Youth

A passing raven flew overhead. It passed just above the head of a playing filly. He stopped his game as he watched the raven fly towards the horizon. He was in the middle of playing tag with a handful of other friends. Currently, he was it. He stopped giving chase and his attention was on the raven, it was just so unusual. His friends were now eyeing him curiously, all previous enjoyment lost instantly.

“Hey Synth, we’re over here.” One of the slightly older colts said. Synth barely noticed him as the raven now turned around and headed back towards them.

“Yo, Synth. You’re still it.” A younger colt said who was getting impatient.

The raven now dipped down and landed on the top of a hill. His beak dropped something that glinted in the sunlight. Synth’s curiosity got the best of him and he waved goodbye to his friends. They just continued the game without him and decided on a new ‘it’.

Synth walked over to where the raven was sitting. They weren’t exactly common in Canterlot, because the lack of forestry around. He must have traveled a long distance to get there. Synth reached where the raven was at first, but the raven was nowhere in sight. He looked around the grassy hill and noticed something reflecting sun off of itself.

Synth reached over and lifted the object into the light. He could now see the words engraved into the metal. He wasn’t very good at reading at the time, because he didn’t find the usefulness in reading. He turned the metal object around in his hooves and examined it closer. It was heavy, and looked like a flat paperweight.

Synth put it into his saddlebags that he was wearing, and began his slow walk home. It was probably nothing, but he wanted to show his parents nonetheless. The object looked like it had a lot of meaning, he just didn’t know what. Synth was walking down the street towards his house. If he stopped to notice his surroundings, he would have seen a pony wearing black was sitting across from his house watching everypony that went by.

Synth reached the door and was already magically grabbing the metal object out of his bag. He opened it and entered quickly. Shutting the door like he did every day, he put his saddlebags at the doorway and put the metal object on the kitchen table. He walked in expecting his mom to be waiting to give him a hug and welcome him home.

The house was deathly silent. The only noise was from Synth’s own breathing as he looked around. His inner child was expecting them to jump out and yell surprise for a party he didn’t know was for him. It never came. Instead, Synth heard a muffled scream from the room nearest to the door.

Synth ran up to the door and opened it unsure of what was going to happen. When he opened the door, he saw his mother was gagged and tied up in the middle of the room. Synth ran over to her and bombarded her with questions. She only shook her head as one of the shadows in the room came forward. Synth turned around but it was too late.

He received a massive blow to the head for a child. He was on the ground holding his damaged cranium. The figure just gave a cruel laugh as Synth went into the fetal position. After a moment’s thought he figured out something was terribly wrong. The figure was now looking over Synth as Synth slowly exited his body position.

“Get up.” The figure told him. Synth just stayed down with the fear of getting hit, fighting against the fear of his mother’s predicament.

“I said get up!” The man kicked Synth in the gut and he held his stomach now.

Synth slowly rose onto his hooves and looked up to face the man. He didn’t look very old, maybe a few years younger than his parents. He had a faded light blue coat with a greyish mane. He had a sheathed blade at his side. His cutie mark was a brown balancing scale that was tilted to the left. The man looked at Synth for a while before motioning for him to follow. Synth complied with fear of getting hit still on his mind. When they exited the room, he noticed his entire living room looked different.

Where there had once been pictures of him and his family, now stood bare shelves. The decorations on the wall were gone and a faded imprint of where they were was left on the wall. Synth saw two unfamiliar Pegasus in the corner of the room where Synth’s father was putting things into a bag.

“Synth!” His dad called out. Synth felt like running up to him, but one of the Pegasus hit his dad in the back of the head hard. He decided it’d be best if they didn’t get on their bad sides.

Synth had never heard of a robbery before, let alone learned how to deal with one. There were of course those ponies every now and then who did the wrong thing, but they usually learned right from wrong. This group of ponies were professionals though, they’d been doing this for years now and have yet to be caught.

“Shut up and get back to filling.” The Pegasus said shoving his father down. Synth felt bad for what they were doing. It was just mean and cruel.

Soon, Synth was also given a bag and with his dad, they filled them up with their valuables. When they were almost finished, one of the Pegasus came back into the room bringing his mother.

“Hey boss, why don’t we have some fun before we go?” The Pegasus smirked and Synth felt his father stiffen next to him.

“I don’t see why not. We might as well leave them something to remember us by.” The unicorn said now grinning and approaching Synth’s mother.

“Get away from my mom!” Synth yelled.

The two Pegasus ignored him, but the unicorn looked in his direction.

“Or what? You going to do something about it punk?” The unicorn asked Synth.

“My dad’s not gonna let you hurt her!” Synth yelled confident that his dad could stop anything. His dad however, just flinched and looked away from Synth.

“Oh really? This your dad huh? Then how about we test that, Moe bring her here.” The unicorn nodded to one of the Pegasus and he brought over the struggling mare.

The unicorn suddenly pulled out the blade from his side. He used his magic to clasp it in his hooves. He moved it towards Synth’s mom and it rested under her throat.

“Now, what were you saying?” The unicorn asked and Synth looked to his dad to find him shaking and covering his face. “That’s what I thought…” He moved the sword away from the throat and pointed it at Synth.

“Nopony can save you. That’s how cruel and wicked this world is. No matter how much you cry, and how much you mourn, nopony can save you.” He said this as if speaking from the heart. Then he walked up to Synth and hovered it under his throat by nearly an inch.

“I think it’s time to show you how bad this world really is…” The unicorn said as he brought the blade closer, light gleaming off the sharp edge. Synth was now shaking at the fear he felt. This was the first time he was ever threatened. His childhood innocence made him refuse the fact that he was dying. When the unicorn was about to cut his throat, Synth just stared back to defy his words until the end.

“Die, you worthless piece of trash. I hope you burn in the deepest pits of Tartarus.” He said and awaited Synth’s reply. It was his thing, to let his victims get the last words.

Something compelled Synth to leave his childlike mentality and mature for the next few moments of his life. He squinted his eyes as he whispered just enough for the unicorn to hear. “I’ll see you there…” Synth said and he saw the anger in the unicorn’s eyes.

