For the Wages of Sin is Death...
A rumor was fabricated about five years after Nightmare Moon’s banishment. Over the years, the rumor was confirmed as fact by a number of ponies over and over again, and as technology developed over hundreds of years, ponies started taking photographs and filming video of the subject of this so called myth.
The myth began from the accounts of several townsfolk, all speaking of a shadowy figure about the eight hoofs in height. The strange thing was that it happened in a path. The mysterious figure never came across the same town twice.
So the guardsmen of the towns were made wary of the possible threat, and one day, a young guard posted on the night shift in Baltimare saw the figure. In a panic, the stallion threw his torch at the beast, lighting up the immediate area.
The sight the guard was privy to was not a pleasant one.
In front of him stood a fearsome creature that fit the vague description that the townsfolk had passed on to the guard. Eight hooves high, and darkly colored. But in that bright torchlight, the ground scorched from its flames, the beast was seen in all of its horrific majesty.
It was not an animal at all. It was an alicorn, and what appeared to be a male alicorn at that. His coat was matted to his skin, the fur a deep shade of crimson. His mane was completely shorn off, and his tail was simple missing. Giant and terrible scars wrapped around his body with no rhyme or reason, no fur growing over them, indicating magical cauterization. One of his eye sockets contained no eye, the hole only containing a dreadful black glow. The other eye was a sight to behold. The white of the eye were red, the iris was black, and the pupil was red as well. The red pupil bore deep into the poor guard’s face before dropping, the alicorn’s attention solely on the flame collecting at his feet.
But the strangest part of this encounter was that the flame went directly through the ghastly alicorn’s legs, the flames that should have been lapping at his chest simply fading in and out. The alicorn looked at the flame for a moment, the back at the guard, and then he simply wandered off, back on his journey.
The young guard, once he had collected himself, alerted his comrades, but by then it was too late. The alicorn was gone.
They sent word to the next town over: Fillydephia. All of the stallions in town built a blockade and armed themselves with anything they could find, be it a pitchfork or a sickle. They waited for the alicorn to appear, and when he did, it was under the cover of night. The townsfolk screamed at him, asking him to state his business. The alicorn merely growled, the deep thrumming sound instilling fear in the poor ponies of Fillydelphia.
When the alicorn finally approached the barricade, he simply walked through it. It was as if he was a ghost of some kind, taking no heed to the natural order of things. The ponies were baffled. Some of the weaker willed of them all actually fainted on the spot.
Of course with solid eyewitness accounts, even some coming from trusted members of the guard, word reached Celestia of this possible threat rather quickly.
They asked her if she knew this mysterious alicorn, if she knew what he was here for, and if she had a plan to deal with him properly.
And what Celestia said that say shaped the life of that strange alicorn, whether she knew it or not.
“We know this stallion personally,” Celestia said, startling the crowd gathered in the throne room. However, given their respect for the princess, the held their tongues. “A past prisoner of Tartarus, actually, whom we found guilty of murder two years prior.”
The crowd collectively gasped, and the guard was required to restore order. Murder was no light subject in a society comprised of creatures of prey.
“Not long ago did this monstrous alicorn escape Tartarus. But fear not, my little ponies,” Celestia continued. “He cannot harm you. He is disconnected from this dimension. He cannot alter anything that exists in our world.”
The ponies quickly formed an opinion of this so spoken ‘escaped prisoner’. That he was irredeemably evil, that he had no right to exist. A murder had not occurred in thousands of years. Anypony guilty of it did not deserve a life of any kind.
They only really had one question.
“Your Highness?” one of the braver ponies asked, shrinking back from the Princesses gaze. “What is this alicorn’s name?”
Celestia, to anypony who didn’t know her nearly as well as they thought they did, looked impassive as ever. Had her sister been present, she would have noticed that Celestia was actually thinking rapidly, and would also have noticed the look of discovery upon her face resulting from the contemplations.
“Tenebris.” Celestia finally said. “His name is Tenebris.”
From that point on, she was a closed book on the matter, refusing to speak of it ever again.
She said that she had told her ponies all they needed to know.
Two Years Ago
“Honey, I’m home!” Shady called as he passed the door frame. He hung up his hat on a hook by the door and brushed a hoof through his wild navy blue mane. He didn’t want his love to see him with awful hat hair, after all. Walking through the sparsely furnished foyer, Shady contemplated on his lot in life.
Four years, and I still can’t believe that Sunny agreed to marry me. Shady chuckled under his breath at the thought. Three years, and I still can’t believe that we’re living in this little cottage together.
Shady was a simple stallion. He had a simple life, a simple job, and lived in a simple cottage out on the edge of simple village. But it was all he ever needed. He was happy, despite all that was going on.
