He violently woke up. His breathing was fast and deep. His face, like the rest of the body, was sweaty and dirty.

"Took you long enough." the voice sounded distant and unfamiliar. "Had a bad dream?"

He calmed for a minute before opening his mouth:

"Where are we?" he sounded sleepy and confused.

"In a Royal Hotel." she said, then made a few steps to him. "You look like you've seen a ghost, oh wait, you can't."  

"Could you stop with the sarcasm. How did you pay for this room?"

"I didn't. I had to climb the top of this building with you on my back again. Thankfully this apartment was empty and the balcony's door was not closed for some reason. So, I decided this would be the best place for rest through the night."

The pegasus suddenly remembered what happened yesterday's night, which opened the gates to his anger to start taking over his mind.

"Yesterday you left me like a bag full of rotten tomatoes and now you are here with me... Why?" Lucky earnestly asked. His brown eyes and nose pointed to the floor, though they were lifeless, the ninja saw the bad feelings, aimed directly at her.

She was standing right next to his bed, gazing the blind pegasus in a very strange way.  

"I had to. We were followed constantly and I hate being the prey." she said without a note of emotion.

"Oh, yeah? I don't know how you do your duos in your country, but here we always communicate and cover each other. How can I trust you, if you disappear like that in the future?"

The pegasus was calm but the feeling of disappointment was obvious. The ninja kept staring at him with her orange eyes and she seemingly was unhappy by her fail.

"I'm sorry." she whispered.

Lucky lifted up his head and turned to the ninja. His dead eyes were looking at hers. She almost had the perception that he was going through her soul. Suddenly, a small smile appeared on him.

"At least this a start. Apology accepted!"

The ninja looked away with uncertain eyes but then turned her attention back to the pegasus.

"I've healed you completely but there may still be some residual pain."

Lucky touched his chest and amazingly it didn't hurt at all. He actually was feeling very energetic for the first time in months, which puzzled him.

"How did you managed to fix me so quickly?"

The ninja didn't move a muscle because the question, she feared, was asked. In her head, she relived the entire scene like a movie, where the black pony was the actor and at the same time, the viewer.

That night...

It was very dark and there were no sounds coming from outside the door. Very silently she entered inside the bedroom and carefully put the unconscious pegasus on the big luxurious bed.

Lucky was barely breathing, so the ninja quickly checked his pulse, which was almost nonexistent. She put her hoof on his chest and did a circle. Her eyes flashed and now she was able to see through the flesh. The view was not pretty and she was not happy to see that he had heavy internal bleeding. There was no way to help him by using conventional methods, for which the ninja didn't even have the instruments.

"Amazing how he managed to stay conscious for so long, talk about endurance... However, he's one dead pony. Buck!" she thought with a slight anger. "Too bad for him but better dead than a weakling."

She made a few uncertain steps away from the laying pegasus, while facing him all the time.

"Maybe I should quickly send him to his parents? It would be better for him and me. No more to be slowed down by a blind pegasus... though I liked him a bit. He is definitely better than my previous bloodthirsty partners but still no pony. Let's finish this..."

The ninja steadily returned to Lucky and stood on his left side. Her eyes were rid of any emotion. She looked at his faint body and targeted at his heart. Without remorse she lifted up her right hoof in the air, suddenly the medallion on his neck illuminated the bedroom in weak green light.

"You again." she said with a low voice. "This time, its for the best."

The ninja swiftly sent her hoof directly at his barely beating heart, when her attack was stopped by a white hoof. The ninja looked surprisingly at the pegasus, who was slowly shaking his lips.

"Met...ye..."

Lucky didn't seem to understand what was going on. Those were his last words before his heart completely gave up. His right hoof fell down. The life got out of him and with it the light from the locket disappeared.

She stared him, astonished by his last act. The ninja had never seen anypony reaching like this and many of her enemies and friends had died in front of her. The mare was unable to look away and she stood there like frozen, with a hoof just above his chest.

"You have more that meets the eye, little pegasus. What a shame you died... unless you didn't. No, it's forbidden! It shouldn't be used on anypony but why should I listen to the codex, if I'm not part of it anymore? This pony's death is a consequence of my decision. However, why should I care about a stranger? Is it my feeling of guilt trying to persuade me to revive him or is this pegasus deserving another chance? I know no shame in killing and letting others die and If I save him, I'll condemn him on a life of constant running. However, my enemy has found me and there's no escaping the unavoidable clash and I'll need every help, if I want to emerge victorious! So what it will be?... Ah, Buck it!"

Suddenly the ninja hopped in the comfortable bed and lay down on him. Both were in total contrast, when one was covered in black and the other was white. She took off his pink towel from his head and opened his empty eyes. Then closed hers and concentrated until her mouth mask fell down on its own, exposing big sharp teeth. She gazed in his eyes like a demon cat and opened her mouth, from which a long snake-like tongue began waving in the air. She closed her scary face to his and kissed him, while still staring at his dead eyes.

