Author's Note

As stated in the comments I only added the sex tag for this story mainly because some of the things in this chapter and might be so in others will start to get a little kinky, but as far as big picture things go, the only things sexual about it would be a few dirty jokes here and there and suggestive actions as well.

Anyways without further delays let's get the show on the road shall we 😈

The night of the Fall Formal elsewhere

Shadow had thought he had seen a lot in his long lifespan, but a long twisting column of rainbow-colored magic that seemed to be from some other dimension was new even for him. He had been walking along to the only cafe he knew of open late at night. However, what was surprising when he walked in was the number of negative emotions flooding the place. Over the arguing around him, he heard a light, haunting song coming from the back of the cafe.

From the back, he saw three hooded girls being the source of the music. He watched as the trio lowered their hoods. One, obviously being the leader, had orange and yellow hair that seemed impossible to tame, mulberry-colored eyes, and skin the color of a slowly dying fire. The girls across from her were trying to chat with their fiery-skinned leader.

Before Shadow moved any further inside, he posed, feeling a tremor flowing throughout the earth's long-since dormant lay lines. The shockwaves resonate with Shadow, making it feel like they were a foreign Magic, something not of this dimension. Shadow turned around, heading back out the door; what he saw when he set foot outside would have filled most with a sense of wonder. For Shadow, he only sighed in annoyance.

"Dammit all, what in the unholy hell did Equestria shove through the portal this time?" He grunted as he pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation.

His ears twitched, hearing the trio from before heading his way. Thinking fast, Shadow disappeared into the darkness and reappeared in the alleyway next to the coffee shop. The trio burst out of the coffee shop and stopped to stare at a towering beam of white light encased by a spiraling Spire of rainbow-colored light.

Shadow watched as the puffy-haired leader schemed and smiled at her plan. He watched as one turned; her eyes widened as he locked eyes with Aria Blaze; her purple eyes smoldered as she stormed towards him. Shadow grinned as he retreated further into the alley, expecting the fiery-tempered temptress to follow him. Shadow reached the alleyway's dead-end and turned to face his target, only to be met with an elbow to his throat, pinning him to the wall.

"Shadow," Aria growled in his face, practically nose to nose with him. "I told you, if you showed your face around us again, I would kill you." Shadow just chuckled, forcefully removing his attacker's elbow from his throat. He twisted it into a joint lock, then kicked the side of her knee, making her start to fall to the side. Using her momentum, he pivoted behind her, twisting the captured arm, pinning behind her, putting his knee to her back, and successfully pinning her to the ground.

"And I told you," Shadow whispered, his mouth right next to Aria's ear, "try your hardest mi hermosa canción de muerte ." He moved his mouth to the tip of her ear, giving it a gentle nibble, feeling Aria shudder in ecstasy under him. Shadow moved his other hand to slowly caress her cheek lovingly, feeling Aria nuzzle him, returning the affection. Aria gave him a ghost of a smile as Shadow eased off her and released her captive arm. She turned onto her back as Shadow moved his knee to her side, looking into those ever-changing green eyes that held so many of the world's secrets. Aria cupped his cheeks, pulling him in for a patient kiss, starving for the sensation she hadn't felt in years.

"Aria, where did you go?" a voice yelled from the opening of the alleyway. Shadow's head snapped up to look for the one who had dared to interrupt his passionate reunion. Raspberry eyes met acid green as Adagio and Sanada looked for their wayward sister and band member. Adagio grunted in annoyance at the sight,
"We have work to do, Aria. Quit with the foreplay and get out from under your freak of a pet."

Shadow growled as he stood up and stormed to the overly confident siren. "I suggest you watch your tongue with me, Adagio Dazzle before I take that stupid cursed trinket of yours and shove it down your throat."

Adagio grinned at the provocation, "I'd like to see you try, Grogar spon." She said, standing on her toes as she attempted to get in his face. "What we do is our business, and what you do is your business. That is the deal we made." Her eyes widened in mock accusation, "Unless you want to go back on your word and make a liar out of yourself."

Shadow was beginning to lose his patience. He knew that Adagio was trying to provoke him to make him look like a threat to their plans, which was technically correct if not for the agreement. Not wanting to prove her point, he grabbed her shirt collar, lifting her off the ground.

"Perhaps age has dulled your sense of memory, Adagio," he said, pinning her to the adjacent wall. "allow me to refresh it. The terms were: 'We will not interfere in each other's affairs unless provoked and or if one group is trespassing in the other's territory.' You are doing both. I prefer to think of myself a patient man; however, even the great Buda loses his patience when insulted for a third time." Shadow took a deep, calming breath as he slowly released his grip from Adagio's shirt, allowing her to slide down the wall back to her feet. Adagio looked raddled as she retreated to the opening of the alleyway, looking at her sister as she stood watching the show.

"We're leaving Aria," Adagio growled, then looked back to Shadow. "if this is your turf as you say it is, then we will try to stay out of our way, but if you try to get in our way, or do anything to delay our plans then all bets are off." she leaned closer as if to try to whisper to him, "And unlike you, I don't care if I make a liar out of myself." With those words said, she stormed away from the old traveler, taking her sister. Before Aria left, she gave her lost lover a small smile.

With the two siren sisters gone, Shadow sighed as he dug around in his coat pockets. Finding what he was looking for, he pulled out a pack of cigarettes, took one out, and popped it into his mouth. With a snap of his fingers, a black flame appeared on the tip of his pointer finger. Using the fire, he lit his cigarette, taking a long drag. With a smoky sigh, he jumped onto the roof of the cafe. Taking another long pull off his cigarette, he looked across the city at the rising smoke in the distance.

