Lost Shadows

by Number Line

Rating: teen
Tags: Princess Luna, Original Character, Adventure, Princess Celestia, Human, Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 5367

A strange creature is forced from its safety. But there's something off about it. This particular creature knows a little too much about a certain topic to simply be lost.

When a new creature is forced from hiding, everypony wants to know everything about it. But as they dig, they find more questions. And as it turns out this creature is harboring a very dark, and distant past. Yet it has no clue. And like every past, there are locked doors.

Follow the journey as the Mane Six try to help it regain its memory and unlock some of those doors. Along the way, they soon discover this creature has a knack for particular profession. Why? Well, lets just say some doors that were locked should have probably stayed locked.

Published 2015-06-01 19:20:01 UTC
Last updated 2015-11-25 04:52:04 UTC

Chapter 1

The full moon shone bright as it was rising above the Everfree Forest. But the thick canopy of the trees blocked most of moonlight and the sun had already set, unfortunately for a terrified unicorn mare running through, dodging what trees she passed. Not far behind, a large body of timber trampled the ground it stomped on as it pursued its prey.

With what energy she had left, she thrust forward, trying to ignore the fatigue from the chase. As she was running, the cover of the treetops was so thick that she couldn’t see a root sticking out and tripped into a roll and finally landing on her belly. The chase had worn the light-green pony down to the point of exhaustion. Soon after, her pursuer stood over her frail, tired body looking down at its catch. With no exit, she uses her magic to hurl a nearby pebble, but it only makes the timberwolf angry.

It snarls and grabs the pony by her tail and throws her a good distance. Scared, tired, and bruised, she does what anypony would do,

“HELP!!!”

The timberwolf pounces, looks down and prepares for the kill. The mare, knowing what will come next, shuts her eyes and covers her head with her fore hooves and awaits her demise. The only sound she hears is the snarls growing louder. Every second feels like an hour and she can’t take it and begins sobbing.

The timberwolf was too focused on the pony that it didn’t see or hear a large figure burst from behind a bush to its right and was sent flying into a tree. With a daze, it shook its head and scanned. It stopped and growled when it came upon a tall figure, now standing between it and the pony. Back on all fours, it began to circle, all the while the figure guarding the now petrified pony who was watching on the ground.

The stare down was intense. The timberwolf continued to circle and the tall protector kept its guard. Then, like lighting, the beast lunged and with its jaws, clamped down on one of the tall figure’s upper …whatever it was. The pony now noticed her guardian. It was tall, taller than most ponies, about the same height as Princess Luna and it was a biped. But what intrigued her most were this thing’s upper legs, if you could call them legs. They were long too, and had claws at the end of them. But not normal claws, they were more…fleshy. She was brought from her gaze as she saw this being grab the snout of the timberwolf with its good…claw and pull apart the muzzle. Its other claw now free, the figure used both to get a good hold on the head of the beast and with much force, twisted the head so that the timberwolf was now on its side whimpering and with another powerful twist the head was detached.

The mare stared in awe and fear at her savior. The limp body of the timberwolf crumbled into a pile of twigs and tree ruble soon followed by the head. The figure turned to the paralyzed pony on the ground. With a clear view of it face, she saw it was hairless except for on top of its head. The look it gave her was emotionless, a blank stare that lasted for a while. As they stared, she saw it was clothed, somewhat, in rags. The leggings it had on covered the lower half and was full of rips and tears. Its upper cloth was in no better condition. As her gaze went over it, she saw a gash in the upper right leg where the timberwolf clamped down. But something was off; it was bleeding little to no blood. She stood up, only to fall back down and let out a cry of pain.

The toss from the timberwolf had injured her left shoulder pretty bad but she didn’t realize it until she put her weight on it. Hissing through the pain, she didn’t notice the tall being approach. It knelt down to inspect the injury, making sure not to be too rough. After a couple of minutes, it rose up and ran in the direction it came.

“WAIT! Don’t leave me here.” She tried to stand again but regretted it quickly. A quick look around and the mysterious figure was gone. The terrified mare didn’t hold it back anymore and began crying. But a snap of a twig made her freeze and slowly turned to see that the tall creature had returned, this time with a knapsack. A wave of relief overcame her as she couldn’t help but smile knowing it didn’t completely abandon her.

