Can't Look Pastby Shadow_ColtChaptersRegretNothing in VainYou Thought I Was Good?A New BeginningRegretAuthor's Note Only because I know someone will get mad at me I'll leave this here. I have ADHD I made an ADHD joke. Get over it. Maybe it was ADD? I don't know. The spider on the wall was more interesting than the doctor. Regret When we made it to Ponyville we met up with Flash Sentry and his group. They had a few Rowdy ponies they had detained but other than that they were alright. Ponyville looked vastly different from the last time I saw it. Bars covered the windows of every store and no door was made of wood or glass it was all metal. “We’ve run out of tests at Canterlot and since this sort of drug isn’t popular up your way we wanted your assistance.” Flash said. “Well we’re here to help.” Shard said. “Are you the captain of this group?” Flash asked. “No sir Ash here is but he is unable to speak so I help with things like this.” “How does that work? How does he give orders?” “Ash can talk just not in the way me and you do.” “I see.” “He is offering to show you but it’s up to you. Since not everyone is ok with it.” “I’ll hold off for now.” “What do you want us to do?” “Test the locals for the drug if they’re positive, apprehend them and give them to us.” “You know if you want the root of this you should check out the town to the west of here when I lived there drug use was a major issue.” I said. “We weren't told about this area but we’ll be sure to have it checked out unless you guys want to?” “We’ll check it out when we’re done here.” Shard said. “Thanks we’ll let Canterlot know.” they moved on. I assumed back to Canterlot to deal with the guys they had detained. We checked the local people for the drug which consisted of a simple spit sample and a two minute wait. Ash told me to go and check out the unicorn window shopping the grocery store so that’s where I headed. “Excuse me sir, as you may know there’s been an issue with abuse towards a certain illegal drug and we have been asked to test as many civilians as possible for this drug.” “You guys don’t look like you’re from Canterlot.” He said. “I am not. I have come from the Crystal Empire. We were called in to help since this area is quite big.” I replied. “Ok well what do you need from me?” “Spit, sir.” “Ok…” he hesitated a few seconds then did as needed. A quick two minute wait proved he was negative for use of the drug and was free to go. “You’re free to go we’re doing this to help remove those who have used this drug and make the area safe again.” “Thanks I guess.” He went inside the store and I headed back to Ash. “Do you just want me to go around testing?” “Everyone except the elderly. If an old pony is alive they aren’t on the drug.” “Ok.” I went around testing the civilians. Many were happy to see that something was being done about this drug epidemic, others were just having a bad day I guess. Between our group and Flash’s group we got most of Ponyville done before nightfall but they still wanted us to go and check out that small town I brought up so we headed off that way. “Are you sure this is the way Onyx?” Shard asked. “I’m sure I've made this trip many times although usually it was only three ponies not eight.” “Three?” “I had friends.” I did have friends but only one and that was Shade until he turned on me. Really this trip was made with my wife and child. “Is this a backyard?” “Yes to my old house.” “Let’s get out of here quickly then.” “Holy crap this place is really bad off.” “It wasn’t like this when you were here?”Ash asked me. “No.” “Yikes.” Ash said to me. “This place is pretty small, we should be able to knock it out before dark.” Shard said. “I’ll check out the police station.” I said while walking that way. I opened the door to the station and was pleasantly surprised to see the old Sheriff at his desk. “Sheriff?” “How are ya kid?” “Good, how about yourself?” “Well unlike this city I'm doin alright.” “Good.” “So you became a guard anyways?” “Yeah it was kind of my only option.” “How’s Canterlot treating you?” “I’m not in Canterlot, I'm in the Crystal Empire.” “Well then what the hell brings you all the way over here?” “The drug issue.” “Has it gotten that bad?” “Yeah.” “Well I tried my best in my area but you see what it looks like.” “That’s alright you tried, that's what matters.” “What do you need from me?” “Well I came in to have you take the test but I think you’re old enough not to have to.” “Well if it helps I'm old enough that my parents, my brother and all my friends have passed on.” “Well I'll be honest you look mighty well for the age I’m guessing you are.” “What are you guessing?” “Around 85.” “I’m a young 82.” “Welp you don’t need to take it. Didn’t you have a deputy? I’m sure he’s young enough.” his smile faded to a slight frown. “He was killed in a bar fight when someone on the drug stabbed him.” “Oh… sorry Sheriff.” “If only sorrow could bring them back.” “Yeah…” “Alright get back out there and do your job before you get caught lollygaggin.” “Alright nice to see you again Sheriff.” I left the station and saw the group standing around something so I made my way over there. “What’s up guys?” “You lied to us?” Shard asked. “Huh?” I replied. “This says you were involved in a robbery. At least the photo is of you. The name is different.” “So me and another pony have the same colors. Why does that make you think I lied to you?” “I’ve never seen a pony with your colors, they're too unique. Besides, what are the chances two identical ponies are in the same place at once?” “We’ll talk about this later. Ash wants us back to work.” We went on with our work then headed back to the Crystal Empire. The day after was my day off so I headed to Shining but he wasn’t around so I went to Orange Tides. “Tides I've run into a problem.” “What is it?” “My group is suspicious of me. They found an old newspaper with me on it.” “Stick to being Onyx Fang and go talk to Shard’s dad.” “Who is that?” “Shadow colt you didn’t know that already?” “You want me to talk to him?” I asked wide eyed. “I get it he’s scary but he has a similar experience he can help you out.” I reluctantly headed to the dining hall which is where I saw Shadow earlier. “Hey Shadow?” “What's up kid?” “I need help?” His demeanor changed and he told me to sit down. “What’s bothering you?” “My group is coming to find out who I really am.” “Did you talk to Orange tides?” “He sent me here.” “Hmm… I’m not sure why. I would hold to it that you’re Onyx Fang.” “I’m trying but they don’t believe me.” “My son is in your group. I'll ask him what he thinks of you. Until then don’t bring it up and if it comes up you are Onyx Fang.” “Thanks, I'll do that.” He stood up and called another guy by the name of Blue over. “Blue?” I asked. “He has an experience similar to yours.” “What do you need Shadow?” “This guy needs some help and he has an experience similar to yours.” “Alright, what’s the issue?” “My group is suspecting that I'm not who I say I am.” “You’re Onyx Fang right?” “Yeah.” “Well I was going to talk to the guys about you. Apparently you’ve been doing really well, at least that's what Ash said. You know, let's make this simple. I'll go talk to them and see what they think of you right now.” “If you’re eating, I don't want to interrupt you.” “No, I was just having a drink.” He left. “So Shadow what got you here?” He sighed then his eyes got wide. “Eclipse!” He shot up from his seat. “Shadow!” a Blue Stallion came running over. He had quite a few scars on him. I couldn't tell if it was more than Shadow had but I had a feeling it wasn’t. “Onyx meet Prince Eclipse of Equestria.” “It’s nice to meet you sir.” I said as I stood up. “It’s nice to meet you too. I don’t want to interrupt any work that may have been going on. Besides, I have work to tend to at the moment anyways I’ll be here a few days. We'll talk later.” “Sure thing but before you run off how is Trigger?” “He’s doing alright hasn’t asked about you as far as I know though. I’ll let him know you asked about him and tell him where you are.” “Thanks.” Eclipse walked off and Shadow turned back to me. “I’m sorry about that I haven't seen him in a while. I didn't know how long he would be here.” “It’s ok.” We both returned to our seats. “Would you like a drink before I answer this question? It'll be a while.” “Sure.” “What do you drink? Wait, are you off today?” “Whiskey please and yes I'm off today.” “Ok cool.” He got up and went to the bar where he stood for a rock solid ten minutes talking to the bartender. I started to wonder if he had some disorder like ADHD because this was some highway to hey look a pony crap. He came back and gave me my drink. “What do you have?” “I don't know I had Flask give me whatever he felt like.” “Ah yes the mysterious.” He took a drink. “It’s a grape Nehi. I swear this kid is five.” “You guys must be friends.” “Life long.” “Must be nice.” “Come on man, give it some time you’ll make friends here I promise.” “So what got you here.” “Here as in the crystal empire or to be a guard?” “To be a guard.” “You picked the long one. My life goes like this. Me and my father are shunned by the family after he tried to kill my crazy brother. He dies at least as far as I know he’s dead and I become a royal guard. Celestia and Luna lose their minds and the guard splits; those who think the princesses are right stay a guard; everyone that splits becomes part of a group. I became the leader through a unanimous decision and in our final battle with the royal guard we won at the expense of both my moral standards and emotional state. After that I found safety in the forest where I found Spark. I stayed there for many years until Spark got lost then I gathered courage to come back to Canterlot. I won’t deny Luna scared me then I became a guard again under Shining's teaching. Soon I was a captain with my own group and not too long later I told Luna about my brother and how he was not a good deal. The fight broke out and at that time I got my son back. It wasn’t too long after that I realized how horrible I was, see Eclipse is the son of Luna but what many don’t know is that Celestia had a son whose name was Trigger. In the final battle with the royal guard I got injured by Eclipse. I retreated from fighting him and turned to Trigger. I killed Trigger. I had at the time no remorse, no care, just anger and a will to kill. When I realized this I brought Trigger back using a piece of his armor which Celestia had. From there