Chaos Theory: Lone Wolfby Littlepony115ChaptersIntroChapter 1: Mare Of StealChapter 2: Moving DayChapter 3: Settling InChapter 4: New FriendsChapter 5: Woodland WonderChapter 6: Dark HorseChapter 7: Smoke & MirrorsIntroIntroduction Her eyes snapped open, observing the room around her. It was the same, as ever. Shifting, she tried to move into a more comfortable position, but metal chains cut into her wrists. A sharp sound made her flinch as something opened beside her, and footsteps echoed through the small room. The room itself was bare and minimal. Grey and empty, more akin to a large closet, it held the bed she laid on and was lit by a single metal light that hung from the ceiling. Unfortunately, that was all she could see from the angle restricted by the restraints on her fur. She could flex her fingers but the amount of movement she could make with her limbs could barely be called possible, let alone loose. The footsteps stopped beside her bed and she craned her neck attempting to catch a glimpse of who was there, perhaps they were the one that brought her here, perhaps they knew what was happening. She’d already ruled out any form of guard or royal as surely none would go to such lengths for a petty thief, after all the few people who knew of her exploits understood that a child had to eat somehow, and her mother certainly wasn’t providing, as was the nature of the Canterlot back streets. She doubted it would be a criminal either, none would care of her, she was little more than a street rat; new steps sounded from the same direction as the first had approached, followed by a strange rattling. She was glad for the idea of change, having lain here for what seemed to be hours upon hours she had grown sick of the silence, broken only by the buzzing of the cheap light that provided the rooms soft glow. However, the fear of harm was another key factor, what if they were here to hurt her? Kill her? No. They could’ve done that far simpler than with such an elaborate setup, she may be quick and unnoticeable, but she couldn’t defend against little more than the odd street urchin. Soft words were being passed between two stallions beside her, or at least she assumed so. The voices were low enough. Soon one walked close and came into her view, a white-coated stallion with a seeming cream or blond mane and blue eyes, vaguely familiar but nothing came to mind in terms of name or position. He looked her down and she felt uncomfortable, it wasn’t the type of look that showed malice or even attraction but held more of something akin to looking through a shop window at a particularly desirable tool, weighing up the pros and cons of its usefulness. “Yes, she has potential, a little on the thin side though. Where on Equus did you find such a thing?” He had a refined but annoying accent, as though he had not a single problem in life. “Her mother sir, she gave her in for some food and bits. Easy to do, knew her positions in the day, that sort of thing. Like shooting fish in a barrel really.” Fury spread through her, and she tried pulling against her restraints with renewed vigour. These ponies acted like they owned her, how could her own mother, someone she assumed just didn’t care, give her away? It quickly became clear that she was making no difference to the straps and chains, maybe if she just explained to them that she had nothing to give to them and was worthless, they would let her go? Surely. What could they do with such a small pegasus anyway? The stallion she hadn’t seen yet began writing something down and the rattling of the cart started again, this time arriving to her right. Things were being moved from the cart to… Something. A table most likely. Depression filled her heart, was she going to die? Was this some sort of enjoyable activity for these bastards? Well if she was going to die then there was little she could do about it. Too bad, she had just landed a job to lift a necklace that she was sure would’ve fed her for a month. She closed her eyes and cursed through the material in her mouth, if only she had walked a different way. If only. A pain shot through her arm as something pierced her skin, her eyes flashed open again and her pupils constricted, some fluid was being injected into her forearm. Blackness ebbed into her vision and her eyes began to close, the last thing she heard was the sound of metal on metal, presumably from some tool beside her. Author's Note Okay, so I know that already this is dark but whatever, this story is meant to be quite dark. It focuses more on the goings on in the world of MLP that would happen with any society. The more... Criminal side of the world. There will always be bad people and in this situation, bad ponies. Anyway, let me know if I made any mistakes. EDIT: It has come to my attention that this isn't what a prologue is about... As in, I misunderstood the definition of prologue. This focuses on the main character which it isn't meant to, as such I will change it to intro for now. Chapter 1: Mare Of StealChapter One Solar Eclipse shook her mane and straightened her clothing; the tight dark leather was perfect for blending into corners and protecting her but was a demon to take on and off. Slinging her satchel over her shoulder, she opened the door and checked the mirror one last time. Granted it was not of much use because of the clear smash in the centre, but it did let her see that she would blend in well. Her dark grey fur and sapphire mane allowed her to do her job perfectly, it didn’t hurt that her talent was manipulation. Be it trying to convince her way out of something, staying out of sight or finding a way through a lock, she always managed to manipulate the situation at hand perfectly. Stepping out onto the cracked and cobbled alleys of Canterlot and into the moonlit world, she considered the task at hand, possibly the largest job she had taken up. The Canterlot Vaults were not nearly as big a bank as the name suggested, being a small company, it had found no way to outdo The Bank of Equus and turned to private protection, offering more in-depth and premium protection for those with the wealth to store. However, it had not taken off that well and now served as a temporary storage for royal affairs, holding the currency of visiting royalty, counts and barons. It had no history of robbery and did its job very well with a small security team and a single royal guard to put things in order, no-one had noticed it. Despite that, her client had decided it was about time that somebody put some worry into the royals; he had hired her to make her way in and out with the prized Jewel of Griffonia, which had been foolishly left in the vault as the visiting royal had assured Celestia that nothing would happen to it. Solar grinned as she made her way, almost jauntily, to the streets that held the location. Temporary had not been on the mind of the griffon, she would be sure he would realise his mistake and her client would be one jewel richer. He had offered her something she couldn’t refuse really, a recommendation to all he knew, a nice sum of bits and a grand house in a nearby village, one she knew had transport to Canterlot which would make taking jobs there as easy as ever. Having a reputation with somebody as influential as her client was extremely useful to someone of her calibre. More jobs meant more bits in her account and that was certainly progress. Few could claim to be held in such high esteem, then again, few could claim to have her uncanny abilities. Shaking her head, she brought her mind back to reality and found herself on the street that held the establishment, now all she had to do to prepare was find a good vantage point to scope out the building with. Making her way behind the nearest building, which happened to be a bakery, she began to scale her way to the roof out of sight and out of mind of any patrolling guards or nosy citizens. The roof tiles were uneven and brittle, meaning she had to take care not to break one off. A falling tile would be a dead giveaway to her location. Flying was also off the table, as it always was when taking on jobs, the last thing a thief would want to leave at the scene of a crime is a feather that can be conveniently used to trace them, no amount of stealth could prevent being followed by magic. Unless it applied in the same way as detection magic… She made a mental note to find a willing unicorn to test her theory later, but for now uncertainty is not the best of mindsets, so she banished the idea of flying to the structure and continued along the bakery’s roof. Reaching the end, she leapt to the Vault’s gable and scanned the tiles beneath her, if one were to come loose she would have to catch it before it fell off the roof entirely. Confident none had fallen, she made her way to the edge of the roof and looked down the building’s side. A sentry in the window beneath her, looking out over the rear of the place and a royal guard at the back door, making sure that an intruder could not pass by. She knew where the vault was, her client had told her, although she did not question where he recovered the information. Questioning such influential and important criminals was not on her to do list. Soon, she decided on her move and slowly began to climb down the side of the building shadowed by the moonlight. Making little noise, she dropped to the dirt of the building’s surroundings and crept her way round to the back door, she knew this was the quickest way in and out from her previous observations of the location, few ponies ever came through the hallway that led to the vault and back door, it made it so easy to get in. All the trust was placed in the royal guard to raise the alarm or deal with an intruder if a problem arose, unfortunately for him, he would not get the chance. Moving through the shadow of the building towards the glow of the back-door Solar was taken aback to see that the guard was a captain. That made things slightly more complex. If he were to catch sight of her appearance he would not be dismissed if he pointed her out. The guard captains were highly respected and only the most experienced soldiers made it to the rank, few people would bring up the idea of a mistake in identity. Solar debated with her method, would it be possible to simply slip past him? He was awfully close to the doorway, so she couldn’t help but think she had to go through him. She didn’t feel like taking her chances with fighting a royal captain, at the best it would leave her weak and at the worst she would be… Best not to think of that outcome. Besides, he would easily have enough time to call the security team and that just wouldn’t do, the job was meant to be as quiet as possible. Although she had been given the ‘go-ahead’ to kill or otherwise incapacitate anybody in her path, it didn’t change the distaste she had for such a blunt method; she couldn’t help but smile, however, at the idea of simply fighting anyone in her path until her route to the safe was untouched. No, she would have to catch him off guard and be sure to silence him before he can raise the alarm. Luckily, she had just the thing, one of her most useful and dark abilities. Crawling closer in the shadows she crept to his side, staying silent and unseen the entire time before standing up just behind him. She clamped a hand over his mouth and opened her own, revealing four sharp and long canines that stood out from her regular herbivore teeth. Her fangs sank into the guard’s jugular vein causing a slight red glow to emanate from her blue eyes, the blood from the vital vein was sucked through the fangs and into Solar’s own bloodstream. The taste was intoxicating, she hadn’t fed in weeks; she simply hadn’t worked up the courage to bite anyone, besides it wasn’t like she required it. But the taste, it was delicious. His struggling against her hold began to falter as the energy from his blood cells transferred to her instead of his muscles. She wasn’t going to kill him, as much as she wanted to keep feasting on that nectar, she didn’t want a high ranking official to be dead on her hands, besides she wasn’t comfortable with murder. His movements had died down to little more than shakes now, he was paler than before; quite the achievement considering his fur was white to begin with. Breathing had also died down, granted it was there but now it was just enough to survive and certainly not enough to call out. He limply leant against Solar as she lowered him to the floor, quickly gagging him just in case. Despite his horn, she knew that he would not be able to cast a spell, he was far too weak with so little blood. Pulling away, she licked her teeth, gathering any loose droplets that could remain on the outside of the enamel. The glow faded from her eyes and she turned to the hall, not letting the taste pull her away from her task entirely. Stepping forward, she made her way down the carpeted stretch, all the while checking her surroundings for any sight or sound that could be after her. Not a single soul decided to check on her, nor her activities while she knelt before a strong wooden door that led to the vault. Locked, as it should be. She slipped her hands into the opposing bracers on her arms and slid out two instruments, one a lockpick, the other a thicker metal utensil that would be used to turn the lock once all pins were held down. Lockpick number one went into the lock and the utensil placed into the lower portion; scraping in a circle while moving ever down the length of the lock, the lockpick soon slid into a small dip in the metal, one that was giving away ever so slightly. She pushed the lockpick up with little resistance and the first pin clicked into the open position, generally Canterlot locks had around three pins but with this one leading to a vault, she imagined it would have to contain more. Rinsing and repeating the process she soon had five pins held at their most pressed position, this effectively mimicked the result given by a key. Now, she held them in place and using the larger lockpick she rotated the lock, opening the door with a quiet click. Retracting her tools, she pushed the door open and slipped inside, sliding the lockpicks back into her bracers, now she had the task of opening the safe itself. The beauty of her plan and indeed that of her client’s is that unlike most thieves, she had no need to disarm any detection magic, it all used the basic detection of life spell as a base and fortunately her vampirism meant that to all means of magic, she was already dead. Luckily, this method of detection was so effective against robbery that there was regularly no other magical defence, which made it simple for her to access the vault. The vault itself was a large and thick metal door that used a combination lock, the answer to which was only found engraved on a copper card given to the royal guard patrolling at the time. Fortunately, she had the presence of mind to pocket said card when she apprehended the captain earlier, so she drew it out. Fifty-Seven, Forty-Nine and Twelve. She leant towards the dials that held the safe shut and turned each to their respective numbers. A quick scrape sounded from beneath the door and several bars retracted from the vault door as a magical aura pulled them back, swinging the door open and revealing a room inside filled with unlocked safes and a table. The table held a modest sum of bits, around a hundred. Great, but she had orders to only retrieve the jewel, besides it would make no difference if the reward for said item was claimed. One safe was larger than the rest and laid in the centre of the wall opposite her from the table, it clearly was the most important and while she had to hazard a guess as to the location of the jewel there was a good chance it was in there. Padding over to the safe she was sure to be as quiet as possible as she turned the circular handle on the safe’s front, her hands gripping the steel with determination. The door swung open to reveal her prize, a deep rosy jewel easily the size of her eye. Its smooth and perfect faces reflected her own in a kaleidoscope of perspectives. Picking up the gem, she almost felt regret that she would have to part ways with it eventually, the reward would be well worth the loss, however. She wasted no time slipping it into her satchel and closing the safe before making her way out the vault. Closing that as well, she swiftly made her way to the door leading into the hall. A quick glance to either side and a good listen made sure that there was no-one to see her leave. She made it to the back door with no resistance and came upon the captain, he was still lying where she had left him, his blue-streaked mane now revealed by his helmet which had apparently rolled off him. His groans made her feel a pang of remorse, he had simply been told to stay guard, being left without blood was unpleasant and she likely took too much in her vigour. Besides, leaving such a high-ranking officer with so little blood would not go too well if the worst was to happen, it could also cause panic if anybody thought the myths and legends were true. Solar leant down and pulled some rope out of her satchel, it was meant to be used to support her in case she needed to hang while opening a window or something to that extent, but the material would work as bindings too. Wrapping it around his hands and feet she knotted the rope ensuring that he could not follow her or get to another sentry before she had gotten away, she then knelt to his neck and bit into his jugular vein again. This time rather than sucking blood she injected it into his bloodstream through the fangs, it felt strange and she disliked it, but not enough to make her stop. Once he had enough blood that it was not considered low she turned and retreated into the shadow, with her target safely kept in her satchel wrapped in cloth and her identity secret she considered the events very successful. --------------------------------------------------❆-------------------------------------------------- Canterlot was peaceful at night, strolling along the cobbled stone paths was a gift and for a moment you could easily forget the poverty that was held behind dark alleys. The moon shone as a luminescent marble, hanging in a beautiful night sky that was lightly dusted with stars. The charming houses lined the sides of the roads, each containing its own citizens. Few people went through Canterlot at this time, but Solar enjoyed it immensely, most worried about losing their way or being confronted by thieves and thugs. It didn’t happen as often as The Canterlot Times would have you believe and frankly, it was calmer at night. The gorgeous shades from the lamps and candles dotted around the capital held a calming and enjoyable grasp upon the world. All strife and hate temporarily forgotten in this cacophony of pleasant sights and sounds. One perk of being a thief was that you couldn’t meet yourself and few competitors would dare antagonise you, there was always a sense of mutual respect between the darker sides of Canterlot. Granted there were always the rough types, ones who desired no profit of wealth but more… brutal gains. They were rarely a problem however as they did little planning and were slow, usually, they trusted their strength too much and were easily evaded. Then there were the drunks, those making their way home from the various bars around Canterlot after a long night, most didn’t notice them and still more left them to their own devices. She felt the wrapped gem in her satchel as she walked in the darkness of the night, thinking of the meeting she would be having with her client soon. Running various conversations through her head she soon found herself at her hideaway, a tall clock tower that was regarded by most to be an empty autonomous structure that held nothing but the time. It was magically powered and did not require adjustment which meant that no-one had the need nor the desire to enter it. It was perfect and had been for a good few years now; taking on jobs to feed herself and buy the odd tool to assist with those jobs Solar had lived quite contentedly. This offer of a new house, an actual place to live that was not constantly coated with cobwebs and the sound of ticking, was an opportunity far too perfect to pass up. The Jewel of Griffonia may not be worth as much as the reward in terms of literal value, gems and minerals could be found easily in the undergrounds of Equestria, but a ruby belonging to a royal family was very desirable, quite the artefact to many. Her client would not have trouble making back his loss if he chose to sell the collectable. That is, assuming the house he had offered was not absurdly large. More than likely it was a regular but furnished house with quite high-quality furnishings. The bits would be a great kick-start to life, not only were they nice to have in general but she knew she would have to purchase all sorts of items upon moving in. It was reassuring that her client had such a large reputation for honesty, he so far had not been known to cross a deal and no deaths had been reported by those he did business with, which reassured her. She was certain there would be no double-crossing from him and he was certain that she would retrieve the jewel. And they call us the criminals. The Equestrian royals had plenty of shady dealings, most unrulier than her own and yet if it provided the façade of peace for the world it was considered fair. Positioning her wings behind her, Solar propelled herself up the structure. Her wings well used to the weight of her body from flying and climbing all her life, she almost felt like a filly again. The adrenaline of completing a job, the freedom of having all of Canterlot available to her. Soon all of Equestria would be accessible to her. The clock tower had an open window that she used to get in and out and she clambered through it, the interior was small, around six metres by eight metres but was enough to contain a chest of belongings, clothing and a makeshift bed. The clock face itself was visible from inside the tower, it was translucent and often let in a stream of light from whichever celestial body was passing at the time. It could also be called beneficial that she had the time on hand so easily. One in the morning, she would love to get some shut-eye before returning the jewel, but her client would likely hear of the robbery and grow suspicious of the lack of such an item. Sighing, Solar simply removed the mask around her neck and the harness from her thigh. She now looked a lot less like a thief and a lot more like a citizen, she would prefer to seem less strange to any guards patrolling if she happened to mess up. The old stone and wood of the clocktower held fast as she made her way down the side, the cracks in certain stones making a perfect handhold. Landing with a light thud, she continued her way down the streets of Canterlot towards the meeting point selected by the client, a park with a few trees and a stream running through it. Despite his doings the man enjoyed peaceful locations and was generally quite pleasant, he was her favoured employer and the two had a high respect for each other, he knew he could never retrieve the items he desired without her and she knew she would never be able to discover them without him. Turning a bend revealed the grassy area that was the park, kept in pristine condition by the unicorns that reserved the area, the park was certainly a sight. The moonlight made the gardens adopt a new hue, darker and bluer than the usual tones of the environment, the usually crystal blue stream was now darker and more reflective, distorting the surrounding light sources with ease. Upon a bench beside the bridge across the stream were three figures, two standing and one sitting. She knew them well, her client and his two protectors. They knew her as well and nodded with a slight grin as she approached from the bridge, the stallion she was here to meet stood up himself and strode towards her with arms held wide and a beam on his face. “Solar! So glad you could make it, seeing that you are in one piece I assume you have good news?” His certainty in her success was flattering, doubly so considering she had never done such a high-profile job before. Had she returned empty-handed however she was sure he would have been upset, angry even. Smiling she accepted his brief friendly hug and he held her at arm’s length, he always was a little unconventional, acting like a good friend or family member to all. Opening the satchel, Solar pulled out the cloth that held the jewel and held it for him. “Of course, Syndicate, The Jewel of Griffonia, as you wanted. I could hardly refuse your deal, especially after all the job opportunities.” She always enjoyed working for Syndicate, he was about as welcoming and honest as you could get working in his position. Quite the benevolent employer. Still, he was a unicorn who enjoyed results more than anything and disliked obstacles which prevented such things. “Ah, as breath-taking as I’d imagined. I hate to ask this but, did you have to... dispose of anyone during your stay there?” It was perfectly ordinary for her customers, and indeed all clients, to ask this of their employees. They usually needed to know things such as, will they have to deal with silencing deaths, backlash from the target or what method of monetary transferal. If it was obvious that an item of great value had been stolen at the time, such as the guard being alerted and alarm bells ringing, the client would likely want to wait before transferring any bits and may indeed want to dismiss bank methods entirely, preferring to deliver the money by hand. That process would likely not be necessary for this job though, the bits while generous to someone in her position would likely not seem suspicious in the grand scheme of life in Canterlot. Eight hundred bits had been promised and that sum she could easily live off, she could even take a break for a while to settle down and get the layout of the new place. “Not permanently, no. One had to be subdued temporarily but he’s back to normal now, a little confused I would imagine. They’ll find him, tied up at the back door perfectly conscious.” “Flawless, just one guard and the item. Impressive. We won’t have to deal with anyone knowing your face, will we? Not that it would invalidate the deal, but we would have to find more anonymous means of transferring your home to your name.” As usual, asking questions to know their side of the events was something that a customer would usually do after a job, rarely did they enquire to the specifics, however. “No, I wasn’t seen. Moreover, they likely won’t know they’ve been robbed until someone finds that guard. Not that he can tell them much, he was fighting to stay conscious for most of my time there. Most likely they will pin this to somebody using an interesting method of injecting poison.” He smirked, enjoying the thought of the complete confusion the royals and Guardsmen would be in. Solar was an extremely useful asset to him and that was part of the reason for his generous deal, he didn’t want her to leave his services as he would lose a valuable asset so offering a home and some bits in her account would ensure that she would accept future jobs, while also being in good condition to complete them. Besides, the jewel was well worth the cost, that house hadn’t been used for a long time and was simply gathering dust in his name. The gem would settle any money-based issue and the blow to the Canterlot nobles would be worth the worry. No longer would they believe themselves to be as immune to him as they had been, he didn’t need them to be afraid, just humble. “Excellent, in that case, we can get to work on the arrangements. To all who ask, however, I will need you to pretend as though you received the house from a relative as a gift. I think an uncle would do as a bluff. As usual, the bits will be in your account by the end of the day.” One of the stallions beside Syndicate picked up a small box from the park bench and opened it, offering the inside to him. The jewel was placed inside, the box then closed, locked and kept by the stallion. Syndicate expressed his thanks to Solar in the form of a grin and a nod, then a cheery, “Goodnight, we’ll have you sorted out in no time.”. And with that, the trio began walking away and into the night. Solar watched their departure and sat on the bench, relaxing and watching the stream. The reflections danced a dance that reflected the happiness she felt, she was finally going to be moving up in the world. No longer living in abandoned locations and back alleys, she was going to be living the life she had wanted for as long as she remembered. Her abilities made the life of a thief perfect and she had no plans to deviate from that job, but she may also need to get a small part-time job in the village, otherwise ponies may begin asking questions and that simply wouldn’t do. The flowers blew in the cool night breeze, bringing with them the smell of vegetation. The hues of the sky framed the moon and its glow, highlighting the distant dark dots that dotted its surface. --------------------------------------------------❆-------------------------------------------------- The lack of a mare in the moon had interested Solar, she had noticed the moment it happened, the summer sun celebration had been taking place and with most drunk under a table or laughing around one she had taken the opportunity to watch the sunrise from a rooftop. She had been practising the art of the butterfly knife when she had looked up towards the moon, only to notice four starts slowly drawing closer and closer to it. Only when they had seemingly collided with the object did it happen. The shine of light crossing the moon’s surface and the dark dots removed. Immediately it had worried her, that pattern had been there for generations. Millenia if she recalled correctly. Around the same time, Luna, the latest addition to the royal family had appeared and it was accepted that she was Celestia’s lost sister. However, Solar found it strange, why would such an event happen as Luna returned, the mare in the moon tale described the character as a fiend and a villain, was it mere coincidence that the mare had vanished just as this princess had appeared. Some talked of flashes of light from The Everfree Forest which she knew laid somewhere nearby to Canterlot and bright colours resembling a rainbow, but no officials would confirm anything. Soon the princess had visited a nearby town during Nightmare Night only to be accused of being the character the night was based around, Nightmare Moon; Solar couldn’t argue against the resemblance. Something didn’t add up. Or rather it added up flawlessly, it just wouldn’t make sense. The mare in the moon, thought to be the mythical Nightmare Moon, vanishing as a princess who just so happens to be confusable with the same figure appears. She sighed. It was nothing she had to worry about, clearly the princess was doing her job, and nothing had gone wrong yet. Granted it had only been around a month since the event but that mattered little. At this point, few remembered and still fewer cared. Standing up from the bench, she decided to get some sleep. On such a night she would be amiss not to soar back to the clocktower in the skies. Taking flight, she coasted along the wind, using hot spots to push herself higher with little effort, such a way to travel was far faster than foot and was quite enjoyable. She usually kept to the grounds when it came to travel in Canterlot at night since it was so peaceful, but flying was just as pleasant, just for different reasons. Slowing by angling her wings, Solar came to a rest on the old clocktower’s roof. She swung herself down, twisting to grab the windowsill and pulling herself into the tower’s single room. Stripping down to the essentials she laid back on her rudimentary bed, staring at the ceiling and thinking of the future. If Syndicate was as quick as he usually was then the house would be ready in a maximum of about three days. Lying in the dark her mind turned to the reason she was so perfect for such a job in the first place. Her vampirism. Granted she had hated it at first, the desire to consume blood, the vision in her mind’s eye that showed the world in grayscale save for the red flow of blood in everything in front of her. The fangs were a pain at times as well, if ponies saw them they grew terrified as she’d learned during her teen years, after she left- No, she would not ruin the mood by thinking of that. The lack of blood was also slightly annoying, if she went too long without feeding her fur would begin to lighten, it never went brighter than dark grey but it was meant to be far darker when that happened. She would also begin to crave blood more, the ‘blood vision’ as she nicknamed it would become brighter. It was nothing she couldn’t deal with, but it did make life more tiring as she often became agitated and irritable after a month or two without nourishing. However, she was lately regarding it in a more positive light. Undetectable by life magic and indeed most magic, not to mention it had once saved her life. At the time she had been stabbed by a particularly thuggish brute, she would likely have bled out had it not been for the quick thinking to bite her attacker and draw their blood. She had barely managed to get out of that scrape, had it not been for a passing guard she would have been in a far worse situation since the ruffian had stabbed her several times when they realised what she was doing. The guard did not see the bite marks, nor did he see her in the process of doing it. He had patched her up and she had managed to convince him that the thug had been a particularly hateful stalker. Explaining that she had a home she had to go back to and that she would be fine if they arrested them, the guard had let her continue her journey. I hated manipulating him, but I am grateful to him. Eyes closing, she soon drifted into blissful sleep. Her eyes opened to a bleak and blank room, she was lying on some table. She quickly recognised her surroundings as that of her room. Trying to raise her arm, she realised she was restrained, clearly her daily check had yet to happen. Fear took hold of her as the door beside her opened and a familiar rattling noise echoed through the room, that fucking stallion was back. She struggled against the restraints, knowing there would be no release from them but refusing to simply accept what was coming. “Calm down Solar, we wouldn’t want you hurting yourself.” That voice made her freeze in terror, the voice that had caused so much pain. Something was lifted from the trolley the stallion had wheeled in and the sound of steps made her cringe in despair. She wanted to scream as the silhouette of the figure leant over her, some form of a needle in one hand. “You know as well as I that we have to inject you frequently, I know you dislike it and frankly I can’t think why.” She knew why. That serum, filled with something that did this all to her, that made her the way she was. It hurt when it was stabbed into her. It hurt while it was coursing through her. It hurt while it altered her teeth, her mind, her circulatory system, everything. A burning feeling throughout her whole body made her want to shriek, it made her want to cry and thrash, but her restraints would not let her. Solar’s body shot up from the bed, drenched in sweat. Her eyes glowing a soft red with wet tears around them. Those dreams, they frequented her almost every other day, if not more. She wiped the tears from her eyes and stood up from the bed, walking to the window. Looking over Canterlot allowed her to calm down quickly, she wasn’t there anymore and hadn’t been for years. It no longer mattered. The cold wind rushed around her as she glared out upon the city. Her eyes dimmed back into their usual blue, only when she had those dreams did her eyes flare up outside of feeding. It was… Disturbing. Great, now the mood was ruined. Going back to sleep after the night terrors was simple, they never came twice but they were so vivid. She hated them. --------------------------------------------------❆-------------------------------------------------- The night passed uneventfully after that, the only sounds heard were the odd bird and the soft ticking of the clock face. Morning rose and Solar rose with it, yawning and stretching out. Checking the clock face, she read the hands. Ten in the morning. She had slightly overslept but after such a job she didn’t mind. By now the bits would be transferred to her account and she decided that she would give herself an ‘allowance’ of one hundred bits to spend during the rest of her time in Canterlot. First, however, she hadn’t eaten in twenty-two hours. Frankly, she was famished. Hopping out of bed, she dressed in a simple pair of black trousers, a slack white shirt and a dark waistcoat. All the items were creased and slightly loose, but they looked fine and would do for a day in the city, she didn’t exactly have lots of clothing to choose from. Pulling on some socks and her usual heeled dark grey boots, she slipped her butterfly knife into her pocket. The knife itself was quite a nice one, it had a wooden handle with metal tips; the blade, although basic was very sharp on one side. Vaulting out the window, Solar scaled down the clocktower, easily finding handholds until she landed on the floor. Canterlot was almost as nice during the day as it was at night, despite the rough underbelly of the city she couldn’t deny it was a spectacle. Tall cream towers and walls shone with stained glass, the regular homes that lined the streets and the businesses with ponies flowing in and out, buying items and chatting happily. Feelings the pangs of hunger brought Solar back to reality, snapping her attention to the idea of food. With her mind set, she made her way towards the Firelight’s Friend, a nice cafe she had visited before after particularly profitable job. They served herbivore food, as most cafeterias do in Equestria, not many omnivore or carnivore visitors travelled to Canterlot, so they rarely needed to serve anything that used meat. Besides most ponies found the idea appalling. She turned the corner, coming upon the restaurant in its modest corner of Canterlot. Taking in the patrons of the establishment Solar noticed that most of them were considered middle class, the place itself was nothing overly fancy and frankly, was more of a hangout for groups of friends who liked a bit more of a relaxed environment. The mare behind the counter nodded at her as she approached, and she returned the gesture. Pulling a chair up, she sat at a lone table and checked the blackboard which held a modest selection of foods. With her mind decided, Solar ordered a hayburger. Quite the treat considering her usual diet of apples and bread, sure it was boring and got old but at least it kept her alive. It cost eight bits, but it was worth it for the taste. Not to mention the fact that she was getting a little bit too skinny. Scanning the customers, Solar decided that she didn’t recognise anyone, which was good news rather than a disappointment. There were few ponies she knew that she would like to run into, besides she was always more of an introvert. With lunch out of the way, Solar decided to help herself later in life and use her remaining money to get some kind of tool. Near here there was a blacksmith that sold equipment and weaponry. Usually used by those looking for a bit of personal protection and those who plan to adventure, it had few customers and was open to all. The old sign of the shop hung from the establishment, depicting a horseshoe with two hammers crossed through it. Creatively named The Hooves Hearth, the welcoming inside of the shop greeted Solar as she opened the door. Some heat hit her fur and she met the eye of the Stallion behind the counter. He was pulling a sword out of a furnace, she imagined he was likely reforming the item. This particular shop was well known for being used by wealthier ponies to remake weapons for display or heirlooms for storage. Those with a little less cash often paid for fresh forges or old weapons, they worked well and just lacked the little flourishes and engravings the more expensive works owned. You could easily afford protection in Canterlot as long as you had either fifty-odd bits or willingness to work, a lot of shopkeepers accepted labour as payment for those unfortunate to be unable to afford their items. The earth-pony placed the sword in a bucket of water, allowing a loud hiss to emit through the shop. Solar strolled up to the counter and began speaking to him. “Hey there Ironsights, I was wondering if you had any bows available to buy?” She requested, hoping that he would. Ironsights was pretty large and it was always a good idea to befriend those types of people than make them your enemy and he was certainly on good terms with her. She had done some jobs for him in the past and they had a good relationship, honestly, he was the closest thing to a friend she had. “Of course lass, you don’t truly think I would let myself run out of such a basic weapon, do you?” He fired back. His accent was thick and tough, vaguely Scottish. His ash mane fitted the concept of a blacksmith perfectly and his dark brown fur matched to boot. “Great. Have any in grey or black?” She questioned, knowing full well he would. Still, she had found it was always polite to ask, just in case. Of course, he did and a fine one at that. The bow had thin grey etchings and was crafted from ‘Phyllostachys nigra’, more commonly referred to as ‘black bamboo’, a material that was almost perfect for a bow while also being, well… Black. Testing the bow yielded good results, Solar had only ever used a bow once before and the result had not been pretty, but with some tips from Ironsights and some practice, she improved. The bow cost a hefty eighty bits, but it was worth it, and she had the bits to spend. Having acquired her new weapon, she decided to return to the clocktower to continue her plan. Killing with it wasn’t actually her intention, even inuring hadn’t been the idea. She had however decided that a way to scale seemingly unclimbable buildings without having to resort to flying, which could often be a problem due to loose feathers and noise. As such, she had come to the conclusion that a bow and arrow could be very useful, not only for the projectile opportunities it gave her, for example hitting a switch from across the room, but more importantly the opportunities that fixing a rope onto the arrow would give. Rope arrows had been a concept of hers for a while now and she had always wanted to put the idea into action but until now she had not been able to afford a bow to actually use them, or arrows to alter. Now she would be able to test her design and if it worked, her job would become a lot easier. Even if it didn’t, the arrows would be very useful when blunted. She thanked Ironsights and left the blacksmiths. Exiting the shop, she waved goodbye to Ironsights and slung the bow over her shoulder, the string across her chest and the limbs on her back. Ironsights had graciously given her a quiver for free with her purchase of an order of special arrows and that also hung on her back, grey and held in place by the included belt. With that, she continued down the Canterlot street and stuck to the slabbed pavement, running ideas through her head for various ways of making the arrows work. Currently her idea was to fasten one end of a rope to the end of the arrow, then wrapping the rope around the shaft finally coming to a knot at the head that held it in place just enough that movements could not dislodge it and the wind could not either, while also leaving the fastening loose enough to unwrap upon the jarring piercement into her target. The arrows had also been altered to enter stone and hold her with more security, this was done by having the arrowheads themselves serrated. The idea should work flawlessly, and Solar looked forward to testing the concept. She soon discovered that while zoned out she had actually managed to find her way back to the clocktower, strange as she usually didn’t make good decisions while zoned out. That being said, she didn’t usually zone out. Shaking her head, she returned to the situation at hand and checked her surroundings to be sure no-one saw here climb the tower. Generally, most ponies didn’t concern themselves with such things as confronting someone climbing buildings, or even remembering them but you would get the odd rich teen snitch that would find a guard or even a guard themselves. There was one particularly troublesome looking young stallion, standing across the street clearly watching her, so she simply sat against the side of the clocktower, waiting for him to leave. While she could hold her own very well in a fight her stature didn’t give others that kind of idea, being small and thin did have its downsides. He soon moved off and she hoped he wouldn’t get any ideas about coming back, doubly so as she hoped to experiment tonight. It was getting late, so she doubted it. Climbing the tower was as always, enjoyable but she had a shock when a brick had broken upon grasping it. It had not proved a problem as she had simply let go and changed her hold to another position, but it did remind her that not every structure in Canterlot was perfectly safe, while the clocktower was possibly the most untouched in terms of reparations it still was a good prompt to stay on her toes. --------------------------------------------------❆-------------------------------------------------- Altering the arrows was quite difficult at first, but after the third arrow, it became a rather streamlined process. What? Knots are hard. Soon she had made eight rope arrows that she considered functional and had made fifteen blunt arrows, the other seven she kept as regular serrated arrows, lest she was in a sticky situation. Now all that remained was to exit the tower and test them, come to think, she could combine the two into one. Swinging her bow from her back, Solar drew an arrow from her quiver and locked it into the bow’s drawstring, lining her shot up for the clocktower’s windowsill. Releasing the arrow’s fletching, it soared through the air and dug deep into the stone, embedding the head entirely. As expected, the knot of the rope came loose, and the momentum of the arrow carried through the material flinging it out of the tower and down the side. Now a convenient rope hung from the sill and Solar grinned, her idea was a success. This would be very handy indeed. She ran lightly to the aperture and vaulted through it, spinning to hold onto the edge. Then she held the rope, slowly placing her body weight onto it. It held fast. Perfect. She easily could move up and down the rope and soon she dropped to the sward beside the tower that divided it from the next building. Suddenly, she realised how dark it was. It must be night, what time is it? Eleven, well she had had a productive day in her opinion and decided that she may as well get some sleep, so she pulled herself back up the rope and coiled it into the tower. She may as well leave the rope as a permanent way in and out since this was the building she most often scaled anyway, she would just pull it into the room at night. Changing out of her town clothes and leaning her bow against the wall, she laid down onto her bed. Surprisingly, she was shattered. Closing her eyes, she thought of all that laid beyond the clock face, the open city of Canterlot, the wide world of Equus. Soon, sleep drifted over her mind like a black fog, pulling her away from reality. Author's Note Okay, so more backstory and some actual normal story. After copying the story from Microsoft word I got a bunch of red underlinings from Grammarly, so I get the idea that either Grammarly is wrong or word is. Anyway, I went through them and allowed a lot of them before finding that some were actually wrong. Like correcting sward to sword. THAT IS A WORD GRAMMARLY. Anyway, if things like clock face being clockface in the next chapter bug you, that is why. I have decided not to listen to Grammarly next time I upload. Chapter 2: Moving DayChapter Two As the sun rose, Solar rose with it. She sat up in bed and stretched, glancing at the clockface as she did every day. The arms of the clock showed it to be nine in the morning. Solar dressed in the only other casual clothing she had, a frilled white shirt and brown trousers along with her usual lace-up heeled grey boots. It wasn’t much but it was smart enough to suit her while also being loose enough to seem like a regular citizen. Slipping on her belt, she placed her knife into position on her thigh and strode to the window. However, she had gotten no further than a metre before she noticed something off, there was a bird on the other side of the glass pane. A pigeon, seemingly carrying a small note. Great, another job from Syndicate. While she enjoyed the prospect of another job she had been wanting an empty day as at some point she would be moving to her new house in that village, which she had found was called Ponyville. Thanks to the old paper map of Equestria she had spotted during a sweep of a house some time ago. Sighing, she opened the window and held her hand out, the pigeon nimbly hopped onto her finger and she unwound the note from its leg. Solar, The nobles are in a bit of a frenzy over that jewel. Nice job. However, I think that it would be good to strike while the iron is hot and show that we have power over all the ruling parties. As such, I would like you to make a move on Equestria’s royals. I have intel of a particularly fine necklace being used for decoration in one of the Canterlot Castle rooms on the third floor, specifically one used by Princess Celestia’s personal pupil, a Miss Twilight Sparkle. While the necklace does not belong to her and she is, indeed, not occupying the room at the moment it will be noticed as missing by the cleaners. Attached is a note that I would like you to replace the necklace with, this is to ensure they know that it did not simply go missing and so they do not blame staff. I want them to know we have power. Although, I do not want them to announce a full forced witch-hunt on us, this is why I have chosen a low priority target. The job is rather simple on the face, get in, get necklace, get out. But, unfortunately, the room happens to be in one of the towers. I trust you can get the job done. To be clear, failure will not affect our previous dealings, only this one. Speaking of, I have not forgotten our deal. The house will be ready later today, so be sure to gather your things. I would estimate it to be wise to leave around six the earliest, as the paperwork has not quite gone through. -Syndicate Solar bit her lip reading the letter, the Canterlot towers were problematic. They had a strange shape and did not simply go straight up, but rather angled out of the main building. This would make climbing them very difficult… Although, that being said beneath them was a long drop, around a few kilometres. No-one would survive such a drop, but, no-one would be able to find a feather there either… It was decided then, she would fly to the outer edge of the tower and climb from there, she did not want to chance a stray feather landing on a balcony. Cursed feathers. Still, the job should be, as Syndicate himself pointed out, relatively simple from then out. All that would sit between her and the necklace would be a locked window and, she assumed, a locked case, both of which could be unlocked with relative ease. There was also the issue of the necklace being in the Canterlot Castle, she knew that most jewellery in the establishment was often held in a rune-engraved box, those however were quite faulty as you could easily bypass the enchantment. All one would have to do is find the rune and use a knife or similar tool to carve a circle around it, then chip away the wood that held the symbol. Thank Celestia for her practise with these types of situations. Solar slid the note she was meant to replace the necklace with along with the letter into her bag and slung the satchel over her shoulder. As she began to walk towards the doorway she realised, if she was on a job… Damn it, I’m going to have to change again. --------------------------------------------------❆-------------------------------------------------- The Canterlot Castle was certainly impressive, large cream marble walls and slated gold rooves gleamed in the light of the sun, probably an intentional detail as the castle had originally been inhabited by Celestia alone, as opposed to her and her sister. Standing up, Solar scanned the structure for the tower she was meant to hit. The general buzz of the city beneath her made it slightly harder to concentrate so she tried to block it out. No easy feat apparently. There, on the left, the tower Syndicate had been referring to stood high over the side of the mountain, seemingly defying all logic and reason with its form, attached only by the bottom and being so large it stood to reason that the tower should have crumbled instantly, yet it has stood standing for millennia. Magic was the most likely reason for this, most of the castle was enchanted to resist the wear of nature and that included the pull of gravity. Having made her decision, she sprinted to the edge of the building she had been using as an observation tower and leapt to the next, making her route up as she went. A pegasus in the sky was often watched by passers-by as most loved doing tricks, so flying while dressed in her current attire would not be a good idea. Eventually she neared the wall that surrounded the castle and when she did she dropped to the streets below, running up to the wall and pressing against it; the castle guards were posted on the top of the walls and rarely looked down them. In fact, most of them were asleep since no-one ever really tried to enter the castle. Or rather, most were allowed to. There was no real reason to sneak into the castle as you could simply enter through the front if you wanted to visit the gardens or visit the princesses as a lot of business owners and nobles did. However, entering through the front would not be a good idea in her current situation, as the guards would instantly think something was up with her. No-one goes around casually with a bow and a dark leather suit. It was kind of a red flag. By walking with the wall, Solar eventually came to a spot directly beneath the tower. Just a few metres opposite the wall was the cliff edge and further along the ridge she stood on a river flowed off the mountain. She swore under her breath, she hated working in the daytime. Far fewer shadows to blend into. Fortunately, her talent allowed her to make use of peripheral vision, if she could get to the side of a guard at a sharp enough angle she could go quite unnoticed. That was, if there was a guard on the wall to begin with. Turning, she used one of the boons of vampirism to her advantage, the blood vision. She could just make out the circulatory system of a unicorn guard atop the wall, he was sitting down and seemed quite drowsy, his heartbeat was slow. Not unhealthily so, just enough to show he was very relaxed. He wouldn’t notice if she whipped past. Creeping against the wall she moved to his right by a good margin, now at an almost eighty-degree angle she began scaling it. The marble bricks of the wall made a pretty decent handhold. She came to the top and glanced at the guard through the slits in the brickwork. He was awake but drowsy, clearly not concentrating too thoroughly. The gold armour he wore reassured her somewhat, she did not want to have to deal with another captain. Hauling herself up to the walkway on top of the wall, she quickly vaulted the other side and dropped into the grounds of the castle. Her head span round as she checked on him, but his red glow did not move. She smiled to herself and looked up. The tower loomed above her and with the guard out of the way she could now fly up. That’s when she realised that, if she was on solid ground that any lost feathers would also land on solid ground. She would have to get some altitude, make her way to the beginning of the curve in the tower before pushing out over the drop. Annoying but her fault, so she couldn’t really complain. The climb was slightly more difficult than usual with the added weight of her bow, which she admittedly hadn’t factored in when purchasing it. Luckily it was quite light all things considered, so it was nothing too awkward. Pushing off the castle, she spread her wings and gave them one forceful beat. The action pushed her far out enough that beneath her was the long drop to the plains rather than Canterlot. She flew up beyond the curve in the tower and reached the third floor before landing on the room’s balcony. There were curtains on the doors that lead to the room, but they were inside so she had free access to the locks on the doors. Quickly checking for any signs of blood in the room, she was relieved to see that no-one was currently in it. Sure, it wouldn’t have been a problem, she would just have to wait for them to leave but it would still be a bore. The lock on the doors proved simple, having only three pins, and Solar strolled into the room. It was grand, with a four-poster bed to the side of the room and a complex oak desk on the other, it certainly was the kind of environment you could imagine royalty in. To the left of the balcony doors against the curved wall sat a display case. Inside was a wooden replica of a pony’s neck and chest, upon which sat a beautiful necklace. Holding amethysts and rubies in delicate patterns within obsidian casings the jewellery was quite the marvel. Frankly, she was shocked it wasn’t treasured more than it was. The case was more of a cabinet, made of mahogany or a similar wood it had a glass panel which shielded the prize from the world. It had a lock on it, as expected but she knew that there must be more to it. Upon closer observation she discovered a rune carved into the side of the wood. She sighed, while she had expected as much she had kind of been hoping there wouldn’t actually be one. So, she began the process of removing the mark, carving a delicate circle around the etching and then slowly pulling down with her knife to peel the surface of the wood off the cabinet. On the one hand, she hated having to ruin such a nice piece of furniture but on the other she did need that necklace. After the rune was gone, she began to work on the lock which, much like the doors, held a surprisingly low number of pins. The doors on the cabinet opened easily once the lock had clicked and the necklace was lifted from the bust, then wrapped in a cloth and transferred to Solar’s satchel. She took the note Syndicate had given her out of her bag and placed it in the cabinet. Now she just had to leave. Turning, she froze. There was someone coming down the corridor outside the main door. Quickly, she closed the doors on the cabinet and drew the curtains on the balcony before closing those doors too. Then she leapt off the balcony and soared out across the sky. Holding her breath and praying under it, she folded her wings in and let herself drop like a stone. The wind rushed past her, whistling at her speed disapprovingly. She fell past Canterlot and beneath the mountain, where she opened her wings and slowed her speed to a hover. Climbing the breeze, she flew up to the edge of Canterlot’s walls nearest to the clocktower where she dropped to the street below. The clocktower was directly in front of her and she wasted no time climbing to the top. --------------------------------------------------❆-------------------------------------------------- Four in the afternoon, the day had really flown past as she had carried out that job. Syndicate really had it out for the royals recently. Not that she cared. Changing her clothing, she picked her satchel back up and left her bow in her room before exiting the tower. She had to bring the necklace to him now. Then she would gather her valuables up and get ready for a whole different life. Canterlot was the usual picturesque scene as she made her way along the streets, blending into the crowd as she ate an apple. A stall nearby offered a newspaper, which she picked up and read as she walked. As expected her little escapade from the other day was in there. Stunning robbery at Canterlot Vaults! Recently a shocking event unfolded at the nearby private security establishment known as the ‘Canterlot Vaults’. An unknown assailant assaulted the captain of the royal guard as he was patrolling government property. The captain in question, Shining Armour, claims that he remembers next to nothing of the incident, in his own words: “It seemed as though one minute I was being roughly grabbed and the next I was being shaken awake by somepony.” Upon finding the prized ‘Jewel of Griffonia’ missing, establishment employees sped to the door to find Shining unconscious on the floor. No-one knows who managed to get in and out of such a guarded area, but the Princesses had some grave news regarding the situation. “We are certain that this was meant as a threat directly to both us and the griffons. Very few people had motive to steal that gem and still fewer had its location. To infiltrate such a heavily secured zone would require more effort than the common thief would justify. Currently, we believe somepony is trying to drive a wedge between Griffonian and Equestrian relations.” Said Princess Celestia when asked of the occurrence. “While we are sure that our enemy has an ulterior motive, neither our, nor our sister’s, attempts to analyse the area have been fruitful. With no signs of magic and not one of the detection spells alarmed we have little to go on, but thee can be assured that our attempts to find the convict will not end soon.” Stated Princess Luna during the questioning of the matter. The royal guard are working to find the pony responsible for the heist and poisoning of Captain Shining Armour. Solar grinned to herself and shook her head, ‘Heavily secured zone’ was an overstatement. Damn royals always twisting the truth. Frankly the job had been easy, tense, but easy. Beneath the text there was a printed picture of the royals standing in front of a crowd of disorderly ponies and griffons alike. According to the caption it showed Celestia, Luna, Shining Armour and a… Prince Blueblood. Narrowing her eyes, she came to a falter on the road and stared at the image of the second unicorn. A new royal it would seem, or at least one she had never seen before. He seemed vaguely familiar. Strange. She folded the paper up and slid it into her satchel before carrying on down the road. Syndicate’s home base was actually relatively normal, if no-one told you then you would have no idea that it wasn’t just another occupied home. The path up to the house was maintained and clean. Indeed, the house itself was relatively large, at least, in comparison to what Solar was usually saw. This section of Canterlot was likely more for middle class citizens than lower and it wasn’t quite the right area for the higher class. Knocking on the door returned a noticeable echo from inside before the sound of a bolt sliding from a catch and the door swung open, revealing an irritated looking older earth-pony mare. She looked Solar up and down before raising an eyebrow and jerking her head, gesturing behind her. Solar smiled and walked in, continuing into the front hall. She knew the general layout and made her way to the meeting room upstairs, the room that Syndicate not only spent most of his time but also received deliveries in. Oddly enough this time a stallion was leaning against the closed door to the room. He straightened up and accosted her. “Alright, what are you here for?” He began, with a slight edge to his voice. Clearly, he was a guard of some sort. “Syndicate requested an item only I could provide, he should be expecting me.” She replied formally. Like the mare before he simply looked her up and down and opened the door, gesturing her through. Inside Syndicate was leaning against the far end of an oval table, four ponies sat around the table in chairs. Most she knew as crime lords from her past employments, others she just assumed were clients of Syndicate’s. Not wanting to disturb the meeting, she leant against the wall and met Syndicate’s eye. He gestured her forward and spoke to her. “I’ll be impressed if you already have that necklace Solar.” He said, smiling. As ever, the welcoming picture he was, although she could see the worry in his face. His company was clearly quite stressful to keep. “Caught you off guard, have I?” She joked, walking round the table to him, feeling all four of his guests watching her. Sliding the wrapped necklace out of her bag, she unwrapped it and waited for his reaction. Checking the necklace, he nodded and pulled a pouch from his pocket, giving it to Solar. “Yeah, this looks good. Great work. Eighty bits, as promised.” --------------------------------------------------❆-------------------------------------------------- Having spoken to Syndicate regarding their deal, Solar had discerned that the house was, for all intents and purposes, ready and that she could move as soon as she pleased. She wasted no time gathering her things, her clothing, gear and weapons. She decided to carry the bow and knife on her while her keeping her gear and clothing in a suitcase she had purchased on her way back to the clocktower. Getting to Ponyville would be easy, there was train station outside Canterlot that regularly stopped by the village. Being in her regular clothing and wheeling a suitcase, not many passed Solar a glance as she walked through the crowded platform. The train had not yet arrived, and a few groups stood at the edge of the platform, each engaged in conversation. Finding an empty area, Solar stood and waited. The train itself was due in around five minutes so she took the time to look at those around her. One particular individual caught her eye, a white coated mare with a finely shaped purple mane and tail. She was wearing a necklace, not unlike the one Solar had taken earlier, but with far fewer gems. There was a stallion talking to her, a white coated, blue haired pony wearing a suit and monocle. Intrigued, Solar listened carefully, trying to capture any titbits of information from the two unicorns. “Thank you ever so much for having me Fancy, Canterlot is quite charming.” The mare said, clearly to the stallion, who she assumed was named Fancy. Likely Fancy