Chaos Theory: Lone Wolf

by Littlepony115

Chapter 6: Dark Horse

Chapter Six

A startling pain rocked Solar from her sleep, jerking her up. Her jaw ached fiercely, a seeming inferno of agony. Crying out, she ran to her mirror and opened her mouth, checking inside for anything that should raise alarms. There was no blood or clear reason for the pain, but she began to notice her fur. It was lighter than ever, more of an ash than a greyish-black. In her eyes there sat a slight red glow, something she knew was a bad early-warning sign. “No, no, no, no. I just need more time. A few more days,” she muttered in horror. As she had worried, her own blood had finally stopped satisfying her thirst. Another shot of pain made her yelp and she quickly dressed, swinging her bow over her shoulder. Throwing open the back door, she sprinted down the path to the forest, ignoring the darker shades of the early dawning sun.

Following each sign, she ducked into the Everfree and began scanning the world around her for a creature. She didn’t want to kill anything in the Whitetail Woods, for fear of the body being found. But killing in the Everfree? That wouldn’t be found and even if it did, it couldn’t be pinned on her. Preferably, she would be able to find a predator, at least then her kill would have a little more justification. Crouching low to the floor, she slowly moved through the vegetation of the forest, leaves being pushed aside as she progressed. She could make out the glowing blood-flow of some kind of dog-like creature further ahead; from its movements, it seemed like it was chewing on something. Judging by the lightly fluorescent floor around its meal, it had just caught some prey. Pulling an arrow into her bow, she pushed through the final line of leaves. It was a wolf, chewing contently on a deer’s corpse – clearly having killed the animal.

Holding her breath, she drew the arrow in the wolf’s direction, shaking slightly. I’m sorry. With a whistle, the shaft split through the morning air and thudded into the wolf’s neck, knocking it to the leafy forest floor. A howl escaped the wolf’s mouth, but the sound cut off as it went limp. Solar covered her mouth with her hand, feeling remorse creep over her. The pain in her jaw was still growing, however, and the cloud in her mind took care of that empathy. Leaping into the clearing, she slid over to the wolf and leant down to its neck. She held her hand against it, ensuring its pulse was absent. Satisfied that it was, she ripped out the arrow and sank her fangs into an artery, drinking deeply. Her blissful feeding felt stained by the regret of the kill. After a few seconds, the pain ebbed away, and her mind cleared – leaving her staring at the body in sadness.

The dust from the path home swirled around her with each step. Her feet dragged slightly, and she ran her hand along the rhododendrons that lined the trail. Never before had she taken a life and she felt that her conscience was murky. As if all the grime of the world’s gritty realism now draped over her, blotting out the once heavenly naivety she had been revelling in. It had always been an accepted part of life. The end. But never had she experience first-hand and it made her worry for those who walked the darker lines of criminality. Stealing from the rich was one thing, stealing from companies, sure. But stealing life itself was wrong. So wrong. Biting her lip, she tried to move her thoughts away from the wolf but couldn’t. It could’ve been a father, simply trying to provide for his cubs or a pack leader, all his brethren now lost without a star to follow.

With a shake of her head, she forced the ideas to the back of her head. Choosing, instead, to focus on the more pressing present, rather than the past; besides, the wolf had killed that deer. So, in a way, it was tit for tat.

Picking up her pace slightly, she decided that she may as well make use of all the wolf’s blood. It would be slightly more respectful than simply leaving it. Pushing open the door to her kitchen, her eyes began scanning the cupboards for any kind of bottle that could be used; there was one in the corner and another by the sink. Both were perfect. She scooped them up in each hand and bolted back down the paths, quickly reaching the body once again. Pressing against the wound, she let the blood fill the bottles but soon found that the process was simply too slow – not to mention that the wound itself was beginning to run dry. Thinking quickly, she bit into the wolf and drained some of the precious liquid before spitting it out into the bottle. That was certainly more successful and very soon she was fastening the lids on two filled bottles of blood.

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Pushing open the backdoor, Solar waited for Corvus with an impatient roll of her eyes. Uncertainly, he flew inside and perched on the grandfather clock, his head tilted slightly. She couldn’t help but feel adjudicated, like a criminal in a court with a jury watching her every move. Don’t judge me… Or do. I guess I deserve it this time. Turning back to the hall to go upstairs, something caught her eye on the carpet. An envelope, apparently having fallen through the letterbox. With a raised eyebrow, she dropped her bow onto a chair and scooped up the letter. Using her knife, she slit the seal and unfolded the parchment with interest.

Dear Solar,

I trust you’ve settled in well at Mahogany Hollow. If you didn’t know, that is the official

name of the home – quite a charming one if I do say so myself. Regardless, I must admit

I didn’t take the time to send a letter of pure congratulations. There is a job you may

be interested in. A few clients have expressed concerns that I believe you could

deal with quite efficiently. If you happen to find the time for a visit to the usual spot

then I would consider it a personal favour. Besides, it would be nice to see how

you’ve settled. I await your swift arrival or, at the least, a return letter.

- Syndicate.

Her eyes scanned the last few lines, a slight smile playing on her face. In truth she had rather missed Syndicate, besides, she was always ready for work. Wondering what his new clients wanted, she folded the letter up and slid it into her satchel. Leaving to Canterlot ought to be fine, but she knew that there was a chance one of her new friends would come looking for her for one reason or another. Leaving a note would, hopefully, be enough to explain her leave.

She walked into her room with a sigh of relief, feeling far better than she had that morning. Catching her reflection, she noticed that her fur had returned to its usual dark grey and her eyes to their crystal-clear blue. To her delight, the buying of some paper and a quill had not been in vain, as they sat untouched on her desk. As she sat down, she whipped the quill out of its pot and began to write.

To whoever sees this,

I have taken a small trip to Canterlot for a day or more to visit family, I won’t be gone

for long. If you want to contact me, please leave a note here and I will be sure to visit

you once I’m back.

Solar Eclipse

Satisfied that the note was concise enough, she pinned it to her front door and began to ready herself for a trip. It had been a while since she’d donned her leather suit, but she was happy to find that it did still fit. Even if it was slightly tight. She’d have to buy another when she could, there were plenty of tailors who’d be willing to help for some bits. Regardless, she had to get to Syndicate’s hideaway soon. Walking through the hall, her eye caught the two bottles of red liquid. I’d better take one with me. She thought, her mind pondering their uses. The quickest way to Canterlot would likely be teleportation, but that system hadn’t actually been implemented into Ponyville yet. She supposed the train would have to do. Pulling her bow over her, she slid her hood over her head and beckoned Corvus out the back door with her. As the leather covered her mane its colour began to bleach before darkening to a similar dark grey to the outfit itself. While she had no frame of reference, she knew the mask would be doing something similar to her eyes, making their irises a dark, bleak red. The magic was quite simple, enough to pass right through detection. It was something she was very grateful for. In her opinion, possibly one of the best purchases she’d ever made.

