Game of Shadows

by Stinium_Ruide

Rating: teen
Tags: Twilight Sparkle, Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Rainbow Dash, Thriller, Original Character, Mystery, Adventure, Violence
Length: 3421

How many pawns does it take to topple Princess Twilight's Equestria?

A new reign, a new era, a new challenge.

Can Princess Twilight beat back the individuals playing in the shadows? Or will Equestria be consumed by the void?

Edited and pre-read by Seriff Pilcrow, Sunlight Rays and iAmSiNnEr. Thank you all!

Cover art's masterfully drawn by Cyonix.

Published 2021-06-01 12:40:00 UTC
Last updated 2021-06-08 14:15:48 UTC

Chapter 1: The Opening

“You are here,” a voice proclaimed, loud and coarse.

I froze, my ears perking up.

I glanced around the pitch-black room, the door creaking behind me. Gulping, I gingerly crept into the ethereal darkness from the comfort of the lit hallway, the sound of groaning floorboards accompanying my every step.

Light flashed in my eyes. Gritting my teeth, I shot a foreleg up to my face. After rubbing my eyes, I stared through the afterimages clouding my vision to familiarise myself with this strange room.

There wasn’t much to familiarise with the now-illuminated room. The room was as devoid of furniture as what the darkness prior had seemed to suggest, save for a single wooden table and chair. Although the walls were stained and the floorboards were worn, the same couldn’t be said about the two lonely pieces of furniture.

The table was elegantly crafted, finished with lacquered surfaces and a scrupulously polished marble top. A complementary chessboard stood idly on the table, its exquisite marble and basalt pieces arranged orderly for a new game. An empty chair sat next to the table, its gilded surfaces reflecting magnificently in the abundance of light.

“Sometimes you have to look back before you can move forward.”

I sighed, before turning to face a cloaked equine figure. “What’s with th-”

“Why bask in the glory of light if we do not appreciate the darkness?” The figure tilted its head slightly, its bulging hood sliding back. What was it thinking?

“My services would be useless if they were kept in the darkness,” I spat at the unknown figure. “Shed light on them, however...”

The figure chuckled, before turning to face the battered door next to it. For several long moments of contemplation, it stared at the splintering door, the rusty hinges and the tainted doorknob.

I snorted. “Please stop beating around the bush.”

The cloaked pony stepped towards me, its head turning to where each hoof landed, each step careful, deliberate and almost meticulous. “They say money can buy anything in this world,” the figure preached, reaching into the confines of its cloak to produce a massive pouch of bits. I stared at the figure with widening eyes as it continued, “I believe this is sufficient for your services.” It then tossed the pouch onto the floor, causing the many gold coins within it to spill out in a series of clanks.
My eyes glimmered.

I rushed towards the pile, grabbing a coin between my teeth. Saliva seeped out of my mouth as I tried biting into the coin with my teeth to no avail, the bitter taste of circulation also alluding to its authenticity.

“They are genuine to what you think they are.”

I dropped the coin, letting it fall to the floor with a satisfying, high-pitched clink. “Of course.”

Even if its expression was concealed by that cloak, I could still see the figure smiling silently behind its veil. “Excellent.”

I opened my mouth to respond, but the sight of the figure’s forehoof rising to the air cut me off. “Take what shimmers on the floor. Take them to bring yourself up to the task I will ask of you. Do it to the best of your ability.”

“Of course...of course.” I hastily reached out with my hooves to seize the abundance of gold coins on the floor, pushing them into the bulging pouch that once contained them. After pocketing the massive fortune into my saddlebags, I realised that the figure was no longer in front of me, its hoofsteps echoing from behind me. “So, what do you have in mind?”

“Do you believe in friendship?”

I blinked. “Well, of course. With Princess Twilight, everypony”—I shook my head—“almost everypony has benefited from her lessons of fri-”

“I see,” the figure sharply interjected, its interruption more pronounced than I had anticipated. “Come here.”

After a beat, I trotted over to the figure when he took a seat, staring into what I thought was the rough location of its eyes. “Excuse me? May I ask...who ar-”

The figure slammed its hooves onto the table. I jerked back, my eyes widening to the size of saucers. “My existence is not one for you to deliberate over. More salient is the task at hoof.”

