Chapters Chapter 1. Beginning of the End
The small town of Ponyville slept peacefully under the glow of Luna's Moon, in all it's full glory, little activity came from the sleepy village, and no light emanated from the small settlement, other than a soft glow coming from a library built into a large, elder tree. Inside, Twilight is reading by candlelight, while a drowsy purple dragon slept upstairs, Twilight thought to herself for a moment, then yawned quietly. She then returned to reading her book, while she was doing so, a figure passed by the window, the figure was a tall shadow with a head of a ghostly white color, it stood outside for a couple moments, then began heading towards a nondescript home, seemingly aimless.
The next day, Celestia's warm sun slowly rose over the horizon, revealing the now awoken village, but something was off from the last night, there was a panic among Ponyville's population, there was a crowd in the center of town, all around something laying limp on the ground, a dead filly, completely dismembered, face warped beyond recognition, it was missing its eyes, as if something gouged them out, its lips were burned off, mouth sealed, its skeleton was a jumble of shards and small pieces, and the body was twitching slightly. Twilight exited the library to join the crowd, and looked in horror at the mutilated body.
"What happened here?" Twilight asked with a large hint of fear in her voice.
"I found this body in the woods," answered a grayish colt, "I don't know anypony that could've done this."
Twilight remembered that she had a book in her library, one that she was reading recently too, she quickly dashed off back towards her library, and quickly searched through her collection, until she found what she was looking for, a book called "Sentinel of the Everfree ", she opened it, then skimmed through, until she found herself at the last page, where she found what the book was based off of, a legend by the same name, she thought if it was logical for a legend to be real, then decided that it was a drastic time, calling for drastic measures, while she looked for the book of legends that she kept (for whatever reason), a small dragon came down the library's steps, rubbing his eyes.
"Twilight, why are you going through those books like it's the end of Equestria?", Spike demanded.
"I'm sorry Spike, I didn't mean to wake you, I'm just looking for a book, it's really important!" replied Twilight.
Spike gave a blank stare, then went back up the steps, hoping to get some more sleep. Two minutes later, Twilight found the book she was searching for, she opened it up, then searched for the legend, she found it at page one hundred twenty, she quickly read it, wasting no time.
"So that proves it," Twilight said calmly, "The culprit is the Slendermane!"
"Sometimes, the best way to beat your enemy, is to join them ." -Starswirl the Bearded
Deep in the Everfree, the culprit of the killing stands near a pond that has pure and clear waters, it would be peaceful, if the tall menace himself wasn't standing right there. He stands there for a moment, then sticks his hoof into the water, then seems to watch the ripples on the water disperse outwards from his hoof, he contemplates for a moment, then yanks a parchment off a nearby tree, studying it for a moment, researching a foal's hoofwriting, he then sticks it back onto the tree, he gets up, looking around at his surroundings, he then turns and begins walking away.
"Your worst nightmare, is the unknown ." -Unknown
In the Sweet Apple Acres orchard, Applejack rests under a tree, tuckered out from a morning of applebucking, she relaxes, her work is done, nothing else needs to be done, so she just sits and rests, forgetting about her worries for a moment, these moments really is what made Applejack's life hectic, but rewarding, as she closes her eyes to take a nap, she suddenly hears a loud grinding noise, her ears perk up to try to identify the sound, but it is to no avail, as her mind comes up blank, so she got up, grumbling something about 'pesky buggers', then trots towards the source of the sound, finding a strange symbol carved into a tree , she stares at it, trying to decipher what exactly it means, as she does so, a tall figure watches her from a distance. It tilts its head, gauging her movements silently. Applejack felt the sense of someone watching, but when she turns to look, the figure vanishes into the woods. She glares at where it stood, still processing what she saw. It took a while before realization hit her like a runaway train. "Hey! Git back 'er!" She takes off after the figure, hoping to stop it and have a little 'talk' with it.
"Running with Death isn't foolish, chasing him is ." -Starswirl the Bearded
Twilight took off out of the library at a speed that would make Rainbow Dash blush. She was in quite a hurry, racing through the troubled village like a Hellsteed out of Tartarus. She skidded to a stop, almost going flying clean through the door of Rarity's Boutique. She opened the door with reckless abandon, letting it smash into the wall with a terrific bang. Rarity jumped from the sudden mixing of both a bell ringing at unbelievable volume, and a door slamming into the wall at almost sound breaking speed.