something, not many ponies had such a short name. “Oh, it’s no problem Rarity, in fact it was quite a pleasure having you here today. So, how is business in Ponyville going as it is?” Fancy replied. Ah, so this ‘Rarity’ was working in Ponyville, if she was visiting Canterlot she may even live there. It would be good to have a friend in Ponyville as soon as possible. Solar decided it would be good to try and talk to her if she could. The two faded into the background as Solar checked the rails for the train, in the distance there was a plume of light smoke as the train drew closer. Rarity and Fancy ceased their conversation beside her and turned expectantly to the rails. Whistling, the brakes of the train kicked into action and the carriages squealed to a stop. “Here is the train, well thank you again Fancy Pants. Don’t hesitate to contact me if you need any clothes made or anything.” Rarity said as the doors on the train opened. “Of course, goodbye Rarity, I hope to see you soon.” Fancy replied and the two embraced. Platonically, it would seem. If Solar had to guess, the two were friends; likely due to business or position. As Rarity walked into and sat on the bench of the carriage, Solar followed. Luckily there were enough ponies entering the train to sit opposite Rarity without coming off as strange. With both of them having cases, the two were clearly travelling. Rarity smiled at Solar and struck up a conversation. “So, where are you headed, darling?” She began. Her voice was smooth and refined, clearly, she was quite the aristocrat. She had blue eyes and long eyelashes, appearance was apparently high on her list of priorities. “Ponyville, I’ve never been there before but I’m excited to see it.” Solar replied, hoping Rarity would mention whether or not she lived there as well. Luckily, she did. “Oh, me too! Are you visiting, or do you live there? I’ve never seen you in town before.” Her eyes had lit up at hearing Solar’s answer, evidently, she loved the place. It would make sense for her to live there if she stated not seeing her in town, only a resident would be surprised of a newcomer. “That depends really, I’m moving there. But since I’m not there yet, I couldn’t say I live there. But then again, I fully intend on staying so I’m not visiting either, do you know what I mean?” Solar joked, smiling and enjoying the confusion on Rarity’s face as each sentence brought a new twist. Trying to hide her confusion Rarity pondered her statement before replying. “Yes, I think I do. Well, if you are moving I could introduce you to the town once you’ve settled in if you’d like.” She responded with a little laugh, quite a generous offer and exactly what Solar had been after. “That sounds great, I would love to.” Solar replied. She already liked Rarity, her relaxed manner despite her ‘proper’ demeanour and her instant jump to help her when there really wasn’t a clear benefit showed she was quite a nice pony in general. Hopefully she was well connected in Ponyville, she had said she would show her around so perhaps she knew a few more of the residents. It would be good to get on their good sides. “Out of interest, why are you moving to Ponyville? Most who live in Canterlot aren’t keen to leave their current home.” Rarity asked. Her question would be understandable from her position. Homes in Canterlot were expensive, at least those available and desirable were. Few actually knew or paid attention to the back alleys and poorer regions of the city. Granted, the guards were doing their best but sometimes they could even be the problem. For someone visiting the higher-class areas of the city it must seem insane to leave it. “Oh, to be honest I didn’t have a house there myself. I lived with some friends of mine. Recently though my grandfather passed away and left the house to me. I couldn’t afford my own with the payrate of my current job.” Smiled Solar, being sure to get across the point that all was fine. She didn’t want Rarity to worry or pry too far into her ‘life in Canterlot’. It was here that she became glad for her talent at lying. Apparently, that came under manipulation, which made sense. “Oh dear, I’m sorry to hear that. What do you work as then?” Rarity probed. She was probably the kind of pony to enjoy gossip and some would likely find her to be a little prying. Thinking on the fly Solar though of a job that would perfectly fit her and explain away some of her skills. “I’ve worked as a locksmith for a good while. Although at one point I had been a guard. The guard jig was decent as far as pay goes but eventually somepony slipped up and my friends asked me to switch jobs. Since I wasn’t particularly fond of it anyway I found the job at the locksmiths and became quite experienced with opening locks.” Now that, was a good lie. Not only did it answer some questions she knew would eventually come up if Rarity ever saw any scars on her. They were hard to see since they were old, and her fur covered them. Rarity bought her rouse and the two chatted idly about Canterlot, Ponyville and each other as the train round its way through the hills and fields of Equestria. Apparently, Rarity was a tailor and owned a boutique in Ponyville where she made ‘fashionable’ designer clothing. The stallion, Fancy Pants, was a noble and retired captain of the guard, he now threw get-togethers for those with some time and money to spend in Canterlot. The two met through Fancy’s fiancée Fleur who had asked Rarity to make her some clothing some time ago. During the endeavour the two had gotten along well and became firm friends, soon the friendship included Fancy and several other wealthy figures. However, despite her adoration of Canterlot, its environment and luxuries, Rarity’s heart still belonged to Ponyville as she had a grand circle of friends and a little sister to look after named Sweetie Belle. Solar had managed to stick to her false story, explaining the background of her with as much truth as she could. In this counterfeit version of her history her mother and father’s impact remained the same, however, she then was taken in by Ironsights as his ‘daughter’. She knew that if she had to employ her lie she could easily get the message across to him to just play along. At one point she had joined the guard but after a stab wound from a thief, oh the irony, she had been asked by Ironsights to leave the guard, to which she had agreed. Soon however she had found employment as a locksmith and lived peacefully that way. Not long after she received news of her ‘grandfathers’ passing, not her blood grandfather but Ironsights’ dad, in the letter a house was offered to him. Ironsights then decided to give the property to Solar, as he had a good business in Canterlot. To be fair to Rarity, it was one of the most in-depth stories Solar had made. Not taking it hook line and sinker would have been an impressive feat. Unfortunately, she knew she couldn’t simply tell Rarity the truth since she would either hate her or simply think she was lying, which would likely lead to the same conclusion. It wasn’t that she wanted to lie but more that she had to. Soon the rooves and fields of Ponyville began to appear in the distance, the glow of the town’s lights creating luminescent rings in the evening, each a small firefly in the dark. It was picturesque, and Solar could hardly wait to start a life there. Finally, a normal place where she wouldn’t feel on edge at all hours of the day. Perhaps, someone would finally care about her for something other than her skills. As the doors slid open, a few ponies filtered onto the platform. Some walked straight to their loved ones and friends, a turquoise unicorn embraced a cream coloured earth-pony and others simply began going their separate ways, each with their own destinations in mind. Likely a good few of them worked in Canterlot. Solar and Rarity walked along the platform chatting idly about the village. Despite her eagerness to show her the actual sights and sounds of the place, along with her wish to have her meet her friends, Rarity decided that it was too late to become a tour guide. “Well darling, as much as I would love to show you around and introduce you to some of my friends I must say that you would probably rather find your own house first.” She began. It was here that Solar had a slight moment of uncertainty, did she even know where the house was? Suddenly she remembered, during their talk earlier Syndicate had given her a map. Bringing it out she began to read it, Rarity leaned over her shoulder and tried to make out the buildings around the house. It didn’t take long for her to point out some key places, such as the town hall and a few of the shops around the place. Solar’s house was situated to the edge of the village, near to the ‘Everfree Forest’, which Rarity implored her never to enter, warning her that it was a “Horrid place with vile and dangerous creatures.” Apparently, her time in the forest had been less than welcoming. There was however a nicer forest nearby named the ‘Whitetail Woods’ that Rarity and some friends sometimes camped in. That peaked Solar’s interest, she hadn’t left Canterlot all her life and had never actually been in a forest. --------------------------------------------------❆-------------------------------------------------- After finding the house and fiddling with the key, Solar put her case inside the hall and said her goodbyes to Rarity. It was getting dark and both mares were eager to turn in for the night. Before she left Rarity offered her services in case Solar needed any clothing. “Well, before I go it would be wrong of me not to offer you some help. I couldn’t help but notice that your case is rather small, and it seemed implied you weren’t having anything sent to you so… If you need any clothing or anything I would be happy to make some for you, my boutique is just in town. If you need anything don’t hesitate to let me know.” She offered with a smile before walking down the path and into the heart of Ponyville, eventually turning the corner and leaving Solar’s sight. Really, quite the kind soul. The house was good, quite large and homely. It was rather dusty and had a few cobwebs, but that could be fixed easily. Certainly, it was nice. There was a large living room with a hearth and a sofa in the centre of the wall that separated it from the hall. There were a few comfortable looking armchairs and a large wooden coffee table between them. The kitchen had a tiled floor with large work tops and cupboards, while she had never cooked Solar was sure she could learn to. A doorway led to a dining room with a large table surrounded by chairs. The curtains were drawn in every room and she decided to leave them that way for now, it was dark anyway. All the magic-based lighting worked and while she had nothing to light any candles with, she didn’t feel she needed them. Creaking, the stairs in the hall led to a landing in the house. Several rooms branched off from the room, one was a bathroom which mirrored the one downstairs. Two guest bedrooms laid on either side of the landing, opposite each other and behind the stairs was a door that lead to the master bedroom. Her bedroom. It was the biggest room on the upper floor with access to a balcony and a large double bed. An en-suite bathroom and walk-in wardrobe showed just how impressive this home was. Which begged the question, why did Syndicate give it to her? Granted it wasn’t free, it was payment but surely too much so. That job wasn’t worth… All of this. Not to mention the fact he had payed her as well. She tried not to linger on this thought for too long as it certainly soured the mood. Instead she unslung her bow and quiver, placing them against the wall and making her way back down stairs. Idiotically, she had forgotten to lock the door once Rarity had left. Once she was sure the lock was… locked, she slid the door’s bolt across and walked back up the stairs. Her boots were placed next to her quiver and her belt soon after. She wasn’t quite comfortable with sleeping in the bed without her shirt and trousers until it had been cleaned, so she chose to take the sheet covering it to the balcony which, it turned out, required a key. Luckily it was on the bedside table, despite its state, the house was left with the intention of being used again and she opened the door before adding the key to the current one’s chain. Shaking the sheet into the night showed that there was one Tartarus of a lot of dust in it. She wasn’t even sure if it was originally white. Quickly, she decided against sleeping under the sheet and instead to sleep on top of it. After turning off the lights in the house, she laid on the bed and closed her eyes and drifted to sleep. Author's Note Mmm, another chapter. Honestly, I have a lot of ideas for this. Also, I had no clue that 'Main 6' was a character you could add so... they're there now. Since this story will heavily include them. Anyhoo, I didn't have time to listen to this long thing with the 'Read Aloud' option so any run-on sentences I do apologise for. Lemme know if there is anything I'm doing wrong, any mistakes etc. Oh, also thanks to the nineteen of you that skipped the prologue and to the one guy who just disliked the story without saying why, really helping me develop my writing there. Real methodical-like, no feedback at all. In all seriousness though, please do let me know what you guys think of the story in the comments. Chapter 3: Settling InChapter Three Solar stretched, sat up and rubbed her eyes. The room around her was gloomy and strange. She didn’t recognise it… Ah. Yeah. The move. Walking across the room, she opened the curtains revealing the colourful village of Ponyville. Various ponies walked around their day, visiting stools and having conversations. She sighed and looked back at the room, the entire house was dusty and would need to be cleaned. Or at least, she wanted it to be. Slipping on her clothes she checked her bits. Oh, only twelve… She had burnt through that hundred bits pretty quickly. Luckily, she still had seven-hundred from the vault job and an extra hundred from the necklace. The Ponyville Town Hall actually held a small Bank of Equus inside, in a separate area to the meeting hall. Inside the Town Hall was actually interesting, they had not only a meeting room but a bank, court, town records and the Mayor’s office. A few pegasi were gathered in the meeting room discussing weather and there was only one other customer in line for the bank. Walking down the queuing area, Solar was gestured to one of the three booths to speak to an employee. While she waited for the stallion behind the counter to withdraw some bits, about three hundred, she couldn’t help but hear the pegasus beside her mention a certain someone’s name. “Oh, yes. It is rather nice, Rarity made it for me the other day, it wasn’t quite what I meant but I think it came out much better than my original design.” She was saying. The mare was yellow with pink hair and light turquoise eyes. She was wearing, what Solar assumed was, the afore mentioned design of Rarity’s, a green blouse and skirt which came to around her calf. “It was really meant to be something I could easily get hair out of after dealing with the animals, which it does perfectly.” “That’s nice. I have heard Rarity is quite the magician with meeting requirements. She never discloses their details either, a very professional mare.” Replied the earth-pony behind the desk. She was, surprisingly, also yellow, with a sky-blue mane. Handing a check book to the customer, she smiled. “Well, there you go Fluttershy. Hope all goes well with your animals and don’t hesitate to bring to me if there is anything wrong with them.” “Thank you, Doctor Fauna, I will keep that in mind. Goodbye.” Fluttershy answered before turning and walking out of the Town Hall. With a slight cough, the stallion behind the counter brought Solar’s attention back to her own business. He had a large pouch, which he handed her. She thanked him, and he nodded. With that done, she decided to take this sum back to her house and choose a logical amount to shop with. During her journey back, she noticed that even this charming town had its fair share of ruffians. A group of three stallions and a mare hung in the alleys between houses, throwing dirty glances at passers-by. They could prove to be a problem at some point. Returning to the house, she decided to check around for a safe to keep her unused coin. Sure enough, there was one in the main bedroom’s walk-in wardrobe. Having stored her bits, Solar pulled on a jacket since it was actually rather chilly outside. The changing of the seasons was not long away, and the temperatures were dropping. She hadn’t used her leather jacket for a while since the days were usually kept at a regular temperature in Canterlot, those unicorn teams were good at what they did. Much like her other clothing, the coat was black and quite comfortable with a convenient pocket that was just the right size for her butterfly knife. Double checking her money, she confirmed that she had the hundred bits she was going to use when shopping. As she closed the pouch she felt a pang from her stomach. That’s right, I haven’t eaten since yesterday morning… There would be somewhere in town she could get some food from, it’s not like she could use the old kitchen in its current state. There were more ponies in town than there had been this morning, midday was a busier time to be there she supposed. A few she recognised from the train station last night and far more she didn’t recognise. She did however, spot Rarity and Fluttershy talking, seated in a nice-looking café near the centre of the town. While she did want to talk to Rarity and meet Fluttershy, she felt sure she would be dragged off before she could buy her supplies, so she turned her attention back to the task at hand. A nearby store named Squeaky-Clean offered many of the things she needed, washing supplies, cloths, dusters and a vacuum. The stallion at the store even offered to have the items teleported to her home, which cost a few extra bits, but it was worth it considering that Solar had no idea how to take all of that back by herself. Helpfully, when asked about where to buy necessary items the clerk pointed in her direction of a store called Hoof-Mart. Surprisingly, she did actually manage to find everything she needed. This time the items did actually fit into a bag, so she didn’t bother asking about teleportation, although the mare at the counter did ask if she lived nearby, apparently this town was quite good at knowing each other which meant that when Solar took future jobs on she would have to be sure not to be seen. If a wanted poster got around, or even an accurate description it may cause… Problems. --------------------------------------------------❆-------------------------------------------------- Wiping the sweat from her brow, Solar looked around the room. It was the final one to do and she figured it was finally as clean as the others. The amount of dust there had actually been was absurd, at least the house was now liveable and actually very nice. While she had been cleaning she had found a basement with some magic based appliances for washing which she had used to clean the bedsheets. Content with the state of the house, she opened the curtains and sighed in relief. Would Rarity still be at the restaurant? It was unlikely since she had taken around three hours cleaning. Still, she had mentioned owning a boutique, didn’t she? Surely Solar could ask around and find it, she did actually need some clothing so if need be that could be used as an excuse. Walking to the gate, she noticed that the garden was quite overgrown. I’ll have to cut this all down at some point. On her way to Rarity’s it began to rain, and she saw Fluttershy fiddling with keys to a cottage that stood even further from the village than Solar’s own house, if she had to guess she would say it was her home. Few ponies open a door to their friends’ house with groceries in their arms and get greeted by groups of animals. Besides, Doctor Fauna had referred to her animals earlier and not many ponies had homes full of animals. Ponyville didn’t actually have any cobbled roads, unless you counted the cobbled bridges, but rather just left bare grass between buildings. It gave the area a far more natural feel and Solar quite liked it, a welcome change from the usual surroundings of Canterlot. Rarity’s boutique was larger than she had expected, with a lot of pink. It had two model ponies carved from wood on either side of the balcony that was attached to some kind of… Tower that sprouted from its centre. There was a sign on the front that showed a stylish pony wearing a dress with the words ‘The Carousel Boutique’ scrolled across the top and bottom in a cursive script. The front door was purple and had window at head height and she knocked, unsure if anyone would answer. For a few seconds she began to think that no-one was home, but as she turned to leave there came a kerfuffle of noise from inside. Like a bull had hit it, the door swung open revealing a white furred filly wearing a wet and dishevelled school uniform. Pink and magenta hair made up her curled mane, though it was quite messy, and her light green eyes stared at Solar with curiosity. “Hello, uhm.” Dammit, what was her name! “Sweetie Belle, right?” Solar guessed, to be fair that conversation had been slightly forgotten after the hours of housework earlier. Sweetie Belle, who had to be around twelve or at least something similar, raised an eyebrow and narrowed her eyes. “Do I… Know you?” She asked in a high voice, her expression showing an attempt at recognition that failed covered complete confusion. Like her sister, she was a unicorn, although clearly, she did not have quite the same love for clothing and cleanliness that her sister did. Judging from her creased shirt and slightly muddied stockings at least. “No, but your sister, Rarity, does. I’m new in town and hoped she could help me out.” Solar began but was quickly cut short by the mare of the hour herself walking out from the back of the building. “Sweetie, who is it?” Rarity called as she made her way to the door. It was actually quite a useless question to ask, since by the time she had finished the sentence she was standing beside her sister in the doorway. “Oh, Solar, good to see you! Are you here for the tour or something more business related?” No sooner had she asked that question did she actually glance at Sweetie Belle. “Sweetie! Your clothes! Please, please, please tell me you did not track wet mud into the house?” She cried, her eyes widening behind her glasses and her head moving back slightly, jostling the measuring tape around her neck. “No! I took my shoes off by the door.” Sweetie huffed defiantly, crossing her arms. “Well, that’s a small mercy at least. What in Equestria were you doing before you got here?” She folded her glasses and pulled the tape from her neck, stowing the former in her pocket and the latter on a table. “Playing with Applebloom and Scootaloo at Sweet Apple Acres. Clothes just get dirty Rarity.” The filly retorted before going inside. True to her word her shoes were neatly placed beside the doormat, covered in mud. “Go and change immediately. Dirt can be avoided but if you must insist of attracting it like a magnet then at least have the presence of mind to clean it once you’re finished.” Rarity replied, which sent Sweetie up the stairs. “Don’t mind her, she is quite sweet in most situations. She’s just moody right now, probably due to being caught in the rain with her friends. Anyway, do come in out of the rain. I’m sorry I didn’t offer that earlier, but it hadn’t really crossed my mind until now.” Rarity explained, moving aside to allow Solar in. The interior of the boutique was remarkably similar to the exterior, with a lot of pink and purple. I’d go mad living here… Luckily, her own home-made use of a lot of darker colours with most rooms being lined with spruce and coloured with varying reds, greens and greys. “Thanks, originally I was going to ask about the town but... In this weather it would not be as fun. I do need clothes though, so I suppose you could help me with that if you aren’t too busy.” Solar said. Rarity’s eyes lit up and she nodded, closing the door and leading her upstairs. She was led into a large circular room that had shelves stocked with rolls of fabric, there was a large four poster bed against the wall and an area that consisted mostly of mannequins, sowing machines and clothes-racks. Apparently, Rarity worked in her bedroom, which made some sense. Looking around in confusion Rarity suddenly rushed back out of the room, only to return holding the measuring tape from earlier. “Ok, darling. If you would just take your jacket off and stand with your arms out straight and legs slightly out I can take your measurements.” She said, slightly out of breath from her run. Solar obliged, her legs apart and her arms out to her sides and her legs slightly apart. Grabbing a notebook and pen off a desk, Rarity began wrapping the tape around different sections of Solar’s body before writing some numbers down. Every now and then she looked surprised at what she wrote, double checking herself but then she merely continued on. Starting at her ankle, she moved up to her calf, thigh, rear, waist, chest, biceps, forearms and neck. Solar felt slightly awkward, but it made sense that custom clothing would require custom measurements, it wasn’t exactly her regular habitat to be standing still for measurements or to be this close to another pony. “While I generally try not to pry into customers reasonings or… Anything. You are quite thin for somepony of your age, Solar.” Rarity said, moving her eyes from her notebook to look at her in concern. In hindsight Solar was actually not doing to well in terms of food, she had actually not visited a restaurant as she had planned to earlier and hadn’t eaten anything for almost two days, no wonder she was having pangs of hunger. When she visited ‘Hoof-Mart’ earlier she had bought some cans of food, in case, and a few other food items which she could eat when she got back. “Oh. Sorry about that. Perks of financial issues I guess. Now that I have some more bits that should solve itself.” She joked, nonchalantly, hoping Rarity would drop the subject. She obliged and just nodded before writing in her notebook again. “Okay, well if you are right about having more bits then I may as well tell you the price it would cost to have this made. Generally it would be around eighty bits to have clothing made for you, depending on what you want made. So, what would you like? Or do you not have an opinion on it?” Closing her notebook, she swung her arms with a smile on her face. Her horn illuminated with a blue glow and a cup of half-drunken tea floated over to her waiting hand which she drank as Solar considered. She realised that she had no idea what she would actually wear. “To be honest, I don’t know. Just some guidelines I suppose, dark, comfortable and casual I suppose. Although for the footwear I always have and have a feeling I always will wear knee-length boots.” Honestly, she had always just worn what she could, which was usually a shirt and jean combination. “Of course, I do boots all the time. I get a lot of ponies who don’t know what they want, in fact that usually ends up being most of my job, deciding what will look good on them.” She chatted idly, as she wrote Solar’s word in her notebook. Crossing a large line along the paper, she wrote in larger letters ‘Solar Eclipse’ and closed it. “Well, I’ll get to work on that and let you know when it’s done. If you have any epiphanies on specifics, then let me know and I’ll implement them.” She smiled and put the notebook in her pocket, turning to the doorway. “Well, I suppose that’s all for now. I’m sorry I can’t take you around Ponyville today, but the rain is just too much. Did you settle into your new house well?” Solar then noticed the window, it was dark outside, she would have to get home. “Yes, thank you. Well if that is all I suppose it is getting late. I hate to cut our visit rather short, but I have to get back for now.” She said, making her way to the front door and pulling her jacket on. “Of course, I have to see to Sweetie Belle anyway. Hopefully tomorrow we can go around town. It is still raining out there, I have an umbrella you can borrow. Just please remember to return it at some point, I only have so many and the last time I lent one I never saw it again. Goodnight” Rarity picked an umbrella out of a stand by the door and handed it to Solar. “Thank you, Rarity, I’ll try and bring it by tomorrow. Goodnight.” Solar opened the door and walked out before opening the umbrella. It did as umbrellas do and stopped the rain as she made her way through the dark paths of Ponyville to her home. Thank Celestia they have streetlights. --------------------------------------------------❆-------------------------------------------------- What Rarity had said poked into Solar’s mind as she walked out of the rain. Locking up the door, she decided to make some food since she was starving. A delicious can of stewed apple later and she felt much better. Entering her bedroom, she stripped off her clothes and laid back in the freshly washed sheets. The bed was far more comfortable since its wash and she felt the bliss of comfort wash over her. It had been about a decade since she had lain a comfortable bed. Feeling her fur against the sheets reminded her of the facility. That, after all, was the last she had a sheet since in the clocktower she had simply laid on top of the improvised bed. Thinking about that place brought something new, another pang, not from her stomach though, just a very slight throbbing in her fangs. Damn, this soon? She had hoped that it would be far longer before she would need to feed again. Risking her reputation in this town would not be worth the risk, she would either have to deal with the discomfort until her next job and hope no-one notices the lightening discolouration in her fur or… Would that… Work? Flicking open her butterfly knife, Solar looked at herself in the bathroom mirror. Was she really about to do this? If anyone caught sight of it, they would certainly misunderstand. Sighing, she slid the blade quickly along her wrist, cutting it. Quickly, she locked her lips over the wound and began to drink her own blood. She had never managed to actually sink her fangs into her own arm but this… seemed to be working. The throbbing in her teeth died down and the delicious taste she recognised flooded her mouth, though it was nowhere as prominent. Having to pull herself away from her arm she wrapped a magically sealing plaster over the wound which she then covered with a bandage, successfully bandaging the wound. Washing the blade, she looked at herself in the mirror, seeing the slight red tinge leave her irises. If anyone asked she would just have to say she slipped with a breadknife, they should buy the excuse. It was then that she noticed her mane in the mirror, it was darker than usual and very messy. While the modifications to her had usually stopped the need to shower, they didn’t affect her mane. Taking a shower would do the trick but doing so before bed would be rather pointless. She would do it tomorrow. Turning off the lights, she laid her head on her pillow. Her mind wandered, imagining scenarios and making plans for them. If her new method of feeding failed? Take on a job and take on an opportunity. If Rarity or anyone saw her fangs? Oh. What would she do? How could someone explain their way out of that? A relative being a bat-pony maybe? A curse? If the time comes then hopefully all present will buy one of those reasons. Probably the bat-pony one. As her mind wandered from plans to play she began to imagine various scenarios she had to break through. Soon, however, sleep won the battle of consciousness. Gasping, she tried to sit up and quickly gave herself whiplash from the restraints on her limbs. She was still in the facility. Lying back, she tried to fiddle herself out of her restraints. No impact was made when a voice beside her began to speak, causing her to freeze in fear. “I wouldn’t do that if that I were you.” The voice was male and clearly trying to sound kind. “You’ll hurt yourself doing that. I’ll open them for you.” A pair of hands made their way to each of her restraints, one by one undoing them. With her new-found freedom, she turned to sit on the bed. She was wearing some sort of white gown which ended between her thighs and knees. The stallion sitting in front of her had a brown mane in a simple comb-over style. His fur was not much different, being more of a brown-tan colour. He had green eyes and was wearing a shirt with smart trousers. There was a suit jacket draped over his chair which, much like the rest of her room, was bleak and minimalist. “Do you know who I am?” He asked gently. Shaking her head, Solar looked around the room, hoping for some deus ex machina. An open door or something. No, too easy, they were never that sloppy. “I am Fleet, Blueblood assigned me to look after you during your… Treatment.” Blueblood. That damn name haunted her, all the staff mentioned it at one point or another. What did he want with her? “Look after me how?” She pressed, slightly worried as to what he meant. Looking over a clipboard, Fleet stared at her for a little bit. “Like, make sure I don’t die or something?” She continued, not sure what she would need looking after for here. She may be just a filly, but it wasn’t like anyone came in here who wanted her dead. Or at least, were willing to actually act upon it. “No, well kind of. I’m here to explain to you what is happening to you, why it is a good thing and to make sure you are mentally healthy as best I can. I’m sort of like a therapist, but I would rather you view me as a friend.” Fleet smiled warmly and looked back at his clipboard. “You know, you are quite the little anomaly right now. Your natural scent resembles roses, you are growing teeth no other ponies possess and this isn’t even all the modifications that will be made. But, even before you came here, you were special. Have you seen your cutiemark, Solar?” “Yes, it’s some sort of moon with rays coming from it. Why does that matter?” She didn’t know what it represented and frankly, she didn’t even know why it appeared. During an inspection one day, she had been in the corner of her room, drawing on the wall with a pencil one of the researchers had dropped and hadn’t even noticed the stallion walk in before he walked back out. At that point her hip had begun to glow and before she could check it a group pushed their way into the room and began inspecting it before one of them pointed her out to the others. She was then asked repeatedly why she hadn’t been in the room earlier, but she maintained that she had. Eventually they concluded that she had been, and the earlier stallion was mocked for not seeing her, though he continually said she hadn’t been in there. Annoyingly they took her pencil too. Eventually the mark had been noticed and she once again was given a slap on the wrist for not saying anything about it; it wasn’t exactly her fault in her opinion because they had never mentioned her reporting strange marks to them but apparently it was big news. “Well, Solar, that mark represents manipulation, basically you can hide, lie, flank and seduce your way through many things. We realised that when the guard sent to your room didn’t notice you despite the room’s size. Even the group took a while to see you. You were far more suited to this than we thought.” Fleet said, bringing her back to reality. “Now, I will be here for you to answer your questions, so I want you to promise me that you will tell me anything that bothers you, alright? For now though it will have to wait, as some ponies are waiting to see you.” He stood up and donned his jacket. As he stood in the corner several doctors and nurses entered with a cart and a guard. The guard pushed her down on the bed and roughly put her restraints back on. On the faces of all the ponies around her were either expressions of disapproval or concentration. All but Fleet’s. He showed slight sorrow and even flinched when the guard pulled her arm up to a strap. At least he showed some morality. Author's Note What a rollercoaster, right? Right? Nah, ok. Anyway, as usual, please do let me know if anything was wrong, misspelt, grammar mistakes, better wordings, suggestions blah de blah. Also! I f*cked up big time in my 'Prologue' so I have changed it to 'Intro' since, by all rights, it wasn't a prologue. If you happen to have any thoughts, negative or positive, let me know. I would love to hear them. Literally any activity on this would be kinda nice. I know the chapters are getting shorter but hopefully that trend won't continue, it's just the next bit of the story is kind of a large swoop so I didn't know how to extend this chapter any more without combining that bit into it at which point it would be far too long. EDIT: I accidentally referred to Fleet as Feel. So that's fixed. Chapter 4: New FriendsChapter Four Breakfast was nice, it had been a good while since Solar had actually followed through with having it. While she tried to think of what to do today her mind kept drawing her back to the name mentioned in her dreams… Blueblood. Who was he? Why did he sound so familiar? With widened eyes she suddenly bolted upstairs, pulling her bag onto her lap and pulling the newspaper she had read in Canterlot out. There in the captions of the royals was a Prince Blueblood. He was a damn royal. Making one’s way to a position like that without blood connections was damn near impossible, clearly, he had a relation in the royal family. She sighed, she would love to get her hands on this ‘Prince Blueblood’ just to at least have him tell her why. Why her? Still, it was no use worrying about it as of now. Having eaten she decided to shower before she started her day; it would be the first time in a good few years she had showered. Luckily her natural being was kempt enough to seem clean, but it would feel good to finally actually be sparkling. She had bought several different shampoos and conditioners for her fur, mane and tail but in truth she had no idea what to get. In the end she had gone with one which advertised smelling of roses which would match her natural aroma. Or unnatural, whatever, my regular aroma. With the water running she unwound the bandage on her arm, taking off the patch she had put on the slit last night. The wound itself had closed up, which was good news, apparently her vampiric side did not notice the blood’s familiarity. Blood had actually seeped through the bandage slightly, so she slung it in the bin as she got ready to step into the pouring shower. Warm water hit her fur as she stepped into the shower, wetting her fur and bringing a lovely feeling of warmth throughout her body. She felt comforted by the heat and she opened one of the bottles of shampoo, putting some in one palm and massaging her fur with it. Slowly but surely, she cleaned each part of her body before moving on to her wings, mane and tail, which were far more difficult to wash. Feeling glad for getting the larger bottle, she couldn’t help but marvel that ponies didn’t go through this stuff by the gallon. Or it could just be her, after all, she’d never had her mane cut or styled so it wasn’t short on volume. Conditioning her fur was a similar story, but after washing through her mane and tail and soaking all the foam off of her person she felt far better. Getting back out the shower, she grabbed a towel off the nearby rack and began drying herself. As each bit of her became dry she was surprised at just how soft it was. Her coat was soft and smooth, quite the far leap from her usual self. Mane and tail got a transformation as well, both feeling softer than a pillow. That last bit ended up being a slight problem when her mane kept covering her eyes, despite her best efforts to brush and comb it back. Eventually, she settled on letting it cover one eye while leaving the other undisturbed. She decided she could still see fine and pulled the towel around her, tying it at her chest to create a makeshift robe. That worked to cover her while she gave her teeth a brush and gathered the few articles of clothing she hadn’t yet worn. While she did have faith in Rarity she also knew that a professional usually took their time when making things of this sort, she may have to visit a clothing store at some point today. Even if Rarity pulled through today she didn’t have enough clothes to comfortably live with. A quick glance to the mirror reassured her that her 1.7 metre self looked quite nice. Though a little on the skinny side, Rarity had been right, her ribs were beginning to show slightly. Still, that should be fixed given a week or so. Sliding her knife into the holster on her belt, she opened the curtains of her bedroom revealing the world once again. It was a nice day, sunny and bright, a stark contrast to yesterday’s downpour and she looked forward to spending some time in the sun. So far she had received nothing from Syndicate, so her schedule was pretty much free. Looking down on the front garden reminded her, it was in a state. That wouldn’t be too much of an issue, she had spotted a shed in the back garden which joined to the Whitetail Woods, hopefully there would be some gardening tools in there. She made her journey to the garden with a saunter, looking forward to her time after the job was done. As she walked past the front door she spied the umbrella Rarity had lent her last night. I must remember to return that. The garden was nice, other than the obvious state of overpopulation, with a path that led to the woods and a small patio that joined the back of the house. Sure enough, in the small wooden shed there were plenty of tools, ranging from clippers to a manually operated mower. Pulling out the mower and various cutting utensils, she set to work on taming the greenery around her. --------------------------------------------------❆-------------------------------------------------- Chucking the clippers down in frustration Solar stared at the lavender bush that stood between her and a neat garden. No matter how much she cut at the purple stems nothing seemed to budge the damned thing. It was close to noon and she had finished the rest of the environment around twenty minutes ago. With defeated pants, she gathered up her tools and returned them to the shed. Some things were best left untouched, for now. She strolled back through the door between the garden and dining room, preferring to continue with her day than struggle with that thing anymore. Next up, she needed to get that umbrella back to Rarity. It would make a nice excuse to go to her boutique anyway, if she wasn’t busy she could give that tour of the village she so desperately wanted to give. Pulling on her leather jacket and sliding her knife’s sheath along her belt to hide it under the jacket, she picked the umbrella up and leant it against her shoulder. Her journey through Ponyville was interrupted as a slight kerfuffle began at a small apple stall. A yellow filly, who was quite similarly aged to Sweetie, had been getting a little over-zealous with her apple sales when she had simply poured a bucket of them into a mare’s bag. Unfortunately, the stall owner had to give the apples to the mare as compensation with a glare at her younger friend. “Applebloom! Yah can’t just force somepony to buy the apples!” The poor orange earth-pony seemed pretty angry. Solar would have to ask Rarity about the pair when she found her. Out of the corner of her eye she saw movement between the shade of some houses. Some alleys seemed to hold small groups of shifty individuals, some throwing her unfriendly glances when they thought she had passed. Apparently even Ponyville had its fair share of unruly individuals. As she turned she came face to face with the very pony who she had been looking for. Apparently, Rarity had been watching the events unfold as well, she had smirk on her face however and clearly wasn’t as confused as Solar was. Turning to Solar, she smiled “Solar, I was just on my way to find you! So, a few friends of mine were thinking about having a picnic and I suggested inviting you. They agreed that it would be nice to have an extra member, so what do you think?” For the first time Solar noticed that Rarity was ever so slightly taller than her. That or she was wearing high-heels. “That sounds great! I was on my way to give you your umbrella back.” Solar said, thinking that the idea was pretty good. She would like to meet some people without the awkwardness of simply walking up out of the blue. With a flash of cyan light from her horn, Rarity whisked the umbrella out of sight. “There we go. Back safe and sound at home, thank you for returning it. Once Applejack has… Finished with her sales we’ll go around up the others and get going.” She said, gesturing to the orange mare who was now taking Applebloom’s apron. “The orange one is Applejack, the yellow is her sister, Applebloom. She’s one of Sweetie’s friends, never a dull moment with them around. Unfortunately.” Despite muttering the last word, Solar still heard her and she grinned. Strolling over, Applejack waved to Rarity and raised an eyebrow at Solar. Applebloom followed her with downcast gaze, feeling a little embarrassed for her act. Applejack had a bright orange coat and blonde hair which fell against her head in a simply natural state. She had green eyes and some freckles on her cheeks. Her red plaid shirt, blue jeans and light brown ten-gallon hat gave her a bit of a stereotypical farmer look. Fitting for an apple farmer I suppose. Her sister, however, had light yellow fur and a red mane with orange eyes which were now looking up to Rarity. “So, this is Solar then? Nice to meet yah.” Applejack said, holding her hand out for a shake. She was slightly taller than Rarity and Solar with an impressive amount of muscle. Solar accepted it and nodded, smiling cheerfully. While she didn’t like to judge people on their first impressions Applejack couldn’t help but get a strange feeling from Solar. She seemed suspicious, and that feeling usually rang true. Since finding out she was an ‘Element of Harmony’ Applejack began to get feelings whenever she met someone, either they were deceitful and made her feel uneasy or they were trustworthy, making her feel more comfortable. Applejack didn’t know why, but there was something off about her, she made her feel uncomfortably… Comfortable. Like sleeping in yah bed under a rock held by a string… Still, she should always give her a chance, even if she was going to find out what she was hiding. One way or another. Solar was beginning to feel uncomfortable around Applejack’s gaze as the three made their way to Fluttershy’s cottage. If she remembered correctly, then Fluttershy was the yellow and pink mare from the bank yesterday. The one that spoke to Doctor… Doctor… Fauna, that was it. Doctor Fauna. Apparently, she had some animals in her home, which would be interesting to see. Either she had an abundance of pets or she was some kind of professional, a vet or some such. Although with that being said, Doctor Fauna was probably the vet, so what was Fluttershy? Still, her cottage was coming over the hill as Solar made light conversation with Rarity and Applejack. Applejack, true to form, worked on her granny’s apple orchard, named Sweet Apple Acres. She had a brother named Big Macintosh but most just called him Big Mac. Despite warming up to her slightly, Applejack still acted rather strange around Solar. Any questions set off suspicions in her mind, thinking that Solar was trying to pry into her life, trying to find ways around but then she would take a step back and think about the things she asked, only to realise they were normal. Eventually she decided to just ignore the feelings and act like Solar was just like anyone else, but she would find out why she seemed so dishonest. As Solar told Applejack about her life in Canterlot still more things seemed strangely off, not holes in the story but just a gut feeling. She shook her head and soon the topic moved onto Fluttershy’s cottage. The cottage itself was covered in greenery at the end of a long path which wound through the green fields of Ponyville. There was a picturesque stream running beneath an arched bridge and plenty of birdhouses hanging around the area, apparently Fluttershy adored animals. From what Solar could garner from the others Fluttershy was, effectively, the go-to pony for anything animal related. With her uncanny ability to speak to the critters she was able to diagnose problems by merely asking, something Doctor Fauna must envy. Interestingly enough, while being a pegasus, Fluttershy was terrified of heights. A knock on the door later and with a sing-songy tone, a voice answered. “Be right out!” From inside there came the tweets of birds and a few hushed apologies before the door swung open. Fluttershy was slightly shorter than Solar with a green blazer and blue jeans which ended just before her ankles, giving a wide birth to her sandals. She smiled and held up a wicker basket which soon vanished in a cyan flash, along to any of the other picnic materials Rarity had somewhere. It was a good idea to simply teleport the stuff in since it meant that there was no need to carry it along, opening the minds of the group to discussing. Next up to be recruited into the group was Rainbow Dash, a bluntly named weather pegasus obsessed with speed. However, none of the ensemble had any clue where she was. Solar offered to fly up to the clouds to check for her and the others quickly agreed. Pushing off the floor and whipping her wings out, Solar soared up above the cloud-line. True to her name there was a rainbow maned mare laying a good distance away on one of the many plush white clouds. Choosing the more interesting route, Solar hopped from cloud to cloud towards her. As she got closer she realised that Rainbow was actually asleep, using the cloud as a temporary bed. Apparently, she was a heavy sleeper too as she didn’t wake until Solar landed on her cloud, rocking it slightly. Opening her magenta eyes, Rainbow regarded her with some confusion. She was wearing sleeveless denim jacket which reached to her belly-button and was opened loosely at the middle, clearly incapable of buttoning up, a plain white top which didn’t reach her waist either, showing her athletic body. Some dark grey skin-tight jeans covered her legs and her boots reached her calves, a pair of ‘Cloudhoppers’. Solar had seen the brand around Canterlot which advertised springy bottoms to aid take-offs. “Who the hay are you?” Rainbow asked, standing up to meet Solar and raising an eyebrow. She was almost the same height as Solar and her cyan fur made quite the contrast with her grayscale clothing; she had to be the brightest pony Solar had ever seen. Glad she isn’t on a job with me. “Rarity, Applejack and Fluttershy are looking for you, I’m Solar Eclipse, they were just on their way to th-” Solar began, only to be cut off mid-sentence by Rainbow. “Yeh, the picnic, okay, you must be the one Rarity mentioned.” She said, looking Solar up and down. “Guess a unicorn, earth-pony and height-fearing pegasus wouldn’t be able to get to me. Should’ve figured. Right, let’s get down there then, I’m starving.” Jumping off the cloud, she flew down to the waiting party below. The others were happy to see Rainbow and Rarity began asking her if she ‘Really had to sleep so far up’ in a scolding tone, much to Solar’s enjoyment. Rainbow brushed the comment off with a ‘Yeah’ and the group strolled further into the town. With only two left on the list of friends to collect the entourage came to a café called ‘Sugar Cube Corner’ which was surprisingly built to look like a giant cake. The roof was a brown shaded colour, mimicking chocolate and the trimmings of the building were white carved birch, made into a puffy shape to replicate whipped cream. Pink was obviously the mane theme of the building, which, probably suited the mare they came to see. Pinkie Pie herself was nowhere to be found upon entering the building but the yellow stallion behind the counter pointed them past the tables and up the stairs, stating that she was in her room. Yet, with a knock on her door still nothing happened. As the group began to walk outside to ponder their options a shout came from one of the second-floor windows. A light pink earth-pony with darker pink hair waved from the building’s centre tower. “Help! I locked myself out of my room! Wait, no. In my room! In of my room? Into my room?” With a confused expression she began muttering to herself before poking back out. “The point is that I can’t get out!” Presumably, this was Pinkie Pie. Rainbow and Solar flew up to the veranda around the tower, landing beside her. She was wearing a pink skirt, some blue tights, black lace-up shoes and a long yellow vest, just beyond her hips. Her blue eyes looked at the two pegasi with concern. Rainbow immediately flew in and tried the door, only to find that it was indeed locked. Kind of useless to check… Turning her gaze to Pinkie, she raised an eyebrow in mockery and smirked. “How did you lock your key out of your room?” It was a fair question, but Pinkie apparently had just as little of an idea as to how as Rainbow herself. “Well, I can’t carry you. Not by myself. Solar, do you think you could help me carry Pinkie to the others? We can call a locksmith in to fix your door, Pinkie.” “Actually, I used to be a locksmith,” Solar lied, casually reinforcing her ‘backstory’. “I could get that door open no problem.” Much to the duo’s surprise, she pulled her lockpicks out of her sleeves and knelt at the door. A click signalled each pin falling into place and with three clicks the lock could be turned, letting the handle swing the door open. Turning back to the others Solar was met with two gaping mouths and four wide eyes. “That. Was. Awesome!” Rainbow cried, “You opened that door in, like, four seconds!” A mischievous grin passed over her face and she began stroking her chin. “If you could get through any door…” She giggled darkly and then turned her attention back to reality. “We could do some sick pranks with that, gimme a shout if you’re game.” Pinkie lit up too, nodding. “Welp, see yah on the other side.” And with a sprinting jump, Rainbow glided down to the dirt street outside, raising a small cloud of dust. Choosing the subtler exit, Solar and Pinkie made their way down the stairs and out the door. As soon as they met the others they were treated to an excited Rainbow Dash recounting the events. While Rarity and Fluttershy just looked interested and impressed Applejack turned an eye to Solar. “Why do yah carry your lockpicks on yah if you aren’t a locksmith no more?” She questioned, her look worrying Solar. What was with this mare? The others had bought her story just fine, why didn’t she? Her damn cutiemark was manipulation, this shouldn’t be an issue. “Well, you have to understand I had that job for a year, since I was 17, and then quit it about four days ago when I inherited the house here. A habit like simply slipping those picks in was just so natural.” Solar defended, running everything through her mind to make sure it made sense with what she had already told them. It did. “Well, it is a good thing she did have them, Applejack. If she didn’t poor Pinkie would’ve been roughly flown down by her and Rainbow. I’m sure it isn’t easy carrying another pony when you’re flying, even if you have another to help.” Rarity interjected, before Applejack had the time to answer. Applejack sighed wearily. “Yeh, okay. Sorry, I just don’t like the thought of somepony getting through something they aren’t meant tah, you know? I’m sure yall’d have a heart attack if someone got into your house without yah knowing.” She said. A few agreements were given, and the group decided that someone breaking in was an unpleasant thought, but Solar was not in the wrong to simply have the picks. All this talk of breaking in being bad was almost making Solar feel bad for having to lie, but if anything, this just reinforced the fact that they would despise her if she did tell the truth. They sure as Tartarus wouldn’t let her continue. No. Telling them was off the table. Meanwhile Applejack was slowly having a moral argument in her head. On the one hand, Solar had lockpicks, something well known as tool one for thieves, which would support her untrustworthiness, yet she also had the perfect explanation along with four other ponies who believed her. Her friends no less, it made the whole thing difficult. She would make Solar spill the beans, no matter what. The next stop was close to the centre of town, a large tree that had been hollowed out into a library many decades ago. The sign reading ‘Golden Oaks Library’ swung back and forth in a warm wind that ran along the Ponyville roads. Apparently, the last member of the group lived here, a ‘Twilight’. Oddly, no one seemed to expand upon that, but the chances of her just being named ‘Twilight’ were pretty low. As they got closer to the tall oak tree, Solar asked Fluttershy about Twilight. She had chosen Fluttershy because she was the only one not talking but she seemed to take a few seconds before responding. “Her full name is Twilight Sparkle, she’s a unicorn and Celestia’s prized pupil. She came to Ponyville about four months ago during the summer sun celebration. She’s a great friend.” Ah. Fuck me then. Not three days ago Solar had stolen that beautiful necklace from this mare’s room in Canterlot Castle. That’s fine. It doesn’t change a thing, that job’s done. Right? Rarity knocked on the door and turned back to Rainbow, the two had been evaluating the pros and cons of a custom flying suit since Sugar Cube Corner with Rainbow insisting that being that aerodynamic was worth the time and Rarity arguing that the cost wouldn’t be worth it. To be fair, if Rainbow was as obsessed with flying as the others had made out, it probably would be worth the cost. The sound of things falling ceased from inside the house and was soon replaced with the click of a handle being turned. Expecting royalty, perhaps with some guards, Solar leant against the Golden Oaks’ sign, blending in with the shade; surprisingly though, there were no guards or tall flowing figures, only a unicorn with dark lilac hair to match her purple fur holding the door open. She was wearing a button up lace shirt, a knee length skirt and black floral stockings that ended with some neat black slip-on shoes. Clasped in her free hand was a book titled ‘An intermediate guide to spells and runes.’