“Thank you again Twilight!” I waved my hoof to her as I left her house.

Now while Twilight is making that device I should find the Commander and see Rex at the hospital.

With a nice mood to my step I went back to the Café shop where I thought they were still sitting at. I arrived and saw that their table was empty.

A pony wearing a café outfit and carrying a tray of drinks started to clean the table.

“Excuse me Madonna! But did you happen to see where these ponies at the table went off to?”

“No, sorry I just started my shift. I’m sure they’re not that far from here.”

Darn, I better find them before they do something too noticeable.

I thanked her and ran towards a house connected to a series of other houses. I ran up the wall and climbed to the top and began to sprint my way across the rooftops.

My eyes darted left and right, scanning for the two power-armored soldiers that should be walking somewhere within the market district.

Seriously, how difficult is it to find a brightly coloured blue pony carrying a sniper rifle and a shining black armored Commander with an assault rifle?

-------2 hours later--------------

WHY IS PONYVILLE SO COLOURFUL!?

After running without a break on the rooftops (plus a few pots and baskets accidentally getting smashed) I leaped down from a low roof to the market below. My body landed with a slight thud but was noticed by some passersby who mumbled why I would do something like that.

“Is he crazy?”

“I have a feeling that he isn’t going to live very long.”

“Feels like I’ve seen him before, is he a foreigner?”

“Hey Shadow!” said a farmer accented voice from behind me.

I turned around to see Applejack waving at me from an unfinished apple stand.

Good, at least they didn’t hurt her and I’m assuming Pinkie’s safe as well.
Maybe I should trust them more….
But never completely.

Ignoring the bewildered ponies and heading to Applejack’s stand I saw that she was unloading a large supply of apples from a barrel.

“Hello Applejack, would you like some help?” I offered.

“No thanks,” she said now lifting a heavy looking box from her supply pile, “I’m just fine!”

“Now Applejack, you do know that it’s supposed to be a day of relaxing. After all we did take down a Griefer! Here let me assist you at least,” I said picking up a box full of apples.

“So Applejack *hnerg* did you happen to see Beard or Garrus anywhere? *aah*”

“I think so, they were doing some store endorsing or something…. hey isn’t that them there?” he dropped her box and pointed at a couch store with blue and black outlined ponies.

“Great! Say Applejack, after I visit Rex would you like me to help at your farm? I need to train still even though the rest of you aren’t going to for today.”

“Sure Shadow! That sounds like a handy good use of your time! But… aren’t ya forgetting something?” she looked at me quizzical.

What more was there? Maybe I need to visit everypony else? I gave my letters to Ace… Mareio is at the hospital…. There’s something missing…

Applejack sees me hard in thought and says, “Applebloom told me that you are going to do a guest lesson at the school later today.”

I facehoofed, personally I blamed the Griefer for making me forget.

“But there’s still time before I need to show right?” I asked her.

She nodded but said, “There’s not that much time left, you could maybe do one more thing.”

“Thanks Applejack, see you at the farm later!” I waved to her as I went straight towards the blue and black outlines.

----------------------------------------------------

“….yes I know I’m a random stranger but I’m telling you that if I endorse your store your sales will triple! So let me say this again, I’m Comm---”

“Commander!” I shouted at him who was arguing with the couch store’s manager, Garrus was off to the side hustling him as well.

“Hi Shadow, did Twilight make the modification yet?” he asked.

“No, now what I need to ask you two is when you get to the hospital could you tell Dr. Mareio to come see me after at the school when he’s done treating Rex?”

“Sure thing Shadow, might even tag along,” Garrus replied.

Satisfied with their answer I ran through a crowd of ponies towards the schoolhouse.

Commnader Beard turned his head back to the manager, “Alright, where were we…..” he said with a devious smile with Garrus slapping his rifle with his other hoof.

*GULP*

--------------------------------------------------------------

Got to move faster got to move faster!

I see the school right before me with the children entering it from their recess conclusion.

I’m going to make it!

*RING*

I’M GOING TO MAKE IT!

I jump through the front gate and saw the impatient Cheerlie stomping for hoof at the doorway.

With a sigh of relief from the running I trotted up to her and apologized,

“Sorry, am I late Miss Cheerlie?”

She undid her serious expression and went to one of pure radiance, “Just on time Shadow, come the class is waiting for your lesson.”

I brought my hood behind my neck and stepped into the schoolhouse to be met with salutations and applause from the students inside.

