The Man in the Shadows

As consciousness returned to Derrinus, he felt something soft beneath him. Opening his eyes, he found that he was outside, laying on his bedroll in a small, hastily constructed campsite. It was night time, and Tamral was sitting nearby on a log next to the fire. Derrinus groaned as he sat up. His head felt like someone stomped on it. His groan alerted Tamral of his presence.

"Are you feeling well?"

"Ya, never felt-" Derrinus stopped as he noticed his voice. His voice gained two tones, one was his normal one while the other was feminine in nature. This also startled Tamral, who was also not expecting this.

Tamral responded by using the spell Command Rope to bind Derrinus' wrists and ankles. Derrinus struggled against it, but once more his meager strength failed him. "I'm sorry Derrinus, but you are currently exhibiting signs of possession. While I can't cleanse the Nightmare from your body, I'm sure there is a priest back in town who can."

Derrinus could feel Nightmare panicking in his mind. "No, don't! I willingly let it happen, and my mind is still my own."

Tamral was still skeptical. "Is that so, then let me ask, what was my purpose before I arrived in this world?"

"You were meant to serve as a bodyguard to a Kalastian princess." Derrinus replied without hesitation.

Tamral looked at him for a second, then he sighed. "Alright, I believe that you are in control of your mind. Mind telling me how you're going to explain the eyes and voice?" he asked as he unbound Derrinus.

"Eyes?" Once unbound, Derrinus moved to his bags and pulled out his mirror. His right eye was still the same, but his left eye was that of Nightmare Moon.

Hmm that would be hard to explain. Thankfully, the eye is only an illusion. Should be easily removed with any dispell. Derrinus recoiled in surprise as he heard Nightmare's voice in his head.

"What's wrong Derrinus?"

"I can hear Nightmare in my head. She said that the eye is an illusion. Try dispelling it."

Tamral focused his magic sense and saw that it was, in fact, an illusion. He was able to dispell the illusion now that he could sense it. "Now what about the voice?"

Let me take care of that... Nightmare said as she focused on removing her voice from Derrinus' Alright, try talking. "Don't worry, Nightmare is able to remove it."

Tamral looked at him. "Ok, I won't question your motives for allowing this to happen. Just, keep her under control."

Derrinus used both his thumbs to point to himself, "You know me. I always have it under control."

Tamral gave off a mechanical chuckle. "Yes, just like when I dragged you out of the castle while you were unconscious. Or, how about that time three certain fillies found out about your thief skills and wanted you to teach them how to be 'Cutie Mark Crusaders Master Thieves?'"

"Hey now, we do NOT talk about that." Derrinus held his hands up defensively. He could hear Nightmare laughing in his mind as the memory came back to him.

"Alright, you get some more sleep and we will leave for Ponyville in the morning." Tamral said as he sat back down on the log and added more wood to the fire.

"Ok, Good night Tamral." Derrinus said as he laid back down on the bedroll.

They arrived back in Ponyville without incident, thanks to Zecora. The zebra shaman led them safely around and through druid territory.

So, this is Ponyville during the day? I still feel bad for my power being used to scare these peaceful ponies. I'm most likely still hated and feared by them. Nightmare said glumly.

The path to redemption is never easy, but it is worth it. Derrinus thought as the library came into view. Ok, you might want to keep quiet. This is Twilight's library and I don't know how she will react to you.

I understand. I don't like the thought of annihilation more than the next pony.

Tamral opened the door. "Twilight, we have returned with the books."

Twilight was sitting at her dining room table eating lunch when they came in. "Welcome back. As much as I want to study these tomes, I need to cast a few spells on them first to ensure we don't destroy them. Sit down and relax, I'm sure you have quite the story to tell."

Derrinus shrugged, "Sorry to disappoint you, but there isn't really much to tell. The map you gave us along with Zecora's help allowed us to get to the castle and back without much issue."

"Then how did your aura become much more powerful? It has almost double the power it was before you left."

Damn. She detected Nightmare's aura. Luckily, she mistook Nightmare's aura for my own. "I must of absorbed some of the dark magic in the castle. It was thick enough for even me to feel it."

Twilight bought into it easily though. "Maybe. We never have been able to observe if sources of dark magic can empower you due to the lack dark sources."

"I'll leave you two to your books. I have a project to finish. Farewell." Derrinus said as he left the library.

The rest of the day went by as Derrinus worked on his project. If this project succeeded, then it would open new paths for Derrinus' craft. Derrinus was surprised to find that while jewel crafting was very prevalent in Terra, the art of jewel enhancement was nonexistent. Enchanting was the preferred method of enhancement.

He was working on a pair of dark grey, finely crafted gloves that he put fine obsidian in the knuckles and a flat, round topaz in the back of each glove. He had already inscribed glyphs into the obsidian and was inscribing the topazes.

Though these gloves look good, the topaz clashes too much with the rest of the gloves. Why not use an onyx? That would certainly look better. Nightmare said as Derrinus carved the final glyph into the topaz. When he finished, the topaz went from vibrant yellow to a very dark yellow. What did you do? You didn't cast any spells and gems don't change like that.

I didn't cast any spells, but I did utilize the power within the gems. Seeing that the topaz had changed color just as he planned, Derrinus donned the gloves.

What do mean 'power within the gems'?

My people learned how to not only carve gems into beautiful shapes, but also how to use specialized cuts and glyphs to unlock the power within. Once the gloves were on, Derrinus used his thoughts to activate them. Long claws of pure shadows extended from each finger, including the thumb. He went into the kitchen and got a small block of cheese. Using a claw, he cut a slice off with no resistance. Success!

Nightmare was in awe. This is incredible! You just turned a pair of unassuming gloves into deadly weapons. What else can you do with gems?

Derrinus deactivated his gloves and began to go to his room to get ready for bed. Jewelers can make a gem for just about anything you could think of. Though enchantments are more powerful, gems are more versatile, can enhance items that can't be enchanted, and can be switched out without damaging the item.

As they entered the room, a slight creaking could be heard from the closet. I guess Tamral is already asleep.

As Derrinus got ready for bed, Nightmare got curious. I meant to ask, what is Tamral? I never seen a creature like him before.

Though Tamral prefers being a he, Tamral is actually an it. He is a machine given a core that acts as a physical soul. This 'soul' gives him a will of his own. This core also acts like the brain, controlling the warforge's systems. Tamral could be female if he wanted to, though he would need a female chassis to utilize and the process would be painful. Derrinus then yawned. Well, good night Nightmare.

Good night Derrinus, try not to have a nightmare. Derrinus fell asleep as he heard Nightmare laugh at her own joke.

Luna was searching through the dreamscape, keeping her ponies safe from nightmares. She had just finished cleansing a ponies nightmare when she encountered an odd sight. She saw what looked to be two dreamers whose dreams were tethered to each other. The two beings were sharing a dream. This doesn't happen naturally. She must investigate.

When she entered the dream she entered in an ancient ruin. It was dusk and she could hear the clashing of blades and other sounds of battle. It didn't sound like a battle between two armies, but a battle between only two combatants. She rounded a corner in her search for the dreamers when she spotted one of them. He, if she had to guess, was mostly hairless except for black hair on the top of his head and some on his face. He was wearing light armor and gloves with claws of shadows coming from them. He had just parried a strike from a familiar looking flamberge held by-

Impossible!

The one swinging the sword was the other dreamer, one that should be dead! It was Nightmare Moon.