"The dinner was so delicious, that I can have another meal. The bread, the flowers and the green salad were magnificent. Wouldn't you try some at least?" the voices were coming near the lonely guestroom.

"I told you already. I can't eat anything except apples. Everything else tastes like nothing and doesn't satisfy my hunger."

"Have you wondered about how they really taste?"

"No. It's only food and besides there are far more important things to think about."

"Well, I'm glad that at least I'll be able to enjoy different food. I can't imagine myself to eat only apples to the rest of my life."

The two appeared in front of the dark room. They went inside and stood in front of the comfortable bed. Foxy looked at his calm face. He had closed his brown eyes. His green spiked mane gave him a smart look. There were some bruises here and there on his cheek, indicating that he was recently in a battle for life or death.

"I choose the right side." Lucky said.

"Fine by me."

Then the two ponies split up, silently went to the two sides and lay down on the cozy bed. The bedding was yellow with some simple orange and brown figures. Lucky went under the coverlet and turned his back to her. The ninja didn't use the coverlid. Tail only stared at the ceiling.

"Good-Night, Foxy!" the pegasus said with a tired voice. His tummy was full and his organism wanted some sleep after the long day.

"May it be good." she quietly answered.

The silence took over in the room. There was only darkness, which her orange eyes impaled like two neon orbs. She tried to close them and dive in the deeps of her imagination, but for some reason Tail was unable to sleep. Something was preventing her mind to have its rightful rest and that bothered her a lot.

"Lucky?" she asked gently to not wake him up, if he was already asleep.

"Mhm."

Tail hesitated for a moment but she felt the need to start another little conversation.

"How did your parents choose your name?"

Lucky turned on his back. He was little surprised that she asked him such a question in this late time.

"My mother's lucky number was seven and my father's was eight. When I was born, they named me Seven Eight but it didn't felt right, so they began calling me Lucky Eight. Why do you ask?"

Foxy looked at him.

"I can't sleep, so..."

"No problem. I can stay awake all night, if you need company." he smiled, which made her feel a bit better. "And yours?"

"My mother wasn't the one, who gave me my name. It was a mysterious voice, that whispered it in the ears of my tutors." she answered a bit coldly. She didn't know the pony, responsible for her birth and her love. Her eyes turned to the chandelier and asked: "Do you still have nightmares?"

"I haven't had a single nightmare since the destruction of the temple, which is a big relief. I thought that I was going mad at one point but luckily I have found peace. And you?"

She hesitated to answer. Foxy felt a little uncomfortable to talk about it, though the little feeling inside her urged the strong pony to do so.

"I don't usually dream. The place where I go, when I close my eyes, is the darkness inside me but something changed. I've begun to dream too. Lucky, what kinds of dreams you are having?"

The pegasus was a little embarrassed, though tried to hide it.

"Sad to hear that you had nightmares like me." he sighed and thought how to avoid answering her question. "I-I dream of beautiful green fields that have a lot of wonderful flowers. There are little cuddly white clouds in the blue sky and birds sing their lovely songs. Although sometimes I dream of being in the concert in Manehatten and singing along with Free Mercury. And there are other dreams that are equally pleasant though a little strange at times."

The ninja suspiciously looked at him. Everything he said, was also true for her. In her dreams there was one constant and that was him, who always smiled and helped her experience the reposes in ways that were extremely enjoyable and they always ended with the sweet kiss.

"Em... what about you?" his voice brought her back in the real world.

"You know, ninja stuff. A lot of fighting and me kicking plot right and left. Throwing stuff in general direction and walking in some awkward mazes." she managed to cover her secret very carefully from him. How could they have the same dreams was beyond her, though she did not fear this. Tail actually felt very intrigued and only wanted to learn more.

"Hm, the dreams are such illogical things, though someponies say that they reflect our thoughts and feelings in a twisted way. No pony has ever figured out what's their real purpose but many believe that we need them to make sense of the world around us."

"In what do you believe?" she sounded interested.

"I believe... it doesn't matter actually." he looked a little crestfallen.

