"What?!" Lucky looked very astonished and disbelievingly shook his head. "How can I be alive, if I was dead that night? You must have used some dark magic! What did you do to me?"

The pegasus had grabbed her clothing and didn't let go. In his orange eyes the ninja saw anger and confusion. She understood his feelings because she had the same, when she heard the truth about herself. Foxy took his hooves and gently pushed them away from her, while constantly staring at his.

"You were not technically dead but lets say your we flying on the Highway to Hell! Don't you worry, I didn't use necromancy!" Foxy made a short pause. "I gave some of my life energy to revive you. However, my curse got inside you and now you are stuck with it to rest of your life."

"Curse?" Lucky looked around them and saw the countless tall brown buildings that spanned to where the eye could see. The two were on a roof of a very high skyscraper, from which the entire city could be seen. "How can it be a curse, if it cured my sight? I see everything. Ponies, structures, the blue sky and the mountains in the distance! What is the price for this blessing?"

The ninja looked at the horizon, trying to find the most suited words.

"Your life." she quietly answered. "From now on, you will have to run and hide. Nowhere is safe because you hold the burden of the damned dragon, named Tails of Horns Silver. It may sound strange. However, In their ancient language, words and names don't have a clear meaning to us, but perfect to them. From where I come, we call him The Jester of Flame, the one, who plays with the minds of others and enjoys not gold and diamonds, but fear and chaos. He is hated by all clans and even by his kind."

"Sounds very familiar..." Lucky remembered about a villain from last year, who turned Equestria into a living nightmare. "So, he cursed you with a spell?"

The ninja looked back at him. Light wind blew his green mane. His eyes pierced through her like a knife. Then she turned to the blue mountains with the white tops.

"No, it was my grandmother, who defeated him in his game. Before his last breath, the powerful beast did one last trick. The blade, that was specifically made for slaying dragons, touched the top of his neck, when the dragon opened his mouth, saying he'd grant a very special gift to his slayer. My grandparent stopped the blade from going deeper in his armored flesh and was interested to see what the prize was. Then from his mouth and eyes, orange stream of energy flew to her, absorbing her in a bright light. She quickly pressed the sword and cut his head from the body but the curse was done."

Foxy turned to Lucky, who carefully listening to her story.

"She gained great strength, agility and speed but was locked under the very same black ninja clothing, I'm wearing now."

"Doesn't sound much like a curse to me." Lucky said with disbelieve in his voice.

The ninja made a step closer to him.

"An year after her victory my grandmother suddenly became pregnant without having a partner and gave birth to Snake Tail, my mother. Then a few days later she died and the clothing magically covered the newborn. The same happened to my mother, when she reached a certain age."

Lucky felt a little sad and despite the emotionless stare of his partner, he knew that her soul was in pain, when revisiting her past.

"Isn't there a counter-spell? Can it be lifted?" he concernedly asked.

"No, there's no cure for this. My parent tried to find one but failed miserably..." Foxy looked away from him. She felt very heavy for the first time in years. The last time was, when he teacher taught her how to be a better warrior, a pony who had no emotion. Suddenly the mare felt a hoof on her shoulder. It's touch made waves of feelings that reached to every place of her soul. Although she kept gazing the horizon, trying to deny the new small change in her body.

"I'm sorry to hear it." Lucky said with a low voice.  

"This place is depressing me." she whispered. Then out of a sudden Foxy took the pegasus's hoof and before he could blink, the world around him blackened. The next second, Lucky noticed that they weren't at the roof of the skyscraper. The concrete view was replaced by big trees and pretty grass. Birds were singing in the air and colorful flowers smiled at the two ponies.  

Then Lucky heard a very violent sound that came next to him. His eyes turned to the source and froze. He felt almost no pain for some reason, despite the four long claws in his hoof, that had pierced through his hoof. Blood started to come out from the deep wounds and painted in red the grass below. His orange eyes looked up and met with hers. Their emotionless stare was gone and was replaced by the beast-like look. The pegasus was unsure, if he had to be scared or curious.  

"Lesson two: control." she calmly said. "The curse doesn't only give you better reflexes and senses. It delivers you the full power of a dragon."

"I don't understand..."

"See, I lost a small amount of control and immediately claws grew from my hoof. If I lose a little more..." her mouth mask fell down and revealed white sharp teeth. Lucky was officially scared and tried not to look in her demonic face.

"So, you can transform different parts of your body. What happens when you lose all control?" Lucky asked, though he wasn't sure, if he wanted to hear the answer.

The ninja didn't say anything at first. She slowly pulled out her claws from the his hoof. The pegasus felt no pain in the process. They were stained with his blood but that was not the thing that frightened him most. It was the long snake tongue, that tasted the red substance. He had no words to describe his disgust by her act.

"Nrob nogard is not what you heard in your dream. It is actually Dragon born." she huskily said and pointed her hoof at his heart. "With the curse, you also carry the spirit of the dead dragon. When you have lost all control over yourself, you turn into a fully fledged serpent. From that moment on, you have no will over your actions and you are left to watch the beast's destructive nature. From the taste of your blood, I can say you have a few weeks or months left until your first transformation."

