who ends this pawn; that pleasure will belong to Mistress White Star.” “White Star?” asked Swirling. “Who’s White Star?” Zeal faced her coolly. “She is our leader. She will be the one to cleanse the world of the Corrupted One’s vile presence, and you along with it.” Swirling bristled, stepping forward menacingly. “Where have you taken Princess Luna? Tell me before I beat the three of you into a pulp!” He scowled, but winced in sudden pain. “You will find your master in warehouse 121 in the docks district. Go and try to save the foul creature. The Disciples, and Mistress White Star, know you will be coming.” Underneath her shadowy form, Swirling smirked. “Well, I’d better not keep them waiting then, should I? But I don’t want to leave anything here up to chance.” Just as Zeal was about to say something, Swirling sank into the shadows, then blasted out from under him, landing an uppercut square in his jaw before striking the other two Disciples with her hind legs, knocking all three of them out cold. With that deed done, she dashed out of the building, taking off for the docks. ‘Hold on just a little longer, Princess. I’m coming.’ -o- White Star held her amulet close to her chest as she knelt before a hastily constructed altar, prostrating herself before a depiction of the very eye that represented the center of her faith - the same faith that was shared by hundreds. The Light’s Eye bore into her, staring with a perpetual calm, judging her worth and testing her merit as she offered forth prayers and praise to the Light. “Glory be unto the Light that gives us life,” she whispered. “Praise be unto that which warms us at day and shows us the path at night. I pray for strength to endure the challenges placed before me, and for the forgiveness of sins I have wrought in the name of the Light. I pray for the Light’s warm embrace, not only for myself, but for the Light’s faithful, and for all those who know not the magnanimous compassion of Light.” She placed a hoof just below the eye sigil, head low in respectful submission. “May the Light’s radiance grace those who dwell within the Dark, and banish the profane from this mortal realm. May the Light’s guiding beacon lead those trapped within the Darkness against their will, and offer their pitiful souls peace in Elysium.” The snow white mare then hummed an old hymn passed down within the Disciples’ leadership for generations. No doubt, it was not the original melody - decades, if not centuries, of only word of mouth tended to muddle details. Still, the tune’s hauntingly serene tones were as wondrous as when she’d first heard the song from her mentor, the late stallion who’d led the Disciples before her. “Mistress.” White Star sighed as a voice called to her just as she finished the hymn. She turned to the speaker, a stallion wearing the white, undecorated robes of a novice Disciple. “Speak.” The stallion quickly bowed his head. “Forgive my intrusion, Mistress, but I was sent to tell that the ritual is ready whenever you deem it time to punish the Corrupted One.” With a quiet nod, White Star stood and approached the low-ranking Disciple. “Thank you, my friend. Let our Brothers and Sisters know that we will begin at dawn. Barring any interruptions, of course.” “You mean the Raven?” the novice asked. “Surely, milady, your second-in-command will be able to handle the demon.” She turned away from him, returning her attention to the altar. “Zeal is a skilled warrior, in spite of his handicap. Or… maybe even because of it. Either way, I do not believe even his skill will be enough to keep the Raven at bay for long. A demon is no easy foe to conquer.” She faced the novice again. “I expect the creature will attempt to save its cursed master before the night ends. We must be ready for that.” The stallion bowed deeply. “As you say, Mistress White Star. I’ll spread the word amongst the others.” He rose again and headed out to perform his given task, leaving White Star alone with the altar once again. She turned to it one last time. “When the Raven comes,” she said, making a promise to herself and the Light, “I will personally remove its dark presence from this world.” She offered one more prayer, pleading for the strength of will and body to carry out her oath. The Eye of Hyperion, she knew, would be a tremendous aid in the coming battle, but she would not be able to rely on it exclusively. A shadow could not be swallowed by anything other than larger shadow. To destroy a shadow, one must cast light upon it. -o- Summer was not going to be happy when Swirling saw her next. The pegasus hated having to ditch her friend like this, but it was either that or let the Disciples do whatever it was they were planning to do with Princess Luna. In the grand scheme of things, saving the Princess of the Night was a little more important than choosing between two different colored dresses. She’d have to find a way to make it up to Summer later, though. She touched down from her flight upon the edge of a roof, out of her Raven form, with decent view of the docks. With a quick search, Swirling spotted her target; warehouse 121 had a number of ponies trotting around it, looking fairly ordinary. None of them wore those robes the Disciples had. None that she could see, anyway. There were too many for her to take out in a head-on fight. ‘You’ll need to be quiet if you’re going to do this,’ Nevermore warned. Swirling nodded, willing herself into the Raven before leaping off the roof and diving into the shadows like a pool. She darted towards the warehouse, stopping behind a pile of crates and peeking out at the ponies patrolling around the building. Two stallions stood side by side at a door, both occasionally looking off to the left or right. One surly-looking mare was sitting back against a crate a ways off from the two guards, a cigarette hanging out of her mouth while a third stallion paced around her, looking beyond nervous, his attention turning to every little sound, as if he expected something to jump out at him. “Will you stop?” the smoking mare asked irritably. “You’re driving me crazy, walking around like that.” “Can you really blame me?” the fidgety stallion asked. “We’re all out here waiting for the Raven to pop up from who-knows-where, and the odds of us actually beating that monster are slim to none.” “Can’t be that bad,” the mare said dismissively. The stallion gritted his teeth, glancing around with a frantic look. “You weren’t there the other night when we caught the Corrupted One. If it weren’t for Master Zeal and Mistress White Star, I doubt we’d have made it out of there, Corrupted One or no.” He gulped anxiously. “Man, I’d rather be inside helping to get the ritual ready.” The mare merely grunted in response, while Swirling Line couldn’t help but smirk to herself. It seemed she already had a bit of reputation with the Disciples. With their grunts, at least. ‘Why not give them something to really be afraid of?’ she heard her spirit ally suggest, and for once, she couldn’t agree more with him. She jumped into the shadows behind her, but not without knocking on the crate she was hiding behind. The stallion and mare jumped at the sound, the mare’s cigarette falling out of her mouth and the stallion’s eyes nearly popping out of his skull. An anxiety-filled silence made itself known as the pair glanced at each other. The stallion bit his lip nervously and approached the crates. Unbeknownst to both of them, the Raven darted past them, unseen within the shadows. While the pair’s attention was distracted, she knocked on the crate the mare had been leaning against, startling the mare, who quickly turned, but not fast enough to catch sight of Swirling. The pegasus was gone from sight, hiding right under the mare’s nose. “What was that?” the stallion asked, clearly on the edge of losing it. “N-nothing,” the mare answered, though her tone betrayed her newfound nervousness. “What’s over there?” The stallion grimaced. “Nothing but boxes. I swear, something—” He was cut off as he was pulled away by his tail, letting out a yelp before the mare heard sounds of a very brief struggle. She shot up from her position and galloped over to where her fellow Disciple had been, and found… nothing. “What in Tartarus?” she muttered, a sense of fear now running through her spine. Where was that stallion? What happened to him? There was a clang of metal behind her, and she spun around, stepping back to put distance between her and whatever had made… Her eyes went wide as she felt herself bump into something, and turned again to see a living silhouette with solid yellow eyes piercing her like daggers. “Boo,” the being said in an unnatural, otherworldly voice. The mare didn’t have it in her to scream, it seemed. Instead, she fainted, falling over right into the Raven’s hooves. Swirling blinked briefly as she set the mare down. “Nighty-night, Princess What’s-Your-Name.” ‘Two down,’ said Nevermore. ‘About three dozen more to go.’ Swirling nodded and looked over to the two guards at the door. They didn’t look like they noticed what had just happened, nor where she hid the unconscious stallion. Either they were deaf, or they didn’t care what the mare and third stallion were doing right now. She dove into the shadows again, dashing towards the door, ignoring the stallions and slipping under the door and into the warehouse. She rapidly climbed up the wall to the roof and stuck her head out of the shadows, giving the building a once over as she planned out her next move. At the far end of the warehouse was what looked like an altar of some kind, with large, heavily decorated table that had several lit torches surrounding it. Off to the right was what she assumed was once the manager’s office, with the windows closed and shuttered. A line of bright light was emanating from under the door—it was probably where the princess was being held, if the armed guards stationed there were any indication. ‘This reeks of a trap, Line,’ Nevermore said. ‘Yeah, I figured.’ If that room was where Luna was being kept, then she’d have to find some way to get the guards out of there so that she could bust the door down and get the princess out of this place. She rubbed at her chin as she watched the Disciples walk about the warehouse, preparing for… something. Whatever they were getting ready for, it couldn’t be anything good. ‘That stallion from earlier said something about a ritual. What do you think they’re planning?’ She furrowed her brow as her partner didn’t immediately answer. ‘Nevermore?’ ‘I’m not sure,’ he finally said, his voice unsettlingly neutral, ‘but all signs point to them getting ready to kill the princess. That white unicorn from the other night did say she was going to ‘end’ Luna.’ The pegasus’ eyes went wide. Of course that’s what they were planning! But… why would a ritual be required to kill one pony, alicorn or not? There had to have been something that she was missing here. Something wasn’t quite right with… okay, there was nothing quite right with all of this, but something was certainly fishy. ‘Maybe we should try—’ “Up there! It’s her!” Her head darted to the side as a Disciple was pointing frantically towards her perch. “The Raven is here!” “Oh, horseapples!” she swore and dropped from her perch as a multitude of magical beams and arrows struck the wall. ‘So much for stealth.’ ‘Now is not the time, Nevermore!’ She flapped her wings frantically as more attacks sailed her way. It seemed that the Disciples were almost spawning out of thin air, many as there were. In their rush to catch her, she noticed that the Disciples at the office door had left their posts. She speed for the office, ignoring the ponies below her. ‘What are you doing?’ Nevermore demanded. ‘If I can get to Princess Luna, she can help us!’ ‘What makes you think she would?’ ‘We’re trying to—Whoa!” She banked sharply to the right as a beam sailed in, missing her by mere inches. ‘You’re going to get us killed!’ Nevermore hollered at her. Before she could retort, a pegasus Disciple tackled her in midair, roughly bringing her to the ground as others swarmed around her. She managed to kick the pegasus off of her, only to be dogpiled by no less than a dozen other ponies. She struggled against their combined weight before sinking away into the shadows beneath her and reemerging outside of the pile of ponies, a grin on her face beneath her black hide. Her slight triumph was short-lived, however, as she was blasted by a crimson bolt that slammed her against a wall, winding her as she fell to the floor. “We were expecting you, Raven,” said a familiar mare’s voice. Swirling looked up to see that white mare from the other night, her horn glowing a bright red and her eyes narrowed with a mixture of spite and pity. “Yeah, I figured as much,” Swirling said with a scowl, getting back to her hooves. “Let Princess Luna go.” White Star frowned venomously, her horn not losing its aura. “I cannot do that. Her presence is required for the ritual to be completed.” Swirling dug a hoof into the ground at her. “And just what’s this ritual of yours about, exactly?” “It is something beyond the understanding of a pawn of the Dark.” “Stop calling me a pawn!” It took everything she had to not try to throttle the unicorn where she stood. “Pawn or not, it is not something you would understand, even if I took the time to explain it.” The albino mare glowered at shadowy pegasus. “All you need to know that the Corrupted One’s death will usher in a new era, one in which the Light shines upon all of creation.” The Raven blinked at her for a moment. “If I didn’t think you were crazy before, I do now.” White Star shook her head. “As I said, you could never understand.” Suddenly, a beam flew out from her horn, too fast for Swirling to dodge. The attack impacted against Swirling’s barrel, knocking the air out her and stunning her. For a brief moment, her shadow form wavered, but remained. She glared up at White Star, who was eyeing her curiously. “Your form is…” the white unicorn began, gears turning in her head. Evidently, something clicked. “You are possessed, aren’t you?” “Not what I’d call it,” Swirling answered in an attempt to be cryptic. “That’s as close as you’ll understand, though.” White Star sneered. “Not that it matters. You will be no more once we are done with your master.” She glanced to the closest Disciple. “Bind her. She will witness the Corrupted One’s destruction before she joins her in oblivion.” He dipped his head obediently. “Yes, Mistress.” Swirling set herself to meet their attack. “Bring it on! I’ll take you all down before—” She gave a strangled scream as White Star hit her with another beam, and she felt her muscles lock up. She fell to the side with a thud, her body not reacting to her brain’s commands. “Not fair,” she managed to gurgle out as the Disciples quickly bound her wings and hooves together. White Star ignored the Raven, turning to the other Disciples. “Let all our Brothers and Sisters know that the Raven is no longer a threat. The ritual will proceed as planned.” -o- ‘Well, this is a fine mess you’ve gotten us into.’ ‘Shut up, Nevermore. Just shut up.’ She growled at her resident in annoyance. She sat against a wall, bound tightly and guarded by four Disciples that had spears leveled at her, ready to thrust if she so much as twitched. White Star stood before the altar, singing another hymn as the other Disciples joined her. A sigil had been painted into the floor, it looked almost identical in shape to the eye emblem on the wall, though runes and other etchings encircled the eye. A pair of iron rings had been bolted to the floor within the emblem, but she hadn’t the foggiest what they could be for. ‘Is there anything you can do, Nevermore? They’re going to kill Princess Luna and then us if we don’t do something!’ ‘You don’t say? I’m working on it, just hang tight.’ ‘...Was that a pun?’ ‘I don’t do puns.’ She snorted quietly, earning herself a painful jab from a spear. “Quiet, you!” As much as she wanted to take that spear and do something rather unpleasant to him for poking her, she wisely kept her mouth shut. But she couldn’t stay quiet forever. She needed to free herself, preferably without getting impaled. Or sliced. Or… anything bad, really. The more she thought on on her situation, though, the more hopeless it seemed. The paralysis she was under made it impossible for her to slip away into the shadows, and even if she could, she had no doubts that that would only put the Disciples on high alert, making a bad situation even worse. The office door opened, and two robed stallions trotted out, carrying a drastically weakened Luna. The Raven’s eyes widened at the princess’s condition, but stopped herself from speaking up. The Disciples were mostly silent, save for a few baleful murmurs and whisperings of spite for the Princess of the Night, some of which Swirling could hear. Most of what she heard were wishes of death to the “Corrupted One,” and some of them were sickeningly imaginative. The two stallions half-dragged, half-carried Luna along a path made open by the Disciples as they made their way towards the altar, where White Star stood annoyingly tall and irritatingly proud. The stallions carrying Luna roughly dumped the alicorn upon the sigil on the floor, binding her hooves and wings with iron clamps and chains, bowing to White Star before joining their fellow zealots. “My Brothers and Sisters,” White Star spoke, her voice loud enough to carry within the warehouse, yet still retaining its calm, collected tone. “We are gathered here now for a monumental occasion, a great victory for which we have all prayed, that we may use as a weapon to strike fear into the hearts of those who skitter within the foul Dark.” There was silence as the white mare descended from the altar, slowly approaching Princess Luna, who managed lift her head to glare at the uncaring unicorn. “This eve,” White Star continued, “we destroy the being who brought with her chaos, deception, darkness, and would-be tyranny. This eve, we slay the foul Corrupted One.” The Disciples all released a roaring cheer of approval, while Swirling Line fought off the urge to scream about how insane all of this was. “You are mad!” Luna managed to croak out, despite the uproar. “You know not what you do. In destroying me, you would doom Equestria to—” “Silence!” White Star screamed, her amulet flashing again. Luna’s back arched as she screamed in unbridled agony, tears of pain running down the alicorn’s face. White Star barely even gave notice Luna’s suffering, instead turning to another robed pony. “Do you have the ceremonial blade?” the cult leader asked. The pony nodded, taking out an incredibly ornate knife, which White Star took in her magic. She examined the blade before facing Luna again after the magical torment had ended. ‘Nevermore, whatever you have planned, you’d better hurry!’ ‘Oh, no, I thought I’d just take a break, watch the bloodbath, maybe take a nice nap afterward.’ ‘Please… help me.’ Swirling felt that Nevermore was just as shocked as she was when a third voice entered her mind. She looked towards Luna, and saw her teal irises looking directly at her. ‘Princess Luna?’ ‘If I… do not make it… please, get a message to my sister… Do not allow them to roam free. This madmare must be stopped.’ The pegasus had no idea how to respond. She sat, gaping at the princess as White Star began leading her cult in some kind of song. The blade of the knife began to glow with an eldritch light, as did the sigil that Luna had been placed within. At the continued chanting, the blade lifted up, and lights began to dance around the sigil, bathing the entire building in an otherworldly glow. Whatever was happening, it was very painfully obvious that it was bad. The fear in Luna’s eyes was unmistakable. ‘I have an idea,’ Nevermore finally said. ‘It’s about time! What is it?’ ‘I can try to counter White Star’s spell, but it’ll likely cut your time as the Raven in half.’ ‘How much time would that leave me with?’ ‘Around forty to fifty minutes.’ Plenty of time in Swirling’s mind. ‘Do it.’ The spirit gave a grunt of affirmation, and Swirling could already feel him working his magic. She was beginning to regain feeling in her hooves and in the tips of her primaries. As the Disciples sang their weird song, the guards around her included. She could feel legs and torso now, and decided now was as good a time as any to take action. With no shadows beneath her anymore, thanks to the unnatural lights flying around that grew steadily brighter. She was going to have to rely on more mundane methods. With a strong flap of her wings, Swirling took off towards White Star before her guards could even blink. Time itself seemed to crawl to a near halt as the Raven brought back a hoof to strike. She saw White’s red eyes widen in utter shock before the sheer force of the punch sent her soaring to crash through the altar, earning a collective gasp from the Disciples all around. Then, with grunts of effort, Swirling whirled and grabbed hold of the chains. She felt her body strain with the effort, but the chains snapped with a resound clatter of metal. The princess stood slowly and shakily, all while wearing a thankful smile directed at Swirling. Before either of them could say anything, however, an enraged shout erupted from the altar. White Star stood from the ruins, her eyes and horn blazing with unrivaled fury. “You will pay for defiling this sacred ritual, demon!” She pointed a hoof at the shadowclad mare. “Kill her!” Without hesitation, the horde of Disciples charged, dozens of weapons held at the ready. ‘Ignore them!’ Nevermore ordered. ‘Go for White Star’s amulet! Get rid of that, and she’ll have no way of depowering Luna again!’ Swirling nodded, turning to face Luna, who gave a quick, approving nod. “I will hold them at bay, while you deal with their leader,” Luna said as she turned to meet the charging horde. The Raven, with no reluctance, charged for White Star. Swatting aside the two guards that thought to stop her. The albino mare scowled, erecting a crimson barrier that caught the Raven. White Star then fired off a beam that struck her square in the barrel, sending her end over end into the air. Shaking her head, Swirling saw Luna fending off the Disciples hoof-to-hoof before grabbing a spear from one of her many opponent and expertly beating them back with the blunt end. Knowing the princess was safe in her own hooves, Swirling made another dash for White Star, this time zigzagging in an uncertain pattern, the unicorn firing blasts at her from the shattered altar. The red beams soared past her, many missing only narrowly, but all of them leaving destruction in their wake. Swirling dove forward and brought her forelegs back for a smash, but White Star threw a barrier up that stopped the attack, though cracks did appear along the barrier’s surface. “Are you so eager for oblivion, demon?” White Star hissed with a cruel edge in her voice. “If you had only waited, you would have known it soon enough!” “You really are crazy, you know that?” Swirling flew back as the barrier shattered outwards, the shards cutting past her painfully. White Star fired off more beams as the Raven scurried to dodge them. “You call me insane, but it’s you who cannot comprehend the magnitude of the threat the Darkness brings to Equestria. We are trying to save this world!” Swirling ducked behind a crate and kicked it at the unicorn who rolled aside. “By killing one of its princesses? Yeah, that makes a whole lot of sense. For someone who worships the Light, you’re not very bright!” “You ignorant fool!” Star gathered her power and unleashed a massive beam at the Raven’s hiding place. Crates and things burst apart and burned from the magical onslaught, and White Star watched the devastation, her sides heaving in ragged breaths. As the dust settled, she could see no sign of the Raven. “Pitiful fool.” That was when something jumped out of her shadow. “Yoink!” In a fit of instinct, White Star loosed a beam at the Raven, knocking her away. The pegasus rolled across the floor into a wall, apparently out cold. Not wanting to take chances, Star charged her horn. “I will end you once and for all, you pawn of Darkness!” Just as she was about to unleash a blast of raw power, she heard the Raven… laughing. “What’s so funny? Do you find your imminent death humorous?” “I keep telling you,” the shadowy mare said, lifting a hoof that held White Star’s treasured Eye of Hyperion. “Don’t call me a pawn.” The unicorn’s eyes went wide, her hoof scrambling to her neck before she glared at the Raven. “Give that back!” “Sure.” At that, Swirling crashed her hooves together, the amulet trapped between them. The relic shattered to pieces and fell to the floor with small, metallic clinks. “How much of it do you want?” White Star’s jaw went slack, her eyes wide in a blend of rage, shock, and horror. She turned to her followers. “What are you waiting—” She was silenced at the sight of Princess Luna beating down the last of her conscious Disciples, the alicorn’s horn now glowing steadily. As the last of them fell, she turned to regard White Star. “Your followers could do with more thorough training. They make for poor soldiers.” the princess quipped, tossing aside her borrowed spear. Swirling wanted to laugh so badly at how much White Star was shaking now, but she forced herself to remain serious as she approached the cult leader. “It’s over, Star,” she said. “You lose.” White Star hung her head low, scowling vehemently before lifting her head again, her horn glowing brightly. “As long as the Dark exists, it is never over. The Light will never cease its radiance!” Before either Luna or the Raven could react, the albino mare was enveloped in a flash of red light, leaving nothing but a scorch mark where she had been standing. Swirling looked around and dove to the floor. Luna lifted an eyebrow at her. “What are you doing?” The pegasus lifted her head cautiously. “I thought she was going to attack me with another beam again. Or… something.” ‘Very smooth.’ A slight smile adorned the princess’s face. “That was a teleportation spell. She has quit this place.” Her small smile became a serious frown. “I have no doubts that she will show herself again in the future.” “Oh, goody,” Swirling sighed. She would’ve greatly preferred if this whole mess was just a one-time thing. There was a moment of quiet as Luna briefly looked around at the unconscious bodies around her. “I shall summon the authorities to deal with these criminals,” she said before looking back to Swirling. “For now, I recommend we leave this place. We’ve more to talk about now.” Swirling gulped back the sense of anxiety Luna’s words called out. She nodded and followed the princess out of the warehouse, where they stopped a fair distance away from the building. The Lunar Princess turned to face the pegasus with a serious expression upon her visage, her eyes bearing an analytical stare. “I am still uncertain that leaving you to your own devices is wise.” Swirling hung her head at the taller mare’s words. “However, it would seem that I now owe you my life, Swirling Line. Had you not interfered with the Disciples’ ritual, I would likely be dead now. Or worse.” The princess took a single step forward and rested a hoof on her shoulder. “For that, you have my gratitude.” Swirling Line, unsure of how to respond at first, slowly looked up to meet Luna’s gaze. “It-it was no trouble, Princess. I only did what anypony else would’ve done.” ‘Including getting caught?’ said Nevermore. “Hey, that was, er, all a part of my plan!” ‘Sure it was. And I’m Mother Faust.’ The mare huffed angrily, earning what sounded almost like a giggle from Princess Luna. “Whether or not it went as you had planned, you still saved my life. As thanks, I will, admittedly against my better judgment, allow you to continue your nightly endeavors.” The Raven glanced up at the princess with wide eyes. “Know this, however: should you ever cross the fine line between vigilante hero and menace, I will not hesitate to stop you by any means necessary. Do I make myself clear?” “Crystal clear, Your Highness.” To further display her understanding, she gave what she hoped was a respectable salute. Her ears perked up as she heard Nevermore grunt. “What’s wrong, Nevermore?” ‘Remember when I said you had forty minutes or so left?’ Her ears laid back. “Yeah?” ‘I lied...’ Swirling blinked as the Raven form faded away, reverting her back to her natural state. Her eyes widened and she looked to her hooves. “Nevermore!” ‘Tired. Going to sleep now. Wake me up when I tell you to.’ “Wait, sleep? You’re a spirit in my head! Why do you need to sleep?” The shadow spirit gave no response, frustrating Swirling further. The mare grumbled at the spirit’s laziness, cursing how tired she felt, but wasn’t about to get any sleep soon. There was another laugh from the princess, who wore an amused grin. “I suppose you and tenant do not always see eye to eye.” Swirling gave a flat stare. “That’s putting it mildly.” “I shall escort you back to your home, if you wish. If you desire to keep your secret, I shall cast an illusion of invisibility upon us both. No one who saw the Raven come here will see Swirling Line come from here.” “That would be an enormous help, Princess. Thank you.” Nodding, Luna took to the air first, with the pegasus following soon after, a brief flash covering them both as Swirling led the way back to her apartment, where she planned to flop down in bed and try to sleep away tonight’s troubles. -o- After the evening she had just had, Luna desired nothing more than to just go home fall into her sinfully cozy bed just as her new acquaintance did. But while Swirling Line was ultimately harmless, the Raven was far from such, and despite her abilities, she could not watch the supposed “superhero” every waking moment. She needed another pair of eyes and ears. Touching down upon a rooftop, still in Manehattan, she briefly glanced around, searching for the pony she had in mind. From the reports he usually sent, this was where she could expect to find him most often, and it wasn’t long before she felt eyes on her back. “I know you are there,” she said aloud. “Reveal yourself. I’ve a task of great import for you.” At her words, a form leaped out of its hiding place in the nearby darkness, stopping in front of her. A dark blue stallion with a wild black mane and the wings of a bat knelt before her, his head low in respect. The thestral rose silently, his slitted, golden eyes serious and calm. “It’s not often you come to places like Manehattan, Highness,” he said. “Places like Manehattan are not completely to my liking,” she admitted. “There is too much noise for my tastes.” The stallion nodded. “What task do you have for me, Princess?” “I take it you know of the Raven?” He nodded. “She is, in truth, a mare named Swirling Line. I will have a profile delivered to you soon. I want you to watch her, and report all her actions to me.” She stared down at the kneeling thestral. “I would prefer that you do so in the most silent manner possible; she is not to know you are there. Is your mission understood?” “Keep an eye on a mare with unusual abilities,” said the thestral. “She won’t go for a leisurely flight without me knowing about it, Your Highness.” Luna nodded. “I do not believe I need to tell you what you need to do if she ever goes beyond simply fighting criminals.” The stallion bowed his head, understanding perfectly. “Good. And be careful. I fear I may have found a great threat to Equestria’s peace. A cult by the name of the Disciples of Light.” He dipped his head to her. “I’ll keep an eye out for them as well, Princess.” With one last nod of approval, Luna spread her wings and took to the air. As she flew, leaving the city of Manehattan behind her, she found herself pulled back to thoughts of the cult who had captured her, particularly their mad leader White Star. So long as that organization stayed afloat, Equestria was in great danger. Whatever the “Light” truly was, it could only spell disaster. -o- The sun felt so good. She lay stretched out on the grass in Manehatten Central Park, rolling on her back. It felt so good to have finally slept in for once, and now, with the sun warming her fur, Swirling was in bliss. A giggle escaped her, drawing a few curious looks her way, but she ignored them. “What a beautiful day,” she said aloud. Her thoughts drifted back to the events of the previous night, and a slow smile tugged at her lips. She rested her hooves behind her head and stared at the cloudy sky above as she remembered the awesome move she pulled that sent White Star through the altar. That surprised look in the albino mare’s eyes brought about another giggle. “I wish I had a picture of that. I could laugh at it for hours.” She took in a deep breath, inhaling the scent of the grass around her. To think that she, some nopony waitress in the biggest grease hole in all of Manehattan, not only beat the pulp out of an insane cult, but also saved Princess Luna. Princess Luna! How many ponies could say that besides the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony? Nopony, that’s who. Nothing could bring a damper on her good mood now. “Swirling Line!” Her golden irises widened as she recognized the irate voice. She looked up to see Summer Streams glaring down at her, her hooves crossed in a pout. Swirling gave a nervous chuckle. “Uh… hi, there, Summer.” The unicorn flattened her ears. “Don’t you ‘hi there, Summer,’ me, Swirling! You ran out on me!” Realization struck Swirling like one of White Star’s magical bolts. She’d completely forgotten all about Summer! “I, ah, I just… had to go to the mares’ room,” she said, rolling back to stand on her hooves. “For four hours?” the unicorn asked, half-deadpanning the question. “It was… stressful.” Summer slapped a hoof over her eyes. “Swirling, I don’t want to hear about your escapades in the bathroom!” She then jabbed a hoof in Swirling’s sternum. “You owe me big time!” Swirling hunkered down from Summer’s rage, ears pinning back. “You’re right, you’re right. I do. Just name it, and I promise I’ll do it.” It never ceased to amaze Swirling how fast Summer could go from justifiably angry to smiling cheerfully. “I was hoping you would say that, because there’s going to be a fashion show coming up next week, and I want you there with me.” Her eyes shrunk to pinpoints, and her jaw dropped open. “A fashion show? Please, Summer, anything but that!” Summer glared at her so fiercely, she was sure even Princess Luna would have taken a step back. “Big!” Swirling let her head droop, knowing full well that she did owe it to her friend for ditching her to save Princess Luna. But she was a hero! Surely heroes aren’t supposed to suffer for saving the day. Another look at Summer, and Swirling let the argument die before it could start, sighing in resignation. “Fine…” Summer squealed in excitement and wrapped her friend up in a big hug. “Oh, I just can’t wait! You and me, seeing the newest, hottest looks before they even hit the shelves! Aren’t you excited?” “Not as much as you are,” Swirling said, trying to sound earnest. Even as she spent the day with her friend at the park, and knowing that she was going to have to suffer through so tedious an event as a fashion show in the following week, Swirling felt her smile return. It felt good to be alive, but it felt even better to be a hero. ‘That is literally the cheesiest thought you’ve ever had,’ said Nevermore, his sardonic tone killing her good mood. ‘Oh, shut up.’ Author's Note Theme of Zeal: White Star Battle Theme:
Drama! Part 1“The number one rule of thieves is that nothing is too small to steal.” - Jimmy Breslin -o- Manehatten’s Museum of Antiquities was a proud monument that stood behind a large yard of well maintained grass and shrubbery. The tall, marble walls stood proudly as they housed many priceless artifacts from Equestria’s rich history. Many ponies from all over Equestria, and even visitors from faraway countries, would visit the museum to catch a glimpse of the countless items that housed so much cultural value. Many of the citizens held the monument as a source of pride for their city, and took great care to respect it. Tonight though, it stood quietly. The waning half-moon shone down on the lawn as crickets sang their nightly chorus and fireflies danced their night away. Only a few guards patrolled within and without the museum as they tiredly made their rounds. Glowing horns or flashlights would illuminate the area around them as they kept watch for any unexpected visitors. Upon the museum’s roof, two figures dashed to the domed skylight in the center of the building. Clad in all black, the guards would not have seen them immediately, even if they had used the front door. One of the pair, a stallion, opened a saddlebag on his side, allowing his partner, a mare, to take out a glass cutter with an attached suction cup, carefully adjusting it as she set it upon the skylight. When she was certain she’d gotten the perfect size, she spun the cutter around, the suction cup keeping the piece of glass from falling and shattering on the floor below. Setting the cutter and glass aside, the stallion pulled out rappelling gear from the mare’s bag, quickly fastening it to the belt around her torso. They nodded to each other as the stallion got a tight grip on the end of the rope, the mare climbing through the hole in the skylight to be slowly lowered to their target: a gleaming, gold statuette of Princess Celestia. As the statuette came closer in view, the mare couldn’t help but to smirk under her mask. That trinket was worth a fortune. Just a little closer… She suddenly jerked to a stop just as the statuette was right in front of her, briefly winding her. She glared up above, her partner looking down and apparently shrugging. The mare shook her head, wanting to shout at him, but thinking better of it. The last thing they needed now was to alert the whole city to their presence here. Returning her focus to the task at hoof, she dug through her bag, bringing out another glass cutter, this one more knife-like in appearance, and brought it to the statuette case. Carefully, she cut as round a hole as she could manage, the piece of glass falling inward without a sound. Smiling under her mask again, she reached into the case, grabbing the statuette and pulling it out. She took a few moments to just admire the artifact, taking in its smooth sheen and expert craftwork, being a perfect effigy of the Princess of the Sun sitting upon her throne. The thing sparkled brightly, even in the dark of the museum. The mare gave a few quick tugs on the rope, and the stallion began to pull her back up. She quickly stored the statuette away in her bag as soon as she was out. “Did you get it?” he asked quietly, his voice muffled under his mask. Her smile matched the one on her mask. “Right here.” She lifted up her saddlebag flap, the moonlight gleaming off the golden statue within. His grin didn’t match the frown on his mask. “What a night. And right out from under their noses, too.” He looked around for a moment. “We better go before—” He grunted as something tackled into him, startling the mare as he and some dark shape crashed through the skylight. “Tragedy!” she called after him. She rushed over to the edge of the skylight to see him wrestling with something in the air. He managed to turn enough that he landed on the thing that hit him, and with the same momentum, push off it to land easily on his hooves. The dark form picked itself up from the floor with a grumble. “That was not supposed to happen.” Two piercing, pure yellow eyes glared at the stallion ahead that watched her. “The Raven?” he uttered. She stood tall and spread her ethereal wings out wide. “So, you know me, huh? Then that means you know how this is going to work out. Give back the statue and turn yourselves in, or do I have to pound you into submission first?” He snorted, tugging his frowning mask on tighter. “You caught me by surprise, but you’ve already forgotten one thing.” She lifted her head proudly. “And what’s that?” “Her.” Before the Raven could turn, the other masked pony swung in on a rope and kicked her fully in the side, sending her through a display case and spilling several ancient weapons across the floor. The Raven stood with a grunt, shards of glass falling from her shadow-covered body. “You two are going to pay for that, in more ways than one.” She shuddered, flinging the last of the glass away. “Last chance. Give up now, or I take you down.” The two masked ponies shared a look, though the Raven wasn’t able to see their expressions. “Sounds like a challenge to me, Comedy.” “You’re right, Tragedy. I think somepony needs to be taught a lesson,” the mare with the grinning mask said. “Wait… Your names are Comedy and Tragedy?” The Raven snorted. “Wow. That is so dumb. You’re thieves, not actors! Why not something stealthy-sounding, like… I don’t know, Night Stalker and Shadow Thief or something. At least give your names an edge.” “Like ‘the Raven’ is any better?” Comedy asked with a laugh. “Hey, you come up with a better name for a superhero with shadow powers and wings!” “Night Stalker was actually pretty good,” Tragedy admitted. “I would’ve gone with Blackbird, honestly,” said Comedy. “Or Nyte Blayde.” “Or the Nightwatcher.” ‘Did they just forget you exist?’ Nevermore asked as the two rambled on. ‘I… don’t even know,’ she said to the resident shadow spirit in her mind. Personally, she had to admit that all those names probably were better than the one she’d stuck with. Maybe she could get the city to start calling her— “Oh, what about Black Biddy?” the mare said, which only made the other laugh uncontrollably, in spite of what his name and mask implied about him. It didn’t help that Nevermore was also laughing in her head. “What does that mean?” she demanded of them. ‘She basically just called you a black chicken,’ Nevermore answered between fits of laughter. “What?!” the Raven bristled, glaring at the two. “I am not a chicken!” The two thieves stared her, their expressions hidden, but she could tell already tell what they were thinking. “Looks like we just found us a winner, eh, Tragedy?” “Looks like it, Comedy.” Tragedy turned to face the Raven. “You mad, Little Biddy?” The shadowy mare’s eye twitched. “That’s it! Taking you both down now!” Without thinking, she rushed at the, forelegs extended and wings beating rapidly. The pair of thieves quickly leaped out of the way, letting the Raven soar past them and tackle an innocent display stand. She pulled herself from the wreckage, still seething. “Hold still so I can pound you!” She dashed for the mare this time, but instead of leaping out of the way, she leaped above her and kicked her to the side, directly towards her waiting partner, who lifted a hoof to roughly slap the Raven aside, right into the hard, marble wall. She groaned as she hit the ground. This was the trouble with fighting earth ponies; why did they have to be so darned strong? Seriously, that just wasn’t fair! Even with the enhanced strength that Nevermore gave her, the fact that earth ponies were already five to six times stronger than an average pegasus like herself was a distinct disadvantage for her. ‘The way these two are fighting,’ Nevermore said, ‘they must’ve been working together for a long time. This could be rough.’ ‘What do you think I should do?’ She heard him hum to himself for a second. ‘Choose one, and go after them. Watch the other, but focus on the one. I’d suggest the mare, since she has the statue.’ “Right,” she said aloud, standing up from the ground. “What’s right?” Tragedy asked. Her gaze darted to him before it shifted to Comedy. “How right it’s gonna be when I knock you two on your flanks!” She gave another flap of her wings and took off for Comedy. The masked mare chortled and turned to run. ‘Watch it!’ Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tragedy leap to intercept her charge. She smiled to herself as she ducked under his swing and caught him by the tail. He gave a startled gasp as she flung him across the room, bouncing painfully off the marble floor. Even as she tried to turn her attention to the other, she found the masked mare had rushed back in and planted both of her hind hooves on her barrel. With an amused snort, she springboarded off the Raven’s chest, sending her back across the museum floor. The Raven hit the ground running and charged back in, swing punches at the mare, who ducked and weaved under the blows. “Ha! Maybe we should have called you the Penguin! You’re way too slow to be a chicken!” Comedy taunted. “Stop. Calling. Me. Names!” She brought her hoof back in a fierce blow that Comedy only managed to dodge. The blow left a spiderweb of cracks in the marble floor. Comedy took the opening to whirl and buck her. The Raven skidded back from the attack, but didn’t see Tragedy rush in with a body blow that winded her. Gasping for breath, the Raven gave her wings a flap to get above their reach. “Aww, no fair!” she heard Comedy complain. “Biddies aren’t supposed to fly!” Her eye twitched again and she had to choke back a growl. ‘I so hate them.’ ‘Keep it in check. They’re baiting you.’ ‘But they’re so frustrating!’ She swooped down towards Comedy with as much speed as she could muster, tackling the mare and rolling violently across the floor. With a fierce yank, Swirling tore Comedy’s bag off of her back and pulled out the statuette within, its glittering gold surface unblemished. “Hey! That’s ours!” Comedy, having regained her footing, leaped at the Raven, who disappeared from sight with the statue, leaving the masked mare to skid onto the floor with a rough grunt of dissent. She turned quickly and saw the Raven reemerging from the shadows, statuette in hoof, near the display case where the artifact had been placed. “Tragedy!” Without a word, the stallion jumped as if from nowhere, slamming his whole body into the Raven’s form, knocking the statue out of the shadow mare’s grasp. With a grunt, the Raven spun around and kicked the masked stallion away, then scrambled for the statuette. She stood quickly, facing the pair of thieves, who were probably returning her glare. The sounds of hooves from down the hall could be heard, along with shouts from guards who sounded less than pleased with the ruckus they were causing. Comedy and Tragedy both cursed, and Tragedy reached into his bag and pulled out several small pellets, which he threw at the Raven. The pellets exploded into a cloud of smoke, nearly suffocating the startled pegasus, who coughed and wheezed as the sight-clouding gas entered her lungs. When the smoke cleared, she caught her breath and quickly turned her head to find her opponents, but they had disappeared. In their place, several guards were entering the room, unicorns with their horns glowing, pegasi and earth ponies with weapons lowered and ready. “She’s trying to steal the statue!” one pegasus yelled with an accusing hoof pointed at the mare. Swirling shook her head, looking at the statuette in her hooves, then back at the guards. “N-n-no! You’ve got it wrong! I—” A bolt of magic flew at her, yelping as she ducked under the attack, which was only followed with more blasts, probably spells to stun her with. She leaped to the left to avoid another bolt that struck a display case behind her. Now running on autopilot, she took to the air, shooting towards the nearest exit, flying out of the broken skylight on the ceiling and touching down on the museum roof. She sighed as she sat back against a vent, mentally berating herself for letting two lowlife robbers get away. How could she have been so careless? ‘I’d hate to interrupt your moping,’ said Nevermore, ‘but it looks to me like you’ve picked up a souvenir.’ “Souvenir? What’re you…” She looked to her hooves, and her eyes went wide; she still had the statuette of Celestia! The pegasus groaned as she leaned her head back. “Oh, pony-feathers.” All of a sudden, she heard a snapping sound, and briefly saw a wiry rope coil around the statuette, which was yanked right out of her hooves, straight up to another rooftop, where she caught of glimpse of Comedy giving her a mocking salute before disappearing from sight. The Raven was left in befuddlement, staring at where she saw the thief, then at her hooves. She then asked herself the most important question of that night: “What just happened?” The sounds of approaching guards from the stairwell told her now was the time to leave. With a strong flap of her wings, she faded into night, just as the guards burst through the door of the museum’s roof. -o- Why is that she always has to work the next day after a painfully long night of bad heroing? It seemed every time she had a night where Nevermore found something to berate her for, she found herself at work the next day, being yelled at by her greasy-maned boss. She ran a hoof over her face as she watched Lou work in a frenzy in his kitchen. Vegetables and fruits and other things just seemed to fly around as he stacked plate after plate on her tray. Despite the chaos in the kitchen, she privately admitted that the setup on the plates looked professionally set. “How do you do it, Lou?” she asked as he finished with her tray. “By working hard, unlike you. Get to work!” he groused as he had already turned to another order. Muttering something dark under her breath, she took the tray and balanced it between her wings. She moved through the tables with ease, having walked around them so long that she could likely do so blindfolded. As she approached her destined table, her ears flickered towards a small group who sat talking over their meals. “Hey, did you read the headlines today?” one of the customers asked his fellows. “Yeah. Something about that weirdo in the black outfit stealing something out of the museum.” The first speaker nodded. “That’s what the paper said. And here I thought she was supposed to be some kinda hero or something.” He snorted dismissively. “Just another thief, I guess.” ‘No! No! NO! I’m not a thief! I wasn’t the one who stole the statue!’ She heard a soft hiss in her mind. ‘Do you really have to shout? Why yell at me?’ ‘Because I have a secret identity to maintain, thank you very much!’ Scowling to herself, she headed for her table and dropped off the food in short, if not gruff, order. When she got back to the counter, she set her tray in the window for Lou to fill up again. “You know, Swirl, it seems every time I see you lately, you’re more grumpy than the day before,” she heard a voice say to her. She turned to see her friend, Summer Streams, giving her a soft, humored smile. “Long night,” Swirling answered dismissively. Summer brushed a lock of her dark tan mane behind an ear and gave her friend a curious look. “You’re not lying to me about having a boyfriend, are you?” Swirling shut her eyes tightly, a blush creeping on her face. “No, Summer. If I did, you’d be the first to know about it.” “I’d better be,” the verdant-green unicorn said, giving her friend a sly wink. “You’ll have to share all the juicy details with me. I want to hear about it all.” Swirling felt her blush grow stronger, turning her purple and white fur a darker hue. “Summer, you’re a mean one.” Summer turned her nose up with a soft snort. “I wouldn’t have to be if you’d just find yourself a special somepony.” “Moving on,” Swirling said, eliciting a warm chuckle from her friend. “You know, Swirl, if you’re having a bad day, maybe a walk around the park is what you need.” She levitated a few napkins on her own tray as Lou began to fill it up with plates of food. “How about it? After work, you and me, a few laps around the lawn to walk off our stress?” A soft frown crossed her face. She knew that Nevermore was going to make her take another night of getting used to her powers as the Raven, and that usually meant longer nights without much sleep. That lifestyle was beginning to drag her down. Maybe a change of pace would be a good thing for her. A walk around the park with her best friend, talking about silly, pointless things, might just be what she needed. Now if only she could get Nevermore off her back. An exasperated sigh erupted in her mind. ‘You could always ask, you know?’ ‘Why? You’d only tell me no and say I need the practice,’ she shot right back at him. ‘When was the last time you let me have a night off, Nevermore?’ ‘That… one time.’ ‘That was weeks ago!’ ‘Cry me a river.’ Another sigh escaped him. ‘Now really isn’t the time for taking a break. Have you forgotten that those thieves are out there and you’re being blamed for their crimes? I would think that hunting them down would be more important than talking about stallions, clothing, art, or whatever you ponies prattle on about in this day and age.’ ‘One night, Nevermore, then I promise I won’t ask for another week,’ she all but pleaded with him. She heard him groan. ‘Fine. Tonight, then, but don’t say I don’t do anything for you.’ ‘You rarely do.’ ‘And I intend to keep it that way.’ Smiling to herself she turned back to Summer, who had watched her curiously as she had her inner conversation with Sir Cranky Feathers. “Are you all right, Swirling? You kind of zoned out on me there.” “What?” Swirling shook her head. “Er, yeah, I’m fine. Just… tired is all.” “Well?” Swirling tilted her head at her. “Well what?” Summer gave her own exasperated sigh. “Do you want to go for that walk with me or not?” “Oh. Uh, sure. I’m up for it.” A faint smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “It does sound like a good idea, actually.” Summer’s smile almost looked ready to split her jaw. “Good! I’ve got a lot to tell you. Did you know that Page—” “Work, you two!” “Sorry, Lou!” they said in unison and quickly ran off with their trays. -o- The feel of the grass underneath her hooves as she trotted beside her friend was more relaxing than she thought it would be. Despite working up a lather, Swirling could see why Summer ran everyday. Concentrating on her pace and her breathing allowed her to forget about the troubles she was having. In a way, it felt relaxing to just forget about it all and run. “So, what do you think of that one?” she heard Summer say. She blinked in confusion and their pace slowed to a brisk walk. “One what?” “Him.” The unicorn pointed towards a group of stallions that were lounging together by a park bench, chatting about something or other. “The one with the blonde mane is pretty hot, don’t you think?” Swirling looked at the stallion in question and closed her eyes, trying in vain to stop the blush growing on her face. “Well… he’s cute, but no.” She felt Summer nudge her in the side. “What about his friend then? We should go talk to him.” Swirling turned a raised eyebrow at her. “We?” She gave an innocent roll of her eyes. “For you, of course.” “Riiight… Don’t you already have a boyfriend of your own?” “Well, it’s not like I plan on spending the night with any of them,” Summer replied with a somewhat indignant look on her face. “Besides, I’m sure Page wouldn’t mind me being your wing-pony here. Come on, what’ve you got to lose?” ‘Perhaps your dignity.’ ‘Quiet, Nevermore!’ “I don’t know, Summer. I’m not really looking for—” “Hey, you won’t find one if you don’t look, now will you?” Her horn lit up, and Swirling felt one of her forelegs being tugged. “Now, come on. And don’t forget to smile.” “Summer! Wait! No!” She hobbled after her friend on three legs. “I can walk on my own, you know!” She stumbled until she felt Summer’s magic let her go, but by then, the three stallions had already seen their approach. She felt her cheeks flush as the stallions gave her humored grins. “Good afternoon, ladies. Nice day for a walk, huh?” one of them asked. Summer gave her mane a toss and smiled at him. “Oh, it is. My friend and I were enjoying our walk when she—” Swirling’s eyes grew as big as dinner plates. “Summer!” “—saw you and mentioned how good you looked,” the unicorn said without paying her a single mind. “I hate you…” Swirling whispered at her, her cheeks turning a bright scarlet. “Shush, you’ll thank me later,” Summer whispered. She turned to the stallions again with a disarming smile. “Don’t let her words fool you. She’s just shy. Poor thing doesn’t even really go out that often. No reason to, her being single and all.” “All of my spite,” Swirling muttered at the unicorn, who continued to ignore her protests. The one stallion turned his attention to Swirling and gave her a pleasant smile. “Single, huh? Me too.” Swirling hung her head a bit as Summer practically pranced in place beside her. She did privately admit that he was kind of cute. Maybe she could at least take a chance. She rubbed at the back of her head for a second. “Soo… what’s your name?” He gave her a sly, confident smirk. “What’s your name, beautiful?” Again, she felt the heat rising on her face. “S-Swirling Line.” She so badly wanted to whap Summer as she felt the unicorn prod her side hopefully. “Well, Swirling Line, why don’t you and your friend here give us your money?” “I- wait, what?” Swirling blinked, then turned to Summer. “That’s not normal for flirting, is it?” One of the other stallions brought out a pocket knife and pointed it at Summer, who flinched back at the sight of the weapon. “You heard him, girls. Give us whatever you got, and we’ll all pretend this never happened.” Summer’s jaw gaped wide open as Swirling groaned in irritation. “I hate you so much right now,” said the pegasus. The third stallion smacked a hoof into the other. “I wouldn’t suggest screaming either, if you know what’s good for you.” She felt Summer slink up next to her. “P-Please, don’t hurt us.” The first stallion gave that coy smile of his. “We won’t, as long as you fine mares do as you’re told. Drop your money and walk away. Simple as that.” He slid a hoof blade onto his foreleg and leveled it at Swirling’s neck. “Don’t make me ask twice, beautiful.” ‘She really does have all the luck with the stallions, doesn’t she?’ ‘Nevermore, what do I do?’ she pleaded in her mind to the spirit. ‘As much as I hate to say it, you’re going to have to go along with it.’ ‘But I can take them!’ ‘And show them, and Summer, who you really are?’ ‘Well, I—’ ‘Besides, it’s broad daylight. Remember what happened the last time you were exposed to sunlight as the Raven?’ Oh, she remembered that day vividly. She’d nearly died at the hooves of the crime lord Mafioso because of sunlight. Her whole body felt as though it had exploded into a bonfire. It wasn’t exactly a sensation she was eager to experience again anytime soon. “S-Swirling, what do we do,” she heard Summer whisper to her. She glanced at her friend and saw the unicorn was shivering under the expectant gazes of the stallions. ‘I’m going to hate myself for this.’ “All right, you win.” Reluctantly, she reached for her pouch of bits, presenting it to the stallions with a grunt of disdain. Meekly, Summer followed her friend’s example, offering her own bit pouch as well. “See? Now that wasn’t so hard, was it?” the stallion said as he scooped up the coin purses with the flat of his blade and tossed them to one of his buddies. He then gave them the same smile, though with a bit more teeth to it. “You ladies have yourselves a wonderful day.” With a nod, he and his two buddies quickly ran off. Swirling watched them go with a deep scowl, wanting nothing more than to go after them and beat the tar out of them for mugging them. Her gaze snapped to her friend as she heard Summer fall to her haunches with a sob. “Summer, it’s all right. We’re not hurt.” She rested a hoof around her friend’s shoulder. “Don’t cry, we’ll go to the police and report them. They’ll find them.” Summer sniffed. “I-I was just scared they were going to hurt us. When he pulled out that knife, I thought for sure he was going to hurt you or me.” “I’ve seen scarier knives,” Swirling muttered. “What?” “Nothing. Come on, let’s just go home. I’ll walk you to your apartment.” -o- Tricky couldn’t help but sigh at the sight that greeted him when he came home. Considering where he lived, messes were to be expected. Personally, he preferred his messes to fall into the category of ‘controlled chaos,’ in which he could always find exactly what he needed, whenever he needed it. That is, until the Raven came along and started asking for info on things. After a short while, she saw fit to just come whenever the mood struck her and dig through his files for one reason or another. It really was quite exasperating, he thought. This was going to be one of those nights, it seemed. He stepped over a pile of papers as he approached the shadow-clad mare, who was currently flinging files about haphazardly, briefly looking through them before moving onto the next. She only stopped when she heard him heave an exasperated sigh. “You do realize that I have a business to run, right?” he asked with a quirked eyebrow. “And you’re not helping.” The Raven shrugged. “Sorry about the mess. Just trying to find something on a couple thieves I ran into the other night.” “Thieves, is it?” he asked with a faint tone of curiosity. “No shortage of them in this city, if you haven’t noticed yet.” She muttered something and nodded. “Couple of weirdos wearing drama masks. They called themselves Comedy and Tragedy.” The stallion rubbed his chin for a moment, muttering the names to himself before heading over to a filing cabinet and digging through it. Not finding what he was looking for, he began shuffling through the mountain of files covering his floor, setting aside irrelevant files for later reorganization and use. Soon, he found what he was looking for, smirking slightly as he cracked open the file. “Here we go,” he said. “Comedy and Tragedy.” He quietly read the file, his expression becoming more serious than before. “Oh, wow. Now this is a pair you don’t wanna cross.” He tossed the file over to the Raven, who opened and read through it herself. “Master thieves. They steal valuable items to sell on the black market. And they don’t seem to take kindly to witnesses. Most ponies who’ve seen them aren’t exactly out and about anymore.” “Thieves and murderers?” she said as she looked over the relatively sparse information in the file. Their crimes weren’t limited to larceny and murder. They’d also committed arson, had kidnapped ponies for ransom without getting caught, and espionage that bordered on treason. “Wow. Real pieces of work, aren’t they?” “One of my informants told me they kicked an old mare after she fell once.” Swirling glared at him. “Tell me you’re joking.” His shoulders rose in a grand shrug. “Who knows? They might’ve.” “So, in summary, they’re a pair of kleptomaniacs with a penchant for assault, killing ponies, and burning thing. How delightful.” She spat and tossed him the file back. “You sure know how to pick ‘em, don’t you?” Tricky said with a humored tone as he caught the file. “First Mafioso, then that freak-ass cult, now Comedy and Tragedy of all ponies. You’re just making new friends all over the place, aren’t you?” “All over the place,” she said dryly. “Do you know anything else about them? Who they really are?” Again he shrugged and put his file back in the cabinet. “No clue, and even if I did, I can’t just give out information like that without getting something in return.” “Hey, I’ve been keeping vengeful thugs from getting to you ever since I took down Mafioso! The least you could do is be thankful enough to give me complete information.” “Business is business, Raven,” Tricky answered. “Unless you’re willing to—” She leveled her ears at him. “No, I’m not telling you who I am.” The stallion sighed with a light chuckle. “Well, you can’t blame a guy for trying.” The Raven shook her head with a small groan. “One more thing before I go.” Tricky looked up at her again. “They stole some kind of statuette. One that looked like Princess Celestia sitting on a throne or something. I know they go after valuable things and all, but they seemed really eager to get their hooves on it.” “A Celestia statuette, huh? The one in the Museum of Antiquities?” The mare gave a nod. He tapped at his chin in a show of contemplation. “Well, I heard from one of my guys that the Museum of Antiquities is expecting a new little trinket that’s supposedly similar to the one of Celestia. An obsidian statuette of Princess Luna, recently relinquished by Celestia herself to be paired with its sibling statue. Security’s supposed to be tight.” ‘Give you one guess why,’ Nevermore said to Swirling. “Why wouldn’t they have waited until the Luna statue actually arrived and taken both at the same time?” she asked. “Or at least waited until everypony there to see it had left.” “It’s supposed to be a one-time thing,” Tricky explained. “After the exhibit, both statuettes are to be taken to the royal vaults in Canterlot. Not even Comedy and Tragedy would be able to get through that kind of security.” ‘As arrogant as they were, I’d say they meant it as a dare for someone to try and stop them.’ ‘Everypony’s got their limits, Nevermore, even criminals.’ “Thanks, Tricky. I’ll be sure to bring you back some gossip if I find anything out.” “Please do.” After she left through his window, he looked at haphazard mess she had left him. “I’m charging her for this…” -o- The door swung open to the hotel room, two ponies walking in, the mare humming to herself and the stallion grunting as he tossed his bag onto one of the luxurious beds. “As far as stakeouts go, that one was boring,” he muttered as he tossed aside his frowning mask to one of the two beds. “All of those guards and not one of them bothered to look at the roofs of the other buildings.” The mare yawned as she flopped onto the other bed, throwing her own grinning mask to the floor. “You think you were bored? I was the one who had to sit next to you with nothing do while you stared at them through that midget telescope of yours.” He glowered at her. “It’s a spyglass.” “Whatever. At least we know they still don’t stand a chance.” She rested her hooves behind her head. “This is gonna be a piece of cake, and then we can live the high life for the rest of our lives.” She gave a wide smile. “And all we need to do is steal another little statue.” The stallion hoofed at his nose. “It’s thinking like that that got us spotted by the Raven—” “Black Biddy.” His tail swished in annoyance. “Her, and caused that show at the museum. It was supposed to be an in-and-out job, all quiet like.” “Oh, please,” Comedy said with a long roll of her eyes. “Her showing up was fluke, and now the cops think she stole the first statuette. They’ll be on the lookout for the Biddy, not us.” “It’d still be good to plan for her in case she shows up again. From what I understand, she only appears at night, and the other statuette will be arriving at nighttime in few days’ time. We’ll need to be quicker and more careful than last night.” His bed groaned as he sat down with a sigh. “Tragedy, you worry too much.” The mare rolled on to her belly to stare at her brother. “What would mom and dad say if they heard you whining so much?” He glowered at her, leveling his ears. “They’d agree with me that you’re not taking this seriously enough.” “Would not!” Now it was Tragedy’s turn to roll his eyes. He rummaged through his bag, pulling out his equipment - glass cutters, a grappling hook, rope, a specialized blowtube, a spyglass - before removing a blueprint of the museum layout and unrolling it on a small table between the beds. “Let’s just go over the plan one more time tonight,” he said. “We don’t want to leave anything to chance.” “Oh, but leaving things to chance makes everything so much more exciting!” That comment earned her a glare from her brother. She sighed and lay down facing the blueprint. “Fine. Let’s go over the boring details.” As they went over the details, there was a knock at their door. “I’ll get it!” Comedy said eagerly, leaping from her bed and running for the door. Her brother sighed again as she did everything but tell him how bored she was. She opened the door a crack, peering out. Almost the instant she saw who it was, she wanted to slam the door shut out of sheer annoyance. “Radiant, baby!” said the heavyset earth pony stallion at the door. “How’s the hotel treatin’ ya, huh? Pretty swanky, ain’t it? Say, where’s your brother? Huh, he here?” “Uh, yeah, he’s here. Just a minute.” She quickly shut the door, and hurried to her brother. “It’s Done Deal.” Tragedy sucked in a breath. “Put the gear away, and I’ll let him in.” His sister nodded and cleaned up the mess while he went to the door to meet with their agent. “Lambent, my friend!” Deal greeted with wide grin, showing off perfect teeth that contrasted atrociously with his dark tan coat. “Listen up, I got ya somethin’ for that new gig you got on Bridleway. The New Yoke Times is sendin’ a reporter to interview you and your sister before the big play! Your names’re gonna be in one of the biggest papers in the city! Extra publicity!” “That’s… great.” He looked back into the room, seeing that his sister had just finished hiding their equipment. “Why don’t you come on in, and we’ll talk about the rest of the deal?” “Well, far be it from me to turn down such a generous offer!” Deal beamed greedily, wrapping a hoof around his shoulders. “Ya got one of those little mini-bars, right? With the tiny wine glass things? You know how much I love those miniature drinks in these big name joints!” “Of course,” Tragedy grumbled. Planning for their big heist would have to wait until later, it seemed. -o- Swirling couldn’t help but scowl at the sight of the many newspaper headlines on the nearby stand declaring in large, bold text that the Raven had stolen some nearly priceless artifact from the antiquities museum. She was ready to fly right up to every single editor-in-chief in the entire city and tell them all about what really happened, but she doubted they’d believe her. Nevermore had also managed to convince her that it would only be a waste of time and energy. She shook her head and sighed as she sipped down a drink of her coffee, setting the mug down on the outdoor table of her and Summer’s favorite cafe, a small place where they would get together whenever they had days off from work at Lou’s Diner. She’d spent most of last night looking out for those two thieves, earning nothing but another sleepless night. Exhausted as she was, the coffee in her hooves was the drink of the gods. ‘Why, exactly, are we here again?’ Nevermore asked. He wasn’t exactly all for the idea of taking a coffee break. ‘Because I don’t get enough time to spend with my friend lately, thanks to my night job.’ ‘Wasn’t that your idea to begin with?’ ‘Not the point. I just want to hang out with my friend with no distractions for once.’ She took a gulp of coffee. ‘Besides, she mentioned she had a surprise for me to make up for getting me mugged.’ ‘Is she bringing Brawn and Knives to coffee then?’ ‘...I hate you so much.’ As if on cue, Summer exited the cafe with a small tray of small sandwiches and a cup of coffee held in her magic as she made her way to the table. She took her seat across from Swirling, setting the tray in the middle and taking a long gulp from her drink. She let out a pleasant sigh before speaking. “This is so nice. Us just sitting here, having a drink and pony-watching.” She took another sip of her drink. “We don’t get to do this nearly often enough.” “I know,” Swirling said with smile as she took one of the sandwiches. “With work and hobbies and everything, it’s been awhile since we’ve just sat and talked.” She bit into the sandwich, relishing the delectable flavor of daffodils. “So, what’s this surprise of yours?” The unicorn grinned. Swirling could hear her clicking her hooves under the table before the unicorn’s horn lit up, and pair of what looked like ID cards floated out of her bag. “Page got a job for the New Yoke Times interviewing some of the actors in The Merry Mares of Windsor, and he got backstage passes! One for himself, and two extras!” “The merry who of what?” ‘It’s a play by Shaken Spear,’ Nevermore informed her. ‘How do you know that?’ ‘Who do you think gave him all his ideas?’ ‘Oh, well— wait, what?’ Before Swirling could get an answer from the spirit, Summer dropped one of the passes in front of her. “Page gave me the extras and said that I could invite a friend, so you’re coming along with me! It’s the least I can do after that incident in the park.” “You mean where I got mugged for flirting with a stallion?” Summer’s cheeks turned a darker hue. “Come on, Swirl. You know I couldn’t have known they were going to mug us!” A faint smirk crossed Swirling’s face and she shook her head. “Only you, Summer. Only you.” The unicorn turned her nose up with a snort before looked back at her friend. “Well? Are you going or not?” She took another sip of her coffee. “Well, when’s the play?” “Thursday night this week, then there’ll be another showing on Saturday.” The pegasus smirked. “You’re sure I won’t get mugged by the director?” The unicorn groaned and planted her face on the table. “Will you quit bringing that up already?” Swirling gave a velvety laugh, seeing her friend’s face flush in embarrassment always brought a smile to her face. ‘And you call me the cruel one.’ Ignoring him, she gave her friend a faint nod. “All right, I’ll be there. I’ve never been backstage to a play before. It might be fun.” Lifting her head from the table, Summer smiled at her friend. “Great. I’ll tell Page the good news! This is going to be awesome, I just know it!” Swirling grinned as she took another bite from her sandwich. With any luck, this coming Thursday might turn out to be one of the better nights she’s had in a while. No crooks, no Raven, no cranky Nevermore telling her what to do. ‘Good luck with that,’ Nevermore scoffed. -o- The Riverside Theatre was one of the larger and more grandiose theaters on Bridleway, boasting seating for anywhere between three hundred and four hundred ponies. With large stone pillars and brightly colored lights, the theater was a sight that wowed both tourists and locals alike. Tonight, though, many ponies waited patiently in line as they awaited opening night of The Merry Mares of Windsor. Chatter filled the streets and many of the patrons complimented each other on their manner of dress. A certain pegasus only fumed at the dress she found herself in. She stood next to Summer Streams, who wore a bright red dress that hugged her body well, showing off her curves almost perfectly. Swirling, on the other hoof, felt restricted. She wasn’t one for dresses if she were to be completely honest. Yes, her wings fit nicely through their holes in her dress, but they chafed at their bases and caused her to squirm in discomfort. It didn’t help that it was almost impossible to find a well-fitted dress that went with her fur and mane. She eventually had to settle for a simple black outfit, since black apparently went with virtually everything. She felt her side being prodded as she adjusted the dress again. “Stop squirming. You look fine,” Summer said as she held her head up high. Swirling heaved out a sigh. “I can’t help it. You know how I feel about dresses.” She spread her wings to check the bases, where her dress was digging into her just enough to be an irritation. “Seriously, do I have to wear this? It’s not like clothing is that important.” “It is when you’re at a high society event like this.” Summer primped her mane a bit more before settling down again. “Sometimes you have to dress nicely for everyone else, Swirling. Besides,” she gave her a sly smile. “You could—” Swirling stuffed a hoof over her mouth. “Don’t. Remember the last time you said that?” Summer’s growl almost sounded like a dog’s. “Fine, but keep it in mind. You need to get yourself a boyfriend at some point, Swirl.” “Like I need a second Nevermore screaming at me,” the pegasus muttered quietly. “What?” “Nothing.” She looked around the chattering crowd for a moment. “Where’s Page? Shouldn’t he be here by now?” Summer looked around as well, blinking at the lights. “He should be here. He said to meet us at the door, but I don’t see him.” Summer gasped as a pair of tan hooves wrapped around her eyes. “Guess who?” Swirling turned to see Page Topper give a silent shush as he held his hooves over Summer’s eyes. “Hmm… Handsome voice, soft hooves, and a faint scent of ink. There can only be one pony.” She turned quickly and planted an affectionate kiss on him. “My Page Topper.” Swirling cleared her throat. “And now I feel like the awkward third wheel.” Summer turned a teasing smile her way. “Well, if you would—” “Summer!” Her friends had a laugh at her, and Swirling felt her cheeks flush. “I am so going to get you back for that.” Another giggle escaped the unicorn. “Sorry, I just couldn’t pass it up.” She looked back at Page as he stood beside her. “You look handsome in that suit, Page.” Swirling glanced over and saw that he wore a standard tuxedo. “Thanks, and you look lovely in that dress.” He wrapped a hoof around the shoulders of his girlfriend and looked at Swirling. “And Swirling, you do look nice in that dress. It suits you.” She muttered again and tugged it away from her wings again. “If you say so. I can’t wait to get home and get out of it.” He gave her a slight nod. “Still, I think you’ll like the play. It’s actually a comedy, and some of the performances in other cities all gave it good reviews.” He gave Summer another peck on the cheek. “I think we’re all in for a good night.” Swirling felt she was going to be rolling her eyes often tonight at the two, but that didn’t curb her enthusiasm to seeing the play. It was a rare occurrence that she ever had the money to see even a cheap film at the movie theater, let alone a high end play on Bridleway. As they entered the theater, and the usher showed them to their seats, she couldn’t suppress a smile. Though it faded just a bit when she saw the grinning and frowning masks that adorned nearly every live theater in some form or other. ‘It’s like the universe just wants to keep reminding me how I screwed up.’ ‘You did.’ ‘Not helping, Nevermore.’ “Shall we head backstage while we wait for the play to start?” Page suggested with a grin. “We could meet the actors and stagehooves that bring it to life.” Summer beamed excitedly, almost bouncing in place. “Oh, yes, yes, yes! Let’s do that! I might even be able to get some pointers from professional actors!” Swirling blinked at that, then nodded as she recalled Summer’s aspirations for a career in acting, and got back to her hooves. “Come on, Summer, let’s go meet them before the show starts.” “Yes!” Swirling wound her forelegs towards herself as Summer burst past her, about knocking her clear out of the aisle in her rush. ‘You’re right. Don’t get in her way when she’s after something...’ Swirling rubbed at her head. ‘You would’ve thought I’d learned by now.’ Following the ecstatic unicorn, Swirling, followed by Page, made her way down the aisle and through the crowd of yet-to-be-seated ponies. Summer was showing her pass to a large stallion wearing suit standing in front of door bearing plaque reading ‘Backstage,’ the guard nodding and opening the door for her. Swirling and Page flashed their own passes, and the overdressed bouncer allowed them through as well. Finding Summer again wasn’t any grand feat. All they had to do was listen for the exuberant squeals of joy and excited babbling. The red-and-green blur of motion didn’t hurt in picking the unicorn out, either. A soft smile crossed Swirling’s muzzle; even with the irritating dress she was wearing, it was more than worth it to see her friend run around like a little filly in a toy store. Her gaze drifted to a pair of actors as they exited a dressing room. A mare and a stallion who looked strangely much like each other. Both were earth ponies with golden coats of fur and bright green eyes, but the mare had a brilliant blonde mane, while the stallion’s mane was a silvery color. The mare wore an elegant blue dress, with her mane done up in a tight bun, while the stallion wore what Swirling guessed was medieval formal attire or something, with bits of old-fashioned armor on his barrel and hooves. Before Swirling could comment, another squeal left Summer’s lungs, and she dashed over to the two ponies, who stepped back in surprise with awkward looks to each other. “Oh, my gosh!” Summer shrieked in glee. “I know you two! You’re Radiant and Lambent Voice!” The mare blinked, looking to the equally confused stallion for a moment before looking back at Summer. “Uh… who are you?” she asked with a raised eyebrow. Certain that Summer might say something that could come out wrong, Page stepped in, smiling sheepishly. “Sorry about her. Summer tends to get excited.” “Nothing wrong with it, Page,” the stallion said coolly. “‘Page’?” Swirling parroted, turning to the stallion in question. “Wait, you know these two?” The earth pony nodded. “Summer told you I got a job interviewing the actors for the play tonight, didn’t she? Radiant and Lambent were two of the actors I got to talk to.” It was amazing that Summer wasn’t foaming at the mouth with how excited she was. “You know them personally!? Why didn’t you tell me!?” Page shrugged with a grin. “I wanted it to be a surprise. Not every day I get to introduce my girlfriend to her top idols.” Summer turned her eager smile to the two. “I’m such a huge fan! I’ve followed your acting careers since your first played in Los Pegasus! You’ve been a huge inspiration for me!” Radiant raises an eyebrow at her. “You act, then?” A fierce blush crossed her dark tan cheeks. “I… want to. I just haven’t caught my break yet.” Her voice returned to her excited tone. “But I am trying. I hope to one day be as renowned as you.” “Well, it’s not an easy job,” Lambent pointed out. “The paparazzi alone makes life hell for us. Hard to get any privacy when you’ve got cameras constantly flashing in your face.” Swirling tilted her head slightly as the others chatted away together. Something seemed… off about these two, but she couldn’t quite put her hoof on it. Their voices were vaguely familiar for some reason. Had she seen one of their plays before without recognizing them? The golden mare glanced over to Swirling, as Summer continued to talk with them. “Who’s your friend?” Summer’s gaze snapped behind her and she paled just a bit. “How could I forget?” She motioned to Swirling. “This is my best friend, Swirling Line. She’s an aspiring artist, and already a darn good one!” Swirling felt her own cheeks flush a bit at the attention. “Pleased to meet you.” Lambent’s green eyes traced her over for a moment. “That’s a nice dress you’re wearing, Miss Line.” Swirling felt her blush growing brighter. “Um… thank you. You look… ah…” He gave her a humored smirk. “Please, this costume is gaudy, but it’s for the act.” He gave her a wink. “Thank you, though.” Swirling stared at him, her blush remaining brightly on her cheeks. She felt her side nudged, and she saw Summer lifting her eyebrows suggestively at her. “Go on!” she whispered intently. “A boyfriend who’s also a famous actor! You can’t let a chance like this go to waste!” She covered her face with her hooves. “Summer… I really do hate you.” “Did you say something, Miss Line?” She looked up quickly to see Lambent staring at her curiously. “No, no. I was just—” “Five minutes, everypony!” they heard the stage manager say, as he hustled about making sure everything was ready. “Pity,” Lambent said, and turned a smile back to her. “Perhaps I’ll see you again after the show?” Swirling felt her mouth go dry. Did a famous (and admittedly very handsome) actor just admit that he wanted to see her again? Could she really have gotten that lucky? “Lambent,” Radiant said, giving him a pointed look. He looked at her and sighed. “Well, perhaps not tonight, but again, and soon,” he said as he looked back at Swirling. “Y-Yeah, sure!” She felt Summer nudge her again, only with a faint shake of her head. “Um, yes. I’d like that.” Lambent offered a shining smile as he and Radiant headed to their positions behind the curtain. Page and a reluctant Summer made their way out of the backstage, with Swirling following while also keeping an eye on Lambent. She pretty much had a date lined up with him now. The first date she’d have since her senior year in high school. Still, something about the pair just felt… odd. That sense of familiarity refused to leave her. Something just wasn’t right about those two. Author's Note Theme of Comedy: Theme of Tragedy:
Drama! Part 2The feeling of familiarity didn’t go away, even hours after the show had ended. Now, flying high over the city as the Raven, Swirling’s mind picked away at the details of her meeting with Lambent and Radiant Voice. The two seemed amicable enough, though Radiant was rather dismissive of Swirling, but maybe that was her just being sisterly. She growled to herself as she flew towards the Museum of Antiquities. If only that nagging thought would go away. ‘One’s instinct tends to be on the money,’ said Nevermore. ‘Something about those two struck me as odd as well.’ ‘Maybe, but you don’t like anyone.’ ‘A fair point.’ She couldn’t suppress a light chuckle as she settled on the roof of an adjoining building that overlooked the museum. Looking out over the top of the building, she could see that the museum was being protected by a legion of security ponies. A large carriage surrounded by a cadre of guards was making its way to the museum’s rear entrance. The Luna statuette had to be in there. ‘Come to think of it, this’ll technically be the second time you’ve saved Luna. If you don’t screw up again, that is.’ She snorted at the spirit’s comment and turned her gaze back to the other buildings around here. “If I were a pair of thieves, where would I hide?” A number of options popped into her head; they could be disguised as guards, lurking somewhere just out of sight, using some weird earth pony magic to… cling to the walls, or something. Clinging to the walls like a spider… she shuddered at the thought. Who’d want that sort of superpower? She cursed her dearth of knowledge about these two crooks as she craned her neck side to side, looking for anything out of the ordinary. “Maybe they got scared off by all the security?” she muttered under her breath. ‘Doubt it. They didn’t seem the type to just give up because something got a little difficult.’ He paused a moment before speaking again. ‘Like a certain someone I know.’ “Sounds like someone I’d like to meet,” Swirling replied with a smarmy grin, earning a grunt from Nevermore. She looked out to the buildings next to the museum, briefly noticing… something. Leaning forward to get a closer look (while silently thanking Nevermore for her Raven form’s night vision), she glimpsed two figures at the edge of a building overlooking the museum. One was crouched low, while the other was leaning toward the edge. ‘Think that might be them?’ she asked, squinting at the figures. ‘Why not just go and find out?’ No sooner had he said that, did one of the figures move from the edge of the building and hold something out. The sound of something bursting drifted to Swirling’s ears and she watched as a hook sailed out towards the museum, locking onto the roof. “Yeah, that’s them all right.” With a flap of her wings, she took off just as Comedy and Tragedy began to zipline from the higher roof down to the museum. As soon as the pair rolled onto the roof, she flew straight for Tragedy, tackling him across the roof. They landed with a grunt, but she felt him roll with the tackle and then toss her off of him. She flapped her wings to land easily on the roof, glaring at the two as their masked faces stared back at her. “You know, if you two wanted your masks to be put out on display, I’m sure a jail cell would work just as easily.” Comedy scoffed. “Is that the best you could come up with, Black Biddy?” Swirling felt her hackles rise. “Hey, you try coming up with a good museum quip. And don’t call me Black Biddy!” ‘Remember last time,’ Nevermore warned. She growled, but stood straighter, flaring her wings out. “I’m not going to give you another chance. Turn yourselves in and give back the statue you stole.” The two shared a quick look. “Did you hear that Comedy? She says we stole the statuette.” “I know, Tragedy. But that’s not what I heard. All the papers seem to say otherwise.” He tapped at his chin. “Oh, who was it they said was the actual crook?” Comedy placed her hoof over her heart dramatically. “Why, I do believe she’s standing right in front of us!” The Raven growled vehemently, glaring spitefully at the thieves. “You framed me! Because of you, the whole city thinks I’m a thief!” “Well, aren’t you?” Tragedy snarked with a tilt of his head. “No! I’m nothing like you two!” She took a step forward, narrowing her eyes at them. “Last chance; surrender now, or I’ll take you both down.” Tragedy grunted. “Yes, because you did such a fantastic job last time.” “Not this time,” she growled and lunged forward after Comedy. The mare leaped above Swirling’s charge, but when Swirling feinted upwards, she caught the surprised thief with a right hook that sent her skidding across the roof. Her attack left her open to Tragedy, however, and he landed a solid buck to her side. The force of the kick sent Swirling through the skylight with a grunt of pain, the glass shards falling beside her until she righted herself and landed easily on the floor below, startling a pair of guards who stood protectively beside the Luna statuette. “What in the?” one shouted in oath. “It’s her! The Raven! Get her!” the other shouted and brought his club up to swing at her. “Oh, come on!” Swirling groaned as she quickly took to the air again, making her way straight to the skylight, only to be blasted by a magical bolt from one of the guards, knocking her back down to the ground. “You’re not getting away this time, thie—” The guard grunted as a form slammed into his side. The other guard only had time to start before a second form kicked him across the muzzle. The Raven looked up to see Comedy and Tragedy pick themselves up from dropping the guards. “Keep her busy, I’ll keep the guards out!” Tragedy shouted as he headed for the room’s only door. Comedy giggled behind her mask. “Oh, this is going to be fun!” Before Swirling had a chance to react, the masked mare charged at her, pouncing at the shadow-covered pegasus with brutal left hook to her face, sending the Raven flying back into a display of old stone tablets, several of the relics falling and shattering against the floor. ‘Well, there go a few small fortunes.’ ‘Not now, Nevermore!’ she snapped as she got back to her hooves. With Tragedy busy with keeping the guards out, this might be her chance to take down Comedy before he could join the fight. A smirk crossed Swirling’s face, unseen to Comedy due to the shadows covering the Raven’s face. “Just you and me, you cheeky little monkey.” “Who are you calling a monkey, you—” She grunted as the Raven tackled her to the ground. The two mares rolled around violently, each trying to gain the advantage over the other. Display stands teetered and artifacts went skittering across the floor as they struggled. While Swirling’s strength was enhanced by Nevermore’s shadow magic, pegasi didn’t have nearly as much muscle mass as earth ponies (or even unicorns, for that matter), and she found it increasingly harder to hold Comedy down. Said mare slipped a foreleg loose and lashed out with a strike to Swirling’s chin, staggering the pegasus and giving herself enough space to get back on all fours, glaring poisoned daggers at the other mare. “Not so much fun when you’re the one losing, is it?” Swirling asked, a sneer making its way into her tone as she spread her wings. A soft growl escaped Comedy’s mouth. “I’m not losing, Biddy. You haven’t seen anything yet!” She rushed ahead, bringing her foreleg back in a punch. Swirling leaped ahead, bringing her foreleg back as well, but when Comedy lashed out, she ducked under the punch and lifted the overbalanced mare over her back. Comedy flailed before landing on her front, turning in time to take a buck to her barrel that sent her skidding across the floor. ‘Clever,’ Nevermore quipped. Swirling couldn’t help but smile as he actually congratulated her for once. ‘Don’t get used to it.’ Good feelings gone, she braced herself as Comedy came back in with a flurry of punches. As Swirling dodged or blocked the blows, her brow furrowed but a grin erupted across her face, hidden by the shadows enveloping her visage. “What’s the matter, Comedy, not finding this as fun as you thought?” A louder growl escaped from the masked mare. “Shut up!” When Comedy brought back a fierce punch, she saw her opening. As the punch flew in, she caught hold of it and used Comedy’s own momentum to pull her off balance. As Comedy struggled to right herself, Swirling brought back her own punch and sent her flying away. Comedy bounced twice before slamming into a marble pillar. Comedy staggered to her hooves, shaking her head, only to see the Raven charging at her. “Tragedy!” Swirling felt the other masked thief slam into her side. The two went rolling across the floor, the stallion doing his best land as many blows as he could. “Don’t you ever touch my sister!” She grunted under his attack but used her hind legs to launch him off of her, sending him through the display case with the Luna statuette. “Oh, don’t cry all over me, Tragedy. Even though that’s obviously all you do!” She snarked as he got back to his hooves. He stood straighter. “Keep running your mouth, but you won’t get under my skin,” he said as he charged at her again. Swirling braced herself to meet him. “Yes, because that would be a tragedy, wouldn’t it?” Uttering a curse, Tragedy again ran at her, throwing a series of rapid punches at the shadowy pegasus. Evading several hits, the Raven sank away, disappearing into the shadows beneath Tragedy’s hooves. The stallion blinked quickly, his eyes running through the room to find his opponent just before something rammed into his stomach, winding him and knocking him several feet into the air before rolling painfully across the floor with a loud grunt. Smirking, Swirling flew at him, tackling him into a wall, where he groaned as she stood over him victoriously. “And now for the other—” Something impacted the side of her head, knocking her away and into a display of masks from Zebrica, one of which fell onto her face. She shoved the wooden artifact out of her view to see Comedy holding a broken stone relic in one hoof and the statuette of Princess Luna in the other. She tossed the shattered relic at Swirling before the pegasus could react, conking her in the head again, which would’ve knocked her out cold if Nevermore hadn’t been protecting her. It did manage to daze her, though. By the time she managed to come to her senses again, Comedy and Tragedy were already most of the way up a rope to the skylight, with Comedy leading. ‘Darn it!’ Flapping her wings roughly, she took to the air and made to grab Comedy, who spun in time to deliver a relentless kick to Swirling’s face, once more knocking the Raven back and buying the thieves time to get out of the building. As if Fate wasn’t done ruining her evening, the door to the room was knocked down, and several ponies in police uniforms galloped in to see the Raven hovering just below the skylight. She slumped her shoulders with a groan and a face-hoof. “Yeah, that figures.” She took the unicorn guards firing at her as a hint to leave, and flew out of the building and out of the guards’ view, immediately searching for Comedy and Tragedy before spotting the pair reaching the roof of the building from which they’d ziplined earlier. ‘Fast little buggers,’ said Nevermore in a tone that made him sound mildly impressed. “No time!” She gave a flap of her wings and took off in a burst of speed. As the two reached the other building, she landed in front of them. An audible growl emitted from Comedy. “You just don’t give up, do you, Biddy?” Growling to herself, Swirling braced herself for another attack. “You can’t outrun me! Just give yourselves up already!” Her eyes darted to Tragedy as he reached into his suit and she bristled, ready for him to throw whatever he was reaching for. She didn’t have time to process what he was doing until he threw whatever it was to the ground between them. “Wha—” she managed before a bright flash erupted and she jerked her head to the side with a surprised yelp. She rubbed fiercely at her eyes before she felt something slam into her side, bouncing her against a nearby wall. “Go!” she heard Tragedy yell, followed by the sounds of retreating hoof steps. ‘That… was unexpected.’ ‘Nevermore, I can’t see! Help!’ ‘Give me a moment,’ he groused. With a shake of her head, her vision gradually returned. She blinked numerous times as little lights danced across her vision. When it finally cleared, she saw the two in the distance, hopping across the rooftops in the direction of the city’s train station. “They’re making a run for the trains!” ‘Then go after them.’ She muttered at the dryness of his tone and took after them, still trying to clear her eyes of the dancing lights. She scowled and flapped her wings harder to make up for lost ground, following the thieving duo as the pair fled. Just as they leaped down into the crowd at the train station, she again cut them off. Rather than waste words, she tackled Comedy to the ground and tore off her saddlebags. As the crowd fled in terrified screams, the Luna statuette rolled out of Comedy’s bag and tumbled across the ground. Swirling made a leap for the statuette, but felt a tug on her tail, causing her to slap her chin to the pavement below. Tragedy jumped over her, grabbing the statuette in his hooves and turning to the Raven, his frowning mask hiding a derisive sneer. Swirling snarled fiercely and made a lunge for the statue, only for Tragedy to toss it into the air. When she stopped to try and catch it, she felt a hoof meet her chin in an uppercut, knocking back several feet. Tragedy easily caught the statuette again, stowing it away in his bag and assuming a stance as the Raven reoriented herself on all fours. “Well, Biddy, it was fun, but this is where you take a hike,” he said with undisguised arrogance. Just as he made a move to join Comedy, he found his hooves stuck to the pavement. “What in the world?” “Wha—” Swirling started. ‘You’re welcome,’ she heard Nevermore say. With a fierce grin, she realized that Tragedy’s shadow had grown darker, his hooves now bound by Nevermore’s magic. She took off like a shot at the bound stallion. “Hey, Tragedy!” The masked stallion looked up, and she could imagine the horror in his expression that the mask hid. “Cry me a river!” She slugged him with a fierce haymaker that sent the stallion soaring into a magazine vendor’s stand. Tabloids and other magazines fluttered around the stallion as he groaned in pain. Swirling stood over the beaten stallion, her head held high. “And get over it.” “You nag!” Swirling whirled at the sound of Comedy’s shout and the scream of a terrified mare. She saw that Comedy held an earth pony mare by the mane, a knife pressed against her throat. “Get away from my brother, or I’ll kill this one!” The mare quaked in her grasp. “Please no! I have a family! Don’t hurt—” “Shut up!” Comedy glared back at the Raven as she had turned to face her fully. “I swear, if you so much as move, her death will be on your hooves!” Swirling growled at the masked mare. “Don’t you dare do it! If you hurt her, I’ll—” “You’ll what?” Comedy challenged. “You’re supposed to be the big hero, aren’t you? You don’t have the guts to do anything worse than a few bad one-liners.” She drew the knife closer to her hostage’s neck, drawing a slight trickle of blood. “Let Tragedy go, and I let Miss Bystander here go. Even trade, wouldn’t you say?” The shadow-clad pegasus narrowed her eyes at the mare, unable to discern whether this was bluff because that accursed grinning mask. She looked over to Tragedy, still trapped in Nevermore’s shadow magic, then to Comedy’s hostage, who wore a look of desperation like none she’d seen before. She couldn’t see this working out well for her regardless of what choice she made here. She grumbled under her breath before saying, “Fine.” ‘Nevermore, let him go.’ ‘You do realize that this is one mare’s life stacked two lifetimes of thievery, right?’ ‘Just do it.’ There was no further argument from the spirit as he released his hold on Tragedy’s hooves. The stallion grunted as he stumbled back into freedom again, quickly joining his sister, who who held onto her hostage, slowly stepping back toward the train tracks. A train’s whistle could be heard in the distance. “We had a deal, Comedy,” said the Raven. “Let her go.” Comedy’s response was a short laugh. “Oh, I will. I’m just waiting for some insurance first.” Swirling felt her hackles rise. “What are you talking about? Just let her go!” The horn of the approaching train grew closer. Far off, she could see a light from what must’ve been the train’s engine. “You know, Black Biddy, this is why stupid heroes like you don’t ever win in real life. Because you care too much for ponies that you’ve never even met.” She stepped closer to the edge of the platform, taking the hostage with her. “You had your chance to stop us, and you blew it on this little mare.” She jerked the sagging mare back on her hooves, who gave a whimper of fear. Swirling raised her voice as the train grew closer. “Let. Her. Go!” “Fine!” Comedy shot back. “You want her, you’d better catch her!” She whirled and kicked the mare onto the train tracks. The mare landed with a grunt and looked up to see the bright lights of the train bearing down on her. “N-Nooo!” “You—” Swirling lunged after the fallen mare, who flailed and tried to scramble as the train rushed at them. “Celestia’s mane!” Swirling swore before she roughly grabbed the mare and made a desperate leap to the next set of tracks, the train speeding past them. Swirling heaved out a relieved sigh as she helped the mare off the ground. “Are you all right?” Instead of speaking, the mare screamed again, pointing behind the Raven, who spun to find another train barreling toward them. ‘Oh, come on!’ Instinct took over, and Swirling grabbed the mare again, leaping out of the way and off the tracks, rolling across the ground as the train skidded to a gradual halt that still would’ve killed them both. The Raven let another sigh and faced the mare again. “Let’s try this again: are you all right?” “Y-y-yes,” the mare said in a quiet, reluctant voice. “Thank you… thank you so much!” “Next time, take a cart,” she uttered dryly as she flapped her wings to look around the station for Comedy and Tragedy. She cursed when they were nowhere to be seen. She shook her head irritably. “Gone… I should’ve figured.” ‘I tried to—’ ‘Not now, Nevermore.’ Looking down at all the stares she was getting from the ponies in the station, she huffed and quickly took off across the sky. “Can I not catch a break?” -o- Summer watched her friend worriedly as Swirling grumbled to herself, her forelegs crossed as she slumped in her seat. She turned to Page, sitting next to her, who could only offer a shrug. It had taken an absurd amount of borderline begging on Summer’s part for Swirling to come along with them to the second showing of ‘The Merry Mares of Windsor,’ and the pegasus had outright refused to dress up for the occasion. It was rare for Summer to see her like this, and Swirling Line tended to be a difficult mare to please at times. Finally, Summer gave a faint sigh and nudged her friend, speaking in a low whisper as the actors played their roles. “Swirling, what’s wrong with you? You’re being more of a grump than usual.” “I’m fine,” the two-toned pegasus mumbled with no small amount of unhidden disdain. Summer rolled her eyes. “Again, you’re lying to me. If you don’t stop, I’m going to make you pay me a bit for every lie you tell.” She smiled. “I might be able to afford a new apartment in uptown if I do that, actually.” Swirling leveled a flat glare at her. “Funny…” She took in a breath and let it out slowly. “I’m sorry, Summer. I’m just… I haven’t really had the best week of my life.” “Well, if you would just talk about it for once. Maybe you’ll finally feel better.” The pegasus only grumbled in answer, leading Summer to roll her eyes. “Hey,” Page chimed in. “Maybe, after the play, we can go talk to the actors again. I’ll bet Lambent would be able to turn that frown upside down.” Summer giggled. “One way or another, probably.” The way her friend turned a bright cherry red brought a wide smile to her face. “And just what were you thinking, Swirling?” “That you’re the worst friend ever.” She rubbed at her face in a vain attempt to make the blush go away. Summer chortled, which drew a shush from another audience member. After a sheepish apology, she turned back to her friend, who’s red coloring had faded somewhat. “Well, we’re still going backstage once the play is over. It’ll be your chance to snag yourself a famous actor as a boyfriend.” Swirling lowered her gaze, a low, hopeful smile tugging at her lips. It’d be nice to have at least one win after the mess of a week she’d had. “Yeah… maybe it’s what I need.” Her friend nudged her, a wicked grin on her face. “That’s not all you need.” It took her a moment, but she quickly covered her face. “Summer… why?” -o- Even after the play was over and done with, the backstage was flooded with stagehooves running around and working cleanup for whatever performance was to come next for the theater. Actors were busy removing the makeup that had been smacked onto their faces as they headed for the dressing rooms, all congratulating each other on a job well done. The ponies receiving the most praise were the very same pair that Swirling, Page, and Summer had come to visit. Radiant Voice’s grin was wide with her impeccably white teeth, Lambent’s calm demeanor contrasting his sister’s jovial attitude perfectly, though he was also wearing a rather prideful smile. Swirling couldn’t help but blush at the sight of him still wearing his dapper costume from the play. “Good evening, Radiant, Lambent,” Page greeted as the crowd around the twins dispersed. “Great show tonight.” The earth pony mare beamed at the compliment, brushing her hoof against her barrel. “Oh, that was nothing. You should’ve seen when Lambent and I took a role in a play for a bunch of angry griffins. We had them crying from our performance in no time!” “And all because you forgot to put on your makeup for the show,” Lambent snarked with a smirk, earning a glare from his sister. She snorted at him, turning her nose up. “I say it was your flat singing that night that had them bawling.” Lambent offered a small chuckle of amusement in response, interrupted by a groan of pain as he rubbed his chin with a hoof. Swirling stepped forward with a somewhat worried look. “You okay?” “Yeah, I’m fine,” the stallion answered. “Jaw’s a little sore. Long story.” “Don’t worry about him. He just has four left hooves,” Radiant joked impishly. The way he glowered at his sister caused a giggle to escape Swirling. The way the two went back and forth was charmingly cute, especially that pouting look on Lambent’s face. She felt her side nudged, and she turned to see Summer giving her the ‘go for it!’ eyes. A nervous sigh escaped Swirling as she quickly tried to think up something that didn’t sound silly or embarrassing. ‘This might be better than the show.’ Ignoring the no-doubt-smirking spirit, she went with what first came to mind. “I-I really liked your performance tonight, Lambent. I thought the scene where the actress kept fainting, and you having to catch her, was really funny.” ‘Lame.’ ‘Shut the hell up, Nevermore!’ He turned an appreciative smile her way. “Thank you… Swirling Line.” He turned his jaw a bit before continuing with a slight grunt of effort, which struck her as odd if it just sore. “Glad to know my fans enjoy my work.” She tilted her head curiously at him. “Are you sure you’re okay? Maybe you should have a doctor look at that.” He waved her away. “No, I’ll be fine.” He gave her a faint wink. “Don’t worry about me, beautiful.” ‘And cue cliche blushing like an idiot.’ If it wasn’t for the fluttering in her stomach, she might have cursed him out. That still didn’t stop the blush from creeping across her cheeks, however. “I-I…” ‘And there’s the stutter...’ Luckily, Summer came to her aid. “What she means to say is ‘thank you,’ and she has something she’d like to ask you.” Lambent turned a curious look her way. “You do?” “I do?” Summer nudged her firmly. “I mean… um…” She took in a deep breath and let it out. “Lambent, would like to go out for dinner sometime?” He gave her a coy smile, looking her over for a moment before his eyes seemed to sparkle. “Yeah, I’d like that.” The butterflies in her stomach suddenly became storm of excitement in her chest. It took everything she had to not squeal like a little filly right then and there. A date with a famous actor! How did she do it? A velvety chuckle broke her trance and the four turned to see Radiant laughing. “Oh, brother, you heart throb, you.” He turned a glower her way again. “Quiet, you little monkey.” Her eye twitched before she scowled at him. “I’m not a monkey!” Swirling blinked, the warm feeling in her gut fading. The way Radiant had said that just now. It sounded so familiar, but where did she hear that before? ‘That… did sound familiar. Where did I hear that?’ ‘I don’t know, but—’ “So, Radiant, Lambent, a quick question for the article I’m writing,” Page Topper chimed in with grin. “I’ve been wondering, and this wasn’t question chosen for the interview: what genre of plays do you prefer acting in?” The twins blinked for a moment and looked to each other, then back to Page. “That’s actually a tough one to answer, honestly,” Lambent admitted. Radiant only smiled. “Not for me. Personally, I love performing in comedies. I don’t get into serious stories very often.” ‘Comedies...’ Something clicked, and her eyes went wide as she suddenly found herself focusing on the sounds of Radiant and Lambent’s voices. The tones and pitches, the volume with which they spoke, even Radiant’s mild cockiness and Lambent’s comparatively quiet demeanor. It couldn’t be… “Hey, Swirl?” The pegasus shook her head and looked to Summer. “You okay? You zoned out on us for a minute there.” She blinked and gave a soft shake of her head. “Y-Yeah, I’m fine. Just… thinking.” The way Summer’s eyes widened and her wicked grin spread told her that she should’ve phrased that differently. “Summer, don’t even.” The unicorn gave her a pouty expression. “You’re no fun.” Swirling’s ears turned as Lambent finally answered the question as well. “I’ve always been partial to tragedies, myself. I’ve always enjoyed bringing the raw emotion to the audience. Dry eyes means I didn’t do my job well enough.” Swirling felt her blood run cold, and she stared at the stallion for a long moment. ‘Tragedies? No… no, it can’t be...’ ‘Can it be anymore obvious at this point? It’s them, Line, and you know it.’ ‘N-no! I-it’s gotta be a coincidence! It’s not him!’ She could hear a disgruntled and agitated sigh from the spirit just before being nudged by Summer. “Hey, will you stop spacing out already? You’re starting to make ponies worry about you.” “I… I, uh…” She shook her head once again and stepped back a few steps. “I’m sorry. I have to go, uh… do a… thing. Bye!” She tried to leave, but found her tail being tugged firmly. She saw that it was held by the green aura of Summer’s magic, and she saw her friend giving her a disapproving frown. “Oh, no, you don’t. You already asked him on a date, now find out when.” Swirling looked back to Lambent and Radiant as they talked with Page, and she bit at her lip. If she ran out without asking more about the date, it would look suspicious. That, and she still held hope that he was innocent, and not a cruel master thief. ‘You’ve got to be kidding me...’ Ignoring the spirit again, she took in breath and approached the three. As she did, Lambent turned that charming smile to her. “Ah, sorry about that. You know how reporters can be.” “Y-yeah, I was just wondering…” She rubbed at the back of her neck for a moment before speaking further. “When did you want to go on that date?” His smile grew just a bit wider. “How about tomorrow night? Give me a chance to rest up before we go out on the town. We can meet back here and go from there.” Despite the nagging worry and crushing anxiety, a hopeful smile crept across her face. There’s no way Nevermore could be right about him. “Great! I’ll see you then?” He gave her a broad wink. “Count on it, beautiful.” She only replied with an awkward laugh before taking her leave. Feeling Summer’s hopeful stare, she prayed that Lambent wasn’t who Nevermore thought he was. -o- The two actors staggered their way through the streets of Manehatten on their way to their hotel, and Swirling could tell that they had enjoyed their fair share of drink at the cast party. Radiant and Lambent laughed and teased each other as they walked. Swirling could only watch the latter with worry as she stalked after them in the form of the Raven, bouncing from shadow to shadow to keep the pair within her line of sight. She still held out hope that her hunch was wrong. Lambent was too nice of a guy to be Tragedy. Well… from what she could tell from the two times she’d met him so far, at least. She wasn’t sure how she’d react if she found out otherwise. ‘Are ponies always so stubborn and emotional?’ asked Nevermore, sounding more derisive than genuinely curious. ‘Seriously, Line, look at the evidence. Sore jaw? You uppercutted Tragedy in the jaw just last night. Both Radiant and Comedy reacted similarly to being called a monkey. And now this “favored genre” thing? It couldn’t be more obvious if they wore t-shirts saying “We’re Comedy and Tragedy!”’ She shook her head stubbornly. ‘No! You’re wrong, Nevermore! It’s just a coincidence. Lambent is a nice guy, and he’s cute. Cute guys can’t be evil thieves.’ ‘...Please tell me you’re joking.’ ‘I’m dead serious.’ If he could, Nevermore would’ve been pinching the bridge of his nose in disappointment and annoyance. ‘You know what? Ponies aren’t stubborn and emotional; they’re outright stupid.’ ‘What would you know?’ She continued to follow after them until they finally made it to the door of the hotel. She paused, looking around to the brightly lit entry of the hotel; there was no way she was going to be able to shadow walk in with all of those lights glaring at her. “How do I get in?” she mumbled to herself. ‘You have wings, don’t you? They’re famous actors. I’d bet money they have the royal suites on one of the uppermost floors.’ She slapped a hoof over her face. “Right… duh.” She emerged from the shadows and spread her wings out, taking flight. With a small grunt of effort, she rose through the air and circled around the tall building, peeking into windows to find the twins and seeing more than a few things she’d need to bleach her brain to forget. This would seem to be another Mafioso hunt, it seemed. ‘Minus the thugs chasing after you.’ ‘Don’t remind me. I still don’t like how that turned out.’ She cut him off before he could start. ‘I know, Nevermore, I don’t want to hear your justification speech again.’ She could feel him rolling his eyes at her while she continued scanning the windows as she flew past. Just as she was beginning to doubt if they had the royal suites, she caught the lights turning on in one of the penthouses. She turned and hovered by the window, peeking in curiously. Within, she finally spotted her targets. Radiant was laughing giddily as she flopped onto one of the beds, while Lambent carefully took a seat at the mini bar across from them, facing his sister. He wore a small grin as he reached behind the mini bar, struggling to grab something. “Man, that was great!” Radiant said gleefully, her voice muffled slightly by the glass between them and Swirling. “I can’t believe that guy drank all the vodka in one go! I mean, damn! That’s just impressive.” “Also murder on his liver,” Lambent added, “but that’s his problem.” He pulled a bag out from behind the bar, unzipping it and rummaging through it for a few moments. Radiant readjusted herself to lay flat on her back, her back legs kicking circles in the air. “Are our souvenirs still with us?” Right on cue, Lambent pulled a golden statuette of Princess Celestia and set it on the bar, then an obsidian statuette of Princess Luna. “Yep. And nary a scuff or scratch to boot. These girls are gonna make us a mint on the black market.” Seeing those statues laid out for her to see caused a whimper of grief to escape her. No! It couldn’t be! It was a trick! It had to be! “Did you hear something?” she heard Lambent’s voice ask. With a quick curse, she flapped her wings and got above the window just in time for Lambent to to step out on the balcony, looking around suspiciously. “Whaddya hear?” the slurred voice of Radiant Voice—no, Comedy said. Lambent, Tragedy, flicked his ears at his sister’s voice, looking around for a moment. After a moment, he sighed and turned back for the room. “Guess it was nothing,” he said, closing the penthouse door behind him. Swirling Line sat on the roof above the penthouse, her hind legs pulled close as as she tried so hard to fight back the tears of disappointment. Why? Why did he have to be Tragedy? It just wasn’t fair! She scowled as anger bubbled up inside her, clawing to get out. Right now, all she wanted to do was scream and punch Lambent right in the face. ‘What’s stopping you?’ Nevermore inquired. ‘He deserves it, doesn’t he?’ The pegasus wiped a hoof over her eyes, and nodded. “For once, you and I are in complete agreement.” “And who might you be talking to?” Swirling leaped with a yelp at the sudden voice, spinning to face the speaker. Standing across from her was lime green pegasus mare with a mane of a light shade of green, wearing a police uniform with a set of hoofcuffs as her cutie mark. She had smirk on her face, her green eyes glinting with amusement, like she knew a joke and refused to share it. “Uh… no one.” She stepped back awkwardly, looking this policemare over for a moment. “I guess you’re going to try to arrest me?” The mare rolled her eyes and shook her head, not losing her smirk in the slightest. “Not my plan, but I’m flexible.” She approached the Raven until she was just a foreleg’s length away. “I saw you tailing those two ponies. Figured I’d do the same to you. See what your reasons are. Considering you haven’t done anything horrible to them, and your current record when it comes to Manehattan’s unfriendly residents, I doubt you’re going to.” Swirling narrowed her eyes at the policemare, feeling that something was off about her. She also felt a bizarre sense of familiarity with this mare, but she was certain that she’d never met her before in her life. “Who are you?” “You can just call me Cuff,” the mystery mare answered. She just kept on smiling with that insider’s grin. “So, why are you stalking two of the most famous actors in Equestria? I’m betting it’s not to get an autograph.” A scowl erupted across Swirling’s muzzle, though it was hidden by the Raven form. “I’ve found out that they’re a pair of thieves that call themselves Comedy and Tragedy. It was them who stole the statuettes from the museum, not me.” The pegasus’ eyebrow inched upwards. “And you know this, how?” She motioned over the side of the building. “I saw the statues in their room. Lambent, the stallion, said that they’re going to sell them on the black market.” “Are they now?” Cuff hummed thoughtfully before looking back at her. “Well… one cop alone won’t be able to take down two vicious criminals like Comedy and Tragedy, so I’ll have to call for backup.” A sly smirk crossed her face. “Well, whatever happens between now and then happens, as I won’t be there to see it.” Swirling turned to the mare, who had already taken to the air, but had stopped. “Oh, before I forget, you might want some evidence to prove your innocence.” “And how would I get that?” Cuff smirked once again and began digging around in her uniform’s many pockets before pulling out a small, portable camera and tossing to the Raven, who caught it in her hooves. “Always keep one on me, just in case.” Swirling looked down at the camera, then back at Cuff, slightly befuddled, but nodded nonetheless. This would definitely come in handy. “Thanks. I owe you one.” “Don’t thank me,” Cuff replied. “I’m just doing my job.” She spread her wings and took off, quickly disappearing over the ledge of the building. ‘...There’s something not right with that mare.’ ‘What do you mean?’ His continued silence caused her to frown to herself. “Nevermore?” ‘It’s something for another night. We have a pair of thieves to catch, remember? Including Lambent Voice.’ The mere mention of the stallion caused the bile to rile up inside her. She remembered that cute smile he gave her, and realized it was through false teeth. He wasn’t an actor that did a little thievery on the side. He was a thief who used his acting as a means to hide who he really was. A thief who’s murdered. A thief who’s destroyed lives for profit. A stallion who needed to be put in his place. The disappointment, the bitterness, and the regret boiled over as she grabbed the camera and zipped over the side of the building. As she hovered next to the patio window, her eyes bored figurative holes into him. ‘How could you?’ She lifted up the camera, and took a shoot as Comedy absently tossed the Celestia statuette into the air. As Lambent marveled at the Luna statuette, she took another picture. And that was enough evidence for her needs. Hiding the camera on the roof, she flew back down to the window and pulled back a few feet, readying herself before taking off toward the glass pane. The window shattered as she flew through it, showering the two startled occupants with glass fragments. She rolled across the floor and spun to face them, her eyes narrowed and glaring daggers at them both. “What the hell!?” Radiant hollered as she rolled off her bed, the Celestia statuette falling on the mattress while she hit the floor. “You!” Lambent shouted, quickly dropping the Luna statuette he’d been examining. “How did you find us?” A growl escaped Swirling’s throat. “You’re both going down.” She didn’t wait for any retort, instead tackling into the mare also known as Comedy. The two crashed through a nightstand, and Swirling pulled back a hoof to slug her across the muzzle. The shadows across her body rippled, her ethereal mane and tail beginning to whip and flicker like fire as she drove her hoof forward, slugging the other mare across the face with a satisfying crack. As she felt a pair of forelegs wrap around her, an angered hiss escaped her hidden lips as she struggled to break free. “Get off my sister, freak!” Lambent howled as he pulled her away and dropped her into a suplex, slamming her head against the floor. Swirling grunted from the head-first impact, but got back to her hooves to swing at the staggering Lambent. Just looking at him sent a bristle of rage through her nerves, and she snarled angrily at the stallion before leaping at him with a hoof drawn back. He rolled with the tackle and used his hind legs to launch her off of him. She flapped her wings and righted herself to land against the wall on all fours, her wings flared out to keep her balance. Lambent’s eyes widened before she lept off the wall and slugged him across the muzzle. He staggered back with the blow, crashing into the minibar and knocking the Luna statuette to the floor. Shaking his head to clear the dizziness, he felt himself lifted up and slammed against the wall. His eyes widened as the peered into the rage filled eyes of the Raven. Her yellow orbs now seemed more narrow, more slanted, and he felt the first vestiges of fear as he stared into them. “Why did you do this?” the Raven demanded, the shadows churning across her body. “You were a famous actor! You had everything most ponies could only dream of! Why would you choose a life of crime over being a star!?” He grunted past the pain to glare back at her. “You don’t know anything. Someone like you couldn’t understand if you tried!” She shook him viciously before slamming him again. “I want to know why!” Lambent actually managed a small grin. “You really wanna know?” He snickered. “My sister and I, we do it for the thrill. The rush of getting away with it. Surely, you feel the same way whenever you nab a crook on the street, right? The adrenaline in your veins, your heart pounding, that little tingle in the back of your mind telling you to keep going and going? It’s the same for us. We couldn’t care less about the money we get from it. All that matters is the thrill.” She pressed her muzzle into his, her glare even more seething. “And you kill for that thrill? How many mothers and fathers have you killed just for your thrill!?” At that, the stallion scowled. “I stopped counting a while ago. It’s their own fault for getting in our way. Besides, Radiant takes the most active approach when it comes to dealing with witnesses.” Shooting a scathing glance at the unconscious mare proved a mistake as the moment she turned away, Lambent grabbed a wine bottle and smashed it over her head. Glass and wine mixed in with her fur and mane, stunning her for a brief moment. Lambent used the distraction to plant both hind hooves into her barrel and launch her off of him. The force of the kick sent her sailing back through the broken remains of the patio window, bouncing her into the railing with a pained grunt as she tried to shake away the dizziness. Looking up as she heard the sounds of crunching glass, she saw Lambent walk towards her as he slipped on his scowling mask. “It seems I’m going to have to deal with witnesses this time around.” She tried to move, only to feel him stomp on her side and pin her down. He drew back a hoof and drove it into her face, dazing her, but causing no permanent damage. That would be brought into question eventually, as the stallion continued to strike her for a second, third, fourth time, then grabbed her by her tail and lifting her by it. He spun on his hind legs, spiraling the Raven around in a powerful swing, only to release her and send her flying into the mini-bar, knocking numerous beverages off the shelves hidden by the counter, glass bottles shattering on the floor. Already, she felt him pulling her back, and her hooves scrambled to grab onto to something. Her left hoof met an object, and she immediately spun and swung a bottle of whiskey into Lambent’s face, glass breaking apart and digging into his skin. The stallion screamed as the shards cut through his mask and into his face, letting the pegasus go and stumbling away to fall onto his back and writhe in pain. ‘Now’s your chance! Buck!’ ‘It hurts, Nevermore! You’re not the one getting punched and tossed like a ragdoll!’ ‘No, I’m the one keeping you from being cut up like cheese. Now buck!’ Growling in anger, she lashed out with both legs and caught the surprised Lambent square in the barrel, her rage enhanced strength sending him flying out the patio door. He scrambled for the railing, but missed and plunged with a scream. “NO!” Ignoring the pain, and Nevermore’s disapproving shouts, she took off out the window, descending desperately to catch up with the plummeting stallion. She refused to have another pony die because of her! She wouldn’t let him die, even if he deserved it! Lambent’s terrified shrieks drew the attention of a small number of ponies still out at the late hour, all shocked as they witnessed a pony falling to the ground. Swirling pumped her wings harder than ever before, barreling past Lambent before arcing back up and snatching him out of the air, forcing a grunt of pain out of him from the rough catch as she soared back up to the ruined hotel room, where she dropped him unceremoniously onto the floor. He gasped and panted, his breath shallow as his mind processed that he was no longer falling to his death. He glanced at the Raven, who glared at him as if she regretted setting him back on solid ground. “You… you saved me…” he muttered shakily. She narrowed her eyes. “I’m not like you. I’m not a murderer.” She scowled under her shadowy mask. “That’s not to say that you don’t deserve it.” “I—” She didn’t let him finish, swiftly dealing a blow to his face to knock him back and out cold onto the floor. ‘You never cease to surprise me with how stupid you can be.’ ‘Shut up, Nevermore. I’m very angry and I don’t want to have to deal with your crap right now.’ Nevermore’s only response was a noncommittal grunt. Swirling looked over the two groaning ponies and spat disgustedly. She tore down a curtain and ripped it to long shreds, tying the two up with the material. Turning towards a glint, she saw the two statuettes beside each other. She walked over and lifted them up, admiring their craftsmanship. Even as angry as she was, she could still appreciate fine art, and the two statuettes were breathtaking in their detail. ‘Thinking about keeping one?’ She glowered at the spirit, but it quickly gave way to wonder as she looked them over. “No, but this’ll probably be the last chance I get to see them, so I wanted to at least look at them. Can’t you see how amazing the detail is? Whoever made them was a master!” ‘Artists...’ “You’re darn right I am,” she quipped. -o- Famous Actors Caught! Formerly beloved actors Radiant and Lambent Voice exposed as the criminal duo Comedy and Tragedy! Swirling couldn’t stop a wide grin from breaking out on her face as she read the article in the paper. It went on to describe how the twins had been delivered to the police with photographic evidence that proved their guilt and the Raven’s innocence, pushing her back up from criminal to vigilante once again, and that the statuettes had been transferred to police holding until further notice. Today was shaping up to be pretty good already. “Why are you smiling like that?” asked Summer, pulling Swirling’s focus away from the newspaper she’d been reading. “Lambent’s a criminal! I almost hooked you up with a felon! Again!” A chuckle escaped Swirling and patted her friend on the shoulder as they walked through the streets of Manehatten. “It’s alright, Summer. I’m sure you’ll set me up with someone who isn’t a scumbag. Eventually.” “That’s not funny, Swirling!” The dark tan unicorn stamped a hoof with a huff. “First it was that mean thug in the park, and now Lambent… it just doesn’t look good on me if I set my best friend up with criminals!” “It’s not that bad. It at least makes my love life more interesting than most ponies’, right?” Swirling said, giving her friend a teasing wink. The unicorn groaned. “You’re mean.” A warm laugh escaped Swirling as she looked around the street they walked through. Many ponies walked past them, or rode past on carts. Conversation rang all around them, and Swirling felt a bit uplifted on having a normal day for once. ‘I can change that, you know.’ A sinking feeling formed in her gut. ‘Please… don’t...’ ‘Needs to be said, Line,’ he said, not a trace of mercy to be found in his dry voice. ‘All three times you faced Comedy and Tragedy, you were sloppy. I had to work hard at keeping the worst of the damage done to you from actually hurting you. I was taxed many times, and almost couldn’t hold the form with your carelessness.’ ‘Oh, come on! I couldn’t have been that bad!’ ‘You were bad enough, and that’s what worries me.’ She shook her head at that. ‘I beat them, didn’t I?’ He groaned. ‘At the near cost of your life, plus the fact that they were drunk the third time. We can’t afford to keep going in flailing madly all the time the way you do.’ A sigh escaped her, and she was lucky Summer wasn’t paying attention to her. In fact, she’d wandered off to a collection of flyers on a wall nearby. The unicorn tore one of them off the wall and bounded back over to Swirling, grinning excitedly as she held the flyer in her magic. “Check this out, Swirl!” she said eagerly. “It’s just what we need!” Curiosity piqued, Swirling took the flyer in one hoof and looked it over. There was a Neighponese style hoof-made drawing of a pair of ponies wearing martial arts uniforms, both in fighting stances. Beneath the artwork was writing for what was being advertised. “‘Master Kyoshi’s Karate Dojo’?” she read. Beneath that was the address of the dojo, a date for when it would be open, and the deadline for ponies to sign up before it opened. “Why do we need this?” “Duh! So that we don’t get mugged again, of course. Who’s gonna mess with a mare that knows karate?” ‘This… is oddly convenient,’ Nevermore stated in a somewhat baffled tone. Swirling looked to her widely grinning friend, and tried to imagine the bubbly unicorn in a karate outfit. She snorted a laugh and about doubled over. The unicorn blinked in surprise before glaring at her cackling friend. “What’s so funny?” “I just—” another round of giggles escaped her. “I just imagined you in a karate outfit doing a flying kick like in one of those cheesy kung fu movies, and I just couldn’t hold it in.” “Hey! It’s not funny! I’m being serious, Swirling.” She took the flyer back in her magic. Swirling took in a deep breath to finally get her laughter under control and tilted her head at her friend. “Why, though, Summer? You just don’t seem the type to want to fight ponies.” “Because…” She lowered her head and gave a soft huff. “I just don’t like being a victim. After we got mugged, I felt so helpless, and I didn’t like it. I just… don’t want it to happen to either of us again.” “But don’t you have your magic? Why didn’t you just blast the thugs?” Summer turned a glower at her. “Do I look like Princess Twilight? I can’t shoot giant blowy-uppy beams! I barely can knock a fly out of the air, let alone fight.” Swirling brushed her two-tone mane out of her eyes and studied her friend. The unicorn looked really serious, something Swirling rarely saw in the other mare. Maybe she had a point after all. ‘And you could use some formal training,’ Nevermore suggested, actually being helpful for once. ‘Guess that settles it.’ She smiled at Summer. “Okay, you win. We’ll go sign up to join.” Summer’s smile returned, and she clapped her hooves giddily. “Great! This going to be so cool! We’ll be learning karate together, and we’ll show those crooks who’s boss!” ‘I’m betting on the crooks.’ ‘Aren’t you funny?’ ‘Hilarious, yes.’ She rolled her eyes, but managed to keep her small smile as she and Summer continued on their way. Summer continued listing off all the great things they could learn from an actual karate master, occasionally stopping to do an approximation of a fighting stance that was probably about as accurate as a foal’s rendition of a Shaken Spear play. Still, she couldn’t help but smile wider at her friend’s antics. “Waiter!” a loud, obnoxious voice called out as the pair passed a cafe, catching their attention. “Get me another of those little martinis, would ya!?” A pony wearing a waiter’s uniform frowned at the shouting stallion. “Sir, you’ve already had five martinis and a glass of tequila, and you haven’t even touched your food yet. Anymore drink, and we’ll have to kick you out.” “Hey, what about customer service, huh? Come on, I’ve had a rough day! Cut me some slack, will ya!?” The waiter rolled his eyes and called for security. “Whoa, no need for strongarmin’, I’m goin’.” The portly stallion grumbled as he left his outdoor table, stumbling past other customers and bumping into Swirling. “What’s your problem?” she asked, more curious than anything else. The stallion mumbled something before turning to Swirling. “My problem, lady, is that my two biggest clients turned out to be criminals, and the damn paparazzi’s been hounding me about it all damn day! I tell ya, there’s no trustin’ ponies these days!” The pegasus blinked, glancing at Summer for a moment before eyeing the stallion again. “Clients? You wouldn’t happen to be Radiant and Lambent Voice’s agent, would you?” “Used to be,” he corrected. “Why? You’re not more paparazzi, are you? If you are, then whatever you’re thinkin’, fuggedaboutit.” A wide smile erupted across Swirling’s face, an idea suddenly blooming up in her mind as she processed this new information. “Well, if you’re looking for a new client, I might know an actress looking for an agent.” “Swirling?” Summer asked quietly, looking at her friend with nervous eyes. “Yeah?” the stallion asked. “And who would that be?” “Why, my friend right here!” She waved a hoof to Summer, who gaped at the development in mixed bafflement and shock. “She’s an aspiring actress who could use a good agent, and you’re missing two clients now. It’s a win-win for both of you!” Summer sputtered, her face turning a bright scarlet red. “But-I-what-I can’t—” He looked Summer over, a grin slowly growing on his face. “Ya make a strong argument, lady.” He rummaged through the pockets of his coat, pulling out a card and offering it to Summer. “Name’s Done Deal. Here’s my card. I’ll be here in Manehatten for a while. We’ll meet up sometime and hammer out the details later. Look forward to workin’ with ya, Miss…” He looked to Swirling. “Her name’s Summer Streams.” “Right! Lookin’ forward to working’ with ya, Miss Streams!” With that, Done Deal turned and trotted away with a noticeable bounce in his step. Until a number of ponies appeared from nowhere and started chasing him with flashing cameras. A giggle made its way past Swirling’s lips as the pudgy stallion ran from the mob, and turned to her still-astounded friend, who held Done Deal’s card in her magic, staring at Swirling with a slack-jawed look. “What just happened?” the unicorn asked. “I just boosted your career, that’s what happened.” Swirling grinned while Summer just continued to look back and forth between the card and the pegasus… and promptly fell over, out cold. “Crap! Summer, wake up!” -o- Her eyes narrowed slightly when the door across from her opened, letting in a stream of light as a wealthy-looking stallion entered, a grin on his face as he saw her. He closed the door, and she returned the smirk, carefully adjusting the bag hanging from her shoulder. The weight of its contents wasn’t exactly comfortable, but it was bearable when weighed against the reward she was to receive for it. “Good to see you again,” the stallion greeted her. “You certainly wear that face well. Who are you this time?” The mare gave a proud smile and subtly shifted into a rather sultry pose. “I like to call her Cuff. A personal favorite of mine, actually. Nopony suspects the policemare.” She pulled the bag off of her shoulder and set it on the floor. “I think you’ll appreciate this little present I’ve brought you.” The stallion grinned in anticipation as ‘Cuff’ opened the bag, revealing a pair of statuettes carved in the likeness of the Royal Sisters. Each of the two was valuable alone, but they were almost priceless when together. A truly worthy acquisition for a collector such as himself. “Glorious,” he said as he reached for them. The mare, however, quickly pulled them away, giving him a seductive pout. “You know how this works,” she said. “Money first, toys second.” “Of course.” He returned to the door and knocked on it. A second stallion, this one a burly unicorn, entered the room, carrying a briefcase in his magic. “This should be more than enough to cover your expenses, my dear.” Just then, the mare was enveloped in a burst of green flame, which vanished as quickly as it had appeared, revealing an insect-like being with a near-black exoskeleton and dark green eyes, her gorgeously alien face framed by a carefully brushed teal mane. Her curved horn glowed green, taking the case and opening it to see the sparkling gold of hundreds of bit coins, each worth a hundred bits on their own. If her current employer was true to his word, the contents of the case was around five hundred thousand bits. Add to that her advance payment, and she’d made eight hundred thousand from this job. She just couldn’t hide a fanged grin. “Aren’t you beautiful?” she whispered before facing the two stallions again and floating the statuettes over to them. “Have fun with your new collectibles, boys, but do be gentle with them. They’re not easy to come by.” The first stallion nodded gratefully. “You’ve done me a great service, Miss C, though I wish you would have more confidence in me. I would love to know the name of such an exotic creature.” The changeling chuckled in a low, sultry tone. “Sorry. Business before pleasure, I’m afraid. Our business may be concluded, but I plan on have my pleasures elsewhere.” “A shame,” the collector said with a sigh. “Well, I’ll send for you the next time something catches my eye. Until then, my dear.” With that, the two stallions left, taking the statuettes with them. The changeling couldn’t restrain an amused giggle as she shifted back into the form of Cuff, making for the nearest window while carrying the money-filled briefcase in her hooves, taking off into the night sky. Who knew this job would be so easy? It’d taken longer than she would’ve liked, but it worked out perfectly in the end. Taking down two of her biggest competitors for free was just icing on the cake. Manipulating the Raven into doing the hard part was so ludicrously simple, too. The fact that she was so mad at Comedy and Tragedy made it almost too easy. And once more, the Raven proved to be an intriguing character. ‘I might just take her for myself,’ she thought with smirk. ‘I think I’ll enjoy having her around for a while.’ Another giggle escaped her as she flew past the buildings of Manehattan, already planning out how she would accomplish the next job on her to-do list.
