Memories of a Godby Omega DracomancerChaptersShadow StreakChapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 5Chapter 6Chapter 8The Origins of SigmaChapter 10Chapter 11Chapter 12Memories of a God cp 13Chapter 7Shadow StreakYou can do it, Shadow Streak! You're gonna get through this! Stay with us and you're not gonna die. Win, Shadow! He felt himself running, but couldn't stop. He was in intense pain. Why? He didn't know. He wanted to know why, but something told him that he shouldn't learn. He fell on the ground and couldn't move. He couldn't even talk. "Here he is!" he heard a mare say. He heard hoofsteps coming towards him very rapidly. Fading in and out of unconsciousness, he felt different things. He felt one lift him with magic, then place him on a stretcher, agitating his injuries, but he didn't care. "He's hurt real bad. We need to get him to the hospital as fast as we can!" They picked him up and ran to town. He didn't hear what they were saying, he was working on staying alive. He concentrated all of his will on remaining alive, but didn't know why. 'Where am I? Who am I? What happened to me? Why do I want to live so badly? Is my life important? Why?' He thought, slowly. He fell under, and didn't wake for awhile. LATER He woke back up in a hospital bed, breathing heavily and painfully. He ignored the pain and looked around, unable to move his neck quickly without hurting himself. He could feel that he was covered from head to hoof with bandages. "Oh, you awake." said the nurse. He tried to talk, but only managed to cough up blood. The nurse ran over to him and helped him out a bit. His horn gave off a dull glow and he felt a tingling sensation in his chest. He coughed again, but it didn't hurt. He was confused, but took this moment to say, "I can talk, yeah. It's odd, my chest hurt a second ago, but it's fine now." "You're far from fine, my pony friend. Your wounds were very serious. Both of your back legs were broken in multiple places, your front legs were incredibly burned, one of your wings seemed to have been torn off, with the other having a cut right through it, your horn has been cut down the center, and your entire body was covered in deep slash wounds. What have you been doing?" she asked. "I don't know... I don't know." he said sadly. A single tear ran down his face, and he smiled. "Why are you happy that you can't remember?" "No, not that. I'm happy because I'm still alive. I fought for my life when somepony found me. I don't know why, but I'm happy I did. Does anypony know what happened to me?" "No, nopony saw anything. Nopony even knows who you are." The nurse walked to the door and spoke to somepony outside it. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but he recognized the voice from earlier. A purple pony walked in after the nurse and pulled a quill and paper out of her bag. "Are you feeling well?" she asked. "I don't know how to feel, I can't move without feeling incredible pain, and I can't remember anything other than my name. But I feel fine. Where am I? How did I get here?" "Don't worry, your in a safe place, I brought you here. You were in the middle of the forest, bleeding heavily." "Why was I messed up so bad?" "I don't know, I was hoping that you could help me." "I'm sorry, ma'am, but I don't know either. I want to be able to help you, but I just don't know. Rather, it's not that I don't know, it's that I don't remember, anything, at all." "Well, can you tell me your name?" "My name is Shadow Streak, that is the one thing that I do know." he said. He turned his head slowly. "And what is your name, beautiful?" She looked down, blushing, and said, "M... My name is Twilight Sparkle. I'm here to learn more about you, it's not everyday that you see somepony half-dead in the forest." Shadow Streak smiled at her, and started to bleed profusely. He returned to his previous position and started to breath heavily again. His horn glowed again, and he felt the tingling sensation all over his body. The pain went away, and he stopped bleeding. He looked at his body, and saw that he was indeed very injured. "I thought you said that you couldn't move." said Twilight. "I don't know what's going on here, but I'm healing astronomically quickly." "Yes. It would seem so." "Hey, you know what, Twilight? I remember something else." "What do you remember?" "My mission." he said. "Mission?" "I was given a mission to protect." "Protect what?" "Everything. I'm not able to help anypony here." he said. He tried to get off of the bed and stand up, but felt an incredible pain over his entire body. "AAAHHH! It hurts!" he yelled. Then he fell on the floor with tears in his eyes, whimpering in pain. Twilight and the nurse ran over to him and tried to help him back into his bed. "Shadow! What are you hoping to accomplish?" asked Twilight, angrily. "Get away from me." he commanded. "No, you need to get back into bed and rest!" said the nurse. "I said get away from me!" he yelled. His horn started to glow, brightly and with a violent aura, and Twilight and the nurse were held in place, unable to move their hooves. Then he got up, and Twilight and the nurse were thrown against the wall with a blast of magical energy. "Shadow, you need to get back in bed." pleaded Twilight. "You're injured!" Shadow Streak looked at the bandages covering the wounds. Then he used his magic again, and the bandages disintegrated, revealing the horrific wounds that he had suffered. Most of the cuts were now pouring blood. He stared at them, his horn glowed faintly again, and they stopped bleeding. He fell to the ground and said, "I'm sorry. Don't trouble yourself over me." The last thing he felt was his whole body tingling while he was placed back onto his bed. "Twilight, do you think this stallion is safe like this?" asked the nurse. "I don't know, Nurse Redheart, he's a very odd pony. There was something I noticed about him as soon as I saw him." "His horn?" "Yes, black and white." "I've never seen that before." "Me neither. A multicolored horn, I'm going to notify Princess Celestia about him." "There was one other thing, his body is covered in scar tissue. He must have gone through something horrific in his life." Twilight walked over to him and examined his horn, then his coat color. "Interesting." "Is this necessary, Twilight?" asked Nurse Redheart. "Well, I suppose not, why do you ask?" "It isn't visiting time. I've pulled enough strings already, and you shouldn't really be here right now." "Oh my gosh, I'm sorry. Can I come back tomorrow?" "Absolutely, just not now." "Right, sorry. Thank you for letting me stay for this long." Twilight left the hospital in a hurry, mulling over Shadow Streak. "Why was he so injured? Just what happened to him. Nopony's ever been hurt that bad. Maybe a broken bone or a scrape here and there, but it was as if somepony wanted to hurt him." She walked to Fluttershy's house and knocked on her door. She heard some rattling inside, and Fluttershy opened the door. "Oh, hi Twilight." "Hi Fluttershy. Can I ask you some questions?" "Uh... I guess." "It's about the unicorn that I found in the forest." "He was scary. Did he do anything to you?" she asked. "Well, no. Call him Shadow Streak, or Shadow. Anyways, you saw his injuries, right?" "Yes I did, and they were the worst that I've ever seen in my entire life." "Well, I examined him further, and found that he has a large amount of healing abilities. I also saw something that baffled me, his horn." "I didn't see that, was it safe?" "No, not at all. It was destroyed like the rest of his body. But that's not what was confusing, it's that his horn had two distinct colors to it." "Two distinct colors?" "Yes, half of it was black, and the other half white. These colors seemed to slowly fade into his body after it reached his head. It formed a freckle like pattern, then vanishes into the grey of his coat." "I've never seen that before, I've never even heard of it." "Yeah, me neither." "Twilight?" "Yes, Fluttershy?" "Why did this happen to him?" she asked unhappily. "I don't know, Fluttershy. But I'm going to find out!" said Twilight with a determined look on her face. "Thanks for the talk, Fluttershy." "Uh, sure. Any time. If you find anything else about Shadow, could you tell me?" "Alright, but why?" "I just want to make sure he's safe." "Yeah, sure thing, Fluttershy." Twilight left Fluttershy and headed straight for her house. She got there and woke up Spike, who complained. "Spike, I need your help to find something." she said, moving books off of the shelf. "What do you need to find?" "Something about two-tone horns." "Did Rarity make a new fashion trend?" "No, a pony in the forest who was badly hurt had a horn that was black and white. His body seemed to be a mix of the two." "So he was grey?" asked Spike, pulling out some books. "Yes Spike." Twilight and Spike looked through the books for many hours, not finding a single reference to his condition. Then Twilight grabbed a very dusty history book. She blew it off and read the cover. "Conspiracies through the ages." She opened it to about the middle and read some of it, "'The battle of Discord, not what it seems to be.' What's that supposed to mean?" Spike walked over and said, "I never believed these things anyways." "'Some say that the battle between Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Discord was not what is told in your average history book. There have been multiple accounts of another participant in the battle, a grey alicorn. This alicorn was odd in that he only had one wing.' Just like Shadow. 'It's been said that he joined the princess' in the first fight with Discord. It was a long and destructive battle. Near the end, Discord used all of his power to attack Princess Celestia, but the alicorn stepped in between them, nearly ending his life. Discord fled and the alicorn was cared for afterwords by both of the princesses. He was bestowed the title One Winged Angel for his bravery, kindness, and selflessness, also as a reference to his lone wing.'" She re-read it to make sure what it said was correct, then wrote a letter to Princess Celestia to tell her about Shadow and ask about what she read in the book. Spike sent the letter, than they waited for a reply, but didn't get one. "She's probably sleeping, don't worry about it, Twilight." said Spike. "And speaking of which, I'm going back to bed." "I think that I'll get to sleep as well." said Twilight. She looked outside and saw that the sun was almost coming over the horizon. She could sleep for a few hours before she ha to wake up, so she made it to her bed and fell asleep. Shadow Streak was still in his room, sleeping. Nurses checked on him very often to make sure he didn't hurt himself. A clear smoke started coming off of his body. It was exiting his wounds, and they started to close, healing him. His horn was almost all pure white while this happened. His bones were locked into place and started to heal as well. His horn and wing were the last thing to heal. His horn was held together and fused in place, and his wing was repaired. He was quickly monitored after he started to heal, and they attempted to make sense of what was happening to him. Only when it was finished were they able to understand it. "He has the ability to heal himself, even while sleeping." said Nurse Redheart. The other ponies that were helping Shadow agreed with her, but nopony could understand further. Shadow was happily sleeping away, oblivious to what happened to him. Nurse Redheart decided to tell Twilight about what happened later that day. Chapter 2Shadow Streak had woken up, and was incredibly happy. He was happy because he could move without pain. He was literally dancing with joy. Nurse Redheart was baffled. She knew he had healed, but she didn't expect him to make a full recovery. "Hey doc, I gotta ask, was there anything strange about me?" he asked her after he had settled down. "The only thing that anypony has noticed only your horn, it is dual-colored, black and white. We didn't have time to do a major search though." He looked up and said, "Well, look at that, it is, isn't it. Is that bad?" "I don't know, it has never been documented before. Last night while you were sleeping, your wounds healed themselves. A dull glow emanates from your horn whenever you are healing. It's like magic, but far too advanced for anypony to replicate or even perform." "It doesn't seem bad. If it hasn't been documented before, call it heterochromia cornu. Heterochromia is different colored, and cornu is horn. Why do I know that?" "Why indeed." "What do I do now? I'm completely healed. Do I stay here? I have nowhere else to stay." "Don't you worry about that, Shadow Streak. You can stay with me and Spike." said Twilight, walking in. "Hey Twilight, guess what? I can move again!" said Shadow happily. "It would appear so, how is this possible? I know that you had great healing abilities, but to heal every one of your injuries in a single night?" "Yeah, cool, isn't it? I got a name for my horn condition as well, heterochromia cornu. I chose Latin because it seemed right. Heterochromia iridis is different colored eyes. Single iridis out, and you get iris. Replace it with cornu, and you get different colored horn. How the hell do I know all this?" "That was a very smart observation of you." said Twilight. "I agree, maybe I'm smart. I don't know. Something tells me that I don't want to know either, and I'm gonna go with that feeling. Hey, is Queen Gaia still holding power?" "Who?" "You know, Queen Gaia! The queen of Equestria." "Equestria doesn't have a queen. Our rulers are Princess Celestia and Princess Luna." she said. "Little Luny and Tiny Tia! Hey, how have they been? They were so cute when I left." he asked happily. "Little Luny? Tiny Tia?" "Yeah. Why? Is it wrong to call the Princesses that?" "You should address them by their name, not a nickname." "But they were so tiny when I last saw them. How old are they now? Tia was 207 and Luny was 117 when I left. They were barely old enough to be called adults." He noticed Twilight looking at him like he was crazy. Then she shook her head and said, "They're both over 1000 years old." "Wow, alicorns in their prime. Bet they look great." "Alicorns in their prime?" "1000-5000 years old. That's great, just how far back can't I remember?" "That's actually what I was here to ask you about." said Twilight. She pulled out the book and continued, "It says in here that the fight against Discord was not done by our princesses alone. It says that another alicorn had helped them. One with only one wing." Shadow looked at his lone wing and said, "It could've been me. Then again, maybe not. Could've been another without a wing. Just how long ago was this battle? And just who is this Discord bloke, picking on Luny and Tia like that." "This battle was 1200 years ago." "So I can't remember about 1500 straight years in my immortal life. It's like a second to me, but every second counts." "Immortal? I really don't think you're immortal." "Oh, but I am. Lived longer than any alicorn I've known of." "Shadow, even the princesses aren't immortal. Eventually, everypony..." started Twilight. She looked down sadly. "No more talk of death while I'm around, you got that missy? But I am completely immortal. Billions of years old." "You're billions of years old?" "And looking great! That's right, I'm as old as the universe. Older maybe. The beginning was beautiful. Ponies looked at me and say that I'm a witch, then after they failed to kill me, I was exiled out of almost every country that I had visited. Equestria is definitely my favorite." "It you're from that time, why don't you speak Old Equestrian?" "I adopt languages like that." he said, tapping his hooves together. "You look like you're 25." "And you look 21, how old are you?" "I'm 21. How did you know that?" "Very good question." "Are you going to answer it?" "Sorry little lady, I can't, I don't even know myself. I have little memory of anything important, but as I have seen, many, many things can happen in 1500 years. A lot can happen in an hour as well. Seen entire planets turned inside out in an hour." "You said that you didn't remember anything." "They're slowly trickling back. Only mundane and boring facts. No personality, nothing useful. From many years ago until now, and I don't remember anything past 1500 years ago. I don't know who I am. Those years were definitely the most important in my life. Seems to me that that your princesses are the only ones who can help me with this. Can you help me meet them?" "I sent Princess Celestia a letter yesterday telling her about you." "That's good. Wait, how do you know her?" "I'm her personal student." "Well, that's great! When can I expect to see her?" "I don't know, I haven't gotten a reply." "Guess I'll have to wait for her then. You said that I could stay at your place for the time being?" "Yes, I did say that, didn't I?" "Is there a problem?" "Well, I haven't had time to prepare and the place is a mess. It's even hard to walk around and I couldn't get a chance to clean it up and..." Shadow put his hoof over her mouth. "You talk too much." he said, smiling at her. He removed his hoof, and started to walk around. "I wonder how they'll react to seeing Uncle Shadow again after so long. The princesses I mean." "You're related to the Princesses?" asked Twilight. "Not by blood. Not by law either. I'm more of a friend. I think." "A friend?" "Yep. Hey Nurse..." "Redheart, Nurse Redheart." "Nurse Redheart, could you get me some chocolate milk?" "Sure, hold on a minute." She left the room and came back with a carton of chocolate milk. He took it and ripped it open, then drank it all. He tossed it into the trash and said, "Thanks." "Yeah, any time." she said. He smiled at them, and quickly fell asleep. "Twilight, he is a very odd pony, isn't he?" said Nurse Redheart. "Yes, he's the strangest that I have met. Billions of years old." she said. "He is a very nice pony. I hope that he remembers what he lost." Twilight left and walked to Fluttershy's house to tell her about him. She knocked on the door and Angel answered. "Hello Angel, is Fluttershy home?" Angel shook his head and shrugged. "Do you know when she'll get back?" Angel shook his head again. "All right, thanks for the help." She walked back to her house and decided to read up on anything that could lead her to answers. Answers to the many questions she was thinking about. 'Why was he hurt? How did this happen to him? Is he as old as he says he is? If he is, how did this happen? How does he know the princesses? What am I going to have for lunch today?' The biggest question was burning in her mind, "Who is Shadow Streak?" Chapter 3Shadow was walking around, a bit bored. He was told that he wasn't allowed to leave until further tests had been done. He had already exhausted the limits of fun inside a hospital room. He decided to leave the room and get himself some lunch. He walked down the hallway, getting strange looks from everypony. He picked up his speed and grabbed a sandwich from the cafeteria. When he finished it, he walked back with a few cartons of chocolate milk on his back. "Guess I like chocolate milk." he said. Nurse Redheart was walking out of his room when he got there. "Where have you been off to?" she asked. "Just off to get some lunch. Milk?" he asked, holding one out to her. "No thanks." "How long am I expected to stay here?" he asked. "Just a few more days if nothing goes wrong." "I don't think anything is gonna happen." "Me either, but you can never be too safe." "That's true. What is the next plan of action? What are you going to do to me next?" "First, we need to take care of standard medical procedures." "Physical and mental well-being, records, check-up, and condition examinations. Did I miss anything?" "Um... No, that about covers it." "Lets get started then." he said, "I must have been a doctor. Or maybe I was frequently injured. Or maybe it was just me being so old that I memorized yearly medical check-ups." "In any case, follow me. We'll start your physical exam immediately." They walked back into his room and she got out stethoscope. He sat up and she placed it on him. "Breath in." she said. He did so, and she heard an irregular heart rate. 'It's going at a rate much faster than physically possible.' "Breath out." She heard a large electrical sound. It seemed to come from his heart itself. She stepped back, unable to comprehend this. "In." His chest moved rapidly. "Out." His chest gave off a faint glow. "Is there anything wrong?" he asked. "No, nothing at all." she said. He leaned in and looked in her eyes. "Tell me the truth." he said. "Your heart beats much faster than a normal heart should be able to handle. Why it hasn't... exploded, for lack of a better word, is beyond me. Whenever you exhale, a large electrical sound can be heard and your chest glows." she said, unmoving. "Electrical sound and glowing... Sounds like an advanced pacemaker." he said. She giggled a little and said, "I guess you're right." "If it is, there would be a device lodged near my heart. Most likely detectable." "You were serious about that?" "Yeah, I have reason to believe that there is indeed something odd in there." "Oh? What reason would that be?" "Well I... Good point. I still think it's true." "Don't worry, Shadow. Now, time to check your vitals." She got out a tool and put it in his ear. It beeped and she looked at it, unable to cope. "What is it?" "It must be broken." she said, grabbing another. She did the same and got the same reading. "Is that one broken too?" he asked. "No. It's just odd." "What is?" "Your body temperature is over 400!" she said. "Is that bad?" "That's four times the normal amount." "That's... bad?" "It's way past fatal! Water boils at half that!" He looked at his arm and touched his forehead to it. "Seems ok to me." he said. Redheart felt his forehead with her hoof and said, "Yes, you feel completely fine to me." "And it's not broken?" "No, it's fine." "So I'm broken?" "Don't say that, Shadow." "Ok, next." "Alright, next we test blood pressure." she said, wrapping it around his arm. She started it and got a 0/0 blood pressure rating. She re-checked it and tried again, 0/0. "Shadow, you don't have blood pressure." she said. "What does that mean?" he asked. "Blood shouldn't be going through your body." she said. "But I was bleeding yesterday, you saw me. You bandaged me up." "You were like a mummy." "Handsome mummy that is." he replied. "This isn't right. This breaks physical laws." "Next." "That would be the pulse." "This is gonna be fun." "Why do you say that?" "With my odd readings beforehand, I'm sure that I'm gonna get something odd this time." "Maybe a reading of 902 a minute." she joked. "Or maybe 2 an hour." She checked his pulse and said, "Normal, 70." "Hard to believe anything about me is normal. That was a disappointment, and doesn't make sense. Next." "You really wanna get this done, don't you?" "The sooner I can get it done, the sooner I can leave." "We'll see about that." "What's that supposed to mean?" "The blunt truth of it all, is that you should be confined to your bed, attached to nearly every machine here." "The fact that I'm not means that you don't think I need to, meaning that I'm healthy." "But I..." "Now, I have a request." "More chocolate milk?" "No... Well, yes, but no. I actually wanted to see why I glow while exhaling." "Well, I can arrange that." she said. She looked for a scar on his chest, but didn't see any. "You have no signs of a surgically placed pacemaker." "So that means that it was done without surgery." he replied. "You're very persistent." "I know that." "Fine." Nurse Redheart was setting up some devices like Shadow had told her to. When it was ready, she started it up and examined his chest. "What is that?" she said. "That shouldn't be possible." "What are you talking about?" he asked. She was looking at a very dark, and very dense lump of material in the center of his heart. "How are you still alive? This thing in your chest would've inhibited blood flow and stopped muscle movement altogether. It's been placed in a very specific location. Was this done on purpose? No, it can't be. Your heart is perfectly healthy, it doesn't have any marks, blemishes, or any other kind of marring. How did it get there? No entry marks, nothing. Was it done by magic? No known magic is able to enter a body." "Well, that's amazing." She was bewildered. It was impossible for him to still be alive, and yet, there he was, looking at her like she was crazy. He was still breathing, and was still sitting there, happily smiling away. "But... But... How? A better question would be, why did I do this? This isn't regulation. I didn't tell anypony. So why did I do this? Was it because you asked me? I just don't know." "Oh, don't worry. I won't tell anypony. Now then, is this the thing that's glowing?" She saw that it released an electrical charge every time he exhaled. It was wired to his heart, shocking it with every breath. "Yes it is." "And there's no problems?" "No, no noticeable problems." "I take it more studying." She looked at him with a blank face. "Nurse Redheart, you're needed at once." said a pony, opening the door. She shook her head and said, "Right away." "But..." "Sorry Shadow." she said, exiting quickly. Shadow listened through the door, they hadn't moved. "What were you doing in there?" asked the other pony. "I was trying to help him. Diagnose him." "You need the proper permission to do that." "I know, but he was just so persuasive." "That's your excuse?" "It's the truth!" "Well maybe I should see for myself." Shadow hopped back on his bed and the other pony walked in and said, "Is there anything that I can get you, Shadow?" "Some chocolate milk would be nice." "Alright, no problem." "Actually, just bring me all the chocolate milk they have." "All of it? Alright, sure." she said happily. She walked out and Shadow followed after her. "What happened, Shadow?" asked Redheart. "Ask her yourself." he said, walking back in. She walked over to her and said, "What are you doing?" "I'm getting Shadow Streak some chocolate milk, a lot of it... just like he asked... Wow, you're right, he is persuasive." "I told you." "Who is Shadow Streak anyways?" she asked. "I don't know, nopony does. He has severe memory loss." "He seems fine." "He has some odd conditions though." "Like what?" Redheart told her about the things she recorded. "But that's..." "Impossible, I know." Shadow was unable to hear anything that they were discussing. He was laying on his bed, waiting for something to do. He closed his eyes, and felt an unnatural coldness. He opened his eyes in fear. "What was that?" He looked around for anything that could've caused it. Nothing. "Was it in my head?" Redheart walked in and said, "Shadow, it's about time you changed rooms." "Why?" "It saves space. You'll be moved to a room with a pony who hurt her leg recently." "That sounds ok." "This way please." she said, walking out. She took him to the ground floor and showed him to another room. She opened the door and said, "Here he is." Shadow walked in the room and saw her laying on her bed with a cast on her leg. "Hi, I'm Shadow Streak." he said. "What about you, beautiful?" "Hello Shadow Streak, Ah'm Applejack. So your mah new guest?" "That's right." "I need to go, so you just... stay here." "Wasn't like Ah was goin' anywhere anyway." "Sure thing, Nurse." She walked away and Shadow sat on his bed. "How'd you hurt your leg?" he asked. "Ah was having an off day and mis-bucked a tree and Ah twisted mah ankle. What about yourself?" "I have no idea. I was full of injuries, but they healed. I was then given a physical and got impossible results. After that, I was sent down here so they could use my room." "That's quite a story. What did ya'll mean when you said impossible results?" "Body temperature over 400, blood pressure 0/0, and something lodged deep inside my heart. That, along with one wing and a dual-colored horn, makes me seem very odd." "That is very odd." Shadow walked over to her and said, "So Applejack, how's chocolate milk sound?" "That sounds great!" "Good, because I was getting two, regardless." He walked out to try and find the nearest source of chocolate milk. "Um... That way." Eventually, he was able to find a few cartons and brought them back to Applejack. "Drink up." "Thanks." she said. He chugged his milk and laid down on his bed. "Did they tell you how long until you could leave?" he asked. "Ah was told that Ah could leave in about a week." "Leave in a week? Maybe we could leave together." "That sounds nice." "In any case, if that's gonna happen, I am going to need to get clearance." "They won't let ya leave without it." "And I want to leave. Never known anything outside this hospital." "What do you mean?" "I lost my memory and was taken here. I haven't left yet, so I'm allowed to say that the only life I know is in a hospital." "Lost your memory?" "Ah yes, but it's slowly trickling back. Slowly but surely. Just yesterday I remembered the princesses as my friends." "You were friends with the princesses?" "Yup. So, got a question, need your honest opinion. Do I look physically fit?" "Where did that come from out of the blue?" "I realized that I have only seen sick, weakened stallions. I want to know if I'm normal so I don't stand out too much." "Well, you look like you've worked all your life. You look a little like mah brother, Big Macintosh. He's a strong stallion, works all the time. If you went into public, you might get a second look, but nothing major." "Thing is, my appearance is unknown to me, and even if it was, it wouldn't matter. Oh well. Now, I am going to relax." "Ah've relaxed for too long." "Then relax some more. Everypony needs downtime." "It's hard to relax when you've been here long." "If you can't relax, then tell me what you do for a living." "Ah'm a farmer, Ah buck apples. Make different products and sell 'em. It's a livin'." "Apples are delicious. Have you ever had zap apples?" "Every year mah family harvests the zap apples and makes jam out of them. It's great!" "Yes, but have you ever had raw zap apples?" "Raw zap apples?" "Pick them before they're ready." "Not even Big Mac can do that." "Raw zap apples are the most delicious things in the entire universe. Get 'em off the tree and then you can experience the very essence of sweet itself." "How do you know that?" "I once managed to do it. Fourth day, I went out to the fields and broke one free. It took almost all I had, but it came off. Everypony else wanted a taste, but it was poisoned. Bad. I swallowed it as fast as I could to keep it contained, but ended up dying." "Poison? Dying?" "Oh yes. The zap apples are not to be harvested before their time. Not that it's possible of course. Wow! Look at that! I remembered something!" "Dying?" "Is it so hard to believe that?" "Yes, yes it is." "Let me explain, I can not die. It will never happen. Not in a hundred years, not in a trillion years." "Ah believe you." "I mean, of course you don't... What?" "Ah believe you, Shadow." "Why?" "I know that you are telling the truth." "Wow, thanks. Just for that, I'm gonna do something for you." He stared at her leg and his horn glowed. When he stopped, she said, "What was that?" "Your leg should be completely healed with no visible marks or any sign of injury." She looked at him, confused, then moved her leg around. "How did ya'll do that?" "Hey, I can heal others as well a myself! Maybe I was indeed a doctor." She removed the cast and stood up. "I'm all healed up." "Tell the doctors and they might give ya a free pass out of here." "Shadow Streak, you are allowed to leave now." said Nurse Redheart, walking in. "What are you doing out of bed Applejack?" "Shadow Streak healed mah leg!" she said happily. "That's right!" She walked over and examined her leg. "Nothing. It's fine. You can heal others, Shadow?" "Myself and others! That's a great talent to have!" He looked at his flank, wondering what his special talent really was. He didn't see anything, blank. "Huh, healing isn't it, so what is?" "What was that?" "I thought that if I saw my cutie mark, it would help me remember something. I don't even have one. I guess since I lost my memory, I lost my cutie mark." "But that doesn't happen!" said Nurse Redheart. "Even those who never regain their memory keep their cutie marks." "Maybe I never got it." "Someone of your age? No cutie mark?" "Or maybe this was supposed to happen. In any case, is Applejack cleared to go?" "Yes, she's fine to leave." "Then Applejack, how about we leave this boring place?" "Ah'd like that." "I will see you eventually, Nurse Redheart." "I hope to see you soon." "Think about what you said for a minute. See me soon. Nurse." "I didn't mean it like that!" "Eh. See ya!" They walked out of the hospital together and Applejack said, "So Shadow, if you don't have a place to stay, maybe Ah could help you out." "Actually, Twilight Sparkle told me that I could stay at her house for a while." "You know Twilight?" "Yeah, she was the one who found me dying in the forest. I may or may not have died when that happened. Do you know Twilight?" "She's one of mah best friends!" "Then you must know where she lives." "Yeah, follow me Shadow, Ah'll take ya there." She started walking towards Twilight's, but Shadow grabbed her tail with his mouth and yanked her back, just as a baseball whizzed past where her head was. "Sorry! Are you ok?" asked a filly, running towards them. "Ya didn't get me, just be more careful." He ran off to retrieve the ball. "That would've been one hay of a knot on my head! Thank you, Shadow." Shadow was standing there, with a blank look on his face, staring into space. He didn't move for a few seconds, then shook his head. "What?" "Are you alright, Shadow Streak?" "I think so, what happened?" "You blanked out for a minute there." "Huh... Oh well, think nothing of it." "Hi Applejack." said a depressed voice. "Hey there... Pinkie? What happened to you?" "I don't know. I woke up today and my hair was like this." "Are ya feeling ok?" "I don't know." "Hello, I'm Shadow Streak." said Shadow. "How 'bout you, cutie?" Pinkie backed off a little and said, "I'm... Pinkie Pie." Shadow looked at her for a second, then smiled and said, "See ya around." "I hope not." "Pinkie!" said Applejack angrily. "Hurtful." said Shadow. "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me." He leaned in and looked in her eyes. A tear rolled down his cheek. He wiped it and said, "C'mon Applejack, lets go." "Alright Shadow. I hope that you feel better, Pinkie." "See you around, Pinkie Pie." said Shadow. "Bye you two." she said. After a few moments of walking, Applejack said, "What was that all about?" "What?" "Pinkie Pie, unhappy. She's never unhappy! And she said that she didn't want to see you again. She would never say that, she wouldn't, she couldn't! She's the friendliest pony in Ponyville!" "She's just having an off day. Everypony has them. You, me, her." "Ah'm still unconvinced." "All she needs is a good nights rest. You'll see, she'll be fine in the morning." "Alright, Ah'll take your word for it." They reached Twilight's house and went their separate ways. 'Something is up with Pinkie Pie.' he thought. He walked inside and noticed that it was cleaner than Twilight led him to believe. 'Either that, or she cleaned.' "Twilight? Are you here?" he called. "Just a minute!" she called back. He grabbed a book off the shelf, a fiction novel. He never saw it before, so he thought he'd give it a shot. He flipped through the pages, then said, "That was pretty good. Wait a minute, I just picked this up, did I really just read it all?" "What are you mumbling?" asked Twilight, walking in. "I picked this book off of the shelf, flipped through the pages, and said that it was good. My reading speed is astronomical." "Lets put that to the test, shall we?" She gave him a book and said, "Memorize this in five..." "Done." "You're done already?" "Yeah." She opened to a random page and said, "On page 107, what does Stellar say to Flames?" "Oh yeah, about that. No, nothing. There isn't a thing we could do. We lost this war. Only one thing can save us now, the Scepter of the Ends." "Word for word, Shadow Streak. Looks like you are a fast reader." "So anyways, how have you been, Twilight?" "I've been pretty good. I met Applejack at the hospital, healed her leg, and she brought me here. I met a pony named Pinkie Pie on my way here." "You met Pinkie Pie and Applejack?" "Yeah. Pinkie Pie was kinda depressing and mean though." "She's never like that!" "Applejack told me that. She said that she was usually happy and friendly." "This is strange. Was her hair straight?" "Like noodles. Made her look kinda pretty actually." "This happened before. She thought that we didn't want to be her friends anymore and went crazy. She started talking to rocks and sacks of flour." "I know I shouldn't laugh, but that sounds pretty funny. Sad, but funny." "She said it was funny too." "So anyways Twilight, where's Spike?" "He's out helping Fluttershy with her animals right now. Speaking of Fluttershy, she was very worried about you when you first got here." "Then maybe I should tell her that I'm safe. Where does she live?" "She lives in a cottage on the other side of town near the Everfree Forest." "Thanks Twilight. I think I can find it now." He walked back outside and looked up. "I wonder if I could fly with this one wing." We flapped his wing a few times, took off, and he felt like he was flying normally. He soared through the air, testing out his new ability. He did a few tricks and landed on a roof. He looked around and saw that a pony was watching him. "That was some pretty good flying for only one wing." she said. "Thanks." "Hey what's your name?" "I'm Shadow Streak, what's your name, beautiful?" "Rainbow Dash. Care to put that fancy flying to the test?" "Actually, I'm a little busy right now." "What are you busy with?" "I'm checking up on Fluttershy." "Fluttershy?" "Yeah, you know her?" "Yeah. Be careful, she's very shy. She might not want to talk to you." "That's alright. Thanks for the advice. See ya later, Rainbow." "Bye Shadow." Shadow flew towards Fluttershy's cottage yet again. He got there and saw her taking care of animals. "Hello." he said, waving at them. Fluttershy stopped, turned around, and said, "Hello." "You must be Fluttershy." "Yes... Are you Shadow Streak?" "Yes I am. I came here to tell you that I'm not hurt any more. Thanks for caring." "Um... You're welcome?" Shadow got a closer look at her. "You're pretty cute." She tried to hide in her mane. "Spike's here, right? Mind if I talk to him? Where is he?" "I'm right over here. Who are you?" he asked. "Shadow Streak. Twilight didn't say you were a dragon." "Why? Do you have a problem with dragons?" "Big time." "Huh?" "Well, it's not that I have a problem with dragons, it's that they have a problem with me." "Why would dragons have a problem with you?" "I don't know, and if you don't have a problem with me, than there shouldn't be a problem at all. Anyways, I'm staying with you and Twilight for the time being, so... Yeah, that is it." "She didn't tell me about this." "Maybe she wanted to surprise you. Or maybe she was busy. She did say it was messy, and it was clean when I got there." "That's possible." "Alright, see ya around, friends." He headed back to Twilight's and asked about some food. "Oh my gosh, I didn't think of that." "That's not a problem. I just realized that since I'm immortal, I really don't need to eat." "But doesn't that hurt?" "More than you can imagine. Now, I am going to explore." "Be back here in an hour. I'll have some food ready for us." "Ok, mom." he said sarcastically. "Don't make anything too special." He walked around and stopped near the school. The fillies were outside playing around. "Must be recess." he said to himself. He laid down in the grass and watched them play. A filly noticed him and she walked over to him. "Are you Shadow Streak?" she asked. "Yeah, how'd you know?" "Applejack told me." "Well what's your name, little cutie?" "Ah'm Applebloom." "Well Applebloom, pay no attention to me. Just go back to playing with your friends." "Alright Shadow, bye." "See ya later." "Who's your friend, Applebloom?" asked Scootaloo, who had walked over with Sweetie Belle. "My name's Shadow Streak. What about you two?" "Name's Scootaloo." "Sweetie Belle." "Hey girls, look!" "What?" They were all looking at his flank. "It's blank, just like us." "I've never seen a stallion without a cutie mark." said Sweetie Belle. "Diamond Tiara would have a field day." "How old are you?" "I'm 25. 25 and no cutie mark. Bit odd if you ask me." he said. "That is pretty odd." "Hey Shadow, you wanna meet our friends?" "I guess so, might as well." They took him over to the playground and were stopped by Cheerilee. "Girls, what have I told you about guests?" she asked. "Oh yeah." "We forgot." "Alright you three, back to your friends." said Shadow. "Do we have to?" "Don't worry, I'll see ya again." "Alright. Bye Shadow!" "I'm sorry about that Mr..." "Friends call me Shadow. Just Shadow, no Mr." "Alright then." "And what's your name, beautiful?" "I'm Cheerilee. I'm the elementary school teacher." "Teacher huh? I have to ask, being a former teacher myself, how's your class?" "Oh, it's wonderful! The fillies are great, I rarely have any problems. Wait, you're a teacher?" "Former teacher." "Former? What made you quit?" "I have no idea. Things happen." "Yeah." "So, what are you teaching now?" "We were discussing history." "I love history. Mainly because I was a part of it." "Part of history?" "Oh yes. I have encountered my share of events." "I can think of at least two events that I can remember clearly." "What would those be?" "You don't know?" "No, should I?" "Where have you been for the past year?" "I'm a hermit actually." "A hermit?" "Yes, now, what happened?" "Well first the thing with Nightmare Moon. She wanted to bring eternal night to the world. The problem was fixed by the Elements of Harmony. They turned her back into Princess Luna." "What?" he asked angrily. "Nightmare Moon was Princess Luna." "But... But... Alright, what was the second?" "Discord returned from his stone prison and made chaos reign. Again, the Elements of Harmony managed to defeat the evil." "The princesses were somewhat involved in both events I assume. Thanks Cheerilee, I gotta go. See ya later." "Bye Shadow Streak!" Shadow ran back to Twilight's house. "Twilight!" "Shadow? It hasn't been an hour yet." "Twilight, I need to know, Princess Luna, Nightmare Moon. What happened?" "A thousand years ago, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had control over the sun and the moon, respectively. The ponies celebrated the day and shunned the night. Princess Luna got jealous of the day and tried to make night last forever. Princess Celestia had no choice but to banish her to the moon for a thousand years, after which she returned, and she was turned back into Princess Luna by my friends and I." "A thousand... Celestia? Must've really pissed her off. I'm gonna have a little talk with her. She's had a short fuse all her life. Wait, you? Cheerilee told me that the Elements of Harmony stopped her." "Well, me and my friends are the new Elements of Harmony. Nightmare Moon destroyed the old ones." "Huh..." "Well, since you're here already, lets eat." "Alright, thanks Twilight." Twilight disappeared into the kitchen and came out with a small meal on some plates. Shadow took his and ate it. "How is it?" asked Twilight. "You're a terrible cook, Twilight." "It's that bad?" "Oh yeah, try some." "Um... Alright." She ate the food she made for herself and almost spit it out. After she got it down, she said, "I am a terrible cook." "Eh, food's food. Thank you." "Sure thing." "Now, anything from the princesses?" "Not that I'm aware of." "Well, alright. I'm going to bed." "This early?" "That's right." "Why this early?" "I guess that if there's nothing to do, I can always find something tomorrow." "I guess so." "Hope I don't scream in terror." "I hope so to." "Question, where do I sleep?" "You can sleep in the guest room, it's over here." She took him to a room with a small bed in it. "That works." he said. "Sorry it's so small." He smiled at her and said, "Don't worry about it. Thank you, for everything, Twilight." "I was being a friend." "You let a total stranger into your home and let him sleep there. Why is that?" "You're not a stranger. You're a great pony. I trust you, Shadow." "I hope your trust is well placed, for both our sakes. Goodnight Twilight." "Goodnight Shadow." *I just make most of this up as I go along. Chapter 4'Who am I? Why do I exist? What do my memories hold?' The questions repeated in his head. They were louder than before, and continuing to get louder. 'I don't know!' he shouted at them. These questions plagued his sleep, turning it into a nightmare. He saw visions that he couldn't make out. Then all at once, they stopped. "Wake up, Shadow Streak." said a gentle voice. He opened his eyes and saw Twilight looming over him. "Was I screaming in my sleep?" "No, it's just time to get up." "Alright then." he said. He stood up and cracked his back. "Can I get a few minutes?" he asked. "Sure, no problem." "Be back in a little, I promise." he said, running out the door. He started running down the road. Rainbow Dash spotted him and flew along side him. "Where are you headed?" she asked. "I was just out for a run." "A run?" "Gotta keep in shape." "What are you keeping in shape for?" Shadow slowed to a stop, thought about it, and said, "I don't know, but keeping in shape is a good idea. I feel like I could run for an eternity." He started running again and Rainbow ran alongside him. "You seem to be having fun." she said. They kept running, and eventually got to the gorge. "Wow. How far did we just run? I wasn't paying attention." 'You could get away with anything you wanted here.' said a voice in Shadow's head. 'Beautiful mare like Rainbow Dash... Nopony'd blame you.' 'Shut up.' "Lets go back to town. I promised Twilight that I would only need a few minutes." They both ran back to Twilight's, Rainbow tailing close behind. "Hey Twilight. What are you doing?" asked Rainbow. "Oh, nothing important. Where'd you head off to, Shadow?" "I just needed a run. Keep my muscles toned and my body ready. So Twilight, do you think there would be any jobs around here that I could do?" "Well maybe, what are you qualified for?" "Let me think... Um... Everything." "Everything?" "Yes. I think I have a doctorate in everything. Just can't remember it all because... no memory and all that." "Everything?" "Everything. Like for one, I know that Rainbow here is living happily with her pet turtle in Cloudsdale." "But how..." "And that the proper climate for making blue cheese is that of a cave. Just pulled that off of the top of my head." "Well, the weather team's got an opening." said Rainbow. "Good, anything else?" "I think the Mayor needs somepony to fix up the city." said Twilight. "That sounds nice, one more?" "Vinyl Scratch told me that she needed help." "What does she do?" "She's putting together a concert and needs a few helpers." "Oo! Music! I love music. Where is she?" "Just head over to her house." "Where is it?" She told him. "See you two later." He walked to where he was told she lived and knocked on her door. "Hey, who are you?" she asked. "Name's Shadow Streak. Twilight said you needed help." "Yeah, she said you might show up." "So she just assumed... never mind. So, what's up first?" "Right now, I need you to move some things to the stage. Come in here for a minute." Shadow followed her inside and she showed him some equipment. "Grab what you can and meet me outside." She walked back outside and left Shadow alone. 'Alone, near her things. You could steal whatever you wanted. And you could get away with it to.' 'Shut up.' He picked up a bunch of different things, put them on his back, and walked back out. "You picked up everything." said Vinyl. "Is that bad?" "Are you sure you're not Big Mac?" "All Shadow Streak. Where do these go?" "Just follow me." She took Shadow to a stage area. "Here it is." she said. "What took ya, Vinyl?" "I thought I'd get here first." "Who's your friend?" "I'm Shadow Streak. What's your name, beautiful?" "Octavia." "Alright Shadow. Set those down on the stage." "Sure thing." Shadow took the equipment onto the stage, then his leg fell through the floor and he was crushed. "Shadow, you alright?" No answer. "Shadow?" "I think he's hurt." "Oh yeah, I'm hurt." he said. He set everything down and stood back up. He was wrecked. "I think I have four broken ribs, a crushed skull, and a lacerated arm." He started healing himself and shook his head. "Stupid floor, crushing my skull like that." "Are you alright, Shadow?" "As I said before, injured. I'm good now though, so don't worry." "You're good now?" "Yeah, healed myself right up. Somepony's gonna have to fix that floor." "You were really bleeding there." "I was, wasn't I?" "Yes, yes you were. How did you survive that? There's gotta be at least 600 pounds worth of equipment there, if not more." said Vinyl. "Oh, no. I didn't survive it. Yeah, I died. Skull crushed, brains crushed, dead. Now, I am going to fix this." He used a spell and it molded back into a solid floor. "There we go, good as new. Anything else I can do?" "Just set everything down, spread out. A big pile of equipment won't do anypony any good." Shadow unpiled everything, then asked what next. "No, that's it." "That's it?" "I really thought that it'd take longer." "Well, that's good then, I think." "Sure is, Shadow Streak." She tossed him a bag. "Make sure to come back for the show." she said. "I'll try." he said. He started staring at Vinyl Scratch. "What?" "Your glasses. They look so familiar." "I am pretty well known around these parts." "No, it's not that. They just look so familiar." He walked closer. "Where did you get those?" "It was in the market in Fillydelphia. A pony was pushing them on me, then decided to put them in my bag after I walked away without buying them. He really wanted to..." "Get rid of them?" "Yeah." He stopped a foot in front of her. He stared at the glasses. "Stop it man, you're creeping me out." He grabbed her glasses and examined them closely. "Hey! Give those back!" She swiped at the glasses, but Shadow jumped back. He put them on, then took them back off. Vinyl grabbed them and put them back on. "What's the big idea?" "I swear, I've seen those before. Oh well, sorry 'bout swiping your glasses." "What do you mean, you've seen them before?" "That exact pair of glasses, not a replica or copy. Some time a long time ago, I saw them. I don't know when, or where, but I know I did. Oh well, see you two later." "Bye, Shadow Streak." said Octavia. "See ya." After he left, Octavia walked to Vinyl and said, "He's kinda cute, isn't he?" "Alright, I got some money." said Shadow, smiling. He headed to Sugarcube Corner to get himself a meal. "Pinkie Pie?" he asked after seeing the peppy little pony. "Shadow!" she said, looking at him. "Listen, about yesterday... I'm sorry for what I said." "It's ok Pinkie Pie." "I'm never, ever, ever, ever like that." "I know, Pinkie." "I mean I'm just..." "Pinkie! Pinkie, it's alright, don't worry about it. Now, how about some cupcakes?" "Sure thing Shadow Streak!" She disappeared for a moment, then reappeared with a few cupcakes. "On the house, Shadow." "That's nice of you." he said. He grabbed a cupcake and swallowed it whole. "Needs more hot sauce." he said. A bottle appeared on the table. Shadow grabbed it without asking questions. After dumping it on the food, he proceeded to devour them. He noticed a dark blue filly with a notched ear staring at him. The filly looked at a watch on his hoof, then disappeared. "Who was that?" "I didn't see anypony." said Pinkie. "Coulda sworn... Never mind." "You're just seeing things. It happens sometimes. I see things all the time, but they're all real. Like that! And that! And that, and that, and that! Oo... That's not real." she said. "I see it to, Pinkie." said Shadow. They were both looking at a black mist where the filly was. It dissipated, then Shadow said, "Okay... That was weird." "You're telling me." "Well, see you later Pinkie." He walked outside and looked around. He saw Rainbow flying around above the store. He flew up and joined her. "Hey Shadow. How are you doing?" "Pretty good. Are you free?" "Yeah." "Good. How 'bout that test?" "Alright! First one to that mountain and back wins." Shadow and Rainbow landed on the ground, and she started counting down. "3..." "2-1!" they both said, flying toward the mountain. Shadow was getting left behind. He wanted to put on more speed. He felt an odd sensation in his chest, wiggling to where his other wing would be. A ruby spike exited his side, morphed into a wing, then he flew three times as fast as he had before, quickly catching up to her. He slowed down near her, smiled, then sped up again, rounding the mountain and heading back. Rainbow also started flying faster. She sped up and got to him. He turned around and saw her, then simply went faster. "Score one for Shadow Streak!" he said happily. "I lost." "Don't be so hard on yourself, you did good, now take a few steps to your left." She did so, and a large piano fell where she was. She looked at it, shocked. "Derpy! Be careful!" she yelled. "Sorry, Rainbow Dash!" she yelled back. "How'd you know that was gonna happen?" she asked Shadow. "I don't know." "Well, thanks man." "Anytime." Shadow dropped to the ground and walked over to her. He looked in her eyes and smiled. Dash was a bit confused. Shadow looked behind Dash and saw the dark blue filly again. Again, he looked at his watch, then disappeared. Shadow decided to keep it to himself. "Shadow, you're awfully close." said Dash. Shadow realized that he was looking right over her shoulder, very close to her. "And it's not like you were moving." "Shut up." "Sorry. See ya later, Rainbow Dash." "Bye Shadow!" He took off again. This time, he wound up at the edge of the forest. He decided to walk in and find where he was earlier that week. He noticed some animals looking at him, but ignored them and kept going. He found some small blood droplets on the ground. He looked down and examined them. He touched them and said, "These are fresh, still wet and warm. That means... Hey! Is anypony out there?" he yelled. He heard a faint voice. He ran in the direction that he thought it came from. He heard it again, louder this time, but still near inaudible. "Help me..." He kept running to where he thought it was originating from. "Who are you?" asked the pony, hiding in a small cave. "That's unimportant. Are you hurt?" "My leg... My head... They hurt." "You were attacked by a wild animal, weren't you?" She nodded. "Hold still for a second. I'm gonna patch you up." 'Don't do that. You could say she was dead when you got here. Nopony'll be any the wiser.' 'Shut up!' Shadow healed her, and she sat up. She started to sob, and Shadow put his arm around her. "It's alright. You're safe now." "But what if it comes back?" "Then I'll take care of it. What was it? A bear? A manticore?" "It was an ursa major." Shadow licked his lips. "An ursa major?" "Yeah. We should go." "You can. If there's an ursa here, then I'm gonna stay." "Why would you do that?" "Personal reasons." "Well, ok then. I'll go to town." "Good luck." She looked around, then ran off. Shadow stayed where he was. He raised his head and made a growling noise. He heard a return growl, then followed it to the source. He entered a large clearing with the ursa major on the other side. It got a good look at him, then knelt down on one knee. Shadow looked at it, confused. "I want you to stay away from these ponies. You got that?" he said to it. It nodded. "Good, I'm glad we got that straightened out." He looked at it for a few more seconds, then left. "What was that?" asked the pony, looking at him. "I thought you said that you wanted to go back to town." "I was worried about you. Willingly walking through the forest with an ursa around." "Doesn't seem like the smartest of ideas, does it?" "No! It's a horrible idea!" "But you're still here." "What does that..." "Oh, lets go back to town." Shadow started walking back, and she followed him. "I'm Shadow Streak. What's your name, beautiful?" "I am the Great and Powerful Trixie. Or I was, until that Twilight showed me up." "You know Twilight?" "You know her?" "I think we both do." "I think you're right." He chuckled, then said, "So Trixie, what were you doing in the forest?" "I was testing a new form of teleportation spell. I learned too late that it was unstable." "A new spell, huh? That takes talent." "Well, I don't mean to brag or anything, but I am great and powerful." Shadow looked in her eyes. "Great, no. Powerful, yes. You were basically thrown out of Ponyville. Beaten by Twilight Sparkle. Course, that's nothing to be ashamed of, she's got a lot of hidden potential. You are a liar. A good liar, with some skills to back it up. It wasn't enough though, was it?" Trixie seemed hurt. "Sorry, please don't take that as an insult." "No, it's not that. You're right. You're absolutely right. But, that's the reason. You're right, and I was in the wrong." "Yes, but no matter how far you've gone down the wrong road, you can always turn around and go back." "Thanks Shadow Streak." They walked through the forest, eventually reaching the town. "Well Shadow, I think I should go." "If you want to, you can. I wish you wouldn't though." "Goodbye, Shadow Streak." "See ya later, Trixie." Shadow ran into town, running because he could, and noticed that it was getting dark. He wasn't paying attention to where he was going and bumped into a pony, knocking her down. "I'm sorry." he said, holding out his hoof. She took it and said, "Don't worry about it. I wasn't watching where I was going. What is up with your horn?" "I don't know. Fashion statement?" "That is no fashion statement." "It's that bad?" "Yes it is. Come this way, I cannot let this crime against fashion continue." she said, walking into a nearby shop. "By the way, I'm Shadow Streak. What's your name, beautiful?" "I'm Rarity, owner of the finest clothes store in Ponyville, Carousel Boutique." Shadow looked around and said, "I don't doubt that. These are elegant and well made. Usually it's one or the other." She tossed him a rag and said, "Clean that horn of yours, I'll be with you in a moment." Shadow looked blankly at it, then slung it over his shoulder. "Oh boy, won't she be surprised?" he said to himself. He walked around, then got attacked by Opal. He just sat there with a happy grin on his face as the cat scratched him. He reached his hooves up, grabbed the furball, then set her down. Rarity walked out just after he did this and saw the scratches on him. "Are you alright." "Yeah. I love cats." He healed his face, then stood back up. "I thought I told you to clean yourself." "About that..." "If you won't, then I will." She levitated the rag and tried to clean it off. "Rarity, it won't..." "Quiet." She walked closer and tried again. "Would ya..." "Be quiet, Shadow." Shadow started to move his head out of the way every time she tried to clean it. "Stop it, Shadow." "But..." "No buts!" Shadow kept moving his head. Rarity tried to use her magic to stop him, but he tapped her horn, stopping it. She tried to hold his head, but he got away from her hooves. "No more Mrs. Nice Pony." she said. She used her magic again, but Shadow stopped it again. She jumped at him, then he fell back. "Hold still, Shadow!" "Rarity would you... listen..." Rarity was right on top of Shadow, who was looking her eyes. 'Do it Shadow, do it!' 'I said shut up!' "Rarity, it doesn't come off." "Why didn't you tell me?" "I tried. You weren't listening." "Sorry." "What in Celestia's name is going on in here?" shouted Sweetie Belle, walking in. Rarity jumped off of him, blushing, and said, "I was just trying to..." "Hey Sweetie Belle! How was school?" asked Shadow. "Shadow Streak? What are you doing here?" "Rarity didn't like my horn." he said, tapping it. "Course, she didn't realize that it was natural color. She said it was out of style." "I said it was a horrible fashion sense." "I think it's cool." "Cool?" "Whatever. So, now that we got that out of the way, there's nothing keeping me here. Unless something happens. Like a..." He heard lightning from outside. "Storm." he finished. He walked to the window and looked outside. "Did it just start raining?" "There was a planned storm this evening." said Rarity. "Wish I was told. Would've been helpful information a few hours ago. Or maybe even minutes. Somehow, for some reason, it would've helped." "How?" "I don't know. Well, I am leaving. A storm isn't enough to keep me here." He opened the door, was struck by lightning, and was thrown back inside. "What a rush!" he said with a crazed smile. "Shadow!" "Are you alright?" "Just a bit well-done. I smell of cooked meat and I feel crispy." He healed himself and shook his head. "I remember the last time I smelled like that. I missed the smell then to." He tried to go outside twice more, and both times was thrown back inside by lightning. His left eye was watering severely. "Are you alright, Shadow?" asked Rarity. "I think the last one scored a direct hit with my eye. Sweetie Belle, close your eyes." She did so, then Shadow opened his eye and healed it. "Oh that feels so much better! Ok Sweetie Belle, you can open them again." Shadow blinked a few times, then smiled. "Lightning burns. I am not about to try that again." "What was that all about?" "I think my eyeball exploded." "Exploded?" "There's liquid in the eye. Boil it, and it'll pop. Anyways, I'm trapped in a house and right now, if I were you, I wouldn't leave as well. Too risky." 