The biped went back to her side and searched through its bag. A few moments later, it brought out some cloth and began ripping strips out of it. The mare kept a watchful eye out, for both their sakes. After the ripping, her savior tied a couple together and made a makeshift sling. Being very careful not to cause any more damage, it wrapped the sling around her neck and gently brought her left fore leg into it. Satisfied, it picked her up and carried her away from the dreaded timberwolf pile. With the moon still rising, it traversed the forest with ease.

“T-thank you…” the mare said softly. It just kept looking forward. Being careful not to say the wrong thing, she left it at that. But she realized they were going the wrong way. “I-I was heading to Ponyville. That way.” She used her good leg and pointed in the direction. It gave a nod and adjusted their course. ‘At least it can understand me.’ She thought.

They walked for quite some time but neither said anything. They soon found themselves on the edge of the forest and could see the faint lights of nighttime Ponyville. The moon was now high in the sky and gave a decent glow upon the land, enough for a certain mare to make it back safely. The biped knelt down and placed her on the ground, turning after it did so as to make its way back to where ever it came from.

“Wait,” she began. The tall biped turned to her. “Thank you, again.” She said, this time with more sincerity than fear. It gave a small smile and what appeared to be a casual salute. Then it was off, swallowed by the dark trees. The mare stood there recalling the events that led her to this point in time.

“Next time, leave before it gets dark.” She scolded herself and turned to her destination. “I never even got its name.”

She froze.

“I never gave it my name.”

How rude. With that she limped her way to Ponyville Hospital, grateful that whatever it was, it was a friend.

Author's Note

First story on here. So like it. Hate it. Let me know. Thanks.

Chapter 2

“So, could you tell me what happened again?” A certain Doctor Horse asked an injured unicorn mare.

“I was on my way here when it got dark and a timberwolf started chasing me. I thought I was done for, but something came to my rescue. And for the hundredth time, I don’t know what it was. All I know is that if it wasn’t for that thing, I wouldn’t be here now.” The disgruntled mare said.

“Very well, and may I get your name one more time.” The doc asked as he wrote down what she was saying.

She let out a very long sigh and gave an answer, “Its Rose Petal. I’m here to see my cousin, Roseluck.”

“Well thank you Miss Rose Petal. That should do it for now. Try to stay off that leg for a couple of weeks and it should heal quickly. I must say, you’re very lucky to survive a timberwolf encounter. Especially one of the caliber you said you endured.”

“Thanks doc. Can I go now?” Rose Petal asked.

“Sure. See the pharmacist for your medication and take it as prescribed. We’ll have you galloping around in no time. Enjoy your stay in Ponyville.” Doctor Horse said writing down her prescription and handing it to her with a smile.

“Thanks.” She gave a smile of her own.

As she was leaving, the doc went over his notes and went over it again and again. “The things I hear…” he said and placed the notes into a file.

Back in the Everfree Forest, a tall biped was running his gaze over the surface of the river, with spear in hand, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. As he was watching, he heard the familiar sound of hooves approaching. With one last look into the water, he saw a fish trying to swim upriver, the perfect time, but alas, he had to abandon his quest. With a quick dive, he hid behind a nearby bush, watching for any form of life.

After a couple of minutes, he saw three fillies enter the clearing.

“So what are we doing out here again?” an orange pegasus filly with a purple mane asked.

“I told ya already. Applejack said beavers are starting to become a problem again. So if we can build them a dam here, they won’t cause any more trouble back home.” A yellow earth pony filly with a red mane and tail explained.

“But where’s the cutie mark in that?”

“I guess it could deal with wildlife…” a white unicorn filly chimed in.

‘Well there goes this spot.’ The tall creature gave a sigh and quietly snuck away.

As the day progressed, Twilight was in the middle of one of her daily reading sessions when there was a knock. Putting the book down and rising up, she gave a stretch and used her magic to open the door.

“Doctor Horse? What can I do for you?” It was odd for the good doctor to pay her a castle visit.

“I came to tell you of another timberwolf incident. This one nearly fatal.” He handed her his notes. “All I can say is what happened but not who. Doctor-patient confidentiality….sort of.”

“I understand.” She went over the file. “That’s the third one this month. What do you think could cause them to come so close to Ponyville?” The purple alicorn asked.

“I can’t say for sure. You’d have to get a professional opinion on this matter. My specialty is medical.” He gave a smile. “I’m sure Miss Fluttershy could give you an answer.”

She couldn’t help but smile as well. “Yes, of course.” She kept on reading, “What’s this about a creature coming to her rescue?”

“I’m not sure myself, all the patient said was that if it wasn’t for that creature, they wouldn’t be alive.”