"It does matter." Tail, turned to him and placed her hoof on his chest. "If you don't find respect in yourself, then how could you give respect to others. Your will, knowledge of yourself and the flame that powers your being are three forces that need to be guided carefully to the perfect balance. Then there will be no force stopping you."

"Have you achieved this 'perfect balance'?"

Lucky unconsciously touched her black hoof with his white one. The warmth melted a lot of ice blocks, getting closer to the shielded palace, which was protected by corroded dark walls. The energy moved from his heart, through her hoof, then to her beastly motor and back. What a sensational feeling this was for him.

"No pony can. Only the masters, who devote all their lives on meditating, get close to achieving the balance but even they can not reach it. This is something all ninjas aim at, when training to become more powerful fighters. Only deluded ponies think that it's accomplishable."

The energy, that was jumping from him to her and back, began to increase its power and frequency. Lucky began breathing with little difficulty. Then he noticed how her leg was pushing for his chest, slowly crushing him. However, he was feeling so good, that the pegasus couldn't think properly. Their connection was intoxicating. No muscle moved to set him free from this deadly trap.

"Does your life matter?" Foxy sounded very cold. Her eyes had the flashes of the beast's rage, that constantly tried to escape from the little black cell inside her deeps. Her leg pressed onto his center with more force, thus his bones began to hurt from the pressure. Lucky was fully aware of the situation he was in. However, his body barely responded to his commands. He could only watch how Tail was slowly crushing him.

"Come on! Cling to life, if it matters. Pull all your strength, find the thing that gives you the will to fight. Ignite the soul!"

Lucky could feel his ribs bent to the point of braking. He knew that she was not joking around. If Foxy wanted, she could easily kill him, without trying to deliver him a message. He had to play her game.

The winged pony focused his entire being and aimed it at his only attempt to free himself. He slowly spread his right wing and closed it to her. His feathers began waving up and down, tickling her unprotected tummy. She quickly removed her hoof from him and curled to defend herself from the powerful tickle. Lucky rosily grinned. It was a great pleasure to torture her like that. To combat his attack, Foxy barrow-rolled to him and stopped just on top of his wing, immobilizing it completely.

Her orange eyes looked at his smiling face and that made her feel very good.

"How did you know?"

"Well, you said that your outfit is magical. For a warrior to be good, he or she must sense the world with his or her own body. So, I've figured that if it lets water inside, then you should feel tickles too. By the way, you are crushing my right wing."

"Does it hurt a lot?" her demonic stare impaled him.

"It does." Lucky said with a painful voice. "Good thing I come with a pair, so I'll use the left one to drive you out of my side of the bed!"

He closed his left one to her, preparing for another tickle attack, but instead his feathers gently touched her. Every time his plumage made contact with her body, immense waves of feelings went through their hearts. Their cheeks slowly turned rosy. Their big eyes met in this very short and hot space. Her were corrupted by a demon, his were dead, but they seemed so similar to each other. They both had seen and experienced pain. Their tortured souls only wanted somepony to love, though none would admit it.

What was going on with her and him? Foxy would never let anypony so close to herself. Lucky was not a type of pony, who would do romance. So dear reader, what am I seeing? Those two pony hearts were meant for each other. They'll support each other. Words unknown described their new bond, their souls were destined to conquer the tops of ice.

"Would you let me retract my wing, at least? I can barely feel it." his voice pierced the silence.

She lifted her body. The pegasus was finally able to pull his wing and felt such a relief. The ninja was weighing unusually high for her elegant figure, but that was because of the nature of her mutation. Part pony, part dragon and that showed in her personality and body.

Foxy liked what she experienced and her nature asked for more.Tail grabbed his left wing and used it as a coverlet. The protest came shortly:

"Hey, that's my wing!"

"And what about it?" Foxy looked at him, as if she was expecting an attack. "I'm not going to separate you from your pride, so stay cool."

"Actually, it feels great." he thought. "Why am I protesting then?"