'Shadow, trapped, alone with just them, nopony near, nopony to hear screams...' 'Shut it! Or I'll fry myself again!' "So what you're saying is..." "Unless I wanna fry again, I'm staying here. I'm not saying I wanna fry again, but I am saying that I want to leave." "You want to leave? Do you not like it here?" "Not particularly, no." "Where, pray tell, would you rather be?" "I don't know." "Huh?" "Whatever." Shadow walked to the window, watching the rain come down. He must've lost track of time, because when he looked back, Rarity and Sweetie Belle were both gone. "Where did they..." 'They're sleeping. They won't be able to see it coming!' "Stop that." he said angrily. 'Maybe you do it, maybe I stop.' "You want me to hurt somepony?" 'More then just hurt them.' Shadow could hardly contain his anger. "Is this who I was? Was I a criminal? What kind of pony was I?" 'Oh, ho, ho... The worst kind. Do it Shadow! Give me something!' "Not for an eternity." 'The clock is ticking Shadow. An eternity is coming sooner than you think. Sleep well, my little alicorn.' Chapter 5"Shadow Streak, wake up!" said Twilight. "It's an emergency Shadow!" "Emergency?" he asked, shooting off of the floor where he slept. "What's with all the yelling?" asked Rarity, yawning. "We got a letter from the princess." "Cool." "This isn't cool. This letter was an urgent letter, sent by teleportation rather than Spike." "So your point is?" "Something important is happening!" "Or will happen." "This is no time for games!" "Alright, what does it say?" "I couldn't get it open. There's a powerful barrier around it." "You can't get it open? Then why was it sent to you? Unless it wasn't for you in the first place. Give it to me." She gave him the letter. He looked at it for a second, then his horn darkened and it popped open. "For the eyes of Shadow Streak alone." he read off, "Wanna read it?" "What? The princess said that only you were allowed to see it." "Then I'll just read it aloud. C'mon Twilight. How's she gonna know?" "Ok fine." "Shadow Streak, you have some nerve showing yourself around Equestria after what you did. What do you want this time? Money? Glory? Power? As the Princess of Equestria, I refuse to help you. You have caused us much trouble in the past. You will get nothing. Crawl back into whatever hole you dragged yourself out of and just die already!" "What?" asked Twilight. "I was an asshole." said Shadow sadly. 'More than that.' He looked back at the page. There was a line under the writing and more writing, with a different style, under that. "Shadow? I'm sorry about my sister, it's just that she... I'm sorry. With love, your Little Luny." There was dried spots of water on the paper. Shadow put the letter down and laid on the floor. "That doesn't seem like something the princess would say." said Rarity. "What could I have done to make Tia so angry?" he asked unhappily. "This isn't just a string of bad days. One is normal, two is a coincidence, but three? No, something odd is going on. When I examined Pinkie, I noticed something odd. Something that isn't right, isn't normal. But what." "You examined Pinkie? How?" "Like this." He leaned in and looked in her eye, then smiled. "I like you. Pinkie was too sad to gauge properly, very odd, but you're having fun." "What did you do?" "I don't know. It's kinda like mind reading, but different. Also, it's great at manipulating." "Mind reading?" "Yeah. Fun skill to have. Oh no, I may have manipulated Celestia. No, she wouldn't get pissed over that, not enough to wish death on another. Something went wrong." "Are you ok?" "No. I need to talk to her. I want to find out what's wrong. Can you take me to Canterlot?" "It'll take all day." "Not fast enough. Which way is it? I can get there myself." She told him the way to Canterlot. "Thanks Twilight." "Sure. Any time." Shadow ran out of the house, made a side stop at a store to grab some chocolate milk, and flew to Canterlot. "When she said it was an all day trip, she wasn't kidding. I need some more speed." He flew a little faster, but not much. "I need more speed. More, more, more!" The ruby wing protruded from his side again, and he flew faster. "This is the kind of speed I'm talking about!" he shouted happily. He used his new wing to an advantage, moving himself to Canterlot at high speeds. Eventually, he reached the Canterlot gates and landed. His wing tuned back into a spike, then slid back into his body. The wound closed itself, and he found himself face to face with a large barrier around Canterlot. He heard a siren, and everypony ran inside their houses. "Wow! I haven't seen this style of barrier in ages! Whoever made this must be in a high position of power." He tapped it. "Wow, I love this style! This is well made! Somepony wants to keep somepony out of Canterlot really bad if they used this." He channeled some magic into it, then said, "I want to talk with the creator of this barrier." Within a few minutes, a group of guards appeared on both sides of the barrier. "I am the captain of the royal guard. Your request has been granted." Shadow looked into his eyes. "Aren't you Shining Armor?" "Yes I am." "Twilight told me all about you! Your sister's cute by the way. Congratulations on the marriage. Never did like changelings." "I'm sorry, but who are you?" "I'm Shadow Streak." "That would confirm my suspicions." The guards made a tighter circle around him. "Which would be?" "Princess Celestia told me that you were returning to Equestria. She told me to be on alert at all times. And here you are, not even trying to be stealthy. What could you possibly hope to accomplish?" he said, becoming serious. "I wanted to speak with Tia. I got a very threatening letter today and I don't appreciate that kind of language from her." "You act as if you were her father." "I'm old enough to be her father, but I'm only an old family friend." "The way she talks about you makes it sound as if you're not a friend." "And what does she say about me?" "She told me to keep it from you." "Then I respect her privacy. Now, on to the matter at hoof. The one you wish to keep out is me, correct?" He nodded. "And what if I do... this?" Shadow raised his hoof towards the barrier, and it shattered. Shining Armor's jaw dropped. "What will you do about that?" asked Shadow. He didn't move. He was speechless. "Hello? Shining Armor? Wake up!" He shook his head. "You broke it... Just like that." "Yeah. I want to get this out, it was very well made. You did a good job with that. Very, very good job. It was just a simple spell canceller I used. What strikes me as odd, is that the specific type of barrier you used is ages old. Celestia and Luna type of old. Huh... whatever. Now, let me into the city without trouble, and I won't have a reason to hurt anypony." "Tell me what you plan to do." "I seek an audience with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna." "And if I refuse?" "Then I will take it myself. I have no problems with open hostilities. Also, I can do this." He teleported around Shining Armor, creating illusions of himself around him, none looking any different. "Oo! A new skill!" they all said. They all disappeared, leaving only the original. "That was a bit much." said Shadow. "Don't you agree? Doesn't matter. Yes or no?" "What?" "Will I be allowed an audience or not?" "Stand down. He is not to be trifled with." said a bold voice. "Luny! The last few thousand years have treated you really well! How have you been?" asked Shadow happily. He bowed his head in respect. "Shining Armor, I told you to tell me if he showed up. I also told you not to confront him." "I... I..." "Oh, don't blame him." said Shadow. "Indeed. Leave us." she said. "Princess, are you sure?" "Notice the frowny face? She isn't happy. She is not nice when she's happy." "Shadow Streak..." growled Luna. She flashed a look at the guards, and they ran off. "Listen, I..." "Shadow Streak... Why did you come to Equestria?" "I don't know." "Why did you come back, after what you did?" "Luny..." "You will call me Princess Luna, and nothing else." "Princess Luna, I want you to know that..." "I don't want to hear it!" she shouted. Shadow looked down. He wanted to know what he did. "What you did to us was deplorable! You used to be so good! You used to be kind! You used to be..." "Uncle Shadow." Luna looked at him, then he looked in her eyes. "What did I do? My memory was taken." "You can't remember what you did?" He shook his head. "You were the one who killed Queen Gaia. You killed my mother!" "No... No, I couldn't have. That's so..." "Horrible? Bad? Wretched?" "Evil! Why? What would cause me to do that?" Luna remained silent. "I... I... Gaia... Why? I'm not the One Winged Angel. I'm not Uncle Shadow. I don't deserve to be called those." he said, hanging his head in sorrow. "Shadow Streak. We gave you that title knowing about our mother." "You what?" "You are still the One Winged Angel, and you are still my Uncle Shadow." she said. He raised his head, and saw that Luna was crying. "You saved my sister and I. If it wasn't for you, she would be dead right now!" "During the first battle with Discord, Discord attacked your sister, but an alicorn stepped in between, nearly ending his life." he said, remembering the book. "That alicorn was me, wasn't it? I was the one who fought Discord with you, wasn't I?" She nodded. "Shadow Streak, you..." "That doesn't excuse my crime and you know it!" Luna looked down. "Shadow Streak, you didn't just save us. You saved all of Equestria. What you did..." Shadow hugged Luna, surprising her. "I don't care." he said. "All I care about right now, is that you, and your sister are safe. I have done horrible things in my past. Things that I never should have forgotten. More than you know, and I don't remember any of them." "You don't remember?" "No. I didn't just forget, somepony sealed it from me. The past 1500 years. Everything was taken from me. What I did was horrible. I can't forgive myself." Luna rested her head on his shoulder. "I forgive you, Uncle Shadow." He held her closer. "You know what it means to say that, right?" "I know what it means. I give you absolution. I'm not angry with you." "Thank you, Luny. You don't know how much this means to me. I need to know, why?" "Because you're my Uncle Shadow. I've loved you since I was a filly. It's true that it hurt, but... She would have wanted this. You know that better than I do. You were the one who was with us all that time." "I know it more than you do, huh?" Shadow looked back and saw Princess Celestia staring right at him, angrily. "Tia!" he said. "How about you? How have you been for the past thousand or so years?" Luna leaned in and whispered, "She's still angry." "Get away from my sister." she commanded. "Celestia?" "Luny, shush." said Shadow, stepping away. Celestia never let him out of her sight while he moved. She stared right at him. Shadow raised his head to meet her eyes, but she kept his head down with her magic. "I'm not gonna let you do that this time!" she said. "Princess Celestia." he said, bowing his head. She punched him in the gut and he flew back a few feet. "Shadow!" said Luna, shocked. "Oh, don't worry about it Luny. Tia's just angry. She'll get over it. Nopony can hold a grudge for an eternity. Trust me, I've tried." "Shut up!" shouted Celestia. She punched him again. MANY, MANY HOURS LATER "Why aren't you dead yet, Shadow?" asked Celestia angrily, continuing to attack him. Shadow was covered in blood, bruises, and burns from the various attacks Celestia had used on him. He was also missing a few teeth, had a broken nose, and a few broken ribs. Luna had gotten bored and left. A few ponies left their houses to watch. Some even had chairs and popcorn. Pinkie Pie was among the ones in the crowd. Some ponies had even taken bets on the fight. Most had bet on Princess Celestia, but some hadn't. Throughout the entire fight, Shadow hadn't raised his hooves once to defend himself. He took every blow, never changing the unhappy expression on his face. Celestia was getting angrier and angrier at him. She was starting to get some cheap shots in. She punched at his eyes and kidneys. Then she turned around, reared up, and kicked him right between the legs, causing him to fall to the floor. Pinkie started to laugh uncontrollably, causing everypony else to start laughing. "That was uncalled for and you know it." he said, getting back up. "So you finally decide to say something." "Like it matters." "Why wouldn't it? I want to know why! Why did you..." She stopped herself and looked around, noticing everypony else for the first time. "Why did you do it, Shadow?" "I don't know. I know there was a reason, and if what your sister said about me was true, it was a damn good reason." Celestia started to attack him again, but was too tired to do any damage. She tried to hit him one last time, but Shadow ducked under her attack and held on to her. 'Kill her! Do it, Shadow! Do it!' "Celestia, stop. You can't continue. You're going to hurt yourself. I don't want to be the cause of pain for you ever again. For what I did, you have every right to be angry at me. You can be angry tomorrow. You've done enough today. I love you too much to want to see you hurt. If you want, we can continue tomorrow." "No." "What?" "No." "What do you mean?" "I don't want to continue. You were right, Shadow Streak. Nopony can hold a grudge forever. Shadow, I have had time to think. Many years to think about what you have done. After today, I have decided." "What have you chosen?" "I forgive you Shadow Streak, you are still my Uncle Shadow." Shadow hugged Celestia and said, "Thank you Tia." "Aww..." Shadow's wounds were gone, and he had surprised everypony but Pinkie. Everypony was paying Pinkie their bits, grumbling. They quickly left after that. "Princess Celestia. You've let go of your hatred of me." said Shadow Streak, "This means more to me than anything. I came here with the intent of apologizing and sorting out this mess. I got what I never expected. You both forgave me." She started to sob. "Shadow..." "It's ok, Celestia. You're safe with me. You'll always be safe with me. You, your sister, your kingdom, your citizens. I will protect them." "You'll protect them?" "With my life." he said. "That's the Uncle Shadow I know and love." "And since my life is infinite, I will protect them until the end of time." "Your life is infinite?" "Have I not told you? Yes, immortality. It would explain a thing or two I would assume. I can prove it if you wish." "No! Please, don't do that." "Thanks. Princess Celestia..." "Please, Celestia is fine." "What about Tia?" "I'm not a filly anymore, Shadow." "Fair enough. Celestia, I request permission to go back to Twilight. I want to reassure her that nothing went wrong." "You don't need my permission to do anything Shadow." she said, "You're older, wiser, and more powerful than me." "You are a princess of the country I reside in. It is a show of respect." "That doesn't matter. I give you my permission to do as you please, so long as it does not break the rules of my kingdom." "I'll try my best. See ya later, Celestia!" "Try harder than your best. If I hear that you commit any crime, I'll lock you in the dungeons until they rot above you! Goodbye Shadow Streak." Shadow took off and made his way back to Ponyville, taking advantage of his ruby wing again. He arrived, then headed to Twilight's house. "Twilight! Are you here?" "I'm right over here!" she called back. He walked over to where she was. She was doing some reading. "I'm back, Twilight." he said happily. "A full day's journey and back, within one day." "One day?" He looked outside, it was already pretty dark out. " I think it took me maybe thirty minutes to travel there. Thirty back to." "Then what were you doing all day?" "Princess Celestia spent the day trying to kill me." "She did what?" "Don't worry. She's not mad anymore. We're ok now. In the past, I did something horrible to them, and they forgave me. They both did." "What did you do?" "That is for only the princesses and I to know." "Shadow, the princess has never been that angry." "As far as you know. As a filly, her temper got the better of her many times. Do you see that?" he asked, looking behind her. "What?" she asked, turning around. "I don't see anything. What is it?" "Never mind, it was nothing." "Ok..." "It's late." "Yes it is." "I'm going to bed." "Goodnight Shadow." "See ya tomorrow Twilight." *On this day in history, the jimmies once thought eternally rustled have been quelled. Stand by for more rustlin'. I was having a bit of trouble with this chapter, it was difficult to display the right emotions. I still think that they're wrong-ish. Then I thought, oh well. Chapter 6Celestia shot out of her bed. She looked around, scared. She kept hearing the same phrase in her head, over and over, 'The - has awakened. The - has awakened.' "The what has awakened?" she asked. All of the sudden, it stopped, and she became calmer. "Must've just been a bad dream." she said, laying back down. She quickly fell back asleep, and wasn't bothered by the voices. Shadow was lazily dragging himself out of his bed. He fell to the floor, then stood up. He looked around the library for a few seconds and examined a bookcase. "It's much older than it looks." He walked outside to get a breath of fresh air. Spike and Twilight were still sleeping. Shadow walked into town and looked around. He walked around slowly, memorizing the layout of the town. After a few hours, he was approached by a mare. "What are you doing?" she asked. "I'm memorizing the town so I can find my way around quickly. It's not the biggest town I've been to." "Why don't you just fly around? You have wings. A wing, I mean. Why just the one?" "The reason will freak you out." "Oh, just tell me. I won't freak out." "More of a show than a tell." "Then show me." Shadow stood right in front of her, then the ruby wing showed up again. "This is the reason. Don't freak out." "That is amazing!" she said happily. "I truly didn't expect that." "It's remarkable!" "Well, thank you." "Haven't I seen you somewhere before?" "Well, maybe." "I know! You're the new pony in town." "That I am, but I can't be the only one, can I?" "We haven't got any more new ponies in town, so you're the new pony. By the way, what's your name?" "My name's Shadow Streak. What about you, beautiful?" "I'm the Mayor of Ponyville, Mayor Mare." "So you're the Mayor of this here town?" "That's right." "Well then, Mayor, if you have any dangerous tasks around town, don't hesitate to come find me. They're my specialty." "You're a worker?" "Worker, contractor, manager, everything." "Everything?" "And well trained to." "You might just come in handy pretty soon." Shadow looked in her eyes. "Maybe I could mention you to Canterlot officials for your great town." "Canterlot officials? You could do that?" "If I haven't been pronounced officially dead, then I think so." "What does that mean?" "Long ago, I had a spot at the Canterlot Council. If I'm still legally alive, then I'll have kept that spot." "Just how long are we talking here?" "Few thousand years maybe?" "I knew that it was too good to be true." she said, looking down. "Aw, now you made me feel bad." said Shadow. "It's all true, but you're right, it's hard to believe. Um... I need to check the Canterlot Archives. I will see you in a few hours." "Alright." "And Mayor?" "Yes?" "Your mane's great in pink." "You read that article to?" "No I didn't. Haven't read an article about anything in years." "Then how did you know..." "See ya later!" he said happily. "Well, goodbye Shadow Streak." Shadow took off for Canterlot again. Thirty minutes later, he was walking to the archives. He was approached by Shining Armor. Shadow smiled and said, "Hello, Shiny. How have you been?" "Sorry, Shadow Streak, I'm not here to talk. I'm here on official business." "Which would be?" "The Princesses have told me to guard you." "They told you to stop me from breaking laws. I don't need to be guarded, and they know it." "I'm going to stay with you weather you like it or not, so get used to it." "You don't want to be here, do you? You'd rather be at home with your wife." "Yeah, you're right." "Have the Canterlot Archives changed places recently?" "How recent?" "Within the last millennium or so?" "What?" "Never mind. Where are the Archives?" "What is your purpose with them?" "I want to check death records." "Why?" "Just personal reasons." "Take a left." Shadow walked down the hallway and entered the archives. "This room is much cleaner than I last remembered. Of course, the last time I was here, Canterlot was under siege and the archives were destroyed." Shadow made quick work of finding the records and looked back about 1500 years. He looked through every record until today. He then reached for the records of citizens. He found a file on himself. "Shadow Streak. Medically strange. Age: Unknown. Birth date: Unknown. Condition: Currently alive. Martial status: Unknown. But why would it be unknown? Whatever, I have not died yet." Shadow started looking through political records. He pulled a few out, then said, "I need to use these for a while. Can I take them?" "What would be the reason?" "I'm getting to it, I'm getting to it. Just hold on." "Then you may." "Hey Shiny, where's the council room? Never mind, I'll find it myself." Shadow walked around for a while, then saw a large familiar door. "They managed to save the door! While it makes me smile, it also makes me want to slam my head against the wall. A door is unimportant." "This is a piece of Canterlot history!" "A door this size also makes for a good dramatic entrance." he said. Shadow reared up and kicked the doors open. Everypony inside who had been discussing their various things were now looking at him. "What is the meaning of this? Barging in here unannounced." "Oh, stick a sock in it, old-timer." said Shadow, "I'll tell you. Shadow Streak, nineteenth president of the board, thirteenth Mayor of Fillydelphia, and second Mayor of Cloudsdale." "Shadow Streak died hundreds of years ago." said the current president. "I have the documentation to prove it." he said, giving him the documents. "As you can see, I never quit as president, was never forced to resign, and was never legally pronounced dead. Many little political flaws that lead up to a big total. Technically, I'm still president." He looked over the documents, then said, "You have no proof that you are him." "One natural wing, two colored horn, and check this out." he said, showing his ruby wing again. "Pure ruby." The president tapped the wing, then said, "We will take a vote." "That's fine. I want two votes. One for the legality of my case, and another to decide weather or not I should be declared president." "Agreed." ONE HOUR LATER "We have come to a decision, Shadow Streak." "Oh?" "Your case is completely legal." "And?" "You are not to return to presidency." "That's fine." "You're ok with that?" "Yeah, but I do have some requests." "Which would be?" "First and foremost, I had an agreement with the Mayor of Ponyville. Her town is the best that I've been to so far. I would like you to help her out a bit, if you catch my drift." "Easily done." "And my other request is that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna don't find out about this little chat we had." "We cannot do that." "Then omit the Ponyville part, keep that from them." "That can be arranged." "Then we've reached an agreement?" "We have." "Good. See ya later." he said, waving goodbye and walking out. "Shadow Streak, you can't just omit things from the Princesses." said Shining Armor. "Yes I can. Just don't tell them." "You expect me to lie?" "Oh yes. C'mon Shining Armor, lets go." Shadow ran out of the building, forcing Shining Armor to run after him. When he reached the doorway, he made a sudden stop and caught Shining Armor, stopping him from exiting. "Do you smell that?" asked Shadow. "Smell what?" Shadow sniffed the air again, then said, "Nothing, never mind." Shadow walked out with a smile on his face. He walked over to the garden. He picked a rose, then smelled it. "These thorn-less roses are great. Were they removed, or were they grown like that?" he said to himself. He looked behind him and saw a filly looking at him. He put the rose in her mane and walked away. "Shining Armor, I hadn't asked, how's your wife?" "She's been great. Even after that wedding." "I must admit, what I heard was weird. Then things went back to normal. Wedding lasted 30 seconds, bride and groom handled nothing, reception lasted all night. Sounds like my kind of day." "It was pretty great. It was the best day of my life." "Even after the changeling incident?" "Absolutely! It was my wedding day. How couldn't it have been the best day?" "I can easily think of a better day." "Like what? What's better than a wedding?" "A filly." Shining Armor stopped walking with him for a second, then continued. "Now, the changelings. They broke their contract." "What contract?" "They're all probably back in their city right now. I'm going to visit them. Not today, maybe tomorrow." "What about you, Shadow?" "What do you mean?" "A wife, a filly. Do you have a family?" Shadow thought for a minute. "I have had a wife and at least one filly. That, I know. I don't even remember their names. I know it sounds sad, but to me, it's better that way." Shadow sighed. "As for the rest of my family, if they existed of course, would be either alive like me, or dead for at least 14 billion years." "If they existed?" "There's no real proof that I had parents. For all I know, I could be the first living being in the universe. Course, there's nothing that says they don't exist, or even that I'm an only child. Maybe I have brothers and sisters all around this universe. Maybe on this very planet." "You're very strange." "That's great! If I wasn't strange, I'd be dead." he said happily. "How's some doughnuts sound?" "That actually sounds pretty good." Shadow walked into Pony Joe's and bought them lunch. He sat down across from Shining Armor and said, "So, can you tell me how Luny and Tia are doing?" "Well actually, no, I can't. Not only have they told me not to tell you anything, I plain just don't know." "So you tell me that?" Shining Armor just realized what he had said, "Oh no, this is bad." "No it isn't. You're just over-reacting." "I guess." "You seem to be having fun." "Spending the day with you was better than I thought it would be." "I'm going to not register that as an insult." Shadow left and headed for Ponyville. "Catch me if you can." he said, flying off. Shining Armor teleported alongside Shadow every few seconds and they made their way to Ponyville. Shining Armor was panting. "How... did you... make it to... Ponyville so... quickly?" he asked. "I just flew. Very, very quickly." "But that was..." "A full day's trip, I know. You're tired." "No I'm not!" "This way." said Shadow. "Where are we going?" "I was planning on heading over to your sister's place. Might want to read up on a book or two." Shadow jogged to Twilight's house. "Something's been bugging me. What is it? Wait a minute... The bookcase!" He ran in and pushed her out of the way and, as he had predicted, the bookcase fell right where she was standing, which was now where he was standing. "Is everypony ok?" he asked. "We're all fine, what about you?" "Good, good. Say, uh, you think I could get a little help here?" "We're on it." He felt the weight on him lessen, then he stood back up, straightening and repairing the bookcase. "That was heavy. How many books do you have on that?" "A lot, to say the least." "Alright then. It should be good for another hundred years or so." "Thanks Shadow." "It's what I do. Now, what books do you have on history?" She looked at the shelf and giggled a little. "They just fell on you." Shadow grabbed four large books of of the shelf, read them, then put them back. "Thanks Twilight." he said happily. "Hmm... I knew that would happen. Question is, how?" "Maybe you can just sense it. Pinkie Pie has a similar ability. She gets weird twitches whenever something's gonna happen." "Maybe. Can't be sure without testing. I'm not gonna test it either. It seems linked to pain. Testing would require a future injury." "That would be bad. Don't worry about it though. Things always seem to happen at convenient times." "Wouldn't that make it unconventionally convenient?" "I guess." "Then I have nothing to worry about." Shadow Streak walked away without another word. He looked around a little. "Hmm... Something isn't right." "What is it?" "I don't know. Just... something. Whatever." Shadow headed into town. The Mayor walked up to him. She was smiling. "Hey Mayor! You're happy today." "You were telling the truth." "Yep." "You helped out the town, Shadow Streak." "Don't mention it." "It's more than just a small event that you can pass off. It's important!" "It's what I do." "Thank you, for what you did." "Anytime. See ya later, Mayor." "Goodbye Shadow! I hope your day is great." "And yours to!" Shadow headed off again, eventually reaching his destination, which was the Sugarcube Corner. He walked inside and saw Pinkie working the counter. "Pinkie Pie! How are you?" he asked happily. "Great! What about you, Shadow?" "Good." "And you, Shining Armor?" she asked. "I'm fine." "Hey Pinkie, Twilight said you had a prediction ability." "Why would she tell you about my Pinkie sense?" "Because I have a similar ability. Mine's linked to pain." "That's not the only thing it's linked to." "What do you mean?" "It isn't just linked to pain. Something else is in there." "How do you know that?" "Just one of my skills. Like when something's gonna fall, my tail twitches. And when my back is itchy, it means it's my lucky day." "And when your knee gets pinchy, something scary's gonna happen, and when your entire body shakes, plot twists happen." "Yeah! See Shadow, you predicted what I was going to say, and it didn't hurt me." "Then it isn't only linked to pain, as you said. Something still seems off." "I know what you mean. I've been getting a weird feeling all day. I don't know what it is." "Well, ok Pinkie Pie. See ya later!" "See ya, Shadow Streak." 'Shining Armor is a real pain. Go throw him off a cliff. Then you'll be alone.' 'Stop talking to me.' 'Never.' "Getting dark out, Shadow." "Yeah." Shadow walked up a large hill and laid on the grass. "Y'know Shadow, I thought today was going to be horrible. It wasn't actually that bad." he said. "Being forced to guard me must be boring. Take a nap." said Shadow, looking in his eyes. "Alright. Night Shadow." "Goodnight Shining Armor." Five minutes later, he was asleep and Shadow had ran off. He disliked his constant presence. 'Shadow, he's asleep. Tell Tia on him. That'll get him fired for sure.' 'Listen, whatever you are, I'm not going to do your evil deeds. I'm a good pony, with friends.' 'But all those years ago...' 'Don't matter.' Shadow shook his head. "I know I'm good. I have to be. Right?" 'Not if I can do this.' Shadow tripped over his own hooves. 'What was that?' Shadow felt himself stand up. He wasn't doing it himself. "I forgot what this feels like." he said. "It's mine now, Shadow Streak!" 'Who are you?' asked Shadow. "I am you." 'Give me a name!' "My name is Sigma." 'Give me back my body!' "No, I think I'll keep it. Maybe I'll pay a visit to Twilight. Or maybe I'll go see Rainbow Dash, or Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, those fillies! Or maybe even Luny and Tia. Oh, Shadow Streak, you've given me so many targets. Lets just see who I choose first." Chapter 8Shadow opened his eyes, then removed the tubes that were hooked up to him. "Are you alright, Rainbow Dash?" asked the nurse. "Yeah. How long was I out?" "A week." "You didn't give me my cyanide-ammonium nitrate mixture." "Of course not!" "Damn it!" 'What's going on, Shadow?' asked Rainbow. "We slept too long, we need to get out of here." Shadow hopped out of bed and examined himself. "Look, Rainbow, perfect condition." He hopped around a bit. "Maybe better." 'You can't improve on perfection.' she said. "That's the spirit." he said happily, "You, thank you for your help, but I need to go." He ran out before she could stop him. He reached the enterance and flew to the palace as quickly as he could. "I seriously hope they're not hurt." he said. 'Me to.' Shadow entered and was stopped by some guards. "State your business." one said. "I wanna see the Princess. Did they catch Sigma? Where is he?" They let him pass. He quickly flew in and said, "Luna, where is he?" "He's in the dungeon, bound by everything we had. Celestia's down there right now, keeping an eye on him." "Good! Was anypony hurt?" "Yes. Shining Armor is in the hospital right now. As for Ponyville, we weren't able to find out." "Was it fatal?" "No, but there were some complications." "What about?" "He's missing a leg and had a blade embedded inside his flank." "I'll fix him later. Now, first priority is Sigma, take me to him." She walked away and Shadow followed her. "I assumed that you couldn't regenerate in another body." "After a few hours and major surgery, I adjust. Rainbow Dash you are lucky." 'Why's that?' "You're going to have doubled regenerative properties for the rest of your life. Lucky, lucky you. You're also gonna have a longer prime. Natural everything else though." 'That is lucky.' They entered the dungeon and heard loud bangs and shouting. "Let me out of here you bitch!" Shadow ran in and saw Sigma, jumping around the walls in a cage that was wrapped in a force field. He was covered in chains. Celestia was staring angrily at him. "Sigma!" shouted Shadow. Sigma looked at him, then sat down on the ground facing him. "Shadow! Been a while, hasn't it?" "Shut up. Celestia, you've done good. Step away from him." Celestia moved away. He looked back at Sigma. "How did you manage this?" he asked. "That damn Doctor did most of the work. Limited my power. No less than three ponies knew about me right away. Him, Pinkie, and the grey one. They were busy distracting me, then it started to rain. I ran off as quickly as I could, then a batalion of guards showed up with Luna and Celestia leading it, along with that worthless unicorn. At least I got him." said Sigma. "Doctor? I remember him! Nice colt. Good friend. Need to speak with him later on." "Don't bother trying to take this back. It's mine now, Shadow. I made sure of it." "And how exactly did you do that?" "I sealed off the passage way. Nopony can get in or out." "That's a problem." said Shadow as if he didn't care, "What will we do now?" 'Uh, Shadow, that's a big problem!' said Rainbow. "Oh, shut up Rainbow. Now, since I promised you a body, I'll just have to get out of here." She felt Shadow's presance leave her body. "That was weird." "I agree." said Shadow. Shadow rematerialized in front of them. He had a white aura and was shimmering and fading. "I hate it when I have to do this." "Well what exactly did you do?" asked Rainbow. "Projected my soul onto this world. It's painful, irritating, and most of all, the demons of hell are clawing at me. Heard there was a bounty on my head from there. And basically everywhere else, but those are besides the point." "That's..." "Don't wanna hear your opinion. Sigma!" "Shadow!" "Oh, hey, you got a black mane now! Thought my hair was snow white, not jet black. Anyways, I'm going to get that back, and you can't stop me. Do you smell that?" "I can smell it." "Where is it coming from?" "What is it?" "Why do we keep smelling it?" "It's gone." they both said at the same time. "Well... As I was saying..." "I know, I know. Body back, yadda, yadda, yadda. Thing is, you're stuck like that until you take another body." "I'll find a way." "I'd like to see you try." he said. "Celestia, Luna, Dash, lets leave." he said. "I want to stay down here and make sure he doesn't escape." said Celestia. "Be sure to stab him if he does." he replied. "And be careful. He's a crafty one." "You need to be careful." "I tried that once. I got bored." Shadow ran up the stairs. He skid to a stop when he got to the top. "Why did I do that?" he asked. He felt a warm feeling on his head. He reached up and touched it. He looked at his hoof and saw that he was bleeding. "I don't get it. Why am I bleeding? What did I hit?" He healed himself and walked off. Rainbow Dash was following him. "How do you feel?" he asked her. "I feel great!" she said happily. "What's with you? Why didn't you take it back?" "Few reasons. One, he's right, I'm not getting in. It's sealed. Two, after I turn etheral, I need to wait a day until I can return to a body. Three, I'm planning on having some fun like this. How 'bout you? Heading back to Ponyville?" "I thought about it. I don't know. The Wonderbolts are here, so I guess another day couldn't hurt." "Now, the Wonderbolts, you mentioned them before." "Best flyers in all of Equestria." she said happily. "Lets go see them." "I'd love to see them train." "Where are they?" "Follow me, they're over on the other side of town." "Neat." Rainbow flew off and Shadow followed her. She took him to a large track. There was a small group of ponies at a gate looking in. "This is the place." she said. They joined the group and said, "What are we waiting for?" "For the Wonderbolts to start training." "So they're not training right now?" "No, they're getting ready." "Good to know." he said, "Rainbow, I've lost interest already. I'm gonna go meet them myself." "You can't just waltz in there whenever you want." "Because that would take two ponies, gotcha. Maybe I could dance in. Then again, this situation wouldn't call for dancing. Guess I'll have to walk." "You can't just walk in there!" "Watch me." he said. He kicked the gate open and walked straight in, ignoring the looks from the rest of the group. "Shadow, get back here!" said Rainbow. "You come in here and get me." he said, looking back and smiling. "Shadow, c'mon man!" He laughed a little and kept walking. Rainbow flew in after him and tried to drag him back by his tail. "That's the spirit!" he said happily. "You there! What are you doing in here? This place is off limits!" "Shadow! We gotta go!" "Hey! I just wanted to see the Wonderbolts." said Shadow. "Well you can see them just fine from back there." he said, pointing to the group. "Yeah, but I wanted a closer look." he said. "Well you're not allowed to." he said. "Tell you what, I beat a Wonderbolt in a race, you let me stay. How 'bout it?" "You think you can beat them?" he asked, laughing, "You got guts, filly. I like that. No deal." "Aw c'mon! Why not? And don't you dare call me a filly. I'm more than twice your age." "You'd just waste their time and embarrass yourself." "I bet they're too slow to stand a chance. I bet I could literally eat their dust and still beat them in the same race!" "What are you doing, Shadow?" asked Rainbow. "I know what I'm doin'." "Attention!" he called. The Wonderbolts zipped out and lined up for him. Shadow whistled and said, "They're good." "This stalion has insulted your speeds." "What?!" "I sure have!" said Shadow happily, "The specific words I used were, 'I bet I could literally eat their dust and still beat them in the same race.' How's that for insulted? On second thought, dust tastes terrible. I know because I've tried it. Maybe if we were flying in marshmallows. Ooo! Or maybe chocolate milk. Chocolate milk is good." "Uh, Shadow, are you ok?" "Oh yes, why? Is challanging the Wonderbolts with a plan of winning not normal?" "A little." she said sarcasticly. "I got off track." he replied. "Hold on, do you smell that?" Shadow drifted into the air and tried to follow the smell, but it disappeared. "Hi, Rainbow Dash! What's with your friend?" asked Spitfire, heading over to her. "I don't really know. He does really weird stuff." Shadow dived down and landed between them, then draped his arms over them and said, "I'm Shadow Streak, what about you, beautiful?" "My name's Spitfire. Could you get off me?" "Sure thing, Spitfire." He hopped away and smiled. "So you're saying you could beat any one of us?" "Absolutely. How 'bout you first? Unless you're chicken." "I'm no chicken!" she said. "Great, lets get started then! Friendly little race to... to..." He starte spinning slowly, "To... to... to... The castle!" he said happily, pointing at the Canterlot castle. "Sounds like fun." she said. "That's the spirit!" "What the... What is that?!" "That's a wing." said Shadow, "A ruby wing." "Why is it ruby? Also why did you only have the one?" "No idea." he said happily, "Better that way, gives me a goal. Of sorts. Always good to have a goal." "Well, alright then." "Get ready, Spitfire." They stood side by side facing the castle. "3-2-1... Go!" shouted Shadow. Spitfire zoomed off, and Shadow sat there and grabbed a chunk of cloud, then swallowed it. "Why'd you do that?" "There's no dust on clouds." he replied. He took off and got to the castle in a few seconds, arriving at about the same time as Spitfire. He went in, said, "Hi." to Luna, then flew away, finishing first with ease. "Now I can stay, right? We had a deal. I think. Never got a proper agreement from it. Now you get here! Took ya long enough. Could've died of old age waiting for you. Well, not die, or age." "How did you..." "I just flew. When it comes right down to it, I'm faster than you." "But..." "Yeah." "Can you teach me how to fly like that?" "Yeah, that was some serious speed." "So you wanna go fast?" he asked. "You got that right." "Alright. Can anypony here fly from here to Ponyville without stopping? No, you can't. Takes too long and you get too tired. You train with me and you'll be able to do it in two hours with energy enough to get back." "Woah." "Now, who's up first? Don't care who you decide, I'm choosing. Spitfire!" "Yeah?" "You first, how 'bout it?" "I guess that's be ok." He tapped the front of her chest, walked around her, then grabbed her back leg and held her in the air by it. "Hey! Put me down! Shadow!" "Zip it." he said. He tapped her hoof and she laughed. "Shadow! Stop that!" He held his ear up to her knee. He set her down, then grabbed her front leg and tapped her shoulder. He let her leg go and stepped back. "Hmm..." "Shadow, why did you do that?" she asked. "Get ready for the most brutal training session you can handle." he said. "Be warned, it can bring a bear to his knees, begging for mercy." "I'm ready." she said, steeling herself. He pointed his hoof at her and said, "Gravitational field up, X1.5." She quickly dipped to the ground and had trouble standing up. "What is this?" "Gravity control. You're on X1.5. Your body can only withstand X1.89 before causing severe, permenent damage. That's pretty good in my opinion, and right now, it's the only one that matters." "Do you do this?" "I'm doing it right now. I'm on X5." He looked around and said, "You're all in the 1-2 range. If anypony wants to gravity train, I warn you, it will get painful. Line up if yes, remain if no." They all walked forward. "You to, Rainbow." "Me?" "Yup." "But..." "If you want to get substancially faster, line up with the Wonderbolts." he said sternly. She nodded and walked up next to them. He removed the gravity around Spitfire and gave her some energy. She went over to the group. "Now, I want you to follow my orders exactly and immidiately, is that clear?" "Yes, sir." "Now hold on just a minute." said the coach. "You can't just tell them what to do." "So sue me." he said. "Wonderbolts, Rainbow, I'm going to increase gravity slowly. You're bodies are used to holding your normal weight. A change to that would be training. X1.1." There was virtually no change in the line. "X1.3." Some of the members started to bend their legs and pant. Shadow moved them from the line. He kept doing this until he was left with a stubborn stalion at X2.15. "Good job, very good job." said Shadow. "This is painful." he replied. "What's you're name?" "Soarin'." "Ok, Soarin', I'm going to keep you at X2. Get through the entire day like that." He lowered it and said, "Everypony, the goal is a normal X2.5 by the end of the month. That means you must be able to fly around freely with that weight." He got a piece of chalk and a piece of wood he wrote down everypony's names and what gravity they had. He used a spell on it and said, "Whenever you get used to - or can't handle - the weight, write a new number here. Don't go over 2.5. I'll see you in three weeks." He handed it to the coach. "You're the coach, not me." He walked over to Rainbow and said, "I'm going to go, what about you?" "I'm... good." "Awesome. See ya later." "Bye, Shadow." "Hold on a mo', did I just train the Wonderbolts?" "Yeah, you did." "Cool." He walked away and headed to the hospital. "I should've done this sooner. I'm horrible." Shadow walked up to the receptionist and said, "I'm here to visit Shining Armor." "Are you a family member?" "Nah, just an old friend." "What's your name?" "Shadow Streak." "Alright. He's a little preoccupied right now." "I reckon missing a leg isn't doing him any good." "How do you..." Shadow looked in her eyes. "Emergancy room 7. Just down here." He started walking over there, but she tried to stop him. "You're not allowed to go in there." "I'm a doctor, they need one in there." "You're a doctor?" "A good one." He ran in before she could say anything. He ran in while they were operating. "You can't be in here!" "Oh that is foul." said Shadow, "Seen worse." He healed the gash on his flank and regenerated his leg. "Wake your lazy plot up, Shining Armor, you got work to do." He didn't move. Shadow ignored the other ponies. Shadow lifted him up and shook him around. "Wake up! Shining Armor! Eh... you'll get up eventually. My work here is done. Keep him rested, it take a lot of energy to regenerate an entire leg." He waved goodbye and walked away. "Is that you, Shadow Streak?" "Why yes it is, strange citizen." "Why am I strange all of the sudden?" "Not every pony I've met has a time-traveling teleporter, do they, Doctor? Do they? Have I been gone that long?" "Shadow! It's great to meet you again." he said happily. "Yeah. Are you sure?" "Why wouldn't I be sure?" "Reasons. Hey, I met your human counterpart." "Really?" "Yeah. He didn't like me, but there was one thing we agreed on." "Oh?" "Humans are stupid. I also met another immortal when I was there. He wasn't truely immortal though, but he was pretty dang resiliant." "That's enough about parallel worlds. How have you been?" "I don't know. Memory loss and all." "Right, right." "Now what's the real reason you came to find me?" "Down to business as usual." "Ponyville attacked, Sigma running amock, and he told me that you were there. Exactly what happened?" "You'll find out." "Alright." "Sigma. A feared name in the universe. One mere mention of his name and a whole legion would be ready to fight within seconds. He's back here in Equestria. He was never supposed to exist. Shadow, tell me what's wrong. I can help." "No you can't. Don't think you can, either. You'll just get yourself killed. See ya, Doctor." "Bye, Shadow Streak." Shadow flew back to Ponyville. He was determined to see what he missed while he was gone. When he arrived, he realized that everypony was hiding inside their houses. "Oh, this isn't a good sign." he said. He passed the Carosel Boutique. The drapes moved slightly as he approached. "I'm being watched. By everypony." He walked to the town square without seeing anypony. There was a pony tied to a pole. He didn't recognise her. He ran over to her. "Help! Help, please! Please, help me!" she shouted in fear, trying to get away. He looked around. No doors opened, no windows creaked. Nothing. No movement whatsoever. He looked back at her. "You've been here for a week. Why? Why hasn't anypony freed you?" "Help me, please!" "Shut up!" he roared. She stopped yelling and started to sob. "Why are you still here?" "You... you said that if anypony tried to free me, you'd kill them." He ripped off the rope and said, "You're free to go." She ran off without another word. A pony poked her head out of her doorway. It was Octavia. He looked at her and she quickly darted back inside. "If even ponies I know are afraid..." He walked into city hall. The Mayor was inside. "Shadow!" She jumped backwards and tripping over a table. "What are you doing here?!" she asked from behind it. "Mayor, what happened within the past week?" "You did." "What did I do?!" She moved back a little. "You... attacked two ponies. They're not well." "Was it fatal?" "No." "Odd... Sigma would've... Not twice. How could he have missed twice? Never mind. They're in the hospital, right?" "I'm not going to let you hurt them again." she said angrily. "That's a good Mayor." he said, smiling. He shot off and headed to the Ponyville hospital. He scanned the hospital for his own energy and took a window enterance inside. "They're in the same room." he said. He dodged the cameras and staff, then entered the rooms. They were asleep. Shadow examined them. "He is going to pay." he said angrily. He healed them both, then walked out. He managed to get to the window, but heard somepony run up to him. They stopped right in front of him. "I hope you're happy about what you did to them." she said. "Exstatic." he said, jumping out. "Sigma!" he shouted, heading back to Canterlot. "Shadow." said Sigma calmly, face splattered with blood. *Cheese whiz is good. The Origins of Sigma"He'll pay! He'll pay! He's gonna pay for this!" shouted Shadow. "Oh yes, Shadow. Come and get me. Your information is wrong. I'm not even who you said I am. So find me, Shadow. Come and get it." said Sigma. "Sigma!" he shouted before landing. "He's not here. He's left Canterlot. I can't find him. High level teleportation traces." He was getting terrified stares from the citizens not in their houses. He rushed to the castle. The royal guards were laying around on the ground and injured. "He attacked the guards. Why are none of them dead yet? What's going on? He's not one to miss so often." He healed them all and ran inside, then blocked the doors. "Luna? Celestia?" he called. "We're over here, Shadow!" said Luna. He ran over to them. They were laying on the ground, heavily injured and almost dead. Luna was breathing heavily and Celestia had a shard of metal embedded in her. She was smiling as if she was delusional. He quickly healed them and they sat up. "What's wrong, Celestia?" "The one who killed mom had black hair." she said happily, "Black hair, not white hair. It wasn't you, it was Sigma." "He'll pay for his crimes." "Uncle Shadow has always been Uncle Shadow." said Celestia. "Such an evil pony..." She looked down unhappily. Shadow put his arm around her shoulders. "What happened here?" "Sigma... He started laughing. He looked at me." said Celestia, "It wasn't normal. Then he smiled. He told me to open the cage. I refused, but he didn't care. He broke free and destroyed the cage. Some pieces were lodged in my flank. I tried to stop him, but failed. I don't remember anything after that." "After that, he came upstairs and attacked me without hesitation. The guards were no match for him. He ran off, then there was a surge of magical energy." "That must've been him going to another planet. His little gang is probably there." "Another planet?" "Yeah. If he's there, then there will be nothing to worry about for a while." "Why not?" "Takes the entirety of our life energies to transport between worlds. He needs to regenerate. Energy takes longer to regenerate than a body." "Then we're safe?" "For now at least." "So what can we do to stop him?" "I don't know. There are some things I need to know, though. Sigma was a terrible fighter, never missed, and always went for the kill. What happened? Now he's just injuring ponies. It's like he's trying to scare them." "I'm not scared of him." said Luna angrily. "He should be the one scared of us." replied Celestia. "And when I find him, I'm going to tear him to shreds." finished Shadow. He looked behind him. "We may have a problem on our hands. The guards are trying to get in. I hope you can act." Shadow smiled at her, then stabbed himself in the head with a chunk of metal. The guards broke in a moment after he hit the floor. Everypony stared at his lifeless body. A guard walked up to him and checked his pulse. "He's dead." "He's dead?" "Dead." "He... That's... Could you take him away from here? W... We need some time alone." "Of course, Princess." They picked up Shadow and took him away. Some of the guards tried to stay for a little longer, but Celestia removed them. Celestia looked at Luna, then chuckled. "I wouldn't be laughing if I were you. They think you did it." "You really think so?" "I could tell. This can't end well." "This would be the first time that I was blamed for killing somepony. Luna, Uncle Shadow killed himself so we could escape any rumors of alliance with him. We need to return the favor." "How?" "I don't know. I blamed him for mom's death, but..." "Celestia..." "C'mon, Luna. If Sigma's back, the guards need a course in deadly combat." "I never thought the day would come where we would have to train them in these arts. Equestria was so peaceful." "If Sigma is back, then what about his little gang?" "If they are back, then these lands will never be the same again." 1478 YEARS AGO "Mommy, can I sleep with you tonight? The lightning scares me." said Celestia, a young filly at the time. "Me too! Me too!" said Luna. "Oh, how can I say no to you two?" said Gaia happily. "Yay!" They both hopped on their mom's bed and cuddled up next to her. "Love you, mommy. Goodnight!" they both said. "I love you too." She smiled at them. They quickly fell asleep. "Such beautiful fillies. They'll grow up to be great princesses some day." she said. She kissed them both on their foreheads, then fell asleep. THE NEXT DAY "Wake up, you two." she said softly. "Hi, mommy." said Celestia. Luna was still asleep. "Tia, could you wake up Luny please? I have to be somewhere." "All this royal stuff is getting in the way of our fun time." she complained. She started to tap Luna, and Gaia walked out of the room. "Gaia." "Shadow! You returned!" she said happily. He walked along side her, bag resting on his back. "Today's the big day." he said. "Yup. Today's the day we're gonna finally finish building Canterlot." "Can you believe it? Twenty years!" "I know. It has taken a bit of time. Shadow, I want to say, thanks." "All I did was help. There's no real need to thank me. But if you wanted to, you know what I like." "Right. So, Shadow, you never told me, who are you?" "You don't know?" "You never told me. You kept dodging the question." "Oh, Queen Gaia. If you knew who I was, who I really was, you'd come to find life dreary and boring. You'd find yourself insignificant compared to me." "But life is full of wonders and excitement! And with Canterlot finally finished, we have more able bodied ponies to help with that!" "Yeah, life is beautiful. Gaia, keep those fillies safe. They'll hit their growth spurt soon. They're gonna be the future of this world. Don't let anything happen to them." "What's with this all of the sudden?" "Just keep 'em safe." "Uncle Shadow!" they both said happily, running towards him. "Luny! Tia!" he said happily before being tackled to the ground. He started laughing. "I haven't seen you two cuties in a full month! We need to meet up more often. How have you been?" "I learned a new spell!" said Luna proudly. "Oh really? Which one?" "This one!" she said happily, using her spell. She lifted into the air surrounded by a magical aura. "I can fly without using my wings." "That's great! Be careful though, it's pretty hard to steer. What about you, Celestia?" "Nothing really new happened with me." she said. "Really? That's a shame. Hey, how 'bout we all go get some pie? How's that sound?" "Yay, pie!" "How 'bout it, Gaia? Come get some pie with us!" he said happily. "Sorry, Shadow, I'm busy all day." "Aw, can't you skip a day?" "You know I can't." "Well, alright then. C'mon you two, lets get that pie." he said. "Yay, pie! Yay, pie!" they chanted happily, bouncing around him. They walked out of the castle and onto the newly paved road. Shadow took them to a nearby bakery and got them their pie. "Eat up, girls." "Thanks, Uncle Shadow!" "Thank you!" Shadow felt a twinge in the side of his head. He started to rub it, but that only made it feel worse. "What's wrong, Uncle Shadow?" "Oh, it's nothing. Just a little headache. Feels like there's something on my head. Is there?" "I don't think so." said Celestia. "What's wrong with your mane?" asked Luna. "My mane?" He reached up and pulled some hair over his eyes. "My mane's turning black. What's going on here?" "I don't like it." said Luna. "Hmm... Well, I'll figure it out later, you just eat your pie." They both smiled and resumed eating. Shadow looked out the window and into a crowd of ponies. They were all looking at something. "That's odd." He looked back at Luny and Tia. They had just finished eating their sweet treats. "So how was it?" he asked, smiling. "Uncle Shadow, are you feeling alright?" asked Celestia. "I think so, why do you ask?" "Your mane got darker all of the sudden." said Luna. "Really?" he asked. He reached into his bag and pulled out a mirror, then looked at himself. "What's up with that thing? Mane's don't just decide to change colors. Has it been 22 years already? Stupid oracle. I hate it when they're right. Lets go home. I need to get you back to your mom." "Aw, really?" "Yeah, sorry. Lets go." Halfway there, Shadow put a hoof on his head and tried to rub it again. "My head hurts." he said. "You just need to take a nap. Everything's better after a nap!" said Celestia cheerfully. "I bet you're right. I'll be fine in the morning." There was an incredibly large group of ponies in front of the castle. "Hey girls, I think your mom's got an announcement." he said. "Shadow, can you take us up there?" "Please, Shadow?" "Sure thing, you two." He picked them up and put them on his back. He took off and landed next to Gaia. "Hi, beautiful! I brought your fillies." he said. "Thank you, Shadow Streak." He looked over the edge. Everypony was waiting for Gaia to say something. She walked up next to him and he stepped back. "Citizens of Canterlot, and of all of Equestria, I have gathered you all here today on this glorious occasion to tell you how thankful I am for your help in making the city of Canterlot possible. Your work has finally come to a close. Canterlot is indeed completed, as the rumors have said. This is a momentous occasion indeed. After twenty long years of work. Now is the time to help others in need. We need to build other cities so this nation can prosper. As of today, there will be a new nation. May Equestria live on, with the citizens of it being treated just and being happy during their life times." The ponies cheered. Shadow walked inside. He didn't care for speeches that much. He spent much of the rest of the day walking around inside the castle. He headed over to the library and started reading some books. He found himself studying Starswirl's notes more than anything. "Shadow Streak, the Queen wants to see you." said a mare. "Alright. Show me the way." She nodded and walked to Queen Gaia, Shadow close behind. He walked into the room alone. "How'd the speech go?" he asked. "Everypony loved it!" she said happily. "Where did you go off to?" "I went to the library." he said, "So, what'd you want to see me for?" "I want you to tell me who you are." she said, "I have asked you for three years, but you always found a way to avoid answering it. Not this time. Neither one of us are leaving this room until you say it." She used her magic to lock the door. "But you'll starve to death!" said Shadow. "I've prepared for that." she said. "What if I choose to break my way out?" "Oh, please. Do you really think that I wouldn't count for that? I bet this room can stand up to those bombs that the humans created." "There's only one bed in here." "I knew you wouldn't mind, Shadow." "I don't mind, it's just that... Anyways, I can outlast you." he said. "You cannot." He looked in her eyes. "You can last for four months in here. I've lasted longer. Longer than that and even longer still! Don't try to beat me in a contest of endurance, because you will lose. I could stay in here until Canterlot rots above me. Then I'll climb out of the ruins on my own." "Yeah right." she said sarcastically. "Are you doubting me?" "You have no proof." "You want to see proof?" "Any proof you have will be good enough for me. If I get proof, then I'll let you go right now." He walked over to her and placed his hoofs on the sides of her head. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then re-opened his eyes and took a step back. "I... I had no idea. I'm sorry, Shadow." she said sadly. "Do not make me do that again. It's painful." "Shadow, what was that?" "Many years, waiting. No food, no water, no company, no family, no anything. I waited all that time." "Why did you wait?" He sat down on the bed and said, "My friend was put into a permanent state of spatial-temporal stasis after a failed experiment. He was trying to separate time from space. He used my body energy to do it. Just for a split-second, he succeeded. This hole in the universe was only maintained for less than a second, but one glimpse... it was horrible. After that, he was frozen in space-time. After about three million years, I finally gave up. To this day, he's still on his home planet, frozen. I still visit him from time to time, but it's just more painful each time I go." She wrapped her arms around him and placed her head on his chest. "That's so sad." "Don't you worry about a thing. You've just seen countless lifetimes worth of loneliness. You'll be a bit shaken for a few minutes." She didn't move. He held on to her and patted her back. "That was too much, sorry." "Shadow, you're ancient. I knew you were old, but alicorn old. Not this. Your life is so sad." He parted her mane and kissed her forehead. "Gaia. Young Queen Gaia. C'mon, lets get out of here." "Right." She stood up and opened the door. Shadow rubbed his head. "Hey, Gaia, my head's been hurtin' all day now." "You probably just have a headache." "But it hurts, a lot. It hasn't gone away. It's getting worse." "Don't be such a baby. You've had worse. I've seen you get crushed by a collapsing building." "I know, but..." "Shadow! You're lagging!" she called from down the hallway. "Coming!" he replied, running after her. "My head really hurts. It's like five months of volcano all at once, but concentrated into a single area." "Mommy! Shadow!" "Luny! Ow. Tia! Ow!" "Are you alright, Uncle Shadow?" asked Celestia. "It's like my headache has a headache with a headache." "Maybe you should go to the hospital." said Gaia. "Yeah, hospital." "Do you think you can fly right now?" "Yeah, I can still fly." "Then lets take the air route." "Y... Yeah." They all ran to the balcony where Gaia gave her speech. TAP! TAP! TAP! Queen Gaia turned around and looked at Shadow. He was faced around and had his head against the wall. "Are you alright, Shadow Streak?" she asked. He turned around. His forehead had a trail of blood coming out of it and he wore a broad smile. He grabbed his head and stood up on his back legs, reeling back as if he was in pain. "Uncle Shadow... You're scaring us." said Celestia, backing away. Luna was behind Celestia. He slammed his head against the wall again. "My head feels like it's being torn apart from the inside..." he said painfully. He reeled back again, then tripped over the edge of the balcony. He fell to the ground, still holding his head. He didn't move. "Shadow Streak?" said Gaia. "Uncle Shadow?" said Luna. "Shadow?" said Celestia. "Hey buddy, are you alright?" asked a pony near him. Shadow quickly grabbed his head again and arched his back up. He sat up, then backed away from the crowd that had gathered around him. His mane was jet black and his eyes had dark bags under them and were narrowed angrily. "Listen you two, I want you to go inside. Go inside and stay there." said Gaia. "Tell the guards, defense plan delta-7." "But mom..." "Listen to your mother, fillies." said Shadow, who had quickly flown next to them. "If you know what's good for you." They ran inside and left only Gaia and Shadow on the balcony. "What are you doing, Shadow?" "I'm not Shadow anymore. You're going to call me Sigma." "Who are you?" "I'm not going to tell you." "Why are you here?" "I'm here for one reason and one reason only." "What is it?" "I'm going to kill you, Gaia. I'm going to kill you, your subjects, your fillies. I'm going to kill everything here." "If you lay a hoof on anypony I'll make you rue the day you threatened me." He walked towards her. She stood her ground. Sigma lunged at her with a wide smile. She tried to get out of the way, but Sigma grabbed her hoof and threw her against a wall. He placed his hoof above her shoulder, then drew it downward. The stone in the wall molded around her arm in a ring, holding her against it. She tried to attack him, but he stepped away. "Now now, Queen, you don't want to hurt yourself, do you?" he said. She tried to yank her arm free, but only managed to bruise it. "This may take a while." "What are you talking about?" she asked angrily. "I could torture you, let you bleed until you die. I could murder everypony but you. You would be all alone. I could bury you alive or drop you in the middle of the endless desert." "Why are you doing this, Shadow?" "I'm not Shadow, I'm Sigma. Say it with me, Sigma. Sig-ma." "Why are you doing this?!" "Somepony's getting impatient. Fine, I'll tell you. I like to hear the sounds of breaking bones. I like to feel flesh tear beneath my hooves. The reason I am doing this is because I love to cause pain. The screams of the undeserving is music to my ears!" "So you're here to cause pain?" "Oh, yes. And you're going to be my first victim!" "Then I'll just have to stop you." she said. She looked at her arm and said, "This is gonna hurt." She yanked her arm again and twisted it. She felt her shoulder dislocate and winced. "I'm not gonna let you do this, Sigma." "There's my name! I knew you'd get it." She slid her arm out of the ring. Sigma just stood there smiling at her. Gaia used her magic and tried to relocate her arm. Sigma laughed. "If you want to relocate a shoulder, you need to do... this!" he said. He grabbed her arm and violently shoved it back into it's socket, making her scream in pain. "There's that scream! That wonderful scream!" She jumped away and said, "You're a monster! What happened to the Shadow I know and love?!" "I've taken his body. It's mine now. I finally have a physical form that I can cause pain with." "Sigma, you're not going to hurt anypony." she said. "Yeah? Try and stop me." She used a spell against him. He sidestepped it and tried to tackle her, but she dodged it. He swung at her and hit her in the chest, making a gash across it. She turned around and ran inside. He ran after her. She ran to the room that they were in a few minutes ago. She dived behind the bed and hid from him. "He won't stop. He won't show mercy. He'll find me. What can I do? What can I do?" she said. She started to cry. "Why is he doing this to me? Pull yourself together, you're crying like a filly. He's scary, but if I want to save Equestria, I have to do something to stop him." "Oh, Gai-a!" called Sigma playfully. "I know where you are!" She waited until he got in the room, then stood up and sealed the doors. "Sigma, you're not going to hurt anypony. If I can do one thing, one thing at all, I would make sure my kingdom is safe." Sigma just smiled a her. "I'm trapped in here with you." "Neither of us are going anywhere for a long time." He walked closer to her. The closer he got, the more she became afraid of him. "Within this week, Gaia, you're going to die." he said. "Within the week? Why not now? Why not get it over with and be done with it?" she asked. "I have plans for you, Queen Gaia." "What kind of plans?" "Maybe I'll rape you." She backed away. "Tell ya what, you let me out and I'm not gonna rape you." he said. "You're sick!" "It's an honest offer." he said. She looked away angrily. "You're never getting out of this room." He growled at her. "You're pissing me off!" He lunged at her and grabbed her head. He slammed her against the wall and said, "Let me out of here!" "I'd rather die." He growled like an animal again. He let her go, jumped back, and smiled. "How about a board game?" "What?" "I want to play some board games. I'll keep you alive so long as I'm entertained. Why should I live an eternity without a little fun? You got any games in here?" "No. I made this room so you..." "Shadow. Make that mistake again, you'll die." "So Shadow would have nothing to do and be forced to tell me." "Big flaw in your plan, locking yourself in here with him. He's very... persuasive, if you know what I mean. So there's nothing to do in here. I know what I've said earlier, but I've lost interest. You're going to break before me. That's an absolute fact. You could be in pain for years to come if I want to see that. I'm not big on physical torturing, even though it generates lots and lots of screaming. Shadow is, but not me." "How can you say that about Shadow?! He's the nicest pony I know!" "Listen you little bitch, you know nothing about Shadow Streak!" he said angrily. "Will you tell me?" "No. He won't let me tell anypony. He has his reasons for doing that, and I have mine for heeding his orders. He is a great pony. He would burn himself alive if it would prevent somepony getting a paper cut. He hasn't been in that situation yet, but he would. He could do so much better than you, and yet he chooses to stay on this rock with you." "What are you talking about?" "Earlier he said that his friend was on another planet. There's life out there, lots of it. Shadow wiped out hundreds of species on his own. They deserved it, though. He is one of the most wanted criminals in this universe." "Shadow isn't a criminal! He's sweet and kind-hearted and would never hurt anypony!" "Have you ever looked in his eyes? Ever truly saw what was behind them?" She looked down. "See? You have. You know what I'm talking about. Enough of this. You got any bandages?" "Yeah, over there in the bathroom. Why do you need them?" He walked over and grabbed them. He went back and said, "Lemme get that for you." "Why are you doing this?" "That's a huge gash. If you keep bleeding like that, I'll have nopony to make scream." he said cheerfully, "And if you refuse, I'll just happen to forget a pain killer while I'm closing it." "You're going to..." "I'm a certified doctor. I know what I'm doing. You're gonna need stitches for that." "Does this mean..." "No it does not. You'll die by my hooves some day, so just relax." He walked back to the bathroom and grabbed some chemicals. He mixed them together and gave them to her. "Drink up." "What is it?" "Full body numbing." "Why not just my chest?" "Don't question me. Drink it." She kept looking at it suspiciously. "If I was gonna do anything to you, I would've done it. In the many years you've known Shadow, have you ever once been able to stop him from doing whatever he wants? You've tried to stop him bunches of times. Every one of those ended up with a hospitalized queen. Now, drink it!" She gave it one last look, then drank it. She fell to her back. Sigma grabbed a needle and some surgical thread. A few minutes later, he examined his work, then used a spell on her. She sat back up and felt her chest. "Just ignore that for the next ten days and you'll be good as new. Provided you live, of course." He looked around the room, then walked around and grabbed many things. "What are you doing?" "I need a way of contacting my gang. If they haven't been caught yet, they'll help me out." "Nopony can get in or out of this room!" she shouted angrily. "And yet, I'll be out murdering again some day." He looked at his pile of items, then started to put them together. After about forty minutes, throughout which Gaia was watching his every move, he had a large, rectangular device. He pushed a button on it and said, "Hello? Anypony there? I'm stuck in Canterlot and Gaia has really put the works on this one. Come get me. I swear, if you kill anypony, I will personally atomize you. They're mine, all mine!" He turned back to Gaia and said, "Yeah, it didn't work, nopony was there. Guess I'll just have to create a hydrogen bomb and blast myself out of here." He looked around. "This technology isn't advanced enough to do that. I can't do it with these. If it was just Shadow trapped in here, he could do it lickity-split. He's good with nuclear physics. Stupid, stupid humans. Quite possibly the stupidest sentient species." "What was that device?" "The humans called it a telephone. Talk over long distances. Ponies shouldn't have this technology for maybe two thousand years." Gaia just stared at him. "Sigma, I thought you were a merciless killer, but you seem almost normal." "I'm not gonna kill ya now. I'm not a necrophiliac." "Sigma!" "Shut up. Hmm... I could carve chess pieces." "Out of what?" "Bone? Mine of course, yours wouldn't grow back. I'm not gonna face a jellyfish at chess." She giggled. "Look at you, seeing the light in a situation. No, not bone. Hmm..." He walked around a little. "I know!" He tore some bricks out of the wall, then used a spell on them and they turned into pieces of a chess board. He grabbed a chunk in his teeth and carved 64 squares in the floor, then placed the pieces down. "You go first." he said. She sat down across from him. A half hour later, they were still locked in their chess game. "You're good." said Sigma, "Very, very good." "Thanks. You're not bad yourself." A few moves later, Sigma was backed into a corner. She moved her piece, then said, "Checkmate." Sigma looked around the board, then said, "Ow, my pride." She laughed again. "You're having fun." "It's hard not to. I love chess." "Not many creatures can get a checkmate with me, and nothing can checkmate Shadow. 'cept the Doctor, but that's irrelevant." "You keep talking about Shadow. Why?" "He's just a subject we're both familiar with. Like when you're talking to somepony, and they don't care about what you're saying. They just smile and nod." Sigma smiled at her. "What should we do now?" He started pacing the room. He was muttering something, but Gaia couldn't hear him. "I could either let the four months go by, or do it now." he said. "What are you talking about?" "Death by starvation, or a murder." he replied, "Your choice." "You're giving me a choice?" "Sure. Why not?" "You sick, sick monster!" she said. "You flatter me." She looked right into his eyes. "I want to stay long enough to make sure you can't ever leave this place." "You keep revolving around the same subject. I'm apparently not going anywhere. Four months. Four... months. Four-months. Four-months-four-months-four-months. Four... million months. Yes. Four million months. I'll force you to live for four million months." "You can't force me to live for 300000 years. Royal alicorns don't last past 200000. There isn't even enough food here to last us a year." "Tell that to me in 333333 and a third year's time on the dot. Or at least until Canterlot collapses. Then I'll slaughter whatever species is dominant. Then other species populating the world. Then I'll set my sights on the universe. Won't that be grand? Maybe you could join me. We could control the entire universe. It wouldn't be that hard actually. Just a bit of wreaking havoc and we'll be all set." "I'm not gonna join you in anything you do." "You can't be locked in a room for years with anypony without ending up as friends. Shadow did it tons of times. Most weren't by choice." "I'll never be friends with you." "You pessimist." "I'm not a pessimist." "Yes you are." "No I'm not!" "Prove it." "How could I do that?" "Give me a smile." He grabbed her cheeks and pulled up. "Smile!" "Sigma, that hurts." "I don't care." he said happily. He moved his hooves around. "You look funny!" She swiped his hooves away from her face. "Party pooper. If you're gonna hate me, hate me when I kill ya. Before then, find a way to stop me, because unless I'm stopped, you'll die. Aw, I'm making everything all mean and gray. Should be happy and yellow! Yellow's a cheery color, right? Or did I miss something? No, yellow's always gonna be cheery. Well, I've been wrong before." "You're like a filly." "The last pony to say that, other than Shadow, was greater than you, and I killed him for it." "That means you took Shadow's body before, correct?" "Well, yes and no. You see... No, I'm not gonna tell you that. That's a story for another day." "Why not now? Why can't I hear the story now?" "Because now, it's late and time to sleep." he said, "For you, not for me, I don't sleep." "You don't sleep?" "I have never gotten a wink of sleep in my life." "Doesn't that hurt?" "Well, yeah, of course it does." "Do you want to sleep?" "Every day." "Maybe I could help you." "Why would you help your executioner?" "I am queen of these lands and all of pony-kind. You're still a pony, no matter what you've done. That means you are one of my subjects. I help my subjects, including somepony like you." "You don't want to regret this decision, and yet, you will." "I'll take my chances." "And I'll kill ya!" he said happily. "How can you say those horrid things so easily?" "And what things are those?" "You kept saying that you would rape me, thank the heavens you said you'd lost interest, and you constantly say you'll kill me. Most ponies throw up if they even began to think about those." "If you've killed enough, you really don't care about who you hurt or what you do." "But when did it all start?" "It ha always been, and always will be. It's my special talent." "Special talent?" "Causing pain. I'm so good at it! It's like a filly and their cutie mark. But, neither of us have our cutie marks. We're both constantly blank." "Sigma, have you ever thought that hurting ponies wasn't really your special talent?" "I've given it no thought." "Sigma, if you think it's your special talent, and you don't have a cutie mark for it, then maybe you weren't meant to do it." "But what else could there be? It makes me so happy when I do it! And I'm good at it. Really, really good." "I'm sure you are, but if it isn't your real special talent, what is?" "I'm also a great battle tactician. I took an entire militant planet without a single casualty on my side. Then I slaughtered them all. Friend and foe alike." "How about something non-violent?" "I'm a great baker." he said. "You're a baker?" "I don't mean to brag, but I make the best apple pie in the universe. Literally. It was entered in a universal cooking contest and won. Earlier, you mentioned you could help me sleep." "Yes, I have a sleep spell I can use on you. Stand still and I'll be done in a moment." He stood right in front of her. She used the spell on him, then shot back and was slammed against the wall. Sigma laughed. "You alright over there?" "What'd you do that for?!" she asked angrily. "I didn't do anything." "You broke my spell!" "Not on purpose." "What do you mean?" "I didn't do anything on purpose. Maybe I just don't sleep." "There has to be another explanation." "Spell resistance, spell wasn't done right, spell wasn't strong enough, spell simply failed. All possible." "Are you trying to pin this on me?" "That, or I just plain can't sleep." His ears perked up. "Somepony is screaming. I love it!" "Who is that?" asked Gaia. "It's Celestia. Her voice sounds so pained. It's great!" "What's happened to Celestia?!" "She must've learned about us in this room." he said, "Celestia's throwing a storm of a temper tantrum. Big ol' hissy fit. Little baby wants her mommy. Oh, boo-hoo-hoo." "You shut up!" "Or what? You gonna cry about it? Ya gonna cry you big baby? Whaa! Whaa!" She reared up on her back hooves and came down on his head. "Shut up!" she shouted. She continued to strike him. Her blows started to get weaker and she was crying. Sigma grabbed her hoof and threw her to the ground, then stepped on her back. He leaned down to her ear and whispered, "All you have to do is open the door and you can see Celestia and Luna again. You get to see your cute little babies again. You can hear her. She's crying out for you, 'Mommy! Mommy! I want to see my mommy! Where's my mommy?' But she'll never see her mommy again, will she? It's all your fault. You're to blame for this. There's only one way out of this room and you know it. There's only one way to see your fillies, and you have the key." Her hooves were over her eyes and she was silently crying into them. "Don't you care about what happens to your babies? Don't you want them to have a mom? Don't you love them? Don't you love your fillies? I don't think you do. You never want to see them again. Their cute little faces. Their happy little voices. Unless you let yourself out of here, these things will be forever out of your grasp. Never knowing what your babies will grow into. Never knowing what they will turn out to be. They won't have anypony to help them through tough times. Nopony there for them. They'll be so lonely. They'll think you abandoned them. You'll make your own fillies hate you before they're even grown up." She screamed. Sigma got off her back. 'My work here is done.' he thought. He sat away from her and enjoyed the show. She was in turmoil. Her face was soaked in tears and she was screaming. She remained like this for a good ten minutes, then stood up and looked at Sigma. "Hey, what's the matter with you?" he asked her. She growled at him, like he did to her, then advanced towards him. He smiled at her and said, "You've snapped sooner than I thought you would." She collapsed to the ground. Sigma stood over her and laughed. "Your mind shut down! How painful. In the morning, or whenever you wake up, you'll be in pain. So much pain." He picked her up and laid her on the bed. He stood near the door and the room got darker. "Sun activated lighting. Genius!" He heard a click. The door creaked open. He looked at it like it was dangerous. "What's going on here?" Gaia walked out, and Sigma followed her. "Gaia, are you feeling well?" he asked. She didn't react. "Mommy!" said Celestia, running over to her. She grabbed on to her and held on tight. "I thought you would be stuck in there forever." "It's alright, dear. The lock was just jammed. Shadow here was helping me fix it." Sigma walked past them and grabbed Gaia's tail in his mouth, then dragged her away. "Where are we going, Shadow?" she asked calmly. "You know damn well I'm not Shadow." She didn't answer. 'Her mind was crushed. Did she forget?' he thought. He brought her outside. Celestia and a guard had been following them. Luna joined them after a few seconds. Gaia was smiling and humming to herself while she was being dragged. "So we went outside?" she asked. He let go of her tail. "Get up." he commanded. "What's wrong, Shadow?" "Does the name Sigma mean anything to you?" "No, should it? You dyed your hair. I liked it white. Complimented your old eyes." "Oh. Rest in peace, Queen Gaia." He used his hoof to shove her against the wall and jammed his other hoof through her chest and out her back. She smiled at him, a small trail of blood coming from her mouth, then fell to the ground. "Mommy?" "Are you ok?" The guard tried to tackle him, but he quickly killed him with a blow to the head. Celestia and Luna were holding on to their mom, crying. Sigma ignored them. He felt something odd. 'Was I poisoned? How? She smiled at me. That bitch!' Sigma walked back over to Gaia. Luna and Celestia didn't notice. He closed her eyes, then took off into the air. He coughed up some blood. 'I recognize this poison. How did she get her hands on this much?' He flew into the Everfree. He found a cave and went deep into it. He sat with his back against the wall. "That... son of a... bitch. I... hate you... Queen... Gaia!" He was breathing heavily. His hair was graying. "I love you, Queen Gaia." Chapter 10Shadow was being transported on a hospital streatcher. A sheet was over him and the shard was still in his head. He overheard them say autospy a while back. The cart stopped, so he assumed he was there. "Alright, this pony was killed less than an hour ago. He attacked the princesses earlier today and she killed him." "Yes. This is still a criminal offence, so we must go with protocol. Even if it is the princess." One of them moved the sheet away from him, and he jumped up and yelled, "Boo!" They all jumped back violentey. He laughed at them."I got you all!" He pulled the shard out of his head and tossed it in the tray. "There's your evidance." He ran away before they could get a word in edge-wise. He ran to the palace, remaining hidden. He made it into Celestia's room first. "Is that you, Shadow? Yeah, white hair." "Don't just trust the hair." "Would you like to accompany me to the training session?" "Who's training?" "Our guards." "With what?" "Fatal combat." "My specialty." "I was actually thinking you could help me." "After what I did? You really think they'll let me do that?" "I thought about that. You'll need a disguise. I prepared a spell. It'll make you look like an earth pony." "Will it work on me? My special properties and all." "I'm certain it'll work. Stand still." She used her spell on him. He felt a tingling sensation on his wing and horn, then it stopped. He reached his hoof up, but couldn't feel his horn. He reached back, nothing. "This is wierd." "It's the only way you're getting around without notice." "Great! Lets go." "Shadow, you'll need a new name. Everypony knows it. Everypony." "How about Starliner?" "Alright. Cutie mark!" "Oh yeah. Don't worry, I can fix that. Do you have any clothes here?" "You can find some in the wardrobe three doors down to the left on the left." "I'll meet you at the barraks." "Good." He headed to the room and grabbed clothes that covered his flank and resembled sergents from earth. 'I hate that horrible place, but they sure know how to live.' He examined himself in the mirror. "I guess it's not too bad. Nothing to laugh at. Yeah, this works. Covers me up. Perfect." He closed everything back up and stealthily made his way out of the castle. He walked over to the training camp. He saw Princess Celestia speaking to the guards. "Here he is now!" she said. "What'd you tell them?" "I told them what they were training and that they had a new trainer." She gave him a bagde. "This signifies that you are the trainer. You are a higher rank than them just like that." He took the badge and threw it on the ground behind him. A guard stepped forward and said, "If you disrespect our princess, you'll answer to us." "If you disrespect me, you couldn't even move fast enough to answer to your princess. If you disrespect me, then I'll take care of you myself." He looked at the group of guards. "There is a new threat in Equestria. More terrifying than Nightmare Moon, more insane than Discord, and more dangerous than anything else you have ever faced, and ever will. This threat is in the form of a group of ponies. They are merciless murderers. You heard me right. They will kill anything they choose. You all have families. More than likely, you have mares and fillies waiting at home. Think of them. This group, given the chance, will not hesitate to kill them all. The last thing you will see of them is at their funeral. Don't let that be your last memory of them. Today, we learn how to protect your country, yourself, and your family." "I should go." said Celestia, starting to walk away. "Hold on there, twinkle tail." he said, grabbing her tail. The guards all got into fighting positions. "Good job. Quick reflexes. Celestia, you're not going anywhere. I have a task for you." "What is it?" He leaned in near her ear. "Use a spell on me that does nothing. It'll be my excuse for extra gravity." "Good idea." She used the spell on him. "Also Celestia, just stay here for a moment." "Fine." "Now, this art is not for the squeemish. If you have a weak stomach, step out of line. If you can't bring yourself to do this, step out of line. If you can't lay your life on the line for your family, step out of line. If you can't look a pony in the eyes and take his life away from him, then step out of line! I mean that. Nopony will think any worse of you. If you're lying, I'll make sure you pay for it. Now, move." A few of the guards stepped out of the line. Shadow walked through the ranks. He grabbed a guard by the horn and threw him out of the group. "Anypony else?" "No, sir!" "The rest of you will start training immidiately." He tripled the gravity around the remaining guards. He removed the weaker ones from the group. "All of you left are to master gravity training as a first. Weakness will not be tolerated here. Where you stand now, you will be no more than a bug to Sigma and his friends. They'll kill you like an ant. They can not and will not be reasoned with. Do you understand?" "Yes, sir!" "Good. Celestia, I want you to find out if Luna is available." "Why do you need my sister?" "I have my reasons. Also I don't need her now. Later will suffice." "How much later?" "Just later. Also, what happened to Shining Armor?" "He's still resting in the hospital. Sigma did a number on him." "Least he got better." "Yeah. Goodbye, Starliner." She flew off. He looked back at the guards. "Everypony, you will be subjected to a horrible training exercise. You want to get out of it? Come over here. I mean that. I have one task for you. Complete it and you'll get out of training for the day." Most of the guards walked over by him. "The task is, defeat me in a fight. All of you at once. If you do it, you get the day off. If not, then it's off to training with you." "You can't be serious, sir!" "You'd end up hurt." "And we'd be punished." "As if they would punish you for hurting me." he said, "Besides, what grounds would they have for doing that? Some random pony just came in here and insulted you." "You're the trainer." "I never put on the badge. Speak to me as if I was an equal, not a supirior. If you choose to fight me, be prepared to lose." "Alright, Starliner." one said. "Somepony hit a bell or something." said Shadow. A pony kicked a nearby piece of metal. Shadow disappeared and reappeared in a flash. The guards around him flew back. Some hit walls. Others bounced along the ground. A few were even thrown high into the air. They hit the ground with a thud. "Take five, cadets. After then, we train." One of them stood back up. "I'm not done yet." she said. She was a unicorn. "Wow, a mare in the guard. Facinating. No, wait, yes. No. Yes. No... Yes? Yes. Yes!" "Sorry, what?" "Hold a minute." He walked to a pony who didn't participate. "There's another mare in the ranks." he said to the stalion. "Sir?" "Yes. No. Yes? No. Yes! No... Mare? Stalion? Mare? Stalion? Sorry, stalion. Sorry for the confusion." He walked back to the ring and said, "Sorry, never asked, what's your name, beautiful?" "My name is Fire Lily. I'm a recruit." "New, huh? Alright Fire Lily, you're going to continue?" "Yes, sir." "Good luck to you. Go!" She ran at him. She wasn't very fast due to the gravity. Shadow dodged every blow she threw at him. "You were well trained to be able to keep this speed with this weight." he said. "I haven't been able to train yet." she replied. "You're that new?" "This is my first day." "Wow." "This is boring." said another guard outside the ring. Shadow grabbed Fire Lily's hoof and threw her at him. He made sure to not injure her. She crashed into him and they both fell to the ground. Shadow walked over to him and said, "If I was the enemy, you wouldn't be alive right now. The next time you lose attention, I'll come after you myself. That goes for all of you." He helped Fire Lily up. "Take the day off, private. You heard right. You're a private now. Anypony have a problem with that?" "Sir, with all due respect, you can't just promote a guard like that." "And who's gonna stop me? You? I didn't think so. Whatever I say becomes law. Remember that. It'll save your life one day." He felt a twinge in the back of his head. "Battle positions!" he shouted, "Sigma's back, be ready to defend! Everypony, follow me!" He ran off, leading the guards to an empty field. A large flash of light illuminated the field, then Sigma appeared before them. "You're training the guards. How useless. You know that more than I." said Sigma. "The citizens need protection more than anything." "They're all dead." "They were dead before I came here, and I'll be damned if they can't protect themselves." "I looked for my gang." "And?" "Seven out of the twelve are still alive." "Seven out of the twelve will die." responded Shadow. "Granted. I can't stop that. So, how have you been for the past... day and a half?" "Did you just come here to catch up?" "Basically." "Good. Men, stand down." "But sir!" "It's safe. If he says he's not here to fight, then he won't fight." "How can you trust him so easily?!" "I am your commanding officer! Now either do as I say or you'll be torn to shreads before you can even blink!" "Shall I demonstrate?" asked Sigma. "Do it and I'll see you bled dry." "But I can't die that way." "Exactly." "Oh, I get it." "So, how 'bout a game of chess?" "You'll just win anyways." "Yes I will. Get your ass off of my planet. You know the rules. You can't break the rules. You're breaking the rules." "What rules am I breaking?" "You're regenerating much too quickly. My facts are wrong. You are lying to me." "Ah yes. About that..." He disappeared. "Men, training is done for today. Come back in two days. I won't be here tomarrow. I need to sort something out. Fire Lily, come with me." "Right, sir." She walked over by him and he said, "You are going to accompany me on a special mission." "What will I need to do?" "All I need you to do is follow me inside, then back out." "Inside where?" "You'll find out." "What will we be doing there?" "I need to have a one on one with their leader." "And what about me?" "You just need to stand there and look pretty." "I don't follow." "You'll be there just to be there. An appearance. Understand?" "I guess so." "Good. We'll leave in one hour. Be back here by then. We're going through a desert. Get your desert gear... stuff. Keep it in a bag. You'll look silly with it on in town." "Yes, sir." They both went seperate ways. Shadow was approached by two guards. "I'm very busy, what do you want." "I request permission to transfer squads." said one. "Why? Honestly." "I can't bring myself to trust you. I'm sorry, sir." "You don't trust me, huh? Good, I don't even trust me. Permission denied. Your opinion has been heard and I choose to ignore it. I'm in a good mood. Go home, I'll see you in two days." "But sir..." "Go home. See your family. Be back in two days. You, what did you want?" "It's about your teaching methods. They're a bit unorthadox and..." "I don't care. What I am teaching you is the most painful art ever created. You're lucky that nopony cares about these eight enimies anymore. Any family they've ever had are long dead. They're all alone. There's nopony to mourn them." "And promoting a recruit to private on her first day?" "If she keeps going as she is, she'll be a general within the year. Nopony else stood up to attack me again. And besides, if a recruit goes on a top secret mission, it'll look bad for the guard." "Mission?" "Yeah." ONE HOUR LATER "I'm back, Starliner." she said. "Good. Got your things?" "Right here." she said, gesturing to her saddlebags. "Alright, I got some water for us." he said, slinging his sack over his shoulder. "Follow me. I'll take you there." "Where is it?" "Other side of the Everfree." "Isn't that dangerous?" "You'll be safe with me around. I know the way. Come along, Fire Lily. We're wasting time." "Right, sir." Shadow exited the town, then looked around in all directions. He stopped after fixating on a single direction and started walking. He walked through the edge of the Everfree Forest. She didn't hesitate in following him in. Shadow sped up. An hour later, he reached the other edge of the Everfree. Before them lay a seemingly endless desert. "Put your gear on and take the water." he said, "We'll stay here until we are ready." Shadow grabbed some large leaves and tied them together. She opened her bag and got out some white clothes, then put them on. Shadow gave her his pack. "Are you ready?" he asked. She nodded. "Good, lets go." Shadow started to walk through the desert. He tossed her the leaf umbrella. Shadow kept a slow and steady pace. She kept up along side him. "Are you immune to the desert heat?" she asked after about a half hour. "Why?" "It's just that you seem unaffected by it. You don't even have any protective clothing on." "I'll be fine. We've barely made any progress so far." "There's no way we're gonna make much progress at this pace." "Right. We'll be alright. You're gonna run out of water before we get there though." "You haven't taken a single drink since we started." "I don't need it. Leave it at that." He moved himself under her. "What are you doing?" "Shush." He moved her to his back. "You need to conserve energy. Hold on to me, we need to go faster." She wrapped her arms around his neck. He sped up to a run and ran for about an hour. "Here we are." he said after stopping. She got off and looked around. "Where exactly are we?" "The enterance to the Changeling kingdom." "But there's nothing here. We're in the middle of nowhere." "With no water or food. This way." "Starliner, are we safe out here?" "Yeah, follow me. Few feet." As Shadow said, a few more feet ahead, the entire world got darker, colder, and wetter. He had entered a large cave-like area protected by a magic barrier. The surroundings were lit by glowing rocks placed around the walls. After his eyes adjusted, he saw the city of the changelings before him. Many changelings were gathered around him. They were all staring at them. He looked up and saw a castle. He started walking, and Fire Lily followed him. "Shadow, where are we?" she asked quietly. Shadow turned to her and said, "Welcome to the Changeling Kingdom!" "What exactly are we doing here?" "Unimportant. Hey, you're the first pony to ever enter the kindom! Other than me of course." "We're in the Kingdom of the Changelings?" "Yes." "And we're the only ponies here?" "That's right." "Do you have a death wish?" "Well yeah, course I do, but not now." The changelings moved out of his way as he walked to the castle. Most of them had a confused look on their faces. Some were angry. "Who are you?" asked one of them, approaching the two of them. "This is Fire Lily. She's from the Canterlot royal guard. Just became a private today." "We know who that is. You're the trainer, Starliner. Who are you to be able to get to this place so easily?" "Judging by your armor, you're the captain of the guard." said Shadow, ignoring his question, "So you must know where Queen Chrisalis is. Tell me, where?" He looked in his eyes. "In her castle." "Thank you for the information. Fire Lily, the castle is our destination, as I thought." "What do you want with our queen?" "I'm here to speak with her. We have some catching up to do. She'll be delighted to see an old friend. In more ways than one if I'm lucky. Take me to her." he said, looking in his eyes. "Alright. This way." The captain took them to the castle. "You're a friend of the changeling queen?" asked Fire Lily. "Knew her for a good three thousand years. I met her before Celestia and Luna were even born." "You must be good friends." "Yeah." "Wait a minute, three thousand years?" "Leave it at that." "Here we are, you two." said the captain. "Thanks." said Shadow, "We're going inside." The guard put a hoof on each of them and said, "I can't allow that." "Get your hoofs off of her." said Shadow angrily. "Or what? You'll beat me up? You may be the trainer, but changelings have proven that we can handle ourselves against a pony." Shadow laughed. "I'm not a pony. Have you heard of the one named Shadow Streak?" "He attacked the princesses, but was terminated in the process. As well as our Canterlot spy. Bless his soul." "He's here, in the changeling kingdom. Guess who he's posing as." "Hold on..." Shadow removed Celestia's spell from himself. His horn and wing reappeared. Fire Lily backed away from him. "Fire Lily, inside, now." he said. She quickly went inside. He followed her in. "I asked not to be disturbed. Why are you here?" asked Queen Chrysalis. "Hello, beautiful." said Shadow. "Shadow Streak? I thought you were dead!" "But I'm not. How are you?" "I'm good, but..." "That's great! Look at how big you've gotten! You were four feet tall the last time I saw you." "Don't talk to me as if I were a child." "Right, sorry." He started to walk up to her, but she stopped him halfway there. She walked down to him and circled him. "Shadow Streak, when I got word that you were still alive, I was absolutely astounded." she said. "Why? Did I die?" "Yes! How could you not remember?!" "Your spies aren't in Ponyville are they?" "No, just Canterlot. It was quite a long time until we got it right." "I have amnesia. It's all jumbly and blank. And the last 1500 years, gone." "That's terrible. I love that stunt you pulled at the castle all those years ago." "Which one?" "With Gaia. It really helped us out. You disappeared after that." "Don't you ever say that name again." he said angrily. "Fine, sorry." "After that, what happened?" "You hid for many years, then returned with twelve ponies and destroyed Equestria. Celestia and Luna put a stop to you and them. Then you were lost. Up until recently that is. I missed you, Shadow Streak. The last time we saw each other was two mellinia ago." "We were on a date then, weren't we?" "Who's this then? New marefriend? You go through those things like chocolate milk." "That's a lie and you know it. No, she's a private in the guard. Showed excelant progress. If it was just me here, only the princesses would believe anything I say. Introduce yourself. Don't be afraid, she doesn't bite." She looked at him unhappily. "You got me, she bites." "No need to bring private matters into this, Shadow." She looked at Fire Lily and said, "Chrysalis, queen of the changelings." "F-Fire Lily, private of the royal pony guard." she said. "Why are you so scared, Fire Lily? Really now, don't worry." He looked in her eyes. "Oh, I get it now." He took a deep breath. "Tell me yourself." "I feel more safe with her than with you." she said. "Can't have that. How will you get home? You can't navigate the desert. Or the forest." "Shadow Streak, why are you here?" asked Chrysalis. "You know exactly why I'm here. You broke your contract." "The changelings were dying!" "The ponies are mine!" "You would let them die?" "You know I wouldn't. Chrysalis, you attacked the ponies knowing that it would break the contract." "Yes I did. Everything alive thought you were dead. I had no choice." "You know the consequences for this mistake." "Yes I do." "As of now, Chrysalis, you are no longer queen. I am the sole ruler of this land." "No." "What did you just say?" "I'm not going to be dethroned by a dead pony." "Then lets settle this like the sentiant creatures we are." "Lets." "Fire Lily, back." "What for?" "If you get hurt, I'd be hunted for years to come." They stood across from each other. Shadow had already thought of a plan to beat her. He walked forward, then appeared behind her. She turned around, but he disappeared again. He kept teleporting around her, then stopped right in front of her. She raised her front hooves to attack him, but he jammed his hooves through the holes in her legs. Shadow jumped forword, taking Queen Chrysalis with him. He landed with her back to the ground. Shadow was holding her down. She was unable to get free. He placed his head on hers and looked in her eyes. He smiled at her. "Get off of me, Shadow." "Why should I?" "C'mon Shadow, this isn't funny." "I'm not laughing. Give up." "Never." "Either you give up this pointless struggle, or I'll force you to." "You couldn't." He looked in her eyes. "Y-you wouldn't!" "Try me." he said. "Shadow Streak, I'm sorry for what I did." she said. "I know. Chrysalis, I am king now. My word is law. I hereby restore your title as queen." "What?" "You have earned it back. If you attack ponies again, I'll find you, and when I do, you'll be sorry." "What?" "I've warned you. Next time won't be as peaceful." He planted a kiss on her lips, then got off. "Fire Lily, we're going." Shadow left the castle and the changelings poured inside. Queen Chrysalis was still laying on the ground in shock. "What happened to you my Queen?" asked one. "He... He kissed me... Shadow Streak actually kissed me." "What was that, Shadow Streak?" asked Fire Lily. "Which part?" "All of it! The contract, King of the Changelings, talking to her as if you were her friend, not to mention the kiss." "I'm king of a lot of things. Once I was even King of Equestria. Before Tia and Luny of course, even their mom. Well, the land before Equestria. Story for another day. As for Chrysalis, we were indeed good friends. The contract, I made a deal with her. She stays away from ponies, she gets to be Queen. I allowed her this one chance." "You're a strange one." "I may have lost my memory, but I'm still a politition. And a fighter, and an ambassador, and a genius. I have too many things to do yet." Shadow use his magic to extend the barrier around them while they walked through the desert. After they got to the forest, the desert returned to normal. "How did you navigate through the forest? Nopony can get through the forest." "I gave the forest it's own defense mechanism. No sane pony would try to go in. The ponies that go in are there to research and discover. The forest gives them what they want. They go home, overburdened by discovery. Also it's just plain hard to get through." "But the Princesses..." "Have been told to keep their big mouths shut. Lets go home." "Who are you, Shadow Streak? You attacked the princesses, but you're too kind to do that." "Remember that pony named Sigma?" "Yes, who was he?" "He looks exactly like me for a reason. We're not the same. He was the one who attacked them, not me." "I believe you." "Thanks. If you tell anypony about me being Shadow Streak, I'll lock you in the dungeon." "Yes, sir." *Random fact of the day: You shouldn't eat cyanide. Sorry about the dull ending to the last chapter. Went too fast. May or may not edit, depending on level of caring. Chapter 11"So, Fire Lily, was that scary?" asked Shadow. "It was very scary." "It's just going to get scarier from here on out. It's getting late. You going home, or do you have something to do?" "Just home." "Alright." "What about you?" "I was gonna get something from the barracks. I left my badge there. After that... I'll just go sleep under a tree. I guess." "Why under a tree?" "I don't have anywhere to go. I could ask Celestia, but she might kick me out for being lazy." "Would she do that?" "It's possible. She's a little distant. Completely understandable." "She seemed ok when she introduced you." "She's good at that." "Well, you could stay at my place for the night." "That's pretty nice of you. Are you sure? Complete stranger could just come into your house and pretend to sleep until you fall asleep and rob you blind, or even worse. I told a similar thing to the last pony who offered that." "I'm sure. You seem trustworthy enough." "Alright, thanks. Tell me where it is and I'll be meet you there in a few minutes." She told him how to find her house. "See ya later, Fire Lily." "Bye, Shadow Streak." "Starliner, please. Spies could be anywhere." Shadow headed back to the castle. He used Celestia's spell to hide himself and walked to the barracks again. Two guards were there. One was training hard. The other was watching him. "What are you two still doing here at this hour?" asked Shadow. "Just training." "And you?" "Dunno. Seemed like the place to be." "Alright. Remember to get some rest. Have you two seen my badge?" "It's right here." said a guard, pulling it off the ground. "Thanks." He grabbed the badge and put it in his pocket. "Can I ask you a question?" "What is it?" "Where will you be tomorrow?" "I'll be doing my own form of training in the gorge." "Be careful, sir." "Keep in mind that you need to be careful as well. If you need help just come get me." "Actually sir, I'd like a rematch." said the guard that was training. "Sure about that?" "Yeah, I'm sure." "Alright. Prepare yourself." "I'm as ready as I can be." "Good. Go!" Shadow easily took him out with a blow to the face. He stood back up and said, "I knew it, not nearly good enough." "You need many years of hard work to achieve this kind of skill. You don't just get it on a silver platter. I know I didn't." "How many years?" "It all depends on who you are. It took me about 10 years." 'To the power of 10.' "That's... not possible. I've been at this for more than ten years!" "We didn't train the same. Trust me on that." "Well how do you train?" "Stop by the gorge tomorrow and you'll see. See ya later, men." "Bye, sir." Shadow went to Fire Lily's house. He knocked on the door and she answered. "Hey, Fire Lily." "Hello again, sir." "Just call me Starliner. I'm not even near the training grounds." "Sorry. I have a few questions for you." "I assumed you would." "I'm letting a total stranger sleep in my home. Why am I doing that? I trusted you as soon as I saw you." "I just have one of those faces." "You didn't put a spell on me, did you?" "Why would I do that?" "I don't know. Maybe what you said. Rob me blind or worse. What kinds of worse? Have your way with me? Kill me in my sleep?" "Or maybe all of the above." he said seriously, "If you don't want me to stay here, I'm fine with sleeping outside. I'm quite partial to it actually. Besides, if I wanted to hurt you, why didn't I do it in the desert?" "No, you can stay. I just... I'm letting a total stranger sleep in my house." Shadow patted her back. "First for everything. Now that you've gotten that out of your system, where do I sleep?" "Anywhere you want." "Except your bed... right?" "Why? Do you have a problem with that?" "As long as you don't have a problem with it." She chuckled nervously. "Anywhere, but my bed." "Thank you." "Any time." "Well, I don't know about you, but I'm gonna sleep now." "You have something planned tomorrow?" "Yeah, I was gonna train." "I'd like to see that." "Really?" "Anything that would make you stronger must be a sight to see to say the least." "I guess. If you feel the need, I'll be at the gorge. Goodnight, see ya tomorrow." "Night, Starliner." "Do you have any pets? No, no pets. Thought I smelled one for a second there. Dog, really big, female." "How did you know I didn't have pets?" "I've seen ponies with pets. They're somewhat different from other ponies. I also would've seen animal hair." "How do you know I don't clean often?" "Are you going to question me all night?" "Do you have a problem with that?" "Of course not, I love hearing your voice. Just another sleepless night." He walked over to her couch and laid down on it. He waved at her and smiled. "Night." "Yeah." NEXT DAY Shadow got up early and headed to the gorge. He dropped down to the bottom and looked all around him. "There's a lot of stone to be moved today." he said. He found a very large rock on the ground and put it on his back. He moved it to the side of the gorge and set it down. He found some more large rocks and did the same with them. "Is that you, Starliner?" "Rainbow Dash? What are you doing here? What happened to the Wonderbolts?" he asked without turning around. "I come here to train. And the Wonderbolts... they told me to go. Fun while it lasted." "That's a shame." "Yeah. What about you?" "Also training. What a coincidence." "What's with the rocks?" "I think I'm clearing out the gorge. I'm gonna put all the rocks here." "Then what?" "Stick around, you'll find out. Hey, it's the cave Sigma killed you in!" he said happily. "That's not something to be happy about." she said, "He wasn't right in the head." "Wait a minute, you had to have heard the news about me, right?" "Everypony did. Everypony knows." "Then why aren't you running in terror?" "Princess Celestia sent a letter to Twilight about it. She also mentioned your nickname. Only the six of us know. Fluttershy is scared out of her mind, even after hearing that." "If I try and go say hi, she might run off screaming. Still, at least she wasn't the first target. She would be... anyways, it's back to work for me." "So you're just moving rocks here?" "Yeah, until later. I have a lot of work to do. There was an avalanche recently." "Yeah, that was me." "I know, it was funny." "It wasn't that funny." "Maybe not for you. See ya." Shadow left to collect more rocks. Rainbow flew off to train. 11 HOURS LATER "That's just not possible." said a guard. "Did he do all this by himself?" "But how?" "And that is how we take care of business where I come from." said Shadow, putting the last rock down. "This was kinda tough. What do I do with all these rocks? Rainbow? Oh yeah, she left a few hours ago. Now, has anypony ever had a use for a huge pile of giant rocks? Amateur sculptors and destruction spell testers. I know what I could do with these. Which is closer, Ponyville or Canterlot? Um... Ponyville. Ponyville is that way. Wait, I'm here to train. Walking to Ponyville alone isn't training. I know!" He got a rock from the pile and set it on his back, then ran off to Ponyville. After a few minutes, he made it to town. He was getting odd looks due to the rock on his back. He walked as if it wasn't there. "Now, if I remember correctly, it should be around here. There it is! Sporting goods." He set his rock on the ground and walked in. He grabbed a few wooden bats. "No metal bats it seems. There's an abundance of metal, but it's not used often. I might need to use my smithing and smelting skills some day for my own advantage." He went up to the counter and the pony said, "What's with the rock?" "Training." "What are you training for?" "Dunno. It's always a good idea to keep in shape." "If you can lift that rock, then you're way past just in shape." Shadow shrugged. "See ya." "Bye." He picked up the bats and left. Outside he saw a familiar face. "Applejack!" he said happily. "Sha... Starliner?" "Yup, it's me! Are you busy right now?" "Nope. What do ya need?" "You're strong, right?" "Ah reckon." "Good. Take this." he said, handing her a bat. "What's it for?" "I want you to smack me with that as hard as you can across the skull." "That is the stupidest this Ah've ever heard!" "C'mon, it'll be fun! What? It's not like I'll get hurt or anything. Please?" He looked in her eyes. "Well, Ah guess." "Alright, whenever you're ready. Right across the head." He looked behind him. Just the rock. "Ready Applejack?" "Yeah." "Don't you hold back. That is important. I need accurate results." "Right. Get ready, here Ah go!" She leaned back and hit Shadow in the head with all that she could. He didn't move a single centimeter and the bat broke in two. The second half flew back and slammed into the rock, splintering it. A trail of blood ran down Shadow's face. Shadow took the bat handle from her and examined it. "This is a piece of junk!" he said, "That means that the others won't work either." He picked up the other bats and gave them to a group of fillies. He kept one just in case. He picked his rock back up and said, "Thanks for the help, Applejack." "Right. What exactly did Ah do again?" "Tell your brother I might come see him some time. See ya later." "Bye Starliner!" Shadow headed back to the gorge. He dropped his bat and separated the rocks into piles. "Alright, a majority of iron and gold. Now, I need fire. Dragon fire. Spike isn't old enough. Few dragons are at the volcano. There's my next destination. It's close to the previous migration right now. Dragons don't like ponies and it's getting late and I'm training the guards tomorrow. I think it's time to check on the Wonderbolts as well. I met them as Shadow Streak, guess not. I hate being not Shadow. Show up so I can kill you, Sigma!" he shouted. One of the guards who was watching him jumped off of the edge and slip down the side of the gorge. He approached Shadow. "Sir, that was all the confession I need." "Sorry?" "You are Shadow Streak, correct?" "Yeah. What of it?" "No denying it?" "You're too determined to be persuaded. Wait a minute... you were the mare, and the dog. Who are you, because you're certainly not friendly." The guard transformed into a tall blue pegasus mare with a long purple mane. "I didn't expect that. What do I call you now, sexy?" "You can call me Blue Rose." "I've heard that name before. I think." "You've forgotten. I'm with Sigma in this war." "It's not a war yet." "It most certainly is. You need to see how powerful we've gotten since we last met." "You need to see how powerful I've gotten since our last meeting." said Shadow angrily. He shot a glance up to the other guards. They were watching them carefully. 