. Books were something she loved dearly, judging by the pile through the door behind her. Contrary to Solar’s expectations she was just like any other pony, though clearly, she had quite the taste for learning. Twilight stepped out of the door onto the path that ran along beside her home and from behind her came a shorter figure. With purple scaly skin and green spines, this creature was wearing a plain black t-shirt and some jogging bottoms, finished with a pair of trainers. Apparently, Twilight lived with some kind of dragon, a teenager judging on the height and build. If Solar had to hazard a guess she would have to go with fourteen or fifteen. Leaning over, Fluttershy whispered in her ear, “That’s Spike, he’s Twilight’s… um… Brother, I think? It’s an honorary kind of thing. He’s also a dragon, if you, uh, were wondering.” She seemed unsure in herself, but Solar smiled gratefully to her, thanking her for the explanation. Fluttershy seemed happy and murmured something along the lines of, “No problem, happy to help.” On her shoulder, a small white bunny was staring at Solar with its head tilted to the side. Raising an eyebrow, she gave a slight wave to it and it turned away from her, its small arms crossed. “Oh, don’t mind him, that’s my pet bunny, Angel. He is usually quite sweet.” Clearly. --------------------------------------------------❆-------------------------------------------------- Twilight was definitely the leader of the group, she got along with everyone very well and even settled a dispute between Rarity and Applejack over clothing practicality. The grassy fields of Ponyville proved a good place to setup the blanket, Rarity provided some plates and Applejack passed around some home-made cider. As conversations began Pinkie turned to Solar, smiling and raising an eyebrow. “Say, Solar. How’d you do that thing with the door at my house?” She asked, gazing expectantly at her. Solar shifted slightly awkwardly but soon realised that as a ‘Locksmith’ she had nothing to fear when explaining her methods. “Well, the first thing you need is a lockpick. While you can do this using almost any small thin thing that can fit in the lock a lockpick is certainly your best bet. Once you have one of those you need something thicker, usually if you have a knife or something nearby you can use that. Generally, I use a butterfly knife since it’s always useful to have protection in Canterlot, especially after my… Time as a guard,” Rarity flinched slightly, remembering the explanation Solar had given to switching jobs. “Having one was also kind of a fun pastime; if you were bored you could just give it a spin, not to mention the fact that I needed it for the locks themselves." Applejack spluttered slightly, turning everyone’s attention to her. “Yah had a knife on yah?” She exclaimed, staring at Solar with a light fury in her eyes. “Why in Equestria did yah need that!” Fluttershy nodded and looked down, Rarity watched Applejack with a fire in her eyes and Pinkie’s eyes glowed slightly. That’s unsettling. Why is she so interested in a knife? “Applejack, did you even listen to her? She just explained she needed the knife for her job and protection. Clearly, she had no ideas of causing too much harm, if she did there’s a million more effective weapons one could buy in Canterlot.” Rarity said pointedly, giving Applejack a death glare, “Honestly, you’ve been doing nothing but hounding her ever since she appeared, the poor thing is as thin as a stick and only just moved here. At least give her a chance to adjust.” Okay, ow. My feelings. Applejack looked slightly miffed by Rarity’s outburst and looked away with an annoyed mutter before bowing her head. “Fine. But if she does anything suspicious I’m calling her on it, you have to understand, sugar cube, I have nothing against you as a pony. I’ve just got the weirdest gut feeling ah think I’ve ever had and so far, it don’t lie.” Solar didn’t have a reply to this and the group grew slightly silent. Suddenly a voice piped up again, coming from Twilight this time. “Solar, you said you would use a knife to unlock the door. I’m actually still interested in the idea, I’ve never read anything about it before save for a few stories about thieves, but they didn’t go into much detail.” This put more life into the group as both Rainbow and Pinkie agreed that they wanted to hear more of the technique. Solar was just glad to have something to say. Having explained how lockpicking worked to her audience, Solar was feeling a lot better about herself. Knowing how spellbound they were made her feel better about where she was, Twilight’s questions and Rainbow’s surprising interest made her feel closer to these six friends. Even if Rainbow seemed to like the idea more for the opportunities for pranking than actual use, but at least she wasn’t thinking of following in Solar’s footsteps. Fluttershy joined in briefly, commenting on how she had to call a locksmith to open one of her pet carriers. The food was delicious, and Solar couldn’t help but gorge herself slightly, not bad-manneredly so but still slightly more than the others. To be fair, she hadn’t eaten well since Canterlot and Rarity’s comment on her weight was sticking with her. She simply hadn’t been able to afford the food until now. --------------------------------------------------❆-------------------------------------------------- A nice day, some entertaining tricks from Dash and Pinkie and it was getting late, judging by the sun. Slowly but surely the group began to go their separate ways. First to go was Fluttershy, saying that she had to tuck her animals in for the night, next went Rarity and Applejack, both agreeing that they had to get their respective sisters to bed. Pinkie began yawning and said something about “Goi- aaaaaaaawn -ube Corner. See ya.” Before skipping behind a tree and… not coming out the other side. In confusion, Solar did a three-hundred- and sixty-degree check of the tree before Twilight beckoned her over. “Honestly, don’t bother. I’ve begun to notice there is no rhyme or reason to her shenanigans.” She seemed tired, probably due to the time. “If you think about it it’ll drive you nuts… But.” Leaning in, she looked around, as if someone was going to be listening here. “I’m thinking of trying to do a bit of research on her, but I’ll have to run the ethical sides past Princess Celestia.” She sounded slightly excited. Who gets excited about experimenting on somepony? Especially their friend, without their consent. Solar scowled slightly, tilting her head away from Twilight to hide it, Testing was a bit of a sore point for her; she didn’t want to be included in this at all. Twilight walked back to the now empty blanket and rolled it up with a purple glow, in a flash, it was gone. Spike had begun feel sleepy now and Twilight gave a final goodbye to Solar, teleporting the two of them from the scene; presumably the pair were going back to Golden Oaks. Realising that she was now by herself, Solar made her way back to the paths and lamps of Ponyville, following the streets around the edge. She always enjoyed night walks, even in Canterlot, and Ponyville was by far no exception. The sky was empty, displaying a sea of colours as a dim nebula moved across the sky, lightly dusted with stars. Hanging like a marble in ink the moon shone far above Equus, now clear of the patterned craters it had no more than a month ago. In the distance the Canterlot Castle could be seen, casting its waterfall down into the plains that separated it from Ponyville. Quite the eye-catching scene. As she walked she began to feel uncomfortable; the darkened back alleys were watching her, unseen eyes following her every move. She knew the feeling well. The feeling of being watched. Continuing her way down the path she kept her eyes peeled and her ears pricked, searching for any slight sign of life. A few steps later and it seemed as though nothing was near, no noises from around her, no crunching of gravel save for her own. The only living thing in sight was a pony a few houses away, letting himself into his house. But with only a few paces more it was clear her suspicion was justified as there came loud footfalls from behind her. As she turned she spied two ponies of varying height and stature, one a tall beefy stallion, the other a mare. She was shorter than both Solar and her own partner, had dark red fur and a black mane, from beneath her hood her eyes were a piercing green. Solar had never seen these two, and she held them in her gaze, unsure of their motives. Taking a step forward the mare drew a blade and flashed a grin at her, the stallion close behind with his arms crossed. “Caught like a rabbit in a trap, love, c’mon now. Let’s all be civilised-like and just hand over any bits before my friend here has to ‘ave a word, alright?” She said, her cockney accent heavy. It made sense to rob ponies here at night, especially with such a threatening escort. Few likely came to these parts of town and those that did were probably too scared of the stallion to refuse. “It’s a little bit early for a shakedown, don’t you think?” Solar replied, moving to a more relaxed stance to feign comfort. A very small percentage of the time these groups were out for some quick coin and didn’t really want to deal with those who refused. “I really would’ve waited until I couldn’t see a thing, or at least chosen a different target.” Grinning to herself, she patted her self on the back for her quick tongue. The stallion was large, but he would be slow with what was likely a fake sheath on his leg, the mare was also clearly not too skilled with her weapon. She held it rather limply with the blade facing behind her. Someone looking to deal some damage would be holding the knife tightly and with the blade facing up. Sure, it may look more impressive to hold the knife backwards but in reality, it didn’t help. A look of confusion briefly passed over the mare’s face as she considered Solar’s words. It didn’t last long. “Look ‘ere, I didn’t ask you for advice!” Getting closer to Solar she began to point the blade towards her, reflecting the dim light of the moon in its metal. “If you don’t give me everything you’ve got, I might just ‘ave to make you disappear.” What a terrifying threat. Solar couldn’t say she liked this type of thief, their methods had little subtlety or style. With her line of work, you got in and out, leaving things as you found it save for your targets. They just got their way through violence and threats. “Well, if you’d rather, I could disappear myself. I can do quite the trick if need be. Besides, you need the advice. I wasn’t kidding when I said it was too early, I can see you clear as day. And if I can see you…” She trailed off and with a swift move she hooked a stone off the gravel path, shooting it at the mare. It hit her in the neck, causing her to cry out and drop the knife. As she cradled her neck Solar scooped the knife up and knelt beside the mare. “I can hit you.” With a look of hated and a hoarse cry the poor thug beckoned her partner over. He could prove to be a bit more of an issue. Fortunately, Solar was right about his speed, his first strike was easily dodged. His second went straight for her head so she ducked and kicked out his foot, knocking him to his knee. With a knee to his jaw he yelled out, clutching his chin. The fury in his eyes was quite unsettling. Rather than continuing his new-found trend of punching he charged her, wrapping his arms around her waist and flinging her to the floor with a heavy slam. Fuck, that can’t be good for my wings. Dazed, Solar picked out the stallion bringing his boot down towards her and she rolled to the side, unsure of her plan of action. By this time the mare had gotten to her feet and she grabbed Solar from behind, locking her hands around her chest. Pinned to the mare, Solar’s eyes widened as the stallion pulled his fist back, letting it fly towards her. With a yank she pulled the mare round between her and the stallion. Rather than losing her precious facial features to the impact Solar had the remorse of hearing a crack behind her, followed by a scream. Quickly the hold on her fell limp and the mare fell to the floor, curled up and clasping her back to the best of her ability. A look of horror remained on the stallion’s face as his partner struggled for breath on the floor between curses and gasps. Looking up at her he pulled on the handle of the fake sheath and drew his very real dagger. Oh. Good ploy. “You made me hit my Rose, you bitch.” He snarled, stepping towards Solar, a slight sadistic look in his eyes. With a gulp, she began backing away. Well, I tried fight… A small voice caught his attention as he started to speed his pace up. “I… I need to go to the ‘ospital or something.” It was Rose, on the floor. “Please, hon, it hurts so much.” His resolve crumbled instantly, and he flung the dagger at Solar before spinning around. Caught slightly off-guard, the dagger embedded itself in Solar’s shoulder and she stumbled back. Watching the stallion pick up his partner and sprint off into the dark she bit back her cries of pain. The blade wasn’t deep due to the clumsy throw. Having hit at an angle it had gone in around three inches. By some miracle it hadn’t hit any muscle and would heal with the proper bandaging. Although, it has ruined a great shirt. She ripped part of her shirt’s sleeve and pulled the blade out, immediately pressing the fabric against the wound. It would slow the bleeding enough for until she got home. --------------------------------------------------❆-------------------------------------------------- Stumbling into her bathroom, Solar threw the bundle of bloodied shirt to the floor before taking her top off entirely. Looking in the mirror she examined the wound, checking for any traces of any poisons. There didn’t seem to be anything there, as expected – poisoned weapons would have taken effect by now. Not to mention no street thug in their right mind would spend so much on something so volatile. Larceny was great and all, but wealth was more important. She opened the cupboard at the side of the room and pulled out the pack of medical items she had used on her wrist before. Her teeth clenched, and her eyes glowed softly as she rubbed some cream onto the gash before wrapping a bandage around the wounded left shoulder. Tying it off, she looked for some scissors to snip the excess. Apparently, none came with the pack, so she flicked her knife from her belt and cut the fabric. Having patched herself up she strolled into the bedroom and laid back on the comfortable mattress, staring at the ceiling. Well, if there was any kind of criminal network in Ponyville they would surely have her at the top of the list, but that was unlikely, generally on the larger cities had any sort of organised crime. Petty crime was uncommon in the smaller regions and in such a small town she would only be worrying about those two for a while. Not to mention that with how long it would take the hospital’s unicorns to fix a broken spine even they would be off the radar for a while. Lying on her bed, Solar began to wonder what would happen tomorrow and what had about Syndicate. When he had been telling her about the house he had mentioned he would be in touch with another job soon after settling in. The question was, what did consider to be ‘settled in’? A week? Two? Still, presumably she would receive a letter from him when he had something for her. Hopefully no-one would ask about her new bandages, with that being said she desperately needed to get some new clothes tomorrow; maybe she wouldn’t even meet them doing that. Biting her lip, she shifted into a new position, attempting to ignore the pain. Sweet Celestia, I need some sleep. Or would it be Luna now? Oh, who knows. The conundrum didn’t really bother Solar, clearly Luna paid little attention to her nightmares, so she couldn’t find much respect for her. Until she saw the princess she would have to withhold judgement though. As her eyes closed she hoped for a restless night – one without her usual worries. He had been writing in his book for a little longer than usual, his few glances to her caused worry to brew in her heart. Those glances weren’t of the usual caring façade or even the slip of dislike, just remorse. Worry. Never a good sign, if someone who wasn’t even a friend feels that bad for you, then you know something is going to go wrong – that they know something you don’t. Finally, after an eternity, he set the book and quill down, choosing instead to gaze at her. Behind him the door slid open, revealing two guards, one a mare and the other a stallion. Both were the usual colours, something that Solar assumed was magically enforced. “Fleet,” She said, her voice timid and wavering. She hated the guards, never had they been a good sign; generally, they had been used as muscle, to hold her down or pull her to the bed if she refused to go herself. “What are they here for? If you want me to lie down, I will.” Eventually she had decided that it was easier to just follow commands than to be made to with force. Usually though, they did at least ask her to first, if they had decided to just bring in guards to deal with her regardless then she feared for her safety. Those guards clearly didn’t care that she was still in her early teens and was just barely fed. “That’s not what they’re here for, Solar, and I know that you would agree to my requests at this point. We need to test one of the intended abilities you should have.” One of the guards stepped forwards and drew a knife from his belt, reaching for Solar’s arm. She shrank back, eyes widening until she hit the wall. Her breathing quickened, and her pupils shrank, her legs folding up to her chest as she curled into a ball. “Calm down, Solar, please. One of the tests we have to run is regenerative ability. We just need to make a small cut on your arm, I’m sure you know what will happen if you make this more difficult than it has to be.” His threat fell on death ears as all Solar could see was the blade before her. After a few seconds with no reply Fleet gestured the other guard forward, who pulled Solar out of her ball – keeping her arm stretched out for the stallion to cut. With eyes filled with horror, Solar watched the blade run along her forearm, crimson blood inching out of the fresh line it left behind. “That’s enough.” Fleet snapped, sharply. He seemed restless, out of his comfort zone for once. Feeling dampness on her face, Solar realised she had tears ebbing from her eyes and the pain finally blossomed into her brain, delayed by the shock. Her eyes squeezed shut. Her fangs tore her own lip as she tried to change her focus from her arm, but to no avail. As soon as the mare released her limb she drew it back to herself, cradling it to her chest, allowing the salted tears to mix with the blood that stained her clothes and her whimpering to be muffled by her gown. “Look at me Solar, look at me.” A voice said in front of her, but she ignored it. “Solar.” The comforting tone was etched with a slight pang of annoyance now. “Solar!” It was a command, not a request and a hand grabbed her chin, tilting her face to meet Fleet’s. His eyes stared into hers and widened slowly. Solar could see a soft red glow around Fleet’s face, highlighting his features as though the light came from her own. “What in the name of Celestia…” He trailed off, his shock evident. Hatred bubbled in her heart. They did this, they always did this. Finally, a line had been crossed. This was some form of sadistic torture, surely? There could be no possible benefit from cutting her other than the knowledge of the pain it caused. And all because of him. In a fit of sobs, she lunged forward to Fleet, sinking her fangs into his neck. The feeling of the teeth piercing the jugular vein brought a sense of satisfaction. Finally, she had some form of revenge. His trembling body against hers almost made her laugh, for once he was the one trembling. Blood began to flow into her and she could taste the liquid’s intoxicating flavour, a delicacy she had never tried before. At last he seemed to realise what was happening and he began to try and push her off, grabbing her shoulders; desperate to demount her, he pushed her against the wall, attempting to lever her off. Solar did not hear his cries of confusion and fear, nor did she feel his desperate attempts to pull her off. She was in bliss, savouring the delicious nectar. Adrenaline flowed through her and she felt revitalised, the pain from her arm gone. A pair of arms grabbed her from either side and two hands began forcing her mouth open, pulling her off of Fleet and dragging her back to her bed. Being held down, Solar felt the glow of her bite fade away and the pain of her arm take its place, still very much an open, painful wound. As the glow finally faded entirely her mind turned to complete panic, realisation filled her head and she looked at the two guards holding her down. It was unnecessary, considering she wasn’t even trying to fight against their hold, but she could hardly blame them. Their looks of shock and terror hit home, she had never seen the guards show emotion, let alone fear. What was she? What the fuck had they done to her? Why did it feel so good to bite Fleet? Something soft was placed against her muzzle and a strange scent filled her mind as she slowly lost consciousness. The final image in her mind was the blank, white ceiling of the room. Author's Note I'll give it to you straight. I'm male, the clothing descriptions are bad, alright? I don't know female fashion, ok? Anyway, this chapter took a while because it is longer than the others and I wanted to tie things in. I'm also going to try and fit a dream into each chapter to make two stories which will tie in. Let me know of any mistakes, things that don't feel smooth and your general thoughts. I generally stop and start with writing to do things like switch spotify songs or youtube videos so sometimes things can seem out of place, I try to read over the chapter but some things may slip through. One time I had 'and' three times in a sentence, twice is bad enough. Hope you enjoyed. P.S I have a newfound respect for those that write action scenes and combat. I really have no clue how to do it properly, but I will try. Chapter 5: Woodland WonderChapter Five With dreary, bloodshot eyes, Solar stared at the bland ceiling above her. Tangled bedsheets wound themselves like the roots of a tree, most likely due to her tossing and turning. Frankly, she had never actually known how much she fidgeted, especially during her nightmares, since she hadn’t had covers on her beds for a good few years. It simply hadn’t seemed like a requirement when she was staying in the clocktower, in hindsight it could’ve been wise to invest in some. Still, it was too late to ponder that sort of thing now. Pulling herself up, she looked across the room to the wall-bound mirror. A dishevelled face looked back at her, to her surprise it had lighter fur than usual. Apparently feeding off of her own supply didn’t last as long as she had thought. That’ll be fine, it’s so slight that nopony will notice. As she stared, she thought of the very reason for her current state. Fleet. He certainly hadn’t been the caring friend she’d originally thought, but the real question was what had changed? She knew he had mentioned following orders from Blueblood, something about being her ‘therapist’ or something. Considering her age at the time, he very well could’ve been crooked from the start, only acting friendly to get his paycheque. A child would have a hard time seeing past such a façade, even if said child was her. Unfortunately, her naivety had only been reinforced by the blunt phrasing of the ponies themselves. Guards wasted no words on formalities or manners and the scientists themselves had only stated facts, if they ever bothered to speak at all. She sighed and shifted to start the day. Now mixing her last bunch of clothes and yesterday’s, Solar dressed before contemplating her appearance again. To her chagrin, her mane was completely rugged from the constant turning last night; brushing seemed to fix the problem, however, and soon the mane rested over her eye once again. Unsure of what to do about her now lightly bloodshot eyes, she decided that it would be best to simply cool them slightly and leave them to their own devices. Massaging some cold tap-water onto her eyelids provided just the sort of relief she wanted, feeling like she was pouring water on two heated coals. It was a shame it didn’t make any steam, she could’ve started her own sauna. That must be the polar opposite to my career so far. With a chuckle, she strolled back into her room and straightened it up. Sheets were uncurled, and curtains drawn back, giving the room a homelier feel. A pang of hunger caught Solar off-guard during her descent of the stairs, granted she hadn’t eaten today but generally she could go for a while without a meal. She supposed that her new diet made her hungrier in general. Maybe a quick bowl of something before leaving. Luckily, she had the presence of mind to buy some cereal when she went to the store the other day, getting a box of ‘Oat Parcels’. Really, they just seemed like small bundles of hay but that was still pretty nice. As she ate, she looked through her arms, seeing the blood flowing through them with a gentle glow. My oh-so useful blood-vision. Complicated natural wiring carried each part of the liquid through the spiderweb of veins inside her. She ran her tongue over her fangs, feeling the sharp points of enamel. What was she? Why had they done this to her? They had made her feel as uncertain as a sheep in wolf’s clothing by doing it, meant to be dangerous but in reality, simply an outcast. Gritting her teeth, her eyes stung slightly, and warm tears tried to begin their descent through her fur. Why me? Why did I deserve to become the monster? The Celestia damned monster! It just wasn’t fair. She hated feeling like this, like life had rolled a dice on her with all sides pointing to exile. Still, it would do no good for her to ruin herself before going out, she would hate for her new friends to see her with eyes red from crying. With an exasperated push of her arm, she slid her bowl into the sink to be cleaned later and made her way to the door. She needed some new clothes as soon as possible. Even cleaning her current ones would be a temporary fix since they were worn and thin with use, since she had the bits, she should take the opportunity. One-hundred should be fine, but she’d take one-hundred and ten just in case. An overcast but dry world met her eyes and she nervously thought about bringing an umbrella before realising that she didn’t actually have one. Just another thing she would never have thought to buy until the very situation that she needed it. Despite the slightly colder weather it seemed that the inhabitants of Ponyville were still going about their day, albeit in slightly thicker clothing. Solar couldn’t help but wonder where she would get the clothing from, it seemed almost as though Rarity was the only tailor in the entire town. They must have something in the market, if they can afford a shop that sells nothing but quills and sofas, they can surely afford a tailor. Lo and behold she was right, a neat shop stood by the path with a sign reading ‘Needle Yarn’s Tailoring’. Fortunately, it actually sold plenty of clothing off-the-shelf rather than especially made outfits. Solar opened the door to find a warmly lit interior with homely wooden panelling on both the floor and walls, giving the store an almost rustic feel. The stallion behind the counter looked up from a book he was reading and gave her a small wave before returning to his pages. Looking between the different options for clothing, she found that there was a lot here that would actually suit her. White shirts and plain, comfortable tops were folded on shelves and different varieties of lower garments were resting on hangers. Having made her choices, Solar brought out her pouch of bits and counted out the price. Apparently, it was quite the hit, costing her around ninety bits. To be fair, it is a lot… The stallion looked up from his book and took a double-take at the pile of folded clothes. “Are you… Buying these, miss?” He asked with a hint of shock. Solar had taken no chances, not wanting to run out of clothes again. “Yeah, sorry there are so many, I just moved in and have… Well, no clothes. I decided it would be best to just buy a lot now, rather than have to worry later,” She explained, hoping that there wasn’t some badly labelled rule about a limit. “I can afford it, if you’re worried.” “Not at all, it’s fine. I’ve just never had such an order before, Miss…” He waited slightly, and it took Solar a small while to realise he was implying for her to tell him her name. “Oh, Eclipse. Solar Eclipse. Sorry, I’m awful with conversations,” She said with a smile. He nodded and began reading the labels on the items, totalling all the costs on the till. It took a while, but soon he was through the pile and he glanced between the clothes and Solar’s satchel. “Miss Eclipse, I don’t think you’ll be able to take this home yourself, would you like me to arrange a teleport? You said you just moved in, didn’t you, so I can have them sent there. It will be an added cost of ten bits, though,” The cashier offered, Solar was glad that Ponyville offered the usual teleportation method, a lot of smaller towns and villages didn’t – It had simply become such a useful idea. “Yes, please,” She replied, fiddling with her pouch to pull out the one-hundred bits before realising that it would simply be easier to pull out ten and give him the pouch. With ten bits now in her satchel, she handed him the small bag and he laid it on a scale which read a round one-hundred. It was quite the good concept, having the bag weighed and the number of bits calculated. As she began to leave the stallion raised his voice to her again. “Say, Miss. Have you seen the Whitetail Woods yet? If you live nearby, I’d recommend taking a walk there, ponies say it’s the most beautiful thing they’ve ever seen.” He nodded to her and gave her a small absent-minded wave before returning to his book. “I’ll keep that in mind, thanks,” Solar chuckled, opening the store door and stepping out onto the road. She decided that she should change into some new clothes as soon as she could, since wearing the same clothes as yesterday was beginning to bug her more and more. Before she could go, however, she felt a hand grab her shoulder. With a start, she jerked herself away and span to see Fluttershy, looking very surprised. Her hand was hovering in the air and her eyes were wide. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you, I just… Um.” She stumbled over her words and her eyes darted around, a lock of hair falling over her face. Brushing it away, she met Solar’s eyes again. “I was… I just saw you were here and wanted to say hi.” Apparently, she lived up to her namesake, even to someone she knew. Behind the pegasus was a familiar brightly coloured mare who bounced over to lean on Fluttershy’s shoulder, surprising her. “Hey, Solar! Fluttershy was just telling me about how there are too many animals at her cottage and I suggested that some ponies around here could take some as pets!” Pinkie began, taking no time for breaths between sentences, “So, I suggested how maybe you’d like to take one, since we caught sight of you. Not to mention we haven’t really gotten to know you, like, I mean really, really, really gotten to know you.” Solar tried to keep a straight face as a few emotions came over her. For one, she was slightly irritated that her plan was interrupted, for another she wanted to laugh at the sheer energy that seemed to follow Pinkie wherever she went. But most of all, she was impressed with the speed of Pinkie’s speech. Fluttershy’s eyes had widened at Pinkie’s blunt request and she opened her mouth to speak but faltered. Raising an eyebrow slightly, Solar thought about the idea. “That depends, I don’t really know the first thing about looking after a pet. Not to mention I wouldn’t be too great at remembering to feed it.” Fluttershy actually lit up slightly at this, and a smile returned to her lips. “Well, that’s not too big of an issue, a lot of my animals are capable of feeding themselves. If they can get outside, that is.” That did make things easier, but there was the problem of getting out. Solar locked the house tightly at night, closing every window and its corresponding latch carefully. Being a thief gives you cause for concern with theft, alright? If I can get in, so can they. “I’m afraid that I close everything at night…” She replied, a twinge of disappointment in her voice to sympathise with Fluttershy. It didn’t really have the intended effect, however, as Fluttershy simply became more determined with her offer. “Well, I have a few smart birds that could go the night without food. Some can go up to a few days, so overnight shouldn’t be an issue.” Her determination to home these creatures was admirable and her excitement rather wholesome. “If you just made sure a window was open at some point during the day, or that it goes out with you, it would be fine. I’m sure it’d remind you if you forgot.” Well, Solar didn’t really have a leg to stand on at this point. If it fed itself, required almost no care and could fly then she didn’t exactly have an excuse. Nor did she have any reason to, though, having a pet could be fun. With a brief consideration she agreed to see the birds, but only after going home and changing. The idea of cleanliness still boiled at the back of her mind. --------------------------------------------------❆-------------------------------------------------- Now wearing a nice black overshirt and a plain white baseball top with blue jeans, Solar felt much better. The clothes were comfortable, and she felt at home in them, a welcome change from the uncomfortable fabric of her previous outfits, stretched and rough from years of reuse. As the three of them walked along the path to Fluttershy’s cottage, Pinkie spoke up. “Say, Solar, when’s your birthday?” Solar blinked and thought for a few seconds. When is my birthday? She actually didn’t know, she’d never celebrated it. It had to be some time around May since she vaguely remembered being confused when the doctors around her had begun scribbling ‘13’ instead of ‘12’ in boxes marked as ‘Age:’. It didn’t really matter when it was in the long term, so any date would do. She may as well keep it in May, though, since it would be easier to remember. Her next birthday would be her nineteenth, that could be a good date for it. “The nineteenth of May, I’ll be nineteen in… eight months.” That’s right, right? Pinkie was overjoyed to hear that but then seemed to be lost in thought for a while, so Solar turned her attention to Fluttershy. “So, what birds do you have that meet the criteria, anyway?” She asked, hoping one would be a good fit for her. She would hate to end up with a parrot or something, something too vibrant could be annoying. “Well, there’s Mr Beak, he’s a toucan. I found him a while ago with my friend, Treehugger. There’s Samantha, she’s a robin, but she can be a bit hard to keep track of. Uh, there’s Corvus, he’s a raven. He’s particularly clever, so he’d pretty much automate when you don’t do anything for him. Finally, there is Falc. He’s a, uh, a falcon. To be fair, he chose his name,” Rattled off Fluttershy, counting off her fingers for each candidate. As she racked her mind for any forgotten options, they came upon her cottage. She opened the door and Pinkie bounced inside, followed by Solar. It was quite clear who the lucky few were, since they were out of their cages and perched around the room among the other animals. With each having their own piece of furniture they looked like some kind of display. Immediately, Solar saw who would be her choice. Mr Beak was too big, not to mention his colourful beak. Samantha was too small and seemed to be mostly red. Falc was a good size, but his brown palette was highlighted with bright yellow. Corvus on the other hand, was a delightfully appealing specimen. His feathers were darker than the night and, unlike Falc, the un-feathered sections of his body were the same deathly black. As Solar reached the middle of the living room, he tilted his head at her, staring at her with an air of curiosity; it was not an unfriendly look, in fact, he was the only one who didn’t immediately fly or turn from Solar. Overtime she had discovered that most animals found her unsettling. They often ran from her or watched in suspicion, as though she was walking hand in hand with the grim reaper himself. Maybe I am. The sound of flapping wings filled the air as Corvus swooped over to land neatly on Solar’s left shoulder. With a surprised look, she regarded the raven, wondering why he actually wanted to come near her – let alone land on her shoulder. Fluttershy was, predictably, enthralled by this, clasping her hands in excitement. “Oh, Solar! He likes you! You look like a matching pair, too, each with your dark grey wings.” Solar chuckled, actually enjoying the idea of a pet now. “Yeah, I suppose we do. I’m surprised he has taken a liking to me, you may have noticed all the others left or hid,” She replied, glancing around the now abandoned spots in the room. Fluttershy suddenly seemed to notice as well, squeaking in horror and growing flustered. “Oh my, where are they? They were all… Oh dear. I hope they can come back,” She managed, between breaths. “Why did they all run from you? My animals never do that.” Clearly, they’ve never met me, then. “To be honest with you, I’m not sure. My whole life animals shied away from me and it seems like it’s only increased over time.” That wasn’t strictly true, actually. The effect had only begun after she had been altered, likely yet another ‘side effect’. Fluttershy’s face fell when she heard this. Her love of animals was such a key part of her world that she simply couldn’t imagine life without them, let alone how it would feel to be purposely avoided by them all. She made eye-contact with Corvus, who was now finding a more comfortable position on Solar’s shoulder. “Corvus, you like Solar, don’t you? Why don’t the others?” Her concern was touching, although Solar was unsure how asking would help. With a chirp the raven gave some kind of answer and Fluttershy blinked in confusion. “He says that you are unnatural… What does that mean?” Another tweet from Corvus. “Well, that doesn’t make sense. She clearly isn’t, is she.” Is she… Talking to him? Solar looked between the two, wondering if Fluttershy actually understood the bird. “Are you talking to him? Do you actually understand him?” She asked. Fluttershy nodded, beginning to walk to the door. “I understand all my animals and they understand me. Well, actually they understand everypony, but they listen to me. In any case, I’m not sure why the animals don’t like you; Corvus says that you carry a sense of being dead. Like, they get the same feeling from you as a… body I suppose. But that’s impossible, since you’re clearly alive. He’s just as confused as we are since he understands you aren’t dead.” She sighed and looked around the cottage, taking in the empty birdhouses and cages. “I… I hate to be a bother, but I really need to get the animals back inside, if it gets dark and they aren’t, I don’t know what I’ll do. But it was nice seeing you, oh, and thank you so much for adopting Corvus.” Solar nodded understandingly, glad for an excuse to head back home anyway. She wasn’t used to this much interaction and it was beginning to feel exhausting. As she walked out of the cottage, she found someone walking beside her, skipping along happily. Oh, that’s right. Pinkie Pie had been watching the entire ordeal from the door and was now side-by-side with Solar. “Say, Solar, it’s kinda weird how the animals think you’re dead, huh.” She said, innocently looking down at her shoes while they walked. “Like, you aren’t, but they think you are. Weird, huh?” Her tone was strangely… Informed, as though she knew something Solar didn’t. Or she knew something Solar wouldn’t want her to. “Have you seen the White-tail Woods? They are meant to be quite fun, last time I was there I found a stick in the shape of a moon!” She laughed and turned away from Solar, winking as she walked down the path to town. How in Tartarus do you find a stick in the shape of a moon? --------------------------------------------------❆-------------------------------------------------- As the door closed behind her, Solar slid down it. Corvus flew through the hall and perched on a table, occupying himself with preening. On the one hand, Solar did actually want to go for a walk to the woods. It was still light, and she felt like she needed to clear her head. On the other, so many ponies had suggested doing so that it felt like she was walking into a trap. Surely, they had no reason to, though? She had only just arrived, they couldn’t possibly have a reason to do something like that yet – besides, it would be good to bond with Corvus. “Maybe I could get some practice in while I do,” She said to herself, picking up her bow. Despite how useful it had seemed, she hadn’t actually used it much. That being said, she hadn’t had a job for a while. Slinging it over her shoulder, she made her way down the path in her garden. Luckily, the property joined the woods on this side of the house; it was something she had noticed when gardening before. Stepping into the trees was like walking into a painting, the tall pillars of wood bearing delightful shades of varying oranges. Rays of light cut through the leaves, the branches waving to Solar with a lethargic joy in the soft wind. Her tail and mane were pulled to her side slightly and the feeling of the wind rushing through them was wonderful. She felt almost afraid to open her wings, in case she was dragged off along the breeze. A worn path wound through the forest, splitting into separate routes; each intersection holding its own plethora of signs to point you around. Glancing at the first one she found, Solar was surprised to find her home actually had a name. Engraved into the woods were the words ‘Mahogany Hollow’, which was quite a fitting name considering the shade of the wood that made up the house’s details. Corvus soared from tree to tree, enjoying the walk just as much as she was. Erratic shades of green formed the grassy banks of the path and a small stream ran alongside, crystal clear water shining like a river of glass. As she turned a corner in the path, Solar saw three makeshift shelters. If they could be called that. Sticks and logs were placed in cones and covered with leaves gathered from the floor, making a type of tepee. In the middle of the three structures was a small circle of pebbles with some burning twigs in the centre. Around this small campfire sat three fillies, all sitting on logs. Drawing closer, Solar heard two of them berating the third, mercilessly. Two of the three she recognised as Applejack and Rarity’s sisters, Applebloom and Sweetiebelle. The third was an orange pegasus with a purple mane and tail, who seemed to be the one under fire. All three were dressed in rather bedraggled school uniforms, much like Sweetiebelle was when Solar met her before. “I thought I told you to get some firewood, didn’t I Scoot? The clue’s in the name! Fire-wood, not fire-sticks,” Applebloom scolded, her eyes narrowed at the pegasus. Sweetiebelle nodded along, a look of exasperation on her face. ‘Scoot’ looked angrily between the two, a defensive argument ready to go. Before she could, however, Sweetiebelle caught sight of Solar and waved. “Solar, hey, over here!” She called out, a smile of recognition on her face. The others seemed confused, unsurprisingly, considering that they hadn’t met yet. Solar walked over and knelt beside the fire, Corvus coming down to land on her shoulder. “Hey, is that a crow? He looks so cool! Why did he land on your shoulder? Is he yours?” Said the pegasus, her eyes wide with curiosity and her words tumbling over themselves. “This is Scootaloo, Solar. I don’t think you’ve met Applebloom yet, either, she’s Applejack’s sister. Crusaders, Solar,” Sweetiebelle explained, introducing them all and giving Scootaloo a bit of side-eye for her outburst. It seemed these three were quite the trio by themselves. As for their camp-building skills, they could use some work. “Well, Scootaloo, he isn’t a crow, but he is mine. His name is Corvus and he’s a raven, Pinkie suggested that I take a walk in the woods and I figured it would be a good opportunity to bond. I’m not sure how well that’s working but he seems to like me regardless. In fact, he was the only one who didn’t dislike me,” Solar said, with a little chuckle, feeling a little awkward talking to the filly. She wasn’t good with children. “Anyway, what on Equus are you all doing, and why in the name of Celestia are there clear attempts at makeshift shelters?” Immediately the look of interest on Applebloom’s face turned to one of indignation. “What d’ya mean, attempts? These are professionally made tents!” She argued. Sweetiebelle looked back at the three piles and cringed slightly. Scootaloo didn’t look too thrilled with their constructions either. “Well, they aren’t the most amazing things ever, Applebloom. I mean, I’ve had better shelter with some of Rarity’s hats,” Sweetie offered, bringing a sigh from the group. Solar raised an eyebrow, wondering why they were making the campsite at all. It was unusual to want to camp without any equipment. “If you don’t mind me asking, why are you trying to camp in the woods without any camping gear or shelter?” She asked. Scootaloo piped up again, her face suddenly lit with hope. “We were trying to get our cutiemarks in camping! But we couldn’t get the equipment from any of the others’ sisters and Rainbow Dash was nowhere to be found. So, we decided we could try and get some from making the tents ourselves. Could you get us cutiemarks?” She demanded. Three pairs of optimistic eyes bored into Solar. “I’m sorry, I don’t know much about them, but I do know you have to wait for them. But, if it makes you feel any better, they can appear at any time. So, just doing something you would consider normal could cause them to appear; I’m sure they will when the time is right,” She supposed, hoping to sedate their expectance for a while. Much to her chagrin, however, the faces of the three fell in unison. “Not you too!” Sweetie said, exasperated. “We’ve been trying to get them for so, so long and everypony keeps saying to wait! We must be good at something, so if we do that thing, we’ll get them. I know it. The Cutie Mark Crusaders won’t fail!” Her defiance was something to be admired, as the others immediately rallied to her call, cheering on the Crusaders. Apparently, they have a club. “Well, look, as I said they can appear at any time so-” Solar began before a particularly excited Applebloom cut her off. “How did you get your cutiemark? What is it?” She asked, vehemently chasing down the topic. Solar was a little unsure of what to say here. On the one hand she couldn’t tell them everything, since the actual scenario would invalidate her façade. On the other, she could twist the truth into a reliable tale. “Well, mine is actually based around,” don’t say deception, don’t say deception, “stealth. It looks like a moon behind a cloud with little rays of light around it. Meaning it is a literal solar eclipse, which is rather fitting, don’t you think?” She explained, creating the next batch of the story in her mind. “I actually got it at around… thirteen years old, I think. I’m not sure, to be honest. Anyway, it appeared while I was playing hide and seek with some of the kids in Canterlot. Apparently, hiding in the alleys and winning the game all the time was enough to trigger it.” There, perfect. The lie was almost fool-proof, not only lining up with her story so far but also making perfect sense given the nature of her mark. “Huh, wow. Boring.” Scootaloo said promptly, yawning slightly as she did. Sweetiebelle looked tired too and Applebloom stared down at the forest floor, her brow knitted in contemplation. Suddenly Sweetie shot up with a cry of surprise. “Solar? Is that… Is that a bow?” She said, in shock. Solar cringed inwardly, having forgotten she had the weapon; there wasn’t really a reason for her to have it. Bows were unanimous with hunting in Equestria, something that was gravely looked down upon and even outlawed in certain areas. That or combat, neither of which were very good reasons to have one in a friendly village. “Yes, not for any creatures though. It was made as a present by a blacksmith in Canterlot, kind of a father figure. It’s a hobby of mine now, not that I’m any good with it.” She replied, easing the three’s worry. Some actually did use archery as a hobby or sport, so it didn’t seem odd for her to have it. Scootaloo actually seemed to admire the bow and Sweetiebelle cooed over the engraved designs. Feeling uncomfortable with the two staring at her back, Solar took the bow off and stood up; she held it out, each Crusader looking it over. Applebloom seemed content with its uses, Sweetiebelle its design and Scootaloo its sheer thrill factor. Despite having their question satisfied, it seemed the three still had another thing to ask. They all wanted to see Solar using the bow itself. I really hope I don’t mess this up. --------------------------------------------------❆-------------------------------------------------- Soon, a crudely made firing range had been set up and Solar’s three audience members watched, earnestly awaiting her swift execution of each apple. Apparently, this wood attached to Sweet Apple Acres further down the path and the apple trees had slowly crept in, joining their wooden brothers in the area. According to an excited Applebloom, the three had been trying to devise cutiemark related plans in their clubhouse quite nearby when camping had sprung up as an option. She was very proud of the treehouse, going into detail about its appearance as Solar strung up an arrow. Pulling back, Solar felt the taught bowstring gather power. Released, the arrow shot through the air, whistling and thudding into an apple with the precision of a surgeon. Solar had to admit, she had surprised herself with even hitting the apple, let along causing it to split down the centre – certainly, it endorsed the bow’s strength. A cheer from Scootaloo and Applebloom made her grin, while Sweetiebelle was content with a whoop. Having knocked out each target, Scootaloo piped up, asking if she could have a go. That was quickly turned down by not only Solar but her own two consorts too. Neither seemed to think it was a good idea to try the bow themselves and Solar didn’t want to be responsible for any injuries. “Well, it was nice to see yah bow and all, but I think The Cutie Mark Crusaders have failed at camping. And, Scootaloo, we ain’t trying archery. Not just yet,” Applebloom declared, glancing back to the campsite with an air of regret. All three looked down with grim, thoughtful expressions. Suddenly, Sweetie clicked her fingers and cried out. “I know! We should try Cutie Mark Crusaders Canoeing! You have that old one in the barn, don’t you Applebloom?” She said, looking for confirmation from her fellows. Applebloom nodded slowly, a grin forming on her face. Scootaloo jumped, pumping her fist and flapping her wings. “Yeeeeeeess! I’ve wanted to try that canoe for ages! Please tell me Applejack will let us.” Her remark brought a brief moment of hesitation from Applebloom. Then the concerned look cleared, her mind made up. With a smile, she said one sentence that would put the idea deep into concrete. “She doesn’t have to know.” Solar watched as all three sprinted down the path, following each sign to Sweet Apple Acres with excitement. Those three are… Strange. Shaking her head, she continued her walk down the path, indulging in the sights and sounds of the woodlands. Corvus flew overhead, exploring the winding paths between trees with glee. As she walked, she began to notice something strange with each signpost. Slowly but surely a new label had appeared, pointing in several directions with a symbol that didn’t seem to fit. An engraving of a tree with a distorted and intimidating mouth marked the words ‘The Everfree Forest’. She remembered what Rarity had said about the forest, with its dangerous and deadly kaleidoscope of creatures. Despite that, however, she couldn’t help but feel attracted to it. The forest would surely be something to behold if it was as untamed as it seemed, not to mention, she was on the path to it already. Not wanting to be another missing poster, Solar made sure not to venture too deep into the inky reaches of the forest’s treeline. The stark contrast between it and the Whitetail Woods was actually quite mindboggling, almost as if the sun simply refused to enter the forest either. Although, that clearly wasn’t the case as rays of light could be seen piercing the trees at uncanny intervals. As she felt the path change from worn dirt to coarse mud, she caught sight of something interesting further in. In the distance was a clear, tall structure made of decaying and dishevelled stone. The tower had a doppelganger further along beside it, but it was broken, and she couldn’t see much. Running forward, she spread her wings and flew above the trees. Soaring closer, she took note of a third centre tower, which was almost completely destroyed. It had a larger radius than the two on either side, implying it was far taller at one point. This was soon confirmed as she noticed the rest of the tower, lying in piles of stone bricks over the building. At some point the tower had collapsed over the rest of the edifice, speeding up the structure’s deterioration. With that being said, the place would have to be over a thousand years old in order to break down like this from sheer neglect. Hovering down, she landed in the main hall of the massive building, looking around at the ancient, moth bitten rugs. High on the wall were two banners, each towering above matching thrones. Despite their ragged and torn appearance, Solar could make out what was depicted on each. To the left was a stylised embroidery of Celestia and to her right, Luna. She stared, shocked that this was once a royal castle. Shaking out of her stupor, she decided to quickly check around the place before leaving. Picking a hallway at random, Solar began wondering along, feeling the eerie atmosphere send chills along her spine and the wind softly biting her. Corvus landed on her shoulder, snuggling into her mane for safety. Seeing his uncertainty, she questioned if she should keep going but decided that there couldn’t be much harm in doing so. As she turned the corner, she opened a door that barely held itself on its hinges to reveal a large open library. The centre of the library was in a bad state of disrepair and a few books looked beyond saving, but there was certainly a large amount of completely readable ones. Looking between the spines of books, one caught her eye. It was bound in a dark leathery material and had a picture of a pair of fangs on its edge. Her eyes widened, and she yanked the book off the shelf, praying it was in good condition. It was yellowed slightly, but a majority of the water damage had been prevented by the cover. In damaged writing, the front read ‘Myths and Legends of Equus: Vampires’. She gasped, fumbling with the bindings of the book. “Sweet Celestia, there is no way, no way,” She whispered softly, pulling it open and reading. Introduction Now, to many the term vampire may bring to mind visions of bats or small parasitic creatures. This, however, is not the case when speaking in terms of mythology, for in this area of literature the term refers to dark creatures of the night. These foul beings, sometimes referred to as ‘vamponies’ are largely just like you and I in their outward appearance. But as you look for details you may begin to notice their inponane features. The most renown giveaway is the sharp fangs possessed by those turned to the disease. Another would be their insatiable lust for blood and aversion to sunlight. A key feature of vampires is their tainted soul. Being so unclean, they were often described as having no reflection in mirrors. This was due to the belief of the silver, used in mirrors at the time, being too pure for the soul’s reflection. Eventually, this became an inability to use all reflective surfaces, but the origin is very interesting. In this book, you will find tales of the creatures from all corners of Equestria and beyond. Different regions contain different folklore regarding the monsters, so please, do enjoy. Swallowing, Solar thought about the contents of the page. The aversion to sunlight wasn’t something she had noticed, although she was more comfortable in the dark. She hadn’t noticed a lack of reflections in mirrors but with that being said, there was the possibility that she simply hadn’t encountered a silver mirror yet. That seemed unlikely, though, as a lot of her targets had been exceedingly wealthy, so a silver mirror would be almost guaranteed at some point. She didn’t feel diseased, but cursed could be apt. The thirst for blood was true, that much she knew, in fact she was beginning to feel the ache in her teeth she was getting to know so well. With an angry sigh of frustration, she closed the book and shoved it into her satchel. It’s getting dark anyway, I should get back. Corvus hopped slightly away from her, chirping, with his head to one side. She walked back down the corridors, returning to the throne room. The original building’s entrance was actually still accessible, so Solar decided to leave through that. As she stepped out onto the grass, she felt a slight bit of relief, free of the castle’s tense atmosphere. Looking up, she came face to face with the huge carved head of a wolf. The wooden contours stared into her with two yellow, glowing eyes. The orbs sat like a pair of tinted moons, each bearing down on her with silent contemplation. It’s… It’s seen me, right? Solar couldn’t help but whimper slightly at the sight and began to slowly back through the broken archway. With powerful, heaving movements, the creature kept up to her pace. She gulped and spread her wings, preparing to fly as soon as she could. With a snarl, the wolf lunged forwards and she leapt to the side, hitting the floor in a panic. Corvus flew up into the night, hovering well out of reach. Solar pulled herself up and launched of the ground, twisting round just in time to see the teeth of the wolf close around the air beneath her. Wasting no time, she darted away from the room and above the forest, ensuring that Corvus was following suite. The wolf crashed through the trees beneath her for a while as she headed for the lights of Ponyville. Eventually it began to slow, until it stopped entirely; without the thing on her tail, she headed back home. While the castle had been a sight to see, the journey hadn’t been of much benefit. What in Tartarus was that thing? --------------------------------------------------❆-------------------------------------------------- Leaning on the door, Solar tumbled into her house with an unsteady gait. Flying from The Everfree had been tiring and far more than she was used to. Quite simply, she hadn’t flown for so long so fast before. Looking back out at the now night sky, Solar felt pangs of hunger from her stomach and an ache from her wings. She hadn’t eaten in a while, something she had overlooked yet again; she would need some food. With a sigh, she held the door open for Corvus and closed it firmly behind him, locking each bolt into its corresponding slot. “So much for a relaxing walk.” She said to herself, crossing the hall to the kitchen, trying not to hit her wings on anything. Corvus flew to a chair arm in front of her and tilted his head at her with an inquisitive chirp. “What? Ponies talk to themselves, Corvus. It’s normal. I think. I’m not insane, if that’s what you think.” She said, feigning irritation. Chuckling she walked through the doorway of the kitchen before pausing. “Although, do ponies talk to birds? Maybe I am insane after all.” An indignant chirp came from the other room and she shook her head in wonder. Fluttershy wasn’t kidding when she said he was smart. Making a quick bowl of salad, Solar was surprised to see Corvus landing on the table top next to her. He watched intently as she chopped up the vegetables, his eyes following each move. Feeling mischievous, she flourished the knife, spinning it in the air before catching it and continuing on with her task. Corvus hopped back and looked her up and down, head tilted once again. She rolled her eyes and moved the food into a bowl, strolling back into the living room. With a sigh, she collapsed into an armchair and ate in silence, enjoying the taste of the meal. Just as she finished, she felt a pang from her mouth as her fangs began to ache. She growled slightly and clamped her teeth down in annoyance. “Stupid, stupid things,” She muttered, leaving her bowl on the coffee table and running up the stairs. Slowing as she came to the bathroom, she began to roll her sleeve up in preparation; a surprised Corvus following in her wake. Small chirps of confusion and concern were lost to Solar’s preoccupied mind. Opening the holster on her belt, she slipped out her knife and considered her wrist for a good place to cut. The ideal position would be the exact same one as before, but she was beginning to fear that the scar would stop healing if she kept cutting it. Gritting her teeth, she cut above the last with a wince. Her blood tasted nice, as expected, but it had certainly lost potency over time. Admittedly, she had been surprised that it had stopped the aching in the first place, since it was technically the same blood she already had. The idea that her body was beginning to realise this wasn’t one she had wished to entertain, but it seemed likely. All she hoped was that it would be enough to stop the aches in her fangs while she had nothing to feed on. But how long would it last? As she bandaged the wound with an absent mind, she noticed something in the mirror’s reflection. Corvus was perched on a towel rack, staring at her wound in silence. She paused her movement, briefly wondering if she should’ve locked him out. Turning to him, she swallowed and bit her lip. “You… You didn’t see anything, alright? I know it seems bad but if you say… chirp a thing to Fluttershy, it won’t end well for me. Ok?” Corvus seemed to get the idea and Solar simply hoped he would keep his mindset. If her secret got out, she didn’t dare to think what would happen. For once, she had found a place where she could live without the fear of death around every corner. A place where ponies actually did like her for her. Not one where everyone acted nice just to accomplish some kind of checklist for obligation. Only showing any kind of kindness when it benefitted them. Heaving a sigh, she decided to go to bed. It was getting late, after all. Having pulled off her creased, muddy clothes, she laid back on the covers. She felt her bandaged wrist, pain running up her arm. What am I? Sweet Celestia, why did I have to be the monster? Tears threatened to run down her cheeks and she blinked them away, choosing instead to punch her pillow in exasperation. Exhaling, she focused on her situation. Overall, things were looking up. She had a house, friends, an unsteady but paying job and a good bank balance. It was just infuriating that all of this could have been so much easier. Having turned off all the lights, she lifted her satchel onto the bed and pulled out the book she had taken earlier. Opening the book and pulling the cover over her, she turned on the lamp beside her bed, losing herself in the pages and stories it had to offer. Slowly but surely, she began to drift off. Coming back from the shower had always been fairly uneventful. Some harsh words or shoves from megalomaniacal guards, the odd desire to sprint down the corridor. This time, however, she noticed that the usual entrance to her cell now had two doors. She hadn’t seen the addition at first, due to the featureless greyish-white theme of the building but there was certainly another door. To Solar’s surprise, the guards actually ushered her past the usual door and into the second, which lead into her cell through a brand-new entrance. Unsure of why the room needed another entrance closer to her bed, she sat down with a slight bit of annoyance. Being forcefully knocked out and waking up in the showers was bad enough, finding changes to the one place she owned was something else entirely. Immediately she got her answer, though. A glass panel now divided the room, a few chairs placed on the other side. The setup made her uncomfortable, almost like she was some kind of exhibit at a circus or zoo. Something to be gawked at by those more fortunate. She knew why, of course. Her outburst with Fleet had likely made the glass seem necessary, something to keep the researchers safe. They weren’t in danger, she knew that; presumably, they themselves didn’t though. To her dismay, the entrance to the glass side opened to reveal Fleet himself, still alive and kicking, shadowed by two guards. She had to admit she was satisfied to see him wearing a neck cast, however, since it clearly meant she had done some damage. A silent pantomime played out in front of her as Fleet seemed grow irritated with one of the guards, gesticulating wildly to some kind of podium which stood in the middle of the room. On the top was a button, which he pressed in irritation. All of a sudden, Solar could hear everything from the room. “-n’t care if it’s for my safety, I was told I would get payback,” He hissed, turning to her and sitting in one of the chairs. With a look back to the guards, he pointed to the door, meaningfully. One looked back between him and the exit with hesitation. The button was pressed again and Solar saw him yell silently at the two, who quickly left. She giggled, enjoying the view immensely. Another press and she could hear him clearing his throat. Clearly, he hadn’t forgotten their last meeting as he stared into her with two burning eyes. “So, enjoy the taste, parasite?” He spat, his glare intensifying. Solar nodded with a smile, loving the fact that glass had to be put between them. His features stitched into a scowl and he pulled up his ever-present clipboard, flipping through the paper. “I’m sure you figured out you could heal with blood.” He continued, scanning the pages. “My fucking blood.” He added, under his breath. With a start, Solar looked down at her arm saw that, sure enough, her wound had healed to a scar. Fleet stood up and walked over to the glass, putting a hand against it and grimacing. “You know, they said I would be here for your quality of life but all they’re really concerned about is if you’re alive or not. I’m getting paid either way and you’re really making yourself hard to like.” She rolled her eyes and walked up to the glass, putting her hand over his. “I know you hate me, everyone does. You’re no different and you never will be. I didn’t make myself hard to like, you just hate far too easily.” He was taken aback by her comment and he whipped his hand from the glass like someone had shocked it. “I certainly didn’t bite you because you were nice,” She continued. “Put yourself in my shoes, Fleet. Imagine fighting for your life every day, only to be imprisoned by the one person you thought had no reason to hate you.” She felt her eyes water slightly, but she bit her tongue, not wanting to cry in front of him. “After all that surviving you have your oh-so little world taken by a wolf in sheep’s clothing simply because nopony would care. Because you were the one pony that fit the bill.” Her voice was wavering slightly as her mind flew back to her life before. She had a good friend, a home. A broken one, but a home nevertheless. Back then, she hadn’t had to be filled with needles on a daily basis. “Then imagine, after all of that, that those who took you performed painful treatments on you to answer some kind of twisted what-if scenario. And after that, that they decided to cut your arm open to see what would happen. You would snap too.” Fleet cleared his throat, picking his words. “They say you have nothing, that this is an improvement. They say you wouldn’t’ve made it another day anyway.” He murmured, meeting her eyes. “An only child with single parent and no friends. No loved ones and no future. They say you’d killed for fun. Using a criminal for this type of thing makes sense. You have no excuse.” He picked up his clipboard, beginning to turn to the door. Solar snapped. “Killed? Killed? I hadn’t killed, Fleet. I had stolen, yes, killed, no. I had a plan, I always had a plan. A plan for every situation and for every outcome. But then, oh no, then you lot cut a deal with somepony who had no right to do so, to do something I had no preparation for. And you fucked it all up.” Her eyes began to glow softly with a tinted red, staining the usual perfect blue. “You all decided that it was high time I lost it all. That my life was now something to be toyed with. I was written off and had everything, everything taken. My home? Sure. My life? Fuck it, why not, right? But my future? The one thing that wasn’t fucked? That’s… That is-” Her voice broke and she slid down the glass, tears rolling unchecked down her cheeks and sobs racking her body. It wasn’t fair, none of this was fair. She knew life wasn’t meant to be fair but this… This was absurd. Fleet stared at the sobbing figure with a tinge of remorse. She was right, of course. He had never put himself in her shoes or considered the fact that she hadn’t done anything wrong. Quite simply, he had accepted the idea she was a criminal, broken beyond repair. Never had he thought of motive or reason. Shaking his head, he blinked and cleared his head. No, no. They had said she was a murderer and he had no reason to not believe them. Clearly, this street rat was trying to fill his mind with doubt. He wouldn’t let it work. Walking over to the door, he threw one last glace at the filly, who was now in the foetal position. Pressing the button, he sighed and opened the door, walking out into the hall. Author's Note Well, that was something, huh? Anyway, I just wanted to mention that this story is being made by a human being. The reason I say this is because there will be mistakes. When I was listening back to the story I found several instances of repetition (generally with the word: 'actually' and Solar's name). So, if you notice any mistakes or grammatical errors that I have made, please let me know. I don't know everything about English, so some things may be simple misunderstandings. The main reason I say that is because apparently speech is meant to end with a comma like: "Yes, that's right," He said. Rather than "Yes, that's right." He said. But then uses a period if it's like: "Yes, that's right." He turned to leave. Not "Yes, that's right," He turned to leave. I also say this because of the dislikes with no feedback. I'm just writing them off as un-solvable but I usually like to fix issues, so not being told the issues is frustrating. If I messed up somewhere, I usually like to know. Another thing I found is I used the word 'people' a lot in earlier chapters. I cannot believe I let that fly under the radar for so long. I'm not even entirely sure when I stopped, so it's quite hard to fix. Also, I know that I messed up badly when I mentioned Luna in Nightmare Night in a previous chapter, that was a mistake-a to make-a. This story is kind of meant to be taking place after the pilot but before ticket master right now. The flashbacks are taking place is Solar's nightmares, I mentioned this, but they are more importantly a way for me to explain her abilities and backstory. I'm saying this because there is the possibility that in future I may use someone else's perspective. I'll try not to, but if I do, this is why. Haha, why am I even bothering with this. So anyway, as always, better up than off. Chapter 6: Dark HorseChapter Six A startling pain rocked Solar from her sleep, jerking her up. Her jaw ached fiercely, a seeming inferno of agony. Crying out, she ran to her mirror and opened her mouth, checking inside for anything that should raise alarms. There was no blood or clear reason for the pain, but she began to notice her fur. It was lighter than ever, more of an ash than a greyish-black. In her eyes there sat a slight red glow, something she knew was a bad early-warning sign. “No, no, no, no. I just need more time. A few more days,” she muttered in horror. As she had worried, her own blood had finally stopped satisfying her thirst. Another shot of pain made her yelp and she quickly dressed, swinging her bow over her shoulder. Throwing open the back door, she sprinted down the path to the forest, ignoring the darker shades of the early dawning sun. Following each sign, she ducked into the Everfree and began scanning the world around her for a creature. She didn’t want to kill anything in the Whitetail Woods, for fear of the body being found. But killing in the Everfree? That wouldn’t be found and even if it did, it couldn’t be pinned on her. Preferably, she would be able to find a predator, at least then her kill would have a little more justification. Crouching low to the floor, she slowly moved through the vegetation of the forest, leaves being pushed aside as she progressed. She could make out the glowing blood-flow of some kind of dog-like creature further ahead; from its movements, it seemed like it was chewing on something. Judging by the lightly fluorescent floor around its meal, it had just caught some prey. Pulling an arrow into her bow, she pushed through the final line of leaves. It was a wolf, chewing contently on a deer’s corpse – clearly having killed the animal. Holding her breath, she drew the arrow in the wolf’s direction, shaking slightly. I’m sorry. With a whistle, the shaft split through the morning air and thudded into the wolf’s neck, knocking it to the leafy forest floor. A howl escaped the wolf’s mouth, but the sound cut off as it went limp. Solar covered her mouth with her hand, feeling remorse creep over her. The pain in her jaw was still growing, however, and the cloud in her mind took