Then an orange stream of particles flew from her eyes to his, landing on their irises. One thing she waited for and that was a life sign. The ninja felt how her life force was draining out from her very quickly. However, she didn't pay attention to it because of the new feeling of kissing somepony for the first time in her life. It was strange but exciting.

Out of a sudden, the pegasus returned to life and the first thing he wanted to do was to breathe. The ninja closed her eyes and the stream of particles ceased and then moved her face away from his. Before Lucky could realize what was happening, she knocked him out with a powerful blow to his left cheek, immediately sending him to the dreaming world.

"It was tricky to say the least." she said. "Why are you asking? Are you feeling odd?"

Lucky shook negatively his head.

"No, I feel exceptionally well. I'm amazed that you healed me so fast. For a moment, I thought I'd kick the bell."

"Yeah... I had to monitor your condition all night. You were sweating and turning all the time. Did you felt any pain or something in those lines?" she sounded like a professor, who was asking his test subject, after taking unknown medicine.

Lucky lowered his head and few green hairs got in front of his face.

"I don't think you'd want to hear it."

"You'll be surprised, but I want to. I need to know because it's tied with the healing process." she insisted.

"I just experienced the weirdest nightmare, which didn't make any sense at all. But don't worry, I have bugbears all the time, when I close my eyes." he said with a low voice.

The ninja looked interested and slightly nervous. She feared that residual pieces from her memory could have slipped through the stream and placed in his head. The secrets, that the mare held in the deeps of her mind, where not for the eyes of the common ponies and could become dangerous in somepony's inexperienced hoofs.  

"Tell me about your dream?" she sat on the soft bed, gazing hm without blinking once.

"Well, in my dream I was walking down the rocky path. It was sunny but the moon performed the job of the sun. There were no trees, no grass, nothing that would indicate life. Step by step, I was closing on a giant scale, which in some ways resembled big stairway. When I got in front of the large rock, I began hearing voices, who were repeating this strange phrase: "Nrob nogard". Huh, I don't know how I pronounced it so well but it's stuck in my mind like honey."

The ninja looked fixedly at his brown eyes, which were pointing at his back legs, as if she was trying to find something in them.

"Continue." she insisted again.

"Then I began climbing the scale for no reason. I just felt like I had to do it. When I reached its peak, two big orange eyes stared down at me. Suddenly, I was surrounded by random unclear images of events, I think. However, I can't recall almost anything, except the one, where I saw my parents looking straight at me. They were galloping, with spears pointed directly at me. Before the sharp edges touched me, I woke up."

The black pony silently sighed with relief that most of her secrets stayed hidden. However, she worried that something else got in his body. The phrases he heard bothered her a lot, so she began checking his entire body with sight only. He was still white and nothing majorly strange was coming from him. Then the ninja grabbed his right wing and carefully analyzed it.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Lucky was confused by her sudden action but didn't try to resist.

Without a word the ninja continued her search for something, even she didn't know. Suddenly a thing caught her attention.

"Cyan feather." she whispered.

Lucky lifted an eyebrow.

"How do you know my childhood nickname?" he asked.

"Since when pegasus grow differently colored feathers?"

"What? The last time I had a cyan feather was, when I was just a filly. They said I've got it from a great-grandfather, who was cyan earth pony."

The ninja looked very worried because such odd symptoms she saw on herself and it didn't end pleasantly.

"Congratulations, now you have more than one. Don't fear anything, it's normal effect of the healing process. You'll be fine." she ingeniously lied and the pegasus blindly believed her. The ninja let go of his wing and got up from the bed. Suddenly a bright light illuminated the dark room, which came from the wide window. She pulled the curtains and looked outside the window.

The first thing her eyes spotted was the clouds that were gathering on top of the city of skyscrapers. They were slowly beginning to block significantly the morning sky like a disease, spreading inside a body. She moved her sight to the streets below, which were full with ponies in smart cloths and hats, walking in different directions like ants.

"It would be advisable to abandon our little job and find, who tried to kill us and make him answer for his actions." she seriously said, while looking at the interesting view.

Lucky thought for a moment.

"For just a day there were several attempts of murder, something which is unheard of in Equestria. Rose's message must contain important information that is worth killing for. I say we continue with the investigation with extra caution." he said with grim face.

"You are the boss." she turned around and pierced him with her orange balls. "Yesterday, what happened before you fell down?"

Lucky was uneasy to answer this question cause he feared she'd think he was going crazy. The pegasus scratched his neck and then his hoof went on top of his green mane.

"I had a delusional vision, again..." Lucky said with low voice.