'Good job, Fire Lily.' Blue Rose grabbed the bat from the ground. Shadow laughed at her. "Go ahead and hit me. It won't work. My friend broke a bat over my head five minutes ago." "She just wasn't using it right." She hit him across the face and he soared into the sky. He landed after a few seconds like a meteor. "Ah, that should leave a mark, but won't. She's got a nice swing." He saw a shaking mare look into the hole in the ground he was in. "Are... are you ok?" she asked. "Is that you, Fluttershy?" he asked, "Great to see a friendly face again." "Shadow?!" she said, backing away. Shadow stepped out of the hole and looked at her. "Fluttershy, it's ok. It's me, Shadow. I'm not gonna hurt you. Twilight told you about what really happened, right?" She nodded. "H-how do I know you're Sh-Shadow? Shadow and not S-Sigma." "I'm sorry, but I can't help you with that. You have to decide that for yourself. If you'll excuse me, I need to go." "Shadow, wait!" she said. "You called me Shadow. Sorry, love to stay and chat, but I need to go." "But you're hurt!" "No I'm not." He sniffed at the direction he came from, then stood up on two legs in front of Fluttershy. A piece of wood flew through the air at them and struck Shadow in the head. It bounced off and landed a few feet away. "Holy cow, that hurt!" said Shadow, rubbing his head, "Ow, it cracked the skull. There we go, good as new." "Are you ok, Shadow?!" said Fluttershy, running to him. "I'm fine, Fluttershy. I'm ok." "What was that?" "I think it was a bat. That was some spot on accuracy from that much of a distance. She's good. Stop looking at me like that, Fluttershy. I'm fine." He parted his hair and showed her his head, "See? There's no bumps or marks or anything." "But you said..." Shadow looked in her eyes and said, "I'm alright." "Ok." He picked up the bat. There was a note on the handle. "Sigma lets us kill anypony we want now. Keep that in mind when you plan your next move. There are things you don't know, and things we don't know. Your memory for one. Sigma's memory as well. Now we have an advantage. We know your weakness. If you act normally, we'll act normally. Blue Rose." he read. "Damn. Hmm... She gives off incredible power, I can feel it from here. There aren't any other power spikes, so she must be the only one on this earth. If she's allowed to kill anypony she wants, Fire Lily and the other guard are dead. But they're not. She needs me to keep in line. Hostages. Damn it, damn it, damn it all! No, I'm not gonna let her get the best of me. She's not gonna die peacefully. Wait, she's from my past. And she's old, really old. Chrysalis old. In fact, Blue Rose is exactly 7122 years, three months, two weeks, and three days old. So many questions, so little time." Shadow looked at Fluttershy. "You didn't hear any of that, did you?" She shook her head. "Why?" "It's not really for anypony in public. Now, I have a problem. I need to stay in town. Hey Fluttershy, I need to go. See ya." "Alright, Shadow." "About that, could you call me Starliner please? Spies could be anywhere. See ya.” Shadow ran back to the gorge. Fire Lily and the other guard were nowhere to be seen. "Blue Rose? I just wanna talk! Show yourself! I know you're here, I can feel your energy." "You don't let anything get past you, do you Shadow?" "I need you to do something for me." "What makes you think I'll listen?" "I know you will. I need you to teach these guards how to kill and all that. Continue their training for me. Here's the badge." "Why should I?" "You don't need a reason. You'll do it regardless. I trust you." She laughed. "You haven't changed a single bit. I remember when you asked me to filly-sit for you." "So I asked one of my mortal enemies to watch my kid?" "Yes you did." "What was I doing?" "You were fighting Sigma." "That would explain it. Was this recent? I don't remember it." "We figured out why. Your memories weren't just taken, they were splintered. They've always been splintered. You can't remember things because that part is a new splinter in your head." "When it get's to a certain point, my memories will collapse. But so will Sigma's. Absolutely unavoidable. Damn. Until then, fights to the death." "I'll be waiting for it." "See ya, Blue Rose." Shadow ran back to town and looked around a little. "It's eight right now. Not late, but not early." He looked at the sky, "Constellations, the moon, planets, galaxies. So beautiful. Hang on, that wasn't there before. Neither was that. It's different, all of it. Where am I right now? Isn't this the pony Earth? It has to be, ponies and Earth! What the hell is Sigma doing? Is he attacking the universe? He could be. It's not like there's anything stopping him. Whoa! Major power surge. From where? The sky? I recognize that power. Sigma must've met the Saiyans. He's dead. No, I'd know, no matter how far. He ran. It doesn't explain the irregularities. Nor does it explain the pony ten meters away from me listening in to what I'm saying. It's a nice spying spell, but as soon as you cast it I knew about it. So Twilight, are you getting suspicious of me? Anypony who brings threat to your teacher can't be good, can they? Get out of the trees, let me see your pretty little face." Twilight walked out of her hiding place and Shadow walked over to her. "How are you, Twilight?" "I'm good. What are you doing here?" "Well, I found out that my enemies are already here, so I decided to stay in Ponyville for a while." "An enemy?! Shouldn't you stop them?" "It'll be fine. Anyways, if I said any more than you would just worry about it. That or you'll tell Celestia. You're gonna do that regardless so I need you to tell her something for me. Tell her that Blue Rose is training the guards." "But you were doing that." "Now I'm too busy." "Sha... Starliner, Princess Celestia didn't tell me what happened with Sigma. Can you tell me?" "Look up at the sky. Tell me what you see." "I see the moon and stars, but that's it." "C'mon Twilight, it shouldn't take a genius like you to figure it out." "What are you talking about? Wait a minute... where's Ursa Major? Ursa Minor, Orion, Leo? Maybe I'm looking at it wrong." "No, they're gone. Everything's all jumbly-wumbly." "Jumbly-wumbly?" "Sigma's out there attacking planets and recruiting an army. He just attacked one of the most powerful beings in the universe and got trashed. There's no way in our existence that we could match them. He's not causing the constellation problems though. Something big is going down." "It's just not possible." "I've seen less likely. Hey Twilight, look over there, near the moon. That star is Regulus. No matter what angle you look at it from, Leo is nowhere in sight." "Jumbly-wumbly?" "Yeah." he said. His stomach rumbled. "You know I can't eat until I get paid again. Stop making noise." "Are you hungry?" "A bit, I haven't eaten in two days." "Two days?!" "It's fine. Maybe I'll cook up my arm. I know how to spice it up good." "Your arm?" "Anyways, what were you doing spying on me?" "Well I saw that you were in Ponyville and I thought that..." "I was Sigma. Well I'm not, and you know that." "I heard that Applejack hit you in the face with a bat. Why did she do that?" "I asked her to. I was testing the durability of the bats. It broke, so it wasn't any good. I hope it didn't cause any trouble for her. That wouldn't be good. Be a bit rude if you ask me. Maybe not rude, but not good nonetheless." "That doesn't seem very smart." "Hitting anything else would just look silly. Hitting me was cool." "How is that cool?" "Dunno, I just think it is. It must've looked a little cool. I didn't even move." "What are you gonna do now?" asked Twilight. "I was looking for a place to sleep. Then I'm gonna go to Canterlot and continue training the guards. By then your brother should be out of the hospital. I'll help him out a little. Am I forgetting something?" "I don't think so." "Good." "Starliner, are you worried?" "About what?" "Your memory. What if you lose it?" "Try not to read my mind. I don't care if you spy on me, but stay out of my head." "You don't care if I spy?" "Go ahead, by all means." "Alright then." "So what do you wanna do now?" "I don't know. What about you?" "Dunno. Whatever's fine, but if you don't pick, I'll just fall asleep. Or maybe I'll stay up and study the sky. I need to find some sort of pattern in the stars. If I find one, I can cross check the results with the individuals I've come to know." "That's a good idea. Maybe I can help." "I'd love your company, if you'd stay." "I'll stay, I need to tell the princess about this." "Good idea. You should also tell them about what I told you. Leave my mind state out of it though." "Why?" "They shouldn't be worried. I don't want them to worry about me. They'll find out eventually, and it'll only be a big deal when it happens. Before then, nothing good can come of it. Your prying makes you know." "I'm sorry." "I'm not upset. Just keep it to yourself." "Alright." Shadow looked at the sky again. "Maybe it isn't real." he said. "What?" "This might not be real. Whoa, look at that." he said, pointing to Canterlot. There was a large white light emanating from the castle. A few seconds later, it shot into the sky in an orb. "What was that?!" asked Twilight. "Celestia must've thought the same thing that I thought. It's real. A long distance spell, nice." "How can you tell that it was real?" "There would've been interference of some kind. Twilight, when you look at the sky, what do you see? Metaphorically.” "I see the beauty of the night and the wonders that it holds. What about you, Shadow?" "I see everything." "Everything?" "The brightness of life, the darkness of death, the power of the universe, and the lonely eternity I'm doomed to spend it in." "You don't have to be lonely." "You don't understand what I go through." "Could you tell me?" "That isn't a story for today. Well, I must say that I did not expect this day to turn out as it did. I met enemies from my past, Sigma is amassing an army, and the universe is all jumbly. At the risk of something else going wrong, what else could possibly go wrong? If it was raining, my day would be complete." "It's not scheduled to rain today." "I still wouldn't be surprised in the slightest. It's getting a little late. Going home?" "What?" "Are you going home tonight?" "Why wouldn't I?" "I can think of a few arguably logical reasons. One that stands out is that it's pretty dark out. That can be fixed with a little spell though. Easy enough." Shadow jumped up and stood on his hooves. "I can't find a pattern in the stars. It's like somepony deliberately made it unorderly. I can go as far as to say the pattern was random." "Random? Wait, you looked at all of the stars?" "And I calculated the stars themselves, the distance between each one, the histories and lore, and every other combination of variables I could think of." "That's not possible!" "If there's one thing you learn being over 14 billion years old, it's that everything is possible. Who do I know that dabbles in the art of randomness? Do you know anypony like that?" "Well, there's one." "Really?" "Yeah. His name is Discord, he's the one who attacked the princesses all those years ago." "He couldn't have been freed again, right? The more that I think about it, the more I'd like to speak with him. Maybe. From what I've learned, last time Celestia and Luna used the Elements of Harmony to seal him away. This time it was you and your five friends. You are most certainly weaker than the princesses, but you managed to stop him. Maybe this time there wasn't enough power to seal him completely. If that's true, he should be capable of affecting this world. But stars are immensely powerful. If he was able to move this many stars from this distance, then there is no way the Elements could even begin to effect him. Hypothetically speaking, if this is all true, this land is in much more danger than ever before. Which means we have to tell the princesses. Put it in that letter of yours." "Good idea." "Well Twilight, I believe it is time for us to part. Until morning if you feel the need. Night, see ya later." "Bye Starliner." Shadow walked to Sugarcube Corner and jumped on the roof. He laid down and looked at the sky a little more. He sensed some more power surges, but they weren't as noticeable as before. "If he gets himself killed, I'm going to have a very boring time." Chapter 12Shadow woke up with a face full of whipped cream and two laughing ponies. He looked at his hoof and smiled. "Good one." he said. He stood up and cleaned his face off with his hooves. "So how have you two lovely mares been?" "Pretty good, how 'bout you?" asked Rainbow. "Pretty dang good. Hey Rainbow, you mentioned a job with the weather team?" "Yeah, there's an open spot right now. You can start tomorrow if you want." "Good, I ran out of money a while back." "When was that?" asked Pinkie. "Two days ago. I neglected to eat as well." "You haven't eaten?" "The past three days." "Wait, what?" "I haven't eaten anything for the past three days." "Wow, really?" "Yeah." "You must be starving!" "Yeah. So anyways, who wants to go see what the dragons are doing?" "I do!" said Pinkie, "But I can't, I'm busy with something." "What's with the dragons?" asked Rainbow. "I was gonna use them to help me make something out of metal." "They don't like ponies." "They'll learn to like me. For their own sake." "That's cool. Sure, I'll come with." "Awesome. I need about half an hour. I need to get something from Applejack." "What are you getting?" "A cart. I will meet you at city hall in half an hour." "Alright." "See ya." Shadow jumped off the roof and ran to Sweet Apple Acres. He got a good look at the farm and the surrounding lands. "I love apples so much." he said. He saw a pony working in the field, so he walked over to him. "You must be Big Mac." "Eeyup." "Wow, the rumors were right, you are strong. I'd go so far as to call you the strongest in Ponyville. Well, maybe if I left, but that's besides the point." he said, walking around him, "Awesome. Can I borrow a cart?" "What for?" "I need to haul a lot of heavy rocks. Could do it without the cart, but it would take a considerable amount of time and I told my friend I'd only need thirty minutes." "We don't have any carts to spare." "Yes, you're using them all. Alright, thanks for your time, Big Mac. I got thirty minutes to kill. Hey, where's Applejack?" He pointed to the barn. "See ya later." He walked over to the barn and Applejack was looking for something. "What'd you lose?" "Ah was looking for a basket. Ah know it's in here somewhere." Shadow reached on a shelf behind him with his tail and tossed the basket that was on it in front of her. "So now that you've gotten that out of the way, how've you been?" "Pretty good, Ah guess." "No irregularities?" "Well yesterday this crazy stallion asked me to hit him in the face with a bat." "That's strange. Did I know him?" "You might have met him once or twice." she replied. He laughed a little. "Your brother informs me that you're using all your carts." "Yeah. Why? Did you need one?" "A little, but it doesn't matter. Can I grab an apple or two?" "Sure." "Awesome. See ya later Applejack." "See ya." Shadow walked out of the barn and grabbed some apples with his tail from a tree. He headed to city hall to meet Rainbow. "What happened to the cart?" "They were all used. So anyways, dragons. Had a history with them?" "Well, we were spying on Spike while he was visiting them. We did some stuff and had to leave in a hurry." "Well lets go back then." "I'm starting to question the safety of this mission." "You said it yourself, dragons don't like ponies. If you want to stay here you can." "Nah. I'm no chicken." "Awesome. Lets go then. Have an apple." he said, tossing her one. "Thanks." "So the volcano's that way. Race?" "Race." FIFTEEN MINUTES LATER "How fast can you go, Shadow?" asked Rainbow. "A lot faster than anything native to this planet, I can tell you that." "You say planet as if there were others like this." "There is." "What, really?" "Big universe. Anything could happen. Like on one planet, there is a race that communicates using telepathy." "Wow." "There's even parallel worlds. Like in one world there could be three of you and no work to be done ever." "Cool!" "Yeah, but the natives of Equestria won't mingle with others for maybe a thousand years or so. Enough about that. We're in dragon territory now. Be cool and follow my lead. I don't know how hostile these things are against me personally, so tell me if there's a dragon creeping up on us." "We're good." "Great." Shadow walked up the volcano and slid down the edge. "Shadow, they're staring at us." "Think about it, if an earth pony was walking around on Cloudsdale, you would stare as well." "I guess, but not for long." "Don't worry about it. It's normal to stare at new things. I don't need a dragon itself. Just a forge. Few days and I'll have myself some bars. Awesome." "So what exactly are you making?" "Don't know. Maybe a weapon, maybe art." "Well look what we have here, boys." said a dragon, walking toward them with a group following him. "Some ponies wandered out of there little homes." "You look familiar." said another dragon. "Hey, you're right. She's one of the ponies that was with that pipsqueak. Who's this? Your boyfriend? You so scared you need someone else?" "What did you just say?" yelled Rainbow, flying up to eye level with him. "Easy, Rainbow. I'd prefer you don't have me finish what you started." said Shadow. "But he's the one that..." "We're not here to start a fight." "You got lucky this time." said Rainbow, landing. "Ooooo... I'm so scared." "C'mon, Rainbow. They aren't worth our time. And besides, you know we're completely safe." "If you say so." "How can you be so sure you're safe?" "So Rainbow, we are in a volcano. Not every day that happens. This ground isn't even soft. Just warm to the touch. This isn't nearly the setup I need." he said, starting to walk away. "Hey, I'm talking to you!" said the dragon, moving in front of him and blocking his path. "Leave us alone." "Why do you think you're so safe?" he asked. His friends surrounded the two of them. "Alright, you want to know so bad, why don't you try and find out for yourself?" "Are you telling us to fight you?" "That's exactly what I'm saying. Unless you're scared." "I'm not scared of you. Why would I be scared of a namby-pamby pony like you?" Some of the older dragons moved closer to them. "Ask them." said Shadow. "Ask them? What's that supposed to mean?" "You seem familiar." said another dragon. "And you look familiar as well, Hydron." "So you know my name. Impressive for a pony. The only pony who knew my name was killed over a thousand years ago." "Perhaps. Dragons live very long lives. In the royal alicorn range. Longer perhaps. Maybe they are like another dragon race I've seen. Live forever barring ill health or injury." "You babble on like him as well. You even look like him. Your father wouldn't happen to be Shadow Streak, would it?" "Um... Yeah, my dad is Shadow. Name's Starliner." "Hey elder, who's Shadow Streak?" asked the teenage dragon. "He's a god among dragons. The story is that he appeared out of nowhere, bested every dragon alive in every contest they could think of, and was given our sacred fire ruby. After that, he left without a trace." "He even took a dip in the lava." "Yes, he was laughing so much after that." "It wasn't even that painful." "So this guy is his son?" "Yes. He also had two daughters. That we know of." "Hold on, did you say two daughters?" asked Shadow, "As in, sisters?" "Yes." "And who was the mother?" "The only mare I remember seeing him with was the queen. I know that the daughters are hers, but I never saw you. They were very close. Some say too close." "That's an odd choice of words." said Shadow. "Did you not know him?" "No, he had to leave before I grew up. I never learned why." "In the end, your father went insane and attacked Equestria. He..." "Enough!" shouted Shadow, "Dash, we're leaving." "But..." "Leaving! Hydron, tell the elders that the ruby is broken." "Thank you for confirming my suspicions, Starliner. May you find peaceful rest one day." Shadow nodded, then left. "I'm still pretty confused here." said the teenage dragon." "What was that all about?" asked Dash, "You were all excited to go to the volcano, then the next minute you're arguing with them! The only thing I got is that you're the princess's dad." "I don't think I am. I'm just a close friend to their mom. Their real dad died shortly after they were born. I was really more of an uncle. They called me Uncle Shadow. Dragon elders are always a little senile. He made the connection between Gaia, Celestia, Luna and I, but they're not my children." "How do you know?" "I just do." "And he said you went insane. What's that all about?" "Sigma took me over. It's happened before." "Really?" "Bunches of times. Some were for only a few minutes. Others he had enough time to enslave entire planets. Now, we could either go back to Ponyville, or something else." His stomach growled. "You can go back to Ponyville. I'm getting lunch." "What are you eating?" "Very good question. On second thought, maybe I won't get lunch." "When you said you hadn't eaten in three days, you were exaggerate, right?" "Not at all. So anyways..." "You really haven't eaten?" "Not a bite. Does this really matter right now?" "Of course it does! You need to eat something!" "Yeah, yeah. You're not the first one to be concerned about my eating. When I get some bits, I'll eat. What is that, end of the week? I'll have to find a secondary source of income. I can eat a crazy amount of food. More than a stomach could handle. Anyways... yeah, Ponyville. Lets get going." "But..." "Shh... Don't worry, I'll be fine." "Starliner you..." "I'm gonna throw you there if you don't go. And it'll be funny. And I'll laugh." "Alright, I'm coming." They headed back to Ponyville. "So Rainbow, while you were injured, did you notice something strange? Something in your head?" he asked, walking around her. "No. What are you looking for?" "Physical abnormalities." "Like what?" "You being much stronger than a normal mare of your age." "I'm pretty sure nothing's wrong." "Nothing at all? Something that wasn't right or just weird?" "Well, there was one thing." "What was it?" "There was this really weird pony in my head controlling my body." "That's the spirit!" "Why'd you ask all of the sudden?" "I needed to make sure that there were no negative lingering effects. It would be bad if there was. Tell me if something odd happens." "Alright." "Well see ya later, Rainbow." "Yeah, see ya." Shadow walked off towards Everfree Forest again. "What do you have for me today, Everfree? " he said. He walked until he found a cave. He noticed a sign near the entrance. It was old and some words had been scratched out. "Warning! Keep out! Danger! This cave is the private property of... somepony. Trespassers will be violated." he read, "Did I read that right? Yeah, trespassers will be violated. That sounds like my kind of place." "What are you doing near this cave? For this, you must be quite brave." said somepony behind him. He turned around and said, "What's a zebra doing in the Everfree? Never mind, it's none of my business. What's so special about this cave, beautiful?" "There are horrible rumors surrounding this place. I would avoid it, just in case." "Horrible rumors? Like what?" "Some say this belonged to an evil god. I believe that is quite odd. Others say that you can never leave once in. As for me, I have never been." "So this place is big, evil, and scary. This is definitely my kind of place. Has anypony else gone in here before me?" "Not to my knowledge. This sign is something to acknowledge." "Yeah, I read it. Thanks for the information. What's your name?" "Zecora." "Alright. If somepony comes looking for me, I'm in here." He headed in the cave. He traveled deep through the maze of the cave until he reached an area similar to a house. "Who's cave is this exactly? It's obvious that they live here." He walked around the area. "This place isn't dirty. That means that somepony was here recently. No, I'm wrong. It wasn't recent. Few years maybe. 10, 30, 100 years. Then how is it so clean?" He looked at the things in the area. "This all looks like stuff I would have. Maybe this is my place. That would really explain everything. Even the sign. Oh yeah, it's my place alright." "Shadow? Are you in here?" called Twilight. "Right over here." he replied. "What is this place?" "It's my house." "Your house? It's a cave." "Yeah. Didn't you read the sign?" "Of course I did. I didn't like what it said." "Maybe I should change it to trespassers will be tortured and murdered." "That's awful!" "I guess you're right. It's fine just the way it is. What did you need from me?" "What?" "This isn't a place you just happen upon. This takes some looking to get to. Did Zecora tell you?" "Yeah. You went in the Everfree before I had a chance to talk to you." "So what did you want to talk about?" "Celestia sent me a letter. Here, read." She gave him the letter. It was magically sealed like last time. He opened it and read it. "New trainer is doing good, blah-blah-blah... Here's something, they say that they're worried. Worried about my Discord theory. It's just a theory. Discord must be dangerous. If he shows himself anywhere near me, I don't know what I'll do." He gave the letter back to Twilight. "So about this place. I found my house. Maybe it has something that can jog my memory." He looked around through the rooms. There were a large number of them. One caught his attention. "Well, I found my bedroom. For some weird reason, it's not dirty like it should be." "Why is that weird?" "Nopony has been here for about a hundred years. Something must've cleaned this place, but the last thing that was here left a very long time ago. Unless it was a robotic creature. I can't get those on a biological scan. There is something on the electric scan, but it's weak." "What's a robot?" "Hmm... I'll show you, follow me!" He walked to a large metal door with a scratch in it. "There are five claw marks. But that means... A human was here. Not only that, a robotic human. This is dangerous." "Did you hear that?" "Yeah. It was a spark. Is it glitched? Twilight, I'm gonna open this door. Stay behind me." He grabbed the door and slowly slid it open. He looked inside and saw something horrible. There were bloodstains on the walls, floor, and the ceiling. There were destroyed machines and glass shards everywhere. "Who, or whatever did this wasn't happy." said Shadow. "Intruders a-alert. S-species: pony. Sub-species: earth p-pony and uni-uni-unicorn. Adaptation a-accepted. Prepare f-for immediate t-termination." said an electronic voice. "Twilight it's still here!" shouted Shadow. A human lunged at Shadow. It was wearing a butler suit and had black hair. He pinned Shadow to the wall, but Shadow kicked him off. "Recalculating. Sub-species: r-royal alicorn. A-adaptation accepted." "Twilight, I'm going to distract him. I need you to push to that button over there. The small red one labeled glitch." Shadow tackled him before he could move and held him down. It struggled to get free, then said, "Recalculating. Species: U-unknown. Adaptation accepted." "What'll it do with unknown species?" he said. It started to break his hold, but Twilight pressed the button and it was stopped. "Thank you. That thing was strong. My level of strong. Where did it get that much power?" "Was that a robot?" "Yeah. That, or an android." "Android?" "Part biological, part robotic. This was a robot. Let me explain in a way you might understand. Robots are machines that are built and programmed to follow commands. That was actually pretty simple." "I think I understand. This thing was made to keep intruders out. When you said it glitched, you meant it broke and wasn't following that command. And that's why it made that sparky sound when it talked." "Exactly." "What did it mean by adapt?" "It made itself stronger. What exactly are it's limits?" Shadow rolled him over and opened up a panel in his back. He examined the insides, then said, "He was built out of a titanium alloy. Dense titanium. Same characteristics of a normal human, but just robot-y." "I've heard about humans." "Really?" "Yeah. My friend Lyra talks about them. I thought they weren't real." "They're real. Fascinating species, but I don't like them." "Why?" "I have my reasons." "You were hurt by them, weren't you?" "Yeah, but that's besides the point. I don't get angry if anything hurts me. Mentally or physically. It's their smell." "Smell?" "I just don't like them. I'll tell your friend all she wants to know though. Eventually I'll get to it. This thing however..." He smelled the robot. "Smells very old. I think I may have built it. It seems like my handiwork. Hold on..." He reached inside and fiddled with the wiring a bit. "What are you doing?" "I'm trying to fix it. If I can fix it, I can access it's memory bank and maybe it could tell me about myself." He messed around with the wires for a little, then closed it back up. "Twilight, can you hit that restore button over there? The blue one." "Sure." She pushed the button and the robot stood back up. "What are your orders, master?" "Access internal memory protocol 1." "Access denied." "Why?" "Internal memory is corrupted, and must be deleted." "Figures. First things first, I designate this pony as a master of you." he said, pointing at Twilight. "Master confirmed. What are your wishes?" "Twilight, tell this thing to do whatever you want. He'll follow it without fail. Address him however you please." "But what if I say the wrong thing? What if he gets angry again?" "I fixed that glitch. Speaking of, robot, run a diagnostics check." "Check completed. No problem discovered." "Good. Robot, disable lethal force. Say something, Twilight." "Um... I can't think of anything." "Alright. Who's blood is this. How did it get on the ceiling?" "The surveillance footage for the incident in question was corrupted and deleted." said the robot. "Damn." Shadow examined the bloodstains. "Looks pony." "How can you tell?" "I just can." He sniffed it, then licked it. "It's mine. Tastes like mine. Corse, it could be Sigma's. "That was disgusting!" "Doesn't taste that bad. Not like some other kinds of blood I've tasted." "Why do you know what blood tastes like?!" "Lets go. We can come back later." "We're leaving? I don't want to leave. This place has so many things to learn about." "Too bad, it's my house." "Fine." "Robot, you're coming with me. AI activate." "AI?" asked Twilight. "It stands for artificial intelligence." said the robot, "It means I'll act like I'm a real being." "Right. Rex, I'm calling you Rex now, your name is Rex, I want you to follow any command given to you under level three classification." "Sure thing." "Twilight, it's time to go." "Aw..." "Rex, clean up my house and meet me in Ponyville. A fourth of a mile that way." "See ya then." Shadow left the cave and took Twilight back to Ponyville. Rex joined them a few seconds later. "That was quick." "I was built to clean. Every mess." "You have a robot butler?" asked Twilight. "Of course I do. I'm prone to making all sorts of messes. Needed something to clean it all up. He doesn't complain, he does exactly what he's told, he's loaded with all sorts of programs. And besides, robot butler." "I guess." "Good job. Lets go see Shining Armor. You coming?" "Yes! I need to make sure he's safe." "What would your preferred method of travel be?" "What?" "I mean, we could teleport, fly, Rex could take us. Well, you. I'm too heavy." "You're not too heavy." said Rex. "Yes I am." "If you say so." "Those, or we could use the boring normal methods of travel." "By boring you mean..." "Normal. Normal is boring. Not normal is exciting. Rex, go to Canterlot." "Meet ya there." Rex disappeared immediately after saying that. "Damn, he's fast." Shadow put his hoof on Twilight and teleported them to Canterlot. "What took ya? I waited for you long enough to grow a beard." said Rex, showing them his beard. "Just kidding, it's fake." "Rex, did you steal that?" "No, I bought it." "With what money?" "The money you left in storage." "Storage?" "You have a ton of money from a lot of races in your house. I grabbed the bits before I left." "How many did you grab?" "Maybe about 20 million." "20 million bits?!" said Twilight. "Where are you keeping them?" "In my pocket." "Are they in normal form?" "Yeah." "How did you..." "Don't question him, Twilight. Did I make those bits?" "Yes you did. This money is illegal to own." "Good to know." "So you just walked in and bought it?" "Yeah." "Camo technology, am I correct? Of course I am, I'm always correct. Although I've been slipping recently." He smelled the air. "Rex, you getting that?" "My sensor just went haywire." "What is it?" "Just something. Rex, follow Twilight to the hospital. I've got something to take care of." "What do I tell Shining Armor?" "Nothing. I'm not in Canterlot. He probably hates me. If he finds out I was hanging around his sister, he'd go ballistic." "I don't think he would." "He has an incredibly good reason. Sigma cut off his leg! It's not like he's gonna say, 'Oh, it's ok, it's just my leg.' No, he's pissed, and he'll be out for revenge. Getting your leg cut off hurts. A lot. I know, Mine have been removed many times. Many, many times." "Really?" "Oh yeah, cut with a saw, a knife, burned off, animals have bit them off. Anyways, I need to go, now." He smiled, then disappeared. "Lets go, Twilight. Don't want to keep your brother waiting." said Rex. "Alright, but I got some questions for you." "Ask away." Shadow stopped running in a clearing in the Everfree. "So what's with all the lies and secrets, Sigma?" he asked. "I thought you would ignore my return." he replied. "Answer my question." "I decided that it was time that I win a round for a change. Time and time again you defeat me and my friends and I've had enough of it." "You don't have any friends. You have pawns to use in your futile little game." "Yes, but now I have a king. Say hello to the chess master, Nightmare." A unicorn that was completely colored black walked into the clearing. "Hello, Shadow Streak. It's a pleasure to finally meet you myself." "So Sigma, what was the point of attacking the saiyans if you were just gonna have pony allies?" asked Shadow. "Because I could. That's my only reason. I needed a good disintegration after my return. Kicked me into high gear, so to speak. And I didn't just recruit ponies. I recruited some other species as well. Of course, every one of them is just a soldier willing to throw their lives away." "You disintegrated and didn't die? You jerk. You screwed with my memories!" "Guilty as charged. Barely anything original remains in there." "Enough talk. Lets see what you have to say when your organs are strewn across these trees." "Nightmare, show him who's the boss here." Shadow got ready to fight, but Nightmare disappeared before he could move. Shadow was slammed into the ground and Nightmare stomped on his back, breaking it. He picked him up and threw him against a tree. Before Shadow could even regenerate, Nightmare impaled him with his horn. He flicked him off his horn and he landed on the ground. Nightmare stood on his wound. He pushed down and said, "Give up and I'll stop." Shadow kicked him off and stood up. "Where'd you find this guy?" "He was in the core of this earth. I guess you could call him the devil if you wanted." "I stay there because it's the only place I can get true solitude." he said. "Enough playing around, Nightmare. It's time." "Right." Nightmare smiled at Shadow, flashing a very sharp tooth at him. He fired a spell at him. Shadow tried to avoid it, but it hit him in the center of the chest. "What?" he said before blacking out. *It was bound to happen sooner or later. Also robot butler because robot butler. Memories of a God cp 13'Where am I? Why is it so cold? My arms and legs ache." "Why am I in so much pain!?" he shouted, quickly waking up. He looked at his body and around the room he was in. "Freezer. One door, one foot thick, unnatural weight. Intercom. Spikes. Two in each limb, one in the back of my throat. Can't move. Spinal cord is severed. Regeneration currently impossible. Escape, difficult. Hmm... how?" The door opened and Sigma walked in. "How do you like the restraints I made especially for you?" "They're certainly effective. But not nearly as useful as you'd like." "I came back too early. Something came up. I just... No, forget I said anything." "What?" "Nothing. I expected you to scream more." "Pain's just pain. It doesn't hurt me anymore." "Hmm... Anyways, we've captured your friends. Brought them here in their sleep. The princesses have made a last second attempt to protect Canterlot. I have one question though." "Yeah?" "Why am I starting to like your friends? I mean, I wanted to kill them, but then I decided against it. Instead I just took 'em while they slept." "That kidnapping part. Why are you resorting to covert ops?" "I want to start a chain reaction that causes the majority of Equestria to kill themselves. If I start killing now, well... You know, or something. I didn't plan this arrival, it just happened." "Whatever. I didn't do anything. Maybe you're losing your edge. It has been a long time. This planet is inhabited by really cute things, so I would understand if you couldn't do it. It's hard to kill cute things." "I didn't want to kill them as much as I wanted to... huggle and snuggle them! I just wanted to give them all big hugs! I wanna love 'em and hug 'em and squeeze 'em!" "Pull yourself together, Sigma!" "You're right. That isn't murderer talk, that's molester talk. Of course for me..." "Don't even think about it." "Oh, shove a sock in it." "Anyways, we've both been off of our game. Sigma the remorseless killer and Shadow the..." "Remorseless killer?" "I was gonna say Angel of Death." "But you're not an angel." "But what if I was?" "Maybe you are. This memory thing is getting in the way." "I could be the ruler of the entire plane of reality and I don't even know it! Of course, the same could be said for anyone else with amnesia." "How do you know I'm not the king?" "Because you've played second fiddle to a weak little pony for an eternity." "Well, that explains that. You just called yourself weak." "You understand." "I do." "You've figured out what'll happen to us, haven't you?" "Some day, we'll have too much in our heads and boom, nothing." "But when?" "We can't say." "Anyways, that's still an odd thing to call yourself." "Not after what I've done." "Which is why you deserve everything that happens to you." "I deserve to die." "You've earned it." "Apparently not." "Hmm..." "Now, I have a few questions for you." "I'm only gonna answer one." "Damn. I had like seven. Alright, have you heard of Discord?" "Yeah. He's the statue in Canterlot. Also not a statue. I learned a lot about this place already. What about him?" Shadow told him his theory. "I have noticed that something strange was going on. Exactly what it was I wasn't sure." "You knew exactly what happened." "Yeah, I did. What about Discord?" "Was there anything you came in contact with that could've given him a boost large enough?" "Yeah, Nightmare, but he's been under constant surveillance. He's stronger than you, which in turn makes him stronger than me, so I kept an eye on him. Of course, I don't know for sure. Nightmare's weird. But it wouldn't really make sense. Nightmare doesn't do anything. He never does anything. I'll get back to you on this." "Who is Nightmare?" "I already answered one of your questions." "So is that all?" "That's all. Don't try and escape. I'll just trap you again. Again and again and again. I've already got few more traps. And don't think your wings can help you. I may not have been able to get to them, but I've accounted for them." Sigma laughed at him, then walked out and closed the door. "I can't escape. But, I can always escape. He's serious about this! But if he's truly serious... I feel sorry for whoever shows up to stop him. Insane as he is, no amount of talking will get him to stop. No amount of fighting will be enough. But he doesn't seem as crazy as I once thought. Whatever, it doesn't really matter. Eventually, I'll get out, beat the shit out of Sigma, assimilate his mind, murder and/or put a stop to Nightmare, release my friends, and leave the planet. Not all necessarily in that order." BANG "What was that?" BANG "It's a pickaxe." "Did you hear that?" "It's Shadow!" "Hurry up, Pinkie!" The wall to the right of Shadow opened up and six dirt covered ponies ran out. "You're all safe!" said Shadow, "If I could move I'd give you all hugs." "If you could... move?" said Twilight, looking at him. "Shadow!" they all shouted. "What happened to you?!" "Are you ok?!" "I'm fine. I'm completely fine." said Shadow, "Calm down. I can't get a word in edgewise when you're all yelling like that." "But you're..." "Held to the wall with spikes, yes. Contrary to popular belief, this isn't the first time this has happened." Fluttershy walked over to him, eyes wide open and silent as ever. "Shadow?" He smiled at her. "Hey, Fluttershy. How've ya been?" She fainted. "You know Fluttershy, your weak little head isn't making my life any easier." "Why are you like that?" asked Rainbow. "Sigma want's to win. He tried to freeze me in here. Or something. I can't move. I can't get down." "Doesn't that hurt you?" "Yeah, but pain's just pain. And for me, pain doesn't hurt anymore. Besides, this isn't even enough to kill me if I wasn't immortal." "Wait, what?" "But now..." "Now what?" "I need to get down." "How are you gonna do that?" "I don't know." "So what should we do until then?" "Just hang around, I'll figure something out." "Hang around." said Pinkie, giggling. "You caught that." "Pinkie, this isn't a joke." said Twilight angrily. "Lighten up, Twilight." said Rainbow. "Yeah. If I get hurt, I laugh about it. It just isn't important anymore. It used to be. Like a long, long time ago." "How long ago?" "A while. Anyways, I need to get down. Somehow." "I think we could help." said Rainbow. "I only need you to get the spike out of my mouth. There's no way we can get that out. Unless you've got vice grips or something like that with you." "No, we don't have anything we can use." Pinkie climbed up Shadow and looked in his mouth. "Wow! There really is one in there." "Did you really need to see it to believe it?" "Of course I did, silly!" "Any ideas, Pinkie?" "I can't think of any. We can't get it out with our hooves." "I got an idea!" said Shadow happily, "Pinkie, look in my eyes." "Alright." She opened her eyes very wide and stared at him. "Now... Let go." Her head leaned back, then she fell to the floor. Then she started laughing. "You know Pinkie, for all the sweets you eat, you're incredibly light." she said. 'Thanks, I guess.' "Uh... Pinkie, are you ok?" "You're using her body, aren't you, Shadow?" said Rainbow. "That's right! Now lets get me down from... Where'd I go?" he said, looking at the wall. "Shadow's gone!" "Where's my body go? There's still bloodstains, but I'm just gone. What?" said Shadow. "Wait a minute Shadow, when you got out of me, you made another body out of thin air. That was this body, right? So that means that..." "Rainbow, that was good. I totally forgot about that! I was ethereal. I didn't have a real body. Wow, we can't discuss that without sounding awkward." "No, I guess not." "You didn't have a real body?" asked Twilight. "No, but yes, but no. You see... I'm not even gonna try and explain it. The less you know, the better." He left Pinkie's body and shook his head. "This stupid Starliner disguise is getting in my way." He removed the disguise and stretched out. "I forgot how good it felt to have my wing and horn." "So what do we do now?" "You're going home. As for me, I'm gonna take care of Sigma." He used a spell on them and they disappeared. He went to the intercom and said, "I'm coming for you Sigma." "I don't even care. Nightmare is going to kick your ass time and time again." "Hide behind him now, because when I beat him, I'm coming after you next." "This isn't some fairy tale, Shadow. We're too strong for you to win this with sheer determination." "I can still try." "What just happened?" "Shadow just teleported us out of there." said Twilight. "Whoa! Look at Canterlot!" said Rainbow. "It's surrounded!" "Pinkie, what are you looking at?" They all looked at her. She had a blank expression on her face. She shook her head and said, "What?" "You were kinda spacing out for a minute there." "I was?" "Yeah." "It's just that... I think I got some of Shadow's memories." "Shadow told me about this. We need to go see him right away. This could be bad." said Rainbow. "How could it be bad? It feels good! All these things in my head! It's... It's... I can't explain it!" She started hopping around. "I'm almost as smart as Shadow now!" "Almost as smart as Shadow?" asked Twilight. "Yeah! Wow, he knows everything! Although he just likes to say 'a lot.'" She stopped bouncing. "I'm gonna go to Shadow's house. I need to check on something." she said in a serious tone. She ran off to the Everfree. Everypony else followed her. When she got to the cave, she shouted, "Rex, up and at 'em! Big day ahead of us! Gonna need your help with this." He walked out of the cave and said, "What do you want?" "Oh that's right. Shadow didn't make me a master. Twilight, tell Rex that we're his masters." Rex looked at Twilight. "Do you allow this?" "Yes. All of them are to be treated like a master." "Alright then. Welcome to Shadow's house, masters." "Twilight, what is that thing?" "I'll answer that." said Rex, "I was modeled after a human and created by Shadow. I am a human robot butler that cleans messes and makes sure that Shadow's house is private." "Human? Robot?" "Yeah, what are all these crazy things?" "They're both really unimportant." "And what do you mean by masters?" asked Rarity. "It means that I'll follow any common you give me at level six or below without question or fail." "Level six or below?" "Level six and below means that I may refuse any command above level six through my own free will." "But what is level six?" "Basically it's: say something and I'll do it. No need to question me." "So you'll do whatever we say?" "Yes." "Rex, we got a problem." said Pinkie. "I know. Shadow was taken and placed in an underground storage facility no fewer than three hundred miles away." "How do you know where he was?" asked Twilight. "Easy. Shadow has a tracking chip inside of his brain." "What kind of a name is Rex?" asked Rainbow. "Shadow gave me that name three days ago." "It's a weird name." "It's a human name. Or a dog." "Rex, what have you been doing for the past three days?" asked Pinkie. "I've been aiding the princesses at Canterlot. I had to make sure there weren't any happy-go-lucky soldiers taking pot-shots at the innocent. I've also evacuated Canterlot and put them in the cave. Even the princess." "You have the princesses in there?!" "Yes I do. I kidnapped them and brought them here. Don't ask questions, it'll only get you killed. While I'm here I monitor Sigma and his gang through the central computer in here." "Good slave." "Don't say I'm a slave." "Yeah, that was kinda rude, Pinkie." "No, I mean that I'm not just a slave, I'm a robotic butler. Call me robot. It's cooler." he said, "Lets continue this inside. It's safer." "Good idea." They walked inside the cave and Pinkie said, "What else have you been doing, Rex?" "I've been trying to get some allies in here to help us out." "Who'd you ask?" "I asked some of Shadow's friends. The best was busy, most of the others are dead, and some just really don't care about him. I did manage to get some special ponies in on it though." "The best?" "Doctor Whooves. He'd probably be great with this kind of thing, but he's busy with bigger problems." "Who did you get in on it?" "I recruited four ponies so far, Emerald, King, Grave, and Goldwing. I'm also trying for one more friend. You may know her." "Who is it?" "Queen Chrysalis." "Wait, what?" "She was a more recent friend of Shadow. She'd likely be a great help against Sigma. And besides, Shadow'd probably want her here anyways." "Why do you say that?" "Because Shadow and Chrysalis dated a while back!" said Pinkie. "I was gonna say that." "They did what?" "Yeah, Shadow and Chrysalis were together for a while. It isn't that important or anything, so don't worry. All things aside, she's still a friend and can still help us." "So what did you need to check on, Pinkie?" asked Rainbow. "I wanted to check on Rex. He could help us with our problems right now." "Is that all?" "Not exactly, but the rest is a secret. Rex, where are the princesses?" "Down that hall in the war room." "And the rest of Canterlot?" "Living quarters. Just follow the map over there." "So who's all here?" "Every single pony who was at Canterlot. You name it. Shining Armor, the Wonderbolts, Prince Blueblood. Everypony." "Wow, really?" "How'd you get them all here so quickly? There wasn't even any news." "I just picked them up and brought them here." "And they didn't complain or anything?" "They didn't even know it had happened." "How'd you manage that?" "I moved really fast." "Is that it?" "That's it." "Rex, get to work on getting Chrysalis here. I need to speak to the princesses." said Pinkie, walking down the hallway. "Righty-o, boss!" he said, saluting. He hit a few buttons on the computer. "Now, this should be pretty easy. She's already met Shadow and knows he's still alive. You ponies, I'm gonna need you to stay silent, no matter how much you don't like her, I seriously don't want to hear it." "But Rex..." "Do not want to hear it. Your bickering will only make my life harder." "Communications link open." stated the computer. "Queen Chrysalis?" said Rex. "What was that?" they heard. "Good, I got your attention. Listen, Shadow's been kidnapped by Sigma and we might need your help getting him out of there." "Shadow needs my help? He's never asked for my help before. Who are you?" "I'm Rex. Shadow's robotic, humanoid butler." "Rex! I didn't recognize your voice! How have you been lately?" "Well, you know, not dead." "Right. Why does Shadow need my help?" "Sigma found somepony who could keep Shadow occupied and he's trying to take over the world. Shadow can't do this alone. He needs help." "How bad does he need help?" "More than any of his friends know. Not you, not Celestia, not Twilight." "What don't I know?" asked Twilight. "I told you to be quiet!" "Was that Twilight Sparkle?" asked Chrysalis. "I... Uh... Yes it was." "She's there with you?" "Yes. Everypony is. All six of the element bearers, both princesses, and in a little while, Emerald, King, Grave, and Goldenwing." "You invited those four?" "Of course I did." "Who else did you invite?" "Well, that's it. Those four are the only ones who could come." "What about..." "Busy." "Ah." "So how about it?" "Sure, I'll help him." "Great! I'll be there to pick you up in a little while. I need to do something before I leave." "I don't need your help getting there, Rex." "Yes you do. If Sigma is as smart as I know he is, he has some spies in your kingdom. For all you know, your guard captain could be Blue Rose herself." "She's just a cheap changeling knock-off." "Yeah, but don't say that to her face, or you might not say anything again. Be there in a few minutes." "See you then." "Communications link closed." "Twilight, I told you to be quiet." he said. "It's not like it made any difference." "That's true, but I'd like you to follow my commands in the future." "I thought I was the master here." "You still are. Just don't ignore my advice like that." "So what don't I know?" she asked. "I can't tell you." "Why not?" "Level 8." "Just how many levels are there?" "Nine. I'm going to go get Chrysalis. I'll be back in about an hour." He disappeared. "Whoa, look at this map. It says that this place is bigger than Canterlot!" said Rainbow. "Bigger than Canterlot?" "Yeah. Shadow has his own gym, library, pool, everything. Some of these things I've never even heard of. Hey Twilight, have you heard of a garage?" "Rex mentioned it once. He said Shadow worked on things in there." "Lets go see what Pinkie's doing." "Good idea." *Pretty good so far if I do say so myself. And I do. And if you agree, that's awesome. And you're awesome. So just sit there and feel awesome. Chapter 7God 7 The next day after Sigma had overtaken Shadow's body, he had decided on a target and had flown to Cloudsdale to see Rainbow Dash. He knocked on her door and she answered. He looked in her eyes and said, "Hey! How are you doing, beautiful?" "Pretty good, how about you, Shadow?" "I'm feeling great!" he said happily. "You're unusually happy today, what's up?" "I just decided something." "And what would that be?" "I wanted to get you some lunch, how 'bout it?" "Like a, uh... Like a date?" "It can be." "Alright. I'm not doing anything anyways." "Perfect!" "Well, lets go." she said. Sigma and Rainbow headed off towards a nearby resturant. Maybe 'I'll crush her little heart before killing her, just to make it that much sweeter.' thought Sigma. 'I swear, if you hurt her, I'm going to make you regret the day you were born.' 'We weren't born, Shadow. We were created.' he replied. 'Then again, maybe I won't.' "So Rainbow Dash, you seem a bit unhappy. Did anything happen recently?" "Well, I missed a Wonderbolts show. I really wanted to go, but I was sick." "What are the Wonderbolts?" "What are the Wonderbolts?!" she repeated, shocked. "Only the best flyers in all of Equestria! Where have you been?" "In a cave. Bit of a hermit." "That would explain a few things." "So you like the Wonderbolts?" "They're awesome!" she said. 'Maybe I could destroy the Wonderbolts.' 'Stop getting ideas!' They got a meal and sat down to eat it. Sigma smelled something odd. "Can you smell that?" he asked her, smelling the air. "All I smell is this great food." "Never mind." Afte they finished their meal, Sigma got some chocolate milk for himself and left. "You really like chocolate milk." "Can't get enough." Sigma dropped the container and it spilled all over the ground. "Bummer, dude." Sigma ripped the cloud from the ground and emptied it into his mouth. "You really just did that?" "Yeah, yeah I did." "You'd drink that off of anything, wouldn't you?" "Oh yeah." "What about a living being?" "I just told you the answer to that." "That's kinda weird." "Not everypony thinks that way." Sigma jumped off of the cloud he was on and landed in Ponyville without lifting a wing. He looked up and saw that Rainbow was following him. "What was that all about?" she asked. "I just felt like heading back to that quarry we went to a few days ago." "Alright. Why so?" "I saw something there. I think it was a rare gem." "So... you're going treasure hunting?" "Just like Daring Doo." he said happily. Sigma flew off towards it at a leisurely pace. After reaching it, he looked around and saw a cave. "Over there!" he said, flying inside. He hid behind a rock near the enterance. She followed him and said, "How could you see anything in here? It's too dark. Where'd you go?" He pushed the rock in front of the enterance with a mightty shove. "Shadow, why did you do that?" she asked. "Tell me, Rainbow Dash, are you scared of the dark?" "No, I'm not scared of anything!" she said confidently. "There's no reason to fear the dark. It's what's inside the dark that you should fear." He walked towards her. A beam of light shining through the cracks between the rock and enterance illuminated his face. He had a horrible, twisted smile. Rainbow backed off as far as she could. "W... What are you doing, Shadow?" "You're lucky you get me, and not the real Shadow Streak." "What are you talking about? Why am I so lucky?" "I'm not Shadow Streak, my name's Sigma, lord of death. You're oh so lucky because if Shadow was doing this, he would tortue you until you screamed for death." 'I would what?!' 'You heard me.' "Me on the other hand, I don't believe in physical torture. No, I deal in a different way. One attack, one point of entry, one death." He quickly ran at her and grabbed her neck, then pressed her up against the wall. "You can have one request. Say what it is that you want me to do." "P... Please, stop this." "Tell me." "I... I want you to... to... not let my friends worry about me." "Rainbow Dash, loyal until the end." He looked in her eyes and rammed his hoof into her chest. She shook for a second, then went limp. He set her down and closed her eyes. "Rest in peace." He expected to hear a remark from Shadow, but there was nothing. "Well old man, what will you say about that? Say it!" No answer. "Fine then, ignore me." Sigma moved the rock and walked out. He flew off and back to Ponyville. Rainbow Dash started to stand up. Her wound was pouring blood. She put her hoof over the wound to slow the bleeding. 'Didn't I just die?' she tried to say. "Yeah, you died. You're dying to be precise." 'Who was that?' "It's me, the real Shadow Streak." 'Where are you?' "I'm inside your body." 'Ok, that sounds wrong on so many levels.' "Shut up. Sigma tore a hole in your chest, but right now, since I'm in here, you're not gonna die." 'Shouldn't that hurt?' "More than you can imagine." he said. 'What does that mean?' "I am feeling the pain of this. Just me. You couldn't handle it. It's too much." 'Oh wow, that seems...' "Don't. Just don't try and sympathyse. It was my decision alone. Either I did this, or you die. I need to get to Celestia and Luna. They need to stop him." Shadow started limping out of the cave. 'Why don't we go to town? We can warn everypony.' "No, he'll just kill them faster. If he's alone, he's respectful, but if he's in a crowd, he kills until there's no more movement." 'But my friends...' "Will die if you continue this path." 'That's not true!' "Stop." 'Give me back my body! I want to go help my friends!' "With a hole in your chest? Not likely." He felt Rainbow try to take her body back. The pain in his chest subsided for a fraction of a second, then returned to normal. 'How can you possibly stand that?' she asked in shock. "I've felt every type of pain there is to feel." 'Really?' "Yes." 'What was the worst pain?' "I was thrown into the center of a neutron star. I was crushed beyond the point of life, and further still. It took me thousands of years to get back to the surface and leave." 'What's a neutron star?' "How much do you know about stars and matter?" 'The basics, but not much more.' "I'll try to explain it while I'm walking. A star has a lot of mass which creates gravity. After a very large star runs out of feul, it collapses. All of the mass in a star goes into a very small area, about the size of a small city. This smaller area with the same mass increases it's gravity. If the original star was bigger, it would collapse into a black hole, even smaller and with more gravity. Black holes and me can't affect each other though." 'Sorry, I don't follow.' "Something closer to home then. I... uh... I was forced to swim my way through lava from the core of a planet that was overheating and dying. I could feel every atom of my being screaming in pain. It took me 723 years and 144 days to get out." 'That sounds awful.' "Yeah. Hey Rainbow Dash, usually whenever I use another's body, they're angry. Why not you?" 'You saved my life, Shadow Streak.' "But besides that." 'What more would there be?' "Something. Not an emotion or feeling or anything sappy like that, but something else. We're not gonna make it in time." 'Huh?' "If we don't pick up the pace, he's going to get to another. Then another, and another. If we don't hurry, we'll be in the middle of a blood bath when we get back! I need your help." 'With what?' "I'm going to let you use your wings. I want you to fly us to Canterlot and then to the palace. I need you to tell me if you feel pain." 'Alright, do it!' she said. She felt her wings again, and started to fly to Canterlot. "Anything?" 'No, I'm good.' "Great! I'm gonna put on some more speed, you just concentrate on flying." he said. Rainbow went faster then ever before. They made it to Canterlot in a matter of minutes. 'Shadow...' Rainbow grunted. "You're doing great, just a few more feet." 'I can't.' "C'mon Rainbow, you can do it!" 'It hurts!' Shadow quickly took back her wings and was met with a wave of exaustion. Her wings were burning. He had to land at the edge of Canterlot. He started limping through town. He sniffed at the air. "A storm's coming. How long will it last?" he asked. 'About two days. Why? Does it matter?' "Sigma may be a killer, but he hates getting wet. If we're lucky, and he's stuck alone, he won't make a move. He can't fight either. You heard it yourself. One attack, one point of entry, one death. If he attacks you once, you're already dead. Make that fail, and you're home free. He will never strike twice. He doesn't just kill sometimes either. Sometimes it's worse." 'Sigma said that you would torture me until I begged for death.' "And for all I know, I would!" he said angrily, "I'm not that kind of pony anymore. I never want to be. I'm sorry I snapped, but..." 'I know. You don't want to be labeled as a murderer.' "How do you know that?" he asked. 'I don't know.' "I hope you're not absorbing my memories. Nopony should have those but an immortal." Shadow recognised a pegasus royal guard who was off duty walking around with a mare. "What do you think, wife or friend?" he asked Rainbow. He ran over to him and said, "I need your help!" "Sorry, but I'm busy right now." "Who is this?" asked the mare. He coughed up some blood and said, "No time! I need you to take me to see Princess Celestia right away! It's an emergancy!" "What kind of emergancy?" he asked seriously. "If I don't see her right away, the whole of Ponyville could be slaughtered." "What proof do you have?" He removed his hoof and said, "A large, gaping, bloody hole in my chest." He quickly returned his hoof, then fell to his side. "I think I'm gonna be sick..." she said, running off. "Are you alright?!" asked the guard, concerned. "I'll be fine, is that clear? It happens to me often. It always goes away. I need you to take me to the Princess!" He quickly picked him up and put him on his back. "I need to go, official business." he said to the mare. He took off, jarring Shadow's wound. "Sorry!" He quickly made it to the castle. Some guards joined them. "What are you doing here on your day off?" one asked jokingly. "Who's that? That your marefriend?" "I don't know who it is. She's heavily injured and I'm taking her to see the Princess." "It's a matter of life and death, now hurry up!" said Shadow. He sped up and entered the palace. "Thanks, I can take it from here." said Shadow, sliding off, "Celestia! Get your lazy ass down here this second!" "That is no language to use in the presance of a Princess, Rainbow Dash!" she said angrily. "Shut up and listen!" he said angrily. "I'm Shadow, I took her body." "Wait, you what?!" "She was dying!" he said, showing her the wound, "Sigma's back!" "Oh no..." "He's in Ponyville! He's taken my ever-regenerating body! I can't do anything about it or she's gonna die!" She growle angrily. "How can we fix this?" she asked. He started to cough blood again. "Remember, he can't fight. Get Luna, Shiny, anypony who can help. That's it." "You're not going to help?" she asked angrily. "Hello? Earth to Celestia? Hole in chest! I am going to the damn hospital! Rainbow Dash will die when I take my body back if she doesn't get help! I don't want her to die. Not now, not ever." 'Thanks, Shadow.' "You, guard... Name?" "Call me Blue." "Celestia, after we take care of Sigma, give Blue a promotion, pay raise, something, anything, I don't care. Now, if somepony can take me to the hospital, it would be great." "I can do that." said Blue. "Oh yeah, you're getting a promotion." He got on his back and said, "Try to be careful this time. Nopony's in a hurry." He slowly left and headed to the Canterlot hospital. "Rainbow, thanks for letting me use this." he said. 'Don't make a habit of it. I'm gonna want it back soon.' "Yes, when you're healed." 'So I would die if you left me?' "Absolutely. You've lost most of your blood. You're going to start randomly spasming, Sigma's fault entirely, might bite your tougne clean through due to that. Other than that, chest hole." 'That would cause a real problem. How can you survive that?' "Immortality." he said. "I'm sorry, but who exactly are you talking to?" asked Blue. "I'm talking to Rainbow Dash. She's still in this body, alive and well. Now... hospital." Blue made it to the hospital and Shadow got off of his back. "You can go." "Are you going to be alright?" "Yeah. Go see your marefriend. Clean the blood off your back first." He nodded and flew away. Shadow limped in and said, "Can you have somepony prepare a major surgery room for a crushed ribcage?" He coughed up some more blood, then collapsed to the floor. He didn't go unconcious, but didn't move. He was put onto a hospital cart and taken to the surgery rooms. They tried to give him anesthetic, but he said, "That doesn't work." "You shouldn't talk." she said. "Anesthetic doesn't work on me. Fortunately, pain killers do." "But..." "I need a piece of cloth. A blindfold." "Why?" "I really don't like seeing my organs." He was given a piece of cloth which he tied around his eyes. "Now, my chest caved in and stopped about halfway through in the exact shape of a hoof. I've lost a fair amount of blood, but worry about that later." 'Are you going to be alright, Shadow?' asked Rainbow. "I've had surgery on worse in another's body. Course, they died. But, they were in luck, I'm here. Now, do pain killers work on you?" 'Yeah.' "Good. Now, you lot. Doctors, nurses, everypony. Take as long as you need. I want you to know this, no matter how long it takes, I won't die. Just be careful. No mistake will be fatal. Remember that." "Just save your stegnth, Rainbow Dash." said one. 'Hey, she knew my name. Who is it?' "Could be a friend, could be an observant pony. We'll find out later." he said. Then he turned to the ponies around him. "Halfway through, I'll start regenerating quickly. During which, I'll need a a half gram of cyanide and another half gram of ammonium nitrate mixed together and injected into my arm." "That's not safe." "But I want you to do it." "But you could die!" "Shut up. Hey, I'm falling asleep!" he said happily. Shadow leaned back and quickly fell asleep. He sat up again and looked around. He saw that he was in his original body. "Is that you, Shadow?" asked Rainbow. "Yeah, it's me. I'm dreaming right now. Since we're in the same body, you're here too." "So now what?" "Body went into shutdown mode. I can't stop that. You won't die, but we'll be here until surgery's done." "How long will that take?" "Few hours to a few days. We're going to be alone here for a while." Shadow laid on the ground and looked up. "Take a load off." "Shadow, where exactly are we?" "Dunno. I like it that way. I hate knowing because it's boring. That's why I don't like oracles. Now c'mon, take a load off. We're not gonna go anywhere. There's no way." "What do you mean there's no way?" "Not even I could get out of here. Yup. Stuck we are." He sniffed the air and said, "There's that smell again." "What smell?" "Dunno. It's gone now." "Well, what should we do here?" "Have you not been listening to me? Just take a load off!" "Well alright then." She laid down next to Shadow and looked at the sky with him. "Shadow, who are you?" "I don't know." "Well, tell me what you can." "I am Shadow Streak. I don't know who I was, but I know who I am. I'm not evil. I'm not bad. I help ponies. I bring them from the dark into the light. I protect them through hard times." "That's interesting." Rainbow closed her eyes and fell asleep. Shadow kept looking at the sky for a while, then fell asleep as well. *I re-wrote this chapter five times. Got another thousand words or so from it saved away. Anyways, comment or review or rate or whatever. Or not.
