The Shadow of Equestria

Chapters

Shadow of the Night
A Thief in Ponyville
Bitter Apples
Fell Happenings
First Blood
All in the Past Now
The Taller They Stand
Death's Shadow

Shadow of the Night

Evening.

As the sun began to set and the moon began to rise, peace began to settle over Canterlot. Merchants closed up their shops, ponies returned to their homes, and a quiet stillness hung in the air.

Down the main street, a small group of young mares was walking hastily. As they reached the end of the street, the one in the lead, a purple alicorn, turned to beckon the rest of them forward.

"C'mon, girls!" Called out Twilight. "We're gonna be late!"

Rainbow Dash huffed. "Twilight, we still have half an hour. Besides, it's not like it's that important."

"Actually, darling, the midsummer night's performance is one of the most cherished traditions in Canterlot." Replied Rarity. "Besides, all proceeds go to charity, and it greatly helps the event when more ponies show up."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "Let's just get this over with," She sighed.

...

The friends arrived with plenty of time to spare. The old opera house was a major landmark in Canterlot, and was dated back to the original reign of the two sisters. Twilight and her companions quickly found their seats and settled in. After a little while, the performance began. It was an alternate version of the Hearth's Warming Eve story Twilight had performed once.

As the performance went on, Rainbow Dash slowly grew more and more bored. She slouched down in her chair and let her eyes wander around the theater.

"Huh," she said.

Twilight looking over to shush her, followed the cyan mares gaze. Standing at the door were two large ponies, who seemed to be locking the way out. As Twilight turned to the other doors, she saw similar scenes. "Somethings not right here..." Her voice trailed off.

BANG!

Twilight jumped and looked to the source of the sound. Standing on stage was a unicorn with a well kept mane and coat. He had just fired a projectile from his horn. It had struck the ceiling and shaken loose large chunks of debris. The audience screamed as huge boulders fell into their midst.

Twilight leaped up, her horn already blazing. Around her, she saw her friends do the same. But as they were about to intervene, they were each seized from behind. The same beefy ponies she had seen barricade the doors had her caught. They quickly tied her up, and dragged her to the stage with her friends. The unicorn looked down.

"The Elements of Harmony," he spoke in a raspy voice. He looked down at them. "It looks like I've got some real bargaining power with the princesses after all."

...

Outside, the blast had shaken the street. A few guards had gathered outside the hall, but found the doors stuck. Suddenly, a voice called out from the theater.

"We have the Elements of Harmony! If anypony attempts to enter, we will kill them! Now, unless the princess herself comes down to hear our demands in five minutes, we will start killing hostages!"

Quickly, a small group of guards ran off to fetch Celestia. The rest were so occupied with trying to secure the situation, that they didn't notice a shadow vanish through one of the buildings windows.

...

Eldritch Blast stood triumphantly. Poised on the stage with crowds of ponies staring up at him in terror, with Equestria's mightiest heroes laying helpless at his feet. This was as it should be. And pretty soon, the princess would be forced to give him everything he could ever want.

As he contemplated his victory, the lights flickered. Then, all at once, they flashed out. He looked around angrily. He looked at one of his henchmen and motioned him backstage.

"Go see if a fuse blew or something," he said. "Come back once you fix it." The pony nodded and went to the fuse box. Eldritch waited for him to return for a minute. Then two minutes. When more than three minutes had passed, he sent another pony to check. That pony did not return either. Eldritch grew nervous.

"If anypony is in here, we will kill one of the elements!" He shouted out. Almost in response, a trapdoor used to remove props opened underneath one of his guards, who dropped with a startled cry. Eldritch heard him land, then heard another thump. No more sound came.

The three remaining guards huddled into a small circle around the prisoners. Just then, there was a small thud somewhere backstage.

"Get him!" Shouted Eldritch at his guards, who rushed back into the darkness. There was silence for a moment, then there came a series of loud screams. Eldritch shivered. All of the sound came from his guards. Then, all noise faded and the quiet was back.

Eldritch backed over to the heap of mares tied up. He lit up his horn, ready to fire a blast at anything that came near. He turned to face the elements. He reeled back in surprise at what he saw.

Standing in front of him was a pegasus of average height and build. A dark cloak and hood covered his body, and there was a piece of cloth blocking all of his face but his eyes, which glowed green menacingly. In a sheath attached to his leg, there was a long dagger.

Eldritch recoiled, but quickly regained himself and lowered his horn. "Take this!" He cried, and fired a blast of magic.

The pegasus dodged the blast with unnatural speed, and in the blink of an eye stood behind Eldritch. Before the unicorn could so much as gasp, a force knocked out his rear legs, driving him to the ground. As all the air was let out of him, he felt the stranger seize him from behind and put him into a choke hold, which slowly tightened.

Twilight stared in shock as their rescuer slowly choked the pony who had been minutes away from killing them.

"Wait!" She cried out.

The pegasus stopped, and locked his eyes with hers. She swallowed. "Please," she said. "Don't kill him. Nopony should ever kill another pony, no matter what the cause."

The stranger stared at her for a moment, then released his grip. The unicorn began to gasp weakly for breath. Then the pegasus walked over to Twilight and her friends. Twilight's eyes widened in fear as he drew his dagger, which gleamed eerily. He rose it up and Twilight closed her eyes.

She opened them again after a moment. The pony had sliced the ropes binding her, and proceeded to do the same to her friends.

Twilight looked up at the pony. "Thank you," she said. The stranger turned to leave.

Just then, the door broke down. A flood of royal guards surged in, weapons drawn.

"Everypony get down!" One of them shouted. The mysterious pegasus tensed up. One of the guards noticed him.

"Get that pony!" He shouted. Several guards turned and charged. The pegasus let them sieze him by the arms. Twilight looked on with a startled expression.

"Wait!" She cried out. "He didn't do anything! He saved us!" The guards turned to look at her.

"I'm sorry, princess," one of them said. "But this pony is no hero. We've been tracking him for months. He's a thief, and probably the most wanted pony in Equestria."

Twilight's jaw dropped, as her gaze shifted to her rescuer. Her friends looked on as well. He held his face high, and met their gaze without flinching. Then, he turned his head as the guards slowly led him away.

...

Celestia sipped her tea. She had been about to retire for the night after lowering the sun, when a guard had burst in and told her that the princess of friendship had been taken prisoner. She had went immediately to the theater, only to discover that a common thief had rescued her pupil. The same thief now sat in front of her, with a guard on either side.

Celestia studied the ponies face. He was a pegasus, with a dark grey coat and a dark yellow mane. His eyes were an acid green, and bore an eery resemblance to the changelings. His cutie mark was that of two keys, one gold and one silver, crossed over each other. He returned her gaze with a look that betrayed nothing of his thoughts. The princess waited another moment before speaking.

"My guards tell me that you are a thief. Not just any thief, but the one who they have been tracking for months. By all rights, you should have stayed as hidden as you could. Yet instead of doing that, you jumped right into a hotbed of guard activity, just to rescue a few theater goers. Now, why did you do that?"

The pegasus said nothing. Celestia watched him for a while longer, then spoke again.

"Silence won't help you. I am not punishing you; I am simply curious for your motives."

Again, the pegasus said nothing. Celestia frowned slightly.

"Very well," she said. "I suppose you are not interested in telling me anything. However, I still require answers about what happened tonight. And as all the other suspects have been hospitalized by you, I will have to try a different approach." Her horn began to glow. "I am going to simply see some of your memories. I promise I will not look into anything personal, but I do need information."

Celestia felt her conscious slip away, as she detached her mind from her body. She slid into the head of the pegasus. Once inside, she began to look around.

An inky blackness surrounded everything. The princess could not make out anything. "Very impressive," she called out. "There are few ponies who could hide their minds from me. But I must ask you to disclose the information I need. Otherwise, the force which I will need to use could permanently damage your mind."

A voice echoed, coming from everywhere and nowhere all at once. "You want my memories?" It said. "See if you can take them!"

Suddenly, Celestia felt a flood of emotion. Pain, suffering and sorrow threatened to engulf her. She felt her control begin to slip, then she gasped. She jolted forward in her chair as her mind returned to her body. The guards were looking at her nervously. She looked at the thief. His expression had not changed, yet know she felt that she could see read more of it. Was that pain in his eyes? She quickly regained her composure.

"Captain," she called out. A pony hurried forward. "I have decided on this ponies sentence."

She did not break her gaze on the pony. "Send him to Ponyville. I will send word to my pupil, Twilight Sparkle. She and her friends will teach this pony to better his ways."

"Yes, your majesty." The captain snapped a salute, and then left.

"Will you at least tell me your name, before you leave?" Asked Celestia.

The thief looked at her. "My name is Stratus, your majesty." He said.

As he left, Celestia fell back into her chair, wondering just what she had sent her pupil into.

A Thief in Ponyville

Twilight Sparkle stood on the train platform. She glanced up at the clock every few seconds, nervously checking to see if the train was on time. She began to pace. Spike, standing nearby, watched with concern.

"Twilight, calm down!" He finally said. "Why are you so nervous anyways?"

Twilight stopped pacing and stared at him. "Why are you NOT so nervous?" She retorted. "The princess herself has asked me to greet somepony at the station, I don't even know who it is, and you aren't nervous?!" Some steam flew out of her nostrils.

Spike shifted uncomfortably. "Um..."

Spike was saved from Twilight's glare by a loud whistle. They both looked up as the train rolled to a stop in the station. The doors rolled open and ponies began walking out. Twilight craned her head up above the crowd to see better.

"Spike, help me look!" She said, using her magic to levitate Spike onto her head. The two of them looked around. Finally, all the passengers exited the train. Twilight sat down in confusion.

"I assume you're Twilight Sparkle?"

Twilight jumped. Her head spun around, before her gaze settled on a pony directly next to her. "Where did you come from?" She sputtered. The stallion grinned.

"Celestia sent me," he said, dodging Twilight's question. "Apparently, you're supposed to be rehabilitating me and teaching me about friendship."

"Um, yes," she said. "My name is Twilight Sparkle. What's your name?"

The stallion took on a slightly defensive look, then replied with a hint of wariness creeping into his voice. "My name is Stratus," he said finally.

"You look familiar," said Twilight. "Have I seen you before?"

The stallion said nothing.

"Wait," Twilight exclaimed in realization, "You're that pony from the theater! The one that saved me and my friends!" Stratus nodded. "Why didn't you say anything? You saved me and my friends lives!"

"It wasn't some generous act, if that's what you're wondering." Stratus snapped. Twilight recoiled for a moment. Stratus took a deep breath to calm down. "You and your friends are the only real defense Equestria has against most forces. If some crazy pony kills you, then where does that leave me the next time some demon tries to kill us?"

Twilight felt her mouth hanging open. She shut it quickly. "Oh...okay."

Spike noticed the tension and spoke up. "How about we head back to the castle, Twilight? We can show Stratus where he's staying."

Twilight looked gratefully at Spike. "Yes, that sounds good. C'mon!" They all began walking toward the distant castle.

As they walked, Twilight tried to strike up a conversation with Stratus. "So, where do you live? Do you have any friends or family?"

Stratus looked at her sideways. "I live where we met. And no, I don't have friends. And I would rather not talk about my family."

"Okay," Twilight said as conversation was cut off. "Is there anything that you'd like to tell us about yourself?"

"No."

...

"And this is your room, where you'll be staying!" Said Twilight. Stratus looked at his room. It was fairly nice, he thought. Much nicer than his own home. There was a large bed in the back corner, with a night stand and a lamp. A bookshelf was pushed up against one wall. Several windows allowed light from the setting sun in. A large circular rug covered the center of the floor.

"Thank you, Ms. Sparkle." He said. Twilight closed the door.

"Now, for the reason you're here." She cheerily said. "Now, I've prepared a list. It has the order of which of my friends you'll meet and when. Tomorrow, it will be Applejack. Spike will show you to Sweet Apple Acres. Applejack will teach you all about honesty."

"Great," Stratus sarcastically remarked. Twilight frowned.

"Is there a problem?" She asked him.

"No," replied Stratus.

"Alright then. I'll wake you up early tomorrow morning, so get your rest!" Twilight called out cheerily as she walked down the hall.

Once she and Spike were outside of Stratus's line of sight, Spike began talking.

"Twilight, is this really such a good idea?" He asked. Twilight quizzically looked at him. "I mean, he's a thief! The guards didn't catch him for months!"

"But he could have still been free!" Twilight retorted. "Think about it, Spike. He was a wanted criminal. He should have been laying low. But he wasn't! He went right into a hotbed of guard activity just to rescue me and my friends! He has good in him, I know it!"

Spike looked unconvinced. "Okay, Twilight. If you're sure that we can trust him. Beside's, what's the worst he can do?"

...

The foal ran through the dark streets. Debris and junk lay scattered about on all sides. He panted heavily, checking behind himself every few seconds to see if his pursuers were still following him. He saw nothing, and stopped to catch his breath, taking a seat on a pile of bricks.

Wham!

The foal went sprawling as a force struck his chest. He shakily pulled himself to his feet, and lifted his head. Surrounding him were three larger foals, with unpleasant grins on their faces. The largest, the one who had just struck him walked over. Stratus weakly held a hoof in front of his face to defend it.

