Nightshade: Into the Fire

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 8

Chapter 1

A gray metal pony in all white cleared his throat as he entered the room, "Sir the Prince has done that for years now, even attending formal meetings with Celestia in lavish dresses and gowns. I would say he looks quite nice. Plus, you'd be surprised by how many potential suitors he has. Male and female."

"I'm sorry what?"

Nightshade blinked and rubbed his eyes, ⁣Had I just...

"We're discussing Ace's recent choice of attire. I see it as a sign of maturity. Could you imagine Celestia walking into an official meeting in a hoodie and jeans?"

That gained a smirk from Nightshade, but his mind was partially occupied. He was nigh passed out on the floor of Pandora all alone, he swallowed hard. Now I'm here... Discord really wasn't lying. Nightshade hid his panic and kept talking as if nothing was amiss.

"So glad of you to join me, Computer. Also, suitors? Isn't Celestia a huge deterrent? With her death glare and the 'send you to the moon' thing?"

The metal pony bowed, if anything he maintained the same mannerisms as a butler.

"Of course, but Ace won't let her do that... Probably. They'd have to be pretty dedicated, after all, Ace may be an adult in age, but they're a bit short in the mental area."

"You're right, Ace probably has good standards what with basically having the 6, specifically Rarity, giving him the ins and outs of manners and being proper."

Once Pandora finally landed, both Nightshade and Computer stepped out into the morning rays of sunlight directly in the Valentine Manor's front lawn.

"Home sweet."

The place looked new, with fresh paint, no broken windows. I guess in this reality we never had to abandon the place.

Nightshade was about to chime in until he heard a distant roaring engine, "What the hell is that?"

He looked down the dirt road as dust billowed, and the sound grew louder.

"Oh, that must be Stri-"

A zebra-patterned motorcycle darted past the two, power sliding to a halt, destroying a part of the lush front lawn. When the dust cleared, two figures sat on the motorcycle. The one on the front hopped off shaking out her blonde mane as she walked towards Nightshade, even in their new form he recognized her. For a guard her age, she had a nice figure. Her name never left his lips as she closed the distance with a chuckle.

"Nightshade," She smiled wide, "Sorry about the lawn. Thanks for the ride, though, it gets me where I need to go."

"Yeah, no problem."

Nightshade peeked over her shoulder where another pony sat with hands over their ears and twitchy wings, the gray pony seemed occupied with the surroundings as they slowly looked around. Short black chin-length hair that fell gently over one eye, looking recently cut. Their jeans and leather jacket coated in a light dusting of dirt from the abrupt stop.

"Oh yeah." Strike walked back over to the bike and assisted the raven-haired pony off the ride. She then removed the pony's hands from their ears, "Nightshade, this is Prince Ace O'Hearts."

Nightshade stared in silent awe before he reset, Ace had been nearly taller than him and had a massive pair of wings. Of course in that world, they had walked on all fours not upright on two legs, but he towered over the prince by a good foot or so. His wings seemed to retain that size somewhat, but his horn was nowhere to be found.

Nightshade awkwardly waved, "Hey."

Strike then put Ace's hands back over his ears and handed Nightshade a few documents, "Alright, Luna spoke to you earlier, but I'm here to double-check. Here's a list of his allergies, spells he isn't allowed to cast, and please tell Speed and Endie not to corrupt him too much. I mutter a curse one time in front of him, and he never forgets it. Celestia tore me a new one for that. Alright, 30 days and you can send him back to Canterlot. Official business going on, and they can't keep an eye on him all the time."

Strike threw one leg over onto the other side of the bike, giving one last wave goodbye before speeding off and leaving Nightshade and Computer with Ace.

Computer approached Ace, bending down and gently removing the hands from his ears, "Are you hungry?"

A silent nod was the only response.

"Well then, I guess Nightshade won't mind if we use the kitchen for a bit?"

Nightshade muttered a 'sure whatever' as watch Computer offer a hand and Ace took it before all three of them marched up the path to the home.

Chapter 2

When Nightshade closed the door, the home felt inviting and full of life, ⁣ So different from the cold mansion I remember.

He cut into the living room, where he found Bri loading a crossbow and packing a quiver into his gun bag. Nightshade watched silently for a moment.

"Hey, whatcha doin' there? I thought you liked modern tech?"

The blue mercenary chuckled, "Special order from Celestia herself. She wants me to bring in some girl from out near the badlands. An escapee from a mental institution. Don't know who she is, but to warrant Celestia's personal attention, she must be important in some way. Maybe you know her, 'name's Totoro, but apparently at the institution, she called herself Foreshadow."

Bri handed over an envelope marked with the Canterlot seal, in it was a picture of a girl in her what looked to be mid-twenties with dingy white hair, dark circles around her slate-grey eyes, and a straitjacket on.

Nightshade raised an eyebrow at the restraint jacket, "Is she dangerous?"

"How dangerous can a blind girl who isn't allowed outside time be?"

He had a point. The muscular merc was probably one of the strongest ponies Nightshade knew.

"Where did she escape from? Was she mid-transport and she took off?"

"No. They were in Appleloosa. Celestia wants her caught and brought to the castle as soon as possible." He stood and threw his bag over his shoulder, "See ya in a few days, Nightshade."

Bri left quickly. With a shrug, Nightshade continued into the kitchen. Ace was seated at the island table in the middle while Computer began cooking. Nightshade hadn't made his presence known yet and decided to observe Ace. In his opinion, Ace seemed rather reserved, constantly staring at the floor and partially hiding behind his massive wings.

Clearing his throat, he noticed Ace glance his way, "Explained the rules to our guest?"

"No need, he lives in the Castle." Computer interjected, "The rules there are much stricter than anything you could make up. The only thing I did have to tell him of was Spe-"

A blur zipped past Nightshade and stopped next to Computer, "Whatcha' making? Food for Endie and I? How thoughtful of you Computer! Oh, and Nightshade, I took care of the Timberwolf problem. They'll steer clear of... Of... Who's that?"

"That's-"

"Is it your long-lost son?"

Nightshade shook his head in confusion, "How could- Are you- No, it is Celestia's though. Prince Ace. He's going to stay with us for a while."

"Aww, such a cute kid." Speed came around the table and pulled up a chair next to him. "I bet it's his first time outside Canterlot. Celestia probably doesn't let you out of her sight, does she? I wonder what your special talent is."

There was a small noise that caused nightshade to move closer.

"What was that, sweetheart, I couldn't quite hear you?"

"Luck." Ace's voice was small and light, just barely above a stage whisper.

Speed's wings flapped in delight, "He's so adorable. How old are you, sweetie?"

"Well, I just turned 100 this year."

Speed froze, "Y- you- you what?"

Nightshade held in his shock and ran a hand through his mane, ⁣ ah shit, here we go again.

Nightshade stifled a smirk, "Oh I forgot to mention, unlike those who turned into Alicorns, he's a natural-born Alicorn. Horn just never grew in."

"No way. ENDIE!" Nightshade felt a chill up his spine as he felt Endie's aura enter the room, shadows pooled on a spot on the floor and Endie appeared. "This is Ace. He'll be here a while."

The deep purple pony stood rigid for a moment as Ace offered a hand to shake, instead, she just kinda stared at him before slowly taking his hand. Nightshade was beyond weirded out, everything was so normal and not at the same time.

Computer's voice cut through all the commotion, "Sorry sir, incoming communication from O'Malley. He says there's an issue that he needs your help with."

"Location?"

"Badlands sir. We'll have to jump ahead a few days."

All four of them rushed into Pandora, Ace stopping at the threshold of the ship's doorway. Nightshade turned around to see Ace step backward and circle around the outside of the ship and slowly step inside. Nightshade felt an annoyance bubble, but it faded. I should be patient with him.

"It's bigger... on the inside."

"We can talk about that later."

Nightshade circled about the console and snapped his fingers, causing the door to shut before pulling a lever.

Ace stepped out first into the Badlands heat like a rabbit peeking from a hole, repeatedly looking left and right. Nightshade rested a hand on the prince's shoulder before stepping past him into the dry desert-like heat, Speed and Endie following close behind.

As they began to march to O'Malley's location, Ace decided to speak up, "What... What was that? Teleportation?"

"In a manner of speaking," Nightshade said dismissively. The last thing he wanted to do was explain exactly how Pandora works to the equivalent of a child. "Keep an eye out for Bri and O'Malley."

"M-maybe I can help? I saw Luna do this one time to find a rookie guard that got lost in the garden."