He relaxed and let his wing spread on her body like a white mantle. They both liked it. Slowly their minds marched to the lands of beauty and mystique, though their souls were still connected and didn't let go.

Meanwhile...

The forest was quiet, only few night owls flew in the dark night. A lot of bats sounded between the old trees, scanning for their surroundings and prey, which were tiny insects. They were the real lords of the forest at moment and only the dawn could remove them from their rightful place.

Suddenly, shadows moved on the ground. They we quick and absolutely silent. The shades looked like ghost, that brought with them only death. However, their mission was to save the world from utter destruction and their time was bleeding away too fast.

Blue Circle moved closer to Triple Spirit. They now galloped alongside each other. The two leaders were ahead of the group, which was consisted of fully prepared ninjas. They were ready to jump in the fires and follow Triple to the bitter end.

"What you meant by dieing like a warrior? You are not planning to sacrifice us, right?" he said quietly, so that the others wouldn't hear him.

"No, the Guardians must live on." Triple said breathlessly. "However, I don't see myself among the living after this deed. You see, my body is not what it used to be. I've grown too old and my reflexes are not lightning fast. Even this gallop tires me immensely."

"Then do not participate in the assassination. I'll lead them around the traps and dangers and will do the deed without unnecessary killing."

"No!" the old one said with his powerful voice, that made the other ponies feel a little uneasy. "There is no need to kill the Dragon's leader. He will answer for his cowardice like it was written in the laws. If we can't reason with him, then we will make him pay with his own blood."

Circle looked disbelievingly at him.

"You believe that he will just bow down and surrender? The war showed that he will throw hundreds of lives to the slaughter, just to achieve his goals. If I did that with my ponies, I'd be removed from my position and sentenced to death. We will be met with brute force. Even you can't deny this."

The old unicorn was silent for a bit. If times were a bit younger, there would not be any bloodshed. The war changed a lot. Their ninja world was no longer a place of honor and respect to the history. Ancient villages were burned, a lot of families had their heirs murdered and were destined to perish in the burned land. No ninja trusted the pony next to him cause he or she could be a spy from the opposing side. The true warrior spirit was gone and with it the balance, that many tried to preserve. The unicorn was from a generation that lived in more peaceful times, that seemed so far at the moment.

"If only I intervened in the conflict, maybe I would have stopped the destruction." he said with some anger in his voice. "No more can I stand and watch how ninjas kill each other because of hatred and revenge. We need to be the beacon of hope for the rest of the ponies. We have to show them that we can create another world, in which we can live in peace. This day may not come in the following day, week or year but if we don't fight for it, then we are doomed to repeat the history."

"Don't feel sorry for our actions that led to the massacres. Are you really sure that you want to take part in this?"

"I haven't been more sure than ever. I'll fight alongside you like every ninja here. We'll stop the evil from completely destroying our world." Triple looked confidently at Circle. The shadow ninja nodded,

They continued their gallop through the woods on a mission, that would lead them to paths, which only one being had seen them. The Princess of Darkness watched carefully how everypony danced to the symphony of destruction.

Back in Manehatten... are you following me, reader?

A shade silently moved through the dark blue corridors, though that was not their true color. It went over bookcases and marble busts. It was cautious. Like a phantom, no traces were left of its presence in the big house.

Soon the shadow found the closed door and went underneath it. On the other side, a black pony figure formed from the black spot. His white eyes scanned the room for hidden traps, though he doubt that the inventor would put such things in his bedroom.

The Jester slowly closed to his bed, so that he would not wake him. Out of a sudden, in front of him appeared a dark alicorn, that wore a red medallion on a golden chain. Her big scary eyes impaled him but the dead dragon spirit stood before her without any fears.  

"Good evening! You look beautiful as always, Princess." he greeted very quietly. "Tell me, darling, what brings you here?"

"You do not obey me, shadow. Obey your master!" her voices sounded very strange, as if it came from far away.

"Oh, you should know that I'm completely out of your reach. I've made sure that you'll never touch me again with your corrupting tentacles." the Jester made one step to her. "Are you annoyed? Do you actually feel anger? Do you want revenge for ruining your plans?"

