The Shadow of Equestria

The unicorn stood in a strange, warped reality. No light source was visible, yet it was as bright as day. Mist hung over everything, yet it did not feel wet or cold. All around, glowing blue ponies floated with closed eyes. They all moved towards a strange gate, made of an unrecognizable material. It appeared to be some form of blue stone, but it was much harder, and strange runes adorned the surface. As soon as ponies passed through it, they seemed to vanish.

The unicorn did not pay heed to any of this. He had seen it all before, and had been watching it for many years. Nothing ever changed in this realm. But today, something important was happening.

As he watched, one pony passed by, different from the others. Rather than blue, his soul was silver, and glowed with unearthly light. The unicorn watched as he approached the gate. But as he was about to pass through, a strange golden chain flashed into existence, holding him back. The pony struggled for a moment, before being pulled back. As soon as he reached the unicorn, he halted and slowly fell to the ground. His eyes slowly flickered open, dull and confused. He stood up, wobbling about from disorientation, looking around and scratching his head.

"Where am I," he muttered, before noticing the unicorn. "Hey, you!" He called out. "What is this place? And who are you?" The unicorn turned to face him with hard eyes.

"Good day to you as well," he said in a serious voice. "My name is Star Swirl the Bearded. As for where you are, that is a much longer story."

...

Light Show groaned as he rolled over. The first rays of sunlight flickered through the window, playing across his wrinkled sheets. He hadn't slept well that night, plagued by nightmares.

He lay in one of the rooms at Toothless's inn. The former thief had been kind enough to provide him with a place to sleep, until he found a job. After everything that had happened, he was finished with stealing. He would be perfectly happy if he never had to walk in the shadows again.

Hopping out of bed, he descended the stairs to the ground floor. Toothless was busily serving breakfast to the earliest risers. Upon noticing Light Show, he held up a plate of pancakes questioningly. The unicorn waved him off. He could eat later. Right now, he had work to do.

As he exited the bar, he felt a strange chill run down his spine. Looking up, he squinted towards the sun. Silhouetted against the light, he could almost make out a shadowy form, but before he could tell for sure, it vanished.

"Probably still just paranoid," he thought to himself. He continued his walk, looking for any buildings with a help wanted sign in them. Passing a newspaper stand, he stopped and payed the paper pony a few bits for a copy of the paper. Walking over to a nearby park, he found a shady spot under a tree and began reading.

As his eyes scanned the paper, he detected movement nearby. Lowering the paper, he saw Spike hurrying towards him. The little dragon had a worried look on his face, and was wringing his claws. The thief frowned in concern. When the dragon saw that he had been noticed, he hurried his pace.

"What's wrong?" Asked Light Show.

"Something's wrong with Twilight," said Spike with concern. "This morning, she was muttering in her sleep. When I tried to wake her up, she flung me into the wall with her magic." He tenderly felt the back of his head. Light Show could see some dried blood there. His eyes narrowed. The princesses concern for the dragons well being had been obvious.

"And then," continued Spike, "She didn't even acknowledge it. Then, she told me that she changed our plans. She said she decided to stay in Canterlot for a few more days, instead of going home today like we planned. She never changes plans! She said that she wanted to speak to the princess a little more.

Light Show looked around for a second, then looked back. "Go back home now," he said. "I have some things I need to check, then I'll be over. Don't let Twilight go to the princess.  I've got a bad feeling about all of this. Something bigger is going on here." Spike nodded, then ran off.

Light Show got up, then began walking towards a more deserted section of town. Carefully noting his path, he took random turns, moving down random alleys. Suddenly, he whipped around, looking behind himself. Sure enough, he saw a flash of darkness pass through his field of vision. He ran towards it, looking all around. He stood alone in the alley, with no hint that anything else had been there. He turned in circles for a second, before shouting out.

"What do you want! Show yourself!"

Nothing moved out. He waited just a second more, before turning around and retracing his steps back out of the neighborhood. The whole way out, he felt eyes drilling holes into the back of his head.

...

Twilight frowned and shook her head. She had been having a headache all day, starting when Spike woke her that morning. Why did he have to do that? Couldn't he see she was sleeping? It made her feel like hurting him, just like he hurt her! This wasn't even the first time! He was constantly doing his job poorly!

She shivered and curled up into a ball on the couch. Where did those thoughts come from? Spike was a great assistant, wasn't he? Was she going insane? She could almost hear laughter.

"Wait," she thought. She could actually hear laughter! Loud and clear, it seemed to be coming from inside her head. But it wasn't nice laughter, like Pinkie Pie's. It was dark and menacing, more like Discords.

"Who are you?" She asked the air. The laughter cut out abruptly.

"You know me," said a deep, dark voice. It sent chills down her spine just hearing it. "I'm you. I'm all your innermost thoughts. I'm how you really perceive the world, not those lies you tell yourself. I'm the only one you can really trust." And as he said it, Twilight realized it was her own mouth moving, but not her words coming out. But what she was saying was right! She really could only trust the voice. Her friends always lied to her, keeping secrets. And the princess was the worst of all!

