The two pegasi took to the sky the second Stellar ran into the crowd. They were intent on snatching her out from the mass of ponies and throwing her high into the sky where she would be easily caught and dragged away. Unfortunately for them, the first dive the two tried found them being tangled into the cloths of a nearby market stall. Stellar had jumped onto the counter, tore off the roof cloth, then rotated and draped her pursuers simply so they would yell and fight their 'net'. They managed to avoid the crowd somehow, but a nearby building's door wasn't as lucky.
"The pegasi are both down. We need to flank her," one pursuing guard said.
"Then I'll go around the other street. You keep chasing her through this crowd."
Shadowrette felt her heart beating wildly. It was a feeling of an encroaching vice grasping itself around her neck and soul. It was both painful and frightening, and it was for these reasons that she was galloping away as fast as she could. This emotion reminded her of the night her dad went crazy and tried to kill her.
With a quick burst of speed, the flanking guard galloped through the alley ways between the crystal buildings and painfully squeezed out of a narrow fire barrier between the buildings. He immediately placed himself to both brace for an impact and pounce on the one willing to go in another direction. For the moment, only the brouhaha created by the immense crowds filled the air and the crowd itself seemed to be moving around normally until a disturbance was noticed. They all started getting out of the way of somepony and were exclaiming their anger and horror.
"This is it!" the earth pony guard thought.
He firmly placed his hooves into the ground, ready to catch the corrupt creature, but his smug look was quickly cleaned off his face when the one who popped out of the crowd was his comrade. The impact created such a loud noise and had such force that, not only did the nearby ponies avert their gaze instinctively from the sound, but several pieces of armor went flying around while the two stallions collapsed upon each other after having rolled away in a tumbleweed-esque manner.
As the witnesses started gathering around the event, a cowled mare chuckled quietly to herself and slowly walked away elsewhere in the festival. Stellar was so caught up in her laughter that she didn't notice the pony in front of her and collided with that pony's head.
"Ow!" the two ponies said.
"Hey! Watch where you're going!" the victim growled.
"I'm sorry! I didn't see you. I'm in a bit of a hurry."
"That's not a reason to...hey. I know you from somewhere."
Stellar began to stress and quickly said:
"No."
"Yeah."
"No."
"Yes."
"...No."
The pony's gaze narrowed as her irritation became larger. To Stellar's surprise, this one seemed to have draconic features.
"Yeah. I recall a sharp pain in my head..." The mare rubbed her forehead as she started to think. "There it is! You're the one who slammed into me so long ago. Hey, you know that I still hurt from that encounter."
"Yeah. Sorry. I was in a hurry back then, as am I now!" Stellar shouted as she tried to flee.
The draconic pony grabbed Shadowrette by her hind leg, causing her to face plant painfully into the ground and moan in agony.
"You're not getting away that easily again. I want a proper apology."
"F-fine! I'm sorry. I never meant to gallop into you like that."
"Mmm. It'll have to do...for now. Say, why are you dressed like that? Why don't you take off your costume so I see what you actually look like?" the mare asked while trying to catch a glimpse of Stellar's whole face.
"I'd rather not. Everypony gets angry when they see me for some...reason."
"That's not my problem. I want to see what you look like beneath that cowl, now take it off!" the mare ordered while she tried to pull the hood off Stellar's head.
"No!"
A short fight ensued with the two ponies struggling to ensure their objective. It attracted the attention of the ponies standing around as well as those passing by, causing heads to turn and stare.
"Let go of me!"
"Not until you show me your face!"
"You can already see it under my hood."
"I can't see all of it, and I want to see all of it!"
"Why?!"
"Because...I...want to..gah!"
The two ponies fell backwards after a sound of tearing slowly made itself heard. Stellar was horrified to find that her hood had been completely torn off her cloak. She began tapping her head in a panic and looking around in frantic horror, expecting everypony to turn their heads and begin speaking horrid things, but, that never happened. Many of them Oood and Awed at her appearance. Shadowrette was completely confused and baffled as to what was going on.
"Huh. You look exactly like Sombra. Great make-up." the pony said.
"I know, although I don't really know who Sombra is."
The draconic pony held her need to cringe painfully.
"Then why did you dress yourself up like that? Were your friends doing that and you found it cool? That's stupid!"
Stellar looked down to the floor with sorrow and gave a light kick to a rock.