"Twilight!! Please do knock so I know when you're about to blow my door off it's hinges. You know I don't take kindly to that darling." Rarity chirped, quite annoyed.
"I'm sorry, but it's a matter of life or death!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Those who fear death, are more likely to embrace it ." -Unknown
Applejack quickly galloped after the figure, but it seemed to keep ahead of her by only walking slowly.
"Git back 'er! I'm not done with you!" Applejack yelled.
The figure just keeps walking, seemingly oblivious to her calls, but it stops, then turns towards Applejack. Applejack stared at the figure, extremely confused. "What. The. Hay?" The figure begins emitting an extremely loud droning noise, flaring tentacles. "Buck me..." The figure menacingly approached Applejack, forcing her up against a tree.
"Those who follow the leader, are oblivious, those who are the leader, are deceiving ." -Starswirl the Bearded
Author's Note
A little announcement to those who just jumped into the story, don't judge by this first chapter. This was written a long time ago, and will probably be re-written for clarity and engagement.
Chapter 2: Into the Deep
The majestic Princess of the Night surveyed her Guard, it was composed of about six hundred stallions, all stood at attention, while one seemed to be troubled, scratching the floor slightly with his hoof, something was on his mind. She watched the stallion mill about while the others seemed at attention, she sighed softly, then slowly spoke. "Shadowblaze."
The stallion milling about suddenly jumped, then stood at attention. She frowned at him, then said, "I know you're nervous, but you must calm down." The stallion looked at her with a unreadable expression.
"I'm sorry, Princess, but I cannot keep calm knowing my brother is out there, with that, that monster! I won't stand for much more of this!" He spurted, he then continued to speak, as he did so, Luna's frown began to grow.
"Shadowblaze." She deadpanned. He seemed not to notice her addressing him, and continued to ramble. "Shadowblaze!" More of the latter. "Shadowblaze! " She screamed at him using the Royal Canterlot Voice. Again, he took no notice. She huffed, then bellowed, "SHADOWBLAZE DEMONHEART!!!!!! " He got blown clean off his hooves with the sheer volume of the loud exclamation, he got up slowly, in a daze, the other guards looked at Luna, then back to Shadowblaze, she then approached the stallion. "Shadowblaze. It's going to be alright. Draco is fine. He WILL be fine. Calm down." She reassured.
"He will?" Shadowblaze questioned. "Are you sure?"
"Why would you doubt your Princess?" She questioned, a small smirk spreading across her face.
"Oh no no no no no! I was never doubting you, Princess!" The young stallion broke down as he tried to think up a excuse, like a foal caught with his hoof in the cookie jar. She gave a small smile. She backed up to face the entire platoon.
"Listen! We need to stop this creature before it hurts too many people. My sister and her soldiers are attempting to keep.." She clears her throat. "...him, from attacking the towns, while it's up to us to track him down and destroying him. Shadowblaze, I want you to fly out to find your brother, then search the eastern section of the Everfree. Akormus, Sarkaraman!" Two colts step forward and then salute. "You're in charge of searching the western side of the forest! We depart at dusk!" She utters a guttural string, obviously Old Equestrian. "Vivu la Nokto!"
"VIVU LA NOKTO! " The platoon bellows. Then Shadowblaze, Akormus, and Sarkaraman take wing, heading in the direction of the Everfree.
"The Sentinel always watches..... " -Excerpt from Sentinel of the Everfree
Applejack stared down the...thing before her, it obviously wasn't a pony, it was something that literally is an embodiment of all her worst fears combined into one....thing!
"You git back!" She exclaimed, and with that, she swiped one of her fore hooves clean across his face. His head snapped to the side, then, it slowly turned to look at Applejack. He didn't have a face, but it didn't take a genius to figure out what expression he would be wearing if he did. Pure. Anger. Applejack's ears wilted as his tentacles began to flare and the droning returned.