Before Nightshade could do anything, Ace clapped his hands together and shut his eyes, Nightshade could feel the magic buildup as Ace then outstretched one arm and slowly staggered forwards. Without thinking, Nightshade grabbed Ace's shoulder in an attempt to steady him when he could hear voices. Ace suddenly gasped and dropped to hands and hooves, droplets of blood coating the sand.

"They're just northwest of... Just northwest of here." Ace tried to cover his profusely bleeding nose, but the other three had already spotted it.

"My god, are you alright?" Speed helped him back to his hooves.

"You two trail back and make sure he's alright," Nightshade took off sprinting, "I'll help Bri and O'Malley."

To Nightshade's relief, he didn't have to go far. Two ponies were crouched outside a cave that seemed to go underground. That's not right, dragons don't make dens in ground-level caves. Especially not ones that are subsurface level.

"Bri!" Nightshade began to call, but was shushed by the blue pony.

"Are you mad?" He motioned for Nightshade to get down, "You trying to wake the whole den?"

"Sorry. What's the situation?"

O'Malley handed Nightshade a snapped tracker dart, "Tagged the little runaway with one of those a few hours ago, much to Bri's disapproval."

"I do not like shooting a lady." He crossed his arms defiantly.

"She smashed it at the mouth of the cave and charged inside. We heard dragons on the inside and didn't want to risk taking them alone."

The mercenary handed Nightshade a gun.

"Alright then, lead the way boys."

Chapter 3

The three ponies snuck into the dank cave, it was surprisingly cold for a dragon's den. They approached a wide opening, and O'Malley held out an arm to stop the other two before pointing. They followed his pointing and a dragon lay in a dug out-corner, its silvery scales glistening in the dim light. Then they saw it, a small figure pressed against the cave wall, shivering in the darkness. Nightshade stood and took a step forward, his tail knocking over some stacked rocks. He cringed as they tumbled over, and the dragon roused from its sleep with a deafening roar.

"Foolish ponies... You dare wake a dragon from his slumber?!" There was something wrong with this dragon's voice that Nightshade couldn't quite put his finger on.

"Oh, calm the hell down." Nightshade walked out from their hiding place, looking the dragon in the eye, the dragon glared at him inquisitively. "In fairness, we didn't think anyone lived here. Dragons usually live in the mountains. What's your name?"

"They call me Broken."

"Why? You dashing hearts out here?"

"I break my enemies like twigs."

"Dragons never do take lighthearted names, do they? Anyway, the reason we're here is that somepony has wandered into your cave, and we've come to retrieve them."

"I haven't seen a soul, other than you lot." He huffed, raising his tail slightly, blocking Nightshade's view of the girl.

"That's bullshit and you know it. I can see her hidden behind you."

The dragon's eyes lit up like searchlights, quite literally, as the light from his eyes illuminated the cave. His body was fully visible in the light, the 'scales' were slick metal plating, and Nightshade finally realized what was wrong with the dragon's voice. It was glitching. Meaning...

The metal dragon stomped and shot a fire burst, narrowly missing Nightshade, "That was a warning. I advise you to leave. This pony has informed me of the evils you submit them to in these... torture palaces you call 'hospitals'."

O'Malley ripped a few bursts from his rifle, "She INFORMED you? She's a goddamn psycho!"

Broken lunged forwards towards Nightshade, and his twin hearts kicked into overdrive as time slowed to a crawl. How can I get out of this? Maybe I can dodge- No I don't have enough time. I could shoot his eye- But that won't stop this slash, I just gotta brace. As the claw came closer a gray blur shot into the cave bouncing off walls and floors before tackling him, the figure taking the brunt of the scratch.

"Ace?!"

They tumbled across the floor, Nightshade protecting the prince until they slid to a halt. Ace was breathing heavily, but his eyes never opened. Must have knocked him unconscious. Speed appeared at the entrance out of breath. Too much going on. The dragon swung again, this time Nightshade deflected with a burst of dark magic, and it was enough to break the metal arm. Broken reared back with a screech of anguish as he planted his head on the cave floor and attempted to bulldoze Nightshade and O'Malley. Nightshade felt the corners of his eyes stinging as he concentrated his magic and the metal beast came to an abrupt stop, Bri ran over and helped the girl to her hooves. Speed carefully picked Ace up, looking ashamed, carrying the prince bridal style.

"Now." Nightshade put a hoof on the dragon's head, "Why shouldn't I hang your mechanical head over the fucking fireplace?"

"You think I fear death?"

"Death? Oh, no-no. You'd fear death if you were a real living thing, wouldn't you? I was going to take your AI chip and have my friend dissect you like a little science project."

That must have struck a nerve because the dragon tried to squirm out of the magical grip as it began to corrode the metal skin, "L-let's not be hasty now! I can be useful!"

A large motherboard the size of a small dog was torn out of Broken and the life faded from him, "I know. You'll be very useful."

Nightshade tossed the motherboard onto the kitchen counter directly in front of Computer, "Hey, I need you to comb through this. There might be something we can use on there."

The white robot pony gently picked up the hardware and examined it, "Where exactly- "

"I tore it out of a meka-dragon out in the Badlands. So, did Celestia finally fill us in on who that girl was?"

Bri and O'Malley strode into the kitchen, looking unhappy.

Bri tossed Nightshade a royal letter, "Yes. You won't like it. Do you remember the long string of murders in Manehatten? Two parents dead and the kid missing?"

Nightshade could faintly remember hearing of the report.

"No fucking way."

"Her name is Totoro, but she would call herself 'The Foreshadow Pony'. Well, turns out her parents were shitty ponies who did not care for her properly. At least as far as she thought. Turns out she never went missing. She killed her parents in their sleep, Luna alerted nearby guards, but when they arrived she was already gone. They figured there was no way a 17-year-old blind girl could or would have any reason to kill her parents or leave home in the middle of the night. Fast-forward a few years, and they find her in Canterlot walking the streets talking to herself. The day she escaped her escort, she had repeatedly stabbed one of the guards, thank fuck that kid survived."

"If she's so dangerous, why was she so calm when Bri went and got her?"

Computer cut into the conversation, "This bit I may be able to answer. It may be that Bri reminds her of a caretaker at the facility that she favored, something about him makes her feel safe."

O'Malley burst out laughing, "The crazy bitch likes you! That's golden!"

"Fuck you! That's not funny!"

Nightshade began to walk out of the kitchen, "Let me know if you hear anything new, I'm gonna check on Ace."

Chapter 4

"Hey, Ace, are you-?"

Nightshade stopped, seeing Ace sitting in the middle of the floor with the scroll Strike had given him, Ace looked up at Nightshade before doing a double-take and smiling sheepishly. Yeah, he's alright. Why was I worried?

"Whatcha got there, Ace?" Nightshade put his hand out and Ace handed it over, "How the hell did you even get this? I had it on me..."

He checked his coat pocket and pulled out the scroll, they were identical.

"How did you do that?"

"Am I in trouble?" Ace's smile faded, Nightshade glanced at Ace, and the prince flinched.

Nightshade frowned and furrowed a brow in thought. Does... Does Celestia hit him?

"Trouble? What? No! That's amazing! You can duplicate objects with just magic, does that mean you can do everything on this list?"

Ace silently nodded.

"Why would they tell you that you can't do these spells?"

"Luna said I can't safely conduct my magic because I don't have a horn formation. My own magic can injure me."

"I think I know someone who can help. We can go see-" Nightshade checked his watch, "Wow 5:30 am? Time flies when you time travel, I guess. Well, I guess there really is no rush. So, what do you want to do today, Ace?"

"I can do whatever I want?"

"That's how we do things here, yes."

Ace sat there in thought. Nightshade frowned a bit, I think I'm starting to piece together his childhood with Celestia. I can only hope he didn't have to experience Luna's banishing.

"I would like to visit the local places in Ponyville!"

"Where exactly would you like to go?"

"I don't know, usually Mom has Luna plan my day and Strike escort me."

"Well, if I could make a suggestion, maybe you could swing by the school? I'm sure Cherilee would love to have you. I'm sure you'd fit right in."

"If you think it's a good idea."

Nightshade watched as turned his back for a moment, and that's when he saw the claw marks. The swipe from the dragon never even fully cut through Ace's leather jacket, the marks were clear as day but were only surface level. Lucky bastard. Ace smiled as he handed Nightshade a hairbrush.

"I don't usually- "

"Style your mane? I figured as much, Celestia babies you too much. That's why we're gonna go see the school."

Nightshade brushed and flipped Ace's hair back, making him appear more boyish and allowing him to see Ace's eyes. They shone back at Nightshade with a deep mesmerizing ocean blue, Oh my lord this kid...