Following the path through the wood, she contemplated what her job would be. Knowing Syndicate, it would be a rather high-risk one; safer jobs were usually handed off to less… Capable candidates. The consistent appearance of lackeys was something Syndicate had vented about quite often, saying he had too many employees and not enough employment. Fortunately for her, he simply trusted her enough for the tougher, and higher paying, jobs. Her concentration was drawn back to reality as she passed another signpost, assuring that she was following the small carving of a train.

As she stepped up to the train station, she couldn’t help but feel somewhat out of place. Wearing tight leather and sporting several weapons made her rather threatening, certainly not something you would see on a train platform every day. It was lucky that there was no one she recognised here, while she was completely covered, she didn’t fancy her chances at them keeping quiet. Unless it was Fluttershy, perhaps. Most ponies simply gave her a surprised or worried look when they almost knocked into her, choosing to give her a minor berth as she strode towards the ticket master. A passer-by muttered something about ‘Killers out in public’ which made her wince slightly. Though they clearly knew nothing about her, they weren’t far from the truth. To her credit, a good amount didn’t even notice her as she weaved between the visitors, coming to a stop in front of a ticket booth.

Looking up, the uniformed mare behind the counter took a double-take at Solar, her mouth slightly open in surprise. “One ticket to Canterlot, please,” Solar said calmly, leaning against the booth. The mare nodded and turned away for a few seconds, returning with a ticket in one hand. With a raised eyebrow, she dropped the ticket onto the counter.

“That’ll be five bits, ma’am,” she said, uncertainly. Putting the coins on the counter, Solar took her ticket and entered a carriage, grinning a little when Corvus plopped onto her shoulder. Over time, ponies began filling the small space and took their own places. A stallion squeezed in beside Solar, completely ignoring her until her bow poked into his arm. I swear, this ‘talent’ can be such a curse. He gave her a look of confusion and stepped away, clearly wondering how he hadn’t noticed her sooner. Despite this, the journey to Canterlot was relatively uneventful, with all sorts of colourful characters filtering in and out of the carts and each station. The Canterlot stop, however, was by far the busiest. As soon as the doors opened, half the carriage began shuffling towards them and Solar was glad when she felt the open air on her face. Moving quickly, she ran out into the open streets and smiled at the familiar cobbled surface.

Still, there was no time to be spent on admiring the architecture, so she made a mental plan of her route. The quickest way would be to fly, but she didn’t want to be more obvious than she had to be. Ponyville may have thought she was strange, but Canterlot would have her down on the floor, surrounded by guards. Especially since her antics from before. With this in mind, she decided to use the alleyways she knew so well to her advantage, her feet splashing the occasional puddle as she sprinted through the twists and turns. Corvus soared beside her as she ran, and she had to dodge a few lurking pedestrians, who each turned in shock at her speed.

Panting, she slowed to a walk as she grew closer to Syndicate’s door and knocked on the door with a few fervent glances around. A small window slid open in the wood and a pair of eyes glared through, looking her up and down. They ought to recognise her from her previous jobs, since she had always been in full kit when she came back. Sure enough, there was the sound of sliding metal from inside and the door swung open. It was the same doormare as before, who nodded to her. Making her way to the usual meeting room, Solar noticed some changes to the building. A few paintings had been put on the walls and some furniture dotted the floor, tables with vases and photographs. She grinned, knowing exactly why the changes had been made. The more ordinary a home looked, the less likely any authority would bust down the door. It made life a little bit easier for all involved, knowing that if worst came to worst they would still stand a chance of remaining quiet.

As she opened a door, she walked into the meeting room and immediately met the eye of Syndicate, who was standing at the end of the table. Feeling his gaze on her, she began to feel slightly uncomfortable and, with a quick movement, she pulled down her mask. Her hood followed, revealing her colour and he relaxed, choosing to walk round the table. His old smile returned in part, yet, despite his expression, she could tell all was not as dandy as it could be. This tight smile clearly hid quite a lot of worry. Behind him she noticed another two ponies; one being a tall white stallion with a blue mane and a formal tailcoat on. Recognising him from somewhere, she tried to pin the face to a name and her eyes widened slightly when she realised just who he was. Fancy Pants, a well-known and upper-class figure who’d retired from The Royal Guard quite some time ago, was very well respected among Canterlot. He’d also been a target for her interfering clients on several occasions. Now that she thought about it, he had been talking to Rarity in Canterlot, hadn’t he?

Beside Fancy was the other worrisome character. Fleur de Lis was quite the attractive mare, having been a supermodel for a good portion of her life. It was well known that she was now… With Fancy. In truth, no one actually knew just what their relationship was – only that it wasn’t quite marriage but far more than friendship. The issue laid in the unicorns’ positions, neither were the type to call on professional thieves or criminality in general. Especially with Fancy’s past as a captain of The Royal Guard. Gulping, Solar gave Syndicate an accusatory glance, worried that she’d been set up.

“I know, Solar. But they actually do need our services, more specifically, your services,” he muttered, walking past her as he did so. Raising his voice, he continued whatever conversation he’d been having. “This is her now, this little minx can certainly get the job done. She’s my most trusted asset, something I hope you’ll take seriously.” Fancy nodded, looking her up and down critically with Fleur leaning on his shoulder, posing. “Well, if all is well, then would you be comfortable with me giving her the details?” Syndicate continued, waiting for some kind of confirmation from Fancy. Whatever it was, he got it and he turned his attention back to Solar.

“So, you’ve got quite the task this time. There’s a company who’ve managed to manufacture a type of drug that, from what Fancy has been told, could cause quite some havoc.” She remained quiet, unsure of why this was more serious than all the other drugs out there. “Fancy has reason to believe that this company is planning to push these potentially fatal biotics and he – along with some other ponies – would really rather the product was gone,” he finished.

“I cannot stress enough the seriousness of this,” Fancy began, gravely. “If anypony finds out about my dealings with you, I will be ruined. And, so will you. I guarantee it. I can’t have anypony knowing I dealt with criminals for this, but it seems like you’re the best one for the job.” Somepony is under orders, isn’t he? “Regardless, you must be sure you destroy every trace of this stuff. If they manage to find any of it, they could easily make more. I also happen to know that the plans for the drug will be with the supplies. While I want those destroyed too, I want you to bring them to me first, just so I know you’ve done the job. Let’s call it security.” Solar was rather surprised that she was taking a job from a retired officer to destroy drugs.

