What lurks in Equestrian Shadows

by Revy

Encounters

Manehattan, the big city, was in the eyes of most ponies almost synonymous with wealth and culture. A place of dreams for many, on par with the graceful Canterlot and a bustling metropolis where anypony could succeed. For some of its citizens, however, there was also a darker side to Equestrias largest city. Deep within the poorest neighbourhoods of Manehattan, the promises of the city rang hollow to the ears of its inhabitants and the high-society of Manehattans upper-class seemed ever further away than it did in quaint little countryside towns like Ponyville.

Lightning Mane had spent his entire life in these parts. The teal-colored Pegasus grew up in the gutter, not even remembering his parents – not even sure wether terrible fate befell them or wether they had cruelly left him behind to a life of hardship. Somehow the little foal, forgotten by a society that almost ironically deemed friendship and love its core values, had made it through his childhood and grown to become a scrawny and dirty colt. Obviously, his life of day-to-day survival had left its marks on him, most noticeable by the crooked wing that hung motionlessly from Lightning Manes left flank.
He hadn't flown in years, yet desperately missed the fresh breeze around his muzzle and the wind in his feathers. Like so many things else, flying had become but a distant dream for the Pegasus who was trapped in the maze of Manehattans alleys and backyards. Strolling out to thieve a few bits on the lively main streets where the wealthy folks went to spend their hard earned money had, of course, been a lot tougher ever since Lightning Mane had lost his wingpower. Flying was a major advantage when trying to evade guards or fleeing when caught grabbing into someponys saddlebags and, truth be told, Lightning had never been a particularily ressourceful thief either. He scraped by with what little he managed to get and, perhaps out of pure chance, he had managed to avoid getting arrested up to now. But there wasn't much choice involved either. It wasn't like there were any jobs for homeless Pegasi from the worst neighbourhood of Manehatten who can't even fly.

Hence, Lightning Mane was on Foal Street that fateful day, preying on hoity-toity types as usual and being eyed cautiously by other ponies who felt that someone with his looks could be up to no good – as usual.

„Have you heard what happened at Canterlot?“

Lightning listened to the green-colored Mare passing with her husband right next to him. He couldn't care less for Canterlot, but there was a ring of urgency to her voice that even he could not evade.

„Some evil monsters almost took over the city. Changelings they were called, I think. It was all in the Equestrian Inquirer today.“

Her husband stopped short, a bedazzled, almost frightened look on his face.

„Changelings... you don't say. What exactly did the Inquirer tell us about these... Changelings.“

„Apparently they disguise as Ponies we love … or something like that. Don't ask me how, I don't understand it either. But it's a really scary thought, don't you think?“ The green mare stared at her husband in honest fright. „What if there are still some of these monsters amongst us?“

Her husband, a chubby grey colt who looked a good few years older than her laughed out aloud.

„Don't be so ridiciulous, darling. I am sure the Royal Guard at Canterlot dealt with them quite efficiently.“

He didn't sound very convinced to Lightning Mane, who had been observing the talk, mostly to figure out whether these two could be suitable victims for a petty thief like him. Even the laughter of the grey colt had sounded slightly forced, as if he had used it to cast aside his own doubts about the news his wife had just confronted him with. She seemed to have noticed that just as much as Lightning did, throwing him a worried look, but quickly getting distracted as the teal Pegasus who had been shifting around the couple for the last few moments caught her eye. Yes, Lightning had never been a very succesful thief, if only because he drew too much attention whenever the tried to mingle with the masses of well-groomed and dapper dressed Ponies that trotted over Manehattans streets on a sunny afternoon.

„Let's just forget about these scary little stories from Canterlot and get to this place of yours we're headed for. Alright, Sparkling Amber?“

The mare had already been nodding her head to the words of her husband when her movements suddenly froze at the end of the sentence.

„What... did you just call me Sparkling AMBER?“

Her wide eyes locked on the grey colt who was acting more than a little nervous now, fidgeting to set his error right.

„I... umm... of course I... err. I mean...“

„Sparkling EMERALD. Green! Emeralds are green! Like my coat!“ She was fuming. „You didn't just really forget my name, did you? How could my own husband POSSIBLY forget my name?!“ Her forehoofs slammed on the ground in anger, but then her tone changed abruptly. „Are you feeling alright, dear?“ Sparkling Emerald sounded worried now. „You've been confused and nervous the entire day without a reason. Maybe we should go see a doctor? First the mishaps with the breakfast, then your problems with the piano and now this. It could be something wrong with you...“

Lightning Mane had no interest in delving any further into the private affairs of this couple. What was of importance to him was, that now the two were sufficiently distracted by their issues to no longer mind the rugged, stained Pegasus that lurked nearby. Carefully he sneaked past the green Mare, grabbed her purse with his mouth and, before she could even take notice, dashed off with all speed he could muster.