"Now you look like a true greaser! Those girls are gonna lose their minds. Now let's go, I'll give the teacher a ring first."

Nightshade sat with Cherilee in the front of the classroom as Ace walked in, the students' jaws dropped. Nightshade knew exactly what they expected, some posh, self-important finely dressed alicorn. Ace smiled radiantly at the class.

Cherilee stood and lightly placed a hand on Ace's shoulder, "Alright colts and fillies, this is our special guest. I doubt he needs much introduction, but this is Prince Ace O'Hearts. Why don't we give him a warm welcome?"

The class responded with a hearty 'Welcome, Prince Ace'. For someone who Nightshade saw as shy and reserved, he seemed to be loving the attention.

Ace bashfully chuckled, "You don't h-have to be so formal, just Ace will do."

A hand shot up instantly, "Miss, can we have Prin- I mean, Ace help us with our classwork?"

Cherilee looked at Nightshade who couldn't wipe the grin off his face as he nodded, "Then, by all means, Sweetie Belle. But he's here for everypony okay? Feel free to ask questions."

Nightshade watched as Ace genuinely enjoyed himself, talking with the Cutie Mark Crusaders about his mark and making conversation with everyone. The students never needed any actual help, they seemed to just want his attention. Nightshade could understand that, after all Luna could be a bit much at times and Celestia made everyone nervous. Ace was mellow enough, but did things that made him seem normal.

"Miss Sparkle lives here?" Ace's wings fluttered slightly, "I wonder if she still has her head buried in a book all the time?"

Nightshade tuned out for a while and actually ended up nodding off, he was awoken by the sounds of complaints from the students.

"Does he have to go?"

"Can he come back tomorrow?"

"Ace, you can't go back to Canterlot now, right?"

Ace put his hands in his pockets, clearly not used to people enjoying his presence.

Nightshade stood up, "Alright. To answer your questions in order. Yes, yes, and no. Plus you'll see him around town from time to time, he's staying for a bit. But for now, he's gotta go, Teach you have my number for whenever they want him back for a visit. Feel free to speak to him whenever you see him. Bye everypony."

Ace gave a small wave before following Nightshade outside, he had a bit of pep in his step now.

"Is it safe to assume Celestia never put you into a school?" Nightshade said as they walked towards the town hall in the midday sunlight.

"No. The most I ever got was helping out Miss Sparkle with her studies."

"Well consider that your first day of school, usually schoolchildren do work though. But I'm just glad you enjoyed yourself."

This felt different, Celestia wants to shield him from the world? I'll show him everything it has to offer!

"Hey, isn't the Gala at the end of the month?"

"Yes, yes it is. Celestia wants me to wear another extravagant dress, it is an amazing dress, but I don't want to be the center of attention at an event held for everyone there."

"I know a gal we can get some classy clothing from, she'd love to meet you- "

A blackish-green stallion crashed into Nightshade, dropping the books.

He put his head down as he got on the ground to pick them up his short silver mane was spotless, but he dirtied up his shirt and pants as he did so, "Sthorry, I'm stho ver sthorry. Sioux wasn't- I wasn't watching my sthep."

Nightshade raised an eyebrow at the strange accent? Or was it a lisp? He couldn't tell but as he was uttering out a 'no problem' he stopped. The pony had milky green eyes. There's a changeling LIVING in Ponyville? Nightshade covered his shock with a reassuring smile. He's not doing a good job of covering up his speech or his eyes, how has he not been caught?

"Wow, those are some exotic eyes you got there. Are you from the Crystal Empire? I heard Crystal ponies look different."

"No. Sioux has an eye condition. Sioux takes medication for it. Was a nice meeting. Must go now."

Ace watched as the strange pony scurried off, "Aww, I didn't even get to really talk to him. Must have been in a rush?"

Nightshade facepalmed and sighed heavily, he was gonna have a chat with Ace when they got back home.

Chapter 5

"Nights?"

Nightshade jolted awake at the calling of his name, sitting up on the couch before glancing to his left and relaxing when he saw Speed entering the living room. Morning sunlight dancing in through a nearby window warmed his face.

"I'm up, I'm up. What is it?"

She sat down on the couch next to him, "That kid is a mystery, huh? At 100 years old, all my jokes and innuendos go way over his head."

"Well," Nightshade sat up, "Celestia controls everything around him. The guard isn't allowed to engage in casual conversation with the kid if it isn't a greeting, Celestia wants radio silence. Strike's the only exception, Celestia's known Strike for a long time. Probably the only pony she truly trusts."

"Isn't Strike nearing her 50s? You'd think the woman would've settled down by now, right?"

"Believe me, both Celestia and Luna have tried to get her to resign or even just take time off. I don't think she really knows anything else, it's kind of sad, actually."

"Endie's watching over Ace right now, he passed out a while ago. You know, I've always wanted a shot at royalty."

"Speed, I'd rather not be put to a firing squad because you want to get with a prince."

"Who says I haven't already?" She smiled wide.

Nightshade shot up to attention, glaring at the mare next to him. "Speedstar- "

"I'm kidding. I'm not that aggressive. But I did notice something strange, he was beyond normal tiredness. Like he was sapped- "

"Of his energy?" Nightshade nodded as he led her into the kitchen, "We ran into a changeling yesterday living in Ponyville. Nobody seemed to be bothered by him, so we didn't cause a scene."

In the kitchen, Computer was putting the finishing touches on a small device on the table. It was a small, circular disk-shaped object. In the center was a blue filter over a mini 3d projector.

"Ah, Nightshade." Computer put his hands together, "Just the man I wanted to see. I dug through that dragon's brain you gave me and I found this."

He pressed a button on the device and a bipedal dragon was projected, the projection was relatively small. Roughly a foot in height. Nightshade looked confused as its mouth moved, but no sound came. Whatever it was trying to say, it looked angry.

"There was an AI in there. Took a bit of work, but here he is. Designation BRK-3N or Broken. It took a bit of rewriting of his brain, but he's now basically harmless, albeit a little mouthy."

Nightshade smirked, "He can't be that bad- "

Nightshade flinched as the AI was unmuted, "- And you can shove it up there if you think I'm here to be nice and give a shit about you or what you feel, you four-eyed fuck!"

Nightshade did a double-take pushing up his glasses, Speed stood there slack-jawed as the AI continued to curse them out in his almost Scottish-sounding accent.

"Don't look so lost, I'm right here, Magellan! You too, you harlot! You're lucky that idiot took that hit for you, I'd have- "

Computer muted the AI as it made vulgar hand motions.

"Pandora will sort him out." Nightshade nodded in agreement.

"What the fuck did I do?" Speed asked, looking confused.

Around midday, Nightshade and Ace took Pandora to the Royal Lab, most ponies didn't know there was one or a scientist who ran it. Celestia liked to keep things on a 'need-to-know' basis, and most ponies didn't need to know. Fortunately for Nightshade, who knew the scientist, he knew everything.

"Nebula," Nightshade stepped out into the lab with Ace in tow, "Been a while, huh?"

"It has. I heard you got yourself a new AI." Nebula, a sky blue stallion, looked up from the contraption he was working on. To Nightshade, it looked like a pair of metal wings. "Computer told me about how you ripped- "

He froze mid-sentence as he saw Ace standing behind Nightshade. Nightshade swore the scientist began to sweat slightly.

"Good morning, Prince Ace, I didn't expect you to be accompanied by Nightshade."

Nightshade motioned for Ace to sit down in a nearby chair, "Calm down, you don't have to do that. I brought him here because he has a bit of an issue, I figured you'd be up for coming up with a solution."

"Alright," Nebula relaxed a little, "Shoot."

Chapter 6

Nebula smiled as he fitted the headpiece onto Ace, "There we go, it isn't perfect, but it should help him focus his magic more clearly."

"It looks nice on you, Ace," Nightshade couldn't lie about that one. The tiara was golden with black highlights and a blue diamond in the middle. "I didn't know you kept diamonds in the lab."

"Oh please, it's a focusing gem. It's much more valuable."

"Thanks for this, Nebula."

"It's the least I could do."

Computer peeked his head out of Pandora, "A moment, Nightshade? It's urgent."

"What's up?" He stepped inside Pandora, shutting the door.