care of that empathy. Leaping into the clearing, she slid over to the wolf and leant down to its neck. She held her hand against it, ensuring its pulse was absent. Satisfied that it was, she ripped out the arrow and sank her fangs into an artery, drinking deeply. Her blissful feeding felt stained by the regret of the kill. After a few seconds, the pain ebbed away, and her mind cleared – leaving her staring at the body in sadness. The dust from the path home swirled around her with each step. Her feet dragged slightly, and she ran her hand along the rhododendrons that lined the trail. Never before had she taken a life and she felt that her conscience was murky. As if all the grime of the world’s gritty realism now draped over her, blotting out the once heavenly naivety she had been revelling in. It had always been an accepted part of life. The end. But never had she experience first-hand and it made her worry for those who walked the darker lines of criminality. Stealing from the rich was one thing, stealing from companies, sure. But stealing life itself was wrong. So wrong. Biting her lip, she tried to move her thoughts away from the wolf but couldn’t. It could’ve been a father, simply trying to provide for his cubs or a pack leader, all his brethren now lost without a star to follow. With a shake of her head, she forced the ideas to the back of her head. Choosing, instead, to focus on the more pressing present, rather than the past; besides, the wolf had killed that deer. So, in a way, it was tit for tat. Picking up her pace slightly, she decided that she may as well make use of all the wolf’s blood. It would be slightly more respectful than simply leaving it. Pushing open the door to her kitchen, her eyes began scanning the cupboards for any kind of bottle that could be used; there was one in the corner and another by the sink. Both were perfect. She scooped them up in each hand and bolted back down the paths, quickly reaching the body once again. Pressing against the wound, she let the blood fill the bottles but soon found that the process was simply too slow – not to mention that the wound itself was beginning to run dry. Thinking quickly, she bit into the wolf and drained some of the precious liquid before spitting it out into the bottle. That was certainly more successful and very soon she was fastening the lids on two filled bottles of blood. --------------------------------------------------❆-------------------------------------------------- Pushing open the backdoor, Solar waited for Corvus with an impatient roll of her eyes. Uncertainly, he flew inside and perched on the grandfather clock, his head tilted slightly. She couldn’t help but feel adjudicated, like a criminal in a court with a jury watching her every move. Don’t judge me… Or do. I guess I deserve it this time. Turning back to the hall to go upstairs, something caught her eye on the carpet. An envelope, apparently having fallen through the letterbox. With a raised eyebrow, she dropped her bow onto a chair and scooped up the letter. Using her knife, she slit the seal and unfolded the parchment with interest. Dear Solar, I trust you’ve settled in well at Mahogany Hollow. If you didn’t know, that is the official name of the home – quite a charming one if I do say so myself. Regardless, I must admit I didn’t take the time to send a letter of pure congratulations. There is a job you may be interested in. A few clients have expressed concerns that I believe you could deal with quite efficiently. If you happen to find the time for a visit to the usual spot then I would consider it a personal favour. Besides, it would be nice to see how you’ve settled. I await your swift arrival or, at the least, a return letter. Syndicate. Her eyes scanned the last few lines, a slight smile playing on her face. In truth she had rather missed Syndicate, besides, she was always ready for work. Wondering what his new clients wanted, she folded the letter up and slid it into her satchel. Leaving to Canterlot ought to be fine, but she knew that there was a chance one of her new friends would come looking for her for one reason or another. Leaving a note would, hopefully, be enough to explain her leave. She walked into her room with a sigh of relief, feeling far better than she had that morning. Catching her reflection, she noticed that her fur had returned to its usual dark grey and her eyes to their crystal-clear blue. To her delight, the buying of some paper and a quill had not been in vain, as they sat untouched on her desk. As she sat down, she whipped the quill out of its pot and began to write. To whoever sees this, I have taken a small trip to Canterlot for a day or more to visit family, I won’t be gone for long. If you want to contact me, please leave a note here and I will be sure to visit you once I’m back. Solar Eclipse Satisfied that the note was concise enough, she pinned it to her front door and began to ready herself for a trip. It had been a while since she’d donned her leather suit, but she was happy to find that it did still fit. Even if it was slightly tight. She’d have to buy another when she could, there were plenty of tailors who’d be willing to help for some bits. Regardless, she had to get to Syndicate’s hideaway soon. Walking through the hall, her eye caught the two bottles of red liquid. I’d better take one with me. She thought, her mind pondering their uses. The quickest way to Canterlot would likely be teleportation, but that system hadn’t actually been implemented into Ponyville yet. She supposed the train would have to do. Pulling her bow over her, she slid her hood over her head and beckoned Corvus out the back door with her. As the leather covered her mane its colour began to bleach before darkening to a similar dark grey to the outfit itself. While she had no frame of reference, she knew the mask would be doing something similar to her eyes, making their irises a dark, bleak red. The magic was quite simple, enough to pass right through detection. It was something she was very grateful for. In her opinion, possibly one of the best purchases she’d ever made. Following the path through the wood, she contemplated what her job would be. Knowing Syndicate, it would be a rather high-risk one; safer jobs were usually handed off to less… Capable candidates. The consistent appearance of lackeys was something Syndicate had vented about quite often, saying he had too many employees and not enough employment. Fortunately for her, he simply trusted her enough for the tougher, and higher paying, jobs. Her concentration was drawn back to reality as she passed another signpost, assuring that she was following the small carving of a train. As she stepped up to the train station, she couldn’t help but feel somewhat out of place. Wearing tight leather and sporting several weapons made her rather threatening, certainly not something you would see on a train platform every day. It was lucky that there was no one she recognised here, while she was completely covered, she didn’t fancy her chances at them keeping quiet. Unless it was Fluttershy, perhaps. Most ponies simply gave her a surprised or worried look when they almost knocked into her, choosing to give her a minor berth as she strode towards the ticket master. A passer-by muttered something about ‘Killers out in public’ which made her wince slightly. Though they clearly knew nothing about her, they weren’t far from the truth. To her credit, a good amount didn’t even notice her as she weaved between the visitors, coming to a stop in front of a ticket booth. Looking up, the uniformed mare behind the counter took a double-take at Solar, her mouth slightly open in surprise. “One ticket to Canterlot, please,” Solar said calmly, leaning against the booth. The mare nodded and turned away for a few seconds, returning with a ticket in one hand. With a raised eyebrow, she dropped the ticket onto the counter. “That’ll be five bits, ma’am,” she said, uncertainly. Putting the coins on the counter, Solar took her ticket and entered a carriage, grinning a little when Corvus plopped onto her shoulder. Over time, ponies began filling the small space and took their own places. A stallion squeezed in beside Solar, completely ignoring her until her bow poked into his arm. I swear, this ‘talent’ can be such a curse. He gave her a look of confusion and stepped away, clearly wondering how he hadn’t noticed her sooner. Despite this, the journey to Canterlot was relatively uneventful, with all sorts of colourful characters filtering in and out of the carts and each station. The Canterlot stop, however, was by far the busiest. As soon as the doors opened, half the carriage began shuffling towards them and Solar was glad when she felt the open air on her face. Moving quickly, she ran out into the open streets and smiled at the familiar cobbled surface. Still, there was no time to be spent on admiring the architecture, so she made a mental plan of her route. The quickest way would be to fly, but she didn’t want to be more obvious than she had to be. Ponyville may have thought she was strange, but Canterlot would have her down on the floor, surrounded by guards. Especially since her antics from before. With this in mind, she decided to use the alleyways she knew so well to her advantage, her feet splashing the occasional puddle as she sprinted through the twists and turns. Corvus soared beside her as she ran, and she had to dodge a few lurking pedestrians, who each turned in shock at her speed. Panting, she slowed to a walk as she grew closer to Syndicate’s door and knocked on the door with a few fervent glances around. A small window slid open in the wood and a pair of eyes glared through, looking her up and down. They ought to recognise her from her previous jobs, since she had always been in full kit when she came back. Sure enough, there was the sound of sliding metal from inside and the door swung open. It was the same doormare as before, who nodded to her. Making her way to the usual meeting room, Solar noticed some changes to the building. A few paintings had been put on the walls and some furniture dotted the floor, tables with vases and photographs. She grinned, knowing exactly why the changes had been made. The more ordinary a home looked, the less likely any authority would bust down the door. It made life a little bit easier for all involved, knowing that if worst came to worst they would still stand a chance of remaining quiet. As she opened a door, she walked into the meeting room and immediately met the eye of Syndicate, who was standing at the end of the table. Feeling his gaze on her, she began to feel slightly uncomfortable and, with a quick movement, she pulled down her mask. Her hood followed, revealing her colour and he relaxed, choosing to walk round the table. His old smile returned in part, yet, despite his expression, she could tell all was not as dandy as it could be. This tight smile clearly hid quite a lot of worry. Behind him she noticed another two ponies; one being a tall white stallion with a blue mane and a formal tailcoat on. Recognising him from somewhere, she tried to pin the face to a name and her eyes widened slightly when she realised just who he was. Fancy Pants, a well-known and upper-class figure who’d retired from The Royal Guard quite some time ago, was very well respected among Canterlot. He’d also been a target for her interfering clients on several occasions. Now that she thought about it, he had been talking to Rarity in Canterlot, hadn’t he? Beside Fancy was the other worrisome character. Fleur de Lis was quite the attractive mare, having been a supermodel for a good portion of her life. It was well known that she was now… With Fancy. In truth, no one actually knew just what their relationship was – only that it wasn’t quite marriage but far more than friendship. The issue laid in the unicorns’ positions, neither were the type to call on professional thieves or criminality in general. Especially with Fancy’s past as a captain of The Royal Guard. Gulping, Solar gave Syndicate an accusatory glance, worried that she’d been set up. “I know, Solar. But they actually do need our services, more specifically, your services,” he muttered, walking past her as he did so. Raising his voice, he continued whatever conversation he’d been having. “This is her now, this little minx can certainly get the job done. She’s my most trusted asset, something I hope you’ll take seriously.” Fancy nodded, looking her up and down critically with Fleur leaning on his shoulder, posing. “Well, if all is well, then would you be comfortable with me giving her the details?” Syndicate continued, waiting for some kind of confirmation from Fancy. Whatever it was, he got it and he turned his attention back to Solar. “So, you’ve got quite the task this time. There’s a company who’ve managed to manufacture a type of drug that, from what Fancy has been told, could cause quite some havoc.” She remained quiet, unsure of why this was more serious than all the other drugs out there. “Fancy has reason to believe that this company is planning to push these potentially fatal biotics and he – along with some other ponies – would really rather the product was gone,” he finished. “I cannot stress enough the seriousness of this,” Fancy began, gravely. “If anypony finds out about my dealings with you, I will be ruined. And, so will you. I guarantee it. I can’t have anypony knowing I dealt with criminals for this, but it seems like you’re the best one for the job.” Somepony is under orders, isn’t he? “Regardless, you must be sure you destroy every trace of this stuff. If they manage to find any of it, they could easily make more. I also happen to know that the plans for the drug will be with the supplies. While I want those destroyed too, I want you to bring them to me first, just so I know you’ve done the job. Let’s call it security.” Solar was rather surprised that she was taking a job from a retired officer to destroy drugs. With a nod, she leant against the table, hoping to give off a sense of dependability and, anxious to know her side of the matters, she decided to get straight to the point. “So, where am I going and what, exactly, am I destroying?” Fleur raised an eyebrow and Fancy simply smiled a knowing smile. Solar didn’t that smile trust in the slightest, it seemed almost like an invitation. As though the thing she asked was something to be smug about. “He doesn’t quite know where you’re going and all we know about the stuff itself is the look. Some yellow powder, apparently. The good news is it’s flammable, so that should be a good way to destroy it. I do have a start for you – I can see your uncertainty from here – over at a small branch of the company here in Canterlot. We know the substance isn’t in the city yet, but we do know it’s in a warehouse somewhere in Equestria,” Syndicate clarified, hoping to shed a little more light on the situation. “We are rather hoping you can find out where.” He knew Fancy was asking for a bit of a miracle, but it was either agree or have the guard pulling him behind bars. All he hoped was that his little magic-maker knew what she was doing. Pulling out a map, he handed her the parchment and waited for her reaction. She scanned the map up and down, a slightly quizzical expression on her face. It was easily recognisable, and she was fairly certain where to go. The issue was, the section of the building itself was quite detailed. It showed separate rooms and points, the entrance, the backroom, the counter and the filing cabinets. If there was anything that would tell her where to find this warehouse, it would be in there. An easy entrance would be the back window, since it seemed the building didn’t actually have any other kind of enterable point save for the front door. For such a small place, it shouldn’t have more than one guard, if any, so that was a slight weight off of her mind. Her train of thought was broken by Fancy, who simply wished her luck in the matter with a formal smile. He strode to the door and Fleur drew a line across Solar’s shoulders with a finger as she passed, leaning in to her ear. “I hope you know what you’re doing. For both of our sakes. Celestia’s been looking for you.” With that she left, giving her a wink and a wave. Watching the pair leave, Solar felt as small as an ant. Celestia knows about me? That was impossible, surely. Her throat felt dry and she fidgeted uncomfortably, running her tongue over her teeth. Syndicate packed up some papers behind her and closed them into a briefcase. Resting a hand on the doorframe, he gave her a friendly grin. “As good as ever, right Solar? Must be feel good to be working, knowing you’ve finally got a place to relax at after, eh?” His words were slightly consoling but she couldn’t help but force her smile. He didn’t know just how bad her situation was. For the first time in years, she couldn’t feed on those near home and it was making things considerably more annoying. Not to mention the new revelation that Celestia knew she had done something. All she could hope was that she didn’t know about the jewel, just the necklace. She nodded, pulling her mask over her mouth. “Never better. How much is this job worth, anyway?” It was dawning on her that Syndicate had been rather quiet about the actual pay-out. His expression suddenly became one of a deer in headlights and she sighed heavily. “Syndicate, this is the most uncertain job I’ve ever been given, it’d better pay well,” she scolded. The last thing she’d want is to risk her life for someone like Fancy, only to then be tricked out of pay and left out to dry. “Alright, look. To be honest, I didn’t even want to take this in the first place,” he admitted, “I mean, destroying illegal products isn’t exactly criminal work.” That much was true, it did seem like something the Guard should be in charge of. “It’s just that Fancy mentioned how the only reason they knew about the stuff was through some… unethical means and it ‘just wouldn’t do’ to have the deed linked to them.” Narrowing her eyes, she cut in to his explanation. “That still doesn’t explain why you agreed to take the job, Syndicate. Why did you even agree to meet them? It could’ve easily been a set up.” It wasn’t an easy feat to procure the services of a professional criminal group. Especially when you were hand in hand with The Princesses themselves, a description that fit Fancy to a T. It was a still greater feat to deal with them under the rulers’ noses without consequences. Or permission. “Ok, so, I didn’t exactly agree to meet them. They met me,” he began, his words stumbling to form a sentence. Despite being her employer, Syndicate had never been very good at handing her bad news. “Syndicate,” she growled. If she ended up in a cell at the end of this, he would have more than just the Royal Guard to deal with. A defeated look passed over his face. “Alright, look. They said that they know about the jewel, alright? They know. I don’t know how, but they do. In my defence, I’m almost certain it was your fault for knocking out that captain. Do you realise how much magic can assist memory?” Solar leant against the wall, softly knocking her head against it in frustration. The one thing, the one thing that she hadn’t wanted. “Syndicate, he was unconscious by the time he could take in what was happening. Did you really expect me to kill him just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time?” She shot, her annoyance evident. After turning up out of obligation, taking off her disguise to talk, showing her face to Celestia-damned nobility! If only she’d had the equipment enchanted when she’d taken that job. “I don’t know what I expected but it was certainly not for word to get out. Look, in any case, this job does have a pay cheque, alright? They’ve offered a round one-hundred bits for a successful trip and anything you can find on the way. From the company, of course. Usually I’d take half, but this time I’m taking their silence as my cut, so it’s all yours if you do this right,” He replied, feeling rather hot under the collar. Truly he had no clue how the pair had found him, and he couldn’t help but feel guilty for wrapping her up in the matter. Unfortunately, they had asked for her specifically. “Also, when did you get a bird?” Letting her irritation ebb away like a stream, Solar ignored him and shifted her attention to the situation. There was no use in having a tantrum, especially if the circumstances couldn’t be helped. It was far too late for accusations now, besides, she had a building to rob and a warehouse to burn. I suppose I can add arson to my list of crimes against the world. She thought, a slight smile playing on her lips at the sheer absurdity. --------------------------------------------------❆-------------------------------------------------- Coming across the shop was an easy enough task, since the building itself was tucked down a rather out-of-the-way alleyway. A few stragglers had seen her along the way, giving her some strange glances, which made her feel rather uncomfortable. She didn’t like being seen on a job. Not that it mattered, she had her enchantments now and not a single one would recognise her again. She was grateful the enchantments themselves didn’t use the typical form of magic, as a lot of things did. According to the fence, and her own testing, they didn’t set off any kind of alarm due to using ‘Changeling magic’. Whatever that means. As she strolled along a pavement, she took in the details of the little shop and its entrances; wondering what kind of lock the window had as she made her way around the block. The shop itself was about the size of a large wagon and held once-colourful advertising that boasted ‘Homemade Formulas Made From The Most Natural Herbs!’. Sure. Those ‘natural’ herbs were always a bit of a gamble, since almost every product made in Equestria was already natural. Either they didn’t differ in any way, save for price, or they were downright poorly made. There was light emanating from the window, so clearly the shop was occupied. That made things slightly more complicated, but not impossibly so – it wasn’t like she’d never faced ponies during jobs before. As she pressed against the wall, the weather began to spit – droplets of rain falling down around her and dribbling from the brim of her hood. To her delight it became quite heavy, thudding against the environment with a fierce determination and a deafening noise, something that would supress anything she did quite well. Quickly, light dimmed as clouds covered the sky and the glow from the shop stood out like a wolf among sheep. She leaned over to the window and wiped away the thin layer of forming condensation, peeking into the room tentatively. The room was filled with around eight filing cabinets, as expected. Four on each side. Sitting against the windowed wall was an old desk holding a candle and a few papers. Squinting, she could make out a figure standing in the doorway that split the front and back rooms. Seeming to jump to life, they moved closer towards the desk and she drew back slightly, not wanting to be seen in the candlelight. As the figure sat down, she could make out their features rather well, noting the stallion’s old wrinkled features and worn flat-cap. It was quite clear that he wasn’t too much of a threat, just someone to keep an eye out. Too bad she was better at her job than he was. Just as she began to pull away, she saw yet another shape moving into view. Staring in confusion, she tried to get a better angle on the window to make out the shape. There was an animal on the desk, moving ever so slightly, cleaning itself. It looked like some kind of cat. That could be annoying, since she could never really tell how animals would react to her. Especially after visiting Fluttershy’s. Best ways up it would shy away and stay quiet; worst ways up it would hiss at her and alert the stallion before he needed to know anything. A flutter beside Solar made her jump and she turned to meet the beady black eyes of Corvus, giving her a sardonic look. The raven tilted his head and chirped with a slight accusatory tone. Surprised, she had almost forgotten that he was with her. His stare bored into her with an edge befitting of something more serious and she winced slightly. “Hey, it’s not my fault this happened. I don’t have to explain myself to a bird.” She scowled and scampered around the building, making her way to the front. The door was shut tightly, made of a weather beaten but thick oak. Beside the beaten doorstep landed Corvus, hopping towards her with an annoyed squawk. “Shut up! You’ll get me caught and then what are we going to do?” She hissed, rolling her eyes soon after. “Oh, sweet Celestia, why am I even talking to you…” He hopped in agitated retaliation but complied, swooping onto her shoulder. Peering into the lock, she was glad to see the stallion fast asleep in the glowing candlelight. That would make things infinitely easier. I might not even have to wake him. She thought, optimistically. Sliding in a lockpick, she fiddled with the mechanism until all three pins had clicked into their respective positions and, with bated breath, she opened the door. Inside the shop was close to expectation, with a counter and shelves of various vials – quite a common sight in alchemical stores. As she softly closed the door behind her, one immediately caught her eye as fake. ‘Bug-Bear Essence’. Yeah right, like these guys could get that close to a bug-bear. Frankly, she was beginning to question why she’d been chosen for this, it wasn’t the most difficult job. Still, she reasoned, I guess I’m on the easy part. As she padded along the stone floor, she caught the eye of the cat she’d seen through the window. It was midway through the motion of licking its paw, staring with wide eyes at her. Swallowing, she decided that it would be best to dispose of the stallion before this cat did anything to wake him. Granted, the age of the sleeping pony would suggest that she could take him regardless, but she’d made the same mistake about Ironsights before. That hadn’t turned out well. Her limbs ached just thinking about that day. At the time, she had been poking fun at the blacksmith’s age when he’d challenged her to a ‘friendly fight’. She shuddered, remembering her surprise at being whipped off her feet and flung like a ragdoll across the room. Tapping out quickly became common sense after that. I’m rather fond of self-preservation. Keeping an eye on the cat, Solar slunk behind the stallion’s chair, opening her satchel and considering her options. One item that was precisely for this kind of thing was a herbal substance that knocked a pony out in under four seconds, but it was easily detectable, and she wasn’t too keen to use it unless she had to. Just because you could go in loud, doesn’t mean you should. An effective tool was a thin piece of razor wire, which she was yet to use. It was meant to be wrapped around a throat, cutting into it and killing quickly – hence why she stubbornly refused to use it. As she looked through, she began to wonder if simply hitting the stallion over the head with a book would do the trick, there was one lying conveniently on the desk beside him. ‘Tales of Night-Folk and Monsters’ She mouthed, reading the title. He had probably been reading that when he’d fallen asleep. Shaking her head, she looked back into her satchel when his snoring abruptly stopped. She froze, flicking her eyes to stare intensely at the chair’s arm and checking if his hand was moving. Pushing down, Woodjack stood up and yawned, blinking sleepily. He was far too old for this sort of thing and didn’t really understand why it was so important to keep the shop occupied. Laying a hand on the desk, he stared at the fogged-up glass. “When had it started rainin’? Seems like it’s always rainin’,” He tutted, “Them pegasi always organisin’ storms. I’m sure the plants ‘ave got enough water as it is.” He sighed before catching sight of his cat. “Charlie, what’s wrong?” The poor thing was stock still in terror, staring behind him. Swallowing, he turned and stared into the inky darkness of the room. Holding her breath, Solar slid herself along the floor until the chair was between her and the stallion. It would help to remove as much light as possible. He seemed to speak to his cat, staring at the space she’d just occupied. Lifting herself ever so slightly, she silently prayed he wouldn’t see her as she reached over to the candle. Two fingers clamped over the wick, snuffing the flame out as quickly as a flash. Now only visible as a glowing network of veins and a silhouette, the stallion span. His expression seemed scared and his eyes, were wide. “The fuck was that?” He muttered, his eyes darting from side to side. Rather than move forward to investigate he stepped back, uncertain in his plan of action. The cat jumped off of a filing cabinet, darting into the front room and making him jump. “Charl- Oh, what’s the point. It was jus’ the wind, weren’t it?” He grumbled and took a few unsteady steps towards the desk. Holding her breath, Solar hoped he wouldn’t try to relight the candle, since she’d have to resort to knocking him out there and then. As she got ready to tackle the stallion, he sprang forward and grabbed the book off the desk, quickly darting back to the safety of the lit room. With one final glance over the darkness, he shook his head and closed the door – Solar was rather shocked, being left alone in the room. Quickly, she scooped up the desk’s chair and jammed it underneath the door handle, ensuring he couldn’t come back into the room even if he wanted to. Sliding a hand into her bag, she pulled out a matchbox and re-lit the candle on the desk, adding some light back into the room. All she had to do now was find some documentation of the warehouse. Draw after draw she opened, searching each piece of paper for any mention of the substance with little luck, until one paper stood out to her. It was a sort of signed document that organised a wagon to transport powder from a warehouse in Fillydelphia. The signature at the bottom of the page read ‘Orion Star’ a name she’d never heard of before and the passage referred to the drug as ‘Star Sugar’. Presumably, it was named after the signer. Attached was a photograph of the warehouse, a large, simple structure by the Fillydelphian docks as well as a basic map and the address. She rolled the page up and put in her bag, making a mental note to not crush the thing. It could prove she’d done the job if there was any doubt. Getting to Fillydelphia would be kind of a pain, though, since the only way she could get there quickly would be by train. The problem with that was that Canterlot had guards posted by the train station, and she wouldn’t even have the cover of the crowds as she had earlier. With that being said, Canterlot did have quite a lot of trade deals with Fillydelphia and wagons travelled back and forth quite frequently, so perhaps she could get on one of those. As she closed the filing cabinet, putting things back in their original place, she heard movement from beyond the door. In her hurry to search the cabinets she had made quite some noise, something which the stallion must’ve heard. Fiddling with the final draw, she decided that all was back to normal just as she heard a rattling. She turned to see the door being pushed against the chair, slowly moving along the stone floor with strained defiance. Through the open crack, she spotted the stallion stepping back and scratching his head in confusion. “I tell you, Charlie,” He muttered, “I don’t like this one bit. First, you’re actin’ up and then the candle an’ all. Now this door’s stuck, I don’t like it. Jus’ like them stories I was readin’, things actin’ all by themselves.” So, he thinks I’m one of his stories, then? Solar thought, grinning to herself. Moving quickly, she whipped the chair from the door and tucked it into the desk before wafting out the burning candle. Just as the door began to open, she slid over into the corner of the room and held still. Glaring around the space, the silhouette standing in the doorway stepped in. Lit up like a Christmas tree, she could see every movement he made, his glowing form pulsing with his heartbeat. As he took a few unsteady steps towards the desk, he pulled out a lighter and lit the candle, immediately doing a spin to check around himself. To her delight, he still couldn’t make Solar out as she crouched down low in the corner of the room. “Let’s give him a show,” She whispered to Corvus, getting a strange look from the raven. She had forgotten that her mask altered her voice as well, simply making her sound like a different pony. “It’s the mask. Look, you see that alarm clock? On the cabinet?” She asked, pointing to an old clock which teetered on one cabinet’s edge. “Push it off, then we’ll get out of dodge, alright?” The deadpan look that followed made her blush slightly in embarrassment. “It’s not just for fun!” She hissed, “We need a distraction.” With a shake of his head, the shadowy bird hopped over her and pushed off into a smooth glide, landing softly on the other side of the room. He walked behind the clock and she got ready to dart out the door. With a shockingly loud crash, a clock fell down beside Woodjack, making him yell in surprise. Something brushed his back and he span back to find Charlie pressing against him and staring in uncanny fear once again. “What in Tartarus was that?” He cried out, angrily, picking the cracked clock up off the floor and scooping the candleholder off the desk – waving the glowing wax around the cabinet. There was no reason it should have fallen. “Oh, this is too much,” He groaned, shaking his head in disbelief. Sighing angrily, he strode out of the room and froze in shock. The door outside was open. He had been sure it was close, and now it was open. As if that wasn’t bad enough, it was banging against its hinges as the rain and wind battered it. “That’s it, I’m heading home. Come on Charlie, let’s go see if Silver Moon’s got anything for us. I told ‘em, I said there was no reason to be here, and now with spirits an’ all.” Solar cringed slightly from outside, knowing she should’ve closed the door. Having taken shelter beside the building, she peeked around the corner to see the stallion, now wearing a coat, locking up before striding down the road with a few furtive glances back. Hopefully he would just pin the happenings on his imagination or ghosts. She didn’t really care which, as long as he didn’t pin them on her. Not that he could, he hadn’t seen her at all. Right, up next, Fillydelphia. She thought, feeling the photo in her bag. --------------------------------------------------❆-------------------------------------------------- As she pulled herself onto the depot’s roof, Solar could hear wheels creak as wagons moved in and out of the building with ease. There was a large open skylight which stood out to her and she checked through it, finding the roof of a smaller structure inside. Some kind of office, I guess. She remembered a time when she had been watching this depot with Ironsights, enjoying his ramblings. He’d been ranting about the steel wheel rims the carts used and how hard they were to make when she’d mentioned how fun it would be to drive one. His reply was a long lecture about the reason all drivers were unicorns and the magic they used to make the carts move. It’d been a funny time in her life, moving around with him. Still, she had more pressing matters than to reminiscence right now. Each driver hung around their cart, some checking their routes and some just enjoying their time between trips. A few were smoking or chatting to other drivers, chuckles breaking the conversation every now and then. One of them must be going to Fillydelphia, there were at least eight carts and the city was such a large place for trading. Checking around the small office, Solar hung off the side and fell to the floor, kicking up a cloud of dust; she glanced around, ensuring no one had seen that. If they had, they weren’t doing anything about it. Keeping low to the ground, she ducked over to a small pile of crates and peeked around the corner. There was a group of three stallions and a mare hanging around beside a cart, discussing a replacement wheel. Judging by the mare being the only unicorn, she was the driver. “Yeah, I’m just not sure it’ll last for the ride to Appleloosa, s’all,” The mare said, resting her chin on a hand while she regarded the wheelrim. Solar briefly wondered if Ironsights had made the wheel, before changing her target to the next wagon in line. If that one was going to Appleloosa, it was useless to her. The next one along seemed more promising, carrying neatly folded bags of clothing and some baked goods. A stallion clambered down from the cart, looking over a few securing ropes and seeming pleased with the results. Sitting back against the crates, she heard another set of footsteps striding around the side of the cart. “Alright, is everything secured, darling?” A familiarly clear voice asked. “The road to Filly is simply dreadful and I can’t let any of this tear or the Countess will be furious. Not to mention the rain will ruin the fabric if it seeps through the bags, so the cover had better be on tight.” What are the chances of Rarity being here? Solar thought, moving along to get a better look at the carriage. Sure enough, Rarity stood face to face with the stallion, wielding a clipboard which she glanced at infrequently. Well, at least she was going to Fillydelphia, maybe Solar could hitch a ride with her. As she thought, she failed to notice the pair mount the wagon and all too soon her eyes flicked up to the sight of the vehicle trundling away from her. With a gasp, she vaulted over her cover and ran across the depot floor, hoping to reach the back of the cart as soon as possible. While there was nobody who was close enough to notice her adrenaline-fueled sprint, there were a few who kept tabs on who left and entered the place; something which meant she couldn’t simply cling on like a parasite without being seen. Unless. Just as she reached the back of the cart, she dropped to the floor and slid beneath, grabbing onto the carriage’s axle. Yanking herself between the wagon’s bed and its driveshaft, she discovered that it was actually comfortable to simply lie down on the thing. Now all she had to do was wait for the journey to end. --------------------------------------------------❆-------------------------------------------------- The journey was rather bumpy, as Rarity had mentioned, and Solar had very little to occupy her mind. There was a little bit of small-talk between the pair up front, which lent a little entertainment to the trip; although, she could barely hear them. From what she could gather, Rarity had made an outfit for ‘Countess Coloratura’ – a rising pop-star who was staying in Fillydelphia for a concert. There were also some extra clothing options for her back-up singers, something Rarity emphasized upon the driver’s complaints of ‘Too many clothes fo’ just one pony.’ Just as Solar was shifting to a more comfortable position for the umpteenth time, she felt the cart jolt and begin to shake. Looking down, she found that the usual monotonous dirt track become dotted, and soon filled, with stone bricked paving. She heard a few excited coos from her unaware friend up front and decided that now was as good a time as any to make her exit. Dropping down onto the dirt, she rolled from beneath the wagon, narrowly missing the spinning wheels and as she stood up, her eyes fell upon the towering city skyline of Filly; tall, grey obelisks scraping the skies like fingers, searching for a handhold. Never had she seen such an impressive feat of construction, Canterlot was the capital of Equestria, sure, but it had nothing like this. She had heard the stories and seen the depictions of Manehattan and its similar cubic kings, but she had been yet to set her eyes upon the buildings. As she visually traced her way up the blocks, she felt rather dizzy. The sheer height of the things made her feel uneasy, as if they were simply taunting her with their disregard for gravity. A yell to her left made her snap out of her trance and she realised she was simply standing in the road, blocking any oncoming traffic. With a hurried apology, she jogged to the pavement and took a deep breath. Each walkway was dusted with ponies on their way to their respective destinations, running like clockwork. Clearly, their paths and etiquette were set in stone. Solar tried to match the pace of those around her and soon found herself shifting along with them as bit by bit each filtered off of the sidewalk. She opened up her satchel and slid out the photograph of the warehouse, trying to match the image to a location. It was on the docks, so going to the shoreline would be her best bet to find it. Well, that was… South, so, currently to her right. Waiting for the opportune moment, she spied a turn in the road just ahead. As she weaved between the various colourful figures, she closed in on the port and almost stopped in amazement. The port itself was an incredible structure of efficiently laid out walkways and docks, designed to be as swift as possible. Despite this, it was not the harbour that took her breath away, it was the huge works of art that resided on the waves – gargantuan ships that could be seen further away, crews carrying cargo like ants to a hill. All the massive masts scraping the skies, the Man ‘o Wars and the frigates donning the flag of The Royal Sisters gave off a regal air. Closer were the smaller ships, ranging from sailboats to brigs and schooners; ships favoured by traders for their speed. Buildings faded from skyscrapers to fanciful houses, and soon, to commercial buildings as the neared the shoreline. Restaurants dotted the roads closest to the port and warehouses sat with their assigned numbers behind the decorative shops and food places – a clever design to hide the unfavourable storage blocks. Coming to a relatively quiet piece of the waterfront, Solar sat on the seafront wall and checked the photograph for any tell-tale landmarks, comparing it to the scene before her. It didn’t take long for something to stick out to her. The numbers on the warehouses weren’t just done to indicate which was which, they were in ascending order too. She was looking for F17, which would probably be further east. With this in mind, she hopped off the concrete and strode down the paved footpaths, taking in the sights. It warmed her heart to see the lighter side of life, families out enjoying themselves and a few young couples sitting at tables, ordering late lunches with distracted minds. Lone walkers took in the seaside and as she walked, she even came across an earth-pony sketching one of the larger ships onto a A3 canvas. He was very talented, only rarely having to erase his mistakes. While she wanted to sit and watch, she felt like it would make her rather suspicious in her current outfit. I’ll have to try drawing sometime. She thought, continuing along. F12, she must be quite close now. As she kept walking it soon became clear which warehouse was F17. Around four guards stood around the front entrance, chatting idly. A few were holding cigarettes in their hands, clearly preoccupied with their break and certainly not paying much attention to the local populace. It would be easy to get in and out as long as there was another entrance. Trying to act casually, Solar ducked between a shop named ‘Fish ‘n Chip’ – a place she noticed was popular with the griffons – and an ice-cream parlour, making her way behind the line of buildings to find a way in. There were no other doors to the warehouse, which was rather annoying, but that didn’t necessarily mean there was no other way in. Double checking around her, she took a run up to the storeroom’s wall and leapt at it, using her momentum to run a few steps up. She wasn’t as close to the top as she’d wanted, so she boosted herself with a flap of her wings – thrusting her onto the roof. Spinning, she fervently checked the air she’d just occupied, ensuring there were no loose feathers. It didn’t seem like it, something she hoped would hold true, but it was rather difficult to tell. To be fair, it is rare for me to lose one… While looking for a way in, she began to wonder if the building had any kind of air vent; a lot of city buildings did, so there was a good chance. Scouring the roof, it didn’t take long to find a T-shaped vent that she could slip into quite easily. All she had to do was undo the cover. Surprisingly, it had taken almost a year of small break-ins before the idea of adding a screwdriver to her list of tools had come to mind. Since then, she was glad she did, since it had been more useful than she’d expected. Undoing the screws and setting the grate aside, she slid down into the vent and began to crawl through the shaft, wondering what awaited her below. A caw echoed through the vent and she hissed a shush back. Don’t act up now Corvus. With a sudden idea, she scanned through the metal sheath for any signs of a circulatory system in the building, only to see the original four guards – each of whom were outside. Good. Deciding it was rather a long drop from the vent, Solar drew a roped arrow from her quiver and stabbed it into the thin metal, piercing it with the sawtooth tip. Checking that it was fixed, she began to descend down the rope and soon stood in the centre of the warehouse floor. There wasn’t that much in the area, around ten crates and a table beside a corkboard. The board caught here eye, since it held a large roll of parchment that showed some kind of recipe and diagram. Clearly, this must be the plans that Fancy had told her to take. Striding over, she pulled the pins from each corner and rolled up the paper, tucking it into her bag with a satisfied smirk. Up next on her to-do list of things to do was destroying the crates, which she made sure to check first. Apparently, she wasn’t the first to double-check the supply and one crate laid with its top already open, exposing the flammable yellow powder. With a flourish, she whipped a matchbox out and lit one of its inhabitants, staring into the flame and enjoying the lambent array of colour for a second before flicking the stick into the open crate. A loud bang filled her ears and her limbs ached badly. Her ribs hurt awfully, and she raised a dizzy head in shock, trying to comprehend what just happened. A loud whine now filled her head and the first thing she noticed was the blazing fire at the opposite end of the warehouse. The second thing was the fact that she’d been thrown across the entire space, slamming into the wall beside the door. Thirdly, she realised that the substance wasn’t just extremely flammable but explosive as well, something Fancy had kept rather quiet. No wonder everything hurts. Stumbling to her feet, a sharp pain cut through her nerves and she looked down to meet the gaze of a large piece of wooden shrapnel that went straight through her calf. Horror passed over her face and she felt a little faint, watching the damaged limb leak a familiar viscous liquid. To her left the door burst open, hitting into her and shoving her into the room’s corner. From her new position she saw the four guards from outside shouting to one another, but she couldn’t hear a thing through the ringing in her head. None seemed to notice her as they panicked over the blaze, confused and angry with the scene; not that there was anything they could do about it. Hoping to salvage what she could of the job, Solar knelt down and pulled the eight inches of timber from her leg with sparkling dots dancing in her vision – thankfully it seemed that the shard had actually rendered her leg’s nerves completely useless, dampening any pain she should’ve been feeling. Regardless, it would be a good idea to bandage the wound. With her hearing returning, she heard a shout and looked up to see one of the guards pointing towards her. Shit. Bandaging was a luxury she couldn’t afford for now, it seemed, so she gave up entirely on the leg and turned to flight for her exit. Beating her wings, she hopped out of the warehouse door and took off into the Fillydelphia sky. A crossbow bolt sped past her, causing an instinctual shriek of terror. Okay, faster, I hear you. She thought, drawing her wings back for an initial burst of speed when suddenly her body was spun through the air. One bolt had hit its mark, embedding itself into her torso with a vicious rip through her suit and body. Adrenaline finally kicked in at this and she shot off through the sky, praying that none of the guards were pegasi. There was no way she could outfly them like this. This is fine. She reassured herself, ignoring the sheer falsity of the sentiment. I just need to get out of the city, then I can find something to feed on or… or… Her vision blurred somewhat as she grew further from the city and she quickly decided that she’d rather land than crash, gliding down to a heavy and dark forest. The landing was certainly not smooth, and she rolled violently across the floor for a few metres, throwing up leaves and chunks of dirt in all directions before skidding to a stop. Exhausted, she simply laid there, feeling the pain unabated as the adrenaline wore off. She groaned, being in just about the worst shape she’d ever been. Pulling herself up, she felt a flood of nausea flood her senses and she was forced back to the floor. Oh, yeah. Lost a lotta blood, I guess. She thought, groggily. Something landed beside her head and she tilted her face to see a familiar avian face looking back at her. Cracking a smile, she let her head roll back to the side and closed her eyes. “Of course, you found me,” she chuckled, before concluding that it would take far too long to let this heal. She’d need to feed on something, but she could barely move. How the hell is this going to work… Something batted against her arm and she looked down to see the raven jumping impatiently. “Hey, cut it out. At least let me bleed out in peace.” He didn’t, though, but rather hopped along to her satchel and began bouncing there too. His expression was meaningful, trying to convey something. Then it clicked. The wolf’s blood that she had bottled earlier. “You little genius,” she breathed, pulling the bag towards her. Undoing the flap and unzipping the main pocket, she searched around for the container, her fingers soon grasping it. With a slow and deft movement, she unscrewed the lid and lowered the bottle to her face. Not wanting to spill a drop, she tilted herself up and the bottle down, swallowing the viscous liquid as if she hadn’t had a drink in months. Her usual bliss was marred slightly by the now body-wide pain, but it was still present and gave her more than just a flood of blood. It gave her a good dosage of hope as well. Come on, come on. She thought, impatiently, wanting her body to work its magic on the wounds as soon as possible. Gasping for breath, she finished the bottle and dropped it beside her – choosing to limply lie down until she was fit to move. The feeling of her wounds’ bleeding slowly stopping was surreal and when she felt she was able to, Solar rifled through her bag for some bandages. Never had she been so grateful for taking these kinds of provisions with her, as usually all they’d do is slow her down when she was trying to find other things. But this time, they really had proved their usefulness. Her solution certainly wasn’t ideal, but it was the best she could do for now. Now, all she had to do was find a way to Canterlot both without dying and without losing her precious cargo. Should be easy, right? She thought, mirthlessly. Moving as quickly as she could, she dragged her body towards a tall and thin tree through winces and gritted teeth; her body screamed with resignation as soon as she grasped the trunk and her grip felt loose. With her eyes clenched shut, she took a deep breath and yanked herself upright with all the strength she could summon. Opening one eye, her expression ran through a cycle of surprise, happiness, confusion, concern, and then finally, abstract horror. Generally, when her healing factor kicked in, it would use her blood to quickly graft a scab over the wound and properly replace the cells from then – as such, pulling herself up had simply torn the scabs, putting her right back to square one. The leaves of the forest floor moved softly with the crimson stream, being carried along like rowboats on a river all while the vampiric mare stood and waited, watching the precious fluid with sad eyes. Soon, new scabs formed and solidified, but she couldn’t help but feel light-headed. It was all well and good patching up the wounds, but with all that blood being gone… Well, it wouldn’t be doing her any favours. No problem, I can just… rest here for a bit. She concluded, deciding that it would be best to let the wounds heal properly before moving. But with that in mind, where was here? With nothing better to do, she scanned the treeline, looking for a good direction to head – unfortunately, the sun had thought it a good time to hide behind Canterlot’s mountainside home. Fine, at least she knew vaguely where to head, idly tracing the outline of the tall silhouetted spires with one finger. Something then caught her eye, something that moved slightly beyond the trees. A soft orange glow gleamed off of the dark and foreboding trunks, glinting off of droplet-dotted leaves. Taking an unsteady step forward, she stumbled her way across her little crash site and came to a stop a little closer. There was definitely something out there, as there was quite a substantial glow. Infuriatingly, fog had begun to roll in as soon as the sun went down, clouding her line of sight and making whatever it was impossible to identify. Swallowing, she took off towards the light, flinching with each footfall. She had waited, sure, but she hadn’t waited all that long. The wound, although covered, was still quite fragile. Stopping briefly, she felt the scab and its dark, uneven texture. It’s probably tough enough… She reasoned and sped up her stride. --------------------------------------------------❆-------------------------------------------------- Deep into the woods, there laid a town. The town in and of itself was rather simple, sporting a very select community of ponies. Trees laden with fruit were topped with incredibly densely packed leaves which completely blotted out the sun for a majority of the day, something which the residents found to be especially nice. Hollow Shades was simply somewhere that those who disliked the light could go, somewhere where it was not unusual to sport sharp, fanged teeth or scruffily tipped ears. Where one could live in quiet without constant gasps or pointed fingers to the ‘Strange lookin’ wings! See?’. Darkly coloured mares and stallions moved between stalls while some chatted in the light of their lanterns. With grins on their faces, they discussed topics of all different subjects, some joking around with friends and some speaking of their disdain of those who did not share the bat-like features that they did. Truly, it was a haven for them, but it did not mean they did not interact with the outside world whatsoever. After all, it was all well and good feasting on the trees’ bountiful fruit but what would be done if someone needed new cloth, or some building materials? These things did not simply appear from thin air. As she grew nearer, Solar could make out a small village – one that was alight with lanterns and torches as the natural roof blotted out even the moonlight. It was actually quite an appealing sight to her, since they would likely have some way to get to Canterlot. Just before she crossed the treeline, she stopped for a second, briefly considering if it really was a smart idea. She was wounded, torn up and covered in quite a hostile looking leather suit. Faux leather, of course, but the villagers wouldn’t know that… Damn it. In the past, reactions to the material had been less than calm. Which she could hardly pin on the viewer. The killing of animals had long been looked down on in Equestria, and wearing their skin was a new level of twisted. Again, it was a shame she couldn’t wear a sign that read ‘Fake Leather, Do Not Panic,’ but that wouldn’t help when she wanted to be subtle. Which is always. Changing her mind, she reached up a hand and drew back her hood and mask, revealing her countenance to the world as the blueish hues of her natural state flooded back. Immediately, she felt a primal need to put them back on, associating her getup with remaining unseen. Instead of walking straight into the hamlet, though, she skirted around the edge and began to search for any kind of transport. To her delight, this was one of the few smaller-scale towns that had a teleportation station installed – one that would easily get her to Canterlot. The problem was that she couldn’t work it herself, which was what the service was for. You would pay at a booth and tell the worker inside where you want to go, then they would activate the corresponding rune and you would simply step on. Then, voila, you are teleported. With that being said, the booth was only from the chest up… She could easily hide her wounds while she spoke and explaining the leather to just one pony would be easy. Alright then, conventional means it is. She thought, cracking a slight smirk. There was actually a path that wound through the forest towards the booth and the town, so she jogged along to it before heading for the booth. It would seem a little less strange to have someone approach from the path, rather than the deep forest and she wanted all the trust she could get. Taking a deep breath, Solar wiped her face down as best she could, ensuring any tears were gone before she strode up to the small structure. Along its side it bore the insignia of the two sisters, a stamp of government approval in Equestria. She hated having to use the method, knowing that acting too strangely could easily get her reported, but at this point she really didn’t know what else to do. Flying would be suicide in her state and she certainly couldn’t go back to Fillydelphia so soon. Walking to Canterlot would be off the table and she didn’t fancy trying to leap onto a moving train, so this was her best bet. As she sidled up to the mare behind the booth, she was surprised to see she was not… normal. Solar hadn’t quite caught sight of the villagers themselves, but she had thought something was off about them. The mare’s fur was grey and her mane a deep purple, matching her eyes which danced over the grain of the wooden counter in concrete boredom. Bony and featherless wings which mimicked a bat were folded behind her and near-clawed fingertips drummed on the wood. But what stuck out to Solar the most were the teeth. They were long canines, which curved slightly. Fangs. Her breath caught in her throat for a second and she stopped her march, speechless. How… How does she… She thought, her own mind stammering at this information. To find someone else with fangs was… unexpected. Shaking her mind clear, she realised something quite crucial. She could easily show off her own fangs… That would surely make the mare more comfortable. If she angled her body correctly, she wouldn’t see her feathered wings. Leaning against the counter, she knocked lightly on the box’s edge, startling the bat-pony. “Oh, ma’am, I didn’t see you, s-sorry.” She stammered, Solar watching her teeth with idle fascination. Just like mine. “Oh, that’s no problem. Few do. Hey, I was wondering if I would be able to get a ticket to Canterlot at this time of day?” She prodded, hoping to get the exchange over with. With a nod, the mare span and began fiddling with something in the dark interior. A few grumbles and mutterings of “… wish I had a light…” were heard before the form rose back up with one hand now on her hip and the other clasping a rune-covered stone. A soft light reflected along the box and Solar turned to see one of the largest floor runes begin to glow a bright purple. She’d been wondering how those patches of carved stone would work. “That’ll be eight bits, miss,” piped up the employee, waving a hand near to catch her attention. Nodding, Solar distractedly pulled out the bits and dropped them onto the counter, thanking the operator as she stepped forward and let the purple light consume her form. I’ll need to have a word with you, Fancy. Author's Note So, things are happening. Much to Solar's dismay, I may add. Hopefully, cool things are to come with regards to authority and the actual show characters - along with some extra vampire stuff. I know you may think I'm battering the poor mare for fun... Maybe But in reality I want to have some drama later on and this seems like a good way to do it. One thing you are probably thinking is: "Hey, Littlepony! Where is the flashback?" Well, she didn't sleep. So... No dream yet. Now, I could've extended this chapter to the point where she does sleep, but then it would be absurdly long and you would have to wait for ages. I reckon that this is the better alternative. I've begun to notice that I use the word 'Solar' too much. [Edit: I fixed that, I think.] You may think "No kidding, it's the character's name." But I've been doing more reading and I've realised that I don't have to reaffirm the name as much as I do. Really, I only have to do so if I refer to another character and even, if I'm pushing my luck, only another female character. I still don't know if I need that self-harm tag when it isn't linked to emotion, but I will keep it until I'm told which way to lean. Oh, also, as one final thing. 'Dark Horse' is a saying which means 'One who was previously unknown and is now prominent.' Now, how fitting is that? Chapter 7: Smoke & MirrorsSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
IntroIntroduction Her eyes snapped open, observing the room around her. It was the same, as ever. Shifting, she tried to move into a more comfortable position, but metal chains cut into her wrists. A sharp sound made her flinch as something opened beside her, and footsteps echoed through the small room. The room itself was bare and minimal. Grey and empty, more akin to a large closet, it held the bed she laid on and was lit by a single metal light that hung from the ceiling. Unfortunately, that was all she could see from the angle restricted by the restraints on her fur. She could flex her fingers but the amount of movement she could make with her limbs could barely be called possible, let alone loose. The footsteps stopped beside her bed and she craned her neck attempting to catch a glimpse of who was there, perhaps they were the one that brought her here, perhaps they knew what was happening. She’d already ruled out any form of guard or royal as surely none would go to such lengths for a petty thief, after all the few people who knew of her exploits understood that a child had to eat somehow, and her mother certainly wasn’t providing, as was the nature of the Canterlot back streets. She doubted it would be a criminal either, none would care of her, she was little more than a street rat; new steps sounded from the same direction as the first had approached, followed by a strange rattling. She was glad for the idea of change, having lain here for what seemed to be hours upon hours she had grown sick of the silence, broken only by the buzzing of the cheap light that provided the rooms soft glow. However, the fear of harm was another key factor, what if they were here to hurt her? Kill her? No. They could’ve done that far simpler than with such an elaborate setup, she may be quick and unnoticeable, but she couldn’t defend against little more than the odd street urchin. Soft words were being passed between two stallions beside her, or at least she assumed so. The voices were low enough. Soon one walked close and came into her view, a white-coated stallion with a seeming cream or blond mane and blue eyes, vaguely familiar but nothing came to mind in terms of name or position. He looked her down and she felt uncomfortable, it wasn’t the type of look that showed malice or even attraction but held more of something akin to looking through a shop window at a particularly desirable tool, weighing up the pros and cons of its usefulness. “Yes, she has potential, a little on the thin side though. Where on Equus did you find such a thing?” He had a refined but annoying accent, as though he had not a single problem in life. “Her mother sir, she gave her in for some food and bits. Easy to do, knew her positions in the day, that sort of thing. Like shooting fish in a barrel really.” Fury spread through her, and she tried pulling against her restraints with renewed vigour. These ponies acted like they owned her, how could her own mother, someone she assumed just didn’t care, give her away? It quickly became clear that she was making no difference to the straps and chains, maybe if she just explained to them that she had nothing to give to them and was worthless, they would let her go? Surely. What could they do with such a small pegasus anyway? The stallion she hadn’t seen yet began writing something down and the rattling of the cart started again, this time arriving to her right. Things were being moved from the cart to… Something. A table most likely. Depression filled her heart, was she going to die? Was this some sort of enjoyable activity for these bastards? Well if she was going to die then there was little she could do about it. Too bad, she had just landed a job to lift a necklace that she was sure would’ve fed her for a month. She closed her eyes and cursed through the material in her mouth, if only she had walked a different way. If only. A pain shot through her arm as something pierced her skin, her eyes flashed open again and her pupils constricted, some fluid was being injected into her forearm. Blackness ebbed into her vision and her eyes began to close, the last thing she heard was the sound of metal on metal, presumably from some tool beside her. Author's Note Okay, so I know that already this is dark but whatever, this story is meant to be quite dark. It focuses more on the goings on in the world of MLP that would happen with any society. The more... Criminal side of the world. There will always be bad people and in this situation, bad ponies. Anyway, let me know if I made any mistakes. EDIT: It has come to my attention that this isn't what a prologue is about... As in, I misunderstood the definition of prologue. This focuses on the main character which it isn't meant to, as such I will change it to intro for now.
