Dark Tidings

Chapters

Prologue
The Stakes
False Trails
The Enemy
Lessons Learned
Epilogue

Prologue

Dark Tidings

So, RDD has reviewed this story and it's officially too dark for canon. I can live with that. I intend to carry working in canon events as they occur in later works. Not quite what I was hoping for, but probably what I should have expected when the primary antagonist is inspired by HABIT. Oh well, on with it.

Prologue

And so the three tribes learned how the conflict between them had drawn the Windigoes upon them and how the power of Friendship had forced them away. Together, the three tribes vowed to never repeat their mistakes. They pledged to work together, not as separate groups, but as a single family. And from that vow, on that land, a new nation was born. And they called it Equestria!

How arrogant ponies are. They tell that same simpering fable every year to build up their self-importance. Friendship? How truly laughable. Oh, I'm sure it was their willingness to put aside their differences that allowed the three tribes to drive off the Wendigoes. But friendship only goes so far. How amusing it is that ponies are so ignorant of their own history.

I wonder if there are any who remember that the Wendigoes weren't the first. They weren't the first catalyst that caused ponies from the three tribes to unite. It doesn't take much, for ponies or for us. To unite them, all you need do is give them something to draw their ire. Yes, there have been many times ponies have come together for a greater good.

And every time, after the threat was gone and all was said and done, ponies forgot. Every time, they vowed never to repeat their mistakes. And every time, they failed miserably. Why is that? Do ponies secretly adore and crave conflict? Does the hatred between their three tribes transcend the hope Friendship has to offer? Of course not. There is only one true monster here, and that is time.

But what happened? By now, Equestria should have shattered into a hundred competing principalities. Canterlot should be a hollow ruin, it's beauty and majesty swallowed by the decadence of the Night Court as those callous fools eat each other alive. And yet, Equestria still stands. Thousands of years have passed and it yet remains. Why? What was different this time? Why hasn't their little empire succumbed to the curse of time, the curse of mortality?

You don't have to look hard to find the answers though. The ponies have gained something, something they didn't have the previous occasions they had banded together, only to plummet headlong back into strife a few generations later. They gained a princess...a pair of them in fact.

We looked on and thought it brilliant. We too wanted to avoid making the same mistake over and over again. We wanted to remember. The ponies had a way. We only thought it fitting that they share.

Was that too much to ask?

The Stakes

Chapter 1: The Stakes

Captain Lightning...no...the former Captain Lightning, now simply Spark Lightning, looked blearily around his room...well, it wasn't going to be his much longer. His rank, his position, his very way of life, all gone, and now his home (at least when he was in Canterlot) was soon to follow. It was enough to drive a pony to drink, which Spark Lightning did with a gusto. Even now, three empty bottles of cheap whiskey swam and blurred as he swept his unsteady gaze over his table and reflected on how his life had come to this point.

A dark gray pegasus, Spark Lightning's body was covered with a layer of lean muscle. His coat, normally finely groomed with parade-ground precision had grown thicker patches, a sign of a clear lack of care in recent days. His mane, striped with black and light-gray, was similarly neglected, although the short cut made its condition less apparent. Lightning's tail was frayed and tangled and clearly needed a good brushing while his normally bright-blue eyes were glazed and bloodshot with a combination of inebriation and insomnia. He was the very picture of a stallion that had seen better days.

Greengrass. It had all started with him, that sunspawn. In an effort to overturn a vote on, of all things, whether a building grant would be awarded to one noble, or another, Greengrass had gone as far as to arrange a deception that had led Lightning to urge Archduchess Nobility to change her vote in order to secure the outcome he desired. The Archduchess was not happy to learn that he and, by proxy, she had been taken in by Greengrass's gambit. It had taken her only a few days to strip Lightning of everything that he had worked long and hard for and reduce him to nothing.

Before long, Lightning would be kicked out of his abode. The division of the Northern Army assigned to Nobility's province would have a new captain and Lightning would be cast out into the world to fend for himself. At least he had some time. His dedication to his work had meant that he had little opportunity to spend the bits that were his due according to his position. Spark Lightning had a sizable sum stashed away, which would help him keep afloat until he could find new work.

But such good fortune gave him little comfort. What did it matter? After all, Nobility and Greengrass had stolen the few things that truly mattered to him, his honor and his duty. The army had been Lightning's life. It had been his aspiration from his earliest days as a colt. After years of hard work and dedication, Lightning had worked his way up to the position of captain in the Northern Army. He had been proud. He had used his new position to the fullest to support his men and the work they did. Lightning had been one of the most popular captains in recent memory, because he looked after his men. Their well being was everything to him. And now, all that dedication was the very thing that had taken everything from him.

It wasn't fair! The injustice of it all filled Spark Lightning with scorching anger that threatened to overwhelm him. Greengrass had taken Lightning's dedication, his sense of duty and used them to deceive him. And somehow, that made it Lightning's fault.

It hurts, doesn't it?

Lightning's head snapped up. Had the voice been in his head? Were his own thoughts simply tormenting him?

Those disgusting nobles and their little games. They take an honest and hard working pony like yourself and grind him down to nothing for a few political concessions.

No, the voice was not in his head. Lightning heard it clearly now, though, perhaps not with his ears. Its tone was cruel, but not mocking.

They couldn't care less about your efforts to protect your nation. They wall themselves away in their own little world and do whatever they like to get ahead. All your efforts, all your sacrifices, they make them meaningless. It wouldn't even matter if your replacement was ten-times the pony you were. To them, he would just be another piece in their games, to be used and thrown aside once they're done with him.

Fury built in Lightning's gut. The words ignited searing rage that made his blurring vision run red. Whoever was speaking, he (and it was definitely a he) was right. Who were Greengrass and Nobility to take everything that Lightning had worked and fought for, and throw it away for a trivial building grant? They didn't understand the weight of a life, what it meant when a pony might live or die according to your orders. To them, it was all a little game.

Yes. And it's not just those two is it? The entire Night Court is a den of vipers, presided over by none other than Luna herself. They claim to rule for the good of Equestria, but in reality are obsessed only with their own status and power. Any one of them would throw the rest of the nation to the wolves for a little political advantage. They care nothing for the ponies they are supposed to rule. They need to be taught a lesson. They need to learn what it feels like to have their lives at stake...

...They need to suffer.

"Yes," agreed Lightning, "They need to understand what things are like outside their ivory towers. They should taste for themselves what it is to have lives destroyed by their actions."

I can tell you and I are gonna get along just fine. Let's make a deal. I'll give you everything you need to show those high-bred cretins how much pain and suffering their very existence causes. In return, I'll be using you to run a little experiment.

"What do I need to do?" There was no hesitation. All caution was thrown to the winds as Spark Lightning let his rage swallow him whole.

Nothing. That's the beauty of it. I'll give you everything you need to do what you want and then I just have to sit back and see what happens. That's how this little experiment works. Great, isn't it? So, do we have a deal?

"Yes," snarled the angry pegasus.

Spark Lightning's breath hitched as something streamed into him. It was as though he had been cast head first into ice-cold water. His rage was quenched and tempered and forged to an indestructible edge. At that moment, Spark Lightning became a pony driven by his rage and hatred alone. He would not be stopped, no matter what he had to do. Indescribable strength filled his body. Looking down at one of his hooves, Lightning knew what he had to do. He needed to pay a little visit to Duke Greengrass's office.

Greengrass wasn't there, of course. Neither was that insipid yes-mare that dogged his every step like the Duke's own damn shadow. Nor we're the two hulking stallions that acted as his bodyguards present. Greengrass, like all the other members in the Night Court, maintained his office in the wing of the Royal Palace adjacent to the Court. While many nobles, Greengrass included, maintained their personal estates out in the city, they kept their offices in the palace to have clerical functions close at hoof when Court was in session.

That was perfect for Lightning's purposes. He was a little miffed that Greengrass wasn't present, but teaching that depraved excuse for a pony a lesson in pain would have to wait. While this wing of the palace was regularly patrolled, the guards could hardly be called vigilant as most nobles included any number of competent bodyguards in their personal retinues. It would be a while before Lightning would have to worry about being bothered.

The door was locked. But that hardly stopped Spark Lightning. He simply slammed his hoof into and then through the knob of the door. The entire mechanism smashed, the door swung open to admit the stallion, who trotted into the outer room of Greengrass's office, which was staffed by his secretary.

It was all here, the records arrayed in this office contained the keys to finding the ponies that had carried out Greengrass's twisted schemes. It wouldn't be obvious, of course. Duke Greengrass was a long way from stupid. While his regular employees were documented through conventional means, the Duke, like all of the other nobles, would have developed a complex method of keeping track of his numerous agents and catspaws. But the keys to finding all those ponies lay in these records. If Lightning could just piece the puzzle together, he could find the ponies who had deceived him and use them to send Greengrass a lovely lesson dyed a brilliant vermilion hue. Perhaps his new friend could help.

Of course I can Sparky boy. Let's have a look at those papers and find the ponies that ruined you. Then we can return the favor...

"HALT!!!"

Lightning turned to face the source of the voice, finding the exit to Greengrass's office blocked by a pair of formidable-looking earth ponies clad in silvery armor. The pegasus realized that he might have wasted too much time going over the records kept by Greengrass's secretary. The Night Guards had clearly realized that a gaping hole where the knob of a door used to be had not been the sign of legal entry. For a moment, Lightning froze, his two-toned tail swishing with indecision. His wings had already sprung open of their own accord, his subconscious decision being to retreat to the skies, only for his conscious mind to remind him that he was indoors and that the ceiling of the room in no way permitted flight.