"First thing. Pandora's ironed out Broken's faults and repaired his matrix, he's ready for real-life application. Second. A distress call- "

Nightshade raised an eyebrow, "Pandora can't receive 'calls'. Of any type. Besides, we should let the guard handle it- "

"It's from a scientist stationed in the Shadow forest. Goes by Vixen, she said you would know who she was." Nightshade motioned for him to continue. "She's currently trapped underground in a secret lab. They were working on a way to convert magic into pure energy, be it weapons or to power Equestria. It's gone horribly wrong as far as she said, ponies turned into these melting monstrosities. She was whispering into the communicator, Nightshade, it doesn't feel right to just ignore this. The simple fact that she could call Pandora should be ringing alarm bells. We're going to the reactor, or at least as close as Pandora can get to it."

"What about Ace?" Nightshade scowled at Computer, "Nebula's never been good with dealing with others, we can't just leave him with him."

"But he can't come with us Nights. It may be dangerous. Nightshade, you worry way too much about him. He'll be fine. Now. Let's go."

As Computer pointed at the console, a few switches flicked by themselves.

"Where are we going?" Ace chirped, startling both of them.

Pandora rumbled lightly and Nightshade snapped, "That's not funny, Pandora. Ah, damn. Ace listen closely. I have something serious to talk about."

Chapter 7

Nightshade sighed as Pandora landed in the forest, despite what he told himself, there was no way he could truly prepare Ace for what they might see. He just hoped it wouldn't be a bloodbath. He stepped out into the thick forest, the canopy was so thick that there was barely any light streaming through. The unicorn sparked up his purple magic and illuminated as much as he could, Ace would just have to stay close to him.

"Computer," He spoke into the communicator, "How far out are we? Why didn't Pandora just land us near or inside the facility?"

"Well sir, she got a bad feeling," Computer's hologram displayed next to Nightshade as Ace trailed behind him looking at all the foliage in silent awe, "As far as the distance from the facility, the entrance should be through this next clearing. If-"

The hologram abruptly fizzled out. Something wasn't right and Nightshade could feel it, as they slowly entered the clearing all the noise and animals just seemed to fall silent. It was so quiet that Nightshade could faintly hear Ace's almost asthmatic breathing. Before him was a large fenced-off region with a small metal building in the center.

"How could anyone miss this? A big-ass clearing in the middle of the woods... Unless- "

"Luna used to teach me an illusion and labyrinth spells to ward off ponies or to contain them until guards arrive," Nightshade raised an eyebrow and Ace smiled weakly, "It was just in case somepony 'tried something' as she said."

"Right." Nightshade continued up to the fence, teleporting them inside the fence. "It could also be a perception filter, but that makes more sense. Alright, Vixen. You piqued my interest, now you have my undivided attention."

The two entered the building and Nightshade was unimpressed, it was a plain white room. In it seemed to be only a lone front desk, papers scattered all over the floor. Nightshade turned to see Ace keep looking around and concentrating.

"What? You hear something?"

"There's a draft," His hands lit up and the focusing gem on his forehead turned white as he gently pressed his hands against the wall, "Like there's some type of doorway or something..."

Nightshade was about to move Ace back from the wall when he remembered what happened last time, he stood back and watched as the young prince slowly ran his hands across the painted wall before suddenly pushing his hand forwards.

"I hit something!"

He waved a hand over the portion of the wall, and it revealed an elevator that sat open as if awaiting their entry, it made Nightshade's neck hairs stand on end. Nightshade entered first, Ace slowly stepped in, but the moment he cleared the threshold of the doors they slammed shut.

"Thank Celestia!" A voice came from an intercom somewhere in the elevator, There was a screen just above all the elevator buttons. There was a fuzzy image of a gray pony in a lab coat, her white mane looked wild. "I've been trying to get a hold of you for the last few days now, you're late."

"Whoa okay first off," Nightshade grew irate, "I'm not your personal superhero, I take orders from no pony. Secondly, who the fuck do you think you are? You better let us outta here before I come down there an-"

"This ISN'T about you, so shut up a second!" Her shout silenced Nightshade, "I'm not Doctor Vixen, she's dead. It's Lunar Agent Rita. Might know me as Ritz or Crackerjack- look, none of that matters until you can get me outta here. This place- I was given orders to shut this place down. Erase it. That went awry when Doc V decided to unleash her new pet on her colleagues... Too bad, her pet didn't think much of her. You would not believe the amount of evil shit these guys were doing- "

"You still haven't explained why you reached out for me- "

"I'm getting there..." She turned the camera towards a glowing chamber, "I'm stuck in the reactor room. The door jammed, and I can't get it open. I was supposed to overload it, but without those eggheads tending to it... It's starting to melt down. Has been since she released that hellhound, I don't know how many of those scientists are still alive but I... I have my orders. I don't want to die down here. The only pony who knows I'm here is Luna. If I survive this shit, I'm quitting. I can't do this anymore."

The camera turned back to Rita, who lay in the fetal position on the floor underneath a control panel.

"If you're stuck there and everyone's dead, then who's controlling the lift?"

"I don't know, why?"

The elevator suddenly dropped, Nightshade left the floor and hit face-first into the ceiling. The video feed disconnected as the elevator began a free-fall.

"SHIT SHIT SHIT!"

Ace clapped his hands together and held his breath as he hit the roof and suddenly the elevator stopped, throwing them both to the floor. The focusing gem turned translucent. It let out a distorted ding as the doors struggled to open, Nightshade pried them open, tossing Ace out. He leaped and cleared the doorway just as the elevator fell again, ten seconds passed before he heard a deafening crash. If Ace hadn't stopped the lift, if he wasn't here, I would have- Nightshade shook his head as he tried not to think about what might have happened. Thank fuck for that focusing gem.

"I guess there's no turning back now..." Ace whispered.

Nightshade carefully helped Ace off the floor and looked around, a sign near the empty elevator shaft read 'Floor 7 - Offices'. Nightshade sighed, he didn't know how many floors this facility had, and worse off he had to protect Ace. Yeah, protect the kid who's saved my ass twice now. Then again it was really because of the gem...

"You okay Ace?" Ace nodded and that was good enough for Nightshade as he awkwardly grabbed his hand and the prince raised an eyebrow, "Don't make that face, I'm doing this so we stay together. Based on what Rita said and what Computer told me, it isn't safe."

They walked away from the elevator and through the lobby leading them directly into a giant office space, cubicles and all. Only portions of the room seemed to be lit up, in the areas that were illuminated Nightshade could see cubicles splattered in blood and viscera. The smell almost made him gag, Ace was covering his nose with his elbow. Oh shit. They carefully made their way into the office, Nightshade constantly scanning the tops of the sections for any movement. Why didn't I bring a gun? Note to self, always carry just in case.

Nightshade froze as he heard a noise, it was quiet at first. A series of seemingly random clicks but it sounded gargled and strained, like whatever was making it couldn't breathe properly. Then it rounded the corner of one cubicle. A bipedal figure wearing the tattered remains of a button-up shirt and faded black pants, there was no fur remaining on the exposed parts of its body only bloody bubbled up the skin. It had no eyes, just blackened cavities where they should have been. Nightshade caught the terrified look in Ace's eyes and clamped his hand over Ace's mouth but not before a small squeak escaped his lips. The pony, if one could even call it that at this point, snapped its head in their direction wheezing and groaning aggressively as it slowly lumbered towards them. Nightshade tensed as it approached, looking back at Ace holding a finger to his own lips as he uncovered Ace's mouth. Nightshade held his breath as it walked closer, the smell intensifying. It smelled of rot, death, and...

Magic burn residue?

The two stayed still and held their breath until it blindly wandered all the way down towards the lobby. Nightshade looked at Ace, the boy had tears in his eyes. Ace suddenly pressed his thumbs against Nightshade's temples and left the charcoal unicorn with a mild headache.

"Sorry, it was the only way I could cast it." Ace's voice sounded clearly in Nightshade's head despite his lips never moving. "It's a telepathy spell. I thought it might be helpful... I still haven't worked out all the kinks though-"

"I... Think... Whoa, that's freaky," He thought able to slightly hear his own voice echo in his head, "Alright, we need to get down to the reactor floor. That, without a doubt, is more than likely the bottom floor. That monster that we just saw- "

"I could sense its pain... And the smell... The horrible smell, maybe we can help-"

Nightshade saw Ace getting misty-eyed and he put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"As much as I'd like to see if there was a way to save them there isn't time. That reactor is boiling and I want to at least save one life... As I said, this place must be crawling with them. Not to mention the runaway experiment. It seems like they only respond to sound. With any luck, we can reach the reactor, without killing anypony, save our trapped agent and make sure this place and whatever evil shit went on here never sees the light of day. Then I need to have a serious talk to Celestia about what we saw here."

"Mom won't be too happy you brought me here- "

"She won't be if you don't tell her," Ace's eyes widened at the thought, "It'll be our secret, but right now we gotta move. Rita's time is running out."

