Memories of a God

'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.