Shadow StreakYou can do it, Shadow Streak! You're gonna get through this! Stay with us and you're not gonna die. Win, Shadow! He felt himself running, but couldn't stop. He was in intense pain. Why? He didn't know. He wanted to know why, but something told him that he shouldn't learn. He fell on the ground and couldn't move. He couldn't even talk. "Here he is!" he heard a mare say. He heard hoofsteps coming towards him very rapidly. Fading in and out of unconsciousness, he felt different things. He felt one lift him with magic, then place him on a stretcher, agitating his injuries, but he didn't care. "He's hurt real bad. We need to get him to the hospital as fast as we can!" They picked him up and ran to town. He didn't hear what they were saying, he was working on staying alive. He concentrated all of his will on remaining alive, but didn't know why. 'Where am I? Who am I? What happened to me? Why do I want to live so badly? Is my life important? Why?' He thought, slowly. He fell under, and didn't wake for awhile. LATER He woke back up in a hospital bed, breathing heavily and painfully. He ignored the pain and looked around, unable to move his neck quickly without hurting himself. He could feel that he was covered from head to hoof with bandages. "Oh, you awake." said the nurse. He tried to talk, but only managed to cough up blood. The nurse ran over to him and helped him out a bit. His horn gave off a dull glow and he felt a tingling sensation in his chest. He coughed again, but it didn't hurt. He was confused, but took this moment to say, "I can talk, yeah. It's odd, my chest hurt a second ago, but it's fine now." "You're far from fine, my pony friend. Your wounds were very serious. Both of your back legs were broken in multiple places, your front legs were incredibly burned, one of your wings seemed to have been torn off, with the other having a cut right through it, your horn has been cut down the center, and your entire body was covered in deep slash wounds. What have you been doing?" she asked. "I don't know... I don't know." he said sadly. A single tear ran down his face, and he smiled. "Why are you happy that you can't remember?" "No, not that. I'm happy because I'm still alive. I fought for my life when somepony found me. I don't know why, but I'm happy I did. Does anypony know what happened to me?" "No, nopony saw anything. Nopony even knows who you are." The nurse walked to the door and spoke to somepony outside it. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but he recognized the voice from earlier. A purple pony walked in after the nurse and pulled a quill and paper out of her bag. "Are you feeling well?" she asked. "I don't know how to feel, I can't move without feeling incredible pain, and I can't remember anything other than my name. But I feel fine. Where am I? How did I get here?" "Don't worry, your in a safe place, I brought you here. You were in the middle of the forest, bleeding heavily." "Why was I messed up so bad?" "I don't know, I was hoping that you could help me." "I'm sorry, ma'am, but I don't know either. I want to be able to help you, but I just don't know. Rather, it's not that I don't know, it's that I don't remember, anything, at all." "Well, can you tell me your name?" "My name is Shadow Streak, that is the one thing that I do know." he said. He turned his head slowly. "And what is your name, beautiful?" She looked down, blushing, and said, "M... My name is Twilight Sparkle. I'm here to learn more about you, it's not everyday that you see somepony half-dead in the forest." Shadow Streak smiled at her, and started to bleed profusely. He returned to his previous position and started to breath heavily again. His horn glowed again, and he felt the tingling sensation all over his body. The pain went away, and he stopped bleeding. He looked at his body, and saw that he was indeed very injured. "I thought you said that you couldn't move." said Twilight. "I don't know what's going on here, but I'm healing astronomically quickly." "Yes. It would seem so." "Hey, you know what, Twilight? I remember something else." "What do you remember?" "My mission." he said. "Mission?" "I was given a mission to protect." "Protect what?" "Everything. I'm not able to help anypony here." he said. He tried to get off of the bed and stand up, but felt an incredible pain over his entire body. "AAAHHH! It hurts!" he yelled. Then he fell on the floor with tears in his eyes, whimpering in pain. Twilight and the nurse ran over to him and tried to help him back into his bed. "Shadow! What are you hoping to accomplish?" asked Twilight, angrily. "Get away from me." he commanded. "No, you need to get back into bed and rest!" said the nurse. "I said get away from me!" he yelled. His horn started to glow, brightly and with a violent aura, and Twilight and the nurse were held in place, unable to move their hooves. Then he got up, and Twilight and the nurse were thrown against the wall with a blast of magical energy. "Shadow, you need to get back in bed." pleaded Twilight. "You're injured!" Shadow Streak looked at the bandages covering the wounds. Then he used his magic again, and the bandages disintegrated, revealing the horrific wounds that he had suffered. Most of the cuts were now pouring blood. He stared at them, his horn glowed faintly again, and they stopped bleeding. He fell to the ground and said, "I'm sorry. Don't trouble yourself over me." The last thing he felt was his whole body tingling while he was placed back onto his bed. "Twilight, do you think this stallion is safe like this?" asked the nurse. "I don't know, Nurse Redheart, he's a very odd pony. There was something I noticed about him as soon as I saw him." "His horn?" "Yes, black and white." "I've never seen that before." "Me neither. A multicolored horn, I'm going to notify Princess Celestia about him." "There was one other thing, his body is covered in scar tissue. He must have gone through something horrific in his life." Twilight walked over to him and examined his horn, then his coat color. "Interesting." "Is this necessary, Twilight?" asked Nurse Redheart. "Well, I suppose not, why do you ask?" "It isn't visiting time. I've pulled enough strings already, and you shouldn't really be here right now." "Oh my gosh, I'm sorry. Can I come back tomorrow?" "Absolutely, just not now." "Right, sorry. Thank you for letting me stay for this long." Twilight left the hospital in a hurry, mulling over Shadow Streak. "Why was he so injured? Just what happened to him. Nopony's ever been hurt that bad. Maybe a broken bone or a scrape here and there, but it was as if somepony wanted to hurt him." She walked to Fluttershy's house and knocked on her door. She heard some rattling inside, and Fluttershy opened the door. "Oh, hi Twilight." "Hi Fluttershy. Can I ask you some questions?" "Uh... I guess." "It's about the unicorn that I found in the forest." "He was scary. Did he do anything to you?" she asked. "Well, no. Call him Shadow Streak, or Shadow. Anyways, you saw his injuries, right?" "Yes I did, and they were the worst that I've ever seen in my entire life." "Well, I examined him further, and found that he has a large amount of healing abilities. I also saw something that baffled me, his horn." "I didn't see that, was it safe?" "No, not at all. It was destroyed like the rest of his body. But that's not what was confusing, it's that his horn had two distinct colors to it." "Two distinct colors?" "Yes, half of it was black, and the other half white. These colors seemed to slowly fade into his body after it reached his head. It formed a freckle like pattern, then vanishes into the grey of his coat." "I've never seen that before, I've never even heard of it." "Yeah, me neither." "Twilight?" "Yes, Fluttershy?" "Why did this happen to him?" she asked unhappily. "I don't know, Fluttershy. But I'm going to find out!" said Twilight with a determined look on her face. "Thanks for the talk, Fluttershy." "Uh, sure. Any time. If you find anything else about Shadow, could you tell me?" "Alright, but why?" "I just want to make sure he's safe." "Yeah, sure thing, Fluttershy." Twilight left Fluttershy and headed straight for her house. She got there and woke up Spike, who complained. "Spike, I need your help to find something." she said, moving books off of the shelf. "What do you need to find?" "Something about two-tone horns." "Did Rarity make a new fashion trend?" "No, a pony in the forest who was badly hurt had a horn that was black and white. His body seemed to be a mix of the two." "So he was grey?" asked Spike, pulling out some books. "Yes Spike." Twilight and Spike looked through the books for many hours, not finding a single reference to his condition. Then Twilight grabbed a very dusty history book. She blew it off and read the cover. "Conspiracies through the ages." She opened it to about the middle and read some of it, "'The battle of Discord, not what it seems to be.' What's that supposed to mean?" Spike walked over and said, "I never believed these things anyways." "'Some say that the battle between Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Discord was not what is told in your average history book. There have been multiple accounts of another participant in the battle, a grey alicorn. This alicorn was odd in that he only had one wing.' Just like Shadow. 'It's been said that he joined the princess' in the first fight with Discord. It was a long and destructive battle. Near the end, Discord used all of his power to attack Princess Celestia, but the alicorn stepped in between them, nearly ending his life. Discord fled and the alicorn was cared for afterwords by both of the princesses. He was bestowed the title One Winged Angel for his bravery, kindness, and selflessness, also as a reference to his lone wing.'" She re-read it to make sure what it said was correct, then wrote a letter to Princess Celestia to tell her about Shadow and ask about what she read in the book. Spike sent the letter, than they waited for a reply, but didn't get one. "She's probably sleeping, don't worry about it, Twilight." said Spike. "And speaking of which, I'm going back to bed." "I think that I'll get to sleep as well." said Twilight. She looked outside and saw that the sun was almost coming over the horizon. She could sleep for a few hours before she ha to wake up, so she made it to her bed and fell asleep. Shadow Streak was still in his room, sleeping. Nurses checked on him very often to make sure he didn't hurt himself. A clear smoke started coming off of his body. It was exiting his wounds, and they started to close, healing him. His horn was almost all pure white while this happened. His bones were locked into place and started to heal as well. His horn and wing were the last thing to heal. His horn was held together and fused in place, and his wing was repaired. He was quickly monitored after he started to heal, and they attempted to make sense of what was happening to him. Only when it was finished were they able to understand it. "He has the ability to heal himself, even while sleeping." said Nurse Redheart. The other ponies that were helping Shadow agreed with her, but nopony could understand further. Shadow was happily sleeping away, oblivious to what happened to him. Nurse Redheart decided to tell Twilight about what happened later that day.
Chapter 2Shadow Streak had woken up, and was incredibly happy. He was happy because he could move without pain. He was literally dancing with joy. Nurse Redheart was baffled. She knew he had healed, but she didn't expect him to make a full recovery. "Hey doc, I gotta ask, was there anything strange about me?" he asked her after he had settled down. "The only thing that anypony has noticed only your horn, it is dual-colored, black and white. We didn't have time to do a major search though." He looked up and said, "Well, look at that, it is, isn't it. Is that bad?" "I don't know, it has never been documented before. Last night while you were sleeping, your wounds healed themselves. A dull glow emanates from your horn whenever you are healing. It's like magic, but far too advanced for anypony to replicate or even perform." "It doesn't seem bad. If it hasn't been documented before, call it heterochromia cornu. Heterochromia is different colored, and cornu is horn. Why do I know that?" "Why indeed." "What do I do now? I'm completely healed. Do I stay here? I have nowhere else to stay." "Don't you worry about that, Shadow Streak. You can stay with me and Spike." said Twilight, walking in. "Hey Twilight, guess what? I can move again!" said Shadow happily. "It would appear so, how is this possible? I know that you had great healing abilities, but to heal every one of your injuries in a single night?" "Yeah, cool, isn't it? I got a name for my horn condition as well, heterochromia cornu. I chose Latin because it seemed right. Heterochromia iridis is different colored eyes. Single iridis out, and you get iris. Replace it with cornu, and you get different colored horn. How the hell do I know all this?" "That was a very smart observation of you." said Twilight. "I agree, maybe I'm smart. I don't know. Something tells me that I don't want to know either, and I'm gonna go with that feeling. Hey, is Queen Gaia still holding power?" "Who?" "You know, Queen Gaia! The queen of Equestria." "Equestria doesn't have a queen. Our rulers are Princess Celestia and Princess Luna." she said. "Little Luny and Tiny Tia! Hey, how have they been? They were so cute when I left." he asked happily. "Little Luny? Tiny Tia?" "Yeah. Why? Is it wrong to call the Princesses that?" "You should address them by their name, not a nickname." "But they were so tiny when I last saw them. How old are they now? Tia was 207 and Luny was 117 when I left. They were barely old enough to be called adults." He noticed Twilight looking at him like he was crazy. Then she shook her head and said, "They're both over 1000 years old." "Wow, alicorns in their prime. Bet they look great." "Alicorns in their prime?" "1000-5000 years old. That's great, just how far back can't I remember?" "That's actually what I was here to ask you about." said Twilight. She pulled out the book and continued, "It says in here that the fight against Discord was not done by our princesses alone. It says that another alicorn had helped them. One with only one wing." Shadow looked at his lone wing and said, "It could've been me. Then again, maybe not. Could've been another without a wing. Just how long ago was this battle? And just who is this Discord bloke, picking on Luny and Tia like that." "This battle was 1200 years ago." "So I can't remember about 1500 straight years in my immortal life. It's like a second to me, but every second counts." "Immortal? I really don't think you're immortal." "Oh, but I am. Lived longer than any alicorn I've known of." "Shadow, even the princesses aren't immortal. Eventually, everypony..." started Twilight. She looked down sadly. "No more talk of death while I'm around, you got that missy? But I am completely immortal. Billions of years old." "You're billions of years old?" "And looking great! That's right, I'm as old as the universe. Older maybe. The beginning was beautiful. Ponies looked at me and say that I'm a witch, then after they failed to kill me, I was exiled out of almost every country that I had visited. Equestria is definitely my favorite." "It you're from that time, why don't you speak Old Equestrian?" "I adopt languages like that." he said, tapping his hooves together. "You look like you're 25." "And you look 21, how old are you?" "I'm 21. How did you know that?" "Very good question." "Are you going to answer it?" "Sorry little lady, I can't, I don't even know myself. I have little memory of anything important, but as I have seen, many, many things can happen in 1500 years. A lot can happen in an hour as well. Seen entire planets turned inside out in an hour." "You said that you didn't remember anything." "They're slowly trickling back. Only mundane and boring facts. No personality, nothing useful. From many years ago until now, and I don't remember anything past 1500 years ago. I don't know who I am. Those years were definitely the most important in my life. Seems to me that that your princesses are the only ones who can help me with this. Can you help me meet them?" "I sent Princess Celestia a letter yesterday telling her about you." "That's good. Wait, how do you know her?" "I'm her personal student." "Well, that's great! When can I expect to see her?" "I don't know, I haven't gotten a reply." "Guess I'll have to wait for her then. You said that I could stay at your place for the time being?" "Yes, I did say that, didn't I?" "Is there a problem?" "Well, I haven't had time to prepare and the place is a mess. It's even hard to walk around and I couldn't get a chance to clean it up and..." Shadow put his hoof over her mouth. "You talk too much." he said, smiling at her. He removed his hoof, and started to walk around. "I wonder how they'll react to seeing Uncle Shadow again after so long. The princesses I mean." "You're related to the Princesses?" asked Twilight. "Not by blood. Not by law either. I'm more of a friend. I think." "A friend?" "Yep. Hey Nurse..." "Redheart, Nurse Redheart." "Nurse Redheart, could you get me some chocolate milk?" "Sure, hold on a minute." She left the room and came back with a carton of chocolate milk. He took it and ripped it open, then drank it all. He tossed it into the trash and said, "Thanks." "Yeah, any time." she said. He smiled at them, and quickly fell asleep. "Twilight, he is a very odd pony, isn't he?" said Nurse Redheart. "Yes, he's the strangest that I have met. Billions of years old." she said. "He is a very nice pony. I hope that he remembers what he lost." Twilight left and walked to Fluttershy's house to tell her about him. She knocked on the door and Angel answered. "Hello Angel, is Fluttershy home?" Angel shook his head and shrugged. "Do you know when she'll get back?" Angel shook his head again. "All right, thanks for the help." She walked back to her house and decided to read up on anything that could lead her to answers. Answers to the many questions she was thinking about. 'Why was he hurt? How did this happen to him? Is he as old as he says he is? If he is, how did this happen? How does he know the princesses? What am I going to have for lunch today?' The biggest question was burning in her mind, "Who is Shadow Streak?"
Chapter 3Shadow was walking around, a bit bored. He was told that he wasn't allowed to leave until further tests had been done. He had already exhausted the limits of fun inside a hospital room. He decided to leave the room and get himself some lunch. He walked down the hallway, getting strange looks from everypony. He picked up his speed and grabbed a sandwich from the cafeteria. When he finished it, he walked back with a few cartons of chocolate milk on his back. "Guess I like chocolate milk." he said. Nurse Redheart was walking out of his room when he got there. "Where have you been off to?" she asked. "Just off to get some lunch. Milk?" he asked, holding one out to her. "No thanks." "How long am I expected to stay here?" he asked. "Just a few more days if nothing goes wrong." "I don't think anything is gonna happen." "Me either, but you can never be too safe." "That's true. What is the next plan of action? What are you going to do to me next?" "First, we need to take care of standard medical procedures." "Physical and mental well-being, records, check-up, and condition examinations. Did I miss anything?" "Um... No, that about covers it." "Lets get started then." he said, "I must have been a doctor. Or maybe I was frequently injured. Or maybe it was just me being so old that I memorized yearly medical check-ups." "In any case, follow me. We'll start your physical exam immediately." They walked back into his room and she got out stethoscope. He sat up and she placed it on him. "Breath in." she said. He did so, and she heard an irregular heart rate. 'It's going at a rate much faster than physically possible.' "Breath out." She heard a large electrical sound. It seemed to come from his heart itself. She stepped back, unable to comprehend this. "In." His chest moved rapidly. "Out." His chest gave off a faint glow. "Is there anything wrong?" he asked. "No, nothing at all." she said. He leaned in and looked in her eyes. "Tell me the truth." he said. "Your heart beats much faster than a normal heart should be able to handle. Why it hasn't... exploded, for lack of a better word, is beyond me. Whenever you exhale, a large electrical sound can be heard and your chest glows." she said, unmoving. "Electrical sound and glowing... Sounds like an advanced pacemaker." he said. She giggled a little and said, "I guess you're right." "If it is, there would be a device lodged near my heart. Most likely detectable." "You were serious about that?" "Yeah, I have reason to believe that there is indeed something odd in there." "Oh? What reason would that be?" "Well I... Good point. I still think it's true." "Don't worry, Shadow. Now, time to check your vitals." She got out a tool and put it in his ear. It beeped and she looked at it, unable to cope. "What is it?" "It must be broken." she said, grabbing another. She did the same and got the same reading. "Is that one broken too?" he asked. "No. It's just odd." "What is?" "Your body temperature is over 400!" she said. "Is that bad?" "That's four times the normal amount." "That's... bad?" "It's way past fatal! Water boils at half that!" He looked at his arm and touched his forehead to it. "Seems ok to me." he said. Redheart felt his forehead with her hoof and said, "Yes, you feel completely fine to me." "And it's not broken?" "No, it's fine." "So I'm broken?" "Don't say that, Shadow." "Ok, next." "Alright, next we test blood pressure." she said, wrapping it around his arm. She started it and got a 0/0 blood pressure rating. She re-checked it and tried again, 0/0. "Shadow, you don't have blood pressure." she said. "What does that mean?" he asked. "Blood shouldn't be going through your body." she said. "But I was bleeding yesterday, you saw me. You bandaged me up." "You were like a mummy." "Handsome mummy that is." he replied. "This isn't right. This breaks physical laws." "Next." "That would be the pulse." "This is gonna be fun." "Why do you say that?" "With my odd readings beforehand, I'm sure that I'm gonna get something odd this time." "Maybe a reading of 902 a minute." she joked. "Or maybe 2 an hour." She checked his pulse and said, "Normal, 70." "Hard to believe anything about me is normal. That was a disappointment, and doesn't make sense. Next." "You really wanna get this done, don't you?" "The sooner I can get it done, the sooner I can leave." "We'll see about that." "What's that supposed to mean?" "The blunt truth of it all, is that you should be confined to your bed, attached to nearly every machine here." "The fact that I'm not means that you don't think I need to, meaning that I'm healthy." "But I..." "Now, I have a request." "More chocolate milk?" "No... Well, yes, but no. I actually wanted to see why I glow while exhaling." "Well, I can arrange that." she said. She looked for a scar on his chest, but didn't see any. "You have no signs of a surgically placed pacemaker." "So that means that it was done without surgery." he replied. "You're very persistent." "I know that." "Fine." Nurse Redheart was setting up some devices like Shadow had told her to. When it was ready, she started it up and examined his chest. "What is that?" she said. "That shouldn't be possible." "What are you talking about?" he asked. She was looking at a very dark, and very dense lump of material in the center of his heart. "How are you still alive? This thing in your chest would've inhibited blood flow and stopped muscle movement altogether. It's been placed in a very specific location. Was this done on purpose? No, it can't be. Your heart is perfectly healthy, it doesn't have any marks, blemishes, or any other kind of marring. How did it get there? No entry marks, nothing. Was it done by magic? No known magic is able to enter a body." "Well, that's amazing." She was bewildered. It was impossible for him to still be alive, and yet, there he was, looking at her like she was crazy. He was still breathing, and was still sitting there, happily smiling away. "But... But... How? A better question would be, why did I do this? This isn't regulation. I didn't tell anypony. So why did I do this? Was it because you asked me? I just don't know." "Oh, don't worry. I won't tell anypony. Now then, is this the thing that's glowing?" She saw that it released an electrical charge every time he exhaled. It was wired to his heart, shocking it with every breath. "Yes it is." "And there's no problems?" "No, no noticeable problems." "I take it more studying." She looked at him with a blank face. "Nurse Redheart, you're needed at once." said a pony, opening the door. She shook her head and said, "Right away." "But..." "Sorry Shadow." she said, exiting quickly. Shadow listened through the door, they hadn't moved. "What were you doing in there?" asked the other pony. "I was trying to help him. Diagnose him." "You need the proper permission to do that." "I know, but he was just so persuasive." "That's your excuse?" "It's the truth!" "Well maybe I should see for myself." Shadow hopped back on his bed and the other pony walked in and said, "Is there anything that I can get you, Shadow?" "Some chocolate milk would be nice." "Alright, no problem." "Actually, just bring me all the chocolate milk they have." "All of it? Alright, sure." she said happily. She walked out and Shadow followed after her. "What happened, Shadow?" asked Redheart. "Ask her yourself." he said, walking back in. She walked over to her and said, "What are you doing?" "I'm getting Shadow Streak some chocolate milk, a lot of it... just like he asked... Wow, you're right, he is persuasive." "I told you." "Who is Shadow Streak anyways?" she asked. "I don't know, nopony does. He has severe memory loss." "He seems fine." "He has some odd conditions though." "Like what?" Redheart told her about the things she recorded. "But that's..." "Impossible, I know." Shadow was unable to hear anything that they were discussing. He was laying on his bed, waiting for something to do. He closed his eyes, and felt an unnatural coldness. He opened his eyes in fear. "What was that?" He looked around for anything that could've caused it. Nothing. "Was it in my head?" Redheart walked in and said, "Shadow, it's about time you changed rooms." "Why?" "It saves space. You'll be moved to a room with a pony who hurt her leg recently." "That sounds ok." "This way please." she said, walking out. She took him to the ground floor and showed him to another room. She opened the door and said, "Here he is." Shadow walked in the room and saw her laying on her bed with a cast on her leg. "Hi, I'm Shadow Streak." he said. "What about you, beautiful?" "Hello Shadow Streak, Ah'm Applejack. So your mah new guest?" "That's right." "I need to go, so you just... stay here." "Wasn't like Ah was goin' anywhere anyway." "Sure thing, Nurse." She walked away and Shadow sat on his bed. "How'd you hurt your leg?" he asked. "Ah was having an off day and mis-bucked a tree and Ah twisted mah ankle. What about yourself?" "I have no idea. I was full of injuries, but they healed. I was then given a physical and got impossible results. After that, I was sent down here so they could use my room." "That's quite a story. What did ya'll mean when you said impossible results?" "Body temperature over 400, blood pressure 0/0, and something lodged deep inside my heart. That, along with one wing and a dual-colored horn, makes me seem very odd." "That is very odd." Shadow walked over to her and said, "So Applejack, how's chocolate milk sound?" "That sounds great!" "Good, because I was getting two, regardless." He walked out to try and find the nearest source of chocolate milk. "Um... That way." Eventually, he was able to find a few cartons and brought them back to Applejack. "Drink up." "Thanks." she said. He chugged his milk and laid down on his bed. "Did they tell you how long until you could leave?" he asked. "Ah was told that Ah could leave in about a week." "Leave in a week? Maybe we could leave together." "That sounds nice." "In any case, if that's gonna happen, I am going to need to get clearance." "They won't let ya leave without it." "And I want to leave. Never known anything outside this hospital." "What do you mean?" "I lost my memory and was taken here. I haven't left yet, so I'm allowed to say that the only life I know is in a hospital." "Lost your memory?" "Ah yes, but it's slowly trickling back. Slowly but surely. Just yesterday I remembered the princesses as my friends." "You were friends with the princesses?" "Yup. So, got a question, need your honest opinion. Do I look physically fit?" "Where did that come from out of the blue?" "I realized that I have only seen sick, weakened stallions. I want to know if I'm normal so I don't stand out too much." "Well, you look like you've worked all your life. You look a little like mah brother, Big Macintosh. He's a strong stallion, works all the time. If you went into public, you might get a second look, but nothing major." "Thing is, my appearance is unknown to me, and even if it was, it wouldn't matter. Oh well. Now, I am going to relax." "Ah've relaxed for too long." "Then relax some more. Everypony needs downtime." "It's hard to relax when you've been here long." "If you can't relax, then tell me what you do for a living." "Ah'm a farmer, Ah buck apples. Make different products and sell 'em. It's a livin'." "Apples are delicious. Have you ever had zap apples?" "Every year mah family harvests the zap apples and makes jam out of them. It's great!" "Yes, but have you ever had raw zap apples?" "Raw zap apples?" "Pick them before they're ready." "Not even Big Mac can do that." "Raw zap apples are the most delicious things in the entire universe. Get 'em off the tree and then you can experience the very essence of sweet itself." "How do you know that?" "I once managed to do it. Fourth day, I went out to the fields and broke one free. It took almost all I had, but it came off. Everypony else wanted a taste, but it was poisoned. Bad. I swallowed it as fast as I could to keep it contained, but ended up dying." "Poison? Dying?" "Oh yes. The zap apples are not to be harvested before their time. Not that it's possible of course. Wow! Look at that! I remembered something!" "Dying?" "Is it so hard to believe that?" "Yes, yes it is." "Let me explain, I can not die. It will never happen. Not in a hundred years, not in a trillion years." "Ah believe you." "I mean, of course you don't... What?" "Ah believe you, Shadow." "Why?" "I know that you are telling the truth." "Wow, thanks. Just for that, I'm gonna do something for you." He stared at her leg and his horn glowed. When he stopped, she said, "What was that?" "Your leg should be completely healed with no visible marks or any sign of injury." She looked at him, confused, then moved her leg around. "How did ya'll do that?" "Hey, I can heal others as well a myself! Maybe I was indeed a doctor." She removed the cast and stood up. "I'm all healed up." "Tell the doctors and they might give ya a free pass out of here." "Shadow Streak, you are allowed to leave now." said Nurse Redheart, walking in. "What are you doing out of bed Applejack?" "Shadow Streak healed mah leg!" she said happily. "That's right!" She walked over and examined her leg. "Nothing. It's fine. You can heal others, Shadow?" "Myself and others! That's a great talent to have!" He looked at his flank, wondering what his special talent really was. He didn't see anything, blank. "Huh, healing isn't it, so what is?" "What was that?" "I thought that if I saw my cutie mark, it would help me remember something. I don't even have one. I guess since I lost my memory, I lost my cutie mark." "But that doesn't happen!" said Nurse Redheart. "Even those who never regain their memory keep their cutie marks." "Maybe I never got it." "Someone of your age? No cutie mark?" "Or maybe this was supposed to happen. In any case, is Applejack cleared to go?" "Yes, she's fine to leave." "Then Applejack, how about we leave this boring place?" "Ah'd like that." "I will see you eventually, Nurse Redheart." "I hope to see you soon." "Think about what you said for a minute. See me soon. Nurse." "I didn't mean it like that!" "Eh. See ya!" They walked out of the hospital together and Applejack said, "So Shadow, if you don't have a place to stay, maybe Ah could help you out." "Actually, Twilight Sparkle told me that I could stay at her house for a while." "You know Twilight?" "Yeah, she was the one who found me dying in the forest. I may or may not have died when that happened. Do you know Twilight?" "She's one of mah best friends!" "Then you must know where she lives." "Yeah, follow me Shadow, Ah'll take ya there." She started walking towards Twilight's, but Shadow grabbed her tail with his mouth and yanked her back, just as a baseball whizzed past where her head was. "Sorry! Are you ok?" asked a filly, running towards them. "Ya didn't get me, just be more careful." He ran off to retrieve the ball. "That would've been one hay of a knot on my head! Thank you, Shadow." Shadow was standing there, with a blank look on his face, staring into space. He didn't move for a few seconds, then shook his head. "What?" "Are you alright, Shadow Streak?" "I think so, what happened?" "You blanked out for a minute there." "Huh... Oh well, think nothing of it." "Hi Applejack." said a depressed voice. "Hey there... Pinkie? What happened to you?" "I don't know. I woke up today and my hair was like this." "Are ya feeling ok?" "I don't know." "Hello, I'm Shadow Streak." said Shadow. "How 'bout you, cutie?" Pinkie backed off a little and said, "I'm... Pinkie Pie." Shadow looked at her for a second, then smiled and said, "See ya around." "I hope not." "Pinkie!" said Applejack angrily. "Hurtful." said Shadow. "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me." He leaned in and looked in her eyes. A tear rolled down his cheek. He wiped it and said, "C'mon Applejack, lets go." "Alright Shadow. I hope that you feel better, Pinkie." "See you around, Pinkie Pie." said Shadow. "Bye you two." she said. After a few moments of walking, Applejack said, "What was that all about?" "What?" "Pinkie Pie, unhappy. She's never unhappy! And she said that she didn't want to see you again. She would never say that, she wouldn't, she couldn't! She's the friendliest pony in Ponyville!" "She's just having an off day. Everypony has them. You, me, her." "Ah'm still unconvinced." "All she needs is a good nights rest. You'll see, she'll be fine in the morning." "Alright, Ah'll take your word for it." They reached Twilight's house and went their separate ways. 'Something is up with Pinkie Pie.' he thought. He walked inside and noticed that it was cleaner than Twilight led him to believe. 'Either that, or she cleaned.' "Twilight? Are you here?" he called. "Just a minute!" she called back. He grabbed a book off the shelf, a fiction novel. He never saw it before, so he thought he'd give it a shot. He flipped through the pages, then said, "That was pretty good. Wait a minute, I just picked this up, did I really just read it all?" "What are you mumbling?" asked Twilight, walking in. "I picked this book off of the shelf, flipped through the pages, and said that it was good. My reading speed is astronomical." "Lets put that to the test, shall we?" She gave him a book and said, "Memorize this in five..." "Done." "You're done already?" "Yeah." She opened to a random page and said, "On page 107, what does Stellar say to Flames?" "Oh yeah, about that. No, nothing. There isn't a thing we could do. We lost this war. Only one thing can save us now, the Scepter of the Ends." "Word for word, Shadow Streak. Looks like you are a fast reader." "So anyways, how have you been, Twilight?" "I've been pretty good. I met Applejack at the hospital, healed her leg, and she brought me here. I met a pony named Pinkie Pie on my way here." "You met Pinkie Pie and Applejack?" "Yeah. Pinkie Pie was kinda depressing and mean though." "She's never like that!" "Applejack told me that. She said that she was usually happy and friendly." "This is strange. Was her hair straight?" "Like noodles. Made her look kinda pretty actually." "This happened before. She thought that we didn't want to be her friends anymore and went crazy. She started talking to rocks and sacks of flour." "I know I shouldn't laugh, but that sounds pretty funny. Sad, but funny." "She said it was funny too." "So anyways Twilight, where's Spike?" "He's out helping Fluttershy with her animals right now. Speaking of Fluttershy, she was very worried about you when you first got here." "Then maybe I should tell her that I'm safe. Where does she live?" "She lives in a cottage on the other side of town near the Everfree Forest." "Thanks Twilight. I think I can find it now." He walked back outside and looked up. "I wonder if I could fly with this one wing." We flapped his wing a few times, took off, and he felt like he was flying normally. He soared through the air, testing out his new ability. He did a few tricks and landed on a roof. He looked around and saw that a pony was watching him. "That was some pretty good flying for only one wing." she said. "Thanks." "Hey what's your name?" "I'm Shadow Streak, what's your name, beautiful?" "Rainbow Dash. Care to put that fancy flying to the test?" "Actually, I'm a little busy right now." "What are you busy with?" "I'm checking up on Fluttershy." "Fluttershy?" "Yeah, you know her?" "Yeah. Be careful, she's very shy. She might not want to talk to you." "That's alright. Thanks for the advice. See ya later, Rainbow." "Bye Shadow." Shadow flew towards Fluttershy's cottage yet again. He got there and saw her taking care of animals. "Hello." he said, waving at them. Fluttershy stopped, turned around, and said, "Hello." "You must be Fluttershy." "Yes... Are you Shadow Streak?" "Yes I am. I came here to tell you that I'm not hurt any more. Thanks for caring." "Um... You're welcome?" Shadow got a closer look at her. "You're pretty cute." She tried to hide in her mane. "Spike's here, right? Mind if I talk to him? Where is he?" "I'm right over here. Who are you?" he asked. "Shadow Streak. Twilight didn't say you were a dragon." "Why? Do you have a problem with dragons?" "Big time." "Huh?" "Well, it's not that I have a problem with dragons, it's that they have a problem with me." "Why would dragons have a problem with you?" "I don't know, and if you don't have a problem with me, than there shouldn't be a problem at all. Anyways, I'm staying with you and Twilight for the time being, so... Yeah, that is it." "She didn't tell me about this." "Maybe she wanted to surprise you. Or maybe she was busy. She did say it was messy, and it was clean when I got there." "That's possible." "Alright, see ya around, friends." He headed back to Twilight's and asked about some food. "Oh my gosh, I didn't think of that." "That's not a problem. I just realized that since I'm immortal, I really don't need to eat." "But doesn't that hurt?" "More than you can imagine. Now, I am going to explore." "Be back here in an hour. I'll have some food ready for us." "Ok, mom." he said sarcastically. "Don't make anything too special." He walked around and stopped near the school. The fillies were outside playing around. "Must be recess." he said to himself. He laid down in the grass and watched them play. A filly noticed him and she walked over to him. "Are you Shadow Streak?" she asked. "Yeah, how'd you know?" "Applejack told me." "Well what's your name, little cutie?" "Ah'm Applebloom." "Well Applebloom, pay no attention to me. Just go back to playing with your friends." "Alright Shadow, bye." "See ya later." "Who's your friend, Applebloom?" asked Scootaloo, who had walked over with Sweetie Belle. "My name's Shadow Streak. What about you two?" "Name's Scootaloo." "Sweetie Belle." "Hey girls, look!" "What?" They were all looking at his flank. "It's blank, just like us." "I've never seen a stallion without a cutie mark." said Sweetie Belle. "Diamond Tiara would have a field day." "How old are you?" "I'm 25. 25 and no cutie mark. Bit odd if you ask me." he said. "That is pretty odd." "Hey Shadow, you wanna meet our friends?" "I guess so, might as well." They took him over to the playground and were stopped by Cheerilee. "Girls, what have I told you about guests?" she asked. "Oh yeah." "We forgot." "Alright you three, back to your friends." said Shadow. "Do we have to?" "Don't worry, I'll see ya again." "Alright. Bye Shadow!" "I'm sorry about that Mr..." "Friends call me Shadow. Just Shadow, no Mr." "Alright then." "And what's your name, beautiful?" "I'm Cheerilee. I'm the elementary school teacher." "Teacher huh? I have to ask, being a former teacher myself, how's your class?" "Oh, it's wonderful! The fillies are great, I rarely have any problems. Wait, you're a teacher?" "Former teacher." "Former? What made you quit?" "I have no idea. Things happen." "Yeah." "So, what are you teaching now?" "We were discussing history." "I love history. Mainly because I was a part of it." "Part of history?" "Oh yes. I have encountered my share of events." "I can think of at least two events that I can remember clearly." "What would those be?" "You don't know?" "No, should I?" "Where have you been for the past year?" "I'm a hermit actually." "A hermit?" "Yes, now, what happened?" "Well first the thing with Nightmare Moon. She wanted to bring eternal night to the world. The problem was fixed by the Elements of Harmony. They turned her back into Princess Luna." "What?" he asked angrily. "Nightmare Moon was Princess Luna." "But... But... Alright, what was the second?" "Discord returned from his stone prison and made chaos reign. Again, the Elements of Harmony managed to defeat the evil." "The princesses were somewhat involved in both events I assume. Thanks Cheerilee, I gotta go. See ya later." "Bye Shadow Streak!" Shadow ran back to Twilight's house. "Twilight!" "Shadow? It hasn't been an hour yet." "Twilight, I need to know, Princess Luna, Nightmare Moon. What happened?" "A thousand years ago, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had control over the sun and the moon, respectively. The ponies celebrated the day and shunned the night. Princess Luna got jealous of the day and tried to make night last forever. Princess Celestia had no choice but to banish her to the moon for a thousand years, after which she returned, and she was turned back into Princess Luna by my friends and I." "A thousand... Celestia? Must've really pissed her off. I'm gonna have a little talk with her. She's had a short fuse all her life. Wait, you? Cheerilee told me that the Elements of Harmony stopped her." "Well, me and my friends are the new Elements of Harmony. Nightmare Moon destroyed the old ones." "Huh..." "Well, since you're here already, lets eat." "Alright, thanks Twilight." Twilight disappeared into the kitchen and came out with a small meal on some plates. Shadow took his and ate it. "How is it?" asked Twilight. "You're a terrible cook, Twilight." "It's that bad?" "Oh yeah, try some." "Um... Alright." She ate the food she made for herself and almost spit it out. After she got it down, she said, "I am a terrible cook." "Eh, food's food. Thank you." "Sure thing." "Now, anything from the princesses?" "Not that I'm aware of." "Well, alright. I'm going to bed." "This early?" "That's right." "Why this early?" "I guess that if there's nothing to do, I can always find something tomorrow." "I guess so." "Hope I don't scream in terror." "I hope so to." "Question, where do I sleep?" "You can sleep in the guest room, it's over here." She took him to a room with a small bed in it. "That works." he said. "Sorry it's so small." He smiled at her and said, "Don't worry about it. Thank you, for everything, Twilight." "I was being a friend." "You let a total stranger into your home and let him sleep there. Why is that?" "You're not a stranger. You're a great pony. I trust you, Shadow." "I hope your trust is well placed, for both our sakes. Goodnight Twilight." "Goodnight Shadow." *I just make most of this up as I go along.
Chapter 4'Who am I? Why do I exist? What do my memories hold?' The questions repeated in his head. They were louder than before, and continuing to get louder. 'I don't know!' he shouted at them. These questions plagued his sleep, turning it into a nightmare. He saw visions that he couldn't make out. Then all at once, they stopped. "Wake up, Shadow Streak." said a gentle voice. He opened his eyes and saw Twilight looming over him. "Was I screaming in my sleep?" "No, it's just time to get up." "Alright then." he said. He stood up and cracked his back. "Can I get a few minutes?" he asked. "Sure, no problem." "Be back in a little, I promise." he said, running out the door. He started running down the road. Rainbow Dash spotted him and flew along side him. "Where are you headed?" she asked. "I was just out for a run." "A run?" "Gotta keep in shape." "What are you keeping in shape for?" Shadow slowed to a stop, thought about it, and said, "I don't know, but keeping in shape is a good idea. I feel like I could run for an eternity." He started running again and Rainbow ran alongside him. "You seem to be having fun." she said. They kept running, and eventually got to the gorge. "Wow. How far did we just run? I wasn't paying attention." 'You could get away with anything you wanted here.' said a voice in Shadow's head. 'Beautiful mare like Rainbow Dash... Nopony'd blame you.' 'Shut up.' "Lets go back to town. I promised Twilight that I would only need a few minutes." They both ran back to Twilight's, Rainbow tailing close behind. "Hey Twilight. What are you doing?" asked Rainbow. "Oh, nothing important. Where'd you head off to, Shadow?" "I just needed a run. Keep my muscles toned and my body ready. So Twilight, do you think there would be any jobs around here that I could do?" "Well maybe, what are you qualified for?" "Let me think... Um... Everything." "Everything?" "Yes. I think I have a doctorate in everything. Just can't remember it all because... no memory and all that." "Everything?" "Everything. Like for one, I know that Rainbow here is living happily with her pet turtle in Cloudsdale." "But how..." "And that the proper climate for making blue cheese is that of a cave. Just pulled that off of the top of my head." "Well, the weather team's got an opening." said Rainbow. "Good, anything else?" "I think the Mayor needs somepony to fix up the city." said Twilight. "That sounds nice, one more?" "Vinyl Scratch told me that she needed help." "What does she do?" "She's putting together a concert and needs a few helpers." "Oo! Music! I love music. Where is she?" "Just head over to her house." "Where is it?" She told him. "See you two later." He walked to where he was told she lived and knocked on her door. "Hey, who are you?" she asked. "Name's Shadow Streak. Twilight said you needed help." "Yeah, she said you might show up." "So she just assumed... never mind. So, what's up first?" "Right now, I need you to move some things to the stage. Come in here for a minute." Shadow followed her inside and she showed him some equipment. "Grab what you can and meet me outside." She walked back outside and left Shadow alone. 'Alone, near her things. You could steal whatever you wanted. And you could get away with it to.' 'Shut up.' He picked up a bunch of different things, put them on his back, and walked back out. "You picked up everything." said Vinyl. "Is that bad?" "Are you sure you're not Big Mac?" "All Shadow Streak. Where do these go?" "Just follow me." She took Shadow to a stage area. "Here it is." she said. "What took ya, Vinyl?" "I thought I'd get here first." "Who's your friend?" "I'm Shadow Streak. What's your name, beautiful?" "Octavia." "Alright Shadow. Set those down on the stage." "Sure thing." Shadow took the equipment onto the stage, then his leg fell through the floor and he was crushed. "Shadow, you alright?" No answer. "Shadow?" "I think he's hurt." "Oh yeah, I'm hurt." he said. He set everything down and stood back up. He was wrecked. "I think I have four broken ribs, a crushed skull, and a lacerated arm." He started healing himself and shook his head. "Stupid floor, crushing my skull like that." "Are you alright, Shadow?" "As I said before, injured. I'm good now though, so don't worry." "You're good now?" "Yeah, healed myself right up. Somepony's gonna have to fix that floor." "You were really bleeding there." "I was, wasn't I?" "Yes, yes you were. How did you survive that? There's gotta be at least 600 pounds worth of equipment there, if not more." said Vinyl. "Oh, no. I didn't survive it. Yeah, I died. Skull crushed, brains crushed, dead. Now, I am going to fix this." He used a spell and it molded back into a solid floor. "There we go, good as new. Anything else I can do?" "Just set everything down, spread out. A big pile of equipment won't do anypony any good." Shadow unpiled everything, then asked what next. "No, that's it." "That's it?" "I really thought that it'd take longer." "Well, that's good then, I think." "Sure is, Shadow Streak." She tossed him a bag. "Make sure to come back for the show." she said. "I'll try." he said. He started staring at Vinyl Scratch. "What?" "Your glasses. They look so familiar." "I am pretty well known around these parts." "No, it's not that. They just look so familiar." He walked closer. "Where did you get those?" "It was in the market in Fillydelphia. A pony was pushing them on me, then decided to put them in my bag after I walked away without buying them. He really wanted to..." "Get rid of them?" "Yeah." He stopped a foot in front of her. He stared at the glasses. "Stop it man, you're creeping me out." He grabbed her glasses and examined them closely. "Hey! Give those back!" She swiped at the glasses, but Shadow jumped back. He put them on, then took them back off. Vinyl grabbed them and put them back on. "What's the big idea?" "I swear, I've seen those before. Oh well, sorry 'bout swiping your glasses." "What do you mean, you've seen them before?" "That exact pair of glasses, not a replica or copy. Some time a long time ago, I saw them. I don't know when, or where, but I know I did. Oh well, see you two later." "Bye, Shadow Streak." said Octavia. "See ya." After he left, Octavia walked to Vinyl and said, "He's kinda cute, isn't he?" "Alright, I got some money." said Shadow, smiling. He headed to Sugarcube Corner to get himself a meal. "Pinkie Pie?" he asked after seeing the peppy little pony. "Shadow!" she said, looking at him. "Listen, about yesterday... I'm sorry for what I said." "It's ok Pinkie Pie." "I'm never, ever, ever, ever like that." "I know, Pinkie." "I mean I'm just..." "Pinkie! Pinkie, it's alright, don't worry about it. Now, how about some cupcakes?" "Sure thing Shadow Streak!" She disappeared for a moment, then reappeared with a few cupcakes. "On the house, Shadow." "That's nice of you." he said. He grabbed a cupcake and swallowed it whole. "Needs more hot sauce." he said. A bottle appeared on the table. Shadow grabbed it without asking questions. After dumping it on the food, he proceeded to devour them. He noticed a dark blue filly with a notched ear staring at him. The filly looked at a watch on his hoof, then disappeared. "Who was that?" "I didn't see anypony." said Pinkie. "Coulda sworn... Never mind." "You're just seeing things. It happens sometimes. I see things all the time, but they're all real. Like that! And that! And that, and that, and that! Oo... That's not real." she said. "I see it to, Pinkie." said Shadow. They were both looking at a black mist where the filly was. It dissipated, then Shadow said, "Okay... That was weird." "You're telling me." "Well, see you later Pinkie." He walked outside and looked around. He saw Rainbow flying around above the store. He flew up and joined her. "Hey Shadow. How are you doing?" "Pretty good. Are you free?" "Yeah." "Good. How 'bout that test?" "Alright! First one to that mountain and back wins." Shadow and Rainbow landed on the ground, and she started counting down. "3..." "2-1!" they both said, flying toward the mountain. Shadow was getting left behind. He wanted to put on more speed. He felt an odd sensation in his chest, wiggling to where his other wing would be. A ruby spike exited his side, morphed into a wing, then he flew three times as fast as he had before, quickly catching up to her. He slowed down near her, smiled, then sped up again, rounding the mountain and heading back. Rainbow also started flying faster. She sped up and got to him. He turned around and saw her, then simply went faster. "Score one for Shadow Streak!" he said happily. "I lost." "Don't be so hard on yourself, you did good, now take a few steps to your left." She did so, and a large piano fell where she was. She looked at it, shocked. "Derpy! Be careful!" she yelled. "Sorry, Rainbow Dash!" she yelled back. "How'd you know that was gonna happen?" she asked Shadow. "I don't know." "Well, thanks man." "Anytime." Shadow dropped to the ground and walked over to her. He looked in her eyes and smiled. Dash was a bit confused. Shadow looked behind Dash and saw the dark blue filly again. Again, he looked at his watch, then disappeared. Shadow decided to keep it to himself. "Shadow, you're awfully close." said Dash. Shadow realized that he was looking right over her shoulder, very close to her. "And it's not like you were moving." "Shut up." "Sorry. See ya later, Rainbow Dash." "Bye Shadow!" He took off again. This time, he wound up at the edge of the forest. He decided to walk in and find where he was earlier that week. He noticed some animals looking at him, but ignored them and kept going. He found some small blood droplets on the ground. He looked down and examined them. He touched them and said, "These are fresh, still wet and warm. That means... Hey! Is anypony out there?" he yelled. He heard a faint voice. He ran in the direction that he thought it came from. He heard it again, louder this time, but still near inaudible. "Help me..." He kept running to where he thought it was originating from. "Who are you?" asked the pony, hiding in a small cave. "That's unimportant. Are you hurt?" "My leg... My head... They hurt." "You were attacked by a wild animal, weren't you?" She nodded. "Hold still for a second. I'm gonna patch you up." 'Don't do that. You could say she was dead when you got here. Nopony'll be any the wiser.' 'Shut up!' Shadow healed her, and she sat up. She started to sob, and Shadow put his arm around her. "It's alright. You're safe now." "But what if it comes back?" "Then I'll take care of it. What was it? A bear? A manticore?" "It was an ursa major." Shadow licked his lips. "An ursa major?" "Yeah. We should go." "You can. If there's an ursa here, then I'm gonna stay." "Why would you do that?" "Personal reasons." "Well, ok then. I'll go to town." "Good luck." She looked around, then ran off. Shadow stayed where he was. He raised his head and made a growling noise. He heard a return growl, then followed it to the source. He entered a large clearing with the ursa major on the other side. It got a good look at him, then knelt down on one knee. Shadow looked at it, confused. "I want you to stay away from these ponies. You got that?" he said to it. It nodded. "Good, I'm glad we got that straightened out." He looked at it for a few more seconds, then left. "What was that?" asked the pony, looking at him. "I thought you said that you wanted to go back to town." "I was worried about you. Willingly walking through the forest with an ursa around." "Doesn't seem like the smartest of ideas, does it?" "No! It's a horrible idea!" "But you're still here." "What does that..." "Oh, lets go back to town." Shadow started walking back, and she followed him. "I'm Shadow Streak. What's your name, beautiful?" "I am the Great and Powerful Trixie. Or I was, until that Twilight showed me up." "You know Twilight?" "You know her?" "I think we both do." "I think you're right." He chuckled, then said, "So Trixie, what were you doing in the forest?" "I was testing a new form of teleportation spell. I learned too late that it was unstable." "A new spell, huh? That takes talent." "Well, I don't mean to brag or anything, but I am great and powerful." Shadow looked in her eyes. "Great, no. Powerful, yes. You were basically thrown out of Ponyville. Beaten by Twilight Sparkle. Course, that's nothing to be ashamed of, she's got a lot of hidden potential. You are a liar. A good liar, with some skills to back it up. It wasn't enough though, was it?" Trixie seemed hurt. "Sorry, please don't take that as an insult." "No, it's not that. You're right. You're absolutely right. But, that's the reason. You're right, and I was in the wrong." "Yes, but no matter how far you've gone down the wrong road, you can always turn around and go back." "Thanks Shadow Streak." They walked through the forest, eventually reaching the town. "Well Shadow, I think I should go." "If you want to, you can. I wish you wouldn't though." "Goodbye, Shadow Streak." "See ya later, Trixie." Shadow ran into town, running because he could, and noticed that it was getting dark. He wasn't paying attention to where he was going and bumped into a pony, knocking her down. "I'm sorry." he said, holding out his hoof. She took it and said, "Don't worry about it. I wasn't watching where I was going. What is up with your horn?" "I don't know. Fashion statement?" "That is no fashion statement." "It's that bad?" "Yes it is. Come this way, I cannot let this crime against fashion continue." she said, walking into a nearby shop. "By the way, I'm Shadow Streak. What's your name, beautiful?" "I'm Rarity, owner of the finest clothes store in Ponyville, Carousel Boutique." Shadow looked around and said, "I don't doubt that. These are elegant and well made. Usually it's one or the other." She tossed him a rag and said, "Clean that horn of yours, I'll be with you in a moment." Shadow looked blankly at it, then slung it over his shoulder. "Oh boy, won't she be surprised?" he said to himself. He walked around, then got attacked by Opal. He just sat there with a happy grin on his face as the cat scratched him. He reached his hooves up, grabbed the furball, then set her down. Rarity walked out just after he did this and saw the scratches on him. "Are you alright." "Yeah. I love cats." He healed his face, then stood back up. "I thought I told you to clean yourself." "About that..." "If you won't, then I will." She levitated the rag and tried to clean it off. "Rarity, it won't..." "Quiet." She walked closer and tried again. "Would ya..." "Be quiet, Shadow." Shadow started to move his head out of the way every time she tried to clean it. "Stop it, Shadow." "But..." "No buts!" Shadow kept moving his head. Rarity tried to use her magic to stop him, but he tapped her horn, stopping it. She tried to hold his head, but he got away from her hooves. "No more Mrs. Nice Pony." she said. She used her magic again, but Shadow stopped it again. She jumped at him, then he fell back. "Hold still, Shadow!" "Rarity would you... listen..." Rarity was right on top of Shadow, who was looking her eyes. 'Do it Shadow, do it!' 'I said shut up!' "Rarity, it doesn't come off." "Why didn't you tell me?" "I tried. You weren't listening." "Sorry." "What in Celestia's name is going on in here?" shouted Sweetie Belle, walking in. Rarity jumped off of him, blushing, and said, "I was just trying to..." "Hey Sweetie Belle! How was school?" asked Shadow. "Shadow Streak? What are you doing here?" "Rarity didn't like my horn." he said, tapping it. "Course, she didn't realize that it was natural color. She said it was out of style." "I said it was a horrible fashion sense." "I think it's cool." "Cool?" "Whatever. So, now that we got that out of the way, there's nothing keeping me here. Unless something happens. Like a..." He heard lightning from outside. "Storm." he finished. He walked to the window and looked outside. "Did it just start raining?" "There was a planned storm this evening." said Rarity. "Wish I was told. Would've been helpful information a few hours ago. Or maybe even minutes. Somehow, for some reason, it would've helped." "How?" "I don't know. Well, I am leaving. A storm isn't enough to keep me here." He opened the door, was struck by lightning, and was thrown back inside. "What a rush!" he said with a crazed smile. "Shadow!" "Are you alright?" "Just a bit well-done. I smell of cooked meat and I feel crispy." He healed himself and shook his head. "I remember the last time I smelled like that. I missed the smell then to." He tried to go outside twice more, and both times was thrown back inside by lightning. His left eye was watering severely. "Are you alright, Shadow?" asked Rarity. "I think the last one scored a direct hit with my eye. Sweetie Belle, close your eyes." She did so, then Shadow opened his eye and healed it. "Oh that feels so much better! Ok Sweetie Belle, you can open them again." Shadow blinked a few times, then smiled. "Lightning burns. I am not about to try that again." "What was that all about?" "I think my eyeball exploded." "Exploded?" "There's liquid in the eye. Boil it, and it'll pop. Anyways, I'm trapped in a house and right now, if I were you, I wouldn't leave as well. Too risky." 'Shadow, trapped, alone with just them, nopony near, nopony to hear screams...' 'Shut it! Or I'll fry myself again!' "So what you're saying is..." "Unless I wanna fry again, I'm staying here. I'm not saying I wanna fry again, but I am saying that I want to leave." "You want to leave? Do you not like it here?" "Not particularly, no." "Where, pray tell, would you rather be?" "I don't know." "Huh?" "Whatever." Shadow walked to the window, watching the rain come down. He must've lost track of time, because when he looked back, Rarity and Sweetie Belle were both gone. "Where did they..." 'They're sleeping. They won't be able to see it coming!' "Stop that." he said angrily. 'Maybe you do it, maybe I stop.' "You want me to hurt somepony?" 'More then just hurt them.' Shadow could hardly contain his anger. "Is this who I was? Was I a criminal? What kind of pony was I?" 'Oh, ho, ho... The worst kind. Do it Shadow! Give me something!' "Not for an eternity." 'The clock is ticking Shadow. An eternity is coming sooner than you think. Sleep well, my little alicorn.'
