Shadows of The City of Lights

I had holed myself up in my study for one too many days that night, getting little rest and little food. I was high-strung that night, anxious and paranoid as I delved further into my thoughts, thinking I was constantly being watched with each turning of a page. Sense eventually found me and with the sun setting, I decided to get something to eat and drink from my favorite shop not too many blocks down. I put on my street clothes, that being a warm collared coat and a gifted hat, and went outside in the chilly evening air. It was fall at this time, going towards the holiday of Nightmare Night (which should go far smoother than last years for dear Ponyville) though it was still a fine ways away. I decided to walk to the shop today, even outside of my study I was becoming lost in thought and I wouldn't want to cause a scene or fly into someone. I also wanted to stay with the nighttime crowd to avoid many watching eyes that I believed to be upon me that night. The things that I found, the questions I was asking and the items I was pursuing were sure to have grabbed someones attention at one point or another. I tried to shy these thoughts away as I neared the shop, its lights on and a few patrons scattered about the insides of it.

As I entered the shop, I was promptly greeted by a good friend of mine, one of the workers and owners of the fine shop whom went by the name of Berry Blend, or Berry for short. She was a pleasant mare, definitely not born in a city like this, she was born from an area far south of here, and her accent showed this clearly. She smiled as I came in that night and I tipped my hat to her as I asked for the usual thing that I got when I came by. I took a booth near the side of the shop like I do most nights, in the day time I usually took a seat up by the front and had some conversation with the workers. Berry could always tell if something was wrong with me, she said that she knew my most of my family and me since I came to be. She always cared about how we were all doing, had talks with my mother and father and was a close part of our family all in all. We even took to calling her Aunty Berry at one point as kids, we still do today.

She came back with the food and drink and since things were a bit slow this evening, decided to catch up with me. She asked the usual questions of how the family was doing, how my studies have been going and how my parents have been. Things were overall well last I checked, things being business as usual for my mother and father and my siblings learning quicker than ever. Things were also rather well for Berry as well, besides having to break up a hassle or two and somepony with a running tab, things were doing quite well for her and her shop. During all of this conversation and looking back on the events of that day, I failed to notice a dark pony all in black come in through the door. He ordered a simple brew and took a booth not to far from Berry and I, and just sat there reading some papers. I of course thought nothing of it at the time, but I could feel a cold and watchful gaze upon the back of my neck. Things eventually got to me as I remembered a pony like him somewhat trailing me, I tried to hide my nervousness but Berry picked up on it.

She asked what was eating at me and I tried to lie to her as best as I could "I guess this lack of sleep is just getting to me Berry. Too much work, not enough hours in the day, you know?" She nodded and smiled "I know all to much about that deary. And that's Aunty Berry to you Chancy." I laughed and calmed considerably at her use of an old nickname she gave me when I was very young "Alright Aunty Berry, I gotta head off. It was wonderful talking with you. You take it easy alright?" She continued her honey sweet smile and told me as I went off to get plenty of rest and take things easy myself. Things would hardly be easy from then on out for me, and I would receive little rest from then on out.

As I left the coffee shop that fateful night I decided to take a more unconventional route to my home. Through random walks and strolls through town I've mapped out certain areas of interest and quick paths home and to my favorite shops. I would have to use one tonight for fear of pursuit. From a quick glance behind me on my way out of the shop I had noticed the stallion all in black wrapping things up, heading out not too soon after me. More glances as I walked towards the beginning of the route and I observed him always in my sight, just within view. He was tailing me. I would need to take a more complicated route to throw him off. I dodged between a building and began my string of routes. I didn't fly at first to make sure that he was following, I could hear his quick footsteps in the distance. Unicorn or Earthpony then I thought to myself, best to throw him off with some quick, low flying.

I went into a sprint and kicked myself up off the ground and sped forward faster than I've ever flew before, making quick low turns and knocking over a few trash cans in my haste. I wouldn't fly high above the buildings for reason of him knowing exactly where I am and possibly calling more ponies to aid him. Adrenaline surging through my veins I continued to go forward with reckless speed and panic, flying for my life. I could hear him not far behind me, "Just how fast is this pony?!" I thought to myself. I maintained speed and made many sharp turns, left, right, right, left, left, straight, right, left, and so on. I slowed down upon noticing the lack of steps behind me, and only hearing the sound of the wind around me and my wings. By this point my hat was long behind me, my purple mane flowing through the wind and my glasses wet from the moisture in the air. It was starting to rain, and by the sounds of it, it was going to be a storm. Thunder rolled in the distance and flashes of light lit up the night sky further away.

I stopped to catch my breath in large pants, the lack of rest and only one meal today was not enough to on that fast for long for me. I walked quickly back on route with still not a sound behind me I began to calm. It began to rain very quickly, cool droplets plastering my long hair to the back of my neck and over my glasses. I brushed the hair aside and behind my ears, and walked onwards. Sounds of thunder and lightning neared the city and seemed to close in around me. I began to wonder if I had lost my hunter, if he had given up or simply wanted to see me run in fear, like a mouse in a maze laid out before him. I slowed to a walk to maintain my energy, keeping my eyes always on the shadows around me, lit up only by the strikes of light in the sky. I took one of my final turns in my large string of paths and was met with a wall of a tall building. A wave of confusion hit me all at once, this couldn't be I followed my route exactly didn't I?. A wall of thoughts and panic assailed me all at once, suffice to say, I had made a wrong turn or two. A terrible mistake, one that would surely cost me my life.