„Hold!“ the Mare shrieked. She shoved her husband forward, urging him to pursue the earthbound Pegasus. „Do something, Silver Thread!“

Reluctantly, the colt went into pursuit. Had it been up to pure gallopping speed alone, Lightning would have easily made it. But as the mare named Sparkling Emerald continued to shriek „Thief, thief!“ at the top of her voice, it took little thinking for passersby to figure out why Lightning Mane was running through the streets of Manehattan and as a consequence, Lightning had to repeatedly evade attempts by overzealous strangers trying to hold him down. Running zigzag while the pursuing Colt could head at him in a straight line meant that sooner or later, Silver Thread had to catch up with the Pegasus. To make matters worse, two guards had been alarmed by the uproar on Foal Street, approaching him from the opposite direction. Lightning Mane was cornered and it looked like facing the husband of his victim was the less hopeless option.

„Just hand it back,“ Silver Thread said sternly. But Lightning Mane knew that even in that case, he'd still get arrested by the guards. He was a thief and nopony liked thieves.

„Well...“ Lightning said, threatingly scratching the ground with his forehoof. „Make me.“

The grey colt looked bedazzled, but only for a second. Then, to Lightnings surprise, he did not back down over the threat from a scarred Manehattan backalley ruffian, but actually leaped forward to strike at him! Quick reactions let the teal Pegasus dive below the strike from his opponent. Then his hindlegs propelled him forward with full force, driving his extended right forehoof with all strength he could muster unto the lower jaw of Silver Thread right in the moment that the two guards had caught up, one of them grabbing Lightning by the light-blue and white tail as his comrade yelled „CEASE!“ at the top of his voice.

It was too late. The power of the strike knocked the grey colt out and he collapsed to the ground, suddenly robbed of all strength that had held him up on his legs. Lightning Mane thriumphantly wheezed air through his nose even as the guard harshly pulled him back.

Screams interrupted the scenery and a mare to the right of Lightning Mane fainted as she saw that it was no longer Silver Thread who lay unconsciously on the ground, but rather a strange creature vaguely resembling a pony. A shining black carapace body and wide eyes without a lense reminded of an insect, but the holes that adorned its legs and wings were thoroughly alien. Even the guard who had been dragging Lightning Mane by his tail released his grip on the Pegasus as he glanced at the thing in front of him.

„Holy horseapples...“ the other guard muttered in disbelief. Meanwhile, Sparkling Emerald had caught up with what had been her husband just until a few seconds ago. Seeing her beloved somepony turn into something completely monstrous had left her thoroughly shocked, yet she was the first of all ponies on the scene to break out of her catatonic stare, if only to let out a despaired shout:

„What happened to my husband?!“

The crowd surrounding them began to voice their suspicions in a desperate attempt to make sense of the whole situation. „He put a curse on him!“ one unicorn shouted angrily, pointing at Lightning Mane. A few other ponies were willing to buy into this version of the story, screaming demands for the Pegasus sorcerer to be arrested immediately, but the guard who had just a few moments ago seized Lightning Mane spoke up with all the authority he could muster:

„He's not an evil enchanter.“

Lightning let out a relieved gasp.

„This,“ the guard pointed at the strange creature on the ground whose dragonfly wings had started twitching „is a changeling!“

The declaration did little to calm the crowd. In fact, utter panic broke out and another mare fainted, holding a hoof in front of her head in a most dramatic fashion, as terrorized screams filled Foal Street. Little fillies tried to find safety behind their parents, who likewise backed away from the unconscious Changeling. Somewhere in the back, an elder stallion murmured „impossible,“ noting how the Changelings had supposedly been driven out of Equestria when their attack on Canterlot failed. At least, he recalled with more confidence in his voice, that's what he had read in the newspaper.

Amidst this uproar, Lightning Mane just now realized that the purse he had grabbed from the green mare was still dangling from his neck, held in the air by a fashionably thin string. Once the panic started by the sudden revelation of a Changeling amidst the Manehattan ponies would subside, Lightnings loot would surely serve as a reminder to the guards for why they had chased after him in the first place – and then it'd be off to the prison for the flightless Pegasus.

Desperately, he searched for a way out of this trap. Maybe he could just dash off? But that was a risky gamble, he decided, as even now more ponies arrived at the scenery to see what had caused such chaos. They stood close together, forming an almost impenetrable wall of bodies. No, running was out of question and instead, Lightning tried to shake off the purse while no one was paying attention to him. If only he could hide it somewhere nearby, maybe push it into a stormdrain, then he could deny to have stolen anything in the first place and there would be no evidence against him. Surely, no one could blame him for running away from an angry stallion.

