//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: Song of Memories Pt. 1 // Story: Shadow and Silver // by silversoul //------------------------------// The room was pitch black, void of any light save for a few torches, casting a dim, eerie orange light. Long with a low ceiling and shaded windows lining the walls, the only piece of furniture inside it was a round table with cushions surrounding it. It stood in a small wing of the castle, which itself was sealed off to only a select few, and used by even fewer. But at the moment, several figures were seated in the chamber, all staring at the middle of the table, which held a crystal ball. Four of the group wore pitch black cloaks with gray edges which hid their whole bodies, hoods drawn over their heads and hiding their faces. Even the light shining from the ball didn’t show their faces, though it was clear two of the four were Unicorns, one had a pair of bat-like wings sticking out of his back, and the other seemed to be an earth pony, with no indication of additional body parts. Their leader was a Unicorn as well, as was evident by the glowing black light under his hood, but he wore a different outfit than the others. Unlike them, his cloak was black and red, and had the design of pointed blades of both colors crossing over each other. The pattern covered every inch of the cloak, right up to the hood hiding his face. The crystal ball was rather large, about the size of a classroom globe. It rested on a solid metal ring, held up by four clawed feet digging into the polished wood. And inside it was a familiar image; seven mares and a stallion, all gaping at the sight of the contents of a normal-looking manila folder. A Pegasus to the leaders left let out a cackle, speaking in a high male voice “Looks like our friend failed to realize we like to plan two steps ahead instead of just one. Oh, those poor things, it’s going to take them ages to break the spells we’ve set on those papers. By then, it’ll all be too late. We’ll have brought them down from the inside of the government itself. Oh, the irony of it will be amazing!” He started to laugh, as did the other three of his comrades until a stomp of their leaders hoof on the table quieted them all. His eyes flashed a bright, solid red before turning to the stallion who had spoken before. His voice was deep and even, but there was just the hint of evil behind it. “Silence. You’ll remember to hold your tongue, Vampire of Canterlot,” he ordered, the stallion bowing his head. “Yes, master…” he muttered. “You know, it is too bad, though” one of the unicorns said. Their gazes all turned to a sixth, empty cushion at the table. “With Wylde as their prisoner, we’re at a rather big risk, don’t you think?” he asked. The second unicorn, this one a mare, answered, “Oh come on, you know Wylde would never tell them anything. She’d rather die than give up a secret. We’ll be fine.” “And if she somehow does break…” the Superior added, watching as the image shifted to their trapped ally, “I’ve assured that she will pay most dearly for any treason.” “Wait, you mean you won’t even have one of us try and rescue her?” the earth pony asked, again a mare. “Shouldn’t we try to at least get her back?” she asked, her voice full of concern. The Superior shook his head, “No, Wylde has proven she isn’t fit to serve below me. She has not warranted any favor from me. She is dispensable at this point, anyway. She had little worth other than a soldier, in the end. Nothing but meat to lure the prey off course…” “Well then who gets to go after them next, huh, Superior?” the Pegasus asked, eagerness lacing his voice. “Can it be me, please? Oh please, let me have a round with them. The things I could do, the games I could play. Especially with the pretty little Alicorn… I’ve never tasted the blood of one before. It must be amazing, like candy running down your throat.” “Ugh,” the female Unicorn groaned, “Alucard, when was the last time that you ate? You’re acting all crazy again. Well, crazier than normal, and that’s saying something.” “Syra is right,” the Superior said. “Alucard, you’re clearly in need of food. Go out tonight and sate your hunger, but you will not go after the two of them, or their friends. None of you will.” His eyes focused on Silver's image as it came back into the crystal ball. “Let’s give them a fair chance first, before anything else. See how long it takes for Silver and the great Twilight Sparkle to break the spells we’ve set. For now, let’s just enjoy watching them squirm.” His four servants nodded, laughing again as the image in the crystal ball faded. ========================================================== Shadow stifled a yawn, taking a long drink of the warm tea in front of her. The remains of breakfast sat on the kitchen table in front of her. The Alicorn sighed, looking at a tray of uneaten food near the remaining crumbs of her own meal, completely untouched. Another day and her ‘prisoner’ had refused any food. She had been muttering something about “I know it’s drugged” and refused to eat or drink anything. For three