"Well, looks like I'm overdue for a meeting with another old associate," he muttered as he finished his cigarette. "I hope she is ready to get an ear full."

As Shadow reached the area of the smoke, he looked at what must have been the aftermath of a battle. The building had a massive hole punched through as if punched out, and the front yard had a deep crater. Shadow looked up at the sky and saw the smoke obscuring the full moon. Looking around, he saw that nobody noticed him using this to his advantage. He jumped to the top of the horse statue as he watched the front of the building.

As Shadow watched the building, he saw two boys carting away carts of brick and a girl sloppily adding mortar to the damaged front. Shadow rolled his eyes at the sight. Good grief, do child workman's laws mean nothing to these people? He thought as he saw a tall, blue-skinned woman walk out of the building. She said a few words to the group, and the boys dumped their last load, and the girl put down her pastel. The two boys walked inside the building while the girl walked toward the south side. With the coast clear, Shadow jumped down from the top of the statue.

Shadow turned to face the smooth surface of the statue's plinth. He looked at the smooth mirror-like surface and scowled as if he was trying to remember something. Finally remembering what he needed, he drew a few runes onto the plinth. He stood back and watched as the surface rippled and warped as the image of a dark room began to appear in it. Shadow looked back at the building and sighed, seeing no one coming out. He turned back to the plinth and took a deep breath.

"CELESTIA RADIANCE, GET YOUR FAT CAKE-LOVING FLANK IN HERE NOW!!!" He boomed, not caring that he could and possibly would be heard by the people in the building. His voice raddled the statue and the crystal structures through the mirror. He waited a moment, his patience already thin from his previous encounter. On the other side of the portal, the door leading to the space beyond began to open. A long swirling horn slid through the doorway, followed by the rest of the sun princess's head. Shadow rolled his eyes at the sight, gathering his thoughts before he began his lecture.

"Oh, quit hiding behind the door like a scared little filly," He grunted, "a mare your age should be able to act more mature than that, and besides, it's not like I can do anything from over here with the portal closed, now can I?"

"I . . . I wouldn't put it past you to try Shadow." Celestia shuddered like a child preparing themselves for a scolding from their parent. She stepped through the door, still hesitant, expecting something more to happen. Shadow made a swirling gesture with his finger as if to say: 'twirl around and let me get a look at you.' Celestia sighed and did as requested.

"My, my, how you've grown," he muttered, remembering the small, young, newly minted alicorn that could barely control her wings. Shadow cleared his throat as he stood straiter. "Now that that's out of the way, I was just calling to ask . . . WHAT IN THE UNHOLY HELL DID YOU TOSS HERE THIS TIME!!!" He roared, for the second time finally getting his frustrations out.

"I didn't do anything this time, so why am I getting scolded?" She muttered under her breath.

"What was that," Shadow growled, "quit mumbling and look me in the eye when I'm talking to you, young lady."

Celestia's ears drooped down as she looked him in the eye. "I said; we didn't dump anything over there this time." She said clearly. "A powerful ancient artifact was stolen from one of my more recent students by an ex-student who I had to ban from the castle because she wanted too much power too soon."

Shadow pinched the bridge of his nose as he sighed for the fourth time in one night. "And what reason did she have for wanting such power so quickly?" he asked, already feeling more of a headache. Celesta pawed at the crystal floor, a habit she did when confronted with a topic she didn't like talking about.

"Her name was Sunset Shimmer. She was in my charge at a very young age, and she must have seen me as more than her guardian or teacher, something that I could never be: a parent." Celestia began, looking at the floor. "I taught her almost everything I know. She was a prodigy having more magic power than any other unicore I had faced in the last thousand years." She sighed, regret written on her muzzle. "Then, one day, I told her to make some friends, a feat I had never completely mastered. She failed to make friends and take my advice, but when I showed her the mirror and asked what she saw, she told me she saw herself as a princess. That caused her to redouble her studies to the point where she practically spent all her time in the library. I had to ban her from it till she made some friends, but she snuck into the forbidden section of the library and stole strictly forbidden books. I caught and banished her from the castle, but as soon as I came to her courtiers, she left, defeated my guards, and disappeared through the portal." She sighed and shook her head, "I had hoped that once the portal opened again, she would return and reconcile with me, but I can see now that might just be wishful thinking."

Shadow felt his rage boiling inside, filling in some blanks that Celestia had most likely left out. "So let me get this straight," he began angrily. Celestia sensed the sudden change in attitude and practically wilted at the sight. "A young filly who saw you as a mother wanted you to become one so bad that she wanted to become a princess just so she could be your daughter stole a powerful magic artifact, and she tried to use it here because you not only cast her out but did the same damn thing that you did with your sister and refused to notice her as a daughter in the first damn place and on top of all that you replaced her?"

Celestia whimpered on the floor. Her front legs crossed over her muzzle in a feeble attempt to shield her eyes from the onslaught of rage. "Yes, I messed up, I realize that, but please watch over her. She may not be my daughter, but I would make it so instantly if given the chance."

The fire in Shadow's eyes cooled, hearing the honesty from the sun princess. ''You still care for her, then?" Not waiting for an answer, he sighed. "Very well, I shall heed your request, but tell me: what does she look like?"

Celestia looked out from under her legs at the steady evaporation of his anger. "You mean you will do it?" She asked, hope in her voice. "Oh, thank you, Shadow. She has red and yellow striped hair, orange skin, and emerald-green eyes. I have information that she is a student at the school in front of the portal."

Shadow turned around, looking at the building behind him. "So this is a school, huh?" he muttered, "I can work with that. Very well, Celestia, I will watch over this ex-student of yours. This Sunset Shimmer."