Pow!

The larger foal struck him again, knocking him over. All three attackers laughed. The one hitting him laughed.

"What's the matter?" He jeered. "To scared to fight back? You're only getting what you deserve." He leaned in closer. "Just like what happened to your dad." He reared up to kick the smaller foal.

Stratus didn't know how the brick ended up in his hoof. One second the large foal was about to kick him, the next, that same foal was clutching his cheek. He pulled his hoof away and Stratus could see the damage he had done. The foals cheek was completely smashed in, and several bones were obviously shattered. His eyes were wide with shock.

"Stratus?"

He heard his voice called. He looked around. Nopony was there.

"Stratus!"

With a jolt, Stratus leapt from the bed. His gaze flashed wildly around the room. It finally settled on the small purple dragon.

"Are you okay?" Spike asked, concern creeping into his voice.

Stratus held a hoof against his forehead. "Yeah," he said after a moment. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Okay," Spike said, sounding unconvinced. "Breakfast is ready. You should hurry down and eat up. Twilight wants you down at Sweet Apple Acres in half an hour."

Bitter Apples

Stratus sat at the table. In front of him sat a massive plate of pancakes. They were topped with maple syrup and butter, and steam was still rising off of them. He quickly raised his fork and knife and began eating. Across from him, Twilight looked up and began to speak.

"Alright, here's how today will go," she said. "Spike will take you to Sweet Apple Acres as soon as you finish breakfast. Then, Applejack will spend the day teaching you about honesty. I think that an honest day's work should do the trick. We're running a little behind schedule, so you should hurry and...oh. I see you've finished breakfast."

In the time Twilight had been speaking, Stratus had finished off a plate of pancakes as large as he was. Spike, only a few bites into his own pancakes, stared in shock. "Well," said Twilight, "I guess you were hungry." Stratus looked at her, nodded, then looked over to Spike.

"Shall we go, then?" He said.

"Wh-wh-what!" Spike exclaimed. "I haven't even touched my breakfast yet!"

"But Twilight just said we're behind schedule," Stratus said in a sarcastically innocent voice. "How about this-You just tell me how to get to the farm, I can find my own way, and you two can enjoy breakfast. Everypony wins."

Twilight looked unsure. "I don't know," she said. "Celestia told me that I was to make sure you were always accompanied by somepony. And I'm still not so sure I trust you to wander around Ponyville."

"Honesty's a two way strait, Twilight." Said Stratus. "You need to trust me too." Twilight shifted uncomfortably.

"Well... Okay. First, you go left down Main Street..."

...

Stratus walked briskly through town. Ponyville felt much more open then Canterlot. He was well aware of how out of place he appeared. Everypony seemed to be smiling, cheerfully going about their business. Nopony seemed suspicious of anypony else at all. Perfect place for a thief. He laughed to himself. These ponies, all so gullible and innocent, completely unaware that any malevolence at all existed. It was like they lived in a bubble, safe from all the worries of the world.

He noticed a mother scolding one of her children. His expression darkened for a moment, before he turned away. No sense brooding on the past.

As he was walking, he saw a pony a little ways off. She looked very familiar. She had a bright pink mane, and a coat to match. Her head turned to look at him. As she saw him, her eyes went wide and she let out a loud gasp. Then, she rocketed off right past him, leaving his head spinning.

Then he recalled where he had seen her. She was one of the ponies on the stage that he'd saved. He wondered briefly where she was going, then shook his head. He had an orchard to get to. He turned down a street.

The apple farm loomed up in front of him. The bright red farm house stood in stark contrast to the bright blue sky behind it. He could see miles of apple trees, and he knew that they continued much farther then he could see. After taking a moment to take in the sights, he started forward again, passing underneath the swinging sign.

...

Applejack was working tirelessly in the fields. Next to her, Big Mac grunted. The two of them had been hard pressed, with Applejack having to juggle being a hero and maintaining the fields. She wiped her brow as she bucked what felt like the thousandth tree.

"Woo," she said. "This is exhausting. Don't you agree, Big Mac?"

"Eeyup," said the massive red pony. He sat down in the shade for a moment to catch his breath. Then his gaze drifted behind Applejack for a moment. Applejack frowned.

"What is it?" She asked. Big Mac simply nodded behind her. She turned around. Coming up the road was a grey pegasus colt. Applejack sighed.

"You just keep working, Big Mac," she said. "I'll handle this." She walked over to the pony, who halted his approach when he noticed her. Applejack shuddered slightly as his icy gaze fixed on her.

"If you're here on account of the Flim-Flam brothers, I already told them we ain't selling. So just head on back to where you came from." The pegasus cocked his head as he studied her.

Stratus sized up the orange pony. She was fairly well built, and clearly was used to hard physical labor. She seemed quite determined to keep off these Flim-Flam characters, whoever they were. Behind her, he noticed the larger one was still going about his work, but still keeping an eye on him. Farm ponies were always the most suspicious, he had learned. He turned back to the mare.

"Good morning, ma'am." He said in as polite a voice as he could muster. "My name is Stratus. Twilight Sparkle sent me here to help, said something about learning honesty?"

Applejack looked him over, then looked behind him. "Isn't Spike supposed to be with you?"

"Caught up eating."

Applejack nodded. It didn't seem unlikely for Spike to be held up eating.

"Come on, then." She said. "Let's get to working." They began walking toward the trees. "I don't suppose you've ever been apple bucking before?"

Stratus shook his head. "No, I can't say that I have."

"I didn't think so. It's relatively simple, but it does have a special touch to it. Just run at that tree right there, and at the last second, just turn around and buck it. Now, don't expect to get it on your first try. Most ponies just miss, or-"

CRACK!

"Oh... I guess you figured out how it works."

Stratus stood next to a tree, a pile of apples around him. He looked around, then looked back with a passive expression. "I appear to have mastered it."

Applejack grinned. "Yep, sugar cube. Looks like ya did. Now c'mon, there's a lot more trees out there."

...

A few hours later, Applejack took a deep breath. The new pony, Stratus, proved to have seemingly inexhaustible stamina and refused to take a break. She looked over, and sure enough, he was still bucking like a mad pony. She trotted over near him, and began to work on the next group of trees.

"So," she asked,"Not to intrude, but what exactly made you turn to robbery? You clearly have other talents. Why not settle for work inside the law?"

Stratus gave no reply, instead choosing to continue his work. Applejack looked back over at him, then resumed her own work.

"Got any family?"

Again, the pegasus said nothing. Applejack grew slightly exasperated.

"Sugarcube," she said, "If you want to learn about honesty, you can't just refuse to answer my questions." Stratus turned to look at her, his gaze holding traces of anger.

"We all have things we don't want to talk about," he said. "I'm not asking you where your parents are, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't ask about mine."

Applejack reared backward. "How did he know that?" She thought to herself. She leaned forward again, angry now.

"Now hold on a second, that ain't fair," she said. "I don't want to know private information like that, I just want to know a little more about you! Is that really intruding!" She watched him for a moment, waiting for a reply, or any hint that he even cared. When none came, she continued. "You know what I think? I think you're scared. Something happened to you, and now you've convinced yourself that if you just wall yourself away from everypony, you'll never feel that pain again. But that won't work! You're just gonna get more and more bitter, until you don't even remember what you got mad about!"

He whipped around to face her, his eyes now blazing with fury. Applejack felt a twitch of fear, and she felt that she had pushed him too far. "You don't know anything about me!" He shouted at her. "You don't know the things that have happened to me, the things that have happened to the ponies I care about!"

As Applejack prepared to deliver her retort, Stratus suddenly raised his head away from her. All rage vanished from his face, replaced by a look of concentration. His ears cocked out, and he held up one hoof for silence. Applejack, in confusion, listened too. Then she heard it. Commotion from back by the farmhouse. "C'mon," she cried, and tore off. Stratus took to the skies a second behind her.

As they neared the farm, Applejack could see the source of the noise. Granny Smith was shouting loudly at two disgustingly familiar unicorns. She began to make out words.

"And there is no way we're selling, that's that!" Granny cried out.

Applejack's heart began to race. Selling what? What were those two up to now?

Once she appeared, the two brothers turned to face her.

"Ah, Applejack, good to see you!" Called out Flam. "Perhaps you will be more reasonable than your grandmother here."

"What's going on? What do you two want?"

"We've come with a very generous offer, very generous indeed!" Sang out Flim. His brother nodded along. "That's right," he said. "We're here to buy the apple farm, and we're willing to pay nearly twice it's worth!" To prove their point, Flam pulled out a bulging sack of bits. "There's plenty more of these!" He said, motioning to the cart behind him. With dismay, Applejack noted that the cart was sunk a few inches into the mud from the weight of the coins.

"Too bad," she said. "We're not selling."

The two unicorns chuckled. "Oh, you don't really have a choice." Said Flim. "You see, we have full right to purchase shares in your farm. The first Apples couldn't afford all the land they needed, so they instituted a system with the city where they leased land to private buyers, who would keep the land in good condition in exchange for a cut of profits. Those same buyers could pay off the land, and become the private owners. So, you see, we can just simply pay enough for all the land and then own it. You may wish to contemplate our generous offer."

Applejacks mouth hung open. "What? We Apples never made that! Right, Granny?" But Granny Smith was shaking her head. "It's true," she said. "That's exactly how we used to run this farm." The two business ponies grinned.

"We'll give you a day to pack up," said Flam. As they turned to leave, they saw a grey pegasus. He was standing in the middle of the path, blocking their exit from the farm. They walked over to him.

"Excuse us, sir," said Flim. "But you seem to be blocking the path. Could you be so kind as to move?" The pony didn't move, instead looking at them.

"So, you two are buying this farm?" He said. His voice indicated that he wasn't asking.

"Correct, my fine sir," said Flam. "But don't worry. You'll still be able to get highest quality apples from Flim-Flam's Orchards!"

Stratus observed the two for a moment, then stepped aside. The two ponies walked right past him, taking the wagon with them. Applejack bit her lip in worry. Applebloom walked out from where she had been watching.

"Sis? We're not gonna lose the farm, are we?" Applejack sighed.

"I don't know what we can do. They're fully within their rights to buy the farm."

"There's nothing you can do."

The Apples looked up in surprise at the sound of Stratus's voice. Applejack stared for a moment, then shouted, "How can you say that! Are you just gonna give up that quick? Don't even put up a fight?" Stratus didn't even flinch at her words. Instead, he turned around and began walking off the farm. Just before he left, Applejack heard him mutter under his breath, "Just being honest."

...

Stratus walked slowly back to Twilight's tree house. What Applejack had said had cut deep. Memories he thought he'd come to terms with resurfaced. He shook his head angrily.

"What right does she have to judge me?" He thought to himself. She has everything! Family, friends, a nice home! She's never felt what I felt!"

Still, a small part of him felt sorry for her. She was close to losing all of that. As he approached Twilight's castle, he stopped. Just inside, he could hear something. The castle was completely dark, but inside he could hear occasional bumps and shuffles. Drawing his dagger, he cautiously pushed through the door. Inside, the hall was pitch black.

Suddenly, all the lights flicked on.

"SURPRISE!"

The hall was filled with ponies. All of them were wearing party hats, and had grins on their faces. Streamers and balloons hung from the ceiling. As Stratus stood in shock, the pink pony he had seen earlier bounced in front of him.

"Welcome to Ponyville!" She sang out. "I'm Pinkie Pie! I saw you walking earlier, remember! So I threw together this party, just for you! What do you think? Do you like it?"

She moved closer, a massive smile on her face. Stratus uncomfortably shifted away.

"It's nice," he said. "Where is Twilight, exactly?"

"Oh, she's here somewhere. She didn't want me to throw this party, can you believe it? She said it would scare you, or something crazy like that."

"Yeah, that's funny," Said Stratus without a hint of humor in his voice, "But do you know where she is? I need to find her."

"Oh, you don't need to do that! C'mon, we can play pin the tail on the pony first!"

"Your friend is going to lose her farm!" Stratus finally shouted out in exasperation. Pinkie stopped her energetic bouncing.

"What?" She said, a hint of concern creeping into her voice. Then she gasped, and raced off. "Oh my gosh!" She shouted. "I need to tell Twilight!" Stratus simply sighed, and took one look around him. The party was nice, but he really had better things to do. He simply walked to his room, shut the door, and decided to try and sleep.

...

"Cock-a-doddle-doo!"

A rooster called out, heralding the approach of dawn. Outside Sweet Apple Acres, The Apples stood with all their belongings. All of Applejack's friends stood nearby. After Stratus had returned to the castle the previous night, Twilight had come over and spent all night trying to find any loophole in the land agreement. But the contract was airtight. Stratus had gone to bed as soon as he got back.

"Well, y'all," said Applejack. "Looks like this is it. I never thought I'd lose the farm like this." She sighed. "Don't know what I'm gonna do know. Gonna be hard to find work."

"Nonsense, darling," Rarity reassured. "There will be plenty of ponies around town who would be more than happy to hire you."

"That's right," said Twilight. "Don't worry, Applejack. We'll help you find work."

Applejack smiled. "Thanks, y'all." She said. "I really appreciate it. It's nice to know I have such good friends."

