Followed by a Shadow [Closed] (Dated)

Freyia leaves the HQ and heads out of town. She is dressed in full armor, and as always carrying her spear. Even though she is a pegasus, and an accomplished flier at that, she trots along the ground out of the city. She pays no mind to the guards, nor the ponies, nor the time of day, which was approaching evening.

She reaches the farmlands that surround the city and stops on a small hill. There she looks out north, towards the mountains, towards home. She sighs and continues to stare longingly, not paying attention to her surroundings.

Shady grumbled to herself about one of her first failures to follow a mark she had set her sights on, heading for her tiny housing unit to rest herself. The mare paused for in her place as the glint of armor caught her eye. There's another pony in the ranks here? Now, how did she slip past me? She thought to herself, the mysterious mare grabbing her attention more than she had expected her to.

With a grin, she quickly followed Freyia through the city, finding it a bit easier tailing the distracted warrior than her usual marks. After a bit of following, she found herself out by the nearby farm, taking her place behind a dying tree to keep her eyes on Freyia. What could she be up to?

Freyia continues looking out for a few seconds.

Suddenly, grabbing her spear off of her armor, she drives it into the ground in front of her and bows before it. She does not move as her hair blows in the soft breeze.

The breeze rudely carries her words, which she whispers to herself:

Let’s fly, my falcon, be free;
merged in our minds completely,
we’ll find the prey, dive to feed-
senses reel- primed, pedigreed.

Seeing through your sharper eyes,
no hare escapes- we’re allies.
Warm blood flows fast in the kill,
till floods slow and drip downhill.

Somehow the wind carries her words as if she were speaking them with volum. She speaks each line quickly with little rhythm, but pauses inbetween. It feels like a prayer, more than a simple poem.

Shady flinched slightly as she eyes the spear that had left its resting space on its owner's back. Had the mare somehow seen her? Her worried were put to rest once the spear was driven into the dirt and quickly put her back at ease.

After a moment, her ear twitched as the warrior's words managed to float into it. It wasn't the best poem or prayer she had heard in her lifetime, but it was still beautiful in its own right. She seems almost sad... She thought to herself, she was never the best at reading emotions, even the obvious slipped by her on occasion.

The words eventually lured her out of her hiding place, staying next to the dying tree, but no longer hidden behind it.

"Mother, Father, I know we had our differences. And I know that we didn't have the time we wanted to make up for that. But I ask you, be with me now. Be with me as I struggle to continue on. The battles, I thought they were beautiful. But the war..." she pauses for a moment, "How could I have lived while they died."

The next words she sang, her voice changing completely, from callous and sorrowful, to kindness and hopeful:

Anol shalom
Anol sheh lay konnud de ne um
Flavum
Nom de leesh
Ham de nam um das...
La um de
Flavne
We de ze zu bu
We de sooo a ru
Un va-a pesh a lay
Un vi-i bee
Un da la pech ni sa

Shady had to blink her eyes a few times as the next few words rode the winds over to her, expression unchanging despite the sad words. Lost her parents too... She said quietly, closing her eyes for a moment while she listened to the song that came to her next. She couldn't understand a word of it, but it was beautiful nonetheless.

After a moment's contemplation, she opened her eyes and took a few steps forward towards the hill. Without thinking, she broke her personal rule: never speak to your mark. "That song was quite beautiful." She said, her tone of voice no different than normal despite the complement.

Upon hearing the first syllable, Freyia grabs her spear, pulls it out of the ground, spins around, and points it right at the eavesdropper's throat. She was startled, and this was her reflex. Upon seeing it was a normal pony, seemingly unarmed, she lowered it. "I am sorry, you startled me." She then realizes what this pony said and glares at her, "How long were you listening to me? Who are you? What do you want?" Her voice had little to no emotion beyond simple annoyance, and maybe a hint of embarrassment, though she would deny it.

Shady had to rear back a bit to keep the sudden spear point from impaling her throat. The spear was pulled away from her and she was able to get back down on all fours, sighing and lowering her head a bit in relief. She gave Freyia a coy grin, starting to circle her a bit to get a better look at the armored mare, keeping the same distance from her. "I was here for a bit, not too long." She replied.

"You can call me Shady, and you just caught my interest is all. Is it illegal for a pony to take interest in her comrade?" She asked, the same grin on her muzzle.