"The Sentinel does not forgive, he only punishes. Being his quarry is a fate worse than death ." -Excerpt from Sentinel of the Everfree
Rarity seemed woozy, shaking and her body was threatening to tumble over and die.
"This is the WORST. POSSIBLE. THING!!!" Rarity exclaimed. She then proceeded to produce a red sofa out seemingly nowhere, then fall onto it. Twilight then rushes in to comfort her friend.
"Listen! You might think that, but we're going to do something about this pony." Twilight explained. "We're going to stop him, don't you worry." Rarity looked at Twilight with hopeful eyes.
"Really?" Rarity asked. "Do you honestly believe we can stop that barbarian?"
"Of course. Lets get the others." Twilight replied.
"One who lives in fear, cannot adapt, one who lives bravely, will die alone. " -Nightmare Moon
The tall menace stood near the pond once more, his dark suit is now stained a blood red, and he is stretching his tentacles, like a tired pony stretching his legs. His usually jet-black tentacles are now stained red, he dips them into the pond, as does, the red dissolves off and forms long streams of blood flowing off in all directions, his suit melts off him, then reforms back solidly. He picks it up, then dunks it into the water, letting the blood do the same, he pulls it out, then wrings it so the water dripped out, then it seems to melt and flow back onto him, becoming solid once more. He then turned towards the limp orange body slumped up against the nearby tree. He then picked up the limp creature, and began studying her. She was heavily damaged, her mouth was stitched shut, her foreleg was broken in five different directions, tears stained her face, not from fear, but from sheer, relentless pain. Her face was locked into a painful expression, her chest was moving up and down, not very noticeable, but enough to know she is alive, he canters over to a nearby bush, and dumps her into it. The tall killer began walking away, heading deeper into the woods. Then, a dark grey stallion popped out of a bush and rushed over to where the monster dumped her. He was a average stallion, wearing the armor of Luna's Guard, but he lacked bat wings, instead, he toted a unicorn's signature horn.
"Mother of Celestia..." He stated. He quickly trotted over to the bush she was dumped in, he picked her up using his magic, and put her on his back. He then took off towards the north.
"Do not judge your enemy, before determining your own abilities " -Translated Old Equestrian Verse
Shadowblaze felt the crisp night viciously attack his face as he flew silently through the night sky, Akormus and Sarkaraman had already reached their destination, he knew this from the smoke signal they sent, he then focused his attention on the ground, something caught his eyes, however, as he started hovering and staring towards something on the ground. He was staring at a forlorn cabin, it was definitely old, about a good six years, but something was out of the ordinary, a light was on in the tiny cabin.
"That's interesting...." Shadowblaze stated. He then swooped down, then landed at the door. He knocked twice, then waited.
"The night is young, but the war is old. " -Princess Luna
Chapter 3: Memories
Nopony answered the door, Shadowblaze knocked again. No answer. He cautiously opened the door and peeked inside.
"Hello?" He called out, "Anypony home?" Once again, no answer. He entered the lonely cabin and slowly closed the door behind him. You're making things worse. The statement assaulted his mind like an aggressive creature. He clutched his head for a moment, the statement seemed to echo in his mind. Don't play dumb. He growled and rubbed his head, as if he was getting a headache. He cantered over to a ladder that was obviously out of place and didn't belong. He studied it for a moment, and then looked up to see where it lead. The upper floor, idiot. Shadowblaze growled angrily, almost sounding like a rabid dog. "Get out of my head!" He warned. He then ascended the ladder slowly, as if expecting something to be up there. When he got to the top, he began studying the room before him. It seemed like a modest bedroom, nothing too advanced, but nothing that seemed to degrade it. He waltzed over to the bed and laid on it. "I could use some rest." He mumbled. "I haven't slept for days." With that, he closed his eyes, and fell asleep.
"Fears will only be conquered with perseverance. " -Old Equestrian Verse
Shadowblaze found himself in The Void, a place that Luna had told him and the other Lunar Guards about. It was cold, empty, dark, and depressing. The Void is where ponies were judged. Anypony's spirit that left, never returned. They would either go to Tartarus, or Tantalus. He then saw him, The Sentinel himself. Something was off, however, his face had one feature. A mouth. Shadowblaze stared at the Sentinel, but then, he spoke.