Don't worry about them, urged the voice of his friend, I told you I'd give you what you need. You just need to use it. Remember, these are the ones that guard those parasitic nobles. Give them what they deserve.

The two Night Guards hadn't been sure what to expect when they noticed the break-in. It wasn't uncommon. There were plenty of nobles who clearly weren't above using a little espionage to get an edge on their rivals, although few attempts were so blatant. Seeing a ragged-looking pegasus pouring through papers in Greengrass's suite of offices, they had been ready to step forward and make the arrest, expecting little trouble.

For a moment, it looked as though the strange pegasus would come quietly. But as he faced them, a grin slowly spread across the intruder's face, revealing yellowed and neglected teeth. The grin continued to spread, growing wider with each passing second, becoming too wide for the comfort of the observing guards. They weren't sure a pony should be able to grin that widely. Confused and more than a little intimidated, they were caught completely unprepared when the pegasus let out a shriek that was neither pony nor animal and launched himself straight at them.

Shining Armor was not happy. Granted, happy was rarely a descriptor that applied to the Royal Guard captain, but neither was the idea that he was grim. The statuesque unicorn stallion was a stern figure, admired and respected by his companions and subordinates, as well as Princess Luna herself. His reputation had only swelled after he had led the defense of Canterlot against the return of Corona. But that was neither here nor there.

He should have been looking for Twilight. After the episode with an ursa minor in Ponyville, Twilight Sparkle had become a wanted pony. The thought of his younger sister living the life of a fugitive made Shining Armor cringe. While it was clear that she had to face the consequences of what she had done, he was more concerned about bringing his L.S.B.F.F. home before somepony really got hurt.

But now, here he was, standing in a hall outside the office of one of the dukes of the Night Court, seeing to the cleanup after some intruder had demolished a pair of his very well-trained guards.

"Where is the occupant?" asked Shining, examining the damage to the office door.

"Duke Greengrass returned to his home province for personal business after the last session ended," explained Lieutenant Blazemane. The young pegasus was a stand out among the Royal Guards with his bright yellow coat and dark red mane. Of course, a great deal of his recognition came from the fact that his older sister had just been named the youngest captain of the elite Wonderbolts flight squad in the group's history. It was a credit to Blazemane's character that he never seemed concerned with the exceptionally large shadow that his sister cast and simply endeavored to do his job to the best of his ability, which made him an effective assistant for Shining in times like these.

Shining suppressed a shudder at the name. He had heard of Duke Greengrass. While Shining Armor resolved to remain as distant as possible from politics, it was in the interests of his duty to have an at least passing knowledge of the nobles who made up the Night Court. There were even some, like Fancypants, who the captain actually liked. Duke Greengrass was not a name belonging to that category. Greengrass was relatively new to the court and had gained a great deal of recognition for his considerably rapid rise through the ranks, not all of that recognition good. In fact, there were a great many rumors that painted him as a stallion willing to resort to any means to advance his station. And as long as he did nothing overtly illegal or treasonous, Shining resolved to stay well clear of him.

"See that he is notified about the incident," said Shining before turning to examine the aftermath of the fight that had taken place in the hall outside the office. That is, if a fight could be used to properly describe the affair.

Both of the patrolling guards were lucky to be alive, their assailant having thrashed them within an inch of their lives before escaping. Shining shuddered as he saw the pony-shaped indentation in the wall, where one of his men had been imbedded after being bucked. The medics had had to carefully peel the poor private out of his resting place to get him onto a stretcher and his entire right side had been nearly crushed by the force of impact. He might not be able to stand with the guards ever again, that is if he was able to stand at all after this. The other guard hadn't been any luckier. While he hadn't been slammed into a stone wall, he had been thoroughly beaten with incredible force. Many bones had been broken and it would be weeks before either of them recovered.

"Were either of them conscious before they were carried out?" asked Shining.

"Yes. Corporal Butte was actually able to give us a description of the assailant before he passed out again," answered Blazemane dutifully before recounting the details, "We're currently searching for a match, but Canterlot's a big city and it might take a while."

Shining hesitated. While he was angry about the injuries to his men, he wasn't terribly motivated to go all out on what was probably another set of political games being played by the Night Court. For all he knew, this was some sort of ruse constructed to draw him into the political arena and set him up for manipulation later on down the road. Access to and control over the Captain of the Night Guard would be a major coup for anypony on the Court.

On the other hoof, sitting idle could be just as dangerous from a political perspective and any perceived inaction on his part could be used as a political tool almost as much as the opposite, if not more so. Shining Armor sighed, knowing that he really had no choice at all. Find the attacker, find out what he was up to, find out who he was working for, assemble the evidence and arrest the guilty. That was all there was to it.

And besides, somepony had to answer for the harm done to his men.

Lightning flipped through the records he had obtained: bills of sale, event notifications, correspondence on obscure transactions. It would be hard for anypony to find evidence of conspiracy in all of this. But that was the point of it all. Duke Greengrass could hardly be expected to keep exacting records of his various agents and catspaws and label them as such. They might be employees, but hired for obscure or non-existent purposes as cover for their real work. Otherwise he probably kept control of them through more indirect means...

Like this troupe of actors that Lightning was currently reading about. Greengrass had secured an opening for them at a prominent Canterlot theater for their latest performance, which would increase their prominence on the performing arts scene, leading to increased revenue and the contacts to acquire more lucrative contracts and the rights to more popular plays to allow them to boost themselves further. And in exchange for this, all Greengrass had asked for was a single private performance, a performance that coincided with the day and time of the deception he had pulled on Lightning.

On paper, the former army captain had to admire the cunning Greengrass had displayed. In a single efficient move, he had arranged for Lightning's deception, put the actors deeply into his pocket and obtained his alibi at the same time. The actors had knowingly participated in an act of fraud, which would ruin their careers if Greengrass released the information. Even as a simple maneuver to prevent them from ever selling out on him, it was effective. If word got out what Greengrass had done to affect the vote, the actors would find their reputations destroyed along with his. And, of course, Lightning now truly understood why Greengrass had been so blithe about the former captain's threat to expose his scheme. He had an entire troupe of actors willing to vouch for his whereabouts at the time the deception had taken place. The only way Lightning could thwart that was if he found witnesses that had seen him with the Duke that weren't already in Greengrass's pocket.

The one responsible for the fraudulent newspaper article was a much simpler pony to identify. Greengrass had a printer in his employ, charged with producing copies of the Duke's memos and other important paperwork, both for the Duke himself and the ponies in his employ in his home territories. Furthermore, the printing press that Greengrass had acquired for the purpose was a model also used by small newspapers for local dissemination. It wasn't able to supply newspapers for a prominent city like Canterlot, but was more than capable of providing a small stand's worth of fake headlines.

A fevered grin spread across Lightning's face. He had his next targets. These ponies would make the perfect fodder to send a message to Duke Greengrass, as well as the Duke's other employees. Lightning idly wondered how easily the Duke would be able to continue his plans to shamelessly use regular ponies to manipulate his noble rivals.

Not bad Sparky. But remember, we're just getting started. The Duke's small potatoes. Our real aim is to make all the nobles pay. This will only do for a warm-up. I want to see some blood.

False Trails

Chapter 2: False Trails

The door slammed open as the robust earth pony bucked it hard. Shining Armor, followed by two of his most accomplished unicorns burst in, horns at the ready to restrain the suspect. Blazemane and two other pegasi had set up an aerial cordon in case he tried to escape.

The suspect wasn't home. Shining let out a sigh as he released the gathered magical energy he had been preparing for his spell. There was no point to it now. Spark Lightning had clearly seen this coming and had vacated his room earlier. It annoyed Shining to see all this hard work go to waste.

It hadn't taken long to connect the descriptions given by the guard from the Night Court's offices to the former Captain Lightning of the Northern Army. He had apparently come to Canterlot to speak to the Archduchess Nobility, who governed the province his troops were stationed in, about one of the measures being put to vote at Court. One of the guards positioned at the Canterlot Station stated that he had seen Duke Greengrass come to meet Lightning at the station, although what transpired afterwards could only be guessed at. After the vote had taken place, the Archduchess, who had apparently been dissatisfied with the results had introduced charges against Captain Lightning and had him court-marshaled before the week was out. She had bucked several standard procedures out the window in the process, but that hardly mattered. Spark Lightning's career as a soldier was over and he had been dishonorably discharged.

Now, at least, they had a motive; revenge. Whatever had transpired between Lightning and Greengrass, it was apparent that Lightning blamed the Duke for the loss of his career. So the former captain had gone to the Duke's office, seeking...what? That had Shining Armor at a loss. Had he been searching for some sordid secret he could use to ruin the Duke's reputation? But he had only been searching the outter office, where the Duke's secretary worked, not the inner sanctum, where Duke Greengrass's secrets probably resided, if the duke was foolish enough to keep such sensitive information at his office in any case.

Shining's horn flared and he cast a different spell. This one created a shield that enveloped the room, locking it into stasis and preserving it for further investigation. As his magic washed out over the space, the stallion felt a strange creeping coldness that sent shivers down his spine. Something was wrong here.