Nightmare Moon had recently been banished by Princess Celestia, and while the country had initially been uproariously joyous, it had died down when news of how their fair princess was taking it. Celestia had holed herself up in her castle based in the Everfree, and only ever came out when she was required to change the night to day, and vice versa.
Even so, Shady was optimistic that the princess would recover. He was always rather chipper like that.
Was, was, was.
Shady looked up the primitive wooden stairwell to the second floor. A frown grew on his face. His wife still hadn’t responded.
“Sunny?” he called up, worried. His forest green coat stood on its ends as he heard a high pitched scream emanate from above him.
A series of scenarios ran through his mind in the span of a second: Sunny collapsed on the ground convulsing, Sunny crushed by a fallen wardrobe, Sunny weeping as she pathetically nursed a broken hoof, and countless others.
“Sunny!” Shady yelled. He bolted up the stairs, tripping over his hooves, nearly bashing into a wall as he turned a corner in the hallway.
Finally, he made it to the bedroom door, and immediately rammed into it, sending it flying open. What laid before his cerulean eyes had never appeared in his hastily thought out scenarios.
Two indiscriminate shapes shuffled below the covers of his queen size bed before freezing. All sound in the room ceased. Shadys mind went blank as it attempted to process what was happening. The two shapes eventually moved up and became two heads looked up from below the covers.
One of the heads was that of Shady's wife, Sun Shine. Her orange mane was disheveled and wild, her yellow fur matted with sweat. Her feathers were ruffled, her wings fidgeting and restless. Her sky blue eyes were wide, shocked, and aimed right at her husband.
The other was the head of Shady's best friend and coworker, Rose Garden. His pink coat and short red mane were in the same state as Suns, but his magenta eyes were filled with something different then hers; fear.
The first to break the silence was Sun Shine. She awkwardly cleared her throat, then addressed her husband.
“S-Shady.” She gulped. “T-This isn’t what it looks like.”
Shady blinked, then turned his head to Rose. The pink unicorn gulped, looking back and forth between Sun and Shady.
“I-I should go,” he said hurriedly, untangling himself from the covers and getting to his hooves. But Shady was blocking the door.
“I-I…I don’t…” Shady stuttered, the harsh reality of the situation dawning on him. “Why would…I can’t…I can’t believe…” He held a hoof to his head for a moment, closing his eyes. Rose saw his opportunity and took it, cautiously walking towards the door. Suddenly, Shady opened his eyes, and struck Rose with all of his might. Rose cried out and backed up, holding both fore hooves to his bleeding muzzle. Shady began to advance on him.
“Shady!” Sun yelled. “Stop!”
“How could you do this to me?!” Shady screamed in righteous fury. “Why?!” He began to beat down on Rose, accentuating each blow with a word. “What-possessed-you-to-betray-me-like-this?!” The kicks flung Rose back until he was up against the window, bleeding and stuttering apologies over and over.
“I’m s-sorry, I’m sorry, I-I’m so s-orry, I’m sorry…” he moaned pathetically, begging for mercy.
“Shady, that is enough!” Sunny screamed, getting out of the bed. She flew over to her husband and tried to hold him back, but he merely shrugged her off, his superior strength too much for her.
“No, it is not!” Shady yelled, turning back to face his wife, who recoiled in fear. Seeing her in this state somewhat calmed the beast in Shadys heart, causing him to back away from her and look down.
“I thought I meant something to you,” he whispered, rage and grief filled tears falling to the floor. “I thought you loved me!” Sun reached out with a hoof, but Shady just lightly smacked it away.
“Don’t touch me!” he screeched. His ear flicked back, picking up the sound of Roses incessant apologies.
“And you!” Shady turned to his friend, leaning his head down and scuffing a hoof against the ground. Words not enough to express his anger, he simply screamed in rage and charged, catching Rose in both hooves and crashing out the window. Shards of glass punctured Roses back, and a few stray pieces left jagged cuts in Shady's muzzle, legs, and barrel.
Barely two second passed. In those two seconds, Rose felt the last two emotions that he would ever experience again: fear and regret.
The cold hard ground was almost welcoming to him.
Celestia wasn’t having a good day. Or week. Or month. Or year.
Or years. Three, to be precise. Three years ago today marked the day that she was forced to make the hardest decision in her life; a decision that led her to imprison her beloved sister in the moon. Celestia knew that it would be a while yet before her sister could return, and spent her days and nights in her disheveled castle’s throne room, ruminating on years gone by.
The room was a mess. The hole had several holes in it, allowing moonlight to flood through unevenly across the room. The carpet was frayed and burnt, indications of the battle that had occurred between the two godly sisters.