Just then, they all heard commotion on the road leading in. Looking down the path, they saw a furious Flim and Flam running toward the farm, panting. Their faces were red, and they turned to face Applejack as they got closer.

"All right. Where is it?" Flim practically shouted. Applejack's face turned puzzled.

"Where's what?" She asked.

"You know what!" Screamed Flam. "The money! It's all gone!" The two brothers began to seethe with rage.

"Now hold on, y'all," said Applejack. "What happened? What do ya mean it's gone?"

"Last night, we locked it up in our safe. This morning, when we went to take it out, it was all gone!" Shouted Flam. "The safe was still locked, nothing had been disturbed, but all the money was gone! We know that you stole it to save your farm!"

"Now hold on just a moment," said Applejack. "I was here all night, and my friends can testify. I didn't steal nothing, I swear. I don't know what happened to your money."

Both sides glared at each other. After a few moments, Stratus spoke up and everypony jumped. It was easy to forget he was there.

"You know," he said, "There's this belief that originated in the east. It says that whatever you do to others, you'll have done to yourself. They call it karma. I never really believed it much, but I find that the more I travel, the more it seems to be true."

The two brothers stared at him for a moment in silent shock. Then, without a word, they turned and stalked off down the road. After a moment, Rainbow Dash let out a cheer.

"Yeah!" She shouted. "AJ get's to keep the farm!" At that, all the ponies began cheering. Stratus simply smiled. Twilight turned to face him.

"Stratus," she said, "Did you by any chance break into the Flim-Flam's safe last night?" Stratus gave a look.

"Why, Twilight," he said, "Why would I do that? I barely even know Applejack." He turned away for a moment. "But I'm quite flattered that you would think that I was able to do that. I mean, to pull off that somepony would have to break into a locked house in the night without disturbing the residents, and pick the lock to a sophisticated safe. Then that same pony would have to haul out heavy bags of coin, without making any noise and without disturbing anything in the room. Then they'd have to repeat the process several times, all within about an hour." He smirked. "They'd at least need a lookout."

Twilight looked at him in confusion, then her gaze swung to Spike. She glared accusingly at him. Spike looked away sheepishly.

"And just what were YOU doing last night?" She asked in an accusing tone.

"Um... Reading a comic book?"

Twilight stared at him in exasperation, then groaned and swung away to join her friends. Spike looked up at Stratus.

"So, how did I do on my first heist?" He asked excitedly. Stratus looked at him, then smiled.

"Not bad," he said. "Almost as good as..." Then his voice trailed off. Spike looked at him in confusion.

"Are you all right?" Spike asked. Stratus shook his head.

"...Nevermind. Hang on, I need to go clear my head for a moment." Stratus quickly walked a little ways off. Spike watched him with concern, then turned back to Twilight. Pinkie Pie was in the middle of throwing a surprise party for Applejack, and the cake was just being sliced.

...

Stratus stood a little ways off in the forest. Back at the farmhouse, he could hear the sounds of the party. He knew that he should go back to the rest of them, but at the moment he just wanted to be alone. Holding his head in his hooves, he sighed.

"What's the matter?"

He looked up at the familiar voice. Standing in front of him was a pegasus mare, with a brown coat and a green mane. She smiled at him.

"It's not the same anymore," he said. "Not since you... you know."

The mare sighed. "Stratus, you can't keep punishing yourself over that. It wasn't your fault."

"But it was!" He shouted. "I'm the reason that-"

"Stratus?"

Stratus's head whipped around. Spike had come over, and was now staring at him with concern. "What's going on?"

Stratus looked around. The mare had vanished, with no trace she had ever existed. "I'm fine. Just... just talking to myself." Spike nodded, clearly unconvinced.

"O-kay," he said. "Why don't you come back into the farmhouse? You can have some cake before your lesson for today." Spike began leading Stratus over toward the barn. As they walked, Spike looked at the pegasus.

And for the first time, he realized just how haunted his expression really was.

Fell Happenings

Stratus and Spike walked into the barn. Inside, Pinkie Pie had once again pulled party supplies from seemingly nowhere and decorated the interior. Streamers and balloons hung up in the rafters, confetti littered the floor, and a massive triple-decker cake sat on a table in the center.

The Apples, along with all their friends, were talking and laughing in the middle of the room. As the pony and the dragon entered, Applejack looked up. Upon seeing Stratus and Spike, she broke into a smile and walked over.

"Twilight told me what y'all did," she said. She shifted uncomfortably. "Listen, I know I said some things that I probably shouldn't have. I'm sorry about being a little nosy about your past."

"Don't worry about it," replied Stratus. He forced himself to smile. Applejack smiled back at him.

"Just out of curiosity," she said, "Where did you hide all the money? Flim and Flam are definitely gonna be looking for it, and if it's somewhere too suspicious, well..."

Stratus looked at her for a moment, then chuckled. "Like I told Twilight," he said, "I had nothing to do with that. But I'm sure that whoever did would hide the money pretty well. I wouldn't worry about it too much."

...

In the Everfree Forest, a massive green dragon slumbered. A small smile was on it's face. It's hoard had been greatly increased when a pony and another dragon had shown up and simply chucked several bags of gold into it's cave. They had left without saying a word. With a pleased groan, it rolled over on top of it's new wealth.

...

"So, Stratus."

Stratus's flashback was interrupted by the sound of Twilight's voice. The alicorn was standing next to him, along with Rarity. "Once this party's over, I want you to go over to Rarity's shop with her. She'll be teaching you about generosity." Stratus nodded without a word, then walked over to the cake. Twilight and Rarity watched him leave, then turned back to one another.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come?" Twilight asked with concern. "I'm still not sure if we can trust Stratus around all those gems. I could just pop over and cast a few anti-theft spells." But Rarity shook her head.

"Twilight, dear," she said. "I'll be fine. And beside's, how can we truly say that we trust him if we keep him under lock and key? After all, he helped Applejack, didn't he?"

"You're right," agreed Twilight. "I'm just a bit nervous. I mean, the only way he could think of to help Applejack was thievery. He's clearly not reformed. And of all of us, you probably have the most valuable goods..."

Rarity smiled. She could tell that Twilight was disguising concern for her friend as concern for her goods. "Twilight, you know I can take care of myself." She said calmly. Twilight opened her mouth to retort, but Rarity cut her off. "Ah, ah, ah! No buts!" Rarity said. "Now come along. I simply cannot pass up this magnificent cake!" And with that, she pulled Twilight over to the table.

...

Back at her shop, Rarity looked over at her newest student. She had only remained at the party a short time after her discussion with Twilight. Directly after she left, she had led Stratus to her shop. The former thief had surprised her with his exceptionally quick learning, and before long he was able to run a sewing machine almost as well as her!

Smiling to herself, Rarity turned back to the dress she was working on. It was a custom order from Sapphire Shores, made from white silk and studded with clear crystals cut as prisms. When the light caught them, tiny rainbows were flung about in every direction. Stratus was working on filling several of the smaller orders she had been having difficulty completing.

Stratus, for his part, worked diligently, speaking not a word as he operated the machine. Rarity, remembering what Applejack had told her about his outburst, had kept quiet. Finally, she could stand the silence no longer.

"So, Stratus," she began. Stratus turned to face her, taking a break from the machine.

"What?" He asked.

"I was just curious about you," she said. Stratus opened his mouth to retort, but she cut him off. "I know, you don't like talking about your past, but please. It will all be easier to bear if you just tell me what's wrong."

Stratus stood still for a moment, opened his mouth, then closed it. After a second, he turned around and walked out. "I need some more fabric," he called back over his shoulder, a hint of irritation in his voice. Rarity frowned, then returned to her own work.

"He'll have to tell some pony..." she muttered to himself. "Or that secret is going to eat him alive."

...

Stratus grit his teeth as he scanned the shelves. What did she know! She had no right to ask about his past. Why couldn't they all just leave him alone?

Couldn't they see that this was for the best?

Looking through the cloth, he selected one that looked about the right color. He took it in his teeth and gave it a pull. The cloth did not budge. Frowning, he took a harder tug. The cloth slid out, along with a small filly on top of it. Stratus dropped the cloth in surprise. The filly gave him a meek smile.

"Um... oops. Sorry, sir." Stratus looked down at her.

"Who are you?"

"Oh, my name is Sweetie Belle!" She cheerfully called out. "Me and my friends are trying to get our cutie marks in hiding." Just as she finished talking, two more fillies burst into the room.

"Aha!" One of them called out. "Found you!"

"Darn!" Shouted Sweetie Belle. "Guess none of us are getting our cutie marks in hiding."

"Yeah," they all sighed. Just then, the two new fillies noticed Stratus.

"Hey, who are you?" Asked the pegasus. As Stratus was opening his mouth to answer, the earth pony shouted out, "Wait a minute, you're that pony that saved our farm!"

"Really?" Asked the other two. Then, they all crowded around Stratus, clamoring questions faster than he could keep up.

"How'd you do it?"

"What are you doing in Ponyville?"

"How'd you get your cutie mark?"

At that last question, they all stopped and looked up at him expectantly. Stratus couldn't help but chuckle a little at their antics.

"There are some things about my past that are really left better untold," he explained to them. "Especially to young fillies."

"Well that's just silly!" Shouted the one named Apple Bloom. "You shouldn't hide your past from your friends!" The other two nodded in agreement. Stratus just sighed.

"Look, if I did tell about just SOME of the things that happened in my childhood, you'd wish I never had."

"How can we know if you won't tell us? Maybe it wouldn't seem as bad if you just said it out loud."

Stratus lifted his head a little, then shook it. He looked thoughtful for a moment. Then, picking up the cloth in his mouth, he walked back upstairs.

The three crusaders looked at each other.

"Was it something we said?"

...

Rarity looked up as Stratus entered the room. He walked back over to his work area, and resumed where he had left off. Rarity waited a moment, then turned to look back at her dress.

"It all started before I was even born."

Rarity jumped at the sound of the pegasus' voice. She looked over at him. His eyes were still on the dress. He continued.

"My father was in the royal guard. They say he was a good pony." He snorted. "Sometimes, I wish he'd been cowardly enough just to run. His squad was ambushed near the border. Changelings. His commander was pinned down, about to be killed. He just broke out of the line, pushed through the changelings, and started killing all of them. Everypony always assumed changelings felt nothing. They were wrong." He took a deep breath. "At that moment, they felt fear for the first time. They ran, but not before they-" His voice broke off. He paused a moment before continuing. "When his squad dug his body out of the pile of corpses he made, they could barely tell who it was."

Stratus's voice began to choke a little. Rarity began to move over, but he pushed her away.

"My mother found out the same week she was expected to have me. The grief made her too weak. She died, with me only halfway born. The doctors had to dig me out of her corpse. I was underweight, and they didn't expect me to survive the night. But I did, so I got sent to an orphanage." He shuddered. "I was beaten, starved, and abused. I stayed there a few years. Eventually, I learned how to fight back." He gave a small laugh, with no humor in it. "I was almost a murderer before I even had my cutie mark. I nearly killed a foal with a brick one day. I got no food for the next week, but no pony ever bothered me again. In fact, I don't think they even looked at me."

"Eventually, I ran away. I don't know what the final straw was, but I did. I raised myself on the streets. Learned how to survive." For the first time since the story began, he looked up at Rarity. "That's how I learned everything I know. That's why I was able to save you and your friends. That's why you're all still alive."

For a while, Rarity was speechless. She had always thought of her home as a paradise, a place where all ponies could achieve the same opportunities. But if what this pony was saying were true, everything she believed was wrong. For the first time, she began to question everything she believed about the Princesses, Equestria, even pony kind in general!

"I-I'm sorry," she said. It sounded sad and pathetic compared to what she had just heard, but she couldn't think of what else to say!

"Was there ever anything good in your life?" She finally asked. Stratus looked at her questioningly.

"What do you mean?" Rarity noticed how tired his voice sounded. Like he just wanted to give up.

"Was there ever anything good?" She repeated. "Surely you must have had friends?" Stratus simply snorted. Then he lowered his head, and continued in a quiet voice. Rarity had to lean closer to hear.

"Once," he said. "There was a pony I knew. The best friend I ever had. Always there for me when I needed it. Always believed in me, always supported everything I did."

Rarity waited a moment for him to continue. When no continuation came, she spoke up. "Where is that friend now?" She asked, hoping that this stallion had SOMETHING in his life that meant anything to him.

He simply gave her a sad smile. "Gone, now, but not before I learned one last lesson."

"Don't make friends. It just hurts all the more when you lose them."

...

In Canterlot, a stallion shivered. His boss had always been intimidating, yet now, with bad news to bring, that intimidation seemed much larger than ever before. He passed through the stone arch that lead to the underground hideout. Here, the thieves guild of Canterlot lived and worked. They controlled all crime in Canterlot, and most crime in Equestria. They were the largest criminal organization in history.

And now, he had to go tell the leader of that group that his plan's were failing.

In rooms branching out from the hallway, he saw ponies practicing their art. Picking pockets, opening locks, moving silently. Older, more experienced thieves taught younger recruits. Each recruit wore a small badge, with three rings on it. The ponies own badge held just one. A symbol that he was an elite member of the inner circle, one of the masters. He had worked hard and sacrificed much for that privilege.