There was a loud explosion of pure energy. The windows allowed for a bright light to shine through them and blinded all of the criminals. When the explosion came, the unicorn pulled back his sword to block his eyes. Synth felt his body moving on its own. He went completely off of his body’s instincts, as he lunged forward and kicked the sword out of the unicorn’s grasp.

The sword stuck into the wall and the unicorn fell back. Synth felt energy enter him as he ran forward and jumped on the fallen unicorn. He pinned him down and threw kicks to the face and one into the nose of the unicorn. He was thrown off of the unicorn as the Pegasus recovered from the blinding light and found Synth on their boss.

Synth was thrown against the wall as the rumbling aftereffect of the explosion caused an earthquake to shake the house. Suddenly there was a loud creaking and the sound of something breaking. Sure enough, a large tree was knocked over, landing directly into the wall of the house. Synth got up off the floor to find the tree had landed right next to him.

Synth looked up and found the Pegasus once again in shock from the earthquake. Synth looked where the tree had made a hole in the wall. Through the hole, he saw a circle of rainbow light streaking the sky in the most visible and clearest sight he’d ever seen. It stirred something inside Synth. He realized just what he was capable of. The cruelty of what he’d been through and the anger he felt at the trio now standing in the middle of the room shocked, all mixed together into one emotion. Revenge.

You three… why are you here?” Synth almost yelled.

Synth could feel his body go in a trance as the magic in his horn started to work. Synth had barely used magic before, and it was usually the simple levitation spell. He did know one other spell though, and that was the spell that was being cast. He felt the energy in his horn activate and suddenly the collapsed tree grew out long branches and instantly surrounded the pair of Pegasus.

“Leave us alone!” Synth yelled at them.

Synth felt the power he had, what he could do with it. He couldn’t control himself anymore; he felt his feelings leave him as the tree branches wrap around the Pegasus. They tried to wiggle out, but they were in tightly. Suddenly a single long branch sharpened itself and floated in front of the Pegasus and then outstretched to form two different sharp points. They were both pointed at the skulls of the Pegasus.

Synth didn’t even know what was happening immediately, be he did know that it felt great for some reason. He smiled as the long branches now were inches from their heads. Before Synth knew what was happening, the branches lunged forward and pierced right through the skulls of the Pegasus with a sickening crunch. The blood flow didn’t stop and the branches loosened their bloody grip, dropping the bodies to the floor.

“And you…” Synth said with a devilish grin on his face.

Synth turned towards the remaining culprit as the unicorn backed away trying to get his sword. Synth’s branches reached him though, and he was pulled into the air by the tough wood. Synth gave a wicked laugh and the unicorn tried to pull away. The unicorn watched in horror as the single wooden tentacle reached its way in front of the unicorn.

The unicorn knew that his day would come, but he never expected it to be like this. Death at the hands of a child. “Please…” He whispered trying to beg his way out of death.

Synth madly shook his head as the tentacle pierced the unicorn’s skin underneath where the heart was. It pulled itself out and covered the wound with a wooden stitching. It then retracted ready to pierce more skin. It hovered over the heart before slowly inching forward. Synth’s laugh was truly insane as he watched the death of the unicorn come closer and closer.

‘Is this really what you want?’ Synth heard a voice break through his thoughts. He turned and faced the tree that had crashed into the wall. He raised an eyebrow.

‘Yes it is me. You can communicate with nature can’t you see? That is your special talent, do you not see it portrayed as your cutie mark?’ The tree said and Synth looked over to see a cutie mark was appearing.

It was blinking in between two different images, one of a purple thorned looking rose, and one of the same rose but bloodied and longer. It’s cruel looking shape made Synth feel fear. He shook his head and the earlier thoughts of bloodshed left him. He turned back to the unicorn and forced the wooden limb to stop. He saw the terror on the unicorn’s face, and Synth was scared too.

For a long time, Synth tried to command the limb back, but it didn’t move. At the same time, the unicorn tried to back away slowly. He hit the table next to the wall where the sword was. He was now far enough away from the tree limb and he stood himself up. He had blood on the corners of his mouth, but he didn’t speak.

After what felt like forever, Synth managed to pull the tree branches back and he felt his cutie mark rest on the now appropriate purple rose. He looked up and found the unicorn had now reached his sword, and held it defensively as he backed away towards the door. He grabbed the centerpiece of the table and the metallic object Synth found earlier. He shoved them in his saddlebag and then backed away a little faster.
Suddenly Synth lost control of his magic for a second and the wooden limb struck out and hit the unicorn in the side of the head. He was knocked to the side holding his wounded eye. He gave a very loud scream. Slowly, Synth pulled back the limb as the unicorn rose from the ground and held his eye that had blood running out.

“You’re … a monster…” He said before he ran out and closed the door behind him. Synth slumped to the ground and tears started to form in his eyes. He was in a fetal position for a few minutes. Royal Guards came in after hearing the scream. They saw the bodies and began to take them away. After a few hours of questioning for his parents, they left. Synth was weeping in the middle of the room. He felt exhausted and terrible of what he did.

He remembered his parents, and looked towards them for comfort. The guards had released his mother from her gag earlier, and now they were both in the corner looking at him weird. Synth tried to walk over to them and he found their eyes filled with fear. Synth stopped and looked down at himself. Blood from the Pegasus had covered his hooves and upper torso. Synth sat back down and lowered his head. Suddenly, he wanted a nice peaceful sleep. His eyes drooped and his energy left him completely. His body fell forward as he passed out.
------------

When he awoke a few hours later, his entire house was the way it was before. If he didn’t know any better, nothing had happened. Synth was about to think everything was just a dream, but he was still covered in the dried blood that now reached his nose. He stood up from the middle of the living room and walked over to the restroom to wash off.

When he finished, he walked back into the living room and found all of the blood stains were gone, as well as the hole in the wall now patched up. He walked into the kitchen to see where his parents were. When he entered, he found them both eating pancakes. There was another plate set off for him.