Nightshade grabbed Ace's hand again as they began to creep through the desolate office dodging the occasional stumbling monstrosity, they were nearing the stairwell when Nightshade spotted a light. It flickered repeatedly until he turned to look at it. It began to flash seemingly randomly until he recognized the pattern, it was an SOS. The two darted over to the stairwell door and it swung open, they entered and the scientist behind it softly closed it.

"Finally they sent a rescue for us. I was beginning to think nobody was coming." Nightshade glared at the pony, he was one of the ones who caused this.

Nightshade found trouble moving his mouth but once he did he spoke softly, "Listen we need to get down to the reactor, do we need special clearance?"

The scientist looked taken aback, "R-reactor? Why would you need to go there? We need to get out- "

"Listen, we have an HVI we're meant to extract you can come with us down to the reactor or give us the clearance so we can leave once we have our primary target. No matter what we still have to get our HVI before me or my associate can leave."

"Fine," He took off his ID card, "This should get you down there but hurry, I don't want Cerberus to find us."

Nightshade took the card, contemplating asking the question before deciding to just descend the stairs.

"We aren't actually saving him, right? He's one of the bad guys right," Ace's voice resonated in Nightshade's head.

"No. We aren't he doesn't care about the lives lost here, Rita was trying to prevent all of this. Until we get her out of here and destroy this place... Nothing else really matters. Okay?"

They both flinched at a roar somewhere deep in the bowels of the facility, this was getting dicier and dicier as they continued. Nightshade began to hurry down the stairs, they cleared about three floors when an explosion rocked the stairwell. A fierce blaze started below with an earthshattering rumble Nightshade momentarily let go of Ace's hand to brace himself on a door before realizing his mistake. The landing for the next few floors of the stairs was missing and Ace tumbled down the stairs, falling into the smoke. Nightshade caught a glimpse of the gem turning solid gold as the prince vanished below, yet he didn't hear a sickening thud or any hint of injury.

"I'm- I'm okay! The smoke's really thick though, I don't think it'd be safe to fly through."

"Fuck." Nightshade slipped in the door he was standing next to. 'Testing Lab'. "Ace? Keep going down, stay hidden. I'll meet you down there. Just my fucking luck, huh?"

He stared into the maze of animal cages and small test containers. This was not gonna be fun. Nightshade crept through the lab, glass crunching under his hooves. He tried to cast a light spell but it fizzled out before the magic left his body. Right. Not as strong as his. Fuck. A roar sounded somewhere inside the labs, he hurried over to the nearest lab table and began rummaging through the drawers.

"Come on, come on. You idiots gotta have something," He grabbed two bottles that were half empty. A dead scientist lay on the floor and he gagged as he tore a bit of fabric off of the lab coat and wrapped it over his mouth, "You don't need it anymore. I hope this works."

He felt heavy stomps entering the lab and ducked under the desk with the concoction still clutched in his hands, he pushed up his glasses with his wrist and steadied his breath as he sensed something enter the room.

A thud.

Get closer.

Deafening boom.

Come on.

The third step vibrated the floor right next to Nightshade, he shot out from his hiding place throwing the bottle in the air using. He focused his magic and the bottle shattered in the thing's face as he put distance between them. Nightshade finally took a good look at the creature. It was a freakishly large dog, he didn't think much of it until it turned around. It had six glowing red eyes and a mouth full of bloody razor-sharp teeth. Its skin blackened to the color of obsidian, he could see tubes hanging out from various parts of the body as he thought.

Whoever this doctor was, she didn't finish her work... This was ongoing experimentation.

Nightshade's mind swam the longer he looked at it, it was just filling his mind with fear with only one word.

Run.

He flipped over a lab table and took off, knocking down the stacked up empty cages that lined the walls. He charged through a pair of plastic flap doors, a pair of metal doors shut behind as well as ahead of him locking him in the strange small hallway. Hoses pointed out from opposites walls and a mist began to spray over him gently, it smelled clean and if it was toxic, well he would've been dead already.

He almost relaxed when the door behind him caved inwards slightly, Oh fuck fuck fuck.

He ran to the door ahead of him and began to pry it open with the weak assistance of his magic. I'm not gonna die here!

Once he got it open just enough he slipped through and he caught a glimpse of the experiment bursting a claw though the other doors as it slammed back shut. With his new headstart, he darted through the seemingly neverending labyrinth of laboratory catching only remnants of what horrors took place.

He cleared a set of doors and looked around, A lobby! That must mean... He looked and there was the elevator shaft, empty. He hatched an idea as he ripped the sleeve off of his shirt. Oh, Rarity is gonna have my ass for this. He leaned out into the shaft, the metal rods were still there even though the elevator had fallen!

There was a distant roar and a massive crunch of metal, Now or never Valentine...

He wrapped the bits of the sleeve around the palms of his hands before jumping out and grabbing the elevator cord, he began his slow descent with a sigh of relief as he heard the hell hound's steps fade. What the fuck were these guys doing here?

Nightshade felt dizzy as there was a strange thrumming he could feel in the air, the air felt electric. His hooves gently made contact with the roof of the fallen elevator. How they were going to get out was another issue he would worry about, he hoped Ace didn't run into the monsters or worse the hound. He lowered himself into the partially collapsed elevator and entered the doors, 'Reactor Control' read the faded red paint on the wall.

He jogged down the hall, following the directions on the walls until he came across the reactor control room. The door was bent inward and there was rubble scattered around the door, through the glass on the door he could see Rita passed out on the floor and- Ace! Ace sat on the floor next to the agent covered from head to toe in soot and dust under the control panel. He picked up a bit of concrete that was on the floor and smashed it in the window.

"Here's Valentine," He stuck his head in an attempt to lighten the mood. He stepped in and Ace wrapped him up in a hug, "Calm down kid, it was nothin' I couldn't handle."

"She won't wake up," Ace stated quietly, "She's breathing but- I crawled through some vents to get here, there was smoke everywhere."

"She'll be alright. We just need to overload the reactor- "

There was a bang and Nightshade held his arm up defensively before he was thrown to the floor, his left arm felt completely numb. "What- What the fuck?"

Ace stared in silent horror and the gem began to light up as he reached for Nightshade, "Let me help you- "

Nightshade's mind kicked into overdrive, "N-no! Don't! I'll be fine. Shut off the coolant valves, that should give us enough time- "

The gem flashed a defiant white as Ace's wings spread wide, "Okay I think- "

Everything went white.

Nightshade jolted awake the moment his head hit Pandora's metal floor, he turned his head and thought he saw Ace with a glowing halo and a white aura trailing him before the prince collapsed onto the floor.

Nightshade fought to sit up but Computer restrained him, "Calm down Nightshade. He'll be alright, but I need to fix you up stat."

"What happened?"

"Ace... Well, I'm not even sure if it was 100% him, he carried you and Rita out of the facility. The explosion was something else, I should've taken a video. Just know it's done. We did it. Now do me a favor and sleep."

When he awoke again there was a dull pain in his arm, he glanced down at his left only to see a metal replacement. He was in Pandora's medbay, the bed was just as uncomfortable as he remembered. Computer stood by with a somber look.

"I'm sorry, there was too much damage to recover your arm... Even for me. As morbid as it sounds, I've been ready for just such an occasion. You should experience no feeling of disconnect between the limb and your body. I've taken the liberty of dropping Ace off at the manor and left Rita in Luna's care."

Nights frowned.

Nightshade stared at the arm as he flexed his new fingers, "Hopefully we can make this look like it isn't a metal arm?"

"I'm already way ahead of you. But Ace already knows, I'm afraid."

There was a long silence, judging on how Ace reacted after that explosion he could only wonder what the kid thought.

"How'd he react?"

Computer facepalmed, "Something along the lines of- 'Wow! Does he have a robot arm? He's like the part you now!'"

Nightshade laughed and laid back on the bed. Computer began to walk out, "Yep, that's Ace for ya. Oh, one last thing Computer?"

"Yes sir- " He turned and rolled his eyes as he was met with Nightshade flipping him the bird with a devilish smile, "I swear, you get a new prosthetic and that's the first thing you do? I'll apply the covering when we land."

"I love you too!" Nightshade called after him as he walked out. "Fuck... Rarity's still gonna beat my ass over that shirt, it was silk too..."

Pandora rumbled slightly.

"Okay, that one was pretty funny."

Chapter 9

"Yes, you actually have to wear it," Nightshade repeated for the third time to Ace, who lay defiantly on his bed in a t-shirt and boy shorts with his arms crossed. Nightshade thanked his lucky stars that he wore those and not- "At least them on."