Finally, he reached the end of the corridor. A large vault door hung there, guarded by two hulking earth ponies. As he approached, they opened it for him. He waited as the intricate door slowly unscrewed it's bolts. The gate's designs were the same as the door's of Tartarus. No pony, not even the princesses, could get in when they were sealed.

Stepping through, he was greeted by a magnificent sight. On the far wall hung the trophies of the guild. Exquisite masks, fine jewelry, even a crown that had once belonged to Celestia herself! All marked past heists, which had been chosen as particularly successful. He himself had put up quite a few. In fact, there were only three others with more trophies. And one of them was the pony he currently worked for.

In front of those trophies sat a throne made of solid gold. And on that throne sat a pale black unicorn, with a scarlet mane. His eyes glowed a vibrant red, and his gaze snapped to the thief as he entered. The thief shuddered as the doors shut behind him. The guild master's eyes seemed to pierce his very soul.

Silence hung in the air for a moment. Then, the unicorn on the throne spoke.

"What news do you bring, Light Show?"

The unicorn called Light Show swallowed, then replied, "I'm afraid I bring only bad news." At this, the guild masters brow furrowed. "Our efforts to shut down the Elements of Harmony are failing. First, Eldritch Blast was arrested by the royal guard, after the kidnapping went south. Then, Flim and Flam lost all of the money we loaned them to purchase Sweet Apple Acres. Some ponies are saying that fate itself has turned against us."

"And what do you think is happening?"

Light Show swallowed, then nervously replied, "I think that it could be HIM."

The leader grimaced. "After all these years..." he muttered to himself. He then turned to the thief and gave his orders.

"Kill all the ponies associated with both jobs. We don't want them giving away any information that could compromise our efforts. Make sure it appears to be suicide."

Light Show nodded. "I'll see to the matter personally, sir," he said, but his leader shook his head.

"No," he said. "I have a special task for you, Light Show." He said. "You've never failed me before, and I have full faith that you can complete this mission." He leaned forward.

"Take a small group with you to Ponyville," he said. "I want you to KILL Twilight Sparkle. Whoever is interfering is likely in Ponyville, or at least has a presence there. Find them, and kill them as well." His voice turned icy, and all traces of kindness were lost from it. "Is that clear?"

Light Show gulped. "Crystal, sir."

First Blood

Light Show walked down the streets, shivering. His meeting had not been as unpleasant as he had feared, but it still was unsettling. To find out that he was tasked with killing an alicorn, who possibly possessed more power than Celestia herself? He wasn't sure that he could handle it.

As he approached the train station, several younger ponies looked up. They wore grins plastered on their features, and they weren't the warm, inviting kind. They got up as one and walked towards him. He stopped and waited for them to approach. They moved into a circle surrounding him.

"You Light Show?" One of them asked as he sized up the older pony, mockery in his tone.

The unicorn stared straight at the pony, until the younger pony looked down. "Yes, I am," he said. "The better question is, who are all of you?"

Another pony spoke up, practically bouncing with energy. "We're the team, sir," she said energetically. "We're gonna help you kill the princess!"

Light Show gave her a look of disgust. "How about you speak a little louder? I don't think the whole town's heard you yet." The mare slapped her mouth shut, and looked around nervously. Light Show sighed. It seemed he'd been dumped with the dregs. Ever since the new guild master had taken over, skill had been less of a requirement for their hiring. And now he was expected to get these idiots to kill a princess. And if HE was there-

Well, this job would get a lot more interesting.

"Alright, let's get going. The train's just pulling in now. One way or another, this will all be over by the end of the day."

...

"Now you're getting it!" Rainbow energetically called out to her latest student. Stratus had been assigned to her for the day, to learn about loyalty. Although he was a pegasus, he had never manipulated weather before. Rainbow had to admit, he was a quick study. Still not as good as HER, of course, but then again, who was?

They had been clearing the skies all morning, and were only just getting started. Remnants of a large storm were scattered all over Ponyville, and weather teams had been hard pressed trying to clean up. As their work progressed, Rainbow turned over what Rarity had told her in her head. The unicorn had been her usual dramatic self, and Rainbow felt that much of it was exaggerated.

"So, he had hard times?" Rainbow thought to herself. "I don't buy it. Something in that backstory seems fishy."

"Stratus!" She called out. The pegasus in question turned from the clouds to look at her. "If you raised yourself on the streets by yourself," she asked, "Where did you learn to fight like you did? I mean, ponies don't just instinctively learn how to take down a full gang of thugs."

Stratus' face remained mostly passive, but Rainbow felt that what he said next wasn't true.

"You learn a lot on the streets," he said. "I had to fight off dogs, rats, even other ponies just to get food. One fight's just like the next."

Rainbow could tell she wasn't going to get any straight answers out of him, so she simply went back to her work. As her gaze turned to the next cloud, she noticed something peculiar. Her brow furrowed in confusion.

Stratus, noticing this, followed her gaze. Outside of Twilight's castle, several ponies were entering.

"That's weird," said Rainbow. "Twilight's been having several audiences now that she's a princess, but I didn't think she held open court on Sundays. Oh, well, guess she changed it this week." Turning back to Stratus, she noticed his look. It was one of concern, and- was that anger?

"Stay here." Without any further conversation, Stratus zoomed down towards the castle. Rainbow, caught by surprise, hesitated for just a moment.

"What's going on?" She asked herself. Then, with a shrug, she zipped down after Stratus.

...

Twilight sat in the library. She was reading through some files Celestia had sent her. At the moment, she was consulting the Canterlot hospital records, in an attempt to see if she could find out where Stratus had come from. So far, she had been having very little luck.

Spike casually strolled in, rearranging some books she had dropped. He noticed her look of concentration, and realized she was working on stressful research.

"No luck, eh?" He asked, as he climbed a ladder to reach some higher shelves. She looked up and groaned.

"There's no information on any ponies named Stratus, in any of the records I've checked! It's like he just appeared one day!"

Spike hopped down from the ladder. "Well, maybe it got lost," he said, "Or maybe it got destroyed." He looked Twilight over. "How about I get you a snack?"

Twilight smiled at him. "That would be nice, Spike," she said. "Thank you." Spike smiled at her, and walked out to the kitchen.

As Twilight settled down to resume her research, she heard a knock on the library's door. Frowning, she opened it with her magic. Outside were several ponies whom she didn't recognize.

"Can I help you?" She asked politely. One of them, a well groomed unicorn, smiled at her.

"Good morning, princess," he replied with a small bow. "We're here for today's audience."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Twilight said. "Audiences aren't on Sunday."

"Really?" The pony responded, surprise in his voice. "We were under the impression it happened every day."

"No," Twilight said with a kind smile, "I'm sorry. I'll be having them tomorrow. If you come back then, I can make sure you get in first."

The unicorn shifted. "I'm sorry, princess, but I'm afraid we won't be able to come tomorrow. We'll have to be heading home then, and, well..." Twilight got a sudden sense that something was wrong. Feeling a tingling on the back of her neck, she turned around.

Standing just a few feet behind her, an earth pony was crouched, holding a dagger in one hoof. When she saw him, he lunged forward. Screaming, Twilight instinctively flinched away and closed her eyes, waiting for the dagger to impale her.

WHAM!

Twilight opened her eyes. The pony about to kill her was now standing by one of the bookshelves- with a dagger running through his neck, holding him there. The dagger's owner simply pulled it from the corpse, and wiped it clean on the assassins robes.

Stratus turned around, facing the ponies. A mask covered the lower half of his face, but his eyes burned with malice. "Alright," he said casually, as if nothing had happened. "Who's next?"

The whole group of assassins visibly leaped backwards at Stratus' appearance. All except the unicorn, who simply stared in shock, as if seeing a ghost. Rainbow flew in a split second later.

"Jeez, Stratus, you really move when you want to," she panted. She then noticed the group. "Wait, what's going on?"

"I thought I told you to wait outside," Stratus growled at her.

Rainbow stuck her tongue out at him. "Please, like I was just gonna wait outside. Why did you run off like that, anyways? Who were those ponies?" Just then, she noticed the corpse. Her face froze.

"Oh," she whispered.

The assassins all began to grow nervous at the approach of two more enemies. One of them leaned up to the unicorn in charge.

"Light Show," he hissed, "What do we do?"

Light Show turned around and looked at him. Then, his horn lit up.

The pony felt a strange sensation in his throat. Looking down, he saw one of the unicorn's daggers sticking out of his neck. He gazed up with wide eyes at his leader.

Light Show stared back at him. "You don't need to do anything." He took a deep breath. "I, however, need to help out an old friend."

...

Twilight had never seen anything like it. One second, she was about to be killed. Suddenly, the killers became the killed as the leader stabbed one of his followers. Now, there was open chaos and confusion. The unicorn she had been talking to was suddenly killing all of his men. Rainbow Dash was flying around, attempting to distract the assassins, and Stratus-

To say it was terrifying would have been an understatement. Twilight had thought that only Rainbow could move with such speed, but the thief was like a tornado of death. Twilight remembered a book she had read once, detailing how ponies in the east had developed forms of fighting that were almost artistic, and graceful to watch. But Stratus fought with one goal, and that was to kill any pony who stood against him as quickly and brutally as possible. Twilight herself aided as best she could, shielding her friends and firing beams at the enemies.

As suddenly as the battle had started, it stopped. Panting, Twilight looked around. Littering the floor of the library were bodies. Blood stains covered the walls. Books had been knocked off of the shelves, tables had been overturned, and several sections were covered in scorch marks.

"What just happened?" Twilight panted, trying not to throw up. The unicorn who had come in turned to face her, then his eyes widened with shock.

"Look out!" He shouted. Before Twilight could move, she was seized from behind. One of the assassins was still alive, covered in cuts but still breathing. Wheezing, he pulled out a knife.

"Death.. To the... Princess..." He gasped, as he raised his knife.

CLANG!

The pony fell to the ground. Twilight fell with him, clutching at her throat. She could still feel the sensation of cold metal pushed up against her throat. She turned around to see what had saved her.

Standing over the now dead assassin, a small dragon stood, holding a dented platter. Littered about the floor were hay fries, and the remains of a sandwich. Spike was staring at her, tears in his eyes.

"Twilight?" He asked, his voice close to cracking. "What's going on? Who are all these ponies?" Twilight gave no reply. Instead, she picked Spike up with a hug, squeezing him tightly. Spike clung to her like a life raft, tears now freely flowing down his face.

The mysterious unicorn turned around to face Stratus. When his gaze finally rested on him, he began hyperventilating. His eyes widened with surprise, as if he didn't truly believe what he saw.

"Stratus," he said with shock in his voice, "It's been a long- GLCKKK!"

Twilight's head jerked up at the strange choking sound. Stratus had suddenly leaped forward, tackling the unicorn to the ground. In a second, his knife was in his hoof, poised to strike. The unicorn made no move to resist. Instead, he simply closed his eyes and resigned himself to his fate.

"Stratus, wait!" Twilight shouted. The thief barely turned to look at her.

"He needs to die," he hissed. Twilight reeled back in surprise. Whenever they had talked, Stratus had never had any hint of emotion, except for occasional sarcasm. But now, pure malice seeped out of his voice. The princess gulped.

"He could have tried to kill us, but he didn't," she said in an attempt to calm the pegasus down. "We should at least give him a chance to explain."

Stratus stayed in his position for a moment. His breath came heavy, and he struggled against the urge to kill the pony before him right then.

"Give him a chance, Stratus."

Stratus looked up. Standing before him was the same mare he had seen in the Apple's Orchards. She smiled at him.

"He used to be our friend, you know," she said. "You at least owe it to him to hear him out."

Twilight watched as Stratus stared off at an empty space in the air. Following his gaze, she saw nothing. After a few more tense moments, Stratus got off of the attempted assassin.

"You have one minute to convince me not to cut your throat out," he growled. "If you so much as look at any pony in this room in a way I don't like, you won't even have time to feel pain."

The unicorn shakily rose to his feet, clutching at his throat. "I suppose I do owe you all an explanation, don't I," he said, chuckling to himself. Then he turned back to Stratus, all jokes gone from his face.

"Stratus, she's been marked," he said, motioning to Twilight. "The guild will be using it's full resources to hunt her down now."

"Tell me something I don't know."

Twilight looked at Stratus with shock. "You knew?" She said in a quiet voice. "You knew that they'd be coming for me?"

Stratus turned to look at her. "Why do you think I came here?" He said. Twilight recoiled in shock. "After that attack at the theater, I realized that you and your friends were marked for elimination. Did you really think the guard took me that easy by luck?"

Twilight stared for a moment, then she looked down. "I thought you really wanted to change," she said sadly.

Stratus stared at her for a second, then turned away. "You don't know me very well."

"I guess not."

Rainbow Dash coughed. Every pony turned to face her. "So, what is this guild we're talking about?" She asked. "Cause it sounds like they want us a little bit dead."

Light Show nodded. "They do. You've all been declared a..." he paused, as he searched for the right words. "...an impediment to the goals of the guild. As for what guild, we're commonly referred to as the Thieves Guild of Canterlot."

Twilight frowned. "Didn't Celestia destroy that organization years ago?" She asked.