Pondering on this new development, she simply smiled at her visitor. “Well thank you for bringing this doctor.”

“Of course your highness.” He bowed but that phrase still gave Twilight an unnerving feeling, no matter who it came from. With that, he left and Twilight was alone again to ponder some more.

“Jusph a phew morr. An vee shuld b’gud.” Applebloom said through a mouthful of sticks with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo not far behind. The three notorious fillies came back to their dam construction site and piled their hoard. “I think that should be plenty good.”

“Ya think?” Scootaloo asked judging the pile that was nearly twice their size.

“Maybe we over did it.” Sweetie joined in.

“Naw. You can never have too much.”

At the same time, a certain biped returned with a bounty of two fish.

‘They’re still at it? What were…wow. That’s a decent pile.’ He thought as he gazed upon the pile of twigs and sticks.

“Alrighty then, hand me that twig there and we can get started on giving these varmint a home.” AB said with a little spite in her voice.

“Are you sure we should be doing this? What if they don’t even like it?” Sweetie asked.

“What’s not to like? It’s not like they have any other choice?” AB said laying the first stick of their project.

‘Well, better head off then. Don’t want to intrude as much as I have already.’ the biped thought trudging away from the site. ‘I’m sure they’ll be fine. They’re pretty close to the town anyway.’

A few hours later, our biped friend was enjoying the filling feeling of his catch as he laid back on a rock and casted his gaze up through the canopy towards the evening sky with just a few stars starting to come out.

‘That was a fine catch, if I must say.’ He patted himself on the back. ‘Though, it could’ve been cooked more to a crisp. That would’ve been perfect.’

But his thoughts were interrupted by a chorus of screams.

With a deep sigh, he rose from his position. ‘Now what?’

He walked a distance in the direction of the screams. Then he heard it again. He turned his head. They were moving. Quickening his pace he ran in the new direction.

“HELP!”

‘Why am I always answering that call?’ Another wave of screams, this time closer. With a jump through thick brush, the biped found the three fillies huddled together. Once they saw him, their eyes went wider and pupils smaller than before.

‘Wait for it…’

They screamed even louder.

‘Called it.’ But then a familiar sound came from behind. Turning, he found himself up against an old foe. Standing ten feet from them was yet another timberwolf. ‘You’ve gotta be kidding me.’

Wasting no time, the timberwolf pounced and mauled the tall being. It was a battle of strength. The three younglings watched in pitch terror, not sure who to cheer on. It was a coin toss. When one found itself the advantage, the other would counter. The growls and snarls were mixed with fleshy claws pounding against wood until there was a snap and everything slowed. Then came a whimper and the timberwolf freed itself from the grips of its opponent.

The three petrified fillies watched as they saw the timberwolf back up and high tail it out of there crying as if in pain. Once it seemed safe. The tall figure turned to them. He had bite marks and gashes about his frame. But they noticed something in his claw, the jaw of the timberwolf. Now even more terrified, they backed up more.

Seeing as he would do more harm than good this time. The biped simply dropped the jaw and turned to leave. But as he turned he failed to notice the damage to his leg and fell to his knees.

‘Damn! That’s going to be sore in the morning.’

“Applebloom! Don’t!”

He looked back and saw the yellow filly approach with extreme caution while the other two watched in horror.

“I-It’s okay.” She stammered, “I’m not going to hurt you.”

‘Really? Is she using THAT on ME?’ he thought recalling the fight that just happened and rose back up. He made a gesture for her to stop and she did midstride. He looked between the three of them and noticed how late it was getting.

‘Crap! Now I have to take them back. Can’t leave them out here all by their…’

“GET AWAY FROM THEM!” A new voice cried out. Without warning, a rope was flung over his body and tightened. He was going to reach for it when a cyan blur struck him in the gut causing him to haunch over. The force of the rope being tugged on brought him down to the ground, face first, and he felt another rope tighten around his legs. Soon after, he felt something heavy slam on his back.

“You got it?”

“Eeyup!”

Completely immobilized, the biped looked up and saw a variety of colors. An orange earth pony, a cyan pegasus floating, a white unicorn, a pink earth pony, a yellow pegasus, and a purple unicorn/pegasus hybrid.

‘Then who the blazes in on my back?!’ he thought as he tried to get a better view of his captor, but he wasn’t going to let him move one bit.

“Oh no you don’t!” he heard a gruff voice say.

‘Yup. A stallion.’

“Girls! Are y’all okay?” Applejack asked.