“YA SHADOW I WANT TO LEARN!”

“PONITALY! WOOOO!”

“I told you he’d show up!” I recognized Applebloom talking to a pink pony wearing a tiara.

“Settle down children, settle down!” Cheerlie raised a hoof, “Now today is special because we have Shadow Mark here to teach us all about his hometown and his many adventures around Equestria. So I want all of you to be on your best behaviour!” she smiled.

The pink tiara wearing pony stuck out her tongue and Cheerlie quickly responded, “Especially you Diamond Tiara!” she sunk back into her desk.

“Okay Shadow you can begin when you’re ready,” she smiled at me then took a seat at her desk.

“Well thank you Madonna Cheerlie, as many of you must know I’m not from Ponyville. Rather I’m from a wonderful city called Ponitaly which is very far from Ponyville. She was known as the city of culture and political debate,” I laughed.

A hoof rose up from a desk, “Yes what is your question?”

“Why are you talking with a funny accent? And why did you call Miss Cheerlie Madonna? Also why did you call Ponitaly a she?” said a small white pony, pipsqueakish in size.

“Well, ponies from all over Equestria had developed their own languages, mine is Ponitalian. We refer to places and ships as having both female and male qualities. Madonna is Ponitalian for Miss or Madam.” I answered him.

“Really Pip? You didn’t know that, why I think Shadow’s information on Ponitaly is too easy for me to even consider learning!” Diamond Tiara said with inattention.

I guess she’s the troublemaker of this class; I’d better keep an eye on her…

“Any more questions before I proceed on Ponitaly’s history?” I asked the class.

An orange hoof belonging to Scootaloo rose up, “Forget Tiara, what I want to know is where did you get those cool ash burns!?” she pointed to my outfit.

What ash burns, I don’t see any… oh damn.
The Griefer strikes again.
Even in death it’s still tormenting me.

“Well..... there was a fire... in the Everfree, I saw the smoke from the town last night and I made my way over there as quickly as I could, being the good Samaritan as I was. I arrived there to see a bunch of traveling ponies who were camping when they heard something strange and their fire spilled onto a tree,” I lied.

“I’m sure you can see them in town, they look very professional as I found out they were part of Equestria’s Finest. Also I’m going to the hospital later to see if one of them is alright from the blaze.”

Take that Beard and Garrus, now you will have children to deal with later!

I silently chuckled to myself when Tiara’s hoof went up, “I don’t see the point in why we’re doing this, you’re just boasting about what you did. I bet none of those stories were even true!”

Cheerlie went to speak but I quickly stuck my hoof out to tell her I’ll take care of this.

“Ah but Tiara, I am teaching you things. The fact I didn’t say squat about Ponitaly’s history and the only story so far was one from last night is what I needed to teach you about.”

“Do you understand him Silver Spoon?” she asked a grey filly next to her, “Anypony?”

“For one thing patience, the next listening, finally interpreting. After all what I can be saying is a lie. In fact I might not even be Shadow Mark!” I laughed.

“WHAT!?”

“As such attaining information is a very risky business. But it isn’t the same as learning, if you really want to learn about Ponitaly I’m not enough. One would have to actually go to Ponitaly to truly learn about it. Sadly, that’s no longer the case…”

“Shadow, you aren’t making sense! What are you talking about?” Tiara yelled at me.

“Ponitaly’s history of course! Now that is an example of how the politics felt like in Ponitaly, a debate if you will with no clear side or plan of action for its citizens. Okay enough of my little philosophical understanding of the pony’s mind and government system, let’s do some Ponitaly lessons!”

Tiara was completely confused, she shutted up and looked at me with sheer determination to not be as confused and humiliated as she was just now.

I love my persuasion abilities…

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After talking about the ancient history of Ponitaly I moved onto the more recent times of its history. Specifically the time between my birth and now.

“So then Balthazar the High Duke took a visit to Ponitaly. (Smug bastard, how I'd like to tear him limb from limb)
And the government…”

“Excuse me Shadow?” Applebloom raised her hoof, “I heard from my sister that you had a rough time in Ponitaly, would talking about it make you feel better?”

I should have expected this… guess I should talk about my past somewhat. Might help with my sleep as Mareio had suggested so long ago.

I took a breath and sighed, “I once had a family, a brother and the most wonderful parents a pony could ever ask for. I just wish that…. well there was a ‘fire’ at my home, made by some horrible ponies,” I said solemnly making sure to lie about the murder scenes and other gory stuff of my family’s death.