"What do you mean my first? Can't I control myself like you do, so that I don't become a disaster?" Lucky closed his face to hers. He knew the answer wouldn't be very positive but there was still glimmer of hope, which the pegasus didn't want to lose.

Foxy turned her head to the right and looked at the green scenery.

"Go behind the bush. Look in the lake and tell me what you see." she said with a very dark voice.

The white pegasus slowly turned at the said direction and uncertainly began walking to the big shrub. Although his eyes looked straight in front of him, he noticed that the ninja didn't move at all. Lucky passed through it and got to the other side, where he was met by a crystal clear lake. It was quite large and was surrounded by the forest like a ring. There were a few other visitors but they were far away from him and were too absorbed in the beautiful nature, that they wouldn't notice him, even if he stood right beside them.

The pegasus stepped on the shore of the lake and leaned towards it, while looking at it with frightened eyes. He saw pebbles and a small fish, carelessly swimming around. The atmosphere was quiet and relaxing, something Lucky was in need for after what happened to him the past few days.

The pony stared at it for a minute, wondering what he was about to see. Suddenly a black shape appeared in the crystal waters. It steadily received colors and soon Lucky was able to recognize it. It was him, staring up from the water. His eyes had completely lost their brown color. The orange had taken over and the pegasus felt scared by their new look.

"You know the saying, that our eyes are the doors to our souls?" the ninja appeared behind him, sounding in her normal calm way. "Your soul is fully corrupted by the curse. There's no single brown spot on your eyes. You've changed too quick, without having time to train yourself for the upcoming transformation."

Lucky only gazed at his image, which suddenly smiled like a demon. The pegasus quickly looked up and blinked a few times. Then turned his eyes back to the water but there was no reflection of him, only pebbles and little fishes. He was unsure, if he had an hallucination or was it him, who smiled in an evil manner.

"The destruction..." he whispered.

The ninja stood beside him and looked in the water.

"I see only fish." she said.

Lucky looked at her in a puzzled way. Foxy gave him friendly eyes.

"Apples, we'll need lot's of apples, if we want to avoid a catastrophe in unknown proportions. We must begin your training as soon as possible and as far away from civilization."

"But what about the investigation? We can't leave it hanging in the air."

Foxy gently knocked on his head.

"Weren't you listening? We can't risk to have your unstable condition near other ponies. You may only feel hunger at the moment, but when the dragon within you makes its escape, you'll understand how weak and unprepared you are. Your mind needs to be disciplined, your will power must be strengthened before you face the sudden change."

"Did you pass successfully this test of endurance?" Lucky asked, while looking very serious at her eyes.

"No..." she answered with a low voice. Lucky felt heavy after hearing this and now he understood why it was going to happen, regardless of how much work he would put to prevent it. "The training will help you to lessen its effects on you and make you more resistant to the transformation."

Lucky sadly looked down and tried to clear all his thoughts on this matter. A lot was revealed to him in so little time, that he wanted to be left alone in peace, while everything cleared out. However, one question stood in his mind like a black tower, which was starting to poke its sharp roof at the ceiling of his head.

"Will I die, when I reach the curtain age like your parent?" he sounded very darkly and his face had a gloomy look.

"I don't know." she said with shame in her voice. "You are the first stallion and only pony, outside of my family, to receive the curse. No pony knows what your destiny will be, except The Jester of Flame, who is dead."

"Destiny is a mare for sure..." Lucky thought.

He sighed and looked at the blue lake. For a moment, Lucky wanted to be far away from this reality. Was it just a fantasy of a dream, from which he couldn't wake. The pegasus was just a poor stallion, who needed no sympathy for his bad luck. He only wanted happiness in his short life and not the slight madness of the darkness, that surrounded his world. His heart desired to live like everypony else, with no worries for the future and enjoying the warm beams of the sunny day.

His eyes looked at the blue sky. A feeling went through his body, that raised his pulse. Lucky sensed the need to rush headlong into the freedom, but the reality's chains wouldn't let him fly to the heavens.

The ninja looked suspiciously at the mixed expressions of his face. She was guessing his thoughts and prepared just in case, if he'd decide to do something stupid.  

"Before we leave, I want to experience life for the last time. Please, let me have my last free breath?" Lucky sounded very sincere and deep. He looked at her eyes, which were gazing him very coldly.  

"I don't like the sound of this. You are not dying yet, so spare me your feels." then she thought for a moment. "Alright. I'll give you a few hours, after that we hit the roads. Understood?"

Lucky silently nodded then he suddenly began galloping, quickly disappearing in the forest.

"What is he up to?" Foxy asked herself. Then she went after him in the shadowy green wall.

Lucky was running with new energy, looking around at every grass, tree and birds. He wanted to feel free as much as it was possible. Suddenly, he stumbled across an opening in the forest and stopped to admire the beautiful garden with white and yellow flowers. He steadily went to them and smelled the fresh aroma. His eyes moved from one flower to another, as if Lucky had never seen a garden before.