days now, Wylde Twister had been living in the flat with her. Or rather, she was being held prisoner in Silvers room until she decided to say anything about what she knew. But of course, she’d been silent on that topic so far. Not too surprising; the mare, aside from not once stopping her struggling while Silver tried to teleport her to their flat, was proving to be annoyingly stubborn. She’d refused any food, and only drank when she when she was getting dehydrated. Naturally, some of the others (Namely Applejack and Rainbow Dash) had suggested trying to be far more forceful with the mare. Still, Silver had refused to let them though; after all, trying to force anything out of her wouldn’t help the situation. Still, sitting and doing nothing wasn’t helping much either. And Shadow was frankly starting to get tired of that. Three days gone, and Twilight and Silver still hadn’t managed to break any of the spells over the documents. After all this time, maybe it was time to start going out there and searching for answers herself. Silver could stay here and take the slower route to discovering about them, but she was ready to go out there and do some actual digging around… A sudden tapping on the window shook the mare from her thoughts. Turning her head, Shadow wasn’t surprised to find Rainbow Dash hovering in the air in front of the window. She smiled, going over and pushing the window to the side, allowing for her marefriend to come in. “Morning,” Rainbow greeted, landing on the floor beside Shadow. She accepted a peck on the cheek in return, at least thankful Wylde was behind a locked door an unable to watch. “So, since it’s supposed to be clear skies all day, what’s the plan for today?” she asked. “Come on Dash, you know I can’t do much while Silver’s off at the library. Somepony has to keep an eye on Wylde,” Shadow answered, motioning to the closed door. “Aww, come on,” Rainbow whined, going and plopping down on the couch. “It’s been three days and she hasn’t said anything. Why not just force it out of her, again?” she asked, watching Shadow sit next to her. “Because, Silver says it’d just make her resist more, and in that case we couldn’t be sure if she’d give us a real answer,” Shadow explained. “But we don’t know if she’d tell us the truth either way,” Rainbow said. "Come on, don’t you think it’s worth at least trying?” she asked. Shadow just shook her head, “No; I don’t think I was ever one for trying to force the answer out of somepony like that, either. But I would like to go out there and start doing some digging myself. I mean, Twilight and Silver are just taking so long with trying to reveal what’s on those papers.” “Well then why not go out and look for some leads yourself?” Rainbow asked, sitting up a bit and looking at Shadow. “You said you have memories of you and Silver in Canterlot, so why not look around there?” she suggested. “The city’s only an or so away by flight. We can go and do some digging around ourselves!” “Rainbow, listen to me; there’s a dangerous pony in my best friends bedroom. I can’t just leave her alone,” Shadow said, her voice more forceful. “Come on Shadow, what do you think friends are for?” Rainbow said happily. “I’m sure the others will be happy to watch her,” she told her marefriend. “But who could watch her today, Rainbow?” Shadow asked, “I mean, aren’t they all working today?” Rainbow rubbed a hoof on her chin, thinking for a second. Shadow was right, she realized; Pinkie was working today, Rarity was busy with a dress order, and Applejack was going to be working the orchard all day. Which only left… “Oh Celestia…” she sighed. “What?” Shadow asked, looking as Rainbow’s head drooped. “There’s only one pony free today,” Rainbow grumbled. “And that would be?” ********************************************************** “Are you sure you’re up to doing this, Fluttershy?” Shadow asked, she and Rainbow hovering in the air in front of the living room window while the timid Pegasus sat on the couch in front of it. “I mean, Wylde’s not gonna have anything nice to say to you,” the Alicorn warned. “Oh, I‘m sure I’ll be fine,” Fluttershy said with a small nod. “You and Rainbow just try your hardest to find any clues to your past, Shadow, and good luck,” she said with a small smile. “And, you said Silver knows where you’re going, right?” she asked. “Yep, we sent a message off with Derpy when she came by to deliver when she came by with the mail,” Shadow assured her. “I’m sure he’ll be getting it any minute now.” “Okay then, thanks again for doing this, Fluttershy,” Rainbow said hastily, turning to the mare hovering beside her, “Now come on Shadow; we’re burning daylight.” “Right,” Shadow nodded, the two of them turning starting off towards the city. She took one last look back at Fluttershy, calling back, “Fluttershy, make sure and keep a close eye on Wylde.” She couldn’t hear the Pegasus’ quiet voice, but she was sure it was saying something along the lines of okay. Turning back ahead, she saw Rainbow already leaving her behind. “Hey, wait up!” she cried, flapping her wings