Light Show grinned at her. "It serves our purposes well to maintain that illusion," he said. "Ponies will believe what they want to, especially if it means they don't have to face their problems." He turned back to Stratus. "Listen, I know you want to kill me, but this is bigger than either of us. We need to work together if we want to protect the elements."

Stratus grit his teeth at the unicorn. "We? I trust you about as far as I can throw you, and don't make me test that. I seem to recall that what your best at is stabbing your friends in the back. It's what you did then, and it's what you're doing now. With this pattern, we're next."

Light Show's eyes widened, and his voice began to crack. "Stratus, you have to believe me, I had NO idea that was going to happen."

Twilight looked between the two thieves. "What happened? Where do you two know each other from? Why do you keep talking like you used to be friends?"

Light Show opened his mouth to reply, but Stratus growled, "Don't answer that. She doesn't need to know." Light Show's mouth snapped shut. Twilight bristled up indignantly.

"Stratus, you need to tell us!" She practically shouted at him. "Our lives are on the line! I thought you were over hiding your past!"

Stratus glared at her. Twilight slowly shrunk down under his gaze. "That was different," he growled. "This is personal." He straightened up. "Here's what you need to know. I used to be in the guild. I had a disagreement with the leadership, and left. Since then, I've been messing up their plans."

Rainbow gave him a look of surprise. "So that's where you learned how to fight!" Stratus looked over at her. "You lied to me! You said you learned everything on the streets!"

"I did learn quite a bit about fighting on the streets. I didn't lie. I just didn't tell the full truth."

"Oh really? And how much else of what you've said has been 'not the full truth'?"

"Rainbow!" Twilight shouted out. Rainbow stared at her in surprise. "That's enough! If he doesn't want to tell us, that's his business. He'll tell us when he's ready." She lowered her voice, but Spike could still hear her. "I hope."

"So, what do we do?" Rainbow asked. "We can't just sit back here and wait for them to try and kill us!"

"You're right."

Every pony jumped at the sound of Stratus's voice. He was staring at his dagger. He could just make out his reflection in it, partially hidden by blood. The way the dagger was being held, it appeared that the blood was his own. "I've been on the defensive for too long." He looked up at them. "Time to go on the attack. We're going to Canterlot. Then, we're going to end this."

All in the Past Now

TOOT!

The train let out a loud whistle as it rolled into the station. The brakes let out a loud screech as they pressed against the wheels. The train came to a slow stop in front of the platform where the odd party was assembled.

Rarity groaned as she tugged at her cloak. Stratus had insisted that they needed to appear inconspicuous, but she didn't feel that they needed to appear as though they were going to a scarecrow convention. The ratty brown cloaks had been found up in the Apple Families attic. Rarity was fairly sure they hadn't been washed since Equestria had been founded, but she did her best to not complain.

Twilight sulked in silence. Ever since the attack on the library, Stratus had been even more distant then when they had first met. Seeing the thieves had triggered something in him, and he refused to talk to anypony. She had thought they were making progress when he told Rarity of his childhood, but now she didn't know how much of that was true either.

Now wasn't the time to think, however. The conductor was waving them aboard, and they needed to move. As they passed on, she saw Stratus slip a small bag of bits to the conductor and whisper something in his ear. The pony frowned, then nodded and waved Stratus aboard. The thief slipped on just as the doors began to close.

Thinking of thieves, Twilight felt her attention shift to Light Show. Since they had met, he had talked almost exclusively to Stratus. Now that she had a chance to observe him, she noted that he and Stratus carried themselves with a slight crouch. The position reminded her of a panther stalking it's prey, ready to strike at any moment. It occurred to her that this unicorn was easily just as dangerous as Stratus.

"Wait," she thought to herself. "He clearly knows Stratus from a while ago. Maybe I can get information out of him!" With this thought in mind, she scooted closer to the other unicorn. He looked over at her for a moment, then went back to scanning the rest of the train. Before too long, she felt the train pick up speed and pull away from the station.

After a while, Stratus stood up. "I'm going to check the back," he quietly muttered to Twilight. "Stay put." Twilight nodded, and he moved away. As soon as he was out of their car, Twilight pulled herself fully over to Light Show. The thief finally gave her his full attention.

"Is there something you need?" He asked politely.

"Yes, actually," Twilight calmly replied. "I was hoping you could tell me something about Stratus." As she said this, she felt her other friends move over and lean in to listen to the conversation. Light Show looked at all of them, then quickly looked away.

"Stratus doesn't really want to talk about it," he said, "So I don't feel like I should either." The mares all sighed, and began to move back to their seats. "Instead," Light Show said, "I'm going to tell you a completely unrelated story I've been making up about a random pegasus who becomes one of Equestria's greatest thieves." Twilight and her friends all moved in closer again. Light Show chuckled.

"To tell this story right," he said, "I think I need to start from the beginning."

...

A young pegasus walked down the market street. His ribs were partially revealed from malnourishment. Ponies threw him the occasional glance of pity, but none stopped to help him. That was fine. He didn't want their help anyways.

As he walked, he picked an older pegasus out from the crowd. His coin purse was exposed, and he wasn't paying it much attention. Grinning, the foal casually slid up next to him. He stood by the middle aged pegasus for just a moment, then quickly ducked away. Rushing through the crowd, he snuck into a nearby alley. As soon as he was out of sight, he stopped and pulled out the purse. Dumping it out, he counted out his plunder. It was easily enough for a weeks worth of food, if he played his cards right.

"You know, that doesn't really belong to you."

Jumping, the pegasus quickly pulled all the coins into a pile and looked around. Standing just a few feet away was the pegasus he had just robbed. The foal quickly began backing away.

"I'm so sorry, sir," he stammered out. "Please, don't tell the guard." The older pegasus simply walked over and picked up his coins. Looking at them in his hoof for a second, he turned to the foal. Walking over, he peeled open one of the shivering ponies hooves. Clutched inside was a single coin. The foal curled into a small ball.

"Please don't hurt me, sir," he whimpered. The pegasus looked at him, then smiled. It was a genuine, warm smile, and spoke of friendship. He crouched down to bring himself closer to the foals level.

"That was a good grab you did there," he said kindly. "You've got quite a good deal of talent there." He stood up, and observed the foal a bit closer.

"You look like you could use a good meal," he said. Then he turned around and began walking. After a few seconds, he stopped.

"Are you coming?" He called back over his shoulder. The young pony hesitated for a moment, then rushed after the stranger.

They walked together for a little while, moving down side streets and alleyways. The foal kept sneaking glances up at the pony he had just thought was going to kill him. After a while, he finally broke the silence.

"Um, sir?" He asked. The pegasus looked down at him with surprise. Then he chuckled.

"Oops," he said, "Looks like I'm getting a bit ahead of myself, aren't I? I forgot introductions again." He coughed into his hoof, then looked back up. "Please, just call me Wind Runner. What's your name?"

"My name is Stratus, sir."

"Stratus, hm? That's a fine name for a fine foal. Well, Stratus, we're going to meet some friends of mine." He gave his same warm smile. "I think you'll like them."

As they had been talking, they had been approaching a large abandoned warehouse. Now they reached the entrance. Wind Runner walked past the main doors, to a small side door. He gave three knocks in quick succession. A slot opened in the door, and a pair of eyes looked out. When they saw Wind Runner, the slot closed. A second later, the door opened, revealing a large earth pony. He grunted and nodded at Wind Runner. Wind Runner looked back at Stratus and motioned him in. The small foal walked in timidly. He was surprised by what he saw.

Inside what he thought had been was an abandoned building, multiple ponies were milling about. All of them wore hard expressions, but they softened when they saw the shock in the child's eyes. At a small table in the back, a group of ponies played cards. As Stratus watched, an argument broke out when two ponies played identical cards.

Wind Runner came up beside him. "It's nice, isn't it?" He said to Stratus. The foal nodded with wide eyes.

"Daddy!"

A small filly came running from one of the small side rooms. She appeared to be about the same age as Stratus, with a brown coat and a blank flank. A huge smile was plastered on her face. Wind Runner smiled and dropped to one knee as she came closer. When she got close enough, she leaped into the ponies arms. She laughed as he lift her up. Then, her gaze fell upon Stratus.

"Hi there!" She cheerfully called out. Stratus timidly waved at her. Wind Runner set her down, then turned to face the two of them.

"Before I forget introductions THIS time," he said, chuckling to himself, "Stratus, meet my daughter, Cloud Dancer. Cloud, this is Stratus. He's going to be staying with us a while." Cloud Dancer perked up at this.

"So you're a thief too?" She asked with eagerness. Stratus started.

"Well, um," he stuttered, "I'm not really a thief. I mean, I've stolen some stuff, but-"

"Cool!" He was cut off. Wind Runner laughed at his daughter's antics.

"I suppose I should explain before you get any more confused." He gestured around. "Welcome to the headquarters for the Canterlot Thieves Guild. I've been rebuilding it for a while now. And from what I've seen, you're quite a talented young thief. I would be quite honored if you would consider joining us. You wouldn't have to worry about going hungry, or cold, or being alone. We watch out for one another, and that includes you." He leaned closer to Stratus. "What do you say? This is a big decision, and I understand perfectly if you don't want to join."

Stratus looked around. Every pony in the area seemed to be helping each other with a wide variety of tasks.

"Well," he said, "I don't really have any place to go. I guess I'm joining." Wind Runner brightened up.

"Excellent!" He said. He looked around and picked out a unicorn from the crowd. "North Star!" He called out. The mare turned to look over at the group. Wind Runner indicated Stratus.

"Find this young foal some lodgings," he called out. "He's going to be staying with us for a while." North Star nodded, then motioned for Stratus to come along. Stratus timidly walked off with the unicorn. She smiled at him.

"So, you're Runner's latest apprentice?" She politely asked.

"Yes, ma'am."

She laughed. "You don't need to worry about the titles, Stratus. We're all equal here." She stopped by a door. "This is where recruits sleep. There should be a mattress in here for you. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask. Once you're settled in, you should come back out and meet the rest of the guild. I think Wind Runner's going to be starting your training pretty soon." She gave him one last smile, then began walking away. "Welcome to the thieves guild," she called back out over her shoulder.

...

"Wow!"

The group jumped as Pinkie Pie shouted out. They all glared at her for a moment, then looked around to see if any pony else had noticed. Fortunately, all the other passengers were occupied. Pinkie grinned sheepishly.

"Oops," she said, "guess I was a little loud." Twilight rolled her eyes, then turned back to Light Show.

"I'm confused," she said. "This guild sounds fine! Wasn't it just a gang of thieves?"

Light Show shook his head. "Back then, the guild was good. We only stole from those who could afford it. We fancied ourselves the fulcrums, keeping the balance between the nobles and the commoners. I joined about a year after Stratus. Everything I know is just what he told me back then." He looked around, checking that Stratus wasn't back yet. "Now, we should probably continue before Stratus gets back. You get the idea of how he joined. He got trained alongside Cloud Dancer. The two of them grew to be pretty fast friends. They were always the personal prodigy's of Wind Runner. He was the guild master back then. He's the one who rescued most of us off the streets. It's what happened to me, and Stratus too. In fact, I think only Cloud Dancer wasn't an orphan. And she only had her father. Her mother died a while before any of us met her. I guess I can skip ahead a bit, probably up to about where it all went wrong." He closed his eyes. "And the point where I made the single worst choice of my life."

...

Stratus, Light Show and Cloud Dancer were walking down the hall. The three of them had just returned from a successful heist, and were talking excitedly, remembering several of their finer moments, and several minor nuisances. As they chatted and laughed, a group of rougher looking thugs passed them. The three thieves stepped aside and let them pass, then continued down the hallway in the direction of the mess hall.

"It's got to be said, ever since Lurker took over recruitment, we've had a major drop in quality," Light Show remarked. "I don't mean to sound harsh, but I did a couple of jobs with some of these new recruits. Most of them actually have zero idea how to do anything."

"Cut them a little slack, Light," chided Cloud Dancer. "They just need some more experience, that's all." She looked around, then turned back to her friends. "You guys don't mind if I go check on my dad, do you?" She asked. "His fever was getting way worse when we left, and I'd like to see if he's okay."

Stratus smiled at her. "Don't worry about it," he said. "We'll save you a spot." He shifted uncomfortably, and looked as though he was about to say something else, then looked down the hallway. Light Show frowned at him, then turned to Cloud Dancer.

"Go check on your dad," he said kindly. "We can wait."

Cloud Dancer smiled at them, then glanced at Stratus. Stratus kept his mouth shut, looking down the hallway. Cloud Dancer's smile drooped just a bit, then she went down in the direction of her father's quarters.

The remaining two thieves resumed their walk down the hallway. As soon as they were out of earshot, Light Show turned to Stratus.

"What's wrong?" He asked, even though he knew perfectly well what it was. Stratus sighed.

"I just- I just don't know how to ask her," he confessed, hanging his head. "It was so easy to talk back when we were fillies, but now? I just don't know how."

Light Show gave his friend a look. It was no mystery that the guild's legendary master thief had a crush on the guild master's daughter. Any pony with one eye could see it. For the past month, Stratus had been trying to ask her out.

"Stratus, you know that if you don't ask her out, some pony else will," he said. "Beside's, it's no secret that she likes you two. She's just waiting for you to make the first move."