Chapter 1: Mare Of StealChapter One Solar Eclipse shook her mane and straightened her clothing; the tight dark leather was perfect for blending into corners and protecting her but was a demon to take on and off. Slinging her satchel over her shoulder, she opened the door and checked the mirror one last time. Granted it was not of much use because of the clear smash in the centre, but it did let her see that she would blend in well. Her dark grey fur and sapphire mane allowed her to do her job perfectly, it didn’t hurt that her talent was manipulation. Be it trying to convince her way out of something, staying out of sight or finding a way through a lock, she always managed to manipulate the situation at hand perfectly. Stepping out onto the cracked and cobbled alleys of Canterlot and into the moonlit world, she considered the task at hand, possibly the largest job she had taken up. The Canterlot Vaults were not nearly as big a bank as the name suggested, being a small company, it had found no way to outdo The Bank of Equus and turned to private protection, offering more in-depth and premium protection for those with the wealth to store. However, it had not taken off that well and now served as a temporary storage for royal affairs, holding the currency of visiting royalty, counts and barons. It had no history of robbery and did its job very well with a small security team and a single royal guard to put things in order, no-one had noticed it. Despite that, her client had decided it was about time that somebody put some worry into the royals; he had hired her to make her way in and out with the prized Jewel of Griffonia, which had been foolishly left in the vault as the visiting royal had assured Celestia that nothing would happen to it. Solar grinned as she made her way, almost jauntily, to the streets that held the location. Temporary had not been on the mind of the griffon, she would be sure he would realise his mistake and her client would be one jewel richer. He had offered her something she couldn’t refuse really, a recommendation to all he knew, a nice sum of bits and a grand house in a nearby village, one she knew had transport to Canterlot which would make taking jobs there as easy as ever. Having a reputation with somebody as influential as her client was extremely useful to someone of her calibre. More jobs meant more bits in her account and that was certainly progress. Few could claim to be held in such high esteem, then again, few could claim to have her uncanny abilities. Shaking her head, she brought her mind back to reality and found herself on the street that held the establishment, now all she had to do to prepare was find a good vantage point to scope out the building with. Making her way behind the nearest building, which happened to be a bakery, she began to scale her way to the roof out of sight and out of mind of any patrolling guards or nosy citizens. The roof tiles were uneven and brittle, meaning she had to take care not to break one off. A falling tile would be a dead giveaway to her location. Flying was also off the table, as it always was when taking on jobs, the last thing a thief would want to leave at the scene of a crime is a feather that can be conveniently used to trace them, no amount of stealth could prevent being followed by magic. Unless it applied in the same way as detection magic… She made a mental note to find a willing unicorn to test her theory later, but for now uncertainty is not the best of mindsets, so she banished the idea of flying to the structure and continued along the bakery’s roof. Reaching the end, she leapt to the Vault’s gable and scanned the tiles beneath her, if one were to come loose she would have to catch it before it fell off the roof entirely. Confident none had fallen, she made her way to the edge of the roof and looked down the building’s side. A sentry in the window beneath her, looking out over the rear of the place and a royal guard at the back door, making sure that an intruder could not pass by. She knew where the vault was, her client had told her, although she did not question where he recovered the information. Questioning such influential and important criminals was not on her to do list. Soon, she decided on her move and slowly began to climb down the side of the building shadowed by the moonlight. Making little noise, she dropped to the dirt of the building’s surroundings and crept her way round to the back door, she knew this was the quickest way in and out from her previous observations of the location, few ponies ever came through the hallway that led to the vault and back door, it made it so easy to get in. All the trust was placed in the royal guard to raise the alarm or deal with an intruder if a problem arose, unfortunately for him, he would not get the chance. Moving through the shadow of the building towards the glow of the back-door Solar was taken aback to see that the guard was a captain. That made things slightly more complex. If he were to catch sight of her appearance he would not be dismissed if he pointed her out. The guard captains were highly respected and only the most experienced soldiers made it to the rank, few people would bring up the idea of a mistake in identity. Solar debated with her method, would it be possible to simply slip past him? He was awfully close to the doorway, so she couldn’t help but think she had to go through him. She didn’t feel like taking her chances with fighting a royal captain, at the best it would leave her weak and at the worst she would be… Best not to think of that outcome. Besides, he would easily have enough time to call the security team and that just wouldn’t do, the job was meant to be as quiet as possible. Although she had been given the ‘go-ahead’ to kill or otherwise incapacitate anybody in her path, it didn’t change the distaste she had for such a blunt method; she couldn’t help but smile, however, at the idea of simply fighting anyone in her path until her route to the safe was untouched. No, she would have to catch him off guard and be sure to silence him before he can raise the alarm. Luckily, she had just the thing, one of her most useful and dark abilities. Crawling closer in the shadows she crept to his side, staying silent and unseen the entire time before standing up just behind him. She clamped a hand over his mouth and opened her own, revealing four sharp and long canines that stood out from her regular herbivore teeth. Her fangs sank into the guard’s jugular vein causing a slight red glow to emanate from her blue eyes, the blood from the vital vein was sucked through the fangs and into Solar’s own bloodstream. The taste was intoxicating, she hadn’t fed in weeks; she simply hadn’t worked up the courage to bite anyone, besides it wasn’t like she required it. But the taste, it was delicious. His struggling against her hold began to falter as the energy from his blood cells transferred to her instead of his muscles. She wasn’t going to kill him, as much as she wanted to keep feasting on that nectar, she didn’t want a high ranking official to be dead on her hands, besides she wasn’t comfortable with murder. His movements had died down to little more than shakes now, he was paler than before; quite the achievement considering his fur was white to begin with. Breathing had also died down, granted it was there but now it was just enough to survive and certainly not enough to call out. He limply leant against Solar as she lowered him to the floor, quickly gagging him just in case. Despite his horn, she knew that he would not be able to cast a spell, he was far too weak with so little blood. Pulling away, she licked her teeth, gathering any loose droplets that could remain on the outside of the enamel. The glow faded from her eyes and she turned to the hall, not letting the taste pull her away from her task entirely. Stepping forward, she made her way down the carpeted stretch, all the while checking her surroundings for any sight or sound that could be after her. Not a single soul decided to check on her, nor her activities while she knelt before a strong wooden door that led to the vault. Locked, as it should be. She slipped her hands into the opposing bracers on her arms and slid out two instruments, one a lockpick, the other a thicker metal utensil that would be used to turn the lock once all pins were held down. Lockpick number one went into the lock and the utensil placed into the lower portion; scraping in a circle while moving ever down the length of the lock, the lockpick soon slid into a small dip in the metal, one that was giving away ever so slightly. She pushed the lockpick up with little resistance and the first pin clicked into the open position, generally Canterlot locks had around three pins but with this one leading to a vault, she imagined it would have to contain more. Rinsing and repeating the process she soon had five pins held at their most pressed position, this effectively mimicked the result given by a key. Now, she held them in place and using the larger lockpick she rotated the lock, opening the door with a quiet click. Retracting her tools, she pushed the door open and slipped inside, sliding the lockpicks back into her bracers, now she had the task of opening the safe itself. The beauty of her plan and indeed that of her client’s is that unlike most thieves, she had no need to disarm any detection magic, it all used the basic detection of life spell as a base and fortunately her vampirism meant that to all means of magic, she was already dead. Luckily, this method of detection was so effective against robbery that there was regularly no other magical defence, which made it simple for her to access the vault. The vault itself was a large and thick metal door that used a combination lock, the answer to which was only found engraved on a copper card given to the royal guard patrolling at the time. Fortunately, she had the presence of mind to pocket said card when she apprehended the captain earlier, so she drew it out. Fifty-Seven, Forty-Nine and Twelve. She leant towards the dials that held the safe shut and turned each to their respective numbers. A quick scrape sounded from beneath the door and several bars retracted from the vault door as a magical aura pulled them back, swinging the door open and revealing a room inside filled with unlocked safes and a table. The table held a modest sum of bits, around a hundred. Great, but she had orders to only retrieve the jewel, besides it would make no difference if the reward for said item was claimed. One safe was larger than the rest and laid in the centre of the wall opposite her from the table, it clearly was the most important and while she had to hazard a guess as to the location of the jewel there was a good chance it was in there. Padding over to the safe she was sure to be as quiet as possible as she turned the circular handle on the safe’s front, her hands gripping the steel with determination. The door swung open to reveal her prize, a deep rosy jewel easily the size of her eye. Its smooth and perfect faces reflected her own in a kaleidoscope of perspectives. Picking up the gem, she almost felt regret that she would have to part ways with it eventually, the reward would be well worth the loss, however. She wasted no time slipping it into her satchel and closing the safe before making her way out the vault. Closing that as well, she swiftly made her way to the door leading into the hall. A quick glance to either side and a good listen made sure that there was no-one to see her leave. She made it to the back door with no resistance and came upon the captain, he was still lying where she had left him, his blue-streaked mane now revealed by his helmet which had apparently rolled off him. His groans made her feel a pang of remorse, he had simply been told to stay guard, being left without blood was unpleasant and she likely took too much in her vigour. Besides, leaving such a high-ranking officer with so little blood would not go too well if the worst was to happen, it could also cause panic if anybody thought the myths and legends were true. Solar leant down and pulled some rope out of her satchel, it was meant to be used to support her in case she needed to hang while opening a window or something to that extent, but the material would work as bindings too. Wrapping it around his hands and feet she knotted the rope ensuring that he could not follow her or get to another sentry before she had gotten away, she then knelt to his neck and bit into his jugular vein again. This time rather than sucking blood she injected it into his bloodstream through the fangs, it felt strange and she disliked it, but not enough to make her stop. Once he had enough blood that it was not considered low she turned and retreated into the shadow, with her target safely kept in her satchel wrapped in cloth and her identity secret she considered the events very successful. --------------------------------------------------❆-------------------------------------------------- Canterlot was peaceful at night, strolling along the cobbled stone paths was a gift and for a moment you could easily forget the poverty that was held behind dark alleys. The moon shone as a luminescent marble, hanging in a beautiful night sky that was lightly dusted with stars. The charming houses lined the sides of the roads, each containing its own citizens. Few people went through Canterlot at this time, but Solar enjoyed it immensely, most worried about losing their way or being confronted by thieves and thugs. It didn’t happen as often as The Canterlot Times would have you believe and frankly, it was calmer at night. The gorgeous shades from the lamps and candles dotted around the capital held a calming and enjoyable grasp upon the world. All strife and hate temporarily forgotten in this cacophony of pleasant sights and sounds. One perk of being a thief was that you couldn’t meet yourself and few competitors would dare antagonise you, there was always a sense of mutual respect between the darker sides of Canterlot. Granted there were always the rough types, ones who desired no profit of wealth but more… brutal gains. They were rarely a problem however as they did little planning and were slow, usually, they trusted their strength too much and were easily evaded. Then there were the drunks, those making their way home from the various bars around Canterlot after a long night, most didn’t notice them and still more left them to their own devices. She felt the wrapped gem in her satchel as she walked in the darkness of the night, thinking of the meeting she would be having with her client soon. Running various conversations through her head she soon found herself at her hideaway, a tall clock tower that was regarded by most to be an empty autonomous structure that held nothing but the time. It was magically powered and did not require adjustment which meant that no-one had the need nor the desire to enter it. It was perfect and had been for a good few years now; taking on jobs to feed herself and buy the odd tool to assist with those jobs Solar had lived quite contentedly. This offer of a new house, an actual place to live that was not constantly coated with cobwebs and the sound of ticking, was an opportunity far too perfect to pass up. The Jewel of Griffonia may not be worth as much as the reward in terms of literal value, gems and minerals could be found easily in the undergrounds of Equestria, but a ruby belonging to a royal family was very desirable, quite the artefact to many. Her client would not have trouble making back his loss if he chose to sell the collectable. That is, assuming the house he had offered was not absurdly large. More than likely it was a regular but furnished house with quite high-quality furnishings. The bits would be a great kick-start to life, not only were they nice to have in general but she knew she would have to purchase all sorts of items upon moving in. It was reassuring that her client had such a large reputation for honesty, he so far had not been known to cross a deal and no deaths had been reported by those he did business with, which reassured her. She was certain there would be no double-crossing from him and he was certain that she would retrieve the jewel. And they call us the criminals. The Equestrian royals had plenty of shady dealings, most unrulier than her own and yet if it provided the façade of peace for the world it was considered fair. Positioning her wings behind her, Solar propelled herself up the structure. Her wings well used to the weight of her body from flying and climbing all her life, she almost felt like a filly again. The adrenaline of completing a job, the freedom of having all of Canterlot available to her. Soon all of Equestria would be accessible to her. The clock tower had an open window that she used to get in and out and she clambered through it, the interior was small, around six metres by eight metres but was enough to contain a chest of belongings, clothing and a makeshift bed. The clock face itself was visible from inside the tower, it was translucent and often let in a stream of light from whichever celestial body was passing at the time. It could also be called beneficial that she had the time on hand so easily. One in the morning, she would love to get some shut-eye before returning the jewel, but her client would likely hear of the robbery and grow suspicious of the lack of such an item. Sighing, Solar simply removed the mask around her neck and the harness from her thigh. She now looked a lot less like a thief and a lot more like a citizen, she would prefer to seem less strange to any guards patrolling if she happened to mess up. The old stone and wood of the clocktower held fast as she made her way down the side, the cracks in certain stones making a perfect handhold. Landing with a light thud, she continued her way down the streets of Canterlot towards the meeting point selected by the client, a park with a few trees and a stream running through it. Despite his doings the man enjoyed peaceful locations and was generally quite pleasant, he was her favoured employer and the two had a high respect for each other, he knew he could never retrieve the items he desired without her and she knew she would never be able to discover them without him. Turning a bend revealed the grassy area that was the park, kept in pristine condition by the unicorns that reserved the area, the park was certainly a sight. The moonlight made the gardens adopt a new hue, darker and bluer than the usual tones of the environment, the usually crystal blue stream was now darker and more reflective, distorting the surrounding light sources with ease. Upon a bench beside the bridge across the stream were three figures, two standing and one sitting. She knew them well, her client and his two protectors. They knew her as well and nodded with a slight grin as she approached from the bridge, the stallion she was here to meet stood up himself and strode towards her with arms held wide and a beam on his face. “Solar! So glad you could make it, seeing that you are in one piece I assume you have good news?” His certainty in her success was flattering, doubly so considering she had never done such a high-profile job before. Had she returned empty-handed however she was sure he would have been upset, angry even. Smiling she accepted his brief friendly hug and he held her at arm’s length, he always was a little unconventional, acting like a good friend or family member to all. Opening the satchel, Solar pulled out the cloth that held the jewel and held it for him. “Of course, Syndicate, The Jewel of Griffonia, as you wanted. I could hardly refuse your deal, especially after all the job opportunities.” She always enjoyed working for Syndicate, he was about as welcoming and honest as you could get working in his position. Quite the benevolent employer. Still, he was a unicorn who enjoyed results more than anything and disliked obstacles which prevented such things. “Ah, as breath-taking as I’d imagined. I hate to ask this but, did you have to... dispose of anyone during your stay there?” It was perfectly ordinary for her customers, and indeed all clients, to ask this of their employees. They usually needed to know things such as, will they have to deal with silencing deaths, backlash from the target or what method of monetary transferal. If it was obvious that an item of great value had been stolen at the time, such as the guard being alerted and alarm bells ringing, the client would likely want to wait before transferring any bits and may indeed want to dismiss bank methods entirely, preferring to deliver the money by hand. That process would likely not be necessary for this job though, the bits while generous to someone in her position would likely not seem suspicious in the grand scheme of life in Canterlot. Eight hundred bits had been promised and that sum she could easily live off, she could even take a break for a while to settle down and get the layout of the new place. “Not permanently, no. One had to be subdued temporarily but he’s back to normal now, a little confused I would imagine. They’ll find him, tied up at the back door perfectly conscious.” “Flawless, just one guard and the item. Impressive. We won’t have to deal with anyone knowing your face, will we? Not that it would invalidate the deal, but we would have to find more anonymous means of transferring your home to your name.” As usual, asking questions to know their side of the events was something that a customer would usually do after a job, rarely did they enquire to the specifics, however. “No, I wasn’t seen. Moreover, they likely won’t know they’ve been robbed until someone finds that guard. Not that he can tell them much, he was fighting to stay conscious for most of my time there. Most likely they will pin this to somebody using an interesting method of injecting poison.” He smirked, enjoying the thought of the complete confusion the royals and Guardsmen would be in. Solar was an extremely useful asset to him and that was part of the reason for his generous deal, he didn’t want her to leave his services as he would lose a valuable asset so offering a home and some bits in her account would ensure that she would accept future jobs, while also being in good condition to complete them. Besides, the jewel was well worth the cost, that house hadn’t been used for a long time and was simply gathering dust in his name. The gem would settle any money-based issue and the blow to the Canterlot nobles would be worth the worry. No longer would they believe themselves to be as immune to him as they had been, he didn’t need them to be afraid, just humble. “Excellent, in that case, we can get to work on the arrangements. To all who ask, however, I will need you to pretend as though you received the house from a relative as a gift. I think an uncle would do as a bluff. As usual, the bits will be in your account by the end of the day.” One of the stallions beside Syndicate picked up a small box from the park bench and opened it, offering the inside to him. The jewel was placed inside, the box then closed, locked and kept by the stallion. Syndicate expressed his thanks to Solar in the form of a grin and a nod, then a cheery, “Goodnight, we’ll have you sorted out in no time.”. And with that, the trio began walking away and into the night. Solar watched their departure and sat on the bench, relaxing and watching the stream. The reflections danced a dance that reflected the happiness she felt, she was finally going to be moving up in the world. No longer living in abandoned locations and back alleys, she was going to be living the life she had wanted for as long as she remembered. Her abilities made the life of a thief perfect and she had no plans to deviate from that job, but she may also need to get a small part-time job in the village, otherwise ponies may begin asking questions and that simply wouldn’t do. The flowers blew in the cool night breeze, bringing with them the smell of vegetation. The hues of the sky framed the moon and its glow, highlighting the distant dark dots that dotted its surface. --------------------------------------------------❆-------------------------------------------------- The lack of a mare in the moon had interested Solar, she had noticed the moment it happened, the summer sun celebration had been taking place and with most drunk under a table or laughing around one she had taken the opportunity to watch the sunrise from a rooftop. She had been practising the art of the butterfly knife when she had looked up towards the moon, only to notice four starts slowly drawing closer and closer to it. Only when they had seemingly collided with the object did it happen. The shine of light crossing the moon’s surface and the dark dots removed. Immediately it had worried her, that pattern had been there for generations. Millenia if she recalled correctly. Around the same time, Luna, the latest addition to the royal family had appeared and it was accepted that she was Celestia’s lost sister. However, Solar found it strange, why would such an event happen as Luna returned, the mare in the moon tale described the character as a fiend and a villain, was it mere coincidence that the mare had vanished just as this princess had appeared. Some talked of flashes of light from The Everfree Forest which she knew laid somewhere nearby to Canterlot and bright colours resembling a rainbow, but no officials would confirm anything. Soon the princess had visited a nearby town during Nightmare Night only to be accused of being the character the night was based around, Nightmare Moon; Solar couldn’t argue against the resemblance. Something didn’t add up. Or rather it added up flawlessly, it just wouldn’t make sense. The mare in the moon, thought to be the mythical Nightmare Moon, vanishing as a princess who just so happens to be confusable with the same figure appears. She sighed. It was nothing she had to worry about, clearly the princess was doing her job, and nothing had gone wrong yet. Granted it had only been around a month since the event but that mattered little. At this point, few remembered and still fewer cared. Standing up from the bench, she decided to get some sleep. On such a night she would be amiss not to soar back to the clocktower in the skies. Taking flight, she coasted along the wind, using hot spots to push herself higher with little effort, such a way to travel was far faster than foot and was quite enjoyable. She usually kept to the grounds when it came to travel in Canterlot at night since it was so peaceful, but flying was just as pleasant, just for different reasons. Slowing by angling her wings, Solar came to a rest on the old clocktower’s roof. She swung herself down, twisting to grab the windowsill and pulling herself into the tower’s single room. Stripping down to the essentials she laid back on her rudimentary bed, staring at the ceiling and thinking of the future. If Syndicate was as quick as he usually was then the house would be ready in a maximum of about three days. Lying in the dark her mind turned to the reason she was so perfect for such a job in the first place. Her vampirism. Granted she had hated it at first, the desire to consume blood, the vision in her mind’s eye that showed the world in grayscale save for the red flow of blood in everything in front of her. The fangs were a pain at times as well, if ponies saw them they grew terrified as she’d learned during her teen years, after she left- No, she would not ruin the mood by thinking of that. The lack of blood was also slightly annoying, if she went too long without feeding her fur would begin to lighten, it never went brighter than dark grey but it was meant to be far darker when that happened. She would also begin to crave blood more, the ‘blood vision’ as she nicknamed it would become brighter. It was nothing she couldn’t deal with, but it did make life more tiring as she often became agitated and irritable after a month or two without nourishing. However, she was lately regarding it in a more positive light. Undetectable by life magic and indeed most magic, not to mention it had once saved her life. At the time she had been stabbed by a particularly thuggish brute, she would likely have bled out had it not been for the quick thinking to bite her attacker and draw their blood. She had barely managed to get out of that scrape, had it not been for a passing guard she would have been in a far worse situation since the ruffian had stabbed her several times when they realised what she was doing. The guard did not see the bite marks, nor did he see her in the process of doing it. He had patched her up and she had managed to convince him that the thug had been a particularly hateful stalker. Explaining that she had a home she had to go back to and that she would be fine if they arrested them, the guard had let her continue her journey. I hated manipulating him, but I am grateful to him. Eyes closing, she soon drifted into blissful sleep. Her eyes opened to a bleak and blank room, she was lying on some table. She quickly recognised her surroundings as that of her room. Trying to raise her arm, she realised she was restrained, clearly her daily check had yet to happen. Fear took hold of her as the door beside her opened and a familiar rattling noise echoed through the room, that fucking stallion was back. She struggled against the restraints, knowing there would be no release from them but refusing to simply accept what was coming. “Calm down Solar, we wouldn’t want you hurting yourself.” That voice made her freeze in terror, the voice that had caused so much pain. Something was lifted from the trolley the stallion had wheeled in and the sound of steps made her cringe in despair. She wanted to scream as the silhouette of the figure leant over her, some form of a needle in one hand. “You know as well as I that we have to inject you frequently, I know you dislike it and frankly I can’t think why.” She knew why. That serum, filled with something that did this all to her, that made her the way she was. It hurt when it was stabbed into her. It hurt while it was coursing through her. It hurt while it altered her teeth, her mind, her circulatory system, everything. A burning feeling throughout her whole body made her want to shriek, it made her want to cry and thrash, but her restraints would not let her. Solar’s body shot up from the bed, drenched in sweat. Her eyes glowing a soft red with wet tears around them. Those dreams, they frequented her almost every other day, if not more. She wiped the tears from her eyes and stood up from the bed, walking to the window. Looking over Canterlot allowed her to calm down quickly, she wasn’t there anymore and hadn’t been for years. It no longer mattered. The cold wind rushed around her as she glared out upon the city. Her eyes dimmed back into their usual blue, only when she had those dreams did her eyes flare up outside of feeding. It was… Disturbing. Great, now the mood was ruined. Going back to sleep after the night terrors was simple, they never came twice but they were so vivid. She hated them. --------------------------------------------------❆-------------------------------------------------- The night passed uneventfully after that, the only sounds heard were the odd bird and the soft ticking of the clock face. Morning rose and Solar rose with it, yawning and stretching out. Checking the clock face, she read the hands. Ten in the morning. She had slightly overslept but after such a job she didn’t mind. By now the bits would be transferred to her account and she decided that she would give herself an ‘allowance’ of one hundred bits to spend during the rest of her time in Canterlot. First, however, she hadn’t eaten in twenty-two hours. Frankly, she was famished. Hopping out of bed, she dressed in a simple pair of black trousers, a slack white shirt and a dark waistcoat. All the items were creased and slightly loose, but they looked fine and would do for a day in the city, she didn’t exactly have lots of clothing to choose from. Pulling on some socks and her usual heeled dark grey boots, she slipped her butterfly knife into her pocket. The knife itself was quite a nice one, it had a wooden handle with metal tips; the blade, although basic was very sharp on one side. Vaulting out the window, Solar scaled down the clocktower, easily finding handholds until she landed on the floor. Canterlot was almost as nice during the day as it was at night, despite the rough underbelly of the city she couldn’t deny it was a spectacle. Tall cream towers and walls shone with stained glass, the regular homes that lined the streets and the businesses with ponies flowing in and out, buying items and chatting happily. Feelings the pangs of hunger brought Solar back to reality, snapping her attention to the idea of food. With her mind set, she made her way towards the Firelight’s Friend, a nice cafe she had visited before after particularly profitable job. They served herbivore food, as most cafeterias do in Equestria, not many omnivore or carnivore visitors travelled to Canterlot, so they rarely needed to serve anything that used meat. Besides most ponies found the idea appalling. She turned the corner, coming upon the restaurant in its modest corner of Canterlot. Taking in the patrons of the establishment Solar noticed that most of them were considered middle class, the place itself was nothing overly fancy and frankly, was more of a hangout for groups of friends who liked a bit more of a relaxed environment. The mare behind the counter nodded at her as she approached, and she returned the gesture. Pulling a chair up, she sat at a lone table and checked the blackboard which held a modest selection of foods. With her mind decided, Solar ordered a hayburger. Quite the treat considering her usual diet of apples and bread, sure it was boring and got old but at least it kept her alive. It cost eight bits, but it was worth it for the taste. Not to mention the fact that she was getting a little bit too skinny. Scanning the customers, Solar decided that she didn’t recognise anyone, which was good news rather than a disappointment. There were few ponies she knew that she would like to run into, besides she was always more of an introvert. With lunch out of the way, Solar decided to help herself later in life and use her remaining money to get some kind of tool. Near here there was a blacksmith that sold equipment and weaponry. Usually used by those looking for a bit of personal protection and those who plan to adventure, it had few customers and was open to all. The old sign of the shop hung from the establishment, depicting a horseshoe with two hammers crossed through it. Creatively named The Hooves Hearth, the welcoming inside of the shop greeted Solar as she opened the door. Some heat hit her fur and she met the eye of the Stallion behind the counter. He was pulling a sword out of a furnace, she imagined he was likely reforming the item. This particular shop was well known for being used by wealthier ponies to remake weapons for display or heirlooms for storage. Those with a little less cash often paid for fresh forges or old weapons, they worked well and just lacked the little flourishes and engravings the more expensive works owned. You could easily afford protection in Canterlot as long as you had either fifty-odd bits or willingness to work, a lot of shopkeepers accepted labour as payment for those unfortunate to be unable to afford their items. The earth-pony placed the sword in a bucket of water, allowing a loud hiss to emit through the shop. Solar strolled up to the counter and began speaking to him. “Hey there Ironsights, I was wondering if you had any bows available to buy?” She requested, hoping that he would. Ironsights was pretty large and it was always a good idea to befriend those types of people than make them your enemy and he was certainly on good terms with her. She had done some jobs for him in the past and they had a good relationship, honestly, he was the closest thing to a friend she had. “Of course lass, you don’t truly think I would let myself run out of such a basic weapon, do you?” He fired back. His accent was thick and tough, vaguely Scottish. His ash mane fitted the concept of a blacksmith perfectly and his dark brown fur matched to boot. “Great. Have any in grey or black?” She questioned, knowing full well he would. Still, she had found it was always polite to ask, just in case. Of course, he did and a fine one at that. The bow had thin grey etchings and was crafted from ‘Phyllostachys nigra’, more commonly referred to as ‘black bamboo’, a material that was almost perfect for a bow while also being, well… Black. Testing the bow yielded good results, Solar had only ever used a bow once before and the result had not been pretty, but with some tips from Ironsights and some practice, she improved. The bow cost a hefty eighty bits, but it was worth it, and she had the bits to spend. Having acquired her new weapon, she decided to return to the clocktower to continue her plan. Killing with it wasn’t actually her intention, even inuring hadn’t been the idea. She had however decided that a way to scale seemingly unclimbable buildings without having to resort to flying, which could often be a problem due to loose feathers and noise. As such, she had come to the conclusion that a bow and arrow could be very useful, not only for the projectile opportunities it gave her, for example hitting a switch from across the room, but more importantly the opportunities that fixing a rope onto the arrow would give. Rope arrows had been a concept of hers for a while now and she had always wanted to put the idea into action but until now she had not been able to afford a bow to actually use them, or arrows to alter. Now she would be able to test her design and if it worked, her job would become a lot easier. Even if it didn’t, the arrows would be very useful when blunted. She thanked Ironsights and left the blacksmiths. Exiting the shop, she waved goodbye to Ironsights and slung the bow over her shoulder, the string across her chest and the limbs on her back. Ironsights had graciously given her a quiver for free with her purchase of an order of special arrows and that also hung on her back, grey and held in place by the included belt. With that, she continued down the Canterlot street and stuck to the slabbed pavement, running ideas through her head for various ways of making the arrows work. Currently her idea was to fasten one end of a rope to the end of the arrow, then wrapping the rope around the shaft finally coming to a knot at the head that held it in place just enough that movements could not dislodge it and the wind could not either, while also leaving the fastening loose enough to unwrap upon the jarring piercement into her target. The arrows had also been altered to enter stone and hold her with more security, this was done by having the arrowheads themselves serrated. The idea should work flawlessly, and Solar looked forward to testing the concept. She soon discovered that while zoned out she had actually managed to find her way back to the clocktower, strange as she usually didn’t make good decisions while zoned out. That being said, she didn’t usually zone out. Shaking her head, she returned to the situation at hand and checked her surroundings to be sure no-one saw here climb the tower. Generally, most ponies didn’t concern themselves with such things as confronting someone climbing buildings, or even remembering them but you would get the odd rich teen snitch that would find a guard or even a guard themselves. There was one particularly troublesome looking young stallion, standing across the street clearly watching her, so she simply sat against the side of the clocktower, waiting for him to leave. While she could hold her own very well in a fight her stature didn’t give others that kind of idea, being small and thin did have its downsides. He soon moved off and she hoped he wouldn’t get any ideas about coming back, doubly so as she hoped to experiment tonight. It was getting late, so she doubted it. Climbing the tower was as always, enjoyable but she had a shock when a brick had broken upon grasping it. It had not proved a problem as she had simply let go and changed her hold to another position, but it did remind her that not every structure in Canterlot was perfectly safe, while the clocktower was possibly the most untouched in terms of reparations it still was a good prompt to stay on her toes. --------------------------------------------------❆-------------------------------------------------- Altering the arrows was quite difficult at first, but after the third arrow, it became a rather streamlined process. What? Knots are hard. Soon she had made eight rope arrows that she considered functional and had made fifteen blunt arrows, the other seven she kept as regular serrated arrows, lest she was in a sticky situation. Now all that remained was to exit the tower and test them, come to think, she could combine the two into one. Swinging her bow from her back, Solar drew an arrow from her quiver and locked it into the bow’s drawstring, lining her shot up for the clocktower’s windowsill. Releasing the arrow’s fletching, it soared through the air and dug deep into the stone, embedding the head entirely. As expected, the knot of the rope came loose, and the momentum of the arrow carried through the material flinging it out of the tower and down the side. Now a convenient rope hung from the sill and Solar grinned, her idea was a success. This would be very handy indeed. She ran lightly to the aperture and vaulted through it, spinning to hold onto the edge. Then she held the rope, slowly placing her body weight onto it. It held fast. Perfect. She easily could move up and down the rope and soon she dropped to the sward beside the tower that divided it from the next building. Suddenly, she realised how dark it was. It must be night, what time is it? Eleven, well she had had a productive day in her opinion and decided that she may as well get some sleep, so she pulled herself back up the rope and coiled it into the tower. She may as well leave the rope as a permanent way in and out since this was the building she most often scaled anyway, she would just pull it into the room at night. Changing out of her town clothes and leaning her bow against the wall, she laid down onto her bed. Surprisingly, she was shattered. Closing her eyes, she thought of all that laid beyond the clock face, the open city of Canterlot, the wide world of Equus. Soon, sleep drifted over her mind like a black fog, pulling her away from reality. Author's Note Okay, so more backstory and some actual normal story. After copying the story from Microsoft word I got a bunch of red underlinings from Grammarly, so I get the idea that either Grammarly is wrong or word is. Anyway, I went through them and allowed a lot of them before finding that some were actually wrong. Like correcting sward to sword. THAT IS A WORD GRAMMARLY. Anyway, if things like clock face being clockface in the next chapter bug you, that is why. I have decided not to listen to Grammarly next time I upload.
Chapter 2: Moving DayChapter Two As the sun rose, Solar rose with it. She sat up in bed and stretched, glancing at the clockface as she did every day. The arms of the clock showed it to be nine in the morning. Solar dressed in the only other casual clothing she had, a frilled white shirt and brown trousers along with her usual lace-up heeled grey boots. It wasn’t much but it was smart enough to suit her while also being loose enough to seem like a regular citizen. Slipping on her belt, she placed her knife into position on her thigh and strode to the window. However, she had gotten no further than a metre before she noticed something off, there was a bird on the other side of the glass pane. A pigeon, seemingly carrying a small note. Great, another job from Syndicate. While she enjoyed the prospect of another job she had been wanting an empty day as at some point she would be moving to her new house in that village, which she had found was called Ponyville. Thanks to the old paper map of Equestria she had spotted during a sweep of a house some time ago. Sighing, she opened the window and held her hand out, the pigeon nimbly hopped onto her finger and she unwound the note from its leg. Solar, The nobles are in a bit of a frenzy over that jewel. Nice job. However, I think that it would be good to strike while the iron is hot and show that we have power over all the ruling parties. As such, I would like you to make a move on Equestria’s royals. I have intel of a particularly fine necklace being used for decoration in one of the Canterlot Castle rooms on the third floor, specifically one used by Princess Celestia’s personal pupil, a Miss Twilight Sparkle. While the necklace does not belong to her and she is, indeed, not occupying the room at the moment it will be noticed as missing by the cleaners. Attached is a note that I would like you to replace the necklace with, this is to ensure they know that it did not simply go missing and so they do not blame staff. I want them to know we have power. Although, I do not want them to announce a full forced witch-hunt on us, this is why I have chosen a low priority target. The job is rather simple on the face, get in, get necklace, get out. But, unfortunately, the room happens to be in one of the towers. I trust you can get the job done. To be clear, failure will not affect our previous dealings, only this one. Speaking of, I have not forgotten our deal. The house will be ready later today, so be sure to gather your things. I would estimate it to be wise to leave around six the earliest, as the paperwork has not quite gone through. -Syndicate Solar bit her lip reading the letter, the Canterlot towers were problematic. They had a strange shape and did not simply go straight up, but rather angled out of the main building. This would make climbing them very difficult… Although, that being said beneath them was a long drop, around a few kilometres. No-one would survive such a drop, but, no-one would be able to find a feather there either… It was decided then, she would fly to the outer edge of the tower and climb from there, she did not want to chance a stray feather landing on a balcony. Cursed feathers. Still, the job should be, as Syndicate himself pointed out, relatively simple from then out. All that would sit between her and the necklace would be a locked window and, she assumed, a locked case, both of which could be unlocked with relative ease. There was also the issue of the necklace being in the Canterlot Castle, she knew that most jewellery in the establishment was often held in a rune-engraved box, those however were quite faulty as you could easily bypass the enchantment. All one would have to do is find the rune and use a knife or similar tool to carve a circle around it, then chip away the wood that held the symbol. Thank Celestia for her practise with these types of situations. Solar slid the note she was meant to replace the necklace with along with the letter into her bag and slung the satchel over her shoulder. As she began to walk towards the doorway she realised, if she was on a job… Damn it, I’m going to have to change again. --------------------------------------------------❆-------------------------------------------------- The Canterlot Castle was certainly impressive, large cream marble walls and slated gold rooves gleamed in the light of the sun, probably an intentional detail as the castle had originally been inhabited by Celestia alone, as opposed to her and her sister. Standing up, Solar scanned the structure for the tower she was meant to hit. The general buzz of the city beneath her made it slightly harder to concentrate so she tried to block it out. No easy feat apparently. There, on the left, the tower Syndicate had been referring to stood high over the side of the mountain, seemingly defying all logic and reason with its form, attached only by the bottom and being so large it stood to reason that the tower should have crumbled instantly, yet it has stood standing for millennia. Magic was the most likely reason for this, most of the castle was enchanted to resist the wear of nature and that included the pull of gravity. Having made her decision, she sprinted to the edge of the building she had been using as an observation tower and leapt to the next, making her route up as she went. A pegasus in the sky was often watched by passers-by as most loved doing tricks, so flying while dressed in her current attire would not be a good idea. Eventually she neared the wall that surrounded the castle and when she did she dropped to the streets below, running up to the wall and pressing against it; the castle guards were posted on the top of the walls and rarely looked down them. In fact, most of them were asleep since no-one ever really tried to enter the castle. Or rather, most were allowed to. There was no real reason to sneak into the castle as you could simply enter through the front if you wanted to visit the gardens or visit the princesses as a lot of business owners and nobles did. However, entering through the front would not be a good idea in her current situation, as the guards would instantly think something was up with her. No-one goes around casually with a bow and a dark leather suit. It was kind of a red flag. By walking with the wall, Solar eventually came to a spot directly beneath the tower. Just a few metres opposite the wall was the cliff edge and further along the ridge she stood on a river flowed off the mountain. She swore under her breath, she hated working in the daytime. Far fewer shadows to blend into. Fortunately, her talent allowed her to make use of peripheral vision, if she could get to the side of a guard at a sharp enough angle she could go quite unnoticed. That was, if there was a guard on the wall to begin with. Turning, she used one of the boons of vampirism to her advantage, the blood vision. She could just make out the circulatory system of a unicorn guard atop the wall, he was sitting down and seemed quite drowsy, his heartbeat was slow. Not unhealthily so, just enough to show he was very relaxed. He wouldn’t notice if she whipped past. Creeping against the wall she moved to his right by a good margin, now at an almost eighty-degree angle she began scaling it. The marble bricks of the wall made a pretty decent handhold. She came to the top and glanced at the guard through the slits in the brickwork. He was awake but drowsy, clearly not concentrating too thoroughly. The gold armour he wore reassured her somewhat, she did not want to have to deal with another captain. Hauling herself up to the walkway on top of the wall, she quickly vaulted the other side and dropped into the grounds of the castle. Her head span round as she checked on him, but his red glow did not move. She smiled to herself and looked up. The tower loomed above her and with the guard out of the way she could now fly up. That’s when she realised that, if she was on solid ground that any lost feathers would also land on solid ground. She would have to get some altitude, make her way to the beginning of the curve in the tower before pushing out over the drop. Annoying but her fault, so she couldn’t really complain. The climb was slightly more difficult than usual with the added weight of her bow, which she admittedly hadn’t factored in when purchasing it. Luckily it was quite light all things considered, so it was nothing too awkward. Pushing off the castle, she spread her wings and gave them one forceful beat. The action pushed her far out enough that beneath her was the long drop to the plains rather than Canterlot. She flew up beyond the curve in the tower and reached the third floor before landing on the room’s balcony. There were curtains on the doors that lead to the room, but they were inside so she had free access to the locks on the doors. Quickly checking for any signs of blood in the room, she was relieved to see that no-one was currently in it. Sure, it wouldn’t have been a problem, she would just have to wait for them to leave but it would still be a bore. The lock on the doors proved simple, having only three pins, and Solar strolled into the room. It was grand, with a four-poster bed to the side of the room and a complex oak desk on the other, it certainly was the kind of environment you could imagine royalty in. To the left of the balcony doors against the curved wall sat a display case. Inside was a wooden replica of a pony’s neck and chest, upon which sat a beautiful necklace. Holding amethysts and rubies in delicate patterns within obsidian casings the jewellery was quite the marvel. Frankly, she was shocked it wasn’t treasured more than it was. The case was more of a cabinet, made of mahogany or a similar wood it had a glass panel which shielded the prize from the world. It had a lock on it, as expected but she knew that there must be more to it. Upon closer observation she discovered a rune carved into the side of the wood. She sighed, while she had expected as much she had kind of been hoping there wouldn’t actually be one. So, she began the process of removing the mark, carving a delicate circle around the etching and then slowly pulling down with her knife to peel the surface of the wood off the cabinet. On the one hand, she hated having to ruin such a nice piece of furniture but on the other she did need that necklace. After the rune was gone, she began to work on the lock which, much like the doors, held a surprisingly low number of pins. The doors on the cabinet opened easily once the lock had clicked and the necklace was lifted from the bust, then wrapped in a cloth and transferred to Solar’s satchel. She took the note Syndicate had given her out of her bag and placed it in the cabinet. Now she just had to leave. Turning, she froze. There was someone coming down the corridor outside the main door. Quickly, she closed the doors on the cabinet and drew the curtains on the balcony before closing those doors too. Then she leapt off the balcony and soared out across the sky. Holding her breath and praying under it, she folded her wings in and let herself drop like a stone. The wind rushed past her, whistling at her speed disapprovingly. She fell past Canterlot and beneath the mountain, where she opened her wings and slowed her speed to a hover. Climbing the breeze, she flew up to the edge of Canterlot’s walls nearest to the clocktower where she dropped to the street below. The clocktower was directly in front of her and she wasted no time climbing to the top. --------------------------------------------------❆-------------------------------------------------- Four in the afternoon, the day had really flown past as she had carried out that job. Syndicate really had it out for the royals recently. Not that she cared. Changing her clothing, she picked her satchel back up and left her bow in her room before exiting the tower. She had to bring the necklace to him now. Then she would gather her valuables up and get ready for a whole different life. Canterlot was the usual picturesque scene as she made her way along the streets, blending into the crowd as she ate an apple. A stall nearby offered a newspaper, which she picked up and read as she walked. As expected her little escapade from the other day was in there. Stunning robbery at Canterlot Vaults! Recently a shocking event unfolded at the nearby private security establishment known as the ‘Canterlot Vaults’. An unknown assailant assaulted the captain of the royal guard as he was patrolling government property. The captain in question, Shining Armour, claims that he remembers next to nothing of the incident, in his own words: “It seemed as though one minute I was being roughly grabbed and the next I was being shaken awake by somepony.” Upon finding the prized ‘Jewel of Griffonia’ missing, establishment employees sped to the door to find Shining unconscious on the floor. No-one knows who managed to get in and out of such a guarded area, but the Princesses had some grave news regarding the situation. “We are certain that this was meant as a threat directly to both us and the griffons. Very few people had motive to steal that gem and still fewer had its location. To infiltrate such a heavily secured zone would require more effort than the common thief would justify. Currently, we believe somepony is trying to drive a wedge between Griffonian and Equestrian relations.” Said Princess Celestia when asked of the occurrence. “While we are sure that our enemy has an ulterior motive, neither our, nor our sister’s, attempts to analyse the area have been fruitful. With no signs of magic and not one of the detection spells alarmed we have little to go on, but thee can be assured that our attempts to find the convict will not end soon.” Stated Princess Luna during the questioning of the matter. The royal guard are working to find the pony responsible for the heist and poisoning of Captain Shining Armour. Solar grinned to herself and shook her head, ‘Heavily secured zone’ was an overstatement. Damn royals always twisting the truth. Frankly the job had been easy, tense, but easy. Beneath the text there was a printed picture of the royals standing in front of a crowd of disorderly ponies and griffons alike. According to the caption it showed Celestia, Luna, Shining Armour and a… Prince Blueblood. Narrowing her eyes, she came to a falter on the road and stared at the image of the second unicorn. A new royal it would seem, or at least one she had never seen before. He seemed vaguely familiar. Strange. She folded the paper up and slid it into her satchel before carrying on down the road. Syndicate’s home base was actually relatively normal, if no-one told you then you would have no idea that it wasn’t just another occupied home. The path up to the house was maintained and clean. Indeed, the house itself was relatively large, at least, in comparison to what Solar was usually saw. This section of Canterlot was likely more for middle class citizens than lower and it wasn’t quite the right area for the higher class. Knocking on the door returned a noticeable echo from inside before the sound of a bolt sliding from a catch and the door swung open, revealing an irritated looking older earth-pony mare. She looked Solar up and down before raising an eyebrow and jerking her head, gesturing behind her. Solar smiled and walked in, continuing into the front hall. She knew the general layout and made her way to the meeting room upstairs, the room that Syndicate not only spent most of his time but also received deliveries in. Oddly enough this time a stallion was leaning against the closed door to the room. He straightened up and accosted her. “Alright, what are you here for?” He began, with a slight edge to his voice. Clearly, he was a guard of some sort. “Syndicate requested an item only I could provide, he should be expecting me.” She replied formally. Like the mare before he simply looked her up and down and opened the door, gesturing her through. Inside Syndicate was leaning against the far end of an oval table, four ponies sat around the table in chairs. Most she knew as crime lords from her past employments, others she just assumed were clients of Syndicate’s. Not wanting to disturb the meeting, she leant against the wall and met Syndicate’s eye. He gestured her forward and spoke to her. “I’ll be impressed if you already have that necklace Solar.” He said, smiling. As ever, the welcoming picture he was, although she could see the worry in his face. His company was clearly quite stressful to keep. “Caught you off guard, have I?” She joked, walking round the table to him, feeling all four of his guests watching her. Sliding the wrapped necklace out of her bag, she unwrapped it and waited for his reaction. Checking the necklace, he nodded and pulled a pouch from his pocket, giving it to Solar. “Yeah, this looks good. Great work. Eighty bits, as promised.” --------------------------------------------------❆-------------------------------------------------- Having spoken to Syndicate regarding their deal, Solar had discerned that the house was, for all intents and purposes, ready and that she could move as soon as she pleased. She wasted no time gathering her things, her clothing, gear and weapons. She decided to carry the bow and knife on her while her keeping her gear and clothing in a suitcase she had purchased on her way back to the clocktower. Getting to Ponyville would be easy, there was train station outside Canterlot that regularly stopped by the village. Being in her regular clothing and wheeling a suitcase, not many passed Solar a glance as she walked through the crowded platform. The train had not yet arrived, and a few groups stood at the edge of the platform, each engaged in conversation. Finding an empty area, Solar stood and waited. The train itself was due in around five minutes so she took the time to look at those around her. One particular individual caught her eye, a white coated mare with a finely shaped purple mane and tail. She was wearing a necklace, not unlike the one Solar had taken earlier, but with far fewer gems. There was a stallion talking to her, a white coated, blue haired pony wearing a suit and monocle. Intrigued, Solar listened carefully, trying to capture any titbits of information from the two unicorns. “Thank you ever so much for having me Fancy, Canterlot is quite charming.” The mare said, clearly to the stallion, who she assumed was named Fancy. Likely Fancy something, not many ponies had such a short name. “Oh, it’s no problem Rarity, in fact it was quite a pleasure having you here today. So, how is business in Ponyville going as it is?” Fancy replied. Ah, so this ‘Rarity’ was working in Ponyville, if she was visiting Canterlot she may even live there. It would be good to have a friend in Ponyville as soon as possible. Solar decided it would be good to try and talk to her if she could. The two faded into the background as Solar checked the rails for the train, in the distance there was a plume of light smoke as the train drew closer. Rarity and Fancy ceased their conversation beside her and turned expectantly to the rails. Whistling, the brakes of the train kicked into action and the carriages squealed to a stop. “Here is the train, well thank you again Fancy Pants. Don’t hesitate to contact me if you need any clothes made or anything.” Rarity said as the doors on the train opened. “Of course, goodbye Rarity, I hope to see you soon.” Fancy replied and the two embraced. Platonically, it would seem. If Solar had to guess, the two were friends; likely due to business or position. As Rarity walked into and sat on the bench of the carriage, Solar followed. Luckily there were enough ponies entering the train to sit opposite Rarity without coming off as strange. With both of them having cases, the two were clearly travelling. Rarity smiled at Solar and struck up a conversation. “So, where are you headed, darling?” She began. Her voice was smooth and refined, clearly, she was quite the aristocrat. She had blue eyes and long eyelashes, appearance was apparently high on her list of priorities. “Ponyville, I’ve never been there before but I’m excited to see it.” Solar replied, hoping Rarity would mention whether or not she lived there as well. Luckily, she did. “Oh, me too! Are you visiting, or do you live there? I’ve never seen you in town before.” Her eyes had lit up at hearing Solar’s answer, evidently, she loved the place. It would make sense for her to live there if she stated not seeing her in town, only a resident would be surprised of a newcomer. “That depends really, I’m moving there. But since I’m not there yet, I couldn’t say I live there. But then again, I fully intend on staying so I’m not visiting either, do you know what I mean?” Solar joked, smiling and enjoying the confusion on Rarity’s face as each sentence brought a new twist. Trying to hide her confusion Rarity pondered her statement before replying. “Yes, I think I do. Well, if you are moving I could introduce you to the town once you’ve settled in if you’d like.” She responded with a little laugh, quite a generous offer and exactly what Solar had been after. “That sounds great, I would love to.” Solar replied. She already liked Rarity, her relaxed manner despite her ‘proper’ demeanour and her instant jump to help her when there really wasn’t a clear benefit showed she was quite a nice pony in general. Hopefully she was well connected in Ponyville, she had said she would show her around so perhaps she knew a few more of the residents. It would be good to get on their good sides. “Out of interest, why are you moving to Ponyville? Most who live in Canterlot aren’t keen to leave their current home.” Rarity asked. Her question would be understandable from her position. Homes in Canterlot were expensive, at least those available and desirable were. Few actually knew or paid attention to the back alleys and poorer regions of the city. Granted, the guards were doing their best but sometimes they could even be the problem. For someone visiting the higher-class areas of the city it must seem insane to leave it. “Oh, to be honest I didn’t have a house there myself. I lived with some friends of mine. Recently though my grandfather passed away and left the house to me. I couldn’t afford my own with the payrate of my current job.” Smiled Solar, being sure to get across the point that all was fine. She didn’t want Rarity to worry or pry too far into her ‘life in Canterlot’. It was here that she became glad for her talent at lying. Apparently, that came under manipulation, which made sense. “Oh dear, I’m sorry to hear that. What do you work as then?” Rarity probed. She was probably the kind of pony to enjoy gossip and some would likely find her to be a little prying. Thinking on the fly Solar though of a job that would perfectly fit her and explain away some of her skills. “I’ve worked as a locksmith for a good while. Although at one point I had been a guard. The guard jig was decent as far as pay goes but eventually somepony slipped up and my friends asked me to switch jobs. Since I wasn’t particularly fond of it anyway I found the job at the locksmiths and became quite experienced with opening locks.” Now that, was a good lie. Not only did it answer some questions she knew would eventually come up if Rarity ever saw any scars on her. They were hard to see since they were old, and her fur covered them. Rarity bought her rouse and the two chatted idly about Canterlot, Ponyville and each other as the train round its way through the hills and fields of Equestria. Apparently, Rarity was a tailor and owned a boutique in Ponyville where she made ‘fashionable’ designer clothing. The stallion, Fancy Pants, was a noble and retired captain of the guard, he now threw get-togethers for those with some time and money to spend in Canterlot. The two met through Fancy’s fiancée Fleur who had asked Rarity to make her some clothing some time ago. During the endeavour the two had gotten along well and became firm friends, soon the friendship included Fancy and several other wealthy figures. However, despite her adoration of Canterlot, its environment and luxuries, Rarity’s heart still belonged to Ponyville as she had a grand circle of friends and a little sister to look after named Sweetie Belle. Solar had managed to stick to her false story, explaining the background of her with as much truth as she could. In this counterfeit version of her history her mother and father’s impact remained the same, however, she then was taken in by Ironsights as his ‘daughter’. She knew that if she had to employ her lie she could easily get the message across to him to just play along. At one point she had joined the guard but after a stab wound from a thief, oh the irony, she had been asked by Ironsights to leave the guard, to which she had agreed. Soon however she had found employment as a locksmith and lived peacefully that way. Not long after she received news of her ‘grandfathers’ passing, not her blood grandfather but Ironsights’ dad, in the letter a house was offered to him. Ironsights then decided to give the property to Solar, as he had a good business in Canterlot. To be fair to Rarity, it was one of the most in-depth stories Solar had made. Not taking it hook line and sinker would have been an impressive feat. Unfortunately, she knew she couldn’t simply tell Rarity the truth since she would either hate her or simply think she was lying, which would likely lead to the same conclusion. It wasn’t that she wanted to lie but more that she had to. Soon the rooves and fields of Ponyville began to appear in the distance, the glow of the town’s lights creating luminescent rings in the evening, each a small firefly in the dark. It was picturesque, and Solar could hardly wait to start a life there. Finally, a normal place where she wouldn’t feel on edge at all hours of the day. Perhaps, someone would finally care about her for something other than her skills. As the doors slid open, a few ponies filtered onto the platform. Some walked straight to their loved ones and friends, a turquoise unicorn embraced a cream coloured earth-pony and others simply began going their separate ways, each with their own destinations in mind. Likely a good few of them worked in Canterlot. Solar and Rarity walked along the platform chatting idly about the village. Despite her eagerness to show her the actual sights and sounds of the place, along with her wish to have her meet her friends, Rarity decided that it was too late to become a tour guide. “Well darling, as much as I would love to show you around and introduce you to some of my friends I must say that you would probably rather find your own house first.” She began. It was here that Solar had a slight moment of uncertainty, did she even know where the house was? Suddenly she remembered, during their talk earlier Syndicate had given her a map. Bringing it out she began to read it, Rarity leaned over her shoulder and tried to make out the buildings around the house. It didn’t take long for her to point out some key places, such as the town hall and a few of the shops around the place. Solar’s house was situated to the edge of the village, near to the ‘Everfree Forest’, which Rarity implored her never to enter, warning her that it was a “Horrid place with vile and dangerous creatures.” Apparently, her time in the forest had been less than welcoming. There was however a nicer forest nearby named the ‘Whitetail Woods’ that Rarity and some friends sometimes camped in. That peaked Solar’s interest, she hadn’t left Canterlot all her life and had never actually been in a forest. --------------------------------------------------❆-------------------------------------------------- After finding the house and fiddling with the key, Solar put her case inside the hall and said her goodbyes to Rarity. It was getting dark and both mares were eager to turn in for the night. Before she left Rarity offered her services in case Solar needed any clothing. “Well, before I go it would be wrong of me not to offer you some help. I couldn’t help but notice that your case is rather small, and it seemed implied you weren’t having anything sent to you so… If you need any clothing or anything I would be happy to make some for you, my boutique is just in town. If you need anything don’t hesitate to let me know.” She offered with a smile before walking down the path and into the heart of Ponyville, eventually turning the corner and leaving Solar’s sight. Really, quite the kind soul. The house was good, quite large and homely. It was rather dusty and had a few cobwebs, but that could be fixed easily. Certainly, it was nice. There was a large living room with a hearth and a sofa in the centre of the wall that separated it from the hall. There were a few comfortable looking armchairs and a large wooden coffee table between them. The kitchen had a tiled floor with large work tops and cupboards, while she had never cooked Solar was sure she could learn to. A doorway led to a dining room with a large table surrounded by chairs. The curtains were drawn in every room and she decided to leave them that way for now, it was dark anyway. All the magic-based lighting worked and while she had nothing to light any candles with, she didn’t feel she needed them. Creaking, the stairs in the hall led to a landing in the house. Several rooms branched off from the room, one was a bathroom which mirrored the one downstairs. Two guest bedrooms laid on either side of the landing, opposite each other and behind the stairs was a door that lead to the master bedroom. Her bedroom. It was the biggest room on the upper floor with access to a balcony and a large double bed. An en-suite bathroom and walk-in wardrobe showed just how impressive this home was. Which begged the question, why did Syndicate give it to her? Granted it wasn’t free, it was payment but surely too much so. That job wasn’t worth… All of this. Not to mention the fact he had payed her as well. She tried not to linger on this thought for too long as it certainly soured the mood. Instead she unslung her bow and quiver, placing them against the wall and making her way back down stairs. Idiotically, she had forgotten to lock the door once Rarity had left. Once she was sure the lock was… locked, she slid the door’s bolt across and walked back up the stairs. Her boots were placed next to her quiver and her belt soon after. She wasn’t quite comfortable with sleeping in the bed without her shirt and trousers until it had been cleaned, so she chose to take the sheet covering it to the balcony which, it turned out, required a key. Luckily it was on the bedside table, despite its state, the house was left with the intention of being used again and she opened the door before adding the key to the current one’s chain. Shaking the sheet into the night showed that there was one Tartarus of a lot of dust in it. She wasn’t even sure if it was originally white. Quickly, she decided against sleeping under the sheet and instead to sleep on top of it. After turning off the lights in the house, she laid on the bed and closed her eyes and drifted to sleep. Author's Note Mmm, another chapter. Honestly, I have a lot of ideas for this. Also, I had no clue that 'Main 6' was a character you could add so... they're there now. Since this story will heavily include them. Anyhoo, I didn't have time to listen to this long thing with the 'Read Aloud' option so any run-on sentences I do apologise for. Lemme know if there is anything I'm doing wrong, any mistakes etc. Oh, also thanks to the nineteen of you that skipped the prologue and to the one guy who just disliked the story without saying why, really helping me develop my writing there. Real methodical-like, no feedback at all. In all seriousness though, please do let me know what you guys think of the story in the comments.
