Chaos Theory: Lone Wolf

by Littlepony115

Chapter 4: New Friends

Chapter Four

Breakfast was nice, it had been a good while since Solar had actually followed through with having it. While she tried to think of what to do today her mind kept drawing her back to the name mentioned in her dreams… Blueblood. Who was he? Why did he sound so familiar? With widened eyes she suddenly bolted upstairs, pulling her bag onto her lap and pulling the newspaper she had read in Canterlot out. There in the captions of the royals was a Prince Blueblood. He was a damn royal. Making one’s way to a position like that without blood connections was damn near impossible, clearly, he had a relation in the royal family. She sighed, she would love to get her hands on this ‘Prince Blueblood’ just to at least have him tell her why. Why her? Still, it was no use worrying about it as of now. Having eaten she decided to shower before she started her day; it would be the first time in a good few years she had showered. Luckily her natural being was kempt enough to seem clean, but it would feel good to finally actually be sparkling.

She had bought several different shampoos and conditioners for her fur, mane and tail but in truth she had no idea what to get. In the end she had gone with one which advertised smelling of roses which would match her natural aroma. Or unnatural, whatever, my regular aroma. With the water running she unwound the bandage on her arm, taking off the patch she had put on the slit last night. The wound itself had closed up, which was good news, apparently her vampiric side did not notice the blood’s familiarity. Blood had actually seeped through the bandage slightly, so she slung it in the bin as she got ready to step into the pouring shower. Warm water hit her fur as she stepped into the shower, wetting her fur and bringing a lovely feeling of warmth throughout her body. She felt comforted by the heat and she opened one of the bottles of shampoo, putting some in one palm and massaging her fur with it. Slowly but surely, she cleaned each part of her body before moving on to her wings, mane and tail, which were far more difficult to wash. Feeling glad for getting the larger bottle, she couldn’t help but marvel that ponies didn’t go through this stuff by the gallon. Or it could just be her, after all, she’d never had her mane cut or styled so it wasn’t short on volume.

Conditioning her fur was a similar story, but after washing through her mane and tail and soaking all the foam off of her person she felt far better. Getting back out the shower, she grabbed a towel off the nearby rack and began drying herself. As each bit of her became dry she was surprised at just how soft it was. Her coat was soft and smooth, quite the far leap from her usual self. Mane and tail got a transformation as well, both feeling softer than a pillow. That last bit ended up being a slight problem when her mane kept covering her eyes, despite her best efforts to brush and comb it back. Eventually, she settled on letting it cover one eye while leaving the other undisturbed. She decided she could still see fine and pulled the towel around her, tying it at her chest to create a makeshift robe. That worked to cover her while she gave her teeth a brush and gathered the few articles of clothing she hadn’t yet worn. While she did have faith in Rarity she also knew that a professional usually took their time when making things of this sort, she may have to visit a clothing store at some point today. Even if Rarity pulled through today she didn’t have enough clothes to comfortably live with. A quick glance to the mirror reassured her that her 1.7 metre self looked quite nice. Though a little on the skinny side, Rarity had been right, her ribs were beginning to show slightly. Still, that should be fixed given a week or so.

Sliding her knife into the holster on her belt, she opened the curtains of her bedroom revealing the world once again. It was a nice day, sunny and bright, a stark contrast to yesterday’s downpour and she looked forward to spending some time in the sun. So far she had received nothing from Syndicate, so her schedule was pretty much free. Looking down on the front garden reminded her, it was in a state. That wouldn’t be too much of an issue, she had spotted a shed in the back garden which joined to the Whitetail Woods, hopefully there would be some gardening tools in there. She made her journey to the garden with a saunter, looking forward to her time after the job was done. As she walked past the front door she spied the umbrella Rarity had lent her last night. I must remember to return that. The garden was nice, other than the obvious state of overpopulation, with a path that led to the woods and a small patio that joined the back of the house. Sure enough, in the small wooden shed there were plenty of tools, ranging from clippers to a manually operated mower. Pulling out the mower and various cutting utensils, she set to work on taming the greenery around her.

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Chucking the clippers down in frustration Solar stared at the lavender bush that stood between her and a neat garden. No matter how much she cut at the purple stems nothing seemed to budge the damned thing. It was close to noon and she had finished the rest of the environment around twenty minutes ago. With defeated pants, she gathered up her tools and returned them to the shed. Some things were best left untouched, for now. She strolled back through the door between the garden and dining room, preferring to continue with her day than struggle with that thing anymore. Next up, she needed to get that umbrella back to Rarity. It would make a nice excuse to go to her boutique anyway, if she wasn’t busy she could give that tour of the village she so desperately wanted to give. Pulling on her leather jacket and sliding her knife’s sheath along her belt to hide it under the jacket, she picked the umbrella up and leant it against her shoulder.