I didn’t move. “What are your plans?”

The figure reached into its cloak and placed a rolled-up parchment on the table next to the chess board, the paper’s crisp evident from the rustle it made. The figure then looked up and stared at me through its black hood. “Take this.”

I breathed an air of relief. I inched forward and slid the scroll off the polished marble surface to collect it. Throwing it onto the floorboards, I dragged the scroll open with my hooves to decipher its contents.

“Do you play?” the figure inquired, interrupting my reading. I glanced up, finding the figure gesturing to the chessboard.

I exhaled. I turned my attention to the chessboard, admiring the brilliant craftsmareship of the pieces. “Sorry, I’ve never played it before.” I sighed, shaking my head. Without taking much notice, I returned to the instructions stipulated in the parchment, noting every single detail.

I fidgeted. “You want me to head to Ponyville?”

“In chess, every move has to be calculated. To calculate, preparation is key,” the figure continued—what a helpful answer. “Only then will victory be secure...”

“Yes, and you know that it takes at least five days to get to Ponyville from here, right?” My eyes narrowed. “Your calcul-”

“Normally.” The figure dragged a pawn two spaces forward on the board to command the centre of the battlefield. “But this is your first game, after all.”

“What do you mean?” How I wished that my contact would stop talking in senseless riddles...

“Let the game begin.”

With that, a flash of maroon light enveloped my senses. The now-familiar room warped into floating blurred shapes. For a second, I thought I saw the faint outlines of several rural houses.

Maroon gave way to blinding white.

Three days later…

“SURPRISE!”

The collective exclamation of five ponies shouting in unison swept Rainbow Dash’s mane backward. Her jaw hanging from her mouth, Rainbow stood on the doormat of Sugarcube Corner, the last of many multi-coloured streamers and confetti pelting the ground and her mane.

She was greeted by the smiles of all of her friends decked out with colourful paper party hats. A psychedelic bonanza of balloons, banners, and streamers covered the confectionary.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” her friends exclaimed before blowing their party horns.

Pinkie Pie zipped over to the door. “Happy birthday Dashie! I knew it was your birthday today, so I made this super awesome special surprise birthday party for you! I also invited Twilight, Starlight, Applejack, Rarity”—Pinkie Pie sucked in a water tower’s worth of air—“and Fluttershy here. I even organised this party here so that you totally definitely would not suspect a thing! This is gonna be the best birthday party EVER!” In a flurry, Pinkie pulled a peculiar periwinkle party hat from her puffy mane and put it onto Rainbow’s head.

Rainbow’s eyes twinkled. “Omigosh! Wow! Yo-”

“Of course, silly. I even baked a super special cake for you!” Pinkie bounced back to reveal a huge cake behind her, tipped lavishly with white frosting as another round of confetti flared out. “Now, COME ON! LET’S PARTY!”

Rainbow glided towards the towering cake that stood in the middle of the confectionery, taking a whiff of the sugary sweet aroma. “Wow…”

“Happy birthday, Rainbow!” Rarity trotted towards the mouth-watering cake. “Isn’t this marvellous, darling?”

“Well, yeah!” Rainbow feasted her eyes on the delicacy, her tongue dripping with saliva. “But wait, where’s Spike?”

“Oh, unfortunately Spike had to remain in Canterlot for royal duties,” Twilight called out. “Anyways, sorry that I couldn’t come to visit you all in Ponyville more often.”

Fluttershy slid herself over. “Umm...actually, didn’t you visit us last week for the Council of Friendship?”

“Yes, but that’s in Canterlot, not Ponyville.” Twilight sighed. “The last time we held the Council of Friendship in Ponyville with Starlight...it was moons ago.”

“It’s okay,” Starlight responded. “I’ve been really busy with managing the school too.”

“Yeah! Don’t worry, Twi. I’m sure you and Spike can spare some time to come visit.” Rainbow glanced back at Twilight. “Anyways, thanks for coming!”

Twilight smiled. “No problem, but why are we all standing around the cake like this instead of eating it?”