The ninja made a step towards him and asked:

"What vision?"

"I'd rather not talk about it." Lucky tried to hide his mixed feelings but the ninja saw perfectly through him.

"Pain from past, isn't it?"

Lucky sighed.

"Yes, yesterday I heard my parents voices calling for me and I willingly followed until something slammed into me. From that moment, I don't remember a thing."

"There were one yellow and one brown unicorn, with a purple filly, who seemed scared. They quickly disappeared around the corner before I could reach you. So this is not your first vision?" she looked him in a curious way.

Lucky slowly shook his head.

"No, It's my forth. The first one was in Monday and it felt so real, as if I stepped in another world. I was freezing to death, when somepony approached me, saying she was my wife. Foxy Tail, her name was... The others are equally disturbing and confusing, in which I hear unfamiliar sounds and voices. The only thing they have in common is the sudden drop of temperature." Lucky made a short pause and continued with a bit more painful voice: "Huh, how I wish they'd stop, because I feel like I'm going slightly mad every time they happen."

The ninja carefully listened to him. After he finished, her eyes returned to their emotionless states. Then she silently closed the distance between them and swiftly slapped him with her left hoof. The pegasus didn't move because of the confusion.

"What was this for?" he asked with a cold voice.

"Did you take your pills?" she provocatively said. "I guess not. So, you'll be taking my scientifically proved way of curing madness."

The ninja slapped him to the other side.

"Do I look like a therapist? No, I'm a freaking ninja!" she shouted in his face. Then she sent another blow, which was met with a carefully timed block. Her hoof slammed into his and despite pushing to his face with great force, the pegasus held his ground without giving an inch to his attacker. He then slowly turned his head to her, revealing a very calm face. The ninja looked in his unseeing eyes and noticed the little orange spots in the brown. They were so few and small that only very trained eye could spot them. Luckily for her, their size meant that Lucky was out of danger of losing himself.

"Ooo... watch out, we have a badplot over here!" she smiled but her voice indicated how serious the ninja was. "Never ever feel sad or despair. Cause they'll consume your life like the darkness, which surrounds your world!"

The ninja removed her hoof from his and turned around to the window.

"Go wash yourself in the bathroom, which is in the right from here. You'll have to walk in straight line and only pass through a living room and a hallway. Hurry up, we can't stay in this hotel for too long." she said, while looking at the tall buildings.

"Thanks about the therapy, doctor ninja. I feel a lot better already!" he sarcastically said. Then Lucky got up from the luxurious bed and with a hoof to the wall, he slowly exited the room. The ninja went after him in the living room and waited there for a few minutes, while he took a shower. This apartment looked like it was made for royal visitors. There were very skilfully painted pictures of beautiful scenery on every wall. The furniture seemed quite expensive with their complex engraving. The floor was covert with breathtaking carpets. But even all this couldn't spark the slightest interest in her to look around.  

She was becoming a little impatient, when Lucky appeared with a wet clean mane and fur. The pegasus felt like newborn after that very needed shower and it showed in how he moved.

"Over here! Catch!" she tossed the pink towel at his face. His ears pointed at the incoming silk and before it hit him, somehow he grabbed it in mid-air and uncertainly put it on his eyes.

The ninja looked at him with a sight only scientist could give.

"Fascinating. Just a few hours and the pegasus can predict, where a flying object is going with only his hearing. He is changing too fast and too soon but I knew the risks. Now I'll have to guide his transformation carefully or I won't be able to control him afterwards." she thought.

Lucky closed on her with a mixed expression.

"Woaw, I could see in my mind the towel approaching me. Did I just discover a new talent of mine? Will have to test this! Oh, yeah. I feel good and I don't know why!" he thought.

The ninja opened the balcony door and immediately fresh air entered in the living room.

"Come." she said and then stepped outside. The pegasus followed and stood beside her.

The ninja was looking at the street below. There were too many ponies for her taste, so she decided it would be better to use the pegasus's wings and land somewhere quiet.

"Spread your feathers! We'll make a short flight to the park." she ordered. Her orange eyes were looking for the green area, which was very well hidden behind tons of concrete and bricks.

Lucky made a step backwards.

"No way. I will not fly again! The last time, we almost died and I don't want to repeat the same mistake!"

His insubordination was met by a cold stare, which he somehow sensed again. Their faces were very close and the pegasus felt her calm breathing. However, he showed no fear of her and stood his ground.

"Do it." she seriously said but Lucky didn't react to her order. Then the ninja swiftly lifted her right hoof and aimed it at a spot on his back but the blind pony countered her attack by quickly grabbing her leg and moving in such a position, that the mare wouldn't be able to do her dirty tricks on him.