"Secure the apartment and make sure nothing is touched when the investigators arrive," said the captain, turning to face his subordinates who remained arrayed in the doorway. The two unicorns and one earth pony saluted smartly and took up their stations in the doorway and in the room itself. Shining was about to leave when something on the table caught his eye. Trotting over, he realized that he was looking at a set of ledgers, which had probably been stolen from Greengrass's suite. Somepony, probably Spark Lighting had been going through them and had apparently marked certain names. The marked names stood out compared to the rest of the ledger. Quickly, Shining pulled a quill and a sheet of parchment from his saddlebag and set to work recording the names. Once he had them, he realized what he was looking at, a hit list. He wasn't certain of the reasoning, but he strongly suspected that Lightning had something unpleasant planned for these ponies.

Finishing the list, Shining Armor turned and rushed out past his guards and out onto the street, where he signaled for Lieutenant Blazemane to descend. The young stallion landed in front of his captain, saluting.

"Sir!"

"Have the air corps of the guard scour the city as thoroughly as possible. Find Spark Lightning, but do not engage him." Shining flinched as he thought about the damage that had been done to the two guards earlier. The strength necessary to accomplish that could not have been a pony's. While Lightning had a reputation as a competent soldier, he was certainly no super-stallion.

Getting his mind back on the task, he continued his instructions. "Once you find him, report his location immediately and do not let him out of your sight, no matter what." Pulling out the list he had made, Shining hoofed it over to Blazemane, who frowned as he read it. "Find these ponies. Spark Lightning singled out their names in the materials he stole from Greengrass's office. Get teams on them and take them into protective custody."

Blazemane saluted again and took to the air to issue his orders to the pegasus division of the Night Guard. Meanwhile, Shining turned and headed down the road, heading towards Canterlot's market district. He had a specialist to consult.

It took less time than usual for Shining Armor to make his way down the market streets. Midday was approaching and many of the shoppers and outdoor merchants were beginning to head inside. The captain was secretly glad as he trotted down the street. Having fewer ponies around made it less likely that he would be recognized. Even with the glamours applied to his mane, tail and cutie mark, Shining was well aware that he was no master of disguise. Perhaps somepony like Trixie Lulamoon would be able to transform herself into a completely different pony (although Trixie obviously favored invisibility enchantments over disguises), but Shining Armor's magic was geared more towards combat and defensive enchantments. Subtle work like veils and glamours was a bit outside his purview, which made it all the better that the time of day meant that the crowds were thinning.

There were still some merchants waiting at their stalls, shouting their offers and describing their wares. Behind them, on either side of the street, more firmly established stores lined the way, most now full with shoppers heading in to take shelter from the sun above. But these were not what interested Shining Armor.

Instead, he turned onto a side street. Down this way were shops that sold more exotic and eclectic wares, things difficult to come by in Equestria and services that many ponies did not like to take advantage publicly. The street was narrower, but as immaculately clean as any that could be found in Canterlot. The buildings were well maintained and the displays and signs were in mostly perfect condition. Only the much lighter hoof-traffic on this street gave any indication that it was off the beaten path for most citizens.

Looking up, Shining spotted the sign he had been seeking. Shadowlight Alternative Medicine and Therapy. Shining hesitated for a moment on the doorstep before taking a deep breath and stepping inside. As he stepped through the door, Shining Armor inhaled deeply, filling his nose with a familiar floral scent. Little by little, the tension suffusing his body began to ebb away as the scent of hydrangea washed over him.

The outer room of the establishment was painted a dark blue color that vaguely reminded Shining of the color of Princess Luna's coat, although the paint was a shade lighter than that. A few seats lined the wall on either side of the room. There were no windows in the room, save for the ones set into the door. The only light came from a single lamp hanging from the ceiling, almost as an afterthought, which, given the nature of the owner, it very well could have been.

At the back of the room was a small desk with a few writing implements scattered across it. On one corner sat a single small diffuser consisting of a shallow dish suspended over a small candle, the small pool of liquid in the dish being the source of the scent that drifted ever so gently throughout the room.

A forest green earth pony was seated behind the desk. As Shining shut the door behind himself, the breeze ruffled the other stallion's unkempt mane, which was an even darker shade of green than his coat. Lifting his head, the earth pony smiled brightly at Shining Armor, his nose sniffing slightly as he trained his muzzle on the captain.

"Shining!" exclaimed the establishment's proprietor as he got up from behind the desk and trotted out to greet his visitor, "This is unexpected. I haven't seen you since that business with that foalnapper...what was his name? What brings you here today?" As he stepped out into the open, Shining got a good view of the other pony's cutie mark, an unusual symbol. It was a circle that had been divided into two coma-shaped halves, one black and one white. In the wider section of each of the coma shapes, a single small dot off the opposite color could be seen. Shining remembered that it was supposed to be an important symbol from some far-east nation, but could never recall what it meant.

Shining might have been a little upset that the other pony had recognized him immediately. But a simple visual glamour would not be of any use to a pony like Shadowlight, who had gone blind from a very young age. With a sigh, Shining opened his mouth to respond.

"Never mind," said Shadowlight quickly, cutting Shining off before he could speak, "You're clearly distressed. Why don't we head into the back and get you taken care of."

"I'm not here for that," protested Shining lamely. In the end, Shadowlight would have his way, whether Shining Armor wanted him to or not.

"Nonsense, I can smell your anxiety from across the room. You've seen some unpleasant things and you clearly have more than enough on your plate already. Now come."

Shining was alway perplexed at how easily Shadowlight could read him. Half the time, he wondered if the unassuming earth pony was secretly some sort of telepath. Resigning himself to his fate, Shining followed the other stallion through the door at the back of the room. Passing through, he found himself in a smaller, simple room that looked like a cross between a doctor's examination room and a massage parlor. The walls were a lighter shade of blue than the waiting room. On one side was a simple padded table. Next to it was a stand with several minuscule needles embedded in it. Across the room was another small desk, which was stocked with a variety of bottles arranged next to a sink and another small diffuser.

"Lay down please," instructed Shadowlight as he trotted to the desk and began selecting a combination of oils that he poured into the diffuser's dish before lighting the candle underneath. In a space of a few moments the soothing scent would fill the room, taking even more of an edge off of Shining Armor's tension than the flowery perfume at the front had.

Shining did as he was bid and stretched out on his stomach on the table, making himself comfortable. With his ears, heard Shadowlight trot up next to him. A moment later, a tiny sensation was the only indication that a needle had been inserted into the skin at the base of his neck. Shining could feel a slight pulling sensation as Shadowlight carefully manipulated the needle. A wave of pleasurable sensations rippled out through his body, causing the Unicorn's tensing muscles to ease. The slight headache, building just behind Shining's horn, was also beginning to fade.

"So then, what is causing the noble Captain of the Royal Guard such distress this time?" asked Shadowlight before closing his teeth around another needle and slipping it into another section of Shining's body.

"There was a break-in at the palace."

"Worrying, but not the true source of your anxiety." A third needle was inserted. Shining Armor let out another breath as he settled down, relaxing even further than he thought was possible.

"Good," said Shadowlight, his voice nearly a whisper, "Now give me all the details you can."

"Come now, don't sulk." Shadowlight took up a pitcher of water in his teeth and poured a glass for Shining Armor, who grudgingly took hold of it with his magic and sipped slowly.

"You interrogated me," muttered the irritated unicorn, "Again."

"It's simply a method used to enhance the clarity of recall and ensure veracity. That it works just as well against Princess Luna's prisoners, like that Parley fellow, is merely a testament to the technique's versatility." Shadowlight settled into a seat across from Shining's in the empty waiting room. "Besides, it was also therapeutic. You haven't been getting enough rest lately. You've clearly lost quite a few nights' sleep worrying about that sister of yours. If I can take care of two problems at once, so much the better. Besides, getting worked up is a bad idea right now. You need to rest for a few hours after your treatment to reap the full benefits."

"But the investigation..."

"Will continue without you. You didn't get this far by foolishly trying to do everything yourself, now did you? Your orders are sound and your men capable. Let them do their jobs so that you can do yours."

Shining let out another sigh as he nodded. As much as he hated to admit it, Shadowlight was right. He usually was. "So then, what do you make of this?"

Shadowlight poured a cup of water for himself as he mulled over his answer. "Much of the situation is as it seems to be. Spark Lightning, a former captain of the Northern Equestrian Army, was manipulated in a scheme by Duke Greengrass to get Captain Lightning to influence Archduchess Nobility's vote in a direction favorable to Greengrass's ambitions. When Nobility realizes that she and the captain have been played for fools, she punishes Lightning by arranging to have him removed from the military entirely. His career and his future ruined, Lightning blames Greengrass and takes action, looking for a way to get back at the duke."

"Could you maybe tell me something I couldn't figure out for myself?" asked Shining, raising an irritable eyebrow.

"There are two details that stand out to me," answered Shadowlight, "First, there is Lightning's over-the-top strength that he used to put two of your men in the hospital. It seems more than a little difficult to believe that a pegasus, however well-trained, could overpower two equally well-trained (if not better) earth ponies. From what you described, it sounds as though our friend has gained some new and unique power.

"Which brings us to the second detail that stands out to me. When you spoke of setting up the preservation wards in Lightning's room, you mentioned contact with some unsettling feeling."