"Hello, Shadowblaze..." He spoke, his voice as piercing as a winter night's cold.
"You...I'll find you, and tear you limb from limb! In the name of the Princess! Vivu la Nok-" He stopped. His eyes became the size of saucers. He was staring at something he could not take his eyes off. The mutilated body of his wife. "Cabrill?!"
"Why, Shadow? Why didn't you stop him?" Cabrill spoke, despite her jaw being dislocated.
"Stop who? You were mauled by an Ursa!" Shadowblaze responded. "He had nothing to do with it!"
The Sentinel smiled, revealing jagged teeth. "I had everything to do with it. Those weren't Ursa claw wounds, but tentacle lashes. You are much more gullible than I thought."
" I WILL END YOU!!!! YOU HEAR ME? I WILL FIND YOU, AND MAKE YOU BEG ME TO BUCKING DIE!!!!" Shadowblaze bellowed.
"Looks like someone is a little feisty." The Sentinel snarked. "Face it Shadowblaze...I Win...Simple as that. Also, say hi to Draco for me, because I'm coming for him next." The Sentinel and Cabrill then vanish into a puff of whitish smoke as Shadowblaze returns to reality.
"The most terrifying part of war, is the effect it has on the mind. " -Princess Celestia
Shadowblaze woke with a start, and wasted no time, he broke through the window and took wing, giving him birds-eye view of the entire forest. He spotted a familiar shape moving among the trees. Blinded by rage, he tucked his wings in and eagle-dived towards the outline. He slams into the pony at speeds that would challenge Rainbow Dash's nosedives. He straightens himself up after impact and gets ready to murder the pony he was currently on top of. Sent into an animalistic fury, he grabbed the pony's foreleg and tore it clean off, not even realizing who he was dismembering. He then sank his massive fangs into the pony's skin, drawing blood easily, he then looked straight into the pony's face, seeing nothing but a smiling Sentinel staring back at him. Little did he know, that it was just a figment of his imagination. He headbutted his quarry four times, before back-hoofing his target. That's right, engorge! Feed off your rage!!! Shadowblaze continued to beat the living sense out of the pony, and he then sank his teeth into the hip joint of the pony's right leg. Using the immense strength that he gained from the armor feeding off his anger and turning it into raw power, he tore the leg off using only his fangs. He then looked into the pony's face once more, and saw a terrified Lunar Guard. At that moment his rage ended, and he saw what he had done. Blood strewn everywhere, four holes where his fangs found their mark, a twitching and terrified Lunar Guard, and two severed limbs. Shadowblaze studied the scene. Taking in what HE had done. He then looked into the guard's face, he was staring at his brother. See? You were so enraged, you lost sight of who you were hurting. Have fun. Draco was covering his face with his remaining hoof, terrified at the, the, creature his brother had become. Shadowblaze stared for a moment, then got up and leaned up against a tree, burying his face in his hooves.
"Rage is blinding, but powerful, Happiness is clarity, but weak. " -Nightmare Moon
At the entrance to the Everfree, five mares stood, peering inside. One a earth pony, two pegasi, and two unicorns. They didn't look like much, but there was more to them then met the eye.
"Alright girls, I actually think from based on what Rainbow found, Applejack was taken by the Slendermane." Twilight chirped. "We'd best be careful. Rainbow, Fluttershy, I want you two to search from the air, Rarity and I will search on the ground, and Pinkie...well, just be careful."
"Okie dokie Loki!" Pinkie replied, taking off into the forest quickly before anypony could say anything to stop her.
"Don't worry Twilight, we'll find that creepy little bucker." Rainbow said, beaming with pride. "Come on Flutters, let's go!" With that, Rainbow took off into the sky, Fluttershy reluctantly following.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go find that barbarian!" Rarity said. She had her own opinion, he was barbaric with the shameless murder of ponies, but at least he had a good taste in fashion.
"Alright, let's go get the Sentinel." Twilight said, with that, she took off into the woods, Rarity close behind.
"Evil fears, what it cannot defeat. " -Shining Armor
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