“Then after… I don’t know how I lived. Luckily I still have my beautiful…. sorry, I mean had… and… after a while things didn’t feel as normal as one might had expected. I was also married.”

“A few years later and all of Ponitaly was just…. gone…”

“Everything… Everypony…. all just…"

"There was no one left for me...I was all alone......... it was my fault….. I…. I’m sorry,” I said not refering to the children in front of me.

Tears were forming in my saddened eyes, the entire class fell into sad silence with a few muffles of crying, even Cheerlie noticed she was beginning to shed a tear.

“What I should be saying is we shouldn’t forget the past, rather we should take the information from it and use it for the future,” I ended with a pang of guilt in my heart.

Tiara raised her hoof with shakiness, “Did that all happen, is Ponitaly really…”

I nodded.

“Oh….”

Well I just completely killed the mood, I don’t even know why talking about this helps anypony. To see all these sad faces… knowing it’s my fault… knowing that Ponitaly was also my fault.
Mareio is a doctor, not a psychiatrist… hehe

“Well it wasn’t all bad, I managed to escape from the siege of Ponitaly with a hawk friend named Ace and a pony doctor named Mareio. Also I discovered that my Uncle is alright! Though I have no idea why he’s in the Pondriatic at the moment.”

This gave some laughter to the classroom and so I continued, “Hope is what we can fight for, with hope anything can happen. That’s why I believe that with one of us standing Ponitaly’s tradition and culture with never go away!
I just wish that Mareio’s mushrooms didn’t have so many side-effects, I really didn’t want to turn my wings into a butterfly's, SUNLIGHT HURTS!”

“Not to mention the time I could barely use the washroom, 3 days he said, small pain he said!”

More laughter came from the class now until the pony called Pip asked, “Is that Mareio over there?”

I looked at the window to see Mareio’s face completely pressed up against the glass making a funny face. The class burst out into laughter as Cheerlie stifled a giggle and opened the window.

“AH HELLO EVERYPONY! IT’SA ME MAREIO!”

“SHADOW YOU MUST COME! REX IS AWAKE!”

“What!? He is? Sorry class but I think I might need to go now and check up on that friend in the hospital.”

“It was nice to have you here Shadow, make sure to come by and tell us about the places you’ve been too!” Cheerlie waved to me.

“Will do, Miss Cheerlie also how did you think I did?” I asked her as I headed for the window.
“You have style but a teaching position wouldn’t be enough for your ambition, maybe a principal?” she said.

“I might consider that Miss Cheerlie,” I said getting my legs ready towards the window.

I burst into a run through the classroom, “Arriverderci students learn hard and study well!”
I then jumped through the window right onto Mareio who then picked me up and we began to head for the hospital.

“LET’S A GO!”

-------------------------------------------------------

We burst through the hospital doors… without opening them. Glass sprayed all over the reception office just like last time with some shocks and gasps coming from waiting family members.

“Don’t worry! I’MMA DOCTOR!” Mareio shouted before running down the left hallway.

I followed him ignoring the glass pieces everywhere and met him at an open doorway.

“Rexy! You have a visitor!” I heard Garrus’s voice from the inside of the room.

*SMASH*

“Hey! Watch where you throw that lamp!”

I quickly made my way inside the room with Mareio closing the door behind me.
The hospital room was completely white in colour with two beds each carrying a patient. One was a light green pony covered in a full body cast.

The other contained a giant red muscular pony covered in scars and bandages. Beard and Garrus sat in a chair in front of the red pony, the wall behind Garrus had a lot of holes and debris from the various broken pieces of furniture scattered around him.

“Rex, how do you feel?” I asked him from the side of his bed.

“With me being in bed all day, a Griefer fried me like a bacon strip, I fell off a cliff, and now Garrus is talking crap about me I wold say fine. Except that Mareio over there did something to me when I was asleep.”

“My ass is killing me for some reason.”

Mareio, you and your suppositories, may I never take one ever again.

We all laughed. When we stopped we heard a feminine giggle coming from behind us.

A pink blur shot up into the air, “HIYA! I’ve come to cheer you up Mr. Rexysaurous!”

“Hey Pinkie,” I said casually.

“Why are you so calm about this? She just appeared out from nowhere!” Commander Beard said in surprise.

“Believe me Beard when I say, Assassins have experienced very, very interesting lives.”