“Good morning, Synth. Did you sleep well?” Fern asked.

“Um yeah… what about you?” Synth asked her.

“We slept just fine. We were just asking because you were sleeping for a good day and a half.” Venus said putting another pancake in his mouth.

“Really? Why didn’t you wake me up?” Synth asked.

“We thought it was better to let you rest. You looked tired.” Fern said also putting a pancake in her mouth.

“Well what happened when I fell asleep? “ Synth asked as he sat down next to his plate of pancakes.

“Why, we just cleaned up and called the carpenter to fix up the wall. You should have seen his face when he got here.” Venus said a slight smile on his face. Synth couldn’t help but feel that they were acting strange.

“Oh, well what happened to the tree?” Synth said putting a pancake up to his mouth.

“They took that away too. It was actually a lot smaller than they thought.” Fern said. Synth saw her look away when she said that. Almost like she knew it was a lie.

“So, did I miss school yesterday then?” Synth asked eating another pancake.

“About that…” Venus turned to Fern as he continued.” We decided it’d be best to enroll you in a new school. One that’ll help you with your special talent.” Venus flinched as he said those last words. Synth would have noticed, but he had looked at his cutie mark.

“I don’t really know what this means… I just know that I can talk to the trees. So, will I be going to a school to learn what I can do?” Synth asked looking at his purple rose.

“Yes, you can say that. Your new teacher should be here soon to check on you. She came yesterday, but you were still asleep…” Vern said now finished with her breakfast as she lifted the plate into the sink.

There was a knock on the door, and Vern walked over to open it. Synth just continued to eat, his stomach rumbling from the day without food. He devoured the pancakes using all the syrup available and barely noticed when a mare entered the room.

“So, this is Synth?” Blossom asked looking him over. Synth readjusted himself in the chair and wiped his face clean of the syrup he got on his mouth.

“Hello there, Miss...?” Synth said getting a good look at her. He noticed she was a lot younger than his parents. She looked like she just left the teens and her face had a young smile on it.

“My my, he does have some manners. I’m not surprised, Canterlot does that to everypony.” Blossom said as she reached over and examined him more closely. She ended her examination on the cutie mark on his flank.

“That’s certainly interesting. I see what you mean, this is a special case.” Blossom stepped back and looked towards Synth’s parents.

“I’ll gladly teach him. He has potential, and he’s the perfect age to train alongside another student of mine. I’m sure you realize that this will mean you won’t get to see him for a while, right?” She asked and Synth noticed his parents were nodding without hesitation.

“That will be alright. I’m sure the time away will be beneficial for him.” Vern said now standing next to Venus.

“Okay, Synth we should get going. You have a lot to learn, and we’ll need to start off with the ground rules first. Say goodbye to your parents, you can write to them, and they can visit you every now and then, but you’ll be staying with me and my other student Oliver for the next 12 months.” Blossom said not waiting for Synth as she walked out of the house, with saddlebags full of Synth’s stuff. He felt as if his parents knew she’d agree, because they already had gotten his stuff packed.

“Um bye, mom…dad… I guess I’m leaving with this…Teacher?” Synth said as he walked towards the door. He turned back and noticed they had forced smiles on their faces. His mother had a tear streaking down her face. They didn’t wave back and Synth walked out the door feeling abandoned. He was only a few steps out of the door when he heard whispering behind him. He only caught a few words before Blossom pulled him onto the path they’d take. What he heard though, made him think about what just happened.

“…he’s gone now. You can stop crying.” Synth was sure he heard his father say.

Blossom just continued walking and Synth followed. When Synth began to feel tears in his eyes, he noticed she walked closer. She gently stopped and put a comforting arm around him.

“There, there. It’s alright; you’ll see them again…” Blossom said and Synth felt his tears wash away. He nodded and continued to walk; they walked a good while until Blossom stopped in front of a three story house.

“Well, let me introduce you to the others. They’ll be glad to have someone else to play with.” Blossom said as she opened the door and let Synth in.
------------

“So, that’s all?” Vera asked next to Synth. She’d been quiet most of the story, except for a few gasps every now and then.

“What do you mean?” Synth asked. He finished with the story on his parents and was going to continue with the story about his times with Oliver.

“I know you did some pretty messed up stuff, but getting mad at your parents because they were a little shocked about it, isn’t right.” Vera said.

“Look, if you want to know the details, then I’ll explain them quickly. It’s pretty late as it is.” Synth said as he sighed and prepared his words.
------------

“Is that them?” Oliver asked pointing at a pair of ponies walking by.

“No, they’re green remember, Like me.” Synth said as he looked through the window.

“What about them?” Oliver pointed at another pair of ponies.

“No, my mom has red hair, and besides, those are two mares.” Synth sighed as Oliver looked back to the pair he pointed at.

“Oh yeah you’re right. So, when are they gonna come?” Oliver asked looking at Synth.

“I don’t know. They should have been here already. Blossom said she already sent them the letter a few weeks ago.

“Well, visiting time’s almost up. I guess they just aren’t coming.” Oliver said walking away from the window. Synth didn’t want to believe it, so he just waited… and waited… and waited.

He waited until the sun went down and the sun rose again. His eyes scanning everything that passed by. There was only one day of the month when his parents could visit, and that day passed. He slowly left the window, his eyes red from exhaustion. Blossom was waiting for him as he turned away.

“I’m sorry Synth. Maybe they just forgot…” She said trying to comfort him.

“Or they just don’t like me anymore…” Synth mumbled as he tried to walk around her.

“Don’t say that. They care a lot for you. You’ll see, next time they’ll be here for sure.” Blossom gave him a hug before he could go around her.

“They used to care. They haven’t visited in three months, and I’m glad they forgot about me.” Synth said angrily under his breath as he broke free from her grasp to walk into his bedroom. He quickly fell asleep crying for the third time since his arrival. But this time, he shed less tears than the month before. And a lot less than the first time.