With a nod, she leant against the table, hoping to give off a sense of dependability and, anxious to know her side of the matters, she decided to get straight to the point. “So, where am I going and what, exactly, am I destroying?” Fleur raised an eyebrow and Fancy simply smiled a knowing smile. Solar didn’t that smile trust in the slightest, it seemed almost like an invitation. As though the thing she asked was something to be smug about.

“He doesn’t quite know where you’re going and all we know about the stuff itself is the look. Some yellow powder, apparently. The good news is it’s flammable, so that should be a good way to destroy it. I do have a start for you – I can see your uncertainty from here – over at a small branch of the company here in Canterlot. We know the substance isn’t in the city yet, but we do know it’s in a warehouse somewhere in Equestria,” Syndicate clarified, hoping to shed a little more light on the situation. “We are rather hoping you can find out where.” He knew Fancy was asking for a bit of a miracle, but it was either agree or have the guard pulling him behind bars. All he hoped was that his little magic-maker knew what she was doing. Pulling out a map, he handed her the parchment and waited for her reaction.

She scanned the map up and down, a slightly quizzical expression on her face. It was easily recognisable, and she was fairly certain where to go. The issue was, the section of the building itself was quite detailed. It showed separate rooms and points, the entrance, the backroom, the counter and the filing cabinets. If there was anything that would tell her where to find this warehouse, it would be in there. An easy entrance would be the back window, since it seemed the building didn’t actually have any other kind of enterable point save for the front door. For such a small place, it shouldn’t have more than one guard, if any, so that was a slight weight off of her mind. Her train of thought was broken by Fancy, who simply wished her luck in the matter with a formal smile.

He strode to the door and Fleur drew a line across Solar’s shoulders with a finger as she passed, leaning in to her ear. “I hope you know what you’re doing. For both of our sakes. Celestia’s been looking for you.” With that she left, giving her a wink and a wave.

Watching the pair leave, Solar felt as small as an ant. Celestia knows about me? That was impossible, surely. Her throat felt dry and she fidgeted uncomfortably, running her tongue over her teeth. Syndicate packed up some papers behind her and closed them into a briefcase. Resting a hand on the doorframe, he gave her a friendly grin. “As good as ever, right Solar? Must be feel good to be working, knowing you’ve finally got a place to relax at after, eh?” His words were slightly consoling but she couldn’t help but force her smile. He didn’t know just how bad her situation was. For the first time in years, she couldn’t feed on those near home and it was making things considerably more annoying. Not to mention the new revelation that Celestia knew she had done something. All she could hope was that she didn’t know about the jewel, just the necklace.

She nodded, pulling her mask over her mouth. “Never better. How much is this job worth, anyway?” It was dawning on her that Syndicate had been rather quiet about the actual pay-out. His expression suddenly became one of a deer in headlights and she sighed heavily. “Syndicate, this is the most uncertain job I’ve ever been given, it’d better pay well,” she scolded. The last thing she’d want is to risk her life for someone like Fancy, only to then be tricked out of pay and left out to dry.

“Alright, look. To be honest, I didn’t even want to take this in the first place,” he admitted, “I mean, destroying illegal products isn’t exactly criminal work.” That much was true, it did seem like something the Guard should be in charge of. “It’s just that Fancy mentioned how the only reason they knew about the stuff was through some… unethical means and it ‘just wouldn’t do’ to have the deed linked to them.”

Narrowing her eyes, she cut in to his explanation. “That still doesn’t explain why you agreed to take the job, Syndicate. Why did you even agree to meet them? It could’ve easily been a set up.” It wasn’t an easy feat to procure the services of a professional criminal group. Especially when you were hand in hand with The Princesses themselves, a description that fit Fancy to a T. It was a still greater feat to deal with them under the rulers’ noses without consequences. Or permission.

“Ok, so, I didn’t exactly agree to meet them. They met me,” he began, his words stumbling to form a sentence. Despite being her employer, Syndicate had never been very good at handing her bad news.

“Syndicate,” she growled. If she ended up in a cell at the end of this, he would have more than just the Royal Guard to deal with.

A defeated look passed over his face. “Alright, look. They said that they know about the jewel, alright? They know. I don’t know how, but they do. In my defence, I’m almost certain it was your fault for knocking out that captain. Do you realise how much magic can assist memory?”

Solar leant against the wall, softly knocking her head against it in frustration. The one thing, the one thing that she hadn’t wanted. “Syndicate, he was unconscious by the time he could take in what was happening. Did you really expect me to kill him just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time?” She shot, her annoyance evident. After turning up out of obligation, taking off her disguise to talk, showing her face to Celestia-damned nobility! If only she’d had the equipment enchanted when she’d taken that job.

“I don’t know what I expected but it was certainly not for word to get out. Look, in any case, this job does have a pay cheque, alright? They’ve offered a round one-hundred bits for a successful trip and anything you can find on the way. From the company, of course. Usually I’d take half, but this time I’m taking their silence as my cut, so it’s all yours if you do this right,” He replied, feeling rather hot under the collar. Truly he had no clue how the pair had found him, and he couldn’t help but feel guilty for wrapping her up in the matter. Unfortunately, they had asked for her specifically. “Also, when did you get a bird?”

Letting her irritation ebb away like a stream, Solar ignored him and shifted her attention to the situation. There was no use in having a tantrum, especially if the circumstances couldn’t be helped. It was far too late for accusations now, besides, she had a building to rob and a warehouse to burn. I suppose I can add arson to my list of crimes against the world. She thought, a slight smile playing on her lips at the sheer absurdity.

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Coming across the shop was an easy enough task, since the building itself was tucked down a rather out-of-the-way alleyway. A few stragglers had seen her along the way, giving her some strange glances, which made her feel rather uncomfortable. She didn’t like being seen on a job. Not that it mattered, she had her enchantments now and not a single one would recognise her again. She was grateful the enchantments themselves didn’t use the typical form of magic, as a lot of things did. According to the fence, and her own testing, they didn’t set off any kind of alarm due to using ‘Changeling magic’. Whatever that means. As she strolled along a pavement, she took in the details of the little shop and its entrances; wondering what kind of lock the window had as she made her way around the block.

