//------------------------------// // Betrayal! // Story: My little Short Stories // by Paradise Oasis //------------------------------// Betrayal! "Do the moonwalk, baby!" The few ponies in the audience clapped, as Nightshade finished his last song. The Bright Valley auditorium was as empty today, as it was for all of the young pony's performances. It was disheartening to the white earth colt, that only two ponies consistently came to hear him sing. Still he appreciated their devotion to him, and returned the gentle love they felt for them. "Yaaay, Nightshade. woo hoo!" Bow Tie cheered, running up to the singer with the blue pompadour mane. "You were great!" "Thanks, Bowtie!" He replied, nuzzling his girlfriend. There was no filly he cared for more in all of Ponyland. "Well, done, son!" A yellow mare with a grey mane trotted up. "You're still the best singer in all of Ponyland!" "Aw gee, thanks, mom!" The pony in the blue letter jacket smiled, happy for his only living parent's support. As the three of them left the nearly empty arena, Nightshade looked around his hometown of Bright Valley, and sighed. This was the best place in the Confederacy to become a star, and there was nothing more that the young earth colt desired to do than become a singer! But no matter how much he practiced, no matter how much he sang in his high school choir, no matter how many lessons he took from expensive stallion tutors... Nightshade just couldn't seem to draw in the fans! "Well, I've got to go meet the other girls at the Powder Puff spa!" Bow Tie announced, nuzzling her boyfriend again, before galloping off. "See ya later, baby!" "Bye, Bow Tie!" He smiled at her, as she galloped away. "See you tomorrow!" "And I need to be going, too. Supper won't be making itself!" His mother turned down the street that led to the house the two lived in. "Make sure you're home by eight!" "Later mom! I'll be home before the food gets cold!" After the two had left, the pony singer sighed, and trotted down the street. "This is just great!" He thought to himself, snorting out loud. "I can't even get a decent gig that pays! What am I gonna do?" The son of the foreman pony at Bright Valley's steel mill. Nightshade had grown up in decent, middle class surroundings. He had always admired the stallion entertainers on television- the rock 'n roll rebels that everyone thought was cool, and could turn everybody's heads. As his teachers in school had seen he was musically inclined, they prepared him for a career in the entertainment business. But when it came to actually draw a paying crowd in to listen to his songs, the handsome young colt just seemed to keep coming up short! Passing the Atsa-Mata bistro, Nightshade looked though the window at the ponies eating inside. Bow Tie loved it when they always came here for their dates every weekend. Slurping down spaghetti noodles together, and gazing into each others eyes over a candlelit table in the darkened dinner. Oh, what fun times they had had! But with high school graduation soon upon them, Nightshade feared he might have to be in that Bistro as an employee soon, serving up the spaghetti, just to make ends meet. How could he ask Bow Tie to stay with such a low-class stallion? Walking further down the street, Nightshade passed several parked cars, their sleek chrome plating and shining hubcaps glistening in the sun. He had wanted to buy his mother a new mustang when his career took off, to replace that broken down old model P she went get groceries in. But the way his career prospects were going, he'd be lucky if he could buy her a toy car! His poor mother... she had endured so much. She had had to watch Nightshade's father - her husband- come back from that dingy old factory night after night. His hooves chipped and dirty, his mane and filthy coat all soaked with sweat. His father had sacrificed so much for nightshade and his mother's happiness, and what was his reward for it? The white colt remembered the night a year ago, when the factory owner- a grey stallion in a tweed suit- had come to tell them there had been an accident. His kind and dear father, crushed like a grape by the factory gears when he tried to save another stallion's life. The factory paid for the closed casket funeral, but Nightshade and his