Months passed, and Synth began to cry less and less at each visiting day. Eventually, he stopped waiting with the other five fillies and joined Oliver to play games the whole day. Visiting Day was a day off from all of their studies. Oliver had no parents alive, and he didn’t feel like spending the day mourning. He usually waited with Synth in front of the window, but now they both decided that Visiting Day brought nothing for them.

For the next month, Synth decided that if his parents forgot about him, then he’d do the same. He simply stopped talking about them and walked away from conversations that would lead to his past. Blossom noticed this and tried to get him to talk about it with her, but Synth always avoided the topic. It was just the past now.
------------

“That’s terrible!” Vera said looking at Synth now.

“What is?” Synth asked.

“Why would they not show up? No matter how much they might have been shocked, eventually they should have visited you.” Vera said.

“Well they didn’t, and you know what? I don’t really care anymore.” Synth said sighing and looking her in the eyes now.

“Why not? Aren’t they your parents?” Vera said shocked at his words.

“Are they? Didn’t they just give away their son to somepony else? It was like an orphanage, but better. I made new friends and I had a great teacher. I’m glad they got rid of me, but I still can’t forgive them for it.” Synth said.

“What happened next?” Vera said and her eyes had a red tinge to them. Synth saw the weariness in her eyes, and decided he shouldn’t keep her up all night.

“I’ll tell you another time. Right now, you should be going to bed.” Synth said as he stood up and walked over to the sleeping leader. He gently nudged it, and it woke up instantly.

“You can go now. I don’t think anypony is coming for the rest of the night.” Synth said yawning. He looked towards the Timberwolf leader who nodded and then turned into a wisp of smoke. The smoke entered Synth’s horn and another wisp of smoke also entered the room from under the door. Synth could feel the smoke as it reentered his energy stream.

He walked to the bed to find that Vera had fallen asleep on the bed sprawled out. She must have been really tired. When Synth magically readjusted her under the covers on one side, he took off his cloak and slid in on the other side. He closed his eyes and was about to fall asleep until a third wisp of smoke entered his head. He opened them and looked around. Shade was sleeping at the foot of the bed, and Synth only faintly remembered the third Timberwolf that had gone after Celestia.

He chuckled, she would probably punish him for sending a Timberwolf after her, but right now he was too tired to care. He closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep. In the corner of his mind, he felt something or someone trying to enter his head. His mind drifted to the new sister he had. For a reason he didn’t know, he felt like he’d known her all his life. That thought empowered him to block out the foreign force trying to enter his head.

His face smiled; hopefully there would be no nightmares tonight.
------------

Synth was in a room now, the walls looked strangely familiar, and he noticed the stone in the middle. This was the room where the Elements of Harmony were found. Synth walked up to the structure, and placed his hoof on one of the six stone spheres.

“I see you remember.” Shade said walking up behind Synth.

“Why am I here?” Synth asked turning to face Shade.

“Well, you see I wanted to give you a brief status update. I also wanted to tell you some things that might interest you. It definitely interested me…” Shade said as his horn glowed and the ground around them became grass.

“How can you do magic?” Synth asked and then felt dumb afterwards.

“This is a dream, and we both have equal control. I suggest you take a seat, standing up all the time can get tiring.” Shade said as two chairs were formed of grass facing each other about ten feet away.

Synth walked over and sat in his designated chair. Shade did the same and then he sighed.

“Being a rabbit all the time can be exhausting. You use up so much energy hopping places; I don’t know how Pinkie can do it all the time.” Shade rubbed the back of his neck.

“Can we just get back to the point?” Synth said as he itched his hooves that were getting itchy from the grass.

“Alright, so first off we have to talk about a certain deadly sin…” Shade said and a smile crept on his face.

“What deadly sin?” Synth asked, but he already knew where this was going.

“Ira, also known as wrath, you showed that at your parent’s house. And my oh my did you show it. I couldn’t believe you had that in you. I fully expected you to harm them, but I’m sad to say I didn’t rub off enough on you.” Shade said and Synth sighed, it was true, he’d shown wrath to his parents. It was only a matter of time before he showed signs of the others.

“Well, is that all you had to say?” Synth asked wanting to get away from the topic.

“No, I also wanted to say that the wrath you felt gave you a magical boost. I’m surprised actually; I didn’t know that an emotion could do that.” Shade said and Synth understood. The magic he had at the time felt like an infinite supply.

“Now, let’s talk about topics you don’t know about yet…” Shade started and focused his full attention on Synth. “While you were eating your dinner, I went upstairs and decided to investigate. I found a diary that belonged to your mother. Me being the mastermind I am, I opened the lock and read the contents.” Shade said and then Synth had to say his comment.

“You chewed off the lock, didn’t you?” Synth asked and the way Shade shifted in his seat confirmed his thought. “You may continue.”

Shade coughed before continuing. “Well, as I was saying… I found out she kept a record on what happened that day you just explained with Vera. She didn’t write the specifics, but I found out a lot of things that she never told you. Also, that necklace of yours is 100% real. It’s worth a fortune.” Shade said and then a big smile filled his face.

“I’m not going to sell it…” Synth said and he saw Shade’s smile disappear.

“Fine, have it your way. Just know that she bought it using the money they got for capturing two out of five of Canterlot’s most wanted ponies…” Shade said and Synth had no comment to that.

“She bought that necklace with blood money. The money should have been yours anyway, so she gave you the necklace when you left the last time. She also never told anyone that it was you who killed them just that you happened to get covered in most of the blood.” Shade stopped to make sure Synth was still keeping up.

“So, she tried to protect me?” Synth asked trying to make sense of Shade’s words.

“No, she wrote that she didn’t want to get charged with murder. You were too young to take the blame, so she would have been the one who was arrested. Neither of your parents wanted to tell anyone about what happened, so after it happened they just tried to forget about it and you.” Shade finished pulling out a cup from nowhere and drinking it.

“So I was right, they wanted to get rid of me…” Synth said now feeling bad about what happened.

“Yes and no… They wanted a new you, one that wasn’t a monster. So, they had another kid to do just that.” Shade said and Synth understood.

“Vera…” Synth said as he looked up at Shade.