The alicorn stood like a statue.

"Oh, I've permanently sealed the portal and by that I've sent shock waves through time and space, that have warned you in the past or the future... I guess, only you know. Yeah, playing with time is a fun thing. You never know what visions you can bring to someponies, he-he." the shadow looked at the sleeping yellow unicorn, who didn't looked very well. "I see that you have changed your approach. How long have you been corrupting him? Months? Years?"

"This world will be consumed."

"Yes, of course!" he nodded positively. "But by whom? How I see it, you are far in space but I am right here, inside the protective shield. While I'm fulfilling my glorious plan, you sit somewhere among the stars and watch how I conquer this rock. Do you like the view from there?"

Shadow Sun only stared at his black figure. She was completely rid of any emotions, they got washed away by the supernova.

"Ah, what a long week this was. I've been hunting and killing your minions and some occasional ninjas. I have to confess, the ponies gave me a lot of amusement, unlike those boring shades." he made another silent step to Her. "They moved slowly and did not even react to a thread. Too easy for my taste. In one moment, I thought that this would prove to be a tedious repetitive task but then I arrived in the ninjas' camp, near the portal. Oh, you just don't know how good it was to hear the battle cries and the screams of the dying. I haven't had so much fun in years. Imagine a total chaos, that is, if you can, ha-ha."

The Princess looked like She was not amused in the slightest. Her eyes stared at his, which were empty of any soul.

"What? Can't I have some fun, even though I'm dead?" the Jester was just in front of the black alicorn. "Why are you so silent now, my dark love? Let me ignite your black hearth!"

The Jester of Flame closed his head to Hers and kissed Her. As soon as his lips touched her mouth-less face, She began spreading Her influence inside him in an attempt to take control over him. He let her go deep and eventually Shadow Sun found what she wanted. A green spiral emerged from his body and moved towards his head.

Then the Jester slowly moved away and grabbed the emerald crystal with his tentacle. He wouldn't want it to be in her hooves or bad things might happen.

"You are a still damn good kisser, my darling. I felt your tongue in the bottoms of my dark body. However, honey, this is not for you." he lifted up the medallion and softly waved it in front of her face. He continued with a very evil white smile: "You want this? Yes, you desire it very much cause once, it was a part of your heart. This is the key for this world and for my genius gate, which I want it to remain closed to outsiders like you. Although I do love you my Princess, this world is too small for both of us. Now, if you excuse me, I have business to attend to."

His white eyes flashed and her figure slowly disappeared into the thin air, though her stare stayed a little longer.

"A bit better." the shadow looked at the sleeping unicorn. He seemed troubled in his dream. His coat was soaked with heavy sweat, as if he was suffering from an heinous disease. Phoenix looked like a living mess, that tries to hold its guts in one place.

Then the shade turned to the red medallion that was lying on a short table, next to the bed. There was a spark of success in his eyes. He carefully approached it and studied its triangular shape.

"The power and corruption piece." he whispered. "You are one powerful little medallion, that has served its purpose very well. Now it's time for you to take some rest, isn't that right, Mr Phoenix? You want to be free of Her harmful will, right? Well, let me help you then."

His eyes flashed three times in green, red and blue. The red crystal changed its color from red to black and then returned to its original color.  

"Now She will not touch you anymore, though there's a price for this favor, Mr Phoenix." the shadow pony grinned in an evil manner. "You are now mine!"

He silently backed away and looked at the sleeping yellow pony.

"May you have pleasant dreams. Hm, I think it's almost time for our ninjas to arrive in this beautiful city. Let me greet them like a good host."

Then the pony figure turned into a black spot on the ground and left the bedroom.

Above the sea, near Manehatten...

In the black sky a lonely aircraft flew towards the hundreds of lights, that were coming from the Big city. It was almost invisible for the naked eye. Its shape was of a delta with very long wings. Two powerful engines made it possible for this creation of metal and wood to fly. It was painted in dark colors and was very quiet. Three air-balloons were placed inside its body and wings. Only their tops stuck out like little hills. The bridge was placed on the nose. It was a wide wooden room with a lot of panels and indicators, that measured the height, the power and speed of the craft.  