Luna’s throne had gotten the worst of it. Directly after Nightmare Moon’s banishment, Celestia fell victim to a flood of frustration, anger, and sadness. In her whirlwind of emotions, she had destroyed her sister’s throne, leaving a black crater in the ground next to her own throne.
Next went the lunar banners, the furnishings, sections of the wall; nothing was safe. By the time she’d spent herself and collapsed into a heap of sobbing despair, the room looked as if three alicorn princesses had fought it out rather than two.
Nowadays, Celestia wasn’t the same caring and mothering ruler she had once been. On the rare occasions that ponies saw her, be it diplomats or royal guards, she put on a weak facade of her old self. It didn’t take a mind reader to tell what she was truly feeling.
They say time heals all wounds. Celestia figured that the saying only came about because of the mortality of all life…excluding her and her sister.
Celestia was broken out of her morbid contemplations when two earth pony guards burst through the damaged doors, looking wild and panicked.
“What is the meaning of this intrusion?” Celestia said with a scowl. Inwardly, she berated herself for her rude behavior, but decided that apologizing would be a mistake, only serving to undermine her standing.
The guards bowed their heads low, shaking slightly, obviously in fear. Celestia wasn’t quite sure what they were afraid of.
“Apologies, Your Highness,” one of the guards groveled. He raised his head, and Celestia saw something she hadn’t seen for a long time, and had hoped to never see again. His eyes were a dead man’s eyes, eyes that had seen the most terrible thing imaginable to ponykind. Celestia recoiled imperceptibly, going over the implications of his look in her mind. She opted to let him speak instead of drawing her own conclusions, perhaps in some vague hope that she was mistaken.
“But we have news most grievous,” the other guard finished. Celestia nodded, ushering him to continue. The guard gulped nervously and looked to his comrade, who looked back in the same frazzled manner.
“Well, um, Your Highness, we…we found…there’s been a…a,” the first guard stammered. Celestia closed her eyes, bowed her head, and sighed somberly. There was little doubt of it now.
“A murder?” Celestia finished quietly. The other guards started at her casual use of the word, but quickly regained a semblance of composure, if only for her sake.
“…Yes,” the second guard finally admitted. “At approximately eighteen hundred hours, a unicorn living in Trottingham by the name of Rose Garden was beaten, then tackled through a second story window. He…he didn’t survive.”
“By whose hooves?” Celestia asked.
“Shady Meadows,” The first guard stated briefly "An earth pony residing in Trottingham." Celestia shook her head and looked back up.
“And how did Shady Meadows die?” Celestia asked. The guards looked at each other, then back to their superior.
“He…he didn’t.”
Celestia’s eyes widened, and her pupils dilated. This couldn’t be. It had to be false. He had to be dead.
In all of the history of Equestria, as far back as three millennium, Celestia could only recount three murders that had occurred, all separated my hundreds of years, all in different locations. Each time, two graves were dug.
Each time, the murderer had taken his own life. Each time, within three hours of the murder.
Celestia had never once dealt with a murderer, was never once forced to punish somepony disgraceful and vile enough to commit such a sin. To hear that the sinful pony lived on gave her mixed emotions. She was, of course, happy that another one of her precious ponies were safe from the clutches of death, yet furious that a pony could live with themselves after enacting such atrocities.
“What?” she asked, unbelieving that such a development existed.
“Shadow Meadows did not commit…suicide,” the second guard informed, looking extremely uncomfortable with the word. “He was discovered unconscious on top of the victim. Several lacerations covered him from head to hoof, and pieces of glass were found embedded in his flesh.”
“How did you know of the murder?” Celestia asked.
“His betrothed informed the Trottingham guard,” the first guard explained. “They transported him to the castle via chariot. He’s in the castle infirmary.”
Celestia groaned internally.
“…Allow us some time to think,” Celestia said finally. The guards bowed their heads once more and left the throne room, shutting the doors behind them.
Celestia had to hold back from cursing or lashing out from her conflicting emotions. It wouldn’t be fit for her stature, even when alone.
Celestia looked up through the hole in the roof, eying the moon, and the familiar shadow that covered its surface.
“Well…” Celestia whispered aloud with a sad smile, “I suppose I’m never really alone…”
Celestia rubbed a hoof to her temple. There was no real time limit to when she could find a punishment fit for a murderer; really, she could put this off for as long as she wanted. Even so, she’d like to go through the emotional pain of punishing one of her little ponies as soon as possible, so as to avoid drawing it out. Like ripping off a dried bandage.
Celestia didn’t enjoy being the one who passed down punishment to her little ponies, but it was an unavoidable task. She always enjoyed giving correctional punishments, such as forcing community work upon a pony. But this was far too harsh a crime for such a simple punishment.
Execution never crossed her mind. One does not solve murder with murder.