Hung up in the room were two separate outfits designed by Rarity herself. A lavish black dress with gold accents and a tuxedo with similar gold trim and his cutie mark on the lapel.

"Why? I don't get to do anything for the Gala except sit next to Luna and Mom."

Ace had a fair point, that wasn't much incentive to go to the event.

Nightshade pushed up his glasses, "Well... I could talk to Luna, pull a few strings to get you out of that boring routine- "

"Could you get them to book Vinyl Scratch?" Ace asked, trying to do what Nightshade could only assume was his attempt at puppy eyes.

Nightshade chuckled, "Calm down, she might be there anyway. Performing or not. She and Octavia are probably going as a date. Or maybe that hasn't happened yet? Eh. Now come on, you have to try it on at least once."

Ace sighed and begrudgingly opened his closet.

A ginger maned pegasus smiled brightly as he followed a slate gray earth pony, "So. Octavia. Are you attending the Gala?"

"Of course. I can expect to see you there with your date, right?" Octavia's response froze him.

He stopped in the middle of the street and stared at the ground for a moment, pushing up his glasses.

"F-funnily enough, I was uh..." Octavia stopped walking and put down her case as he pulled on his collar. Her stare made him weak. "I was won-wondering, would you go to the Gala with me? As my date?"

"I can't. I already have one. You remember Vinyl?"

"I remember she pushed me into a pool after I told her I couldn't swim."

"Ginger, she said she was sorry, she had downed a whole bottle of whiskey beforehand. I'm sorry. I can meet you at the Gala, and we can talk."

Ginger forced a smile, almost gritting his teeth as he kept his voice even. "It's fine. I... I was going to go by myself anyway."

Octavia's face went from a slight smirk to guilty, but Ginger turned away from her with a wave and began to walk away from her before she could stop him or say anything more.

"I'll see you at the Gala, Octavia."

Within five minutes he walked into a flower shop, it was virtually void of flowers or premade arrangements. The Gala required more attention than personal business. The instant he entered, the bored mare behind the counter perked up. Her purple mane glistened in the morning light. Ginger leaned on the counter with a sigh, directly in front of the lavender mare.

"So, what'd she say?" the lavender mare wiped her hands on her jeans and straightened out her shirt as she leaned across the counter towards him.

He put his head down, "She's already going with someone, that girl that almost drowned me at Melody's house party."

"The rave girl?" Ginger nodded, "Huh. Woulda never thought she'd catch Octavia's fancy."

There was a beat of silence.

"Well, look on the bright side. I'll be there, and we can still have fun together, it'll be just like prom." The mare sounded hopeful.

"Yeah," Ginger looked up at her, "I guess you're right Mag. I heard they're going to have a hot air balloon you can take to get a view of the city at night."

"You could literally see that view any time, you are a pegasus."

Ginger glared at her.

"Right, sorry. Forgot."

"I always wondered what flying was like. So that's how."

The sad look in his emerald eye pained her, she opened her mouth to say something, but the words died in her throat when his glare softened.

"If you're going, I thought we could meet up and do that." He turned and made for the door. "Wear something nice Magnolia, n-not that you don't look nice n-normally! You look nice n-now even! I mean- UGH! I'll see you at the GALA!"

Ginger rushed out flustered, Magnolia stared at the door and banged her head on the counter.

"I shoulda told him. Well, there's always the balloon ride. Then we can dance." She drummed her hands excitedly.

It was a bad thing to be happy about, but she couldn't have been happier that Octavia rejected him. Now Ginger was all hers with no distractions.

Celestia stood on the balcony of her tower looking off towards Ponyville as rain fell, to say she was worried about her son being in Nightshade's care was an understatement. She was beyond worried about what his associates were teaching her son. Soft metallic footsteps approached from behind the Sun princess.

"You wanted to see me, princess?"

"Yes, come."

She dreaded this conversation, she knew the way it could possibly go. She watched her senior guard stand at attention next to her.

"At ease Strike," She decided to drop the formalities, "You've been in the guard for longer than most remember, fought in some of our most dire moments, been a symbol of hope in the solar guard. What does your family think of your line of work? Surely they worry about you?"

"I wouldn't know," She took off her helmet, allowing Celestia to see some white hairs in her mane of blonde. As long as Celestia had known her she could never pinpoint the mare's accent, she always assumed she was from Manehatten. Her cobalt fur looked dull and her muzzle and face scored with scars. "Haven't heard from my family since I left Appaloosa. I remember my mother telling me she 'Never wanted to see me again'. I wonder if the old bitch is still kickin' about... Sorry."

Celestia seemed to be searching for the right words, "Have you considered... Settling down? Perhaps starting- "

"What?"

"I just worry that you may have invested too much in... I just want you to live a full life."

"No disrespect to you Princess, but this is what I chose. This is all I want. There's nothing that makes me feel more full than making sure ponies are safe and keeping evil at bay. No stallion is gonna change that."

This made Celestia chuckle, she knew the aging mare would put up resistance.

"Well, alright. I can't force you to retire." She leaned on the railing, "But I do ask one personal thing. For one night, the Gala... Just attend as a guest, just for one night. As much as I hate to admit it, I do need you to do something. I... I have a special guest attending. Do you remember the changeling attack?"

"Don't tell me- "

"Sioux is different. When the smoke cleared, we found him cowering in the hedges. Out of all the drones, he was the only one who could read or even speak without duplicating somepony. As a matter of fact, we didn't really know he was a changeling at first if I'm being quite honest. I would have one of Luna's best agents on this, but she recently retired."

"Rita, right? Last I heard, she was in therapy."

Celestia simply nodded, "I just need you to make sure Sioux has a good night. Consider it like a... a break from regular work."

"Alright. As long as..." Celestia looked back and saw Strike squinting at something in the sky, "Wow, I've never seen a meteor shower before."

The princess looked at the sky as there were many trails lighting up the night sky. That was until one suddenly changed direction.

"What the-" Was all Strike was able to get out.

"That's not a meteor shower!"

Celestia cast a protective barrier around the castle and Strike drew her rifle. The flaming arrow-shaped projectile zoomed past the castle and darted into the fog that hung over the Everfree forest with a deafening boom. Strike looked virtually unfazed as she noticed the smoke trail it left behind slowly dissipating. The princess dropped the barrier.

"So. Do you want to call this one in, or do you want me to do it? You know how he's gonna be." Strike shouldered her rifle.

Celestia just stared at the area the object landed, "Send a squad down in the morning. They can inform him."

Chapter 10

Nightshade stared at the smoldering heap of metal as Celestia's guards kept air traffic away from the crash site. He had been holding his umbrella so that Ace stayed dry, he handed the alicorn his umbrella. Ace yawned, rubbing his eyes with the sleeve of his rubber raincoat. His boots and pants splattered with mud.

A younger stallion met Nightshade halfway to the site, he was about to speak, but Nightshade cut him off. "Was there anypony inside?"

"N-no, sir. There were some footprints and a discarded helmet but nothing else."

"Thank you. Keep the locals clear of the area, there's still a lot of smoke, and we don't want anypony getting hurt."

The guard nodded and took off. Nightshade motioned for Ace to come over, and the prince shivered as he followed Nightshade over to the crash, he felt bad for waking the boy up so early, but he needed him. Maybe Ace could shed some light on the situation they were looking at.

Nightshade grabbed the umbrella from Ace and pointed at the discarded helmet, it was coated with speckles of red. The glass was shattered and slowly filling with rainwater, "Ace, you think you can do that thing with this?"

He nodded with another small yawn, the focusing gem turned clear, and he placed a hand on Nightshade's shoulder. He felt his whole body go numb as he was frozen in place with Ace and a sharp shiver ran up his spine, he'd never get used to that. The world around them darkened as a blurry, illuminated afterimage showed up. They were see through, but visible.

The same deafening boom shattered the light patter of rain that seemed ever-present in the Everfree forest. A metal door, bent almost completely beyond recognition, skid across the ground covered in burns. From the smoldering source of the smoke arose a pony-shaped mass, it tumbled away from the wreckage and hunched over before forcefully ripping the helmet from its head, taking in a massive gasp of air. He flexed his wings a bit.

Nightshade took this moment to glance at the discarded door, he hadn't noticed it before.

"Holy... Holy shit!" his sweat-drenched mane covering half his face as he squinted at his surroundings, whipping his head around left and right trying to get a sense of where he could have ended up. "T-trees? Are they real? Maybe I landed on a farming colony or Mainland Earth pony colony?"