“Exactly, she was the new you. And in all ways, she was a new you. She had the same ignorance and curiosity, the personality and interests you had. Everything was going great with her until she noticed how her parents were acting…” Shade suddenly stopped and looked up as if remembering who he was talking to.

“What?” Synth asked as Shade just looked at him.

“Oh nothing, I just remembered something. But anyways, until you came back they were one big happy family.” Shade finished and Synth just nodded his head.

“Okay I get it, she was my replacement. Now, anything else you have to tell me?” Synth asked, wanting to escape this dream and go back to reality.

“One more thing, there was an interesting section in the book. She wrote that the tree that crashed into the house suddenly vanished. When they were both putting the valuables on the shelves, the tree disappeared. It was just gone.” Shade said and then he stood up.

“So, can I wake up now?” Synth asked and Shade nodded his head.

“Before you go though, can you show me that summoning spell?” Shade asked and Synth was confused.

“Why, can’t you already do it?” Synth asked and Shade shook his head.

“I’m not doing something right. I can only summon a rabbit and I’m trying to summon things that are a little less fluffy.” Shade said and Synth grinned.

“Let me show you how it’s done…” Synth cracked his neck and then cast the spell. Out of his horn came out a fully grown Timberwolf.

“What am I doing wrong…?” Shade mumbled to himself as Synth let the creature run around enjoying the exercise.

“You have to put some heart into it. You’re just so heartless that you can’t possibly achieve my greatness…” Synth said getting into a formal snotty voice.

“Just shut up and wake up now.” Shade pushed Synth and he fell back. Synth released his magic on the Timberwolf and the smoke entered his horn. He felt the magic enter his energy flow. Then, he let the magic out and it disrupted his sleep.
------------

Synth gasped as he fell off the bed. The sudden magic use caused his body to jerk in a random direction. He landed face first onto the floor and lifted himself slowly. His nose hurt and his horn had hit the floor hard. When he stood up, he looked at the bed to find Vera was now waking up too. She stood up and walked over to the restroom.

Synth went over and put his necklace around his neck that he’d left the day before. He put his cloak on as well, and then looked over to Shade who was still sleeping on the bed. Synth looked out the window and guessed it was barely sunrise. Synth wasn’t surprised to see Shade wasn’t a morning person. He was surprised however, to see Vera had woken up this early.

Synth waited for Vera to come out of the restroom, and he decided to practice his next magic spell. His day off was over, so he’d have to practice something today. He flipped through the book and found the Environmental Takeover spell. He looked over it before turning to another spell. It was too difficult, and he didn’t know if he could do it.

He found the Hidden Shadows spell and decided he’d practice that for now. Synth got in a stance, and then used his magic. The next moment, Synth felt a warm sensation around his body. He looked down to find that his body was nearly invisible. It blended in with the surroundings. He walked around and had to concentrate to keep the spell going.

He heard Vera come out of the restroom and looked up to her. “Good Morning.” Synth said and he saw Vera look around before her eyes went wide.

“Synth? Is that you?” Vera looked around a little more and Synth realized he still had the spell going. He decided he’d have some fun.

“No.” Synth said and then walked over behind her.

“I’m a ghost of a long dead Royal Guard.” Synth tried to make a spooky voice but it wasn’t exactly easy.

“What do you want?” Vera said as she turned towards Synth’s voice.

“It’s so lonely in the afterlife. I want a companion.” Synth repeated his ghostly voice and it sounded more real.

“Show yourself!” Vera said as she looked around the room again.

Synth walked up right next to Vera’s ear and whispered. “Boo.”

She jumped away and screamed. Synth couldn’t hold back his laughter as he held his side on the floor. He lost control of the spell and he saw his form reappear as he continued to laugh. Vera was shaking on the ground, until she saw Synth appear in front of her.

“That’s not funny!” Vera said, but her fear was gone now and replaced with a tug of a smile on her face.

“Yes it was, you should have seen your face!” Synth said now laughing harder.

“Okay, you got me. That was pretty funny.” Vera said now laughing as well at the joke. They laughed a little while longer and then Synth saw Shade looking at him from on top of the bed.

Synth got himself under control and then stood up and stretched. While ,the rabbit watching his movements.

‘It’s too early. If you’re going to be loud, then do it somewhere else…’ Shade said before laying back down to continue his sleep.

“We should go downstairs; I think they’re eating breakfast now.” Synth said as he walked towards the door.

“Breakfast? At the Royal Castle? Can we really eat there?” Vera asked.

“Yeah, I’m staying here after all. And, I’m sure they wouldn’t mind if I brought a guest too.” Synth said as he walked out the door. He noticed Shade had also gotten out of bed and followed at the sound of breakfast.

“I hope they’re not too mad at me for locking myself in my room…” Synth thought as he walked towards the stairs. Shade jumped on his back to avoid going down the stairs. Synth didn’t mind, rabbits didn’t weigh very much.

“I’m sure they’re understanding enough,” Vera said.

Synth took a step on the first stair, and it entered the crack he’d made the night before. When he tried to take another step forward, he tripped and it caused him to roll down the stairs. He didn’t know how many stairs there were, but it was a lot of bumps he felt. He finally felt his body hit the bottom and his momentum stopped him just outside of the stairway.

He heard Vera call down to him, and Synth groaned. What he wouldn’t give for one of Silver’s healing spells right now. He was the only one he knew that could perform one. That is, besides Luna and Celestia. When Synth looked up, he found himself looking up at a surprised alicorn. Celestia looked him over, and Synth tried to ask for help. A big smile grew on her face and then she whistled and walked away, as if she didn’t see him.

Synth was finding her really annoying now. He noticed a bite mark around her cutie mark though, as she walked away. So, the Timberwolf must have gotten her, that’s probably why she ignored him… probably. Synth groaned again, and heard Vera’s voice coming down the stairs.

“You okay?” Vera asked as she looked over him. He had a few bruises on his side, but otherwise intact. Synth nodded and continued walking a little slower towards the throne room. When he took a few steps, he caught scent of a delicious smell. He sniffed around and decided it was to the left. Vera followed as Synth tried to use his smelling to find the dining room. Eventually though, he looked up and found that he was back where he started.