The shop itself was about the size of a large wagon and held once-colourful advertising that boasted ‘Homemade Formulas Made From The Most Natural Herbs!’. Sure. Those ‘natural’ herbs were always a bit of a gamble, since almost every product made in Equestria was already natural. Either they didn’t differ in any way, save for price, or they were downright poorly made. There was light emanating from the window, so clearly the shop was occupied. That made things slightly more complicated, but not impossibly so – it wasn’t like she’d never faced ponies during jobs before.

As she pressed against the wall, the weather began to spit – droplets of rain falling down around her and dribbling from the brim of her hood. To her delight it became quite heavy, thudding against the environment with a fierce determination and a deafening noise, something that would supress anything she did quite well. Quickly, light dimmed as clouds covered the sky and the glow from the shop stood out like a wolf among sheep. She leaned over to the window and wiped away the thin layer of forming condensation, peeking into the room tentatively.

The room was filled with around eight filing cabinets, as expected. Four on each side. Sitting against the windowed wall was an old desk holding a candle and a few papers. Squinting, she could make out a figure standing in the doorway that split the front and back rooms. Seeming to jump to life, they moved closer towards the desk and she drew back slightly, not wanting to be seen in the candlelight. As the figure sat down, she could make out their features rather well, noting the stallion’s old wrinkled features and worn flat-cap. It was quite clear that he wasn’t too much of a threat, just someone to keep an eye out. Too bad she was better at her job than he was. Just as she began to pull away, she saw yet another shape moving into view. Staring in confusion, she tried to get a better angle on the window to make out the shape. There was an animal on the desk, moving ever so slightly, cleaning itself. It looked like some kind of cat. That could be annoying, since she could never really tell how animals would react to her. Especially after visiting Fluttershy’s. Best ways up it would shy away and stay quiet; worst ways up it would hiss at her and alert the stallion before he needed to know anything.

A flutter beside Solar made her jump and she turned to meet the beady black eyes of Corvus, giving her a sardonic look. The raven tilted his head and chirped with a slight accusatory tone. Surprised, she had almost forgotten that he was with her. His stare bored into her with an edge befitting of something more serious and she winced slightly. “Hey, it’s not my fault this happened. I don’t have to explain myself to a bird.” She scowled and scampered around the building, making her way to the front. The door was shut tightly, made of a weather beaten but thick oak. Beside the beaten doorstep landed Corvus, hopping towards her with an annoyed squawk. “Shut up! You’ll get me caught and then what are we going to do?” She hissed, rolling her eyes soon after. “Oh, sweet Celestia, why am I even talking to you…” He hopped in agitated retaliation but complied, swooping onto her shoulder.

Peering into the lock, she was glad to see the stallion fast asleep in the glowing candlelight. That would make things infinitely easier. I might not even have to wake him. She thought, optimistically. Sliding in a lockpick, she fiddled with the mechanism until all three pins had clicked into their respective positions and, with bated breath, she opened the door. Inside the shop was close to expectation, with a counter and shelves of various vials – quite a common sight in alchemical stores. As she softly closed the door behind her, one immediately caught her eye as fake. ‘Bug-Bear Essence’. Yeah right, like these guys could get that close to a bug-bear. Frankly, she was beginning to question why she’d been chosen for this, it wasn’t the most difficult job. Still, she reasoned, I guess I’m on the easy part. As she padded along the stone floor, she caught the eye of the cat she’d seen through the window. It was midway through the motion of licking its paw, staring with wide eyes at her. Swallowing, she decided that it would be best to dispose of the stallion before this cat did anything to wake him.

Granted, the age of the sleeping pony would suggest that she could take him regardless, but she’d made the same mistake about Ironsights before. That hadn’t turned out well. Her limbs ached just thinking about that day. At the time, she had been poking fun at the blacksmith’s age when he’d challenged her to a ‘friendly fight’. She shuddered, remembering her surprise at being whipped off her feet and flung like a ragdoll across the room. Tapping out quickly became common sense after that. I’m rather fond of self-preservation.

Keeping an eye on the cat, Solar slunk behind the stallion’s chair, opening her satchel and considering her options. One item that was precisely for this kind of thing was a herbal substance that knocked a pony out in under four seconds, but it was easily detectable, and she wasn’t too keen to use it unless she had to. Just because you could go in loud, doesn’t mean you should. An effective tool was a thin piece of razor wire, which she was yet to use. It was meant to be wrapped around a throat, cutting into it and killing quickly – hence why she stubbornly refused to use it. As she looked through, she began to wonder if simply hitting the stallion over the head with a book would do the trick, there was one lying conveniently on the desk beside him. ‘Tales of Night-Folk and Monsters’ She mouthed, reading the title. He had probably been reading that when he’d fallen asleep. Shaking her head, she looked back into her satchel when his snoring abruptly stopped. She froze, flicking her eyes to stare intensely at the chair’s arm and checking if his hand was moving.

Pushing down, Woodjack stood up and yawned, blinking sleepily. He was far too old for this sort of thing and didn’t really understand why it was so important to keep the shop occupied. Laying a hand on the desk, he stared at the fogged-up glass. “When had it started rainin’? Seems like it’s always rainin’,” He tutted, “Them pegasi always organisin’ storms. I’m sure the plants ‘ave got enough water as it is.” He sighed before catching sight of his cat. “Charlie, what’s wrong?” The poor thing was stock still in terror, staring behind him. Swallowing, he turned and stared into the inky darkness of the room.

Holding her breath, Solar slid herself along the floor until the chair was between her and the stallion. It would help to remove as much light as possible. He seemed to speak to his cat, staring at the space she’d just occupied. Lifting herself ever so slightly, she silently prayed he wouldn’t see her as she reached over to the candle. Two fingers clamped over the wick, snuffing the flame out as quickly as a flash. Now only visible as a glowing network of veins and a silhouette, the stallion span. His expression seemed scared and his eyes, were wide.

“The fuck was that?” He muttered, his eyes darting from side to side. Rather than move forward to investigate he stepped back, uncertain in his plan of action. The cat jumped off of a filing cabinet, darting into the front room and making him jump. “Charl- Oh, what’s the point. It was jus’ the wind, weren’t it?” He grumbled and took a few unsteady steps towards the desk. Holding her breath, Solar hoped he wouldn’t try to relight the candle, since she’d have to resort to knocking him out there and then. As she got ready to tackle the stallion, he sprang forward and grabbed the book off the desk, quickly darting back to the safety of the lit room. With one final glance over the darkness, he shook his head and closed the door – Solar was rather shocked, being left alone in the room.