mother were barely able to get by on the meager few bits that were the old stallion's pension. "Oh, what am I to do?!?" He thought to himself, as he stopped and stared at the Statue of Pinkie Pie- the town's patron saint pony- in the village square. "You were always the mistress of pony celebrations and laughter, the pony who could randomly burst into song! What in the world can I do to help my loved ones?" "Would y'all happen to be Nightshade, the famous pony performer?" An oily voice hissed behind him, causing the teenage colt to spin around. "Yeah?" Nightshade snorted, looking behind him. "Who wants to know?" "Name's Zeb, son! Ponyland talent agent extraordinaire!" A slimy looking zebra in a polyester suit and sunglasses hissed. "I heard you perform back there, son, and I think you've gotta voice that's outta sight!" "Thanks... but what do you want with me?" He asked suspiciously. Zeb just chuckled. "Son, I have a plan that'll make the both of us very, very rich...." .... "Grrr, why'd I have to miss the bus again?" It was raining outside the 13th precient Bright Valley elementary school, and a nine year old Nightshade was rushing to get to. The frustrated foal covered his heard with his book bag, and Cursed under his breath as he dashed away from his house. But about a few feet away from the school entrance, Nightshade head a strange sound, coming from behind the building. "Waaaaaaaaah!" A sad, plaintive cry went up from the playground. Galloping back, the young foal found a little blue earth filly, sitting underneath the sliding board, and sobbing. "Hey there little pony!" He called out, trotting up beside her. "Why ya so glum?" "No-nobody wants to play with me!" She sobbed, burying her eyes in her hooves. "And they left me all alone out here!" "That's not cool!" He exclaimed. "Not cool at all! What's your name, little pony?" "B-Bowtie, she replied, looking up at him. "Bowtie Lace." Nightshade could see the filly was only a year younger than himself. "My name Nightshade, and I'd love ta play with ya!" "Really?" She asked, drying her tears, and looking up at him. "Sure, little pony!" He thought for a moment, then tore a strip of cloth off of his jacket and tied it into a bow in her mane. "Here you go, little pony! A Bowtie for Bowtie!" "Yaaay! You're a nice colt!" THe little filly whinnied with joy, nuzzling him. Together, the two little ponies went into the school, and out of the rain. ... "Hello, girls!" Bowtie called out cheerfully, trotting into the Perfume Puff beauty spa. "How are ya doin today?" "Bow Tie, darling!" Dainty Dahlia, a white earth mare with a pink mane, pulled up a chair for her. "So good to see you!" "Hello, dear!" Daisy Sweet, a blue mare with a yellow mane, greeted her. "The usual today?" As always!" She grinned, shaking out her pink mane, and lying back in the chair. "And make sure ta give me lotsa ribbons!" "Good grief, cousin!" Lavender Lace, a female Pegasus in charge of the other two, stepped out of the back. "You sure do love your hair ribbons!" The blue filly smiled as lavender came into the room. Bow Tie's cousin, this mare was one of the few winged ponies ever born in Bright Valley... and face a lot of prejudice, because of it! "A very special somebody gave me my first ribbon, and he loves seeing me in them!" She replied, as Daisy Sweet began working on her mane. "Besides, they make me look even cuter!" "Speakin of that crazy colt," Dainty Dahlia inquired, as she began manicuring Bow Tie's hoof. "Has that little rascal proposed to you yet?" "What? No!" Bow Tie snorted, as Lavender Lace put two cucumbers over her eyes. "We're just graduating this month! Besides, he wants his career to take of first, before we think of marriage!" "Career, huh?" The Pegasus looked skeptical. "When is that boy with the purple pompadour gonna get himself a job, hm?" "Hey, don't be so hard on him, girls!" Bow Tie snorted, as Lavender began to massage her back. "You don't know that colt like I do... .... "Mama, Papa... this is Nightshade!” She gestured to the two adult ponies. "Nightshade, these are my parents!" After they had been dating a few months, Bow Tie had invited the now-fourteen year old Nightshade home to meet her parents. Needless to say, Nightshade was less than excited about the prospect! "H-hello, Mister