Inheritance of the moon

Several days had passed since the last incident with the shadeor whatever it really was, Midnight had spent much time thinking about what exactly was going on. He would pour through story after story in the library looking for any reference to a threat that coul take any form it so desired, even Spike had joined in the search though he know not why. "I know it's the same thing over and over." Muttering low enough tohimself that the baby drago wouldn't over hear, sometimes it did help to speak allowed when trying to solve a problem. Looking down Midnight would have sworn he'd seen a story about such a thing but it was only a story about shadows, not useful when dealing with the physical he thought.

That movement however did make him notice his necklace he had been given, funny how Midnight hadn't really paid attention to it. "I bet Luna would know..." At the mention of the night princess, even in whisper, Spike dove for a pile of books and stayed submerged for a few minutes before his head poked up, nervus. Did every pony and dragon react this way when she was brought up even in passing? Yes Nightmare Moon had been a horrible pony who planned to essentially destroy Equestria but she and Princess Luna were no longer the same...a light bulb would appear above his head as he looked back down to the story about shadows.

"Sometimes shadows are just the manipulation of light within a room and sometimes they

could be far far worse. One can never know when a shadow might be living and waiting for

the right moment to strike out at an unsuspecting pony. Or worse one might be waiting to

take your place. A candle can do no harm to such a thing, one can only fight or run for their

lives. Choose to fight and know you may win one battle or one hundred before a shadow

decides to surrender while running may mean you are never safe from harm. A hard choice

indeed but one that should be made none the less. Have hope and know that any victory

may be a step to bettering yourself in one way or another, have courage that the true will

all ways succeed."

Granted that this passage was not so much of a story but words of hope it did seem to help Midnight decide what he must do, he would fight. "Did you ay Luna, like princess luna, he same one that's Nightmare Moon?" Spike looked completely panied, pehaps it was because he had been near face to face with the thing or maybe it was stories he had red. Climbing from the pile of books, later to be dubbed the book hall of safety, Spike would begin to walk around nervously. "I need FOOD, any food, just food, good food even, food." Then he was gone, leaving behind nothng more than a cloud of dust that as roughly shaped like him.

Another thing Midnight would put together fromhis reading and lookin outside is that he has only fought with it at night. Even now the sun was about an hour till it set, some time to get some exercise and prepare for the fight he could only guess was coming. "I'm leaving now Spike." Calling out to the baby dragon who was no claws deep in cake batter. With that he would take off from the library to make his way towards Applejack's farm. After all it was a good distance and would allow him to get back home for supplies before sunset.

Somewhere along the sam road another mare was making her way down, one could easily mistae e for Applejack in the dark but even in the light it appeared as though she was cloaked in shadow. "As dandy as this twang is I reckon it should stop sometime soon." As happy as Shade was with the new shape the only thing that trul annoyed her, possiblymore than the annoying stallion, was the way it forced her to speak! "Conound it all!" Bt he sleek form did please her quitea bit, sh was quite built and if magic didn't beat the stallion then sheer strength would!

Down the path she felt a tingle go over her as the sound of controlled breathing caught her attention. Either the dreadful Midnight was nearby or another sem powerful unicorn was around. "Tarnation must be..." With a growl of utmost suffering she shut up and started to run. Over the next hill in fact she nearly ran straight in to Midnight cauing her to nearly curse, well she did curse his existence but intentially. "Well if it ain't Midnight, it's time we settled..." Forcing herself to hack and wheeze in an attempt to get rid of the twang Shade would continue. "The time has come to end you! This eve you shall be out of my mane so that I might plunge Equestria into utter agony!"

With his mind else where Midnight had taken much longer than he had intended with his running, truth be told he had been thinking about Luna. "Why did she give me this necklace?" Muttering lightly, perhaps she knew what was going on? If the princess did then why didn't she do anything to help him? "Maybe she doesn't know." Coming over a hill it took all of his skill and dumb luck to not crashing into Applejack. "Applejack what..." But it wasn't the yellow mare, it was easy to tell since she appeared to be cloaked in shadows that never moved. "Nice accent and all but I'm not going to run away." This time would be different as he wasn't tired and he had actually prepared for this fight, sort of.

Midnight would move around the shade carefully, as he moved she too seemed to mimic his movements. "Thou are a fool to believe the has a chance of winning, I shall consume you!" And if this fight went as she wanted it to Shade would do just that, this stallion was powerful so that would add to hers. Without warning she would throw herself at him, hooves up to strike him hard across the face.

The fight was on, Midnight was able to duck one of the hooves but one connected with his cheek causing him to whirl about slightly. It occured to Midnight that fighting a mare that was physically fit, if not the very description of such, in a hoof to hoof fight was a very bad idea. At the same time using magic did feel a little dirty as a win would be almost certain, so he would continue this dance for a while longer. Shade had over extended with the punches which left her open to a hoof sweep of sorts and with two hooves off the ground the mare fell. "I'd say you hit hard but that would be Applejack, your nothing but a copy and I won't lose to you." Circle and circle they continued, trading blows here and there, in the hoof fight Shade had an advantage and Midnight was taking far more blows than he would have liked.

"I shall end this pathetic fight now, know absolute misery!" Shade's form began to waver to and fro as the shadows around her began to move on their own. Enough, Midnight had enough of this fight an agreed entirely. It was time to end this fight. As the shadows moved to him his horn would begin to glow, the same magical aura that wrapped it would wrap around Shade. "It is too...what art thou doing?!" Her voice seemed more paniced as she lifted from the ground.

Midnight's plan was simple, Applejack was an earth pony so she lacked any magical ability and the ability to fly only came to those with wings. "Agreeing." Earth pony meet earth, if this wasn't a serious fight he might have actually chuckled, as it was he was just annoyed. Instead of seeing her off properly as a gentlestallion should he simple threw her as far and as hard as he could. All that Shade could say in return was a yelp and a scream as she flew. "How long until she gives up I wonder..." Fighting like this was changing him Midnight felt and it wasn't a change he was expecting and really wasn't wanting.

Still screaming sometime later Shade's flight would go uninterrupted until she hit a tree...

The shock of the hit caused her to vaporate on contact, leaving her a spawling mound of darkness on the ground, groaning in agony. "I shall have his life and power!" Screaming she flew into the sky as she took yet a new shape, this of another pegasus with a rainbow streaked mane. "And it will be awesome!" Where power and magic failed perhaps speed would be the one element she could use to beat him. It was on.