Quickly, she scooped up the desk’s chair and jammed it underneath the door handle, ensuring he couldn’t come back into the room even if he wanted to. Sliding a hand into her bag, she pulled out a matchbox and re-lit the candle on the desk, adding some light back into the room. All she had to do now was find some documentation of the warehouse. Draw after draw she opened, searching each piece of paper for any mention of the substance with little luck, until one paper stood out to her. It was a sort of signed document that organised a wagon to transport powder from a warehouse in Fillydelphia. The signature at the bottom of the page read ‘Orion Star’ a name she’d never heard of before and the passage referred to the drug as ‘Star Sugar’. Presumably, it was named after the signer. Attached was a photograph of the warehouse, a large, simple structure by the Fillydelphian docks as well as a basic map and the address.

She rolled the page up and put in her bag, making a mental note to not crush the thing. It could prove she’d done the job if there was any doubt. Getting to Fillydelphia would be kind of a pain, though, since the only way she could get there quickly would be by train. The problem with that was that Canterlot had guards posted by the train station, and she wouldn’t even have the cover of the crowds as she had earlier. With that being said, Canterlot did have quite a lot of trade deals with Fillydelphia and wagons travelled back and forth quite frequently, so perhaps she could get on one of those. As she closed the filing cabinet, putting things back in their original place, she heard movement from beyond the door. In her hurry to search the cabinets she had made quite some noise, something which the stallion must’ve heard.

Fiddling with the final draw, she decided that all was back to normal just as she heard a rattling. She turned to see the door being pushed against the chair, slowly moving along the stone floor with strained defiance. Through the open crack, she spotted the stallion stepping back and scratching his head in confusion.

“I tell you, Charlie,” He muttered, “I don’t like this one bit. First, you’re actin’ up and then the candle an’ all. Now this door’s stuck, I don’t like it. Jus’ like them stories I was readin’, things actin’ all by themselves.” So, he thinks I’m one of his stories, then? Solar thought, grinning to herself. Moving quickly, she whipped the chair from the door and tucked it into the desk before wafting out the burning candle. Just as the door began to open, she slid over into the corner of the room and held still. Glaring around the space, the silhouette standing in the doorway stepped in. Lit up like a Christmas tree, she could see every movement he made, his glowing form pulsing with his heartbeat. As he took a few unsteady steps towards the desk, he pulled out a lighter and lit the candle, immediately doing a spin to check around himself.

To her delight, he still couldn’t make Solar out as she crouched down low in the corner of the room. “Let’s give him a show,” She whispered to Corvus, getting a strange look from the raven. She had forgotten that her mask altered her voice as well, simply making her sound like a different pony. “It’s the mask. Look, you see that alarm clock? On the cabinet?” She asked, pointing to an old clock which teetered on one cabinet’s edge. “Push it off, then we’ll get out of dodge, alright?” The deadpan look that followed made her blush slightly in embarrassment. “It’s not just for fun!” She hissed, “We need a distraction.” With a shake of his head, the shadowy bird hopped over her and pushed off into a smooth glide, landing softly on the other side of the room. He walked behind the clock and she got ready to dart out the door.

With a shockingly loud crash, a clock fell down beside Woodjack, making him yell in surprise. Something brushed his back and he span back to find Charlie pressing against him and staring in uncanny fear once again. “What in Tartarus was that?” He cried out, angrily, picking the cracked clock up off the floor and scooping the candleholder off the desk – waving the glowing wax around the cabinet. There was no reason it should have fallen. “Oh, this is too much,” He groaned, shaking his head in disbelief. Sighing angrily, he strode out of the room and froze in shock. The door outside was open. He had been sure it was close, and now it was open. As if that wasn’t bad enough, it was banging against its hinges as the rain and wind battered it. “That’s it, I’m heading home. Come on Charlie, let’s go see if Silver Moon’s got anything for us. I told ‘em, I said there was no reason to be here, and now with spirits an’ all.”

Solar cringed slightly from outside, knowing she should’ve closed the door. Having taken shelter beside the building, she peeked around the corner to see the stallion, now wearing a coat, locking up before striding down the road with a few furtive glances back. Hopefully he would just pin the happenings on his imagination or ghosts. She didn’t really care which, as long as he didn’t pin them on her. Not that he could, he hadn’t seen her at all. Right, up next, Fillydelphia. She thought, feeling the photo in her bag.

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As she pulled herself onto the depot’s roof, Solar could hear wheels creak as wagons moved in and out of the building with ease. There was a large open skylight which stood out to her and she checked through it, finding the roof of a smaller structure inside. Some kind of office, I guess. She remembered a time when she had been watching this depot with Ironsights, enjoying his ramblings. He’d been ranting about the steel wheel rims the carts used and how hard they were to make when she’d mentioned how fun it would be to drive one. His reply was a long lecture about the reason all drivers were unicorns and the magic they used to make the carts move. It’d been a funny time in her life, moving around with him. Still, she had more pressing matters than to reminiscence right now.

Each driver hung around their cart, some checking their routes and some just enjoying their time between trips. A few were smoking or chatting to other drivers, chuckles breaking the conversation every now and then. One of them must be going to Fillydelphia, there were at least eight carts and the city was such a large place for trading. Checking around the small office, Solar hung off the side and fell to the floor, kicking up a cloud of dust; she glanced around, ensuring no one had seen that. If they had, they weren’t doing anything about it. Keeping low to the ground, she ducked over to a small pile of crates and peeked around the corner. There was a group of three stallions and a mare hanging around beside a cart, discussing a replacement wheel. Judging by the mare being the only unicorn, she was the driver.

“Yeah, I’m just not sure it’ll last for the ride to Appleloosa, s’all,” The mare said, resting her chin on a hand while she regarded the wheelrim. Solar briefly wondered if Ironsights had made the wheel, before changing her target to the next wagon in line. If that one was going to Appleloosa, it was useless to her. The next one along seemed more promising, carrying neatly folded bags of clothing and some baked goods. A stallion clambered down from the cart, looking over a few securing ropes and seeming pleased with the results. Sitting back against the crates, she heard another set of footsteps striding around the side of the cart.

“Alright, is everything secured, darling?” A familiarly clear voice asked. “The road to Filly is simply dreadful and I can’t let any of this tear or the Countess will be furious. Not to mention the rain will ruin the fabric if it seeps through the bags, so the cover had better be on tight.” What are the chances of Rarity being here? Solar thought, moving along to get a better look at the carriage. Sure enough, Rarity stood face to face with the stallion, wielding a clipboard which she glanced at infrequently. Well, at least she was going to Fillydelphia, maybe Solar could hitch a ride with her.