Stratus gave him a smile. "You're a good friend, Light Show. I'm just not brave enough."

The two of them reached the lunch hall. Grabbing a bowl of soup each, they took a seat at an open table. Just as they were about to sit down to eat, Cloud Dancer burst into the room. Spotting their table, she raced over, breathing heavily.

"Stratus!" She quickly exclaimed. The pegasus looked up. "My dad! His condition's gotten worse! He can't even move! He asked me to get you!"

Stratus quickly stood up. "Let's go," he said. The two raced off. Light Show looked at them for a moment, then got up to go follow.

The two pegasi raced down the corridors until they came to the guild master's bedroom. Throwing open the door, they burst inside. Wind Runner was lying on his bed, sweat covering his brow. He looked up as the door opened, then smiled at his two students. He motioned with his hoof for Stratus to come closer. As he approached, the sickly pony motioned for his daughter to wait outside. She dutifully shut the door. Wind Runner looked up at Stratus.

"Stratus," he said. "You've always been a good student. Now, I have just two request's for you." He began coughing violently. Stratus moved forward to help, but was waved off. Wind Runner recovered, then continued. "I would like for leadership of the guild to pass onto my daughter. I want to ask you to protect her however you can." He smiled at his student. "I've noticed your- feelings for her." Stratus quickly began denying it, but Wind Runner cut him off. "You always were a good pony, and I want to tell you that I support your attempts to reach her. She'll need you when I'm gone. That's my second request. I want you to tell her how you feel. I know she feels just like you do. Can you do that for me?"

Stratus hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

"I'll try, sir," he said.

Wind Runner nodded. Stratus stood up and turned to go.

"Could you send my daughter in?" Asked Wind Runner, sitting up. "I want to talk to her one last time, while I still have the chance." Stratus nodded once more, then turned and walked out. As he passed Cloud Dancer, he motioned for her to enter the room. She quickly rushed in. Stratus looked in at the pony who had been his mentor for so many years one last time. Then, he turned and slowly walked down the hall.

...

The wake was held early the next morning. The rain fell from the sky, pattering against the window panes of the building the thieves called home. A heavy, oppressive mist hung over the city.

"Stratus clouds," Stratus thought to himself with a dry laugh. His name seemed to be just a perfect metaphor for sorrow. Wherever he went, it seemed that pain and death weren't far behind. And apparently, even the ponies he had come to accept as his family weren't safe from that decree of fate.

Laying before him now was proof of this disheartening observation. Wind Runner had been laid in a simple wooden coffin, his eyes closed in eternal slumber. It seemed that at anytime, he would just wake up and lift the whole mood with one of his lighthearted jokes. But Stratus knew that he would not wake from this.

Cloud Dancer stood by the coffin, sorrowfully accepting the apologies of every pony. Stratus kicked himself inside. He still hadn't been able to ask her, even after receiving Wind Runner's dying wish. He could just never seem to find the right moment.

Light Show was nowhere to be seen. They had received a message of utmost importance from a potential client in Manehattan. Light Show had been forced to go and deal with the situation. It had taken much persuading to convince him that nothing would happen while he was gone. But now, Stratus found himself wishing for his friend by his side to help him.

The line inched ever closer to the coffin. Stratus looked over at Cloud Dancer. She was currently accepting the sentiments of one of the new thieves. Stratus noted with a slight scowl that the pony seemed to be taking a bit longer than required to speak to the mare. Just then, he looked closer and noticed a slight gleam in the ponies hoof.

He instantly leaped forward. "Knife!" He shouted. Cloud Dancer saw it too, as the pony quickly shoved the knife forward in a lunge. Cloud Dancer was too quick, however, and caught his hoof in mid thrust. Flinging him behind herself, she faintly exposed her back to the crowd. Stratus saw several more ponies begin charging her. He was just a few seconds from reaching her, when one of the ponies managed to come up on her unguarded rear. Time seemed to slow down as the knife lifted up, higher and higher. Cloud Dancer began turning, and caught sight of the threat just as it plunged into her rear.

Stratus felt a cry become caught in his throat as his friend's eyes rolled up into her head. She fell with a thud that seemed to shake the whole building. Stratus landed next to her a split second later, crouching down next to her. An eternity seemed to pass as he lifted her head gently with his hoof, silently willing her to come back. But she remained unchanged.

Stratus felt his entire body run ice cold. Every nerve in his body grew spiked as he rose and turned to face the killers. Most ponies seemed to have fled, leaving him alone with almost a dozen foes. They drew a combination of daggers, short swords, and clubs. Stratus had no weapon, yet he stood unmoving. The pony who had delivered the killing blow lunged at him. Stratus seized his wrist, twisting it until he heard a pop.

The pony gave a cry as his hoof broke and his knife dropped. Stratus caught the blade before it even hit the ground. Pivoting on his heel, he felt a tremor run up his arm as the knife tore out the ponies throat. As the pony fell to the ground, Stratus shifted his grip on the handle, and drove it point first through the ponies head. He did not stop pushing until he could see the blade protrude from the ponies mouth.

A burly earth pony with a large club began charging him. In one fluid motion, Stratus pulled his blade from the head of the pony he had killed and charged forward. He met the larger ponies charge just as the club swung down. Stratus slid to one side, letting the ponies flank become open. He ran his blade upwards along the ponies stomach, cutting out organs as it went. His blade exited the chest just in time to catch a downward swipe from another attacker.

Acting on instinct, Stratus threw himself to one side. He felt the wind of another ponies blade cut the air where he had been a second ago. Doing so threw him right in front of another pony, however, who seized the opportunity to get in a free strike. Stratus barely felt the knife slice through his fur, leaving a large gash. The pony paid for his hit a second later when Stratus delivered a ferocious kick to his head. The ponies face was blown inwards by the force of the blow, sending him across the room.

The rest of the attackers, smelling weakness, moved to surround Stratus. He merely stood and watched them. One pony, thinking he saw an opening, leaped forward. He didn't even have time to feel himself become skewered on the dagger which had claimed the lives of his comrades. But the other ponies took the chance opened up to charge Stratus all at once.

Stratus didn't even look, or try to dodge. He simply swung his blade in every direction, seeking to kill as many as he could. He felt numerous wounds open up all over his body. After just a few seconds, the attacks ceased. Stratus looked around. Scattered on the floor were the bodies of all his attackers. Their bodies were cut open and mutilated, barely recognizable. Stratus knew that he looked no better. He could already feel his vital force draining out.

From behind him, he heard ponies running. He turned to face them. A full new group, twice the size of the previous one, swept into the room. Behind them, he saw a sickeningly familiar face.

Lurker, the pony behind guild recruitment, walked into the room with a grin. Catching sight of Stratus, he stopped for a second, then laughed.

"Amazing!" He called out. "I truly thought I had sent enough men to overwhelm you." A wicked look came onto his face.

"Your friend Light Show was right," he said. "It really would have taken more men to win this." He looked around at the ponies he had gathered. He turned back to Stratus. "Luckily for me, I have plenty more men."

Stratus stood there, completely still. He grit his teeth at the mention of his friend. "Light Show helped this?" He seethed to himself. Lurker, noticing this, gave another laugh. He then turned to one of his men.

"Kill him," he said. The pony hesitated, then began moving forward. Stratus looked at them. His eyes locked with Lurker's for a moment. Then, he turned and raced towards one of the windows. As he leaped out, he covered his face from the razor pieces of glass with his wings. As soon as he was clear, he attempted to spread his wings. But they had been too injured in the fight, and he was left falling out of a fourth story window. He closed his eyes as he plummeted towards the ground.

The guards raced forwards to follow him, but Lurker stopped them. "Forget him," he said. "He's dying anyways. Let him go bleed out in a ditch. It's the only way for street trash to go." He looked at the mess in the room. "And get some pony to clean all this up," he said as he turned to walk out. "I need to go tell the guild that there's been a change in leadership."

...

The ponies all sat in quiet shock. This story made some of the worst horror stories they'd ever heard seem like a child's book. Finally, Twilight spoke up.

"What about you?" She asked. "How did you find out about all of this?"

"About a day after it happened, one of Lurker's thugs approached me. He told me that Stratus and Cloud Dancer had betrayed the guild, and both of them had been eliminated."

Twilight stared at him. "And you believed them?"

Light Show laughed. "Sweet Celestia, no. I saw through that lie before they finished telling it."

"Then why did you stay with them?"

"I knew that my best chance of finding out what really happened was staying in the guild. I had my suspicions that they couldn't kill Stratus, but I couldn't be sure. I slowly made my way up in Lurker's trust, until he was willing to tell me almost anything. The rest, I pieced together from what other ponies told me." He sighed. "Do you see what could have happened? If I hadn't been so stupid and left, I could have helped. Cloud Dancer might still be alive, and everything might be fine. Stratus has every right to hate me. I should never have deserted my friends at a time like that."

Twilight felt her heart go out to this unicorn. For the first time, she realized his true motivations for coming. He didn't seek vengeance, or to earn Stratus's forgiveness. He simply needed to prove to himself that he could help his friends.

"Is that why Stratus is always so... so dark? And why he never wants to tell anything?" Fluttershy asked in a timid voice.

Light Show nodded. "Stratus was never very talkative. He always thought that if he could keep his experiences inside him, he could keep other's from feeling the same pain that he felt. But," and he lowered his voice, "It always seemed to weigh on him very heavily. All that pain inside him is what gives him his resolve, but at the same time, it puts a lot of stress on his sanity." He sighed. "I'm quite worried about his mental health. I think that, at this point, he's gone completely off the deep end."

Twilight shivered. It was just then that she realized it was fully possible that they'd put their lives into the hooves of a mad pony.

The Taller They Stand

With a loud whistle, the train came to a stop in Canterlot Station. As soon as the doors opened, a mass of ponies rushed off, desperate to leave the confined space. Situated in the center were eight unassuming ponies and one dragon. No pony paid them much heed, having much more pressing concerns on their minds. This suited the ponies just fine. The fewer who knew of their arrival, the better.

Fluttershy shivered. She wasn't sure how she felt with all of this cloak and dagger going on. Ponies were breaking into their homes in broad daylight, and now they couldn't even get on a train without some form of deceit.

She threw a quick glance over at the mastermind behind their operations. Stratus had been even less talkative than usual, refusing to contribute a word to their conversations. He merely came up with the plan and told it to them, no questions asked. But after what she had just found out he had been through- If she had been in his situation, she didn't think she would have the willpower to stay sane. More recently, she had begun to think that he didn't either.

Once they had merged with the normal throng of ponies in Canterlot, Stratus turned to them.

"Head straight down the street, right to the inn at the end. It's a little shady, but they'd never think to look for us there." His gaze swung to the unicorn in their group. "Light Show, I'd like to speak to you a moment." He walked a short distance away.

Gulping, Light Show nodded the rest of the group along, then went to confer with his associate. Stratus fixed him with a knowing look. "You told them everything, didn't you." It wasn't a question.

Light Show shook his head. "No, I told them an unrelated story." He said. "Any relation to ponies living or dead is completely coincidental." Stratus stared at him, but couldn't keep a slight smile from coming to his face.

"Just like old times," he whispered wistfully for a moment. Then, his voice turned serious. He scratched the back of his head. "Listen, Light Show, I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I said some things that I probably shouldn't have when we first met. I was still confused, and I didn't know what to believe."

Light Show smiled back at his friend. "You don't have to apologize for a thing. You had every reason to think I betrayed you. In fact, I should be apologizing to you. It's my fault most of this happened. You watched Cloud Dancer's back, but I was supposed to watch yours." Stratus smiled back and heaved a sigh of relief.

"Just one more question." He looked around for a moment, and leaning closer he whispered, "Do you believe in ghosts?"

Light Show reared back a little in surprise. "What, like the dead coming back?" He asked. Stratus nodded. "What brought this on?"

Stratus shook his head a little sheepishly. "It's nothing, it's just- ever since that night, I've been seeing her. She just sort of, appears, at random times. Like when I saved Applejack's farm, or when I spared your life. She's just always there to help me."

Light Show furrowed his brow in concern. He knew that it was a common side effect for ponies who had been through traumatic events to hallucinate. He didn't want that to be happening to his friend. "Stratus, I'm sorry to say it, but Cloud Dancer died. Nothing we can do will change that. She's gone, and all we can do is remember her like she was."

Stratus looked doubtful for a moment, then nodded his head. "You're right, of course." He said. "Thanks. Now come on. Let's go make sure the others are okay."

...

Twilight looked around the inn in disgust. The lower floor was completely taken up by a sleazy bar, with a dirty pony serving drinks from behind a counter. Several tables sat around the establishment, coated with old, dried stains. At these tables sat many ponies, drinking and gambling. Twilight gulped upon noticing every one of them was armed.

She and her friends simply stood there for a while. Eventually, Stratus and Light Show entered the bar. The second they came in, the bartender looked up. His face broke into a grin which was missing some teeth.

"Light Show!" He called out, walking out from behind the bar. "So nice to see you! How have you been!"

Light Show quickly shushed him. Pulling him aside, he whispered, "We need to talk, but not here. Do you still have the old rooms?" The bartender looked at him, then looked at the group. As his gaze fell on Stratus, his jaw dropped. Looking back to Light Show, he quickly nodded, his mouth still slightly ajar. He walked off, motioning for them to follow.