Pinkie was now dancing on top of Rex’s bed, Mareio also joined in the fun and began to sing along.

“Rex you are so sick!”

“He’s really sick!”

“That griefing Greifer made you sick!”

“He really Griefed!”

"Now in a medium sized bed!"

"It really is too small!"

“He is sick from a Griefer…. And now he’s stuck in bed!”

“SHUT UP ALL OF YOU, MY ASS IS ON FIRE!” Rex shouted at them throwing both Pinkie and Mareio off from his bed.

Mareio pulled out a small mushroom then hoofed it to Rex with his same smile, “Take this, I’m sure you know where to put it!”

Rex grabbed the shroom then devoured it in his mouth.

“Close enough,” Mareio whispered to me.

“So… what now? I’m getting pretty bored after spamming Rex with my creative remarks.”

“Me too! Let’s do something fun!” Pinkie shouted.

“Like what?” me and Beard asked.

“Fight….” Rex said from the bed, a sinister wide smile spread across his mouth.

I shrugged, “Why not? Good for training I guess. Alright Beard you versus me. I want to see how a Spectrum can fight!”

“You’re on Shadow!”

We all left the room minus Rex, Mareio and the fully casted colt.

“I’ll watch from this window here,” Rex said weakly getting out from his bed and heading for the window.

“Okie Dokie!” Mareio said to Rex.

Mareio turned to the other patient with his doctorate smile as he pulled out a mushroom.
The casted pony started to shake and muffled screams came from him as he tried to fidget away from the advancing doctor.

*mmfm*

Mareio was next to him, smiling while holding the mushroom closer to the patient, his smile never went away, it never changed not even for a moment. The pony’s eyes went wide as Mareio lifted his tail and held the mushroom in his other hoof.

“I love my job!” Mareio happily said before giving the patient his ‘medicine’.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now outside of the hospital I turned to Beard as he hoofed his gun over to Garrus.

“So how do you want to do this? Fight until one gives up?”

“Though it’s a friendly fight, so I’ll make sure not to break any of your bones,” Beard laughed.

“Then I’ll make sure not the break your precious armor then,” I grinned.

“OH! THIS GONNA BE GOOD!” Pinkie yelled from excitement attracting the visitors in the hospital outside.

“I’m glad I don’t have to do this. Might ruin my reputation if I was randomly beating up ponies,” Garrus whispered to Pinkie.

We assumed our positions from each other; I shouted “You ready Beard?”

“Always!” he replied.

“3….2….1…. RUMBLE!” Pinkie shouted through a microphone she pulled out from her pocket.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I jumped forward landing a blow to Beard’s side which he blocked with his right hoof.
He counter-attacked by thrusting his hoof out forward which I grabbed onto. A knee came up underneath my hold and hit me in the chest.

“First blood Shadow,” Beard boasted as I recovered from the attack.

I snickered then ran towards him, he brought his hoofs out forward but I got low and side a leg sweep right from under him. Beard fell onto his back on the grass.

“Alright no holding back!”

The Commander leaped from his back onto his hooves then charged me head on, his body slammed into mine and I flew backwards.
I righted myself just as Beard charged me once more, I jumped into the air and did a vertical spin kick right onto his head.

“Ooooh, that’s gotta hurt!” Garrus commented as he closed his eyes from the sight.

I wasn’t done yet. After landing back on the ground I leaped up into the air once more and extended my elbow towards his back.
Landing straight onto his armor with my elbow, the armor withstood the force and my elbow didn’t causing me to wince out in pain.

Damn that armor is thick.

“Gotta love these: armor, shields, and a minimal mobility loss.” Beard said from underneath me as he raised me up into the air with his hoofs.

He threw me down to the ground with all his might, I did a back somersault just as my flank reached the ground and I was able to stand back onto my 4 hoofs.

I stamped the ground with my front hoof breathing out steam from my nose.
Beard taughted me and I rushed towards him.

“Oh I know what he’s going to do, this will be so good! Popcorn?” Pinkie offered the bag to Garrus.

The Commander stood ready to intercept my attack. As he stood there I reached past his head with my hoof and grabbed onto his armor, I vaulted myself over his back.

*KER-KICK*

A powerful roundhouse kick hit the Commander straight at his flank as he was sent flying by my attack.

“Go Shadow! Kick his flank! …. Even though you already did it…. KICK IT AGAIN!” Pinkie supported me.