"Crap! He is evolving faster than I thought. He has lightning reflexes, something I got after months of training. But he doesn't wear the suit, so that must be why the changes are so rapid." the ninja thought. "I must not underestimate him again!"

Lucky looked confused of what was going on. Never in his life was he so quick and this made him a little scared. The two silently stood still, when suddenly wild vibrations, coming from the pegasus's tummy, roared like a bear. Lucky let go of the ninja's hoof and cringed, trying to hold his stomach in one place.

"Are you hungry?" she asked.

"It hurts so much, as if I haven't eaten in days!" he painfully answered.

The ninja knew he wouldn't be able to fly in this condition, even if she forced him to.

"Hold my hoof." she said. The pegasus slowly touched hers and then the ninja pulled him to herself. She closed her eyes and concentrated her mind on a specific place. Suddenly they disappeared from the balcony, leaving only black smoke that flew up in the air. Then a knocking sounded in the apartment that came from the front door.

"Mr Whine, a message from you wife came just now. Mr Whine?"

No pony answered.

They reappeared in a bush in the central city park. The green area was quite huge and filled with lots of exotic or not so flowers and trees. There was a crystal clear lake in its center, to which several alleys led.

No pony saw them materializing out of the thin air. They were too absorbed by the beauteous scenery. It relaxed and inspired, the fresh smell of flowers was everywhere and birds and animals played happily in the green grass, under the tall trees.

Lucky quickly removed his hoof from hers.

"Teleportation? You know how to do this spell but didn't use it, when we traveled to Manehatten. You would have saved us a lot of trouble."

"It's not your ordinary teleporting magic. This one is cruder and takes a lot of energy to perform it. On top of that it doesn't have a huge range, so don't blame me again." she pointed her right hoof at his chest, when suddenly four claws violently came out of it, tearing the black cloth. "Ops."

"What was this noise?" the pegasus had pointed his ears at her.

The ninja silently stepped backwards.

"Nothing special. The bush got a piece of my clothing." she lied, while looking at the razor sharp claws. The mare whispered something incomprehensible and the nails began to shrink. They disappeared inside the openings and the holes on the clothing magically sealed themselves.

The pegasus new hearing was able to detect the notes in her voice, which indicated she was laying. However, the rebellious stomach took all of his attention. Lucky felt like he hadn't eaten anything for weeks now.

"Let's get moving." the ninja said. By his looks, she knew that if he didn't eat the special fruit soon, bad things would happen to anything around him.

The ninja got out from big bush and began walking on the path, that led out from the park. Lucky followed.

They were three other ponies in front of them, which were going in the opposite direction.

"First thing's first. We eat, then we go on our business." she calmly said, while looking at the incoming citizens of this city.

"And how are we gonna pay for our breakfasts?" Lucky asked behind her.

"You'll see."

The two earth and one unicorn ponies steadily moved forward and passionately talked about the recent events in Canterlot.

"... and the rain was so heavy it flooded entire streets." the brown unicorn said. His curly black mane was constantly getting in his blue eyes.

"You don't say, dear. How is this even possible?" the yellow earth pony made a indignant face. "Aren't the pegasus doing their job? This is outrageous!"

"What's the official statement on this matter? Will there be compensations for any damaged property?" the white pony asked.

"Not yet. The capital is in a crisis and ponies are being evacuated after the second rain. I guess the safety of others is more important at the moment. Good thing I'm working in the Post Office, so I'll be able to quickly get a hold on information, regarding the situation there and you'll be the first to know about the developments."

They passed nearby along the strange couple and continued on their path. The ninja smiled, when hiding the golden bits under her clothing.

"You just committed a crime!" Lucky said.

"His hearing is getting better and better with each passing minute. How can I slow down his changes? Even without the clothing, his mutation shouldn't be developing that fast. So the question is what's his catalyst?" she thought, while looking back at him.

"So what? We've got to eat and borrowing some coins will not make such a difference."

"But stealing is wrong and not the way I do things! How can you look yourself in the mirror like that?" he sounded very serious.

The ninja stopped and turned to him. They were under a shade of a tree, which had spread its branches over the path.

"Listen up, flying filly. Someday you'll get to the realization that rules are nothing more than words in the air. Societies need those words to hold themselves in one place before the chaos consumes them. So stuck you pride from where it came and begin to think like an animal in a jungle, in which there are no rules, except the universal truth of eat or be eaten."

She was quite calm and slowly turned her back on him.

"Besides, those few bits will save the city a lot of trouble. Never question me again, understood? Now come!"

Lucky clenched his teeth in an upset way but followed the dark pony without thinking. He had no choice cause she was the only pony in this huge city of strangers, who would guide him out of his current situation for better or worse.

Twenty minutes later...