The ninja finally caught up on him, when the pegasus began galloping again on a path, that led to one of the many exits from the park. Blue and red birds flew over his head, singing their love songs. Lucky happily watched them perform their dances in the air, when suddenly he appeared on the sidewalk of a very long street.

His eye now saw a wall of tall buildings with very interesting facades. Some structures were painted in red, others in purple. Differently colored ponies came and go, some entered the park, others just passed nearby. They had a very stylish looks, which were unique for everypony.

He looked around for a bit and then began walking in a general direction.

"Where are you going?" Foxy shouted behind him.

The pegasus continued going forward, admiring on the world around him.

"Everywhere!" he answered.

The ninja managed to get to him and followed his every step. The two went sightseeing the whole city. They visited the Kingdom State Building, then they saw from the coast the huge bronze mare statue and after that went to the city museum. Luckily for them the entrance was free for this day and didn't have to spend their remaining bits.

It took them at least three hours to do all that. The pegasus was like a small filly in an amusement park and unlike his companion, he enjoyed every second of it. Foxy's patience was wearing off and when they got out of the arts museum, she grabbed Lucky on his shoulder and said:

"Did you have your fun?"

The pegasus turned to her, when suddenly his eyes saw a big poster, which was just put on the wall. He made a few steps to it, completely ignoring the ninja. His mouth was opened, because he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Foxy looked at the blue poster, that had a printed logo of a rock band.

"Princess." he read it out loud. "This evening at the Manehatten Stadium."    

"No." the ninja interrupted his dreamy thoughts. "You had your hours of freedom. Now we must leave the city."

"But, this is Princess! I have to see them!" Lucky tried to move but was immediately stopped by Foxy's tight grab.

"And who is gonna pay for the thickets?" her voice felt like a hammer, hitting his head. "And don't try to make a sad face cause it doesn't work on me!"

The pegasus looked very disappointed but he clearly understood her. Foxy looked at him like a faceless statue but inside the rock there was hesitation.

"A full stomach is better than half full one." the ninja remembered a saying. "The longer we stay here, the more dangerously it becomes for us and the city. My pursuers are far away for the time being but eventually they'll see my tracks and will get behind my tail. Blue Circle must be lurking around, though I don't sense his presence. I'll need Lucky to be fully focused on our tasks all the time and not think of anything else, if we want to survive the upcoming fights. Then I should grand him his last wish."  

She turned away from him and said:

"Alright, let's go to the concert but we'll leave immediately, when it's over. Got it?"

A spark flashed in his eyes and a very big smile appeared on his face. For the first time in his life, he was going to see his favorite band of all time. Excitement was coming out of him like the light from a bulb. Although Foxy didn't share his enthusiasm, at least she knew, when they'd finally get out from this place.

An hour later...

The sun was beginning its fall to the horizon, living a cloudy sky. The two approached the big white stadium and unsurprisingly they saw a huge crowd in front of the main entrance.    

"Darn. How are we gonna buy tickets, when the queue is as long as the street itself? There wont be any left." Lucky said.

The ninja looked at the big structure and around it.

"Hold my hoof." she said and lifted her leg in the air.

Lucky touched hers and suddenly they disappeared without being noticed by anypony. The pegasus opened his eyes and saw that they were on the stadium's visor, only a step from the open roof. The view from their position was perfect. He could see clearly the empty stage. Down below ponies were taking their seats. It looked extremely tight. Fortunately for the two, there were none, who would block their view.

"Woaw, thanks a lot Foxy!" Lucky happily looked at his partner, who was not feeling all well.

"Don't mention it!" she said with clenched teeth. The ninja had been teleporting too much lately and it became harder with each jump. A sudden pain raised in her chest but she was managing to stay in full control over herself. Foxy began breathing very deep and Lucky noticed that.

"Are you alright?" he concernedly asked.

"I'll be fine!" she darkly answered.

The pegasus slowly turned his head away and looked at the empty stage. He felt kind of guilty but that feeling disappeared, when the projectors lighted in green, red and blue and music sounded through the stadium. He was all ears and his orange eyes turned big. The crowd below energetically shouted, with hooves in the air.

Then like a thunder in a clear sky, a godly guitar rang out, marking the entrance of a red unicorn with a brown curly mane. He played his instrument very powerfully and moved in the center of the stage. Then a grey pegasus with bright hairs flew down and hit the drums. Then two earth ponies appeared, one of which was wearing an yellow jacket and the other a bass guitar. The vocalist had a short black hair and a charming mustache. His coat was white like snow.

He moved to the center were the unicorn was playing, while looking at the audience all the time with his brown sparklers. Everypony cheered and happily stamped the ground. The atmosphere was full with strong emotions.        

The vocalist closed his lips to the microphone and sang with a powerful voice. Lucky was in a complete ecstasy. His eyes watched the singer's every move, his ears listened to every sound of the beautiful music. Foxy's pain disappear after a while. She looked at the light show and didn't know what to think of it. The songs were catchy but it annoyed her greatly that one of her most important senses was blocked by the loud sounds.

