Chapters A Warrior Among the Shadows
Crescent Shade lurked in the shadows of the Everfree forest. She had been on the move for days and had decided to rest for once. The forest was oddly silent around her but she didn't worry about it. Crescent enjoyed the silence and did not fear the clear sign of a nearby predator. She hated company and other ponies due to a traumatic past she rather not talk about. After all, she had to go through it over and over again in her dreams at night so why go through it in the day?
"Friends. Who needs them? I sure as Tartarus do not need friendship." Crescent muttered to herself as she got up to continue her journey but paused to look at the wonderful moon above her. She unconsciously stepped out of the shadows into the bright moonlight. Her bright yellow eyes were briefly illuminated but her pitch black pelt seemed to consume the light around it. The only way one could separate her from the shadows that the trees around Crescent were the pesky light gray spots that littered her coat and her cutie mark of a yellow crescent moon with a sword across it.
Crescent may have been severely distracted by the night's beauty but with her ominously perfect hearing she could hardly miss the cries of an animal nearby. And even though every fiber of Crescent's being told her to continue her journey, a vow she had made long ago set her in the direction of the cry.
When she finally reached the cry's location, the beast before her reminded Crescent of her childhood. It stood on two furry legs, but was hunched over. It had a torso of a minutare and it was also furry. It's face was similar to a dog but it had humongous teeth and blood red eyes. And underneath the beast's furious gaze cowered three little fillies. The first one was an earth pony with a yellow pelt and a red mane with a bow. Another was a unicorn with a pink and light purple mane with a coat as white as snow. The third filly was an orange pegasus with purple hair.
"Oh, tarter sauce," she muttered, charged the ghastly thing, and let out a roar even Celestia would fear.
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A terrifying roar rang out from the Everfree Forest so loud that it shook every foundation in Ponyville and horrified even the most fearless citizens. So anypony would expect the yellow pegasus Fluttershy to be scared as well, but oddly enough she was not. Cocerned, yes, but she wasn't scared. For Fluttershy could recognize most animalistic sounds and understood the message as clear as Celestia's day.
"Back off!" The unknown beast roared. "These ponies are not prey!"
Fluttershy quickly flew out of her house and headed towards Ponyville. She needed to find her friends.
The scene she saw in town was understandable. Ponies were running throughout the streets in panic. Shop owners were closing their shops, parents searching for their young, and screams filled the air. But Fluttershy ignored the panic below her as she flew to the castle nearby.
Flutters knew her friends would be meeting in the main room and set off towards it. She burst into the room and called out, "Sorry I'm late."
"Oh, it's fine", Princess Twilight Sparkle replied, "you are here and now can tell us what that awful sound was!"
"Yeah," Applejack said, "We were thinkin' you might know what beast made that sound, sugar cube."
"I have no idea what made the sound but, I know what it said." Fluttershy meekly replied.
"You what!" Five ponies shouted.
"Yes, it said these ponies aren't prey."
"So is the thing a threat?" Rainbow Dash asked with a bit of excitement in her voice.
"No but whatever is hunting the ponies is dangerous."
Rarity asked, "Darling do you think your woodland creatures could find the ponies?"
"Well it did come from the Everfree so I don't believe that they could help. But I know of a clearing in the forest close by and I think that's where the noise came from."
The pink pony named Pinkie Pie bounced up and down and said, "Well what are we waiting for, a pie eating contest? Let's go!"
And so the six mares set off towards the clearing and what would surely change the history of Equestria.
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Crescent Shade slammed against a tree. The little fillies whimpered and begged her to get back up.
Crescent had underestimated the monster in front of her. She assumed that this would be an easy fight. However the beast wasn't stupid and was a very good fighter. But Crescent was better. She had broken one of the beast's arm and had drawn blood.
Even though she was quite injured herself she needed to protect the ponies at all costs. It didn't matter that she had several lashes and deep scratches all over her body and her vision was dimming she must see this through. So she got up on bloody and shaky legs to fight again.
But she didn't have to fight because suddenly six mares dashed into the clearing and the monster disappeared
"Applebloom! What in Equestria are you doin here?" An orange pony yelled. "An' git away from that thing!"
"No AJ! It saved our lives!" One of the fillies said. For Crescent Shade wasn't a pony at all. She had paws instead of hooves, pointy ears, and sharp fang-like teeth. All of the ponies gasped when Crescent spoke.
"Huh. Even he-" she coughed out the blood in her lungs and started again. "Even here in Equestria I am judged for my looks. The land that values friendship and love above all."
With a bitter grimace she then fell unconscious.
A Warrior Among the Shadows
After the creature passed out the mane six took it to Fluttershy's cottage. The Cutie Mark Crusaders also tagged along to- Fluttershy assumed- protect the thing.