He coughed hard and gagged a bit.

"Alright, cowpony this isn't your first rodeo... And now I'm talking to myself, while I'm doing that might as well make a note to scuttle the ship and put some distance between it and I. Shit's beyond repair and the last thing I wanna do is get busted by the authorities, again."

He stripped down out of his flight suit and tossed it back into the ship as the fire was starting up again. All he had now been his black jumper, he quickly went through the pockets. In his breast pocket he found a strange pair of glasses, with a sigh he pocketed them. In another pocket, he found a butterfly knife-style energy cutter and a taser. The pony took off running before the wreckage exploded again.

Ace removed his hand and Nightshade looked perplexed.

"Well," Nightshade started as he hit a button on his communicator, "That answers what was inside. But not who or where they're from- "

That was when he spotted some words written on the side of the ship. It looked as if it were painted clean and clearly at one point, now scratched to hell and peeling. 'Pegasi Cluster Research.'

He held the button, "Computer, can you look for any disappearances? Namely, from the Pegasi Cluster Testing facilities?"

"Why do I have the feeling this isn't a random inquiry?"

"What do you mean, she requested me?"

Celestia marched down the hall with one of Luna's stone-faced guards.

"Ma'am, she refused to eat until she spoke to you. We thought it would be best to bring it to your attention, we could have handled it with force, but this seemed like the better choice."

It wasn't long before they were standing outside the rust-colored mare's cell. True to the guard's word, she sat with her tray of food pushed away from her. Her magic straight jacket hadn't restrained her, so the princess knew she hadn't tried to get physical. The cell didn't look so much like a cell, if you had taken away the bars it could function as a living space.

"It's come to my attention that you've decided you don't need to eat. Why is that?"

The mare's pale red eyes looked up at the princess with a smirk, "How else was I going to be able to speak to you? You wouldn't give me the time of day if I just asked nicely, I knew you'd listen to these boys."

"You have my attention."

"I don't want anything major." Her ears flicked mischievously, "I just want to attend the Gala. I've never been."

Celestia could feel it. That wasn't it.

"Something's going to happen at the Gala. You just want to be there, so you can escape."

The pony snickered, her overgrown mane brushing the floor as she sat down.

"Oh please. I have no plans on escaping. But you're right. Somethin's gonna happen, but the question is... Do you believe me?"

Ginger glanced out the window into the rainy night, he'd spent all day at home. After all, he had no need to attend the orchestra practices considering he wouldn't be playing after his recent episode last month. No matter how much he attended practice and socialized he couldn't get medical clearance, as of recent he'd only been attending solely for Octavia, but that was out the window now. She tried to call him, but he had no intention of speaking to her. Not yet. He couldn't, he might have been overreacting, but he was used to getting what he wanted. 'No' was not what he wanted to hear. He was entitled to everything he wanted, why wouldn't he?

There was a clap of thunder as the rain came down harder, Ginger forced himself out of his bed, grabbing his glasses off his nightstand. The only thing he could think about right now? That zap apple cider and strawberry ice cream in his fridge, it wasn't healthy, but he was an adult, and he'd be damned if anypony tell him what he can and can't eat. He entered his kitchen with the energy of a sloth as he flicked on the light and threw open the refrigerator, he grabbed what he came for and right as he was about to head to his room he heard three booming yet rhythmic knocks.

"Rain must be coming down something fierce-" He was interrupted by the knocking again.

"Hello? Is anyone home?"

A voice called from the direction of his front door, out of instinct he almost rushed upstairs to get dressed but stopped himself. What the hell am I doing? Somepony's stuck out in that storm and here I am worried about someone seeing my pajamas. He thought as he put his snacks down on the counter and ran over to the door. He opened it slowly.

A sandy brown pegasus stood with his wings spread over his head in an attempt to protect himself from the rain, it was a clear failure as his black mane was drenched, and his fur was soaked. With the black jumper he wore, Ginger imagined he was a ground worker or a plumber, maybe. He held a pair of waterlogged boots in his hand, and that's when Ginger realized he had taken off his shoes.

"Oh. Hello." The pegasus managed a smile as he was lashed with rain, "You're the first house that answered- You wouldn't mind if I- "

Ginger opened the door, shutting it after the stallion entered. "Not at all. I'll get you a towel."

Ginger rushed off to the bathroom, the stallion graciously accepted the towel and began to dry off his mane. Ginger just stared at him, at a closer glance he wasn't much bigger than Ginger. They made eye contact and Ginger averted his gaze.

"I have a shower if you'd prefer that."

"Sure." He carefully placed his wet boots down, "Lead on- wait. This is your house, right? I hope I didn't force some kid to let me in, if that's the case, I can wait outside until your parents get home- "

"This is my house. Come on, it's upstairs."

Within an hour, Ginger's new guest had showered and Ginger was laying out some blankets and pillows on his floor next to his bed. Ginger had also taken the liberty of hanging up the stallion's wet clothing and giving him an extra shirt and sweats. Ginger sat on his bed, while his guest sat in the makeshift one on the floor.

"Alright. My name is Ginger. I figured we might as well get acquainted, that storm looks like it might stick for a few days."

"My name's Hazel." Ginger felt his face glowing when the stallion's brown eyes rested on him. "You know, you really didn't have to lend me any of your clothes- "

"I have too many anyway."

"So... Is there a reason why you were gonna eat an entire tub of ice cream and a bottle of alcohol?"

Ginger looked ashamed for a moment before taking a swig straight from the bottle, "I don't want to talk about it."

"Are you sure? I won't judge, and we have plenty of time."

"It's kind of a long story... I don't want to bore a stranger with a story about myself, but if you insist- It started with an obsession, really..."

Chapter 11

Ginger awoke alone in his room, the sound of rain greeted him. He glanced around his room, the blankets he'd lent his guest were neatly folded and the food and drink cleaned up. Even his glasses were neatly folded on his nightstand. He stood up sleepily, putting on his glasses, and froze as he smelled something. Eggs. He rushed downstairs slowly creeping into the kitchen, Hazel stood in the kitchen in front of the stove. Ginger hadn't noticed it initially, but Hazel seemed to be quietly singing to himself as he gracefully navigated around the cupboards.

"Staying still, eyes closed... Let the world just pass me by- AHH!" He flinched as he turned, meeting Ginger's amused gaze, "You scared the hell out of me."

"Sorry. Just... I'm not used to having anyone cook for me. Not since my parents left."

Ginger frowned, looking down at the floor.

"Well, hey. I'd be glad to cook for you anytime."

Ginger lifted his gaze with a sweet smile and felt his heart flutter when Hazel giggled, Hazel's smile seemed to brighten up the room. They sat down at Ginger's dining room table and began to eat.

Ginger paused for a moment, "This is going to sound weird. Considering we've just met. There's a Gala going on at the castle in a few days. I don't want to seem like I'm forcing you. But- "

"There's a party going on?" His words broke the awkwardness. "Sounds sweet."

Ginger was surprised by the excitement in his voice.

"Well, yes, but you have to wear a suit and-"

"I'm fine with that, it sounds like fun."

Ginger couldn't help but grin at his eagerness.

Strike stood outside a small home, holding an umbrella. Her boots were coated with mud, the last thing she wanted was to be in Ponyville in the rain. She didn't mind getting dirty, but she preferred Canterlot's paved roads.

A stallion cracked open the door open, "Goot Mornin'... You Strike?"

"Yeah. The very Captain." He opened the door and allowed Strike in. "How are you, Sioux? Ponyville treating you nicely?"

Strike carefully removed her muddy boots and left them by the door. He closed the door and offered Strike a chair at his dining room table, she sat, and he brought over a chair for himself before sitting. His pearlescent black and green mane and fur shined oddly in the soft light, his pale green eyes seemed nervous but joyful. He was dressed in a short sleeve button up and khakis

"Yes-s, we have enjoyed the time in Ponyville."

"You mean I. You would say I, you are talking about yourself. Try not to speak in the third person."

"You are right. W- I am enjoying my residence in this village. Everypony is so nice to me. The soft white one made me a suit even. But some of the colts and fillies look at me funny when I go outside. I live just like them, do I not?"

The changeling frowned.

Strike nodded, "That may be, but you have to understand. You are different. Everyone is, even me. But being different is good, could you imagine if everyone looked and acted the same? Personally, I'd get sick of that quick. I like myself, but not that much."

Strike ended with a chuckle, and that seemed to lift his spirits.

"Besides, I'm not gonna leave you alone during the gala. Now, even though you're a unicorn, I know you like the Wonderbolts and it just so happens I let slip to their rookie that I'd be attending... You're gonna be the only stallion there with two dates, let alone a date with a Royal Captain and a star Wonderbolt."