Time in the dungeon was certainly an idea, but Celestia quickly discarded it. Something this drastic does not get corrected by simply putting the offending party in time-out, even if it is indefinite. Especially if it’s indefinite.
Her third idea, however…her third idea came in a speck, a fleck of dust, barley a concept. But as she focused on it, it snowballed in her mind, accumulating more and more worth and merit in her eyes, until finally…Celestia had a plan.
A fantastic, terrible plan.
Shady Meadow’s eyes creaked open slowly, flinching back at the harsh torchlight of the castle infirmary. He quickly took in his surroundings: he was laid up on an uncomfortable straw mattress sitting in a metal bed frame. Along the wall, several similar beds were vacant. Several lit torches brought light into the room, all of them hung up on racks against the stone walls. No medical staff, or anypony for that matter, were present among him.
He shook his head lightly to clear it, but recoiled in pain at the action. Holding a hoof to his head, he felt the bandaging that was wrapped around his head, and noted that sections of his legs as well as his midsection were bandaged. Looking off to the side, he saw a small wooden table sitting next to his bed. Sitting upon it was a small pair of metal tweezers, and a wooden bowl filled with shards of glass and bloody water.
It wasn’t long before the memories of what had occurred only hours ago hit Shady Meadows like a freight train; mere moments after which sweeter memories lifted from the depths of his mind.
Meeting Rose in Trottingham Elementary.
Cowering as Rose defended him from bullies who looked down on his race.
Being introduced to Sunny through Rose.
Becoming Sunny’s husband as Rose stood by him as his best stallion.
All of the memories cracked and shattered in Shady's head, their fragments meaningless, only serving as a cruel reminder to what Shady had done.
Shady's mouth hung slightly open and his eyes grew wide as he attempted to comprehend his actions. He had attacked his best friend.
Probably put him in a hospital, given how much of a beating was laid upon him. Hell, Shady had tackled him through a second story window. He’d be lucky to be ali…
Shady froze.
No... he thought. No, that…nononono…
He sat up quickly in bed, wincing from the pain of his injuries but uncaring of the agony.
“Nurse!” he screamed. “Doctor! Anypony, please!”
The door burst open, and a white mare wearing a medical cap burst into the room. Shady made to get up and approach her, but was unable. For the first time, he noticed four pairs of metal cuffs attaching him to the bed: two at the top of his back legs and two near his fetlocks.
…Odd.
Shady shook the observation out of his mind, deeming it unimportant to the situation at hand. He had to be sure that his friend was okay.
That his wife was okay. That he hadn’t made the greatest mistake of his life.
“What!?” the nurse barked, looking furious. Shady was taken aback. Was it really that out of the question for him to call for a nurse? Perhaps it was the middle of the night, and he had awoken her. Can’t tell the time in a room with no windows.
“Where’s Rose?” Shady demanded desperately. “Rose Garden, h-he’s a unicorn, pink coat red mane, cutie mark of a-“
The nurse’s face contorted into one of unbelieving fury, and she spat right between Shady’s eyes. The stallion blinked, not entirely sure of what just happened.
“How dare you?” the nurse asked harshly. “How dare you ask that, after what you’ve done?”
Shady felt his heart sink.
“How badly is he hurt?” Shady pressed on, trying to ignore the nurse’s abhorrent behavior. “Where is he? Oh Goddess, what…”
Shady trailed off as the nurse suddenly rose her hoof into the air, as if the strike him. The hoof shook violently in the air for a few moments before returning of the ground, the action accentuated with a frustrated sigh.
“…There is little mercy for fiends like you,” the nurse said angrily. “I’m legally exempt from harming you…but Celestia isn’t.”
“C-Celestia?” Shady said hollowly. “What does the princess have to do with this? What is going on?!”
“I don’t feel obligated to answer the questions of a m-murderer.”
There was a palpable silence between them, the only sound being the faint crackling of the torches. The nurse began to feel her anger wane into discomfort as her patient stared at her, unblinking, unmoving.
“…Was there anything else?” the nurse finally hissed. Shady didn’t move a muscle. The nursed eyed him one last time before storming out of the room, shutting the doors behind her.
Shady’s eyes eventually moved down to his bandaged fore hooves, held directly in front of his face. He shook his head, his eyes never leaving the bloody cloth.
Celestia clicked her tongue as she made a final flick of her quill, marking the end of the notes she had taken from the books of the Everfree Archives. The strictly forbidden books, to be precise. She was no stranger to dark magic. Her and her sister had learned much when they confiscated some of the more…interesting books in King Sombra’s library, directly after his imprisonment.
She was also no stranger to spell creation. Granted, it was ridiculously challenging, but nothing that a mare with thousands of years of experience in magical study couldn’t handle. Creating the transformation spell was quite difficult, and adding the parameters of the subject’s abilities was even more so, but she found that if it at all solved the issue at hand, then it was worth her efforts tenfold.
