Sentinel of the Everfree

Chapter 4: Regrets

Shadowblaze couldn't even look at his brother. He couldn't bring himself to even fathom what he did to one of his own, his brother, in blood, and in soul. All because...I got under your skin. Shadowblaze growled, tired of the Sentinel's manipulation. He then shot a glance at Draco, he had a emotion that he had not seen in his brother ever. Pure. Fear. Shadowblaze then slowly got up, and trotted over to Draco.

"Shadowblaze..." Draco stated, trying to form a question, but couldn't find the words for it.

"Draco, I'm sorry. The Sentinel blinded me, he turned my anger against me." Shadowblaze replied, barely able to keep calm after what he had done.

"It, it hurts Shadow...."

"I would imagine."

"Shadow?..... I got a question."

"Yeah, Draco?"

"If I die out here, will you tell the Princess, that....I tried....but, he got to me..."

"What? What are you talking about Draco?"

Suddenly, Draco's face twitched, then his face went blank, as if someone just wiped all consciousness from his being. His expression stayed blank, and he stared off into space. His head tilted to the side, and tentacles erupted from his back. His missing leg and foreleg regrew quickly, as if nothing happened. His coat flushes of all color, and becomes pale. His Lunar Guard armor warps and bends to form a metallic liquid, the helmet morphing into the liquid mass shifting on Draco's body. It then forms into a metal vest, with black cloth forming over it, soon, it forms a basic copy of the Sentinel, albeit shorter. Despite that, Draco kept his facial features, his serpentine eyes glaring daggers at his brother as he rose to his hooves.Shadowblaze stared at his brother in horror, he had become a Sentinel! He took large steps back, running into something stoic and sturdy. He turned around, and came face to face with the Sentinel himself! Peekaboo.

Suddenly, a cyan streak rammed into the Sentinel's side, blowing him over with unbelievable force. A crow cawed, then the sound of teleportation filled the air. Soon, a distinct purple laser came from the brush, hitting the now corrupted Draco, and knocking him off balance. The Sentinel stood up, bewildered, looking everywhere for the unseen attackers, but soon got encased in a purple bubble of magic. He bashed on the sides, trying to break free from his prison. A whitish unicorn trotted into his view, he angrily smashed the sides of the encasement, tentacles flaring, drones echoing.

"I would LOVE to stay and chat, but you're a total brute. You do have a nice suit though. Ta ta!" Rarity chirped. With that, the encasement vanished, and the two Sentinels were warped away. Two pegasi landed, followed by two unicorns trotting up to meet Shadowblaze. He was speechless, those two Sentinels got their flanks kicked, by four mares? He studied them, but then he came to a realization, those were not just any mares. They were four of the Elements of Harmony.

"Hello! We saw you were in trouble, so we decided to help!" Twilight said, smile planted on her face.

"Uh...thanks..." Shadowblaze responded, he couldn't even describe what had happened today, he watched his mortal enemy get beaten by four of the Elements, he went berserk, almost killed his brother, watched his brother morph into a Sentinel, and now he couldn't even put a smile on his face as easily as Twilight was doing.

"Well, are you going to tell us your name?" Rarity asked, a strange tone in her voice. She fluttered her eyes at him.

"Um, Shadowblaze." He replied, without much enthusiasm. Rarity was a strange one.

Twilight's eyes widened, but then went back to normal. "That's a very nice name," Twilight stated, "So you're a member of Luna's finest?" She reminded him of Cabrill, the tone of voice, the manner of speaking, buck, she even had Cabrill's eyes.

"Alright, enough questions Twilight, we didn't even get introduce ourselves." Rainbow Dash stated, obviously annoyed.

"I already know all of you." Shadowblaze said matter-of-factly. He named them left to right, pointing at each. "Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Twilight Sparkle. No need to. Also, where is Applejack and Pinkie Pie?"

"No idea where Pinkie could've gone, there's no explaining Pinkie, she does all this strange stuff, and Applejack is most likely in the hooves of Captain Suit." Rainbow Dash answered.

"Captain Suit?" Shadowblaze asked.

"That creepy dude with the suit and the tentacles!"

"The Sentinel?"

"What ever! You get the point!"

"Regret is a powerful thing. It can determine our fate forever, for better or worse." -Queen Destramous

Princess Luna watched over the Everfree, she had spotted Shadowblaze for a moment, but she lost track of him. She worried about him, he was young and naïve, very vulnerable to manipulation. He was the youngest member of the Lunar Guard, so she watched over him, like a caring mother. She sensed that it would be time for the sun to rise soon, so she turned to leave, but something snagged her hoof, she looked back at the offending object. It was a bramble bush, no effect thanks to her magical shield. She wiggled her hoof free, and looked back to her front. HE was there.

Boo. With that, he flared his tentacles and restricted her, he wrapped her wings in his deadly appendages, and put a black ring on her horn. Luna's horn ignited, but the magical aura dispelled instantly, her eyes widened, then she began to frantically squirm and struggle. Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are...up above the world so high.... like a diamond in the sky....twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are..... Luna's vision became blurry, and she passed out.

"Pain and Suffering. The two devils, that must be endured for freedom." -Gekoto

Applejack woke with a start, she had passed out, and was now laying in a pool of her blood. She tried to call out for help, but her lips wouldn't move, they wouldn't move no matter what she did. She lied there, helpless, and in immense pain. She tried to move her left foreleg, but it refused to comply, her body was at a breaking point. She was about to give in, but then she saw something that she had never thought to see. A pink pony peeked in, grinning ear to ear.

"Heyoo?" Pinkie called out.

Applejack used her remaining energy to rap her hoof against the wall. Pinkie looked over to the source of the knocking noise, and a smile spread across her face. She looked to her right, and her smile immediately turned upside down. Applejack followed Pinkie's vision. Her face froze into one of fear.

"Por....la....Sentinelo...."

"Better make friends now, you'll have none where you're going!" -Tautoroum