faster. ********************************************************** “Any luck?” Silver asked, his eyes scanning over the text of yet another book. “Darn it, nothing useful here either…” he muttered, tossing the book into the ever-growing discard pile. “Nothing here, either,” Twilight said, tossing her own book aside as Spike brought over a stack of several more. She looked down at the still-blank papers in front of her, fighting the urge to simply smack them and see if that had any effect. It would probably do as much good as anything else she and Silver had tried. Not one spell that was supposed to reveal hidden information had worked on the papers, and it was starting to bug both of them. “How about checking this one I just found; ‘Perplexing Paper Plights’?” Spike asked, pulling the book out of the stack he’d just set next to Twilight. He let Twilight’s magic take it from his grip and open it, the Unicorn bending over and scanning the contents. “Can’t hurt to check, I suppose…” she muttered before her ears suddenly perked up at a knock on the door. She groaned, “Spike, can you get that, please?” “Sure thing,” the baby dragon said, heading over and pulling open the front door. “Oh, hi there Derpy,” he said, immediate recognizing the grey, blond-maned Pegasus. “Morning Spike; here’s your mail,” she said, reaching into her mail bag and pulling out a small stack of envelopes which he happily accepted. “Oh, say Spike, is your friend Silver here?” she asked, “I was supposed to give him something.” “Yeah, he is,” Spike answered, a bit surprised. “Great,” she reached back into her bag, pulling out a folded sheet of paper, “Then can you give this to him soon as posib- hey!” She gasped, watching as a gust of wind blew the paper out of her hoof and down the street. Her inner post-mare kicking in, she narrowed her crossed eyes, spreading her wings wide, “Oh no you don’t; I’ve never failed to deliver a single letter, and I’m not gonna start today!” With that, she sped off after the paper down the street, the wind carrying it long as she swiped constantly at it. Spike simply stood there, watching the scene for a minute or so before slipping back inside. As he stepped back inside, Silver looked up from another book, “Spike, was there something for me just now?” “Yeah,” he nodded, “But Derpy lost it and she’s chasing after it. Don’t worry; it happens a lot, but she always brings it back by the end of the day.” “Well, okay then,” Silver said, looking back down at the book, “Guess it can’t really be anything important, anyways…” ********************************************************** “So Shadow, recognize anything?” Dash asked as the two mares walked down one of the many streets of Canterlot. “Rainbow Dash, we just got here,” Shadow said as they turned a corner, “Can I at least have a chance to look around here?” Sure enough, they had landed not even five minutes ago, and were wandering around the streets. Unsure of even where to go, the two simply began heading down a random street, Shadow looking around and trying her hardest to remember any of the sights. For a while, the two walked together in silence, Shadow not recognizing a single sight. “Darn it, not one of these buildings seems familiar,” she grumbled, stomping the ground with a hoof. “If we could just find that school I remember, that might help me remember some more about my past…” She turns to Rainbow Dash, “Let’s head into the sky; we’ll get a better view from there and maybe I can find that school.” Rainbow nodded, spreading her wings, “Sounds like a plan to me.” The duo shot up into the sky, going high enough have a good view of the entire city. “See anything you recognize?” she asked they were a good mile up. Shadow turned on the spot slowly, taking everything she saw. Row upon row of buildings stretched out, slowly turning from business-like rows of connected buildings to houses spread along the streets. But then, something caught her eye; just past one of the taller buildings, there was a tip of brownish black, a complete contrast to the white and gold of the grand building. She went up a bit higher, ignoring Rainbow as more of the building came into view. It was a large, mansion-like building with three floors. Three turrets shot out of it, the biggest one that caught Shadows attention off to the left. It was set a good ways from the back from the gathering of buildings, but the mare could still easily see it, numerous shades of brown showing off its age compared to the modern-looking buildings beside it. “Shadow, what’s up?” Rainbow had flown up next to Shadow, worried when her questions had fallen on deaf ears. She looked the same way as her marefriend, the large building sticking out like a sore thumb. “You remember that building?” Rainbow asked, watching as Shadow went forward a few inches. It was then that Shadow suddenly sped off towards it. Dash blinked once in surprise before tailing after her, “Hey, wait for me Shadow!” The Alicorn hovered to the ground in front of the building. Up close, she now saw that the building was indeed far older than any other she’d ever seen. There