As she thought, she failed to notice the pair mount the wagon and all too soon her eyes flicked up to the sight of the vehicle trundling away from her. With a gasp, she vaulted over her cover and ran across the depot floor, hoping to reach the back of the cart as soon as possible. While there was nobody who was close enough to notice her adrenaline-fueled sprint, there were a few who kept tabs on who left and entered the place; something which meant she couldn’t simply cling on like a parasite without being seen. Unless. Just as she reached the back of the cart, she dropped to the floor and slid beneath, grabbing onto the carriage’s axle. Yanking herself between the wagon’s bed and its driveshaft, she discovered that it was actually comfortable to simply lie down on the thing. Now all she had to do was wait for the journey to end.

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The journey was rather bumpy, as Rarity had mentioned, and Solar had very little to occupy her mind. There was a little bit of small-talk between the pair up front, which lent a little entertainment to the trip; although, she could barely hear them. From what she could gather, Rarity had made an outfit for ‘Countess Coloratura’ – a rising pop-star who was staying in Fillydelphia for a concert. There were also some extra clothing options for her back-up singers, something Rarity emphasized upon the driver’s complaints of ‘Too many clothes fo’ just one pony.’ Just as Solar was shifting to a more comfortable position for the umpteenth time, she felt the cart jolt and begin to shake. Looking down, she found that the usual monotonous dirt track become dotted, and soon filled, with stone bricked paving. She heard a few excited coos from her unaware friend up front and decided that now was as good a time as any to make her exit.

Dropping down onto the dirt, she rolled from beneath the wagon, narrowly missing the spinning wheels and as she stood up, her eyes fell upon the towering city skyline of Filly; tall, grey obelisks scraping the skies like fingers, searching for a handhold. Never had she seen such an impressive feat of construction, Canterlot was the capital of Equestria, sure, but it had nothing like this. She had heard the stories and seen the depictions of Manehattan and its similar cubic kings, but she had been yet to set her eyes upon the buildings. As she visually traced her way up the blocks, she felt rather dizzy. The sheer height of the things made her feel uneasy, as if they were simply taunting her with their disregard for gravity.

A yell to her left made her snap out of her trance and she realised she was simply standing in the road, blocking any oncoming traffic. With a hurried apology, she jogged to the pavement and took a deep breath. Each walkway was dusted with ponies on their way to their respective destinations, running like clockwork. Clearly, their paths and etiquette were set in stone. Solar tried to match the pace of those around her and soon found herself shifting along with them as bit by bit each filtered off of the sidewalk. She opened up her satchel and slid out the photograph of the warehouse, trying to match the image to a location. It was on the docks, so going to the shoreline would be her best bet to find it. Well, that was… South, so, currently to her right. Waiting for the opportune moment, she spied a turn in the road just ahead. As she weaved between the various colourful figures, she closed in on the port and almost stopped in amazement. The port itself was an incredible structure of efficiently laid out walkways and docks, designed to be as swift as possible. Despite this, it was not the harbour that took her breath away, it was the huge works of art that resided on the waves – gargantuan ships that could be seen further away, crews carrying cargo like ants to a hill. All the massive masts scraping the skies, the Man ‘o Wars and the frigates donning the flag of The Royal Sisters gave off a regal air. Closer were the smaller ships, ranging from sailboats to brigs and schooners; ships favoured by traders for their speed.

Buildings faded from skyscrapers to fanciful houses, and soon, to commercial buildings as the neared the shoreline. Restaurants dotted the roads closest to the port and warehouses sat with their assigned numbers behind the decorative shops and food places – a clever design to hide the unfavourable storage blocks. Coming to a relatively quiet piece of the waterfront, Solar sat on the seafront wall and checked the photograph for any tell-tale landmarks, comparing it to the scene before her. It didn’t take long for something to stick out to her. The numbers on the warehouses weren’t just done to indicate which was which, they were in ascending order too. She was looking for F17, which would probably be further east. With this in mind, she hopped off the concrete and strode down the paved footpaths, taking in the sights.

It warmed her heart to see the lighter side of life, families out enjoying themselves and a few young couples sitting at tables, ordering late lunches with distracted minds. Lone walkers took in the seaside and as she walked, she even came across an earth-pony sketching one of the larger ships onto a A3 canvas. He was very talented, only rarely having to erase his mistakes. While she wanted to sit and watch, she felt like it would make her rather suspicious in her current outfit. I’ll have to try drawing sometime. She thought, continuing along. F12, she must be quite close now. As she kept walking it soon became clear which warehouse was F17. Around four guards stood around the front entrance, chatting idly. A few were holding cigarettes in their hands, clearly preoccupied with their break and certainly not paying much attention to the local populace. It would be easy to get in and out as long as there was another entrance.

Trying to act casually, Solar ducked between a shop named ‘Fish ‘n Chip’ – a place she noticed was popular with the griffons – and an ice-cream parlour, making her way behind the line of buildings to find a way in. There were no other doors to the warehouse, which was rather annoying, but that didn’t necessarily mean there was no other way in. Double checking around her, she took a run up to the storeroom’s wall and leapt at it, using her momentum to run a few steps up. She wasn’t as close to the top as she’d wanted, so she boosted herself with a flap of her wings – thrusting her onto the roof. Spinning, she fervently checked the air she’d just occupied, ensuring there were no loose feathers. It didn’t seem like it, something she hoped would hold true, but it was rather difficult to tell. To be fair, it is rare for me to lose one…

While looking for a way in, she began to wonder if the building had any kind of air vent; a lot of city buildings did, so there was a good chance. Scouring the roof, it didn’t take long to find a T-shaped vent that she could slip into quite easily. All she had to do was undo the cover. Surprisingly, it had taken almost a year of small break-ins before the idea of adding a screwdriver to her list of tools had come to mind. Since then, she was glad she did, since it had been more useful than she’d expected. Undoing the screws and setting the grate aside, she slid down into the vent and began to crawl through the shaft, wondering what awaited her below. A caw echoed through the vent and she hissed a shush back. Don’t act up now Corvus. With a sudden idea, she scanned through the metal sheath for any signs of a circulatory system in the building, only to see the original four guards – each of whom were outside. Good.