Time went on and before many ponies knew it, the sun had moved behind the horizon and the night took over. There were very few stars in the dark sky because of the many clouds that had gathered on top of the city. Everypony was so fully enjoying themselves that none noticed the shadows, sneaking in the stadium.

The vocalist took a glass of water and poured it on his head. Suddenly he felt fresh and ready for the next song.

"Are you ready for more?!" he shouted at the audience, which cheered even harder. The white pony smiled and then went to the piano. The singer sat on the chair and pressed the piano key.

Lucky prodded Foxy on the shoulder, who was sitting very silently the whole time.

"This is my favorite song!" he shouted with excitement.

The ninja glimpsed him and then stared back at the stage. Suddenly Foxy lifted her head and listened carefully. For some reason, was it the lyrics or the music, a feeling of freedom and lightness moved through her body. The song was more than catchy, she thought. When it took speed, she sensed the need to fly on its rhythm. The music resonated with her soul and she lost track of time.

Then suddenly it ended, but the ninja was still floating in ecstasy. Lucky was extremely satisfied by the performance and smiled like a filly in front of a candy shop. The pegasus almost forgot about everything because they seemed to be so far away, when in reality they were so close. He looked at her and was pleased to see, that she enjoyed this piece of awesome music.  

"You liked it, eh?" he asked smilingly.

Foxy barely heard him because of the ringing in her ears. The ninja woke up and shook her head.

"I almost lost control over myself." she was breathing deeply. "This song is addictive and too dangerous for me."

The pegasus stood up and turned to her.

"If you want, we can leave now." he said with a serious tone.

Tail looked in his orange eyes and felt a warm feeling, she never sensed before. The ninja quickly turned her eyes away from him. That was the moment, when she noticed the flying knifes. It was too late for her to do anything because the blades struck deeply in his right side, one of which stabbed his wing.  

Lucky didn't move.

"It doesn't hurt at all!" he said.

The ninja jumped from her seat and stared at the shadowy figure. Black tentacles were waving in the air like snakes, that were about to attack. Tail didn't wait for the assassin to make his next move. She began galloping to him, when three new kunais were thrown in her direction. The ninja jumped in the air and dodged them completely. Foxy aimed her left leg forward and performed the flying kick. Before she touched the shadowy pony, he turned into a smoke and effectively dodged her attack.

Meanwhile, Lucky removed one of the blades from him. The white fur around the wound turned in red. He looked at the knife and noticed that it was covered with blood and a blue substance, which couldn't have been from him. Suddenly he felt dizzy and almost fell from the stadium's visor.

"Ninja! They are poisonous!" he warned with all his strength before collapsing on the ground.

Foxy landed hard but swiftly turned around to face her opponent, who got himself together in one piece. She heard the pegasus's warning and the ninja was going to proceed with caution.

"I knew you were after me, only to take my life, Blue Circle!" she said with dark voice. "You made a grave mistake!"

The shadowed pony didn't say anything. Suddenly a music sounded with very defined beat. Two tentacles were send at her and she quickly jumped to the side. Then they change their flight path and again headed at her. The ninja did complex aerobic moves, that confused her enemy. Tail managed to jump over every attack, that was sent at her and got very close to the dark pony.  

The incoming music was loud and the audience was screaming out of joy. The ninja swiftly sent a hoof into his cheek but he moved out of its way. She continued doing very powerful kicks in his direction but the shadowy pony kept dodging them left and right. Out of nowhere, the two shadows reappeared and aimed at her back. When they almost reached her, three other left from the black pony and went straight at her body. Foxy jumped again in the air and landed behind her attacker. The ninja thought she had him in a weak position but that changed, when a black wall of shadows slammed in her like a train. She flew backwards but successfully landed on her hoofs.

"Darn shadows!" she thought.

The calm look of her face changed to a wild one. Tail made a very a defensive pose and waited for the next attack, which came very shortly. Four kunais were flying towards her and they all were covered with blue stuff. She rolled forward, barely escaping the venomous knifes, that struck the concrete with great force.

Then she leaped forward and aimed her back leg at his head. The ninja's hoof touched only air because the ghost pony lost his shape and fell down on the ground. Suddenly a five black spears raised from the ground and pierced through her clothing and flesh.

"Crap. I just got outplayed!" she thought.

Tail fell hard on the cold concrete, bleeding very badly. The ninja shakily stood up on her legs, constantly staring at her adversary. Her mouth mask hit the ground and soon after bloody drops landed with a splash on it. Her white sharp teeth were smiling and her eyes completely changed to beast-like. Four long claws appeared on each of her hoofs, ready to  dismember the assassin piece by piece.      

The shadowy pony was unmoved by her sight, as if he doesn't know fear. Suddenly, Foxy charged with an incredible speed. In just two seconds, her pointed claws reached his body and began tearing it apart. She hit him with all her anger and only after a while the ninja noticed, that her hoofs were only striking a black smoke. With her peripheral vision, Tail noticed the incoming tentacles. Before they'd touch her, Foxy quickly turned and cut the black spears with her claws. The shadows fell on the concrete and violently vibrated. Then they disappeared with a flash.

