//------------------------------// // chapter one - Fear // Story: Shadow of a Nightmare // by Allen H //------------------------------// "Hello, are ya okay?" A butter yellow young filly poked and probed at an unconscious unicorn. Her long red mane bobbed along with an oversized light red bow each time she shook the dark blue unicorn. The unconscious mare didn't react at all to the filly’s touch. Not an ear twitched against her long silvery mane nor a groan escaped from her lips. The only evidence the unicorn was alive was her rising side, showing that she was still very much alive. "Applebloom, I think we should go get your sister," a white filly unicorn with a curly pink and purple mane, who was along the same age as the butter yellow one, suggested. Her eyes filled with concern over the unicorn that they had found. In their clubhouse. " Ya sure Sweetie Belle? She could just be really tired, and couldn't of found anywhere else ta sleep." Applebloom poked the unconscious mare once more with a fore-hoof. "Anyhow, where is Scootaloo? Isn't she suppose to be here for the Cutie Mark Crusader meeting for today?" Sweetie Belle facehoofed as something came across her mind. "Scootaloo told me that she wouldn't be able too." She looked at Appleboom, whom was still examining the dark-blue mare. "She said Rainbow Dash had promised to hang with her all day today....Are you listening Applebloom?" “Yea I hear ya.” Applebloom was in fact too preoccupied. She was pondering heavily upon why the unicorn mare was wearing a such thick looking jacket. Winter had just been cleaned a week ago, and spring was blossoming fully now. Being a young filly, and a Cutie Mark Crusader, she couldn't help feel the itch of curiosity and courtesy to relieve the mare of the jacket. "Applebloom!?" Sweetie Belle's voice rung through the earth filly’s ears, stopping her from reaching the unconscious mares jacket midway. "I really think we should tell somepony about her. We can't just leave her like this." The young unicorn’s gaze with concern over the mare while she looked at her friend. "Yer right I guess," Applebloom said to her concerned friend as she slouched, being a touch disappointed in not being able to relieve some of her curiosity. Sweetie Belle was right though; it didn’t feel right to leave the unicorn laying on the hard surface of their clubhouse. " I'll go get Applejack." It took only a few moment for the young earth filly to find her sister. Applejack was busy with the annual Apple Bucking Season, her light orange coat glistening from the sweat of a day’s hard work. Her long braided pony tailed mane swung freely under an old Stetson while she trotted up to an apple tree.  Applebloom didn't quite know what to tell her sister; it wasn't every day you find a stranger passed out, but she needed get her to the club house. The only thing she could think to say was, it was urgent. "I'm sorry AppleBloom, but I can't help you with any of your club activities right now," AppleJack said, as she bucked an apple tree, making all the apples it contained to fall in the baskets that surrounded it. "Me and Big Mac are trying ta harvest as many apples as we can today." She wiped her brow while her young sister stared at her with innocent eyes. Eyes that could probably bring a manticore to shame, if it had ever wronged anypony. "Its not a club activity...," AppleBloom lip curled to a pout, while she watch her big sister buck another apple tree, causing its apples to fall like the last tree. "It's just...There's a unicorn in the club house...." "Yes?" Applejack said, paying more attention to her sister’s words as she continued to the next tree to buck. "...and she won't wake up." Applejack's buck missed the tree when AppleBloom's words caught her off guard, causing her to fall flat onto her stomach. " Say what now?" Run, that one simple action was all that ran through Silver Tongue's mind. She wish she didn't have to: her muscles burned and begged for a rest, but her life depended on it. Twigs snapped and foliage flattened as she charged through the wilderness. Her mother had told her to stay hidden, but she just couldn't leave her, not with those hunters. This stubbornness was what brought the dark blue mare to her current flight for her life. The two hunters that had come for her mother spotted Silver just as she was trying to find her in the town's Sanctum library. The moon hung high in the dark sky, shone light down like a beacon in the sky as she tried to out maneuver her pursuers. She loved the moon, but why did it have to mock her with its revealing gleam, seeming to aid in her hunt? She dove under a patch of thick foliage when she heard one of her pursuers shout. The plant life tickled her as she listened. "We know you’re out here, abomination," a colt yelled out, his words