was no paint anywhere, leaving the dark brown wood exposed. Dirty curtains hung in the windows in varying states of shabby-ness. A sign at the edge of the rather large front yard read ‘New Road Orphanage’ in faded letters, though much of it was covered by a sign labeled ‘To Be Demolished’ Rainbow landed next to her, looking up at the building, “Woah, didn’t know a building this run down existed in Canterlot…” “No, but I did…” Shadow said, staring up at the building, “I… Rainbow, this is where I lived for years, I know it is. I lived here until…” “Yeah, until what?” Rainbow looked at her marefriend, who fell onto her rump. “Until I was adopted… by Silver… and his big brother.” ********************************************************** “Ugh, again?” Twilight groaned, flattening her ears as another knock came to the door. “Spike, get the door,” she said, her face still buried in yet another book. Silver looked up and over at his friend, “Um, Twilight, you sent him out to run a few errands, remember?” He stood up, setting his own book aside, “Don’t worry, I’ll get it.” He just got a vague nod from Twilight in response, the Unicorn already buried back in the text. He just smiled a bit and went to the front door, surrised to find a familiar blond-maned Pegasus when he opened it. “Derpy? Didn’t you already deliver the mail here?” he asked. She shook her head, “Not all of it, no. I had a message from your friend but it tried to get away. Don’t worry though; I made sure I got it back in the end!” She proudly handed him the piece of paper and tipped her mail mare hat to him, “You have a good day now.” And with that, she was off, speeding into the sky, though of course not without hitting her head on several branches of the tree. Silver just sighed and shut the door, “That pony really needs to find a job that can’t result in as much property damage.” When the door closed, he looked down at the paper in his magic, “I really hope Shadow had a good reason for sending me this…” He flipped it open, his eyes slowly going wide as he read the contents. “Twilight, we need to go to my place, right now!” he said, turning to her. His voice was loud and shocked enough to make her turn and look up at him. “Why, what’s going on?” she asked. “Shadow and Rainbow are acting like idiots, that’s what,” he said, tossing the note away. Before she could even ask, he explained, “They went to Canterlot and decided to leave Fluttershy looking after Wylde!” “What, are they crazy!?” she asked, getting to her hooves. “What were they thinking, leaving Fluttershy with that homicidal pony?” “Apparently that Canterlot might have a few answers to our past,” he answered, “Now come on; we need to make sure Fluttershy is safe and then pull those silly fillies back, by their tails if we have to.” Twilight nodded, heading for the door right behind him, “Spike, look after the library while we’re gone.” The baby dragon saluted as the Unicorns galloped out the door, Twilight’s horn glowing for a few seconds before making her and Silver disappear in a flash of light. “Gah!” Silver stumbled as he and Twilight reappeared in front of the entrance to his and Shadow’s home. He looked at her, “Would you warn me before you do that, please?” Aside from the surprise of such a quick, unexpected change of scenery, he was pretty sure teleporting somepony like that just wasn’t safe! Even if he admired her skills to pull it off. Without waiting for her reply, Silver rushed into the building and upstairs, opening the door to the flat above. The sight inside, however, made him stop dead in utter shock. ********************************************************** “I remember everything about this place,” Shadow said, staring up at the buildings aging façade. “I was living here since I was a foal. The ponies who ran it cared about us, but the conditions were always horrible.” Carefully, she trotted up onto the porch, Rainbow hovering after her. “There was never enough bits to keep things going smoothly, and most of the other kids were horrible and stole what little we actually had around here.” She started up to the door, moving almost like she was in a trance, but stopped when she felt a tug on her tail. She looked back to see Rainbow holding it. “Shadow, are you nuts?” the chromatic mare asked. “This place is ancient; who knows what could happen if you wandered around in there? Sorry, but no way am I letting you risk yourself in that safety hazard,” she said, tugging Shadow back a few inches, away from the door. "Well…” Shadow took another look at the front door. It almost felt like something was trying to pull her in, to make her look around inside. Like there was something in there worth finding… But then she turned around and saw the worry in Rainbow eyes, snapping her out of the trance-like state she was in. “Y-yeah, you’re right,” she said, shaking her head a bit, “Don’t know what I was thinking. Besides, I don’t really think there’s much here worth remembering. Come on, let’s get out of here.” Dash nodded her agreement and the two turned, Shadow spreading her wings and hopping