Tail smiled in a demonic fashion but the dark pony kept coldly staring at her.

He opened his eyes very slowly and at first didn't know, where he was. The pegasus lifted his head and looked around, then suddenly he remembered. His eyes turned to where the blades had stabbed him. Lucky was astonished to see that the knifes had been pulled out from his body and the wounds were almost sealed.

"Regeneration and resistance to poison! Something she forgot to mention!" he thought.

Then he slowly looked at the two combatants, who were preparing for another clash.

"I need to help her!"

When Lucky got up, he was noticed by the shadow pony. Immediately it turned into a dark smoke and flew towards the pegasus, leaving a clone of himself to fight off the ninja. Foxy jumped like an animal on her opponent and cut him to pieces, which then flashed and disappeared into the nothingness. Her wild eyes turned to the smoke near Lucky and saw it shaping into a pony again.

Instantly tentacles flew off him, aiming at the white fur. Lucky instinctively ducked and the two shadows barely missed him. He then rolled to the right and got up again. Just for second, the pegasus lost the attacker from his sight and when Lucky looked at his position, there was nothing.

"Behind me!" a little sense alarmed in his head.

The pegasus turned around and was surprised to see there was no pony there again. A sweat moved from his forehead to his neck.

"Below you!" Foxy huskily shouted. She was galloping to him as fast her body let her.

The pegasus did what his instincts told him and he jumped upward with spread wings. His attempt to escape was a futile one because things, shaped into spears, surrounded him. In one of which, he saw two evil looking white eyes, staring at him. They were about to close him in a cage, in which his green medallion would be the only source of light, when the ninja got inside, grabbed him and together escaped the deadly trap.

They were flying down to the street below. Foxy was holding tide to him.

"Spread fully your wings and start waving those feathers of yours!" she yelled.

Lucky didn't react to her order and fearfully looked at the incoming ground.  

"Fly, you son of a pegasus!" she pressed her claw in his back. He felt great pain and groaned. However, the desired effect was achieved. His wings spread and Lucky unconsciously began flapping them like there was no tomorrow. Tail put another claw on a different spot and began controlling his flight path. They successfully escaped their certain doom and began gaining attitude.

"I can control your every action, but I'd prefer, if you'd stop being a scared filly and start playing the game!"

Her sharp teeth were only millimeters away from his ear, when Lucky angrily looked back at her.

"Remove your claws from me!" he showed his teeth, which seemed had grown a bit from the last time, the pegasus had a pissed off face.  

Tail did as he asked. Lucky felt a relief in his rear and now could freely fly around. Because of the new strength, he had no problems with her weight and steadily got them above the city's buildings.

"What's your plan?" he asked.

The riding ninja had only one thing in mind.

"Turn around and get me close to him, so I can remove his face from his head!" Foxy darkly said. Her eyes looked confident for what she was about to do. "I hope you are not frightened."

Lucky was uncertain at first but a feeling he never knew, quickly raised in his heart. Revenge for all the troubles in the past days, he wanted. The ex-Guardian tried to resist it but the adrenaline and the turmoil of his soul weren't helping him much in this case.

"Hold on to your plot!"

He quickly turned around and flied directly at the stadium. His pulse raised and with it their speed. The ninja concentrated on the moment and lifted her right clawed hoof. The wind blew his green mane like a flag. In the night they were like two pairs of orange circles that flew in straight like. The dark buildings on the two sides lagged behind and the lights below almost merged in two bright lines, that led to the light show, coming from the stadium.

The shadow pony hadn't moved and only stared at the incoming air attack. It's tentacles were waving very calmly, as if it knew they'd return for another round.

The ninja raised on two legs and crouched without breaking their balance. Her claws wanted flesh and they'd soon get one. The pegasus gulped and with it his final doubts disappeared. He didn't know how he was flying so correctly. What Lucky knew was that they were one big united force that was about to drop the hammer on their adversary's head.

Suddenly there was a flash from one of the roofs, which made Lucky's eyes hurt. The ninja noticed it and immediately looked at the direction, it came from. She was able to see a pony in the shadows, who then disappeared. The pain was so great, the pegasus lost control over his wings. The ninja clung to him and tried to stabilize him.

"Watch out for the wall!" she shouted in his ear.

He was flying with his eyes closed. Lucky made a hard turn and flew just a meter from the concrete stadium.

"Up, up! Building ahead!" the ninja warned.

It was too late for change in course and the two headed directly at a window on the second floor.

"Brace yourself!" she said.

Lucky had no time to prepare. The two went through the glass like a sharp knife into an unprotected flesh. Cristal clear pieces flew in all directions. Fortunately, the two ponies escaped the crash with only scratches. They continued to glide in the dark corridor.

The pegasus was flying in a drunk way. So, Foxy quickly pushed certain spots on his back to maneuver him in this tide space, full with obstacles like sofas and bookcases.  

They quickly got to the other end of the hallway and got out from the building by going through another window, shattering it to hundreds of smaller sharp crystals.

Suddenly voices sounded from one of the three doors.

"Did you like how it performed?"