“We’re fine! But get off it! Please! It didn’t do anything!” Applebloom pleaded.

“Have you lost your mind? We don’t even know what it is.”

“She’s right, though!” Scootaloo jumped in, “It saved us.”

“Saved you? With the way we heard the screams.” Rainbow glared at it.

“It’s true!”

“Applebloom, what in Equestria could this…thing save you from?” Big Mac asked stilling holding the creature in question down.

“A timberwolf!”

At the mention of the horrid beast, Twilight’s mind clicked and began to approach it.

“Twilight! Whatever are you doing? Don’t get near it!” Rarity warned.

“Oh my, it’s badly injured.” Fluttershy observed the bites and cuts.

“Yes. It is.” The purple unicorn said not taking her eyes off it. “These wounds are consistent with their story.” She examined what she could see. “But these are very bad wounds. Why is there little blood?” she poked at one cut.

With a hiss of pain, the captured biped jerked around trying to break free, but the big red stallion kept him pinned.

‘SWEET JUNE BERRIES! That hurts!’ he thought.

“Twilight! Please, it’s hurt.” Fluttershy galloped next to him, petting his head. “Shhh. It’s okay. We’re not going to hurt you.”

‘Why do they keep saying that? Had they saw what went down earlier, they…hey, this is actually kinda…soothing…’ He calmed down.

“There, there. It’s all going to be alright.”

“Applejack, please! It did save us.” Applebloom tried reasoning again.

“And just what were you three doing out here in the first place?” Rarity asked putting a leg around Sweetie Belle.

“We were…”

After a long explanation, nopony had loosened their anger.

“WHAT IN THE NAME OF CELESTIA WERE YOU THINKING?!” Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow shouted. The three just hung their heads in defeat.

“Come on! We’re going straight home!” AJ picked up AB.

“Indeed!” Rarity did the same with Sweetie.

“You know I’m going to have to tell your parents, Scootaloo.” Rainbow scolded.

“So what are we gonna do with this?” Big Mac said still holding their prisoner down.

“Can you tie it up good and bring it back to the castle?” Twilight asked.

“Eeyup.”

‘Oh goodie…’

After tying his ‘claws’, legs, and upper appendages together rather tightly, Big Mac hoisted him on his back and began the trudge to Twilight’s castle.

‘I could break free, but that would look very bad on my part.’ He thought as he stared at the ground as they walked, ‘then again, it’s not like I have a reputation to uphold or anything.’ With his mind made up, he flexed whatever he could, but found out that this stallion knew how to restrain apparently anything. ‘Well color me impressed.’

“There ain’t no way you’re getting out of that. Tied it myself.” Macintosh gloated.

’Really? I had no clue…’

The walk was a good distance and by the time they reached their destination, our bipedular friend was snoozed away.

“Where do you want it?” Big Mac asked.

“I think the dungeon will suit it. Never had to use it until now, but I’m sure it’ll hold.” Twilight led him down a few flights of stairs until they came to an open cell.

“Never knew you had this place down here.” Big Mac tossed the creature inside causing him to wake.

‘Ooph…thanks…’

With a loud clang and another click, he knew there was no escaping now. He rolled and squirmed to get a view of his jailers.

“You sure it’ll be alright? If this thing fought off a timberwolf, there’s no telling what it could do to a pony.” Mac expressed his concerns.

‘FINALLY! Somepony who gets it.’

“Oh it’ll be fine. Tomorrow I’ll have Doctor Horse look at his injuries. But there’s not much we can do now for it. Hopefully it’ll be okay.”

‘Miss, you have no idea.’

“Well, if’n that’s all, I’ll be heading out now.”

“Okay, thanks for all your help!” Twilight called as he left.

“Eeyup.”

Then there were two.

“I have no idea what you are. I’ll probably have to notify the Princesses, let them know we have a…something, and then let the guard know as well, then…” she went on listing what had to be done.

‘(Sigh) well at least I have some company.’

“This is so exciting!!!” she squeed with stars in her eyes and dashed out of the dungeon.

‘Correction…had company.’ He simply laid his head down and closed his eyes, ‘Least this place is warmer than outside.’

Chapter 4

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 3

The next morning, Twilight was up and about going through her books trying to find anything on her new ‘guest.’ Book after book, the only thing that came close, barely, was a reference to primates. But even she knew that it wasn't that. Frustrated, she decided to take a break and headed to Spike’s room. A message had to be sent right away. Fearing he was still asleep, she knocked. On the other side, she heard a grumble and a snort. She knocked harder.