She was about to commend herself for a job well done when a bloodcurdling scream rang through the castle, bouncing off of the stone walls every which way, permeating the eardrums of all those within a half a mile radius.
Quickly charging up her horn, Celestia teleported to the only logical source of the sound: the infirmary. She took in the scene before her.
Several of the staff were holding a hysteric green earth pony to his bed. His fore hooves flailed, bloody bandages barely hanging on as he fought off the nurses. His eyes were bloodshot, his pupils pinpricks, and tears were freely flowing down his face. His heartrending wail escaped his open mouth, the noise never ceasing.
“Your Highness!” one of the nurses cried out. “The patients gone into hysterics! We can’t calm him down!”
“Let go of him,” Celestia stated briefly. The nurse looked at her superior incredulously, almost taking a hoof to the face from the crazed stallion.
“B-But your highness-“
“We do not wish to repeat ourselves.”
The nurse held her gaze for a moment before hanging her head in defeat. She and the other nurses backed up, leaving the wild earth pony to continue his behavior. But, surprisingly, he ceased flailing, instead burying his head in his hooves and continuing to wail. Celestia looked sadly upon the pony, hurting inside for her little one, and dreading the price he must pay for his horrid discourse.
“Leave him be.” Celestia turned around, leisurely trotting out of the room. “Do not attempt to interact with him until morning. At midday tomorrow, we will come for him.”
Half a day isn’t enough to grieve for your best friend. It isn’t even enough time to grieve for a beloved pet. But Celestia only wanted peace and resolutions, and the sooner she could get them, the better. Shady Meadows would just have to make due.
The doors shut behind her, barely quelling the screams. Celestia made her way back to her chambers, resigning herself to a night free of slumber.
...But the Gift of God is Eternal Life
Shady's head rested on his pillow, his forelegs hanging off to the sides of the bed. His eyes were red and half lidded. Dried tears caked the fur of his face.
“I promise you, Shady, she’s amazing!”
Shady rolled his eyes, smiling at his exuberant friend. He had only been aware of the existence of the mare mere moments ago, when Rose told him about her. He’d been trying to set Shady up with a mare for the longest time, but none of them seemed to really click with him.
“I’m sure she’s just swell, Rose,” Shady replied. “Uh…what was her name, again?”
Rose turned back to look at his friend disbelievingly, then shook his head wearily.
“And you wonder why you have yet to find a special somepony.” Shady smirked and slugged Rose in the foreleg. Rose shrugged it off and
chuckled. “Her name is Sun Shine.”
“Sun Shine,” Shady repeated under his breath, smiling. He was stopped in his tracks when Rose blocked him with a foreleg.
“We have arrived!” Rose exclaimed, pointing out a large clearing in the forest. A large tree stood tall in the center, casting shade over the area. Below it lay a patchwork blanket, on top of which rested a picnic basket and…
Shady’s eyes widened.
His eyes shut tight, trying to block out the memory.
Her mane was a mess of orange hair that shined in the light that permeated the trees branches. Her coat was a soft butter yellow. Her
wings were folded to the side, the feathers slightly ruffled. Her head was cast down shyly, but her eyes…Shady had never seen such a bright shade of blue.
If he had to describe the mare in two words, they would be ‘natural beauty’.
Rose cleared his throat, bringing Shady out of his thoughts. Both Shady and the mare blushed through their fur; both had been sizing each other up. Rose smiled and gestured to the mare and gave Shady a meaningful look. Shady cleared his throat and bowed his head.
“You must be gorgeous. I mean, um, Sun Shine! Sun Shine, you must be Sun Shine!” Shady blurted out, flustered beyond belief. Sun looked up, her eyes large and nervous.
“Oh, yes, I am she. A-And you’re handsome.” There was a short pause before Sun realized what she had said. “I-I mean, your name is Shady, r-right?”
Rose burst out laughing and clapped them both on the back.
“Good, you’re both idiots. You’ll get along famously.”
That had been one of the greatest afternoons in Shady’s young life. He’d been seventeen years old. Three years later, he was married to the mare of his dreams. And four years after that…
Images of Rose Garden flew through Shady at the speed of light. Meeting him at Trottingham Elementary, being defended by him from bullies, graduating with him three separate times over the span of twelve years.
…His bloody body as he begged for forgiveness. His terror filled eyes as he fell to his demise. His demise by Shady's hooves.
“S-Shady Meadows?”
“WHAT?!” Shady screamed, letting hours of grief out in a single word. The amount of pain it put his sore throat through was worth it to him. There was a profound silence. Shady leaned his head to the side, looking at who had called his name. It was another nurse; a different one. This nurse had a light blue coat and magenta eyes. Magenta eyes that were looking at Shady with not disgust and anger, but fear. She was shaking frightfully, looking as if she was about to pass out. Shady's gaze softened.