"Yes, it will certainly help us in our cause! My master will be pleased to hear of your progress, Mr Just. Although I have one last question: how fast can you produce it?"

"The glasses and the neural connector can be manufactured in one hour by one pony. However, one amulet needs at least a day. The process is very delicate and we don't want to rush it."      

"Yes, I completely understand you."

The door opened and a pony in black clothing stepped inside the corridor. His brown eyes carefully scanned the hallway, as if he was looking for something.

"Volts, turn off the machine and lock the laboratory, if you please."

The yellow unicorn in white coat appeared from the door and when he touched the little pieces of glass, the inventor looked confusingly at the broken window.

"What went on here?"

"Probably only fillies playing on the rhythms of the music. Isn't a famous group performing there?" he pointed at the stadium, which was vibrating from the rocking sounds and cheers of the audience.

The unicorn nodded.

"You are probably right, dear sir. Do you want to join us for dinner? We will be having tasty green salads and magnificent apple pie." he looked with his charming blue eyes at his companion.

"I have to decline your offer. The road is long and the time is short." he said, while looking outside the untouched window. The ninja smiled. He knew exactly, who were here just a moment ago and they weren't fillies. The stallion was so bemused in his thoughts of the future, that he failed to notice the one blue maniac eye, which was staring him from the shadows.

When the two were out from the building, Lucky tried to slow their speed by going straight up to the cloudy night sky. The two ponies soon were high above the city. Soon their momentum was gone and they stopped in one place in the air. His wings were widely spread to the sides.

"I'll navigate you to the park! There I'll check your eyes." she said behind him. Her claws had sunk in his coat and didn't let go.

"Lead me."

Then the pegasus began flying to the park, with her guidance, which was near them. They cautiously landed next to the lake. The ninja got off his back and went in front of him.

"Open your eyes!"

Lucky slowly did as she ordered but he felt great pain in the process. She carefully checked them, then waved with her left hoof in front of him. They just stared back lifelessly, which made her worried.

"Close them now." she said calmly. He did so. Suddenly the ninja hit him in the cheek.

Lucky stepped back and shook his head. He was getting tired of being used as a punching bag and the stallion made a not so happy face.

"Can you see me now?" she asked.

He nodded.    

"What was that flash?"

"I don't know. At least the regeneration effect is doing its magic. Now, we have to quickly get out from the city and..." suddenly she sensed something behind her. Tail quickly turned around and sent her claws at the direction of the stalker. When Foxy focused on the figure in front of her, she ceased her attack. Her sharp claws were just a centimeter away from her blue neck.

"Ms Paint, what are you doing here?" Lucky surprisingly asked.

The shy unicorn didn't answer or move. She stood like a ghost, looking down at their hooves. Her mane had lost its pink color and now it was dead white. Her crystal eyes had a dark feel, coming from them. She was wearing only one thing: a necklace that had a piece of a red crystal.

The ninja looked suspiciously at her. Her hoof was still aiming for her neck and for some reason, Foxy felt the need to cut her. This aggression was coming from the deeps of her soul, where a mighty beast was waking up.  

Suddenly his medallion started flashing with green light, which puzzled Lucky.

Black tentacles quickly came out of her, which missed the ninja on purpose and headed straight for the white pegasus. They were about to stab him on multiple places, when they just fell on the ground, twisting violently and then disappearing with a flash. The ninja had cut all of them from the source. Now she looked at the lifeless unicorn like a predator. The snake tongue licked her teeth. It was feast time.

She jumped towards her but an invisible wall prevented her claws to start cutting her blue fur. Foxy quickly guessed, who was responsible for this and looked angrily at the pegasus. His green locket had a pink aura around it.

"Don't kill her! We need her alive for questioning!" he sounded very serious.

"You are crazy?!" she said with her demonic voice. "She tried to kill us! She deserves to die!"  

"Think logically! How can an artist from Canterlot learn such a technique? Something is manipulating her at the moment. Just look at her!"

Foxy turned her beastly eyes to the shy pony, who hadn't moved at all. There were no more tentacles waving from her.

"It's a trick!" she darkly said and then looked in all directions for Blue Circle. It was really dark in the park. The only lights were coming from the distant buildings in the background.

"Calm down, Foxy! Remember what you said about control?" he moved a little closer to them.

"Don't lecture me!" she roared.

Tail was ready to attack the unicorn, who was standing like a statue. Out of a sudden Rain Paint took a deep breath and blinked a few times. The shy pony looked at the two with frightened eyes.

"Where am I?" she asked with afraid voice.

"In the park." Lucky calmly said.

"How did I get here? I was at home, painting... it doesn't make any sense!" she looked very confused. Her eyes turned to the ninja and she became even more scared.

"Don't worry, she doesn't bite! Tell us what happened." he again moved closer.

"I-I had a weird dream, where I was a thief, who could move through walls and sense everypony's hearts." she paused for some reason and sadly looked at the black lake.

"Go on..."

"I-I don't know... I saw... bodies of ponies... that's when I woke up and began painting. It relaxes me, when I feel nervous, you know."