"I completely forgot about that!" exclaimed Shining, nearly dropping his glass, "And I don't remember telling you about it?"

Shadowlight sighed and shook his head, chuckling softly. "And that is what the technique is for, Shining. It was a minor feeling when it occurred, so you overlooked it, for the most part. Because it seemed to hold so little significance, you dismissed and perhaps thought you had simply imagined it. In a normal conversation, you would have glossed over that little detail easily. But the entire purpose of my efforts was to delve fully into you recollection and draw out even the smallest and most easily overlooked details and impressions."

An indignant snort burst from the unicorn's nose. "So what about it then?"

"What you encountered may have been the residual effects of what granted our friend, the former captain, such fantastic strength. Not having encountered it for myself, I have to wonder what it could be described as. Perhaps it is something that is not even of pony origin."

"Not of pony origin..." Shining echoed. Something about that notion made his skin crawl. "If it wasn't something a pony could do, then what? Griffins? Zebras?"

"I couldn't say," admitted Shadowlight, "Unless I got to experience this strange, foreign power for myself, I couldn't begin to tell you where it came from. Your impression was too fleeting to get a proper appreciation for its nature, so we shall simply have to see if we can find some traces of this strange magic on Lightning himself."

"So if you can meet Lightning, you might be able to identify the power affecting him?"

"Perhaps. Do you intend to bring him here after all is said and done?"

"Actually," said Shining, "I want to enlist your help in capturing him."

Shadowlight frowned. "You know I don't do that without orders."

"You're going to have to make an exception just this once," replied Shining Armor, "This stallion is dangerous and I don't want to risk any more of my men capturing him if I can avoid it."

Were his eyes ever open, Shadowlight would have glared. "You are going to owe me for this."

"What do you want?" asked Shining Armor.

"I want to schedule an appointment for Greengrass. If I'm going to clean up his mess, I want to at least share my opinion with the good duke."

The Enemy

Chapter 3: The Enemy

Lightning barreled through the door, smashing it to flinders. Gnashing his teeth, he noted that the room was empty. His luck hadn't been working out for him. This was the fifth address he had visited to find his targets, only to find it empty as well. The printer hadn't been at home, neither had the first three actors that Lightning had tried to find. It was as though they had all gone on vacation together.

If the actors aren't here, then maybe they're at the theater Sparky. This is a chance to take care of all of them at once.

Lightning nodded at his friend's idea and backed out of the room. Leaving the apartment block, he launched himself into the sky and began winging his way over to the theater. In his single-mindedness, he didn't notice the two armored pegasi following him from a respectable distance.

It only took a few minutes to reach the theater. Another moment allowed Lightning to find the back-alley entrance and smash it open. Stalking into the theater, the former captain glared around, looking for any sign of the actors or the crew. But backstage was deserted. Dodging around set pieces and pops, the pegasus picked his way through the mess behind the stage and trotted out to the stage itself and looked out over the empty auditorium.

Lightning was beginning to feel heavy. There was no other way he could describe it. Being able to crush doors and beat earth ponies at strength had been exciting, invigorating even. But now, every time he used the ridiculous strength he had been granted, his body seemed all the more weighed down when he was done.

The theater was deserted, with no sign of the ponies he had been looking for. A low growl escaped Lightning. Where were they? It was as though all the ponies he had been hunting had vanished without a trace. Looking around, Lightning ran his eyes over the stage itself. It was partially set, a table having been brought out for some scene or other.

Spark Lightning's legs buckled as his head felt like somepony had clamped in a vice and tightened the screws. An immense pressure descended upon him. It was dark, ferocious and maddening. He was sure it was only a matter of moments before his mind snapped in two. Lightning felt his friend stir from within the recesses of his consciousness, then he felt nothing at all.

Shining Armor dashed down the street. Thundering behind him came several ranks of his best guards. Already, the air division had secured the space over the theater roof. Shining Armor felt a grim sense of satisfaction that his strategy had worked so well. It had been an excellent idea to put the homes of Lightning's targets under surveillance and wait for the criminal to show himself. And Lightning had done so with gratifying straightforwardness.

He also figured that once Lightning realized that the actors were not at home, he would try for the theater, where he could theoretically deal with them all at once. But now, Lightning was in a deserted building with plenty of room for the Royal Guards to deploy against him and no bystanders for him to threaten. This would be their best chance.

Reaching the front entrance, Shining Armor issued his orders. "Surround the building. Make sure to leave the rear exit open. When he bolts, I want him to head through that one. That's where we will take care of him."

He then detailed two teams to follow him into the theater's outer foyer. From there, they made their way quietly to the doors to the theater auditorium. Pressing his ear against the door, Shining Armor could pick out the faint drone of a voice. Had there been some kind of mistake? Had somepony come into the theater and encountered Lightning?

Anxious, Shining Armor carefully signaled his men to hold back and opened the door just wide enough to allow himself inside. Closing the door gently behind him, the nervous captain looked down towards the stage to see Lightning seated at a table, probably a prop for some kind of scene.

"Don't give ridiculous orders you fool."

Shining Armor winced at the sound of the voice. He couldn't be sure, but he was fairly certain that it wasn't Lightning's. There was no way a pony's voice could sound like that. It had a scraping, rasping quality, like the sound of steel on stone. It was the sound of a knife being sharpened.

"You're the man in charge down there, but don't forget that if you want out, you need to let me do what I do. Maybe you could find another helper like me, if you waited another couple-thousand years. But I'm the only one you've got right now that can do this. So don't think that just because the rest of me is stuck back there with you that you can order me around as you please."

Lightning paused, as though listening to an answer that Shining Armor couldn't hear.

"I could care less about that. You're the one who got us thrown into that hole in the first place. I'll do my job, but I'll have my fun while I'm at it. If I want to play with them, I'll play with them. If I want their blood, I'll get it. And there isn't a thing you can do about it. You've waited a couple of millennia to breach the gates. You can wait a little longer. Go back to your throne and whine about how little Celly kicked your ass for another week or so."

Shining Armor blinked as he tried to figure out what was going on. As he approached and Lightning's appearance grew clearer, Shining saw that Light ing had clearly seen better days. His ragged coat, mane, and tail showed how little care he had given his grooming. The gray pegasus's eyes were bloodshot and black bags hung beneath them. His pupils and irises were contracted so completely that they were barely pinpoints. Finally, Shining saw a stream of blood trickling from Lightning's nose. And when Lightning spoke, Shining felt his gut twist. There was something off, the movements of Lightning's mouth not perfectly matching the words that emerged. It was subtle, but enough to unnerve Shining quite a bit.

Shining Armor stiffened. Questions would have to be answered later. "Spark Lightning!" he boomed, "You are under arrest for breaking and entering, assaulting members of the Royal Guard and conspiracy to commit assault and possibly murder!"

Lightning blinked, his eyes abruptly returning to normal as he looked out and noticed Shining standing there. "Captain Armor," he said, stepping away from the table. His voice was now a normal pony's voice as well.

"Surrender now," continued Shining, "And you may yet have a chance to defend yourself in court."

A savage grin spread across the pegasus' face. "Oh? You'd like that, wouldn't you? You and your little cronies all doing the bidding of those scum sucking nobles. You'd actually try to stop me as I seek justice?"

"There is no justice in seeking to murder innocent ponies," Shining pointed out.

"Innocent?" The corners of Lightning's mouth dropped as his voice became a snarl. "Those rats were the ones who carried out Greengrass's scheme. I never cared about things like rank and influence. I only wanted what was best for my men! Why? So we could keep Equestria safe. I ask for the tools necessary to do my job, to protect the ponies of this nation from the threats that surround them. And that filthy piece of trash who probably dropped straight out of Corona's rear end dares to take my sense of duty and twist it just so he can win himself a few points with his fellow pigs.

"They descend on this city like flies on a carcass! They live off of the hard work of other ponies and surround themselves with luxury at the expense of the ponies who actually do the work for this nation. They ignore the ponies that they are supposed to govern so that they can gather here and play king of the mountain with each other and they don't care in the slightest who they step on to do it!" Spark Lightning was practically screaming at this point.

"Then why attack those ponies?" demanded Shining, "They are like you, ordinary ponies who Greengrass has manipulated to serve his ambitions. Aren't they the ones you're fighting for?"

"That's just it," explained Lightning, "I'm going to sacrifice them to a greater cause. And when their bloody corpses lie in the streets of Canterlot, the rest of Greengrass's pawns will think twice before doing his bidding. After all, he can ruin their lives, but I can end them."

Shining Armor balked. That was terrible logic, and not very accurate either. But it was clear that Spark Lightning was no longer in his right mind. This conversation was going nowhere fast. So he decided to make his final offer.

"Surrender now, Spark Lightning. You have no hope of escape. This building is completely surrounded." A spark of pink fire jumped off of Shining's horn, arching out into the auditorium before bursting in a brilliant flare of light. At the signal, the doors slammed open and a dozen each of unicorns and earth ponies rushed in, forming into a crescent arc around their captain as he continued to face the madpony on the stage.

Shining Armor lowered his horn, leveling it straight at the mad pegasus. "This is where it ends for you, Spark Lightning."