“Yeah,” Applejack marvelled at the decadent cake as Rainbow darted around the circular oak table that held the cake. “Ah mean, we can always start the party with some cake.”

Pinkie squeed. “Oooo! You can’t resist the cake, can you? I’m so glad you want to try it, because I totally spent the last seven hours planning, preparing, layering, baking and setting it!” She slid over, a lit match, somehow strung onto her mane, to light the candles dotting the surface of the cake.

“Okay everypony!” Pinkie swung her forehooves like a conductor of an orchestra. “A one and a two and a…”

“Happy birthday to you…happy birthday to you…” Rainbow’s eyes glistened as she listened to her friends singing and tapping their forehooves in rhythm. “Happy birthday to Rain-bow...happy birthday to you!”

Yet another round of confetti erupted throughout the room as Rainbow closed her eyes tightly. After a moment, she opened her eyes slowly and blew out all the candles on the cake in a single breath.

The confectionery erupted in a cacophony of hoof-stomping and cheers as Rainbow gripped the knife in front of her with her teeth. A single slice revealed the many rainbow layers of sponge cake hidden beneath the thick white frosting. “Awe-some!”

“Woohoo!” Pinkie jumped up and down. “Try it, try it!”

Rainbow beamed before taking a voracious bite of the slice, Pinkie’s eyes tracing her every move. “Mmm!” Rainbow licked off the frosting on her lips. “De-licious, Pinkie! Come everypony, let’s eat!”

As her friends eagerly came forward, Rainbow’s mouth grabbed the knife on the table to dish out a slice to each of her friends…

...before her knife clattered onto the table…

...before her eyes rolled back into her head…

...before she fell to the ground with a thud.

Author's Note

It's been a while since I've written a story. I've been focusing on reviews in the Reviewers' Mansion in the past 5 months, but I recently had an idea that I could not resist. So, here it is! Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 2: Peril

“RAINBOW!”

Twilight and her friends gasped. They rushed over to Rainbow’s side, and Fluttershy shook Rainbow’s prone body, surrounded by a puddle of sweat. “Please wake up…please wake up…”

There was no response. She then placed a single forehoof over Rainbow’s neck, shifting it about before breathing a sigh of relief. “Her heart’s still beating.”

Hoisting Rainbow onto her back, Twilight fought the urge to prance in place, her horn flaring out sputters of magic. “Quick! Pinkie, you stay here with the rest. I’ll bring Rainbow to the hospital with Fluttershy.”

“But what do we d—”

Twilight interjected. “Close Sugarcube Corner down. We don’t know if Rainbow fainted because of the food.”

Pinkie’s eyes narrowed as she stammered. “I-It’s not th—”

In a flash of violet light, Twilight, Fluttershy and Rainbow disappeared. Pinkie stared at the floating magical sparks they left behind, her mane and ears drooping.

The pungent smell of disinfectant permeated Twilight’s nose as she hurried over to the counter with Fluttershy. “Nurse!”

A white pony jumped from her seat. “Princess Twilight! What happened?”

“Rainbow fainted!” Twilight exclaimed through a chaotic cacophony of gasps. Nurse Redheart pushed a spare stretcher from the side of the corridor. With several grunts of effort, Twilight and Fluttershy rolled a supine Rainbow onto the white sheets. Redheart then hurried down the corridor with Rainbow in tow.

As Twilight and Fluttershy tailed her, Twilight felt her front hooves slipping on the floor tiles. A quick glance revealed them to be drenched with perspiration. Was that sweat hers, or Rainbow’s?

The four mares burst into the emergency room. A stethoscope-draped doctor leapt to his hooves. “Princess Twilight! What happened!?”

“Rainbow fainted at her birthday party.” Twilight’s eyes fell as the doctor levitated a nearby clipboard and quill from his desk. She watched the doctor’s eyes focus on Rainbow’s open mouth, then on the rise and fall of her chest. “She collapsed after she ate Pinkie’s cake!”

“Doctor, please…! Please tell us that Rainbow’s okay…” Fluttershy gripped the sides of the stretcher, tears trickling down the sides of her cheeks. “Please…”

With Redheart’s assistance, the doctor lifted Rainbow onto the bed. He glanced up sharply. “Does she have any allergies?”