A round of applause came from the crowd of hospital visitors, doctors, and patients alike watching our fight.

“Come on Beard! Let’s show these ponies a real battle! Hoofticuffs!” I shouted to him.

We got within close-quarters of each other and consecutively began to land and dodge blows on each other.

“Got to admit *pow* you are pretty strong *block*,” Beard said as he launched a hoof at me.

I blocked it with one hoof and countered with another, “Not bad for a Spectrum!” I laughed.

He hoofed me in the face and I hoofed him in the stomach.

“Who’s gonna win? The suspense is killing me!” Pinkie shouted in nervousness.

Time to finish this.

I brought my head back and launched it forward.

The Commander did the same and launched his.

*HEAD-SMASH*

We both recoiled from the attack and passed out onto the ground.

“Tie?” he asked me through panted breaths.

“Deal.”

“YAAAA WOOOHOOO, AMAZING!” the crowd of ponies shouted around us: applauses, flowers, and cheers fell down before us.

I helped Beard up to his hooves and we both bowed to the crowd.

“Interesting, Shadow is certainly keeping it low profile,” Garrus sarcastically said.

“WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?”

The applauses stopped and a section of the crowd moved revealing a sandy coloured pony wearing glasses and a floppy grey mane.

The Mayor… crap

“Oh if it isn’t Shadow Mark, that explains the fighting,” she turned her attention to the other ponies and said, “Alright everypony back to the hospital!”

They moaned in displeasure and the crowd dissipated.

“Can somepony explain to me, what the hay is going on?” the Mayor seriously said.

“Well you see Miss Mayor we were…” I was beginning to explain myself when I was cut off by Commander Beard.

“Mamn we were doing a routine training schedule offered by the Equestrian Military. I was sent here to see if Shadow would like to be an asset to the war effort,” Beard winked at me.

“Yes, sadly I don’t see myself as going into the army. I prefer to stay here and spend time in this wonderful town. Maybe go adventuring once in a while,” I said with certainty towards the Mayor.

She squinted her eyes down on me until Garrus walked up behind her and said, “Relax Mayor, we do this stuff all the time. It’s just that the practice fighting is usually for rare cases.”

“HI MAYOR HOW ARE YOU!?” Pinkie jumped up next to her.

“Oh hi Pinkie, maybe I’ve been acting with a bit with prejudice towards Shadow. I just want this town to be safe, ever since he’s got here… I don’t know a bad feeling perhaps,” she sighed.

“Don’t worry Miss Mayor; I usually try to stay blended into Ponyville’s background. I wouldn’t like to see any harm come to it either.”

She smiled then gave me a death glare, “I’m still going to watch you Shadow Mark, and you better not do anything to mess up my town…”

The Mayor trotted off into the distance and Garrus said, “Let me guess, you’re the friendly incognito assassin neighbor? Still she has a big grudge towards you Shadow, what did you do?”

“Honestly, I don’t know….”

*GASP* “SHADOW WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU!?”

I looked behind and saw Rarity and Fluttershy gasping in shock at my tattered, ash-stained clothes which were also covered in small blood splatter from the fight.

“Oh Rarity it’s no problem, I can still work and look good doing it,” I smiled as I lifted my posture providing sex appeal to everyone who saw me.

Rarity started to drool but then Fluttershy snapped her out of it, “No you need me to wash it, and I need you to help me design clothes!”

Design… clothes… standing for hours again?
I’ll have to go back to that place, with the needles, material, and standing?
No I don’t want to go back, never want to go back.

Curse you father for making me and my brother wait for 6 hours getting that outfit ready for that banker meeting!

Wow… maybe I should stop reliving these horrible past memories I’m having…

….

Why do I suddenly feel lighter?

I looked down to see me hovering a few feet off the ground in a light-blue light.

“Rarity…. You know what, I will count to 60 and if I’m not out of this magic aura by then, then I will break it…” I seriously said with a blank morbid expression on my face.

1…2…3…

“Maybe you should do what he says Rarity, he looks…angry,” Fluttershy tried to persuade her noticing my morbid expression.

6…7…8…

“Fluttershy darling, he’s just nervous about stepping back into my clothing store again. He doesn’t want to admit it but he’s a fashion inspiration to all of Equestria!” she beamed.

…..I sort of like that comment, I’d better restart then…

1…….2……..3…….4…….5…

Garrus then whispers to Beard, “Try to get an endorsement from her later.”