Lightning's lips drew back far enough for Shining to glimpse red. With an animalistic shriek, the pegasus launched himself off the stage, flying straight at Shining Armor, hooves extended. Reacting quickly, the white unicorn lowered his head and erected a powerful shimmering shield between him and the charging pegasus. Lightning's hooves slammed into the shield, which shuddered and cracked from the sheer force of the blow.

Shining reeled, the impact sending feedback through his shield and rendering him unsteady. The force was unreal. Shining Armor prided himself on his shields. With his ability, fueled by the magic of most of the unicorns of Canterlot, he had been able to keep the Tyrant Sun herself from entering the city. Even by himself, his shields were so strong that Princess Luna had to try at least twice in order to make a dent (although, she probably wasn't trying her hardest). That Lightning was capable of this much left Shining amazed that there was anything left of the two guards he had assaulted.

Seeing his first strike stopped, Lighting raised a hoof to deal another blow, but the shield abruptly collapsed out from underneath him. Before he could adjust to this change, the dark gray pegasus was hit by a barrage of kinetic blasts from the unicorns arrayed behind Shining. While his strength was immense, Lightning's mass had not changed and without any momentum of his own to counter, was thrown back onto the stage.

"Don't let him get close!" shouted Shining to his men, "He's too strong to engage directly. Unicorns, restrain him!"

The unicorns, Shining Armor included, fired chains forged from magical energy from their horns, throwing loops around Lightning's body, binding his wings to the side and firmly anchoring him to the floor. The unicorns were braced by their earth pony comrades, who tried to keep them secure as the maddened pegasus thrashed about.

The floor groaned and cracked. To Shining's horror, Lightning threw himself against his restraints, pulling up the boards of the stage that the chains had been anchored to.

"Get back!" shouted the captain, releasing his chains before Lightning could begin to pull on them. His subordinates followed suit, letting the magical constructs dissipate. I have to drive him out the rear exit.

Lowering his head again, the alabaster stallion unleashed a lance of energy. Lightning braced himself, wings flared, and met the blast head on. Hiss hooves plowed furrows in the floor. When the attack finally petered out, Lightning was still standing, albeit a little farther back than before. His fur was singed and ragged. His hooves were cracked and the front ones were bleeding. Ragged welts wrapped around his barrel showed where the magical chains had chafed against him. It seemed that the pegasus was doing as much damage to himself as he did to his surroundings with his own ferocious strength.

"Give up!" snapped Shining, glaring at Lightning, who, despite his condition, didn't even seem to be breathing very hard, "You have no chance of finding those ponies now. We've already taken them into protective custody. There's nothing left for you here."

Spark Lightning went deathly still. There was no change in his stance or expression, still wearing that monstrous grin. It was like he had frozen in the moment. Shining Armor wondered what was going thought the disgraced soldier's head.

After a troublingly long silence, Lightning's grin faded and became an angry sneer that he directed at Shining Armor. "You have a lot of nerve, hiding my prey from me like that. You're on my list. One of these days, I'll find the ponies you hold dear and use them to send you a message."

Shining's heart skipped a beat. This monster wrapped in pony skin had just threatened his family. Hot anger seared through Shining's veins as he took a step forward, only for Spark Lightning to whirl around and bolt through the back of the stage, plowing straight through the scenery and making a beeline for the exit.

Abruptly remembering the plan, Shining held a hoof to forestall his men from giving pursuit. "Wait here!" he shouted, before taking off after Lightning.

I was hoping to see a bit more. But it's your call Sparky. Are you sure you wanted to leave? We could have torn those fools to pieces.

"There's no point to it. That wouldn't have gotten me any closer to my targets," snarled Lightning as he dashed down an alleyway. He had anticipated having to plow through several more members of the Royal Guard to get away, but had instead found that the back entrance to the theater had been unguarded. It was a ludicrous oversight. How did such an incompetent fool become a captain of the Royal Guard?

Still, pegasi were patrolling from the air, so it was unwise for him to take flight at this point. Lightning had to stay low if he didn't want to be followed. Now that he knew that the ponies he was looking for were in the Royal Guard's custody, he just had to figure out where the Guard was keeping them. With luck, Shining Armor had done his work for him and had gathered all the targets into a single neat package.

Turning a corner, Lightning figured he had gotten far enough that he could probably take flight. Dark gray wings spread outwards, catching the air and lifting him off the ground. With only two strokes, Lightning was airborne. He began to climb. In spite of himself, relief rushed through the stallion's veins. He was a pegasus after all. And like all his kind, he felt the sky calling for him. After the stress of his encounter with the Royal Guard, he was especially eager to get into the air. Above him, the sides of the buildings seemed to draw back, allowing Lightning to soar upward into the yawning expanse of the evening air. Closer, closer...

A flicker of motion on the edge of his vision was the only warning he received. All of a sudden, Lightning's wings ceased to bear him aloft. With a startled cry, he dropped like a stone. Only years of hard training allowed him to avoid injuring himself as his hooves hit the ground. Lightning allowed his knees to buckle in order to absorb the for e of impact. Had he been much higher, he probably would have had to go into a roll to play out his momentum and keep from being seriously injured.

As it was, Lightning simply sank down into a crouch before straightening his legs and standing up. Once again, something flickered across his vision, but more slowly than the last thing he had seen. It had a vague, drifting motion. Focusing his eyes on it, Spark Lightning saw that it was a feather...one of his feathers. Looking back, Lightning saw a cloud of his feathers drifting down around him. His wings were almost completely bare, everything from the primaries to the coverts having been cleanly cut away, leaving Lightning's once magnificent wings looking like a pair of twigs protruding from his back.

Something struck him just off the center of his chest. The impact was so minuscule that Lightning barely noticed it al all. He wasn't even conscious of his skin being pierced. But abruptly, his front right leg lost all feeling, causing him to teeter and fall over. Using his good leg, Lightning forced himself back up into a lying position, although getting up off the ground would be difficult at this point. Looking down, he had to squint to make out a tiny silver sliver that protruded from his chest. It was a needle as thin as a single hair, barely visible in the growing twilight.

Listening reached down, about to pull the offending item out, but was distracted by the low clop of approaching hooves. "For all that I heard about you, this was surprisingly easy."

Lightning looked up to see a dark green earth pony slowly approaching. The verdantly colored stallion was wearing a relaxed smile, as though this were something that he did on a daily basis. Even more galling was the fact he didn't even bother to open his eyes, as though subduing Lightning was so easy that he hadn't needed his sight to do so. "Even if you remove that needle, it will be a while before the meridian reopens and you regain use of your leg. I am afraid you are stuck with three for the foreseeable future, not that it will be very long anyway."

Lightning growled and strained. He could feel pressure building against his leg, like water backed up in a pipe. He continued to bring more of his will to bear, trying to get his unfeeling leg to move. Something broke and with an agonized howl, Lightning felt his leg come back under his own control. Ignoring the intense pain, the enraged pegasus planted his hoof and firmly forced himself back into a standing position.

Shadowlight raised an incredulous eyebrow. "You reopened the channel on your own...no, you opened it through sheer force. That was unwise. You did serious damage to yourself, forcing it like that."

"Shut up!" yelled Lightning.

Shadowlight let out a depressed sigh. "It doesn't matter anyway. Your time has run out. I can smell it quite clearly..."

Lightning let out a hacking cough that sent bolts of agony searing through his chest. Red sprayed into the air, splattering across the stones in front of him.

"...The stench of death." The green stallion's lips curled back up into a slight smile.

Lightning tried to lunge forward and teach that annoying earth pony a lesson. But his body didn't seem to be listening to him anymore. Each leg felt as though it weighed ten tons. Lightning couldn't even get one to lift off the ground. His vision was slowly dulling around the edges and Shadowlight's voice sounder farther and farther away with each passing second.

"You have been the busy one," observed Shadowlight, "I don't like having conversations with just myself. Perhaps you could join in."

Lightning blinked in confusion.

"Come now, you can't hide from me." Shadiwlight waved a hoof in front of his nose as he grimaced. "I could smell your stink hanging all over this pony from a block away. You can speak, can't you?"

Spark Lightning's irises and pupils contracted until they vanished, leaving two bloodshot white orbs in their wake. His lips slowly curled up into a crazed grin. "You could tell I was here?" Once again, that rasping voice, sounding like a knife being sharpened against a stone, echoed through the empty alley.

Shadowlight nodded. "Of course. And who do I have the dubious honor of addressing?"

"You can call me Scorpan," answered the thing in the pegasus' body.

"Scorpan hmm?" mused Shadowlight, "You smell of sulphur and brimstone. Am I right to assume that you come from Tartarus and that, aside from your consciousness, you actually still reside there?"

"Well, aren't you the clever one. You figured that out without me having to tell you anything. The Princess must get her money's worth out of you."

Shadowlight nodded very slightly. "I can smell the dark power flowing into that body from elsewhere and your scent is exactly what I imagined damnation must smell like. You don't seem particularly worried that your current vessel is about to die on you."

The creature calling itself Scorpan snorted in amusement. "This piece of meat?" He idly contemplated one of Lightning's hooves. "This was just a little experiment of mine. He didn't last very long, but a little progress is still progress."

Shadowlight's eyelids opened ever so slightly, giving the creature before him a glimpse of a milky white color. "And what is the purpose of this experiment of yours?"

Scorpan favored him with a nightmarish grin so wide it nearly seemed to spit Lightning's face in two. "What would be the fun in just telling you? If you wait, I promise you'll get to see the results very soon. And then the world will belong to us, just as it did before and as it should have always been."