Twilight shook her head. In a whirlwind of activity, he cuffed a blood pressure monitor onto Rainbow’s hoof and triggered the device before his head buried itself into his clipboard, scribbling hurriedly with his quill.

“Doctor…please…” Fluttershy’s longing eyes struggled to divert the doctor’s attention away from his clipboard.

“I’ll promise that I’ll do my best to help Rainbow Dash.” The doctor glanced over his clipboard at the reading on the blood pressure monitor. “Redheart, get a feel for Rainbow’s pulse.”

With sunken, reddened cheeks, Fluttershy gagged and gasped. “Don’t worry, Fluttershy.” Twilight placed a forehoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “They’ll make sure that Rainbow will be okay.”

Fluttershy sucked in a short breath of air. “But...Rainbow…”

“Rainbow will be fine.” Twilight’s eyes shifted. “I believe in her.”

“Have you performed any first aid?” the doctor asked.

Twilight frowned. “We…we just teleported her here the second she fell...”

The doctor’s quill danced on his clipboard. “Did anyone else eat the cake or have similar symptoms?”

“No...not that I know of,” Twilight responded after a moment. “I told Pinkie to close Sugarcube Corner down...just in case the cake caused this.”

“Alright, that’s good.” The doctor turned to Redheart. “Attach the pulse oximeter, then secure an IV line.” As Redheart followed the doctor’s orders in a similar whirlwind of activity, the doctor swung his stethoscope out.

Twilight stepped forward. “What do you suspect, doctor?”

For several seconds, voices stopped chattering. The doctor’s cerulean magic planted his stethoscope on several points on Rainbow’s chest. “Her breathing is normal, but her heartbeat’s irregular and elevated.”

“W-what?” Fluttershy spluttered.

The doctor jerked his head up at Redheart. “Call for Tenderheart; we need an ECG. After that, give the poison centre a ring. Tell them we have a comatose patient in a possible sympathomimetic toxidrome.” Redheart gave a single nod and dashed out of the emergency room.

“Her heartbeat is...wait, is Rainbow going to DIE!?” Fluttershy jumped up. Her hoof instinctively lifted itself off the floor and visibly trembled in the air.

Twilight held her back. “Calm down, Fluttershy...”

Tenderheart burst through the doors, a cart rattling in her hooves. The doctor jerked his head up. “Tenderheart! Roll her into position while I attach the electrodes.”

The doctor snatched a tangle of wires from Tenderheart’s cart while she rolled Rainbow onto the side. Fluttershy had since placed her front hoof back down on the floor, and it wasn’t long before Rainbow was rolled back supine. The wires dangled between Tenderheart’s cart and Rainbow’s chest like spaghetti. Fluttershy fought to calm her ragged breaths as the ECG began beeping to life. “Does that—”

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!

Fluttershy’s pupils widened. “Doctor! Doctor! Ra-rainbow...”

“That’s an A-Fib,” the doctor muttered to himself, a crack seeping through the grave undertones of his voice. “Tenderheart, verapamil, now.” He stared at the beeping monitor, his eyes tracing the spikes as Tenderheart ransacked the drawers for an ampoule. “Fluttershy, please calm down. We can treat this.”

Twilight grabbed Fluttershy and hugged her. “Fluttershy, Rainbow’s already being treated. She’ll be fine.” Fluttershy clasped onto her tightly. “She’ll be okay…”

The doors slammed open. “Doc, I’ve informed the poison centre,” Redheart uttered. “They said they’ll prepare for the patient’s arrival once we stabilize her and transfer her there.”

The doctor nodded. “Thank you. Please help me perform the neuro exam.”

The moment she cantered back to Rainbow’s bedside, Redheart swiped a penlight from Tenderheart’s cart and shined it directly into Rainbow’s right pupil, then on her left. “Doctor, her pupils are dilated, but her eyes are tracking the light.”

“Alright, continue.” With a flash of azure magic, the doctor broke the ampoule and allowed Tenderheart to draw its contents into a syringe. Tenderheart narrowed her eyes at the needle, approached the IV line, and placed a hoof on Rainbow’s carpus.