Celestia seemed to go crazy. She had it out to kill me so I took refuge here and without going into detail made her regret trying to kill me. I was still uneasy about going back and taking my son with me so I stayed here and I don’t regret it one bit.” “Holy shit.” “Yeah, and now you know my life story, you're one of seven.” “You’ve only told seven?” “Well you know a little less than everyone else but you have all the major things that happened to me.” I took the last sip of my drink. “So if Eclipse injured you why does it look like you injured him?” he sighed, his straight face turning to a frown. “After killing Trigger I noticed my group made it into the castle but something felt wrong. I knew I wasn't right for what I did and that my group was wrong but at the same time I knew the sisters were wrong. I ran into the castle and that’s where I saw Eclipse. He wasn’t knocked out but he was bleeding really bad. I forced my guys out of the castle and tended to Eclipse “We need to leave now!” I said to my group. “Why? We won, there's no one to oppose us.” Vane said. “This isn’t right and you know it! Vane you’re my best friend just leave! We made our point!” “Fine.” He left and the others followed after they rounded the corner and I was out of their sight I ran to Eclipse. “Where are you hurt?” I asked him. I spooked him as he had closed his eyes. “Get away from me. Please.” “They’re gone, I'm here to help you.” “You can help by leaving me alone!” “You're bleeding, you won’t make it like this. Let me help you.” he grunted and coughed. “The bags have medical supplies.” I reached for his bags and pulled out the supplies. “How did you get against the wall?” “Did you look at the wall?” I looked up and there was a hole in the wall clearly his size. “That doesn’t explain your bleeding.” I said as I rapidly unwound the cloth I was going to use to stop his bleeding. “I was doing good until one came up behind me and stabbed me.” “I have to roll you.” “Touch him and you die!” I looked to my left and saw Luna. “I’m trying to help him.” “I think you’ve helped enough.” “He’s dying Luna!” “Shadow just go she’ll take care of me.” Eclipse said. I gave the cloth to Luna. “The rest of the supplies are in the bag.” I walked out. “So that’s partially the reason he looks that way but not all of his scars were there already, like the fire or chemical burn on his face that wasn’t there.” “How are you guys friends?” “I don’t think we are, I'll be honest I think it's just us being cordial.” “That looked more than just cordial.” “I don’t know, maybe we are. I've never thought to ask because I don't want to sound like an idiot or a jerk.” “I think he thinks of you as a friend.” “Alright I’m back.” Blue said as he jogged over. “What’s the news?” Shadow asked. “Well they think you’re a good fighter Onyx but they are certain you’re lying to them about who you are… Shadow, do you have Grape Nehi in your glass?” “How did you know?” “It’s the only purple drink Flask has.” “Look, I told him to give me whatever he wanted. What set them off that he was lying?” “A newspaper article about a bank robbery attempt.” “You didn’t tell me it was a robbery. Am I safe to assume it was gunpoint?” he asked as he swirled his drink in it’s glass “Yeah.” he downed his drink then said something about getting one with a bite before walking off to the bar. “He doesn’t like a liar just so you know.” “I didn’t tell him anything about my past life he didn’t ask so I never told him.” “I wonder what’s got him all bent out of shape then.” “My guess is that we put innocent ponies in danger with intent to kill. Which is something he told me he hates.” “Oh yeah that’s the reason. I hope you weren’t friends with him.” “Why?” “Because you ain’t no more.” Shadow came back with two glasses in hoof. “If you can look me in the eye and say that you’re changed and you regret doing that I won’t put your head through this table.” I looked him dead in the eye, unwavering. “I have no plans to do it again. I felt bad the day before it happened which is why I went to the cops and told them no one got hurt.” He stared into my eyes with a rage I had never seen before. “Alright we’re good then. Going with the fact they know it was you I would simply tell them.” “What? You just threatened to kill me and now we're good? “I didn’t threaten to kill you, I said your head would go through this table.” “Yeah that's a big difference. If I tell them I feel I won’t be looked at the same.” “You affected the way everyone saw you when you decided to rob a bank. Do you have any family?” “Not anymore.” “Who did you have?” “A wife and son.” “What happened to the kid?” Shadow asked as he harshly slid the glass across the table.” “He abandoned my wife and she didn’t go after him. She then divorced me.” “A stallion has at least one job and that is to protect his children your wife didn’t abandon him you did!” He got up, put the glass bottom up and ran it into the table, crushing it like it was paper. “I wouldn’t talk to him for like… the rest of your life.” I saw Shadow walking back over “What was your son’s name?” Shadow asked. “Iron Wing.” “Come with me.” I followed him mainly because I didn't want to die. He led me through the halls and to a large door at the top it said Princess Cadance the door was surrounded with natural looking crystals and other precious looking minerals. “Cadance do we know the whereabouts on an Iron Wing?” “We’ve been trying to catch a guy that goes by that name. He's a distributor but he’s all over the place. Last we spotted him he was in Ponyville hence the recent outbreak over there.” “Any idea where he might be now?” “The only place he hasn’t been is here.” Shadow turned to me. “Get suited. I’m going to give you a proper tour of the crystal slums.” Nothing in VainShadow was pissed at me and I began to believe him when he said that I abandoned my son. As we walked down the halls to the front gates he stopped me. “If we find your son you are arresting him. He was your responsibility and you dropped the ball now it’s time to pick it back up.” “I don’t know how to arrest anyone.” “You catch him, you cuff him, and you don’t lose him that’s how!” “I never meant to make you mad, Shadow.” “I’ll be less mad when you fix things with your son.” “Where are you guys headed off to?” A white pony asked. Shadow turned to face them and their happy curious demeanor changed to worried. “We’re going to search the slums for his son. You can come if you’d like.” “Ok give me just a second.” He ran off back down the hall. “Who is he?” I asked. “That’s Shield the son of Shining Armor.” “Wait… he’s royalty?” “Yeah why?” “I didn’t expect royalty to be a guard.” “The hell do you think Shining is then?” “Well… royalty who’s job is to protect and work with the citizens.” “Key word there is protect.” “Well they would have the job of building an army to protect the citizens.”’ “You just have an answer for damn everything don’t you?” “What’s wrong?” Shield asked. “Know it all over here.” Shadow said. “Just drop it Shadow, let's get a move on.'' We left the castle and took flight north. I began to question Shadows' definition of a slum but not too long after flying did the great big multi-story houses turn to really old sad looking huts. “These are the slums! It doesn't look like it can get worse than this but it does!” Shadow yelled to me. Even though he was yelling it was hard to hear him. “What are you guys doing about this?” I asked. “We’ve got a team trying to find the root of the problem while we go and build better living spaces and more job opportunities!” Shield yelled. Shadow started to descend so I followed when we made it to the ground. Those who were around us made room. “Stay behind me and watch your back, sometimes these guys can get rough. The place we're going is where we last got a report of him.” Shadow said. As we walked through the street there were a few who gave us dirty looks but nothing more. It wasn’t until we turned the corner to the housing that two ponies got in our way. “You shouldn’t be here.” The blue one said. “If you keep standing there you won’t be here.” Shadow replied. “Is that a threat?” the blue one asked “No…” he said with a smile crossing his face. “It’s a promise.” “You shouldn’t make promises you can’t keep.” The black one said. “I can keep that promise better than you can keep your footing… watch.” Shadow said, sending a pressure blast right to them. They lost their footing, falling over. This did not make them happy. “If I were you I'd stay down. I don't really want to make you a wall ornament.” they stayed down and we walked into the housing. “Are you guys alright? I heard the commotion out there.” The mare behind the counter asked. “Yeah we’re fine. Can you tell us where this guy has gone?” Shadow held up the Photo of Iron Wing. The mare reached below the counter and pulled out a set of keys. “Room 12 he just made it in.” “Thank you.” Shadow turned to me and gave me the keys. “This is all you, we'll wait at the next closest door in case something happens.” I walked to the door and knocked on it. No answer so I tried again and again. “When can I just kick this door in?” I asked Shadow. “I would have started with that.” He replied. I then proceeded to full force buck this door in. The sound of the door hitting the wall on the other side of the room caused what was very clearly my son to come running out of another room. “Dad?” “Call me whatever you want but you can do it in prison.” he turned around and ran straight for the window jumping through it. “He’s running.” I yelled following him. He was very observant of his surroundings as I tried to hit him with just about anything I could get my magic on and nothing hit him. “Shield!” Shadow yelled. “On it!” He replied. A light blue wall popped up directly in front of Iron Wing and he slammed into it at full speed. I made no hesitation putting him in cuffs. I may have done bad but I told him from the beginning to always obey the laws. It sounded hypocritical but I didn't want him to become like me because once you do one bad thing the law is always looking for you and you're always on the run. “I’m your son!” “You may be my son but I tried to keep you from this. I didn't want you to become like me and now you know first hand why.” “This didn’t have to happen! You didn’t have to rob the bank!” “I didn’t rob it, I stopped it before it could finish.” “You still suffered the consequences.” “We all do, if not when we're alive then when