"Comrade? Excuse me?" She watched as the pony circled her, only turning when her head could no longer follow. She thought Maybe she is part of the army too. Great, not another pony thinking they can join the ranks to avoid the cruelty. She had seen other "Maggots" before, and most of them didn't last long.

Shady chuckled a bit as she stopped her circling, standing still in the exact place she had been standing in currently. "That's correct, I'm a more...special unit for the army. No use for that heavy armor or anything of that sort." She replied, taking a few steps closer to Freyia. "I was surprised to see another military pony here in Manehatten, so I decided to follow you and satiate my curiosity."

Freyia was now more confused than anything. Most ponies who met her, especially after she threatens them with her spear, do not continue the conversation, let alone try and get closer. She allowed it to happen. "Special unit? Hmm, I was under the impression they didn't let ponies be anything but Maggots or Spi-" she stopped and her eyes widened. She nodded her head, "You are a spy. Hmm, makes sense. I am Freyia, soldier." She sighs, "Only a soldier."

She was beginning to become more relaxed, however she held her spear close, if this was a trick, she would be ready.

"Ding. You sure are a sharp one, aren't you?" Shady asked with a slight chuckle following up her word. She stopped her approach of Freyia once they were in hoof's reach of each other, flashing her another coy smile. "Why do you make that sound like it's a bad thing? At least you're still a soldier and not dead. You still get to live to fight on another day."

She moved a hoof up and placed it on the underside of Freyia's chin. "It'd be a shame to see one of my few equine comrades laying in the dirt." She stated, not minding the spear in the slightest even if it meant she didn't have the other pony's full trust; not having expected it anyway.

Freyia quickly snorted and lowered her head, to get her hoof off of her muzzle. "I doubt shame is within your capacity, 'comrade'. And what sounds I make are my own business." She now returns the coy smile, "But, since the war ended, their haven't been many chances for a fight. And my spear, it gets bored."

Freyia understood that she was being toyed with, but she did not mind. It was still better than those griffons back at HQ. And who knows, maybe she would get a good fight out of this.

"I may not feel shame much, you learn to shut off those emotions in my line of work, but the loss of a pretty mare is still something very sad." Shade replied to Freyia while she put her hoof back down on the ground. She raised a brow after the comment about her spear was made by Freyia, glancing at the weapon calmly. "Sorry, I wish I could spar with you, if my intuition is correct, but I don't have any formal combat training. I was trained to stay silent and avoid confrontation."

"Who did train you?" Freyia was now genuinely curious about the mare. She didn't seem like the type of pony to join just to avoid the suffering. Shady was obviously well trained, at least in the art of subterfuge.

"I usually don't give out any personal information besides my name and rank, but for you, I suppose I could tell you." Shady replied as she continued eying Freyia with interest. "My master's name was Skyla Lionheart. She taught me everything I know; if it was just how to deceive those against our great empire."

With a grin, she subtly leaned a bit closer to the mare with her. "You look very capable yourself, with how well you handle that spear of yours. You must have had a great teacher yourself."

Freyia leans back as Shady leans in. The expression on her face more confusion than anything. "Um, yes I did. I had the wild when I was young. Then a griffon tribe when I was older. Finally I had two years of training from the griffon army before the war started."

She now leaned back to a normal stance, their faces only a hoof and a half away from each other. "I'll tell you, no better teacher than the battlefield, wouldn't you agree?" This was a test. She knew the mare had never seen battle, but would she understand just what she was referring to, for there are many other battle fields besides the ones in war.

"I see... You were experienced, at least to some degree, before you joined. I was picked up to be a spy after the superiors saw my talent." Shady replied with another grin, her fellow mare's confusion only seeming to entertain her if anything.

"And that is very true, dear. You don't learn how to keep a straight face during an interrogation by having someone tell you about it. You have to be in that situation." She stated, sounding as if she spoke with experience about that specific topic. "You learn from your mistakes, or pay for it. A rule that can be applied to almost anything."

Freyia frowned at the talk of paying for mistakes, "Indeed." She paused for a moment. Shifting her weight, she looked around past Shady. "What is it you want mare? Was there something specific?" Irritation filled her words.