“…I’m sorry,” he said quietly, his voice horse. “I’m Shady Meadows. What was it that you wanted?”
“C-Celestia wishes to s-see you in her c-chambers,” the nurse stuttered out. Two solar guards stepped through the infirmary doors, standing
on either side of the nurse. The nurse’s horn glowed briefly, and Shady felt the cuffs around his legs unlock and open.
He crawled out of the bed, landing on his hooves shakily. He wincing in pain as his injured body stretched, his cuts and gashes protesting from the effort. The nurse shrunk away as he approached her, and the guards crossed their spears in front of her. One of the guards backed up into the hallway, and the other stepped to the side, gesturing Shady to follow the first guard. Shady cast his eyes down and shuffled to the door. Casting one last look at the nurse, Shady flinched internally; seeing that fear he instilled in the mare did little good for his heart.
Walking slowly down the hallway, a guard in front and a guard behind, Shady cast his eyes down, his head foggy and unclear. As he walked, maids and guards watched the entourage, giving glares, fearful glances, and cutting words. Shady couldn’t distinguish any of the words from any other; all he heard was ‘murderer’.
They finally made it to the doors throne room, and the guards gestured for Shady to enter. He slowly did so, creaking the door open and walking inside.
Before him stood Celestia, looking over a scroll. Several archaic runes were drawn on the throne room floor. For what purpose, Shady could not imagine.
The doors shut suddenly behind him, the noise bringing Celestia out of her studies.
As the Princess looked upon him, Shady could not help but feel insignificant and helpless. He knew not what she had planned for him, but the foreboding runes along with her impassive gaze did nothing to staunch his worry.
In fact, the look she was giving him was the most frightening thing. He expected her to look furious, or disappointed, or stern, but no. Her face was completely clear of emotion.
“Approach, child,” Celestia ordered. Shady gulped nervously and did as she asked, flinching with every step.
“Sit,” Celestia said. Shady sat on his haunches in front of her, his eyes transfixed on her. A minute passed in which Celestia’s eyes ran over the scroll one last time before she rolled it up with her magic and tossed it off to the side. She took in a deep breath before speaking again.
“Are you aware how many murders have taken place in Equestria since its discovery?” she asked nonchalantly.
“N-No, Your Highness.” Shady shook his head.
“Three.” Celestia sat, looking over Shady’s face. “Three murders. But you…you’re different from the other murderers, Shady Meadows. You see, in the two murders that have occurred in the past, four graves were dug. Do you understand?”
“You mean…” Shady began, trying to process this information. “The m-murderers died as well?”
Celestia nodded.
“They committed suicide.” Shady felt his heart drop. “Each one occurred before their victims’ bodies were even cold. Now, this leaves you in a rather unique scenario, and us in a unique predicament. We’ve never had to punish anypony for murder, and you can decide to avoid that punishment, if you wish.” Celestia’s horn glowed, and a knife laying behind her was picked up and flung in front of Shady, startling him.
“We’ve managed to find a punishment for you, actually,” Celestia went on. “But we felt that we would give you a choice. You can take the punishment and live…or you can end your life here and now.”
Shady paled at the idea of suicide. He looked between Celestia and the knife, his eyes flicking back and forth rapidly.
“W-What’s the punishment?” Shady ventured.
“Decide.”
“What?”
“Live or die,” Celestia said, no emotion in her voice. “Those are you options. Decide.”
Suicide certainly didn’t appeal to Shady. He wanted to live on just like any pony else. But he couldn’t live on like anypony else. Not with murder hanging over his head.
….And that’s why he had to live. Shady cared not for the easy way out. To die at his own hands after murdering Rose Garden would be like spitting on his grave. He had to face some sort of retribution for his actions if he was ever to make peace with himself.
“…Live,” Shady whispered, pushing the knife away. Celestia was silent for a moment, thinking hard. Eventually she sighed deeply and stood.
“For what it’s worth…” Celestia began, her horn lighting up. “We’re sorry.” Shady Meadows was suddenly engulfed in a golden glow, rendering him unable to move. His eyes were frozen open in horror, staring straight at Celestia. He was roughly thrown into the center of the circle of runes, the glow around his entire body flowing only to his hooves, gluing him to the floor.
“What are you doing?!” Shady yelled, scared out of his mind.