Chapter 3: Settling InChapter Three Solar stretched, sat up and rubbed her eyes. The room around her was gloomy and strange. She didn’t recognise it… Ah. Yeah. The move. Walking across the room, she opened the curtains revealing the colourful village of Ponyville. Various ponies walked around their day, visiting stools and having conversations. She sighed and looked back at the room, the entire house was dusty and would need to be cleaned. Or at least, she wanted it to be. Slipping on her clothes she checked her bits. Oh, only twelve… She had burnt through that hundred bits pretty quickly. Luckily, she still had seven-hundred from the vault job and an extra hundred from the necklace. The Ponyville Town Hall actually held a small Bank of Equus inside, in a separate area to the meeting hall. Inside the Town Hall was actually interesting, they had not only a meeting room but a bank, court, town records and the Mayor’s office. A few pegasi were gathered in the meeting room discussing weather and there was only one other customer in line for the bank. Walking down the queuing area, Solar was gestured to one of the three booths to speak to an employee. While she waited for the stallion behind the counter to withdraw some bits, about three hundred, she couldn’t help but hear the pegasus beside her mention a certain someone’s name. “Oh, yes. It is rather nice, Rarity made it for me the other day, it wasn’t quite what I meant but I think it came out much better than my original design.” She was saying. The mare was yellow with pink hair and light turquoise eyes. She was wearing, what Solar assumed was, the afore mentioned design of Rarity’s, a green blouse and skirt which came to around her calf. “It was really meant to be something I could easily get hair out of after dealing with the animals, which it does perfectly.” “That’s nice. I have heard Rarity is quite the magician with meeting requirements. She never discloses their details either, a very professional mare.” Replied the earth-pony behind the desk. She was, surprisingly, also yellow, with a sky-blue mane. Handing a check book to the customer, she smiled. “Well, there you go Fluttershy. Hope all goes well with your animals and don’t hesitate to bring to me if there is anything wrong with them.” “Thank you, Doctor Fauna, I will keep that in mind. Goodbye.” Fluttershy answered before turning and walking out of the Town Hall. With a slight cough, the stallion behind the counter brought Solar’s attention back to her own business. He had a large pouch, which he handed her. She thanked him, and he nodded. With that done, she decided to take this sum back to her house and choose a logical amount to shop with. During her journey back, she noticed that even this charming town had its fair share of ruffians. A group of three stallions and a mare hung in the alleys between houses, throwing dirty glances at passers-by. They could prove to be a problem at some point. Returning to the house, she decided to check around for a safe to keep her unused coin. Sure enough, there was one in the main bedroom’s walk-in wardrobe. Having stored her bits, Solar pulled on a jacket since it was actually rather chilly outside. The changing of the seasons was not long away, and the temperatures were dropping. She hadn’t used her leather jacket for a while since the days were usually kept at a regular temperature in Canterlot, those unicorn teams were good at what they did. Much like her other clothing, the coat was black and quite comfortable with a convenient pocket that was just the right size for her butterfly knife. Double checking her money, she confirmed that she had the hundred bits she was going to use when shopping. As she closed the pouch she felt a pang from her stomach. That’s right, I haven’t eaten since yesterday morning… There would be somewhere in town she could get some food from, it’s not like she could use the old kitchen in its current state. There were more ponies in town than there had been this morning, midday was a busier time to be there she supposed. A few she recognised from the train station last night and far more she didn’t recognise. She did however, spot Rarity and Fluttershy talking, seated in a nice-looking café near the centre of the town. While she did want to talk to Rarity and meet Fluttershy, she felt sure she would be dragged off before she could buy her supplies, so she turned her attention back to the task at hand. A nearby store named Squeaky-Clean offered many of the things she needed, washing supplies, cloths, dusters and a vacuum. The stallion at the store even offered to have the items teleported to her home, which cost a few extra bits, but it was worth it considering that Solar had no idea how to take all of that back by herself. Helpfully, when asked about where to buy necessary items the clerk pointed in her direction of a store called Hoof-Mart. Surprisingly, she did actually manage to find everything she needed. This time the items did actually fit into a bag, so she didn’t bother asking about teleportation, although the mare at the counter did ask if she lived nearby, apparently this town was quite good at knowing each other which meant that when Solar took future jobs on she would have to be sure not to be seen. If a wanted poster got around, or even an accurate description it may cause… Problems. --------------------------------------------------❆-------------------------------------------------- Wiping the sweat from her brow, Solar looked around the room. It was the final one to do and she figured it was finally as clean as the others. The amount of dust there had actually been was absurd, at least the house was now liveable and actually very nice. While she had been cleaning she had found a basement with some magic based appliances for washing which she had used to clean the bedsheets. Content with the state of the house, she opened the curtains and sighed in relief. Would Rarity still be at the restaurant? It was unlikely since she had taken around three hours cleaning. Still, she had mentioned owning a boutique, didn’t she? Surely Solar could ask around and find it, she did actually need some clothing so if need be that could be used as an excuse. Walking to the gate, she noticed that the garden was quite overgrown. I’ll have to cut this all down at some point. On her way to Rarity’s it began to rain, and she saw Fluttershy fiddling with keys to a cottage that stood even further from the village than Solar’s own house, if she had to guess she would say it was her home. Few ponies open a door to their friends’ house with groceries in their arms and get greeted by groups of animals. Besides, Doctor Fauna had referred to her animals earlier and not many ponies had homes full of animals. Ponyville didn’t actually have any cobbled roads, unless you counted the cobbled bridges, but rather just left bare grass between buildings. It gave the area a far more natural feel and Solar quite liked it, a welcome change from the usual surroundings of Canterlot. Rarity’s boutique was larger than she had expected, with a lot of pink. It had two model ponies carved from wood on either side of the balcony that was attached to some kind of… Tower that sprouted from its centre. There was a sign on the front that showed a stylish pony wearing a dress with the words ‘The Carousel Boutique’ scrolled across the top and bottom in a cursive script. The front door was purple and had window at head height and she knocked, unsure if anyone would answer. For a few seconds she began to think that no-one was home, but as she turned to leave there came a kerfuffle of noise from inside. Like a bull had hit it, the door swung open revealing a white furred filly wearing a wet and dishevelled school uniform. Pink and magenta hair made up her curled mane, though it was quite messy, and her light green eyes stared at Solar with curiosity. “Hello, uhm.” Dammit, what was her name! “Sweetie Belle, right?” Solar guessed, to be fair that conversation had been slightly forgotten after the hours of housework earlier. Sweetie Belle, who had to be around twelve or at least something similar, raised an eyebrow and narrowed her eyes. “Do I… Know you?” She asked in a high voice, her expression showing an attempt at recognition that failed covered complete confusion. Like her sister, she was a unicorn, although clearly, she did not have quite the same love for clothing and cleanliness that her sister did. Judging from her creased shirt and slightly muddied stockings at least. “No, but your sister, Rarity, does. I’m new in town and hoped she could help me out.” Solar began but was quickly cut short by the mare of the hour herself walking out from the back of the building. “Sweetie, who is it?” Rarity called as she made her way to the door. It was actually quite a useless question to ask, since by the time she had finished the sentence she was standing beside her sister in the doorway. “Oh, Solar, good to see you! Are you here for the tour or something more business related?” No sooner had she asked that question did she actually glance at Sweetie Belle. “Sweetie! Your clothes! Please, please, please tell me you did not track wet mud into the house?” She cried, her eyes widening behind her glasses and her head moving back slightly, jostling the measuring tape around her neck. “No! I took my shoes off by the door.” Sweetie huffed defiantly, crossing her arms. “Well, that’s a small mercy at least. What in Equestria were you doing before you got here?” She folded her glasses and pulled the tape from her neck, stowing the former in her pocket and the latter on a table. “Playing with Applebloom and Scootaloo at Sweet Apple Acres. Clothes just get dirty Rarity.” The filly retorted before going inside. True to her word her shoes were neatly placed beside the doormat, covered in mud. “Go and change immediately. Dirt can be avoided but if you must insist of attracting it like a magnet then at least have the presence of mind to clean it once you’re finished.” Rarity replied, which sent Sweetie up the stairs. “Don’t mind her, she is quite sweet in most situations. She’s just moody right now, probably due to being caught in the rain with her friends. Anyway, do come in out of the rain. I’m sorry I didn’t offer that earlier, but it hadn’t really crossed my mind until now.” Rarity explained, moving aside to allow Solar in. The interior of the boutique was remarkably similar to the exterior, with a lot of pink and purple. I’d go mad living here… Luckily, her own home-made use of a lot of darker colours with most rooms being lined with spruce and coloured with varying reds, greens and greys. “Thanks, originally I was going to ask about the town but... In this weather it would not be as fun. I do need clothes though, so I suppose you could help me with that if you aren’t too busy.” Solar said. Rarity’s eyes lit up and she nodded, closing the door and leading her upstairs. She was led into a large circular room that had shelves stocked with rolls of fabric, there was a large four poster bed against the wall and an area that consisted mostly of mannequins, sowing machines and clothes-racks. Apparently, Rarity worked in her bedroom, which made some sense. Looking around in confusion Rarity suddenly rushed back out of the room, only to return holding the measuring tape from earlier. “Ok, darling. If you would just take your jacket off and stand with your arms out straight and legs slightly out I can take your measurements.” She said, slightly out of breath from her run. Solar obliged, her legs apart and her arms out to her sides and her legs slightly apart. Grabbing a notebook and pen off a desk, Rarity began wrapping the tape around different sections of Solar’s body before writing some numbers down. Every now and then she looked surprised at what she wrote, double checking herself but then she merely continued on. Starting at her ankle, she moved up to her calf, thigh, rear, waist, chest, biceps, forearms and neck. Solar felt slightly awkward, but it made sense that custom clothing would require custom measurements, it wasn’t exactly her regular habitat to be standing still for measurements or to be this close to another pony. “While I generally try not to pry into customers reasonings or… Anything. You are quite thin for somepony of your age, Solar.” Rarity said, moving her eyes from her notebook to look at her in concern. In hindsight Solar was actually not doing to well in terms of food, she had actually not visited a restaurant as she had planned to earlier and hadn’t eaten anything for almost two days, no wonder she was having pangs of hunger. When she visited ‘Hoof-Mart’ earlier she had bought some cans of food, in case, and a few other food items which she could eat when she got back. “Oh. Sorry about that. Perks of financial issues I guess. Now that I have some more bits that should solve itself.” She joked, nonchalantly, hoping Rarity would drop the subject. She obliged and just nodded before writing in her notebook again. “Okay, well if you are right about having more bits then I may as well tell you the price it would cost to have this made. Generally it would be around eighty bits to have clothing made for you, depending on what you want made. So, what would you like? Or do you not have an opinion on it?” Closing her notebook, she swung her arms with a smile on her face. Her horn illuminated with a blue glow and a cup of half-drunken tea floated over to her waiting hand which she drank as Solar considered. She realised that she had no idea what she would actually wear. “To be honest, I don’t know. Just some guidelines I suppose, dark, comfortable and casual I suppose. Although for the footwear I always have and have a feeling I always will wear knee-length boots.” Honestly, she had always just worn what she could, which was usually a shirt and jean combination. “Of course, I do boots all the time. I get a lot of ponies who don’t know what they want, in fact that usually ends up being most of my job, deciding what will look good on them.” She chatted idly, as she wrote Solar’s word in her notebook. Crossing a large line along the paper, she wrote in larger letters ‘Solar Eclipse’ and closed it. “Well, I’ll get to work on that and let you know when it’s done. If you have any epiphanies on specifics, then let me know and I’ll implement them.” She smiled and put the notebook in her pocket, turning to the doorway. “Well, I suppose that’s all for now. I’m sorry I can’t take you around Ponyville today, but the rain is just too much. Did you settle into your new house well?” Solar then noticed the window, it was dark outside, she would have to get home. “Yes, thank you. Well if that is all I suppose it is getting late. I hate to cut our visit rather short, but I have to get back for now.” She said, making her way to the front door and pulling her jacket on. “Of course, I have to see to Sweetie Belle anyway. Hopefully tomorrow we can go around town. It is still raining out there, I have an umbrella you can borrow. Just please remember to return it at some point, I only have so many and the last time I lent one I never saw it again. Goodnight” Rarity picked an umbrella out of a stand by the door and handed it to Solar. “Thank you, Rarity, I’ll try and bring it by tomorrow. Goodnight.” Solar opened the door and walked out before opening the umbrella. It did as umbrellas do and stopped the rain as she made her way through the dark paths of Ponyville to her home. Thank Celestia they have streetlights. --------------------------------------------------❆-------------------------------------------------- What Rarity had said poked into Solar’s mind as she walked out of the rain. Locking up the door, she decided to make some food since she was starving. A delicious can of stewed apple later and she felt much better. Entering her bedroom, she stripped off her clothes and laid back in the freshly washed sheets. The bed was far more comfortable since its wash and she felt the bliss of comfort wash over her. It had been about a decade since she had lain a comfortable bed. Feeling her fur against the sheets reminded her of the facility. That, after all, was the last she had a sheet since in the clocktower she had simply laid on top of the improvised bed. Thinking about that place brought something new, another pang, not from her stomach though, just a very slight throbbing in her fangs. Damn, this soon? She had hoped that it would be far longer before she would need to feed again. Risking her reputation in this town would not be worth the risk, she would either have to deal with the discomfort until her next job and hope no-one notices the lightening discolouration in her fur or… Would that… Work? Flicking open her butterfly knife, Solar looked at herself in the bathroom mirror. Was she really about to do this? If anyone caught sight of it, they would certainly misunderstand. Sighing, she slid the blade quickly along her wrist, cutting it. Quickly, she locked her lips over the wound and began to drink her own blood. She had never managed to actually sink her fangs into her own arm but this… seemed to be working. The throbbing in her teeth died down and the delicious taste she recognised flooded her mouth, though it was nowhere as prominent. Having to pull herself away from her arm she wrapped a magically sealing plaster over the wound which she then covered with a bandage, successfully bandaging the wound. Washing the blade, she looked at herself in the mirror, seeing the slight red tinge leave her irises. If anyone asked she would just have to say she slipped with a breadknife, they should buy the excuse. It was then that she noticed her mane in the mirror, it was darker than usual and very messy. While the modifications to her had usually stopped the need to shower, they didn’t affect her mane. Taking a shower would do the trick but doing so before bed would be rather pointless. She would do it tomorrow. Turning off the lights, she laid her head on her pillow. Her mind wandered, imagining scenarios and making plans for them. If her new method of feeding failed? Take on a job and take on an opportunity. If Rarity or anyone saw her fangs? Oh. What would she do? How could someone explain their way out of that? A relative being a bat-pony maybe? A curse? If the time comes then hopefully all present will buy one of those reasons. Probably the bat-pony one. As her mind wandered from plans to play she began to imagine various scenarios she had to break through. Soon, however, sleep won the battle of consciousness. Gasping, she tried to sit up and quickly gave herself whiplash from the restraints on her limbs. She was still in the facility. Lying back, she tried to fiddle herself out of her restraints. No impact was made when a voice beside her began to speak, causing her to freeze in fear. “I wouldn’t do that if that I were you.” The voice was male and clearly trying to sound kind. “You’ll hurt yourself doing that. I’ll open them for you.” A pair of hands made their way to each of her restraints, one by one undoing them. With her new-found freedom, she turned to sit on the bed. She was wearing some sort of white gown which ended between her thighs and knees. The stallion sitting in front of her had a brown mane in a simple comb-over style. His fur was not much different, being more of a brown-tan colour. He had green eyes and was wearing a shirt with smart trousers. There was a suit jacket draped over his chair which, much like the rest of her room, was bleak and minimalist. “Do you know who I am?” He asked gently. Shaking her head, Solar looked around the room, hoping for some deus ex machina. An open door or something. No, too easy, they were never that sloppy. “I am Fleet, Blueblood assigned me to look after you during your… Treatment.” Blueblood. That damn name haunted her, all the staff mentioned it at one point or another. What did he want with her? “Look after me how?” She pressed, slightly worried as to what he meant. Looking over a clipboard, Fleet stared at her for a little bit. “Like, make sure I don’t die or something?” She continued, not sure what she would need looking after for here. She may be just a filly, but it wasn’t like anyone came in here who wanted her dead. Or at least, were willing to actually act upon it. “No, well kind of. I’m here to explain to you what is happening to you, why it is a good thing and to make sure you are mentally healthy as best I can. I’m sort of like a therapist, but I would rather you view me as a friend.” Fleet smiled warmly and looked back at his clipboard. “You know, you are quite the little anomaly right now. Your natural scent resembles roses, you are growing teeth no other ponies possess and this isn’t even all the modifications that will be made. But, even before you came here, you were special. Have you seen your cutiemark, Solar?” “Yes, it’s some sort of moon with rays coming from it. Why does that matter?” She didn’t know what it represented and frankly, she didn’t even know why it appeared. During an inspection one day, she had been in the corner of her room, drawing on the wall with a pencil one of the researchers had dropped and hadn’t even noticed the stallion walk in before he walked back out. At that point her hip had begun to glow and before she could check it a group pushed their way into the room and began inspecting it before one of them pointed her out to the others. She was then asked repeatedly why she hadn’t been in the room earlier, but she maintained that she had. Eventually they concluded that she had been, and the earlier stallion was mocked for not seeing her, though he continually said she hadn’t been in there. Annoyingly they took her pencil too. Eventually the mark had been noticed and she once again was given a slap on the wrist for not saying anything about it; it wasn’t exactly her fault in her opinion because they had never mentioned her reporting strange marks to them but apparently it was big news. “Well, Solar, that mark represents manipulation, basically you can hide, lie, flank and seduce your way through many things. We realised that when the guard sent to your room didn’t notice you despite the room’s size. Even the group took a while to see you. You were far more suited to this than we thought.” Fleet said, bringing her back to reality. “Now, I will be here for you to answer your questions, so I want you to promise me that you will tell me anything that bothers you, alright? For now though it will have to wait, as some ponies are waiting to see you.” He stood up and donned his jacket. As he stood in the corner several doctors and nurses entered with a cart and a guard. The guard pushed her down on the bed and roughly put her restraints back on. On the faces of all the ponies around her were either expressions of disapproval or concentration. All but Fleet’s. He showed slight sorrow and even flinched when the guard pulled her arm up to a strap. At least he showed some morality. Author's Note What a rollercoaster, right? Right? Nah, ok. Anyway, as usual, please do let me know if anything was wrong, misspelt, grammar mistakes, better wordings, suggestions blah de blah. Also! I f*cked up big time in my 'Prologue' so I have changed it to 'Intro' since, by all rights, it wasn't a prologue. If you happen to have any thoughts, negative or positive, let me know. I would love to hear them. Literally any activity on this would be kinda nice. I know the chapters are getting shorter but hopefully that trend won't continue, it's just the next bit of the story is kind of a large swoop so I didn't know how to extend this chapter any more without combining that bit into it at which point it would be far too long. EDIT: I accidentally referred to Fleet as Feel. So that's fixed.
Chapter 4: New FriendsChapter Four Breakfast was nice, it had been a good while since Solar had actually followed through with having it. While she tried to think of what to do today her mind kept drawing her back to the name mentioned in her dreams… Blueblood. Who was he? Why did he sound so familiar? With widened eyes she suddenly bolted upstairs, pulling her bag onto her lap and pulling the newspaper she had read in Canterlot out. There in the captions of the royals was a Prince Blueblood. He was a damn royal. Making one’s way to a position like that without blood connections was damn near impossible, clearly, he had a relation in the royal family. She sighed, she would love to get her hands on this ‘Prince Blueblood’ just to at least have him tell her why. Why her? Still, it was no use worrying about it as of now. Having eaten she decided to shower before she started her day; it would be the first time in a good few years she had showered. Luckily her natural being was kempt enough to seem clean, but it would feel good to finally actually be sparkling. She had bought several different shampoos and conditioners for her fur, mane and tail but in truth she had no idea what to get. In the end she had gone with one which advertised smelling of roses which would match her natural aroma. Or unnatural, whatever, my regular aroma. With the water running she unwound the bandage on her arm, taking off the patch she had put on the slit last night. The wound itself had closed up, which was good news, apparently her vampiric side did not notice the blood’s familiarity. Blood had actually seeped through the bandage slightly, so she slung it in the bin as she got ready to step into the pouring shower. Warm water hit her fur as she stepped into the shower, wetting her fur and bringing a lovely feeling of warmth throughout her body. She felt comforted by the heat and she opened one of the bottles of shampoo, putting some in one palm and massaging her fur with it. Slowly but surely, she cleaned each part of her body before moving on to her wings, mane and tail, which were far more difficult to wash. Feeling glad for getting the larger bottle, she couldn’t help but marvel that ponies didn’t go through this stuff by the gallon. Or it could just be her, after all, she’d never had her mane cut or styled so it wasn’t short on volume. Conditioning her fur was a similar story, but after washing through her mane and tail and soaking all the foam off of her person she felt far better. Getting back out the shower, she grabbed a towel off the nearby rack and began drying herself. As each bit of her became dry she was surprised at just how soft it was. Her coat was soft and smooth, quite the far leap from her usual self. Mane and tail got a transformation as well, both feeling softer than a pillow. That last bit ended up being a slight problem when her mane kept covering her eyes, despite her best efforts to brush and comb it back. Eventually, she settled on letting it cover one eye while leaving the other undisturbed. She decided she could still see fine and pulled the towel around her, tying it at her chest to create a makeshift robe. That worked to cover her while she gave her teeth a brush and gathered the few articles of clothing she hadn’t yet worn. While she did have faith in Rarity she also knew that a professional usually took their time when making things of this sort, she may have to visit a clothing store at some point today. Even if Rarity pulled through today she didn’t have enough clothes to comfortably live with. A quick glance to the mirror reassured her that her 1.7 metre self looked quite nice. Though a little on the skinny side, Rarity had been right, her ribs were beginning to show slightly. Still, that should be fixed given a week or so. Sliding her knife into the holster on her belt, she opened the curtains of her bedroom revealing the world once again. It was a nice day, sunny and bright, a stark contrast to yesterday’s downpour and she looked forward to spending some time in the sun. So far she had received nothing from Syndicate, so her schedule was pretty much free. Looking down on the front garden reminded her, it was in a state. That wouldn’t be too much of an issue, she had spotted a shed in the back garden which joined to the Whitetail Woods, hopefully there would be some gardening tools in there. She made her journey to the garden with a saunter, looking forward to her time after the job was done. As she walked past the front door she spied the umbrella Rarity had lent her last night. I must remember to return that. The garden was nice, other than the obvious state of overpopulation, with a path that led to the woods and a small patio that joined the back of the house. Sure enough, in the small wooden shed there were plenty of tools, ranging from clippers to a manually operated mower. Pulling out the mower and various cutting utensils, she set to work on taming the greenery around her. --------------------------------------------------❆-------------------------------------------------- Chucking the clippers down in frustration Solar stared at the lavender bush that stood between her and a neat garden. No matter how much she cut at the purple stems nothing seemed to budge the damned thing. It was close to noon and she had finished the rest of the environment around twenty minutes ago. With defeated pants, she gathered up her tools and returned them to the shed. Some things were best left untouched, for now. She strolled back through the door between the garden and dining room, preferring to continue with her day than struggle with that thing anymore. Next up, she needed to get that umbrella back to Rarity. It would make a nice excuse to go to her boutique anyway, if she wasn’t busy she could give that tour of the village she so desperately wanted to give. Pulling on her leather jacket and sliding her knife’s sheath along her belt to hide it under the jacket, she picked the umbrella up and leant it against her shoulder. Her journey through Ponyville was interrupted as a slight kerfuffle began at a small apple stall. A yellow filly, who was quite similarly aged to Sweetie, had been getting a little over-zealous with her apple sales when she had simply poured a bucket of them into a mare’s bag. Unfortunately, the stall owner had to give the apples to the mare as compensation with a glare at her younger friend. “Applebloom! Yah can’t just force somepony to buy the apples!” The poor orange earth-pony seemed pretty angry. Solar would have to ask Rarity about the pair when she found her. Out of the corner of her eye she saw movement between the shade of some houses. Some alleys seemed to hold small groups of shifty individuals, some throwing her unfriendly glances when they thought she had passed. Apparently even Ponyville had its fair share of unruly individuals. As she turned she came face to face with the very pony who she had been looking for. Apparently, Rarity had been watching the events unfold as well, she had smirk on her face however and clearly wasn’t as confused as Solar was. Turning to Solar, she smiled “Solar, I was just on my way to find you! So, a few friends of mine were thinking about having a picnic and I suggested inviting you. They agreed that it would be nice to have an extra member, so what do you think?” For the first time Solar noticed that Rarity was ever so slightly taller than her. That or she was wearing high-heels. “That sounds great! I was on my way to give you your umbrella back.” Solar said, thinking that the idea was pretty good. She would like to meet some people without the awkwardness of simply walking up out of the blue. With a flash of cyan light from her horn, Rarity whisked the umbrella out of sight. “There we go. Back safe and sound at home, thank you for returning it. Once Applejack has… Finished with her sales we’ll go around up the others and get going.” She said, gesturing to the orange mare who was now taking Applebloom’s apron. “The orange one is Applejack, the yellow is her sister, Applebloom. She’s one of Sweetie’s friends, never a dull moment with them around. Unfortunately.” Despite muttering the last word, Solar still heard her and she grinned. Strolling over, Applejack waved to Rarity and raised an eyebrow at Solar. Applebloom followed her with downcast gaze, feeling a little embarrassed for her act. Applejack had a bright orange coat and blonde hair which fell against her head in a simply natural state. She had green eyes and some freckles on her cheeks. Her red plaid shirt, blue jeans and light brown ten-gallon hat gave her a bit of a stereotypical farmer look. Fitting for an apple farmer I suppose. Her sister, however, had light yellow fur and a red mane with orange eyes which were now looking up to Rarity. “So, this is Solar then? Nice to meet yah.” Applejack said, holding her hand out for a shake. She was slightly taller than Rarity and Solar with an impressive amount of muscle. Solar accepted it and nodded, smiling cheerfully. While she didn’t like to judge people on their first impressions Applejack couldn’t help but get a strange feeling from Solar. She seemed suspicious, and that feeling usually rang true. Since finding out she was an ‘Element of Harmony’ Applejack began to get feelings whenever she met someone, either they were deceitful and made her feel uneasy or they were trustworthy, making her feel more comfortable. Applejack didn’t know why, but there was something off about her, she made her feel uncomfortably… Comfortable. Like sleeping in yah bed under a rock held by a string… Still, she should always give her a chance, even if she was going to find out what she was hiding. One way or another. Solar was beginning to feel uncomfortable around Applejack’s gaze as the three made their way to Fluttershy’s cottage. If she remembered correctly, then Fluttershy was the yellow and pink mare from the bank yesterday. The one that spoke to Doctor… Doctor… Fauna, that was it. Doctor Fauna. Apparently, she had some animals in her home, which would be interesting to see. Either she had an abundance of pets or she was some kind of professional, a vet or some such. Although with that being said, Doctor Fauna was probably the vet, so what was Fluttershy? Still, her cottage was coming over the hill as Solar made light conversation with Rarity and Applejack. Applejack, true to form, worked on her granny’s apple orchard, named Sweet Apple Acres. She had a brother named Big Macintosh but most just called him Big Mac. Despite warming up to her slightly, Applejack still acted rather strange around Solar. Any questions set off suspicions in her mind, thinking that Solar was trying to pry into her life, trying to find ways around but then she would take a step back and think about the things she asked, only to realise they were normal. Eventually she decided to just ignore the feelings and act like Solar was just like anyone else, but she would find out why she seemed so dishonest. As Solar told Applejack about her life in Canterlot still more things seemed strangely off, not holes in the story but just a gut feeling. She shook her head and soon the topic moved onto Fluttershy’s cottage. The cottage itself was covered in greenery at the end of a long path which wound through the green fields of Ponyville. There was a picturesque stream running beneath an arched bridge and plenty of birdhouses hanging around the area, apparently Fluttershy adored animals. From what Solar could garner from the others Fluttershy was, effectively, the go-to pony for anything animal related. With her uncanny ability to speak to the critters she was able to diagnose problems by merely asking, something Doctor Fauna must envy. Interestingly enough, while being a pegasus, Fluttershy was terrified of heights. A knock on the door later and with a sing-songy tone, a voice answered. “Be right out!” From inside there came the tweets of birds and a few hushed apologies before the door swung open. Fluttershy was slightly shorter than Solar with a green blazer and blue jeans which ended just before her ankles, giving a wide birth to her sandals. She smiled and held up a wicker basket which soon vanished in a cyan flash, along to any of the other picnic materials Rarity had somewhere. It was a good idea to simply teleport the stuff in since it meant that there was no need to carry it along, opening the minds of the group to discussing. Next up to be recruited into the group was Rainbow Dash, a bluntly named weather pegasus obsessed with speed. However, none of the ensemble had any clue where she was. Solar offered to fly up to the clouds to check for her and the others quickly agreed. Pushing off the floor and whipping her wings out, Solar soared up above the cloud-line. True to her name there was a rainbow maned mare laying a good distance away on one of the many plush white clouds. Choosing the more interesting route, Solar hopped from cloud to cloud towards her. As she got closer she realised that Rainbow was actually asleep, using the cloud as a temporary bed. Apparently, she was a heavy sleeper too as she didn’t wake until Solar landed on her cloud, rocking it slightly. Opening her magenta eyes, Rainbow regarded her with some confusion. She was wearing sleeveless denim jacket which reached to her belly-button and was opened loosely at the middle, clearly incapable of buttoning up, a plain white top which didn’t reach her waist either, showing her athletic body. Some dark grey skin-tight jeans covered her legs and her boots reached her calves, a pair of ‘Cloudhoppers’. Solar had seen the brand around Canterlot which advertised springy bottoms to aid take-offs. “Who the hay are you?” Rainbow asked, standing up to meet Solar and raising an eyebrow. She was almost the same height as Solar and her cyan fur made quite the contrast with her grayscale clothing; she had to be the brightest pony Solar had ever seen. Glad she isn’t on a job with me. “Rarity, Applejack and Fluttershy are looking for you, I’m Solar Eclipse, they were just on their way to th-” Solar began, only to be cut off mid-sentence by Rainbow. “Yeh, the picnic, okay, you must be the one Rarity mentioned.” She said, looking Solar up and down. “Guess a unicorn, earth-pony and height-fearing pegasus wouldn’t be able to get to me. Should’ve figured. Right, let’s get down there then, I’m starving.” Jumping off the cloud, she flew down to the waiting party below. The others were happy to see Rainbow and Rarity began asking her if she ‘Really had to sleep so far up’ in a scolding tone, much to Solar’s enjoyment. Rainbow brushed the comment off with a ‘Yeah’ and the group strolled further into the town. With only two left on the list of friends to collect the entourage came to a café called ‘Sugar Cube Corner’ which was surprisingly built to look like a giant cake. The roof was a brown shaded colour, mimicking chocolate and the trimmings of the building were white carved birch, made into a puffy shape to replicate whipped cream. Pink was obviously the mane theme of the building, which, probably suited the mare they came to see. Pinkie Pie herself was nowhere to be found upon entering the building but the yellow stallion behind the counter pointed them past the tables and up the stairs, stating that she was in her room. Yet, with a knock on her door still nothing happened. As the group began to walk outside to ponder their options a shout came from one of the second-floor windows. A light pink earth-pony with darker pink hair waved from the building’s centre tower. “Help! I locked myself out of my room! Wait, no. In my room! In of my room? Into my room?” With a confused expression she began muttering to herself before poking back out. “The point is that I can’t get out!” Presumably, this was Pinkie Pie. Rainbow and Solar flew up to the veranda around the tower, landing beside her. She was wearing a pink skirt, some blue tights, black lace-up shoes and a long yellow vest, just beyond her hips. Her blue eyes looked at the two pegasi with concern. Rainbow immediately flew in and tried the door, only to find that it was indeed locked. Kind of useless to check… Turning her gaze to Pinkie, she raised an eyebrow in mockery and smirked. “How did you lock your key out of your room?” It was a fair question, but Pinkie apparently had just as little of an idea as to how as Rainbow herself. “Well, I can’t carry you. Not by myself. Solar, do you think you could help me carry Pinkie to the others? We can call a locksmith in to fix your door, Pinkie.” “Actually, I used to be a locksmith,” Solar lied, casually reinforcing her ‘backstory’. “I could get that door open no problem.” Much to the duo’s surprise, she pulled her lockpicks out of her sleeves and knelt at the door. A click signalled each pin falling into place and with three clicks the lock could be turned, letting the handle swing the door open. Turning back to the others Solar was met with two gaping mouths and four wide eyes. “That. Was. Awesome!” Rainbow cried, “You opened that door in, like, four seconds!” A mischievous grin passed over her face and she began stroking her chin. “If you could get through any door…” She giggled darkly and then turned her attention back to reality. “We could do some sick pranks with that, gimme a shout if you’re game.” Pinkie lit up too, nodding. “Welp, see yah on the other side.” And with a sprinting jump, Rainbow glided down to the dirt street outside, raising a small cloud of dust. Choosing the subtler exit, Solar and Pinkie made their way down the stairs and out the door. As soon as they met the others they were treated to an excited Rainbow Dash recounting the events. While Rarity and Fluttershy just looked interested and impressed Applejack turned an eye to Solar. “Why do yah carry your lockpicks on yah if you aren’t a locksmith no more?” She questioned, her look worrying Solar. What was with this mare? The others had bought her story just fine, why didn’t she? Her damn cutiemark was manipulation, this shouldn’t be an issue. “Well, you have to understand I had that job for a year, since I was 17, and then quit it about four days ago when I inherited the house here. A habit like simply slipping those picks in was just so natural.” Solar defended, running everything through her mind to make sure it made sense with what she had already told them. It did. “Well, it is a good thing she did have them, Applejack. If she didn’t poor Pinkie would’ve been roughly flown down by her and Rainbow. I’m sure it isn’t easy carrying another pony when you’re flying, even if you have another to help.” Rarity interjected, before Applejack had the time to answer. Applejack sighed wearily. “Yeh, okay. Sorry, I just don’t like the thought of somepony getting through something they aren’t meant tah, you know? I’m sure yall’d have a heart attack if someone got into your house without yah knowing.” She said. A few agreements were given, and the group decided that someone breaking in was an unpleasant thought, but Solar was not in the wrong to simply have the picks. All this talk of breaking in being bad was almost making Solar feel bad for having to lie, but if anything, this just reinforced the fact that they would despise her if she did tell the truth. They sure as Tartarus wouldn’t let her continue. No. Telling them was off the table. Meanwhile Applejack was slowly having a moral argument in her head. On the one hand, Solar had lockpicks, something well known as tool one for thieves, which would support her untrustworthiness, yet she also had the perfect explanation along with four other ponies who believed her. Her friends no less, it made the whole thing difficult. She would make Solar spill the beans, no matter what. The next stop was close to the centre of town, a large tree that had been hollowed out into a library many decades ago. The sign reading ‘Golden Oaks Library’ swung back and forth in a warm wind that ran along the Ponyville roads. Apparently, the last member of the group lived here, a ‘Twilight’. Oddly, no one seemed to expand upon that, but the chances of her just being named ‘Twilight’ were pretty low. As they got closer to the tall oak tree, Solar asked Fluttershy about Twilight. She had chosen Fluttershy because she was the only one not talking but she seemed to take a few seconds before responding. “Her full name is Twilight Sparkle, she’s a unicorn and Celestia’s prized pupil. She came to Ponyville about four months ago during the summer sun celebration. She’s a great friend.” Ah. Fuck me then. Not three days ago Solar had stolen that beautiful necklace from this mare’s room in Canterlot Castle. That’s fine. It doesn’t change a thing, that job’s done. Right? Rarity knocked on the door and turned back to Rainbow, the two had been evaluating the pros and cons of a custom flying suit since Sugar Cube Corner with Rainbow insisting that being that aerodynamic was worth the time and Rarity arguing that the cost wouldn’t be worth it. To be fair, if Rainbow was as obsessed with flying as the others had made out, it probably would be worth the cost. The sound of things falling ceased from inside the house and was soon replaced with the click of a handle being turned. Expecting royalty, perhaps with some guards, Solar leant against the Golden Oaks’ sign, blending in with the shade; surprisingly though, there were no guards or tall flowing figures, only a unicorn with dark lilac hair to match her purple fur holding the door open. She was wearing a button up lace shirt, a knee length skirt and black floral stockings that ended with some neat black slip-on shoes. Clasped in her free hand was a book titled ‘An intermediate guide to spells and runes.’. Books were something she loved dearly, judging by the pile through the door behind her. Contrary to Solar’s expectations she was just like any other pony, though clearly, she had quite the taste for learning. Twilight stepped out of the door onto the path that ran along beside her home and from behind her came a shorter figure. With purple scaly skin and green spines, this creature was wearing a plain black t-shirt and some jogging bottoms, finished with a pair of trainers. Apparently, Twilight lived with some kind of dragon, a teenager judging on the height and build. If Solar had to hazard a guess she would have to go with fourteen or fifteen. Leaning over, Fluttershy whispered in her ear, “That’s Spike, he’s Twilight’s… um… Brother, I think? It’s an honorary kind of thing. He’s also a dragon, if you, uh, were wondering.” She seemed unsure in herself, but Solar smiled gratefully to her, thanking her for the explanation. Fluttershy seemed happy and murmured something along the lines of, “No problem, happy to help.” On her shoulder, a small white bunny was staring at Solar with its head tilted to the side. Raising an eyebrow, she gave a slight wave to it and it turned away from her, its small arms crossed. “Oh, don’t mind him, that’s my pet bunny, Angel. He is usually quite sweet.” Clearly. --------------------------------------------------❆-------------------------------------------------- Twilight was definitely the leader of the group, she got along with everyone very well and even settled a dispute between Rarity and Applejack over clothing practicality. The grassy fields of Ponyville proved a good place to setup the blanket, Rarity provided some plates and Applejack passed around some home-made cider. As conversations began Pinkie turned to Solar, smiling and raising an eyebrow. “Say, Solar. How’d you do that thing with the door at my house?” She asked, gazing expectantly at her. Solar shifted slightly awkwardly but soon realised that as a ‘Locksmith’ she had nothing to fear when explaining her methods. “Well, the first thing you need is a lockpick. While you can do this using almost any small thin thing that can fit in the lock a lockpick is certainly your best bet. Once you have one of those you need something thicker, usually if you have a knife or something nearby you can use that. Generally, I use a butterfly knife since it’s always useful to have protection in Canterlot, especially after my… Time as a guard,” Rarity flinched slightly, remembering the explanation Solar had given to switching jobs. “Having one was also kind of a fun pastime; if you were bored you could just give it a spin, not to mention the fact that I needed it for the locks themselves." Applejack spluttered slightly, turning everyone’s attention to her. “Yah had a knife on yah?” She exclaimed, staring at Solar with a light fury in her eyes. “Why in Equestria did yah need that!” Fluttershy nodded and looked down, Rarity watched Applejack with a fire in her eyes and Pinkie’s eyes glowed slightly. That’s unsettling. Why is she so interested in a knife? “Applejack, did you even listen to her? She just explained she needed the knife for her job and protection. Clearly, she had no ideas of causing too much harm, if she did there’s a million more effective weapons one could buy in Canterlot.” Rarity said pointedly, giving Applejack a death glare, “Honestly, you’ve been doing nothing but hounding her ever since she appeared, the poor thing is as thin as a stick and only just moved here. At least give her a chance to adjust.” Okay, ow. My feelings. Applejack looked slightly miffed by Rarity’s outburst and looked away with an annoyed mutter before bowing her head. “Fine. But if she does anything suspicious I’m calling her on it, you have to understand, sugar cube, I have nothing against you as a pony. I’ve just got the weirdest gut feeling ah think I’ve ever had and so far, it don’t lie.” Solar didn’t have a reply to this and the group grew slightly silent. Suddenly a voice piped up again, coming from Twilight this time. “Solar, you said you would use a knife to unlock the door. I’m actually still interested in the idea, I’ve never read anything about it before save for a few stories about thieves, but they didn’t go into much detail.” This put more life into the group as both Rainbow and Pinkie agreed that they wanted to hear more of the technique. Solar was just glad to have something to say. Having explained how lockpicking worked to her audience, Solar was feeling a lot better about herself. Knowing how spellbound they were made her feel better about where she was, Twilight’s questions and Rainbow’s surprising interest made her feel closer to these six friends. Even if Rainbow seemed to like the idea more for the opportunities for pranking than actual use, but at least she wasn’t thinking of following in Solar’s footsteps. Fluttershy joined in briefly, commenting on how she had to call a locksmith to open one of her pet carriers. The food was delicious, and Solar couldn’t help but gorge herself slightly, not bad-manneredly so but still slightly more than the others. To be fair, she hadn’t eaten well since Canterlot and Rarity’s comment on her weight was sticking with her. She simply hadn’t been able to afford the food until now. --------------------------------------------------❆-------------------------------------------------- A nice day, some entertaining tricks from Dash and Pinkie and it was getting late, judging by the sun. Slowly but surely the group began to go their separate ways. First to go was Fluttershy, saying that she had to tuck her animals in for the night, next went Rarity and Applejack, both agreeing that they had to get their respective sisters to bed. Pinkie began yawning and said something about “Goi- aaaaaaaawn -ube Corner. See ya.” Before skipping behind a tree and… not coming out the other side. In confusion, Solar did a three-hundred- and sixty-degree check of the tree before Twilight beckoned her over. “Honestly, don’t bother. I’ve begun to notice there is no rhyme or reason to her shenanigans.” She seemed tired, probably due to the time. “If you think about it it’ll drive you nuts… But.” Leaning in, she looked around, as if someone was going to be listening here. “I’m thinking of trying to do a bit of research on her, but I’ll have to run the ethical sides past Princess Celestia.” She sounded slightly excited. Who gets excited about experimenting on somepony? Especially their friend, without their consent. Solar scowled slightly, tilting her head away from Twilight to hide it, Testing was a bit of a sore point for her; she didn’t want to be included in this at all. Twilight walked back to the now empty blanket and rolled it up with a purple glow, in a flash, it was gone. Spike had begun feel sleepy now and Twilight gave a final goodbye to Solar, teleporting the two of them from the scene; presumably the pair were going back to Golden Oaks. Realising that she was now by herself, Solar made her way back to the paths and lamps of Ponyville, following the streets around the edge. She always enjoyed night walks, even in Canterlot, and Ponyville was by far no exception. The sky was empty, displaying a sea of colours as a dim nebula moved across the sky, lightly dusted with stars. Hanging like a marble in ink the moon shone far above Equus, now clear of the patterned craters it had no more than a month ago. In the distance the Canterlot Castle could be seen, casting its waterfall down into the plains that separated it from Ponyville. Quite the eye-catching scene. As she walked she began to feel uncomfortable; the darkened back alleys were watching her, unseen eyes following her every move. She knew the feeling well. The feeling of being watched. Continuing her way down the path she kept her eyes peeled and her ears pricked, searching for any slight sign of life. A few steps later and it seemed as though nothing was near, no noises from around her, no crunching of gravel save for her own. The only living thing in sight was a pony a few houses away, letting himself into his house. But with only a few paces more it was clear her suspicion was justified as there came loud footfalls from behind her. As she turned she spied two ponies of varying height and stature, one a tall beefy stallion, the other a mare. She was shorter than both Solar and her own partner, had dark red fur and a black mane, from beneath her hood her eyes were a piercing green. Solar had never seen these two, and she held them in her gaze, unsure of their motives. Taking a step forward the mare drew a blade and flashed a grin at her, the stallion close behind with his arms crossed. “Caught like a rabbit in a trap, love, c’mon now. Let’s all be civilised-like and just hand over any bits before my friend here has to ‘ave a word, alright?” She said, her cockney accent heavy. It made sense to rob ponies here at night, especially with such a threatening escort. Few likely came to these parts of town and those that did were probably too scared of the stallion to refuse. “It’s a little bit early for a shakedown, don’t you think?” Solar replied, moving to a more relaxed stance to feign comfort. A very small percentage of the time these groups were out for some quick coin and didn’t really want to deal with those who refused. “I really would’ve waited until I couldn’t see a thing, or at least chosen a different target.” Grinning to herself, she patted her self on the back for her quick tongue. The stallion was large, but he would be slow with what was likely a fake sheath on his leg, the mare was also clearly not too skilled with her weapon. She held it rather limply with the blade facing behind her. Someone looking to deal some damage would be holding the knife tightly and with the blade facing up. Sure, it may look more impressive to hold the knife backwards but in reality, it didn’t help. A look of confusion briefly passed over the mare’s face as she considered Solar’s words. It didn’t last long. “Look ‘ere, I didn’t ask you for advice!” Getting closer to Solar she began to point the blade towards her, reflecting the dim light of the moon in its metal. “If you don’t give me everything you’ve got, I might just ‘ave to make you disappear.” What a terrifying threat. Solar couldn’t say she liked this type of thief, their methods had little subtlety or style. With her line of work, you got in and out, leaving things as you found it save for your targets. They just got their way through violence and threats. “Well, if you’d rather, I could disappear myself. I can do quite the trick if need be. Besides, you need the advice. I wasn’t kidding when I said it was too early, I can see you clear as day. And if I can see you…” She trailed off and with a swift move she hooked a stone off the gravel path, shooting it at the mare. It hit her in the neck, causing her to cry out and drop the knife. As she cradled her neck Solar scooped the knife up and knelt beside the mare. “I can hit you.” With a look of hated and a hoarse cry the poor thug beckoned her partner over. He could prove to be a bit more of an issue. Fortunately, Solar was right about his speed, his first strike was easily dodged. His second went straight for her head so she ducked and kicked out his foot, knocking him to his knee. With a knee to his jaw he yelled out, clutching his chin. The fury in his eyes was quite unsettling. Rather than continuing his new-found trend of punching he charged her, wrapping his arms around her waist and flinging her to the floor with a heavy slam. Fuck, that can’t be good for my wings. Dazed, Solar picked out the stallion bringing his boot down towards her and she rolled to the side, unsure of her plan of action. By this time the mare had gotten to her feet and she grabbed Solar from behind, locking her hands around her chest. Pinned to the mare, Solar’s eyes widened as the stallion pulled his fist back, letting it fly towards her. With a yank she pulled the mare round between her and the stallion. Rather than losing her precious facial features to the impact Solar had the remorse of hearing a crack behind her, followed by a scream. Quickly the hold on her fell limp and the mare fell to the floor, curled up and clasping her back to the best of her ability. A look of horror remained on the stallion’s face as his partner struggled for breath on the floor between curses and gasps. Looking up at her he pulled on the handle of the fake sheath and drew his very real dagger. Oh. Good ploy. “You made me hit my Rose, you bitch.” He snarled, stepping towards Solar, a slight sadistic look in his eyes. With a gulp, she began backing away. Well, I tried fight… A small voice caught his attention as he started to speed his pace up. “I… I need to go to the ‘ospital or something.” It was Rose, on the floor. “Please, hon, it hurts so much.” His resolve crumbled instantly, and he flung the dagger at Solar before spinning around. Caught slightly off-guard, the dagger embedded itself in Solar’s shoulder and she stumbled back. Watching the stallion pick up his partner and sprint off into the dark she bit back her cries of pain. The blade wasn’t deep due to the clumsy throw. Having hit at an angle it had gone in around three inches. By some miracle it hadn’t hit any muscle and would heal with the proper bandaging. Although, it has ruined a great shirt. She ripped part of her shirt’s sleeve and pulled the blade out, immediately pressing the fabric against the wound. It would slow the bleeding enough for until she got home. --------------------------------------------------❆-------------------------------------------------- Stumbling into her bathroom, Solar threw the bundle of bloodied shirt to the floor before taking her top off entirely. Looking in the mirror she examined the wound, checking for any traces of any poisons. There didn’t seem to be anything there, as expected – poisoned weapons would have taken effect by now. Not to mention no street thug in their right mind would spend so much on something so volatile. Larceny was great and all, but wealth was more important. She opened the cupboard at the side of the room and pulled out the pack of medical items she had used on her wrist before. Her teeth clenched, and her eyes glowed softly as she rubbed some cream onto the gash before wrapping a bandage around the wounded left shoulder. Tying it off, she looked for some scissors to snip the excess. Apparently, none came with the pack, so she flicked her knife from her belt and cut the fabric. Having patched herself up she strolled into the bedroom and laid back on the comfortable mattress, staring at the ceiling. Well, if there was any kind of criminal network in Ponyville they would surely have her at the top of the list, but that was unlikely, generally on the larger cities had any sort of organised crime. Petty crime was uncommon in the smaller regions and in such a small town she would only be worrying about those two for a while. Not to mention that with how long it would take the hospital’s unicorns to fix a broken spine even they would be off the radar for a while. Lying on her bed, Solar began to wonder what would happen tomorrow and what had about Syndicate. When he had been telling her about the house he had mentioned he would be in touch with another job soon after settling in. The question was, what did consider to be ‘settled in’? A week? Two? Still, presumably she would receive a letter from him when he had something for her. Hopefully no-one would ask about her new bandages, with that being said she desperately needed to get some new clothes tomorrow; maybe she wouldn’t even meet them doing that. Biting her lip, she shifted into a new position, attempting to ignore the pain. Sweet Celestia, I need some sleep. Or would it be Luna now? Oh, who knows. The conundrum didn’t really bother Solar, clearly Luna paid little attention to her nightmares, so she couldn’t find much respect for her. Until she saw the princess she would have to withhold judgement though. As her eyes closed she hoped for a restless night – one without her usual worries. He had been writing in his book for a little longer than usual, his few glances to her caused worry to brew in her heart. Those glances weren’t of the usual caring façade or even the slip of dislike, just remorse. Worry. Never a good sign, if someone who wasn’t even a friend feels that bad for you, then you know something is going to go wrong – that they know something you don’t. Finally, after an eternity, he set the book and quill down, choosing instead to gaze at her. Behind him the door slid open, revealing two guards, one a mare and the other a stallion. Both were the usual colours, something that Solar assumed was magically enforced. “Fleet,” She said, her voice timid and wavering. She hated the guards, never had they been a good sign; generally, they had been used as muscle, to hold her down or pull her to the bed if she refused to go herself. “What are they here for? If you want me to lie down, I will.” Eventually she had decided that it was easier to just follow commands than to be made to with force. Usually though, they did at least ask her to first, if they had decided to just bring in guards to deal with her regardless then she feared for her safety. Those guards clearly didn’t care that she was still in her early teens and was just barely fed. “That’s not what they’re here for, Solar, and I know that you would agree to my requests at this point. We need to test one of the intended abilities you should have.” One of the guards stepped forwards and drew a knife from his belt, reaching for Solar’s arm. She shrank back, eyes widening until she hit the wall. Her breathing quickened, and her pupils shrank, her legs folding up to her chest as she curled into a ball. “Calm down, Solar, please. One of the tests we have to run is regenerative ability. We just need to make a small cut on your arm, I’m sure you know what will happen if you make this more difficult than it has to be.” His threat fell on death ears as all Solar could see was the blade before her. After a few seconds with no reply Fleet gestured the other guard forward, who pulled Solar out of her ball – keeping her arm stretched out for the stallion to cut. With eyes filled with horror, Solar watched the blade run along her forearm, crimson blood inching out of the fresh line it left behind. “That’s enough.” Fleet snapped, sharply. He seemed restless, out of his comfort zone for once. Feeling dampness on her face, Solar realised she had tears ebbing from her eyes and the pain finally blossomed into her brain, delayed by the shock. Her eyes squeezed shut. Her fangs tore her own lip as she tried to change her focus from her arm, but to no avail. As soon as the mare released her limb she drew it back to herself, cradling it to her chest, allowing the salted tears to mix with the blood that stained her clothes and her whimpering to be muffled by her gown. “Look at me Solar, look at me.” A voice said in front of her, but she ignored it. “Solar.” The comforting tone was etched with a slight pang of annoyance now. “Solar!” It was a command, not a request and a hand grabbed her chin, tilting her face to meet Fleet’s. His eyes stared into hers and widened slowly. Solar could see a soft red glow around Fleet’s face, highlighting his features as though the light came from her own. “What in the name of Celestia…” He trailed off, his shock evident. Hatred bubbled in her heart. They did this, they always did this. Finally, a line had been crossed. This was some form of sadistic torture, surely? There could be no possible benefit from cutting her other than the knowledge of the pain it caused. And all because of him. In a fit of sobs, she lunged forward to Fleet, sinking her fangs into his neck. The feeling of the teeth piercing the jugular vein brought a sense of satisfaction. Finally, she had some form of revenge. His trembling body against hers almost made her laugh, for once he was the one trembling. Blood began to flow into her and she could taste the liquid’s intoxicating flavour, a delicacy she had never tried before. At last he seemed to realise what was happening and he began to try and push her off, grabbing her shoulders; desperate to demount her, he pushed her against the wall, attempting to lever her off. Solar did not hear his cries of confusion and fear, nor did she feel his desperate attempts to pull her off. She was in bliss, savouring the delicious nectar. Adrenaline flowed through her and she felt revitalised, the pain from her arm gone. A pair of arms grabbed her from either side and two hands began forcing her mouth open, pulling her off of Fleet and dragging her back to her bed. Being held down, Solar felt the glow of her bite fade away and the pain of her arm take its place, still very much an open, painful wound. As the glow finally faded entirely her mind turned to complete panic, realisation filled her head and she looked at the two guards holding her down. It was unnecessary, considering she wasn’t even trying to fight against their hold, but she could hardly blame them. Their looks of shock and terror hit home, she had never seen the guards show emotion, let alone fear. What was she? What the fuck had they done to her? Why did it feel so good to bite Fleet? Something soft was placed against her muzzle and a strange scent filled her mind as she slowly lost consciousness. The final image in her mind was the blank, white ceiling of the room. Author's Note I'll give it to you straight. I'm male, the clothing descriptions are bad, alright? I don't know female fashion, ok? Anyway, this chapter took a while because it is longer than the others and I wanted to tie things in. I'm also going to try and fit a dream into each chapter to make two stories which will tie in. Let me know of any mistakes, things that don't feel smooth and your general thoughts. I generally stop and start with writing to do things like switch spotify songs or youtube videos so sometimes things can seem out of place, I try to read over the chapter but some things may slip through. One time I had 'and' three times in a sentence, twice is bad enough. Hope you enjoyed. P.S I have a newfound respect for those that write action scenes and combat. I really have no clue how to do it properly, but I will try.