Her journey through Ponyville was interrupted as a slight kerfuffle began at a small apple stall. A yellow filly, who was quite similarly aged to Sweetie, had been getting a little over-zealous with her apple sales when she had simply poured a bucket of them into a mare’s bag. Unfortunately, the stall owner had to give the apples to the mare as compensation with a glare at her younger friend. “Applebloom! Yah can’t just force somepony to buy the apples!” The poor orange earth-pony seemed pretty angry. Solar would have to ask Rarity about the pair when she found her. Out of the corner of her eye she saw movement between the shade of some houses. Some alleys seemed to hold small groups of shifty individuals, some throwing her unfriendly glances when they thought she had passed. Apparently even Ponyville had its fair share of unruly individuals.

As she turned she came face to face with the very pony who she had been looking for. Apparently, Rarity had been watching the events unfold as well, she had smirk on her face however and clearly wasn’t as confused as Solar was. Turning to Solar, she smiled “Solar, I was just on my way to find you! So, a few friends of mine were thinking about having a picnic and I suggested inviting you. They agreed that it would be nice to have an extra member, so what do you think?” For the first time Solar noticed that Rarity was ever so slightly taller than her. That or she was wearing high-heels.

“That sounds great! I was on my way to give you your umbrella back.” Solar said, thinking that the idea was pretty good. She would like to meet some people without the awkwardness of simply walking up out of the blue. With a flash of cyan light from her horn, Rarity whisked the umbrella out of sight.

“There we go. Back safe and sound at home, thank you for returning it. Once Applejack has… Finished with her sales we’ll go around up the others and get going.” She said, gesturing to the orange mare who was now taking Applebloom’s apron. “The orange one is Applejack, the yellow is her sister, Applebloom. She’s one of Sweetie’s friends, never a dull moment with them around. Unfortunately.” Despite muttering the last word, Solar still heard her and she grinned. Strolling over, Applejack waved to Rarity and raised an eyebrow at Solar. Applebloom followed her with downcast gaze, feeling a little embarrassed for her act. Applejack had a bright orange coat and blonde hair which fell against her head in a simply natural state. She had green eyes and some freckles on her cheeks. Her red plaid shirt, blue jeans and light brown ten-gallon hat gave her a bit of a stereotypical farmer look. Fitting for an apple farmer I suppose. Her sister, however, had light yellow fur and a red mane with orange eyes which were now looking up to Rarity.

“So, this is Solar then? Nice to meet yah.” Applejack said, holding her hand out for a shake. She was slightly taller than Rarity and Solar with an impressive amount of muscle. Solar accepted it and nodded, smiling cheerfully.

While she didn’t like to judge people on their first impressions Applejack couldn’t help but get a strange feeling from Solar. She seemed suspicious, and that feeling usually rang true. Since finding out she was an ‘Element of Harmony’ Applejack began to get feelings whenever she met someone, either they were deceitful and made her feel uneasy or they were trustworthy, making her feel more comfortable. Applejack didn’t know why, but there was something off about her, she made her feel uncomfortably… Comfortable. Like sleeping in yah bed under a rock held by a string… Still, she should always give her a chance, even if she was going to find out what she was hiding. One way or another.

Solar was beginning to feel uncomfortable around Applejack’s gaze as the three made their way to Fluttershy’s cottage. If she remembered correctly, then Fluttershy was the yellow and pink mare from the bank yesterday. The one that spoke to Doctor… Doctor… Fauna, that was it. Doctor Fauna. Apparently, she had some animals in her home, which would be interesting to see. Either she had an abundance of pets or she was some kind of professional, a vet or some such. Although with that being said, Doctor Fauna was probably the vet, so what was Fluttershy? Still, her cottage was coming over the hill as Solar made light conversation with Rarity and Applejack.

Applejack, true to form, worked on her granny’s apple orchard, named Sweet Apple Acres. She had a brother named Big Macintosh but most just called him Big Mac. Despite warming up to her slightly, Applejack still acted rather strange around Solar. Any questions set off suspicions in her mind, thinking that Solar was trying to pry into her life, trying to find ways around but then she would take a step back and think about the things she asked, only to realise they were normal. Eventually she decided to just ignore the feelings and act like Solar was just like anyone else, but she would find out why she seemed so dishonest. As Solar told Applejack about her life in Canterlot still more things seemed strangely off, not holes in the story but just a gut feeling. She shook her head and soon the topic moved onto Fluttershy’s cottage.