As she thought of the princess, she grew angry. What gave her the right to lie to all these ponies, and treat them like dust? She constantly ignored their pleas, raising her precious sun and only helping the few who gave her what she wanted!

"NO!" Shouted Twilight suddenly. "I don't know what you are, but you won't infect my thoughts! I won't turn against the princess!"

The voice chuckled. "That's what they all say at first. Even the thief, Lurker." Twilight stiffened.

"You were inside Lurker?"

Silence for a moment. "By accident, yes. I sought to infect his friend instead. The pegasus called Stratus. But that meddling fool saw what I was doing. He was too loyal to his friend for his own good. He used his magic to draw me into himself, keeping me from the one who could help me really achieve my goals! But he got what he deserved. I took his mind, enthralled it, and forced him to kill those he had tried to protect. And the best part? To repay him for his efforts, Stratus killed him. Lurker had sacrificed his very will for his friend, and his friend killed him."

Twilight gasped. "You're a monster!"

"Am I really so different than the one you just helped? Both me and Stratus were betrayed by those we thought we could trust. We were both left for dead. We both harbored thoughts of vengeance, and we were both willing to go to any means to achieve it. So why do you help him, and not me?"

"Twilight!"

Twilight's head snapped up. Spike had just come in, and was staring at her in horror.

"What are you doing?" He asked with shock and concern in his voice. "Why are you talking to yourself?" Twilight straightened and regained her composure.

"I'm sorry, Spike," she said. "I didn't mean to scare you like that . I was just thinking out loud. It's nothing." She walked forward and wrapped him up in a hug. He stiffened for a moment, then returned the embrace.

He was so caught up, he didn't even notice that Twilight's horn was glowing. Suddenly, he felt a strange tingling sensation in his neck. He looked down. It was ... blood? But whose blood was it? With shock, he realized it was his own. He felt the back of his neck, and his claw curled around something. Pulling it out, he saw that it was a knife from the kitchen.

He stared up at Twilight with surprise. She simply smiled down sadly at him.

"Sorry, Spike. You've been a good servant, but I can't risk you betraying me. You've been working pretty hard recently. Why don't you just take a nice nap?"

As she said that, Spike nodded. Sleep sounded nice. He could just take a short rest, then get back to work. He closed his eyes, and let himself fall backwards into sleep.

Once he fell, Twilight stood up and walked to the door. She had a meeting with the princess, and she wasn't going to be late.

...

Light Show knocked on the door. It had been his third attempt to get into the hotel room, but no pony answered. He frowned. There should have been some response by now. His instincts were buzzing, telling him something was wrong.

He looked up and down the hallway he stood in. He was alone, and he couldn't hear footsteps approaching. He reached into a pouch at his side and pulled out a set of lock picks. He levitated them to the door, then picked the lock. The door creaked slowly open.

Tentatively, he walked in. "Spike!" he called. "Twilight! Are you here!" There was no reply. With growing trepidation, he pulled out his dagger, holding it at the ready.

He walked into the main area. As he entered, he detected an all too familiar scent. Blood. His gaze snapped to the far side of the room. There, in a puddle of blood, was a small purple and green corpse.

...

Spike felt himself floating along. He felt peaceful, no worries on his mind. Everything was fine now, he didn't have to concern himself with anything. All he had to do now was rest.

Looking up, he saw a gate in front of himself. Dozens of other ponies floated alongside him, with the same contented smile on their faces. From the gate, he could hear sounds of laughter. It almost sounded like one of Pinkies parties back home! He leaned forward eagerly.

Just as he was about to pass the gate, something gripped his tail. He was pulled back sharply, waving his arms in an attempt to free himself. Looking back, he saw that some pony had grabbed him, but this pony looked different from the others. He wore a black cloak concealing his features. Shards of frost formed around the hood, and misty breath came out every few seconds.

As Spike stared in fear, another pony came. This pony appeared to be a unicorn dressed in wizards robes. He looked familiar, but Spike couldn't seem to place him. The unicorn said something to the other pony. The voice sounded like garbled nonsense. Spike could almost hear the hooded pony grit his teeth.

"No, damn you," he growled. "You want me to do this, fine. But if I do, this one gets to live. I will have my way in this, at least. You've taken too many others." The unicorn stared for a second, then shrugged and walked off. The hooded pony turned to face Spike.

"We don't have much time," he said. "Twilight's mind has been taken over. You need to get to the princess, and warn her. Get Light Show to help. He'll know how to get you there." As soon as he finished speaking, he touched Spike on the forehead.  The dragon felt his vision begin to swim, and he fell backwards.

Light Show leaped backwards in shock as Spike shot up, gasping. The dragon turned to face him. "We need to stop Twilight!" He shouted. "C'mon!"

He ran off. Light Show stared for a second, then ran after the dragon. "Wait, why do we have to stop Twilight!"

As the two of them ran towards the castle, they didn't notice the pony watching them. Standing on the roof, he followed their trail with his eyes. After a moment, he began following them. It would all be over soon.