Chapter 5"Shadow Streak, wake up!" said Twilight. "It's an emergency Shadow!" "Emergency?" he asked, shooting off of the floor where he slept. "What's with all the yelling?" asked Rarity, yawning. "We got a letter from the princess." "Cool." "This isn't cool. This letter was an urgent letter, sent by teleportation rather than Spike." "So your point is?" "Something important is happening!" "Or will happen." "This is no time for games!" "Alright, what does it say?" "I couldn't get it open. There's a powerful barrier around it." "You can't get it open? Then why was it sent to you? Unless it wasn't for you in the first place. Give it to me." She gave him the letter. He looked at it for a second, then his horn darkened and it popped open. "For the eyes of Shadow Streak alone." he read off, "Wanna read it?" "What? The princess said that only you were allowed to see it." "Then I'll just read it aloud. C'mon Twilight. How's she gonna know?" "Ok fine." "Shadow Streak, you have some nerve showing yourself around Equestria after what you did. What do you want this time? Money? Glory? Power? As the Princess of Equestria, I refuse to help you. You have caused us much trouble in the past. You will get nothing. Crawl back into whatever hole you dragged yourself out of and just die already!" "What?" asked Twilight. "I was an asshole." said Shadow sadly. 'More than that.' He looked back at the page. There was a line under the writing and more writing, with a different style, under that. "Shadow? I'm sorry about my sister, it's just that she... I'm sorry. With love, your Little Luny." There was dried spots of water on the paper. Shadow put the letter down and laid on the floor. "That doesn't seem like something the princess would say." said Rarity. "What could I have done to make Tia so angry?" he asked unhappily. "This isn't just a string of bad days. One is normal, two is a coincidence, but three? No, something odd is going on. When I examined Pinkie, I noticed something odd. Something that isn't right, isn't normal. But what." "You examined Pinkie? How?" "Like this." He leaned in and looked in her eye, then smiled. "I like you. Pinkie was too sad to gauge properly, very odd, but you're having fun." "What did you do?" "I don't know. It's kinda like mind reading, but different. Also, it's great at manipulating." "Mind reading?" "Yeah. Fun skill to have. Oh no, I may have manipulated Celestia. No, she wouldn't get pissed over that, not enough to wish death on another. Something went wrong." "Are you ok?" "No. I need to talk to her. I want to find out what's wrong. Can you take me to Canterlot?" "It'll take all day." "Not fast enough. Which way is it? I can get there myself." She told him the way to Canterlot. "Thanks Twilight." "Sure. Any time." Shadow ran out of the house, made a side stop at a store to grab some chocolate milk, and flew to Canterlot. "When she said it was an all day trip, she wasn't kidding. I need some more speed." He flew a little faster, but not much. "I need more speed. More, more, more!" The ruby wing protruded from his side again, and he flew faster. "This is the kind of speed I'm talking about!" he shouted happily. He used his new wing to an advantage, moving himself to Canterlot at high speeds. Eventually, he reached the Canterlot gates and landed. His wing tuned back into a spike, then slid back into his body. The wound closed itself, and he found himself face to face with a large barrier around Canterlot. He heard a siren, and everypony ran inside their houses. "Wow! I haven't seen this style of barrier in ages! Whoever made this must be in a high position of power." He tapped it. "Wow, I love this style! This is well made! Somepony wants to keep somepony out of Canterlot really bad if they used this." He channeled some magic into it, then said, "I want to talk with the creator of this barrier." Within a few minutes, a group of guards appeared on both sides of the barrier. "I am the captain of the royal guard. Your request has been granted." Shadow looked into his eyes. "Aren't you Shining Armor?" "Yes I am." "Twilight told me all about you! Your sister's cute by the way. Congratulations on the marriage. Never did like changelings." "I'm sorry, but who are you?" "I'm Shadow Streak." "That would confirm my suspicions." The guards made a tighter circle around him. "Which would be?" "Princess Celestia told me that you were returning to Equestria. She told me to be on alert at all times. And here you are, not even trying to be stealthy. What could you possibly hope to accomplish?" he said, becoming serious. "I wanted to speak with Tia. I got a very threatening letter today and I don't appreciate that kind of language from her." "You act as if you were her father." "I'm old enough to be her father, but I'm only an old family friend." "The way she talks about you makes it sound as if you're not a friend." "And what does she say about me?" "She told me to keep it from you." "Then I respect her privacy. Now, on to the matter at hoof. The one you wish to keep out is me, correct?" He nodded. "And what if I do... this?" Shadow raised his hoof towards the barrier, and it shattered. Shining Armor's jaw dropped. "What will you do about that?" asked Shadow. He didn't move. He was speechless. "Hello? Shining Armor? Wake up!" He shook his head. "You broke it... Just like that." "Yeah. I want to get this out, it was very well made. You did a good job with that. Very, very good job. It was just a simple spell canceller I used. What strikes me as odd, is that the specific type of barrier you used is ages old. Celestia and Luna type of old. Huh... whatever. Now, let me into the city without trouble, and I won't have a reason to hurt anypony." "Tell me what you plan to do." "I seek an audience with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna." "And if I refuse?" "Then I will take it myself. I have no problems with open hostilities. Also, I can do this." He teleported around Shining Armor, creating illusions of himself around him, none looking any different. "Oo! A new skill!" they all said. They all disappeared, leaving only the original. "That was a bit much." said Shadow. "Don't you agree? Doesn't matter. Yes or no?" "What?" "Will I be allowed an audience or not?" "Stand down. He is not to be trifled with." said a bold voice. "Luny! The last few thousand years have treated you really well! How have you been?" asked Shadow happily. He bowed his head in respect. "Shining Armor, I told you to tell me if he showed up. I also told you not to confront him." "I... I..." "Oh, don't blame him." said Shadow. "Indeed. Leave us." she said. "Princess, are you sure?" "Notice the frowny face? She isn't happy. She is not nice when she's happy." "Shadow Streak..." growled Luna. She flashed a look at the guards, and they ran off. "Listen, I..." "Shadow Streak... Why did you come to Equestria?" "I don't know." "Why did you come back, after what you did?" "Luny..." "You will call me Princess Luna, and nothing else." "Princess Luna, I want you to know that..." "I don't want to hear it!" she shouted. Shadow looked down. He wanted to know what he did. "What you did to us was deplorable! You used to be so good! You used to be kind! You used to be..." "Uncle Shadow." Luna looked at him, then he looked in her eyes. "What did I do? My memory was taken." "You can't remember what you did?" He shook his head. "You were the one who killed Queen Gaia. You killed my mother!" "No... No, I couldn't have. That's so..." "Horrible? Bad? Wretched?" "Evil! Why? What would cause me to do that?" Luna remained silent. "I... I... Gaia... Why? I'm not the One Winged Angel. I'm not Uncle Shadow. I don't deserve to be called those." he said, hanging his head in sorrow. "Shadow Streak. We gave you that title knowing about our mother." "You what?" "You are still the One Winged Angel, and you are still my Uncle Shadow." she said. He raised his head, and saw that Luna was crying. "You saved my sister and I. If it wasn't for you, she would be dead right now!" "During the first battle with Discord, Discord attacked your sister, but an alicorn stepped in between, nearly ending his life." he said, remembering the book. "That alicorn was me, wasn't it? I was the one who fought Discord with you, wasn't I?" She nodded. "Shadow Streak, you..." "That doesn't excuse my crime and you know it!" Luna looked down. "Shadow Streak, you didn't just save us. You saved all of Equestria. What you did..." Shadow hugged Luna, surprising her. "I don't care." he said. "All I care about right now, is that you, and your sister are safe. I have done horrible things in my past. Things that I never should have forgotten. More than you know, and I don't remember any of them." "You don't remember?" "No. I didn't just forget, somepony sealed it from me. The past 1500 years. Everything was taken from me. What I did was horrible. I can't forgive myself." Luna rested her head on his shoulder. "I forgive you, Uncle Shadow." He held her closer. "You know what it means to say that, right?" "I know what it means. I give you absolution. I'm not angry with you." "Thank you, Luny. You don't know how much this means to me. I need to know, why?" "Because you're my Uncle Shadow. I've loved you since I was a filly. It's true that it hurt, but... She would have wanted this. You know that better than I do. You were the one who was with us all that time." "I know it more than you do, huh?" Shadow looked back and saw Princess Celestia staring right at him, angrily. "Tia!" he said. "How about you? How have you been for the past thousand or so years?" Luna leaned in and whispered, "She's still angry." "Get away from my sister." she commanded. "Celestia?" "Luny, shush." said Shadow, stepping away. Celestia never let him out of her sight while he moved. She stared right at him. Shadow raised his head to meet her eyes, but she kept his head down with her magic. "I'm not gonna let you do that this time!" she said. "Princess Celestia." he said, bowing his head. She punched him in the gut and he flew back a few feet. "Shadow!" said Luna, shocked. "Oh, don't worry about it Luny. Tia's just angry. She'll get over it. Nopony can hold a grudge for an eternity. Trust me, I've tried." "Shut up!" shouted Celestia. She punched him again. MANY, MANY HOURS LATER "Why aren't you dead yet, Shadow?" asked Celestia angrily, continuing to attack him. Shadow was covered in blood, bruises, and burns from the various attacks Celestia had used on him. He was also missing a few teeth, had a broken nose, and a few broken ribs. Luna had gotten bored and left. A few ponies left their houses to watch. Some even had chairs and popcorn. Pinkie Pie was among the ones in the crowd. Some ponies had even taken bets on the fight. Most had bet on Princess Celestia, but some hadn't. Throughout the entire fight, Shadow hadn't raised his hooves once to defend himself. He took every blow, never changing the unhappy expression on his face. Celestia was getting angrier and angrier at him. She was starting to get some cheap shots in. She punched at his eyes and kidneys. Then she turned around, reared up, and kicked him right between the legs, causing him to fall to the floor. Pinkie started to laugh uncontrollably, causing everypony else to start laughing. "That was uncalled for and you know it." he said, getting back up. "So you finally decide to say something." "Like it matters." "Why wouldn't it? I want to know why! Why did you..." She stopped herself and looked around, noticing everypony else for the first time. "Why did you do it, Shadow?" "I don't know. I know there was a reason, and if what your sister said about me was true, it was a damn good reason." Celestia started to attack him again, but was too tired to do any damage. She tried to hit him one last time, but Shadow ducked under her attack and held on to her. 'Kill her! Do it, Shadow! Do it!' "Celestia, stop. You can't continue. You're going to hurt yourself. I don't want to be the cause of pain for you ever again. For what I did, you have every right to be angry at me. You can be angry tomorrow. You've done enough today. I love you too much to want to see you hurt. If you want, we can continue tomorrow." "No." "What?" "No." "What do you mean?" "I don't want to continue. You were right, Shadow Streak. Nopony can hold a grudge forever. Shadow, I have had time to think. Many years to think about what you have done. After today, I have decided." "What have you chosen?" "I forgive you Shadow Streak, you are still my Uncle Shadow." Shadow hugged Celestia and said, "Thank you Tia." "Aww..." Shadow's wounds were gone, and he had surprised everypony but Pinkie. Everypony was paying Pinkie their bits, grumbling. They quickly left after that. "Princess Celestia. You've let go of your hatred of me." said Shadow Streak, "This means more to me than anything. I came here with the intent of apologizing and sorting out this mess. I got what I never expected. You both forgave me." She started to sob. "Shadow..." "It's ok, Celestia. You're safe with me. You'll always be safe with me. You, your sister, your kingdom, your citizens. I will protect them." "You'll protect them?" "With my life." he said. "That's the Uncle Shadow I know and love." "And since my life is infinite, I will protect them until the end of time." "Your life is infinite?" "Have I not told you? Yes, immortality. It would explain a thing or two I would assume. I can prove it if you wish." "No! Please, don't do that." "Thanks. Princess Celestia..." "Please, Celestia is fine." "What about Tia?" "I'm not a filly anymore, Shadow." "Fair enough. Celestia, I request permission to go back to Twilight. I want to reassure her that nothing went wrong." "You don't need my permission to do anything Shadow." she said, "You're older, wiser, and more powerful than me." "You are a princess of the country I reside in. It is a show of respect." "That doesn't matter. I give you my permission to do as you please, so long as it does not break the rules of my kingdom." "I'll try my best. See ya later, Celestia!" "Try harder than your best. If I hear that you commit any crime, I'll lock you in the dungeons until they rot above you! Goodbye Shadow Streak." Shadow took off and made his way back to Ponyville, taking advantage of his ruby wing again. He arrived, then headed to Twilight's house. "Twilight! Are you here?" "I'm right over here!" she called back. He walked over to where she was. She was doing some reading. "I'm back, Twilight." he said happily. "A full day's journey and back, within one day." "One day?" He looked outside, it was already pretty dark out. " I think it took me maybe thirty minutes to travel there. Thirty back to." "Then what were you doing all day?" "Princess Celestia spent the day trying to kill me." "She did what?" "Don't worry. She's not mad anymore. We're ok now. In the past, I did something horrible to them, and they forgave me. They both did." "What did you do?" "That is for only the princesses and I to know." "Shadow, the princess has never been that angry." "As far as you know. As a filly, her temper got the better of her many times. Do you see that?" he asked, looking behind her. "What?" she asked, turning around. "I don't see anything. What is it?" "Never mind, it was nothing." "Ok..." "It's late." "Yes it is." "I'm going to bed." "Goodnight Shadow." "See ya tomorrow Twilight." *On this day in history, the jimmies once thought eternally rustled have been quelled. Stand by for more rustlin'. I was having a bit of trouble with this chapter, it was difficult to display the right emotions. I still think that they're wrong-ish. Then I thought, oh well.
Chapter 6Celestia shot out of her bed. She looked around, scared. She kept hearing the same phrase in her head, over and over, 'The - has awakened. The - has awakened.' "The what has awakened?" she asked. All of the sudden, it stopped, and she became calmer. "Must've just been a bad dream." she said, laying back down. She quickly fell back asleep, and wasn't bothered by the voices. Shadow was lazily dragging himself out of his bed. He fell to the floor, then stood up. He looked around the library for a few seconds and examined a bookcase. "It's much older than it looks." He walked outside to get a breath of fresh air. Spike and Twilight were still sleeping. Shadow walked into town and looked around. He walked around slowly, memorizing the layout of the town. After a few hours, he was approached by a mare. "What are you doing?" she asked. "I'm memorizing the town so I can find my way around quickly. It's not the biggest town I've been to." "Why don't you just fly around? You have wings. A wing, I mean. Why just the one?" "The reason will freak you out." "Oh, just tell me. I won't freak out." "More of a show than a tell." "Then show me." Shadow stood right in front of her, then the ruby wing showed up again. "This is the reason. Don't freak out." "That is amazing!" she said happily. "I truly didn't expect that." "It's remarkable!" "Well, thank you." "Haven't I seen you somewhere before?" "Well, maybe." "I know! You're the new pony in town." "That I am, but I can't be the only one, can I?" "We haven't got any more new ponies in town, so you're the new pony. By the way, what's your name?" "My name's Shadow Streak. What about you, beautiful?" "I'm the Mayor of Ponyville, Mayor Mare." "So you're the Mayor of this here town?" "That's right." "Well then, Mayor, if you have any dangerous tasks around town, don't hesitate to come find me. They're my specialty." "You're a worker?" "Worker, contractor, manager, everything." "Everything?" "And well trained to." "You might just come in handy pretty soon." Shadow looked in her eyes. "Maybe I could mention you to Canterlot officials for your great town." "Canterlot officials? You could do that?" "If I haven't been pronounced officially dead, then I think so." "What does that mean?" "Long ago, I had a spot at the Canterlot Council. If I'm still legally alive, then I'll have kept that spot." "Just how long are we talking here?" "Few thousand years maybe?" "I knew that it was too good to be true." she said, looking down. "Aw, now you made me feel bad." said Shadow. "It's all true, but you're right, it's hard to believe. Um... I need to check the Canterlot Archives. I will see you in a few hours." "Alright." "And Mayor?" "Yes?" "Your mane's great in pink." "You read that article to?" "No I didn't. Haven't read an article about anything in years." "Then how did you know..." "See ya later!" he said happily. "Well, goodbye Shadow Streak." Shadow took off for Canterlot again. Thirty minutes later, he was walking to the archives. He was approached by Shining Armor. Shadow smiled and said, "Hello, Shiny. How have you been?" "Sorry, Shadow Streak, I'm not here to talk. I'm here on official business." "Which would be?" "The Princesses have told me to guard you." "They told you to stop me from breaking laws. I don't need to be guarded, and they know it." "I'm going to stay with you weather you like it or not, so get used to it." "You don't want to be here, do you? You'd rather be at home with your wife." "Yeah, you're right." "Have the Canterlot Archives changed places recently?" "How recent?" "Within the last millennium or so?" "What?" "Never mind. Where are the Archives?" "What is your purpose with them?" "I want to check death records." "Why?" "Just personal reasons." "Take a left." Shadow walked down the hallway and entered the archives. "This room is much cleaner than I last remembered. Of course, the last time I was here, Canterlot was under siege and the archives were destroyed." Shadow made quick work of finding the records and looked back about 1500 years. He looked through every record until today. He then reached for the records of citizens. He found a file on himself. "Shadow Streak. Medically strange. Age: Unknown. Birth date: Unknown. Condition: Currently alive. Martial status: Unknown. But why would it be unknown? Whatever, I have not died yet." Shadow started looking through political records. He pulled a few out, then said, "I need to use these for a while. Can I take them?" "What would be the reason?" "I'm getting to it, I'm getting to it. Just hold on." "Then you may." "Hey Shiny, where's the council room? Never mind, I'll find it myself." Shadow walked around for a while, then saw a large familiar door. "They managed to save the door! While it makes me smile, it also makes me want to slam my head against the wall. A door is unimportant." "This is a piece of Canterlot history!" "A door this size also makes for a good dramatic entrance." he said. Shadow reared up and kicked the doors open. Everypony inside who had been discussing their various things were now looking at him. "What is the meaning of this? Barging in here unannounced." "Oh, stick a sock in it, old-timer." said Shadow, "I'll tell you. Shadow Streak, nineteenth president of the board, thirteenth Mayor of Fillydelphia, and second Mayor of Cloudsdale." "Shadow Streak died hundreds of years ago." said the current president. "I have the documentation to prove it." he said, giving him the documents. "As you can see, I never quit as president, was never forced to resign, and was never legally pronounced dead. Many little political flaws that lead up to a big total. Technically, I'm still president." He looked over the documents, then said, "You have no proof that you are him." "One natural wing, two colored horn, and check this out." he said, showing his ruby wing again. "Pure ruby." The president tapped the wing, then said, "We will take a vote." "That's fine. I want two votes. One for the legality of my case, and another to decide weather or not I should be declared president." "Agreed." ONE HOUR LATER "We have come to a decision, Shadow Streak." "Oh?" "Your case is completely legal." "And?" "You are not to return to presidency." "That's fine." "You're ok with that?" "Yeah, but I do have some requests." "Which would be?" "First and foremost, I had an agreement with the Mayor of Ponyville. Her town is the best that I've been to so far. I would like you to help her out a bit, if you catch my drift." "Easily done." "And my other request is that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna don't find out about this little chat we had." "We cannot do that." "Then omit the Ponyville part, keep that from them." "That can be arranged." "Then we've reached an agreement?" "We have." "Good. See ya later." he said, waving goodbye and walking out. "Shadow Streak, you can't just omit things from the Princesses." said Shining Armor. "Yes I can. Just don't tell them." "You expect me to lie?" "Oh yes. C'mon Shining Armor, lets go." Shadow ran out of the building, forcing Shining Armor to run after him. When he reached the doorway, he made a sudden stop and caught Shining Armor, stopping him from exiting. "Do you smell that?" asked Shadow. "Smell what?" Shadow sniffed the air again, then said, "Nothing, never mind." Shadow walked out with a smile on his face. He walked over to the garden. He picked a rose, then smelled it. "These thorn-less roses are great. Were they removed, or were they grown like that?" he said to himself. He looked behind him and saw a filly looking at him. He put the rose in her mane and walked away. "Shining Armor, I hadn't asked, how's your wife?" "She's been great. Even after that wedding." "I must admit, what I heard was weird. Then things went back to normal. Wedding lasted 30 seconds, bride and groom handled nothing, reception lasted all night. Sounds like my kind of day." "It was pretty great. It was the best day of my life." "Even after the changeling incident?" "Absolutely! It was my wedding day. How couldn't it have been the best day?" "I can easily think of a better day." "Like what? What's better than a wedding?" "A filly." Shining Armor stopped walking with him for a second, then continued. "Now, the changelings. They broke their contract." "What contract?" "They're all probably back in their city right now. I'm going to visit them. Not today, maybe tomorrow." "What about you, Shadow?" "What do you mean?" "A wife, a filly. Do you have a family?" Shadow thought for a minute. "I have had a wife and at least one filly. That, I know. I don't even remember their names. I know it sounds sad, but to me, it's better that way." Shadow sighed. "As for the rest of my family, if they existed of course, would be either alive like me, or dead for at least 14 billion years." "If they existed?" "There's no real proof that I had parents. For all I know, I could be the first living being in the universe. Course, there's nothing that says they don't exist, or even that I'm an only child. Maybe I have brothers and sisters all around this universe. Maybe on this very planet." "You're very strange." "That's great! If I wasn't strange, I'd be dead." he said happily. "How's some doughnuts sound?" "That actually sounds pretty good." Shadow walked into Pony Joe's and bought them lunch. He sat down across from Shining Armor and said, "So, can you tell me how Luny and Tia are doing?" "Well actually, no, I can't. Not only have they told me not to tell you anything, I plain just don't know." "So you tell me that?" Shining Armor just realized what he had said, "Oh no, this is bad." "No it isn't. You're just over-reacting." "I guess." "You seem to be having fun." "Spending the day with you was better than I thought it would be." "I'm going to not register that as an insult." Shadow left and headed for Ponyville. "Catch me if you can." he said, flying off. Shining Armor teleported alongside Shadow every few seconds and they made their way to Ponyville. Shining Armor was panting. "How... did you... make it to... Ponyville so... quickly?" he asked. "I just flew. Very, very quickly." "But that was..." "A full day's trip, I know. You're tired." "No I'm not!" "This way." said Shadow. "Where are we going?" "I was planning on heading over to your sister's place. Might want to read up on a book or two." Shadow jogged to Twilight's house. "Something's been bugging me. What is it? Wait a minute... The bookcase!" He ran in and pushed her out of the way and, as he had predicted, the bookcase fell right where she was standing, which was now where he was standing. "Is everypony ok?" he asked. "We're all fine, what about you?" "Good, good. Say, uh, you think I could get a little help here?" "We're on it." He felt the weight on him lessen, then he stood back up, straightening and repairing the bookcase. "That was heavy. How many books do you have on that?" "A lot, to say the least." "Alright then. It should be good for another hundred years or so." "Thanks Shadow." "It's what I do. Now, what books do you have on history?" She looked at the shelf and giggled a little. "They just fell on you." Shadow grabbed four large books of of the shelf, read them, then put them back. "Thanks Twilight." he said happily. "Hmm... I knew that would happen. Question is, how?" "Maybe you can just sense it. Pinkie Pie has a similar ability. She gets weird twitches whenever something's gonna happen." "Maybe. Can't be sure without testing. I'm not gonna test it either. It seems linked to pain. Testing would require a future injury." "That would be bad. Don't worry about it though. Things always seem to happen at convenient times." "Wouldn't that make it unconventionally convenient?" "I guess." "Then I have nothing to worry about." Shadow Streak walked away without another word. He looked around a little. "Hmm... Something isn't right." "What is it?" "I don't know. Just... something. Whatever." Shadow headed into town. The Mayor walked up to him. She was smiling. "Hey Mayor! You're happy today." "You were telling the truth." "Yep." "You helped out the town, Shadow Streak." "Don't mention it." "It's more than just a small event that you can pass off. It's important!" "It's what I do." "Thank you, for what you did." "Anytime. See ya later, Mayor." "Goodbye Shadow! I hope your day is great." "And yours to!" Shadow headed off again, eventually reaching his destination, which was the Sugarcube Corner. He walked inside and saw Pinkie working the counter. "Pinkie Pie! How are you?" he asked happily. "Great! What about you, Shadow?" "Good." "And you, Shining Armor?" she asked. "I'm fine." "Hey Pinkie, Twilight said you had a prediction ability." "Why would she tell you about my Pinkie sense?" "Because I have a similar ability. Mine's linked to pain." "That's not the only thing it's linked to." "What do you mean?" "It isn't just linked to pain. Something else is in there." "How do you know that?" "Just one of my skills. Like when something's gonna fall, my tail twitches. And when my back is itchy, it means it's my lucky day." "And when your knee gets pinchy, something scary's gonna happen, and when your entire body shakes, plot twists happen." "Yeah! See Shadow, you predicted what I was going to say, and it didn't hurt me." "Then it isn't only linked to pain, as you said. Something still seems off." "I know what you mean. I've been getting a weird feeling all day. I don't know what it is." "Well, ok Pinkie Pie. See ya later!" "See ya, Shadow Streak." 'Shining Armor is a real pain. Go throw him off a cliff. Then you'll be alone.' 'Stop talking to me.' 'Never.' "Getting dark out, Shadow." "Yeah." Shadow walked up a large hill and laid on the grass. "Y'know Shadow, I thought today was going to be horrible. It wasn't actually that bad." he said. "Being forced to guard me must be boring. Take a nap." said Shadow, looking in his eyes. "Alright. Night Shadow." "Goodnight Shining Armor." Five minutes later, he was asleep and Shadow had ran off. He disliked his constant presence. 'Shadow, he's asleep. Tell Tia on him. That'll get him fired for sure.' 'Listen, whatever you are, I'm not going to do your evil deeds. I'm a good pony, with friends.' 'But all those years ago...' 'Don't matter.' Shadow shook his head. "I know I'm good. I have to be. Right?" 'Not if I can do this.' Shadow tripped over his own hooves. 'What was that?' Shadow felt himself stand up. He wasn't doing it himself. "I forgot what this feels like." he said. "It's mine now, Shadow Streak!" 'Who are you?' asked Shadow. "I am you." 'Give me a name!' "My name is Sigma." 'Give me back my body!' "No, I think I'll keep it. Maybe I'll pay a visit to Twilight. Or maybe I'll go see Rainbow Dash, or Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, those fillies! Or maybe even Luny and Tia. Oh, Shadow Streak, you've given me so many targets. Lets just see who I choose first."
Chapter 8Shadow opened his eyes, then removed the tubes that were hooked up to him. "Are you alright, Rainbow Dash?" asked the nurse. "Yeah. How long was I out?" "A week." "You didn't give me my cyanide-ammonium nitrate mixture." "Of course not!" "Damn it!" 'What's going on, Shadow?' asked Rainbow. "We slept too long, we need to get out of here." Shadow hopped out of bed and examined himself. "Look, Rainbow, perfect condition." He hopped around a bit. "Maybe better." 'You can't improve on perfection.' she said. "That's the spirit." he said happily, "You, thank you for your help, but I need to go." He ran out before she could stop him. He reached the enterance and flew to the palace as quickly as he could. "I seriously hope they're not hurt." he said. 'Me to.' Shadow entered and was stopped by some guards. "State your business." one said. "I wanna see the Princess. Did they catch Sigma? Where is he?" They let him pass. He quickly flew in and said, "Luna, where is he?" "He's in the dungeon, bound by everything we had. Celestia's down there right now, keeping an eye on him." "Good! Was anypony hurt?" "Yes. Shining Armor is in the hospital right now. As for Ponyville, we weren't able to find out." "Was it fatal?" "No, but there were some complications." "What about?" "He's missing a leg and had a blade embedded inside his flank." "I'll fix him later. Now, first priority is Sigma, take me to him." She walked away and Shadow followed her. "I assumed that you couldn't regenerate in another body." "After a few hours and major surgery, I adjust. Rainbow Dash you are lucky." 'Why's that?' "You're going to have doubled regenerative properties for the rest of your life. Lucky, lucky you. You're also gonna have a longer prime. Natural everything else though." 'That is lucky.' They entered the dungeon and heard loud bangs and shouting. "Let me out of here you bitch!" Shadow ran in and saw Sigma, jumping around the walls in a cage that was wrapped in a force field. He was covered in chains. Celestia was staring angrily at him. "Sigma!" shouted Shadow. Sigma looked at him, then sat down on the ground facing him. "Shadow! Been a while, hasn't it?" "Shut up. Celestia, you've done good. Step away from him." Celestia moved away. He looked back at Sigma. "How did you manage this?" he asked. "That damn Doctor did most of the work. Limited my power. No less than three ponies knew about me right away. Him, Pinkie, and the grey one. They were busy distracting me, then it started to rain. I ran off as quickly as I could, then a batalion of guards showed up with Luna and Celestia leading it, along with that worthless unicorn. At least I got him." said Sigma. "Doctor? I remember him! Nice colt. Good friend. Need to speak with him later on." "Don't bother trying to take this back. It's mine now, Shadow. I made sure of it." "And how exactly did you do that?" "I sealed off the passage way. Nopony can get in or out." "That's a problem." said Shadow as if he didn't care, "What will we do now?" 'Uh, Shadow, that's a big problem!' said Rainbow. "Oh, shut up Rainbow. Now, since I promised you a body, I'll just have to get out of here." She felt Shadow's presance leave her body. "That was weird." "I agree." said Shadow. Shadow rematerialized in front of them. He had a white aura and was shimmering and fading. "I hate it when I have to do this." "Well what exactly did you do?" asked Rainbow. "Projected my soul onto this world. It's painful, irritating, and most of all, the demons of hell are clawing at me. Heard there was a bounty on my head from there. And basically everywhere else, but those are besides the point." "That's..." "Don't wanna hear your opinion. Sigma!" "Shadow!" "Oh, hey, you got a black mane now! Thought my hair was snow white, not jet black. Anyways, I'm going to get that back, and you can't stop me. Do you smell that?" "I can smell it." "Where is it coming from?" "What is it?" "Why do we keep smelling it?" "It's gone." they both said at the same time. "Well... As I was saying..." "I know, I know. Body back, yadda, yadda, yadda. Thing is, you're stuck like that until you take another body." "I'll find a way." "I'd like to see you try." he said. "Celestia, Luna, Dash, lets leave." he said. "I want to stay down here and make sure he doesn't escape." said Celestia. "Be sure to stab him if he does." he replied. "And be careful. He's a crafty one." "You need to be careful." "I tried that once. I got bored." Shadow ran up the stairs. He skid to a stop when he got to the top. "Why did I do that?" he asked. He felt a warm feeling on his head. He reached up and touched it. He looked at his hoof and saw that he was bleeding. "I don't get it. Why am I bleeding? What did I hit?" He healed himself and walked off. Rainbow Dash was following him. "How do you feel?" he asked her. "I feel great!" she said happily. "What's with you? Why didn't you take it back?" "Few reasons. One, he's right, I'm not getting in. It's sealed. Two, after I turn etheral, I need to wait a day until I can return to a body. Three, I'm planning on having some fun like this. How 'bout you? Heading back to Ponyville?" "I thought about it. I don't know. The Wonderbolts are here, so I guess another day couldn't hurt." "Now, the Wonderbolts, you mentioned them before." "Best flyers in all of Equestria." she said happily. "Lets go see them." "I'd love to see them train." "Where are they?" "Follow me, they're over on the other side of town." "Neat." Rainbow flew off and Shadow followed her. She took him to a large track. There was a small group of ponies at a gate looking in. "This is the place." she said. They joined the group and said, "What are we waiting for?" "For the Wonderbolts to start training." "So they're not training right now?" "No, they're getting ready." "Good to know." he said, "Rainbow, I've lost interest already. I'm gonna go meet them myself." "You can't just waltz in there whenever you want." "Because that would take two ponies, gotcha. Maybe I could dance in. Then again, this situation wouldn't call for dancing. Guess I'll have to walk." "You can't just walk in there!" "Watch me." he said. He kicked the gate open and walked straight in, ignoring the looks from the rest of the group. "Shadow, get back here!" said Rainbow. "You come in here and get me." he said, looking back and smiling. "Shadow, c'mon man!" He laughed a little and kept walking. Rainbow flew in after him and tried to drag him back by his tail. "That's the spirit!" he said happily. "You there! What are you doing in here? This place is off limits!" "Shadow! We gotta go!" "Hey! I just wanted to see the Wonderbolts." said Shadow. "Well you can see them just fine from back there." he said, pointing to the group. "Yeah, but I wanted a closer look." he said. "Well you're not allowed to." he said. "Tell you what, I beat a Wonderbolt in a race, you let me stay. How 'bout it?" "You think you can beat them?" he asked, laughing, "You got guts, filly. I like that. No deal." "Aw c'mon! Why not? And don't you dare call me a filly. I'm more than twice your age." "You'd just waste their time and embarrass yourself." "I bet they're too slow to stand a chance. I bet I could literally eat their dust and still beat them in the same race!" "What are you doing, Shadow?" asked Rainbow. "I know what I'm doin'." "Attention!" he called. The Wonderbolts zipped out and lined up for him. Shadow whistled and said, "They're good." "This stalion has insulted your speeds." "What?!" "I sure have!" said Shadow happily, "The specific words I used were, 'I bet I could literally eat their dust and still beat them in the same race.' How's that for insulted? On second thought, dust tastes terrible. I know because I've tried it. Maybe if we were flying in marshmallows. Ooo! Or maybe chocolate milk. Chocolate milk is good." "Uh, Shadow, are you ok?" "Oh yes, why? Is challanging the Wonderbolts with a plan of winning not normal?" "A little." she said sarcasticly. "I got off track." he replied. "Hold on, do you smell that?" Shadow drifted into the air and tried to follow the smell, but it disappeared. "Hi, Rainbow Dash! What's with your friend?" asked Spitfire, heading over to her. "I don't really know. He does really weird stuff." Shadow dived down and landed between them, then draped his arms over them and said, "I'm Shadow Streak, what about you, beautiful?" "My name's Spitfire. Could you get off me?" "Sure thing, Spitfire." He hopped away and smiled. "So you're saying you could beat any one of us?" "Absolutely. How 'bout you first? Unless you're chicken." "I'm no chicken!" she said. "Great, lets get started then! Friendly little race to... to..." He starte spinning slowly, "To... to... to... The castle!" he said happily, pointing at the Canterlot castle. "Sounds like fun." she said. "That's the spirit!" "What the... What is that?!" "That's a wing." said Shadow, "A ruby wing." "Why is it ruby? Also why did you only have the one?" "No idea." he said happily, "Better that way, gives me a goal. Of sorts. Always good to have a goal." "Well, alright then." "Get ready, Spitfire." They stood side by side facing the castle. "3-2-1... Go!" shouted Shadow. Spitfire zoomed off, and Shadow sat there and grabbed a chunk of cloud, then swallowed it. "Why'd you do that?" "There's no dust on clouds." he replied. He took off and got to the castle in a few seconds, arriving at about the same time as Spitfire. He went in, said, "Hi." to Luna, then flew away, finishing first with ease. "Now I can stay, right? We had a deal. I think. Never got a proper agreement from it. Now you get here! Took ya long enough. Could've died of old age waiting for you. Well, not die, or age." "How did you..." "I just flew. When it comes right down to it, I'm faster than you." "But..." "Yeah." "Can you teach me how to fly like that?" "Yeah, that was some serious speed." "So you wanna go fast?" he asked. "You got that right." "Alright. Can anypony here fly from here to Ponyville without stopping? No, you can't. Takes too long and you get too tired. You train with me and you'll be able to do it in two hours with energy enough to get back." "Woah." "Now, who's up first? Don't care who you decide, I'm choosing. Spitfire!" "Yeah?" "You first, how 'bout it?" "I guess that's be ok." He tapped the front of her chest, walked around her, then grabbed her back leg and held her in the air by it. "Hey! Put me down! Shadow!" "Zip it." he said. He tapped her hoof and she laughed. "Shadow! Stop that!" He held his ear up to her knee. He set her down, then grabbed her front leg and tapped her shoulder. He let her leg go and stepped back. "Hmm..." "Shadow, why did you do that?" she asked. "Get ready for the most brutal training session you can handle." he said. "Be warned, it can bring a bear to his knees, begging for mercy." "I'm ready." she said, steeling herself. He pointed his hoof at her and said, "Gravitational field up, X1.5." She quickly dipped to the ground and had trouble standing up. "What is this?" "Gravity control. You're on X1.5. Your body can only withstand X1.89 before causing severe, permenent damage. That's pretty good in my opinion, and right now, it's the only one that matters." "Do you do this?" "I'm doing it right now. I'm on X5." He looked around and said, "You're all in the 1-2 range. If anypony wants to gravity train, I warn you, it will get painful. Line up if yes, remain if no." They all walked forward. "You to, Rainbow." "Me?" "Yup." "But..." "If you want to get substancially faster, line up with the Wonderbolts." he said sternly. She nodded and walked up next to them. He removed the gravity around Spitfire and gave her some energy. She went over to the group. "Now, I want you to follow my orders exactly and immidiately, is that clear?" "Yes, sir." "Now hold on just a minute." said the coach. "You can't just tell them what to do." "So sue me." he said. "Wonderbolts, Rainbow, I'm going to increase gravity slowly. You're bodies are used to holding your normal weight. A change to that would be training. X1.1." There was virtually no change in the line. "X1.3." Some of the members started to bend their legs and pant. Shadow moved them from the line. He kept doing this until he was left with a stubborn stalion at X2.15. "Good job, very good job." said Shadow. "This is painful." he replied. "What's you're name?" "Soarin'." "Ok, Soarin', I'm going to keep you at X2. Get through the entire day like that." He lowered it and said, "Everypony, the goal is a normal X2.5 by the end of the month. That means you must be able to fly around freely with that weight." He got a piece of chalk and a piece of wood he wrote down everypony's names and what gravity they had. He used a spell on it and said, "Whenever you get used to - or can't handle - the weight, write a new number here. Don't go over 2.5. I'll see you in three weeks." He handed it to the coach. "You're the coach, not me." He walked over to Rainbow and said, "I'm going to go, what about you?" "I'm... good." "Awesome. See ya later." "Bye, Shadow." "Hold on a mo', did I just train the Wonderbolts?" "Yeah, you did." "Cool." He walked away and headed to the hospital. "I should've done this sooner. I'm horrible." Shadow walked up to the receptionist and said, "I'm here to visit Shining Armor." "Are you a family member?" "Nah, just an old friend." "What's your name?" "Shadow Streak." "Alright. He's a little preoccupied right now." "I reckon missing a leg isn't doing him any good." "How do you..." Shadow looked in her eyes. "Emergancy room 7. Just down here." He started walking over there, but she tried to stop him. "You're not allowed to go in there." "I'm a doctor, they need one in there." "You're a doctor?" "A good one." He ran in before she could say anything. He ran in while they were operating. "You can't be in here!" "Oh that is foul." said Shadow, "Seen worse." He healed the gash on his flank and regenerated his leg. "Wake your lazy plot up, Shining Armor, you got work to do." He didn't move. Shadow ignored the other ponies. Shadow lifted him up and shook him around. "Wake up! Shining Armor! Eh... you'll get up eventually. My work here is done. Keep him rested, it take a lot of energy to regenerate an entire leg." He waved goodbye and walked away. "Is that you, Shadow Streak?" "Why yes it is, strange citizen." "Why am I strange all of the sudden?" "Not every pony I've met has a time-traveling teleporter, do they, Doctor? Do they? Have I been gone that long?" "Shadow! It's great to meet you again." he said happily. "Yeah. Are you sure?" "Why wouldn't I be sure?" "Reasons. Hey, I met your human counterpart." "Really?" "Yeah. He didn't like me, but there was one thing we agreed on." "Oh?" "Humans are stupid. I also met another immortal when I was there. He wasn't truely immortal though, but he was pretty dang resiliant." "That's enough about parallel worlds. How have you been?" "I don't know. Memory loss and all." "Right, right." "Now what's the real reason you came to find me?" "Down to business as usual." "Ponyville attacked, Sigma running amock, and he told me that you were there. Exactly what happened?" "You'll find out." "Alright." "Sigma. A feared name in the universe. One mere mention of his name and a whole legion would be ready to fight within seconds. He's back here in Equestria. He was never supposed to exist. Shadow, tell me what's wrong. I can help." "No you can't. Don't think you can, either. You'll just get yourself killed. See ya, Doctor." "Bye, Shadow Streak." Shadow flew back to Ponyville. He was determined to see what he missed while he was gone. When he arrived, he realized that everypony was hiding inside their houses. "Oh, this isn't a good sign." he said. He passed the Carosel Boutique. The drapes moved slightly as he approached. "I'm being watched. By everypony." He walked to the town square without seeing anypony. There was a pony tied to a pole. He didn't recognise her. He ran over to her. "Help! Help, please! Please, help me!" she shouted in fear, trying to get away. He looked around. No doors opened, no windows creaked. Nothing. No movement whatsoever. He looked back at her. "You've been here for a week. Why? Why hasn't anypony freed you?" "Help me, please!" "Shut up!" he roared. She stopped yelling and started to sob. "Why are you still here?" "You... you said that if anypony tried to free me, you'd kill them." He ripped off the rope and said, "You're free to go." She ran off without another word. A pony poked her head out of her doorway. It was Octavia. He looked at her and she quickly darted back inside. "If even ponies I know are afraid..." He walked into city hall. The Mayor was inside. "Shadow!" She jumped backwards and tripping over a table. "What are you doing here?!" she asked from behind it. "Mayor, what happened within the past week?" "You did." "What did I do?!" She moved back a little. "You... attacked two ponies. They're not well." "Was it fatal?" "No." "Odd... Sigma would've... Not twice. How could he have missed twice? Never mind. They're in the hospital, right?" "I'm not going to let you hurt them again." she said angrily. "That's a good Mayor." he said, smiling. He shot off and headed to the Ponyville hospital. He scanned the hospital for his own energy and took a window enterance inside. "They're in the same room." he said. He dodged the cameras and staff, then entered the rooms. They were asleep. Shadow examined them. "He is going to pay." he said angrily. He healed them both, then walked out. He managed to get to the window, but heard somepony run up to him. They stopped right in front of him. "I hope you're happy about what you did to them." she said. "Exstatic." he said, jumping out. "Sigma!" he shouted, heading back to Canterlot. "Shadow." said Sigma calmly, face splattered with blood. *Cheese whiz is good.