Deciding it was rather a long drop from the vent, Solar drew a roped arrow from her quiver and stabbed it into the thin metal, piercing it with the sawtooth tip. Checking that it was fixed, she began to descend down the rope and soon stood in the centre of the warehouse floor. There wasn’t that much in the area, around ten crates and a table beside a corkboard. The board caught here eye, since it held a large roll of parchment that showed some kind of recipe and diagram. Clearly, this must be the plans that Fancy had told her to take. Striding over, she pulled the pins from each corner and rolled up the paper, tucking it into her bag with a satisfied smirk. Up next on her to-do list of things to do was destroying the crates, which she made sure to check first. Apparently, she wasn’t the first to double-check the supply and one crate laid with its top already open, exposing the flammable yellow powder.

With a flourish, she whipped a matchbox out and lit one of its inhabitants, staring into the flame and enjoying the lambent array of colour for a second before flicking the stick into the open crate.

A loud bang filled her ears and her limbs ached badly. Her ribs hurt awfully, and she raised a dizzy head in shock, trying to comprehend what just happened. A loud whine now filled her head and the first thing she noticed was the blazing fire at the opposite end of the warehouse. The second thing was the fact that she’d been thrown across the entire space, slamming into the wall beside the door. Thirdly, she realised that the substance wasn’t just extremely flammable but explosive as well, something Fancy had kept rather quiet. No wonder everything hurts. Stumbling to her feet, a sharp pain cut through her nerves and she looked down to meet the gaze of a large piece of wooden shrapnel that went straight through her calf. Horror passed over her face and she felt a little faint, watching the damaged limb leak a familiar viscous liquid.

To her left the door burst open, hitting into her and shoving her into the room’s corner. From her new position she saw the four guards from outside shouting to one another, but she couldn’t hear a thing through the ringing in her head. None seemed to notice her as they panicked over the blaze, confused and angry with the scene; not that there was anything they could do about it. Hoping to salvage what she could of the job, Solar knelt down and pulled the eight inches of timber from her leg with sparkling dots dancing in her vision – thankfully it seemed that the shard had actually rendered her leg’s nerves completely useless, dampening any pain she should’ve been feeling. Regardless, it would be a good idea to bandage the wound. With her hearing returning, she heard a shout and looked up to see one of the guards pointing towards her. Shit.

Bandaging was a luxury she couldn’t afford for now, it seemed, so she gave up entirely on the leg and turned to flight for her exit. Beating her wings, she hopped out of the warehouse door and took off into the Fillydelphia sky. A crossbow bolt sped past her, causing an instinctual shriek of terror. Okay, faster, I hear you. She thought, drawing her wings back for an initial burst of speed when suddenly her body was spun through the air. One bolt had hit its mark, embedding itself into her torso with a vicious rip through her suit and body. Adrenaline finally kicked in at this and she shot off through the sky, praying that none of the guards were pegasi. There was no way she could outfly them like this.

This is fine. She reassured herself, ignoring the sheer falsity of the sentiment. I just need to get out of the city, then I can find something to feed on or… or… Her vision blurred somewhat as she grew further from the city and she quickly decided that she’d rather land than crash, gliding down to a heavy and dark forest. The landing was certainly not smooth, and she rolled violently across the floor for a few metres, throwing up leaves and chunks of dirt in all directions before skidding to a stop. Exhausted, she simply laid there, feeling the pain unabated as the adrenaline wore off. She groaned, being in just about the worst shape she’d ever been. Pulling herself up, she felt a flood of nausea flood her senses and she was forced back to the floor. Oh, yeah. Lost a lotta blood, I guess. She thought, groggily.

Something landed beside her head and she tilted her face to see a familiar avian face looking back at her. Cracking a smile, she let her head roll back to the side and closed her eyes. “Of course, you found me,” she chuckled, before concluding that it would take far too long to let this heal. She’d need to feed on something, but she could barely move. How the hell is this going to work… Something batted against her arm and she looked down to see the raven jumping impatiently. “Hey, cut it out. At least let me bleed out in peace.” He didn’t, though, but rather hopped along to her satchel and began bouncing there too. His expression was meaningful, trying to convey something. Then it clicked. The wolf’s blood that she had bottled earlier. “You little genius,” she breathed, pulling the bag towards her. Undoing the flap and unzipping the main pocket, she searched around for the container, her fingers soon grasping it.

With a slow and deft movement, she unscrewed the lid and lowered the bottle to her face. Not wanting to spill a drop, she tilted herself up and the bottle down, swallowing the viscous liquid as if she hadn’t had a drink in months. Her usual bliss was marred slightly by the now body-wide pain, but it was still present and gave her more than just a flood of blood. It gave her a good dosage of hope as well. Come on, come on. She thought, impatiently, wanting her body to work its magic on the wounds as soon as possible. Gasping for breath, she finished the bottle and dropped it beside her – choosing to limply lie down until she was fit to move.

The feeling of her wounds’ bleeding slowly stopping was surreal and when she felt she was able to, Solar rifled through her bag for some bandages. Never had she been so grateful for taking these kinds of provisions with her, as usually all they’d do is slow her down when she was trying to find other things. But this time, they really had proved their usefulness. Her solution certainly wasn’t ideal, but it was the best she could do for now.

Now, all she had to do was find a way to Canterlot both without dying and without losing her precious cargo. Should be easy, right? She thought, mirthlessly. Moving as quickly as she could, she dragged her body towards a tall and thin tree through winces and gritted teeth; her body screamed with resignation as soon as she grasped the trunk and her grip felt loose. With her eyes clenched shut, she took a deep breath and yanked herself upright with all the strength she could summon. Opening one eye, her expression ran through a cycle of surprise, happiness, confusion, concern, and then finally, abstract horror. Generally, when her healing factor kicked in, it would use her blood to quickly graft a scab over the wound and properly replace the cells from then – as such, pulling herself up had simply torn the scabs, putting her right back to square one.

The leaves of the forest floor moved softly with the crimson stream, being carried along like rowboats on a river all while the vampiric mare stood and waited, watching the precious fluid with sad eyes. Soon, new scabs formed and solidified, but she couldn’t help but feel light-headed. It was all well and good patching up the wounds, but with all that blood being gone… Well, it wouldn’t be doing her any favours. No problem, I can just… rest here for a bit. She concluded, deciding that it would be best to let the wounds heal properly before moving. But with that in mind, where was here? With nothing better to do, she scanned the treeline, looking for a good direction to head – unfortunately, the sun had thought it a good time to hide behind Canterlot’s mountainside home. Fine, at least she knew vaguely where to head, idly tracing the outline of the tall silhouetted spires with one finger.