"Tell me now how you feel? Are the apples tasty or sour?" she provoked him very annoyingly but Lucky seemed far away to hear anything she said. His entire being was concentrated on the juicy fruit in his mouth. He could feel how every bit of it was going down his tummy. Although the pegaus liked strawberries more, the apple put him in an ecstasy. Energy flew through him, giving him sensation of floating in the air.

The ninja knew that feeling of the first true apple bite and smiled.

"Funny how hunger makes the decisions for you, despite trying your best not to take them." she took a bite of her red apple. They were in a very quiet street, sitting on a wooden bench. They were looking at the park and behind them, tall building stood like barriers.

Lucky quickly finished with his and swiftly put his hoof in the bag to take another one. Unfortunately, it was empty but his stomach was still unsatisfied. He needed more of this new narcotic of his.

"Oh, it seems we are short on supplies here." the ninja smilingly said. "You'll have to wait until tomorrow for more."

"Tomorrow? But I'm still hungry!" he jumped from his seat but before making a step towards the marketplace, the ninja stretched her leg in front of his nose, effectively stopping him.

"Because of the healing process, you must not overdo it. Your hunger will disappear in time, until then try to have little patience." she ate the last piece of her apple and got off of the bench. "Now let's pay a visit to our friend, Rain Paint."

"No." Lucky insistently said. "First, we are going to the Manehatten's Royal Office. I want see a friend of mine there. He may help us with the investigation."

"Alright then."

Then the two continued walking on same street before making a right turn and headed straight for the Office.

It took them a while to get there. The building was looking the same as the one in Canterlot. Statues on its roof looked mighty, ornaments on its white walls made the structure look like arts museum. Two Guardians in gold armor were standing on the two sides of the big wooden door. Nothing could pass through without them knowing.

The two entered inside in the big reception, where at its bottom stood a single bureau. Behind it a green pegasus was writing reports. He had a short blue mane and a long dark mustache. His red eyes looked like they hadn't seen much sleep.

They approached him but the later didn't make any signs, that he noticed them.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for a friend of mine. His name is Metal Eye." Lucky said.

The green pony ceased writing the report and slowly turned his eyes to the newcomers. He carefully analyzed them from top to bottom and then asked with a tired voice.

"And you are?"

"Lucky Eight, an ex-Guardian."

The green pegasus looked at the pink towel, where his eyes were and remembered that his colleague had told him about a blind pony.

"Huh, Metal Eye did mention something about you. What is your business with him?"

Lucky lowered a little his head.

"I need to talk with him about personal matters. It wont take long."

The Guardian then looked at the pagasus's partner, who was staring him from the moment, she entered the building.

"The eyes of a killer, eh?" he thought.

"Metal Eye is not here and wont be until his mission has ended." the pony behind the wooden bureau looked very serious.

"Do you have a guess, when he is coming back?" Lucky sounded a little disappointed, that for the second time he couldn't reach his friend.

The green pegasus leaned on his chair.

"I'm not his mother to know, when he is coming back. It may take a few days or months. If you want to wait here, that's your call. Is this all?"

Lucky wanted to ask him more questions about the nature of his friend's work, when his partner said:

"We'll be back! Soon." then the ninja gently pushed Lucky to the exit. Before he even made his attempt to resist, she whispered in his left ear: "He will not tell you anything. Your friend must be doing something behind the curtains. There's no reason for us to be here."

Lucky listened carefully and decided to take her advise. The two slowly went to the door and left, while constantly being watched by the Guardian behind desk. When the room became silent again, he pulled a drawer and took out a piece of white paper, on which was written a list of things. The Guardian quickly found the sentence, which said that a white pegasus, named Lucky Eight, would come in Manehatten. He crossed it out and then whistled. A pony in full body armor appeared from the corridor.

"I want you to immediately fly to Canterlot and inform Princess Celestia that the pegasus is here."

"Yes, sir!" the white winged pony answered.

Thirty minutes later...

"Here we are, I guess."

"You guess?" he sighed. "It'll have to do, then."

The pegasus first entered the small apartment building, that was painted in red and blue. Good thing that Rose's friend lived on the second floor or Lucky would curse again his arch enemy. The walls inside were colored in green and blue. The staircase was covered by a yellow carpet, which had red triangles, painted in random places.

Soon they reached the second floor, on which there were only two apartments.

"Knock on the left door, the one in front of you." she said.

Lucky did just that and a second later, they heard somepony's steps coming behind the pink door. Suddenly, it opened and in front of them appeared a bright blue unicorn, who looked puzzled to see the two strangers.

"Good-Morning. How can I be of assistance?" her voice was soft.

"Are you Ms Rain Paint?" Lucky asked.

"Yes, I am." she answered with a low voice.

"We want to ask you some questions, if it is okay with you?"