Lucky was now next to his partner, who needed only slight provocation to jump on the beautiful unicorn.

"Then you appeared here, right?"

"Yes..." Paint shyly looked down.

"The artist is either telling the truth or just acting very genuinely. How is she connected with the theft and the recent events? Was she really controlled by somepony behind the scenes? I get the feeling Paint wont hurt a fly but then all great pretenders hide behind masks to protect their true nature. I need more information!" he thought.

"Do you usually have such dreams?" Lucky asked. He pierced her with his orange eyes, watching her every action.

"Y-yes. I've been having them for an year. The first time I had one was, when I lived with Ms Rose." she sounded sincere. Paint turned again to the calm lake and gazed its surface. "By the way, where is your silk towel, Mr Lucky?"

"It's a short story but..." then he realized that Paint called him by his name but he never formally introduced himself to her. "How did you know my name?"  

She looked shocked at him.

"I-I... guessed?"

"Or you did a research about us like one pony said to me? Or you spied on us? Which is it?" Lucky made a confident step forward. He was onto something here and didn't want to lose its trail.

She looked very nervous and couldn't get a hold of herself. Suddenly a packed letter fell from under her left wing, which was immediately spotted by the two pairs of orange eyes. The ninja went and took it, while the pegasus didn't lose the unicorn from sight. Rain Paint was on the brink of her mental toughness.

"To Ms Blooming Rose. Ha, I guess this is the letter we were looking for." the ninja smiled.

"Read it!" Lucky said.

"Didn't our employer specifically want its contents to remain a secret?" she sounded very weird in her husky calm voice.

"Yeah, but she didn't mention that our lives were at stake here. Rules have changed and I want to know why we almost died many times because of this stupid letter!" Lucky was very serious.

The ninja without a doubt opened the packet and pulled out the yellow list, which was stained with purple stuff. Her eyes, which had returned to their normal states, began moving from one side of the message to the other.

"Stop!" Rain Paint screamed. "I don't want to hear it. My heart will break from sadness!"

Tears began forming in her pretty eyes. She fell on her knees and begged:

"Please, don't read it. My soul will be forever blackened by its words!"

The ninja looked at her with her typical emotionless eyes and then began reading it out loud.  

"My Love, Blooming Rose. How my heart desires you to be with me under the beautiful night. When stars are bright, I want to swim in your presence. Oh, how my soul aches, when you are so far away, my little sweet pumpkin. My hooves have not touched another one and my coat hasn't been dirty in many days.

When are we finally going to be together? Ponyville may not be Canterlot but here you'll be surrounded by love and inspirational nature. I await your answer, my little golden fish.

Signed: The Pony In The Jar?" the ninja confusingly looked at Lucky, who couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Noooo!" Rain Paint yelled with all her mild voice and spread her hoofs to the air. "Why Blueblood, why!? What?! The Pony In The Jar?!" the blue pony looked surprisingly at the ninja.

"What in Celestia's beard did I just hear?" Lucky seriously asked. He went to the unicorn and closed his face to her. "What is going on in here?"

"I-I don't know. I thought it was a love letter from Prince Blueblood to Rose." she said with a shaking voice.

"Blueblood? That sorry excuse of a stallion..." then it hit him like a train. He stepped back and facehoofed. "A love quadrangle! I never thought that it would be possible..."

"Hey, take your words back. Prince Blueblood may be strange but when you get to know him, you'll see that he is only shy and very emotional pony, who wants to be truly loved." she sounded awkwardly strong and brave.

"Yeah right. In my short service in the Royal Guards, I had to be his Guard for three painful days. Talk about arrogance and none stop complaints!"

"I don't care what you say about him. It only matters that I love him with all my heart." Paint sighed. "Oh, my Prince! To know that your heart is free, makes so much joy in my little soul!"

The ninja carefully watched her every move.

"Love is a weakness. Because of it, we almost died, though... is it worth dying for?" Tail unwittingly looked at the pegasus, who was shaking his head in disbelieve. She felt something small, something she couldn't name it. Was Tail getting attached to him, she did not know. The ninja quickly turned her attention to the blue unicorn and concentrated on the task. There was no room for other thoughts in their tricky situation.

"So, let me connect the strings." Lucky said. "You thought your friend was cheating with the Prince and you left her because of that, am I right?"

The unicorn shyly nodded and sadly said:

"I saw them a couple of times together, talking passionately about art. Days after that, the letters began coming, all addressed to Rose."

"You two were not in very good relations and you never told her why you behaved negatively towards her. Then you left after another altercation. You wanted to be far away from Canterlot and you ended up in Manehatten. However, your pain didn't fade away and soon you wanted revenge. So, you came back and stole the letter from her! Isn't that right?" he pierced her with his scary orange eyes.

"No! That's not true! Yes, my soul still hurt but I'd never commit such a crime. I never went outside Manehatten and I have witnesses!" the mare sounded offended of being accused of stealing like that.  

"Then how you got the letter?" he earnestly asked.