“Where are we going?” Vera asked as she looked around the room again.

“To the kitchen…” Synth said as he tried to catch scent of the smell again.

“It’s over there.” Vera said pointing to the open door with a giant table on the other side.

Synth didn’t say anything as he followed Vera to the dining room. He walked in and took a seat next to Luna from her end of the table. Vera sat down next to him. Synth felt the softness of the chair and sank into it like a bean bag. Shade jumped on the table and sat down between Luna and Synth. Luna was giving him a questioning look, and Synth just smiled back at her.

“Synth, are thee well?” Luna asked. Synth nodded and turned towards the plates of food being brought to them.

“I just needed time to think. I’ll be okay.” Synth said as plate was put down in front of him.

“Our sister said thy were most cruel last night. Is this true?” Luna asked and Synth noticed on the other side of the table Celestia was watching Synth.

“Well, let’s just say an eye for an eye, and a Timberwolf bites your thigh.” Synth said smiling.

Luna was puzzled at first, but then she looked at Celestia and saw the faint bite mark around her flank. Luna giggled and Synth saw Celestia try and hide it with her wing. This caused Luna to laugh harder. Vera looked at them to see what caused Luna to laugh hard, but then a plate came in her sight too.

“Well Vera, dig in.” Synth said as he plunged into the food. Lettuce leaves and tomatoes were landing on the table left and right. Vera soon joined in, and the food was demolished quickly.

“Yes everyone, let us dig in!” Luna proclaimed before following Synth’s example. Some of the higher up guards at the table hesitated, before joining Luna and completely ruining the gold lined table sheet.

“Children…” Celestia whispered as she lifted a fork to her mouth. A lettuce leaf hit the side of her face and mane. She sighed and then stood up to excuse herself. When Celestia left, they finished their meals and were now chatting politely next to the table.

“So Luna, about my training…” Synth started, wiping his face with a nearby napkin.

“Ah yes, thou has been progressing rapidly. We saw that Timberwolf outside thy door. It was most obedient and impressive. Also, the guards informed us of a green object that entered thy room. They couldn’t tell what it was, but we figured it was thee.” Luna said.

“So, am I still going to continue?” Synth asked. Luna nodded and pointed at the guards in the corner of the room. The three Shadow guards and two dawn guards were watching them from their position.

“They will be ready when thee are. Thy emotions caused thy magic to increase exponentially, so remember, we are not the enemies.” Luna warned before standing up and starting to walk towards the throne room.

“Wait Luna, about Vera…” Synth called after her remembering his sister.

“Ah yes, it is nice meeting you,” Luna said nodding to Vera who nervously bowed. Luna turned back to Synth as she continued. “She is welcome to stay in the castle as long as thou are here. She is also welcome to watch thy training as well. It can get very boring in this castle alone, so she’ll need something to do.” Luna said.

“Thank you your highness.” Vera said getting up from her bow.

“Please, call us Luna.” Luna said smiling to Vera.

“Okay, Luna.” Vera said smiling back.

‘Geez, let’s just get out of here.’ Shade said. The rabbit jumped on Synth’s back as they walked towards the group of guards.

“Hey Synth, ready for another training session?” Silver asked.

“Yeah, where’s it going to be this time?” Synth said.

“That’ll depend, which spell you have in mind?” Silver said with Split and Slash now noticing Synth had approached.

“Hidden Shadows, thought I’d give myself a break from those tougher ones.” Synth said.

“Really? Come on, you’ve been doing great so far. It’s only a matter of time before you get better than Split here.” Slash said nudging Split in the side.

“As if, I can totally take him on.” Split said grinning to Synth to show he was just having some fun.

“I’d like to see you try. Synth here would break you like he did Comet.” Slash said.

Suddenly the Dawn guards came up behind them. They were looking at Slash, and Split’s eyes widened.

“What did you say about Comet?” Nova asked Slash, who backed away slowly.

“Uh, nothing. Just that he’ll be ready to help Synth with his training in two days…” Slash said, but he wasn’t very good at lying.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Nova said keeping his gaze on Slash.

“Hey, we’re just having a good time here; don’t have to be so uptight about it.” Synth said not liking how they were treating their comrades.

“You need to mind your own business, sir. We don’t take orders from you, and just because you’re Luna’s guest doesn’t give you the right act so high and mighty…” Streak said pointing at Synth.

"Let’s just get going, time is money,” Silver said stepping in between Synth and Streak.

“I agree; we can show them their place later.” Nova said walking towards the doors. Streak followed glaring at Synth and Silver. When they were out of sight, Synth let out his breath that he didn’t know he was holding.

“Just ignore them; we can’t let them get in our heads…” Slash said slowly following them.

“I guess… so where are we going to train?” Synth asked now trying to get to his topic.

“Well, Hidden Shadows needs a lot of obstacles so I’d say a forest. Too bad this castle is on a mountainside…” Silver said thinking about it.

“What about the abandoned camp? Split asked.

“I don’t know; it was abandoned for a reason…” Silver said and then a smile appeared. “So it’ll be perfect.” They both now turned to Synth before grinning.

“What’s the abandoned camp? Synth asked feeling uneasy from the dual grins.

“You’ll see…” Split said as his horn glowed and a sudden darkness completely covered his vision.

“Hey! What’s going on?” Synth asked trying to blink his eyes and nothing in his vision changed.

“Sorry, but we can’t have you knowing where the camp is. It’s restricted to guards… What about the other two?” Silver asked Split.

“Well Mr. Rabbit here won’t be trouble, and I’m sure the filly can just close her eyes until we get there.” Split said looking at the two.

“Why couldn’t I just close my eyes?” Synth asked a little annoyed at the darkness around him.

“Well, I trust the mare more than you. You don’t exactly have a record for being harmless, Comet’s still in the hospital for another day.” Split said and Synth felt something nudging him to walk.