Her crystal blue eyes pointed at the white pegasus, analyzing every centimeter of his body. As an artist, she had a sight on all things and could very quickly tell a lot of things about a pony, just by seeing him. He had a green mane, which was cut just recently and shaped in a very expressive way. The pink silk was hiding more than just unseeing eyes but great pain too. There was something unnatural coming from him but she couldn't put her hoof on it.

Then the beautiful mare looked at the other pony in the black clothing. Almost instantly she got the chills by her cold emotionless orange gaze. Darkness flew through her like love in an enamored stallion.  

"What kind of questions?" she asked shyly.  

"Were you recently in contact with a pony, who has a white mane?" Lucky asked straight away.

The mare had a thoughtful look. Her long pink mane was covering almost half her left face.

"No, I haven't." she looked scared at him. "Not in the past few months. I don't get a lot of visitors."

"Hm... then the visit card was taken by somepony else? Wait a second, the tone of her voice changed in very small way. I need to ask her again to be completely sure." Lucky thought.

"Can you confirm, you've never met such a pony in the recent months?" he sounded more insistent.

"Yes, I never met one with your description. I get the feeling, you are a detective, am I right?"

"Yeah... you can call me that. Look, we are investigating a burglary. Somepony stole something important from Ms Rose and the only lead we had pointed to you. I don't say you did it, but the pony responsible had your visit card. So..."

She gently lifted her hoof to his nose and interrupted him with her mellow voice:

"I'm not a friend of Ms Rose. I feel sorry, that this happened to her but I don't think, I can help you with your investigation." she looked at the ninja, who seemed was closer and trying to see through her. "Do you need anything else?"

"Yes, what is your current profession?" Lucky asked.

"I'm an artist."

"Do you sell paintings or do you take requests to draw portraits or something in those lines?"

"I do all the things you mentioned, though not many look for my works and skills." she looked down in a little sad way.

Lucky nodded and then turned to his partner:

"Ninja, you told me earlier, that the runner made a jump, which only pegasus could perform." he turned his head to Rain Paint. "So, did you meet any pegasi recently?"

"No." she calmly said.

Lucky looked down with a thoughtful look and then up again.

"That will be all. Thanks for your cooperation. Have a nice day."

"Good-Bye!" then she closed the pink door.

The ninja turned her eyes at the pegasus, who was going down the stairs.

"I know." he earnestly said, then she followed him.

When they got out the building, Lucky sat down on the sidewalk.

"She was not fully honest with us. Her voice gave it up." he said.

"And not only. Her face flushed but she seemed really shy, so it could be from that." the ninja looked at end of the street.

"Maybe. I don't think she did it. Now, I don't know what to do..."

The ninja looked back at him.

"I have some work to do. You'd better rest somewhere quite like the park."

Lucky jumped on his feet and went closer to her.

"Work? What are you talking? Where are you going?" he sounded very surprised.

"It's too dangerous for you." she said, while looking at him.

"If my fail flying didn't kill me, there's nothing in this land that could!" he stood beside her. "I'm coming."

"You don't want to be alone again, don't you?" she asked him in her thoughts. "Let's hope nothing goes wrong."

The ninja began moving without speaking a word and the pegasus along side her. They walked and walked in the concrete maze, where ponies were seemingly going somewhere without a purpose. The tall structures were like giants, who never looked down at the little creatures on the paved streets. Everypony in this great city moved like they were masters of their own fates, with high lifted up heads, they saw only their goals and not the road.

The sun was shining happily despite there being a gathering of grey clouds. They were still too small and too few to be any threat of ruining this beautiful day. No sudden wind could make this morning a sad one by bringing the troubles of the Capital. Everything here seemed separated from the rest of Equestria and life here had its own worries and joys.

Hours past and they still we going around the city, which Lucky felt they were going in circles. At one point, he lost his patience and asked:

"What are you looking for?"

"A sign." she calmly answered. Her eyes were carefully searching and nothing escaped her sight.

"From the mysterious lover?" he smiled, though his smile was a painful one cause the old stomach was doing his revolt once more.

"Of course." she admitted, when suddenly something caught her eye. "Finally!"

"You found it?"  

The ninja didn't say but only proceeded to where the magical marker pointed. It was invisible for the rest of the ponies, except her. They went into a lonely street with a dead end. There was another magical sign, which pointed at the stairs, that led to the building's basement. The ninja quickly checked the roofs and the windows of the surrounding structures but saw no danger.

"Yesterday, when I went to look for our pursuer, I did find him." she whispered.

"What?! What happened?" Lucky exclaimed.

"He sent me a message, which stated that he was not the one responsible for the attempts to kill us." they reached the staircase that was going below the building. "It's better for you to stay here, while I deal with him."

Lucky went between her and the stairway.