into the air beside Dash as they flew off. However, back inside the house, a cloaked Unicorn mare let out a grunt of anger. She ripped her hood down in a swift motion, revealing a pink coat along with a black mane, and grey eyes. “Damn it, I thought that spell would work!” she growled, stomping her hoof on the floor and causing it to break. “Why in Tartarus did it not!?” she asked, trotting lightly over to the glass-less window and watching the mares fly away. “Damn it, I can’t let them get away. I got lucky seeing them before and getting here before them; the stupid Shadow and her brother are gonna ruin everything if they get their memories back. If I can stop them now, our plans are sure to go smoother. I’ll become The Superior's second-in-command.” She slipped out of the window and down off the porch, watching as the two headed back for the main city. She glared, “Okay then, guess I don’t have a choice. Time to take things up a bit…” Her horn started to glow a steely grey, and seconds later she disappeared in a flash of light. ********************************************************** Silver was stopped dead by the sight waiting for him in his apartment. He would have expected Fluttershy to perhaps be in the living room, troubled over the fact of how mean Wylde was acting. He would have expected her to be there curled up on the couch, crying from being insulted so much. He even would have expected Fluttershy to be hurt and Wylde to be gone, easily escaping her bonds due to the timid mare. What he DIDN’T expect was to see Wylde on the couch, crying her eyes out while Fluttershy held her hoof soothingly. “I… I… what the hay is going on here, Fluttershy?” Silver asked, he and Twilight going over to her with his gaze wandering between her and the teary mare, “Is everything okay, here?” Fluttershy smiled at him, “Oh, hello, Silver, hello Twilight. Yes, everything is just fine.” “Really? But then, why is Wylde… like this?” Silver asked, motioning to her as she wiped her eyes. “Oh, well after Shadow and Rainbow Dash left, I decided to check up on Wylde,” Fluttershy explained, “And while she was being real men at first, I asserted myself and asked her just why she was being so mean.” “Wouldn’t it be because I beat her and tied her up?” Silver asked Twilight in a low voice, only to be hushed by the lavender mare as Fluttershy went on. “And, well, I promised her I wouldn’t go telling anypony what she told me in confidence, but in the end, I got her to realize why she was being so mean.” Fluttershy turned back to Wylde, who had sat up and smiled at her, “Now Wylde, didn’t you have something to say to Silver?” The mare nodded, “I, I’m sorry… for everything. For attacking you and your friends and trying to stop you from finding out who you are.” Silver just nodded, still in shock at what he was seeing. He knew that Fluttershy was good with animals but this was out of the blue. Still, who was he to complain about this? Maybe now that Fluttershy had changed her so much… Silver sit next to the couch, “It’s fine, Wylde. My only question is, just who sent you to come after me?” Wylde’s eyes went wide and she shook her head, “No, I’m sorry but I can't say that.” “Why not?” “B-because, if I do, he’ll… he’ll…” “Wylde, you can tell us,” Twilight told her, sitting down as well. “You’re safe here, don’t worry.” She shook her head again, “No I’m not. He’s been watching me all this time. And he’s been watching you. He’s always watching everything to do with you, Silver Soul. You and Shadow Heart, and your friends…” “What? Then is he watching Shadow now?” Silver asked, leaning closer to her. Wylde nodded. “Is she in trouble?” Another nod. “Wylde, tell me; is this person the reason me and Shadow lost our memories?” One last nod from the Unicorn. “Then please, tell me who it is; we can keep you safe from him, but we need your help, and so do Shadow and Rainbow.” After a minute, Wylde looked Silver in the eyes. “O-okay, if you promise to keep me safe…” She took a quick look around, as if to make sure they were totally alone, then bent in, the other three joining her. “Okay then… first, you should know that it’s not just me; there are four other ponies like me who are going to come after you, and the one we’re all working for is-“ Before she could finish, however, she gasped and reeled back, shrieking in pain. The others jumped back in surprise, watching as her horn began to glow a deep black and purple. What looked like black lightning began to emit from it, shooting down and striking Wylde's body as she screamed and flailed around madly. “What in Equestria… what’s happening to her, Twilight!?” Silver asked, looking to his friend and hoping for an answer. However, she just shook her head, her eyes glued to the scene unfolding before her. “I have no clue. I’ve never seen anything like this before. I, I don’t think I can stop it, either…” The three could only watch as Wylde flailed around in agony for several more, long seconds before the spell stopped. The lightning disappeared and her horn lost its glow, Wylde’s body falling limp on the couch. “I-is… is