Chapter 5: Woodland WonderChapter Five With dreary, bloodshot eyes, Solar stared at the bland ceiling above her. Tangled bedsheets wound themselves like the roots of a tree, most likely due to her tossing and turning. Frankly, she had never actually known how much she fidgeted, especially during her nightmares, since she hadn’t had covers on her beds for a good few years. It simply hadn’t seemed like a requirement when she was staying in the clocktower, in hindsight it could’ve been wise to invest in some. Still, it was too late to ponder that sort of thing now. Pulling herself up, she looked across the room to the wall-bound mirror. A dishevelled face looked back at her, to her surprise it had lighter fur than usual. Apparently feeding off of her own supply didn’t last as long as she had thought. That’ll be fine, it’s so slight that nopony will notice. As she stared, she thought of the very reason for her current state. Fleet. He certainly hadn’t been the caring friend she’d originally thought, but the real question was what had changed? She knew he had mentioned following orders from Blueblood, something about being her ‘therapist’ or something. Considering her age at the time, he very well could’ve been crooked from the start, only acting friendly to get his paycheque. A child would have a hard time seeing past such a façade, even if said child was her. Unfortunately, her naivety had only been reinforced by the blunt phrasing of the ponies themselves. Guards wasted no words on formalities or manners and the scientists themselves had only stated facts, if they ever bothered to speak at all. She sighed and shifted to start the day. Now mixing her last bunch of clothes and yesterday’s, Solar dressed before contemplating her appearance again. To her chagrin, her mane was completely rugged from the constant turning last night; brushing seemed to fix the problem, however, and soon the mane rested over her eye once again. Unsure of what to do about her now lightly bloodshot eyes, she decided that it would be best to simply cool them slightly and leave them to their own devices. Massaging some cold tap-water onto her eyelids provided just the sort of relief she wanted, feeling like she was pouring water on two heated coals. It was a shame it didn’t make any steam, she could’ve started her own sauna. That must be the polar opposite to my career so far. With a chuckle, she strolled back into her room and straightened it up. Sheets were uncurled, and curtains drawn back, giving the room a homelier feel. A pang of hunger caught Solar off-guard during her descent of the stairs, granted she hadn’t eaten today but generally she could go for a while without a meal. She supposed that her new diet made her hungrier in general. Maybe a quick bowl of something before leaving. Luckily, she had the presence of mind to buy some cereal when she went to the store the other day, getting a box of ‘Oat Parcels’. Really, they just seemed like small bundles of hay but that was still pretty nice. As she ate, she looked through her arms, seeing the blood flowing through them with a gentle glow. My oh-so useful blood-vision. Complicated natural wiring carried each part of the liquid through the spiderweb of veins inside her. She ran her tongue over her fangs, feeling the sharp points of enamel. What was she? Why had they done this to her? They had made her feel as uncertain as a sheep in wolf’s clothing by doing it, meant to be dangerous but in reality, simply an outcast. Gritting her teeth, her eyes stung slightly, and warm tears tried to begin their descent through her fur. Why me? Why did I deserve to become the monster? The Celestia damned monster! It just wasn’t fair. She hated feeling like this, like life had rolled a dice on her with all sides pointing to exile. Still, it would do no good for her to ruin herself before going out, she would hate for her new friends to see her with eyes red from crying. With an exasperated push of her arm, she slid her bowl into the sink to be cleaned later and made her way to the door. She needed some new clothes as soon as possible. Even cleaning her current ones would be a temporary fix since they were worn and thin with use, since she had the bits, she should take the opportunity. One-hundred should be fine, but she’d take one-hundred and ten just in case. An overcast but dry world met her eyes and she nervously thought about bringing an umbrella before realising that she didn’t actually have one. Just another thing she would never have thought to buy until the very situation that she needed it. Despite the slightly colder weather it seemed that the inhabitants of Ponyville were still going about their day, albeit in slightly thicker clothing. Solar couldn’t help but wonder where she would get the clothing from, it seemed almost as though Rarity was the only tailor in the entire town. They must have something in the market, if they can afford a shop that sells nothing but quills and sofas, they can surely afford a tailor. Lo and behold she was right, a neat shop stood by the path with a sign reading ‘Needle Yarn’s Tailoring’. Fortunately, it actually sold plenty of clothing off-the-shelf rather than especially made outfits. Solar opened the door to find a warmly lit interior with homely wooden panelling on both the floor and walls, giving the store an almost rustic feel. The stallion behind the counter looked up from a book he was reading and gave her a small wave before returning to his pages. Looking between the different options for clothing, she found that there was a lot here that would actually suit her. White shirts and plain, comfortable tops were folded on shelves and different varieties of lower garments were resting on hangers. Having made her choices, Solar brought out her pouch of bits and counted out the price. Apparently, it was quite the hit, costing her around ninety bits. To be fair, it is a lot… The stallion looked up from his book and took a double-take at the pile of folded clothes. “Are you… Buying these, miss?” He asked with a hint of shock. Solar had taken no chances, not wanting to run out of clothes again. “Yeah, sorry there are so many, I just moved in and have… Well, no clothes. I decided it would be best to just buy a lot now, rather than have to worry later,” She explained, hoping that there wasn’t some badly labelled rule about a limit. “I can afford it, if you’re worried.” “Not at all, it’s fine. I’ve just never had such an order before, Miss…” He waited slightly, and it took Solar a small while to realise he was implying for her to tell him her name. “Oh, Eclipse. Solar Eclipse. Sorry, I’m awful with conversations,” She said with a smile. He nodded and began reading the labels on the items, totalling all the costs on the till. It took a while, but soon he was through the pile and he glanced between the clothes and Solar’s satchel. “Miss Eclipse, I don’t think you’ll be able to take this home yourself, would you like me to arrange a teleport? You said you just moved in, didn’t you, so I can have them sent there. It will be an added cost of ten bits, though,” The cashier offered, Solar was glad that Ponyville offered the usual teleportation method, a lot of smaller towns and villages didn’t – It had simply become such a useful idea. “Yes, please,” She replied, fiddling with her pouch to pull out the one-hundred bits before realising that it would simply be easier to pull out ten and give him the pouch. With ten bits now in her satchel, she handed him the small bag and he laid it on a scale which read a round one-hundred. It was quite the good concept, having the bag weighed and the number of bits calculated. As she began to leave the stallion raised his voice to her again. “Say, Miss. Have you seen the Whitetail Woods yet? If you live nearby, I’d recommend taking a walk there, ponies say it’s the most beautiful thing they’ve ever seen.” He nodded to her and gave her a small absent-minded wave before returning to his book. “I’ll keep that in mind, thanks,” Solar chuckled, opening the store door and stepping out onto the road. She decided that she should change into some new clothes as soon as she could, since wearing the same clothes as yesterday was beginning to bug her more and more. Before she could go, however, she felt a hand grab her shoulder. With a start, she jerked herself away and span to see Fluttershy, looking very surprised. Her hand was hovering in the air and her eyes were wide. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you, I just… Um.” She stumbled over her words and her eyes darted around, a lock of hair falling over her face. Brushing it away, she met Solar’s eyes again. “I was… I just saw you were here and wanted to say hi.” Apparently, she lived up to her namesake, even to someone she knew. Behind the pegasus was a familiar brightly coloured mare who bounced over to lean on Fluttershy’s shoulder, surprising her. “Hey, Solar! Fluttershy was just telling me about how there are too many animals at her cottage and I suggested that some ponies around here could take some as pets!” Pinkie began, taking no time for breaths between sentences, “So, I suggested how maybe you’d like to take one, since we caught sight of you. Not to mention we haven’t really gotten to know you, like, I mean really, really, really gotten to know you.” Solar tried to keep a straight face as a few emotions came over her. For one, she was slightly irritated that her plan was interrupted, for another she wanted to laugh at the sheer energy that seemed to follow Pinkie wherever she went. But most of all, she was impressed with the speed of Pinkie’s speech. Fluttershy’s eyes had widened at Pinkie’s blunt request and she opened her mouth to speak but faltered. Raising an eyebrow slightly, Solar thought about the idea. “That depends, I don’t really know the first thing about looking after a pet. Not to mention I wouldn’t be too great at remembering to feed it.” Fluttershy actually lit up slightly at this, and a smile returned to her lips. “Well, that’s not too big of an issue, a lot of my animals are capable of feeding themselves. If they can get outside, that is.” That did make things easier, but there was the problem of getting out. Solar locked the house tightly at night, closing every window and its corresponding latch carefully. Being a thief gives you cause for concern with theft, alright? If I can get in, so can they. “I’m afraid that I close everything at night…” She replied, a twinge of disappointment in her voice to sympathise with Fluttershy. It didn’t really have the intended effect, however, as Fluttershy simply became more determined with her offer. “Well, I have a few smart birds that could go the night without food. Some can go up to a few days, so overnight shouldn’t be an issue.” Her determination to home these creatures was admirable and her excitement rather wholesome. “If you just made sure a window was open at some point during the day, or that it goes out with you, it would be fine. I’m sure it’d remind you if you forgot.” Well, Solar didn’t really have a leg to stand on at this point. If it fed itself, required almost no care and could fly then she didn’t exactly have an excuse. Nor did she have any reason to, though, having a pet could be fun. With a brief consideration she agreed to see the birds, but only after going home and changing. The idea of cleanliness still boiled at the back of her mind. --------------------------------------------------❆-------------------------------------------------- Now wearing a nice black overshirt and a plain white baseball top with blue jeans, Solar felt much better. The clothes were comfortable, and she felt at home in them, a welcome change from the uncomfortable fabric of her previous outfits, stretched and rough from years of reuse. As the three of them walked along the path to Fluttershy’s cottage, Pinkie spoke up. “Say, Solar, when’s your birthday?” Solar blinked and thought for a few seconds. When is my birthday? She actually didn’t know, she’d never celebrated it. It had to be some time around May since she vaguely remembered being confused when the doctors around her had begun scribbling ‘13’ instead of ‘12’ in boxes marked as ‘Age:’. It didn’t really matter when it was in the long term, so any date would do. She may as well keep it in May, though, since it would be easier to remember. Her next birthday would be her nineteenth, that could be a good date for it. “The nineteenth of May, I’ll be nineteen in… eight months.” That’s right, right? Pinkie was overjoyed to hear that but then seemed to be lost in thought for a while, so Solar turned her attention to Fluttershy. “So, what birds do you have that meet the criteria, anyway?” She asked, hoping one would be a good fit for her. She would hate to end up with a parrot or something, something too vibrant could be annoying. “Well, there’s Mr Beak, he’s a toucan. I found him a while ago with my friend, Treehugger. There’s Samantha, she’s a robin, but she can be a bit hard to keep track of. Uh, there’s Corvus, he’s a raven. He’s particularly clever, so he’d pretty much automate when you don’t do anything for him. Finally, there is Falc. He’s a, uh, a falcon. To be fair, he chose his name,” Rattled off Fluttershy, counting off her fingers for each candidate. As she racked her mind for any forgotten options, they came upon her cottage. She opened the door and Pinkie bounced inside, followed by Solar. It was quite clear who the lucky few were, since they were out of their cages and perched around the room among the other animals. With each having their own piece of furniture they looked like some kind of display. Immediately, Solar saw who would be her choice. Mr Beak was too big, not to mention his colourful beak. Samantha was too small and seemed to be mostly red. Falc was a good size, but his brown palette was highlighted with bright yellow. Corvus on the other hand, was a delightfully appealing specimen. His feathers were darker than the night and, unlike Falc, the un-feathered sections of his body were the same deathly black. As Solar reached the middle of the living room, he tilted his head at her, staring at her with an air of curiosity; it was not an unfriendly look, in fact, he was the only one who didn’t immediately fly or turn from Solar. Overtime she had discovered that most animals found her unsettling. They often ran from her or watched in suspicion, as though she was walking hand in hand with the grim reaper himself. Maybe I am. The sound of flapping wings filled the air as Corvus swooped over to land neatly on Solar’s left shoulder. With a surprised look, she regarded the raven, wondering why he actually wanted to come near her – let alone land on her shoulder. Fluttershy was, predictably, enthralled by this, clasping her hands in excitement. “Oh, Solar! He likes you! You look like a matching pair, too, each with your dark grey wings.” Solar chuckled, actually enjoying the idea of a pet now. “Yeah, I suppose we do. I’m surprised he has taken a liking to me, you may have noticed all the others left or hid,” She replied, glancing around the now abandoned spots in the room. Fluttershy suddenly seemed to notice as well, squeaking in horror and growing flustered. “Oh my, where are they? They were all… Oh dear. I hope they can come back,” She managed, between breaths. “Why did they all run from you? My animals never do that.” Clearly, they’ve never met me, then. “To be honest with you, I’m not sure. My whole life animals shied away from me and it seems like it’s only increased over time.” That wasn’t strictly true, actually. The effect had only begun after she had been altered, likely yet another ‘side effect’. Fluttershy’s face fell when she heard this. Her love of animals was such a key part of her world that she simply couldn’t imagine life without them, let alone how it would feel to be purposely avoided by them all. She made eye-contact with Corvus, who was now finding a more comfortable position on Solar’s shoulder. “Corvus, you like Solar, don’t you? Why don’t the others?” Her concern was touching, although Solar was unsure how asking would help. With a chirp the raven gave some kind of answer and Fluttershy blinked in confusion. “He says that you are unnatural… What does that mean?” Another tweet from Corvus. “Well, that doesn’t make sense. She clearly isn’t, is she.” Is she… Talking to him? Solar looked between the two, wondering if Fluttershy actually understood the bird. “Are you talking to him? Do you actually understand him?” She asked. Fluttershy nodded, beginning to walk to the door. “I understand all my animals and they understand me. Well, actually they understand everypony, but they listen to me. In any case, I’m not sure why the animals don’t like you; Corvus says that you carry a sense of being dead. Like, they get the same feeling from you as a… body I suppose. But that’s impossible, since you’re clearly alive. He’s just as confused as we are since he understands you aren’t dead.” She sighed and looked around the cottage, taking in the empty birdhouses and cages. “I… I hate to be a bother, but I really need to get the animals back inside, if it gets dark and they aren’t, I don’t know what I’ll do. But it was nice seeing you, oh, and thank you so much for adopting Corvus.” Solar nodded understandingly, glad for an excuse to head back home anyway. She wasn’t used to this much interaction and it was beginning to feel exhausting. As she walked out of the cottage, she found someone walking beside her, skipping along happily. Oh, that’s right. Pinkie Pie had been watching the entire ordeal from the door and was now side-by-side with Solar. “Say, Solar, it’s kinda weird how the animals think you’re dead, huh.” She said, innocently looking down at her shoes while they walked. “Like, you aren’t, but they think you are. Weird, huh?” Her tone was strangely… Informed, as though she knew something Solar didn’t. Or she knew something Solar wouldn’t want her to. “Have you seen the White-tail Woods? They are meant to be quite fun, last time I was there I found a stick in the shape of a moon!” She laughed and turned away from Solar, winking as she walked down the path to town. How in Tartarus do you find a stick in the shape of a moon? --------------------------------------------------❆-------------------------------------------------- As the door closed behind her, Solar slid down it. Corvus flew through the hall and perched on a table, occupying himself with preening. On the one hand, Solar did actually want to go for a walk to the woods. It was still light, and she felt like she needed to clear her head. On the other, so many ponies had suggested doing so that it felt like she was walking into a trap. Surely, they had no reason to, though? She had only just arrived, they couldn’t possibly have a reason to do something like that yet – besides, it would be good to bond with Corvus. “Maybe I could get some practice in while I do,” She said to herself, picking up her bow. Despite how useful it had seemed, she hadn’t actually used it much. That being said, she hadn’t had a job for a while. Slinging it over her shoulder, she made her way down the path in her garden. Luckily, the property joined the woods on this side of the house; it was something she had noticed when gardening before. Stepping into the trees was like walking into a painting, the tall pillars of wood bearing delightful shades of varying oranges. Rays of light cut through the leaves, the branches waving to Solar with a lethargic joy in the soft wind. Her tail and mane were pulled to her side slightly and the feeling of the wind rushing through them was wonderful. She felt almost afraid to open her wings, in case she was dragged off along the breeze. A worn path wound through the forest, splitting into separate routes; each intersection holding its own plethora of signs to point you around. Glancing at the first one she found, Solar was surprised to find her home actually had a name. Engraved into the woods were the words ‘Mahogany Hollow’, which was quite a fitting name considering the shade of the wood that made up the house’s details. Corvus soared from tree to tree, enjoying the walk just as much as she was. Erratic shades of green formed the grassy banks of the path and a small stream ran alongside, crystal clear water shining like a river of glass. As she turned a corner in the path, Solar saw three makeshift shelters. If they could be called that. Sticks and logs were placed in cones and covered with leaves gathered from the floor, making a type of tepee. In the middle of the three structures was a small circle of pebbles with some burning twigs in the centre. Around this small campfire sat three fillies, all sitting on logs. Drawing closer, Solar heard two of them berating the third, mercilessly. Two of the three she recognised as Applejack and Rarity’s sisters, Applebloom and Sweetiebelle. The third was an orange pegasus with a purple mane and tail, who seemed to be the one under fire. All three were dressed in rather bedraggled school uniforms, much like Sweetiebelle was when Solar met her before. “I thought I told you to get some firewood, didn’t I Scoot? The clue’s in the name! Fire-wood, not fire-sticks,” Applebloom scolded, her eyes narrowed at the pegasus. Sweetiebelle nodded along, a look of exasperation on her face. ‘Scoot’ looked angrily between the two, a defensive argument ready to go. Before she could, however, Sweetiebelle caught sight of Solar and waved. “Solar, hey, over here!” She called out, a smile of recognition on her face. The others seemed confused, unsurprisingly, considering that they hadn’t met yet. Solar walked over and knelt beside the fire, Corvus coming down to land on her shoulder. “Hey, is that a crow? He looks so cool! Why did he land on your shoulder? Is he yours?” Said the pegasus, her eyes wide with curiosity and her words tumbling over themselves. “This is Scootaloo, Solar. I don’t think you’ve met Applebloom yet, either, she’s Applejack’s sister. Crusaders, Solar,” Sweetiebelle explained, introducing them all and giving Scootaloo a bit of side-eye for her outburst. It seemed these three were quite the trio by themselves. As for their camp-building skills, they could use some work. “Well, Scootaloo, he isn’t a crow, but he is mine. His name is Corvus and he’s a raven, Pinkie suggested that I take a walk in the woods and I figured it would be a good opportunity to bond. I’m not sure how well that’s working but he seems to like me regardless. In fact, he was the only one who didn’t dislike me,” Solar said, with a little chuckle, feeling a little awkward talking to the filly. She wasn’t good with children. “Anyway, what on Equus are you all doing, and why in the name of Celestia are there clear attempts at makeshift shelters?” Immediately the look of interest on Applebloom’s face turned to one of indignation. “What d’ya mean, attempts? These are professionally made tents!” She argued. Sweetiebelle looked back at the three piles and cringed slightly. Scootaloo didn’t look too thrilled with their constructions either. “Well, they aren’t the most amazing things ever, Applebloom. I mean, I’ve had better shelter with some of Rarity’s hats,” Sweetie offered, bringing a sigh from the group. Solar raised an eyebrow, wondering why they were making the campsite at all. It was unusual to want to camp without any equipment. “If you don’t mind me asking, why are you trying to camp in the woods without any camping gear or shelter?” She asked. Scootaloo piped up again, her face suddenly lit with hope. “We were trying to get our cutiemarks in camping! But we couldn’t get the equipment from any of the others’ sisters and Rainbow Dash was nowhere to be found. So, we decided we could try and get some from making the tents ourselves. Could you get us cutiemarks?” She demanded. Three pairs of optimistic eyes bored into Solar. “I’m sorry, I don’t know much about them, but I do know you have to wait for them. But, if it makes you feel any better, they can appear at any time. So, just doing something you would consider normal could cause them to appear; I’m sure they will when the time is right,” She supposed, hoping to sedate their expectance for a while. Much to her chagrin, however, the faces of the three fell in unison. “Not you too!” Sweetie said, exasperated. “We’ve been trying to get them for so, so long and everypony keeps saying to wait! We must be good at something, so if we do that thing, we’ll get them. I know it. The Cutie Mark Crusaders won’t fail!” Her defiance was something to be admired, as the others immediately rallied to her call, cheering on the Crusaders. Apparently, they have a club. “Well, look, as I said they can appear at any time so-” Solar began before a particularly excited Applebloom cut her off. “How did you get your cutiemark? What is it?” She asked, vehemently chasing down the topic. Solar was a little unsure of what to say here. On the one hand she couldn’t tell them everything, since the actual scenario would invalidate her façade. On the other, she could twist the truth into a reliable tale. “Well, mine is actually based around,” don’t say deception, don’t say deception, “stealth. It looks like a moon behind a cloud with little rays of light around it. Meaning it is a literal solar eclipse, which is rather fitting, don’t you think?” She explained, creating the next batch of the story in her mind. “I actually got it at around… thirteen years old, I think. I’m not sure, to be honest. Anyway, it appeared while I was playing hide and seek with some of the kids in Canterlot. Apparently, hiding in the alleys and winning the game all the time was enough to trigger it.” There, perfect. The lie was almost fool-proof, not only lining up with her story so far but also making perfect sense given the nature of her mark. “Huh, wow. Boring.” Scootaloo said promptly, yawning slightly as she did. Sweetiebelle looked tired too and Applebloom stared down at the forest floor, her brow knitted in contemplation. Suddenly Sweetie shot up with a cry of surprise. “Solar? Is that… Is that a bow?” She said, in shock. Solar cringed inwardly, having forgotten she had the weapon; there wasn’t really a reason for her to have it. Bows were unanimous with hunting in Equestria, something that was gravely looked down upon and even outlawed in certain areas. That or combat, neither of which were very good reasons to have one in a friendly village. “Yes, not for any creatures though. It was made as a present by a blacksmith in Canterlot, kind of a father figure. It’s a hobby of mine now, not that I’m any good with it.” She replied, easing the three’s worry. Some actually did use archery as a hobby or sport, so it didn’t seem odd for her to have it. Scootaloo actually seemed to admire the bow and Sweetiebelle cooed over the engraved designs. Feeling uncomfortable with the two staring at her back, Solar took the bow off and stood up; she held it out, each Crusader looking it over. Applebloom seemed content with its uses, Sweetiebelle its design and Scootaloo its sheer thrill factor. Despite having their question satisfied, it seemed the three still had another thing to ask. They all wanted to see Solar using the bow itself. I really hope I don’t mess this up. --------------------------------------------------❆-------------------------------------------------- Soon, a crudely made firing range had been set up and Solar’s three audience members watched, earnestly awaiting her swift execution of each apple. Apparently, this wood attached to Sweet Apple Acres further down the path and the apple trees had slowly crept in, joining their wooden brothers in the area. According to an excited Applebloom, the three had been trying to devise cutiemark related plans in their clubhouse quite nearby when camping had sprung up as an option. She was very proud of the treehouse, going into detail about its appearance as Solar strung up an arrow. Pulling back, Solar felt the taught bowstring gather power. Released, the arrow shot through the air, whistling and thudding into an apple with the precision of a surgeon. Solar had to admit, she had surprised herself with even hitting the apple, let along causing it to split down the centre – certainly, it endorsed the bow’s strength. A cheer from Scootaloo and Applebloom made her grin, while Sweetiebelle was content with a whoop. Having knocked out each target, Scootaloo piped up, asking if she could have a go. That was quickly turned down by not only Solar but her own two consorts too. Neither seemed to think it was a good idea to try the bow themselves and Solar didn’t want to be responsible for any injuries. “Well, it was nice to see yah bow and all, but I think The Cutie Mark Crusaders have failed at camping. And, Scootaloo, we ain’t trying archery. Not just yet,” Applebloom declared, glancing back to the campsite with an air of regret. All three looked down with grim, thoughtful expressions. Suddenly, Sweetie clicked her fingers and cried out. “I know! We should try Cutie Mark Crusaders Canoeing! You have that old one in the barn, don’t you Applebloom?” She said, looking for confirmation from her fellows. Applebloom nodded slowly, a grin forming on her face. Scootaloo jumped, pumping her fist and flapping her wings. “Yeeeeeeess! I’ve wanted to try that canoe for ages! Please tell me Applejack will let us.” Her remark brought a brief moment of hesitation from Applebloom. Then the concerned look cleared, her mind made up. With a smile, she said one sentence that would put the idea deep into concrete. “She doesn’t have to know.” Solar watched as all three sprinted down the path, following each sign to Sweet Apple Acres with excitement. Those three are… Strange. Shaking her head, she continued her walk down the path, indulging in the sights and sounds of the woodlands. Corvus flew overhead, exploring the winding paths between trees with glee. As she walked, she began to notice something strange with each signpost. Slowly but surely a new label had appeared, pointing in several directions with a symbol that didn’t seem to fit. An engraving of a tree with a distorted and intimidating mouth marked the words ‘The Everfree Forest’. She remembered what Rarity had said about the forest, with its dangerous and deadly kaleidoscope of creatures. Despite that, however, she couldn’t help but feel attracted to it. The forest would surely be something to behold if it was as untamed as it seemed, not to mention, she was on the path to it already. Not wanting to be another missing poster, Solar made sure not to venture too deep into the inky reaches of the forest’s treeline. The stark contrast between it and the Whitetail Woods was actually quite mindboggling, almost as if the sun simply refused to enter the forest either. Although, that clearly wasn’t the case as rays of light could be seen piercing the trees at uncanny intervals. As she felt the path change from worn dirt to coarse mud, she caught sight of something interesting further in. In the distance was a clear, tall structure made of decaying and dishevelled stone. The tower had a doppelganger further along beside it, but it was broken, and she couldn’t see much. Running forward, she spread her wings and flew above the trees. Soaring closer, she took note of a third centre tower, which was almost completely destroyed. It had a larger radius than the two on either side, implying it was far taller at one point. This was soon confirmed as she noticed the rest of the tower, lying in piles of stone bricks over the building. At some point the tower had collapsed over the rest of the edifice, speeding up the structure’s deterioration. With that being said, the place would have to be over a thousand years old in order to break down like this from sheer neglect. Hovering down, she landed in the main hall of the massive building, looking around at the ancient, moth bitten rugs. High on the wall were two banners, each towering above matching thrones. Despite their ragged and torn appearance, Solar could make out what was depicted on each. To the left was a stylised embroidery of Celestia and to her right, Luna. She stared, shocked that this was once a royal castle. Shaking out of her stupor, she decided to quickly check around the place before leaving. Picking a hallway at random, Solar began wondering along, feeling the eerie atmosphere send chills along her spine and the wind softly biting her. Corvus landed on her shoulder, snuggling into her mane for safety. Seeing his uncertainty, she questioned if she should keep going but decided that there couldn’t be much harm in doing so. As she turned the corner, she opened a door that barely held itself on its hinges to reveal a large open library. The centre of the library was in a bad state of disrepair and a few books looked beyond saving, but there was certainly a large amount of completely readable ones. Looking between the spines of books, one caught her eye. It was bound in a dark leathery material and had a picture of a pair of fangs on its edge. Her eyes widened, and she yanked the book off the shelf, praying it was in good condition. It was yellowed slightly, but a majority of the water damage had been prevented by the cover. In damaged writing, the front read ‘Myths and Legends of Equus: Vampires’. She gasped, fumbling with the bindings of the book. “Sweet Celestia, there is no way, no way,” She whispered softly, pulling it open and reading. Introduction Now, to many the term vampire may bring to mind visions of bats or small parasitic creatures. This, however, is not the case when speaking in terms of mythology, for in this area of literature the term refers to dark creatures of the night. These foul beings, sometimes referred to as ‘vamponies’ are largely just like you and I in their outward appearance. But as you look for details you may begin to notice their inponane features. The most renown giveaway is the sharp fangs possessed by those turned to the disease. Another would be their insatiable lust for blood and aversion to sunlight. A key feature of vampires is their tainted soul. Being so unclean, they were often described as having no reflection in mirrors. This was due to the belief of the silver, used in mirrors at the time, being too pure for the soul’s reflection. Eventually, this became an inability to use all reflective surfaces, but the origin is very interesting. In this book, you will find tales of the creatures from all corners of Equestria and beyond. Different regions contain different folklore regarding the monsters, so please, do enjoy. Swallowing, Solar thought about the contents of the page. The aversion to sunlight wasn’t something she had noticed, although she was more comfortable in the dark. She hadn’t noticed a lack of reflections in mirrors but with that being said, there was the possibility that she simply hadn’t encountered a silver mirror yet. That seemed unlikely, though, as a lot of her targets had been exceedingly wealthy, so a silver mirror would be almost guaranteed at some point. She didn’t feel diseased, but cursed could be apt. The thirst for blood was true, that much she knew, in fact she was beginning to feel the ache in her teeth she was getting to know so well. With an angry sigh of frustration, she closed the book and shoved it into her satchel. It’s getting dark anyway, I should get back. Corvus hopped slightly away from her, chirping, with his head to one side. She walked back down the corridors, returning to the throne room. The original building’s entrance was actually still accessible, so Solar decided to leave through that. As she stepped out onto the grass, she felt a slight bit of relief, free of the castle’s tense atmosphere. Looking up, she came face to face with the huge carved head of a wolf. The wooden contours stared into her with two yellow, glowing eyes. The orbs sat like a pair of tinted moons, each bearing down on her with silent contemplation. It’s… It’s seen me, right? Solar couldn’t help but whimper slightly at the sight and began to slowly back through the broken archway. With powerful, heaving movements, the creature kept up to her pace. She gulped and spread her wings, preparing to fly as soon as she could. With a snarl, the wolf lunged forwards and she leapt to the side, hitting the floor in a panic. Corvus flew up into the night, hovering well out of reach. Solar pulled herself up and launched of the ground, twisting round just in time to see the teeth of the wolf close around the air beneath her. Wasting no time, she darted away from the room and above the forest, ensuring that Corvus was following suite. The wolf crashed through the trees beneath her for a while as she headed for the lights of Ponyville. Eventually it began to slow, until it stopped entirely; without the thing on her tail, she headed back home. While the castle had been a sight to see, the journey hadn’t been of much benefit. What in Tartarus was that thing? --------------------------------------------------❆-------------------------------------------------- Leaning on the door, Solar tumbled into her house with an unsteady gait. Flying from The Everfree had been tiring and far more than she was used to. Quite simply, she hadn’t flown for so long so fast before. Looking back out at the now night sky, Solar felt pangs of hunger from her stomach and an ache from her wings. She hadn’t eaten in a while, something she had overlooked yet again; she would need some food. With a sigh, she held the door open for Corvus and closed it firmly behind him, locking each bolt into its corresponding slot. “So much for a relaxing walk.” She said to herself, crossing the hall to the kitchen, trying not to hit her wings on anything. Corvus flew to a chair arm in front of her and tilted his head at her with an inquisitive chirp. “What? Ponies talk to themselves, Corvus. It’s normal. I think. I’m not insane, if that’s what you think.” She said, feigning irritation. Chuckling she walked through the doorway of the kitchen before pausing. “Although, do ponies talk to birds? Maybe I am insane after all.” An indignant chirp came from the other room and she shook her head in wonder. Fluttershy wasn’t kidding when she said he was smart. Making a quick bowl of salad, Solar was surprised to see Corvus landing on the table top next to her. He watched intently as she chopped up the vegetables, his eyes following each move. Feeling mischievous, she flourished the knife, spinning it in the air before catching it and continuing on with her task. Corvus hopped back and looked her up and down, head tilted once again. She rolled her eyes and moved the food into a bowl, strolling back into the living room. With a sigh, she collapsed into an armchair and ate in silence, enjoying the taste of the meal. Just as she finished, she felt a pang from her mouth as her fangs began to ache. She growled slightly and clamped her teeth down in annoyance. “Stupid, stupid things,” She muttered, leaving her bowl on the coffee table and running up the stairs. Slowing as she came to the bathroom, she began to roll her sleeve up in preparation; a surprised Corvus following in her wake. Small chirps of confusion and concern were lost to Solar’s preoccupied mind. Opening the holster on her belt, she slipped out her knife and considered her wrist for a good place to cut. The ideal position would be the exact same one as before, but she was beginning to fear that the scar would stop healing if she kept cutting it. Gritting her teeth, she cut above the last with a wince. Her blood tasted nice, as expected, but it had certainly lost potency over time. Admittedly, she had been surprised that it had stopped the aching in the first place, since it was technically the same blood she already had. The idea that her body was beginning to realise this wasn’t one she had wished to entertain, but it seemed likely. All she hoped was that it would be enough to stop the aches in her fangs while she had nothing to feed on. But how long would it last? As she bandaged the wound with an absent mind, she noticed something in the mirror’s reflection. Corvus was perched on a towel rack, staring at her wound in silence. She paused her movement, briefly wondering if she should’ve locked him out. Turning to him, she swallowed and bit her lip. “You… You didn’t see anything, alright? I know it seems bad but if you say… chirp a thing to Fluttershy, it won’t end well for me. Ok?” Corvus seemed to get the idea and Solar simply hoped he would keep his mindset. If her secret got out, she didn’t dare to think what would happen. For once, she had found a place where she could live without the fear of death around every corner. A place where ponies actually did like her for her. Not one where everyone acted nice just to accomplish some kind of checklist for obligation. Only showing any kind of kindness when it benefitted them. Heaving a sigh, she decided to go to bed. It was getting late, after all. Having pulled off her creased, muddy clothes, she laid back on the covers. She felt her bandaged wrist, pain running up her arm. What am I? Sweet Celestia, why did I have to be the monster? Tears threatened to run down her cheeks and she blinked them away, choosing instead to punch her pillow in exasperation. Exhaling, she focused on her situation. Overall, things were looking up. She had a house, friends, an unsteady but paying job and a good bank balance. It was just infuriating that all of this could have been so much easier. Having turned off all the lights, she lifted her satchel onto the bed and pulled out the book she had taken earlier. Opening the book and pulling the cover over her, she turned on the lamp beside her bed, losing herself in the pages and stories it had to offer. Slowly but surely, she began to drift off. Coming back from the shower had always been fairly uneventful. Some harsh words or shoves from megalomaniacal guards, the odd desire to sprint down the corridor. This time, however, she noticed that the usual entrance to her cell now had two doors. She hadn’t seen the addition at first, due to the featureless greyish-white theme of the building but there was certainly another door. To Solar’s surprise, the guards actually ushered her past the usual door and into the second, which lead into her cell through a brand-new entrance. Unsure of why the room needed another entrance closer to her bed, she sat down with a slight bit of annoyance. Being forcefully knocked out and waking up in the showers was bad enough, finding changes to the one place she owned was something else entirely. Immediately she got her answer, though. A glass panel now divided the room, a few chairs placed on the other side. The setup made her uncomfortable, almost like she was some kind of exhibit at a circus or zoo. Something to be gawked at by those more fortunate. She knew why, of course. Her outburst with Fleet had likely made the glass seem necessary, something to keep the researchers safe. They weren’t in danger, she knew that; presumably, they themselves didn’t though. To her dismay, the entrance to the glass side opened to reveal Fleet himself, still alive and kicking, shadowed by two guards. She had to admit she was satisfied to see him wearing a neck cast, however, since it clearly meant she had done some damage. A silent pantomime played out in front of her as Fleet seemed grow irritated with one of the guards, gesticulating wildly to some kind of podium which stood in the middle of the room. On the top was a button, which he pressed in irritation. All of a sudden, Solar could hear everything from the room. “-n’t care if it’s for my safety, I was told I would get payback,” He hissed, turning to her and sitting in one of the chairs. With a look back to the guards, he pointed to the door, meaningfully. One looked back between him and the exit with hesitation. The button was pressed again and Solar saw him yell silently at the two, who quickly left. She giggled, enjoying the view immensely. Another press and she could hear him clearing his throat. Clearly, he hadn’t forgotten their last meeting as he stared into her with two burning eyes. “So, enjoy the taste, parasite?” He spat, his glare intensifying. Solar nodded with a smile, loving the fact that glass had to be put between them. His features stitched into a scowl and he pulled up his ever-present clipboard, flipping through the paper. “I’m sure you figured out you could heal with blood.” He continued, scanning the pages. “My fucking blood.” He added, under his breath. With a start, Solar looked down at her arm saw that, sure enough, her wound had healed to a scar. Fleet stood up and walked over to the glass, putting a hand against it and grimacing. “You know, they said I would be here for your quality of life but all they’re really concerned about is if you’re alive or not. I’m getting paid either way and you’re really making yourself hard to like.” She rolled her eyes and walked up to the glass, putting her hand over his. “I know you hate me, everyone does. You’re no different and you never will be. I didn’t make myself hard to like, you just hate far too easily.” He was taken aback by her comment and he whipped his hand from the glass like someone had shocked it. “I certainly didn’t bite you because you were nice,” She continued. “Put yourself in my shoes, Fleet. Imagine fighting for your life every day, only to be imprisoned by the one person you thought had no reason to hate you.” She felt her eyes water slightly, but she bit her tongue, not wanting to cry in front of him. “After all that surviving you have your oh-so little world taken by a wolf in sheep’s clothing simply because nopony would care. Because you were the one pony that fit the bill.” Her voice was wavering slightly as her mind flew back to her life before. She had a good friend, a home. A broken one, but a home nevertheless. Back then, she hadn’t had to be filled with needles on a daily basis. “Then imagine, after all of that, that those who took you performed painful treatments on you to answer some kind of twisted what-if scenario. And after that, that they decided to cut your arm open to see what would happen. You would snap too.” Fleet cleared his throat, picking his words. “They say you have nothing, that this is an improvement. They say you wouldn’t’ve made it another day anyway.” He murmured, meeting her eyes. “An only child with single parent and no friends. No loved ones and no future. They say you’d killed for fun. Using a criminal for this type of thing makes sense. You have no excuse.” He picked up his clipboard, beginning to turn to the door. Solar snapped. “Killed? Killed? I hadn’t killed, Fleet. I had stolen, yes, killed, no. I had a plan, I always had a plan. A plan for every situation and for every outcome. But then, oh no, then you lot cut a deal with somepony who had no right to do so, to do something I had no preparation for. And you fucked it all up.” Her eyes began to glow softly with a tinted red, staining the usual perfect blue. “You all decided that it was high time I lost it all. That my life was now something to be toyed with. I was written off and had everything, everything taken. My home? Sure. My life? Fuck it, why not, right? But my future? The one thing that wasn’t fucked? That’s… That is-” Her voice broke and she slid down the glass, tears rolling unchecked down her cheeks and sobs racking her body. It wasn’t fair, none of this was fair. She knew life wasn’t meant to be fair but this… This was absurd. Fleet stared at the sobbing figure with a tinge of remorse. She was right, of course. He had never put himself in her shoes or considered the fact that she hadn’t done anything wrong. Quite simply, he had accepted the idea she was a criminal, broken beyond repair. Never had he thought of motive or reason. Shaking his head, he blinked and cleared his head. No, no. They had said she was a murderer and he had no reason to not believe them. Clearly, this street rat was trying to fill his mind with doubt. He wouldn’t let it work. Walking over to the door, he threw one last glace at the filly, who was now in the foetal position. Pressing the button, he sighed and opened the door, walking out into the hall. Author's Note Well, that was something, huh? Anyway, I just wanted to mention that this story is being made by a human being. The reason I say this is because there will be mistakes. When I was listening back to the story I found several instances of repetition (generally with the word: 'actually' and Solar's name). So, if you notice any mistakes or grammatical errors that I have made, please let me know. I don't know everything about English, so some things may be simple misunderstandings. The main reason I say that is because apparently speech is meant to end with a comma like: "Yes, that's right," He said. Rather than "Yes, that's right." He said. But then uses a period if it's like: "Yes, that's right." He turned to leave. Not "Yes, that's right," He turned to leave. I also say this because of the dislikes with no feedback. I'm just writing them off as un-solvable but I usually like to fix issues, so not being told the issues is frustrating. If I messed up somewhere, I usually like to know. Another thing I found is I used the word 'people' a lot in earlier chapters. I cannot believe I let that fly under the radar for so long. I'm not even entirely sure when I stopped, so it's quite hard to fix. Also, I know that I messed up badly when I mentioned Luna in Nightmare Night in a previous chapter, that was a mistake-a to make-a. This story is kind of meant to be taking place after the pilot but before ticket master right now. The flashbacks are taking place is Solar's nightmares, I mentioned this, but they are more importantly a way for me to explain her abilities and backstory. I'm saying this because there is the possibility that in future I may use someone else's perspective. I'll try not to, but if I do, this is why. Haha, why am I even bothering with this. So anyway, as always, better up than off.