The captain was an experienced ninja and a pilot. His watchful purple eyes scanned the approaching coastline and from time to time, he'd glimpse at the panels. He was a little nervous cause they were tasked with transporting delicate equipment, for which there was almost no room. The last time he was in Equestria, the captain had to rendezvous with Number One and his ninjas but they never came. They couldn't search for them, so now he was bringing additional ponies to help in the searching for their missing comrades. The captain had to drop them in the middle of the city, which he was totally against but the new commander had some nasty ways to persuade ponies.

"Are we there yet?" the pony with the red and purple outfit asked behind him. He was tough, though his grey eyes were full with pain.

The captain didn't look back, when he coldly answered:

"The windshield is in front of you. Look by yourself."

"When this is over, you and I will have some fun together. Better start sharpening your sword, captain." the red ninja said provocatively.

"I use kunais and knifes, idiot!" the captain thought. "Don't worry, I'll send you to the other side soon."

The blue ninja turned to the crew member, who was on his left.

"Slow us, Shopski. We do not want to be heard by anypony. And don't overdo it this time. There aren't any lonely fields for emergency landings."

"Yes, captain."

"Don't ignore me, captain." the red ninja approached him. "I know that deep inside you, there is a demon that demands blood. So, turn around! I want to see the demon from your eyes."

The blue ninja tried to distance himself from this annoying intruder. He needed a cold head to control the air-craft without mistakes. The Equestrian city was growing bigger and bigger and the pilots had to be completely focused on the task at hoof.

Suddenly, the pony behind him grabbed his shoulder and forcefully turned him around. His grey eyes stared wildly at his purple ones. He could feel the rage inside the commanders heart and also smell the bad breath coming from his mask. Somepony had brought cider on board, which was strictly forbidden.

"Oh yeah. You want to kill me badly. I recognize this look on your eyes." the red pony sounded very darkly.

"I'm the captain and I do not kill anypony on my ship." he stayed cool, despite really wanting to hit his chin. "You smell of cider. I want to know who brought the alcohol on board!"

"My ponies did, under my orders and you will stay quiet about it. Got it?!"

"You are not my commander, so I will not. I demand the remaining cider to be stacked and thrown off board immediately! Do you not have respect for the rules?"

The drunk pony smirked.

"Here, I am the Law. You will follow my orders or I'll cut you all, especially the long horn of yours." he was very threatening but the blue ninja fearlessly stood his ground.

"You do realize that I and my crew are the only ponies that are able to fly this ship in the entire ninja world? Who will bring you back, eh? You are just a replaceable warrior, so give respect to the real lords and do as told!"

The red ninja slowly backed away. He shook his head and smirked.

"So you think you are unique? You are as replaceable as me or every other ninja. In front of our leader, we are all equal, from the simple farmer to the general. Your time will come and you will realize how wrong you are." then he turned away and headed to the steel door. The small lamp illuminated his body in a very dark way. Deep shadows covered half of his body. This pony was a product of the war and many like him just wanted to find peace from the hell, they were living in. Some found it in drinking, others cut themselves in the hearts and some just went crazy.

He opened the door and before leaving, the veteran ninja said:

"We all are pawns of our master. We all fight for the glory of our clan. We are comrades here and comrades should not point their blades against each other. I like your attitude, so I'll personally throw the cider off the air-ship. But never again stand on my way or you'll land hard on the ground!"

Then he left with steady steps, without closing the door. The captain was pissed by this scene, which almost every crew member of his saw. They were a little scared. The pony who just left happened to be the notorious survivor from one of the bloodiest battles from the war. There were so many fallen ponies on the battlefield that the ground turned red and the only pony standing was he, through barely breathing. His body was stained with so much blood that his brown color was completely gone. The battle lasted for three painful hours, in which ponies mindlessly killed ponies. There was no creature that could walk away from such a massacre and not get mental problems.  

