//------------------------------// // The Alleyway // Story: Samneo: The Earth Pony // by Samuel-Neocros //------------------------------// It had been at least three weeks since Slaughter’s retreat. Seeing the potential in Sam. Twilight had offered him to be her student, much like Starlight Glimmer. But Sam had declined the offer, several times. In the time between his battle with Slaughter, and now. He had gotten to know Twilight and her friends rather well. Right now, he was on his daily walk through town. Of course, Sam would excuse himself as trying to stretch his legs--in reality though, he was having a bit of anxiety... His goal today was to find a memory orb, since earlier that morning; Voss had told him in a dream that the next one was nearby. So he wasn’t just going out to stretch his legs. But perhaps that voice inside his mind could help him in his search. He paused in his tracks, and tried to search for any thoughts. He even tried to speak to the voice. “Hey uh... I.. I need s-some.. a-advice...” He said nervously. He kept his ground, listening to any voices, or even any signs... ... Nothing. He sighed, and decided to continue his search for something to do. He felt rather displeased by the fact that he was practically searching around blindly. Even still, the goal he had also stumped him a bit. It took him awhile, which made him annoyed. But he soon felt a familiar aura... Which lead him to an alleyway, which was a few buildings away from the library. The alleyway was rather shaded, making it rather unnerving to look through. It almost felt like something could jump right out, in front of him. Sam then spots it. The memory orb was floating there, at the end of the alleyway. He proceeded to trot over to it, staring intently with anticipation of what he will remember. The orb was slightly different in appearance, looking more like a pearl than the one in his dream, and it was slightly orange in color. Of course, had it not been for the familiar aura it was giving off, he would’ve been suspicious of it’s difference. Sam suspected that all the orbs were going to look different. The first one was purely white, and the second one was blue with a white outline. Once he reached it though, he heard some shuffling behind him. He turned around, and saw three stallions. The one on the left was pale blue earth pony, with a purple mane and tail. The one on the right was a red earth pony with a dark brown mane and tail. The one in the middle was light brown, with a black mane and tail. All three didn’t look so friendly. “Hey, kid. We found that first, that’s ours.” “Since when were there gangs? I haven’t even seen any!” Sam thought, perplexedly. The three approached Sam. He backed away, before he quickly touched the orb. He then remembered last time, thinking that it took time to remember, resulting in Sam regretting his decision. He proceeded to remember more of his past... Sam had become a member of a Guild. He had signed as an explorer to investigate any changes in the Elemental Forest. It’s where he found a gemstone, that gave him the power of earth. It was also when he felt the presence of a water dragon, and after that, strange things happened... After he was done remembering, he was expecting a beating. He shut his eyes, expecting whatever it was they were going to do... but it didn’t come. Sam turned around, and noticed that they were on the floor. He blinked, before he then sensed a dark presence. He felt a cold chill run down his spine as he heard a rough cough behind him. Sam turned around slowly, and was met with a fiery red eye. “..!!!” He gasped, and jumped back quickly. Standing just a few meters away, was a black figure wearing a dark blue cloak. He had one lock of hair that obscured his left eye, and his face was somewhat hard to see. “Hello, Sam.” He spoke. His voice being deep, almost grimy. The man sounded like his mouth was in a glass cup, but with holes in it. “I thought I’d bump into you, eventually.” Sam had a feeling that he should run, and he was given the command when he heard Neocros’ voice inside his mind. “... run...” Sam bolted out of the alleyway, jumping over the three muggers, and exiting out. He didn’t look back, for that he swore he heard faint screams from the stallions. But part of him felt like he needed to go back. Even know they were threatening, Sam wanted to save the stallions. But he heard the voice tell him to never turn back. He wasn’t strong enough to face that thing yet...