“Okay, okay. I’m up.” He opened the door rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “What?”

“Well good morning to you too Mr. Grumpy Scales.” She teased.

“It’s Saturday. You know I like to sleep in on the weekend.” He yawned.

“I’m sorry Spike, but I need you to send a letter to the princess. It’s urgent.” She explained.

“Urgent as in magic-kindergarten urgent or banished urgent or locked in a dungeon where you were banished urgent or…” he stopped when he saw her glaring. “Right, urgent.” He said taking out a quill and paper.

Dear Princess Celestia,

Recently we have had trouble with timberwolves attacking ponies that are traveling though the Everfree Forest. And most recently, some of those attacks were near town. Yesterday evening, Applebloom and her friends encountered one, but they also encountered another being. I have no clue what it is but apparently it was responsible for saving them. There is another account where an unknown creature rescued another pony. I believe it is the same creature.

I have looked through my books and found nothing resembling it. I thought it best if you could help determine what it is by taking time out of your schedule. I’m sorry if this is an inconvenience, but the fact that it was able to fend off a timberwolf on its own troubles me. I don’t know if its friend or foe. I have the creature tied up in the dungeons and…

“Wait. This thing is here?” Spike interrupted.

“Spike! What have I told you about being focus?”

“Okay. Sorry. Just worried is all.”

And will wait for your arrival to determine what to do next. Please Princess, I need your help.

Yours respectfully,
Princess Twilight Sparkle

“Send it.”

Down in the dungeons, the tied biped was also awake trying to free itself.

‘Well, I’ll give him this. He knows how to tie a knot’

It was later on in the day when he had given up. Passing the time, he just laid there, counting the seconds, literally. Then he went to whistling.

He was stopped by the sound of a heavy door being opened. He wiggled over to the bars and saw two ponies approach. Each was wearing golden armor and both were white pegasi.

’The cavalry has arrived.’ He joked in his mind.

They opened the cell and one threw him on the other’s back.

‘Oh come on! Another ride? Where are we going now?’

They went up the stairs and through multiple doors until they arrived in what appeared to be the throne room. The intense light was too much compared to the dim dungeons.

“Your highness, here is the…thing.” The guard carrying him said and threw him off. The tied up biped landed with a hard thud.

‘Thank you.’ He spat to himself.

Once his eyes were adjusted, he looked around and saw the same ponies from yesterday, minus the big red one, and the three fillies, but there were a couple of new faces. First off, there were more guards in here, a variety of gold, black, and some shiny armor, and then he noticed three more unicorn/pegasus hybrids. These ones were taller than most ponies. The white one was probably taller than him.

‘Well I’ll be bucked.’

“So this is the unidentified creature, hmm? He doesn’t look so bad.” The dark blue hybrid with blue flowing hair said.

“You say that now, but think of what this thing could do when it’s free. It’ll probably kill us all!” A golden armored guard said.

“Lieutenant. That’s quite enough.” The white hybrid said.

‘I don’t doubt him.’

“Release him.”

‘Come again?’

“But, Princess…” Twilight began.

“Now, now, Twilight. How can we learn of our new guest with him in binds?” she gave a nod and two guard ponies, one to hold him down, and the other to cut the rope, approached.

Once freed, the biped remained laying and covered his head.

“What’s wrong with it?” The pink hybrid asked.

“Give it jab.” The lieutenant ordered.

One pony inched closer and gently tapped it on the side. But this caused the creature to jolt right up. At full height, everypony backed up and stared in awe.

“Easy now, don’t do anything stupid.” One guard warned, spear pointed right at him.

The tension was so high; it was like bringing a match into a gunpowder store. One wrong move then it was over for every…

“Fluttershy! What are you doing?”

The tall creature turned in the direction of the voice and saw the same yellow pegasus from yesterday getting closer.

“I-Its okay. Remember me?” she said gently. “Shh…nopony’s going to hurt you.”

No matter how much it bothered him, something about this mare calmed him. He dropped his arms, not noticing he had them up.

“There, see. It’s alright.” She was standing in front of him now.

“Impressive.”

“So it’s not hostile.” Shining Armor said.

The biped turned to him and simply shook his head. Everypony in the room gasped.

“You can understand us!?” Twilight asked.

Being careful of his next move, he slowly gave a nod. Now, you might say that Twilight being beyond ecstatic was an understatement, and you'd probably be right.

“OH MY GOSH! I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS!” she zoomed next to Fluttershy, almost knocking her over. “What are you? Where did you come from? What’s your name? Do you have a name? What’s your favorite food? What’s one plus one?...”