Chapter 6: Dark HorseChapter Six A startling pain rocked Solar from her sleep, jerking her up. Her jaw ached fiercely, a seeming inferno of agony. Crying out, she ran to her mirror and opened her mouth, checking inside for anything that should raise alarms. There was no blood or clear reason for the pain, but she began to notice her fur. It was lighter than ever, more of an ash than a greyish-black. In her eyes there sat a slight red glow, something she knew was a bad early-warning sign. “No, no, no, no. I just need more time. A few more days,” she muttered in horror. As she had worried, her own blood had finally stopped satisfying her thirst. Another shot of pain made her yelp and she quickly dressed, swinging her bow over her shoulder. Throwing open the back door, she sprinted down the path to the forest, ignoring the darker shades of the early dawning sun. Following each sign, she ducked into the Everfree and began scanning the world around her for a creature. She didn’t want to kill anything in the Whitetail Woods, for fear of the body being found. But killing in the Everfree? That wouldn’t be found and even if it did, it couldn’t be pinned on her. Preferably, she would be able to find a predator, at least then her kill would have a little more justification. Crouching low to the floor, she slowly moved through the vegetation of the forest, leaves being pushed aside as she progressed. She could make out the glowing blood-flow of some kind of dog-like creature further ahead; from its movements, it seemed like it was chewing on something. Judging by the lightly fluorescent floor around its meal, it had just caught some prey. Pulling an arrow into her bow, she pushed through the final line of leaves. It was a wolf, chewing contently on a deer’s corpse – clearly having killed the animal. Holding her breath, she drew the arrow in the wolf’s direction, shaking slightly. I’m sorry. With a whistle, the shaft split through the morning air and thudded into the wolf’s neck, knocking it to the leafy forest floor. A howl escaped the wolf’s mouth, but the sound cut off as it went limp. Solar covered her mouth with her hand, feeling remorse creep over her. The pain in her jaw was still growing, however, and the cloud in her mind took care of that empathy. Leaping into the clearing, she slid over to the wolf and leant down to its neck. She held her hand against it, ensuring its pulse was absent. Satisfied that it was, she ripped out the arrow and sank her fangs into an artery, drinking deeply. Her blissful feeding felt stained by the regret of the kill. After a few seconds, the pain ebbed away, and her mind cleared – leaving her staring at the body in sadness. The dust from the path home swirled around her with each step. Her feet dragged slightly, and she ran her hand along the rhododendrons that lined the trail. Never before had she taken a life and she felt that her conscience was murky. As if all the grime of the world’s gritty realism now draped over her, blotting out the once heavenly naivety she had been revelling in. It had always been an accepted part of life. The end. But never had she experience first-hand and it made her worry for those who walked the darker lines of criminality. Stealing from the rich was one thing, stealing from companies, sure. But stealing life itself was wrong. So wrong. Biting her lip, she tried to move her thoughts away from the wolf but couldn’t. It could’ve been a father, simply trying to provide for his cubs or a pack leader, all his brethren now lost without a star to follow. With a shake of her head, she forced the ideas to the back of her head. Choosing, instead, to focus on the more pressing present, rather than the past; besides, the wolf had killed that deer. So, in a way, it was tit for tat. Picking up her pace slightly, she decided that she may as well make use of all the wolf’s blood. It would be slightly more respectful than simply leaving it. Pushing open the door to her kitchen, her eyes began scanning the cupboards for any kind of bottle that could be used; there was one in the corner and another by the sink. Both were perfect. She scooped them up in each hand and bolted back down the paths, quickly reaching the body once again. Pressing against the wound, she let the blood fill the bottles but soon found that the process was simply too slow – not to mention that the wound itself was beginning to run dry. Thinking quickly, she bit into the wolf and drained some of the precious liquid before spitting it out into the bottle. That was certainly more successful and very soon she was fastening the lids on two filled bottles of blood. --------------------------------------------------❆-------------------------------------------------- Pushing open the backdoor, Solar waited for Corvus with an impatient roll of her eyes. Uncertainly, he flew inside and perched on the grandfather clock, his head tilted slightly. She couldn’t help but feel adjudicated, like a criminal in a court with a jury watching her every move. Don’t judge me… Or do. I guess I deserve it this time. Turning back to the hall to go upstairs, something caught her eye on the carpet. An envelope, apparently having fallen through the letterbox. With a raised eyebrow, she dropped her bow onto a chair and scooped up the letter. Using her knife, she slit the seal and unfolded the parchment with interest. Dear Solar, I trust you’ve settled in well at Mahogany Hollow. If you didn’t know, that is the official name of the home – quite a charming one if I do say so myself. Regardless, I must admit I didn’t take the time to send a letter of pure congratulations. There is a job you may be interested in. A few clients have expressed concerns that I believe you could deal with quite efficiently. If you happen to find the time for a visit to the usual spot then I would consider it a personal favour. Besides, it would be nice to see how you’ve settled. I await your swift arrival or, at the least, a return letter. Syndicate. Her eyes scanned the last few lines, a slight smile playing on her face. In truth she had rather missed Syndicate, besides, she was always ready for work. Wondering what his new clients wanted, she folded the letter up and slid it into her satchel. Leaving to Canterlot ought to be fine, but she knew that there was a chance one of her new friends would come looking for her for one reason or another. Leaving a note would, hopefully, be enough to explain her leave. She walked into her room with a sigh of relief, feeling far better than she had that morning. Catching her reflection, she noticed that her fur had returned to its usual dark grey and her eyes to their crystal-clear blue. To her delight, the buying of some paper and a quill had not been in vain, as they sat untouched on her desk. As she sat down, she whipped the quill out of its pot and began to write. To whoever sees this, I have taken a small trip to Canterlot for a day or more to visit family, I won’t be gone for long. If you want to contact me, please leave a note here and I will be sure to visit you once I’m back. Solar Eclipse Satisfied that the note was concise enough, she pinned it to her front door and began to ready herself for a trip. It had been a while since she’d donned her leather suit, but she was happy to find that it did still fit. Even if it was slightly tight. She’d have to buy another when she could, there were plenty of tailors who’d be willing to help for some bits. Regardless, she had to get to Syndicate’s hideaway soon. Walking through the hall, her eye caught the two bottles of red liquid. I’d better take one with me. She thought, her mind pondering their uses. The quickest way to Canterlot would likely be teleportation, but that system hadn’t actually been implemented into Ponyville yet. She supposed the train would have to do. Pulling her bow over her, she slid her hood over her head and beckoned Corvus out the back door with her. As the leather covered her mane its colour began to bleach before darkening to a similar dark grey to the outfit itself. While she had no frame of reference, she knew the mask would be doing something similar to her eyes, making their irises a dark, bleak red. The magic was quite simple, enough to pass right through detection. It was something she was very grateful for. In her opinion, possibly one of the best purchases she’d ever made. Following the path through the wood, she contemplated what her job would be. Knowing Syndicate, it would be a rather high-risk one; safer jobs were usually handed off to less… Capable candidates. The consistent appearance of lackeys was something Syndicate had vented about quite often, saying he had too many employees and not enough employment. Fortunately for her, he simply trusted her enough for the tougher, and higher paying, jobs. Her concentration was drawn back to reality as she passed another signpost, assuring that she was following the small carving of a train. As she stepped up to the train station, she couldn’t help but feel somewhat out of place. Wearing tight leather and sporting several weapons made her rather threatening, certainly not something you would see on a train platform every day. It was lucky that there was no one she recognised here, while she was completely covered, she didn’t fancy her chances at them keeping quiet. Unless it was Fluttershy, perhaps. Most ponies simply gave her a surprised or worried look when they almost knocked into her, choosing to give her a minor berth as she strode towards the ticket master. A passer-by muttered something about ‘Killers out in public’ which made her wince slightly. Though they clearly knew nothing about her, they weren’t far from the truth. To her credit, a good amount didn’t even notice her as she weaved between the visitors, coming to a stop in front of a ticket booth. Looking up, the uniformed mare behind the counter took a double-take at Solar, her mouth slightly open in surprise. “One ticket to Canterlot, please,” Solar said calmly, leaning against the booth. The mare nodded and turned away for a few seconds, returning with a ticket in one hand. With a raised eyebrow, she dropped the ticket onto the counter. “That’ll be five bits, ma’am,” she said, uncertainly. Putting the coins on the counter, Solar took her ticket and entered a carriage, grinning a little when Corvus plopped onto her shoulder. Over time, ponies began filling the small space and took their own places. A stallion squeezed in beside Solar, completely ignoring her until her bow poked into his arm. I swear, this ‘talent’ can be such a curse. He gave her a look of confusion and stepped away, clearly wondering how he hadn’t noticed her sooner. Despite this, the journey to Canterlot was relatively uneventful, with all sorts of colourful characters filtering in and out of the carts and each station. The Canterlot stop, however, was by far the busiest. As soon as the doors opened, half the carriage began shuffling towards them and Solar was glad when she felt the open air on her face. Moving quickly, she ran out into the open streets and smiled at the familiar cobbled surface. Still, there was no time to be spent on admiring the architecture, so she made a mental plan of her route. The quickest way would be to fly, but she didn’t want to be more obvious than she had to be. Ponyville may have thought she was strange, but Canterlot would have her down on the floor, surrounded by guards. Especially since her antics from before. With this in mind, she decided to use the alleyways she knew so well to her advantage, her feet splashing the occasional puddle as she sprinted through the twists and turns. Corvus soared beside her as she ran, and she had to dodge a few lurking pedestrians, who each turned in shock at her speed. Panting, she slowed to a walk as she grew closer to Syndicate’s door and knocked on the door with a few fervent glances around. A small window slid open in the wood and a pair of eyes glared through, looking her up and down. They ought to recognise her from her previous jobs, since she had always been in full kit when she came back. Sure enough, there was the sound of sliding metal from inside and the door swung open. It was the same doormare as before, who nodded to her. Making her way to the usual meeting room, Solar noticed some changes to the building. A few paintings had been put on the walls and some furniture dotted the floor, tables with vases and photographs. She grinned, knowing exactly why the changes had been made. The more ordinary a home looked, the less likely any authority would bust down the door. It made life a little bit easier for all involved, knowing that if worst came to worst they would still stand a chance of remaining quiet. As she opened a door, she walked into the meeting room and immediately met the eye of Syndicate, who was standing at the end of the table. Feeling his gaze on her, she began to feel slightly uncomfortable and, with a quick movement, she pulled down her mask. Her hood followed, revealing her colour and he relaxed, choosing to walk round the table. His old smile returned in part, yet, despite his expression, she could tell all was not as dandy as it could be. This tight smile clearly hid quite a lot of worry. Behind him she noticed another two ponies; one being a tall white stallion with a blue mane and a formal tailcoat on. Recognising him from somewhere, she tried to pin the face to a name and her eyes widened slightly when she realised just who he was. Fancy Pants, a well-known and upper-class figure who’d retired from The Royal Guard quite some time ago, was very well respected among Canterlot. He’d also been a target for her interfering clients on several occasions. Now that she thought about it, he had been talking to Rarity in Canterlot, hadn’t he? Beside Fancy was the other worrisome character. Fleur de Lis was quite the attractive mare, having been a supermodel for a good portion of her life. It was well known that she was now… With Fancy. In truth, no one actually knew just what their relationship was – only that it wasn’t quite marriage but far more than friendship. The issue laid in the unicorns’ positions, neither were the type to call on professional thieves or criminality in general. Especially with Fancy’s past as a captain of The Royal Guard. Gulping, Solar gave Syndicate an accusatory glance, worried that she’d been set up. “I know, Solar. But they actually do need our services, more specifically, your services,” he muttered, walking past her as he did so. Raising his voice, he continued whatever conversation he’d been having. “This is her now, this little minx can certainly get the job done. She’s my most trusted asset, something I hope you’ll take seriously.” Fancy nodded, looking her up and down critically with Fleur leaning on his shoulder, posing. “Well, if all is well, then would you be comfortable with me giving her the details?” Syndicate continued, waiting for some kind of confirmation from Fancy. Whatever it was, he got it and he turned his attention back to Solar. “So, you’ve got quite the task this time. There’s a company who’ve managed to manufacture a type of drug that, from what Fancy has been told, could cause quite some havoc.” She remained quiet, unsure of why this was more serious than all the other drugs out there. “Fancy has reason to believe that this company is planning to push these potentially fatal biotics and he – along with some other ponies – would really rather the product was gone,” he finished. “I cannot stress enough the seriousness of this,” Fancy began, gravely. “If anypony finds out about my dealings with you, I will be ruined. And, so will you. I guarantee it. I can’t have anypony knowing I dealt with criminals for this, but it seems like you’re the best one for the job.” Somepony is under orders, isn’t he? “Regardless, you must be sure you destroy every trace of this stuff. If they manage to find any of it, they could easily make more. I also happen to know that the plans for the drug will be with the supplies. While I want those destroyed too, I want you to bring them to me first, just so I know you’ve done the job. Let’s call it security.” Solar was rather surprised that she was taking a job from a retired officer to destroy drugs. With a nod, she leant against the table, hoping to give off a sense of dependability and, anxious to know her side of the matters, she decided to get straight to the point. “So, where am I going and what, exactly, am I destroying?” Fleur raised an eyebrow and Fancy simply smiled a knowing smile. Solar didn’t that smile trust in the slightest, it seemed almost like an invitation. As though the thing she asked was something to be smug about. “He doesn’t quite know where you’re going and all we know about the stuff itself is the look. Some yellow powder, apparently. The good news is it’s flammable, so that should be a good way to destroy it. I do have a start for you – I can see your uncertainty from here – over at a small branch of the company here in Canterlot. We know the substance isn’t in the city yet, but we do know it’s in a warehouse somewhere in Equestria,” Syndicate clarified, hoping to shed a little more light on the situation. “We are rather hoping you can find out where.” He knew Fancy was asking for a bit of a miracle, but it was either agree or have the guard pulling him behind bars. All he hoped was that his little magic-maker knew what she was doing. Pulling out a map, he handed her the parchment and waited for her reaction. She scanned the map up and down, a slightly quizzical expression on her face. It was easily recognisable, and she was fairly certain where to go. The issue was, the section of the building itself was quite detailed. It showed separate rooms and points, the entrance, the backroom, the counter and the filing cabinets. If there was anything that would tell her where to find this warehouse, it would be in there. An easy entrance would be the back window, since it seemed the building didn’t actually have any other kind of enterable point save for the front door. For such a small place, it shouldn’t have more than one guard, if any, so that was a slight weight off of her mind. Her train of thought was broken by Fancy, who simply wished her luck in the matter with a formal smile. He strode to the door and Fleur drew a line across Solar’s shoulders with a finger as she passed, leaning in to her ear. “I hope you know what you’re doing. For both of our sakes. Celestia’s been looking for you.” With that she left, giving her a wink and a wave. Watching the pair leave, Solar felt as small as an ant. Celestia knows about me? That was impossible, surely. Her throat felt dry and she fidgeted uncomfortably, running her tongue over her teeth. Syndicate packed up some papers behind her and closed them into a briefcase. Resting a hand on the doorframe, he gave her a friendly grin. “As good as ever, right Solar? Must be feel good to be working, knowing you’ve finally got a place to relax at after, eh?” His words were slightly consoling but she couldn’t help but force her smile. He didn’t know just how bad her situation was. For the first time in years, she couldn’t feed on those near home and it was making things considerably more annoying. Not to mention the new revelation that Celestia knew she had done something. All she could hope was that she didn’t know about the jewel, just the necklace. She nodded, pulling her mask over her mouth. “Never better. How much is this job worth, anyway?” It was dawning on her that Syndicate had been rather quiet about the actual pay-out. His expression suddenly became one of a deer in headlights and she sighed heavily. “Syndicate, this is the most uncertain job I’ve ever been given, it’d better pay well,” she scolded. The last thing she’d want is to risk her life for someone like Fancy, only to then be tricked out of pay and left out to dry. “Alright, look. To be honest, I didn’t even want to take this in the first place,” he admitted, “I mean, destroying illegal products isn’t exactly criminal work.” That much was true, it did seem like something the Guard should be in charge of. “It’s just that Fancy mentioned how the only reason they knew about the stuff was through some… unethical means and it ‘just wouldn’t do’ to have the deed linked to them.” Narrowing her eyes, she cut in to his explanation. “That still doesn’t explain why you agreed to take the job, Syndicate. Why did you even agree to meet them? It could’ve easily been a set up.” It wasn’t an easy feat to procure the services of a professional criminal group. Especially when you were hand in hand with The Princesses themselves, a description that fit Fancy to a T. It was a still greater feat to deal with them under the rulers’ noses without consequences. Or permission. “Ok, so, I didn’t exactly agree to meet them. They met me,” he began, his words stumbling to form a sentence. Despite being her employer, Syndicate had never been very good at handing her bad news. “Syndicate,” she growled. If she ended up in a cell at the end of this, he would have more than just the Royal Guard to deal with. A defeated look passed over his face. “Alright, look. They said that they know about the jewel, alright? They know. I don’t know how, but they do. In my defence, I’m almost certain it was your fault for knocking out that captain. Do you realise how much magic can assist memory?” Solar leant against the wall, softly knocking her head against it in frustration. The one thing, the one thing that she hadn’t wanted. “Syndicate, he was unconscious by the time he could take in what was happening. Did you really expect me to kill him just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time?” She shot, her annoyance evident. After turning up out of obligation, taking off her disguise to talk, showing her face to Celestia-damned nobility! If only she’d had the equipment enchanted when she’d taken that job. “I don’t know what I expected but it was certainly not for word to get out. Look, in any case, this job does have a pay cheque, alright? They’ve offered a round one-hundred bits for a successful trip and anything you can find on the way. From the company, of course. Usually I’d take half, but this time I’m taking their silence as my cut, so it’s all yours if you do this right,” He replied, feeling rather hot under the collar. Truly he had no clue how the pair had found him, and he couldn’t help but feel guilty for wrapping her up in the matter. Unfortunately, they had asked for her specifically. “Also, when did you get a bird?” Letting her irritation ebb away like a stream, Solar ignored him and shifted her attention to the situation. There was no use in having a tantrum, especially if the circumstances couldn’t be helped. It was far too late for accusations now, besides, she had a building to rob and a warehouse to burn. I suppose I can add arson to my list of crimes against the world. She thought, a slight smile playing on her lips at the sheer absurdity. --------------------------------------------------❆-------------------------------------------------- Coming across the shop was an easy enough task, since the building itself was tucked down a rather out-of-the-way alleyway. A few stragglers had seen her along the way, giving her some strange glances, which made her feel rather uncomfortable. She didn’t like being seen on a job. Not that it mattered, she had her enchantments now and not a single one would recognise her again. She was grateful the enchantments themselves didn’t use the typical form of magic, as a lot of things did. According to the fence, and her own testing, they didn’t set off any kind of alarm due to using ‘Changeling magic’. Whatever that means. As she strolled along a pavement, she took in the details of the little shop and its entrances; wondering what kind of lock the window had as she made her way around the block. The shop itself was about the size of a large wagon and held once-colourful advertising that boasted ‘Homemade Formulas Made From The Most Natural Herbs!’. Sure. Those ‘natural’ herbs were always a bit of a gamble, since almost every product made in Equestria was already natural. Either they didn’t differ in any way, save for price, or they were downright poorly made. There was light emanating from the window, so clearly the shop was occupied. That made things slightly more complicated, but not impossibly so – it wasn’t like she’d never faced ponies during jobs before. As she pressed against the wall, the weather began to spit – droplets of rain falling down around her and dribbling from the brim of her hood. To her delight it became quite heavy, thudding against the environment with a fierce determination and a deafening noise, something that would supress anything she did quite well. Quickly, light dimmed as clouds covered the sky and the glow from the shop stood out like a wolf among sheep. She leaned over to the window and wiped away the thin layer of forming condensation, peeking into the room tentatively. The room was filled with around eight filing cabinets, as expected. Four on each side. Sitting against the windowed wall was an old desk holding a candle and a few papers. Squinting, she could make out a figure standing in the doorway that split the front and back rooms. Seeming to jump to life, they moved closer towards the desk and she drew back slightly, not wanting to be seen in the candlelight. As the figure sat down, she could make out their features rather well, noting the stallion’s old wrinkled features and worn flat-cap. It was quite clear that he wasn’t too much of a threat, just someone to keep an eye out. Too bad she was better at her job than he was. Just as she began to pull away, she saw yet another shape moving into view. Staring in confusion, she tried to get a better angle on the window to make out the shape. There was an animal on the desk, moving ever so slightly, cleaning itself. It looked like some kind of cat. That could be annoying, since she could never really tell how animals would react to her. Especially after visiting Fluttershy’s. Best ways up it would shy away and stay quiet; worst ways up it would hiss at her and alert the stallion before he needed to know anything. A flutter beside Solar made her jump and she turned to meet the beady black eyes of Corvus, giving her a sardonic look. The raven tilted his head and chirped with a slight accusatory tone. Surprised, she had almost forgotten that he was with her. His stare bored into her with an edge befitting of something more serious and she winced slightly. “Hey, it’s not my fault this happened. I don’t have to explain myself to a bird.” She scowled and scampered around the building, making her way to the front. The door was shut tightly, made of a weather beaten but thick oak. Beside the beaten doorstep landed Corvus, hopping towards her with an annoyed squawk. “Shut up! You’ll get me caught and then what are we going to do?” She hissed, rolling her eyes soon after. “Oh, sweet Celestia, why am I even talking to you…” He hopped in agitated retaliation but complied, swooping onto her shoulder. Peering into the lock, she was glad to see the stallion fast asleep in the glowing candlelight. That would make things infinitely easier. I might not even have to wake him. She thought, optimistically. Sliding in a lockpick, she fiddled with the mechanism until all three pins had clicked into their respective positions and, with bated breath, she opened the door. Inside the shop was close to expectation, with a counter and shelves of various vials – quite a common sight in alchemical stores. As she softly closed the door behind her, one immediately caught her eye as fake. ‘Bug-Bear Essence’. Yeah right, like these guys could get that close to a bug-bear. Frankly, she was beginning to question why she’d been chosen for this, it wasn’t the most difficult job. Still, she reasoned, I guess I’m on the easy part. As she padded along the stone floor, she caught the eye of the cat she’d seen through the window. It was midway through the motion of licking its paw, staring with wide eyes at her. Swallowing, she decided that it would be best to dispose of the stallion before this cat did anything to wake him. Granted, the age of the sleeping pony would suggest that she could take him regardless, but she’d made the same mistake about Ironsights before. That hadn’t turned out well. Her limbs ached just thinking about that day. At the time, she had been poking fun at the blacksmith’s age when he’d challenged her to a ‘friendly fight’. She shuddered, remembering her surprise at being whipped off her feet and flung like a ragdoll across the room. Tapping out quickly became common sense after that. I’m rather fond of self-preservation. Keeping an eye on the cat, Solar slunk behind the stallion’s chair, opening her satchel and considering her options. One item that was precisely for this kind of thing was a herbal substance that knocked a pony out in under four seconds, but it was easily detectable, and she wasn’t too keen to use it unless she had to. Just because you could go in loud, doesn’t mean you should. An effective tool was a thin piece of razor wire, which she was yet to use. It was meant to be wrapped around a throat, cutting into it and killing quickly – hence why she stubbornly refused to use it. As she looked through, she began to wonder if simply hitting the stallion over the head with a book would do the trick, there was one lying conveniently on the desk beside him. ‘Tales of Night-Folk and Monsters’ She mouthed, reading the title. He had probably been reading that when he’d fallen asleep. Shaking her head, she looked back into her satchel when his snoring abruptly stopped. She froze, flicking her eyes to stare intensely at the chair’s arm and checking if his hand was moving. Pushing down, Woodjack stood up and yawned, blinking sleepily. He was far too old for this sort of thing and didn’t really understand why it was so important to keep the shop occupied. Laying a hand on the desk, he stared at the fogged-up glass. “When had it started rainin’? Seems like it’s always rainin’,” He tutted, “Them pegasi always organisin’ storms. I’m sure the plants ‘ave got enough water as it is.” He sighed before catching sight of his cat. “Charlie, what’s wrong?” The poor thing was stock still in terror, staring behind him. Swallowing, he turned and stared into the inky darkness of the room. Holding her breath, Solar slid herself along the floor until the chair was between her and the stallion. It would help to remove as much light as possible. He seemed to speak to his cat, staring at the space she’d just occupied. Lifting herself ever so slightly, she silently prayed he wouldn’t see her as she reached over to the candle. Two fingers clamped over the wick, snuffing the flame out as quickly as a flash. Now only visible as a glowing network of veins and a silhouette, the stallion span. His expression seemed scared and his eyes, were wide. “The fuck was that?” He muttered, his eyes darting from side to side. Rather than move forward to investigate he stepped back, uncertain in his plan of action. The cat jumped off of a filing cabinet, darting into the front room and making him jump. “Charl- Oh, what’s the point. It was jus’ the wind, weren’t it?” He grumbled and took a few unsteady steps towards the desk. Holding her breath, Solar hoped he wouldn’t try to relight the candle, since she’d have to resort to knocking him out there and then. As she got ready to tackle the stallion, he sprang forward and grabbed the book off the desk, quickly darting back to the safety of the lit room. With one final glance over the darkness, he shook his head and closed the door – Solar was rather shocked, being left alone in the room. Quickly, she scooped up the desk’s chair and jammed it underneath the door handle, ensuring he couldn’t come back into the room even if he wanted to. Sliding a hand into her bag, she pulled out a matchbox and re-lit the candle on the desk, adding some light back into the room. All she had to do now was find some documentation of the warehouse. Draw after draw she opened, searching each piece of paper for any mention of the substance with little luck, until one paper stood out to her. It was a sort of signed document that organised a wagon to transport powder from a warehouse in Fillydelphia. The signature at the bottom of the page read ‘Orion Star’ a name she’d never heard of before and the passage referred to the drug as ‘Star Sugar’. Presumably, it was named after the signer. Attached was a photograph of the warehouse, a large, simple structure by the Fillydelphian docks as well as a basic map and the address. She rolled the page up and put in her bag, making a mental note to not crush the thing. It could prove she’d done the job if there was any doubt. Getting to Fillydelphia would be kind of a pain, though, since the only way she could get there quickly would be by train. The problem with that was that Canterlot had guards posted by the train station, and she wouldn’t even have the cover of the crowds as she had earlier. With that being said, Canterlot did have quite a lot of trade deals with Fillydelphia and wagons travelled back and forth quite frequently, so perhaps she could get on one of those. As she closed the filing cabinet, putting things back in their original place, she heard movement from beyond the door. In her hurry to search the cabinets she had made quite some noise, something which the stallion must’ve heard. Fiddling with the final draw, she decided that all was back to normal just as she heard a rattling. She turned to see the door being pushed against the chair, slowly moving along the stone floor with strained defiance. Through the open crack, she spotted the stallion stepping back and scratching his head in confusion. “I tell you, Charlie,” He muttered, “I don’t like this one bit. First, you’re actin’ up and then the candle an’ all. Now this door’s stuck, I don’t like it. Jus’ like them stories I was readin’, things actin’ all by themselves.” So, he thinks I’m one of his stories, then? Solar thought, grinning to herself. Moving quickly, she whipped the chair from the door and tucked it into the desk before wafting out the burning candle. Just as the door began to open, she slid over into the corner of the room and held still. Glaring around the space, the silhouette standing in the doorway stepped in. Lit up like a Christmas tree, she could see every movement he made, his glowing form pulsing with his heartbeat. As he took a few unsteady steps towards the desk, he pulled out a lighter and lit the candle, immediately doing a spin to check around himself. To her delight, he still couldn’t make Solar out as she crouched down low in the corner of the room. “Let’s give him a show,” She whispered to Corvus, getting a strange look from the raven. She had forgotten that her mask altered her voice as well, simply making her sound like a different pony. “It’s the mask. Look, you see that alarm clock? On the cabinet?” She asked, pointing to an old clock which teetered on one cabinet’s edge. “Push it off, then we’ll get out of dodge, alright?” The deadpan look that followed made her blush slightly in embarrassment. “It’s not just for fun!” She hissed, “We need a distraction.” With a shake of his head, the shadowy bird hopped over her and pushed off into a smooth glide, landing softly on the other side of the room. He walked behind the clock and she got ready to dart out the door. With a shockingly loud crash, a clock fell down beside Woodjack, making him yell in surprise. Something brushed his back and he span back to find Charlie pressing against him and staring in uncanny fear once again. “What in Tartarus was that?” He cried out, angrily, picking the cracked clock up off the floor and scooping the candleholder off the desk – waving the glowing wax around the cabinet. There was no reason it should have fallen. “Oh, this is too much,” He groaned, shaking his head in disbelief. Sighing angrily, he strode out of the room and froze in shock. The door outside was open. He had been sure it was close, and now it was open. As if that wasn’t bad enough, it was banging against its hinges as the rain and wind battered it. “That’s it, I’m heading home. Come on Charlie, let’s go see if Silver Moon’s got anything for us. I told ‘em, I said there was no reason to be here, and now with spirits an’ all.” Solar cringed slightly from outside, knowing she should’ve closed the door. Having taken shelter beside the building, she peeked around the corner to see the stallion, now wearing a coat, locking up before striding down the road with a few furtive glances back. Hopefully he would just pin the happenings on his imagination or ghosts. She didn’t really care which, as long as he didn’t pin them on her. Not that he could, he hadn’t seen her at all. Right, up next, Fillydelphia. She thought, feeling the photo in her bag. --------------------------------------------------❆-------------------------------------------------- As she pulled herself onto the depot’s roof, Solar could hear wheels creak as wagons moved in and out of the building with ease. There was a large open skylight which stood out to her and she checked through it, finding the roof of a smaller structure inside. Some kind of office, I guess. She remembered a time when she had been watching this depot with Ironsights, enjoying his ramblings. He’d been ranting about the steel wheel rims the carts used and how hard they were to make when she’d mentioned how fun it would be to drive one. His reply was a long lecture about the reason all drivers were unicorns and the magic they used to make the carts move. It’d been a funny time in her life, moving around with him. Still, she had more pressing matters than to reminiscence right now. Each driver hung around their cart, some checking their routes and some just enjoying their time between trips. A few were smoking or chatting to other drivers, chuckles breaking the conversation every now and then. One of them must be going to Fillydelphia, there were at least eight carts and the city was such a large place for trading. Checking around the small office, Solar hung off the side and fell to the floor, kicking up a cloud of dust; she glanced around, ensuring no one had seen that. If they had, they weren’t doing anything about it. Keeping low to the ground, she ducked over to a small pile of crates and peeked around the corner. There was a group of three stallions and a mare hanging around beside a cart, discussing a replacement wheel. Judging by the mare being the only unicorn, she was the driver. “Yeah, I’m just not sure it’ll last for the ride to Appleloosa, s’all,” The mare said, resting her chin on a hand while she regarded the wheelrim. Solar briefly wondered if Ironsights had made the wheel, before changing her target to the next wagon in line. If that one was going to Appleloosa, it was useless to her. The next one along seemed more promising, carrying neatly folded bags of clothing and some baked goods. A stallion clambered down from the cart, looking over a few securing ropes and seeming pleased with the results. Sitting back against the crates, she heard another set of footsteps striding around the side of the cart. “Alright, is everything secured, darling?” A familiarly clear voice asked. “The road to Filly is simply dreadful and I can’t let any of this tear or the Countess will be furious. Not to mention the rain will ruin the fabric if it seeps through the bags, so the cover had better be on tight.” What are the chances of Rarity being here? Solar thought, moving along to get a better look at the carriage. Sure enough, Rarity stood face to face with the stallion, wielding a clipboard which she glanced at infrequently. Well, at least she was going to Fillydelphia, maybe Solar could hitch a ride with her. As she thought, she failed to notice the pair mount the wagon and all too soon her eyes flicked up to the sight of the vehicle trundling away from her. With a gasp, she vaulted over her cover and ran across the depot floor, hoping to reach the back of the cart as soon as possible. While there was nobody who was close enough to notice her adrenaline-fueled sprint, there were a few who kept tabs on who left and entered the place; something which meant she couldn’t simply cling on like a parasite without being seen. Unless. Just as she reached the back of the cart, she dropped to the floor and slid beneath, grabbing onto the carriage’s axle. Yanking herself between the wagon’s bed and its driveshaft, she discovered that it was actually comfortable to simply lie down on the thing. Now all she had to do was wait for the journey to end. --------------------------------------------------❆-------------------------------------------------- The journey was rather bumpy, as Rarity had mentioned, and Solar had very little to occupy her mind. There was a little bit of small-talk between the pair up front, which lent a little entertainment to the trip; although, she could barely hear them. From what she could gather, Rarity had made an outfit for ‘Countess Coloratura’ – a rising pop-star who was staying in Fillydelphia for a concert. There were also some extra clothing options for her back-up singers, something Rarity emphasized upon the driver’s complaints of ‘Too many clothes fo’ just one pony.’ Just as Solar was shifting to a more comfortable position for the umpteenth time, she felt the cart jolt and begin to shake. Looking down, she found that the usual monotonous dirt track become dotted, and soon filled, with stone bricked paving. She heard a few excited coos from her unaware friend up front and decided that now was as good a time as any to make her exit. Dropping down onto the dirt, she rolled from beneath the wagon, narrowly missing the spinning wheels and as she stood up, her eyes fell upon the towering city skyline of Filly; tall, grey obelisks scraping the skies like fingers, searching for a handhold. Never had she seen such an impressive feat of construction, Canterlot was the capital of Equestria, sure, but it had nothing like this. She had heard the stories and seen the depictions of Manehattan and its similar cubic kings, but she had been yet to set her eyes upon the buildings. As she visually traced her way up the blocks, she felt rather dizzy. The sheer height of the things made her feel uneasy, as if they were simply taunting her with their disregard for gravity. A yell to her left made her snap out of her trance and she realised she was simply standing in the road, blocking any oncoming traffic. With a hurried apology, she jogged to the pavement and took a deep breath. Each walkway was dusted with ponies on their way to their respective destinations, running like clockwork. Clearly, their paths and etiquette were set in stone. Solar tried to match the pace of those around her and soon found herself shifting along with them as bit by bit each filtered off of the sidewalk. She opened up her satchel and slid out the photograph of the warehouse, trying to match the image to a location. It was on the docks, so going to the shoreline would be her best bet to find it. Well, that was… South, so, currently to her right. Waiting for the opportune moment, she spied a turn in the road just ahead. As she weaved between the various colourful figures, she closed in on the port and almost stopped in amazement. The port itself was an incredible structure of efficiently laid out walkways and docks, designed to be as swift as possible. Despite this, it was not the harbour that took her breath away, it was the huge works of art that resided on the waves – gargantuan ships that could be seen further away, crews carrying cargo like ants to a hill. All the massive masts scraping the skies, the Man ‘o Wars and the frigates donning the flag of The Royal Sisters gave off a regal air. Closer were the smaller ships, ranging from sailboats to brigs and schooners; ships favoured by traders for their speed. Buildings faded from skyscrapers to fanciful houses, and soon, to commercial buildings as the neared the shoreline. Restaurants dotted the roads closest to the port and warehouses sat with their assigned numbers behind the decorative shops and food places – a clever design to hide the unfavourable storage blocks. Coming to a relatively quiet piece of the waterfront, Solar sat on the seafront wall and checked the photograph for any tell-tale landmarks, comparing it to the scene before her. It didn’t take long for something to stick out to her. The numbers on the warehouses weren’t just done to indicate which was which, they were in ascending order too. She was looking for F17, which would probably be further east. With this in mind, she hopped off the concrete and strode down the paved footpaths, taking in the sights. It warmed her heart to see the lighter side of life, families out enjoying themselves and a few young couples sitting at tables, ordering late lunches with distracted minds. Lone walkers took in the seaside and as she walked, she even came across an earth-pony sketching one of the larger ships onto a A3 canvas. He was very talented, only rarely having to erase his mistakes. While she wanted to sit and watch, she felt like it would make her rather suspicious in her current outfit. I’ll have to try drawing sometime. She thought, continuing along. F12, she must be quite close now. As she kept walking it soon became clear which warehouse was F17. Around four guards stood around the front entrance, chatting idly. A few were holding cigarettes in their hands, clearly preoccupied with their break and certainly not paying much attention to the local populace. It would be easy to get in and out as long as there was another entrance. Trying to act casually, Solar ducked between a shop named ‘Fish ‘n Chip’ – a place she noticed was popular with the griffons – and an ice-cream parlour, making her way behind the line of buildings to find a way in. There were no other doors to the warehouse, which was rather annoying, but that didn’t necessarily mean there was no other way in. Double checking around her, she took a run up to the storeroom’s wall and leapt at it, using her momentum to run a few steps up. She wasn’t as close to the top as she’d wanted, so she boosted herself with a flap of her wings – thrusting her onto the roof. Spinning, she fervently checked the air she’d just occupied, ensuring there were no loose feathers. It didn’t seem like it, something she hoped would hold true, but it was rather difficult to tell. To be fair, it is rare for me to lose one… While looking for a way in, she began to wonder if the building had any kind of air vent; a lot of city buildings did, so there was a good chance. Scouring the roof, it didn’t take long to find a T-shaped vent that she could slip into quite easily. All she had to do was undo the cover. Surprisingly, it had taken almost a year of small break-ins before the idea of adding a screwdriver to her list of tools had come to mind. Since then, she was glad she did, since it had been more useful than she’d expected. Undoing the screws and setting the grate aside, she slid down into the vent and began to crawl through the shaft, wondering what awaited her below. A caw echoed through the vent and she hissed a shush back. Don’t act up now Corvus. With a sudden idea, she scanned through the metal sheath for any signs of a circulatory system in the building, only to see the original four guards – each of whom were outside. Good. Deciding it was rather a long drop from the vent, Solar drew a roped arrow from her quiver and stabbed it into the thin metal, piercing it with the sawtooth tip. Checking that it was fixed, she began to descend down the rope and soon stood in the centre of the warehouse floor. There wasn’t that much in the area, around ten crates and a table beside a corkboard. The board caught here eye, since it held a large roll of parchment that showed some kind of recipe and diagram. Clearly, this must be the plans that Fancy had told her to take. Striding over, she pulled the pins from each corner and rolled up the paper, tucking it into her bag with a satisfied smirk. Up next on her to-do list of things to do was destroying the crates, which she made sure to check first. Apparently, she wasn’t the first to double-check the supply and one crate laid with its top already open, exposing the flammable yellow powder. With a flourish, she whipped a matchbox out and lit one of its inhabitants, staring into the flame and enjoying the lambent array of colour for a second before flicking the stick into the open crate. A loud bang filled her ears and her limbs ached badly. Her ribs hurt awfully, and she raised a dizzy head in shock, trying to comprehend what just happened. A loud whine now filled her head and the first thing she noticed was the blazing fire at the opposite end of the warehouse. The second thing was the fact that she’d been thrown across the entire space, slamming into the wall beside the door. Thirdly, she realised that the substance wasn’t just extremely flammable but explosive as well, something Fancy had kept rather quiet. No wonder everything hurts. Stumbling to her feet, a sharp pain cut through her nerves and she looked down to meet the gaze of a large piece of wooden shrapnel that went straight through her calf. Horror passed over her face and she felt a little faint, watching the damaged limb leak a familiar viscous liquid. To her left the door burst open, hitting into her and shoving her into the room’s corner. From her new position she saw the four guards from outside shouting to one another, but she couldn’t hear a thing through the ringing in her head. None seemed to notice her as they panicked over the blaze, confused and angry with the scene; not that there was anything they could do about it. Hoping to salvage what she could of the job, Solar knelt down and pulled the eight inches of timber from her leg with sparkling dots dancing in her vision – thankfully it seemed that the shard had actually rendered her leg’s nerves completely useless, dampening any pain she should’ve been feeling. Regardless, it would be a good idea to bandage the wound. With her hearing returning, she heard a shout and looked up to see one of the guards pointing towards her. Shit. Bandaging was a luxury she couldn’t afford for now, it seemed, so she gave up entirely on the leg and turned to flight for her exit. Beating her wings, she hopped out of the warehouse door and took off into the Fillydelphia sky. A crossbow bolt sped past her, causing an instinctual shriek of terror. Okay, faster, I hear you. She thought, drawing her wings back for an initial burst of speed when suddenly her body was spun through the air. One bolt had hit its mark, embedding itself into her torso with a vicious rip through her suit and body. Adrenaline finally kicked in at this and she shot off through the sky, praying that none of the guards were pegasi. There was no way she could outfly them like this. This is fine. She reassured herself, ignoring the sheer falsity of the sentiment. I just need to get out of the city, then I can find something to feed on or… or… Her vision blurred somewhat as she grew further from the city and she quickly decided that she’d rather land than crash, gliding down to a heavy and dark forest. The landing was certainly not smooth, and she rolled violently across the floor for a few metres, throwing up leaves and chunks of dirt in all directions before skidding to a stop. Exhausted, she simply laid there, feeling the pain unabated as the adrenaline wore off. She groaned, being in just about the worst shape she’d ever been. Pulling herself up, she felt a flood of nausea flood her senses and she was forced back to the floor. Oh, yeah. Lost a lotta blood, I guess. She thought, groggily. Something landed beside her head and she tilted her face to see a familiar avian face looking back at her. Cracking a smile, she let her head roll back to the side and closed her eyes. “Of course, you found me,” she chuckled, before concluding that it would take far too long to let this heal. She’d need to feed on something, but she could barely move. How the hell is this going to work… Something batted against her arm and she looked down to see the raven jumping impatiently. “Hey, cut it out. At least let me bleed out in peace.” He didn’t, though, but rather hopped along to her satchel and began bouncing there too. His expression was meaningful, trying to convey something. Then it clicked. The wolf’s blood that she had bottled earlier. “You little genius,” she breathed, pulling the bag towards her. Undoing the flap and unzipping the main pocket, she searched around for the container, her fingers soon grasping it. With a slow and deft movement, she unscrewed the lid and lowered the bottle to her face. Not wanting to spill a drop, she tilted herself up and the bottle down, swallowing the viscous liquid as if she hadn’t had a drink in months. Her usual bliss was marred slightly by the now body-wide pain, but it was still present and gave her more than just a flood of blood. It gave her a good dosage of hope as well. Come on, come on. She thought, impatiently, wanting her body to work its magic on the wounds as soon as possible. Gasping for breath, she finished the bottle and dropped it beside her – choosing to limply lie down until she was fit to move. The feeling of her wounds’ bleeding slowly stopping was surreal and when she felt she was able to, Solar rifled through her bag for some bandages. Never had she been so grateful for taking these kinds of provisions with her, as usually all they’d do is slow her down when she was trying to find other things. But this time, they really had proved their usefulness. Her solution certainly wasn’t ideal, but it was the best she could do for now. Now, all she had to do was find a way to Canterlot both without dying and without losing her precious cargo. Should be easy, right? She thought, mirthlessly. Moving as quickly as she could, she dragged her body towards a tall and thin tree through winces and gritted teeth; her body screamed with resignation as soon as she grasped the trunk and her grip felt loose. With her eyes clenched shut, she took a deep breath and yanked herself upright with all the strength she could summon. Opening one eye, her expression ran through a cycle of surprise, happiness, confusion, concern, and then finally, abstract horror. Generally, when her healing factor kicked in, it would use her blood to quickly graft a scab over the wound and properly replace the cells from then – as such, pulling herself up had simply torn the scabs, putting her right back to square one. The leaves of the forest floor moved softly with the crimson stream, being carried along like rowboats on a river all while the vampiric mare stood and waited, watching the precious fluid with sad eyes. Soon, new scabs formed and solidified, but she couldn’t help but feel light-headed. It was all well and good patching up the wounds, but with all that blood being gone… Well, it wouldn’t be doing her any favours. No problem, I can just… rest here for a bit. She concluded, deciding that it would be best to let the wounds heal properly before moving. But with that in mind, where was here? With nothing better to do, she scanned the treeline, looking for a good direction to head – unfortunately, the sun had thought it a good time to hide behind Canterlot’s mountainside home. Fine, at least she knew vaguely where to head, idly tracing the outline of the tall silhouetted spires with one finger. Something then caught her eye, something that moved slightly beyond the trees. A soft orange glow gleamed off of the dark and foreboding trunks, glinting off of droplet-dotted leaves. Taking an unsteady step forward, she stumbled her way across her little crash site and came to a stop a little closer. There was definitely something out there, as there was quite a substantial glow. Infuriatingly, fog had begun to roll in as soon as the sun went down, clouding her line of sight and making whatever it was impossible to identify. Swallowing, she took off towards the light, flinching with each footfall. She had waited, sure, but she hadn’t waited all that long. The wound, although covered, was still quite fragile. Stopping briefly, she felt the scab and its dark, uneven texture. It’s probably tough enough… She reasoned and sped up her stride. --------------------------------------------------❆-------------------------------------------------- Deep into the woods, there laid a town. The town in and of itself was rather simple, sporting a very select community of ponies. Trees laden with fruit were topped with incredibly densely packed leaves which completely blotted out the sun for a majority of the day, something which the residents found to be especially nice. Hollow Shades was simply somewhere that those who disliked the light could go, somewhere where it was not unusual to sport sharp, fanged teeth or scruffily tipped ears. Where one could live in quiet without constant gasps or pointed fingers to the ‘Strange lookin’ wings! See?’. Darkly coloured mares and stallions moved between stalls while some chatted in the light of their lanterns. With grins on their faces, they discussed topics of all different subjects, some joking around with friends and some speaking of their disdain of those who did not share the bat-like features that they did. Truly, it was a haven for them, but it did not mean they did not interact with the outside world whatsoever. After all, it was all well and good feasting on the trees’ bountiful fruit but what would be done if someone needed new cloth, or some building materials? These things did not simply appear from thin air. As she grew nearer, Solar could make out a small village – one that was alight with lanterns and torches as the natural roof blotted out even the moonlight. It was actually quite an appealing sight to her, since they would likely have some way to get to Canterlot. Just before she crossed the treeline, she stopped for a second, briefly considering if it really was a smart idea. She was wounded, torn up and covered in quite a hostile looking leather suit. Faux leather, of course, but the villagers wouldn’t know that… Damn it. In the past, reactions to the material had been less than calm. Which she could hardly pin on the viewer. The killing of animals had long been looked down on in Equestria, and wearing their skin was a new level of twisted. Again, it was a shame she couldn’t wear a sign that read ‘Fake Leather, Do Not Panic,’ but that wouldn’t help when she wanted to be subtle. Which is always. Changing her mind, she reached up a hand and drew back her hood and mask, revealing her countenance to the world as the blueish hues of her natural state flooded back. Immediately, she felt a primal need to put them back on, associating her getup with remaining unseen. Instead of walking straight into the hamlet, though, she skirted around the edge and began to search for any kind of transport. To her delight, this was one of the few smaller-scale towns that had a teleportation station installed – one that would easily get her to Canterlot. The problem was that she couldn’t work it herself, which was what the service was for. You would pay at a booth and tell the worker inside where you want to go, then they would activate the corresponding rune and you would simply step on. Then, voila, you are teleported. With that being said, the booth was only from the chest up… She could easily hide her wounds while she spoke and explaining the leather to just one pony would be easy. Alright then, conventional means it is. She thought, cracking a slight smirk. There was actually a path that wound through the forest towards the booth and the town, so she jogged along to it before heading for the booth. It would seem a little less strange to have someone approach from the path, rather than the deep forest and she wanted all the trust she could get. Taking a deep breath, Solar wiped her face down as best she could, ensuring any tears were gone before she strode up to the small structure. Along its side it bore the insignia of the two sisters, a stamp of government approval in Equestria. She hated having to use the method, knowing that acting too strangely could easily get her reported, but at this point she really didn’t know what else to do. Flying would be suicide in her state and she certainly couldn’t go back to Fillydelphia so soon. Walking to Canterlot would be off the table and she didn’t fancy trying to leap onto a moving train, so this was her best bet. As she sidled up to the mare behind the booth, she was surprised to see she was not… normal. Solar hadn’t quite caught sight of the villagers themselves, but she had thought something was off about them. The mare’s fur was grey and her mane a deep purple, matching her eyes which danced over the grain of the wooden counter in concrete boredom. Bony and featherless wings which mimicked a bat were folded behind her and near-clawed fingertips drummed on the wood. But what stuck out to Solar the most were the teeth. They were long canines, which curved slightly. Fangs. Her breath caught in her throat for a second and she stopped her march, speechless. How… How does she… She thought, her own mind stammering at this information. To find someone else with fangs was… unexpected. Shaking her mind clear, she realised something quite crucial. She could easily show off her own fangs… That would surely make the mare more comfortable. If she angled her body correctly, she wouldn’t see her feathered wings. Leaning against the counter, she knocked lightly on the box’s edge, startling the bat-pony. “Oh, ma’am, I didn’t see you, s-sorry.” She stammered, Solar watching her teeth with idle fascination. Just like mine. “Oh, that’s no problem. Few do. Hey, I was wondering if I would be able to get a ticket to Canterlot at this time of day?” She prodded, hoping to get the exchange over with. With a nod, the mare span and began fiddling with something in the dark interior. A few grumbles and mutterings of “… wish I had a light…” were heard before the form rose back up with one hand now on her hip and the other clasping a rune-covered stone. A soft light reflected along the box and Solar turned to see one of the largest floor runes begin to glow a bright purple. She’d been wondering how those patches of carved stone would work. “That’ll be eight bits, miss,” piped up the employee, waving a hand near to catch her attention. Nodding, Solar distractedly pulled out the bits and dropped them onto the counter, thanking the operator as she stepped forward and let the purple light consume her form. I’ll need to have a word with you, Fancy. Author's Note So, things are happening. Much to Solar's dismay, I may add. Hopefully, cool things are to come with regards to authority and the actual show characters - along with some extra vampire stuff. I know you may think I'm battering the poor mare for fun... Maybe But in reality I want to have some drama later on and this seems like a good way to do it. One thing you are probably thinking is: "Hey, Littlepony! Where is the flashback?" Well, she didn't sleep. So... No dream yet. Now, I could've extended this chapter to the point where she does sleep, but then it would be absurdly long and you would have to wait for ages. I reckon that this is the better alternative. I've begun to notice that I use the word 'Solar' too much. [Edit: I fixed that, I think.] You may think "No kidding, it's the character's name." But I've been doing more reading and I've realised that I don't have to reaffirm the name as much as I do. Really, I only have to do so if I refer to another character and even, if I'm pushing my luck, only another female character. I still don't know if I need that self-harm tag when it isn't linked to emotion, but I will keep it until I'm told which way to lean. Oh, also, as one final thing. 'Dark Horse' is a saying which means 'One who was previously unknown and is now prominent.' Now, how fitting is that?
Chapter 7: Smoke & MirrorsSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