The cottage itself was covered in greenery at the end of a long path which wound through the green fields of Ponyville. There was a picturesque stream running beneath an arched bridge and plenty of birdhouses hanging around the area, apparently Fluttershy adored animals. From what Solar could garner from the others Fluttershy was, effectively, the go-to pony for anything animal related. With her uncanny ability to speak to the critters she was able to diagnose problems by merely asking, something Doctor Fauna must envy. Interestingly enough, while being a pegasus, Fluttershy was terrified of heights.

A knock on the door later and with a sing-songy tone, a voice answered. “Be right out!” From inside there came the tweets of birds and a few hushed apologies before the door swung open. Fluttershy was slightly shorter than Solar with a green blazer and blue jeans which ended just before her ankles, giving a wide birth to her sandals. She smiled and held up a wicker basket which soon vanished in a cyan flash, along to any of the other picnic materials Rarity had somewhere. It was a good idea to simply teleport the stuff in since it meant that there was no need to carry it along, opening the minds of the group to discussing.

Next up to be recruited into the group was Rainbow Dash, a bluntly named weather pegasus obsessed with speed. However, none of the ensemble had any clue where she was. Solar offered to fly up to the clouds to check for her and the others quickly agreed. Pushing off the floor and whipping her wings out, Solar soared up above the cloud-line. True to her name there was a rainbow maned mare laying a good distance away on one of the many plush white clouds. Choosing the more interesting route, Solar hopped from cloud to cloud towards her. As she got closer she realised that Rainbow was actually asleep, using the cloud as a temporary bed. Apparently, she was a heavy sleeper too as she didn’t wake until Solar landed on her cloud, rocking it slightly. Opening her magenta eyes, Rainbow regarded her with some confusion. She was wearing sleeveless denim jacket which reached to her belly-button and was opened loosely at the middle, clearly incapable of buttoning up, a plain white top which didn’t reach her waist either, showing her athletic body. Some dark grey skin-tight jeans covered her legs and her boots reached her calves, a pair of ‘Cloudhoppers’. Solar had seen the brand around Canterlot which advertised springy bottoms to aid take-offs.

“Who the hay are you?” Rainbow asked, standing up to meet Solar and raising an eyebrow. She was almost the same height as Solar and her cyan fur made quite the contrast with her grayscale clothing; she had to be the brightest pony Solar had ever seen. Glad she isn’t on a job with me.

“Rarity, Applejack and Fluttershy are looking for you, I’m Solar Eclipse, they were just on their way to th-” Solar began, only to be cut off mid-sentence by Rainbow.

“Yeh, the picnic, okay, you must be the one Rarity mentioned.” She said, looking Solar up and down. “Guess a unicorn, earth-pony and height-fearing pegasus wouldn’t be able to get to me. Should’ve figured. Right, let’s get down there then, I’m starving.” Jumping off the cloud, she flew down to the waiting party below. The others were happy to see Rainbow and Rarity began asking her if she ‘Really had to sleep so far up’ in a scolding tone, much to Solar’s enjoyment. Rainbow brushed the comment off with a ‘Yeah’ and the group strolled further into the town.

With only two left on the list of friends to collect the entourage came to a café called ‘Sugar Cube Corner’ which was surprisingly built to look like a giant cake. The roof was a brown shaded colour, mimicking chocolate and the trimmings of the building were white carved birch, made into a puffy shape to replicate whipped cream. Pink was obviously the mane theme of the building, which, probably suited the mare they came to see. Pinkie Pie herself was nowhere to be found upon entering the building but the yellow stallion behind the counter pointed them past the tables and up the stairs, stating that she was in her room. Yet, with a knock on her door still nothing happened. As the group began to walk outside to ponder their options a shout came from one of the second-floor windows. A light pink earth-pony with darker pink hair waved from the building’s centre tower.

“Help! I locked myself out of my room! Wait, no. In my room! In of my room? Into my room?” With a confused expression she began muttering to herself before poking back out. “The point is that I can’t get out!” Presumably, this was Pinkie Pie. Rainbow and Solar flew up to the veranda around the tower, landing beside her. She was wearing a pink skirt, some blue tights, black lace-up shoes and a long yellow vest, just beyond her hips. Her blue eyes looked at the two pegasi with concern. Rainbow immediately flew in and tried the door, only to find that it was indeed locked. Kind of useless to check… Turning her gaze to Pinkie, she raised an eyebrow in mockery and smirked.

“How did you lock your key out of your room?” It was a fair question, but Pinkie apparently had just as little of an idea as to how as Rainbow herself. “Well, I can’t carry you. Not by myself. Solar, do you think you could help me carry Pinkie to the others? We can call a locksmith in to fix your door, Pinkie.”