"I don't know. After one of my dreams, I woke up and it was laying on my bed. I never opened it to see its contents because I was too scared to do so. Then I just hid it under my sofa. I'm not the thief you are looking for!"

"A dream, eh? I'd say you payed a very high-skilled ninja to do the dirty work, while you have your little alibi." he closed his face to hers and stared deep in her soul.

Rain Paint was shaking from fear but somehow pulled some strength and defended herself:

"I have never met any ninjas in my whole life. I swear!"

"Then answer me this, how do you know my name?"

"I heard it in my nightmares!" her confused eyes watered. "There I murdered you..."

Lucky slowly stepped back. He had a thoughtful dark look.

"Dead end again! I have the feeling she is honest here but Paint is unknowingly connected with the thief. What's the purpose of the theft? Who is pulling her strings?"

Only more question emerged with no clear answers.

The ninja scanned the unicorn with sight from top to bottom. She just needed a little provocation, one wrong move to start cutting her to pieces. Her eyes stopped at the necklace with the strange piece of red crystal. It looked like it was cut from a bigger rhinestone. The shape resembled triangle with a single one hundred and twenty degree angle. Foxy wondered why it looked familiar, then suddenly she remembered.

She moved closer to the unicorn. Immediately the ninja felt a dark energy coming from the crystal.

"Lucky, check her necklace!"

"Why? I don't see anything wrong with it."

"Just come closer!"

The weather pony stood in front of Paint and then he sensed it too. His locket was shining more brightly and this made him very worried.

"What the? It wasn't there a moment ago." he then turned to the unicorn. "Where did you get this?"

"In front of our house in Canterlot. Somepony knocked on the front door but before I could answer it, the pony was already gone, leaving only this necklace on the ground." Paint took it in her hoof and looked at the bijou.

"You took an object from the ground from unknown pony, who didn't even show himself? How naive are you?" Lucky asked with unbelieving eyes.

She shyly looked away.

"I thought it was from my shinning Prince! I don't see, how my necklace is involved with your investigation?"

"A few minutes ago, you tried to kill my partner here. We suspect you were controlled by somepony. It could be via this crystal." the ninja pointed one of her claws at the cut triangle.

"Can we take a closer look?" Lucky curiously asked.  

"To kill... I'd never!" the blue unicorn exclaimed.

The ninja grabbed it from Paint's neck and pulled it to herself, breaking the golden chain in the process. The unicorn felt insulted by Foxy's act but didn't say a word. There was no time to be wasted in empty talks, so she began analyzing it closely. It definitely held residual energy used in Shadow Sun techniques.

"It's a capacitor." the ninja whispered. Her eyes slowly moved on its surface. She didn't want to miss anything important.

"What do you mean?" Lucky sounded confused.

"It holds only magical energy. It seems it has ran out of juice, that's why our unicorn here wasn't covered by shadows. Look, her mane is returning its original color. That's a sign her body is clean of Shadow Sun energy."

"Wait a second..." Lucky looked like, as if the bulb in his head turned on. "Back at the stadium, the dark pony cloned himself. Could she have created something like a clone, who'd do the things in her dreams? No, wait. Maybe her dreams were not parts of her imagination but they were what Paint saw from her clone's perspective?"

The ninja looked thoughtfully at the red crystal.

"I have limited knowledge on the shadow technique. Maybe it's possible. However, a clone needs orders. Without them he would not move. So, the question is: who is pulling the strings?" her orange eyes checked the dark surroundings. She was  expecting an attack because the ninja felt it in her guts. "The only pony, who knows how to utilize Shadow Sun is my ex-husband!"

"The painting? How can somepony utilize a painting and for what purposes?" Rain Paint sounded very confused.

"Yes, that's the name of the project you worked with Rose. What a coincidence to name it after a ninja technique, eh? Now on a serious note, Ms Paint, you've been having the dreams before or after you took the necklace?"  

"It was after." she silently answered.

"This is it!" Lucky turned to Foxy. "Your ex-husband must have a finger in this whole thing, but then why'd he want to kill us? Didn't he want you to join his cause to fight an imaginary evil goddess? What is his game?"

Her eyes turned even colder from the mentioning of him.

"He is mad, as I told you. No pony knows what is going on in his sick mind! I guess he was originally after me and when you came along, he decided you'd prove to be a good game."

"It doesn't add up!" Lucky negatively shook his head. "If he wanted to kill you, then he'd do so, without complicating the act of the kill. Why would he involve innocent ponies? I think there is a hidden agenda here and it's not merely killing for fun."  

"Excuse me for interrupting, but why is the crystal flashing?" the unicorn pointed at the necklace. The two were looking at each others eyes, when the red light shined on their faces.

Before they could slightly move, the bright light, that was coming from the red crystal, enveloped them. In just a blink of an eye, they disappeared into thin air. Rain Paint watched with horror the empty space, where the strange ponies used to be. She couldn't take it anymore and collapsed unconscious on the grass.

Two blue eyes appeared from the dark woods. They had a spark in them, the spark of success.  

Next Chapter: Chapter 13: Welcome To The Jungle Estimated time remaining: 13 Hours, 12 Minutes