Shadowlight tilted his head in thought. "You don't seem particularly enthused about that last thought."

"Eh, I could care less about that. But it's where we were going with this. I just want to have some fun while I work." Scorpan waved Lightning's hoof in a dismissive gesture.

"And so, you don't really care about Lightning's vengeance against Greengrass?"

"Not really. I just needed to give him the proper motivation to go and wreak havoc." Acorpan chuckled darkly. "You ponies are kinda funny that way. Forget about moving forward, forget about overcoming the obstacles in life. Give a pony a good scapegoat for all his troubles and he's happy as a clam...Not that we were any different."

"We?"

Lightning's body convulsed as Scorpan laughed. "Oh you'll find out soon enough." A stream of blood began to run from the corner of Lightning's mouth. "Well, this sad sack of flesh is about to give out on me. So I've gotta bail." The creature narrowed Lightning's eyes at Shadowlight. "When I get out for real, I'm coming to find you. You'll be begging for death at my hands before I'm done."

"Oh really." Shadowlight didn't even twitch at the threat. "I think I shall simply kill you. I'm afraid I'm not much for theatrics on the job."

Lightning's mouth opened as Scorpan was apparently about to say something else. But the body of the gray pegasus collapsed, like a puppet whose strings had just been cut. Spark Lightning slumped, limp and unmoving, to the ground. There was no sign of stirring. Shadowlight didn't need to even check to know that he was dead. All sense of life had ceased from he still body before him.

The evening silence was broken by the clop of approaching hooves as Shining Armor finally caught up to the scene. He hadn't been far behind when Lightning had fled the theater, but had gotten lost in the maze of back alleys the pegasus had taken to escape. Only now had he finally found the trail and located his quarry again, only to find that things had already ended.

Shining Armor frowned down at the corpse before him. "Is he...?"

"Yes."

"Did you...?"

"No. In the end, that proved unnecessary." Shadowlight sighed. "The very same force that granted him that supernatural strength was also tearing him apart from the inside. Our friend here merely reached his limit."

Shining Armor eyed the forest green earth pony warily. Shadowlight was generally not one to lie in such circumstances, although he could be very whimsical otherwise. "Did you find anything about this power that Lightning used?"

"A great deal," answered, Shadowlight blithely, "I found out that it is alive, malevolent, sadistic, and that it calls itself Scorpan."

"Scorpan." Shining grimaced. The name seemed distasteful as it rolled off his tongue. Just what sort of creature was it that they were dealing with? Here, in the heart of Equestria, with Luna's tapestry of stars surrounding the gentle glow of the moon, the night had never seemed so dark to him as it did now.

Lessons Learned

Chapter 4: Lessons Learned

Duke Greengrass narrowed his eyes as he took in the view of the establishment. The street was nearly deserted, it being just a minor side street of the market district and it almost being midday didn't help matters. Given the circumstances, if the sender of the letter had planned anything untoward, this would be an ideal time. He cast his eyes towards his two guards, Ox and Bear. Of course, that was what they were there for.

Things had started out innocuously enough. Greengrass had returned on the first available train from his province upon hearing that his office in the palace had been broken into. He was quite gratified to find that the Royal Guard had already settled the matter before his arrival, although details were still scarce. While Greengrass had come quickly to show his diligence in attending to his affairs, he wasn't overly worried. After all, it wasn't as though he was stupid enough to keep anything actually incriminating in his office of all places. One didn't become a duke of the Night Court by being an idiot.

The letter had been dropped off in his mail slot last evening, the pony delivering it leaving before Greengrass or his guards could identify him or her. It had simply suggested that if he had difficulty coping with the stress caused by the recent break-in that he consider giving this small clinic a try. Greengrass had been more than a little dubious. In fact, he wouldn't have thought it unlikely for the proprietor of this establishment, or someone connected to him, to have arranged the break-in just to draw Greengrass back to Canterlot so that he could be invited here. Of course, since the story of the incident hadn't exactly been top-secret, it could simply be a local business owner trying to cash in on an available client.

In any case, since the Night Court was not yet resuming its sessions and Greengrass had time to kill before the next train back to his fief, he decided he could at least afford to look into the matter. Besides, there was every chance that he could get an advantage out of all of this. If he could bring this therapist or whoever under his influence and then arrange for him to be visited by other nobles, there would be a wealth of opportunities in the future.

Taking a moment to compose himself, Greengrass made sure that his first impression would be suitably imposing before firmly pushing the door open and striding confidently into the clinic's dimly-lit waiting room. Ox and Bear ruined the effect somewhat when the two of them both tried to push through the narrow opening at the same time. It took them an ungainly moment to get unstuck and step in single-file before forming up behind their employer, trying reestablish their intimidating demeanor as they fought off embarrassment.

As it turned out, the effort was unnecessary. The waiting room was empty, save for the single forest green earth pony sitting behind a desk at the far end. As the door swung shut behind the arriving trio, he finally lifted his head, sniffing the air tentatively.

"Ah, I seem to have visitors. Forgive more for asking, but am I in the presence of the esteemed Duke Greengrass?"

"You are," answered Greengrass as his eyes narrowed. Was this pony blind?

"We'll then, welcome to my humble clinic your grace. I am Shadowlight." He slowly got up and moved along the edge of the desk, using a careful hoof to feel his way around the corner before walking slowly through the open room, minding each step carefully.

Greengrass rolled his eyes, briefly glad that Shadowlight couldn't see that. Shadowlight was clearly a dim-witted buffoon; not because he was blind, but rather because he was making such a big show of it. He was desperately trying to get Greengrass to think that he was helpless and clumsy because he couldn't see. Greengrass however, knew better than that. At the very least, Shadowlight probably knew the layout of this room like the back of his hoof, having memorized the dimensions and placement of every piece of furniture. It was clear he was putting on an act to lull the duke into a false sense of security.

But he does put on the helpless act very well, Greengrass had to admit, A pony with that kind of skill might be quite useful.

"I'm honored that you would be willing to visit my clinic, your grace," said Shadowlight, stopping in the middle of the floor to bow, "I hope you find my services satisfactory."

"Indeed. And what will these services be costing?" Translation: What do you get out of this?

"For you, your grace, they are free of charge. I can only hope that if you are happy with my work you recommend my services to some of your colleagues." Shadowlight gave the duke a hopeful smile as he lifted himself out of the bow.

In other words, he was looking for an in-route to clients from the Night Court, like half of the other business owners in the city. He probably hoped that bringing in Nobles would increase his popularity and income as well as drawing more commoners into the clinic. Greengrass had to suppress a chuckle. That must have been what the helpless blind pony act was for. He wanted to obtain Greengrass's patronage without appearing to be a convenient political tool. It was too bad his deception had been so easy to see through.

But it wouldn't hurt to humor Shadowlight a little longer. After all, Greengrass would have a much better idea how to put him to use after he had seen what this blind stallion was capable of. "Then by all means, let us begin."

Shadowlight led the way into the back room, where he directed Greengrass to lie on the padded table. Ox and Bear watched silently, flanking either side of the doorway as Shadowlight prepared a dish of oils to be put on the diffuser, filling the room with a pleasant scent. Then the stallion walked up to the stand next to the table and pulled out a thin needle barely visible in the room's light with his teeth and moved to stand over Greengrass.

"Are you familiar with acupuncture?" Shadowlight asked as he stood over the duke.

"A little. You use the needles to stimulate pressure points, right?"

"That is correct," agreed Shadowlight, "But not a full explanation." leaning his head down, he slid the first needle into the skin of Greengrass's back.

"You see, the magical energy or mana that all ponies, regardless of the their tribe, possess flows through channels in the body. In our line of work, these channels are called meridians. This flow is meant to be balanced and even throughout our bodies. But, for a variety of reasons, it can be thrown into disorder." Shadowlight paused in his explanation as he gently inserted a second needle.

"Injuries, illness, even simple stress; these things all have the potential to cause disorder in the pathways of energy through our bodies. Simply put, acupuncture is a technique used to restore that order. With order restored to the body's meridians, you can recover from injuries and illnesses more quickly and can release built up stress. It's all quite helpful."

"I see," murmured Greengrass, who was beginning to feel some slightly euphoric effects from the needles.

"Of course," continued Shadowlight after inserting the third needle, "I need to be very careful about where I place my needles. After all, a tool restore order in the body can also be used to bring about disorder. If I place my needles in the wrong points or stimulate them incorrectly, I could do a great deal of harm to my patients. You could say that anypony who undergoes my treatments is quite literally placing their lives in my hooves. For example..."

Shadowlight took another needle and inserted it directly above Greengrass's liver. "If I insert one of my needles here and manipulate it like so..." There was a faint tugging sensation on the duke's back. "...then I can set into motion a process that will ultimately end with your messy and painful death via massive organ failure."

"That's not very funny," muttered Greengrass, trying to fight his way out of the incredibly relaxed state he was in as his sense of danger warned that he was in imminent peril. He was getting nervous. Where were Ox and Bear? They should have jumped Shadowlight the moment he had made that last remark.

"Perhaps not," agreed Shadowlight blithely, "But neither is having your life and future destroyed by a pony just so he can manipulate the situation for political gain."

"What?"