"No, we are partners and we'll deal with him together. I don't want to hear important information in the last minute, so I'm going with you."

"Stubborn, but right. Try not fall for his tricks. He has a big way of manipulating others and watch out for the stairs."

Her warning was too late because Lucky was already flying down and landed on his back. The ninja quickly went down and stood next to the laying pegasus.

He moaned a few times. Suddenly he felt a hoof on his shoulder. Lucky grabbed it and with help of her hoof, he pulled himself from the dusty floor.

"Thanks." he honestly said.

"From now on, make no sounds. We are going in his territory. Expect everything." she warned with a low voice. Lucky nodded that he understood her.

Then the ninja turned her back on the door, that led to the basements, and kicked with great force. It opened with a bang, slamming to the wall. Bright light entered the dark premises, illuminating only a fraction of it. It was really quiet and there were no signs of anypony being there.

The ninja entered first with cautious steps. Her eyes and ears were scanning for any movements and sounds. Then Lucky got inside and went after her. Suddenly the door closed on its own and shut itself. The pegasus's heart began pumping faster and faster and he nervously breathed the not so fresh air.

His partner was totally calm. She could see almost perfectly in the dark but the ninja knew that this was not enough to detect him, so she had to fully rely on all of her senses.

Lucky's medallion flashed like crazy, shining on very small area around them.

"The tension! It's so funny to look at." a dark voice came above them. The ninja looked up and saw how a shadow dropped from the ceiling and took a shape of a pony. Blue big eyes stared at the newcomers like a wolf's. A demonic smile appeared on him and said with very unpleasant voice: "Oh, I see you brought a friend. I did not expect him to survive! Did you tell him, where you found him? Just a step from an opened sewer hole."  

Then he lost his shape and formed again in front of the pegasus.

"Were you trying to end your little live?" he sounded so strange and creepy. "I can do this for free, if you want, ha-ha-ha..."

"Enough!" the ninja shouted. "What's the reason we are here?"

He turned back his head in a very weird way, without moving his body.

"Can't I have some fun?"

The ninja looked away from him and concentrated on a spot on the wall.

"State your business or the real you will perish!" she sounded darkly.

"Nice one, honey." his voice normalized. The shadow moved to the wall, she was gazing and his real body materialized. He was quite big and strong, wearing white clothing. His eyes were deep blue and had a wild feel, coming from them unlike the emotionless orange stare, the mare gave him. He got out of the wall and slowly closed on the two.

"Does she make your life hard, little pegasus?" he asked, when the trio made an almost perfect triangle.

"From time to time, yes." Lucky answered.

"She was always tough to live with, isn't that right, Foxy Tail?" he sounded very provocative.

The mare pierced him so deeply, he felt how she cut through him like a sword. He liked it a lot.

"Do you still remember your oaths? Never speak the real name of other ninja or yours!" her voice was cold and it hammered Lucky's mind.

"Her name is Foxy Tails? My first vision... will she be my wife...? No way!" Lucky looked a little embarrassed and the white ninja enjoyed seeing others sweat just from a few words.  

"Oh, come on sweaty. We were married for..."

His voice irritated every cell of her body and she clenched her teeth, just to hold her self from attacking him with all her anger.

"Never call me that. I never liked you. It was just a failed attempt of our clans to make peace and noting more!"

He leaned his head to the left and looked at her with his deep blue eyes.

"I know you still desire me. The passion. The power you felt, when I touched you." he continued his little game, with the same annoying voice.

She was about to jump on him, when her partner came to her rescue.

"Hey lover filly. I know that fat bottomed mares make you world go around but we came here on business. Spit out what you've got to say or beat it!"  Lucky was out of his hoofs and looked very threatening in the dark.

The white ninja turned his attention to the pegasus and analyzed him very carefully.

"I think, I like you. How darn straight you are. Yes, yes you are! Ha-ha-ha..." he laughed maniacally.  

Lucky frowned.

"Did I say anything funny?"

The strong ninja smiled more diabolically.

"You are hilarious. Maybe we should be partners one day, after you get rid of, you know who."

"Who tried to kill us!?" Lucky yelled. He was tired of the ninja's nonsense.

"Time wants to kill you, who else. The shadows are just its tools. There can be only one sweet illusion of choice cause we are all destined to die." suddenly his smile disappeared. "She knows what I'm talking about."

"Utter ponycrap!" she said calmly. Thanks to Lucky, the mare found a way to drive her anger out.

"When I felt its presence in this word for the first time, I didn't believe it was real. However, after seeing its destructive power, falling on ponies' heads, there was no denial its existence. I followed it, monitored its every action and admired the beauty of the destruction, it left behind." he made a few steps towards her and whispered. "Shadow Sun is here."