“Actually, I used to be a locksmith,” Solar lied, casually reinforcing her ‘backstory’. “I could get that door open no problem.” Much to the duo’s surprise, she pulled her lockpicks out of her sleeves and knelt at the door. A click signalled each pin falling into place and with three clicks the lock could be turned, letting the handle swing the door open. Turning back to the others Solar was met with two gaping mouths and four wide eyes.

“That. Was. Awesome!” Rainbow cried, “You opened that door in, like, four seconds!” A mischievous grin passed over her face and she began stroking her chin. “If you could get through any door…” She giggled darkly and then turned her attention back to reality. “We could do some sick pranks with that, gimme a shout if you’re game.” Pinkie lit up too, nodding. “Welp, see yah on the other side.” And with a sprinting jump, Rainbow glided down to the dirt street outside, raising a small cloud of dust. Choosing the subtler exit, Solar and Pinkie made their way down the stairs and out the door. As soon as they met the others they were treated to an excited Rainbow Dash recounting the events. While Rarity and Fluttershy just looked interested and impressed Applejack turned an eye to Solar.

“Why do yah carry your lockpicks on yah if you aren’t a locksmith no more?” She questioned, her look worrying Solar. What was with this mare? The others had bought her story just fine, why didn’t she? Her damn cutiemark was manipulation, this shouldn’t be an issue.

“Well, you have to understand I had that job for a year, since I was 17, and then quit it about four days ago when I inherited the house here. A habit like simply slipping those picks in was just so natural.” Solar defended, running everything through her mind to make sure it made sense with what she had already told them. It did.

“Well, it is a good thing she did have them, Applejack. If she didn’t poor Pinkie would’ve been roughly flown down by her and Rainbow. I’m sure it isn’t easy carrying another pony when you’re flying, even if you have another to help.” Rarity interjected, before Applejack had the time to answer. Applejack sighed wearily.

“Yeh, okay. Sorry, I just don’t like the thought of somepony getting through something they aren’t meant tah, you know? I’m sure yall’d have a heart attack if someone got into your house without yah knowing.” She said. A few agreements were given, and the group decided that someone breaking in was an unpleasant thought, but Solar was not in the wrong to simply have the picks. All this talk of breaking in being bad was almost making Solar feel bad for having to lie, but if anything, this just reinforced the fact that they would despise her if she did tell the truth. They sure as Tartarus wouldn’t let her continue. No. Telling them was off the table. Meanwhile Applejack was slowly having a moral argument in her head. On the one hand, Solar had lockpicks, something well known as tool one for thieves, which would support her untrustworthiness, yet she also had the perfect explanation along with four other ponies who believed her. Her friends no less, it made the whole thing difficult. She would make Solar spill the beans, no matter what.

The next stop was close to the centre of town, a large tree that had been hollowed out into a library many decades ago. The sign reading ‘Golden Oaks Library’ swung back and forth in a warm wind that ran along the Ponyville roads. Apparently, the last member of the group lived here, a ‘Twilight’. Oddly, no one seemed to expand upon that, but the chances of her just being named ‘Twilight’ were pretty low. As they got closer to the tall oak tree, Solar asked Fluttershy about Twilight. She had chosen Fluttershy because she was the only one not talking but she seemed to take a few seconds before responding.

“Her full name is Twilight Sparkle, she’s a unicorn and Celestia’s prized pupil. She came to Ponyville about four months ago during the summer sun celebration. She’s a great friend.”

Ah. Fuck me then. Not three days ago Solar had stolen that beautiful necklace from this mare’s room in Canterlot Castle. That’s fine. It doesn’t change a thing, that job’s done. Right? Rarity knocked on the door and turned back to Rainbow, the two had been evaluating the pros and cons of a custom flying suit since Sugar Cube Corner with Rainbow insisting that being that aerodynamic was worth the time and Rarity arguing that the cost wouldn’t be worth it. To be fair, if Rainbow was as obsessed with flying as the others had made out, it probably would be worth the cost.

The sound of things falling ceased from inside the house and was soon replaced with the click of a handle being turned. Expecting royalty, perhaps with some guards, Solar leant against the Golden Oaks’ sign, blending in with the shade; surprisingly though, there were no guards or tall flowing figures, only a unicorn with dark lilac hair to match her purple fur holding the door open. She was wearing a button up lace shirt, a knee length skirt and black floral stockings that ended with some neat black slip-on shoes. Clasped in her free hand was a book titled ‘An intermediate guide to spells and runes.’. Books were something she loved dearly, judging by the pile through the door behind her. Contrary to Solar’s expectations she was just like any other pony, though clearly, she had quite the taste for learning. Twilight stepped out of the door onto the path that ran along beside her home and from behind her came a shorter figure. With purple scaly skin and green spines, this creature was wearing a plain black t-shirt and some jogging bottoms, finished with a pair of trainers. Apparently, Twilight lived with some kind of dragon, a teenager judging on the height and build. If Solar had to hazard a guess she would have to go with fourteen or fifteen.