Tenderheart didn’t inject the medicine. She repositioned her hoof, and her eyes widened.

“Doc, I can’t feel the patient’s pulse!”

Twilight and Fluttershy broke away from their embrace. The doctor jerked his head up, eyes locked at the ECG. Although Twilight and Fluttershy couldn’t understand the erratic lines on its screen, they could hear its beeps get louder and faster.

The doctor jumped to his hooves. “We have a Code Blue in Bed 2!” he called out at the top of his voice. “Redheart, start CPR! Tenderheart, does that cart also have a defib?”

“Yes, Doc!”

Fluttershy cowered behind Twilight, her shaking hooves clasping onto Twilight’s wings. Cold sweat trickled down Twilight’s face as the foreboding ambience sent shivers from her face, down her spine, and into her front hooves. Despite the tingling tremors, Twilight’s mind struggled to muster whatever hope she could.

In Fluttershy and Twilight’s eyes, the medical team’s actions blurred into an incomprehensible flurry. Tenderheart swiftly capped the syringe and kept it on a side counter before pushing an oxygen mask on Rainbow’s mouth. Meanwhile, Redheart positioned her forehooves in the middle of Rainbow’s chest, panting with each heaving compression. She only stopped for a few seconds to allow Tenderheart and the doctor to hook the defibrillator’s electrodes to Rainbow’s chest and back.

The doctor hovered one hoof over a large button on the defibrillator. “Stand clear!”

While the nurses obeyed, Fluttershy remained rooted to the spot. Her inconsolable eyes were transfixed on Rainbow’s body.

“Fluttershy!” Twilight’s words snapped Fluttershy out of her trance. Her legs nearly buckled as Twilight yanked her away from the bed before placing a comforting wing over her.

The doctor’s hoof visibly tensed when it pushed the button.

There was no jolt of electricity snaking from the wires and into Rainbow's body, and no jump from Rainbow's contracting muscles. The medical team once again became an incomprehensible blur as Fluttershy stared blankly at Rainbow. Years of animal care did nothing to prepare her for this. "Did...did it work, Twilight?"

Twilight patted Fluttershy's back. "I hope it did."

Twilight's eyes returned to the medical team. Truth be told, she didn't know the real answer to Fluttershy's question.

“Close Sugarcube Corner? But why?”

Applejack sighed. “Honestly, we ain’t sure if Rainbow had fainted because of the cake. What if the other cak—”

Pinkie’s eyebrows shot up. “What do you mean by that?” She bolted over to Applejack, her eyes boring down into Applejack’s own. “I baked the cake! I planned the birthday party! Are you saying that I poisoned Rainbow Dash?!”

Gulping, Applejack backpedalled. “Well, uhh...no? But it could b—”

“NO!” Pinkie slammed her hooves onto the floor. “I did not! Why would I? Why would you ever think that? Why would you accuse me? Why would I be doing this to Rainbow Dash? Why would I—”

Starlight took in a deep breath. “Look, I think we should all—”

Applejack stuttered. “I-I’m just sayin’ that…”

“GIRLS!”

Silence. Everypony’s eyes drifted to the fourth pony in the room.

Rarity exhaled. “Please, can the both of you just calm down?” She stood between Applejack and Pinkie. “I understand that we are in a difficult situation right now, but we need to remain level-headed and follow Twilight’s instructions.”

“B-but but but!” Pinkie complained. “I didn’t poison the cake! I didn’t do anything! Why would I do anything to Rain—”

“No.” Rarity firmly shook her head. “We are not blaming you, Pinkie. Twilight just wishes to be on the safe side. If it was really the cake, there’s a chance that the other cakes could be contaminated too.”

“Alright...” Pinkie sank down to the ground.

“We trust you.” Starlight trotted toward Pinkie and patted her back with a hoof. “I don’t think that you would do such a thing.”

Applejack darted her eyes over to Pinkie momentarily. “But we ought to get to the bottom of this.”

“Don’t worry, Applejack.” Rarity gave a wry smile. “Detective Rarity is on the case.”