They passed behind the bar, into a hallway Twilight hadn't seen at first. As they reached the end, the bartender pulled on a torch sconce. A hidden door swung open, and they were quickly ushered inside. As soon as the last pony got through, the bartender turned and shut the door. Turning about to face the party, a large toothless grin appeared on his face.

"Stratus!" He cried out with happiness. "Thought you were dead! What happened?"

Stratus smiled. Without answering, he turned to Twilight and the rest of the ponies.

"This is Toothless," he said. "He's the former keeper of the guild's quarters. Until Lurker said he was getting too old."

The pony called Toothless scowled, and spit to one side.

"That's right! Too old my flank! Lurker just wanted to get rid of anypony who had been loyal to Wind Runner, didn't want us interfering with his plans, see." Light Show nodded.

"Lurker's conspiracy had been going on much longer than we thought. I did some digging after the coup, and found out nearly every pony he had recruited was in on it. He scheduled for me to be out of the hall on that night, so he would have one less pony to worry about. But Stratus and Cloud Dancer were scheduled to die. They were too dangerous to keep around." Toothless, still scowling, looked at Status.

"Guess he failed with that. So, how did you survive, Stratus?" Stratus grimaced.

"Painfully," he muttered. "After I fell out the window, I was in pretty bad shape. I got lucky, though. Lurker decided I was already dead and didn't send any pony to finish the job. I dragged myself to a small cellar, stayed there for a few days. As soon as I got better, I started plotting to take down Lurker. Just a few weeks ago, I found out about a plot to eliminate the Element's of Harmony." He looked at Twilight and her friends. "All of them," he said for clarification. Twilight felt a small shiver run down her back. "So I foiled there first attempt. I realized the best way to halt any further attempts would be to stay close by, which is why I accepted Celestia's sentence."

"So, you knew that those ponies would attack me?" Twilight asked in disbelief.

"I planned on it," said Stratus.

As Twilight's mind reeled, trying to accept this, Light Show hastily added, "You were never in any real danger. The ponies Lurker hires aren't very skilled at all. He's too concerned that one of them might be able to overthrow him. You could easily have taken down any one of them." He redirected his focus to the rest of the group. "Right now, we should focus on the present. The most powerful criminal organization in the world wants us all dead, and we need to destroy them first. To do that, we just need to cut off their head. If Lurker dies, the rest of them will give up."

Toothless walked back in from a back room he had entered. Twilight jumped a little when he re entered. These thieves could simply walk right out, and she would never even notice. Toothless unrolled a large piece of parchment. Sketched on it was a rough diagram of a large building. Light Show looked at it in shock, his eyes wide.

"How did you get this?"

Toothless chuckled. "You young whipper snappers aren't the only ones with a few tricks. This here is a fully detailed, up to date map of the Thieves Guild."

"It's got every detail on it," Light Show confirmed, sounding impressed. He pointed at a large drawing of a door. "That's the entrance to Lurker's room. It's virtually impenetrable."

"I can get us in," said Stratus. Light Show looked at him doubtfully.

"Are you sure?"

Stratus looked at him with a condescending expression. Light Show nodded. "You're right, stupid question." He scratched his chin. "We'll need to draw away the guards. A distraction here could do it." He was pointing to a large room labeled 'vault.' "If an attack happens there, the guards will be all over it. But that will also alert them. If Lurker knows we're in there, our job gets much harder. He'll pull back his best guards to his room for protection. We'd need at least two ponies to do the job."

"Okay," said Rainbow eagerly, loving every second of these tactical talks. "So you and Stratus go take out Lurker, and the rest of us distract the guards!" The rest of the ponies nodded eagerly.

"That should work," said Light Show. "What do you think, Stratus?" The pegasus wore a frown on his face after hearing the plan. He looked at Twilight.

"Are you sure you'll be able to do it? This isn't a game. These ponies will want you dead, and they won't hold back because they feel sorry."

Twilight put on a smile. "We'll be fine," she said. "Remember, this isn't even the worst threat we've ever faced."

"Alright, so that settles it. We attack tomorrow. I suggest you all go get some sleep." Light Show concluded the meeting, as Toothless began to lead the mares to their rooms. Turning to his friend, he noticed Stratus was still frowning at the map.

"What's wrong?" He asked with concern.

"We're sending them to die, aren't we?"

Light Show was taken aback by the question. "No, of course not! They'll be able to hold the enemy off long enough for us to bail them out."

"But can you really guarantee that none of them will die?" When Light Show didn't answer, Stratus lowered his head. "I didn't think so. I just don't want any pony else to die because of me. I'm sick of losing every pony I know, and I don't want it to happen to these six. They don't deserve that." With that, he walked off to his room. Light Show sighed, then turned and followed him. Closing the hidden door, he didn't see the dagger Stratus had stuck into the map, right over Lurkers room.

...

Early the next morning, Fluttershy woke up. Her sleep had been fitful, plagued by nightmares of the next day. She felt the rays of the sun comfortably warm her cheeks, calming her nerves. She basked in the light, blissful.

Her relaxation was cut short as her door swung open with a loud bang. Giving a small "EEP!" She pulled her covers up to her eyes. A wild eyed Light Show stood in her doorway, looking around frantically.

"Have you seen Stratus!" He quickly barked out. Terrified, she shook her dead. Light Show unleashed a string of curses that would have made a sailor cringe, then ran off. Fluttershy lay still for a moment, petrified, before working up the courage to go see what was happening.

Upon exiting her room, she saw that the others were all up. They were all standing outside of Stratus' room, talking among themselves. She walked over, looking into the room they all stood by. Inside, the bed sheets lay undisturbed, with nothing else inside.

...

Street Rat shifted his weight. Ever since he had been appointed guard duty, he had been bored out of his skull. He had talent, the boss just didn't see it. He could be the best thief this guild had ever seen, if they just gave him his chance! His feelings bubbled to the surface, and he turned to face his partner to rant about it. But his partner looked - different somehow. Had he always worn that hood? And who was that pony he had just killed?

His partner turned to face him. Street Rat never even got the chance to realize what was happening.

...

Lurker sat in the throne room. Listening to the tenth pony that day was grating on his nerves. These politics bored him, and he was tempted to simply execute the pony then and there. Shifting his gaze away, he reflected on a time when things were simpler. But soon, his plan would be complete, and these issues would no longer bother him. He just needed Light Shows report back to confirm the deed was done.

"GLCKKT!"

His head whipped around at the strangled gurgling. The pony he had just been talking to lay dying, gasping for breath from his slit throat. Standing over him was a pony with a black cloak, and a hood concealing his features. He was wiping off his dagger on the ponies clothing, in a robotic manner. His eyes never once left the unicorn.

Lurker stared at him for a moment. "I'm sorry, do I know you?"

"You know damn well who I am, Lurker."When he heard that voice, Lurker froze. A second later, he burst out laughing.

"So, the rumors were true, were they? You really are that hard to kill." He leaned forward, leering. "Too bad your mare friend wasn't."

Stratus stood still for a moment longer. The speed with which he suddenly leaped forward caught Lurker completely by surprise, and he was barely able to lift his short sword up in time to block the thrust. But Stratus didn't stop, pressing the assault. Lurker felt himself be pushed backwards by the fury of the attack. Then, little by little, he managed to regain control. Before too long, he was matching Stratus blow for blow. He grinned. Now, he would get to kill his worst nemesis with his own two hooves.

Stratus grunted. The unicorn was quick with his sword, without a doubt. The two of them were extremely evenly matched.

The pegasus feinted with his knife, then stabbed at the opening it left. With satisfaction, he felt his dagger strike flesh, running up along his enemies side. The unicorn fell backwards slightly, clutching his side.

"You'll pay for that," he hissed. Stratus began to leap forward, before an invisible force seized him and dragged him backwards. As he was flipped around, he was just able to catch sight of Lurker's glowing horn.

With a sickening crack, he slammed into a wall. Dropping down, he felt a lance of pain shoot through his front hoof as he tried to stand on it. He received only a moments respite before he was flung into another wall. This time, he felt several of his ribs crack. He fell to the floor painfully, clutching his side.

Lurker, looking on, laughed. He leaned down next to the injured pegasus to gloat. Just then, he heard a voice echo through the hallway.

"Stratus!" Shouted Twilight. Lurker grinned, and turned to face Stratus.

"Look at that, my prey has come to me. Looks like I get to kill yet another of your friends, and you get to watch." He turned around, walking to the door, casually cleaning his sword. Stratus watched him walk off, panting for breath.

Lurker suddenly felt himself go flying to one side. Stratus, with his last remaining strength, had flung himself forward, tackling the unicorn to the ground. As they fell, Lurker stabbed at his opponent, feeling his blade punch deep. Grunting, Stratus seized the blade in his hooves, wrenching it out of his side. As Lurker began to regain his feet, Stratus leaped forward, plunging the blade through his head. Lurker gasped as the blade punched straight out of his mouth, completely impaling his brain. Stratus pulled the blade out, and swung it one final time, separating the unicorn's head from it's neck.

The corpse fell to the ground, slowly pouring it's blood onto the cold stone. Stratus stood triumphantly for a moment, then fell, clutching his leg in pain.

"Stratus!"

He lifted his head. The shout had come again, slightly closer. Now, the sounds of fighting could be heard as well. Struggling, he pulled himself up. Lurkers last sword thrust had punctured his lung, and he could already feel blood pooling, making it difficult to breathe. With a super pony effort, he stumbled a few feet forward, before falling down with a cry of pain. His leg was shattered.

"I'm going to die," He realized with a shock. With a ferocious shake of his head, he shook of those thoughts. He tried to pull himself up again, before falling once more. Breathing heavily and without the strength to lift himself up, he began dragging himself towards the door.

"Have - To find - Twilight. She can - help. Cure - me." He dragged himself just a few more feet, before his legs fell flat from exhaustion. Weakly, he lifted his head one last time. Without a sound, his eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed onto the floor. And then, all was still in the chamber, where now two bodies lay.

...

Twilight blasted another thief with her magic. Back in the inn, as soon as they had found out that Stratus had left, they set out for the Guild. Just before they left, Toothless had pulled her aside.

"Stratus will have gone straight to Lurker," he said. "He's skilled, but this is one fight he cannot win. Push straight to the throne room. Out of every pony here, you're the only one who has even a chance of saving him." Twilight had gulped and nodded. Now, with every second that passed, she felt her chances of success go down.

All around her, her friends battled. They all fought hard, even timid little Fluttershy.

"Twilight!" Shouted Light Show, fending off two enemies at once. She turned to help, but he shook his head. "Get to the throne room! Help Stratus!"

Twilight turned, and quickly teleported past the guards blocking her path. Racing down the corridor, she shouted Stratus' name a few times. As she neared the door, she heard a guttural cry of pain. Lowering her head, she ran as fast as she could. The door sat slightly ajar. Twilight blasted it fully open and charged into the room.

Within the room, she saw a headless unicorn who she assumed was Lurker. And laying just a few feet away, in a puddle of blood, was the body of Stratus.

Twilight felt her body go cold. Her hoof involuntarily leaped to her mouth, and she shook her head in disbelief.

"No," she whispered, her eyes beginning to grow moist. Her attention was so focused on Stratus, she didn't notice the change in Lurkers body. A thick, black smoke had begun rising from his head, pooling in the air above it.

Twilight, feeling a cold shiver on the back of her neck, turned around. The cloud had begun rushing towards her! As she opened her mouth to scream, it rushed into her head, blinding her. She could feel it enter her mind, ripping away everything about her.

And while this happened, she could do nothing but stand there, unable to act.

...

Light Show sat numbly. He knew there was rain pouring down over his coat, but it didn't feel like anything. It just added extra weight onto his shoulders.

He and the mares had entered the room to find Twilight weeping. She had standing over the body of his friend, letting tears flow freely. A puddle of blood had formed around the dead pegasus, painting his features red. The only consolation to be had was that Stratus had clearly succeeded in his task, and slain the traitor.

That had been just yesterday. The funeral service was quite small. Stratus had been relatively unknown in more recent years, and many of his old friends were dead. The only ponies standing by the grave besides cemetery staff were Light Show, Toothless, Spike, and the mares. His headstone was a simple, undecorated piece of rock, reading simply, STRATUS.

Light Show choked back a sob. He had spent the last few years of his life trying to right his wrongs, and just when Stratus had forgiven him and things were going back to normal, he had lost his friend a second time. His mind was struggling to cope with the loss.

He heard his name called to give his eulogy. Slowly, he walked over the grave. Turning around to face the ponies, he sucked in a deep breath of surprise. Seeing this, the other ponies turned around, freezing in place as they did so.

Entering the cemetery, flanked by two royal guards was the princess herself. Celestia wore black, mourning garments, partially concealing her features. As she came, Twilight ran over to her.

"Princess!" She said, temporarily forgetting her sadness. "What are you doing here?"

The princess looked at her with sorrow. "I heard what has happened. I came to pay my final respects to Stratus." Upon hearing this, Twilight couldn't bear it anymore. She began sobbing openly. Celestia wrapped her up in a hug with her wing. Twilight stood, crying on her shoulder.