Shady raised a brow at the sudden anger-filled voice that came from Freyia, leaning back into her previous standing position. "Can't wanting to get to know my fellow pony be a reason to have a conversation? Let alone a pretty pony such as yourself." She replied with another coy smile. "Not often somepony I'm not told to spy on catches my interest like you have."

Freyia was not believing this mare. She had met other "trained" spies, although they are few and far between, and none of them just want to be "friends". Freyia even wondered if she was marked, wouldn't be surprised. It was probably that griffon that came to her at the meeting. Spying on her to see if she was worthy of doing...what ever it is that he wanted her to do. She eyed the mare once more.

Despite all of that, she was kind of flattered. Not often does she get a chance to actually have a conversation with others. She let a soft smile sneak onto her face. She would never let herself down if this was a trick she was falling for. But for now, she did not care.

"Sorry, I'm, sorry. Been rough the past few years. You would think with the war over it would get better." She let out a small laugh. "I suppose your job is just getting started. Spying on all the new 'comrades' right? Isn't talking to me going to blow your cover?" She looked around to see if any other pony was around. Of course none were.

Shady found the mare's words more amusing than anything else, not seeming to mind in the slightest that her words weren't being believed right away despite their sincerity. She wished that she could take back giving away her occupation, though refusing to tell her probably would have done even more harm to her image. She shook her thoughts out of her head after a moment, simply grinning at Freyia again, she was beginning to like this mare more the longer they conversed.

"I know what you mean, but when you're in territory such as this, you need to keep your guard up." She replied, relaxing her stance a bit as her fellow pony seemed to cheer up a little. "Nah, I don't have much interest in griffons. Most of them are too gruff for my tastes, but alas, I have to follow their orders. Just thought it'd be good to have a close comrade I can talk to, and then you caught my eye."

"You're looking...for a friend?" Freyia couldn't believe what she was hearing, and she also could not help but laughing a little. A pony spy for the griffons wanting to be friends? She didn't mean to tease or be rude, she was genuinely surprised. "It must be a pony thing. Always looking for companionship. I admit, I feel the same way you do. I hate these griffons. Rather be lost in a forest with no supplies in the middle of a blizzard than have to be friends with them." She smiled, still unsure that this was really happening.

Shady blinked her eyes a few times in surprise when her comment resulted in a laugh from the other mare. She was about to speak, but silenced herself as Freyia began to speak after a moment, nodding her head lightly while listening, she definitely had to agree with her. "I definitely know what you mean there. I grew up with griffons, but I never bothered to make any friends. Felt it was more worthwhile to stay by myself than try to make friends with one of them. It's very refreshing to have the opportunity to speak to another pony. You actually have manners."

"Yes, while I may have been raised in the rural tundra of the kingdoms, I was raised by parents that would rather die then see me not learn proper manners." She stopped for a moment, then continued, "It is one of the few things I have managed to keep away from those barbaric pigeons." She laughed a little, "And you. You seem nice enough. If this isn't an act, I would have never expected this sort of kindness from your kind." Again, she was being blunt, but she wasn't trying to be cold, rude, or jaded.

Shady let the first true chuckle she had in a while escape her after the mild insult to the griffons. "They do seem to just love to smash anything that needs to be smashed, really. Fillydelphia was even worse than this place if you can believe that." She stated, waving a hoof lightly at the complement-insult combo she had been given by the mare.

"You have to learn to be devious if you want to make it in this business, yes, but I like to call that my character self. This is my true self that I let very few see. You can call yourself lucky to have brought it out of me." She said with a grin.

"Then I guess I am lucky." Freyia smiled, genuinely smiled. Maybe this station wouldn't be so bad. Maybe this was the start of a genuine friendship. Maybe this is where things start looking up for the old mare...

...And maybe Celestia will return on a giant rainbow spreading gumdrops all over the land.

In any case, Freyia let herself be filled with joy for the moment. "Although I am still unsure what I did to bring it out of you."

Shady gave a genuinely happy smile to Freyia as she seemed to be earning the trust of her fellow mare to a greater extent. "Well, you're the first pony I've seen for a long time that wasn't an individual I had marked as a mission target. But, once I was able to get up closer to you, you have many wonderful qualities, if I say so myself." She said with a slight chuckle finishing up her statement. "You're a nice breath of fresh air, and not bad of a sight either."

Freyia's ears perked up. immediately a rush of blood went to her checks, showing right through her snow white coat. She was not expecting this at all. "Well, I um...thank you?"

She was at a loss. She had charged armies, besieged castles, sent countless souls to the beyond, but this...this she did not know how to handle.

As she stumbled over her words she looked all around the mare, refusing to make eye contact. A sheepish smile sat nicely in between her blushing cheeks while her ears now laid completely flat. She shifted her weight from one hoof to the other.

Oh yeah, very awkward.

"You're welcome." Shady couldn't help chuckling lightly at Freyia's sudden change of posture after her comment, moving up next to the other mare and draping a foreleg over her armored shoulders.

"I hope I'm not being too forward in saying this, but you need to smile more often. It looks much better on you than that scowl from earlier." She said with a smile of her own. She wasn't usually one to lay on complements or bear her feelings like she was now, but she couldn't seem to help herself. This white mare really is something special to get her into this state.

Freyia twitched slightly as Shady put her foreleg on her shoulders. Again she sheepishly smiled. "Yes, well, um, I will certainly work on that." This mare was unlike any other she had ever encountered. Never had anypony been so close to her. Even among her old griffon friends, the most they would do is hit her, or pick her up, or throw her across the table. But never had she had contact like this. It was completely foreign, she did not know how to respond.

So she did the only thing she could do...remained still. Her body tensed up and she locked her head toward Shady.

What do I do, what do I say?

Calm down Freyia, you can do this, just think of something.

I can't, I don't know whats going on?

SNAP OUT OF IT. Its just a pony. Nothing special, just say something.

Um...

Anything

With that she opened her mouth, "You...are also, a, nice breath of... fresh air." The words came out like a dentist pulling teeth. Embarrassment filled her face, but she could not move, having locked her muscles in place. All she could do was smile, knowing that she looked like a baffoon.

The mare's nervousness was clear on her face, but that only seemed to make Shady's heart race faster. It was clear that the nervous actions of Freyia was something she found highly alluring, even if she wasn't fully aware of why herself, but she wished to get closer to her. "Why thank you." She replied with a happy smile, moving her head a smidge closer to the other mare's without thinking about the action herself.

"So, what are some things you like? Maybe we have some things in common, you and I." She said with a sincere smile across her lips. "We're both ponies that don't really like those we work under, we can't be all that different."

"Well, um, I like poems."

REALLY FREYIA? REALLY?

"And music."

Oh yeah, this is great. Go ahead keep talking.

"And um, jewelry."

Wow, just wow. Why not say, 'Hey, I'm a big ass pansy, why not stab me now and take my valuables'.

Freyia awaited a response. In her head, she was beating the shit out of that voice. She wanted to try and be sincere.

"Poems, music and jewelry, eh? Those sound like fine interests. I like music too." Shady replied with another smile as she used the leg over Freyia's shoulders to pull her a bit closer too her. "Especially after that song I heard you seeing earlier, that was very beautiful. I would love to hear you sing another one. You have a great voice." She stated, the smile staying on her muzzle while she spoke.

She had bluffed a tiny bit just then, she was more or less indifferent to music, but all she had heard was griffon music and that wasn't the best. However, the song that had come from Freyia nearly melted her with the soothing voice that sang it.

Freyia looked down shocked. She had never been told that she had a beautiful voice. She blinked as a smile, a warm smile this time, came to her face. She backed up from the mare and laid her spear gently on the ground. She took a deep breath, and almost as if nature knew what was happening, picked up her soft voice and carried it over the hills.

May it be an evening star
Shines down upon you
May it be when darkness falls
Your heart will be true
You walk a lonely road
Oh! How far you are from home

Mornie utulie (Darkness has come)
Believe and you will find your way
Mornie alantie (Darkness has fallen)
A promise lives within you now

May it be the shadow's call
Will fly away
May it be your journey on
To light the day
When the night is overcome
You may rise to find the sun

Mornie utulie (Darkness has come)
Believe and you will find your way
Mornie alantie (Darkness has fallen)
A promise lives within you now

A promise lives within you now

She finished her song, then looked at the mare through half open eyes. "This was the song my mother would sing to me on nights when it would blizzard. Her voice was the most majestic thing in the world. I hardly do it justice." The sheepish look returned on her, but it was hardly the same. It was almost as if a child were embarrassed after a performance.

Shady lifted her leg off of Freyia once she started moving away, turning herself so she knew her full attention was on her. She blinked in mild surprise from the sudden start of the performance, her smile only growing wider as the soft voice made the red and gray mare fall down onto her haunches and forced her to sit. She closed her eyes so she could take in the song with her full ability.

She opened up her eyes and let her gaze land square on the snow white mare's eyes. "That...was very beautiful, Freyia." She said with a content smile, unable to take her eyes off of the singer while she slowly stood back up off of the grass. "I could listen to you sing all day long."

More blood rushed to the embarrassed pegasus' cheeks. "Thank you." She looked down, then her eyes widened.

She suddenly looked up expectantly, "What about you? My turn to ask the questions. What do you like?" Freyia stepped back to her previous spot, leaving her spear more than a hoof's length away.

Joy was written on her face. She looked completely different in this state. She never appeared old, but now she looked young. Her face resembled that of a filly, filled with energy and excitement. Her armor even took on a different form, not looking real, instead like a toy young fillies and colts would ware to play war. Her hair flowed in the breeze behind her, looking like a golden river in the wind. She was a different pony in this moment.

Shady couldn't look away from Freyia, her eyes locked onto the mare as the setting sun behind her made her seem to almost glow like an angel sent from above. She stood in a slight trance for a few moments, only getting snapped out of it by the other mare's voice. "O-oh. I usually get so wrapped up in my work that I don't have much time for hobbies... But if I do have free time, I do enjoy a nice book from time to time." She replied, looking flustered for the first time as her time spent with the warrior slowly broke away her outer shells.

Heart racing, she took a few more steps closer to Freyia, their muzzles only a hoof's distance apart. "But books are so hard to come by around here... I might need something else nice to spend my free time with..."

Freyia did not move, her smile slowly fading as the mare came closer and closer to her. Her heart slowed...no it was not her heart, it was the world. Everything seemed to move at half normal speed. Even the mare's words seemed to be slowed, as they flowed into her ears. What kind of magic is this? What is going on? What do I do?

She finally noticed that her heart was quickening, and her senses were becoming sharper as they honed in on the mare in front of her. The sensation was overwhelming. Freyia had never experienced anything like it, and from only on meeting. She was at a loss. All she could do was stand there, motionless, as the pony approached closer and closer.

Shady kept her eyes focused on those belonging to the other mare, mesmerized by them, almost hypnotized. She began to feel herself go numb as her heart raced, the area around the two ponies going black until all she could see was Freyia in front of her. She hadn't felt this way about anyone before, but she wasn't confused or even curious about the feeling. It somehow felt right.

Without a moment's thought, the gray mare closed her eyes and slowly moved herself forward, her muzzle made contact with Freyia's, their lips locked together. She couldn't focus her thoughts together to form a coherent message to herself during the moment, unable to think about anything around her, or how the white mare in front of her would even react to the sudden action. Her mind simply swam in bliss.

Freyia closed her eyes, not because she knew what to do, but because instinct told her to. The moment there lips made contact, her heart raced twice as fast, and her sensations twice as high. It was almost as if she were experiencing the world for the first time. The suns warm rays as it slowly descended over the horizon. The soft breeze through her mane and coat. The tickle of grass on her hooves. The smell of the crops from the farms carried on the breeze. And the warm lips of the mare she was embracing.

Instinct now in total control, she moved one of her forelegs up to the mare's face. Moving it slowly over her cheeks and through her mane, settling on her neck. There was nothing in her mind. She was fully in the moment. She used her leg to pull the mare in closer as she continued the kiss, bringing their chests together. She could feel her heart beat, it was as fast as hers.

This was beauty

Shady's body slowly went numb to anything around her that wasn't the mare she was locked in the embrace with. She could feel Freyia's heart beating in unison with her own, the warmth of the other pony only making time feel as if it had slowed to a near halt. It was the perfect moment... The kind of moment she never wanted to end.

Without thinking, the mare moved her own foreleg up and gently placed it on the cheek of Freyia, the softness of the mare's coat against her hoof only drawing her in farther. Moving her leg around the white mare's neck, she gently pulled their two bodies closer to enjoy the warmth she was given. This feeling was completely foreign to her, but she was enjoying ever millisecond it filled her. It was perfect.

For an untold amount of time the two continued their embrace. It could have been seconds or years, they did not care. All that Freyia knew was she liked it. She liked it a lot. Finally she had to stop, pulling her face slowly away . She opened her eyes to look at the mare who stood slightly below her. A serene smile across her face was there to greet the mare when she opened hers. She did not say anything, she didn't not know if there was anything to say.

Quickly while she had a moment, she tried to process what just happened and why. Maybe there was something in the water, or the air. Maybe it was the stress of the meeting and the announcement of the Guerrillas. She could go on for hours, days even, trying to find the reason for what just happened. All she did know was that it did happen, and she could not wait for it to happen again.

The moment of bliss and perfection slowly came to an end as Shady felt the pair of lips belonging to the other mare leave her own. Her mind was still swimming despite the break in the contact between the two of them, a smile that conveyed a message of pure happiness imprinted on her face as she slowly opened up her eyes again to meet Freyia's.

Having trouble formulating a decent thought to fill the silence, she simply kept her gaze on the two pools of golden emotion in front of her. Though she couldn't think of anything proper to say, she felt nothing needed to be said in this particular moment in time while she simply enjoyed the company of the other pony.

She opened her mouth to speak, but no sounds could be made. She quickly shut it and smiled, a small laugh bounced her chest up and down. This was ridiculous, she was a soldier of war, made speechless by a young mare, barely old enough to be out of her mothers house. She could not stop the small laugh.

She finally retrieved her voice and spoke, "Well, that was rather unexpected." She took a few deep breaths while her body calmed down. "I um..." she stopped trying to find words. Being unable to, she started laughing again, putting her head down while she did. It was as if she were a filly.

Shady's smile shrank slightly as she observed Freyia backing away from her, unable to say anything as she slowly put the pieces of her warped consciousness back together after the previous moment. Then the laughter started, only throwing the gray mare deeper into her confusion. Was this the normal reaction for something like they had just done? Should she be laughing too? This completely threw her for a loop and she struggled to think up a reply for it.

She shifted her weight on her hooves a bit awkwardly as she filed through every thought and memory she could, finding nothing. She eventually managed to speak a single phrase. "I'm sorry for startling you..."

Freyia only now began processing her emotions, the rush, the adrenaline, the slowing of time, the heightened sensations. She had felt it all before, in battle. And just like after her first battle, she could not wait to jump into the next one.

She looked up smiling, only to find the mare confused and unsure of herself. As the mare started to speak an apology, Freyia pictured another field, and another chance to to enter the fray that was their emotions. She could not withhold herself.

With one swift, elegant motion she flowed through the air and right up into the mare's face. She held herself there, her eyes level with the mare's. She had a half open smile on her face as her eyes moved back and forth, scanning the features of this new field. She was getting her footing now, getting used to the feelings as they rushed back. Their faces were inches apart. She could feel each breath the mare expelled.

It was now that she could truly see the mare named Shady, and she was beautiful. The soft grey coat surrounding the rubies that were her eyes. They almost seemed to sparkle in the dying sun. Her mane flowed in the breeze making the black stripes look like shooting stars streaking across a red sky. After getting her barrings of this new field, she moved in. Charging strong into the fray, her lips moved to meet the one whom had taken her breath away.

And just like her second step into battle, it was just as good as the first.

Shady kept her eyes trained on the mare who had caused the feelings to rush through herself so fast and so strong, as if she couldn't miss anything that she did, any motion she had made. The backdrop of the sunset behind Freyia seemed to almost make her glisten in the sky as her hooves left the ground. Before she knew what was happening, the pegasus of her dreams was close to her again; close enough to feel the warm puffs of air that were her breaths.

As her nerves melted away, she was able to finally see the full form of the pony known as Freyia. Gorgeous... the golden eyes surrounded by the perfect snowy white coat, the waves of gold that was her mane, the perfectly groomed feathers on her wings. She was the perfect pegasus...no, the perfect pony. The gray mare prepared to speak, only to be welcomely interrupted by the familiar warm feeling she had received moments before, wide eyes slowly closing as she slowly found herself lost in the bliss that was the kiss.