The Origins of Sigma"He'll pay! He'll pay! He's gonna pay for this!" shouted Shadow. "Oh yes, Shadow. Come and get me. Your information is wrong. I'm not even who you said I am. So find me, Shadow. Come and get it." said Sigma. "Sigma!" he shouted before landing. "He's not here. He's left Canterlot. I can't find him. High level teleportation traces." He was getting terrified stares from the citizens not in their houses. He rushed to the castle. The royal guards were laying around on the ground and injured. "He attacked the guards. Why are none of them dead yet? What's going on? He's not one to miss so often." He healed them all and ran inside, then blocked the doors. "Luna? Celestia?" he called. "We're over here, Shadow!" said Luna. He ran over to them. They were laying on the ground, heavily injured and almost dead. Luna was breathing heavily and Celestia had a shard of metal embedded in her. She was smiling as if she was delusional. He quickly healed them and they sat up. "What's wrong, Celestia?" "The one who killed mom had black hair." she said happily, "Black hair, not white hair. It wasn't you, it was Sigma." "He'll pay for his crimes." "Uncle Shadow has always been Uncle Shadow." said Celestia. "Such an evil pony..." She looked down unhappily. Shadow put his arm around her shoulders. "What happened here?" "Sigma... He started laughing. He looked at me." said Celestia, "It wasn't normal. Then he smiled. He told me to open the cage. I refused, but he didn't care. He broke free and destroyed the cage. Some pieces were lodged in my flank. I tried to stop him, but failed. I don't remember anything after that." "After that, he came upstairs and attacked me without hesitation. The guards were no match for him. He ran off, then there was a surge of magical energy." "That must've been him going to another planet. His little gang is probably there." "Another planet?" "Yeah. If he's there, then there will be nothing to worry about for a while." "Why not?" "Takes the entirety of our life energies to transport between worlds. He needs to regenerate. Energy takes longer to regenerate than a body." "Then we're safe?" "For now at least." "So what can we do to stop him?" "I don't know. There are some things I need to know, though. Sigma was a terrible fighter, never missed, and always went for the kill. What happened? Now he's just injuring ponies. It's like he's trying to scare them." "I'm not scared of him." said Luna angrily. "He should be the one scared of us." replied Celestia. "And when I find him, I'm going to tear him to shreds." finished Shadow. He looked behind him. "We may have a problem on our hands. The guards are trying to get in. I hope you can act." Shadow smiled at her, then stabbed himself in the head with a chunk of metal. The guards broke in a moment after he hit the floor. Everypony stared at his lifeless body. A guard walked up to him and checked his pulse. "He's dead." "He's dead?" "Dead." "He... That's... Could you take him away from here? W... We need some time alone." "Of course, Princess." They picked up Shadow and took him away. Some of the guards tried to stay for a little longer, but Celestia removed them. Celestia looked at Luna, then chuckled. "I wouldn't be laughing if I were you. They think you did it." "You really think so?" "I could tell. This can't end well." "This would be the first time that I was blamed for killing somepony. Luna, Uncle Shadow killed himself so we could escape any rumors of alliance with him. We need to return the favor." "How?" "I don't know. I blamed him for mom's death, but..." "Celestia..." "C'mon, Luna. If Sigma's back, the guards need a course in deadly combat." "I never thought the day would come where we would have to train them in these arts. Equestria was so peaceful." "If Sigma is back, then what about his little gang?" "If they are back, then these lands will never be the same again." 1478 YEARS AGO "Mommy, can I sleep with you tonight? The lightning scares me." said Celestia, a young filly at the time. "Me too! Me too!" said Luna. "Oh, how can I say no to you two?" said Gaia happily. "Yay!" They both hopped on their mom's bed and cuddled up next to her. "Love you, mommy. Goodnight!" they both said. "I love you too." She smiled at them. They quickly fell asleep. "Such beautiful fillies. They'll grow up to be great princesses some day." she said. She kissed them both on their foreheads, then fell asleep. THE NEXT DAY "Wake up, you two." she said softly. "Hi, mommy." said Celestia. Luna was still asleep. "Tia, could you wake up Luny please? I have to be somewhere." "All this royal stuff is getting in the way of our fun time." she complained. She started to tap Luna, and Gaia walked out of the room. "Gaia." "Shadow! You returned!" she said happily. He walked along side her, bag resting on his back. "Today's the big day." he said. "Yup. Today's the day we're gonna finally finish building Canterlot." "Can you believe it? Twenty years!" "I know. It has taken a bit of time. Shadow, I want to say, thanks." "All I did was help. There's no real need to thank me. But if you wanted to, you know what I like." "Right. So, Shadow, you never told me, who are you?" "You don't know?" "You never told me. You kept dodging the question." "Oh, Queen Gaia. If you knew who I was, who I really was, you'd come to find life dreary and boring. You'd find yourself insignificant compared to me." "But life is full of wonders and excitement! And with Canterlot finally finished, we have more able bodied ponies to help with that!" "Yeah, life is beautiful. Gaia, keep those fillies safe. They'll hit their growth spurt soon. They're gonna be the future of this world. Don't let anything happen to them." "What's with this all of the sudden?" "Just keep 'em safe." "Uncle Shadow!" they both said happily, running towards him. "Luny! Tia!" he said happily before being tackled to the ground. He started laughing. "I haven't seen you two cuties in a full month! We need to meet up more often. How have you been?" "I learned a new spell!" said Luna proudly. "Oh really? Which one?" "This one!" she said happily, using her spell. She lifted into the air surrounded by a magical aura. "I can fly without using my wings." "That's great! Be careful though, it's pretty hard to steer. What about you, Celestia?" "Nothing really new happened with me." she said. "Really? That's a shame. Hey, how 'bout we all go get some pie? How's that sound?" "Yay, pie!" "How 'bout it, Gaia? Come get some pie with us!" he said happily. "Sorry, Shadow, I'm busy all day." "Aw, can't you skip a day?" "You know I can't." "Well, alright then. C'mon you two, lets get that pie." he said. "Yay, pie! Yay, pie!" they chanted happily, bouncing around him. They walked out of the castle and onto the newly paved road. Shadow took them to a nearby bakery and got them their pie. "Eat up, girls." "Thanks, Uncle Shadow!" "Thank you!" Shadow felt a twinge in the side of his head. He started to rub it, but that only made it feel worse. "What's wrong, Uncle Shadow?" "Oh, it's nothing. Just a little headache. Feels like there's something on my head. Is there?" "I don't think so." said Celestia. "What's wrong with your mane?" asked Luna. "My mane?" He reached up and pulled some hair over his eyes. "My mane's turning black. What's going on here?" "I don't like it." said Luna. "Hmm... Well, I'll figure it out later, you just eat your pie." They both smiled and resumed eating. Shadow looked out the window and into a crowd of ponies. They were all looking at something. "That's odd." He looked back at Luny and Tia. They had just finished eating their sweet treats. "So how was it?" he asked, smiling. "Uncle Shadow, are you feeling alright?" asked Celestia. "I think so, why do you ask?" "Your mane got darker all of the sudden." said Luna. "Really?" he asked. He reached into his bag and pulled out a mirror, then looked at himself. "What's up with that thing? Mane's don't just decide to change colors. Has it been 22 years already? Stupid oracle. I hate it when they're right. Lets go home. I need to get you back to your mom." "Aw, really?" "Yeah, sorry. Lets go." Halfway there, Shadow put a hoof on his head and tried to rub it again. "My head hurts." he said. "You just need to take a nap. Everything's better after a nap!" said Celestia cheerfully. "I bet you're right. I'll be fine in the morning." There was an incredibly large group of ponies in front of the castle. "Hey girls, I think your mom's got an announcement." he said. "Shadow, can you take us up there?" "Please, Shadow?" "Sure thing, you two." He picked them up and put them on his back. He took off and landed next to Gaia. "Hi, beautiful! I brought your fillies." he said. "Thank you, Shadow Streak." He looked over the edge. Everypony was waiting for Gaia to say something. She walked up next to him and he stepped back. "Citizens of Canterlot, and of all of Equestria, I have gathered you all here today on this glorious occasion to tell you how thankful I am for your help in making the city of Canterlot possible. Your work has finally come to a close. Canterlot is indeed completed, as the rumors have said. This is a momentous occasion indeed. After twenty long years of work. Now is the time to help others in need. We need to build other cities so this nation can prosper. As of today, there will be a new nation. May Equestria live on, with the citizens of it being treated just and being happy during their life times." The ponies cheered. Shadow walked inside. He didn't care for speeches that much. He spent much of the rest of the day walking around inside the castle. He headed over to the library and started reading some books. He found himself studying Starswirl's notes more than anything. "Shadow Streak, the Queen wants to see you." said a mare. "Alright. Show me the way." She nodded and walked to Queen Gaia, Shadow close behind. He walked into the room alone. "How'd the speech go?" he asked. "Everypony loved it!" she said happily. "Where did you go off to?" "I went to the library." he said, "So, what'd you want to see me for?" "I want you to tell me who you are." she said, "I have asked you for three years, but you always found a way to avoid answering it. Not this time. Neither one of us are leaving this room until you say it." She used her magic to lock the door. "But you'll starve to death!" said Shadow. "I've prepared for that." she said. "What if I choose to break my way out?" "Oh, please. Do you really think that I wouldn't count for that? I bet this room can stand up to those bombs that the humans created." "There's only one bed in here." "I knew you wouldn't mind, Shadow." "I don't mind, it's just that... Anyways, I can outlast you." he said. "You cannot." He looked in her eyes. "You can last for four months in here. I've lasted longer. Longer than that and even longer still! Don't try to beat me in a contest of endurance, because you will lose. I could stay in here until Canterlot rots above me. Then I'll climb out of the ruins on my own." "Yeah right." she said sarcastically. "Are you doubting me?" "You have no proof." "You want to see proof?" "Any proof you have will be good enough for me. If I get proof, then I'll let you go right now." He walked over to her and placed his hoofs on the sides of her head. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then re-opened his eyes and took a step back. "I... I had no idea. I'm sorry, Shadow." she said sadly. "Do not make me do that again. It's painful." "Shadow, what was that?" "Many years, waiting. No food, no water, no company, no family, no anything. I waited all that time." "Why did you wait?" He sat down on the bed and said, "My friend was put into a permanent state of spatial-temporal stasis after a failed experiment. He was trying to separate time from space. He used my body energy to do it. Just for a split-second, he succeeded. This hole in the universe was only maintained for less than a second, but one glimpse... it was horrible. After that, he was frozen in space-time. After about three million years, I finally gave up. To this day, he's still on his home planet, frozen. I still visit him from time to time, but it's just more painful each time I go." She wrapped her arms around him and placed her head on his chest. "That's so sad." "Don't you worry about a thing. You've just seen countless lifetimes worth of loneliness. You'll be a bit shaken for a few minutes." She didn't move. He held on to her and patted her back. "That was too much, sorry." "Shadow, you're ancient. I knew you were old, but alicorn old. Not this. Your life is so sad." He parted her mane and kissed her forehead. "Gaia. Young Queen Gaia. C'mon, lets get out of here." "Right." She stood up and opened the door. Shadow rubbed his head. "Hey, Gaia, my head's been hurtin' all day now." "You probably just have a headache." "But it hurts, a lot. It hasn't gone away. It's getting worse." "Don't be such a baby. You've had worse. I've seen you get crushed by a collapsing building." "I know, but..." "Shadow! You're lagging!" she called from down the hallway. "Coming!" he replied, running after her. "My head really hurts. It's like five months of volcano all at once, but concentrated into a single area." "Mommy! Shadow!" "Luny! Ow. Tia! Ow!" "Are you alright, Uncle Shadow?" asked Celestia. "It's like my headache has a headache with a headache." "Maybe you should go to the hospital." said Gaia. "Yeah, hospital." "Do you think you can fly right now?" "Yeah, I can still fly." "Then lets take the air route." "Y... Yeah." They all ran to the balcony where Gaia gave her speech. TAP! TAP! TAP! Queen Gaia turned around and looked at Shadow. He was faced around and had his head against the wall. "Are you alright, Shadow Streak?" she asked. He turned around. His forehead had a trail of blood coming out of it and he wore a broad smile. He grabbed his head and stood up on his back legs, reeling back as if he was in pain. "Uncle Shadow... You're scaring us." said Celestia, backing away. Luna was behind Celestia. He slammed his head against the wall again. "My head feels like it's being torn apart from the inside..." he said painfully. He reeled back again, then tripped over the edge of the balcony. He fell to the ground, still holding his head. He didn't move. "Shadow Streak?" said Gaia. "Uncle Shadow?" said Luna. "Shadow?" said Celestia. "Hey buddy, are you alright?" asked a pony near him. Shadow quickly grabbed his head again and arched his back up. He sat up, then backed away from the crowd that had gathered around him. His mane was jet black and his eyes had dark bags under them and were narrowed angrily. "Listen you two, I want you to go inside. Go inside and stay there." said Gaia. "Tell the guards, defense plan delta-7." "But mom..." "Listen to your mother, fillies." said Shadow, who had quickly flown next to them. "If you know what's good for you." They ran inside and left only Gaia and Shadow on the balcony. "What are you doing, Shadow?" "I'm not Shadow anymore. You're going to call me Sigma." "Who are you?" "I'm not going to tell you." "Why are you here?" "I'm here for one reason and one reason only." "What is it?" "I'm going to kill you, Gaia. I'm going to kill you, your subjects, your fillies. I'm going to kill everything here." "If you lay a hoof on anypony I'll make you rue the day you threatened me." He walked towards her. She stood her ground. Sigma lunged at her with a wide smile. She tried to get out of the way, but Sigma grabbed her hoof and threw her against a wall. He placed his hoof above her shoulder, then drew it downward. The stone in the wall molded around her arm in a ring, holding her against it. She tried to attack him, but he stepped away. "Now now, Queen, you don't want to hurt yourself, do you?" he said. She tried to yank her arm free, but only managed to bruise it. "This may take a while." "What are you talking about?" she asked angrily. "I could torture you, let you bleed until you die. I could murder everypony but you. You would be all alone. I could bury you alive or drop you in the middle of the endless desert." "Why are you doing this, Shadow?" "I'm not Shadow, I'm Sigma. Say it with me, Sigma. Sig-ma." "Why are you doing this?!" "Somepony's getting impatient. Fine, I'll tell you. I like to hear the sounds of breaking bones. I like to feel flesh tear beneath my hooves. The reason I am doing this is because I love to cause pain. The screams of the undeserving is music to my ears!" "So you're here to cause pain?" "Oh, yes. And you're going to be my first victim!" "Then I'll just have to stop you." she said. She looked at her arm and said, "This is gonna hurt." She yanked her arm again and twisted it. She felt her shoulder dislocate and winced. "I'm not gonna let you do this, Sigma." "There's my name! I knew you'd get it." She slid her arm out of the ring. Sigma just stood there smiling at her. Gaia used her magic and tried to relocate her arm. Sigma laughed. "If you want to relocate a shoulder, you need to do... this!" he said. He grabbed her arm and violently shoved it back into it's socket, making her scream in pain. "There's that scream! That wonderful scream!" She jumped away and said, "You're a monster! What happened to the Shadow I know and love?!" "I've taken his body. It's mine now. I finally have a physical form that I can cause pain with." "Sigma, you're not going to hurt anypony." she said. "Yeah? Try and stop me." She used a spell against him. He sidestepped it and tried to tackle her, but she dodged it. He swung at her and hit her in the chest, making a gash across it. She turned around and ran inside. He ran after her. She ran to the room that they were in a few minutes ago. She dived behind the bed and hid from him. "He won't stop. He won't show mercy. He'll find me. What can I do? What can I do?" she said. She started to cry. "Why is he doing this to me? Pull yourself together, you're crying like a filly. He's scary, but if I want to save Equestria, I have to do something to stop him." "Oh, Gai-a!" called Sigma playfully. "I know where you are!" She waited until he got in the room, then stood up and sealed the doors. "Sigma, you're not going to hurt anypony. If I can do one thing, one thing at all, I would make sure my kingdom is safe." Sigma just smiled a her. "I'm trapped in here with you." "Neither of us are going anywhere for a long time." He walked closer to her. The closer he got, the more she became afraid of him. "Within this week, Gaia, you're going to die." he said. "Within the week? Why not now? Why not get it over with and be done with it?" she asked. "I have plans for you, Queen Gaia." "What kind of plans?" "Maybe I'll rape you." She backed away. "Tell ya what, you let me out and I'm not gonna rape you." he said. "You're sick!" "It's an honest offer." he said. She looked away angrily. "You're never getting out of this room." He growled at her. "You're pissing me off!" He lunged at her and grabbed her head. He slammed her against the wall and said, "Let me out of here!" "I'd rather die." He growled like an animal again. He let her go, jumped back, and smiled. "How about a board game?" "What?" "I want to play some board games. I'll keep you alive so long as I'm entertained. Why should I live an eternity without a little fun? You got any games in here?" "No. I made this room so you..." "Shadow. Make that mistake again, you'll die." "So Shadow would have nothing to do and be forced to tell me." "Big flaw in your plan, locking yourself in here with him. He's very... persuasive, if you know what I mean. So there's nothing to do in here. I know what I've said earlier, but I've lost interest. You're going to break before me. That's an absolute fact. You could be in pain for years to come if I want to see that. I'm not big on physical torturing, even though it generates lots and lots of screaming. Shadow is, but not me." "How can you say that about Shadow?! He's the nicest pony I know!" "Listen you little bitch, you know nothing about Shadow Streak!" he said angrily. "Will you tell me?" "No. He won't let me tell anypony. He has his reasons for doing that, and I have mine for heeding his orders. He is a great pony. He would burn himself alive if it would prevent somepony getting a paper cut. He hasn't been in that situation yet, but he would. He could do so much better than you, and yet he chooses to stay on this rock with you." "What are you talking about?" "Earlier he said that his friend was on another planet. There's life out there, lots of it. Shadow wiped out hundreds of species on his own. They deserved it, though. He is one of the most wanted criminals in this universe." "Shadow isn't a criminal! He's sweet and kind-hearted and would never hurt anypony!" "Have you ever looked in his eyes? Ever truly saw what was behind them?" She looked down. "See? You have. You know what I'm talking about. Enough of this. You got any bandages?" "Yeah, over there in the bathroom. Why do you need them?" He walked over and grabbed them. He went back and said, "Lemme get that for you." "Why are you doing this?" "That's a huge gash. If you keep bleeding like that, I'll have nopony to make scream." he said cheerfully, "And if you refuse, I'll just happen to forget a pain killer while I'm closing it." "You're going to..." "I'm a certified doctor. I know what I'm doing. You're gonna need stitches for that." "Does this mean..." "No it does not. You'll die by my hooves some day, so just relax." He walked back to the bathroom and grabbed some chemicals. He mixed them together and gave them to her. "Drink up." "What is it?" "Full body numbing." "Why not just my chest?" "Don't question me. Drink it." She kept looking at it suspiciously. "If I was gonna do anything to you, I would've done it. In the many years you've known Shadow, have you ever once been able to stop him from doing whatever he wants? You've tried to stop him bunches of times. Every one of those ended up with a hospitalized queen. Now, drink it!" She gave it one last look, then drank it. She fell to her back. Sigma grabbed a needle and some surgical thread. A few minutes later, he examined his work, then used a spell on her. She sat back up and felt her chest. "Just ignore that for the next ten days and you'll be good as new. Provided you live, of course." He looked around the room, then walked around and grabbed many things. "What are you doing?" "I need a way of contacting my gang. If they haven't been caught yet, they'll help me out." "Nopony can get in or out of this room!" she shouted angrily. "And yet, I'll be out murdering again some day." He looked at his pile of items, then started to put them together. After about forty minutes, throughout which Gaia was watching his every move, he had a large, rectangular device. He pushed a button on it and said, "Hello? Anypony there? I'm stuck in Canterlot and Gaia has really put the works on this one. Come get me. I swear, if you kill anypony, I will personally atomize you. They're mine, all mine!" He turned back to Gaia and said, "Yeah, it didn't work, nopony was there. Guess I'll just have to create a hydrogen bomb and blast myself out of here." He looked around. "This technology isn't advanced enough to do that. I can't do it with these. If it was just Shadow trapped in here, he could do it lickity-split. He's good with nuclear physics. Stupid, stupid humans. Quite possibly the stupidest sentient species." "What was that device?" "The humans called it a telephone. Talk over long distances. Ponies shouldn't have this technology for maybe two thousand years." Gaia just stared at him. "Sigma, I thought you were a merciless killer, but you seem almost normal." "I'm not gonna kill ya now. I'm not a necrophiliac." "Sigma!" "Shut up. Hmm... I could carve chess pieces." "Out of what?" "Bone? Mine of course, yours wouldn't grow back. I'm not gonna face a jellyfish at chess." She giggled. "Look at you, seeing the light in a situation. No, not bone. Hmm..." He walked around a little. "I know!" He tore some bricks out of the wall, then used a spell on them and they turned into pieces of a chess board. He grabbed a chunk in his teeth and carved 64 squares in the floor, then placed the pieces down. "You go first." he said. She sat down across from him. A half hour later, they were still locked in their chess game. "You're good." said Sigma, "Very, very good." "Thanks. You're not bad yourself." A few moves later, Sigma was backed into a corner. She moved her piece, then said, "Checkmate." Sigma looked around the board, then said, "Ow, my pride." She laughed again. "You're having fun." "It's hard not to. I love chess." "Not many creatures can get a checkmate with me, and nothing can checkmate Shadow. 'cept the Doctor, but that's irrelevant." "You keep talking about Shadow. Why?" "He's just a subject we're both familiar with. Like when you're talking to somepony, and they don't care about what you're saying. They just smile and nod." Sigma smiled at her. "What should we do now?" He started pacing the room. He was muttering something, but Gaia couldn't hear him. "I could either let the four months go by, or do it now." he said. "What are you talking about?" "Death by starvation, or a murder." he replied, "Your choice." "You're giving me a choice?" "Sure. Why not?" "You sick, sick monster!" she said. "You flatter me." She looked right into his eyes. "I want to stay long enough to make sure you can't ever leave this place." "You keep revolving around the same subject. I'm apparently not going anywhere. Four months. Four... months. Four-months. Four-months-four-months-four-months. Four... million months. Yes. Four million months. I'll force you to live for four million months." "You can't force me to live for 300000 years. Royal alicorns don't last past 200000. There isn't even enough food here to last us a year." "Tell that to me in 333333 and a third year's time on the dot. Or at least until Canterlot collapses. Then I'll slaughter whatever species is dominant. Then other species populating the world. Then I'll set my sights on the universe. Won't that be grand? Maybe you could join me. We could control the entire universe. It wouldn't be that hard actually. Just a bit of wreaking havoc and we'll be all set." "I'm not gonna join you in anything you do." "You can't be locked in a room for years with anypony without ending up as friends. Shadow did it tons of times. Most weren't by choice." "I'll never be friends with you." "You pessimist." "I'm not a pessimist." "Yes you are." "No I'm not!" "Prove it." "How could I do that?" "Give me a smile." He grabbed her cheeks and pulled up. "Smile!" "Sigma, that hurts." "I don't care." he said happily. He moved his hooves around. "You look funny!" She swiped his hooves away from her face. "Party pooper. If you're gonna hate me, hate me when I kill ya. Before then, find a way to stop me, because unless I'm stopped, you'll die. Aw, I'm making everything all mean and gray. Should be happy and yellow! Yellow's a cheery color, right? Or did I miss something? No, yellow's always gonna be cheery. Well, I've been wrong before." "You're like a filly." "The last pony to say that, other than Shadow, was greater than you, and I killed him for it." "That means you took Shadow's body before, correct?" "Well, yes and no. You see... No, I'm not gonna tell you that. That's a story for another day." "Why not now? Why can't I hear the story now?" "Because now, it's late and time to sleep." he said, "For you, not for me, I don't sleep." "You don't sleep?" "I have never gotten a wink of sleep in my life." "Doesn't that hurt?" "Well, yeah, of course it does." "Do you want to sleep?" "Every day." "Maybe I could help you." "Why would you help your executioner?" "I am queen of these lands and all of pony-kind. You're still a pony, no matter what you've done. That means you are one of my subjects. I help my subjects, including somepony like you." "You don't want to regret this decision, and yet, you will." "I'll take my chances." "And I'll kill ya!" he said happily. "How can you say those horrid things so easily?" "And what things are those?" "You kept saying that you would rape me, thank the heavens you said you'd lost interest, and you constantly say you'll kill me. Most ponies throw up if they even began to think about those." "If you've killed enough, you really don't care about who you hurt or what you do." "But when did it all start?" "It ha always been, and always will be. It's my special talent." "Special talent?" "Causing pain. I'm so good at it! It's like a filly and their cutie mark. But, neither of us have our cutie marks. We're both constantly blank." "Sigma, have you ever thought that hurting ponies wasn't really your special talent?" "I've given it no thought." "Sigma, if you think it's your special talent, and you don't have a cutie mark for it, then maybe you weren't meant to do it." "But what else could there be? It makes me so happy when I do it! And I'm good at it. Really, really good." "I'm sure you are, but if it isn't your real special talent, what is?" "I'm also a great battle tactician. I took an entire militant planet without a single casualty on my side. Then I slaughtered them all. Friend and foe alike." "How about something non-violent?" "I'm a great baker." he said. "You're a baker?" "I don't mean to brag, but I make the best apple pie in the universe. Literally. It was entered in a universal cooking contest and won. Earlier, you mentioned you could help me sleep." "Yes, I have a sleep spell I can use on you. Stand still and I'll be done in a moment." He stood right in front of her. She used the spell on him, then shot back and was slammed against the wall. Sigma laughed. "You alright over there?" "What'd you do that for?!" she asked angrily. "I didn't do anything." "You broke my spell!" "Not on purpose." "What do you mean?" "I didn't do anything on purpose. Maybe I just don't sleep." "There has to be another explanation." "Spell resistance, spell wasn't done right, spell wasn't strong enough, spell simply failed. All possible." "Are you trying to pin this on me?" "That, or I just plain can't sleep." His ears perked up. "Somepony is screaming. I love it!" "Who is that?" asked Gaia. "It's Celestia. Her voice sounds so pained. It's great!" "What's happened to Celestia?!" "She must've learned about us in this room." he said, "Celestia's throwing a storm of a temper tantrum. Big ol' hissy fit. Little baby wants her mommy. Oh, boo-hoo-hoo." "You shut up!" "Or what? You gonna cry about it? Ya gonna cry you big baby? Whaa! Whaa!" She reared up on her back hooves and came down on his head. "Shut up!" she shouted. She continued to strike him. Her blows started to get weaker and she was crying. Sigma grabbed her hoof and threw her to the ground, then stepped on her back. He leaned down to her ear and whispered, "All you have to do is open the door and you can see Celestia and Luna again. You get to see your cute little babies again. You can hear her. She's crying out for you, 'Mommy! Mommy! I want to see my mommy! Where's my mommy?' But she'll never see her mommy again, will she? It's all your fault. You're to blame for this. There's only one way out of this room and you know it. There's only one way to see your fillies, and you have the key." Her hooves were over her eyes and she was silently crying into them. "Don't you care about what happens to your babies? Don't you want them to have a mom? Don't you love them? Don't you love your fillies? I don't think you do. You never want to see them again. Their cute little faces. Their happy little voices. Unless you let yourself out of here, these things will be forever out of your grasp. Never knowing what your babies will grow into. Never knowing what they will turn out to be. They won't have anypony to help them through tough times. Nopony there for them. They'll be so lonely. They'll think you abandoned them. You'll make your own fillies hate you before they're even grown up." She screamed. Sigma got off her back. 'My work here is done.' he thought. He sat away from her and enjoyed the show. She was in turmoil. Her face was soaked in tears and she was screaming. She remained like this for a good ten minutes, then stood up and looked at Sigma. "Hey, what's the matter with you?" he asked her. She growled at him, like he did to her, then advanced towards him. He smiled at her and said, "You've snapped sooner than I thought you would." She collapsed to the ground. Sigma stood over her and laughed. "Your mind shut down! How painful. In the morning, or whenever you wake up, you'll be in pain. So much pain." He picked her up and laid her on the bed. He stood near the door and the room got darker. "Sun activated lighting. Genius!" He heard a click. The door creaked open. He looked at it like it was dangerous. "What's going on here?" Gaia walked out, and Sigma followed her. "Gaia, are you feeling well?" he asked. She didn't react. "Mommy!" said Celestia, running over to her. She grabbed on to her and held on tight. "I thought you would be stuck in there forever." "It's alright, dear. The lock was just jammed. Shadow here was helping me fix it." Sigma walked past them and grabbed Gaia's tail in his mouth, then dragged her away. "Where are we going, Shadow?" she asked calmly. "You know damn well I'm not Shadow." She didn't answer. 'Her mind was crushed. Did she forget?' he thought. He brought her outside. Celestia and a guard had been following them. Luna joined them after a few seconds. Gaia was smiling and humming to herself while she was being dragged. "So we went outside?" she asked. He let go of her tail. "Get up." he commanded. "What's wrong, Shadow?" "Does the name Sigma mean anything to you?" "No, should it? You dyed your hair. I liked it white. Complimented your old eyes." "Oh. Rest in peace, Queen Gaia." He used his hoof to shove her against the wall and jammed his other hoof through her chest and out her back. She smiled at him, a small trail of blood coming from her mouth, then fell to the ground. "Mommy?" "Are you ok?" The guard tried to tackle him, but he quickly killed him with a blow to the head. Celestia and Luna were holding on to their mom, crying. Sigma ignored them. He felt something odd. 'Was I poisoned? How? She smiled at me. That bitch!' Sigma walked back over to Gaia. Luna and Celestia didn't notice. He closed her eyes, then took off into the air. He coughed up some blood. 'I recognize this poison. How did she get her hands on this much?' He flew into the Everfree. He found a cave and went deep into it. He sat with his back against the wall. "That... son of a... bitch. I... hate you... Queen... Gaia!" He was breathing heavily. His hair was graying. "I love you, Queen Gaia."
Chapter 10Shadow was being transported on a hospital streatcher. A sheet was over him and the shard was still in his head. He overheard them say autospy a while back. The cart stopped, so he assumed he was there. "Alright, this pony was killed less than an hour ago. He attacked the princesses earlier today and she killed him." "Yes. This is still a criminal offence, so we must go with protocol. Even if it is the princess." One of them moved the sheet away from him, and he jumped up and yelled, "Boo!" They all jumped back violentey. He laughed at them."I got you all!" He pulled the shard out of his head and tossed it in the tray. "There's your evidance." He ran away before they could get a word in edge-wise. He ran to the palace, remaining hidden. He made it into Celestia's room first. "Is that you, Shadow? Yeah, white hair." "Don't just trust the hair." "Would you like to accompany me to the training session?" "Who's training?" "Our guards." "With what?" "Fatal combat." "My specialty." "I was actually thinking you could help me." "After what I did? You really think they'll let me do that?" "I thought about that. You'll need a disguise. I prepared a spell. It'll make you look like an earth pony." "Will it work on me? My special properties and all." "I'm certain it'll work. Stand still." She used her spell on him. He felt a tingling sensation on his wing and horn, then it stopped. He reached his hoof up, but couldn't feel his horn. He reached back, nothing. "This is wierd." "It's the only way you're getting around without notice." "Great! Lets go." "Shadow, you'll need a new name. Everypony knows it. Everypony." "How about Starliner?" "Alright. Cutie mark!" "Oh yeah. Don't worry, I can fix that. Do you have any clothes here?" "You can find some in the wardrobe three doors down to the left on the left." "I'll meet you at the barraks." "Good." He headed to the room and grabbed clothes that covered his flank and resembled sergents from earth. 'I hate that horrible place, but they sure know how to live.' He examined himself in the mirror. "I guess it's not too bad. Nothing to laugh at. Yeah, this works. Covers me up. Perfect." He closed everything back up and stealthily made his way out of the castle. He walked over to the training camp. He saw Princess Celestia speaking to the guards. "Here he is now!" she said. "What'd you tell them?" "I told them what they were training and that they had a new trainer." She gave him a bagde. "This signifies that you are the trainer. You are a higher rank than them just like that." He took the badge and threw it on the ground behind him. A guard stepped forward and said, "If you disrespect our princess, you'll answer to us." "If you disrespect me, you couldn't even move fast enough to answer to your princess. If you disrespect me, then I'll take care of you myself." He looked at the group of guards. "There is a new threat in Equestria. More terrifying than Nightmare Moon, more insane than Discord, and more dangerous than anything else you have ever faced, and ever will. This threat is in the form of a group of ponies. They are merciless murderers. You heard me right. They will kill anything they choose. You all have families. More than likely, you have mares and fillies waiting at home. Think of them. This group, given the chance, will not hesitate to kill them all. The last thing you will see of them is at their funeral. Don't let that be your last memory of them. Today, we learn how to protect your country, yourself, and your family." "I should go." said Celestia, starting to walk away. "Hold on there, twinkle tail." he said, grabbing her tail. The guards all got into fighting positions. "Good job. Quick reflexes. Celestia, you're not going anywhere. I have a task for you." "What is it?" He leaned in near her ear. "Use a spell on me that does nothing. It'll be my excuse for extra gravity." "Good idea." She used the spell on him. "Also Celestia, just stay here for a moment." "Fine." "Now, this art is not for the squeemish. If you have a weak stomach, step out of line. If you can't bring yourself to do this, step out of line. If you can't lay your life on the line for your family, step out of line. If you can't look a pony in the eyes and take his life away from him, then step out of line! I mean that. Nopony will think any worse of you. If you're lying, I'll make sure you pay for it. Now, move." A few of the guards stepped out of the line. Shadow walked through the ranks. He grabbed a guard by the horn and threw him out of the group. "Anypony else?" "No, sir!" "The rest of you will start training immidiately." He tripled the gravity around the remaining guards. He removed the weaker ones from the group. "All of you left are to master gravity training as a first. Weakness will not be tolerated here. Where you stand now, you will be no more than a bug to Sigma and his friends. They'll kill you like an ant. They can not and will not be reasoned with. Do you understand?" "Yes, sir!" "Good. Celestia, I want you to find out if Luna is available." "Why do you need my sister?" "I have my reasons. Also I don't need her now. Later will suffice." "How much later?" "Just later. Also, what happened to Shining Armor?" "He's still resting in the hospital. Sigma did a number on him." "Least he got better." "Yeah. Goodbye, Starliner." She flew off. He looked back at the guards. "Everypony, you will be subjected to a horrible training exercise. You want to get out of it? Come over here. I mean that. I have one task for you. Complete it and you'll get out of training for the day." Most of the guards walked over by him. "The task is, defeat me in a fight. All of you at once. If you do it, you get the day off. If not, then it's off to training with you." "You can't be serious, sir!" "You'd end up hurt." "And we'd be punished." "As if they would punish you for hurting me." he said, "Besides, what grounds would they have for doing that? Some random pony just came in here and insulted you." "You're the trainer." "I never put on the badge. Speak to me as if I was an equal, not a supirior. If you choose to fight me, be prepared to lose." "Alright, Starliner." one said. "Somepony hit a bell or something." said Shadow. A pony kicked a nearby piece of metal. Shadow disappeared and reappeared in a flash. The guards around him flew back. Some hit walls. Others bounced along the ground. A few were even thrown high into the air. They hit the ground with a thud. "Take five, cadets. After then, we train." One of them stood back up. "I'm not done yet." she said. She was a unicorn. "Wow, a mare in the guard. Facinating. No, wait, yes. No. Yes. No... Yes? Yes. Yes!" "Sorry, what?" "Hold a minute." He walked to a pony who didn't participate. "There's another mare in the ranks." he said to the stalion. "Sir?" "Yes. No. Yes? No. Yes! No... Mare? Stalion? Mare? Stalion? Sorry, stalion. Sorry for the confusion." He walked back to the ring and said, "Sorry, never asked, what's your name, beautiful?" "My name is Fire Lily. I'm a recruit." "New, huh? Alright Fire Lily, you're going to continue?" "Yes, sir." "Good luck to you. Go!" She ran at him. She wasn't very fast due to the gravity. Shadow dodged every blow she threw at him. "You were well trained to be able to keep this speed with this weight." he said. "I haven't been able to train yet." she replied. "You're that new?" "This is my first day." "Wow." "This is boring." said another guard outside the ring. Shadow grabbed Fire Lily's hoof and threw her at him. He made sure to not injure her. She crashed into him and they both fell to the ground. Shadow walked over to him and said, "If I was the enemy, you wouldn't be alive right now. The next time you lose attention, I'll come after you myself. That goes for all of you." He helped Fire Lily up. "Take the day off, private. You heard right. You're a private now. Anypony have a problem with that?" "Sir, with all due respect, you can't just promote a guard like that." "And who's gonna stop me? You? I didn't think so. Whatever I say becomes law. Remember that. It'll save your life one day." He felt a twinge in the back of his head. "Battle positions!" he shouted, "Sigma's back, be ready to defend! Everypony, follow me!" He ran off, leading the guards to an empty field. A large flash of light illuminated the field, then Sigma appeared before them. "You're training the guards. How useless. You know that more than I." said Sigma. "The citizens need protection more than anything." "They're all dead." "They were dead before I came here, and I'll be damned if they can't protect themselves." "I looked for my gang." "And?" "Seven out of the twelve are still alive." "Seven out of the twelve will die." responded Shadow. "Granted. I can't stop that. So, how have you been for the past... day and a half?" "Did you just come here to catch up?" "Basically." "Good. Men, stand down." "But sir!" "It's safe. If he says he's not here to fight, then he won't fight." "How can you trust him so easily?!" "I am your commanding officer! Now either do as I say or you'll be torn to shreads before you can even blink!" "Shall I demonstrate?" asked Sigma. "Do it and I'll see you bled dry." "But I can't die that way." "Exactly." "Oh, I get it." "So, how 'bout a game of chess?" "You'll just win anyways." "Yes I will. Get your ass off of my planet. You know the rules. You can't break the rules. You're breaking the rules." "What rules am I breaking?" "You're regenerating much too quickly. My facts are wrong. You are lying to me." "Ah yes. About that..." He disappeared. "Men, training is done for today. Come back in two days. I won't be here tomarrow. I need to sort something out. Fire Lily, come with me." "Right, sir." She walked over by him and he said, "You are going to accompany me on a special mission." "What will I need to do?" "All I need you to do is follow me inside, then back out." "Inside where?" "You'll find out." "What will we be doing there?" "I need to have a one on one with their leader." "And what about me?" "You just need to stand there and look pretty." "I don't follow." "You'll be there just to be there. An appearance. Understand?" "I guess so." "Good. We'll leave in one hour. Be back here by then. We're going through a desert. Get your desert gear... stuff. Keep it in a bag. You'll look silly with it on in town." "Yes, sir." They both went seperate ways. Shadow was approached by two guards. "I'm very busy, what do you want." "I request permission to transfer squads." said one. "Why? Honestly." "I can't bring myself to trust you. I'm sorry, sir." "You don't trust me, huh? Good, I don't even trust me. Permission denied. Your opinion has been heard and I choose to ignore it. I'm in a good mood. Go home, I'll see you in two days." "But sir..." "Go home. See your family. Be back in two days. You, what did you want?" "It's about your teaching methods. They're a bit unorthadox and..." "I don't care. What I am teaching you is the most painful art ever created. You're lucky that nopony cares about these eight enimies anymore. Any family they've ever had are long dead. They're all alone. There's nopony to mourn them." "And promoting a recruit to private on her first day?" "If she keeps going as she is, she'll be a general within the year. Nopony else stood up to attack me again. And besides, if a recruit goes on a top secret mission, it'll look bad for the guard." "Mission?" "Yeah." ONE HOUR LATER "I'm back, Starliner." she said. "Good. Got your things?" "Right here." she said, gesturing to her saddlebags. "Alright, I got some water for us." he said, slinging his sack over his shoulder. "Follow me. I'll take you there." "Where is it?" "Other side of the Everfree." "Isn't that dangerous?" "You'll be safe with me around. I know the way. Come along, Fire Lily. We're wasting time." "Right, sir." Shadow exited the town, then looked around in all directions. He stopped after fixating on a single direction and started walking. He walked through the edge of the Everfree Forest. She didn't hesitate in following him in. Shadow sped up. An hour later, he reached the other edge of the Everfree. Before them lay a seemingly endless desert. "Put your gear on and take the water." he said, "We'll stay here until we are ready." Shadow grabbed some large leaves and tied them together. She opened her bag and got out some white clothes, then put them on. Shadow gave her his pack. "Are you ready?" he asked. She nodded. "Good, lets go." Shadow started to walk through the desert. He tossed her the leaf umbrella. Shadow kept a slow and steady pace. She kept up along side him. "Are you immune to the desert heat?" she asked after about a half hour. "Why?" "It's just that you seem unaffected by it. You don't even have any protective clothing on." "I'll be fine. We've barely made any progress so far." "There's no way we're gonna make much progress at this pace." "Right. We'll be alright. You're gonna run out of water before we get there though." "You haven't taken a single drink since we started." "I don't need it. Leave it at that." He moved himself under her. "What are you doing?" "Shush." He moved her to his back. "You need to conserve energy. Hold on to me, we need to go faster." She wrapped her arms around his neck. He sped up to a run and ran for about an hour. "Here we are." he said after stopping. She got off and looked around. "Where exactly are we?" "The enterance to the Changeling kingdom." "But there's nothing here. We're in the middle of nowhere." "With no water or food. This way." "Starliner, are we safe out here?" "Yeah, follow me. Few feet." As Shadow said, a few more feet ahead, the entire world got darker, colder, and wetter. He had entered a large cave-like area protected by a magic barrier. The surroundings were lit by glowing rocks placed around the walls. After his eyes adjusted, he saw the city of the changelings before him. Many changelings were gathered around him. They were all staring at them. He looked up and saw a castle. He started walking, and Fire Lily followed him. "Shadow, where are we?" she asked quietly. Shadow turned to her and said, "Welcome to the Changeling Kingdom!" "What exactly are we doing here?" "Unimportant. Hey, you're the first pony to ever enter the kindom! Other than me of course." "We're in the Kingdom of the Changelings?" "Yes." "And we're the only ponies here?" "That's right." "Do you have a death wish?" "Well yeah, course I do, but not now." The changelings moved out of his way as he walked to the castle. Most of them had a confused look on their faces. Some were angry. "Who are you?" asked one of them, approaching the two of them. "This is Fire Lily. She's from the Canterlot royal guard. Just became a private today." "We know who that is. You're the trainer, Starliner. Who are you to be able to get to this place so easily?" "Judging by your armor, you're the captain of the guard." said Shadow, ignoring his question, "So you must know where Queen Chrisalis is. Tell me, where?" He looked in his eyes. "In her castle." "Thank you for the information. Fire Lily, the castle is our destination, as I thought." "What do you want with our queen?" "I'm here to speak with her. We have some catching up to do. She'll be delighted to see an old friend. In more ways than one if I'm lucky. Take me to her." he said, looking in his eyes. "Alright. This way." The captain took them to the castle. "You're a friend of the changeling queen?" asked Fire Lily. "Knew her for a good three thousand years. I met her before Celestia and Luna were even born." "You must be good friends." "Yeah." "Wait a minute, three thousand years?" "Leave it at that." "Here we are, you two." said the captain. "Thanks." said Shadow, "We're going inside." The guard put a hoof on each of them and said, "I can't allow that." "Get your hoofs off of her." said Shadow angrily. "Or what? You'll beat me up? You may be the trainer, but changelings have proven that we can handle ourselves against a pony." Shadow laughed. "I'm not a pony. Have you heard of the one named Shadow Streak?" "He attacked the princesses, but was terminated in the process. As well as our Canterlot spy. Bless his soul." "He's here, in the changeling kingdom. Guess who he's posing as." "Hold on..." Shadow removed Celestia's spell from himself. His horn and wing reappeared. Fire Lily backed away from him. "Fire Lily, inside, now." he said. She quickly went inside. He followed her in. "I asked not to be disturbed. Why are you here?" asked Queen Chrysalis. "Hello, beautiful." said Shadow. "Shadow Streak? I thought you were dead!" "But I'm not. How are you?" "I'm good, but..." "That's great! Look at how big you've gotten! You were four feet tall the last time I saw you." "Don't talk to me as if I were a child." "Right, sorry." He started to walk up to her, but she stopped him halfway there. She walked down to him and circled him. "Shadow Streak, when I got word that you were still alive, I was absolutely astounded." she said. "Why? Did I die?" "Yes! How could you not remember?!" "Your spies aren't in Ponyville are they?" "No, just Canterlot. It was quite a long time until we got it right." "I have amnesia. It's all jumbly and blank. And the last 1500 years, gone." "That's terrible. I love that stunt you pulled at the castle all those years ago." "Which one?" "With Gaia. It really helped us out. You disappeared after that." "Don't you ever say that name again." he said angrily. "Fine, sorry." "After that, what happened?" "You hid for many years, then returned with twelve ponies and destroyed Equestria. Celestia and Luna put a stop to you and them. Then you were lost. Up until recently that is. I missed you, Shadow Streak. The last time we saw each other was two mellinia ago." "We were on a date then, weren't we?" "Who's this then? New marefriend? You go through those things like chocolate milk." "That's a lie and you know it. No, she's a private in the guard. Showed excelant progress. If it was just me here, only the princesses would believe anything I say. Introduce yourself. Don't be afraid, she doesn't bite." She looked at him unhappily. "You got me, she bites." "No need to bring private matters into this, Shadow." She looked at Fire Lily and said, "Chrysalis, queen of the changelings." "F-Fire Lily, private of the royal pony guard." she said. "Why are you so scared, Fire Lily? Really now, don't worry." He looked in her eyes. "Oh, I get it now." He took a deep breath. "Tell me yourself." "I feel more safe with her than with you." she said. "Can't have that. How will you get home? You can't navigate the desert. Or the forest." "Shadow Streak, why are you here?" asked Chrysalis. "You know exactly why I'm here. You broke your contract." "The changelings were dying!" "The ponies are mine!" "You would let them die?" "You know I wouldn't. Chrysalis, you attacked the ponies knowing that it would break the contract." "Yes I did. Everything alive thought you were dead. I had no choice." "You know the consequences for this mistake." "Yes I do." "As of now, Chrysalis, you are no longer queen. I am the sole ruler of this land." "No." "What did you just say?" "I'm not going to be dethroned by a dead pony." "Then lets settle this like the sentiant creatures we are." "Lets." "Fire Lily, back." "What for?" "If you get hurt, I'd be hunted for years to come." They stood across from each other. Shadow had already thought of a plan to beat her. He walked forward, then appeared behind her. She turned around, but he disappeared again. He kept teleporting around her, then stopped right in front of her. She raised her front hooves to attack him, but he jammed his hooves through the holes in her legs. Shadow jumped forword, taking Queen Chrysalis with him. He landed with her back to the ground. Shadow was holding her down. She was unable to get free. He placed his head on hers and looked in her eyes. He smiled at her. "Get off of me, Shadow." "Why should I?" "C'mon Shadow, this isn't funny." "I'm not laughing. Give up." "Never." "Either you give up this pointless struggle, or I'll force you to." "You couldn't." He looked in her eyes. "Y-you wouldn't!" "Try me." he said. "Shadow Streak, I'm sorry for what I did." she said. "I know. Chrysalis, I am king now. My word is law. I hereby restore your title as queen." "What?" "You have earned it back. If you attack ponies again, I'll find you, and when I do, you'll be sorry." "What?" "I've warned you. Next time won't be as peaceful." He planted a kiss on her lips, then got off. "Fire Lily, we're going." Shadow left the castle and the changelings poured inside. Queen Chrysalis was still laying on the ground in shock. "What happened to you my Queen?" asked one. "He... He kissed me... Shadow Streak actually kissed me." "What was that, Shadow Streak?" asked Fire Lily. "Which part?" "All of it! The contract, King of the Changelings, talking to her as if you were her friend, not to mention the kiss." "I'm king of a lot of things. Once I was even King of Equestria. Before Tia and Luny of course, even their mom. Well, the land before Equestria. Story for another day. As for Chrysalis, we were indeed good friends. The contract, I made a deal with her. She stays away from ponies, she gets to be Queen. I allowed her this one chance." "You're a strange one." "I may have lost my memory, but I'm still a politition. And a fighter, and an ambassador, and a genius. I have too many things to do yet." Shadow use his magic to extend the barrier around them while they walked through the desert. After they got to the forest, the desert returned to normal. "How did you navigate through the forest? Nopony can get through the forest." "I gave the forest it's own defense mechanism. No sane pony would try to go in. The ponies that go in are there to research and discover. The forest gives them what they want. They go home, overburdened by discovery. Also it's just plain hard to get through." "But the Princesses..." "Have been told to keep their big mouths shut. Lets go home." "Who are you, Shadow Streak? You attacked the princesses, but you're too kind to do that." "Remember that pony named Sigma?" "Yes, who was he?" "He looks exactly like me for a reason. We're not the same. He was the one who attacked them, not me." "I believe you." "Thanks. If you tell anypony about me being Shadow Streak, I'll lock you in the dungeon." "Yes, sir." *Random fact of the day: You shouldn't eat cyanide. Sorry about the dull ending to the last chapter. Went too fast. May or may not edit, depending on level of caring.
Chapter 11"So, Fire Lily, was that scary?" asked Shadow. "It was very scary." "It's just going to get scarier from here on out. It's getting late. You going home, or do you have something to do?" "Just home." "Alright." "What about you?" "I was gonna get something from the barracks. I left my badge there. After that... I'll just go sleep under a tree. I guess." "Why under a tree?" "I don't have anywhere to go. I could ask Celestia, but she might kick me out for being lazy." "Would she do that?" "It's possible. She's a little distant. Completely understandable." "She seemed ok when she introduced you." "She's good at that." "Well, you could stay at my place for the night." "That's pretty nice of you. Are you sure? Complete stranger could just come into your house and pretend to sleep until you fall asleep and rob you blind, or even worse. I told a similar thing to the last pony who offered that." "I'm sure. You seem trustworthy enough." "Alright, thanks. Tell me where it is and I'll be meet you there in a few minutes." She told him how to find her house. "See ya later, Fire Lily." "Bye, Shadow Streak." "Starliner, please. Spies could be anywhere." Shadow headed back to the castle. He used Celestia's spell to hide himself and walked to the barracks again. Two guards were there. One was training hard. The other was watching him. "What are you two still doing here at this hour?" asked Shadow. "Just training." "And you?" "Dunno. Seemed like the place to be." "Alright. Remember to get some rest. Have you two seen my badge?" "It's right here." said a guard, pulling it off the ground. "Thanks." He grabbed the badge and put it in his pocket. "Can I ask you a question?" "What is it?" "Where will you be tomorrow?" "I'll be doing my own form of training in the gorge." "Be careful, sir." "Keep in mind that you need to be careful as well. If you need help just come get me." "Actually sir, I'd like a rematch." said the guard that was training. "Sure about that?" "Yeah, I'm sure." "Alright. Prepare yourself." "I'm as ready as I can be." "Good. Go!" Shadow easily took him out with a blow to the face. He stood back up and said, "I knew it, not nearly good enough." "You need many years of hard work to achieve this kind of skill. You don't just get it on a silver platter. I know I didn't." "How many years?" "It all depends on who you are. It took me about 10 years." 'To the power of 10.' "That's... not possible. I've been at this for more than ten years!" "We didn't train the same. Trust me on that." "Well how do you train?" "Stop by the gorge tomorrow and you'll see. See ya later, men." "Bye, sir." Shadow went to Fire Lily's house. He knocked on the door and she answered. "Hey, Fire Lily." "Hello again, sir." "Just call me Starliner. I'm not even near the training grounds." "Sorry. I have a few questions for you." "I assumed you would." "I'm letting a total stranger sleep in my home. Why am I doing that? I trusted you as soon as I saw you." "I just have one of those faces." "You didn't put a spell on me, did you?" "Why would I do that?" "I don't know. Maybe what you said. Rob me blind or worse. What kinds of worse? Have your way with me? Kill me in my sleep?" "Or maybe all of the above." he said seriously, "If you don't want me to stay here, I'm fine with sleeping outside. I'm quite partial to it actually. Besides, if I wanted to hurt you, why didn't I do it in the desert?" "No, you can stay. I just... I'm letting a total stranger sleep in my house." Shadow patted her back. "First for everything. Now that you've gotten that out of your system, where do I sleep?" "Anywhere you want." "Except your bed... right?" "Why? Do you have a problem with that?" "As long as you don't have a problem with it." She chuckled nervously. "Anywhere, but my bed." "Thank you." "Any time." "Well, I don't know about you, but I'm gonna sleep now." "You have something planned tomorrow?" "Yeah, I was gonna train." "I'd like to see that." "Really?" "Anything that would make you stronger must be a sight to see to say the least." "I guess. If you feel the need, I'll be at the gorge. Goodnight, see ya tomorrow." "Night, Starliner." "Do you have any pets? No, no pets. Thought I smelled one for a second there. Dog, really big, female." "How did you know I didn't have pets?" "I've seen ponies with pets. They're somewhat different from other ponies. I also would've seen animal hair." "How do you know I don't clean often?" "Are you going to question me all night?" "Do you have a problem with that?" "Of course not, I love hearing your voice. Just another sleepless night." He walked over to her couch and laid down on it. He waved at her and smiled. "Night." "Yeah." NEXT DAY Shadow got up early and headed to the gorge. He dropped down to the bottom and looked all around him. "There's a lot of stone to be moved today." he said. He found a very large rock on the ground and put it on his back. He moved it to the side of the gorge and set it down. He found some more large rocks and did the same with them. "Is that you, Starliner?" "Rainbow Dash? What are you doing here? What happened to the Wonderbolts?" he asked without turning around. "I come here to train. And the Wonderbolts... they told me to go. Fun while it lasted." "That's a shame." "Yeah. What about you?" "Also training. What a coincidence." "What's with the rocks?" "I think I'm clearing out the gorge. I'm gonna put all the rocks here." "Then what?" "Stick around, you'll find out. Hey, it's the cave Sigma killed you in!" he said happily. "That's not something to be happy about." she said, "He wasn't right in the head." "Wait a minute, you had to have heard the news about me, right?" "Everypony did. Everypony knows." "Then why aren't you running in terror?" "Princess Celestia sent a letter to Twilight about it. She also mentioned your nickname. Only the six of us know. Fluttershy is scared out of her mind, even after hearing that." "If I try and go say hi, she might run off screaming. Still, at least she wasn't the first target. She would be... anyways, it's back to work for me." "So you're just moving rocks here?" "Yeah, until later. I have a lot of work to do. There was an avalanche recently." "Yeah, that was me." "I know, it was funny." "It wasn't that funny." "Maybe not for you. See ya." Shadow left to collect more rocks. Rainbow flew off to train. 11 HOURS LATER "That's just not possible." said a guard. "Did he do all this by himself?" "But how?" "And that is how we take care of business where I come from." said Shadow, putting the last rock down. "This was kinda tough. What do I do with all these rocks? Rainbow? Oh yeah, she left a few hours ago. Now, has anypony ever had a use for a huge pile of giant rocks? Amateur sculptors and destruction spell testers. I know what I could do with these. Which is closer, Ponyville or Canterlot? Um... Ponyville. Ponyville is that way. Wait, I'm here to train. Walking to Ponyville alone isn't training. I know!" He got a rock from the pile and set it on his back, then ran off to Ponyville. After a few minutes, he made it to town. He was getting odd looks due to the rock on his back. He walked as if it wasn't there. "Now, if I remember correctly, it should be around here. There it is! Sporting goods." He set his rock on the ground and walked in. He grabbed a few wooden bats. "No metal bats it seems. There's an abundance of metal, but it's not used often. I might need to use my smithing and smelting skills some day for my own advantage." He went up to the counter and the pony said, "What's with the rock?" "Training." "What are you training for?" "Dunno. It's always a good idea to keep in shape." "If you can lift that rock, then you're way past just in shape." Shadow shrugged. "See ya." "Bye." He picked up the bats and left. Outside he saw a familiar face. "Applejack!" he said happily. "Sha... Starliner?" "Yup, it's me! Are you busy right now?" "Nope. What do ya need?" "You're strong, right?" "Ah reckon." "Good. Take this." he said, handing her a bat. "What's it for?" "I want you to smack me with that as hard as you can across the skull." "That is the stupidest this Ah've ever heard!" "C'mon, it'll be fun! What? It's not like I'll get hurt or anything. Please?" He looked in her eyes. "Well, Ah guess." "Alright, whenever you're ready. Right across the head." He looked behind him. Just the rock. "Ready Applejack?" "Yeah." "Don't you hold back. That is important. I need accurate results." "Right. Get ready, here Ah go!" She leaned back and hit Shadow in the head with all that she could. He didn't move a single centimeter and the bat broke in two. The second half flew back and slammed into the rock, splintering it. A trail of blood ran down Shadow's face. Shadow took the bat handle from her and examined it. "This is a piece of junk!" he said, "That means that the others won't work either." He picked up the other bats and gave them to a group of fillies. He kept one just in case. He picked his rock back up and said, "Thanks for the help, Applejack." "Right. What exactly did Ah do again?" "Tell your brother I might come see him some time. See ya later." "Bye Starliner!" Shadow headed back to the gorge. He dropped his bat and separated the rocks into piles. "Alright, a majority of iron and gold. Now, I need fire. Dragon fire. Spike isn't old enough. Few dragons are at the volcano. There's my next destination. It's close to the previous migration right now. Dragons don't like ponies and it's getting late and I'm training the guards tomorrow. I think it's time to check on the Wonderbolts as well. I met them as Shadow Streak, guess not. I hate being not Shadow. Show up so I can kill you, Sigma!" he shouted. One of the guards who was watching him jumped off of the edge and slip down the side of the gorge. He approached Shadow. "Sir, that was all the confession I need." "Sorry?" "You are Shadow Streak, correct?" "Yeah. What of it?" "No denying it?" "You're too determined to be persuaded. Wait a minute... you were the mare, and the dog. Who are you, because you're certainly not friendly." The guard transformed into a tall blue pegasus mare with a long purple mane. "I didn't expect that. What do I call you now, sexy?" "You can call me Blue Rose." "I've heard that name before. I think." "You've forgotten. I'm with Sigma in this war." "It's not a war yet." "It most certainly is. You need to see how powerful we've gotten since we last met." "You need to see how powerful I've gotten since our last meeting." said Shadow angrily. He shot a glance up to the other guards. They were watching them carefully. 'Good job, Fire Lily.' Blue Rose grabbed the bat from the ground. Shadow laughed at her. "Go ahead and hit me. It won't work. My friend broke a bat over my head five minutes ago." "She just wasn't using it right." She hit him across the face and he soared into the sky. He landed after a few seconds like a meteor. "Ah, that should leave a mark, but won't. She's got a nice swing." He saw a shaking mare look into the hole in the ground he was in. "Are... are you ok?" she asked. "Is that you, Fluttershy?" he asked, "Great to see a friendly face again." "Shadow?!" she said, backing away. Shadow stepped out of the hole and looked at her. "Fluttershy, it's ok. It's me, Shadow. I'm not gonna hurt you. Twilight told you about what really happened, right?" She nodded. "H-how do I know you're Sh-Shadow? Shadow and not S-Sigma." "I'm sorry, but I can't help you with that. You have to decide that for yourself. If you'll excuse me, I need to go." "Shadow, wait!" she said. "You called me Shadow. Sorry, love to stay and chat, but I need to go." "But you're hurt!" "No I'm not." He sniffed at the direction he came from, then stood up on two legs in front of Fluttershy. A piece of wood flew through the air at them and struck Shadow in the head. It bounced off and landed a few feet away. "Holy cow, that hurt!" said Shadow, rubbing his head, "Ow, it cracked the skull. There we go, good as new." "Are you ok, Shadow?!" said Fluttershy, running to him. "I'm fine, Fluttershy. I'm ok." "What was that?" "I think it was a bat. That was some spot on accuracy from that much of a distance. She's good. Stop looking at me like that, Fluttershy. I'm fine." He parted his hair and showed her his head, "See? There's no bumps or marks or anything." "But you said..." Shadow looked in her eyes and said, "I'm alright." "Ok." He picked up the bat. There was a note on the handle. "Sigma lets us kill anypony we want now. Keep that in mind when you plan your next move. There are things you don't know, and things we don't know. Your memory for one. Sigma's memory as well. Now we have an advantage. We know your weakness. If you act normally, we'll act normally. Blue Rose." he read. "Damn. Hmm... She gives off incredible power, I can feel it from here. There aren't any other power spikes, so she must be the only one on this earth. If she's allowed to kill anypony she wants, Fire Lily and the other guard are dead. But they're not. She needs me to keep in line. Hostages. Damn it, damn it, damn it all! No, I'm not gonna let her get the best of me. She's not gonna die peacefully. Wait, she's from my past. And she's old, really old. Chrysalis old. In fact, Blue Rose is exactly 7122 years, three months, two weeks, and three days old. So many questions, so little time." Shadow looked at Fluttershy. "You didn't hear any of that, did you?" She shook her head. "Why?" "It's not really for anypony in public. Now, I have a problem. I need to stay in town. Hey Fluttershy, I need to go. See ya." "Alright, Shadow." "About that, could you call me Starliner please? Spies could be anywhere. See ya.” Shadow ran back to the gorge. Fire Lily and the other guard were nowhere to be seen. "Blue Rose? I just wanna talk! Show yourself! I know you're here, I can feel your energy." "You don't let anything get past you, do you Shadow?" "I need you to do something for me." "What makes you think I'll listen?" "I know you will. I need you to teach these guards how to kill and all that. Continue their training for me. Here's the badge." "Why should I?" "You don't need a reason. You'll do it regardless. I trust you." She laughed. "You haven't changed a single bit. I remember when you asked me to filly-sit for you." "So I asked one of my mortal enemies to watch my kid?" "Yes you did." "What was I doing?" "You were fighting Sigma." "That would explain it. Was this recent? I don't remember it." "We figured out why. Your memories weren't just taken, they were splintered. They've always been splintered. You can't remember things because that part is a new splinter in your head." "When it get's to a certain point, my memories will collapse. But so will Sigma's. Absolutely unavoidable. Damn. Until then, fights to the death." "I'll be waiting for it." "See ya, Blue Rose." Shadow ran back to town and looked around a little. "It's eight right now. Not late, but not early." He looked at the sky, "Constellations, the moon, planets, galaxies. So beautiful. Hang on, that wasn't there before. Neither was that. It's different, all of it. Where am I right now? Isn't this the pony Earth? It has to be, ponies and Earth! What the hell is Sigma doing? Is he attacking the universe? He could be. It's not like there's anything stopping him. Whoa! Major power surge. From where? The sky? I recognize that power. Sigma must've met the Saiyans. He's dead. No, I'd know, no matter how far. He ran. It doesn't explain the irregularities. Nor does it explain the pony ten meters away from me listening in to what I'm saying. It's a nice spying spell, but as soon as you cast it I knew about it. So Twilight, are you getting suspicious of me? Anypony who brings threat to your teacher can't be good, can they? Get out of the trees, let me see your pretty little face." Twilight walked out of her hiding place and Shadow walked over to her. "How are you, Twilight?" "I'm good. What are you doing here?" "Well, I found out that my enemies are already here, so I decided to stay in Ponyville for a while." "An enemy?! Shouldn't you stop them?" "It'll be fine. Anyways, if I said any more than you would just worry about it. That or you'll tell Celestia. You're gonna do that regardless so I need you to tell her something for me. Tell her that Blue Rose is training the guards." "But you were doing that." "Now I'm too busy." "Sha... Starliner, Princess Celestia didn't tell me what happened with Sigma. Can you tell me?" "Look up at the sky. Tell me what you see." "I see the moon and stars, but that's it." "C'mon Twilight, it shouldn't take a genius like you to figure it out." "What are you talking about? Wait a minute... where's Ursa Major? Ursa Minor, Orion, Leo? Maybe I'm looking at it wrong." "No, they're gone. Everything's all jumbly-wumbly." "Jumbly-wumbly?" "Sigma's out there attacking planets and recruiting an army. He just attacked one of the most powerful beings in the universe and got trashed. There's no way in our existence that we could match them. He's not causing the constellation problems though. Something big is going down." "It's just not possible." "I've seen less likely. Hey Twilight, look over there, near the moon. That star is Regulus. No matter what angle you look at it from, Leo is nowhere in sight." "Jumbly-wumbly?" "Yeah." he said. His stomach rumbled. "You know I can't eat until I get paid again. Stop making noise." "Are you hungry?" "A bit, I haven't eaten in two days." "Two days?!" "It's fine. Maybe I'll cook up my arm. I know how to spice it up good." "Your arm?" "Anyways, what were you doing spying on me?" "Well I saw that you were in Ponyville and I thought that..." "I was Sigma. Well I'm not, and you know that." "I heard that Applejack hit you in the face with a bat. Why did she do that?" "I asked her to. I was testing the durability of the bats. It broke, so it wasn't any good. I hope it didn't cause any trouble for her. That wouldn't be good. Be a bit rude if you ask me. Maybe not rude, but not good nonetheless." "That doesn't seem very smart." "Hitting anything else would just look silly. Hitting me was cool." "How is that cool?" "Dunno, I just think it is. It must've looked a little cool. I didn't even move." "What are you gonna do now?" asked Twilight. "I was looking for a place to sleep. Then I'm gonna go to Canterlot and continue training the guards. By then your brother should be out of the hospital. I'll help him out a little. Am I forgetting something?" "I don't think so." "Good." "Starliner, are you worried?" "About what?" "Your memory. What if you lose it?" "Try not to read my mind. I don't care if you spy on me, but stay out of my head." "You don't care if I spy?" "Go ahead, by all means." "Alright then." "So what do you wanna do now?" "I don't know. What about you?" "Dunno. Whatever's fine, but if you don't pick, I'll just fall asleep. Or maybe I'll stay up and study the sky. I need to find some sort of pattern in the stars. If I find one, I can cross check the results with the individuals I've come to know." "That's a good idea. Maybe I can help." "I'd love your company, if you'd stay." "I'll stay, I need to tell the princess about this." "Good idea. You should also tell them about what I told you. Leave my mind state out of it though." "Why?" "They shouldn't be worried. I don't want them to worry about me. They'll find out eventually, and it'll only be a big deal when it happens. Before then, nothing good can come of it. Your prying makes you know." "I'm sorry." "I'm not upset. Just keep it to yourself." "Alright." Shadow looked at the sky again. "Maybe it isn't real." he said. "What?" "This might not be real. Whoa, look at that." he said, pointing to Canterlot. There was a large white light emanating from the castle. A few seconds later, it shot into the sky in an orb. "What was that?!" asked Twilight. "Celestia must've thought the same thing that I thought. It's real. A long distance spell, nice." "How can you tell that it was real?" "There would've been interference of some kind. Twilight, when you look at the sky, what do you see? Metaphorically.” "I see the beauty of the night and the wonders that it holds. What about you, Shadow?" "I see everything." "Everything?" "The brightness of life, the darkness of death, the power of the universe, and the lonely eternity I'm doomed to spend it in." "You don't have to be lonely." "You don't understand what I go through." "Could you tell me?" "That isn't a story for today. Well, I must say that I did not expect this day to turn out as it did. I met enemies from my past, Sigma is amassing an army, and the universe is all jumbly. At the risk of something else going wrong, what else could possibly go wrong? If it was raining, my day would be complete." "It's not scheduled to rain today." "I still wouldn't be surprised in the slightest. It's getting a little late. Going home?" "What?" "Are you going home tonight?" "Why wouldn't I?" "I can think of a few arguably logical reasons. One that stands out is that it's pretty dark out. That can be fixed with a little spell though. Easy enough." Shadow jumped up and stood on his hooves. "I can't find a pattern in the stars. It's like somepony deliberately made it unorderly. I can go as far as to say the pattern was random." "Random? Wait, you looked at all of the stars?" "And I calculated the stars themselves, the distance between each one, the histories and lore, and every other combination of variables I could think of." "That's not possible!" "If there's one thing you learn being over 14 billion years old, it's that everything is possible. Who do I know that dabbles in the art of randomness? Do you know anypony like that?" "Well, there's one." "Really?" "Yeah. His name is Discord, he's the one who attacked the princesses all those years ago." "He couldn't have been freed again, right? The more that I think about it, the more I'd like to speak with him. Maybe. From what I've learned, last time Celestia and Luna used the Elements of Harmony to seal him away. This time it was you and your five friends. You are most certainly weaker than the princesses, but you managed to stop him. Maybe this time there wasn't enough power to seal him completely. If that's true, he should be capable of affecting this world. But stars are immensely powerful. If he was able to move this many stars from this distance, then there is no way the Elements could even begin to effect him. Hypothetically speaking, if this is all true, this land is in much more danger than ever before. Which means we have to tell the princesses. Put it in that letter of yours." "Good idea." "Well Twilight, I believe it is time for us to part. Until morning if you feel the need. Night, see ya later." "Bye Starliner." Shadow walked to Sugarcube Corner and jumped on the roof. He laid down and looked at the sky a little more. He sensed some more power surges, but they weren't as noticeable as before. "If he gets himself killed, I'm going to have a very boring time."