she okay?” Fluttershy asked, shaking and holding onto Twilight tightly. Silver went over and bent down to Wylde’s body, and caught the quiet noise of her breathing. “Well, she’s still alive if that’s what you meant,” he said with a quiet nod. “I, I’ve never seen magic like that… magic that can actually let’s a Unicorn control another. I didn’t even think that was possible!” Twilight gaped down at Wylde, then looked at Silver, “We need to go find Shadow now.” “No, not we, just me,” Silver said, standing back up. “You need to get Wylde to the hospital and stay here with Fluttershy.” He motioned to the timid mare, who was looking at Wylde on the verge of tears. “But Silver, you’re going to need help to-“ “Twilight, whoever’s doing this is after me and Shadow. I’m not letting you get in the line of fire, so to speak.” “But-“ “No buts, Twi; you and Fluttershy get her help, okay? I’m going to find Shadow and Rainbow and get them back here before anypony else gets hurt.” Without waiting for a reply, he galloped out of the room, heading right for the train station. Twilight sighed, “That pony is almost as stubborn as Applejack sometimes, I swear…” But still, I… no, focus Twilight; this pony needs a hospital! Why is that happening so much lately…? ********************************************************** Shadow and Rainbow sat outside a sidewalk in café in the middle of Canterlot. After all morning traveling and going around the big city, the two had agreed it was about time to take a break and have some lunch. “Man, I didn’t think that place was even still standing,” Shadow said, her hoof picking the salad in front of her. “Well, do you remember anything else besides that run-down place?” Rainbow asked her. “Hmmmm… no, actually,” Shadow answered with a shake of her head. “It’s weird… I’ve been noticing that Silver and I have only been remembering certain parts of our memories as situations related to them come up.” Rainbow looked at her, “How is that weird? Isn’t that what should be happening?” Shadow shook her head again, “That’s what I thought, too, but actually no. See, Silver decided to do some research the other day on amnesia, and found out a few things; first off, most cases are never as extreme as our own. Plus, in normal cases memories flood back in random rushes of usually unrelated information; with me and Silver, it’s like I said before. We’re only regaining our memories if we find something that revolves around them, or things related to our memories happen that cause us to remember them. And, in Silvers case, it seems like he remembered special magic on a subconscious level when he made that weapon appear the other day.” For once, Rainbow Dash was glad that she’d had to listen to several of Twilight’s lectures in the past. Otherwise, she was sure she wouldn’t have understood half the stuff Shadow just explained. “So wait, are you saying what I think you’re saying?” she asked. Shadow nodded, “This wasn’t an accident. Whoever sent Wylde after me and Silver is the reason we have amnesia.” She looked up from her meal to see a worried look on Rainbow’s face. “What’s wrong, Rain?” “Shadow, you and Silver are from Canterlot, right?” “That’s what the flashbacks have been telling us, yeah. Why?” “Think about it, Shade; that probably means whoever did this to you guys is from Canterlot, too. And they’re clearly still out to get you.” “… Oh, bu-“ BOOM!!! CRASH!! Both mares were blown away from each other as an invisible blast impacted the table, turning it into splinters and turning the ground around the remains into a small crater. Shadow quickly leapt back to her hooves to see a cloud of dust and hear the screams of several nearby ponies. She spread her wings, flapping to clear the air as she scanned the area for her attacker. “Damn you, irony…” she mumbled as she looked around, spying a cloaked mass in the dust across from her. However, she saw it rushing not for her, but a second form that lay in a heap on the ground. “Rainbow!” she leapt forward, wings carrying her as she flew into the settling cloud, rushing for the cloaked pony. But she quickly found herself blinded as the pony wearing it tossed the piece of clothing at her from out of the blue, making her fumble and miss as the pony ducked out of the way. Shadow grunted, sliding across the ground a few feet. The Alicorn quickly leapt to her hooves once again. Now that the dust was mostly settled, she could make out their attacker. It was a Unicorn mare. Her coat was hot pink and her mane and tail were short and pitch black. Her eyes were a cold, steel grey and her cutie mark showed a dark blue music note. She glared at Shadow, one of her front hooves pinning a motionless Rainbow Dash on the ground. “Damn it, that was supposed to knock you out,” she growled. Shadow returned her glare, “Who the hay are you? Are the one who sent Wylde after me and Silver?” The mare shook her head, “Sorry, but you’re only half-right. I know Wylde Twister, but I didn’t send her; that was our Superior. You can just call me Syra. And, once I get rid of you and your annoying-ass