we're dead but we all will.” “You’re a hypocrite!” “Am I? I told you not to do what I did and you saw why when I ‘robbed’ the bank but I turned it around and did what I told you to do which was to obey the laws.” “You still told me to do right while you blatantly disregarded it.” “And I'm sorry for that. I’m turning things around now.” “As much as I love to see the family reunion, we need to get a move on.” Shield said. “Let's get moving then.” We made it back to the Crystal Empire and Iron Wing was taken to holding. “What happens to him now?” I asked Shield. “He’ll go before Shining Armor and Cadance for trial.” “What do you think the verdict might be?” He looked down and shook his head. “Well… we’ve never really had anything like this so…” he looked back up at me. “It’ll be anywhere from life in prison to death.” Death… it replayed in my head over and over again. Dead, gone forever, erased… at 17. Author's Note There are two endings this is the "good" one I will release the other ending either later on tonight or tomorrow. Leave a comment if you would like me to add the trial portion to this story. You Thought I Was Good?Shadow was pissed at me and I began to believe him when he said that I abandoned my son. As we walked past the many oak doors down the blue and purple colored crystalline halls to the front gates he stopped me. “If we find your son you are arresting him. He was your responsibility and you dropped the ball now it’s time to pick it back up.” “I don’t know how to arrest anyone.” “You catch him, you cuff him, and you don’t lose him that’s how!” “I never meant to make you mad, Shadow.” “I’ll be less mad when you fix things with your son.” “Where are you guys headed off to?” A white pony asked. Shadow turned to face them and their happy curious demeanor changed to worried. “We’re going to search the slums for his son. You can come if you’d like.” “Ok give me just a second.” He ran off back down the hall. “Who is he?” I asked. “That’s Shield the son of Shining Armor.” “Wait… he’s royalty?” “Yeah why?” “I didn’t expect royalty to be a guard.” “The hell do you think Shining is then?” “Well… royalty who’s job is to protect and work with the citizens.” “Key word there is protect.” “Well they would have the job of building an army to protect the citizens.”’ “You just have an answer for damn everything don’t you?” “What’s wrong?” Shield asked. “Know it all over here.” Shadow said. “Just drop it Shadow, let's get a move on.'' We left the castle and took flight north. I began to question Shadows' definition of a slum but not too long after flying did the great big multi-story houses turn to really old sad looking huts who’s roofs were either crudely patched or tarped over. The common color theme was brown and the buildings were so closely stacked together it was a single file walking space. The actual roads weren’t much better, maybe two or three pony’s side by side. They were covered in trash and come to think of it there wasn’t a tree or crystalline item in sight for what must’ve been miles. “These are the slums! It doesn't look like it can get worse than this but it does!” Shadow yelled to me. Even though he was yelling it was hard to hear him. “What are you guys doing about this?” I asked. “We’ve got a team trying to find the root of the problem while we go and build better living spaces and more job opportunities!” Shield yelled. Shadow started to descend so I followed. When we made it to the ground, I immediately stepped on what I hoped was gum. Those who were around us made room. “Stay behind me and watch your back, sometimes these guys can get rough. The place we're going is where we last got a report of him.” Shadow said. As we walked through the street there were a few who gave us dirty looks but nothing more. It wasn’t until we turned the corner to the housing that two ponies got in our way. “You shouldn’t be here.” The blue one said. “If you keep standing there you won’t be here.” Shadow replied. “Is that a threat?” the blue one asked “No…” he said with a smile crossing his face. “It’s a promise.” “You shouldn’t make promises you can’t keep.” The black one said. “I can keep that promise better than you can keep your footing… watch.” Shadow said, sending a pressure blast right to them. The dost dirt and trash swirled around the small crack asphalt road. They lost their footing, falling over. This did not make them happy. “If I were you I'd stay down. I don't really want to make you a wall ornament.” they stayed down and we walked into the housing. “Are you guys alright? I heard the commotion out there.” The mare behind the counter asked. “Yeah we’re fine. Can you tell us where this guy has gone?” Shadow held up the Photo of Iron Wing. The mare reached below the counter and pulled out a set of keys. “Room 12 he just made it in.” “Thank you.” Shadow turned to me and gave me the keys. “This is all you, we'll wait at the next closest door in case something happens.” I walked to the door and knocked on it. No answer so I tried again and again. “When can I just kick this door in?” I asked Shadow. “I would have started with that.” He replied. I then proceeded to full force buck the wooden door door in. The sound of the door hitting the maroon and tan duo-tone wall on the other side of the room caused what was very clearly my son to come running out of another room. “Dad?” “Call me whatever you want but you can do it in prison.” he turned around and ran straight for the window jumping through it. “He’s running.” I yelled following him. He was very observant of his surroundings as I tried to hit him with just about anything I could get my magic on: a planter, a garbage can, a sign, even a whole door and nothing hit him. I didn’t stop until I heard a gunshot ring out. I immediately dropped to the floor and looked around. Shadow made the shot. I looked over and my son was on the ground. I immediately got up and ran to him. “What was that for Shadow!” I yelled. “He was getting away from us and nothing you did worked. It's a leg wound and he'll be fine.” “He’s still my son!” “Since when did you care!” “When I found out he was still alive!” “He’s not dead, he's not even dying.” he said as he looked down at my son. “That doesn’t matter!” I pushed him into the wall. “Shooting a pony should always be the last resort! I was keeping up with him just because your slow ass couldn’t doesn’t mean you shoot him! You put me at risk! What would've happened if your shot was off? You could have hit me or a civilian!” “We are trained to shoot while running! I’ve never missed a running shot!” He shoved me back and I almost fell over on my son “What if you killed him?!” I said pulling my gun on him. “Clearly the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” “Hey! Put it down now!” I looked over to Shield who had his gun aimed at me. I hit the deck and shot at Shield hitting him directly in the chest before turning to Shadow and firing at him now with both of them immobile I could get back to what mattered the most. “You cheat, you liar, you're no better than Sombra! We gave you… a new life and you’ve thrown it away! Shield said as he coughed the ground in front of his blood stained muzzle becoming peppered in red, not that it looked out of place. “It was a hoax. Not only did the robbery go as planned but I just got rid of one of the major things slowing my drug trafficking. Now I’m rich and unopposed. Say hello to the rest of the guard for me… well if you get back.” I lifted my son onto my back and walked past Shadow. I couldn't tell where I hit him but I couldn't see how I missed him. As I walked past Shield I did feel a little bad. “You could’ve walked away from this kid.” “I plan to.” “You should stop planning and start doing.” I kicked his 45 away from him. It scraped across the ground with a few sparks. His breathing was raspy it wouldn’t be too long before he either couldn’t breath or he didn’t need to breath. It’s a little sad he was only 19. I was unstoppable now. If I could kill Equestria’s most renowned fighter, I could get away with anything. Author's Note This is the "bad" ending. I Added a little location and action detail to this story but didn't spend to much time on it since it was part of a story that is inherently bad. I'll rewrite this to be better reading someday but that last thing I need right now is another story to rewrite. :/ Edit: I would also like to thank Wolfwaffe for his very helpful input I will make sure to keep it in mind with the Shadow Go Cold series rewrite. A New BeginningAuthor's Note Doing something I’ve wanted to do for a while. This may not fit the bill of what I promised in the blog post but it's something I've wanted to do since around march of this year so without further ado enjoy. A New Beginning Shade walked in the doors of the old building. It was once a bustling grocery store but has since been abandoned and was falling apart. Every step was accompanied with the crunch of the fallen ceiling tiles. “I took a look around the area. The only way to the safe is through the front door.” “So guns blazing is what you’re saying?” I asked him. “Yes but not to kill anyone just to make the place spread out.” “sounds good to me.” “We’ll strike early so that hopefully not many civilians are there and the morning staff will be tired so we’ll have an advantage since we have to be up earlier.” “Alright what about the cops?” “Be gone before they get there.” “The alarm? What about getting in the safe?” “Are you ok? You’re much more concerned than usual, it's not the first time we’ve done this.” “Somethings wrong this time, I just don’t feel right. Like we shouldn’t be doing this.” “Are you planning on flaking on me?” he put a hoof on the 9MM on the table. “No. I just feel bad.” “Well, you better shake that feeling here soon.” He walked away and I followed not too long after. I couldn’t help but linger on how he was ready to shoot me. I mean we’ve been friends since birth pretty much. I had a decision to make. I could either pull through with tomorrow or sabotage it. I needed some time to think it over so I used dinner for that. My wife was the best cook I’ve ever known. She loves doing it just as much as my son loves doing nothing. When dinner was done I told my wife I was going out for a walk. “Honey it’s late, it's dangerous out there by this time.” “It’s ok, I won't be gone for long.” “Honey…” “I promise.” I walked out and headed toward the police station. I planned to tell them what was