"I don't have any friends."
"O...Oh...Well..." Crystal rubbed her shoulder and averted her gaze in awkwardness. "W-why are you dressed like that, then?"
"I wear the cowl so no pony can see me."
Crystal sighed. "No. I'm talking about your face and mane."
"Oh. It's not a costume. This is what I normally look like."
Clarity reeled back a bit in surprise. "Wow. Really? And ponies hate you because of that? Well, that doesn't make sense. Although, now that I think about it, ponies who see me usually get scared because of my draconic traits. Not that I'm complaining about it. I like my personal space."
"Yeah. That's true. Why do you look like a dragon?"
"My dad is a dragon and my mother a pony. My mom likes to complain that I took more from the aggressive side of the dragon family rather than her 'delicate, feminine side'," the pony mused as she imitated her snobby mother. "What about your parents? What are they like?"
Stellar didn't break eye contact this time, but her face looked like it was about to explode in tears.
"Then lt's not talk about them"
"Thank you."
"By the way, I'm Crystal Clarity."
"Stellar Shadowrette."
"Stellar Shadowrette? What kind of weird name is that?"
"You're one to talk. You're a rock who suddenly became self-aware?"
Crystal's eyes narrowed, as did Stellar's. To the mare's confusion, the draconic pony began to chuckle, inciting Stellar's inquisitiveness.
"Why are you laughing?"
"Because I find that comeback funny."
"O-Oh?"
"You mean to tell me you don't know what teasing is either?!"
Stellar became embarrassed and averted her gaze slightly. "Well, the ponies I live with aren't exactly nice to me. I guess I just learned to be sarcastic?"
"Maybe. Now about you galloping quickly away again."
"Oh no! I forgot about that! The guards aren't around are they?" Stellar asked.
She started to look around very quickly, scared to find the ponies chasing her to be literally on top of her before she even noticed. Crystal reluctantly looked behind herself, before looking back at Stellar.
"The guards? Are you a thief?!" Clarity growled.
"N-no! They just started chasing me for some reason. I don't know why everypony keeps--"
Stellar stopped talking after something black caught her gaze. It was a shadow on the floor, and it seemed to have the shape of a--"
"Guard!" Stellar shouted.
The mare rolled away from Crystal, confusing the mare and having her suddenly smashed into, once again, but by a guard this time. Stellar was already fleeing the scene with several other guards chasing after her. While they chased after the mare and scared the surrounding crowd, the fallen guard stood up and rubbed his head, unaware of what was beneath him.
"Stupid monster. How did it even know I was behind it? I'll show it once it's captured by my--"
"I'm getting really tired of being galloped into by everypony!" a voice roared.
Crystal picked up the guard with her two forelegs and stood upwards on her hind legs. Se was so furious that puffs of turquoise flames were seething through her teeth at regular intervals.
"Wh-what are you doing?! Put me down!" the unicorn pleaded.
"ALRIGHT!"
"NO WAIT!"
The guard's plea and leg flailing fell on deaf ears as he was, somehow, slammed through the ground, creating a lovely pony fern, great for all interior decorations!
Stellar, however, was having less fun. Everywhere she turned, she met the guards waiting at a blockade. Her heart was pumping gallons of blood through her body during this whole endeavor.
"Where are those two idiots? I need help!" Stellar thought to herself.
At yet another corner of the street where a blockade of guards were waiting, the mare found herself suddenly going numb and falling down. She started feeling tired, but she didn't know why. What happened? Sounds started to become far away echoes and the world started becoming damp and blue as if she was in the ocean, then there was nothing left but black.
"Nice job with that stunning spell. I think you kind of exaggerated with the strength, though," a guard observed while leaned over Stellar.
He seemed both disinterested and concerned as he stroked his goatee.
"Who cares. It's a corruption created by Sombra. We need to get it in the castle dungeons without the rulers noticing," a captain answered.
The goatee guard leaned closer to his captain and whispered:
"And what about the ponies who saw the whole thing and are gathering around?"
"I don't know. Think of something!"
"Can I tell them this was part of a special surprise event for the Hero's Festival?"
"Sure, sure. Whatever."
The captain answered with disinterest while he and the guards at the blockade placed Stellar into a wagon and covered her up. The goatee guard, though, was clearing his throat and preparing himself as if he were about to go on stage and become the greatest performer who ever lived.