While all this happened, every pony in the cemetery bowed to Celestia. Light Show, however, couldn't bring himself to kneel down. One of the guards noticed him standing.

"Bow to your princess!" He commanded, moving over to force the unicorn to his feet. Celestia looked up.

"It's fine, Bright Shield," she said. "He has been through much." Looking at Light Show, she motioned for him to continue his speech. Light Show took a deep breath to steady himself.

"Stratus," he began, "was a good pony. He suffered much in his life, but no matter how bad it went for him, he never gave up. When his parents were lost, he taught himself how to live. When he lost his friends, he taught himself how to stand alone. He -" Light Show cut off. "I'm sorry. I just - I can't do this." He turned around and simply walked away. At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to be alone.

...

Light Show sat on a bench under a tree in the park. Staring at his reflection in a puddle, he felt nothing but disgust. All he could see was weakness. He was nothing like Stratus. He couldn't change lives, and he couldn't protect those he cared about.

He heard a small cough behind himself. Turning around, he saw the small dragon Twilight had been with. Spike, he remembered the name was.

"Are you okay?" Asked Spike with concern. "Every pony is worried about you." He noticed the empty spot next to Light Show. He hopped up and sat down. The two of them sat in silence for a while.

"I talked to him, you know."

Light Show looked over at his companion. "Back in Ponyville. The Flim Flam brothers were trying to buy Applejack's farm, and they had the resources to do it. He came in the night and asked me to help him steal it all. I helped carry out some of the bags of coins. Afterwards, he mentioned an old partner he used to have. He seemed to really care about them."

Light Show snorted and looked away. "He was talking about Cloud Dancer, not me. She was his partner on most of the heists he went on. I only helped a couple of times."

"Why do you do that to yourself?" Asked Spike. "Why do you beat yourself up?" Light Show began to open his mouth, but he was cut off. "I mean, when Cloud Dancer died, you blamed yourself, but that's exactly what Stratus did too, right?" The dragon shook his head. "I guess what I'm trying to say is, it's not your fault whenever anything goes wrong. Every pony is responsible for when a problem happens. You just have to learn how to pick up the pieces and move on. That's what Stratus did, and I guess that in some weird, twisted way, he did accomplish his goals. So, how are you going to get past this problem?" Light Show looked away.

"I don't know," he muttered. "All I've wanted for so long was to have friends I could trust, and who could trust me back. And just when I almost had that, I lost it because he didn't trust me to help." Spike stared at him in shock.

"How can you say that!" He almost shouted. "Of course Stratus trusted you! He trusted you more than any pony else! You were one of the only ponies he trusted!"

"Than why didn't he tell me what he was planning!" Snapped Light Show. "We talked after last night's planning. He said he didn't want to risk any of you, and I realized he wanted to attack without you. But I assumed he'd tell me before he did. Turns out, he decided I created more of an obstacle than help."

"He didn't leave you behind because he didn't want you! Don't you see? He cared for you, and he didn't want to risk you dying. He wanted to guarantee that you would be safe even if he failed."

Light Show gave Spike a small smile. "You know, for someone so young, you're pretty smart. I can see why Twilight has you as an assistant." He leaned back a little on the bench. "So, Stratus recruited you for a heist, did he? How did that happen?"

The two of them sat on the bench, talking about their lost friend for a long time. They didn't even notice when the sun went down. And for the first time in many years, the city of Canterlot slept at peace.

Death's Shadow

The unicorn stood in a strange, warped reality. No light source was visible, yet it was as bright as day. Mist hung over everything, yet it did not feel wet or cold. All around, glowing blue ponies floated with closed eyes. They all moved towards a strange gate, made of an unrecognizable material. It appeared to be some form of blue stone, but it was much harder, and strange runes adorned the surface. As soon as ponies passed through it, they seemed to vanish.

The unicorn did not pay heed to any of this. He had seen it all before, and had been watching it for many years. Nothing ever changed in this realm. But today, something important was happening.

As he watched, one pony passed by, different from the others. Rather than blue, his soul was silver, and glowed with unearthly light. The unicorn watched as he approached the gate. But as he was about to pass through, a strange golden chain flashed into existence, holding him back. The pony struggled for a moment, before being pulled back. As soon as he reached the unicorn, he halted and slowly fell to the ground. His eyes slowly flickered open, dull and confused. He stood up, wobbling about from disorientation, looking around and scratching his head.

"Where am I," he muttered, before noticing the unicorn. "Hey, you!" He called out. "What is this place? And who are you?" The unicorn turned to face him with hard eyes.

"Good day to you as well," he said in a serious voice. "My name is Star Swirl the Bearded. As for where you are, that is a much longer story."

...

Light Show groaned as he rolled over. The first rays of sunlight flickered through the window, playing across his wrinkled sheets. He hadn't slept well that night, plagued by nightmares.

He lay in one of the rooms at Toothless's inn. The former thief had been kind enough to provide him with a place to sleep, until he found a job. After everything that had happened, he was finished with stealing. He would be perfectly happy if he never had to walk in the shadows again.

Hopping out of bed, he descended the stairs to the ground floor. Toothless was busily serving breakfast to the earliest risers. Upon noticing Light Show, he held up a plate of pancakes questioningly. The unicorn waved him off. He could eat later. Right now, he had work to do.

As he exited the bar, he felt a strange chill run down his spine. Looking up, he squinted towards the sun. Silhouetted against the light, he could almost make out a shadowy form, but before he could tell for sure, it vanished.

"Probably still just paranoid," he thought to himself. He continued his walk, looking for any buildings with a help wanted sign in them. Passing a newspaper stand, he stopped and payed the paper pony a few bits for a copy of the paper. Walking over to a nearby park, he found a shady spot under a tree and began reading.

As his eyes scanned the paper, he detected movement nearby. Lowering the paper, he saw Spike hurrying towards him. The little dragon had a worried look on his face, and was wringing his claws. The thief frowned in concern. When the dragon saw that he had been noticed, he hurried his pace.

"What's wrong?" Asked Light Show.

"Something's wrong with Twilight," said Spike with concern. "This morning, she was muttering in her sleep. When I tried to wake her up, she flung me into the wall with her magic." He tenderly felt the back of his head. Light Show could see some dried blood there. His eyes narrowed. The princesses concern for the dragons well being had been obvious.

"And then," continued Spike, "She didn't even acknowledge it. Then, she told me that she changed our plans. She said she decided to stay in Canterlot for a few more days, instead of going home today like we planned. She never changes plans! She said that she wanted to speak to the princess a little more.

Light Show looked around for a second, then looked back. "Go back home now," he said. "I have some things I need to check, then I'll be over. Don't let Twilight go to the princess. I've got a bad feeling about all of this. Something bigger is going on here." Spike nodded, then ran off.

Light Show got up, then began walking towards a more deserted section of town. Carefully noting his path, he took random turns, moving down random alleys. Suddenly, he whipped around, looking behind himself. Sure enough, he saw a flash of darkness pass through his field of vision. He ran towards it, looking all around. He stood alone in the alley, with no hint that anything else had been there. He turned in circles for a second, before shouting out.

"What do you want! Show yourself!"

Nothing moved out. He waited just a second more, before turning around and retracing his steps back out of the neighborhood. The whole way out, he felt eyes drilling holes into the back of his head.

...

Twilight frowned and shook her head. She had been having a headache all day, starting when Spike woke her that morning. Why did he have to do that? Couldn't he see she was sleeping? It made her feel like hurting him, just like he hurt her! This wasn't even the first time! He was constantly doing his job poorly!

She shivered and curled up into a ball on the couch. Where did those thoughts come from? Spike was a great assistant, wasn't he? Was she going insane? She could almost hear laughter.

"Wait," she thought. She could actually hear laughter! Loud and clear, it seemed to be coming from inside her head. But it wasn't nice laughter, like Pinkie Pie's. It was dark and menacing, more like Discords.

"Who are you?" She asked the air. The laughter cut out abruptly.

"You know me," said a deep, dark voice. It sent chills down her spine just hearing it. "I'm you. I'm all your innermost thoughts. I'm how you really perceive the world, not those lies you tell yourself. I'm the only one you can really trust." And as he said it, Twilight realized it was her own mouth moving, but not her words coming out. But what she was saying was right! She really could only trust the voice. Her friends always lied to her, keeping secrets. And the princess was the worst of all!

As she thought of the princess, she grew angry. What gave her the right to lie to all these ponies, and treat them like dust? She constantly ignored their pleas, raising her precious sun and only helping the few who gave her what she wanted!

"NO!" Shouted Twilight suddenly. "I don't know what you are, but you won't infect my thoughts! I won't turn against the princess!"

The voice chuckled. "That's what they all say at first. Even the thief, Lurker." Twilight stiffened.

"You were inside Lurker?"

Silence for a moment. "By accident, yes. I sought to infect his friend instead. The pegasus called Stratus. But that meddling fool saw what I was doing. He was too loyal to his friend for his own good. He used his magic to draw me into himself, keeping me from the one who could help me really achieve my goals! But he got what he deserved. I took his mind, enthralled it, and forced him to kill those he had tried to protect. And the best part? To repay him for his efforts, Stratus killed him. Lurker had sacrificed his very will for his friend, and his friend killed him."

Twilight gasped. "You're a monster!"

"Am I really so different than the one you just helped? Both me and Stratus were betrayed by those we thought we could trust. We were both left for dead. We both harbored thoughts of vengeance, and we were both willing to go to any means to achieve it. So why do you help him, and not me?"

"Twilight!"

Twilight's head snapped up. Spike had just come in, and was staring at her in horror.

"What are you doing?" He asked with shock and concern in his voice. "Why are you talking to yourself?" Twilight straightened and regained her composure.

"I'm sorry, Spike," she said. "I didn't mean to scare you like that . I was just thinking out loud. It's nothing." She walked forward and wrapped him up in a hug. He stiffened for a moment, then returned the embrace.

He was so caught up, he didn't even notice that Twilight's horn was glowing. Suddenly, he felt a strange tingling sensation in his neck. He looked down. It was ... blood? But whose blood was it? With shock, he realized it was his own. He felt the back of his neck, and his claw curled around something. Pulling it out, he saw that it was a knife from the kitchen.

He stared up at Twilight with surprise. She simply smiled down sadly at him.

"Sorry, Spike. You've been a good servant, but I can't risk you betraying me. You've been working pretty hard recently. Why don't you just take a nice nap?"

As she said that, Spike nodded. Sleep sounded nice. He could just take a short rest, then get back to work. He closed his eyes, and let himself fall backwards into sleep.

Once he fell, Twilight stood up and walked to the door. She had a meeting with the princess, and she wasn't going to be late.

...

Light Show knocked on the door. It had been his third attempt to get into the hotel room, but no pony answered. He frowned. There should have been some response by now. His instincts were buzzing, telling him something was wrong.

He looked up and down the hallway he stood in. He was alone, and he couldn't hear footsteps approaching. He reached into a pouch at his side and pulled out a set of lock picks. He levitated them to the door, then picked the lock. The door creaked slowly open.

Tentatively, he walked in. "Spike!" he called. "Twilight! Are you here!" There was no reply. With growing trepidation, he pulled out his dagger, holding it at the ready.

He walked into the main area. As he entered, he detected an all too familiar scent. Blood. His gaze snapped to the far side of the room. There, in a puddle of blood, was a small purple and green corpse.

...

Spike felt himself floating along. He felt peaceful, no worries on his mind. Everything was fine now, he didn't have to concern himself with anything. All he had to do now was rest.

Looking up, he saw a gate in front of himself. Dozens of other ponies floated alongside him, with the same contented smile on their faces. From the gate, he could hear sounds of laughter. It almost sounded like one of Pinkies parties back home! He leaned forward eagerly.

Just as he was about to pass the gate, something gripped his tail. He was pulled back sharply, waving his arms in an attempt to free himself. Looking back, he saw that some pony had grabbed him, but this pony looked different from the others. He wore a black cloak concealing his features. Shards of frost formed around the hood, and misty breath came out every few seconds.

As Spike stared in fear, another pony came. This pony appeared to be a unicorn dressed in wizards robes. He looked familiar, but Spike couldn't seem to place him. The unicorn said something to the other pony. The voice sounded like garbled nonsense. Spike could almost hear the hooded pony grit his teeth.

"No, damn you," he growled. "You want me to do this, fine. But if I do, this one gets to live. I will have my way in this, at least. You've taken too many others." The unicorn stared for a second, then shrugged and walked off. The hooded pony turned to face Spike.

"We don't have much time," he said. "Twilight's mind has been taken over. You need to get to the princess, and warn her. Get Light Show to help. He'll know how to get you there." As soon as he finished speaking, he touched Spike on the forehead. The dragon felt his vision begin to swim, and he fell backwards.

Light Show leaped backwards in shock as Spike shot up, gasping. The dragon turned to face him. "We need to stop Twilight!" He shouted. "C'mon!"

He ran off. Light Show stared for a second, then ran after the dragon. "Wait, why do we have to stop Twilight!"

As the two of them ran towards the castle, they didn't notice the pony watching them. Standing on the roof, he followed their trail with his eyes. After a moment, he began following them. It would all be over soon.