But as the purse hit the cobblestones, several dozen golden coins flung out into every direction, shooting a metallic „cling-cling-cling“ into the frantic debate of the onlookers. The two guards gave Lightning an accusatory stare and the Pegasus responded with a wide, insincere grin like someone who – well, like someone who had just been caught red-hoofed. „Quick, think, think, think,“ he thought to himself in growing panic, trying to come up with a good excuse.
Sparkling Emerald was still in sheer disbelief over what had just happened to her husband and couldn't pay any less attention to the thieving stallion right next to her. With a shaking voice, she asked, yet again:

„What happened to my husband?“

A thought struck Lightning Mane. With all the confidence he could muster, he slowly grabbed the purse and stuffed the coins back inside, all the while monitored by the same accusatory stares of the guards. The Pegasus took his dear time, trying his hardest to appear completely unphased by the freak-incident with the Changeling. With a concerned look, he then approached Sparkling Emerald, placed his left forehoof on her shoulder and, having gained the attention of the mare who was still in complete shock, handed her back the purse.

„I am sorry for causing you such inconvenience,“ he said. „But it seems my doubts about your husband were correct. A Changeling had taken his place and there was no other way for me to prove it. Again, I am sorry for having to take this from you to set things into motion, but at least you are no longer deceived by that monster.“

„I don't understand...“ Sparkling Emerald trembled. „Where is my husband? … My real husband?“

„Sorry, I don't know“ Lightning slowly shook his head, trying to glimpse at the guards from the corner of his eye. They were throwing each other confused looks, but it seemed that they were inclined to buy into Lightning Manes story. „But I am sure we can find out once the guards question this monster,“ he added, pointing to the Changeling whose twitching had become more pronounced, a sure sign it was about to wake up.

One of the guards shrugged and walked to the side of the Changeling, followed by his comrade who helped him drag the creature back to its feet. As it regained consciousness, the Changeling blinked in confusion, not immediately realizing what had happened. Its eyes finally locked on the sight of Lightning Mane, whom it hissed at threatingly before suddenly bursting into green flames.

Lightning Mane stared into the face of a perfect Doppelganger of his own, but the Changeling couldn't keep itself standing and as its legs gave way for its body to drop back to the ground, Lightning Mane calmly noted: „Must have hit harder than I thought.“

„Where is the stallion whose place you took,“ one of the guardsponies demanded to know, but the Changeling-Lightning Mane merely whispered something that, guessing from the movement of its lips, must have meant „buck off.“
Neither of the guardsponies looked amused. Once again, the dragged the Changeling back to its feet. Again, it burst into green flames, returning to its original, insectoid form. It released an angry snarl and an emerald light flickered at the tip of its crooked and twisted horn.

Before its magic could manifest, the guard to the Changelings left reacted by snapping her hoof against the horn, breaking whatever spell it was the creature had been trying to cast. The shining white guardsmare grinned contently. „Now, don't think you can pull any tricks on us.“ She pushed the Changeling forward, forcing it to walk along. „I hope you change your mind. The dungeon will be a lot nicer for you, if you cooperate and tell us what you have done with the stallion whose place you took.“

Her comrade, a tall ash-grey stallion with a coal-black mane trotted behind her and the captive Changeling, gesturing the crowd to disperse. „It's over, everypony. Go home.“ As they hesitantly began to obey, he took one final minute to turn his attention towards Sparkling Emerald, the bright green mare who stood in the center of the scenery as confused and frightened as she had been, when first glancing upon the Changeling.

„If there is anything we can do for you, don't hesitate to ask.“ She shook her head in response, visibly close to tears. The guard spoke on with a distinctive trace of worry in his voice: „We will find your husband. I promise.“

He turned to leave, not without also taking one final glance at Lightning Mane, which left the Pegasus wondering about the message the guard was trying to convey. While it surely was a flattering thought to think that it was intended as approving nod, or at least an anger that stemmed from the fact Lightning Mane had done a better job protecting the ponies of Manehattan than the two guards, the most likely answer was, that the guard knew as well as Lightning that he was no hero at all. A thief, who had managed to use the circumstances to his advantage and get off free. He knew it, the guards knew it, by Celestia, Sparkling Emerald probably knew as well. She just had more pressing issues right now.

„Good luck,“ Lightning told the green mare and slowly walked away amongst a dispersing crowd that bordered on the hysterical, chattering loudly and in shrill voices. Behind stayed a lonely, emerald colored pony, shedding tears on Foal Street.

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[Relevant Heavy Metal]

Nightcrawler - Judas Priest