While trying to wonder where I had gone wrong in my paths, I made a fatal mistake. I let my guard down. There was surely some noise to be made with his entry behind me as I stared like a fool at the wall in front of me, but I only heard the clapping of his hooves when it was too late. I turned around to face this sight, it was the very same stallion from the shop, I had trapped myself, and he has sprung in for the reward. The cat at the end of the maze. I flapped my wings out and readied to fly above him but he cut me off with a harsh voice, "I really wouldn't do that if I was you buddy. I really wouldn't." I stopped cold, frozen with fear. The voice certainly didn't sound familiar, but it held no good intentions. In my panic in fear, I tried to reason with him, telling him that he could have my money. I certainly couldn't identify him and told him he could have just about anything that he wanted enough to have chased me thus far.

This only seemed to humor him instead of interest him. He said that if he wanted something from me, he would have taken it already, and that it wouldn't matter if I could identify him or not. I'd be dead soon anyways. He tipped his hat to me in mock curtsey and revealed a horn, he was a Unicorn. He must have used magic or know-how to catch up to me. Two more ponies stepped out from behind him, both Earthponies from the look of things. He had brought friends, and even more to come. The icy rain was coming down fiercely now and the strikes of lightning and roar of thunder becoming ever more frequent. It was a fairly wide space between the three buildings, you could likely fit quite a large cart in between them, and a few of them at that. I readied to dive in at them to defend myself, extending my wings and getting low to the ground for a jump , when suddenly more arrived. He brought three flyers along with him, that must have been how he could predict my movements. At this point I was very glad that I still kept low in my flying, but dreading the fight to come. One Unicorn, three Pegasi, two Earthponies, one me.

Heavily outnumbered and with the fight surely starting on the Unicorns command, he decided to gloat. He said things like how it was such a shame that I got in their way, that I had potential and that I was now but a bug to be crushed beneath him. He laughed and in the background thunder struck, the two Earthponies were the first to jump, they charged at him and dove in. I ducked beneath one and gave a solid kick to the ribs to the other while they were in mid-air, launching them against the far wall with a thud. I turned around to face the other and brought my wings in front of me to block just in time to stop a vicious headbutt. I ignored the pain in my wings and spread out my wings quickly and ducked my head beneath their chin and using a boost from my wings I launched them against the near wall. They landed with a thud and I presumed them unconscious for the moment, or at least injured and out of the fight. Two down, four more to go.

The ponies I suppose noticed that I could somewhat hold my own against a few of them, and they decided to go all out upon me. The Unicorn fired magic and launched objects in my direction, preferring to keep his distance from me. The three in the air dove down on my, ready to launch me or crush me beneath them. Either I had the greatest luck in the world, or something or someone helped me right then and there. A single bolt of arching lightning struck a that very moment, and struck one of the flying ponies right between the wings, the bolt arched over to the one on it's right and then slightly to the one on their right. The one that got hit the worst hit the ground with a thud and skidded a little, likely to be dead or near enough to it. The other two broke off mid dive and hit the wall and ground, both struggling to get up but obviously alive enough. It was just me and him. Things were more or less even.

The man looked in awe at those fallen around him, and howled with rage. He fired a massive bolt of magic at me as I charged towards him and it blasted me all the way back to the far wall. I bounced away from the impact, folding my wings behind me so that my spine might not be shattered but sacrificing flight. I hit the ground with a dull thud, landing on my now broken wings, I struggled against the white hot agony to lift myself off the ground. The man hurled all manner of things at me, trash cans, metal lids and even a knife that stuck into my side to the hilt. I had flipped myself over right when he had thrown these things at me and weakly avoided all but the knife and lid that left a gash in my side from a glancing blow. I was standing after he ran out of things to throw. I was bleeding and battered, but I was standing. And I was alive. There was quite the distance between us now, but he walked forward menacingly. In a last ditch effort to survive, I walked as fast as I could and tore the knife from my side, and threw it at his eye.

I hit my mark, but not with enough force and accuracy, it stuck into his left eye but did not kill him. I'm slightly glad of this, but only so much. I'm not a killer, but he likely doesn't deserve to live either. The pony was obviously in pain and shock at the loss of his eye and my brash action. He however, did not remove the blade. In his rage and agony, he fired another shock of magic at me, but this one did not blast me back. I doubt he would have the concentration for such a thing with an injury like that. No, the blast hit me, hard. It felt as if somepony bucked me in the head. Needless to say, I was reeling from that, and I feel to the ground in disorientation. He walked forward to finish the job hands on, and this is where he made a mistake it would seem. You see, I didn't die that fateful night, no. My story would stop there and never be continued, and it is much continued even today. I'm sure that he was spouting something and maybe brandishing something, but I can't say for sure. My glasses were shattered and far away from me in the fight.

He walked towards me, and in my final moments of consciousness and blurred vision, a flash of light danced across the sky. From this light, I saw a figure of pure shadow on the side of the wall. I imagine they were grinning. They jumped out of the shadows and pounced on the Unicorn, stomping on him and kicking him against the wall. Just as quickly as he came, he seemingly melted into the shadows. This process repeated up until I was at the edge of my line it seemed, blood being washed away by rain and hearing and vision distorted. The final thing I saw was the shadow figure lording over the Unicorn on the ground, basking in his victory after his toying with him. The final thing I heard was a slight wheezing voice say "So, what is it you plan to do with me?" quite weakly. I never did find out what became of the coffee Unicorn. I never asked. I never cared. I was alive, and I had someone to thank when I came to. And as it seems, someone to help. But for now only a cold blanket of darkness to hold me as I fell into unconsciousness. A rest well deserved.