“Something we hope we won’t regret,” Celestia responded cryptically. She planted all four hooves firmly on the ground, getting into a tightened stance. She blinked once, and when her eyes were visible once again, they were hot glowing orbs of pure green. Impure black magic erupted from her horn in five thin streams, each touching down on the center of all five runes. The outlines of the runes glowed pitch black. The magic slowly flowed towards Shady, the poor soul pitifully straining against his constraints. The streams of magic suddenly jumped up, curved down in the air, and penetrated Shady’s skull.
Celestia had hoped not to hear another scream akin to last nights in her life time. Unfortunately for her, her hopes were dashed rather spectacularly.
Shady had never felt such pain in his life. It was as if an entire army was filling his veins, poking the sides with a red hot poker, rupturing his body and boiling his blood.
His legs as well as his muzzle grew thinner and longer, his entire body becoming both larger and sleeker.
What felt like an explosion in his head was actually a long and thin horn growing out of his skull. What felt like hot knifes burying into his sides was actually two giant wings erupting from his body.
His mane and tail burned away, his behind leaving no clue as to a tail ever being there. The hair of his coat changed from a welcoming forest green to a dark and frightening crimson. He felt every one of his cuts expand, leaving giant pockmarks in his flesh. The holes were suddenly magically cauterized simultaneously, leaving only hairless black markings and causing Shady to nearly tear his vocal cords from screaming.
His right eye melted along with the eyelid, the resulting slop coating against the back of his eye socket, leaving a gaping black pit. The dark magic pervaded the hole, causing it to glow ominously. The whites of his left eye turned red along with his pupil, his iris turning pitch black.
Lastly, he felt a sensation that he had never felt before in his life. It was beyond pain, even beyond the term ‘sensation’. He felt a fraction of death, in a way. He didn’t die from this process, no; that would have been far too kind. But an inert part of his being was ripped from him, something he couldn’t describe.
The spell diminished, he collapsed onto the floor, gasping for air. He attempted to speak, but only a shallow growl came out. Confused, he tried to string a sentence together, but found himself unable of coherent speech.
Celestia shuddered, exhausted both mentally and physically from the force that the spell required. Collecting herself, she trotted over to Shady, looking down at him.
“Well, it took quite a bit of study of the dark arts, but we seem to have managed.” Celestia idly picked up the knife with her magic. “But just to be sure…”
Shady looked up in fear at the knife, and shut his eye as it was brought down on him. He felt no pain. Confused, he lifted his head and saw Celestia swinging a knife at him with leisure, the weapon simply going straight through his body as if he was made of air.
“Quite. It seems the dimension displacement spell worked like a charm.” Celestia threw the knife behind her. “Stand.”
Shady shuddered and lowered his head, terrified and confused.
“…Very well,” Celestia stated, turning away from him and slowly walking away. “We shall explain your punishment as you lay. Now, Shady, we do not see you as a bad pony. You’ve simply made a grievous error in judgment…quite possibly the worst you could have made. But we
are willing to forgive you…if only somepony else will.”
She crossed to room to look out of the window, taking in her suns glowing warmth.
“You see, we have just granted you eternal life. Such is the biology of us alicorns. It is our curse, as well as our gift. But we have also disconnected your magical connection to not only our world, but the universe itself. You, by all intents and purposes, don’t exist. You can be seen and heard, but you cannot alter any piece of matter, nor use any magic.
You punishment is thus: you will walk the land for all of time. You will be shunned, mocked, feared, and hated. You cannot tire and you cannot hunger, nor can you rest or eat. You cannot die. You shall live with the knowledge of your transgression until this universe fades away into nothingness.
…But…the curse shall be lifted, should you conduct a simple task.”
Shady raised his head once more, stricken with the knowledge of his curse, but eager to be rid of it as soon as possible.
“If you find a single pony who can look past your misdeeds, and see the true worth of your soul…the curse shall be lifted.” Celestia turned to Shady, her eyes boring a hole in his nonexistent being. “Now go.”
With a stomp of her hoof, the runes erupted, flinging Shady through the roof and miles away from the castle, screaming all the while.
Celestia finally let her composure break into a million pieces, hanging her head and shutting her eyes. A single tear fell from her face and onto the cold stone floor.
Shady slowly raised himself from the sun baked dirt road, his new body making it difficult to get to his hooves. Seeing a puddle off to the side of the road, he stood over it, and looked upon his horrifying reflection.
The pure shock of sight made him feel the need to vomit, but nothing came out of his mouth. Not even air. He couldn’t alter any part of the universe, and therefore couldn’t take or push out air through his lungs. Not that he needed air, with his new found immortality.
Celestia’s words rang through his newly forged head.
If you find a single pony who can look past your transgressions, and see the true worth of your soul…the curse shall be lifted.
Shady had wanted nothing more than to be forgiven. Now it was his only option.
He stayed by that road for a while, just staring at his reflection. He began to feel a strange compulsion to move, as if he shouldn’t stay in one spot for this long. He wanted to just stare at himself all day, take in his new appearance, adapt, but it was all cut short by his need to move.