Leaning over, Fluttershy whispered in her ear, “That’s Spike, he’s Twilight’s… um… Brother, I think? It’s an honorary kind of thing. He’s also a dragon, if you, uh, were wondering.” She seemed unsure in herself, but Solar smiled gratefully to her, thanking her for the explanation. Fluttershy seemed happy and murmured something along the lines of, “No problem, happy to help.” On her shoulder, a small white bunny was staring at Solar with its head tilted to the side. Raising an eyebrow, she gave a slight wave to it and it turned away from her, its small arms crossed. “Oh, don’t mind him, that’s my pet bunny, Angel. He is usually quite sweet.” Clearly.

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Twilight was definitely the leader of the group, she got along with everyone very well and even settled a dispute between Rarity and Applejack over clothing practicality. The grassy fields of Ponyville proved a good place to setup the blanket, Rarity provided some plates and Applejack passed around some home-made cider. As conversations began Pinkie turned to Solar, smiling and raising an eyebrow. “Say, Solar. How’d you do that thing with the door at my house?” She asked, gazing expectantly at her. Solar shifted slightly awkwardly but soon realised that as a ‘Locksmith’ she had nothing to fear when explaining her methods.

“Well, the first thing you need is a lockpick. While you can do this using almost any small thin thing that can fit in the lock a lockpick is certainly your best bet. Once you have one of those you need something thicker, usually if you have a knife or something nearby you can use that. Generally, I use a butterfly knife since it’s always useful to have protection in Canterlot, especially after my… Time as a guard,” Rarity flinched slightly, remembering the explanation Solar had given to switching jobs. “Having one was also kind of a fun pastime; if you were bored you could just give it a spin, not to mention the fact that I needed it for the locks themselves." Applejack spluttered slightly, turning everyone’s attention to her.

“Yah had a knife on yah?” She exclaimed, staring at Solar with a light fury in her eyes. “Why in Equestria did yah need that!” Fluttershy nodded and looked down, Rarity watched Applejack with a fire in her eyes and Pinkie’s eyes glowed slightly. That’s unsettling. Why is she so interested in a knife?

“Applejack, did you even listen to her? She just explained she needed the knife for her job and protection. Clearly, she had no ideas of causing too much harm, if she did there’s a million more effective weapons one could buy in Canterlot.” Rarity said pointedly, giving Applejack a death glare, “Honestly, you’ve been doing nothing but hounding her ever since she appeared, the poor thing is as thin as a stick and only just moved here. At least give her a chance to adjust.” Okay, ow. My feelings.

Applejack looked slightly miffed by Rarity’s outburst and looked away with an annoyed mutter before bowing her head. “Fine. But if she does anything suspicious I’m calling her on it, you have to understand, sugar cube, I have nothing against you as a pony. I’ve just got the weirdest gut feeling ah think I’ve ever had and so far, it don’t lie.” Solar didn’t have a reply to this and the group grew slightly silent.

Suddenly a voice piped up again, coming from Twilight this time. “Solar, you said you would use a knife to unlock the door. I’m actually still interested in the idea, I’ve never read anything about it before save for a few stories about thieves, but they didn’t go into much detail.” This put more life into the group as both Rainbow and Pinkie agreed that they wanted to hear more of the technique. Solar was just glad to have something to say.

Having explained how lockpicking worked to her audience, Solar was feeling a lot better about herself. Knowing how spellbound they were made her feel better about where she was, Twilight’s questions and Rainbow’s surprising interest made her feel closer to these six friends. Even if Rainbow seemed to like the idea more for the opportunities for pranking than actual use, but at least she wasn’t thinking of following in Solar’s footsteps. Fluttershy joined in briefly, commenting on how she had to call a locksmith to open one of her pet carriers.

The food was delicious, and Solar couldn’t help but gorge herself slightly, not bad-manneredly so but still slightly more than the others. To be fair, she hadn’t eaten well since Canterlot and Rarity’s comment on her weight was sticking with her. She simply hadn’t been able to afford the food until now.