"I'm sure you're quite familiar with a certain Captain Lightning, who was stripped of his position as a direct result of your manipulations. He was the one responsible for the break-in in your office. None of this exempts him from responsibility for what he went on to do, but it seems troubling to me that your only fallout from this is a little minor vandalism."

"Ox! Bear!" Greengrass's voice was barely more than a whisper in spite of his efforts to yell. His gaze flicked over to the door where his two guards stood, only to find them remaining in place, unmoving. There was a certain rigidness to them that immediately set the duke's senses on edge.

"They can't help you right now," explained Shadowlight, "They have been restrained."

Greengrass's mind immediately settled upon the most viable explanation. "That scent!"

"Close," said Shadowlight with an amused smile, "But not quite. By itself the scent is nothing more than a pleasant odor. But with a dash of magic..."

"Impossible," whispered Greengrass, "Bear would have..."

Shadowlight chuckled slightly, reaching out with a hoof to nudge one of the needles imbedded in his victim's body slightly. "Detect Magic is useful for finding unicorn magic, but the innate magic of us earth ponies is not visible to that spell."

Greengrass was stupefied.

"I am a little disappointed in you, your grace. Somepony as well-informed as you should be more thoroughly aware of what your own kind is capable of." Shadowlight tilted his head to one side in thought. "Although this form of earth pony magic is one of our most well kept secrets. Technically, it would not be beyond your ability to learn. But since you do not seem to be a pony who likes to relinquish what belongs to you unless it is no longer of any use, I can't seeing you making the sacrifice necessary to truly master our magic." His eyelids opened ever so slightly, revealing the milky orbs behind them.

"You mean...?" Greengrass couldn't bring himself to finish. Shadowlight's slight nod confirmed his suspicions however.

"Indeed. But now, setting small matters aside, let us come back to the reason you are here."

"Who are you working for? Nobility? Fischer?"

"No one," answered Shadowlight, "In fact, you could say that this is my payment for a job already done. I was responsible for helping to clean up the mess you left behind when your self-serving ways cost another pony his livelihood. I helped on the condition that I be given this opportunity to express my displeasure.

"Because you, in your heedless ambition, ruined the life of a pony for the sake of political gain, several innocent ponies who simply had the bad luck of being strong-armed into working to further your aims, were very nearly killed. And now, you get to reap what you have sown."

"Listen, I don't know what you want, but surely we can come to some kind of agreement..." Greengrass was beginning to feel more than a little desperate.

"Unfortunately not," said Shadowlight, "You see, you misunderstand your position here. There is no negotiation, no appeals. This is not a ploy for leverage. This is your judgment. You lie here, completely at my mercy. You have no power, no authority, your influence and your wealth are worthless. There is nothing here for you but death."

"My secretary knows exactly where I am," hissed Greengrass, "She know's I went here. You'll have no way to avoid suspicion."

Shadowlight let out a small sigh, sounding a little miffed. "I may have skipped out on Equicide 101, but I will have you know that this is not my first time."

Shadowlight's voice sounded distant, as though he was speaking from across an empty room. Greengrass's vision was beginning to fade. I don't want to die.

Shadowlight's voice came, caressing his ears gently. "You feel it, don't you? That feeling of the bottom dropping out of your stomach, that tingle of terror that works its way across your spine, the realization that there is nothing you can do to affect your own fate. That is helplessness. That is what you have inspired in so many ponies until now, taking their futures, their hopes and dreams and holding them hostage lest they not do your bidding. It is time for you to experience what it is to be helpless, your grace. Savor it. Wallow in it. Drown in it."

The darkness seeped in and Greengrass's eyes drifted closed. He could barely hear Shadowlight's final words to him.

"Sleep well your grace. Perhaps you will find greener pastures on the other side."

The darkness became absolute.

Greengrass slowly felt sensation returning to his body. Feeling was flowing into his limbs. Surprisingly, he didn't feel heavy, considering that was what he expected being dead to feel like. Instead, he felt light, as though some weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Perhaps dying wasn't so bad.

Slowly, Greengrass's eyes creeped open to reveal...the back room of Shadowlight's clinic. Shadowlight was there, straight in his field of view, gently depositing needles into a small canister. Ox and Bear were still there as well, still held fast by the green stallion's mysterious power.

"Ah, you're awake," remarked Shadowlight idly, "You smell a little surprised. This probably isn't what you expected the netherworld to look like."

"You...could say that," Greengrass admitted, completely flummoxed, "What did you do to me?"

A slender, silvery needle dropped into the canister with the faintest ting. "I completed my treatment as I promised. Having the flow of energy through your meridians stabilized is actually quite a soothing feeling. You aren't the first patient I've had to fall asleep during my treatment. By the way, you need to avoid stressing yourself for the next six hours while my treatment sets in."

"But you said you would..." Greengrass wasn't sure he could finish that statement.

"I lied," admitted Shadowlight easily enough, "And in fact, if you remember, I told you that I had planned a particularly messy and painful death for you. Did you happen to feel any pain?"

Greengrass blinked. He was a little annoyed at himself that he hadn't realized if sooner. Shadowlight had skillfully distracted him with that conversation to keep the duke from realizing that something was off. "Then what was all of this?"

"This," said Shadowlight, placing a lid on the canister and setting it onto a desk on the other side of the room, "Was a warning your grace. Your carelessness and callousness in pursuit of influence and power created a substantial mess, a mess that I had to help clean up. You need to be more careful when considering the consequences of your actions in the future."

"Do you really think this changes anything?" said Greengrass, anger humming through his veins, "I can make it so that you never practice medicine, or anything else, in Caterlot ever again. I will ruin you."

"By all means, do go ahead." Duke Greengrass blinked. There was no tone of challenge in that answer. There was no fear or intimidation either. Shadowlight's voice was as cool and politely pleasant as always, as though he was doing nothing more than reading out a prescription or reciting a line he had given over a thousand times.

"This clinic is more of a hobby to me than anything else," admitted Shadowlight, sounding slightly sheepish, as though he were letting the duke in on a mildly embarrassing secret.

"Anyway," Shadowlight went on, cutting Greengrass off before he could protest, "You disappoint me a little, your grace. You jump straight to threats when you should be contemplating the point of today's lesson."

"That is none of my business," replied Greengrass brusquely, "If anything, this was probably a scheme by Nobility to get back at me for making her look foolish in front of the rest of the Night Court."

"Do you truly believe that?" wondered Shadowlight, "Or is that simply an expedient way of explaining the situation; a way that would allow you to ready your next move in the Court?"

"What does it matter?" asked Greengrass, growing more irritable.

"It matters because of what you are claiming." Shadowlight's hoof lashed out in a green blur that terminated scant inches away from Greengrass's face. To his credit, the duke didn't flinch, but his eyes did focus quite intensely on that hoof. "Ponies were hurt because of this incident. Ponies could have died because of this incident. Manipulation, scheming and deceiving are all well and good I'm sure. But once blood is shed, it becomes a very different matter.

"Escalation is a very dangerous card to play. And once it is played, it is nearly impossible to take back. Once violence becomes perceived as a potential tool for politics, you and your colleagues will descend into a mire of bloodletting as you seek to outdo one another and will eventually bring about the destruction of the Night Court itself. And it will be a miracle if the rest of Equestria does not follow you into the abyss.

"It also means that your affairs will be spilling over into my area of influence again and leave me with more of your messes to clean up, which, if you will recall, is the very reason we are having this conversation in the first place." Shadowlight lowered his hoof slowly.

"This was a warning your grace. It was painless and nothing has been damaged, aside from your pride, which will remain between you and me. If I have to clean up another of your messes, I will be forced to be more stern the next time around and I will ensure that there are lasting consequences."

"All I did was take a few actions to manipulate a vote," protested Greengrass, "Meanwhile, you abducted me and threatened my life while you paralyzed my guards. Do you really think you can justify your behavior here."

"You can protest your innocence if you like," replied Shadowlightt coolly, "But the whole point of this discussion was to show that you are not exempt from the Law of Unintended consequences. Part of the problem was that your little scheme showed all the grace and subtlety of a manticore in a gala dress. If you had been more practiced in discretion, you might have actually gotten away with it.

"As for my abducting you, I would like to point out that I merely carried out the promised treatment. After all, it's not as though we earth ponies have something like magic. How on earth could I have paralyzed your guards as you claimed? It certainly couldn't have been any airborne chemical. The two of us would have been affected as well."

Greengrass frowned. "I know the Royal Guards were a part of this investigation. Now I know you are the reason that it was wrapped up so quickly. You clearly have contacts, maybe even friends on the Guard. I can simply look into who was involved with you and have them punished in your stead."

"You could certainly look into it," admitted Shadowlight, "You might also try sticking your snout into a hornet's nest and see what that does for you. You of all ponies should be aware of what can happen if you start meddling in things that you weren't meant to know. Despair awaits those who reached beyond their station."

For a moment, Greengrass said nothing. There was something about Shadowlight's statement that struck him as off. As he considered it, The pieces found into place. Just as his talent usually did, Greengrass zeroed in directly on Shadowlight's weakness. "So that's why you didn't kill me," he said, "Not because you didn't want to. You can't kill me, because I am...how did you say it...beyond your station. You aren't allowed to interfere in the affairs of the Night Court, are you? Otherwise you could have used threats like this one to affect the vote at any time. But you haven't, have you? You can't actually do me any harm."