and Missus Lace!" He whinnied nervously, scratching the back of his head with his hoof. "Nice to meet you both!" "A pleasure to meet you dear!" Satin n' Lace, a lavender mare with a pink mane, greeted him. "I hope you'll be able to stay with us for dinner!" "Pleasure to meet you, son!" Shoe Lace, the brown stallion who was her father, shook his hoof vigorously. "Would you like to come up and tour the Cliff guns above the city? I am the captain of the guard, you know!" They enjoyed a wonderful dinner together, then Nightshade and Bowtie went upstairs, to look out the attic window together. "You really want to be a singer, don't you, Nightshade?" She cocked her head curiously. "Very much so!" The singing pony agreed. "It's always been my dream to be a great singer!" "Sing a song about me, Nightshade!" She asked, leaning her head against him. The colt thought for a moment, then began to sing; "Spell a pony's name for me B-O-W T-I-E! It's Bowtie! My Bowtie! And my Bow-Tie is the prettiest little pony of them all!" .... "Oh NO!" Bow Tie whinnied in terror. "What in the world is going on?" It was evening the next day, when Bow Tie came galloping back towards town in a hurry. She had been outside gathering mushrooms, when the bule filly had heard several screams coming from the city, and a dark cloud slowly spreading over all of Bright Valley. As she approached the bridge leading into town, Bow Tie saw the three powder puffs feeling towards her. "Girls! What's going on?" She called out, as the three mares stopped to answer her. "Bow Tie! Run for your Life!" Dainty Dahlia yelled, almost out of breath. "The town's been overrun by fakies!" "Z-zombie ponies!?!" Bow Tie's eyes went wide. "Princess Silver Swirl! The gun batteries-!" "The princess escaped with her guards, they're making for sanctuary in fort Rainbow Dash!" Daisy Sweet replied, looking back over her shoulder. " Your father locked down the gun battery vaults, right before they..." She looked down. "I'm so sorry, Bow Tie." "So sorry about what? Where's my father?" She looked up at Lavender Lace, who was flapping overhead. "Lavender, where's Nightshade?" "It's Arabus, Bow Tie." The Pegasus told her without hesitation. "He turned to townsfolk into fakies by stealing their shadows. " "What? Arabus?" Bow Tie screamed incredulously. "That old fairy tale of the shadow stealing genie sealed under the town?!?" "Yes! He's using music to distract them, while he steals their shadows..." Dainty Dahlia's eyes were tearing up. "...and Nightshade was helping them do it!" "No...." Bow Tie's eyes went wide, and tears started to form. "That's a lie! You're LYING!" "I wish we were, Bow Tie... but we saw him!" Daisy Sweet replied, as the three turned to gallop away. "You'd better run, while you still can!" Bow Tie turned back to the bridge, where she saw Nightshade standing, staring at her. "Oh, Nightshade, thank the horsemaster you're safe!" Bow Tie cried out in relief. "C'mon, we've got to get out of here before...." She stopped suddenly, a shiver sent up her spine by the cold, icy stare coming from the pony she loved. "Nightshade?" She whimpered, her lower lip trabling as she started to cry. "Nightshade what's wrong?" Suddenly, a mare and a colt came up from behind the pony singer, an empty look in their eyes. Drool leaked from the stallion's mouth, While the mare growled like a savage animal. The two were fakie zombies, to be sure. But they were also ponies that Bow Tie knew well. "Mama..." She whimpered, a lump forming in her throat. "Papa..." "Take her alive." Nightshade snorted, scowling at the filly in contempt. "Arabus will want her shadow to feast upon!" "NO!" The filly howled in anguish. She kicked the two fakies that had once been her parents away as they lunged at her, and galloped away from bright valley at top speed. "I HATE YOU NIGHTSHADE!!!" She howled to the uncaring wind. "I'LL HATE YOU FOREVER!!!" As she ran, she tore out of her mane the ribbon that had been a gift so long ago, and let it fall behind her. Away the filly ran, tears streaming down her face, as she left Bright Valley- and the only colt she had ever loved- behind her forever. "Spell a pony's name for me B-O-W T-I-E! It's Bowtie! My Bowtie! And my Bow-Tie is the prettiest little pony of them all!"