Something then caught her eye, something that moved slightly beyond the trees. A soft orange glow gleamed off of the dark and foreboding trunks, glinting off of droplet-dotted leaves. Taking an unsteady step forward, she stumbled her way across her little crash site and came to a stop a little closer. There was definitely something out there, as there was quite a substantial glow. Infuriatingly, fog had begun to roll in as soon as the sun went down, clouding her line of sight and making whatever it was impossible to identify. Swallowing, she took off towards the light, flinching with each footfall. She had waited, sure, but she hadn’t waited all that long. The wound, although covered, was still quite fragile. Stopping briefly, she felt the scab and its dark, uneven texture. It’s probably tough enough… She reasoned and sped up her stride.

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Deep into the woods, there laid a town. The town in and of itself was rather simple, sporting a very select community of ponies. Trees laden with fruit were topped with incredibly densely packed leaves which completely blotted out the sun for a majority of the day, something which the residents found to be especially nice. Hollow Shades was simply somewhere that those who disliked the light could go, somewhere where it was not unusual to sport sharp, fanged teeth or scruffily tipped ears. Where one could live in quiet without constant gasps or pointed fingers to the ‘Strange lookin’ wings! See?’. Darkly coloured mares and stallions moved between stalls while some chatted in the light of their lanterns. With grins on their faces, they discussed topics of all different subjects, some joking around with friends and some speaking of their disdain of those who did not share the bat-like features that they did. Truly, it was a haven for them, but it did not mean they did not interact with the outside world whatsoever. After all, it was all well and good feasting on the trees’ bountiful fruit but what would be done if someone needed new cloth, or some building materials? These things did not simply appear from thin air.

As she grew nearer, Solar could make out a small village – one that was alight with lanterns and torches as the natural roof blotted out even the moonlight. It was actually quite an appealing sight to her, since they would likely have some way to get to Canterlot. Just before she crossed the treeline, she stopped for a second, briefly considering if it really was a smart idea. She was wounded, torn up and covered in quite a hostile looking leather suit. Faux leather, of course, but the villagers wouldn’t know that… Damn it. In the past, reactions to the material had been less than calm. Which she could hardly pin on the viewer. The killing of animals had long been looked down on in Equestria, and wearing their skin was a new level of twisted. Again, it was a shame she couldn’t wear a sign that read ‘Fake Leather, Do Not Panic,’ but that wouldn’t help when she wanted to be subtle. Which is always.

Changing her mind, she reached up a hand and drew back her hood and mask, revealing her countenance to the world as the blueish hues of her natural state flooded back. Immediately, she felt a primal need to put them back on, associating her getup with remaining unseen. Instead of walking straight into the hamlet, though, she skirted around the edge and began to search for any kind of transport. To her delight, this was one of the few smaller-scale towns that had a teleportation station installed – one that would easily get her to Canterlot. The problem was that she couldn’t work it herself, which was what the service was for. You would pay at a booth and tell the worker inside where you want to go, then they would activate the corresponding rune and you would simply step on. Then, voila, you are teleported.

With that being said, the booth was only from the chest up… She could easily hide her wounds while she spoke and explaining the leather to just one pony would be easy. Alright then, conventional means it is. She thought, cracking a slight smirk. There was actually a path that wound through the forest towards the booth and the town, so she jogged along to it before heading for the booth. It would seem a little less strange to have someone approach from the path, rather than the deep forest and she wanted all the trust she could get.

Taking a deep breath, Solar wiped her face down as best she could, ensuring any tears were gone before she strode up to the small structure. Along its side it bore the insignia of the two sisters, a stamp of government approval in Equestria. She hated having to use the method, knowing that acting too strangely could easily get her reported, but at this point she really didn’t know what else to do. Flying would be suicide in her state and she certainly couldn’t go back to Fillydelphia so soon. Walking to Canterlot would be off the table and she didn’t fancy trying to leap onto a moving train, so this was her best bet.

As she sidled up to the mare behind the booth, she was surprised to see she was not… normal. Solar hadn’t quite caught sight of the villagers themselves, but she had thought something was off about them. The mare’s fur was grey and her mane a deep purple, matching her eyes which danced over the grain of the wooden counter in concrete boredom. Bony and featherless wings which mimicked a bat were folded behind her and near-clawed fingertips drummed on the wood. But what stuck out to Solar the most were the teeth. They were long canines, which curved slightly. Fangs. Her breath caught in her throat for a second and she stopped her march, speechless. How… How does she… She thought, her own mind stammering at this information. To find someone else with fangs was… unexpected. Shaking her mind clear, she realised something quite crucial. She could easily show off her own fangs… That would surely make the mare more comfortable. If she angled her body correctly, she wouldn’t see her feathered wings.

Leaning against the counter, she knocked lightly on the box’s edge, startling the bat-pony. “Oh, ma’am, I didn’t see you, s-sorry.” She stammered, Solar watching her teeth with idle fascination. Just like mine.

“Oh, that’s no problem. Few do. Hey, I was wondering if I would be able to get a ticket to Canterlot at this time of day?” She prodded, hoping to get the exchange over with. With a nod, the mare span and began fiddling with something in the dark interior. A few grumbles and mutterings of “… wish I had a light…” were heard before the form rose back up with one hand now on her hip and the other clasping a rune-covered stone. A soft light reflected along the box and Solar turned to see one of the largest floor runes begin to glow a bright purple. She’d been wondering how those patches of carved stone would work.

“That’ll be eight bits, miss,” piped up the employee, waving a hand near to catch her attention. Nodding, Solar distractedly pulled out the bits and dropped them onto the counter, thanking the operator as she stepped forward and let the purple light consume her form. I’ll need to have a word with you, Fancy.

Author's Note:

So, things are happening. Much to Solar's dismay, I may add. Hopefully, cool things are to come with regards to authority and the actual show characters - along with some extra vampire stuff. I know you may think I'm battering the poor mare for fun... _Maybe But in reality I want to have some drama later on and this seems like a good way to do it.

One thing you are probably thinking is: "Hey, Littlepony! Where is the flashback?" Well, she didn't sleep. So... No dream yet. Now, I could've extended this chapter to the point where she does sleep, but then it would be absurdly long and you would have to wait for ages. I reckon that this is the better alternative.

I've begun to notice that I use the word 'Solar' too much. [Edit: I fixed that, I think.] You may think "No kidding, it's the character's name." But I've been doing more reading and I've realised that I don't have to reaffirm the name as much as I do. Really, I only have to do so if I refer to another character and even, if I'm pushing my luck, only another female character.

I still don't know if I need that self-harm tag when it isn't linked to emotion, but I will keep it until I'm told which way to lean.

Oh, also, as one final thing. 'Dark Horse' is a saying which means 'One who was previously unknown and is now prominent.' Now, how fitting is that?