One of the crew approached the captain. She was the youngest in the group. She was an earth pony with a cyan fur and short blue mane. Her innocent look could calm anypony and her ringing voice was music to all ears.  

"Captain, don't fall to his level. His heart is long dead and he only seeks death."

The unicorn sighed.

"I only wish that the leader didn't put us with them on this mission. Veterans from the war are just pain in the plot to deal with." He turned his purple eyes to her. "Soon we will get out of this madness and I promise you all, that we will live in peace like one family."

"What do you mean?" asked the pilot behind the rudder.

The captain silently went to the door, closed it and then turned around.

"After they leave the ship, we will not head to the planned destination. We will head west to the mountains and there we will land. The others will never find us and we will forever be free from the tyranny of our leader."

The other three ponies looked at each other in a confused manner.

"Are you sure this will work?" the pilot asked.

"What if not all leave the ship?" the cyan pony asked.

"Trust me, I've planned everything. We only need to tell the other two members about this. If there are ninjas remaining on board, I'll deal with them quickly. Strong Breeze, could you bring me my belt with the kunais." the blue ninja turned to the earth pony. "Voyager, could you tell the others about the plan. I'll need them ready, if things get complicated."

"This is too risky. What if I get caught by the others?" she looked a bit scared.

He went closer to her and friendly smiled.

"If you do, then I'll come and rescue you. I'd never let anything to happen to you or everypony under my command. Think of this as a game of hide and seek. Please, I do not want to see fear in your beautiful pink eyes. Everything will be okay."

She nodded.

"Alright, are you with me or against?" he turned to everypony in the bridge. They all answered positively. "Then let's get started!"

The metal door opened and two ponies left the room. The captain took control over the ship. Under his calm appearance, he was struggling with his fears. If they did not pull this off, they'd be dead in an instant, despite being the only ponies, who could fly this machine. He didn't want his crew to suffer and only hoped for a good end.

Suddenly, there was an explosion from inside the air-ship. The captain looked very worried at his colleague, when the air-craft began leaning on the left. The unicorn used his horn's magic and began working on the panels to level the ship. The pilot turned the helm to the right but it didn't help at all. The captain went to the windshield and looked outside. His eyes froze, when he spotted that half of their ship was missing. He immediately turned around and shouted:

"Abandon shi..." he was stunned by the sight of the pilot's dead body hitting the floor. There was a black pony figure behind the helm. Dark tentacles were coming from his back. Its white eyes had sparks of joy. It liked to cause destruction cause killing was his business.

"Hi there, dear captain! Were you leaving for somewhere?" he asked mockingly.

Then the unicorn was impaled by three tentacles, which cut deep in his body. The life quickly got out from him and the last thing he saw, was his loved pony, who just entered the bridge. She was completely shocked by the scene. Voyager couldn't believe what was happening. His dead body fell hard on the floor. Her heart was almost torn apart. The shade noticed her and in an instant turned around.

"Oh, we have a beauty here? It would be a shame, if there were some holes in your elegant body." he smiled in a dark way. "One advise little pony: run!"

Voyager woke up from the shock, quickly turned around and began galloping away from the bridge. Her instincts had kicked in and she only wanted to save her own skin. Not once did her eyes turned in the direction of her fallen friends. The shade didn't pursue her, cause Voyager had to deliver a message to one white pegasus. The Equestrian authorities had to know about the Dragon Claw's operations in their lands and she was going to inform them in great detail.

The air-craft's nose pointed at the sea. It was slowly spinning on its axis and in a few short moments it crashed into the waves, shattering into many pieces of steel and wood. It was loud and the fountain of salt water was high. Only one pony managed to jump before the inevitable collide, though there was one more who survived by staying in the armored cargo hold. Despite his bunker beginning to fill with cold water, the red ninja was able to escape this sinking tomb and swam to the shore.

Next Chapter: Chapter 20: The Morning Was Unexpected Estimated time remaining: 9 Hours, 43 Minutes