His need to walk the land. The need to wander.
He eventually had to tear his eyes way from the puddle, and instead set his sights on the road. He recognized this road; it was the one he had traveled a few years ago on a holiday excursion with Sunny.
Sunny...
It was then that Shady knew of the one person that could see through his harsh exterior. With a dash of hope in his ghostly heart, he ran down the road.
The sun had been lowered by the time Shady had arrived in Trottingham. The moonlight barely illuminated the night, rendering him practically invisible. Not that it mattered, with everypony having retired for the night.
Shady raced through the town desperately, only one pony on his mind.
He finally made it to his home, and looked upon it with a sorrowful eye. The blood, glass, and body had been cleared. Light leaked through the broken window of the shoddy cottage that he had once called home.
Shady approached the door, reached for the doorknob, but his burnt hoof passed right through it. Berating himself for his stupidity, he walked straight through the door. Glancing about, he felt the oddest nostalgia, despite only being gone from his home for a day and a half.
He slowly ascended the wooden staircase, making his way to the bedroom.
He cautiously walked through the bedroom door, hoping that Sunny was asleep, so he wouldn’t frighten her. Instead, he was welcome to a far more gruesome sight.
Sunny laid on the floor on her side, twitching in a pool of her own blood. A bloodied knife lay off to the side, discarded. Both of her forelegs had jagged cuts along them. She was breathing shallowly, waiting for death.
“No, no, no, nonononono!” Shady tried to scream out, but all that escaped his throat was a fearsome roar. He rushed over to her side, standing over her and looking down at her fragile frame. Even on her deathbed, she was as beautiful as the sun is bright.
Sunny heard the noise and strain fully turned her head to look up her husband. She looked startled for a moment, but then a contented smile graced her muzzle.
“Oh…hello, you…” she said pleasantly, as if she was oblivious to the fact that she was bleeding out. “I…I’ve been waiting for you.”
Shady shook his head, his whole body shuddering as he tried to comprehend what he was seeing. It was all too much. He sat on all four legs and brought his head over hers, looking down at the shy face that he’d learn to love more than life itself.
“I never thought my…my meeting with Death would be like this…” Sunny said, chuckling weakly. “But here we are.”
Shady put his hooves on hers, trying desperately to staunch the bleeding, but his hooves passed straight through them.
“Sunny, no, please! You can’t leave me too! Not you…please…don’t go…” An angry growl came out of Shady’s maw, followed by a sorrowful hum.
“You’re not one for…for conversation…are you?” Sunny said jokingly, still bright as ever. She descended into a minor coughing fit, speckles of blood flying from her mouth and onto the floor.
“That isn’t going to stop me from saying my piece.” Sunny reached a hoof out weakly, brushing it through Shady’s hoof. “My best frie…friend is dead…my husband will never want to…to see my face again…with what he’s done, I’ll pro…probably never see him again anyway.”
“Sunny, I’m right here! Please, Sunny, I’ll never leave! I promise, just don’t go!”
Sunny chuckled again at the growling beast. “Restless, huh? Don’t worry…I’ll be right there. But before I go…if…if you see somepony named S-Shady Meadows…” Sunny’s voice cracked, and tears began to run down her heavenly face. “I-If you see him…tell him that I’m s-sorry…and…and tell him…”
Shady leaned in close, his muzzle and inch from hers.
“…tell h-him that…I n-never stopped loving him…and I never w-will…” Sunny’s eyes began to close, and the ghost of a smile graced her visage. Her breaths became shallower…and shallower…and weaker…and weaker…until she breathed no more.
“Sunny…Sunny…Sunny…” Shady repeated over and over sadly, his ghostly hum falling on dead ears. It was then that he felt his compulsion kick back in, his curse, his need to go elsewhere. He wanted to stay with her forever…to simply sit here and look at her so he could never forget her face, lovely even in death.
He thought back to when they moved in together, when they kissed to seal their marriage, when he proposed back in that shady meadow. When they had gone on their first date, when he had nervously asked her out…and when they first met. And from that day, he knew all that he wanted in his life. He knew what the shining light of his life would be.
And that light had just gone out.
He had to move. He had to run. He had to wander. The desire was driving him mad.
At the edge of his willpower, Shady shakily leaned down and put his muzzle to Sunny’s forehead, his lips unable to come into contact with her peaceful form. Taking one final longing look at his love, his legs moved on their own, bringing him right out the broken window and into the night, taking him away from Trottingham as fast as they could carry him.
Shady knew then that he would never be rid of his curse, for there couldn’t possibly exist a pony as special and kind as his Sunny.
And he would be right…
...for about a millennium.