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A nice day, some entertaining tricks from Dash and Pinkie and it was getting late, judging by the sun. Slowly but surely the group began to go their separate ways. First to go was Fluttershy, saying that she had to tuck her animals in for the night, next went Rarity and Applejack, both agreeing that they had to get their respective sisters to bed. Pinkie began yawning and said something about “Goi- aaaaaaaawn -ube Corner. See ya.” Before skipping behind a tree and… not coming out the other side. In confusion, Solar did a three-hundred- and sixty-degree check of the tree before Twilight beckoned her over.

“Honestly, don’t bother. I’ve begun to notice there is no rhyme or reason to her shenanigans.” She seemed tired, probably due to the time. “If you think about it it’ll drive you nuts… But.” Leaning in, she looked around, as if someone was going to be listening here. “I’m thinking of trying to do a bit of research on her, but I’ll have to run the ethical sides past Princess Celestia.” She sounded slightly excited. Who gets excited about experimenting on somepony? Especially their friend, without their consent. Solar scowled slightly, tilting her head away from Twilight to hide it, Testing was a bit of a sore point for her; she didn’t want to be included in this at all.

Twilight walked back to the now empty blanket and rolled it up with a purple glow, in a flash, it was gone. Spike had begun feel sleepy now and Twilight gave a final goodbye to Solar, teleporting the two of them from the scene; presumably the pair were going back to Golden Oaks. Realising that she was now by herself, Solar made her way back to the paths and lamps of Ponyville, following the streets around the edge. She always enjoyed night walks, even in Canterlot, and Ponyville was by far no exception. The sky was empty, displaying a sea of colours as a dim nebula moved across the sky, lightly dusted with stars. Hanging like a marble in ink the moon shone far above Equus, now clear of the patterned craters it had no more than a month ago. In the distance the Canterlot Castle could be seen, casting its waterfall down into the plains that separated it from Ponyville. Quite the eye-catching scene.

As she walked she began to feel uncomfortable; the darkened back alleys were watching her, unseen eyes following her every move. She knew the feeling well. The feeling of being watched. Continuing her way down the path she kept her eyes peeled and her ears pricked, searching for any slight sign of life. A few steps later and it seemed as though nothing was near, no noises from around her, no crunching of gravel save for her own. The only living thing in sight was a pony a few houses away, letting himself into his house. But with only a few paces more it was clear her suspicion was justified as there came loud footfalls from behind her.

As she turned she spied two ponies of varying height and stature, one a tall beefy stallion, the other a mare. She was shorter than both Solar and her own partner, had dark red fur and a black mane, from beneath her hood her eyes were a piercing green. Solar had never seen these two, and she held them in her gaze, unsure of their motives. Taking a step forward the mare drew a blade and flashed a grin at her, the stallion close behind with his arms crossed.

“Caught like a rabbit in a trap, love, c’mon now. Let’s all be civilised-like and just hand over any bits before my friend here has to ‘ave a word, alright?” She said, her cockney accent heavy. It made sense to rob ponies here at night, especially with such a threatening escort. Few likely came to these parts of town and those that did were probably too scared of the stallion to refuse.

“It’s a little bit early for a shakedown, don’t you think?” Solar replied, moving to a more relaxed stance to feign comfort. A very small percentage of the time these groups were out for some quick coin and didn’t really want to deal with those who refused. “I really would’ve waited until I couldn’t see a thing, or at least chosen a different target.” Grinning to herself, she patted her self on the back for her quick tongue. The stallion was large, but he would be slow with what was likely a fake sheath on his leg, the mare was also clearly not too skilled with her weapon. She held it rather limply with the blade facing behind her. Someone looking to deal some damage would be holding the knife tightly and with the blade facing up. Sure, it may look more impressive to hold the knife backwards but in reality, it didn’t help.

A look of confusion briefly passed over the mare’s face as she considered Solar’s words. It didn’t last long. “Look ‘ere, I didn’t ask you for advice!” Getting closer to Solar she began to point the blade towards her, reflecting the dim light of the moon in its metal. “If you don’t give me everything you’ve got, I might just ‘ave to make you disappear.” What a terrifying threat. Solar couldn’t say she liked this type of thief, their methods had little subtlety or style. With her line of work, you got in and out, leaving things as you found it save for your targets. They just got their way through violence and threats.

“Well, if you’d rather, I could disappear myself. I can do quite the trick if need be. Besides, you need the advice. I wasn’t kidding when I said it was too early, I can see you clear as day. And if I can see you…” She trailed off and with a swift move she hooked a stone off the gravel path, shooting it at the mare. It hit her in the neck, causing her to cry out and drop the knife. As she cradled her neck Solar scooped the knife up and knelt beside the mare. “I can hit you.”