“Well if you can’t trust me, how don’t you know I won’t just use Night Eye to see where we’re going?” Synth asked trying to win an argument for once.

“I can tell if you try to use magic, remember?” Slash said from directly above him. He was scanning to make sure they weren’t being followed.

“So, how far away are we then?” Synth asked no one in particular.

“Classified. Silver, go catch up with the other two and tell them to meet us at the camp soon.” Slash said.

“Alright, see you two later.” Silver said before he turned and went after the other two guards.

He didn’t hear anything after that, but every now and then he’d be moved to a different direction and only twice did he stumble because he wasn’t informed of a step. Both times, he’d landed on his face. He didn’t hear any resistance or confusion from Vera, and Shade was surprisingly silent.

‘Almost there.’ Shade said after a few seconds of Synth thinking that.

‘What does it look like?’ Synth asked, the mysteriousness of the place peaking his interest.

‘Now if I told you, it would have been pointless to come here blind. Well almost pointless. Watching you falling over twice was hilarious.’ Shade said and Synth could tell he was grinning.

‘You’re useless.’ Synth said as he was motioned to the left. They were now walking on a dirt surface, instead of the stone one they had been on before. He heard Silver calling out to them.

“Wow, it didn’t take long for you to catch up. Did you tell those dawn guards where we’re going?” Split asked.

“Yeah, they’ll be here in a few, but until then let’s get going.” Silver answered and they continued their walk.

It wasn’t a few minutes later until he hit a wall and stopped.

“And we’re here!” Split said.

“Oh.. Really? It looks the same as everything else, what makes it so special?” Synth asked, his sarcasm entering his voice due to the slight annoyance from Shade.

“Oh, sorry about that. One sec.” Synth felt warmth on his face and then it changed to a more cold feeling as the darkness subsided and the view entered his vision.

Synth’s jaw dropped. He was looking at acres and acres of trees and hills in front of him. He noticed the metal walls around him and (the glass he was looking at it all through). This was some kind of viewing platform, and it had a good view alright. The scenery stretched to about the size of the entire Canterlot city.

There was also a long stream cutting the landscape in half. The top half seemed a little foggy, and the bottom half had a few caves scattered throughout. Synth also noticed that a few clouds were drifting across the sky, and the sun could easily shine through. The forest though, didn’t look as bright as it should have.

“Wow, this was worth it…” Synth said still looking at the view.

“Yeah, it’s quite a sight for an abandoned training ground…” Silver said.

“Enough sightseeing, let’s get down there and start.” Slash said pressing a button and a door nearby opened to show a winding ramp that lead down to the forest.

“It’ll be different when you’re actually down there…” Split said being the first one to run through the door to reach the bottom.

“Well let’s go then…” Vera said. Synth turned to Silver and raised an eyebrow.

Silver leaned in and whispered. “I’ll get Split to make sure she stays safe.” Then he followed Split out the door. Synth turned to the remaining Shadow guard.

“So, why was this place abandoned?” Synth asked Slash as they slowly walked the ramp down.

“Well, do you really want to know?” Slash asked and Synth nodded his head. “Okay then, I’ll tell you… During our training sessions, a group of guards went down to do what you’re about to do. They didn’t show up for hours and we sent in a search team. They were found injured in one of the caves.” Slash turned to make sure Vera was out of earshot.

“They said that a monster attacked them, but when we looked, there was nothing anywhere. After the guards recovered, they refused to train in there again and so the princess had it quarantined until further notice.” Slash said pointing to a sign that said ‘Do not continue’.

“So why are we here then?” Vera asked loud enough for them to hear her from twenty feet away. Slash turned to her quickly.

“You heard me? Wow, you’ve got some good hearing.” Slash said surprised.

“Yeah I get that a lot, but why are we here anyways?” Vera asked still from that far away.

“Oh, well Synth needs the trees and hills to help his training exercise.” Slash answered trying to keep his voice low to test Vera’s hearing.

“Wait…Training? What training?” Vera asked looking at Synth.

“Oh yeah, I never did tell you about why I’m here… Well, long story short I’m going to be training for the next four days. After that, I’ll be going back to Ponyville.” Synth said as he saw the bottom of the winding ramp.

“So, what kind of training is it? Are you going to be a guard or something?” Vera asked intrigued by his training.

“Not really, but I’ll tell you later. Right now, I gotta get started.” Synth said as they opened the door and walked through.

Looking up they could see the sky up ahead, but that was about it. The trees stretched high into the sky and they were in all directions. Synth noticed the fog was gone now. He turned to the others and saw Split casting his magic. A dark cloud appeared and Split jumped on it. While Split took Vera, Shade and Silver in his cloud, Slash flew into a nearby tree and disappeared. The group on the cloud slowly started their descent up.

“Okay, this’ll be the same as the last few times. I’ll be the medic, Slash will watch your progress, and Split will do the light show… er dark show whatever.” Silver called down.

“So, what’ll I be doing then?” Synth asked the cloud.

“Well, you have until those dawn guards get here to hide. After that, they’ll be looking for you. Every time you get found, they’ll send you into a different part of the woods and you’ll continue. There is one thing though, after the nine hours are up you’ll have to find your way back to the entrance without getting caught.” Silver yelled down at them.

“Good Luck!” Vera yelled down.