"Ah promise you, sis, it was tryin' to defend us. Please don't-" Applebloom's died on her tongue as the dog-like creature turned back into a unicorn mare in its sleep. The crowded cottage was silent for a moment.
"What the hay just happened?" exclaimed Rainbow.
"I-I'm not sure. I have never seen any type of magic like this." Twilight stuttered. "Fluttershy could you dress her wounds? I know this isn't your usual type of patient but if we move her, the thing might die."
"Of course I'll try to help her. After all, she saved the Crusaders."
"That reminds me," said AJ, "What in Equestria were yah three doin' in the Everfree?"
While she bandaged the mare's wounds, Fluttershy only caught a few words of the fillies' explanation. She had no idea how a runaway catapult, chickens, and broomsticks fitted into the same story, but these are the Cutie Mark Crusaders we're talking about.
As Fluttershy was looking over a scratch on the unicorn's muzzle she woke up. Due to the close proximity of the mares, Flutters couldn't help but yelp and scramble backwards.
The beast let out a ferocious growl and bared its teeth that were somehow getting sharper, menacingly growing longer.
Panic broke out in the little house. Nearby animals screamed and ran from the loud roar of a predator. The unicorns lit their horns in the process of casting a spell. Rainbow flew into the air. Applejack stood in front of the children and Pinkie, well Pinkie Pie growled back.
Then a soothing voice somehow cut through the cacophony and said, "It's alright, don't be scared."
But the mare -if you could really call her that- had fallen unconscious again.
A few days passed by but one or two ponies stayed to help Fluttershy if the "beast" as they called it, awakened. Fluttershy extremely doubted that a mare that saved three unknown children would attack her, but she seemed to be the only one to hold this opinion.
Fluttershy was also the only one to see the brief but heartbreaking look of terror in pony's eyes. And if anypony could understand being afraid it had to be Fluttershy.
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Crescent Shade woke up days later and was startled. Well who wouldn't be when all you could see was a pretty mixture of yellow and pink? Then it squeaked and shuffled backwards swiftly. When the blushing pegusas stepped back, Crescent saw three unknown ponies and snarled out of reflex.
A clamor of noise rose but, miraclously, Crescent heard the kind voice of the yellow pony and she stopped.
"It's alright, nopony will hurt you." After the din died an alicorn stepped forward.
"Hi, um, hello my name is Twilight Sparkle and I'm the princess of friendship. This is Applejack and Fluttershy. Who are you?"
"Crescent Shade and I-"
What ever Crescent was cut off by raging wave of pain.
"Crescent Shade was it? Um, you shouldn't move your wounds are still healing." said Fluttershy.
"Nonsense! I don't get hurt, I heal!"
"Sugar it don't matter if y'all heal fast. You were hurt real bad." said Applejack.
And it was true. Crescent's fur was stained with dried blood and bandages covered her whole body. Luckily the scratches on her face had healed but her right ear had been shredded and was beyond repair. The claw marks on Crescent's left side would surely scar and patches of her fur had been ripped out. She also had minor scratches but they had not needed to be bandaged.
"Huh. I guess my body didn't heal while I was knocked out. I guess I'll have transform to heal this time."
"What do you mean..." Fluttershy began to ask but stopped. With eyes wide open and mouths gaping, three ponies watched as Crescent Shade began to change.
Her hooves twitched and switched into paws. Then her muzzle rearranged itself like puzzle until it was dog-like. Crescent's teeth got longer and her muscles hardened as they got stronger. The group of three's pulses to began to quicken as Crescent's pelt began to thicken. Then something strange happened. With all the fur the bandages fell off and revealed wounds that were healing.
When the transformation stopped Twilight asked, "Okay, seriously now, what the buck are you?"
"Since you've stayed and haven't ran away now... How long do you have? If you really want to know this could take a while."
A Warrior Among the Shadows
"Wait. Before you start can I get the rest of the girls?" asked Twilight.
"Why do you need to go get us if we're already here?" asked a pink mare.
"Pinkie! How do you eve-" Twilight Sparkle started.
"Do you really want to know?"
"No, I suppose not. It probably won't make sense anyway."
"Nope! Oh and I brought the girls."
"Can I start now?" Crescent asked some what annoyed. The pink pony kinda creeped her out.
"Oooh story time!" Pinkie squealed and grabbed some popcorn that appeared out of nowhere. Crescent's eye twitched slightly in annoyance.
"Just ignore her and continue," said a blue mare with a rainbow mane.
"Alright," Crescent began, "Well I suppose I should start with the Clans. A really long time ago there were clans in the north and the closest town or place was the Crystal Empire. There are many clans but the most important ones in this story are the Lunars and the Shades.