"Don't take any of his words seriously, Lucky. It's just a fairy tale to make the fillies go to bed early."

"How naive and stubborn. When I heard of your "retirement" from your clan, I just had to seek you out. I need your help and we will face together the true Queen of Darkness." he waved a hoof in front of her face, which she pushed aside.

"You are mad. Shadow Sun is only a teaching and a technique, not a Goddess-like being."

"So you are saying a super powerful creature tried to murder me and my partner. Why? Shouldn't it attack entire cities and not only two ponies? Where is the logic here?"

The ninjas turned her eyes to Lucky, who looked interested to hear more of this legend.

"Finally somepony, who listens. Yes, that's what I'm saying. The Shadow Sun teaching came from one source, the pony who met face to face with the demon, White Circle. Through his visions, he saw the dark chaos of other worlds, much like ours. Shadow Sun travels through the great nothingness from planet to planet and consumes every life force on its black march."

He spread his front hoof to the sides to show how big the problem was.

"So it eats energy. How does a pony look like, when being eaten by it? Is the process instantaneous or is it a slow one?"

"It's irrelevant. For the creature time is just a game. It sees through all, exist in all places but its only weakness is the distance between worlds. The sayings don't tell us why. Maybe there is a barrier, that prevents it from spreading too rapidly or does it intentionally not going in every world, the answer, I do not know. What I know is that before it's arrival, the Dark Goddess sends minion shadows to prepared the soil, sort of speak, on which She has no control until She makes her first step on the planet. If that happens all hell breaks loose and our fears come to life, while we burn like candles."

The ninja made a little fire to come out of his hoof like a special effect for his ending and accidentally noticed that the blind pegasus reacted to the light. Foxy knew this look of his and it meant her secret was not safe anymore. She was thinking of a way to get his attention without starting a fight, in which the pegasus was surely to die.

He did the fire again and saw the same reaction, coming from Lucky. His medallion shone like a small lamp, when the white ninja was just a breath away from him.

"Remove your towel!" he earnestly said.

Lucky stood his ground.

"You are getting in my personal space!"

The ninja swiftly lifted his hoof to the pegasus's head but was blocked by the winged pony's fast reflexes. Somehow this "weakling" was holding his powerful hoof without breaking a sweat. Then his right blue eye blinked once and thin white line went through the pink silk. Suddenly the fabric divided into two and fell on the shadowy floor.

Foxy was breathless, when she saw his eyes, the answer of his rapid changing. Her ex-husband slowly backed away from him and began laughing.

"What did you do to him?" he asked, while looking at the orange circles around the big black spots.

She approached him and asked in his ear.

"I told you to never feel despair or sadness again!"

"Sadness and despair were always within my heart throughout my life. It wont change in a flash just because you said so. The question begs to be asked, is this part of my healing?" he whispered.

Then he slowly looked at her and saw the orange eyes for the first time.

"So there are two of you now... Wait to see what the other ninjas would do, if they learned about you by chance. World Ninja War, baby. It would be so pretty..." he said with dreamy eyes.

"You are a fugitive like me. The moment you step in the clans' territory, consider yourself an high valued target practice. They'll stab and ask questions later." she pierced him with her eyes.

"What? You think I'd give your little secret away? No, NO! However, I want a little favor." he made an evil step forward. "I want to know, where is your legendary claw sword, which was made from dragon bones?"

"The Royal Guardians took it, when I was caught in Canterlot. If you want it, its yours." her eyes didn't lose him from sight even for a second.

"You lost such a fine sword to such unskilled fighters?" he chuckled. "Anyway, I have no need of the weapon, cause my body is the ultimate tool. So, here we come to the main question: are you with me or not? Shadow Sun threat is very real and I'll need the best to stop it. Think of the glory you'll receive back home, after defeating the most evil thing in the universe."

Foxy looked in Lucky's eyes and saw the reflection of herself. The past shaped her in what she is now and Foxy didn't like it at all.  Her choice was made long ago and nothing could stop her from walking on her own path.

"I decline your offer. I'm no longer a part of the ninja world or your world, in which fantasy takes over reality. I have a responsibility now, which I can not turn my back from. Lucky, we are leaving." she then silently headed to the door. The pegasus need a few seconds to coop with the situation at hoof. Simultaneously he felt fear and excitement, anger and a growing feeling, he never had before.

The ninja open the door and stepped outside in the light. Lucky squinted by the brightness, which was calling for him to get closer. Hoof by hoof, he joined his partner in the new old world of colors.

The white ninja in the shadows gazed the bright opening long after they were gone. The stallion was sure that he found the key for their salvation and he smiled.

"Your secret shall remain one." he said, before disappearing like a shadow.

Next Chapter: Chapter 12: Dragon Within Estimated time remaining: 13 Hours, 49 Minutes