“Twilight.” Luna said.

“How many more of you are there? Are you male or female?...”

“Twilight!” Rainbow called out.

“Why are you wearing rags? Do you have a special talent? How many hooves am I holding up?”

“TWILIGHT!”

This surprised the purple alicorn because everypony in the room had said it. She looked back to the creature and saw him standing behind Fluttershy for protection.

She gave a nervous chuckle, “Sorry.”

“Now that that’s done with, I would like to ask a few of my own questions.” Celestia declared causing the creature to put Fluttershy between him and the regal princess. She merely chuckled. “It’s quite alright, I will not bombard you.” This cause Twilight to blush. “Now, is it true that you rescued three fillies yesterday?"

It gave a nod.

“So there was a timberwolf?”

Another nod.

“Curious, going up against a beast like that would’ve left injuries, wouldn’t it?”

Now here was where he was stumped. He simple held out his arm to show where the gashes were, but there was none to be seen.

“But, there were cuts, deep cuts there last night. I touched one and you went crazy.” Twilight stared in confusion.

“Didn’t you say there was no blood Twilight?” Applejack asked.

“Yeah, none at all. The gash was fresh yet nothing. Now it looks like nothing even happened. Just a few scars.” She used her magic thinking she would be able to move his arm around, but…

“My magic! It’s not working on it.”

Normally this didn’t bother him. He never had any interaction with unicorn magic, at least not that he remembers. But this put everypony else into a frenzy. Guards gathered around the princesses and most held up their weapons. All the while, he just stood there confused. Even Fluttershy backed up.

“But you represent magic! How can it not be working?” Rainbow asked from behind a wall of guards.

“Your majesty,” Lieutenant Shard began, “this only adds to its threat level. I say we put shackles on it.”

“Shackles?” Luna begged the question, “Sister, it’s able to understand us. And so far, it has not caused any problems.”

‘Oh yeah, it’s not like I’m here right now.’

“I don’t want to risk it.” Shard countered.

“Luna, the fact that it was able to face a timberwolf, with no injuries, and that magic does not affect it, not even ours,” she said trying to use a simple spell on it, “grants that he is more dangerous than we thought.”

“But…”

“Captain Armor…restrain it.” Celestia hesitated.

The cluster of guard moved in slowly along with Shining, who had a pair of shackles in his magic.

“Easy, if you can understand us, just let us put these on.” He said.

The circle of guards was closing in along with the sharp points of spears.

‘Okay, I’ll wear them, if it’ll calm you down.’

He reached out an arm to take the shackles, but as he raised it, a jumpy guard flinched and stabbed right through his hand. With a powerful jerk, he pulled back his hand so hard that another spear that got too close from behind pierced his arm.

In a flash, he pupils shrank and he froze for a while. The guards stopped their advance and carefully watched the stone like creature.

“Is it okay?”

There was a long pause and then like lightening, he reached out and stole a spear.

“Look out!”

The guards flung towards him, but using the spear as if trained already, he fought back. Carefully striking them blows that sent them across the room. One after another, the guards were beaten. The skill the biped had with the weapon was terrifying.

“Shining!”

The rampaging biped turned to see the unicorn captain with a sword in his magical grip. Both charged the other. Shining gave a quick swing, but the biped dodged it and swung the spear like a baseball bat behind Shining’s head knocking off his helmet. Dazed, Shining shook it off and charged again. But the biped had an advantage, he simply used the spear to knock the sword off balance and ram his body into his attacker, knocking him on his back. Shining looked up and saw the biped standing over, spear in hand and foot on his chest to hold him down, then he raised the spear and aimed for the mid-section as he…

“STOP!”

The biped shook his head, as if waking up from a dream. He looked around and saw the guards lying about unconscious. He saw the mares with fear written on their faces and he felt something move under his foot. He looked down and saw a battered Shining, but he wasn’t alone. Princess Cadence put herself between the spear point and her husband. Lying on top of him with tears in her eyes, she pleaded.

“Stop! Please!”

Short of breath, he wobbled back and threw down his weapon. Then there was a ringing in his ears and he held his head as a massive headache overtook him. The pain was too intense that it brought him to his knees. The simple light in the room became too much and he forced his eyes closed. All these put together was brutal, he vomited and tried to look around. His vision blurred as the last thing he saw before passing out was Luna getting fuzzy as he collapsed and she stood over him.

Then nothing.