With a look of hated and a hoarse cry the poor thug beckoned her partner over. He could prove to be a bit more of an issue. Fortunately, Solar was right about his speed, his first strike was easily dodged. His second went straight for her head so she ducked and kicked out his foot, knocking him to his knee. With a knee to his jaw he yelled out, clutching his chin. The fury in his eyes was quite unsettling. Rather than continuing his new-found trend of punching he charged her, wrapping his arms around her waist and flinging her to the floor with a heavy slam. Fuck, that can’t be good for my wings.

Dazed, Solar picked out the stallion bringing his boot down towards her and she rolled to the side, unsure of her plan of action. By this time the mare had gotten to her feet and she grabbed Solar from behind, locking her hands around her chest. Pinned to the mare, Solar’s eyes widened as the stallion pulled his fist back, letting it fly towards her. With a yank she pulled the mare round between her and the stallion. Rather than losing her precious facial features to the impact Solar had the remorse of hearing a crack behind her, followed by a scream. Quickly the hold on her fell limp and the mare fell to the floor, curled up and clasping her back to the best of her ability.

A look of horror remained on the stallion’s face as his partner struggled for breath on the floor between curses and gasps. Looking up at her he pulled on the handle of the fake sheath and drew his very real dagger. Oh. Good ploy. “You made me hit my Rose, you bitch.” He snarled, stepping towards Solar, a slight sadistic look in his eyes. With a gulp, she began backing away. Well, I tried fight…

A small voice caught his attention as he started to speed his pace up. “I… I need to go to the ‘ospital or something.” It was Rose, on the floor. “Please, hon, it hurts so much.” His resolve crumbled instantly, and he flung the dagger at Solar before spinning around. Caught slightly off-guard, the dagger embedded itself in Solar’s shoulder and she stumbled back. Watching the stallion pick up his partner and sprint off into the dark she bit back her cries of pain.

The blade wasn’t deep due to the clumsy throw. Having hit at an angle it had gone in around three inches. By some miracle it hadn’t hit any muscle and would heal with the proper bandaging. Although, it has ruined a great shirt. She ripped part of her shirt’s sleeve and pulled the blade out, immediately pressing the fabric against the wound. It would slow the bleeding enough for until she got home.

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Stumbling into her bathroom, Solar threw the bundle of bloodied shirt to the floor before taking her top off entirely. Looking in the mirror she examined the wound, checking for any traces of any poisons. There didn’t seem to be anything there, as expected – poisoned weapons would have taken effect by now. Not to mention no street thug in their right mind would spend so much on something so volatile. Larceny was great and all, but wealth was more important. She opened the cupboard at the side of the room and pulled out the pack of medical items she had used on her wrist before. Her teeth clenched, and her eyes glowed softly as she rubbed some cream onto the gash before wrapping a bandage around the wounded left shoulder. Tying it off, she looked for some scissors to snip the excess. Apparently, none came with the pack, so she flicked her knife from her belt and cut the fabric.

Having patched herself up she strolled into the bedroom and laid back on the comfortable mattress, staring at the ceiling. Well, if there was any kind of criminal network in Ponyville they would surely have her at the top of the list, but that was unlikely, generally on the larger cities had any sort of organised crime. Petty crime was uncommon in the smaller regions and in such a small town she would only be worrying about those two for a while. Not to mention that with how long it would take the hospital’s unicorns to fix a broken spine even they would be off the radar for a while.

Lying on her bed, Solar began to wonder what would happen tomorrow and what had about Syndicate. When he had been telling her about the house he had mentioned he would be in touch with another job soon after settling in. The question was, what did consider to be ‘settled in’? A week? Two? Still, presumably she would receive a letter from him when he had something for her. Hopefully no-one would ask about her new bandages, with that being said she desperately needed to get some new clothes tomorrow; maybe she wouldn’t even meet them doing that. Biting her lip, she shifted into a new position, attempting to ignore the pain. Sweet Celestia, I need some sleep. Or would it be Luna now? Oh, who knows. The conundrum didn’t really bother Solar, clearly Luna paid little attention to her nightmares, so she couldn’t find much respect for her. Until she saw the princess she would have to withhold judgement though. As her eyes closed she hoped for a restless night – one without her usual worries.

He had been writing in his book for a little longer than usual, his few glances to her caused worry to brew in her heart. Those glances weren’t of the usual caring façade or even the slip of dislike, just remorse. Worry. Never a good sign, if someone who wasn’t even a friend feels that bad for you, then you know something is going to go wrong – that they know something you don’t.