“Thanks, I’ll need it.” Synth said as he ran into the forestry.
As soon as he entered the woods, he noticed the darkness covering the sky. Split was making it hard to tell where he was by blocking out the clouds and sun. Surprisingly he could still see easily. Synth guessed this wasn’t supposed to test his Night Eye at all.
Synth was already five minutes into the forest when a loud bang came across the trees.
“Game on!” Synth heard Nova yell. It was so loud; birds from every tree flew out chirping. After they left, the area around Synth was quiet. It was quiet enough for Synth to hear every step he took. Eventually, he found a spot between two trees and a nearby bush. He made himself comfortable and sat down in between them.
Synth was watching the trees. Everything was still, like he was the only thing in the forest. He looked through everything he could see. The trees were tall, too tall for a Pegasus to try and fly above. The dirt was moist and clump together, while the leaves had a slight smell to them.
Synth saw something to his left move. It was too fast for him to tell what it was, but he knew he saw something. When he sight went back in front of him, he noticed something hiding behind one of the trees in front of him. The horn of a unicorn was sticking from behind the tree. Synth activated the Hidden Shadows spell and slowly left his hiding spot towards another area.
He hoped that he wasn’t seen, and could get away easily. His hopes were crushed, when a rock hit him in the back of the head. He spun around, after he quickly recovered from the rock. He saw Nova grinning in his direction. Synth turned to run and noticed his spell ran out. He quickly dived into a nearby bush, but Nova noticed.
“Found you. That’s Dawn Guards one, and Shadow Guards zero.” Nova said a little closer to Synth’s position.
Synth was about to get out of his spot, until he realized something. They said they’ll send him somewhere else, but how would they do that? Synth got his answer, as Nova appeared in front of him.
“Don’t open your mouth.” Nova said as a glow appeared around Synth.
“What do you-“

Synth felt the leaves leave him. The wind rushed past his face and his mouth was moving at the speed he was going. He hit a few trees until he soared above their tops. He could see the dark sky getting closer, and closer. Until he felt the wind rushing around him switch directions. He looked down to find the floor was dangerously far down. He felt his arms go flailing back as he started to descend at about a 45 degree angle.

He saw the rapidly approaching stream, and tall trees around it. He tried to angle himself towards the stream, but his hooves didn’t want to go forward. He looked at the trees and the stream again. He had an idea, but it wasn’t one of his best ones.

Synth activated his magic, and released the energy into his hooves. He could hear somepony screaming nearby, but the wind was blocking what they were saying. He couldn’t even tell who was screaming either. He focused on his landing position, and forced his hooved in front of him. The magic on them was cutting the air flow from affecting them.

‘How’d you know you could do that?’ Shade asked him crystal clear.

Synth tried to open his mouth to respond, but the air current quickly entered his mouth and he coughed violently.

‘I didn’t.’ Synth replied after he finished coughing. It’d be better if he took Nova’s advice and kept his mouth closed.
He looked back down to find the ground getting closer. The tree he targeted for was directly in his path. Synth slowly moved his hooves into a standing position and waited for the impact.
------------

A few minutes earlier.

The giant dark cloud blocking the sun was now a see through platform for the four beings looking below. Split’s Night Eye had been cast on them so they could see the action. Now, Synth had just found his hiding position as Nova and Streak set foot in the forest grounds.
“So, what’s Nova doing?” Silver asked Split next to him.

“Not sure, but Streak sure is getting into this…” Split said pointing a few meters away where Streak was jumping from tree to tree looking around for Synth.

“They’re splitting up,” Silver said.

“I can see that. It would be pointless to stick together. This place is pretty big.” Split said.

“Wow, he’s pretty fast.” Vera said pointing towards Streak.

“His name can tell you that much. He’s fast alright, but sometimes that isn’t what a guard needs…” Silver said.

“What do you mean?” Vera asked looking at them.

“Think about this, the forest is huge and Synth can choose anywhere to hide. So, if you just fly around without checking the hiding spots you won’t find anything.” Silver answered.

“Nova has the right idea. He’s checking for signs that Synth…” Split stopped and took a few steps closer.

“What? Did you see something?” Silver asked Split.

“Synth just made the worst mistake he could have made.” Split said.

“What did he do?” Vera asked.

“He forgot about his hoofsteps. They left imprints in the ground. Nova must’ve seen them and now he’s following them right to Synth.” Split said as Nova turned into the same break in the trees where Synth was hiding.

“That’s one point for them… Wait did we ever tell Synth what happens when they find him?” Split asked Silver next to him.

“I, er… no… Shit.” Silver said as he saw Nova below light his horn up.

“What happens?” Vera asked looking closely at the scene below.

“You’ll see.” Split answered.

The next few seconds went by quickly, but for Synth it felt like forever. He was thrown in the air and almost approached the dark clouds overhead. Vera cried out his name as he flew out right under her. Synth was like a bullet as he pierced the sky and then arced back down. Split noticed that Synth seemed to save himself from falling face first in the ground.

One second, he’d been under control of the wind, and the next he was cutting through it like it was butter. Synth was arcing right into the tree next to the stream. Split turned to Silver and sighed.

“We didn’t tell him he’d have to call Medic for you to come either, did we?” Split asked and Silver once again nodded his head.

“This isn’t going to end well.” Silver said as Synth came closer to the tree.

There was an earsplitting crack as Synth was driven through the tree and into the stream. He floated down the stream and he wasn’t moving. Suddenly a loud roar caught their attention as Silver got himself ready to use the spell.

“Wait! It’s against the rules if he doesn’t call Medic!” Split argued, but he knew there was something wrong.

“Dawn Guards two. Shadow Guards zero.” Silver said as he teleported himself down. Split sighed and slowly drifted a cloud down to lower Split, Vera, and Shade on Vera’s back.
------------

Synth extended his hooves as the tree came closer. He could smell the pine scent it had. Suddenly, he felt his hooves completely break through the tree and almost snap it in half. The force would have broken his hooves, if not for the traction that held back the impact. Synth was relieved that his impact was lessened, but the stream came into view as he continued to fall.

He fell into the water and splashed around. This would have been the perfect time to know how to swim. He looked up just as the broken tree pieces rained on his head. He felt them hit his head multiple times, and he felt he had a concussion. Suddenly, his body felt numb and he stopped resisting against the flow of the stream.

He was barely conscious as the stream took him down a little bit. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a blue figure appear on the river bank. He gave out a loud roar as Synth was landed on the edge of the river. He could only watch as it walked up next to his body and sniffed it for a few seconds before opening his mouth.

His teeth were pointed and his snout was longer than normal animals. His pointed ears and rough texture made him out to be of the canine family. But not just any canine, his fur was blue and almost transparent. His star on his forehead only confirmed Synth’s thoughts.

Synth’s eyes closed as he heard the howl of the Canis Minor.

Author's Notes:

...