Shadowlight grinned slightly. "Very clever your grace. You are correct. I am not permitted to play any role in affecting the Night Court. You are out of my purview. It was only because of certain special circumstances that I got the opportunity to have this session with you now. But, your grace, bear in mind that if you continue as you have done, you could very well be bringing up the very same set of special circumstances that led to your lesson this time. And do keep in mind that, while I may not be permitted to do you any lasting harm, I am very capable of making your next lesson sting. Students who do not learn their lesson the first time are generally in need of stronger reinforcement."

Ox and Bear slumped suddenly as they were released from Shadowlight's intangible hold. Before they could react, the blind stallion had already swept past them through the door and back out into his waiting room. Greengrass got to his own hooves and followed trailed by the two bodyguards. As the three of them stepped into the waiting room, Ox's lips pulled back and he began to move forward past Greengrass, but the duke stopped him with a raised hoof.

"Mister Shadowlight," said Greengrass, working very hard to keep his voice under control, "I don't think that I can recommend you to my colleagues on the Night Court."

Shadowlight shrugged indifferently. "Oh well. I was actually planning on relocating anyway. Of course, if things continue as they have been, I have no doubt that you will be a repeat customer, your grace."

Greengrass gulped. The faintest twitch of Shadowlight's polite smile indicated that the blind pony had heard the sound all too clearly. Without another word, Greengrass walked past Shadowlight, heading for the door, having to stop himself from increasing his pace with each passing step. Ox and Bear naturally followed suit.

Just as Greengrass reached out to push the door open, Shadowlight's voice stopped him. "Your grace..." Greengrass paused and looked back to see that Shadowlight was still wearing the same disarming smile as always. "...Please keep in mind that even if you never stop by my clinic again, I am perfectly happy to make house calls."

Greengrass didn't need to translate that one. He opened the door and was gone, leaving Shadowlight alone in his dimly lit clinic, that same smile still fixed on his face.

Greengrass stifled his frustration as he walked away from the clinic, trying his very hardest to maintain his composure. He had to walk. Even breaking out into a light canter at this point would eventually progress into a full run as his mind screamed at him to get away from that terrifying stallion as quickly as possible.

There was one particular thing that Greengrass took away from Shadowlight's little "lesson." He now knew what it was to be helpless. And he did not like it at all. If it took every resource at his disposal, Duke Greengrass swore that he would never experience such a sensation again. The first thing he needed to do was ensure that he could trust the ponies who worked for him.

When I get back to my fief, I'll have to make sure Notary is ready, he thought, It's time I cleaned house. I cannot afford to leave any more loose ends lying around. I need to make sure that there is no chance for betrayal from my people. Now that ai think about it, Trixie has been a little too wise to my plans lately. There's no way she could accomplish that on her own. One of my agents must be feeding her information. I'll find out how she's getting her information and then I'll get rid of the problem's source. And then, I won't have to worry about experiencing that feeling ever again.

His mind set, Greengrass continued along his way.

"So, you're leaving?" Shining Armor was very uncertain what to make of this. "After what you did to Duke Greengrass, you turn around and head out of Canterlot. And you don't expect Greengrass to think you're afraid of him?"

"Not really," answered Shadowlight nonchalantly as he packed the few belongings he cared to bring with him into a single set of saddlebags. He had never been one to put much stock in material possessions, which made it very easy to relocate when the mood struck him. Of course, even when it did, there were extenuating circumstances that prevented him from doing so. But recent developments had finally afforded him that opportunity.

"And now this Scorpan thing is out there somewhere," muttered Shining darkly, "He could pop up anywhere and you're just leaving."

"That is the primary reason for my departure," replied Shadowlight, "Princess Luna and the Elements of Harmony are currently focused on Celestia and her return. While Princess Luna has been apprised of the situation, you and I both know that she is currently more concerned with her sister at the moment.

"Power's weakness is that it moves in but a single direction at a time and is vulnerable to attack from the flanks. That is why, while the Princess and the Elements focus their 'power' on Celestia, it is up to us to guard them from this and other threats."

"So you're going to Ponyville?" asked Shining, "To guard the Elements?"

"Eventually." Shadowlight draped his saddlebags across his back and trotted out the door, walking right past the "For Sale" sign by the entrance. "I want to follow up some leads and do some research first. I strongly suspect that this little incident in Canterlot is not the first time that this Scorpan fellow has manipulated other ponies to his own ends."

"What makes you say that?" Shining was taken aback by the very serious expression that Shadowlight gave in response to his question.

"Scorpan mentioned that this was an experiment. Furthermore, he also showed dissatisfaction with the results. When you experiment and don't get the results you want, you run another and simply adjust the variables in play. Not only has Scorpan done this before, but he intends to continue until he gets the results that he wants, or at least results that he can live with."

"He'll try again," muttered Shining Armor, shivering at the thought, "Not only that, but he could be anywhere. We know that he preys on the anger ponies feel at their situation and turns them on a scapegoat to get them to fight..." Shining Armor paused, a horrible thought rushing into his mind. "Twiley! What if he goes after my sister?"

Shadowlight thought for a moment. "Your sister would certainly be in an excellent position to be open for such manipulation. Her current circumstances must seem quite bleak to her imagination and since it largely started with that altercation she had with Trixie Lulamoon, she also has an easy scapegoat that Scorpan can use."

Shining Armor trembled at the thought of his sister in the clutches of that thing. He had seen the examination of Spark Lightning's body and the damage that Scorpan's presence had caused. The thought that something like that could happen to his sister chilled him to the bone.

"But I wouldn't worry." Shining turned up at Shadowlight's words and blinked. Shadowlight was smiling, as usual, but there was something Shining couldn't describe about it. His smile seemed more...sincere than usual. "You love your sister dearly. As do your parents. Call it a hunch, but I suspect that Scorpan may have a harder time than you think sinking his hooks into Twilight Sparkle. Just continue to look for her and wish earnestly for her safe return."

Shining Armor blinked. Shadowlight's intuition could be terrifyingly accurate at times. There was something strangely reassuring about his words of comfort. Even so, Shining had to stop himself from flinching as Shadowlight rested a gentle hoof on his shoulder.

"You've been a good friend to me, Shining Armor. I hope to see you again soon." Turning around, Shadowlight trotted off down the street, heading Luna knew where. Shining watched him go until the dark green earth pony turned a corner and was gone from sight. Shining stood there for a moment, before turning his head to look at where Shadowlight's clinic used to be. The sign had already been removed. It was as though he had vanished from the face of the earth. Shining had been here many times before, but he could feel no trace of Shadowlight's presence in the building. It was as though he had packed up the very suggestion of his existence and taken it on the road with him.

Shining Armor shivered and moved on with his day.

Epilogue

Epilogue:

Time was the problem. That was our true enemy. After all, no matter how many times we came together and vowed "Never again," we still ended up forgetting the first word of that statement. And so, "Never again," became "Again" and again and again and again...you get the idea. Why was that?

A child sits upon his father's knee and hears about the pain and strife of war. But the son doesn't have his father's experience. He can't understand the visceral impact of actually "being there." But usually, the father can impress hard enough the feelings of pain and despair that conflict brings. But the son of the son has even less of a chance to understand. If he's lucky, maybe his grandfather is still around to share the story. But the distance between them makes it even harder to impress into the child's mind, what a terrible thing war is. By the time the next generation comes around, it is nothing but a distant memory, a lifeless thing only talked about in dry texts on history and reminisced about by people who can only tell the story second-hand anyhow. Another generation further and war becomes little more than an impersonal story. Eventually, recollection fades and it becomes no more than a fable.

Time eats away at our understanding, with the horrors of the conflict becoming more vague and ill-defined with each successive generation. Eventually, we reach the point where we can't appreciate the price that comes with conflict and we turn back to the things our ancestors swore to set aside. We learn our lesson all over again. And then, we forget it again.

But the ponies found a way around that. With their Princesses, they could have someone around to keep the memory alive, to remind each successive generation of the horrors of war and strife and the despair they bring. And maybe that was enough to keep them reminded that the petty divisions among them weren't worth the bloodshed and agony that comes with true conflict. And so, Equestria endured and continues to endure. For, so long as they have one of the Princesses at the helm, the little ponies won't descend back into that same vicious cycle that dogged them in the millennia that came before.

It was Him, no question. He had been the first to ask the question. What if we had someone like the Princesses? What if we had an immortal soul to guide us, to remember for us, to keep us from repeating the same mistake over and over again? It wasn't power that we wanted. We didn't care that Celestia and Luna moved the sun and the moon. We only wanted to ensure that those who came after us wouldn't fall to the vicious cycle that had preyed on us, as it had the ponies, for countless generations before.

At least, that's what He said. Who can say if He was earnest about wanting to save us from ourselves? I can't. But then again, I don't really care. It doesn't matter anyway, because what happened still happened. Celestia and Luna weren't very willing to share the secret to their immortality, perhaps for good reasons, perhaps not. Again, I don't really care.

When He was denied, He went elsewhere to get what He wanted. Maybe that didn't turn out so well for us in the end. But then again, I'm not exactly unhappy with my current lot. Sure, my body is stuck in a pretty nasty place and He is always threatening to do whatever with it. But I get to roam freely and play around with whoever I like; like this poor sap for example...

Hey, wanna make a deal with me?