Finally, after an eternity, he set the book and quill down, choosing instead to gaze at her. Behind him the door slid open, revealing two guards, one a mare and the other a stallion. Both were the usual colours, something that Solar assumed was magically enforced. “Fleet,” She said, her voice timid and wavering. She hated the guards, never had they been a good sign; generally, they had been used as muscle, to hold her down or pull her to the bed if she refused to go herself. “What are they here for? If you want me to lie down, I will.” Eventually she had decided that it was easier to just follow commands than to be made to with force. Usually though, they did at least ask her to first, if they had decided to just bring in guards to deal with her regardless then she feared for her safety. Those guards clearly didn’t care that she was still in her early teens and was just barely fed.

“That’s not what they’re here for, Solar, and I know that you would agree to my requests at this point. We need to test one of the intended abilities you should have.” One of the guards stepped forwards and drew a knife from his belt, reaching for Solar’s arm. She shrank back, eyes widening until she hit the wall. Her breathing quickened, and her pupils shrank, her legs folding up to her chest as she curled into a ball. “Calm down, Solar, please. One of the tests we have to run is regenerative ability. We just need to make a small cut on your arm, I’m sure you know what will happen if you make this more difficult than it has to be.” His threat fell on death ears as all Solar could see was the blade before her.

After a few seconds with no reply Fleet gestured the other guard forward, who pulled Solar out of her ball – keeping her arm stretched out for the stallion to cut. With eyes filled with horror, Solar watched the blade run along her forearm, crimson blood inching out of the fresh line it left behind. “That’s enough.” Fleet snapped, sharply. He seemed restless, out of his comfort zone for once. Feeling dampness on her face, Solar realised she had tears ebbing from her eyes and the pain finally blossomed into her brain, delayed by the shock. Her eyes squeezed shut. Her fangs tore her own lip as she tried to change her focus from her arm, but to no avail. As soon as the mare released her limb she drew it back to herself, cradling it to her chest, allowing the salted tears to mix with the blood that stained her clothes and her whimpering to be muffled by her gown.

“Look at me Solar, look at me.” A voice said in front of her, but she ignored it. “Solar.” The comforting tone was etched with a slight pang of annoyance now. “Solar!” It was a command, not a request and a hand grabbed her chin, tilting her face to meet Fleet’s. His eyes stared into hers and widened slowly. Solar could see a soft red glow around Fleet’s face, highlighting his features as though the light came from her own. “What in the name of Celestia…” He trailed off, his shock evident.

Hatred bubbled in her heart. They did this, they always did this. Finally, a line had been crossed. This was some form of sadistic torture, surely? There could be no possible benefit from cutting her other than the knowledge of the pain it caused. And all because of him. In a fit of sobs, she lunged forward to Fleet, sinking her fangs into his neck. The feeling of the teeth piercing the jugular vein brought a sense of satisfaction. Finally, she had some form of revenge. His trembling body against hers almost made her laugh, for once he was the one trembling. Blood began to flow into her and she could taste the liquid’s intoxicating flavour, a delicacy she had never tried before. At last he seemed to realise what was happening and he began to try and push her off, grabbing her shoulders; desperate to demount her, he pushed her against the wall, attempting to lever her off.

Solar did not hear his cries of confusion and fear, nor did she feel his desperate attempts to pull her off. She was in bliss, savouring the delicious nectar. Adrenaline flowed through her and she felt revitalised, the pain from her arm gone. A pair of arms grabbed her from either side and two hands began forcing her mouth open, pulling her off of Fleet and dragging her back to her bed. Being held down, Solar felt the glow of her bite fade away and the pain of her arm take its place, still very much an open, painful wound. As the glow finally faded entirely her mind turned to complete panic, realisation filled her head and she looked at the two guards holding her down. It was unnecessary, considering she wasn’t even trying to fight against their hold, but she could hardly blame them. Their looks of shock and terror hit home, she had never seen the guards show emotion, let alone fear. What was she? What the fuck had they done to her? Why did it feel so good to bite Fleet?

Something soft was placed against her muzzle and a strange scent filled her mind as she slowly lost consciousness. The final image in her mind was the blank, white ceiling of the room.

Author's Note:

I'll give it to you straight. I'm male, the clothing descriptions are bad, alright? I don't know female fashion, ok? Anyway, this chapter took a while because it is longer than the others and I wanted to tie things in. I'm also going to try and fit a dream into each chapter to make two stories which will tie in. Let me know of any mistakes, things that don't feel smooth and your general thoughts. I generally stop and start with writing to do things like switch spotify songs or youtube videos so sometimes things can seem out of place, I try to read over the chapter but some things may slip through.
_{One time I had 'and' three times in a sentence, twice is bad enough.}

Hope you enjoyed.

P.S I have a newfound respect for those that write action scenes and combat. I really have no clue how to do it properly, but I will try.