filled with bloodlust piercing the cool night air. His hooves made heavy thuds as he slowly walk in the direction of her. His hoofsteps sounded to be only yards away. "You can't stop us from ridding the world of your existence." Silver didn't know what to do. She could reveal herself and continue her flee for her life, but she could feel the lactic acid burning in all her limbs and they refused to move anymore. There was also the fact that the colt could be a unicorn; he had displayed destructive magic when he blew a tree into splinters during her retreat into the woods. "It's only a matter of time before we find you, monster." If Silver could have seen the colt’s face, there probably would be a wicked grin spread across his muzzle. There was only one thing she could do. The result could be unwarranted, but it was her only chance to completely escape. She focused all her magic to her horn, condensing it before she would reveal her position from her magic auras glow. “Peek a boo, I see you.” Eyes glared at her, before a brilliant light exploded in front of her. Silver woke with a cold sweat glistening her face. The last memories of what had happened before she awoke still swirled in her mind. where is she, what happened, and more importantly, was she safe. Oh Faust did she hope she was safe. Silver felt that she didn’t have much of a fight in her right now to flee if the Council could find her. wherever here is. Silver was still inspecting the room she woke in, looking at the old wallpaper and the pictures of happy ponies that occupied it, when she realized somepony was talking “Are y’all sure you've never seen er' before?" A female voice said in a southern drawl. Silver slowly peaked over the back of the dusty old couch she had been lying on. She couldn't see anypony, but clattering sounds of dishes came from the open doorway of the room she was looking at. "Absolutely toottly!" An cheerful female voice answered. " I know everypony in Ponyville, and I've never seen her before...." Silver suddenly heard an inhale of excitement. "I need to give her a 'Welcome To Ponyville' party! " "Ponyville?" Silver thought to herself as gently slid off the couch, trying hard not to make a sound as she creeped across the room to the open doorway. She had to careful not to step on a creaking floorboard as she went. "Never heard of the place?" "Now hold it there' Sugarcube. We need to wait'in see if shes' ok." The southern voice said "Don't cha worry, she's super duper,” Silver heard the cheerful voice say while she approached the doorway from the side, “In fact, she's right at the doorway!” Silver froze. “How did she know? Is she with the council...no she wouldn’t have let me live if she was.” The head of a orange mare with freckled cheeks appeared in the frame of the door. her emerald eyes locked onto her as her braided golden blond mane dangled out from under a hat as she looked at Silver questionably, before it was replaced with an delighted and relieved expression. “Well a’ll be,” Her body came into full view as she came towards Silver, “We were afraid ya’ll was never going to wake up!" Silver kept still as the the orange earth pony approached her further. She posed herself to bolt if anything was to go awry. Reading Silver's body language, the orange made stopped going towards her. Her hoof still in mid step as she looked at Silver with a friendly smile. “Calm down, we’re not gonna’ hurt ya.” The orange mare’s words felt honest, but she couldn’t trust anypony at the moment. Even if they seemed to taken her in with hospitality. It could all just be a ploy while they waited for the Council’s hunters to arrive. Silver’s ear’s twitched while her mind worked like shifting gears trying to determine what to do. “Now how bout’ I get you glass of refreshing appple ju-” “Hi, my names Pinkie Pie!,” A pink mare appeared out of nowhere beside her, the mare’s even brighter pink mane bounced about with her jubilant movements, “What's yours?” Out the shock of the mare who called herself Pinkie, Silver’s muscles jolted to life. She bursted into a charge to get away from Pinkie. Luckily the house she was in wasn’t too large. she found the door leading to the outside just to the side of the room she had woken in. Focusing her magic, she sent a concussive force at the door, making it blow off it’s hinges and leaving a few splintered fragments in the air. Silver could hear the other mare ask her “Stop” as she charged out through the door with all the srtangth she could muster. she wanted to getaway...find somewhere safe. Watching the mysterious mare charge down the road leading to Ponyville, one thought went through Applejack’s mind. She had to stop this mare, before she hurts herself, or somepony else. “Pinkie, go get Rainbow Dash...I might need her help to calm down this pony.”