brother, I’ll be his right-hoof mare. Then I’ll finally get some-“ “Ugh, spare me the monologue and just tell me your name,” Shadow groaned. She was rather surprised by her own outburst, though. Wait, have I been through this kind of thing before…? Syra snarled, “You little bitch! How dare you interrupt me!? I should have been able to stop you before in that shitty little shack you and her were at.” She pressed her hoof down hard onto Dash at her final words, making the mare grunt a bit. “What do you mean, were you watching us when we were at the orphanage?” Shadow asked, looking down at Rainbow Dash, worrying crossing onto her face. “Of course I was. You never noticed me when I spotted you two earlier, and so I tailed you. I saw where you were going and managed to get there before you. And I was going to lure you in and do The Superior a favor, but I overstepped by boundaries,” she explained to Shadow. Shadow looked at her, “Then you were why I tried going into that safety hazard of a building?” She nodded, “Of course; I tried my signature spell and I thought it might just work, but no luck.” She motioned down to her cutie mark, still not taking her hoof off the out-cold Pegasus below her, “My special talent is sound magic; specifically a spell I can perform that lets me create a special low-pitched sound that lures stallions to me.” Shadow raised an eyebrow, “And you thought that would work on me why?” “Because, I figured it worked because those stallions had an attraction to mares, so I figured it would work on you; I saw how close you were with this filly-fooler and-“ BAM! Shadow hadn’t even bothered with her magic; she’d just rushed up, giving Syra a swift hit to the jaw and launching her back to the ground. Shadow locked eyes with her, red eyes almost literally blazing, “Don’t you dare stand there and insult my marefriend, you stupid foal; you have no right after everything you and your Superior have done to me and Silver. And now you think I’ll let you sit here and get rid of me and the mare I love?” Her horn started to glow brightly, and she took aim at Syra, “Sorry, but no way in Equestria is that gonna happen!” With that, she fired off a spell without even thinking, and was stunned when she saw several bolts of lightning shoot from her horn. Syra, however, quickly countered by putting a shield, deflecting the lightning so it struck a nearby building. After bringing it down, her look of shock turned into a smirk as she saw Shadows surprised face. “Oh my, don’t know your own strength, do you? Well, you’re the only pony here who doesn’t. Observe.” Her horn glowed and Shadow watched as Rainbow Dash was dragged magically over next to the pink Unicorn. Then, seconds later, her eyes snapped open and her front hooves leapt to her ears. She let out a scream of pain, flailing around in the air. “What are you doing to her!? Let her go, now!” Shadow demanded, baring her teeth at the mare who simply laughed. “Like I said, I can make ponies hear things. Like I’m making your marefriend here a nice high-pitched screech. I’d compare it to, say, nails scratching on a glass bottle,” Syra explained, mirth in her voice and a glint in her eyes. Her ears perked up suddenly, and shadow knew why. She could hear the tell-tale sounds of clanking armor; the Royal Guard had finally managed to arrive. Syra looked Shadow in the eyes and her smirk grew, “Alright Shadow Heart, tell you what; agree to take this somewhere a bit more private, and I’ll spare the fag’s hearing. For now.” Shadow growled, taking a step forward. She quickly stopped through as Rainbow began to scream louder, flailing even more. “Ah ah; stay put or I’ll make her ear drums explode,” Syra threatened happily. “Now choose; let me get caught and let your marefriend go deaf, or come with me and I’ll let her listen as I beat you into a pulp. Your choice, and don’t think you can stall, because the second I see a guard I’ll make this mare bleed out her ears.” Shadow growled, her eyes darting between the squirming Rainbow Dash and smirking Syra. She knew she wouldn’t be fast enough for a surprise attack; this mare was clearly too fast with her casting. “… Fine, lead the way,” she relented. Syra smirked even wider as Rainbow Dash finally settled down, breathing heavily from screaming so much. She dropped the mare on her back after casting a quick sleep spell on her. “Great, then come with me,” she said, turning and galloping down an alley way that, Shadow noticed, was leading right back towards the old mansion. She followed behind the pink mare, a determined glare set in her eyes. Don’t worry Dash; I’m not gonna let this crazy mare do anything else to you. Even I have to break my horn off and stab her with it I’m going to make sure you get back home safe. And Silver… … I remember the day your family took me in. When you saved me. And when you remember too, I hope you remember how happy I am for that. And I hope you can realize why I’m doing this. Because I have somepony close to me now; that pony I can happily risk my life for. Because I’m totally in love with her. To Be Continued…