Chapter 12Shadow woke up with a face full of whipped cream and two laughing ponies. He looked at his hoof and smiled. "Good one." he said. He stood up and cleaned his face off with his hooves. "So how have you two lovely mares been?" "Pretty good, how 'bout you?" asked Rainbow. "Pretty dang good. Hey Rainbow, you mentioned a job with the weather team?" "Yeah, there's an open spot right now. You can start tomorrow if you want." "Good, I ran out of money a while back." "When was that?" asked Pinkie. "Two days ago. I neglected to eat as well." "You haven't eaten?" "The past three days." "Wait, what?" "I haven't eaten anything for the past three days." "Wow, really?" "Yeah." "You must be starving!" "Yeah. So anyways, who wants to go see what the dragons are doing?" "I do!" said Pinkie, "But I can't, I'm busy with something." "What's with the dragons?" asked Rainbow. "I was gonna use them to help me make something out of metal." "They don't like ponies." "They'll learn to like me. For their own sake." "That's cool. Sure, I'll come with." "Awesome. I need about half an hour. I need to get something from Applejack." "What are you getting?" "A cart. I will meet you at city hall in half an hour." "Alright." "See ya." Shadow jumped off the roof and ran to Sweet Apple Acres. He got a good look at the farm and the surrounding lands. "I love apples so much." he said. He saw a pony working in the field, so he walked over to him. "You must be Big Mac." "Eeyup." "Wow, the rumors were right, you are strong. I'd go so far as to call you the strongest in Ponyville. Well, maybe if I left, but that's besides the point." he said, walking around him, "Awesome. Can I borrow a cart?" "What for?" "I need to haul a lot of heavy rocks. Could do it without the cart, but it would take a considerable amount of time and I told my friend I'd only need thirty minutes." "We don't have any carts to spare." "Yes, you're using them all. Alright, thanks for your time, Big Mac. I got thirty minutes to kill. Hey, where's Applejack?" He pointed to the barn. "See ya later." He walked over to the barn and Applejack was looking for something. "What'd you lose?" "Ah was looking for a basket. Ah know it's in here somewhere." Shadow reached on a shelf behind him with his tail and tossed the basket that was on it in front of her. "So now that you've gotten that out of the way, how've you been?" "Pretty good, Ah guess." "No irregularities?" "Well yesterday this crazy stallion asked me to hit him in the face with a bat." "That's strange. Did I know him?" "You might have met him once or twice." she replied. He laughed a little. "Your brother informs me that you're using all your carts." "Yeah. Why? Did you need one?" "A little, but it doesn't matter. Can I grab an apple or two?" "Sure." "Awesome. See ya later Applejack." "See ya." Shadow walked out of the barn and grabbed some apples with his tail from a tree. He headed to city hall to meet Rainbow. "What happened to the cart?" "They were all used. So anyways, dragons. Had a history with them?" "Well, we were spying on Spike while he was visiting them. We did some stuff and had to leave in a hurry." "Well lets go back then." "I'm starting to question the safety of this mission." "You said it yourself, dragons don't like ponies. If you want to stay here you can." "Nah. I'm no chicken." "Awesome. Lets go then. Have an apple." he said, tossing her one. "Thanks." "So the volcano's that way. Race?" "Race." FIFTEEN MINUTES LATER "How fast can you go, Shadow?" asked Rainbow. "A lot faster than anything native to this planet, I can tell you that." "You say planet as if there were others like this." "There is." "What, really?" "Big universe. Anything could happen. Like on one planet, there is a race that communicates using telepathy." "Wow." "There's even parallel worlds. Like in one world there could be three of you and no work to be done ever." "Cool!" "Yeah, but the natives of Equestria won't mingle with others for maybe a thousand years or so. Enough about that. We're in dragon territory now. Be cool and follow my lead. I don't know how hostile these things are against me personally, so tell me if there's a dragon creeping up on us." "We're good." "Great." Shadow walked up the volcano and slid down the edge. "Shadow, they're staring at us." "Think about it, if an earth pony was walking around on Cloudsdale, you would stare as well." "I guess, but not for long." "Don't worry about it. It's normal to stare at new things. I don't need a dragon itself. Just a forge. Few days and I'll have myself some bars. Awesome." "So what exactly are you making?" "Don't know. Maybe a weapon, maybe art." "Well look what we have here, boys." said a dragon, walking toward them with a group following him. "Some ponies wandered out of there little homes." "You look familiar." said another dragon. "Hey, you're right. She's one of the ponies that was with that pipsqueak. Who's this? Your boyfriend? You so scared you need someone else?" "What did you just say?" yelled Rainbow, flying up to eye level with him. "Easy, Rainbow. I'd prefer you don't have me finish what you started." said Shadow. "But he's the one that..." "We're not here to start a fight." "You got lucky this time." said Rainbow, landing. "Ooooo... I'm so scared." "C'mon, Rainbow. They aren't worth our time. And besides, you know we're completely safe." "If you say so." "How can you be so sure you're safe?" "So Rainbow, we are in a volcano. Not every day that happens. This ground isn't even soft. Just warm to the touch. This isn't nearly the setup I need." he said, starting to walk away. "Hey, I'm talking to you!" said the dragon, moving in front of him and blocking his path. "Leave us alone." "Why do you think you're so safe?" he asked. His friends surrounded the two of them. "Alright, you want to know so bad, why don't you try and find out for yourself?" "Are you telling us to fight you?" "That's exactly what I'm saying. Unless you're scared." "I'm not scared of you. Why would I be scared of a namby-pamby pony like you?" Some of the older dragons moved closer to them. "Ask them." said Shadow. "Ask them? What's that supposed to mean?" "You seem familiar." said another dragon. "And you look familiar as well, Hydron." "So you know my name. Impressive for a pony. The only pony who knew my name was killed over a thousand years ago." "Perhaps. Dragons live very long lives. In the royal alicorn range. Longer perhaps. Maybe they are like another dragon race I've seen. Live forever barring ill health or injury." "You babble on like him as well. You even look like him. Your father wouldn't happen to be Shadow Streak, would it?" "Um... Yeah, my dad is Shadow. Name's Starliner." "Hey elder, who's Shadow Streak?" asked the teenage dragon. "He's a god among dragons. The story is that he appeared out of nowhere, bested every dragon alive in every contest they could think of, and was given our sacred fire ruby. After that, he left without a trace." "He even took a dip in the lava." "Yes, he was laughing so much after that." "It wasn't even that painful." "So this guy is his son?" "Yes. He also had two daughters. That we know of." "Hold on, did you say two daughters?" asked Shadow, "As in, sisters?" "Yes." "And who was the mother?" "The only mare I remember seeing him with was the queen. I know that the daughters are hers, but I never saw you. They were very close. Some say too close." "That's an odd choice of words." said Shadow. "Did you not know him?" "No, he had to leave before I grew up. I never learned why." "In the end, your father went insane and attacked Equestria. He..." "Enough!" shouted Shadow, "Dash, we're leaving." "But..." "Leaving! Hydron, tell the elders that the ruby is broken." "Thank you for confirming my suspicions, Starliner. May you find peaceful rest one day." Shadow nodded, then left. "I'm still pretty confused here." said the teenage dragon." "What was that all about?" asked Dash, "You were all excited to go to the volcano, then the next minute you're arguing with them! The only thing I got is that you're the princess's dad." "I don't think I am. I'm just a close friend to their mom. Their real dad died shortly after they were born. I was really more of an uncle. They called me Uncle Shadow. Dragon elders are always a little senile. He made the connection between Gaia, Celestia, Luna and I, but they're not my children." "How do you know?" "I just do." "And he said you went insane. What's that all about?" "Sigma took me over. It's happened before." "Really?" "Bunches of times. Some were for only a few minutes. Others he had enough time to enslave entire planets. Now, we could either go back to Ponyville, or something else." His stomach growled. "You can go back to Ponyville. I'm getting lunch." "What are you eating?" "Very good question. On second thought, maybe I won't get lunch." "When you said you hadn't eaten in three days, you were exaggerate, right?" "Not at all. So anyways..." "You really haven't eaten?" "Not a bite. Does this really matter right now?" "Of course it does! You need to eat something!" "Yeah, yeah. You're not the first one to be concerned about my eating. When I get some bits, I'll eat. What is that, end of the week? I'll have to find a secondary source of income. I can eat a crazy amount of food. More than a stomach could handle. Anyways... yeah, Ponyville. Lets get going." "But..." "Shh... Don't worry, I'll be fine." "Starliner you..." "I'm gonna throw you there if you don't go. And it'll be funny. And I'll laugh." "Alright, I'm coming." They headed back to Ponyville. "So Rainbow, while you were injured, did you notice something strange? Something in your head?" he asked, walking around her. "No. What are you looking for?" "Physical abnormalities." "Like what?" "You being much stronger than a normal mare of your age." "I'm pretty sure nothing's wrong." "Nothing at all? Something that wasn't right or just weird?" "Well, there was one thing." "What was it?" "There was this really weird pony in my head controlling my body." "That's the spirit!" "Why'd you ask all of the sudden?" "I needed to make sure that there were no negative lingering effects. It would be bad if there was. Tell me if something odd happens." "Alright." "Well see ya later, Rainbow." "Yeah, see ya." Shadow walked off towards Everfree Forest again. "What do you have for me today, Everfree? " he said. He walked until he found a cave. He noticed a sign near the entrance. It was old and some words had been scratched out. "Warning! Keep out! Danger! This cave is the private property of... somepony. Trespassers will be violated." he read, "Did I read that right? Yeah, trespassers will be violated. That sounds like my kind of place." "What are you doing near this cave? For this, you must be quite brave." said somepony behind him. He turned around and said, "What's a zebra doing in the Everfree? Never mind, it's none of my business. What's so special about this cave, beautiful?" "There are horrible rumors surrounding this place. I would avoid it, just in case." "Horrible rumors? Like what?" "Some say this belonged to an evil god. I believe that is quite odd. Others say that you can never leave once in. As for me, I have never been." "So this place is big, evil, and scary. This is definitely my kind of place. Has anypony else gone in here before me?" "Not to my knowledge. This sign is something to acknowledge." "Yeah, I read it. Thanks for the information. What's your name?" "Zecora." "Alright. If somepony comes looking for me, I'm in here." He headed in the cave. He traveled deep through the maze of the cave until he reached an area similar to a house. "Who's cave is this exactly? It's obvious that they live here." He walked around the area. "This place isn't dirty. That means that somepony was here recently. No, I'm wrong. It wasn't recent. Few years maybe. 10, 30, 100 years. Then how is it so clean?" He looked at the things in the area. "This all looks like stuff I would have. Maybe this is my place. That would really explain everything. Even the sign. Oh yeah, it's my place alright." "Shadow? Are you in here?" called Twilight. "Right over here." he replied. "What is this place?" "It's my house." "Your house? It's a cave." "Yeah. Didn't you read the sign?" "Of course I did. I didn't like what it said." "Maybe I should change it to trespassers will be tortured and murdered." "That's awful!" "I guess you're right. It's fine just the way it is. What did you need from me?" "What?" "This isn't a place you just happen upon. This takes some looking to get to. Did Zecora tell you?" "Yeah. You went in the Everfree before I had a chance to talk to you." "So what did you want to talk about?" "Celestia sent me a letter. Here, read." She gave him the letter. It was magically sealed like last time. He opened it and read it. "New trainer is doing good, blah-blah-blah... Here's something, they say that they're worried. Worried about my Discord theory. It's just a theory. Discord must be dangerous. If he shows himself anywhere near me, I don't know what I'll do." He gave the letter back to Twilight. "So about this place. I found my house. Maybe it has something that can jog my memory." He looked around through the rooms. There were a large number of them. One caught his attention. "Well, I found my bedroom. For some weird reason, it's not dirty like it should be." "Why is that weird?" "Nopony has been here for about a hundred years. Something must've cleaned this place, but the last thing that was here left a very long time ago. Unless it was a robotic creature. I can't get those on a biological scan. There is something on the electric scan, but it's weak." "What's a robot?" "Hmm... I'll show you, follow me!" He walked to a large metal door with a scratch in it. "There are five claw marks. But that means... A human was here. Not only that, a robotic human. This is dangerous." "Did you hear that?" "Yeah. It was a spark. Is it glitched? Twilight, I'm gonna open this door. Stay behind me." He grabbed the door and slowly slid it open. He looked inside and saw something horrible. There were bloodstains on the walls, floor, and the ceiling. There were destroyed machines and glass shards everywhere. "Who, or whatever did this wasn't happy." said Shadow. "Intruders a-alert. S-species: pony. Sub-species: earth p-pony and uni-uni-unicorn. Adaptation a-accepted. Prepare f-for immediate t-termination." said an electronic voice. "Twilight it's still here!" shouted Shadow. A human lunged at Shadow. It was wearing a butler suit and had black hair. He pinned Shadow to the wall, but Shadow kicked him off. "Recalculating. Sub-species: r-royal alicorn. A-adaptation accepted." "Twilight, I'm going to distract him. I need you to push to that button over there. The small red one labeled glitch." Shadow tackled him before he could move and held him down. It struggled to get free, then said, "Recalculating. Species: U-unknown. Adaptation accepted." "What'll it do with unknown species?" he said. It started to break his hold, but Twilight pressed the button and it was stopped. "Thank you. That thing was strong. My level of strong. Where did it get that much power?" "Was that a robot?" "Yeah. That, or an android." "Android?" "Part biological, part robotic. This was a robot. Let me explain in a way you might understand. Robots are machines that are built and programmed to follow commands. That was actually pretty simple." "I think I understand. This thing was made to keep intruders out. When you said it glitched, you meant it broke and wasn't following that command. And that's why it made that sparky sound when it talked." "Exactly." "What did it mean by adapt?" "It made itself stronger. What exactly are it's limits?" Shadow rolled him over and opened up a panel in his back. He examined the insides, then said, "He was built out of a titanium alloy. Dense titanium. Same characteristics of a normal human, but just robot-y." "I've heard about humans." "Really?" "Yeah. My friend Lyra talks about them. I thought they weren't real." "They're real. Fascinating species, but I don't like them." "Why?" "I have my reasons." "You were hurt by them, weren't you?" "Yeah, but that's besides the point. I don't get angry if anything hurts me. Mentally or physically. It's their smell." "Smell?" "I just don't like them. I'll tell your friend all she wants to know though. Eventually I'll get to it. This thing however..." He smelled the robot. "Smells very old. I think I may have built it. It seems like my handiwork. Hold on..." He reached inside and fiddled with the wiring a bit. "What are you doing?" "I'm trying to fix it. If I can fix it, I can access it's memory bank and maybe it could tell me about myself." He messed around with the wires for a little, then closed it back up. "Twilight, can you hit that restore button over there? The blue one." "Sure." She pushed the button and the robot stood back up. "What are your orders, master?" "Access internal memory protocol 1." "Access denied." "Why?" "Internal memory is corrupted, and must be deleted." "Figures. First things first, I designate this pony as a master of you." he said, pointing at Twilight. "Master confirmed. What are your wishes?" "Twilight, tell this thing to do whatever you want. He'll follow it without fail. Address him however you please." "But what if I say the wrong thing? What if he gets angry again?" "I fixed that glitch. Speaking of, robot, run a diagnostics check." "Check completed. No problem discovered." "Good. Robot, disable lethal force. Say something, Twilight." "Um... I can't think of anything." "Alright. Who's blood is this. How did it get on the ceiling?" "The surveillance footage for the incident in question was corrupted and deleted." said the robot. "Damn." Shadow examined the bloodstains. "Looks pony." "How can you tell?" "I just can." He sniffed it, then licked it. "It's mine. Tastes like mine. Corse, it could be Sigma's. "That was disgusting!" "Doesn't taste that bad. Not like some other kinds of blood I've tasted." "Why do you know what blood tastes like?!" "Lets go. We can come back later." "We're leaving? I don't want to leave. This place has so many things to learn about." "Too bad, it's my house." "Fine." "Robot, you're coming with me. AI activate." "AI?" asked Twilight. "It stands for artificial intelligence." said the robot, "It means I'll act like I'm a real being." "Right. Rex, I'm calling you Rex now, your name is Rex, I want you to follow any command given to you under level three classification." "Sure thing." "Twilight, it's time to go." "Aw..." "Rex, clean up my house and meet me in Ponyville. A fourth of a mile that way." "See ya then." Shadow left the cave and took Twilight back to Ponyville. Rex joined them a few seconds later. "That was quick." "I was built to clean. Every mess." "You have a robot butler?" asked Twilight. "Of course I do. I'm prone to making all sorts of messes. Needed something to clean it all up. He doesn't complain, he does exactly what he's told, he's loaded with all sorts of programs. And besides, robot butler." "I guess." "Good job. Lets go see Shining Armor. You coming?" "Yes! I need to make sure he's safe." "What would your preferred method of travel be?" "What?" "I mean, we could teleport, fly, Rex could take us. Well, you. I'm too heavy." "You're not too heavy." said Rex. "Yes I am." "If you say so." "Those, or we could use the boring normal methods of travel." "By boring you mean..." "Normal. Normal is boring. Not normal is exciting. Rex, go to Canterlot." "Meet ya there." Rex disappeared immediately after saying that. "Damn, he's fast." Shadow put his hoof on Twilight and teleported them to Canterlot. "What took ya? I waited for you long enough to grow a beard." said Rex, showing them his beard. "Just kidding, it's fake." "Rex, did you steal that?" "No, I bought it." "With what money?" "The money you left in storage." "Storage?" "You have a ton of money from a lot of races in your house. I grabbed the bits before I left." "How many did you grab?" "Maybe about 20 million." "20 million bits?!" said Twilight. "Where are you keeping them?" "In my pocket." "Are they in normal form?" "Yeah." "How did you..." "Don't question him, Twilight. Did I make those bits?" "Yes you did. This money is illegal to own." "Good to know." "So you just walked in and bought it?" "Yeah." "Camo technology, am I correct? Of course I am, I'm always correct. Although I've been slipping recently." He smelled the air. "Rex, you getting that?" "My sensor just went haywire." "What is it?" "Just something. Rex, follow Twilight to the hospital. I've got something to take care of." "What do I tell Shining Armor?" "Nothing. I'm not in Canterlot. He probably hates me. If he finds out I was hanging around his sister, he'd go ballistic." "I don't think he would." "He has an incredibly good reason. Sigma cut off his leg! It's not like he's gonna say, 'Oh, it's ok, it's just my leg.' No, he's pissed, and he'll be out for revenge. Getting your leg cut off hurts. A lot. I know, Mine have been removed many times. Many, many times." "Really?" "Oh yeah, cut with a saw, a knife, burned off, animals have bit them off. Anyways, I need to go, now." He smiled, then disappeared. "Lets go, Twilight. Don't want to keep your brother waiting." said Rex. "Alright, but I got some questions for you." "Ask away." Shadow stopped running in a clearing in the Everfree. "So what's with all the lies and secrets, Sigma?" he asked. "I thought you would ignore my return." he replied. "Answer my question." "I decided that it was time that I win a round for a change. Time and time again you defeat me and my friends and I've had enough of it." "You don't have any friends. You have pawns to use in your futile little game." "Yes, but now I have a king. Say hello to the chess master, Nightmare." A unicorn that was completely colored black walked into the clearing. "Hello, Shadow Streak. It's a pleasure to finally meet you myself." "So Sigma, what was the point of attacking the saiyans if you were just gonna have pony allies?" asked Shadow. "Because I could. That's my only reason. I needed a good disintegration after my return. Kicked me into high gear, so to speak. And I didn't just recruit ponies. I recruited some other species as well. Of course, every one of them is just a soldier willing to throw their lives away." "You disintegrated and didn't die? You jerk. You screwed with my memories!" "Guilty as charged. Barely anything original remains in there." "Enough talk. Lets see what you have to say when your organs are strewn across these trees." "Nightmare, show him who's the boss here." Shadow got ready to fight, but Nightmare disappeared before he could move. Shadow was slammed into the ground and Nightmare stomped on his back, breaking it. He picked him up and threw him against a tree. Before Shadow could even regenerate, Nightmare impaled him with his horn. He flicked him off his horn and he landed on the ground. Nightmare stood on his wound. He pushed down and said, "Give up and I'll stop." Shadow kicked him off and stood up. "Where'd you find this guy?" "He was in the core of this earth. I guess you could call him the devil if you wanted." "I stay there because it's the only place I can get true solitude." he said. "Enough playing around, Nightmare. It's time." "Right." Nightmare smiled at Shadow, flashing a very sharp tooth at him. He fired a spell at him. Shadow tried to avoid it, but it hit him in the center of the chest. "What?" he said before blacking out. *It was bound to happen sooner or later. Also robot butler because robot butler.
Memories of a God cp 13'Where am I? Why is it so cold? My arms and legs ache." "Why am I in so much pain!?" he shouted, quickly waking up. He looked at his body and around the room he was in. "Freezer. One door, one foot thick, unnatural weight. Intercom. Spikes. Two in each limb, one in the back of my throat. Can't move. Spinal cord is severed. Regeneration currently impossible. Escape, difficult. Hmm... how?" The door opened and Sigma walked in. "How do you like the restraints I made especially for you?" "They're certainly effective. But not nearly as useful as you'd like." "I came back too early. Something came up. I just... No, forget I said anything." "What?" "Nothing. I expected you to scream more." "Pain's just pain. It doesn't hurt me anymore." "Hmm... Anyways, we've captured your friends. Brought them here in their sleep. The princesses have made a last second attempt to protect Canterlot. I have one question though." "Yeah?" "Why am I starting to like your friends? I mean, I wanted to kill them, but then I decided against it. Instead I just took 'em while they slept." "That kidnapping part. Why are you resorting to covert ops?" "I want to start a chain reaction that causes the majority of Equestria to kill themselves. If I start killing now, well... You know, or something. I didn't plan this arrival, it just happened." "Whatever. I didn't do anything. Maybe you're losing your edge. It has been a long time. This planet is inhabited by really cute things, so I would understand if you couldn't do it. It's hard to kill cute things." "I didn't want to kill them as much as I wanted to... huggle and snuggle them! I just wanted to give them all big hugs! I wanna love 'em and hug 'em and squeeze 'em!" "Pull yourself together, Sigma!" "You're right. That isn't murderer talk, that's molester talk. Of course for me..." "Don't even think about it." "Oh, shove a sock in it." "Anyways, we've both been off of our game. Sigma the remorseless killer and Shadow the..." "Remorseless killer?" "I was gonna say Angel of Death." "But you're not an angel." "But what if I was?" "Maybe you are. This memory thing is getting in the way." "I could be the ruler of the entire plane of reality and I don't even know it! Of course, the same could be said for anyone else with amnesia." "How do you know I'm not the king?" "Because you've played second fiddle to a weak little pony for an eternity." "Well, that explains that. You just called yourself weak." "You understand." "I do." "You've figured out what'll happen to us, haven't you?" "Some day, we'll have too much in our heads and boom, nothing." "But when?" "We can't say." "Anyways, that's still an odd thing to call yourself." "Not after what I've done." "Which is why you deserve everything that happens to you." "I deserve to die." "You've earned it." "Apparently not." "Hmm..." "Now, I have a few questions for you." "I'm only gonna answer one." "Damn. I had like seven. Alright, have you heard of Discord?" "Yeah. He's the statue in Canterlot. Also not a statue. I learned a lot about this place already. What about him?" Shadow told him his theory. "I have noticed that something strange was going on. Exactly what it was I wasn't sure." "You knew exactly what happened." "Yeah, I did. What about Discord?" "Was there anything you came in contact with that could've given him a boost large enough?" "Yeah, Nightmare, but he's been under constant surveillance. He's stronger than you, which in turn makes him stronger than me, so I kept an eye on him. Of course, I don't know for sure. Nightmare's weird. But it wouldn't really make sense. Nightmare doesn't do anything. He never does anything. I'll get back to you on this." "Who is Nightmare?" "I already answered one of your questions." "So is that all?" "That's all. Don't try and escape. I'll just trap you again. Again and again and again. I've already got few more traps. And don't think your wings can help you. I may not have been able to get to them, but I've accounted for them." Sigma laughed at him, then walked out and closed the door. "I can't escape. But, I can always escape. He's serious about this! But if he's truly serious... I feel sorry for whoever shows up to stop him. Insane as he is, no amount of talking will get him to stop. No amount of fighting will be enough. But he doesn't seem as crazy as I once thought. Whatever, it doesn't really matter. Eventually, I'll get out, beat the shit out of Sigma, assimilate his mind, murder and/or put a stop to Nightmare, release my friends, and leave the planet. Not all necessarily in that order." BANG "What was that?" BANG "It's a pickaxe." "Did you hear that?" "It's Shadow!" "Hurry up, Pinkie!" The wall to the right of Shadow opened up and six dirt covered ponies ran out. "You're all safe!" said Shadow, "If I could move I'd give you all hugs." "If you could... move?" said Twilight, looking at him. "Shadow!" they all shouted. "What happened to you?!" "Are you ok?!" "I'm fine. I'm completely fine." said Shadow, "Calm down. I can't get a word in edgewise when you're all yelling like that." "But you're..." "Held to the wall with spikes, yes. Contrary to popular belief, this isn't the first time this has happened." Fluttershy walked over to him, eyes wide open and silent as ever. "Shadow?" He smiled at her. "Hey, Fluttershy. How've ya been?" She fainted. "You know Fluttershy, your weak little head isn't making my life any easier." "Why are you like that?" asked Rainbow. "Sigma want's to win. He tried to freeze me in here. Or something. I can't move. I can't get down." "Doesn't that hurt you?" "Yeah, but pain's just pain. And for me, pain doesn't hurt anymore. Besides, this isn't even enough to kill me if I wasn't immortal." "Wait, what?" "But now..." "Now what?" "I need to get down." "How are you gonna do that?" "I don't know." "So what should we do until then?" "Just hang around, I'll figure something out." "Hang around." said Pinkie, giggling. "You caught that." "Pinkie, this isn't a joke." said Twilight angrily. "Lighten up, Twilight." said Rainbow. "Yeah. If I get hurt, I laugh about it. It just isn't important anymore. It used to be. Like a long, long time ago." "How long ago?" "A while. Anyways, I need to get down. Somehow." "I think we could help." said Rainbow. "I only need you to get the spike out of my mouth. There's no way we can get that out. Unless you've got vice grips or something like that with you." "No, we don't have anything we can use." Pinkie climbed up Shadow and looked in his mouth. "Wow! There really is one in there." "Did you really need to see it to believe it?" "Of course I did, silly!" "Any ideas, Pinkie?" "I can't think of any. We can't get it out with our hooves." "I got an idea!" said Shadow happily, "Pinkie, look in my eyes." "Alright." She opened her eyes very wide and stared at him. "Now... Let go." Her head leaned back, then she fell to the floor. Then she started laughing. "You know Pinkie, for all the sweets you eat, you're incredibly light." she said. 'Thanks, I guess.' "Uh... Pinkie, are you ok?" "You're using her body, aren't you, Shadow?" said Rainbow. "That's right! Now lets get me down from... Where'd I go?" he said, looking at the wall. "Shadow's gone!" "Where's my body go? There's still bloodstains, but I'm just gone. What?" said Shadow. "Wait a minute Shadow, when you got out of me, you made another body out of thin air. That was this body, right? So that means that..." "Rainbow, that was good. I totally forgot about that! I was ethereal. I didn't have a real body. Wow, we can't discuss that without sounding awkward." "No, I guess not." "You didn't have a real body?" asked Twilight. "No, but yes, but no. You see... I'm not even gonna try and explain it. The less you know, the better." He left Pinkie's body and shook his head. "This stupid Starliner disguise is getting in my way." He removed the disguise and stretched out. "I forgot how good it felt to have my wing and horn." "So what do we do now?" "You're going home. As for me, I'm gonna take care of Sigma." He used a spell on them and they disappeared. He went to the intercom and said, "I'm coming for you Sigma." "I don't even care. Nightmare is going to kick your ass time and time again." "Hide behind him now, because when I beat him, I'm coming after you next." "This isn't some fairy tale, Shadow. We're too strong for you to win this with sheer determination." "I can still try." "What just happened?" "Shadow just teleported us out of there." said Twilight. "Whoa! Look at Canterlot!" said Rainbow. "It's surrounded!" "Pinkie, what are you looking at?" They all looked at her. She had a blank expression on her face. She shook her head and said, "What?" "You were kinda spacing out for a minute there." "I was?" "Yeah." "It's just that... I think I got some of Shadow's memories." "Shadow told me about this. We need to go see him right away. This could be bad." said Rainbow. "How could it be bad? It feels good! All these things in my head! It's... It's... I can't explain it!" She started hopping around. "I'm almost as smart as Shadow now!" "Almost as smart as Shadow?" asked Twilight. "Yeah! Wow, he knows everything! Although he just likes to say 'a lot.'" She stopped bouncing. "I'm gonna go to Shadow's house. I need to check on something." she said in a serious tone. She ran off to the Everfree. Everypony else followed her. When she got to the cave, she shouted, "Rex, up and at 'em! Big day ahead of us! Gonna need your help with this." He walked out of the cave and said, "What do you want?" "Oh that's right. Shadow didn't make me a master. Twilight, tell Rex that we're his masters." Rex looked at Twilight. "Do you allow this?" "Yes. All of them are to be treated like a master." "Alright then. Welcome to Shadow's house, masters." "Twilight, what is that thing?" "I'll answer that." said Rex, "I was modeled after a human and created by Shadow. I am a human robot butler that cleans messes and makes sure that Shadow's house is private." "Human? Robot?" "Yeah, what are all these crazy things?" "They're both really unimportant." "And what do you mean by masters?" asked Rarity. "It means that I'll follow any common you give me at level six or below without question or fail." "Level six or below?" "Level six and below means that I may refuse any command above level six through my own free will." "But what is level six?" "Basically it's: say something and I'll do it. No need to question me." "So you'll do whatever we say?" "Yes." "Rex, we got a problem." said Pinkie. "I know. Shadow was taken and placed in an underground storage facility no fewer than three hundred miles away." "How do you know where he was?" asked Twilight. "Easy. Shadow has a tracking chip inside of his brain." "What kind of a name is Rex?" asked Rainbow. "Shadow gave me that name three days ago." "It's a weird name." "It's a human name. Or a dog." "Rex, what have you been doing for the past three days?" asked Pinkie. "I've been aiding the princesses at Canterlot. I had to make sure there weren't any happy-go-lucky soldiers taking pot-shots at the innocent. I've also evacuated Canterlot and put them in the cave. Even the princess." "You have the princesses in there?!" "Yes I do. I kidnapped them and brought them here. Don't ask questions, it'll only get you killed. While I'm here I monitor Sigma and his gang through the central computer in here." "Good slave." "Don't say I'm a slave." "Yeah, that was kinda rude, Pinkie." "No, I mean that I'm not just a slave, I'm a robotic butler. Call me robot. It's cooler." he said, "Lets continue this inside. It's safer." "Good idea." They walked inside the cave and Pinkie said, "What else have you been doing, Rex?" "I've been trying to get some allies in here to help us out." "Who'd you ask?" "I asked some of Shadow's friends. The best was busy, most of the others are dead, and some just really don't care about him. I did manage to get some special ponies in on it though." "The best?" "Doctor Whooves. He'd probably be great with this kind of thing, but he's busy with bigger problems." "Who did you get in on it?" "I recruited four ponies so far, Emerald, King, Grave, and Goldwing. I'm also trying for one more friend. You may know her." "Who is it?" "Queen Chrysalis." "Wait, what?" "She was a more recent friend of Shadow. She'd likely be a great help against Sigma. And besides, Shadow'd probably want her here anyways." "Why do you say that?" "Because Shadow and Chrysalis dated a while back!" said Pinkie. "I was gonna say that." "They did what?" "Yeah, Shadow and Chrysalis were together for a while. It isn't that important or anything, so don't worry. All things aside, she's still a friend and can still help us." "So what did you need to check on, Pinkie?" asked Rainbow. "I wanted to check on Rex. He could help us with our problems right now." "Is that all?" "Not exactly, but the rest is a secret. Rex, where are the princesses?" "Down that hall in the war room." "And the rest of Canterlot?" "Living quarters. Just follow the map over there." "So who's all here?" "Every single pony who was at Canterlot. You name it. Shining Armor, the Wonderbolts, Prince Blueblood. Everypony." "Wow, really?" "How'd you get them all here so quickly? There wasn't even any news." "I just picked them up and brought them here." "And they didn't complain or anything?" "They didn't even know it had happened." "How'd you manage that?" "I moved really fast." "Is that it?" "That's it." "Rex, get to work on getting Chrysalis here. I need to speak to the princesses." said Pinkie, walking down the hallway. "Righty-o, boss!" he said, saluting. He hit a few buttons on the computer. "Now, this should be pretty easy. She's already met Shadow and knows he's still alive. You ponies, I'm gonna need you to stay silent, no matter how much you don't like her, I seriously don't want to hear it." "But Rex..." "Do not want to hear it. Your bickering will only make my life harder." "Communications link open." stated the computer. "Queen Chrysalis?" said Rex. "What was that?" they heard. "Good, I got your attention. Listen, Shadow's been kidnapped by Sigma and we might need your help getting him out of there." "Shadow needs my help? He's never asked for my help before. Who are you?" "I'm Rex. Shadow's robotic, humanoid butler." "Rex! I didn't recognize your voice! How have you been lately?" "Well, you know, not dead." "Right. Why does Shadow need my help?" "Sigma found somepony who could keep Shadow occupied and he's trying to take over the world. Shadow can't do this alone. He needs help." "How bad does he need help?" "More than any of his friends know. Not you, not Celestia, not Twilight." "What don't I know?" asked Twilight. "I told you to be quiet!" "Was that Twilight Sparkle?" asked Chrysalis. "I... Uh... Yes it was." "She's there with you?" "Yes. Everypony is. All six of the element bearers, both princesses, and in a little while, Emerald, King, Grave, and Goldenwing." "You invited those four?" "Of course I did." "Who else did you invite?" "Well, that's it. Those four are the only ones who could come." "What about..." "Busy." "Ah." "So how about it?" "Sure, I'll help him." "Great! I'll be there to pick you up in a little while. I need to do something before I leave." "I don't need your help getting there, Rex." "Yes you do. If Sigma is as smart as I know he is, he has some spies in your kingdom. For all you know, your guard captain could be Blue Rose herself." "She's just a cheap changeling knock-off." "Yeah, but don't say that to her face, or you might not say anything again. Be there in a few minutes." "See you then." "Communications link closed." "Twilight, I told you to be quiet." he said. "It's not like it made any difference." "That's true, but I'd like you to follow my commands in the future." "I thought I was the master here." "You still are. Just don't ignore my advice like that." "So what don't I know?" she asked. "I can't tell you." "Why not?" "Level 8." "Just how many levels are there?" "Nine. I'm going to go get Chrysalis. I'll be back in about an hour." He disappeared. "Whoa, look at this map. It says that this place is bigger than Canterlot!" said Rainbow. "Bigger than Canterlot?" "Yeah. Shadow has his own gym, library, pool, everything. Some of these things I've never even heard of. Hey Twilight, have you heard of a garage?" "Rex mentioned it once. He said Shadow worked on things in there." "Lets go see what Pinkie's doing." "Good idea." *Pretty good so far if I do say so myself. And I do. And if you agree, that's awesome. And you're awesome. So just sit there and feel awesome.
Chapter 7God 7 The next day after Sigma had overtaken Shadow's body, he had decided on a target and had flown to Cloudsdale to see Rainbow Dash. He knocked on her door and she answered. He looked in her eyes and said, "Hey! How are you doing, beautiful?" "Pretty good, how about you, Shadow?" "I'm feeling great!" he said happily. "You're unusually happy today, what's up?" "I just decided something." "And what would that be?" "I wanted to get you some lunch, how 'bout it?" "Like a, uh... Like a date?" "It can be." "Alright. I'm not doing anything anyways." "Perfect!" "Well, lets go." she said. Sigma and Rainbow headed off towards a nearby resturant. Maybe 'I'll crush her little heart before killing her, just to make it that much sweeter.' thought Sigma. 'I swear, if you hurt her, I'm going to make you regret the day you were born.' 'We weren't born, Shadow. We were created.' he replied. 'Then again, maybe I won't.' "So Rainbow Dash, you seem a bit unhappy. Did anything happen recently?" "Well, I missed a Wonderbolts show. I really wanted to go, but I was sick." "What are the Wonderbolts?" "What are the Wonderbolts?!" she repeated, shocked. "Only the best flyers in all of Equestria! Where have you been?" "In a cave. Bit of a hermit." "That would explain a few things." "So you like the Wonderbolts?" "They're awesome!" she said. 'Maybe I could destroy the Wonderbolts.' 'Stop getting ideas!' They got a meal and sat down to eat it. Sigma smelled something odd. "Can you smell that?" he asked her, smelling the air. "All I smell is this great food." "Never mind." Afte they finished their meal, Sigma got some chocolate milk for himself and left. "You really like chocolate milk." "Can't get enough." Sigma dropped the container and it spilled all over the ground. "Bummer, dude." Sigma ripped the cloud from the ground and emptied it into his mouth. "You really just did that?" "Yeah, yeah I did." "You'd drink that off of anything, wouldn't you?" "Oh yeah." "What about a living being?" "I just told you the answer to that." "That's kinda weird." "Not everypony thinks that way." Sigma jumped off of the cloud he was on and landed in Ponyville without lifting a wing. He looked up and saw that Rainbow was following him. "What was that all about?" she asked. "I just felt like heading back to that quarry we went to a few days ago." "Alright. Why so?" "I saw something there. I think it was a rare gem." "So... you're going treasure hunting?" "Just like Daring Doo." he said happily. Sigma flew off towards it at a leisurely pace. After reaching it, he looked around and saw a cave. "Over there!" he said, flying inside. He hid behind a rock near the enterance. She followed him and said, "How could you see anything in here? It's too dark. Where'd you go?" He pushed the rock in front of the enterance with a mightty shove. "Shadow, why did you do that?" she asked. "Tell me, Rainbow Dash, are you scared of the dark?" "No, I'm not scared of anything!" she said confidently. "There's no reason to fear the dark. It's what's inside the dark that you should fear." He walked towards her. A beam of light shining through the cracks between the rock and enterance illuminated his face. He had a horrible, twisted smile. Rainbow backed off as far as she could. "W... What are you doing, Shadow?" "You're lucky you get me, and not the real Shadow Streak." "What are you talking about? Why am I so lucky?" "I'm not Shadow Streak, my name's Sigma, lord of death. You're oh so lucky because if Shadow was doing this, he would tortue you until you screamed for death." 'I would what?!' 'You heard me.' "Me on the other hand, I don't believe in physical torture. No, I deal in a different way. One attack, one point of entry, one death." He quickly ran at her and grabbed her neck, then pressed her up against the wall. "You can have one request. Say what it is that you want me to do." "P... Please, stop this." "Tell me." "I... I want you to... to... not let my friends worry about me." "Rainbow Dash, loyal until the end." He looked in her eyes and rammed his hoof into her chest. She shook for a second, then went limp. He set her down and closed her eyes. "Rest in peace." He expected to hear a remark from Shadow, but there was nothing. "Well old man, what will you say about that? Say it!" No answer. "Fine then, ignore me." Sigma moved the rock and walked out. He flew off and back to Ponyville. Rainbow Dash started to stand up. Her wound was pouring blood. She put her hoof over the wound to slow the bleeding. 'Didn't I just die?' she tried to say. "Yeah, you died. You're dying to be precise." 'Who was that?' "It's me, the real Shadow Streak." 'Where are you?' "I'm inside your body." 'Ok, that sounds wrong on so many levels.' "Shut up. Sigma tore a hole in your chest, but right now, since I'm in here, you're not gonna die." 'Shouldn't that hurt?' "More than you can imagine." he said. 'What does that mean?' "I am feeling the pain of this. Just me. You couldn't handle it. It's too much." 'Oh wow, that seems...' "Don't. Just don't try and sympathyse. It was my decision alone. Either I did this, or you die. I need to get to Celestia and Luna. They need to stop him." Shadow started limping out of the cave. 'Why don't we go to town? We can warn everypony.' "No, he'll just kill them faster. If he's alone, he's respectful, but if he's in a crowd, he kills until there's no more movement." 'But my friends...' "Will die if you continue this path." 'That's not true!' "Stop." 'Give me back my body! I want to go help my friends!' "With a hole in your chest? Not likely." He felt Rainbow try to take her body back. The pain in his chest subsided for a fraction of a second, then returned to normal. 'How can you possibly stand that?' she asked in shock. "I've felt every type of pain there is to feel." 'Really?' "Yes." 'What was the worst pain?' "I was thrown into the center of a neutron star. I was crushed beyond the point of life, and further still. It took me thousands of years to get back to the surface and leave." 'What's a neutron star?' "How much do you know about stars and matter?" 'The basics, but not much more.' "I'll try to explain it while I'm walking. A star has a lot of mass which creates gravity. After a very large star runs out of feul, it collapses. All of the mass in a star goes into a very small area, about the size of a small city. This smaller area with the same mass increases it's gravity. If the original star was bigger, it would collapse into a black hole, even smaller and with more gravity. Black holes and me can't affect each other though." 'Sorry, I don't follow.' "Something closer to home then. I... uh... I was forced to swim my way through lava from the core of a planet that was overheating and dying. I could feel every atom of my being screaming in pain. It took me 723 years and 144 days to get out." 'That sounds awful.' "Yeah. Hey Rainbow Dash, usually whenever I use another's body, they're angry. Why not you?" 'You saved my life, Shadow Streak.' "But besides that." 'What more would there be?' "Something. Not an emotion or feeling or anything sappy like that, but something else. We're not gonna make it in time." 'Huh?' "If we don't pick up the pace, he's going to get to another. Then another, and another. If we don't hurry, we'll be in the middle of a blood bath when we get back! I need your help." 'With what?' "I'm going to let you use your wings. I want you to fly us to Canterlot and then to the palace. I need you to tell me if you feel pain." 'Alright, do it!' she said. She felt her wings again, and started to fly to Canterlot. "Anything?" 'No, I'm good.' "Great! I'm gonna put on some more speed, you just concentrate on flying." he said. Rainbow went faster then ever before. They made it to Canterlot in a matter of minutes. 'Shadow...' Rainbow grunted. "You're doing great, just a few more feet." 'I can't.' "C'mon Rainbow, you can do it!" 'It hurts!' Shadow quickly took back her wings and was met with a wave of exaustion. Her wings were burning. He had to land at the edge of Canterlot. He started limping through town. He sniffed at the air. "A storm's coming. How long will it last?" he asked. 'About two days. Why? Does it matter?' "Sigma may be a killer, but he hates getting wet. If we're lucky, and he's stuck alone, he won't make a move. He can't fight either. You heard it yourself. One attack, one point of entry, one death. If he attacks you once, you're already dead. Make that fail, and you're home free. He will never strike twice. He doesn't just kill sometimes either. Sometimes it's worse." 'Sigma said that you would torture me until I begged for death.' "And for all I know, I would!" he said angrily, "I'm not that kind of pony anymore. I never want to be. I'm sorry I snapped, but..." 'I know. You don't want to be labeled as a murderer.' "How do you know that?" he asked. 'I don't know.' "I hope you're not absorbing my memories. Nopony should have those but an immortal." Shadow recognised a pegasus royal guard who was off duty walking around with a mare. "What do you think, wife or friend?" he asked Rainbow. He ran over to him and said, "I need your help!" "Sorry, but I'm busy right now." "Who is this?" asked the mare. He coughed up some blood and said, "No time! I need you to take me to see Princess Celestia right away! It's an emergancy!" "What kind of emergancy?" he asked seriously. "If I don't see her right away, the whole of Ponyville could be slaughtered." "What proof do you have?" He removed his hoof and said, "A large, gaping, bloody hole in my chest." He quickly returned his hoof, then fell to his side. "I think I'm gonna be sick..." she said, running off. "Are you alright?!" asked the guard, concerned. "I'll be fine, is that clear? It happens to me often. It always goes away. I need you to take me to the Princess!" He quickly picked him up and put him on his back. "I need to go, official business." he said to the mare. He took off, jarring Shadow's wound. "Sorry!" He quickly made it to the castle. Some guards joined them. "What are you doing here on your day off?" one asked jokingly. "Who's that? That your marefriend?" "I don't know who it is. She's heavily injured and I'm taking her to see the Princess." "It's a matter of life and death, now hurry up!" said Shadow. He sped up and entered the palace. "Thanks, I can take it from here." said Shadow, sliding off, "Celestia! Get your lazy ass down here this second!" "That is no language to use in the presance of a Princess, Rainbow Dash!" she said angrily. "Shut up and listen!" he said angrily. "I'm Shadow, I took her body." "Wait, you what?!" "She was dying!" he said, showing her the wound, "Sigma's back!" "Oh no..." "He's in Ponyville! He's taken my ever-regenerating body! I can't do anything about it or she's gonna die!" She growle angrily. "How can we fix this?" she asked. He started to cough blood again. "Remember, he can't fight. Get Luna, Shiny, anypony who can help. That's it." "You're not going to help?" she asked angrily. "Hello? Earth to Celestia? Hole in chest! I am going to the damn hospital! Rainbow Dash will die when I take my body back if she doesn't get help! I don't want her to die. Not now, not ever." 'Thanks, Shadow.' "You, guard... Name?" "Call me Blue." "Celestia, after we take care of Sigma, give Blue a promotion, pay raise, something, anything, I don't care. Now, if somepony can take me to the hospital, it would be great." "I can do that." said Blue. "Oh yeah, you're getting a promotion." He got on his back and said, "Try to be careful this time. Nopony's in a hurry." He slowly left and headed to the Canterlot hospital. "Rainbow, thanks for letting me use this." he said. 'Don't make a habit of it. I'm gonna want it back soon.' "Yes, when you're healed." 'So I would die if you left me?' "Absolutely. You've lost most of your blood. You're going to start randomly spasming, Sigma's fault entirely, might bite your tougne clean through due to that. Other than that, chest hole." 'That would cause a real problem. How can you survive that?' "Immortality." he said. "I'm sorry, but who exactly are you talking to?" asked Blue. "I'm talking to Rainbow Dash. She's still in this body, alive and well. Now... hospital." Blue made it to the hospital and Shadow got off of his back. "You can go." "Are you going to be alright?" "Yeah. Go see your marefriend. Clean the blood off your back first." He nodded and flew away. Shadow limped in and said, "Can you have somepony prepare a major surgery room for a crushed ribcage?" He coughed up some more blood, then collapsed to the floor. He didn't go unconcious, but didn't move. He was put onto a hospital cart and taken to the surgery rooms. They tried to give him anesthetic, but he said, "That doesn't work." "You shouldn't talk." she said. "Anesthetic doesn't work on me. Fortunately, pain killers do." "But..." "I need a piece of cloth. A blindfold." "Why?" "I really don't like seeing my organs." He was given a piece of cloth which he tied around his eyes. "Now, my chest caved in and stopped about halfway through in the exact shape of a hoof. I've lost a fair amount of blood, but worry about that later." 'Are you going to be alright, Shadow?' asked Rainbow. "I've had surgery on worse in another's body. Course, they died. But, they were in luck, I'm here. Now, do pain killers work on you?" 'Yeah.' "Good. Now, you lot. Doctors, nurses, everypony. Take as long as you need. I want you to know this, no matter how long it takes, I won't die. Just be careful. No mistake will be fatal. Remember that." "Just save your stegnth, Rainbow Dash." said one. 'Hey, she knew my name. Who is it?' "Could be a friend, could be an observant pony. We'll find out later." he said. Then he turned to the ponies around him. "Halfway through, I'll start regenerating quickly. During which, I'll need a a half gram of cyanide and another half gram of ammonium nitrate mixed together and injected into my arm." "That's not safe." "But I want you to do it." "But you could die!" "Shut up. Hey, I'm falling asleep!" he said happily. Shadow leaned back and quickly fell asleep. He sat up again and looked around. He saw that he was in his original body. "Is that you, Shadow?" asked Rainbow. "Yeah, it's me. I'm dreaming right now. Since we're in the same body, you're here too." "So now what?" "Body went into shutdown mode. I can't stop that. You won't die, but we'll be here until surgery's done." "How long will that take?" "Few hours to a few days. We're going to be alone here for a while." Shadow laid on the ground and looked up. "Take a load off." "Shadow, where exactly are we?" "Dunno. I like it that way. I hate knowing because it's boring. That's why I don't like oracles. Now c'mon, take a load off. We're not gonna go anywhere. There's no way." "What do you mean there's no way?" "Not even I could get out of here. Yup. Stuck we are." He sniffed the air and said, "There's that smell again." "What smell?" "Dunno. It's gone now." "Well, what should we do here?" "Have you not been listening to me? Just take a load off!" "Well alright then." She laid down next to Shadow and looked at the sky with him. "Shadow, who are you?" "I don't know." "Well, tell me what you can." "I am Shadow Streak. I don't know who I was, but I know who I am. I'm not evil. I'm not bad. I help ponies. I bring them from the dark into the light. I protect them through hard times." "That's interesting." Rainbow closed her eyes and fell asleep. Shadow kept looking at the sky for a while, then fell asleep as well. *I re-wrote this chapter five times. Got another thousand words or so from it saved away. Anyways, comment or review or rate or whatever. Or not.