"Now the Clans had powers that made them fierce warriors. The Shades could receive one of three powers with one rarer than the next. In order, they are use shadow magic, converse with the creatures of the night, and the rarest of all, see and talk to the dead. Death Speak, as it was called, is so rare most believed it to be a rumor.
"The Lunars were practically wolves. They were barbaric, fierce, and above all, loyal until the end. Their powers were immense strength, heightened senses, and the shape of a wolf that they shifted into at night. Lunars don't have much control over their wolf and can't shift at will. There also were the rare elite Lyall Lycans who were resistant to dark magic and amazing at creating shields.
"Most Clans hated each other but the Shades and the Lunars were sworn enemies. The one law all Clans had that was the same was any relationships between different clans were extremely forbidden. If anyone broke this law -and nobody ever did- the punishment was death. No exceptions.
"One day, my Lunar father, who was a Lyall Lycan, was on a border patrol and saw my mother who was a Shade; it was love at first sight. They met each day at dawn because both Clans preferred the night. Almost a year later I was born."
Crescent Shade paused, gulped while holding back tears, and continued, "At the time others were getting suspicious of my father and mother. One dreadful day my father was followed to their secret meeting spot and then his own clan mate betrayed him. My family made a run for it to the Crystal Empire.
"My kind had never seen civilization and so we went through a few rough spots in the beginning. My parents were so scared of the ponies and I grew up with no friends. My parents somehow made money and we lived in peace for thirteen years. Then King Sombra took the throne.
"My mother was made a slave with his black magic and my father blamed himself. After that my father and I stayed hidden because the magic doesn't work on Lyalls." Crescent said with tears streaming down her face and a hint of pride in her voice.
"But then King Sombra made a deal with the Clans two years later. My father for their support in guarding the empire. When they found us they slammed the door open and my father hid me. They slit his throat and left. I don't know why those monsters didn't find me.
"I stayed with my father until h-he di-died. That day I made a vow to avenge my family and to protect others from their fate," Crescent chuckled a humorless and terrible laugh and continued, "Fate played a nasty joke on me that day because I got my cutie mark. I got my stupid cutie mark over my dead father's bloody body.
"I spent nearly five years training my body in to a weapon in the shadow so I wasn't found. I studied war tactics, battle strategies, and magic. I practiced every spell I could get my hooves on and practiced all the weapons I could find. I became so powerful that my wolf submitted to me and gave me total control over her. I then could shift any part of my body and still remain a pony.
"And so I went to kill the Lunar Clan and the Shade Clan only to find the fools had destroyed each other. There was no one left alive; all I found were dead bodies. I started running back to the empire and somehow got struck by the curse Sombra used when he was defeated.
"I woke up from the spell but still had my memories. The land had frozen over and there was dark crystal everywhere. I had awoken to King Sombrero trying to recapture the Crystal Empire and tried to stop him. I found his shadowy form and fought him even though I knew I would lose.
"He left my body to die in the cold but I survived. I had to drag myself to safety. One of the guards found me and brought me to the hospital. When I recovered one of the doctors confronted me about my insanely fast recovery and the I ran.
"Up until now I've been running from town to town when someone thought I was hiding something." Crescent finished as she looked at her hooves.
There was silence until Fluttershy spoke, "You poor, poor thing." The yellow pony then threw her arms around Crescent and hugged her. Fluttershy paused and quietly asked, "I'm not hurting you am I?"
"No it feels- it feels nice to be hugged for once." Fluttershy squeezed her tightly and stepped back, blushing. Crescent secretly missed her warmth.
Crescent finally took notice of five other ponies in the room as Fluttershy stayed by her side. Applejack had taken off her Stetson and had a sad far off look on her face, as if she was remembering something. The blue pony looked like she wanted to hit something but Crescent wasn't sure what. Pinkie's hair had deflated and the white unicorn was using a hanker chief to dry her tears.
"I- I am so sorry you had to go through that." said Twilight
"Hey I should throw you a Welcome to Ponyville party!" exclaimed Pinkie and her hair poofed up again.
"Ponyville," Crescent snorted, "Really? Who names a town Ponyville?"
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Later that night Fluttershy gazed at her sleeping hybrid guest. She may be broken, Flutters thought to herself, but she still is amazing.
Fluttershy quickly and quietly left her cottage. She then came up to the shed hidden in her backyard. The shed was a bit rundown but the structure was sound. There were leaves and pieces of foliage covering the entire shack. Inside there was a set of chains bolted to the ground.
"Let's get this over with," Fluttershy murmured to herself and then fastened the chains over her hooves. Her hooves twitched and switched.