Metal Madness, Part 1“Learning and innovation go hand in hand. The arrogance of success is to think that what you did yesterday will be sufficient for tomorrow.” - William Pollard -o- Canterlot was alive and bustling, with high-class ponies sauntering about running high-class errands, enjoying high-class food, and speaking high-class words (which was really just glorified gossip), all more or less unaware of a gathering of guards and other officials in the guards’ training grounds just outside of the castle. The princesses themselves, Celestia, Luna, and even the young Princess Twilight, were in attendance as well, several armored ponies flanking them, spears held to deter any who would dare approach the Royal Sisters and the Princess of Friendship. Before them, a tan-coated unicorn stallion with graying mane tinkered away at something covered by a large tarp. It appeared to be multiple, pony-sized somethings as well, five in all. Silence dominated the air, only interrupted by the occasional clink of metal from under the tarp. “What do you think he wants to show us, Princess Celestia?” Twilight asked as she leaned closer to the tall alicorn. She’d tried to sneak a peek under the tarp when she arrived, but the stallion, a scientist of some renown named Savant, “politely” shooed her away. She squirmed, her curiosity was beginning to get to her. Celestia gave a soft hum. “I’m not sure,” she admitted, “but Dr. Savant has provided us with some very innovative inventions in the past. I remember a few years ago, he demonstrated something he called a ‘telephone,’ but he seems to have lost interest in that.” Twilight nodded, remembering that herself. She was still Celestia’s student at the time, and had been fascinated by the doctor’s demonstration of the plausibility of instant, two-way communications between ponies. From what she’d heard, he’d passed it off to a colleague, who had yet to really perfect the invention. It was still years from mass production, and what they had was typically reserved for government use. Luna shook her head, her ethereal mane swaying with the motion. “I am still unsure of this advancement. Such… creations do not sit well with me.” The elder sister chuckled lightly at her sibling’s words. “It’s nothing to worry about, sister. You’ll get used to it.” “I’ve had three years now to ‘get used to it,’” the Lunar Princess muttered, only to get another giggle from her sister. “I doubt I will ever understand ‘modern technology.’” “Things have a way of changing before our very eyes, sister, and we must learn to adapt to the new changes, or be left behind to stagnate.” Celestia’s eyes swept the collected tarps. “But we must also remember the lessons of the past so that they are not repeated.” Luna’s gaze fell to her hooves and Celestia wrapped a wing around her sister’s withers. “You know what I mean, Luna.” Luna took in a breath and let it out in a huff, nodding. “I do.” Her teal irises eyed the tarps with some hostility. “But that does not mean I have to like it.” Just then, Twilight waved a hoof. “I think he’s about to start.” Sure enough, Savant had pulled himself out from under the tarp, smiling to himself with an eager glint in his eyes as a small wrench hovered in his yellow-orange magic. Setting the tool aside, he turned to the princesses with a confident grin. “Thank you for your patience, Your Highnesses,” he said in a somewhat calm voice, sounding eager and ready to get the show on the road. His strong accent made his origins in Trottingham rather obvious. “Just a few last-minute adjustments. Anyway, now is as good a time as any to begin, hmm?” Twilight and Celestia leaned forward, Twilight much more eagerly, while Luna withheld any enthusiasm as Savant cleared his throat. “Dear Princesses,” he began, “I thank you all for seeing me today and for the chance to show you my newest—and perhaps my greatest—creations yet!” His horn lit up, the tarp glowing with his aura. “Your Highnesses, I give you… the Pawns!” The tarp lifted off its contents, revealing five metal, pony-shaped… things standing rigid as statues. They looked like armor that would’ve been too small to wear for an average pony of any race. Celestia quirked an eyebrow, while Twilight tilted her head curiously. Luna began to show just a bit more interest now. “Doctor,” Celestia said, “what, exactly, are we looking at?” The inventor chuckled. “I’m glad you asked, Princess. These Pawns are whatever you want them to be! Loyal house guards, law enforcement, heavy laborers, or even soldiers on the front lines! They can perform tasks normally deemed too dangerous for ponies, such as mining miles belows the surface, handling and disposing of dangerous chemicals, fighting large beasts, you name it!” “We have magic for such things,” Luna pointed out, seeing the “inventions” as unnecessary wastes of metal that could’ve been used to forge armor, weapons, and building materials. “Perhaps, Princess Luna, but that still requires putting living ponies in peril to perform these laborious tasks. With a Pawn, you see, there is no fear of losing a life. If a Pawn is destroyed, we can simply build another!” “Question,” said Twilight, who raised a hoof instinctively. “Why ‘Pawns?’ That seems a little derogatory, doesn’t it?” “I enjoy a good game of chess,” Savant answered quickly. “And they’re only machines. You can’t insult that which lacks feelings to hurt.” “Perhaps you can give us a demonstration of what your… Pawns are capable of, Dr. Savant,” Celestia suggested, her cerise eyes looking over the collection of metal ponies. “Of course.” The inventor turned to the nearby guards. “Perhaps one of you would be willing to spar with one of my Pawns? Only as a demonstration.” The guards looked to each other for a few moments, all of them unsure, until one finally stepped forward with a frown pointed at his comrades. “Come on,” he muttered. “They’re just glorified scrap metal.” He stepped up and bowed. “Allow me the honor, Princesses. I’ll show everypony here that no metal toy is a match for the training of the Royal Guard.” Celestia gave a pleased smile and nodded her approval, and the guard turned towards Savant. “Get one of your toys ready. I’m about to break it.” Savant nodded, unfazed by the guard’s tone, and lit his horn again. One the Pawns, the one in the center, vibrated, its hollow “eyes” lighting up the same color as Savant’s magic. It turned its head to its creator, who motioned to the challenging guard and said, “You are to spar with this gentlecolt here. Incapacitation only, nothing permanent. You are not to begin until I give the word.” Amazingly, the metal pony nodded, stepping toward the guard, spreading its legs wide in a battle stance. The armored stallion blinked in surprise, recognizing the stance as the standard of the Royal Guard, albeit stiffer, and no doubt lacking in fluidity. Still, it was nothing to be worried about. “Are you prepared, sir?” Savant asked. The guard nodded as he sank into his own stance, ready to leap at the Pawn. “Very good. Begin!” With a whir of machinery and a clanking of gears, the metal Pawn charged ahead, its glowing eyes unblinking as it charged the guard. Even as he settled into a defensive stance, the Pawn brought back its foreleg in a punch and swung. The guard accepted the hit on his armored shoulder, and he felt himself skid back from the blow. “All right, so they’re strong,” he muttered and charged after the Pawn as it turned for him again. The Pawn again brought back its foreleg, but he ducked under the swing and whirled to give it a full buck in the side. A jolt of pain hit his legs, as if he’d just kicked the side of a mountain, but was rewarded with the sound of metal clanging heavily against the ground. He turned to see the Pawn scrambling on its back, its head turned at an unnatural angle. “Ha!” the guard bellowed. “Looks like your toy is—” He and others gasped in shock as the head of the Pawn rotated independently of its neck and clanked to its hooves. “By Celestia…” the guard uttered as the machine’s head soon clicked back into place, not unlike something from a horror movie, or some twisted novel. It then lunged at the guard, heartless eyes blazing as it tackled him to the ground. It pulled his forelegs behind his back with its left hind leg to just below the back of his neck. “And there you have it!” Dr. Savant said with a wide grin that hadn’t faded once since his showing began. “My Pawns are—” The sound of pained groans interrupted him, the Pawn still holding onto the guard. It didn’t take long for the guard’s groans to become pained shouts. “Get it off me!” the guard shouted as the machine continued to pull his forelegs back. “What’s happening?” Twilight asked in a frantic tone. Savant hurried to the machine. “It’s over! Release him!” The Pawn gave no indication of obedience, instead pulling harder. A sickening crack was heard, and the guard screamed in agony. “Pawn 3, I order you to—” A burst of gold struck the Pawn, blasting it apart in a shower of cogs and gears and sheets of metal, freeing the guard, who was helped up by his comrades, all of whom gave Savant angered looks. Nervously, the doctor turned to the princesses, seeing a frightened Twilight, an angry Luna with her horn’s light dimming, and an unreadable Celestia, whose own horn was still burning with her potent aura. “I-it’s new technology!” Savant assured them halfheartedly. “Th-there’s bound to be some problems! Science is eighty percent trial and—” “I believe we’ve seen enough,” Celestia said as she turned her gaze to the injured guard. “Take him to the infirmary. I will see to his injuries personally.” The other guards dipped their heads. “Yes, Princess.” As they helped their whimpering companion away, more than a few guards shot Savant a scathing glare. Celestia returned her focus to Savant, her horn’s light finally dying down. “Your ‘Pawns’ as you call them are impressive, but it is clear that they are too dangerous.” “B-but I—” “I’m sorry, Dr. Savant, but you will not be receiving any funding for this venture. These creations of yours…” Celestia trailed off, apparently thinking on her choice of words. “They clearly place no value on life,” Luna finished for her sister. “Such cold, dispassionate… machines are useless to us.” “As fascinating as they are,” Twilight added, “I’m inclined to agree. They’re not safe.” She motioned to the Pawn Celestia had blasted. “And on top of that, they’re clearly not very efficient.” She held one piece of the destroyed Pawn in her magic, resembling a large bulb. “This arcane engine is already a quarter empty. It would’ve broken down too quickly to be of any real use in extended combat. It’d need constant refueling to keep the Pawn running properly.” “Not quick enough, it seems,” Luna said with a bit of a snarl in her voice. She looked at the stunned Savant with a disapproving glare. “Aside from the mechanical problems these ‘Pawns’ possess, your automatons would devalue the cost of life in war.” He sputtered. “B-But, they would save lives! Nopony would have to die if my creations were the only ones to see battle!” “And then war would have no meaning,” Luna said, standing taller. “It would be nothing more than a simple game in which the two forces would just continue to throw away lifeless machines to the point where the true meaning of what war is would be forgotten. A war is not for machines; it is for those who have reason to fight beyond simply being told to. To show their valor and fight for what they feel is for the betterment of their civilization and their families.” “But—” Celestia raised a hoof, silencing Savant before he could start. “Take your Pawns and leave us. If you have something else to share with us in the future, we will gladly grant you an audience. Good day, Dr. Savant.” And with that, she and her fellow princesses turned and took their leave, leaving Savant to stand alone on the grounds with no company but his voiceless Pawns. He collapsed to his knees, staring at the ground. How could this be? This can’t be happening! His creations were near flawless! A minor tweak and everything would have been fine! He, the most brilliant inventor Equestria has ever seen, was snubbed! When he lifted his gaze, he bore figurative holes in the backs of the departing princesses. “I’ll show you,” he murmured quietly under his breath. “I’ll show you that my creations are flawless.” He snarled before he turned to collect his remaining Pawns. -o- Another glorious day in the city of Manehattan! The streets were crowded, the carriages ran past without a care if ponies were out of the way or not, and Swirling Line’s boss was shouting her name again. Yes, it was a flawless day in Manehattan. ‘I think I’m starting to rub off on you,’ said Nevermore. ‘Don’t start,’ the pegasus warned her spirit occupant as she weaved through the tables of the restaurant, carrying her tray full of fried foods drowned in grease that practically clogged her arteries just from looking at them. Honestly, Lou was a good cook and all, but was all that slime really necessary? Setting the tray on a table of waiting patrons, she made sure she got everything to them, checking her list and occasionally eyeing the wall clock hanging above the cash register, eagerly awaiting when she could clock out and head over to Daytime Delights for some well-deserved sweets. The thought of devouring something chocolatey was almost too much for her to bear at this point. ‘You know, come to think of it, I’ve never actually had chocolate. Always been curious, though.’ Nevermore’s confession made Swirling freeze for a moment before she forced herself to continue back to the counter to receive the next tray of food. ‘Seriously? You’ve never eaten chocolate?’ ‘Couldn’t even if I wanted to. No physical body. At least, none that your mind could really wrap itself around. Shadow spirits are physically incapable of eating.’ ‘Well… that bites.’ There was a long, suffering groan from her mind. ‘Did you really have to do that?’ ‘Yes. Yes I did.’ A loud sigh echoed in her thoughts. ‘I sometimes regret choosing you as my host.’ Swirling held back a chuckle as she heard Lou yell at her to get back to work again. Shaking her head, she picked up her notepad and headed for a table of customer who had yet to make an order. The casual drone of the chatting patrons caused her to rub at the sides of her head. Maybe after a chocolaty visit with the Days, she’ll head home and listen to some relaxing music for a change. Her ears swiveled as she heard a group speak. “Hey, did you read the news today?” “Nope. Why?” “Apparently, there’s some scientist out there that’s claiming to be working on some kind of serum or something that’s supposed to enhance a pony’s magic. Make it stronger or something.” “You mean like those muscle pills that… you know?” She glanced over and saw the first speaker shrug. “I don’t know. I’m just telling you what I read. I think it’s crazy, honestly.” Seeing how it wasn’t anything she cared about, Swirling continued towards the bar where another platter of food awaited her. The whole while, she only craved Bright Day’s homemade sweets and baked goods more and more. -o- Pushing the door to his Manehattan University lab open with a snarl, Savant slammed the door behind him, trotting past a menagerie of mechanical parts and tools, occasionally stopping to try and get his mind off his troubles by working on unfinished products. Ultimately, his tinkering failed to distract him, and he eventually found himself brooding at his desk at the back of the room. He clicked his front hooves together, running recent events through his mind over and over, his brilliance forcing him to analyze every detail of what had happened. Pawn 3 had clearly suffered some sort of mechanical error. Perhaps he made a mistake somewhere along the line constructing the machine’s head? Intelligent as he was, even he couldn’t account for every little detail in the moment. There could’ve been a misplaced wire, or a loose bolt or two within the skull casing. As he had told the princesses, this was new technology, fresh from the womb of scientific thought. There were any number of possible reasons why Pawn 3 reacted the way it did. As he mused on his invention’s flaws and ways to fix those flaws, he heard a knock on the door. Letting out a brief sigh through his nose, he said, “Come in.” The door opened, and a lanky young stallion wearing a postal uniform entered. He pulled an envelope from the bag hanging from his shoulder. “Are you…” He took a look at the envelope. “Dr. Savant? I was told this was your office.” Savant nodded, taking the letter in his yellow-orange magical aura, then waved a hoof to the mailpony, dismissing him with a mumbled thanks. The lanky stallion rolled his eyes, muttered something about snooty, uppity types, and left the inventor to his mail. The gray-maned unicorn eyed the envelope curiously, wondering who it could be from. There was no return address. He narrowed his eyes at that; he was no expert in the field of postal service, but wasn’t there a law that mail had to have a return address? Regardless, it was very clearly addressed to him. Tearing the envelope open, he unfolded the letter within and began reading: To the good Dr. Savant, We are admirers of your work, and always enjoy seeing your latest creations. Such marvels of science must not be overlooked as they are. We are especially awed by your latest inventions: your Pawns are truly an ingenious and astounding feat of engineering. He froze at that last sentence. How could whoever sent this letter possibly know about the Pawns? And how could they have sent a letter so quickly? His intrigue now officially piqued, he read on. The princesses are foolish not to see the potential in your works. We, however, refuse to let such an invaluable tool fall from the reach of ponykind. On the back of this letter, you will find an address where you will find a significant sum of bits awaiting you. You will meet an earth pony mare there who will ask you what sort of supplies you will need. We feel that you know as well as we do that Celestia, her sister, and former student are clearly no longer fit to lead Equestria. It would be for the good of all that they step down from their positions, but it is doubtful that they will do so willingly without extensive persuasion. We feel you already know by now what must be done. Best of luck, An Interested Party He reread the letter. He re-reread the letter. And he read it again. Flipping the letter over, he indeed found an address that, if he had his mental map of Manehattan right, would lead him into the slums of the city. If he were to follow this letter’s instructions, he would have to be careful going there, so as not to attract the attention of the crooks, lowlifes, and thugs that called that part of town home. ‘As if I’m stupid enough to follow directions from something so blatantly suspicious,’ he reasoned to himself. There was no way this was legitimate. He looked around at his lab, his amber eyes falling on the half-completed frame of what would be the sixth Pawn. He clicked his tongue against the top of his mouth for a moment as he studied the unfinished project, pondering what he would do with it. He eyed the letter again, his right hind hoof tapping against the floor. ‘Then again, I suppose I could stand to gain some extra funding,’ he told himself. ‘It’s not like I’ve much to lose anyway.’ He had never really cared much for his title as a professor of even one of the most respected schools in Equestria. It just didn’t feel… large enough for his tastes. Ever since he was just a colt tinkering with his toys in his father’s workshop, he’d always seen himself holding a far grander position. And that train of thought brought him back to the letter. He had made his decision. -o- “Never stop baking, Bright,” Swirling said as she stuffed her face with a chocolate-glazed donut. “You create nothing less than perfection, whether you’re baking or making candy.” The bright red earth mare smiled at the compliment as she wiped the counter with a rag before setting a jar of freshly made gummy candies next to the register. It was always a delight to have Swirling at her shop. The pegasus ate sweets like a fish drank water. One who didn’t know her would think she needed all that sugar to stay alive. “I can assure you,” the baker/confectioner said, “I won’t stop making these treats anytime soon, or my name isn’t Bright Day.” A wide, glaze-covered smile spread across the pegasus’s face. “Well, I hope it is, or I’m in the wrong place.” Bright gave a warm laugh and nodded. “So, how was work today, Swirling?” She gave an exaggerated groan. “Horrible, like every day I work. Between the customers constantly demanding this or that and Lou breathing down my neck, I’m close to just losing it.” She took a large bite of her seventh donut. “Do you know how hard it is to work with a guy like that screaming at you all the time?” Bright chuckled a bit. “Lou isn’t that bad, he’s just… gruff.” Swirling muttered. “Not the word I’d use for him.” Turning a raised eyebrow at her, Bright asked, “Oh? And what word would you use?” “A great, big piece of—” The door swung open, and Sunny, Bright’s young daughter, trotted in just as the last two words left Swirling’s mouth. She hesitated before saying, “Chocolate would be good! Yeah, a real big piece of chocolate, please!” Bright Day smirked at her, an eyebrow quirked up in amusement as Swirling saved her sentence. “Swirling!” Sunny called excitedly as she hurried over to the two-toned mare’s side. “Hey, kiddo,” the pegasus greeted, tousling the filly’s mane. “You learn anything useful at school today? Or just the same mumbo jumbo that they spout out every day?” The little light yellow filly beamed at her. “We got to spend the day hoof painting! Our teacher said that we should all get a chance to draw something we like.” Her smile somehow got wider. “Just like you!” Swirling giggled at the foal’s chipper tone. “And what did you draw?” “Oh!” Sunny quickly dug into her saddlebags, shuffling around a few items before taking out a sheet of paper and holding it up for her mother and friend to see. Bright’s smile shrank a little at the painting, while Swirling tilted her head before realizing what it was and barely keeping her eyes from going wide in surprise. The painting depicted was clearly supposed to be Sunny, complete with yellow coat, pink mane, and green dots for eyes. Next to her was a larger, jet black pegasus with large yellow eyes and no other discernible features. “It’s me and the Raven!” the filly said with beaming, giddy grin. “We were supposed to draw something we like, so I drew her, because she helps out everypony! She’s a real life superhero!” “Y-yeah,” Swirling said with an awkward smile. “I guess she is.” “She is!” Sunny bounced in place, smiling at her. “Do you think she’d join up with the Power Ponies, Swirling? I think it’d be really cool for her to team up with the best superhero team ever!” Swirling blinked at that. A grin broke out across her face at the thought, however impossible it would be. The idea of her teaming up with the coolest comic book heroes of all time? That would be amazing! Absolutely incredible! Totally— ‘Idiotic.’ ‘Shut up and let me dream!’ “Swirling?” The pegasus shook her head and turned to Bright, who was giving her a slightly concerned look. “Are you okay? You just had the goofiest smile I’ve ever seen just now.” “Er, yeah, I’m fine. Just, uh… I’m… a fan of the Power Ponies comics - I have pretty much every issue so far - so the idea of them—” She was tackled by a small form, almost knocking her off her seat. Sunny was staring at her in amazement, hugging her with a big, excited smile. “You have all the Power Ponies comics!?” “Yeah. Even that terrible clone saga and that weird time-travel series that made no sense.” Suddenly, Sunny let go of Swirling, darting over to her mother, bouncing eagerly. “Mommy, can I go to Swirling’s place to see her Power Ponies comics?” Swirling Line could only blink in confusion before the words actually hit her. She wasn’t opposed to the idea, but nor was she really prepared to let a foal into her apartment. “Well…” Bright said thoughtfully. “It is a Friday. I suppose it’s okay. Swirling?” Immediately, Sunny spun to face the pegasus again, giving her large, puppy-dog eyes and showing off an adorable pout. Swirling bit her lip, fighting against the sad eyes to really think about this, but Sunny’s expression was already wearing her defenses down without mercy and with extreme prejudice. Eventually, all she could do was concede defeat with a heavy sigh. “Sure,” she said, instantly earning another hug from the filly, who cheered happily, thanking Swirling profusely. The mare couldn’t help but smile and gently pat the filly’s head. The little thing certainly was adorable. And she was frighteningly good at getting what she wanted. Swirling shuddered to think what Sunny could do with that talent as she got older. ‘You’re thinking too much,’ Nevermore commented dryly, earning a harsh shushing from his host. “Well, Sunny, if you’re going to go to Swirling’s place, you better get your tooth brush and a few toys, don’t you think?” Bright said. The little filly’s eyes widened and she nodded vigorously. “Yes, Mommy!” She turned to smile at Swirling again. “Don’t leave without me!” At that, she darted off into the back room of the store, the sound of her tiny hooves scampering up the stairs audible from the shop itself. Bright smiled warmly after her daughter, and let out a low sigh. “She’s such a ball of energy.” A smile crossed Swirling’s face. “She is, isn’t she? She reminds me of me when I was her age.” A laugh erupted from Bright Day. “And I bet you drove your parents just as crazy.” Swirling laughed as well. “I think my dad went bald because of me, actually.” The two shared another laugh before Bright turned an appreciative grin her way. “Thank you for taking her, Swirling. I actually have a large order I need to fill tonight, and I wouldn’t have time to watch or play with her. This way, she gets to spend the evening with her ‘big sis.’” She gave Swirling a knowing wink. “Hey, I always wanted a little sister,” the two-toned mare confessed. “Thinking about it, I guess it’d be nice to have company, even if that company is filly that’s still in first grade.” ‘Are you saying I’m not good company?’ Nevermore asked in a faintly humored tone. ‘You are nowhere near as adorable as she is.’ ‘...I’ll accept that.’ ‘Besides, you live in my head. You don’t really count as company if you already live with me.’ ‘I…’ The spirit went silent for a moment before speaking again. ‘I despise when you make sense.’ Taking that as a victory, Swirling’s smile grew wider. When it came to arguments with Nevermore, she took every little win she could get. With how painfully logical he could be at times, it was rare for her to triumph in little battles like this. -o- Savant scowled as he walked along the street to his destination, ignoring the glares and continuing along his way. This seedy neighborhood (that was putting it kindly) was normally the type of place he would never allow himself to be caught dead in, but he supposed the times necessitated the measure. He checked the back of the letter again, making sure he was on the right street as he stopped in front of an abandoned apartment complex. The faded address next to the door matched what was on the letter. ‘Hmph. This isn’t suspicious in the least.’ He turned to look both ways down the street, checking to see if anypony was watching him. No one seemed particularly interested in him, so he took a deep breath and trotted forward, opening the old door and stepping inside. It was just as ugly inside as it was outside. Paint was peeling off the porous walls, the floor creaked as if one were stepping on a cat’s tail, and the ceiling showed clear signs of degradation. Why anypony would want to meet him here of all places was beyond him. If they wanted privacy, then they could’ve sent whomever he was supposed to meet here to speak with him in his office back at the university. The old floorboard creaked underhoof and kicked up a cloud of dust. He sneezed as the dust tickled at his nose. “Confound it!” He wiped at his nose irritably. “Who would have me come to such a derelict hovel as this?” “That would be me, good doctor,” a feminine voice said. He scowled darkly as the source of the voice hadn’t made itself known. Savant spun his head to find the speaker, but to no avail. Finally, he shouted, “You can come out and talk to me face to face, you know!” There was a brief silence as the inventor awaited a reply. The familiar sound of a door opening caught his ear, and he turned in time to see an earth pony mare enter the hall and approach him with a collected, almost detached look on her face. She was fairly pretty, with an azure coat complimented nicely by her midnight blue mane. She wore a white robe of some sort over her body, the kind of outfit one would expect to see a religious official wear. She carried herself like a dutiful soldier, a mare on a mission. She bowed her head respectfully. “Forgive the secrecy, Doctor. Our organization is not in the best standing with the Royal Sisters at the moment, so our meeting must be held in private. I hope you understand.” Savant raised an eyebrow at the mare’s statement. Hers was a group of fugitives from the law. No good could come from associating with such company. Still, it would likely be for the best to simply play along. For now, at least. “There’s no problem,” he said. “I just wish you’d chosen somewhere less… dated. In any case, I do believe you have me at a disadvantage, miss…?” “Arrow,” the mare answered. “Midnight Arrow. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Savant. If I may be so bold, I must say that I’m actually quite the fan of your work. The rapid-fire crossbow you invented is a personal favorite of mine.” A proud, borderline arrogant smile spread across his face. “Indeed? I’ve always seen it as one of my better creations for the military yet.” She tilted her head at him. “Save for your most recent creations, yes?” His prideful smile quickly turned into a derisive sneer. “Yes. The princesses fail to recognise true works of scientific genius when they stand right in front of them. They are utter fools for dismissing the possibilities my Pawns open up to all of Equestria!” The slightest of a sly smile danced on Arrow’s muzzle. “Indeed so. The princesses have lost their vision for our beloved country. For the past few years, our homeland has been assaulted by all manner of horrid monsters and fell abominations. It’s my organization’s belief that your Pawns will be able to even the playing field against such invaders.” A snort escaped him. “I would think so. My Pawns are more than a match for even the Royal Guard. They are not limited in any fashion as a living pony would be.” Her grin grew a bit more, and she motioned to the room she had entered from. “Come. We have much to discuss. Especially considering the nature of your Pawns, and the hope they represent for Equestria.” Savant gave a nod as Arrow led him to the room she’d been in earlier. It looked like it might’ve been an office, or a study at some point. Perhaps even a reading room, considering the large bookcase built into the wall off to the right. There was window on the wall opposite the door, though it was covered with drapes, likely to prevent would-be onlookers. A foldable table stood in the center of the room with a sizable briefcase resting on it, two chairs sitting on opposite sides of the table. Arrow nodded to one of the chairs, and Savant quietly took a seat while the mare claimed her own. The robed mare pulled the briefcase closer to herself, spinning it to pop open the locks, then facing it towards the stallion again. “Within this case is a hefty sum of bits we are willing to donate to fund your research and inventions. I hope it’s enough to satisfy.” She then opened the case, revealing what had to be hundreds of bit coins, each worth one hundred bits alone. Savant instinctively ran the calculations through his mind; judging by the size and approximate volume of the briefcase, and the average size of hundred-bit coin, along with some simple multiplication, he calculated perhaps around… five to six hundred thousand bits sitting in front of him. He couldn’t stop a greedy grin from tugging at his features. The inventor reached out with a hoof accept the payment, only for a dark blue hoof to slam the case shut once more. She gave him a glare that warned him not to touch. “First, however,” Midnight began, “my organization would like to see a full demonstration of your Pawns’ abilities.” Savant eyed the earth mare for a moment, an eyebrow raised curiously. “Is that so? What sort of demonstration?” Arrow’s odd smile returned. “We would like to see what one of them can do against a specific target. And there is one surefire way to bring her running to meet the challenge.” -o- Swirling found herself chasing after the little filly in front of her through the bustling streets of the city, said filly giggling her head off as she ran ahead for the brightly colored store ahead of them. “Come on, Swirling,” Sunny Day called back at her. “I wanna see if they have new Power Ponies comics today!” The pegasus found herself breathing hard trying to keep up with the filly. How did her mother ever manage raising this ball of living energy? “We’ll get there, Sunny. Just slow down. I don’t want you to get hurt.” Sunny reared up with a laugh. “Don’t be silly. I won’t get hurt. Come on!” She dashed ahead into the street for the store, not even looking to see if anything was coming. Swirling’s gaze darted to the side to see a cart coming down the street, and her eyes widened in panic. “Sunny!” She burst ahead with a flap of her wings, nabbing the filly into the air before the driver of the cart could see her. Sunny gasped as she felt her hooves leave the ground, watching as the cart that had nearly hit her rode by. Swirling landed on the other side of the road with a huff, setting down the filly and giving her a firm glare. “And just what were you thinking!” Sunny lowered her head and looked up at her, an ashamed look in her puppy-dog eyes. “I was just—” “You almost got hit by a cart, Sunny Day!” Swirling felt her anger rising. “You could’ve gotten hurt, or worse! What would your mom think if I had to tell her you were in the hospital because you ran into the street without looking both ways? Do you know how scared and sad she would be?” Sunny sniffed and lowered her head even more, her shoulders slumping. “I’m sorry, Swirling, I was just…” She sniffed. Swirling watched the little filly, and she felt a pull on her heartstrings as it seemed that Sunny was about to burst into tears at any moment. Why did she suddenly feel so bad about yelling at her? ‘Because the little thing is playing you like a lyre, and you’re falling for it badly.’ ‘Oh, be quiet, Nevermore. She’s just a foal. I made the same sort of mistakes when I was little.’ ‘You were almost hit by a moving cart as a child?’ ‘...Wild clouds don’t count.’ Taking in a breath and letting it out (all while ignoring Nevermore’s derisive chuckling), she rested a hoof on Sunny’s shoulder and gave her a smile when she looked up at her. “Hey, sorry for yelling at you, but you scared me pretty badly. Promise you’ll look both ways before crossing the road again, okay?” Sunny wiped at her eyes and nodded quickly. “I will. I didn’t mean to. I was just…” “Excited?” “Mm-hmm. I know you like the Power Ponies, so I wanted to get to comic store quick so we could buy some of the new issues and talk about them when we get to your place.” Swirling chuckled, privately touched Sunny thought so much of her. “Well, then, let’s go! We’ve got stuff to find!” Sunny gave a happy little squeal, and the two dashed inside the store that stood across the street, where a clerk at the register near the entrance lazily greeted them as he read a comic book. He ignored them as they roamed the store, stopping at a wall of comic books featuring all kinds of masked heroes on their covers, some less child friendly than others. Swirling did her best to keep Sunny’s attention glued to the foal friendly books. Once they spotted a line of the newest Power Ponies comics, Swirling immediately broke out into a grin and had to fight the urge to squeal as she grabbed one, already eager to pull it open and immerse herself in the artwork and story. Sunny just as readily took a few other comics off the shelf. Each one seemed to be all a part of the latest arc, which featured a new villain constructing an army of golems to rampage across Maretropolis. From what Swirling had read from the first issue of the arc, this promised to be a good one! “Swirling! Swirling, look at these!” She tore her gaze from the comic book with some effort to see Sunny Day exciting pointing at a display case. “Look!” “What is it?” Swirling asked before her eyes widened and her jaw hung slack. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at the realistic looking figurines inside the case. Hoof crafted and painted perfectly, was a whole set of the Power Ponies! She pressed her face against the glass, marveling at the craftsponyship. “Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh! Look how they’re painted, Sunny! They’re beautiful! Whoever made them is a master! I gotta have one of Masked Matter-Horn!” Sunny bounced in place, her little body shaking with excitement. “Can we!? Can we!?” “How much are these?” Swirling yelled over at the cashier. The worker barely lowered his comic book to look at her. “The figurines are thirty bits each, hundred-fifty for the whole set.” A strangled gasp escaped her, as she felt her blood run cold. “A hundred and fifty bits!? That’s almost two paydays for me! How are they so expensive?” “Hoof-crafted and made locally,” he said with a dismissive snort and went back to his comic book. “Let me know if you want them.” ‘How can the world be so cruel...’ Swirling lamented as she looked at the figurines, her tear ducts threatening to give way. She mentally shut out the laughter of her ever-smarmy companion. “Swirling?” She turned back to see Sunny looking up at her with saddened eyes. “Are you okay? I got some bits in my piggy bank if it'll help.” Swirling had to choke back the “aww” that tried to burst out of her. The little filly was just so kindhearted that it almost made her want to scoop her up in a big hug. ‘If she gets any more adorable, I am stepping directly into the sunlight...’ Nevermore remarked, and she could almost feel the sickness radiating from him. Swirling gave the little filly a touch smile and ruffled her mane. “Nah, they’re only toys. I don’t really need them.” She cast a forlorn look at the display case. “But it would be cool…” Sunny’s smile returned to her face. “Maybe we could—” From outside the store came the terrified screams of ponies, followed by the sounds of something heaving and wood bursting apart. “What was that!?” Sunny shrieked. The two ran to the window to peer out. Swirling saw ponies running past the store in a stampede as many of them screamed of a monster. “I don’t know. I—” Her eyes widened as she watched a cart fly for the shop’s window. “Get down!” She turned and scooped up the filly and barely cleared the window as the empty cart smashed through the pane. Glass shards and display cases crashed down on them as Swirling used her body to protect the terrified Sunny Day. Outside, a myriad of ponies were scrambling to get away from something that was throwing carts and chunks of the street like baseballs. Whatever was doing this was probably huge. With a glance to Sunny, she said, “Stay here. I’m gonna go get help.” She stood and made her way to the exit. Before leaving, she turned to face the filly again. “And I mean it, Sunny! Stay here!” Sunny could only nod as Swirling charged out of the comic book store, entering the chaos that was once a bustling Manehattan street. Ponies galloped as fast as they could toward her right, loud crashing sounds going off somewhere to the left. She briefly looked back at the store, where she could see Sunny hiding behind one of the stands, accompanied by the trembling and terrified store clerk. Without a word, Swirling took flight, getting out of sight and landing atop a nearby roof. She looked up to the sky. They must’ve been in that store longer than she thought, because the sun was already almost completely out of view. That was good for her, she told herself as she changed into the Raven, shadows engulfing her body and turning her bright green eyes into solid yellow orbs. With another flap of her wings, she took off towards the mayhem. ‘So, what do you think it is this time?’ she asked Nevermore as she barreled through the air. ‘Why bother asking me? For all we know, it could just be a really angry minotaur.’ Minotaurs in Manehattan? That’s certainly a rare sight. From what she knew, minotaurs tended to keep their distance from large pony settlements, especially fully-fledged cities. ‘Well, at least that’d be interesting.’ Soon enough, she arrived at the scene, where she didn’t see a minotaur wreaking havoc, but rather a single, fairly average-sized earth pony wearing what looked like full body armor. The armor looked pretty well polished, and Swirling couldn’t stop her inner artist from admiring the simple, yet simultaneously complex style. At least, she admired it until the pony threw a half-wrecked carriage at her. “Right, art appreciation over.” With another flap of her wings, she zoomed toward the ground, landing with a loud thud that sent cracks spider-webbing through the concrete beneath her hooves. She looked up to her would-be opponent, who turned to her as well. This close to them now, she realized how little she saw in their eyes, which glowed with a yellow-orange light, bearing no emotion. She also saw that the armor looked like it must’ve been uncomfortably snug, too, as it left little of the pony’s shape to the imagination. ‘Something’s wrong,’ Nevermore said with some drop of worry in his tone. ‘I don’t think that thing is a pony at all. It has the shape, but not the form.’ ‘So, what is it then?’ ‘It may be some sort of golem, but those are usually made using rocks, mud, wood, and other things typically found in nature. They’re never made of metal, like this one is. A new model of sorts, perhaps?’ The shadow spirit muttered that question, but it did nothing to deter Swirling from her self-imposed duty. “Whatever you are, I hope you’re ready for a beating!” With a whir of machinery, the metal creature charged at her, its metal shod hooves chipping the pavement. Swirling flared her wings and rushed to meet the thing. ‘Don’t!’ “I’ve got this!” She brought her foreleg back and punched. The metal pony didn’t even bother stopping her blow, its head snapping to the side. The same time she punched it, it brought its hoof in an uppercut. Swirling felt the air blasted out of her before the creature followed it up with another punch that sent her sprawling. ‘Is today Don’t Listen to Nevermore Day?’ “Shut up…” she groaned as she picked herself up off the ground, returning to her original stance and facing her metal adversary again. “All right, so you’re stronger than you look. So am I.” When the machine rushed back at her, she met its punch with one of her own. The two blows caused Swirling’s teeth to rattle in her mouth. She ducked under its next blow and uppercutted the metal monstrosity square on the chin, flipping its head back in a way that would’ve killed a normal pony. The machine flew back and crashed into a vendor’s stand, causing the wooden structure to collapse on the metal pony with a shower of splinters and magazines. “Ha! Told you I had it!” ‘Duck!’ “What—” She grunted as the remains of the stand crashed into her. She burst from the wreckage to find the machine hoisting another cart at her. “It just doesn’t give up!” She flapped her wings to catch the flying cart in her hooves. “Here, catch!” With a heave, she sent the cart right back at it. The machine stood unfazed as the cart barreled toward it, and it smashed into the large window of a grocery store, carrying her adversary along with it and knocking large amounts produce off of their shelves. With a huff, the Raven landed in front of the store, eyeing where the golem thing had been hit towards. When several pieces of debris rumbled, she dropped into a stance. A metallic hoof burst from the mess and pulled out the body. Its head had been spun and bent to the side, but that didn’t seem to deter the thing in the least. With a series of unnatural clicks and the sound of grinding gears, the head twisted and fixed itself back into its original place, like something out of a horror movie. “Okay, yeah, that’s not creepy at all.” Swirling wanted to make another statement, but was preemptively interrupted when the machine charged at her, slamming a mechanical leg into her barrel and blasting the wind out of her. She barely had time to let out a pained grunt before the golem grabbed ahold of her mane swung her around in an arc, relentlessly slamming her into the pavement over and over. ‘Line, if you are going to pull something out of nowhere, now is the time!’ She moaned, and the machine hurled her across the street until she slammed into the side of a building. ‘What about you?! Don’t you have some sort of special shadow spell that will work on this thing? I can’t even seem to hurt it!’ ‘If it’s a golem, magic isn’t going to hurt it! They’re designed to be immune to all magic except for that of their creators!’ Just when she was about to retort, Swirling felt the cold touch of metal against her throat, pressing against her windpipe agonizingly. The machine glared down at her with those soulless eyes, watching her as she struggled to breathe under the pressure it placed on her. All she could do at this point was fruitlessly grasp at its foreleg and desperately try to move it away. ‘Nevermore!’ she screamed within her mind, her voice rising in her panic as she couldn’t begin to move that limb. She felt the shadow spirit panic just as much as she was, and she knew that he had nothing to help her with. Even as the lights began to swim around her vision, there came the sound of steam being released, and she felt the pressure thankfully lift off her neck. She managed to push the golem off of her, coughing and wheezing to get air back in her lungs. The machine landed with a loud clatter of metal on concrete, its already emotionless eyes devoid of whatever life they once held. Swirling stared at the thing nervously, slowly reaching out with a hoof and gently tapping its shoulder before jumping back, ready to fight if need be. “Is it… dead?” ‘Technically, golems aren’t living creatures to begin with.’ “You know what I mean, smart-flank.” A muffled groan left the spirit. ‘It must’ve run out of power. Odd. Most golems can run indefinitely, so long as their makers are still alive. Then again, the art of golem making is largely unpracticed in modern societies. This might be the work of an amateur trying to make something similar.’ “I’m just glad it—” She screamed as the machine gave off another burst of steam before it finally settled. She stared at the thing, her heart racing in her chest as she felt the fur along her spine standing straight. ‘That… was a very girly scream,’ Nevermore chuckled. ‘I am a girl, thank you!’ Swirling snapped back. ‘It just surprised me, that’s all.’ ‘Whatever you say, Line. Best that you get out of here before the authorities show up and blame the collateral damage on you. Besides, you’ve a filly to keep an eye on, don’t you?’ “Oh, horseapples!” She spread her wings and took to the shadows of the alleyways, flying as fast as she could for the comic book shop. -o- The chaos outside seemed to have finally stopped, from what Sunny could see from her and the comic book store clerk’s hiding spot behind a tall stand displaying a bunch of superhero figurines. The clerk was rocking back and forth in the fetal position, while Sunny kept an eye out for anything that might’ve been dangerous. After a few minutes, she finally spotted a familiar white-striped purple pegasus. “Swirling!” Sunny called out as the mare entered the store. The filly galloped toward her and tackled her in a hug, earning a gasp of surprise from Swirling. “Hey, there, kiddo,” Swirling greeted the foal with a grin. “Are you all right?” Sunny’s head bobbed up and down with astonishing speed. “I’m fine! What happened? Was there a fight? Did anypony get hurt?” Swirling’s smile widened a little. “Heh, you won’t believe what I saw out there: the Raven was fighting a golem!” Sunny’s eyes grew twice their size and she gasped. “She did? And I missed it? Tell me, tell me! Did she beat it?” The pegasus’s smile faltered slightly, but remained in place. “Uh, yeah, she beat it. But it managed to get away. The police are looking around the scene to try and find it, so it’s best to stay out of their way and let them do their jobs for now.” “Okay,” Sunny muttered in disappointment, wishing she’d been there to see the Raven in action. She looked up again as Swirling approached the store clerk, who was peeking past the display stand. Swirling knelt down to the clerk, going to eye level, and said, “So, about those Power Ponies figurines.” -o- Midnight Arrow scowled as she tapped her hoof on the floor, Savant sitting nonchalantly across from her. The unicorn was busy writing something - probably blueprints or ideas for his Pawns - that he didn’t seem interested in sharing just yet. Arrow remained distinctly unamused for what felt like several hours, waiting for something to happen. They had sent out those Pawns some time ago. Where were they? As if on cue, the door opened, its hinges creaking noisily as two Pawns entered, one of them carrying an inert Pawn on its back. The carrier dropped the inactive one on the floor in front of Savant, who immediately set to work checking the damage. “It failed,” Arrow stated plainly, with more than a little disappointment in her voice. Savant only laughed. “Hardly, my dear. The damage to its plating is superficial at most. A few dings and dents, but nothing that can’t be buffed out.” That earned a deeper scowl from the blue earth mare. “If your Pawns brought this one back, then it means that it failed to kill the Raven.” “How shortsighted you are.” The inventor’s horn lit up, and the dormant Pawn’s chest opened, revealing an empty arcane engine within. “The only reason it failed is that it ran out of power. If I can improve upon modern designs from arcane engines, my Pawns could prove even more effective.” He nodded to himself. “Yes… improving fuel efficiency is certainly the key here. Augment the armor with a sturdier alloy… I’ve been using steel. Tungsten, perhaps? No, too heavy. Although, I could make different models for different uses… yes, tungsten armored units, built larger, used for frontal assaults and sieges… use lighter materials for stealth units… I’ll have to find a middle ground—” “That’s enough, Dr. Savant,” Midnight interjected before Savant could ramble any further. “How soon can my organization expect to see the new Pawns?” The doctor chuckled to himself. “With your funding… provided that you supply me with the right materials, maybe send a few extra workers my way…” He hummed in thought. “A week at the most. I should have the new and improved model done by then. A full squad of five by the end of the month. Just as long as you keep your end of the deal, of course.” Arrow nodded. “This may prove to be a very rewarding endeavor for both you and my organization.” Savant smirked. “Indeed.” -o- Swirling Line shifted to the side a bit as she read from her book. Sunny Day lay next to her on the couch in her apartment, snoozing as peacefully as only a little filly who spent all of her energy for the day in one go could. Swirling lowered her book as Sunny gave off a soft snore, smiling at the sight. “Too adorable.” ‘Only when they’re asleep. They’re a nightmare otherwise,’ Nevermore quipped in a jaded tone. “You’re a nightmare all the time, Nevermore,” she said, glowering at the spirit in her mind. ‘Keep up the attitude, and you’ll see how much of a nightmare I can be.’ A chill ran up her spine as she set her book down. She stiffened, however, as Sunny nuzzled into her side and gave a happy little sigh, offering quiet, peaceful snores. The mare bit at her lower lip to keep from ‘aww’ing out loud. ‘I always wanted a little sister.’ She could feel Nevermore rolling his eyes. ‘Siblings are overrated. Trust me, you’re better off an only child.’ Swirling blinked at that. “That sounds like you have family of your own.” ‘I’d really rather not get into that. In fact, just forget those questions before you even think about them.’ “Wow. What’s your problem? Parental issues? Sibling rivalry?” ‘Don’t start.’ A sigh escaped her as she gently rubbed at the sleeping Sunny day, her eyes taking on a distant glint. “Still, it would’ve been nice.” ‘Maybe.’ He huffed before speaking again. ‘Put her to bed. We should take the opportunity to learn more about that metal golem we fought earlier. The more information we have, the less likely we’ll get killed fighting another.’ She bristled at the thought fighting that thing again—she barely survived the first! “What makes you think we’ll fight another one?” ‘People who make golems rarely settle for just one. Trust me, there will be another.’ “You’re just a bundle of everlasting optimism, you know that?” She slumped and looked at Sunny again. “Not that I can go anywhere anyway. I can’t leave Sunny by herself.” ‘Sure you can. Just leave her here and go out the window.’ Her tail swished. ‘You know darn well I can’t just leave her alone, Nevermore! What if she wakes up and I’m not here?’ A groan escaped the spirit. ‘Fine. Then have somepony watch her while you’re gone or something. Say you’ve got a quick errand you’ve got to run.’ Swirling sighed as she carefully lifted Sunny onto her back and carried her to the bed. ‘All right, all right. I’ll see if my landlord can watch her if I’m out for too long. That guy never sleeps anyway.’ As she slid Sunny into the bed and pulled the covers over her withers, Swirling’s ears flickered as Sunny spoke in her sleep. “Swirling…” the little filly mumbled, snuggling deeper with the pillow. ‘All right, if she doesn’t quit with the cuteness, I’m going to get sick,’ Nevermore grumbled. “Can that even happen?” Swirling asked. “I figured you couldn’t get sick at all, especially because of the whole ‘I can’t eat’ thing.” ‘Are you still on that?’ A light chuckle escaped her. Having something on Nevermore, even if it was just one little detail, was without a doubt going to be fun for her. After checking with her landlord, a tall, lanky, stick of a stallion with a voice that was like if a rottweiler could talk, she made her way outside and assumed the form of the Raven. The sky above had turned overcast from the local weather team pushing a storm through, and the rain had only just begun to fall as she took flight through the buildings of the busy city. ‘Do you think she’ll be okay, Nevermore?’ ‘Will you stop worrying and pay attention to what we’re doing? We have to learn more about that golem so that we don’t die the next time, remember?’ ‘Sheesh, okay, don’t get your magic feathers in a twist. Eat a candy bar or something.’ Hearing a satisfying groan from the spirit, she smirked and continued along her way. With any luck, Tricky might have something for her. If nothing else, she could go to a library and read up on golems. Either way, something would be better than nothing. Author's Note Theme of Dr. Savant: Theme of Sunny Day: Theme of Midnight Arrow:
Metal Madness, Part 2“Well, that was a bust,” Swirling said as she landed on the roof of the Manehatten Central Library. “I think that’s the first time Tricky’s ever not had anything we could use.” ‘To be honest, I’m not surprised. Golem making hasn’t been in practice for centuries, and what happened is too recent for him to have anything concrete for us just yet.’ “So here I am at the library, after hours, when I could be home sleeping.” She lifted the skylight—which was thankfully unlocked—and soared down to land below with a soft clacking of her hooves on the tiled floor. “Well, if anything, maybe something here will put me to sleep.” ‘If it’s not about art, it’s boring?’ “I don’t only think about art, you know,” she groused as she started searching the bookshelves. “I do have other dreams that I fantasize about.” ‘Do you mean the one about you being part of the Power Ponies, or the one that involves that faceless stal—’ “Stay out of my dreams, Nevermore!” She blushed so fiercely that one could almost see it through the shadowy form of the Raven. Grumbling at the cackling spirit, she began walking along the main aisles of the library. The yellow eyes of the Raven having no difficulty seeing in the dark. Trotting towards the section on magic, she scanned the book covers for anything she could use. “Hmm… I’m not seeing anything on golem making here,” she said as she put another book back on the shelf. “I can’t make out half of what I see in these books anyway. How do unicorns use this stuff?” ‘As I understand it, their magic involves a special sort of rhyme that only they understand, along with focusing of their respective energies through their horn, that allows them to create magic.’ He scoffed. ‘Ponies are odd creatures.’ “Said the shadow spirit from an unknown dimension,” she deadpanned. Suddenly, her hoof gave out from under her, and she landed on her front with an indignant grunt. “Hey! What was that about?” ‘It was fun, that’s why.’ Dusting herself off, she muttered something darkly under her breath. Nevermore really needed to develop a sense of humor that didn’t involve humiliating her. An hour of searching later, she slumped at one of the tables, thumping her head against its oaken surface. “Ugh, there’s nothing here either.” Nevermore hummed. ‘I’m disappointed myself. We might have to wait and see if these golems surface again so we can track them back to their creator instead. It seems conventional research is a dead end here.’ She lifted her head. “Does this mean I can go home now and check up on Sunny?” He grumbled. ‘Yes, it means you can go home and check on the little demon.’ Pushing back her chair, she muttered, “Said the shadow ‘demon.’” ‘Don’t make me hurt you.’ Just before she could spread her wings for the skylight, something caught her eye. It looked like a newspaper, but the image on the front page made her pause. “What’s this?” Folding her wings back down, she trotted over and lifted the newspaper from the tray. There was a clear image of a pony and what looked like three of the metal golems she faced earlier on it. She read the article over a moment before tilting her head. “Huh. It says here that this Dr. Savant guy tried to show something off to the princesses. They didn’t seem to take kindly to it.” ‘And Dr. Savant would be…?’ “Not a clue. I guess he’s some kind of inventor.” She reread the article again. “He called them ‘Pawns.’ Do you think that these are what I fought earlier?” ‘Possibly. Won’t know until you find out more about him. If he’s behind the golem from before, it would do us and Manehattan some good to make sure he’s not making more to ravage the city.’ “But why would a respected scientist like this guy send one of his own inventions to wreak havoc on Manehattan?” She wasn’t really asking Nevermore, and he didn’t give any answer. She read further through the article, trying to find anything else to help her out. “It says here that he does most of his research in a lab in Manehattan University.” ‘Then that’s where we’re going.’ A groan escaped her before a yawn did. “Can’t it wait, Nevermore? I’m beat, and Sunny is all alone.” She heard him grumble before speaking. ‘Fine, call it a night, you little whiny filly.’ “I’ll take it if it means I can get some sleep.” She spread her wings and flew for the skylight. Once out, she made sure to close it before flying back to her apartment and the warm, comfy bed that she felt was beginning to think she was cheating on it. -o- The bright sparks flew past his face as Savant concentrated on his magic. The welding mask protected him from both them and the bright light as the magic sealed the pauldron onto the shoulder of his newest Pawn. With the pauldron in place, he lifted his welding mask to analyze his work. Sneering, he levitated half of the Pawn’s metal barrel to its place and channeled his magic once again. ‘Reinforced Minotaurian steel over Equestrian silver-metal. Perfect combination for durability and mobility.’ He frowned under his mask as he continued to work. ‘Now, if only I could find a—’ He heard the sound of a mare clearing her throat, and a growl of annoyance escaped him. Could she not leave him in peace so he could work? “Dr. Savant,” he heard the voice of Midnight Arrow say. “I trust the construction of the new Pawns is going as scheduled? My superiors are beginning to lose patience.” He lifted his mask to narrow his eyes at her. “I would be ahead of schedule if not for the constant interruptions, Miss Arrow.” Setting aside his mask, he regarded the dark blue mare as she continued to wear those odd white robes. “What is the meaning of this current disruption?” “As I said, my superiors are losing patience,” Midnight answered calmly as she looked over the newest Pawn. “The head of my organization is especially eager for results.” The inventor rolled his eyes and snorted. “Perhaps I’d be more motivated if I knew literally anything about your organization.” Arrow shook her head. “I’m sorry, Doctor, but my mission here is strictly clandestine. My superiors made it very clear that they don’t want anyone to know that they’re involved in this. All I can tell you is that our goals are aimed much higher than most groups like us.” “Hmph. As you say.” He levitated a number of cogs and gears and started setting them in their places within the chest cavity. “But as long as your group continues to fund my research, I suppose it doesn’t matter one way or the other what you do.” She hummed as she toyed with an odd contraption set out on a table, poking it carefully. Savant’s eyes widened and he hissed as he took the device from her. “Fool! Don’t touch any of my equipment! This is a very delicate process that should only be handled by a true master of the art, not some filly with wandering hooves!” She scowled as she stepped back from him. “I was merely curious. What is that?” Savant huffed as he gently wiped the device with a hoof. “If you must know, it’s a modified arcane engine. If my calculations are correct - and they usually are - we should see at least a fifty percent improvement in the Pawns’ fuel efficiency.” “Fifty percent?” Arrow asked, eyes wide. Most tinkerers who fiddled with arcane engines could usually only get a ten or twenty percent boost in their efficiency, and even that was difficult to pull off, as it required a level of precision spellcasting that most unicorns would find a challenge at its simplest. “What is your secret, Dr. Savant?” “A lot of elbow grease,” Savant snidely replied. “It’s a secret, I’m afraid. Rest assured, I’ll have more such engines ready for whatever your organization needs.” She hummed again. “Then your reputation is well earned. To be honest, I had my doubts when I was first tasked to this assignment, but now I see that I was wrong.” Savant didn’t respond, only returning to his work after setting the engine back down on the table. Eyeing him as he tinkered, Arrow asked, “Might I ask you something?” “Hmm?” “What led you into your career?” For a brief moment, he stopped working. Only for a second, however, as he got right back into the flow of his task. It wasn’t until he stopped several minutes later that he finally answered: “Imagine that you can see things. Things no one else can. Imagine that you’ve grown up all your life seeing those things. You wonder why no one else can see them. All the details, all the tiny dots and specks and pieces of information that only you can find. They’re there, but you’re the only one who seems to care, or even notice. “It’s maddening,” he continued, turning to her with a strangely aged look in his amber eyes. “I became an inventor so that I could show ponies what they were missing, and give them something that could improve their lives at the same time.” He went silent for several moments more, then went straight back to work, sparks flying as he welded new pieces of armor into place. “There were but a few others who shared the burden of such a powerful mind,” he said, levitating the arcane engine into place, carefully sliding it into the center of the new Pawn’s chest. “I had a roommate in university who held similar goals of improving upon the lives of ponies, though he preferred a biological route. Genetics, and the like. But for most of my life, all I could focus on were those innumerable, overwhelming details. The countless little shards of information, taunting me for being the only one who saw them, screaming at me to simply turn away.” Finishing his speech, he placed the chestplate over the arcane engine and welded the plating to the body. “A rare mind indeed,” Arrow lamented. “A pity there is no room within my organization’s ranks for one of your talent. Such an ally would doubtless prove invaluable.” Savant scoffed, a smirk forming on his face. “I’ve always been invaluable. The royals seem to have forgotten that, though. With luck, these new and improved Pawns will remind them exactly what type of pony they denied.” A sly smile played across Arrow’s features. “We hope that it will, Doctor. We hope that it will.” She once again looked towards a nearby window. “Remember, we need them within two days’ time. Delivered, discreetly, to the train station in the warehouse district.” She turned for the door, but not before casting one final glance over her shoulder. “The compensation will be well worth all of your time, effort, and… sacrifice.” “Sacrifice?” Savant snorted with a chuckle. “You make it sound as though I’m giving something up. Believe you, me, I’ve not given up anything just yet.” He began rummaging through a toolkit sitting next to him, and frowned after a second. “Ah, blast. I’m missing a crucial component to the energy flow system. Where did I put that piece?” He rubbed his chin a moment before turning to Arrow. “I’ll need to head back to my lab at Manehattan U. I may need help finding what I need.” Sighing through her nose, Arrow nodded and opened the door, allowing Savant out before following. Silently, she hoped that this wouldn’t take too long. She would prefer to be somewhere safe, come nighttime in Manehattan. -o- ‘This has got to be the most idiotic idea you’ve ever had,’ Nevermore muttered as Swirling pushed the cleaning cart into the office. ‘And you’ve had some doozies before.’ “Oh, hush,” Swirling said as she took off her cap, freeing her violet and white mane from its confines. She honestly hadn’t expected the janitor act to work, but she wasn’t about to complain. If anything, she should be complaining about having to use her day off from work for this. The blue janitor uniform she was wearing now was baggy, uncomfortable, and itchy in all the wrong places, and she couldn’t wait to get out of it as soon as possible, which made her certain that nopony would miss it if she had to make a break for it. “We needed to find out what Dr. Savant was up to, and we couldn’t wait for night to search for clues.” She looked around the large office for a moment, looking at the many diplomas that adorned the wall. “Geez, how many degrees does this guy need?” ‘Considering what he does for a living, a lot of them are probably necessary, if only for credibility. Now hurry up and look around. We don’t know when he’ll be back.’ With a nod, Swirling took a quick look at the room she’d be searching. It was fairly bigger compared to what she’d been expecting from a college lab, even if it was one of the best universities in Equestria. A number of desks covered in tools, parts, rough sketches, and diagrams dotted the room, which was well lit by a large window on the wall opposite to the door. That unsettled her a bit; if trouble happened, she likely wouldn’t be able to go Raven and fight her way out, especially since sunlight was currently pouring in at the moment. She eyed the desks around her, trying to figure out where to start. Finding anything useful wouldn’t be easy in all this clutter. Eventually, she simply shrugged and decided to wing it, heading for the closest desk, which had mostly large sheets of paper displaying what she admitted to be very good sketches of a number of things that took her a few moments to recognize, like one of those telephone things she saw in a courthouse when she had jury duty once. There was one that seemed to be a planning stage for something called a ‘gun,’ though what its purpose was escaped her. Frowning from not finding anything, she turned for the next desk—this one covered in cogs and gears. She tilted her head as she looked at the confusing mass of machine parts. “You think this is what he uses to build those golems of his?” ‘Why are you asking me? I’m not a master golem builder. If I was, I would’ve built my own body to inhabit.’ She snorted, and began sorting through the parts. Eventually, Swirling found an odd metal box that had a few tubes full of some purple liquid, and frowned. “This looks important.” ‘Maybe.’ Unscrewing one of tubes, she slipped it away into one of the pockets on her uniform. ‘What are you doing?’ “You never know. He might need this, or we can use it for something.” She dug around for a bit more before she stumbled over a piece of scrap paper. “Hello? What’s this?” Her amber eyes scanned the paper. “Hmm? Forty-one, station ten? What does that mean?” ‘Hmm… Station ten? A train station, you think?’ Her wings shifted slightly as she pondered on the question. “Maybe, but what about the forty-one? An address?” Just as Nevermore was beginning to answer, her ears stood erect as she heard the handle of the door turn, an audible click filling the room. Her face paled. ‘Horseapples!’ ‘Drop the paper!’ She quickly let go of the scrap, just as the door swung open. In a panic, she dove behind the desk and curled up, keeping her head low enough to see under the desk. Two sets of hooves were visible, one set a tannish color, the second a dark blue. “Ah, good to be back,” said a stallion’s voice. The tan hooves moved as the stallion trotted through the room, stopping at the cleaning cart for a moment. “Hmm. The caretaker must’ve come through.” “And why would he leave his cart?” asked a mare, probably the blue pony. “Likely needed to get something,” the stallion reasoned. “Now, to find that missing part.” The stallion clacked a hoof on one of the desks, and a loud, thudding sound was heard, like metal on wood, and a set of armored hooves became visible. Swirling had to hold her breath to avoid gasping as she realized just what those hooves belonged to. “You know what to look for. Help me find it.” In quiet agreement, the thing that was undoubtedly one of those golems marched through the room, stopping at desks and searching them briefly one at a time. “I must confess, Doctor” the mare said, “your Pawns are a little… unsettling. Their blind obedience just isn’t natural.” “A good soldier follows orders,” said the stallion, who was without a doubt Dr. Savant. “And my Pawns are the best soldiers you could ever find, Miss Arrow.” “I should hope so, Doctor. My organization has a lot riding on this.” ‘I need a better angle,’ Swirling said as she tried to position herself better. Nevermore said nothing while she managed to poke her head out from behind the desk, getting an easier look at the other two ponies in the room, getting her first real glimpse of Savant. The unicorn stallion was fairly tall, with tan fur all over and a graying mane. His eyes were an amber color, and his cutie mark was a wrench and a screwdriver. The mare was a dark blue, with a lighter blue mane. She wore some kind of white robe that looked weirdly familiar to… her… “Sweet Celestia…” Swirling gasped, immediately covering her mouth with a hoof. She slipped back behind the desk just as Savant and Arrow looked in her direction. ‘Nevermore, did you see that?’ ‘Of course I did. That mare’s clearly a Disciple. But why would a Disciple be working with someone like Savant?’ ‘Maybe they want his golem things?’ “Did you hear that, too?” asked Savant. She didn’t hear Arrow say anything. She might’ve nodded, though. “Pawn 6, investigate.” The clanking of metal on the wooden floor steadily drew closer and closer, and Swirling could feel her heart beating almost in time with the artificial hooves. A faint clicking could be heard for just a moment, and for an instant, she thought she might actually be safe. She was proven wrong when the Pawn unceremoniously pushed the desk away, startling the pegasus into hopping into the air, where she hovered briefly before realizing she’d just been caught. “Uh…” she said. ‘How articulate.’ Savant raised an eyebrow at her even as the blue mare scowled at her. “And just what, exactly, are you doing in my office, little filly?” ‘Think! Think! Think!’ she screamed in her mind. “I’m, uh… I’m filling in for the janitor. He’s… out sick.” “Then why were you hiding?” asked the blue mare. ‘Horseapples!’ ‘Improvise!’ Nevermore snapped. “I… heard you coming, and I guess I panicked.” She blushed, rubbing at the back of her head. “I’m sorry, it’s my first day!” Savant snorted dismissively. “An uneducated youth, dredging up the bottom rung menial tasks. An admittedly easy role to pretend to be in.” He gave her one of the harshest death glares she’d ever seen in her life. “I’m quite the opposite of a fool. If you were telling the truth, you wouldn’t be sweating.” “Uh… w-well, your, um… metal thing. It’s kinda…” The blue mare put a hoof on Savant’s shoulder. “Doctor, whether she’s telling the truth or not, she’s a witness now. My organization can’t have anyone knowing about our agreement.” Savant pursed his lips in thought, probably weighing his options, before saying, “Very well. Pawn 6, terminate the intruder.” “Say what now?” Swirling squeaked just as the Pawn’s eyes lit up with an amber glow, and the mechanical pony lunged for her. With a loud yelp, she jumped off to side, away from Savant and the Disciple. The Pawn crashed into a desk that had been behind Swirling, sending papers and parts flying and scattering across the floor. “Pawn 6! Quit foo—” he grunted as Swirling rushed out of the way and fled for the door. She barely dodged a gear part that buried itself into the wall by the door as she passed by in her escape. “Damn it! She could ruin everything!” said Arrow as her toss of the gear missed the pegasus by a hair’s breadth. “After her, Pawn 6, now!” Savant shouted. The Pawn readily complied, giving chase to the fleeing pegasus, galloping relentlessly after her. Swirling uttered every curse available to her as she flew through the halls of Manehattan U, as well as a few she made up on the spot. Here she was, fleeing from a metal not-golem thing built by a scientist who has clearly either lost it, or never really had it to begin with, and to top it all off, the Disciples of Light were involved in all this! “Why did it have to be those crazies!?” she shouted as her wings furiously beat the air. “Of all the possible evil organizations in the world, why them!?” ‘Perhaps you just attract that sort of attention.’ “Nevermore, I swear, I will make another food joke if you don’t shut up!” Her ears swiveled at the sound of metal on stone and she turned to see the Pawn still chasing after her, its glowing eyes locked onto its target. “Oh, come on! Leave me alone!” She flapped her wings harder for another burst of speed and blasted through a door, startling a number of staff and students, who only grew more terrified as the metal pony crashed in after her. ‘Get to the air! Put yourself at a distance!’ How she wished it was nighttime so she could just turn into the Raven and turn the metal monstrosity into scrap! But with the sun out and shining bright, that wasn’t an option. She took to the sky and watched as the Pawn seemed to fade into the background behind her. Flying ahead, she came to a cart stop to catch her breath. “Whew… I think I lost it. That was too close,” she said between ragged breaths. She never heard Nevermore’s reply as a cart along the road burst apart, and the Pawn emerged from the wreckage, its eyes still trained on her. “Do these things ever give up!?” She took off again, and she could feel her heart hammering in her chest, and not solely from the exertion. She had to lose it somehow, but without other ponies getting hurt. This could be a problem. ‘They would prove the distraction you would need to escape.’ ‘No! Not in a million years, Nevermore! I would never do that. Besides, this thing doesn’t seem interested in anyone but me right now.’ ‘Stubborn mare,’ he groused. ‘Then get to some shadows, and we’ll deal with it.’ ‘Shadowy places aren’t exactly easy to come by in the middle of the day, Nevermore, even in this city!’ As she argued with the spirit, her ears caught the sound of a train’s whistle. Looking to the source, she spotted a train station, with an engine chugging rapidly along the rails. Slowly, a small grin worked its way onto her face as an idea came to mind. ‘Okay, you’re going to get us killed one of these days,’ Nevermore commented as Swirling looped down and descended to the tracks, turning to face the Pawn that was climbing its way onto the rails. She looked back, seeing the train charging towards her. She faced the Pawn again, the machine already having made it to the tracks and galloping toward her. A glance over her shoulder saw the train still coming full force. “Come on, come on,” she murmured to herself, bracing herself for just the right moment. She yelped as the Pawn put on a burst of speed, and she had to dodge a blow at the last minute. “Can’t I catch a break!?” She flapped her wings to keep out of the Pawn’s reach. Remembering her fight with one as the Raven, she knew she couldn’t begin to hurt it without Nevermore’s help. ‘Lead it back to the tracks!’ “Working on it!” She rolled away from another heavy swing and ran past it. Once across the tracks, she turned to it. “Over here, you oversized toaster!” The Pawn turned its gaze to her and blindly charged across the train tracks. Right into the path of the oncoming train. With a crunch of metal, the Pawn was blasted out of her sight and into pieces, shards of ruined metal flying everywhere as the train’s conductor pulled the brakes, and the wheels screeched to a halt. The conductor poked his head out the window of the locomotive, looking ahead and back until he found a winded Swirling Line. “You okay!?” he shouted to her. “What in Celestia’s name happened!?” With a weak laugh and triumphant grin, Swirling answered, “I’m fine. Nothing to worry about. You actually kinda saved my life just now.” The conductor gave her a confused stare as she lay herself on the station floor, finally having a chance to catch her breath. ‘You need better cardio,’ quipped Nevermore. ‘You need a digestive system,’ Swirling snapped back, earning a very satisfying grumble from the spirit. ‘Whatever. We still need to find Savant and that mare again. It’s pretty clear that the Disciples want that inventor’s machines as weapons. We need to stop them. One of those things is completely relentless. Imagine a whole army.’ The pegasus groaned and ran her hooves over her face. ‘I’d really rather not.’ ‘Then we need to find which station they are going to be at, and stop them before they complete their work.’ She watched as the passengers of the train began to disembark from the train, many of them looking at the ruined remains of the Pawn and talking with each other. Getting to her hooves, she discreetly left the station’s platform. ‘That note said station ten and the number forty-one. We know which train station, just not what the forty-one means.’ ‘An address, perhaps?’ Nevermore suggested. ‘With no street name, or even an apartment complex listed? Not likely.’ ‘Point.’ A silence fell between them as Swirling continued down the street, pondering on where to go next. ‘Well, what about those old warehouses on the other side of the city? We found the Disciples in one. It may be worth investigating them. Find the forty-first warehouse, perhaps we’ll find the good doctor and his associate.’ Swirling was going to respond, until her own mind pieced together the logic her partner’s theory. ‘I hate it when you’re smarter than me.’ ‘You must be hateful all the time, then.’ Rolling her eyes, Swirling took flight, feeling the need to take a nap at home before going after Savant and his merry death machines. Whatever that Disciple mare had in store couldn’t be very inviting either. Hearing a small tink in her pocket, Swirling mentally slapped herself. She’d been in such a rush, she’d completely forgotten she was wearing the janitor uniform. Not stopping, she pulled out the source of the noise, looking at the small vial of purple… stuff in her hooves. Something in the back of her mind that wasn’t Nevermore told her she needed to be careful with whatever this purple liquid was. Who knows? It might actually come in handy at some point. Stowing the vial away again, she continued forward, eager get this stupid uniform off and reunite with her bed. As the pegasus flew, she was unaware of a stallion watching from a rooftop nearby, his yellow eyes trained on her like a falcon. He silently cursed the fact that he may have to become directly involved in this, which was against the parameters of his assignment. He’d have to take the risk, though. Equestria’s safety was his top priority. -o- A scowl crossed Arrow’s face as she and Savant made their way to the warehouse where Savant had ordered his Pawns to bring all the tools and equipment from the abandoned apartment. She knew what it meant if the machine sent after that pegasus didn’t arrive soon. The Disciples couldn’t afford witnesses of their involvement in Savant’s new field. Having the Raven and the princesses as enemies was bad enough already, but if word got out that their order was deliberately abling a stallion that was building weapons, it could permanently tarnish their reputation among the public before it’s even built. She watched as the three remaining Pawns carried the equipment into their warehouse, the damaged remains of the Pawn that first engaged the Raven carried on the back of another. The good doctor was so invested in building the new Pawns that he had completely forgotten to repair the one that was already built and ready. Even with four operating Pawns, Arrow knew better than to underestimate the Raven. She had foiled Lady White Star’s plans to banish the Corrupted One, and had even defeated Zeal, one of the best fighters in her entire order! “Dr. Savant, how soon can you get the other Pawns up and running?” she asked again as the tan unicorn began rolling out his schematics along the wall in his makeshift laboratory. He cast her an annoyed glare. “My Pawns will be completed on time and in proper working order when they are ready, Midnight. You cannot rush perfection.” Her tail swished as she gritted her teeth. “The Pawn you sent after that intruder has not returned yet, and it should have a long time ago.” She looked to the side as a Pawn set a large container nearby. “We have to assume that it was destroyed, and that the Raven has learned of it. It will only be a matter of time before she tracks us down. We cannot afford that.” “Oh, please. My Pawn will not fail, and no snooping mare is going to best my creation.” He rubbed his chin. “I will admit that the current models are limited in their abilities to take a pegasus in flight. However, she will inevitably tire. My Pawn will not.” He moved to the container and nodded for one of the Pawns to open it. Once the lid fell away, he levitated the nearly completed Pawn from within. “Once Pawn 7 is complete with the new, more efficient arcane engine, not even the Raven will be able to defeat it.” “I hope you’re right, Doctor,” Midnight said in a warning tone. All she got in return was another irritated glare and a roll of the inventor’s eyes. Her lips turned back in a snarl at the unicorn’s arrogance. “Need I remind you that my organization is funding the creation of these Pawns? Were it not for us, your dreams of creating artificial life would be as dead as your reputation would have been after the lecture the princesses gave you.” A snide smirk crossed her face as he paused in his work for just a second before resuming his work. “Then we are in agreement?” “Trust me. Everything will work out exactly as planned,” he said, not bothering to look up from his work. “Pawn 1, go and keep the exterior secure. I don’t want any interruptions. Try to be subtle about it. No need to draw any more suspicion than we already have.” The mechanical pony complied easily, walking towards the exit, its metal hooves clanking loudly on the concrete floor. Confident that the doctor would do as told, Midnight Arrow entered the nearby office to rest, never knowing that they were being watched. -o- The Raven eyed the two from the skylight above, the wind blowing her ethereal mane around as she contemplated her next move. ‘Despite it all, those two don’t appear to like each other very much.’ ‘No, they don’t,’ Swirling said as she watched the other two Pawns spread out to patrol the warehouse. ‘Are you sure about that purple stuff, Nevermore? I really don’t want anything blowing up in my face.’ ‘Don’t do something stupid, and you won’t,’ the spirit deadpanned. ‘Now that they’re splitting up, this might be the best time to take them out one by one. That gel has a highly volatile magical signature, not unlike materials used in fireworks and explosives, which will help get through their armor.’ She shifted a bit, knowing that the vial she had taken from Savant’s office earlier was being held for her by the Raven form, and that she could conjure it up with just a thought, but the knowledge that it was explosive didn’t exactly set her mind at ease. ‘So, which one are you taking out first?’ Considering the question, her yellow eyes traced the paths of the two Pawns and Savant at work. She knew that if she tried to take one of the two inside first, it might attract the other, and that was even accounting for Savant or the Disciple that was inside the office. Her ears swiveled as she heard the footsteps of the sole Pawn outside, and a smirk crossed her face. “I could take out the guard outside and see if that won’t bring the others running. If they do, I can get to Savant and force him to stop working.” ‘I’m actually impressed. I must be rubbing off on you… finally.’ Growling softly at the irritating spirit, she spread her wings and took to the sky. Quickly locating the patrolling Pawn, she hovered over it. Thankfully, the metal pony didn’t bother looking up. She conjured the vial up, holding it in her teeth carefully. ‘A small amount is all it should take. Aim between the shoulder blades. We might find a weakness there with the armor gone.’ She felt a tightening in her throat as she considered what she was about to do. Remembering her fight with that first Pawn was enough to remind her of just how tough they were. If she messed this up, she could be in a lot of trouble. Steeling herself, she uncorked the vial. There was no going back now, she reasoned. Once the glob fell from the vial she quickly flapped her wings to get away. The resulting explosion was not as dramatic as she expected. While the alley way did light up—causing her to hiss at the sudden brightness—it didn’t level buildings as she expected. Instead, the explosion was enough to knock the Pawn clean off its hooves, the metal plating on its back and neck falling away. The exposed gears inside whirred and groaned under the stress as the Pawn tried to turn in her direction. ‘What are you waiting for? Attack it now!’ Stirred by Nevermore’s persisting voice she descended and brought back her hoof to punch through the exposed inner workings of the machine. The Pawn stiffened up and jerked a roughly before the light went out of its eyes and collapsed into a metal heap. Its limbs spasmed a bit before the machine settled with a hiss of steam. “Did I just… beat it?” ‘You caught it by surprise. An element which you no longer have over the others. They likely know you’re here now.’ On cue, there came a shout from Midnight Arrow from the warehouse. “It’s the Raven! She’s here!” “Pawns 2 and 5, keep close and protect me! Do not let her in here!” came Savant’s shout. “Oh, fantastic…” Swirling groused and took to the sky again. Landing on the roof she ran for the skylight. “On the roof! I heard her!” Arrow screamed in a growing panic. “Quiet, mare! I need to focus!” “So much for subtlety,” Swirling said before she crashed through the sky light, showering the Pawns below with the shattered glass. She quickly sank into the shadows of the dimly lit warehouse, flitting rapidly across the floors and walls as she thought out her next move. One drop of the exploding grape juice for each Pawn should be enough. It was just a matter of getting them to hold still long enough to get the stuff on them. She peeked out of the shadows to see the Disciple pacing back and forth, her eyes constantly darting to every shadow in the building. “Dr. Savant, we cannot let her disrupt all we have worked for. If she isn’t stopped here, my organization will not continue to support your projects.” Savant never looked up from his work. “Once Pawn 7 is completed, there will be no issue.” He briefly glanced over his shoulder. “If you’re so worried, deal with her. Just make sure you keep her off of me.” ‘A new model?’ Swirling asked her residential spirit. ‘A fair assumption. You need to stop him.’ A confident grin grew across her face before she slipped away into another shadow. “So, Dr. Savant, is it?” The inventor jumped and spun to face her. “Can you tell me why such a prestigious doctor such as yourself would side with a bunch of regicidal whackjobs like the Disciples of Light? Seems like a really dumb career move on your part, honestly.” “Get back, demon!” Midnight Arrow shouted. The Raven turned to face her, only to for a white robe to hit her in the face. Arrow, clad in bandoliers of crossbow bolts and equipped with a rapid crossbow on each of her hooves, took position between the Raven and Savant, aiming one of her crossbows at her. “Savant, finish your new machine! I’ll handle the Raven!” Nodding, Savant continuing working while Arrow charged at the Raven, who’d only just gotten the discarded robe off of her. The earth pony tackled the pegasus, knocking her through a door and into the next room, where there lay a multitude of abandoned crates. Swirling groaned as she managed to pick herself up off the floor. “All right, new rule. No more fighting earth ponies. Unfair strength advantage.” Just as she finished her statement, a brief whooshing sound caught her ears, and a crossbow bolt embedded itself in a crate behind her with an unquiet thunk. Across from her stood Midnight Arrow, an armed hoof held up and aimed at the shadowy pegasus. “That was a warning shot, Raven,” she said. “Leave now, and you will be spared the agony of exorcism.” “Huh, what do you know?” Swirling snarked. “A Disciple with some knowledge of common courtesy. So there are miracles in the world after all.” Arrow sneered coldly at the vigilante’s insulting remark, but resisted the urge to unleash a hail of bolts. “You truly are as insolent as Lady White Star claimed. Leave now, or face the judgment of the Light. I won’t say it a third time.” “What? Never heard of ‘three strikes, you’re out’?” Apparently, that one crossed a line, as a storm of bolts from Midnight’s crossbow flew at the Raven, who only narrowly eluded getting skewered in a number of places, diving into the shadows as the bolts buried themselves in a wooden crate. “No you don’t!” Midnight yelled before she tossed a white crystal across the room. The moment it struck the floor, a blinding flash of light erupted, stripping the room of the shadows and forcing the Raven out of hiding. The Raven screamed at the sudden burst of light, and only her quick thinking had her duck in time as a bolt ripped through her mane, drawing a painful cut across the back of her head. She lunged ahead as another bolt sailed after her, forcing her to take cover behind another crate. “So, you Disciples have some new toys, huh? I was beginning to wonder if any of you have ever heard of something called a flashlight!” Arrow snarled and rounded the crate, only to find that the Raven had vanished. “Jest all you want, demon. The Light will triumph, and you and your foul master will know oblivion.” “Funny thing. I don’t have a master. Not unlike you sheep. Speaking of sheep, is that robe you wear made of wool? It smells like it.” Swirling smiled to herself as she heard Midnight growl in frustration, and just as the Disciple rounded another crate, she lunged from above and smashed the crossbow she held. Even as Midnight brought her other crossbow to bear, Swirling deflected the shot high and slugged her across the muzzle. Midnight skidded back, grunting from the ache in her jaw. Even as the Raven ran in for another attack, she brought her own hoof up to block it and counter with her own. The Raven ducked under the attack and head butted the mare in the barrel before whirling to kick her across the room, sending her crashing into another crate, which splintered violently under the strain of the impact. Growling in a fury, Arrow shoved away the debris covering her, giving her foe a glare that would’ve scared away Discord himself. “I will end you, demon!” “Promises, promises,” Swirling quipped, earning an enraged cry from the other mare. Arrow spun suddenly, throwing up her hind legs in a kicking motion and firing bolts from the crossbows on her back hooves. With a very heroic “meep!” the Raven ducked under the surprise shower, sinking into the shadows again and darting towards her enemy. Surprisingly, Arrow smirked. “You don’t learn, it seems.” She tossed out another white crystal, which exploded with another blast of light, booting the Raven out of the shadows, blinding and stunning her. “Crystals gathered from the Crystal Empire, enchanted for use against night-dwelling creatures that avoid daylight like the plague. They seem to work quite well against you, too.” She aimed her good foreleg crossbow at the Raven’s head. “Now there will be one less demon in the world.” Just as she was about to let a bolt fly, a nearby window crashed, and a figure flew in at high speed, tackling Arrow to the ground and rolling across the floor with her. The figure, which was clearly a stallion wearing armor, turned his head to the Raven, who only now was able to see clearly again. “I’ll take care of this one!” the stallion shouted. “You go get Savant!” “Wh-who—” “GO!” She stepped back at the stallion’s harsh tone, briefly unsure of what to do. Reluctantly, she nodded and took off, flying through the doors that would lead her back to Savant. Her questions for the stallion would have to wait until later. Savant cast a quick look over his shoulder as she burst into the room, a scowl spreading across his face. “That incompetent mare! Can she not perform even the simplest task!?” The Raven spread her wings, even as the two Pawns got between her and Savant. “It’s over, Savant, give yourself up already. You’re not gonna beat me with your tin soldiers.” She smiled cockily, even if she knew he wouldn’t see it. “I enjoyed turning your others to scrap, and unless you want that to happen to these two, you’ll surrender right here and now.” He snorted and charged his horn, the eyes of the two Pawns glowing the same color. “Pawns, keep her off of me! Tear her apart if you must, but she cannot be allowed to disrupt my work!” The machines roared to life and charged at her, ready to pound her into pulp. She flared out her wings, setting herself to fight. “Bring it on, you walking wind-up toys!” The first Pawn lashed out with a punch that the Raven hopped over. She kicked out with her hind legs, sending the Pawn tumbling violently across the floor. The second charged in and caught her out of the air. Landing with a grunt, she was quick to kick the metal monster off of her before it could wrap her up in a choke hold like the first one had. No sooner did she get back on her hooves did the first Pawn come back in, launching a flurry of punches that she either barely avoided or blocked. Each time the Pawn landed a hit, she winced. ‘Darn it! They’re strong!’ ‘And you’re not? Fight back already! They’re machines! You don’t have to hold back!’ Swirling blinked at that statement, a grin forming beneath her mask of shadows. She never did get a chance to really go all out with her shadow magic-enhanced strength, and now was as good a time as any. Rearing back a hoof as the Pawn in front of her charged again, she threw it forward, right into the machine’s barrel. The blow packed a lot more power than even she had expected, her hoof digging through the Pawn’s armor like a drill, stopping only when her foreleg was halfway through its body. ‘Hold that pose,’ said Nevermore. Before the pegasus had a chance to question him, a number of black spikes shot out from inside the Pawn, piercing everything in their path, including the forelegs and head. The light in the Pawn’s eyes flickered briefly before fading out, the spikes retracting shortly after, allowing Swirling to remove her hoof from the metal beast, which thudded loudly against the floor in a heap. “What in the world was that?” she asked. ‘Magic shadow spikes. Focus on the other one!’ Spinning to face the other Pawn, she let out a small shout as she ducked under the machine’s attempt at a sucker punch. She slipped into the shadows beneath her, zooming behind the Pawn and leaping at the metallic abomination. She grabbed it by its neck, planting her rear hooves as firmly into the ground as she could. ‘What are you doing?’ ‘Something I’ve been wanting to try ever since you came along!’ Waiting for no further response from the shadow spirit, Swirling bent back, lifting the Pawn off the ground and slamming the thing’s head into the hard floor behind her, shattering its head and spilling small parts across the floor. She could practically hear Nevermore’s mind’s gears grinding as he tried to process what she’d just done. ‘Did… did you just…?’ “Suplex a metal monster?” Swirling finished for him, rubbing at her chest proudly. “Yes. Yes, I did.” ‘... I honestly have no idea what to say to that.’ “How about ‘awesome’?” ‘Just get Savant already...’ As she turned to go after the doctor, she whirled as the Pawn she’d just slammed into the ground started to shake and power back up again. The headless Pawn got back to its hooves and turned after her, an ominous amber glow emanating from the area where its head once was. “Okay, that is just creepy!” she shouted as she again had to dodge the wildly attacking monster. “What does it take to take these things down? The other one went down with one good punch!” ‘The chest!’ Nevermore answered quickly. ‘That must be where their energy source is! The other one must be out because we destroyed its core!’ “So smash the thing’s heart! Got it!” She jumped back from a punch and tackled the Pawn to the ground. As she brought her hoof back to strike, the Pawn’s own hoof shot out and caught hers. “Oh, ponyfeath—” The Pawn slugged her, sending her flying into the air. She flared her wings in midair to stop herself and saw the Pawn getting back to its hooves. “All right, buddy, that’s it!” With one last rush, she tackled the Pawn again, putting all her strength into the attack. Both of her front hooves struck the Pawn’s barrel, burrowing through the armor and crushing just about everything in their path. Nevermore didn’t bother saying anything this time as he created the spikes from before, tearing the Pawn apart from the inside-out. Pulling her hooves from the now unmoving and more or less useless hunk of metal, the Raven turned to where Savant had fled. “Time to end this,” she said as she flew after the inventor. She found him still tinkering away with a Pawn, sparks shooting out around him as he worked. He turned to face her for a moment, and scowled before returning his attention to his work. The Raven approached quietly, eyes narrowed at the stallion, ready to move if need be. After a few moments, Savant stopped working again and faced her, his scowl replaced with a cool, confident smirk. “You must be quite clever or powerful to have beaten two of my Pawns,” he confessed. “I’ll admit, I’m surprised. Before, one Pawn seemed to have you on the ropes. Had it not been for its fuel inefficiency, it likely would’ve killed you.” “It’s over, Savant. For all of those diplomas you have, you’re pretty stupid to work for the Disciples of Light,” she said simply, not wanting to hear anything else. The inventor only chuckled at her statement. “Oh, I beg to differ.” His horn lit up, its amber glow reaching the new Pawn, whose eyes lit up seconds after. “This is the newest model of Pawn. Tougher and stronger than the ones you’ve been fighting. Allow me to demonstrate. Pawn 7, terminate the Raven.” “Confirmed,” spoke a rough, scraping voice. “Target identified. Terminate subject: the Raven.” Suddenly, the Pawn charged at the Raven, who gasped in surprise and stepped off to the side to dodge the Pawn’s attack. “Okay, now they can talk,” she muttered. “As if this whole thing wasn’t weird enough.” ‘It’s still just a Pawn. Take it out like the others.’ Nodding and rearing her hoof back, she rushed at the Pawn, slamming her hoof forward in a jab into the machine’s chest. However, there wasn’t any digging through the metal this time. All she’d managed with all her strength was a large dent, doubtful at best that she’d caused any kind of internal damage. Before she could question what was going on, the Pawn grabbed her foreleg and tossed her away, sending her soaring into a wall, knocking bricks out of place as she landed back on the ground with a heavy thud. Savant’s laugh echoed through the warehouse. “Do you like Pawn 7’s new armor? Minotaurian steel plating for durability, with an Equestrian silver-metal endoskeletal structure for flexibility. An ideal blend of speed and endurance for the next generation of soldier, don’t you agree?” Swirling groaned as she got back to her hooves. “Oh, yeah, fantastic combo you’ve got there.” ‘Any suggestions, Nevermore?’ ‘Minotaurian steel is remarkably tough, and Equestrian silver-metal is known for being extremely malleable, even when solid. This one won’t go down as easy as the others. Perhaps you could go for the joints?’ “Right.” With a determined nod, she charged at the Pawn again, this time ducking into the shadows by its feet, swimming around it in search of opening before lunging out and striking at its knees. She may as well have hit solid stone. “Horseapples!” she swore before the Pawn grabbed her by the mane and slammed her into the ground. She grunted from the impact before the Pawn hurled her across the room, sending her crashing through another crate and showering her with extra Pawn parts. Her eyes snapped open, and she rolled out of the way just in time for the Pawn to stomp in the space she had just vacated. She lashed out with a buck and a smug smile spread across her face when the force of the kick flipped the Pawn over with a loud crash of metal. “Ha! Not so tough after all, are you, you walking pile of junk!?” The Pawn was back on its hooves in seconds and turned its empty, amber gaze on her. “Terminate the Raven.” “Oh, come on!” She turned and ran, the Pawn close on her fetlocks. ‘Why are you running?’ “I need to think of something. I’ve hit it as hard as I can, and it’s not staying down. What else can I do?” A mocking laugh filled the room. “There’s nothing you can do, whelp!” Savant yelled at her. “My creation is invincible! Not even the Princesses could best it!” She scowled over at the gloating doctor before her eyes widened. “Idea!” ‘Oh, no...’ She leaped above the tackling Pawn for Savant. Inwardly, she enjoyed watching his smug look turn to one of panic. “Pawn 7, don’t let her—” He grunted as she tackled into him. Holding her foreleg under his chin, she kept him from turning his horn at her. “Call off your tin soldier, Savant, and I won’t pummel you into next week!” He groaned as he glared at her. “I won’t be beaten by you, you ignorant troglodyte! I am Dr. Savant, the greatest mind Equestria has ever seen and ever will! Get your filthy hooves off of me, you damn, dirty cretin!” She sneered, pulling back her hoof to strike. “For a guy as helpless as you are right now, you—” Lights flashed in her vision, and she felt herself soar across the room to land heavily on the concrete floor. Shaking her head, she stood up on shaky legs as she looked up to see the Pawn standing in front of its master. Savant dusted himself off with an amused chuckle. “It’s so simple to play a dimwit like you. Thinking to take me down when my Pawn is the bigger threat? Utterly imbecilic.” ‘He’s right, you know.’ “Shut up!” she yelled at both Savant and Nevermore. Again, Savant laughed and looked at his Pawn. “Do end her.” The Pawn again charged at her. “Confirmed. Terminate subject: the Raven.” She set herself again to face it, but blinked as it stumbled. It jerked and fell over, but got back to its hooves. Savant blinked. “What? Pawn 7, what’s wrong?” “Term… inate… subject…” The light faded from the machine’s eyes and it collapsed in a heap, steam rising from its joints. “What?! No! What’s happening!?” The Pawn’s eyes blinked on and off briefly. “Engine system… failing. Incomplete… arcane current. Shutdown imminent.” Savant’s eyes widened so much that Swirling thought they’d pop right out of his head. “No! This can’t be! I made sure everything was correct and in place! How—” “Does this answer your question?” She bounced the empty vial that had housed the purple liquid in it on her hoof. “Because I’ve got no idea what this stuff is.” He scowled darkly. “You?! How did you get that!?” “The mare I saved from your wind-up toy gave it to me. She said it was important.” Her sneer made its way into her tone. She was really starting to hate these Pawn things. “I guess she was right.” “You fool! I designed this new Pawn with a failsafe to avoid it falling into an enemy’s grasp! It’s going to explode!” Her eyes widened. “Wait, what?” Savant growled spitefully at her. “No matter. I’ll leave you to deal with it! You can come after me, or risk my Pawn destroying everything within five blocks!” At that, he galloped off, leaving the Raven with the soon-to-explode Pawn 7. “Oh, crap, oh, crap, oh, crap!” Her eyes fell on the Pawn as it began to glow a faint yellow light, slowly brightening with intensity. “Nevermore, what do I do!?” ‘There’s nothing you can do! There’s nowhere to take it, so run!’ She galloped for the door but a groan from the nearby room had her stop in her tracks. Her eyes went from the room, to the exit, to the Pawn, then back. “Sweet Celestia,” she swore and ran for the room. Inside she found the bound and gagged Midnight Arrow, panic in her eyes. Swirling looked around, but saw no sign of the guard she had seen earlier. Had he run off somewhere? ‘What are you doing, Line!? Get out of here now!’ “I can’t just leave her to die!” ‘She’s a Disciple! Leave her!’ She rushed over and grabbed the Disciple and tossed her on her back. Running out of the room, she had to avert her eyes from the brightly glowing Pawn. ‘Line!’ Both Nevermore’s scream and Midnight’s muffled whimpers drove her to flap her wings frantically, and she burst out the front door, flying as fast her wings could carry her. Looking back, the light of the Pawn shone from the windows and doors into a blinding hue just before the entire warehouse district burst with a thundering boom that sent the Raven into a tailspin. She grunted as she slammed into the ground, skidding painfully until she met a wall. The Disciple mare fared no better, her head having struck the ground, rendering her out cold. The warehouses across from them burned in a towering inferno, but they weren’t connected to anything important that she knew of, thankfully. She heaved out a sigh as she morphed out of her Raven form, running a hoof through her mane and letting herself catch her breath. “Okay…” she muttered. “I’m officially done with warehouses.” ‘The same.’ Swirling actually laughed at that. It was a rare treat when she and her partner agreed on something. She turned to the bound mare lying next to her, unsure of what to do with her. She couldn’t just take her to the police. ‘Hello! I found this tied up mare out cold in front of a bunch of burning warehouses, and I think she might be a part of a psychotic cult bent on world domination.’ Yeah, that’d end just hunky-dory. The sound of hooves meeting concrete reached her ears, and she turned to see that same stallion from earlier. By the light of the fire not too far away, she could make out details about him now. He wore dark, plated armor, for one, and his eyes were yellow with slitted, catlike pupils. His coat, near as she could tell with the unstable lighting, was a shade of dark blue. His most surprising trait, however, were his wings, which were large and batlike, complete with a little, bony hook claw at the bend. “You could’ve handled that better,” he said simply, approaching the unconscious Midnight Arrow. “But all things considered, I suppose you did all right. I’ll just take this one off your hooves.” Swirling eyed him quietly as she got to her hooves. “Who are you?” “Just a stallion with a job to do, ma’am,” he answered, hefting Arrow onto his back. “I’ve been watching Savant for a while now, under orders of Princess Luna. I’m taking this mare into custody for questioning.” There was a silence between them as the stallion steadied Arrow between his wings. Something about him was just unsettling for some reason, though Swirling couldn’t quite place why. “So…” she said, “I take it you know about me?” “Swirling Line, AKA the Raven,” said the stallion immediately. “The whole Night Guard was briefed on you. We have… special orders regarding you. That’s all I can say on the matter, though. Just don’t disappoint the princess. She’s one mare whose bad side you don’t want to be on.” And with that, he took off, his leathery wings flapping with more power than a pegasus. Her gaze drifted from the retreating form to view the burning destruction left behind by the detonated Pawn. Warehouses burned and collapsed in on themselves, and Swirling could only watch in horror. All of this, caused by a stallion that had sacrificed other lives for the sake of his own. “Sweet Celestia… please tell me there wasn’t anypony in those buildings.” ‘I don’t know, Line. For now, though, we need to leave before the authorities arrive and start asking questions.’ She closed her eyes, and she felt the first of the tears starting to roll down her face. Shifting back into the Raven form, she spread her wings and took to the sky. ‘Please… don’t let there have been anypony else there… I can’t take having more blood on my hooves. One was more than enough to deal with.’ ‘Even if there were ponies in there, their blood is on Savant’s hooves, not yours. Keep that in mind.’ ‘Yeah…’ She sighed as she flew, thinking back to the events of the past few days. A lot of crazy stuff had happened ever since she met Nevermore and took his deal. Looking back, she wasn’t sure whether or not becoming the Raven was such a good idea. Would everything she’d encountered so far have turned out worse if not for her? Or would things have ended better than they have? And… what if…? ‘Nevermore?’ ‘Hmm?’ ‘Savant was a respected inventor, right?’ ‘According to what we read, yes. Why?’ It took her a moment to really process what she was about to ask. ‘If a guy like that… someone who’s famous, has a lot of respect from his peers, and all that stuff… if he could become something awful, then…’ ‘You’re afraid you might turn out the same someday.’ Swirling nodded quietly, and Nevermore made a sound akin to a sigh. ‘I don’t know, Line. I’m no foreseer. Maybe you do go mad, maybe you don’t. Power tends to have varying results depending on who you give it to. Savant is just one example of power going to one’s head. We can only hope that you and I don’t end up in that same sorry state.’ Swirling stayed silent, taking in the spirit’s words as she flew through the night sky. Neither of them could read the future, so all she could do was hope that she made the right choices. A small part of her told her to quit before things got even more out of hoof than they had with Savant and his metal monsters. However, the rest of her knew that as long as she had the powers granted to her by Nevermore, she could never just sit back and let things happen. A small groan escaped her. Why couldn’t this superhero business be more like her Power Ponies comics? Author's Note Battle Theme of Midnight Arrow: Battle Theme of the Pawns:
Vengeful Thunder, Ducking Shadows, Part 1“Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except the ones that sang the best.” - Henry van Dyke -o- It took a real effort for Swirling to pull herself out of bed this morning. She couldn’t bring herself to go to sleep after her nightly rounds, so she spent a good chunk of time working on her art. With ‘Rebirth’ finished, she was finally able to focus on other works. If she had any, that is. If she had done her math right (and she wasn’t really the greatest at math, if she was being honest), she got exactly zero hours of sleep last night. To make matters worse, Summer had apparently decided to take a day off from work, so now she had to cover for her unicorn friend, leading to a double shift. That meant twice the yelling from Lou, and less time to herself. So when she finally stumbled through her apartment doorway, all she wanted to do was flop onto her bed and try to catch up on all of that loveable sleep she’d been missing out on. Tossing her saddlebags onto the small coffee table, she lurched into her bedroom and smiled wide at the cushiony goodness that was her bed. ‘You know, we should head—’ Nevermore started. “Not for all the art supplies in the world, Nevermore,” Swirling said as she undid the hair tie in her mane. “I’m laying on my bed and forgetting this day ever happened. I never want to see another basket of cheesy celery sticks again in my life.” ‘Or until you go to work tomorrow.’ “Don’t remind me!” She flopped onto her bed, the furniture creaking under her weight. She reached up and grabbed one of her pillows and nuzzled deeply into it. “Mm, pillow, how I’ve missed you so.” ‘I feel nauseous…’ Ignoring him, she gave a content sigh. There was nothing that was going to get her out of bed now she was in it. Except for the knock at her door. “Swirl! Are you home? It’s me, Summer.” The knock came again, louder this time. “Come on, open up!” Swirling gave the flattest, most hostile glare she could possibly give. ‘Summer Streams… why?’ Nevermore’s derisive snickering only made her grumble that much more as she rolled out of bed and headed for the door, grumbling to herself all the way. When she opened the door, she glared at a surprised Summer Streams and said, “What?” Summer looked at her friend’s disheveled state before giving her a faint smile. “I wanted to apologize for having my shift dropped on you. Page and I went to see a show and have lunch at this really nice, super authentic Chineighse restaurant, and…” She trailed off as Swirling’s glare steadily intensified, then cleared her throat. “Right. Look, I’m sorry. I owe you. Is there anything I could do to pay you back?” “You could let me get some sleep,” the pegasus grunted irritably. Giggling, the unicorn said, “Seriously, Swirl, if there’s anything you need, just let me know. I’d even model for a painting, if you wanted.” Swirling sighed, her shoulders slumping. She was too tired to argue at this point. “Maybe some other time, Summer. But right now, all I want is some sleep.” Summer smiled wider as she levitated a couple of paper bags from her saddlebags. That was when the smell of sauteed greens hit Swirling’s nostrils and caused her stomach to rumble. “Then what am I supposed to do with all of this extra food from the restaurant Page took me to? I can’t very well eat all of it all by myself.” “Is that… Chineighse food?” Swirling asked in a whisper of a voice. Summer’s smile beamed. “You know it. And I even got some extra of that General Hoof’s asparagus you like so much.” The eternal debate of food versus sleep ran through her mind, but a louder grumble from her stomach settled it. ‘Sleep is for the weak,’ she told herself. “Fine, come on in. And you’d better have brought me an extra fortune cookie!” Staying up to eat take out with Summer proved to be a worthwhile experience. Her best friend knew exactly what she liked, and had made sure there was plenty to go around. While she had been irritated with her when she took this day off without her initial knowledge, she knew her friend hadn’t done it out of spite or anything. Even so, sixteen hours with Lou and that grease hole he called a restaurant warranted at least some teasing in return. “So, when’s he gonna pop the big question?” she asked just as Summer was taking a sip from her cup of soda. The unicorn spit out her drink, coughing and pounding her chest with a hoof while Swirling laughed. “W-w-well, I, uh…” Summer’s stammering only made Swirling laugh even harder. “That’s a really huge question to ask, don’t you think? Besides, I don’t think I’m ready for that kind of commitment just yet. Page, either.” Her laughter dying slightly, Swirling wiped her eye with a hoof. “Relax. I’m just messing with you. It’s not like I expect to hear wedding bells anytime soon.” Summer hummed before floating a paper towel over to clean up her spilled soda. “So, are you ready to start our classes tomorrow?” Swirling blinked. “Classes? What classes?” “Our self-defense classes, Swirl,” Summer said as she tossed the paper towel into the nearby trash can. “Don’t you remember? We were going to take them after that mugging we went through in the park.” Swirling lowered her head. She vaguely remembered Summer mentioning something like that, but she’d blown it off as just another thing that Summer would start and forget about the next day. The memory of when they got mugged flashed through her mind. It was one of those days where she wished she could’ve used the Raven form to beat the snot out of those thugs, but explaining it (and asking Summer to keep it a secret) wouldn’t have been easy. “I think I remember you saying something about that,” she finally said, looking at her friend again. “I guess I just forgot about it.” A wide smile spread across Summer’s face. “Well, lucky for you, I remembered. And I signed you up, too. Just think! We can learn to protect ourselves and show those no-good bullies who’s boss!” ‘And be more efficient at your night job,’ Nevermore added. An eyebrow shot up as she regarded her friend. “I never really pictured you as the fighting type, Summer. Are you sure you want to do it?” Summer nodded once. “Yes, I definitely do. I don’t want to feel that hopeless and helpless ever again, Swirl.” She averted her gaze. “I was so scared that we could’ve been hurt. I don’t want to be in that situation more than once if I can help it.” She looked back up and her smile returned. “And we get to learn together! That’ll make it so much more fun!” Swirling stifled a yawn that threatened to overtake her. “When does it start?” “Tomorrow, after work. I made sure to take the classes where we both can be there.” She looked over at her saddlebags and a sheet of paper floated over to Swirling. “Master Kyoshi said he could work around our job schedules and everything.” “Kyoshi?” Swirling asked. “He’s the instructor,” Summer explained. “And he’s old. Seriously, he’s, like, the oldest pegasus I’ve ever met, but when I saw him before I introduced myself, he was breaking cinderblocks with his wing!” Swirling blinked at that. “Wait, his wing?” Summer nodded, and Swirling glanced her own wings, fluttering them lightly and briefly wondering if she could possibly do the same thing without her Raven powers. ‘Probably not,’ said Nevermore. Rolling her eyes without Summer noticing, Swirling said, “I think I’ll believe when I see it. This does sound promising, though.” Summer harrumphed, turning her nose. “Always so cynical.” She gave her friend a wink. “Just you wait. You’ll be just as excited as I am, Swirl. Trust me, we’ll never have to worry about thugs like those guys in the park ever again!” -o- The sunlight briefly blinded Jolt’s eyes as he was escorted outside of the jail he’d been locked up in for the past two months. He had no idea why he’d been released. One of the guards had mentioned something about his bail being paid, but he hadn’t really been paying attention. All he really cared about was getting back at that freak nag that got him thrown in there in the first place. As he passed the last gate to freedom, one of the guards gave him a final shove, knocking him a few feet forward. Jolt turned back for a moment, giving the guards a glare before turning away from them. ‘All right, first thing’s first,’ he told himself. ‘Gotta get to the nearest Red hideout. Get some gear, then go on a bird hunt.’ He nodded, starting down the road toward the city of Manehattan. Behind him, however, he heard the sound of hooves hitting the ground, and spun to see a closed, black carriage being pulled by a pair of stallions. They stopped after just passing him, and the door to the carriage opened. “Jolt, I presume?” came a voice that would’ve been comparable to a snake’s if a snake could talk. Reluctantly, Jolt said, “Who wants to know?” “The stallion who paid your bail,” the voice answered. “Come inside. I want to talk with you.” Jolt blinked at the revelation given to him. “You paid my bail? Why’d you do that?” “Step inside, and I’ll explain everything.” For a moment, the stallion considered just walking away. It’d probably be for the better. He had no idea what to expect from this stranger. For all he knew, this guy could be some wannabe crime boss looking to thin the competition. Then again, Jolt was already in prison; why pay bail for a pony who wouldn’t have been in the way just to kill him off? Hesitant at first, Jolt climbed into the dark carriage, closing the door behind him and taking a seat. As soon as he made himself comfortable, the ponies out front moved, pulling the carriage along. “So,” Jolt began, looking at the stallion sitting across from him. “What’s this all about?” The stallion sitting opposite to Jolt was quiet for a several moments. His expression was unreadable, hidden behind a cloth mask that had only a small slit for his eyes. He was fairly fit, though not particularly muscular. After a few seconds, he finally spoke: “We have a common enemy, Jolt. The mare who’s ruining my organization is the same one who put you behind bars.” A scowl quickly formed on the gray stallion’s face. “The Raven,” he bitterly muttered. The masked stallion nodded. “That’s right. None of my subordinates have the gumption or the sheer luck to take her out of the picture, but you have potential.” He reached under his seat, pulling out a large duffel bag and unzipping it for Jolt to see its contents. The white-maned stallion’s jaw lowered slightly at what he saw. “With these,” said the masked pony, “the Raven won’t stand a chance. I’m even willing to pay you for your troubles if necessary.” Jolt looked back at the stallion again. “How much?” The masked stallion’s eyes narrowed. “Twenty thousand up front. A hundred grand if you kill her, and an extra thirty if you bring her in alive for me to finish her myself.” Jolt’s hooves shook as he lifted the items from the duffel bag. He had heard about these things before, they were supposed to be the latest thing in magically enhanced weapons for earth ponies. But since they were a recent innovation, they were unfairly expensive, and usually reserved for the military or especially important ponies’ bodyguards. “Consider these a gift in good faith,” the unnamed stallion stated. Jolt glanced back up at his mysterious new acquaintance, somewhat suspicious, but no longer caring to ask questions, save for one: “Who are you, by the way?” The stallion was quiet again for a number of seconds before saying, “For now, just call me the Benefactor.” -o- Swirling followed behind Summer as the unicorn lead her down the path towards one of the strangest buildings she had ever seen. While she had seen pictures of Neighponese buildings before, she hadn’t thought to visit one herself. The oddly slanting roof and thick shingles, combined with the thin walls and painted designs was so out of place for the metropolitan city of Manehatten that she almost felt she had stepped out of Equestria itself. “You’re sure this is the place, Summer?” she asked, shifting her gym bag on her back. Summer glanced over her shoulder at her. “Of course it is, Swirl. I don’t get lost.” The unicorn adjusted the sweatband on her brow and flipped her mane as it hung loosely behind her head in a ponytail. “Come on already, we’re almost late for our first class.” Swirling grumbled and flapped her wings to catch up with the cantering Summer Streams. “So you’re really dead set on learning how to fight?” She shook her head, and pushed her own sweatband back up as it fell over her eyes. “It just kind of a surprise coming from you.” “I told you my reasons, Swirl,” Summer said as she pushed open the small gate to the property. “And yes, I do want to learn.” ‘Now if only you would take a hint from her enthusiasm and act the same way. Maybe you wouldn’t mess up as often as you do if you got practical lessons.’ Swirling shut him out as she looked over the lawn in front of the building. Her eyes drifted to the cherry blossom tree; it was in full bloom, pink petals blanketing its branches as it stood over a carefully made rock garden. There was a collection of bonsai trees off to the right as well, each one clipped uniquely and set with the utmost care. The whole area had a calming air about it, with a cool breeze coming through as well. “Wow,” Swirling said to herself as she took in her surroundings. “Who knew a place like this was in Manehattan?” Summer beamed. “I know, right? It’s amazing.” She grabbed ahold of Swirling’s foreleg and tugged her towards the building. “Come on, come on! We can enjoy the scenery during our break.” Swirling nearly stumbled as she was pulled along. To make matters worse, Summer ignored her protests that she could walk on her own. How she managed to not trip over the wooden stairs and faceplant into the boards was a complete mystery. The thin door was slid aside by Summer’s magic, and Swirling was treated to a sight of the dojo’s interior. Along the walls were many signs with artwork depicting warriors fighting monsters and scenes of nature (waves, mountains, and the like) on them, the floors were covered in training mats, and there were even a few training dummies standing silently along the wall. Her eyes widened, and she sucked in a breath as she caught sight of a large painting along the far wall. Bursting past Summer, she ran to the wall and studied the painting. “Ohmygosh, ohmygosh! This is Neighponese watercoloring!” Her eyes sparkled as she looked over the image of a tall mountain overlooking a picturesque lake during a gorgeous sunset. “I’ve only seen a few of these, and this one is so marvelously detailed that only a master could’ve painted it!” “Uh… Swirling, we are here to learn how to defend ourselves, remember?” Suddenly, Summer felt something whack the back of her head, making her hiss in pain as she rubbed where she’d been struck. “There is no reason one cannot appreciate the liberal arts,” said an old pegasus stallion, a wooden sword held in his hoof, undoubtedly the item that had hit Summer on the head. He had a fairly strong accent, though his mastery of Equestrian seemed spot on. His coat was a dark shade of orange, with a silvery gray mane and a cutie mark of a Neighponese sword. He had a long beard on his chin, accompanied by a thin mustache above his upper lip and the most monstrous-looking eyebrows Swirling Line had ever seen in her life. Swirling felt somewhat unnerved as the old stallion’s dark, aged eyes fell on her. He approached her, eyeing her analytically before looking up at the painting. “You appreciate art, I assume?” “Er, y-yes,” she answered. “I’m looking to be a career artist at some point.” “I see,” the stallion said in a cool tone. “Perhaps, if you are willing to stay after classes, I can teach you the art of watercolor.” “Wait, teach me?” Swirling blinked as a thought clicked in her mind. “Did you make this painting?” At the stallion’s nod, she beamed excitedly. “Ohmygosh, that would be amazing! I’ve always wanted to learn how to do Neighponese watercolor! When can we—” A wooden sword quickly fell on her head, making her squeal as she backed off to rub at where the stallion had whacked her. “First lesson of self-defense,” he said, his voice much more stern than before. “You must learn self-control. You have already failed the first test.” “I… what?” Another whack on her head. “Do not question your sensei unless asked to!” “Um… excuse me, Kyoshi?” Summer said, tapping the stallion’s shoulder. “Could you please stop hitting my friend? She’s just a little enthusiastic about art.” The stallion, Kyoshi, scoffed. “That is no excuse. She must learn discipline as all my students shall. If she cannot control herself, my teachings will mean nothing to her, and I will have wasted my time!” ‘I like his practicality,’ Nevermore confessed. Swirling rolled her eyes at her partner’s comment. She wanted to say something, but didn’t want to risk getting smacked by the old stallion’s wooden sword again. This Kyoshi guy was certainly not going to make this easy for her. He probably even lied about those watercolor lessons, too. Would this whole “learning karate” thing even be worth it in the end? Summer’s gaze darted to Swirling before she looked back at the old stallion. “Your flyer said you can teach us how to defend ourselves. Are you just gonna hit us with sticks if we don’t do as you say?” He turned a disapproving frown her way. “Of course not! My teachings are to instill confidence. They are for those who would seek to better themselves, to rise above the mire of the everyday and improve their Self.” Swirling tilted her head and dared a question. “Their Self?” “A lesson if you are to become my students.” He looked between them for a moment, scrutinizing them rather coldly. “And who are the two of you who have sought me out?” Summer gave him a bring smile. “I’m Summer Streams, a waitress and aspiring actress.” “I’m Swirling Line, a waitress and an aspiring artist.” “Hmph. That much I have reasoned, child.” Again, he looked at them, and his eyes narrowed some. “And why have you sought me out? To learn my ways so that you can use them to further your own ambitions?” The two shook their heads but Swirling spoke up, “No. We just want to learn to defend ourselves.” She flinched as Kyoshi moved, fearing the prospect of getting whacked on the head again. Instead, he simply turned and sat down on the floor beneath the watercolor painting. Summer lowered her gaze. “We were mugged not long ago, and I don’t want to go through that again.” The old pegasus nodded in understanding, though he didn’t lose his stern glare. “Many have already come for my lessons,” he said. “I have taken many students in my life. Few can stand to last through my training. Do you believe you have what it takes to endure?” ‘He’s bluffing,’ came Nevermore’s inevitable two bits. Resisting the urge to groan in response, Swirling stepped forward. “We wouldn’t be here if we didn’t think we could handle it.” She jabbed lightly at Summer’s side. “Besides, this was her idea. Someone has to make sure she doesn’t goof it up or chicken out.” “Speak for yourself, Swirl,” Summer replied with a smirk. “I plan to see this thing through. You’re welcome to call it quits anytime, though.” Swirling grinned at the unicorn. “Well, now that you’ve said that, I simply can’t back down from this, can I?” Kyoshi stroked at his beard thoughtfully as he regarded the two. “A pair of close friends? Something to be admired and nurtured.” He rested his hoof to the floor again before his visage turned stern once more. “I would like to see what the two of you are capable of.” “W-what do you want us to do?” Swirling stuttered. There was something in his tone that set her hackles to rising. “I would have you spar against me.” The two mares blinked at his statement and glanced at each other, Summer appearing considerably more nervous than Swirling. He clearly didn’t stutter, but… “Really?” Swirling asked. “I mean, I get that you’re a karate master and all, but you’re… well…” “Old?” Kyoshi finished for her. “True. But looks can be deceptive. Do not let your eyes fool you.” Again the two mares shared a look before Summer sighed and stood. “I’ll go first.” Swirling blinked and looked at her friend. She never once thought that the unicorn would be so bold as to willingly step up to fight. ‘Again, you could learn something from her.’ ‘If I could, I would slap you.’ Kyoshi looked the unicorn over a moment before he stood and adopted an upright stance. Standing on his hind legs, he made a motion with a forehoof. Sweating, Summer gulped. “C-can I use my magic?” “You are a unicorn, are you not?” She spread her forelegs in a stance, and her horn started to glow with its blue-tinted aura. The two stood staring at each other, Summer sweating and clearly on edge, while Kyoshi watched her with a calm gaze. Swirling saw her friend tense up before Summer shot a ray of energy from her horn. Kyoshi dodged to the side and leaped ahead, bringing his wooden sword out in a slash. Summer yelped and dived out of the way and turned back to blast him again… only to find he was gone. “Huh?” Swirling winced as the wooden sword smacked her friend on the back of the head, as the pegasus had leaped with Summer and landed behind her. With a grunt, Summer fell to the floor and rubbed at her head. “A unicorn who relies solely upon their magical abilities is a foe easily predicted. You, child, must learn to use all of what you were born with.” He tapped his sword against her legs and barrel. “Your body is as much a weapon as your magic, and, sadly, you have not developed either.” Summer lowered her head. “I want to learn…” “That is good.” He turned his gaze to Swirling. “And now you, child. As a pegasus, I expect agility and precision.” He again took his stance, his wooden sword held behind him. “Well, I am an artist,” she joked. “I’m pretty good with that precision thing.” Kyoshi only scoffed in response. “We shall see, child.” Without warning, he lunged at her. Yelping in surprise, Swirling managed to jump in the air, avoiding a swing from the stallion’s practice weapon, only for him to follow her with a rising, vertical swipe. She flew to the side, but the sword clipped her wing, throwing her balance off and making her tumble into the floor, landing upside-down with a groan. “Ouch…” she moaned as she pulled herself up into a sitting position, but was quickly faced with the tip of Kyoshi’s wooden weapon. “Uh… best two out of three?” “You deflect a loss with humor,” Kyoshi commented as he put his weapon away. “A sign of one who has faced failure many times before. And you move as though you have fought previously, though without discipline or training.” Swirling gave a nervous chuckle at that. “R-really? That so?” Kyoshi raised an eyebrow at her stammered question, but didn’t press the subject, much to Swirling’s immense relief. The last thing she needed was this guy piecing together just how she knew how to fight. ‘Less like fighting, more like… flailing helplessly and getting a lucky hit in once or twice.’ ‘I hate you.’ “I will take the two of you on as my students,” Kyoshi announced. “I expect you both to take all of my teachings as seriously as you regard your own chosen professions.” He reached into a chest in the corner of the room, and pulled out a pair of well-folded karate uniforms. “Take these gis. You are to wear them whenever you come to this dojo. Do not enter unless you have them on. Am I understood?” Taking the uniforms, both mares nodded. ‘A gi, huh?’ Swirling thought. ‘I was wondering what these things were actually called.’ A giggle caused her to turn to see Summer Streams already wiggling into her gi, the clean, white outfit seeming to make her vibrant green mane that much brighter. When she got it on and tied the white belt in place with her magic, she immediately struck a pose that might’ve been ripped from some movie she must’ve seen. “How do I look?” the unicorn asked as she performed several faux kicks, which Kyoshi rolled his eyes at, though he made no attempt to stop her. “Like someone from a cheap chop-chop movie.” Swirling deadpanned. Summer glowered at her. “You’re not funny, Swirling!” She gave her mane an indignant toss. “I make this look good.” Swirling gave a good-humored laugh. “Come on, Bruce Neigh. I think we’ve taken up enough of Kyoshi’s time for—” “Nonsense! Your training begins now!” Both mares blinked before giving each other a nervous glance. “Uh, what do you want us to do?” He turned without a word into the next room and came back shortly with two cans of paint. Two old paintbrushes sticking out from under the caps. “You both will begin your training by—” He flicked the lids off. “—painting the fence that surrounds my property. Remember to do so in even strokes, both upward and downward.” He turned a stern look at Summer. “No magic either.” “B-but…” Summer stammered out. “What does this have to do with—” She was answered with a whack to the head. “If you wish to learn, then do as I instruct you!” he ordered with no uncertainty in his tone. Swirling watched Summer rub at her head with a nervous look. “So… when do you want us to start?” He turned his glance to her and gave his wooden sword a bounce. “Why are you still here? Go!” With matching squeaks, the two grabbed the buckets of paint and dashed out of the dojo, nearly tripping over each other in their haste. As the two ran, Kyoshi watched them from his doorway, eyeing the two while softly rubbing at his beard. Swirling Line did seem to have experience fighting, although minimal, and her friend even less. Still, there was potential in them both. His eyes settled on Swirling as she began working almost frantically on the fence. “A most interesting encounter.” He rubbed at his beard again, humming to himself. “Yes, they will make excellent pupils.” -o- Hours had passed at a dismal crawl while Swirling and Summer worked on the fence, the sun having set about a half an hour ago. Summer occasionally crinkled her nose at the smell of the paint, which got a small laugh out of Swirling, though the novelty of it wore out rather quickly. Boredom had begun to take root in both of them. Even Swirling, the one who enjoyed painting more than anything else, couldn’t ignore the mind-numbing tedium that they were being forced to work through. With a groan, the pegasus lowered her brush into the paint bucket and looked around. To her dismay, they still had at least half the fence to paint completely. It was enough to make her want to slam her head into a wall in hope something entertaining would happen as a result. She glanced back at Kyoshi, who sat by the koi pond drinking what might’ve been herbal tea or something. She fought off the desire to yell at him to paint his own damn fence, but dared not risk another smack with that accursed sword of his. When he looked at her, she quickly turned her attention back to the fence and continued painting. “We are officially learning nothing,” Summer complained, though she didn’t stop her own painting. “I’m starting to think this was a bad idea after all.” “You’re telling me.” Swirling stretched her back, which gave off a series of wince-inducing pops. “Ow… my back.” Summer cringed. “That hurt me, Swirling.” Swirling groaned, looking around the property, lit by a number of paper lanterns. “I just wish I knew the point of this! I thought we came here to learn how to fight, and all we’re doing is chores. Next thing he’s going to ask us to do is his laundry.” “Which you will not get to if that fence is not done!” Kyoshi yelled from his comfortable seat. “Remember, even strokes upwards and downwards.” An eye twitching, Swirling growled. “I do not like this guy.” Summer gulped and picked up her brush again. “Come on, Swirling. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can take a break. Maybe this is just part of the payment for his classes?” Swirling scoffed, but said nothing else as she got back to work. The very instant her brush touched the fence, however, an explosion rang out from what was certainly not too far away. Both mares jumped back in surprise, while Kyoshi gave little to no response whatsoever, only continuing to sip his tea with a mildly annoyed sigh. “Wh-wh-what was that!?” Summer sputtered out in shock. ‘Definitely trouble,’ Nevermore stated. Swirling gave a slight nod. “I’m gonna go see what happened.” “Wait, what!? Swirl, there could be trouble!” “Well… someone has to tell the police what’s happening! Stay here, Summer. I’m just taking a peek!” Not waiting to hear her friend’s protest, she took wing and flew above and past the fence. When she was out of sight, she shed her gi and hid it on a rooftop by a vent, then immediately shifted into Raven form before once again taking flight towards the source of the explosion. There, she spotted numerous ponies fleeing the scene, with one earth pony apparently laughing as a hole in a building burned. “Now that’s what I’m talking about!” the stallion cackled. “Who wants some, huh!?” Landing on a lamppost in a pose she’d seen in a comic book once, she said, “No one likes a pony who picks fights, you know.” The stallion spun to face her, his messy white mane briefly obscuring his face. His gray coat and lightning bolt cutie mark struck the mare as vaguely familiar. “You!” he growled venomously. “That’s me,” she answered as she tilted her head to the side. “Have we met before?” His eyes widened before a deep scowl erupted across his face. “Wha… yes! We have!” The Raven blinked in mild confusion. “I’m a Red!” She tilted her head to the other side. “You’re gonna have to be a lot more specific. I’ve beaten up a ton of you guys.” She stopped a moment. “Which is probably really literal by now.” He choked back a growl. “You interrogated me about that racket we had on 10th Street!” It took a moment for it to click, but when she did, she conked herself on the forehead. “Oh, now I remember you!” The white-maned stallion grinned. “Finally, we’re getting some—” “You were the guy who cried when I finished interrogating you!” He cringed, snarling under his breath and glaring spitefully at the mare. “Oh, I’m gonna kill the living crap outta you!” She smirked widely, lifting her chin at him. “I don’t think that worked out so well for you the last time you tried it.” With an enraged yell, the stallion threw out a punch. What flew out at the Raven caught her off guard enough that probably would’ve killed her if the stallion’s aim was better. A beam of lightning-like energy blasted out of one of the gauntlets on his front hooves, which she only now took notice of. She felt the heat from the blast as it flew past her, striking a building and shattering the wall like a hammer to glass. ‘Move!’ she heard Nevermore scream at her, getting her to leap upwards just in time to avoid another blast. “What in the heck is that!?” she shouted as she landed roughly on the ground. The stallion smirked. “Like ‘em? They’re my new toys. They use the wearer’s internal magic to fire bolts of lightning. These babies are military grade to boot! Way better than my old ones!” ‘Line, I’d suggest taking this one seriously. I’ll work on building a defense against those weapons, but in the meantime, don’t get hit!’ ‘Like I need to be told that!’ She let out a gasp as she dived beneath another zap, and ducking into the nearest shadow, hoping that she could sneak up on the lightning-throwing stallion and catch him by surprise. That plan was foiled when he tossed another bolt, brightening the area enough to force her out of what was once a shadow on the ground. “Ha! Ain’t escaping that way again!” He smashed his hooves together and punched the ground, the arc of electricity splitting the pavement as it made its way towards her. With another startled gasp, she dove to the side, the energy singing off the bare tip of her tail. Scrambling like a cat out of water, she dove ahead of another blast as it soared past her. “Quit runnin’, ya wimp! Why don’t you fight me like a stallion?” He rushed in, apparently tiring of trying to hit her at range, and swung a hoof for her face. With a high yelp, she ducked under the attack. “I’m a mare, genius!” she proclaimed as she sent her own hoof towards his face. He had no chance to dodge she landed the blow, knocking him away several feet, but he didn’t go down. The stallion glared at her with the utmost venom as he wiped a gloved hoof across his mouth. “Tch, you even hit like one.” He sneered after spitting. “Let me tell ya somethin’, this is how you hit a stallion!” When he lunged forward again with a brutal haymaker, Swirling brought her own hoof back, and the two punches collided. Swirling felt a tingle of pain run up her foreleg, and even with the Raven’s protection, the force of their punches was enough for her to grit her teeth to keep from outright yelling. ‘Gah! Earth ponies and their stupid super muscles! It’s not fair!’ ‘You have wings, don’t you? Use them!’ ‘Why am I having trouble fighting him, Nevermore!? I thought you said your magic makes me stronger!’ ‘Because I’m using most of that magic to keep you safe from those gloves! Duck!’ Her eyes widened as she just barely managed to dive under a heavy swing. She sprung out from her duck and head-butted the stallion in the barrel, launching him through a nearby cart’s door. It only took a second for him to retaliate, sending out another blast from one of his gauntlets, which struck the Raven right in the chest, forcing her off her hooves and into the concrete wall of a nearby building, collapsing the loosened bricks around her. She felt her legs shake underneath her and her jaw clench tightly. ‘Sweet Celestia, that hurts. Nevermore, are you okay?’ The spirit groaned inside her mind. ‘Oh, sure, never better. I love the feeling of bricks raining down on me. I think I’ve had enough of this. He might have new tricks, but so do you. Use them.’ “Roger that,” Swirling muttered as she got back onto her hooves. Across the street, the stallion (whose name still managed to escape her) snarled as he pulled himself out of the wrecked cart, glowering at her spitefully. “By the way, think you can tell me your name? I can’t quite recall.” “Wha- My name is Jolt!” he screamed furiously. “How in the hell could you forget that!? It’s only one syllable!” “Well, you’re apparently a very forgettable pony.” She smirked. “At least you’re not the Frog.” He blinked. “Who?” With a flap of her wings, she closed the distance on him during that moment of confusion and slugged him across the muzzle—sending him bouncing away into a dumpster. “Way too easy,” she said with no small amount of cockiness. Jolt growled as he got back to his hooves, and the two turned sharply at the sounds of sirens approaching. With a scowl, he shot her a vehement glare. “This ain’t over, birdbrain! Not by a long shot!” Smashing his front hooves together, he struck the ground and caused a brilliant explosion of light. Hissing at the sudden flash, Swirling averted her eyes, a quick surge of pain rearing up all over her body and vanishing just as quickly. When the glow subsided, she found Jolt was nowhere to be found. “He really likes those new toys of his.” Her ears swiveled as she heard the approaching sirens and hoofsteps of the police force. “Uh-oh. Better high-tail it out of here.” Taking off, she soared through the alleyways until she came upon the building where she’d hidden her gi. She looked around to make sure no one was watching and dropped her Raven form to return to her natural violet and white coloring. She quickly slipped into her uniform and galloped back for Kyoshi’s dojo. “I hope Summer’s not worried about me. I did say I would be right back.” ‘I’d worry more about Kyoshi’s reaction. He never did give you permission to drop what you were doing.’ ‘Oh please. He’s my instructor, not my master. He won’t complain too much.’ -o- Bright lights swirled around her eyes as Kyoshi sheathed his wooden sword again. “You left without permission, and left your partner to tend to the task on her own. This shows a lack of discipline that you are in desperate need of, child.” Swirling groaned as she rubbed her hooves over the slowly developing welt on top of her head. Summer had left a few minutes ago, per Kyoshi’s request, leaving the pegasus to the questionable mercy of the old stallion, who showed more disappointment than outright frustration. All Swirling wanted right now was to go home as rest her poor head before this crazy old coot split it open like a watermelon, but no such freedom was bestowed upon her. “As punishment,” Kyoshi said sternly, “you are to scrub the floors of the dojo until they are completely and utterly spotless. I do not want to see a single speck of dust, dirt, or grime. Am I clear?” “B-but I have work tomorrow!” she cried in near desperation. “You should have thought of that before sneaking off the way you did,” he retorted, pointing toward door to the hallway. “The bucket and scrub brush are in the closet down the hall. You’d best get started soon.” And with that, he turned and left her to her devices. ‘Well, don’t say I didn’t warn you,’ said Nevermore. ‘Oh, shut up.’ -o- Jolt growled as he tossed his gauntlets to the wall in frustration. He was so close! If the cops hadn’t shown up when they did, he would’ve had the Raven’s head on a plate by now! Not to mention he’d be rolling in cash! “Damn bird-freak!” he howled in spite, completely assured that no one would hear him. He’d taken refuge in an old building that the Reds had once used as a hideout, assuming no one would think to look for him here. “Next time! Next time, I’ll break her in two! With my bare hooves if I have to!” Trotting over to his briefly discarded gauntlets and slipping them back on, he sneered. “And I’ll make it slow…” Sparks jumped from his gauntlets as his sneer became venomous grin. “And I know just what to do.” He’d have his win yet. First, though, he’d have to find him some help. Author's Note Theme of Jolt:
