Chapters Waking Up, Breaking Out
"Careful with that!" The Project leader ordered. Watching as the final physical components of the "Cure" were added. It had been assumed that this "cure" was to be some sort of substance able to defeat the "corruption" that was spreading through Equestria, but half-way through the development a "corruption breach" had occurred. The corruption had made its way into the lab and mixed itself with some of the chemicals that were being used to create the "cure".
The contamination was to be contained, but before the scientists could successfully dispose of the mixture it was spilled onto one of the workers. The mixture had a profound effect on the pony, who was a unicorn. It completely re-configured his genetic structure, changed the color of his coat from a bright beige to an onyx black, it even changed his cutie mark, which had once been a test tube of bubbling liquid.
"Sir, the procedure is complete" one of the scientists stated, backing away from the new pony. Its mane styled into 3 short spikes, each one was curved like the blade of a knife. Adorning each spike was a red streak, the one on the top spike ran down the length of the pony's head to end between its eyes. His eyes were now more angular, and had a red streak that followed the corner of the eye. He had a thinner frame than before with longer legs and a smaller body, but anypony could see that he was no weakling.
Slowly the two eyes opened as the pony surveyed his surroundings.
"Where am I?" he asked. His voice was low almost like a whisper, but it carried an undertone of power that all the scientists heard.
The leader of the project stepped forward, inspecting the pony.
"You are in Canterlot Labs, may i ask you for your name?" he asked, not wanting to press for too much information at the moment.
"I have no identity, nor do I care for such a thing" the pony snarled back, his expression was still unnaturally calm though.
"I see" the lead scientist said turning to on of his assistants. "Notify the princesses that the project is complete, also inform them also that the cure is a living thing" he said.
"Right away sir!" the mare replied, racing off down the hallway on her way to the princesses.
"Wouldn't it have been easier to send a letter via magic sir?" one of the workers asked.
"It might have been, but with all the strange happenings that have occurred recently, we cant risk this" The stallion said, his eyes locking onto the the black and red unicorn.
"What do you mean by "project" is that all i am to you, the finished result of an experiment?" the unicorn asked a grown was now clearly evident in its voice.
"Not at all, we are all equals here, you are no exception" the scientist responded. But lingering in the back of his mind he couldn't help but wonder if this unicorn, through one small mistake, was superior to them all.
"Your highness!" the call came from one of Celestia's guards. His urgent expression caught her attention and drew her away from the window, from where she looked out upon the carnage that had once been a beautiful land of harmony, now divided by war and plague.
"Yes, what is it?" she asked, even in a time when Equestria was at war with itself she still was as calm and graceful as before it had started.
"Report from the science team princess, they say that the cure has been completed. And that its alive" the guard reported.
The last bit of information shocked Celestia, but she did not let her shock keep her in one place.
"Tell them that I am on my way, and while your at it try to find the whereabouts of the Elements of Harmony" Celestia instructed. Spreading her wings and flying off towards the lab.
***
After the brief greeting by the lab workers, the princess was led inside the laboratory. When She saw the "cure" she was shocked.
"So your the ruler of this land. The one they call "Princess Celestia?" The pony asked, studying Celestia's figure.
"Yes, and your the Pony that says he has no name?" the princess questioned. Looking over the unicorn's odd frame with much interest.
The red and black pony rubbed his chin in thought.
"You can call me Shadow" the pony said after a few moments of thought.
"Okay then Shadow. I should probably explain the situation to you" Celestia said, beginning the tale of how the corruption started as the product of a spell gone wrong, and how it had spread from its origin and began taking control of ponies like a parasite. Turning them into creatures who wanted to conquer the world and consume its magic energy.
When she was finished Shadow still held the same expression as before: Blank. Except for a small frown on his lips.
"So, I can combat this corruption by destroying its source?" He asked, his back to Celestia.
"That is correct Shadow. Will you help us?" the Princess asked.
Shadow closed his eyes in thought, his hoof rubbing his chin once again as he thought the idea over. Finally he opend his eyes and looked towards Celestia.
"Alright, I'll help you combat this corruption" He said, his expression still not hinting, even slightly, as to what he was thinking about.
"I am glad to hear that Shadow, you will not be alone though. My prize student and her friends will accompany you" Celestia said, taking in every detail of how Shadow reacted.
"I don't need any help, I can manage on my own" the unicorn said defiantly. His scowl deepening as he turned to Celestia.
"Even so, you should let them accompany you. They know this world better than you do" Celestia stated with finality.
"Fine, they'd better not get in my way though. They may be your student's friends but if they slow me down too much i wont hesitate to tell them off, forcefully" Shadow said, his voice now a growl. Which surprised even Celestia, nopony had ever truly made a threat like the one Shadow had just now; A threat to harm the Elements if they impeded his progress.
Before things could get worse one of Celestia's guards entered the room.
"Your highness, princess Twilight and the bearers of the Elements of Harmony have arrived" He said, bowing as he did so.
"Ah, very good" the ivory alicorn said, turning to leave. She turned to shadow and beckoned for him to follow.
"It's time for you to meet my student: Twilight Sparkle" she said as they headed for the exit
When Twilight and her friends saw the cure, they were as shocked as the princess had been.
"Interesting" Twilight said. Examining Shadow closely.
"So you six are the Elements Of Harmony?" Shadow asked, his voice still very low.
"Yes, we each represent an individual element. Applejack is honesty, Fluttershy is kindness, Pinkie Pie is laughter, Rarity is generosity, Rainbow Dash is loyalty, and I am the element of Magic. My name is Twilight Sparkle."
"I see" Shadow responded, a troubled look had crept onto his face.
"Whats wrong?" the purple unicorn asked. In response Shadow turned his face away from the unicorn and growled.
"Nothing, lets get moving" Shadow said. Starting off down the ruined pathway.
"Shadow wait a moment!" Shadow whirled around to see one of the lab workers running up to him. 4 objects being carried in the unicorns magic aura.
"Take these, they're prototype rocket hoof-skates. These will allow you to outpace even the fastest of ponies" the lab worker said as Shadow put on his new hoof-wear.
"Pieces of metal make a pony move faster. HA! Thats a good one!" The element of loyalty hooted.
Shadow started off at a slow pace, then he began to gallop. Once he reached his personal limit there was a slight "whoosh" as the skates whirred to life. Soon he was at the shield that protected the city of Canterlot from the corruption.
"O-kay, maybe I did under estimate those skates, mind if I borrow them?" the cyan pegasus asked sheepishly as she touched down next to Shadow.
"Oh Rainbow Dash" Twilight sighed. Landing unsteadily next to her friend.
"Incoming!" The call of alert from the guard was as clear as day, the group of 7 ponies raced towards the call, Shadow in the lead.
***
When Shadow and the 6 elements arrived at the source of the call, they were confronted with the sight of a huge army of corrupted being held off by the guards.
"Looks like its time to even the odds a bit" Shadow chuckled, a sinister grin forming on his face. Before any of the elements of harmony could stop him or ask him what he was so happy about, he was already in the fight.
The 6 ponies watched in half amazement half shock as the red and black unicorn darted through the air, even with his lack of wings, smashing into corrupted like a cannon ball and then leaping off of them and repeating the process over again. From his horn lanced red bolts of energy that decimated the corrupted on contact with their now black coats.
Twilight was the first to snap out of her shock.
"Come on girls lets go!" she said, lighting up her horn and readying her wings. The 6 mares charged into the fray together, under a protection spell from Twilight, of course.
***
Several hours into the fight, the group was starting to grow tired. Except for Shadow, he kept on fighting like he was born to do it. His powerful attacks of arcane magic scattered the corrupted like dust in a sandstorm.
"Twilight, ah don't think we can risk exhaustion in this fight. We should retreat!" Applejack yelled over the clatter of the battle.
"You're right Applejack, round up everypony, I'll try and pass the word to the soldiers." Twilight called back. She didn't want to retreat, but the wear of battle had take its toll on her. Using magic was becoming exhausting, even the simplest of defensive spells made her vision blur.
"wait a minute" Twilight suddenly said, looking around frantically. As the realization of an absence of a group member dawned on her.
"Wheres Fluttershy!?" She yelled.
A loud scream quickly answered her questions. Turning around to locate the source of the scream she saw the yellow animal caretaker, with several strongly built, bulky corrupted stallions advancing on her. One of the Pegasus's wings was hanging lazily at her side, an indication that it might have been broken.
"Fluttershy!" Twilight yelled. She was too far away for the purple alicorn to reach, by running or flying, and too far away for a simple shield spell to be cast on her. Twilight could only watch as the corrupted stallions reared up, preparing to end the pegasus's life.
Suddenly a orange streak struck one of the stallions and bounced back off. The corrupted stallion fell to the ground, off balance from the sudden attack. As he tried to get up though a red bolt of energy struck his body and sent him flying.
"You stay away from her" Shadow said. Leaping up again and turning into an orange blur once more. This time though the corrupted were ready for him; as he was about to smash into them they all lashed out with their rear legs in a strong coordinated buck.
Shadow landed with a loud crash, forming a trench as he skidded along the ground.
"Shadow!" Fluttershy called out. Unfortunately this brought the attention of the corrupted stallions right back to her. They advanced on her once more preparing to take her life, and corrupt her corpse.
Suddenly a loud thunderclap shook the battlefield. Corrupted and guards alike stopped their conflicts and watched as a large orb of red energy rose up into the air. From within the sphere Shadow roared.
"BEHOLD THE ULTIMATE POWER, OF CHAOS CONTROL!" Shadow's coat was now not black, instead it was a glowing red-orange. His eyes were like pearls; a glowing white that intimidated his foes. He had an aura of energy that would cause even the bravest of ponies to shudder in fear of his tremendous power.
The black and red unicorn disappeared in a flash of blue, and re-appeared an instant later directly in front of the corrupted stallions, who all had very scared looks on their muzzles.
"CHAOS - BLAST!" Shadow bellowed. His aura flared and then exploded, the bubble of red energy ripped through the corrupted like a knife through water. When it hit the Twilight, her friends, or the guards though it simply made them shudder violently.
Shadow laughed a sinister laugh, this was true power.
Author's Note
Longer chapters - no problem, just need to think up good scenes to keep everyone happy.
So that's chaos blast and chaos control checked off on moves to include...I think I'll add in a few new ones made to go along with the whole unicorn magic principle, any ideas as to what they should be (cue the funny training fails). I'll probably give shadow 3 or 4 new abilities for this story. And possibly add in a few variants of moves from SA2.
*Several months after the events of chapter 2*
Shadow looked over the ruined landscape of Equestria from his rocky perch. From the cliff he was standing on he could see for miles. There wasn't much to look at though, just the ruins of cities and towns, fires, and smoke. Still it was quiet and he had told the princesses and the elements to leave him be, so he could take some time away from them. there was one thing that he was still unsettled by though.
"Who am I, and why am I here? " The question had been in Shadow's mind since the battle with the corrupted. He knew who he was in identity an form, and knew he was here to help Equestria, but there was something lingering at the back of his mind; something dark. "Maybe the better question is: what am I? ". His frustration grew but he didn't let it hinder him.
Explosions rocked the earth as a massive wave of strange looking corrupted swarmed into the city, their coats were as black as Shadow's. Shadow only saw them as a source of entertainment for his bored-to-death mind.
"I guess some practice in combat will be fun at the least. " the black and red pony said. He was about to turn and head down the mountain, when a voice stopped him.
"Shadow " it said. The speaker was powerful, Shadow could feel that. But more importantly, much to Shadow's surprise; the voice was familiar.
The red and black unicorn turned. He saw nothing but he felt someone's presence. Then his eye picked up movement among the backdrop of destruction. A cloud of black mist floated up to him, slowly it started to take form.
The being wore flowing tattered robes, their mane was a pair of spikes that pointed up at the ends, and their coat was the same as Shadows; a solid black. The figure reguarded Shadow with cold eyes, and it was then that he noticed the being was lacking a mouth, and was translucent.
"As you can see, this land is dying at a very swift rate. But I can help you stop it if you bring me the Elements of Harmony. Together we will restore this land to perfection!" The ghostly avatar said. Its tone making it seem like what it was asking of Shadow required no further explaining.
"What are you talking about? Who are you, and how do you know my name is Shadow?!" Shadow retorted.
Before Shadow could press further, the avatar reverted to its smoky form and flew away into the city below. Shadow was about to follow when suddenly several explosions rocked the earth around him. The force from the blasts threw up thick clouds of dust obscuring the cure's view, leaving him undamaged however.
"What was that all about, and who is that guy?" Shadow said. As his mind processed the pony's speech. "And what does he mean by 'restoring the land to perfection'. The only way I'm gonna get the answers to my questions; is if I get those elements". Shadow said before igniting his skates and racing down the mountain trail.
***
Shadow blazed into the streets of Canterlot. Taking out any of the corrupted that stood in his path. Suddenly out of the corner of his eye he saw a prismatic streak of color swoop down from the sky.
The black and red unicorn turned his head to see a certain rainbow-maned pegasus land beside him.
"Hey Shadow long time no see!" Rainbow Dash said. Shadow noticed that she was missing the necklace that was the physical representation of her element.
"Dash, where's your element?" The cure asked.
Rainbow made a confused expression, and then realized what Shadow was talking about.
"We don't really know; one moment we're wearing them, the next moment there's an explosion right in our faces, and then they're gone!" the blue pegasus explained. All the while Shadow processed the words, thinking about his mission at the same time.
"This could work to my advantage. If the elements are scattered; then i can obtain them without much confrontation " he thought.
The black unicorn turned his head to face the blue pegasus.
"Do you know where they might have ended up?" Shadow asked.
"Well, Twilight used a locator spell, and we have rough ideas of where the elements are. Mine is in Canterlot, somewhere, but it hasn't turned up yet." the pegasus said.
Shadow would have pressed for more info, but the two were interrupted by a sudden series of explosions. Without another word the two set off down the street.
***
"It looks like these corrupted are much stronger than before, but I bet we can handle em', lets do this Shadow!" Rainbow called out. What she was saying was true enough; these corrupted were bulkier, armored, and armed.
Shadow launched into the air, became a ball of orange, and launched himself at the corrupted. Each one he hit fell to the ground limp-bodied and broken.
Rainbow dash assisted smashing into the corrupted at near-sonic speeds scattering them like leaves in the wind.
"looks like they're starting to loose numbers!" Rainbow said. chasing after a group of corrupted pegasi.
Suddenly the group of flying corrupted spun around to face the blue pegasus. Together they unleashed a storm of energy darts. Rainbow was caught off guard by the sudden attack, and dodged in a sloppy way. Being hit 4 times by the powerful energy darts.
"Shadow, A little help here!?" She cried out. now leaping back and forth to avoid the blasts.
Shadow let his arcane magic fly. Entangling the corrupted in webs of burning torture. They fell to the ground with a thud screaming in pain and misery.
"Heh that was way too easy." Shadow said. A loud moan interrupted his thoughts as he whirled around to see Rainbow Dash rubbing her head as she trotted up to him.
"Heh-eh thanks Shadow!" She said. Smiling at the black and red pony with gratitude.
"No problem Rainbow Dash. Lets get moving we still have to clear the city of the corrupted an-" Shadow was interrupted by a glow of red, coming from under some nearby rubble.
"Hey whats that?" he asked. Moving to inspect the glow. He removed the chunk of rock that was covering the glowing object; and found a golden necklace with a ruby-red lightning bolt adorning its center.
"H-Hey that's it, that's my element!" Rainbow Dash stuttered.
Shadow picked up the element, inspecting it. He was about to hand it over to Dash when all of a sudden it started to glow brightly.
"What the h-"
A Red lightning bolt shot out of the element and started to orbit Shadow. Before anypony could wonder what was going on; the lightning bolt shot straight at the cure.
Shadow felt a surge of raw energy as the bolt entered his chest. It was as if the element had given him a new energy to work off of. He felt the knowledge of another being flow into him; With it came new spells designed for a combat-oriented situation. Shadow also felt something at the back of his mind awaken, like a dam had overflowed and was letting new memories spill out.
He "remembered" the name of somepony who had meant a lot to him.
"M-A-R-E-I-A "
Author's Note
Sorry about the time gap between this chapter and the previous (both in terms of posting it for real, and in the storyline)
Anyways what do you think of the Chapter? What would you like to see in the story? And How the F*** am I gonna get an "E.G.G.M.A.N" into this story?!?!?
Shadow walked the streets of Canterlot, now clear of corrupted. Rainbow Dash, The Guards, and himself had all worked extremely hard to clear all of the pests from the city, and were rewarded with this moment of peace.
"Who am I?" Shadow asked himself. He had been doing this for quite some time now, and more questions had come with the new "memories". "What Am I?" Shadow asked quietly. He kept walking trying to decipher the memories that now floated around his mind.
Suddenly his vision wavered, and he stumbled. Fatigue hitting him like the front of a train.
"I guess a little rest couldn't hurt. " He said. He found a open area that might have been a park at one point. A lone leafless tree stood in the center of the park. Shadow trotted over to the tree and curled up near its trunk. He slowly closed his eyes, and soon was sleeping peacfully.
But the cure's dreams were anything but peaceful.
He assumed he was in the palace, judging from the architecture and the immense size of the room. Pillars, that at an earlier point in time might have been sturdy, now lay crumbling as piles of rubble. Shattered windows let light seep into the otherwise dark room.
"How-"
"Silence " a voice said from the darkness. Shadow turned to see the princess of the sun striding towards him. A fire as fierce as the sun danced in her eyes.
"Princess, why am I here?" Shadow asked. he was utterly confused by the whole scene, having no idea what was going on.
"I. Said. SILENCE! " Celestia roared, "Shadow you betrayed us, i should have never allowed you to come into being. Just the end of a failed science project, that's what you are." The princess snarled.
"T-the end of a failed project? traitor?" the words swirled in Shadow's mind. In his already confused state Shadow was easily angered by this. He bared his teach, and the red glow started up around him once more.
"Your wrong princess. I am so much more than the result of an experiment," The words were coming from his mouth but they didn't feel right, like they belonged to someone else, "I. Am. The Ultimate Life-Form and I swear; Celestia, You're going straight to hell! "
With that Shadow unleashed his full power on the princess. Bolts of energy, lightning, and bombs of unstable power exploded and cracked all around her.
The princess screamed.
"SISTER! " Shadow whirled around to see another figure. This one had a darker coat, and had a smaller frame than the sun princess, but she had the same flowing mane, and she radiated power. The figure charged at the cure, but she never reached him. Because Shadow had woken up.
The black and red unicorn shot to his hooves. Checking his surroundings; he was still in the park under the bare tree.
"What was that all about? " Shadow thought. He rubbed his head, and felt that it might split open if he did anymore questioning.
A loud thump caught his attention, and the cure turned to inspect. What he saw surprised him, if anything it at least scared him.
Standing a yard or two from Shadow's position was the dark-coated pony from his dream.
"Who are you?" Shadow asked. Anger was evident in his tone, but he was on edge because of the sudden arrival.
The pony glared at Shadow. Her own anger was as evident as his. She turned, and tightened her gaze, her eyse becoming angry slits.
"Thou should know; that we are not sure of our sister's choice to let thou live. We still do not trust thee, even after thy acts of bravery against the corrupted. Know this, creature, We will be watching thou's actions very closely," the princess hissed, "And also know that thou speakest to the princess of the night. We have observed thou's dreams. We are NOT pleased." the princess said.
"look, I don't care what you see in my dreams. I only care about destroying those damn corrupted, and anyone who stands in my way is an enemy," Shadow hissed back, "Also know that you're speaking to the ultimate life form. I wouldn't try to make me angry if I were you princess." Shadow turned to leave, but was stopped by the princess.
"Thou art powerful and confused, but we still think thou art hiding something. Tell us w-"
"I have no time for this, outta my way!" Shadow said. To his surprise the princess lit her horn and disappeared, but her voice lingered.
"know whom you deal with creature, it will lead to your end if you don't "