going to happen in hopes that it would be stopped before he could get away. This was a small town so the police station consisted of the sheriff, the deputy, and the trainee. “How can I help you?” “The bank is going to be robbed early tomorrow morning.” “Uh huh… and where did you hear this?” “The abandoned grocery store at the intersection of Orange and Grove.” “And why were you at the abandoned building?” “Well… I'm supposed to be robbing it tomorrow with another pony.” “Well, you’ve gotten yourself into a predicament because if this is a lie you’ll be arrested and if this is true you’ll be arrested.” “I’m surprised you haven’t arrested me now.” “Well being Sheriff I can have a say in what happens to you as long as you aren’t lying.” “Well then I guess I better get ready for tomorrow. I have to give you guys time to get there.” “The more time you make for us the better.” I left and booked it back home. When I entered the door the lights were out and my wife was in bed. As I laid down in the bed I noted how soft it was. I hoped that the ones in prison were just as soft. “I’m ready when you are.” I said to Shade. He ran in immediately firing his gun into the ceiling of the bank. “Everyone spread out! You! Open the safe!” He pointed his gun at one of the ponies behind the counter and she went to open the safe. “You stay out here and watch. Let me know if you see any cops.” He told me before running off to the safe. In only five minutes he was out with the money. “Ready?” I asked him. “You aren’t as smart as you think.” “What?” “I watched you go to the cops last night.” “You’ve got the wrong guy. I-” “It’s too late for that Comet. I thought we were in it together. I guess I was wrong.” He pointed his gun at me and that’s all I remember. “For someone who was in a coma for three and a half years you know everything up to the incident in great detail. I’ll give you time to rest coma’s aren’t great for building energy.” “Wait. What happened to him?” “He’s in jail.” “How long before i’m there?” “The Sheriff after looking over everything said that 3 years in a coma and away from your family was enough but he did say you aren’t allowed to stay in town.” “So I’m not going to jail but I have to leave town?” “Correct.” “What about my family?” “Well… your son is kind of out cast no one if forsure if he is linked to any of it but they think he’s part of the drug craze going around.” “There’s a drug craze?” “Yeah a big mess.” “What about my wife?” “Well, she filed for divorce. Last thing I heard was that she’s up in Ponyville.” “She just left? Our son and everything?” “Well your son walked out when he found out about you.” “Well I sure screwed everything up.” “Yep. get some sleep. If anyone comes, what do you want me to tell them?” “Well give me at least an hour of sleep.” “Alright.” A good few hours went by before the Sheriff came in. “Hey kid.” “Oh! I wasn’t expecting to see you.” “What did the doctor tell you so far?” “Only that I have to leave town.” “Yeah, that was the only way I could keep the town from storming this place and killing you.” “You should’ve let them to be honest. I deserve it.” “My duty is to protect and serve even if you did wrong, I have to protect you.” “So… how long do I have to get out?” “I’m giving you 1 week after Doc releases you.” “Thanks I guess.” “This might be far-fetched but are you interested in being a police officer?” “Not really. Why?” “I have a friend in the Crystal Empire although now that I think about it he’s not a cop he’s a guard.” “What’s his name?” “Orange Tides. He’s a gate guard. If you go to Canterlot look for Red Buster, he's a gate guard as well.” “Thanks.” “No problem.” “Has Shade said anything about me?” “Nothing much he did say he regretted wasting his bullets on you.” “Honestly that sounds like him.” “Speaking of bullets he shot you quite a few times.” “Yeah, I don't remember that part.” “Best you don’t you were awake when I found you but you weren’t actually there.” “Yeah.” “Alright well i’ve got work to do I’ll leave you to it.” “Thanks I guess.” 2 weeks passed and I made my way up to the Crystal Empire. I was a bit worried since I wasn’t a Crystal pony but that went away when I saw a regular orange earth pony as the gate guard. “Hello sir.” He said. “I’m looking for Orange Tides.” “That would be me although I don’t know you.” “The Sheriff in-” “Oh the Sheriff sent you my way ok.” “Is that a bad thing?” “No. Anytime someone needs help more than he can offer he sends them my way. Head on inside and ask for Shining Armor and tell them I sent you.” “Ok thanks.” I walked inside. There were more non-crystal ponies than I expected. I stopped the first pony I saw and asked for Shining Armor. “I’m him, what can I do for you?” “I was sent to Orange tides and he sent me to you.” “Ok come with me.” I had no idea what was happening but I was just going along with it. We entered a relatively large room one desk sat in the middle of the room and he went to sit behind it. “Alright, where are you coming from?” “A small town outside of Ponyville. Can I ask what is happening?” “I already received a letter about your arrival 3 years back I’m simply giving you a new identity.” “Why would I need that?” “Well you’re a rare exception you killed a few ponies but you’re bravery and willingness to put your life at risk for the greater good lightened your sentence to simply 3 years in a coma.” “Wait the coma was purposeful?” “No, he used the fact that you were in a coma as your punishment and the punishment ended when you woke up.” “Oh.” “What do you want your name to be?” “Umm… can I think about it for a little?” “Sure.” We went through the other steps of this process then he asked me once again what I wanted my name to be. “Onyx Fang.” “Hmm… I like that.” “Thanks I guess.” “So what are you planning to do now?” “I don’t know.” “Well going off of what you did, why don’t you be a police officer?” “No.” “Detective?” “Definitely not.” “Crime scene investigator?” “Absolutely not.” “Well then I can't help you. Those are the only things I can give help with.” “How hard is it to do what that guy at the gate is doing?” “Pretty hard you’d have to beat him and there’s no skill involved so it’s pretty hard to beat him.” “Oh.” “But if you’re into the idea of being a guard in general I can help with that. I didn’t offer it because I didn't think you would want to continuously be risking your life.” “I mean it’s not like it matters too much.” “I have no idea where you ponies come from.” he ripped the paper off the pad and passed it to me. “Just down the hall there is a door labeled ‘The Captains’ take this and this in there and hand it to them.” he ripped off another sheet from a different pad and passed that to me as well. I did as he said, giving the papers to the guys in the room. “Pretty qualified.” one said “Young.” another said. The third pony said nothing, just pointed to a part on the paper and showed it to them. “Clearly a risk taker.” they passed the papers back to me. “Well it’s clear we all would like you in our groups so it’s up to you to pick.” “You guys were playing a game right?” “Yep.” “Well, whoever wins I'll be with them.” “And he was a gambler.” One of them said. “So what’s your guy's name?” “I’m Blue but you can call me Blizz. Everyone else does because there are two Blues here. She is Blizzard and he is Ash, Ash is the cool one.” Ash was a light gray pony. Blizz was a pale blue pony and Blizzard was a white pony. They played their game and after 15 minutes Ash won. “Of course Ash wins.” Blizz said. Ash stuck out a hoof so I shook it. “In case your wondering Ash can’t talk.” Blizzard said. “That has to make things difficult.” I replied. “It would be but he’s able to basically talk into your head it’s weird we don’t understand how but it works.” “I’m sorry what?” “Exactly. That's what makes ash cool.” “Mmm hmm.” “There’s only one guy that doesn’t like it. So I'm sure you’ll be fine.” “How did a civilian get this far?” I turned around to be met with a large menacing jet black pony. “He’s not a civilian he’s a new guard.” “Oh, sorry, nice to meet you I’m Shadow Colt.” “Hi… I’d get going but I don't know where I'm going.” I was not at all prepared for a voice to exist in my head. I could hear it but not through my ears. “Let me guess Ash just talked to you?” Shadow asked. “Yeah, yep.” “You’ll get used to it.” “Who has an issue with it?” The three guys at the table all pointed toward Shadow. “Yeah it hurts my head, I don't know why. What’s your name kid?” “Onyx Fang.” “Nice to meet you, you can call me Shadow for short.” “You can call me Fang or Onyx for short, it doesn't bother me.” he said alright and then I went on to follow Ash’s instructions which were to take a left out of the room and go down the hall until I see a room with either an Orange or Black pony in it. Vague but did the job as I found the room. “Is this Ash’s group?” I asked the Orange pony. “Yep I’m Flicker.” “Nice to meet you, I'm Onyx Fang but you can call me Fang or Onyx for short.” “Nice to meet you.” “Who else is in this group?” “Shard should be back in a few minutes and that’s it for the moment.” “Oh ok. Does it matter where I bunk?” I asked him. “The one across from me is taken by Shard, otherwise no.” “Ok honestly I’ll take the one above you.” “You don’t wet the bed do you?” I laughed. “Nope.” “You're good then.” He laughed. While I set up my bunk which consisted of the papers Shining Armor gave me and the pillow and blanket already on the bed a new pony came in. “Who’s the new guy?” “He’s Onyx Fang.” Flicker said “You can call me Onyx or Fang for short.” I said. “Nice to meet you Onyx I’m Shard. What brought you here?” Shard asked. “Be prepared to get berated with questions, Fang.” Flicker said. “I needed a new start.” I said “If you came here for a new start you’re a different breed of stupid.” Flicker said. “Why is that?” I asked him. “Just wait, you'll see.” With that time flew during the few months until now. I began to notice what he meant but it was kind of hard to believe. Training was actually easy I guess because I had been doing similar stuff for most of my life. In the few months of training we had gained another 8 ponies and made it to be one of the most disciplined and powerful groups in the crystal guard. I had come to notice that Shard did a lot of the things Ash should have done but it’s because Ash had no voice. Shard woke us up one morning we were being sent out on our first mission as a group. We were going not too far from the place I once called home.
RegretAuthor's Note Only because I know someone will get mad at me I'll leave this here. I have ADHD I made an ADHD joke. Get over it. Maybe it was ADD? I don't know. The spider on the wall was more interesting than the doctor. Regret When we made it to Ponyville we met up with Flash Sentry and his group. They had a few Rowdy ponies they had detained but other than that they were alright. Ponyville looked vastly different from the last time I saw it. Bars covered the windows of every store and no door was made of wood or glass it was all metal. “We’ve run out of tests at Canterlot and since this sort of drug isn’t popular up your way we wanted your assistance.” Flash said. “Well we’re here to help.” Shard said. “Are you the captain of this group?” Flash asked. “No sir Ash here is but he is unable to speak so I help with things like this.” “How does that work? How does he give orders?” “Ash can talk just not in the way me and you do.” “I see.” “He is offering to show you but it’s up to you. Since not everyone is ok with it.” “I’ll hold off for now.” “What do you want us to do?” “Test the locals for the drug if they’re positive, apprehend them and give them to us.” “You know if you want the root of this you should check out the town to the west of here when I lived there drug use was a major issue.” I said. “We weren't told about this area but we’ll be sure to have it checked out unless you guys want to?” “We’ll check it out when we’re done here.” Shard said. “Thanks we’ll let Canterlot know.” they moved on. I assumed back to Canterlot to deal with the guys they had detained. We checked the local people for the drug which consisted of a simple spit sample and a two minute wait. Ash told me to go and check out the unicorn window shopping the grocery store so that’s where I headed. “Excuse me sir, as you may know there’s been an issue with abuse towards a certain illegal drug and we have been asked to test as many civilians as possible for this drug.” “You guys don’t look like you’re from Canterlot.” He said. “I am not. I have come from the Crystal Empire. We were called in to help since this area is quite big.” I replied. “Ok well what do you need from me?” “Spit, sir.” “Ok…” he hesitated a few seconds then did as needed. A quick two minute wait proved he was negative for use of the drug and was free to go. “You’re free to go we’re doing this to help remove those who have used this drug and make the area safe again.” “Thanks I guess.” He went inside the store and I headed back to Ash. “Do you just want me to go around testing?” “Everyone except the elderly. If an old pony is alive they aren’t on the drug.” “Ok.” I went around testing the civilians. Many were happy to see that something was being done about this drug epidemic, others were just having a bad day I guess. Between our group and Flash’s group we got most of Ponyville done before nightfall but they still wanted us to go and check out that small town I brought up so we headed off that way. “Are you sure this is the way Onyx?” Shard asked. “I’m sure I've made this trip many times although usually it was only three ponies not eight.” “Three?” “I had friends.” I did have friends but only one and that was Shade until he turned on me. Really this trip was made with my wife and child. “Is this a backyard?” “Yes to my old house.” “Let’s get out of here quickly then.” “Holy crap this place is really bad off.” “It wasn’t like this when you were here?”Ash asked me. “No.” “Yikes.” Ash said to me. “This place is pretty small, we should be able to knock it out before dark.” Shard said. “I’ll check out the police station.” I said while walking that way. I opened the door to the station and was pleasantly surprised to see the old Sheriff at his desk. “Sheriff?” “How are ya kid?” “Good, how about yourself?” “Well unlike this city I'm doin alright.” “Good.” “So you became a guard anyways?” “Yeah it was kind of my only option.” “How’s Canterlot treating you?” “I’m not in Canterlot, I'm in the Crystal Empire.” “Well then what the hell brings you all the way over here?” “The drug issue.” “Has it gotten that bad?” “Yeah.” “Well I tried my best in my area but you see what it looks like.” “That’s alright you tried, that's what matters.” “What do you need from me?” “Well I came in to have you take the test but I think you’re old enough not to have to.” “Well if it helps I'm old enough that my parents, my brother and all my friends have passed on.” “Well I'll be honest you look mighty well for the age I’m guessing you are.” “What are you guessing?” “Around 85.” “I’m a young 82.” “Welp you don’t need to take it. Didn’t you have a deputy? I’m sure he’s young enough.” his smile faded to a slight frown. “He was killed in a bar fight when someone on the drug stabbed him.” “Oh… sorry Sheriff.” “If only sorrow could bring them back.” “Yeah…” “Alright get back out there and do your job before you get caught lollygaggin.” “Alright nice to see you again Sheriff.” I left the station and saw the group standing around something so I made my way over there. “What’s up guys?” “You lied to us?” Shard asked. “Huh?” I replied. “This says you were involved in a robbery. At least the photo is of you. The name is different.” “So me and another pony have the same colors. Why does that make you think I lied to you?” “I’ve never seen a pony with your colors, they're too unique. Besides, what are the chances two identical ponies are in the same place at once?” “We’ll talk about this later. Ash wants us back to work.” We went on with our work then headed back to the Crystal Empire. The day after was my day off so I headed to Shining but he wasn’t around so I went to Orange Tides. “Tides I've run into a problem.” “What is it?” “My group is suspicious of me. They found an old newspaper with me on it.” “Stick to being Onyx Fang and go talk to Shard’s dad.” “Who is that?” “Shadow colt you didn’t know that already?” “You want me to talk to him?” I asked wide eyed. “I get it he’s scary but he has a similar experience he can help you out.” I reluctantly headed to the dining hall which is where I saw Shadow earlier. “Hey Shadow?” “What's up kid?” “I need help?” His demeanor changed and he told me to sit down. “What’s bothering you?” “My group is coming to find out who I really am.” “Did you talk to Orange tides?” “He sent me here.” “Hmm… I’m not sure why. I would hold to it that you’re Onyx Fang.” “I’m trying but they don’t believe me.” “My son is in your group. I'll ask him what he thinks of you. Until then don’t bring it up and if it comes up you are Onyx Fang.” “Thanks, I'll do that.” He stood up and called another guy by the name of Blue over. “Blue?” I asked. “He has an experience similar to yours.” “What do you need Shadow?” “This guy needs some help and he has an experience similar to yours.” “Alright, what’s the issue?” “My group is suspecting that I'm not who I say I am.” “You’re Onyx Fang right?” “Yeah.” “Well I was going to talk to the guys about you. Apparently you’ve been doing really well, at least that's what Ash said. You know, let's make this simple. I'll go talk to them and see what they think of you right now.” “If you’re eating, I don't want to interrupt you.” “No, I was just having a drink.” He left. “So Shadow what got you here?” He sighed then his eyes got wide. “Eclipse!” He shot up from his seat. “Shadow!” a Blue Stallion came running over. He had quite a few scars on him. I couldn't tell if it was more than Shadow had but I had a feeling it wasn’t. “Onyx meet Prince Eclipse of Equestria.” “It’s nice to meet you sir.” I said as I stood up. “It’s nice to meet you too. I don’t want to interrupt any work that may have been going on. Besides, I have work to tend to at the moment anyways I’ll be here a few days. We'll talk later.” “Sure thing but before you run off how is Trigger?” “He’s doing alright hasn’t asked about you as far as I know though. I’ll let him know you asked about him and tell him where you are.” “Thanks.” Eclipse walked off and Shadow turned back to me. “I’m sorry about that I haven't seen him in a while. I didn't know how long he would be here.” “It’s ok.” We both returned to our seats. “Would you like a drink before I answer this question? It'll be a while.” “Sure.” “What do you drink? Wait, are you off today?” “Whiskey please and yes I'm off today.” “Ok cool.” He got up and went to the bar where he stood for a rock solid ten minutes talking to the bartender. I started to wonder if he had some disorder like ADHD because this was some highway to hey look a pony crap. He came back and gave me my drink. “What do you have?” “I don't know I had Flask give me whatever he felt like.” “Ah yes the mysterious.” He took a drink. “It’s a grape Nehi. I swear this kid is five.” “You guys must be friends.” “Life long.” “Must be nice.” “Come on man, give it some time you’ll make friends here I promise.” “So what got you here.” “Here as in the crystal empire or to be a guard?” “To be a guard.” “You picked the long one. My life goes like this. Me and my father are shunned by the family after he tried to kill my crazy brother. He dies at least as far as I know he’s dead and I become a royal guard. Celestia and Luna lose their minds and the guard splits; those who think the princesses are right stay a guard; everyone that splits becomes part of a group. I became the leader through a unanimous decision and in our final battle with the royal guard we won at the expense of both my moral standards and emotional state. After that I found safety in the forest where I found Spark. I stayed there for many years until Spark got lost then I gathered courage to come back to Canterlot. I won’t deny Luna scared me then I became a guard again under Shining's teaching. Soon I was a captain with my own group and not too long later I told Luna about my brother and how he was not a good deal. The fight broke out and at that time I got my son back. It wasn’t too long after that I realized how horrible I was, see Eclipse is the son of Luna but what many don’t know is that Celestia had a son whose name was Trigger. In the final battle with the royal guard I got injured by Eclipse. I retreated from fighting him and turned to Trigger. I killed Trigger. I had at the time no remorse, no care, just anger and a will to kill. When I realized this I brought Trigger back using a piece of his armor which Celestia had. From there Celestia seemed to go crazy. She had it out to kill me so I took refuge here and without going into detail made her regret trying to kill me. I was still uneasy about going back and taking my son with me so I stayed here and I don’t regret it one bit.” “Holy shit.” “Yeah, and now you know my life story, you're one of seven.” “You’ve only told seven?” “Well you know a little less than everyone else but you have all the major things that happened to me.” I took the last sip of my drink. “So if Eclipse injured you why does it look like you injured him?” he sighed, his straight face turning to a frown. “After killing Trigger I noticed my group made it into the castle but something felt wrong. I knew I wasn't right for what I did and that my group was wrong but at the same time I knew the sisters were wrong. I ran into the castle and that’s where I saw Eclipse. He wasn’t knocked out but he was bleeding really bad. I forced my guys out of the castle and tended to Eclipse “We need to leave now!” I said to my group. “Why? We won, there's no one to oppose us.” Vane said. “This isn’t right and you know it! Vane you’re my best friend just leave! We made our point!” “Fine.” He left and the others followed after they rounded the corner and I was out of their sight I ran to Eclipse. “Where are you hurt?” I asked him. I spooked him as he had closed his eyes. “Get away from me. Please.” “They’re gone, I'm here to help you.” “You can help by leaving me alone!” “You're bleeding, you won’t make it like this. Let me help you.” he grunted and coughed. “The bags have medical supplies.” I reached for his bags and pulled out the supplies. “How did you get against the wall?” “Did you look at the wall?” I looked up and there was a hole in the wall clearly his size. “That doesn’t explain your bleeding.” I said as I rapidly unwound the cloth I was going to use to stop his bleeding. “I was doing good until one came up behind me and stabbed me.” “I have to roll you.” “Touch him and you die!” I looked to my left and saw Luna. “I’m trying to help him.” “I think you’ve helped enough.” “He’s dying Luna!” “Shadow just go she’ll take care of me.” Eclipse said. I gave the cloth to Luna. “The rest of the supplies are in the bag.” I walked out. “So that’s partially the reason he looks that way but not all of his scars were there already, like the fire or chemical burn on his face that wasn’t there.” “How are you guys friends?” “I don’t think we are, I'll be honest I think it's just us being cordial.” “That looked more than just cordial.” “I don’t know, maybe we are. I've never thought to ask because I don't want to sound like an idiot or a jerk.” “I think he thinks of you as a friend.” “Alright I’m back.” Blue said as he jogged over. “What’s the news?” Shadow asked. “Well they think you’re a good fighter Onyx but they are certain you’re lying to them about who you are… Shadow, do you have Grape Nehi in your glass?” “How did you know?” “It’s the only purple drink Flask has.” “Look, I told him to give me whatever he wanted. What set them off that he was lying?” “A newspaper article about a bank robbery attempt.” “You didn’t tell me it was a robbery. Am I safe to assume it was gunpoint?” he asked as he swirled his drink in it’s glass “Yeah.” he downed his drink then said something about getting one with a bite before walking off to the bar. “He doesn’t like a liar just so you know.” “I didn’t tell him anything about my past life he didn’t ask so I never told him.” “I wonder what’s got him all bent out of shape then.” “My guess is that we put innocent ponies in danger with intent to kill. Which is something he told me he hates.” “Oh yeah that’s the reason. I hope you weren’t friends with him.” “Why?” “Because you ain’t no more.” Shadow came back with two glasses in hoof. “If you can look me in the eye and say that you’re changed and you regret doing that I won’t put your head through this table.” I looked him dead in the eye, unwavering. “I have no plans to do it again. I felt bad the day before it happened which is why I went to the cops and told them no one got hurt.” He stared into my eyes with a rage I had never seen before. “Alright we’re good then. Going with the fact they know it was you I would simply tell them.” “What? You just threatened to kill me and now we're good? “I didn’t threaten to kill you, I said your head would go through this table.” “Yeah that's a big difference. If I tell them I feel I won’t be looked at the same.” “You affected the way everyone saw you when you decided to rob a bank. Do you have any family?” “Not anymore.” “Who did you have?” “A wife and son.” “What happened to the kid?” Shadow asked as he harshly slid the glass across the table.” “He abandoned my wife and she didn’t go after him. She then divorced me.” “A stallion has at least one job and that is to protect his children your wife didn’t abandon him you did!” He got up, put the glass bottom up and ran it into the table, crushing it like it was paper. “I wouldn’t talk to him for like… the rest of your life.” I saw Shadow walking back over “What was your son’s name?” Shadow asked. “Iron Wing.” “Come with me.” I followed him mainly because I didn't want to die. He led me through the halls and to a large door at the top it said Princess Cadance the door was surrounded with natural looking crystals and other precious looking minerals. “Cadance do we know the whereabouts on an Iron Wing?” “We’ve been trying to catch a guy that goes by that name. He's a distributor but he’s all over the place. Last we spotted him he was in Ponyville hence the recent outbreak over there.” “Any idea where he might be now?” “The only place he hasn’t been is here.” Shadow turned to me. “Get suited. I’m going to give you a proper tour of the crystal slums.”
Nothing in VainShadow was pissed at me and I began to believe him when he said that I abandoned my son. As we walked down the halls to the front gates he stopped me. “If we find your son you are arresting him. He was your responsibility and you dropped the ball now it’s time to pick it back up.” “I don’t know how to arrest anyone.” “You catch him, you cuff him, and you don’t lose him that’s how!” “I never meant to make you mad, Shadow.” “I’ll be less mad when you fix things with your son.” “Where are you guys headed off to?” A white pony asked. Shadow turned to face them and their happy curious demeanor changed to worried. “We’re going to search the slums for his son. You can come if you’d like.” “Ok give me just a second.” He ran off back down the hall. “Who is he?” I asked. “That’s Shield the son of Shining Armor.” “Wait… he’s royalty?” “Yeah why?” “I didn’t expect royalty to be a guard.” “The hell do you think Shining is then?” “Well… royalty who’s job is to protect and work with the citizens.” “Key word there is protect.” “Well they would have the job of building an army to protect the citizens.”’ “You just have an answer for damn everything don’t you?” “What’s wrong?” Shield asked. “Know it all over here.” Shadow said. “Just drop it Shadow, let's get a move on.'' We left the castle and took flight north. I began to question Shadows' definition of a slum but not too long after flying did the great big multi-story houses turn to really old sad looking huts. “These are the slums! It doesn't look like it can get worse than this but it does!” Shadow yelled to me. Even though he was yelling it was hard to hear him. “What are you guys doing about this?” I asked. “We’ve got a team trying to find the root of the problem while we go and build better living spaces and more job opportunities!” Shield yelled. Shadow started to descend so I followed when we made it to the ground. Those who were around us made room. “Stay behind me and watch your back, sometimes these guys can get rough. The place we're going is where we last got a report of him.” Shadow said. As we walked through the street there were a few who gave us dirty looks but nothing more. It wasn’t until we turned the corner to the housing that two ponies got in our way. “You shouldn’t be here.” The blue one said. “If you keep standing there you won’t be here.” Shadow replied. “Is that a threat?” the blue one asked “No…” he said with a smile crossing his face. “It’s a promise.” “You shouldn’t make promises you can’t keep.” The black one said. “I can keep that promise better than you can keep your footing… watch.” Shadow said, sending a pressure blast right to them. They lost their footing, falling over. This did not make them happy. “If I were you I'd stay down. I don't really want to make you a wall ornament.” they stayed down and we walked into the housing. “Are you guys alright? I heard the commotion out there.” The mare behind the counter asked. “Yeah we’re fine. Can you tell us where this guy has gone?” Shadow held up the Photo of Iron Wing. The mare reached below the counter and pulled out a set of keys. “Room 12 he just made it in.” “Thank you.” Shadow turned to me and gave me the keys. “This is all you, we'll wait at the next closest door in case something happens.” I walked to the door and knocked on it. No answer so I tried again and again. “When can I just kick this door in?” I asked Shadow. “I would have started with that.” He replied. I then proceeded to full force buck this door in. The sound of the door hitting the wall on the other side of the room caused what was very clearly my son to come running out of another room. “Dad?” “Call me whatever you want but you can do it in prison.” he turned around and ran straight for the window jumping through it. “He’s running.” I yelled following him. He was very observant of his surroundings as I tried to hit him with just about anything I could get my magic on and nothing hit him. “Shield!” Shadow yelled. “On it!” He replied. A light blue wall popped up directly in front of Iron Wing and he slammed into it at full speed. I made no hesitation putting him in cuffs. I may have done bad but I told him from the beginning to always obey the laws. It sounded hypocritical but I didn't want him to become like me because once you do one bad thing the law is always looking for you and you're always on the run. “I’m your son!” “You may be my son but I tried to keep you from this. I didn't want you to become like me and now you know first hand why.” “This didn’t have to happen! You didn’t have to rob the bank!” “I didn’t rob it, I stopped it before it could finish.” “You still suffered the consequences.” “We all do, if not when we're alive then when we're dead but we all will.” “You’re a hypocrite!” “Am I? I told you not to do what I did and you saw why when I ‘robbed’ the bank but I turned it around and did what I told you to do which was to obey the laws.” “You still told me to do right while you blatantly disregarded it.” “And I'm sorry for that. I’m turning things around now.” “As much as I love to see the family reunion, we need to get a move on.” Shield said. “Let's get moving then.” We made it back to the Crystal Empire and Iron Wing was taken to holding. “What happens to him now?” I asked Shield. “He’ll go before Shining Armor and Cadance for trial.” “What do you think the verdict might be?” He looked down and shook his head. “Well… we’ve never really had anything like this so…” he looked back up at me. “It’ll be anywhere from life in prison to death.” Death… it replayed in my head over and over again. Dead, gone forever, erased… at 17. Author's Note There are two endings this is the "good" one I will release the other ending either later on tonight or tomorrow. Leave a comment if you would like me to add the trial portion to this story.
You Thought I Was Good?Shadow was pissed at me and I began to believe him when he said that I abandoned my son. As we walked past the many oak doors down the blue and purple colored crystalline halls to the front gates he stopped me. “If we find your son you are arresting him. He was your responsibility and you dropped the ball now it’s time to pick it back up.” “I don’t know how to arrest anyone.” “You catch him, you cuff him, and you don’t lose him that’s how!” “I never meant to make you mad, Shadow.” “I’ll be less mad when you fix things with your son.” “Where are you guys headed off to?” A white pony asked. Shadow turned to face them and their happy curious demeanor changed to worried. “We’re going to search the slums for his son. You can come if you’d like.” “Ok give me just a second.” He ran off back down the hall. “Who is he?” I asked. “That’s Shield the son of Shining Armor.” “Wait… he’s royalty?” “Yeah why?” “I didn’t expect royalty to be a guard.” “The hell do you think Shining is then?” “Well… royalty who’s job is to protect and work with the citizens.” “Key word there is protect.” “Well they would have the job of building an army to protect the citizens.”’ “You just have an answer for damn everything don’t you?” “What’s wrong?” Shield asked. “Know it all over here.” Shadow said. “Just drop it Shadow, let's get a move on.'' We left the castle and took flight north. I began to question Shadows' definition of a slum but not too long after flying did the great big multi-story houses turn to really old sad looking huts who’s roofs were either crudely patched or tarped over. The common color theme was brown and the buildings were so closely stacked together it was a single file walking space. The actual roads weren’t much better, maybe two or three pony’s side by side. They were covered in trash and come to think of it there wasn’t a tree or crystalline item in sight for what must’ve been miles. “These are the slums! It doesn't look like it can get worse than this but it does!” Shadow yelled to me. Even though he was yelling it was hard to hear him. “What are you guys doing about this?” I asked. “We’ve got a team trying to find the root of the problem while we go and build better living spaces and more job opportunities!” Shield yelled. Shadow started to descend so I followed. When we made it to the ground, I immediately stepped on what I hoped was gum. Those who were around us made room. “Stay behind me and watch your back, sometimes these guys can get rough. The place we're going is where we last got a report of him.” Shadow said. As we walked through the street there were a few who gave us dirty looks but nothing more. It wasn’t until we turned the corner to the housing that two ponies got in our way. “You shouldn’t be here.” The blue one said. “If you keep standing there you won’t be here.” Shadow replied. “Is that a threat?” the blue one asked “No…” he said with a smile crossing his face. “It’s a promise.” “You shouldn’t make promises you can’t keep.” The black one said. “I can keep that promise better than you can keep your footing… watch.” Shadow said, sending a pressure blast right to them. The dost dirt and trash swirled around the small crack asphalt road. They lost their footing, falling over. This did not make them happy. “If I were you I'd stay down. I don't really want to make you a wall ornament.” they stayed down and we walked into the housing. “Are you guys alright? I heard the commotion out there.” The mare behind the counter asked. “Yeah we’re fine. Can you tell us where this guy has gone?” Shadow held up the Photo of Iron Wing. The mare reached below the counter and pulled out a set of keys. “Room 12 he just made it in.” “Thank you.” Shadow turned to me and gave me the keys. “This is all you, we'll wait at the next closest door in case something happens.” I walked to the door and knocked on it. No answer so I tried again and again. “When can I just kick this door in?” I asked Shadow. “I would have started with that.” He replied. I then proceeded to full force buck the wooden door door in. The sound of the door hitting the maroon and tan duo-tone wall on the other side of the room caused what was very clearly my son to come running out of another room. “Dad?” “Call me whatever you want but you can do it in prison.” he turned around and ran straight for the window jumping through it. “He’s running.” I yelled following him. He was very observant of his surroundings as I tried to hit him with just about anything I could get my magic on: a planter, a garbage can, a sign, even a whole door and nothing hit him. I didn’t stop until I heard a gunshot ring out. I immediately dropped to the floor and looked around. Shadow made the shot. I looked over and my son was on the ground. I immediately got up and ran to him. “What was that for Shadow!” I yelled. “He was getting away from us and nothing you did worked. It's a leg wound and he'll be fine.” “He’s still my son!” “Since when did you care!” “When I found out he was still alive!” “He’s not dead, he's not even dying.” he said as he looked down at my son. “That doesn’t matter!” I pushed him into the wall. “Shooting a pony should always be the last resort! I was keeping up with him just because your slow ass couldn’t doesn’t mean you shoot him! You put me at risk! What would've happened if your shot was off? You could have hit me or a civilian!” “We are trained to shoot while running! I’ve never missed a running shot!” He shoved me back and I almost fell over on my son “What if you killed him?!” I said pulling my gun on him. “Clearly the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” “Hey! Put it down now!” I looked over to Shield who had his gun aimed at me. I hit the deck and shot at Shield hitting him directly in the chest before turning to Shadow and firing at him now with both of them immobile I could get back to what mattered the most. “You cheat, you liar, you're no better than Sombra! We gave you… a new life and you’ve thrown it away! Shield said as he coughed the ground in front of his blood stained muzzle becoming peppered in red, not that it looked out of place. “It was a hoax. Not only did the robbery go as planned but I just got rid of one of the major things slowing my drug trafficking. Now I’m rich and unopposed. Say hello to the rest of the guard for me… well if you get back.” I lifted my son onto my back and walked past Shadow. I couldn't tell where I hit him but I couldn't see how I missed him. As I walked past Shield I did feel a little bad. “You could’ve walked away from this kid.” “I plan to.” “You should stop planning and start doing.” I kicked his 45 away from him. It scraped across the ground with a few sparks. His breathing was raspy it wouldn’t be too long before he either couldn’t breath or he didn’t need to breath. It’s a little sad he was only 19. I was unstoppable now. If I could kill Equestria’s most renowned fighter, I could get away with anything. Author's Note This is the "bad" ending. I Added a little location and action detail to this story but didn't spend to much time on it since it was part of a story that is inherently bad. I'll rewrite this to be better reading someday but that last thing I need right now is another story to rewrite. :/ Edit: I would also like to thank Wolfwaffe for his very helpful input I will make sure to keep it in mind with the Shadow Go Cold series rewrite.
A New BeginningAuthor's Note Doing something I’ve wanted to do for a while. This may not fit the bill of what I promised in the blog post but it's something I've wanted to do since around march of this year so without further ado enjoy. A New Beginning Shade walked in the doors of the old building. It was once a bustling grocery store but has since been abandoned and was falling apart. Every step was accompanied with the crunch of the fallen ceiling tiles. “I took a look around the area. The only way to the safe is through the front door.” “So guns blazing is what you’re saying?” I asked him. “Yes but not to kill anyone just to make the place spread out.” “sounds good to me.” “We’ll strike early so that hopefully not many civilians are there and the morning staff will be tired so we’ll have an advantage since we have to be up earlier.” “Alright what about the cops?” “Be gone before they get there.” “The alarm? What about getting in the safe?” “Are you ok? You’re much more concerned than usual, it's not the first time we’ve done this.” “Somethings wrong this time, I just don’t feel right. Like we shouldn’t be doing this.” “Are you planning on flaking on me?” he put a hoof on the 9MM on the table. “No. I just feel bad.” “Well, you better shake that feeling here soon.” He walked away and I followed not too long after. I couldn’t help but linger on how he was ready to shoot me. I mean we’ve been friends since birth pretty much. I had a decision to make. I could either pull through with tomorrow or sabotage it. I needed some time to think it over so I used dinner for that. My wife was the best cook I’ve ever known. She loves doing it just as much as my son loves doing nothing. When dinner was done I told my wife I was going out for a walk. “Honey it’s late, it's dangerous out there by this time.” “It’s ok, I won't be gone for long.” “Honey…” “I promise.” I walked out and headed toward the police station. I planned to tell them what was going to happen in hopes that it would be stopped before he could get away. This was a small town so the police station consisted of the sheriff, the deputy, and the trainee. “How can I help you?” “The bank is going to be robbed early tomorrow morning.” “Uh huh… and where did you hear this?” “The abandoned grocery store at the intersection of Orange and Grove.” “And why were you at the abandoned building?” “Well… I'm supposed to be robbing it tomorrow with another pony.” “Well, you’ve gotten yourself into a predicament because if this is a lie you’ll be arrested and if this is true you’ll be arrested.” “I’m surprised you haven’t arrested me now.” “Well being Sheriff I can have a say in what happens to you as long as you aren’t lying.” “Well then I guess I better get ready for tomorrow. I have to give you guys time to get there.” “The more time you make for us the better.” I left and booked it back home. When I entered the door the lights were out and my wife was in bed. As I laid down in the bed I noted how soft it was. I hoped that the ones in prison were just as soft. “I’m ready when you are.” I said to Shade. He ran in immediately firing his gun into the ceiling of the bank. “Everyone spread out! You! Open the safe!” He pointed his gun at one of the ponies behind the counter and she went to open the safe. “You stay out here and watch. Let me know if you see any cops.” He told me before running off to the safe. In only five minutes he was out with the money. “Ready?” I asked him. “You aren’t as smart as you think.” “What?” “I watched you go to the cops last night.” “You’ve got the wrong guy. I-” “It’s too late for that Comet. I thought we were in it together. I guess I was wrong.” He pointed his gun at me and that’s all I remember. “For someone who was in a coma for three and a half years you know everything up to the incident in great detail. I’ll give you time to rest coma’s aren’t great for building energy.” “Wait. What happened to him?” “He’s in jail.” “How long before i’m there?” “The Sheriff after looking over everything said that 3 years in a coma and away from your family was enough but he did say you aren’t allowed to stay in town.” “So I’m not going to jail but I have to leave town?” “Correct.” “What about my family?” “Well… your son is kind of out cast no one if forsure if he is linked to any of it but they think he’s part of the drug craze going around.” “There’s a drug craze?” “Yeah a big mess.” “What about my wife?” “Well, she filed for divorce. Last thing I heard was that she’s up in Ponyville.” “She just left? Our son and everything?” “Well your son walked out when he found out about you.” “Well I sure screwed everything up.” “Yep. get some sleep. If anyone comes, what do you want me to tell them?” “Well give me at least an hour of sleep.” “Alright.” A good few hours went by before the Sheriff came in. “Hey kid.” “Oh! I wasn’t expecting to see you.” “What did the doctor tell you so far?” “Only that I have to leave town.” “Yeah, that was the only way I could keep the town from storming this place and killing you.” “You should’ve let them to be honest. I deserve it.” “My duty is to protect and serve even if you did wrong, I have to protect you.” “So… how long do I have to get out?” “I’m giving you 1 week after Doc releases you.” “Thanks I guess.” “This might be far-fetched but are you interested in being a police officer?” “Not really. Why?” “I have a friend in the Crystal Empire although now that I think about it he’s not a cop he’s a guard.” “What’s his name?” “Orange Tides. He’s a gate guard. If you go to Canterlot look for Red Buster, he's a gate guard as well.” “Thanks.” “No problem.” “Has Shade said anything about me?” “Nothing much he did say he regretted wasting his bullets on you.” “Honestly that sounds like him.” “Speaking of bullets he shot you quite a few times.” “Yeah, I don't remember that part.” “Best you don’t you were awake when I found you but you weren’t actually there.” “Yeah.” “Alright well i’ve got work to do I’ll leave you to it.” “Thanks I guess.” 2 weeks passed and I made my way up to the Crystal Empire. I was a bit worried since I wasn’t a Crystal pony but that went away when I saw a regular orange earth pony as the gate guard. “Hello sir.” He said. “I’m looking for Orange Tides.” “That would be me although I don’t know you.” “The Sheriff in-” “Oh the Sheriff sent you my way ok.” “Is that a bad thing?” “No. Anytime someone needs help more than he can offer he sends them my way. Head on inside and ask for Shining Armor and tell them I sent you.” “Ok thanks.” I walked inside. There were more non-crystal ponies than I expected. I stopped the first pony I saw and asked for Shining Armor. “I’m him, what can I do for you?” “I was sent to Orange tides and he sent me to you.” “Ok come with me.” I had no idea what was happening but I was just going along with it. We entered a relatively large room one desk sat in the middle of the room and he went to sit behind it. “Alright, where are you coming from?” “A small town outside of Ponyville. Can I ask what is happening?” “I already received a letter about your arrival 3 years back I’m simply giving you a new identity.” “Why would I need that?” “Well you’re a rare exception you killed a few ponies but you’re bravery and willingness to put your life at risk for the greater good lightened your sentence to simply 3 years in a coma.” “Wait the coma was purposeful?” “No, he used the fact that you were in a coma as your punishment and the punishment ended when you woke up.” “Oh.” “What do you want your name to be?” “Umm… can I think about it for a little?” “Sure.” We went through the other steps of this process then he asked me once again what I wanted my name to be. “Onyx Fang.” “Hmm… I like that.” “Thanks I guess.” “So what are you planning to do now?” “I don’t know.” “Well going off of what you did, why don’t you be a police officer?” “No.” “Detective?” “Definitely not.” “Crime scene investigator?” “Absolutely not.” “Well then I can't help you. Those are the only things I can give help with.” “How hard is it to do what that guy at the gate is doing?” “Pretty hard you’d have to beat him and there’s no skill involved so it’s pretty hard to beat him.” “Oh.” “But if you’re into the idea of being a guard in general I can help with that. I didn’t offer it because I didn't think you would want to continuously be risking your life.” “I mean it’s not like it matters too much.” “I have no idea where you ponies come from.” he ripped the paper off the pad and passed it to me. “Just down the hall there is a door labeled ‘The Captains’ take this and this in there and hand it to them.” he ripped off another sheet from a different pad and passed that to me as well. I did as he said, giving the papers to the guys in the room. “Pretty qualified.” one said “Young.” another said. The third pony said nothing, just pointed to a part on the paper and showed it to them. “Clearly a risk taker.” they passed the papers back to me. “Well it’s clear we all would like you in our groups so it’s up to you to pick.” “You guys were playing a game right?” “Yep.” “Well, whoever wins I'll be with them.” “And he was a gambler.” One of them said. “So what’s your guy's name?” “I’m Blue but you can call me Blizz. Everyone else does because there are two Blues here. She is Blizzard and he is Ash, Ash is the cool one.” Ash was a light gray pony. Blizz was a pale blue pony and Blizzard was a white pony. They played their game and after 15 minutes Ash won. “Of course Ash wins.” Blizz said. Ash stuck out a hoof so I shook it. “In case your wondering Ash can’t talk.” Blizzard said. “That has to make things difficult.” I replied. “It would be but he’s able to basically talk into your head it’s weird we don’t understand how but it works.” “I’m sorry what?” “Exactly. That's what makes ash cool.” “Mmm hmm.” “There’s only one guy that doesn’t like it. So I'm sure you’ll be fine.” “How did a civilian get this far?” I turned around to be met with a large menacing jet black pony. “He’s not a civilian he’s a new guard.” “Oh, sorry, nice to meet you I’m Shadow Colt.” “Hi… I’d get going but I don't know where I'm going.” I was not at all prepared for a voice to exist in my head. I could hear it but not through my ears. “Let me guess Ash just talked to you?” Shadow asked. “Yeah, yep.” “You’ll get used to it.” “Who has an issue with it?” The three guys at the table all pointed toward Shadow. “Yeah it hurts my head, I don't know why. What’s your name kid?” “Onyx Fang.” “Nice to meet you, you can call me Shadow for short.” “You can call me Fang or Onyx for short, it doesn't bother me.” he said alright and then I went on to follow Ash’s instructions which were to take a left out of the room and go down the hall until I see a room with either an Orange or Black pony in it. Vague but did the job as I found the room. “Is this Ash’s group?” I asked the Orange pony. “Yep I’m Flicker.” “Nice to meet you, I'm Onyx Fang but you can call me Fang or Onyx for short.” “Nice to meet you.” “Who else is in this group?” “Shard should be back in a few minutes and that’s it for the moment.” “Oh ok. Does it matter where I bunk?” I asked him. “The one across from me is taken by Shard, otherwise no.” “Ok honestly I’ll take the one above you.” “You don’t wet the bed do you?” I laughed. “Nope.” “You're good then.” He laughed. While I set up my bunk which consisted of the papers Shining Armor gave me and the pillow and blanket already on the bed a new pony came in. “Who’s the new guy?” “He’s Onyx Fang.” Flicker said “You can call me Onyx or Fang for short.” I said. “Nice to meet you Onyx I’m Shard. What brought you here?” Shard asked. “Be prepared to get berated with questions, Fang.” Flicker said. “I needed a new start.” I said “If you came here for a new start you’re a different breed of stupid.” Flicker said. “Why is that?” I asked him. “Just wait, you'll see.” With that time flew during the few months until now. I began to notice what he meant but it was kind of hard to believe. Training was actually easy I guess because I had been doing similar stuff for most of my life. In the few months of training we had gained another 8 ponies and made it to be one of the most disciplined and powerful groups in the crystal guard. I had come to notice that Shard did a lot of the things Ash should have done but it’s because Ash had no voice. Shard woke us up one morning we were being sent out on our first mission as a group. We were going not too far from the place I once called home.