"Do you think whatever came out of that ship was dangerous?"

Nightshade looked across the table at the alicorn who was absentmindedly picking at his food, "Honestly?"

Ace nodded.

"I have no clue. I'm treating it the same as the labs. I don't want to underestimate anything, and I'm not taking any chances. That means you have to be ready too, with so many ponies congregated in one area it might be a target."

"Bri and O'Malley are pretty scary..."

"In public, sure."

"What does-"

"Don't worry about it."

"They seem like they can handle this." Ace finally got out, but Nightshade shook his head.

"We can worry about this tomorrow," Nightshade got up from his chair, "Finish your food and get some sleep. We all need to be able to handle this. We can't rely on Strike this time because she has an HVI to protect, but there will be extra security. Hopefully, that helps us out. Goodnight Ace."

Chapter 12

Ace looked slightly embarrassed and hid walked closely behind Nightshade as reporters repeatedly snapped photos. It seemed Ace's new tuxedo was a hit and his flipped up hairstyle had them swooning, Ace was not enjoying the attention. He flinched at every camera flash, hiding his face away.

"Mom said they weren't gonna do that this year," Ace whispered to Nightshade.

Nightshade glanced at one of the guards standing by the entrance to make sure they weren't watching as he sent a magic wave their way, shattering the camera lenses. He chuckled and the angry shouts from the photographers as they entered.

"Oops. Did I do that?" Nightshade pushed up his glasses with a grin.

Ginger tapped his foot, Hazel was supposed to be dressed already. What could be taking so long- Ginger flinched as his front door opened and Hazel stepped out in a crisp black tux with a no tie and the top button open. He looked like a well-dressed desperado. Ginger looked down at his own black-tie before Hazel began to walk.

"Alright," He stopped and posed for Ginger, "How do I look? Dressed to kill?"

Ginger just stared.

"Ginny?"

Ginger snapped out of whatever trance he was in, "You- you look fantastic."

"I could tell by the look in your eyes."

"Let's just get to the Gala already."

"Is all this really necessary?"

Totoro walked alongside Celestia in a black dress and a crimson cape, in her opinion it made her look like a vampire. It was ridiculous.

Celestia giggled, "Having second thoughts? If you're going to attend, you attend under my terms, and you have to look presentable. It isn't ladylike to have a matted mane."

"They don't let me use comb or brushes in the psych ward. Apparently it can be used as a stabbing instrument." Totoro huffed as she walked like an angry dragon with the princess.

"Now spill."

"You won't like it," the earth pony grimaced.

"I don't care."

"Unlike our Sun princess to act this way... Your son is going to die tonight. I've seen it. It's fixed in time tonight."

"When?"

Toro stopped and glared at Celestia, "What do you mean 'when'? Surely you don't expect to alter space and time by preventing it. Are you out of your mind? You can't stop a fixed event!"

"Dammit, that's my child, and I'll be damned if I stand by while he dies knowing I could prevent it!"

Toro threw her head back in grim laughter, "We'll see. Then you better catch him before about... 11. You know, when Vinyl will swap from that awful noise to slow dance. It'll be fun to watch you get what's coming to ya- "

There was a resounding smack as Celestia struck her across the face, Toro staggered back and leaned against a wall.

"Don't you ever, ever try to tell anyone what they deserve. I won't be told such things by the likes of you," There was a hint of a snarl in her voice, and Toro cowered slightly. "Now go to the ballroom and sit. If you move, I'll have you drugged and carted off to the nearest ward for the rest of your worthless life."

Toro scurried off, muttering curses, as Celestia began to compose herself in the hallway.

Strike put her hand up and waved Nightshade and his friends over.

"Captain Strike?"

"Just Strike tonight," She straightened her bow tie and put her hand on Sioux's shoulder, "I'm here on my night off with my new friend."

"Is he- "

"See, I told you he'd ask a stupid question." Strike nudged the changeling, and he laughed, looking a bit less tense. "Yes. He'd actually bumped into you two about a week ago. Ace made him nervous."

Ace bowed his head, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable!"

"It's alright," He looked at Strike momentarily, and she nodded, "I was still getting used to living in the town."

"So is it just you two? He doesn't really seem like your type, Cap." Nightshade smirked.

"It's nothing like that, we're here as friends. We're actually waiting for Thunderstruck- "

There was a clap of thunder and almost everyone at the Gala took a quick glance at the sky that was surprisingly clear, in a flash of white a zebra-patterned mare with an electric yellow mane gracefully flew in accompanied by Spitfire and Soarin. The pegasus straightened her red dress and removed her sunglasses as she walked over to join Strike.

"Nice to see you, Cap," Her electric yellow eyes made Strike's wings unfurl slightly before she pressed them to her back. "And you must be Sioux. Whoa, diggin' the 'do! How'd you get that mane color? Who's your stylist? I gotta get their number."

"It's natural," Sioux said nervously.

"That... is... AWESOME!" Sioux looked surprised and began to smile as Struck spoke a mile a minute to the changeling.

"I'll be with Struck- I mean- not with her with her but like- walkin'- you know what I mean!" The flustered captain walked off with the two.

Nightshade looked at Ace, "Guess it really is up to us. Strike's gonna be following Struck's tail all night."

"Why- "

Nightshade cut him off, "I'll tell you when you're older."

"Nightshade, I'm older than almost everyone here."

Across the room, Hazel and Ginger finally made their way into the hall.

"Wowza," Hazel murmured. "This is one high-class party."

"My gosh," Ginger looked embarrassed, "You didn't just say 'Wowza'."

Ginger just smiled at his curious gazing about, to think anypony hadn't seen the interior of the Castle in Canterlot was almost unheard of. Hazel looked like somepony just offered him free ice cream.

For the next hour or so they danced talked and ate, that was until Octavia made eye contact with him from across the room. He'd been midway through his glass of wine when her worried glance caught his eye. She knew he shouldn't be drinking, with that worried look and Vinyl in tow, Ginger quickly downed his drink looking for an escape. No, no-no. I don't want to speak to her, not now.

The place was too crowded for him to slip away, and taking flight wasn't an option for multiple reasons. He did the only thing he could think of, he tapped Hazel on the shoulder and the moment the stallion turned his head Ginger pressed his lips to the other's taking him by surprise. The other stallion melted into the aggressive move, and Octavia stopped her approach after a few hushed words from the DJ and a smile.

Magnolia froze, she felt as if she was rooted to the floor, and she felt her anger bubbling over. How dare he? How dare he lead me on? He did this on purpose, he did it to hurt me. She felt furious tears on her face, she turned away and wiped her eyes. She just couldn't stop smiling now. Magnolia made a trip to the food table, swiping something off it and coming back to where Ginger and the stallion stood talking.

She put on a convincing fake smile as she walked up to them, "Ginger! Great to see you! Octavia didn't come around and ruin your night, did she?"

"No, she was too busy with her friend."

"Is that right?" She looked at Hazel, who looked questioningly at her. "Well come on then, Gin, I wanna get on the balloon before the slow dancing starts."

She began to walk off and Ginger looked back at Hazel, "Don't worry, I'll be back. I'd promised her we'd go at least once tonight."

Toro sat alone at her table next to Luna as she just stared at the moon, "Soon."

Luna just looked at her, not judgmentally, but Toro could tell she heard.

"It's too bad your sister doesn't understand that nopony can prevent what is supposed to happen tonight."

Luna just nodded solemnly. Toro had grown a decent amount of respect for her. Then again, a thousand years alone would wise up anypony to what is and isn't in your control.

Ace carelessly danced to the music blasting from Vinyl's turntables, Nightshade sat at a table content with keeping watch. He felt adrenaline pumping, but couldn't pinpoint why he could feel the danger.

Ginger smiled as the balloon reached the end of its tethering rope, they were so high up that the ponies inside looked like colorful specks. He marveled at the lights of Canterlot. This was how I was meant to see it. I could watch forever.

"So who was he," Ginger looked back at Magnolia. The smile on her face was long gone, replaced with a snarl and a murderous glare. She held a kitchen knife in her hand.

"Whoa! Mag! Wha- "

"Don't play fucking stupid! I saw you! How... How dare you lead me on like that? How dare you cheat on me... With a stallion no less!"

Ginger raised an eyebrow in confusion and fear. He needed to calm the situation. "What are you talking about? We aren't even dating. Mag, I'm sorry if I made it seem that way. You're a great friend of mine, but that's all I saw you as. You are the best anypony could ask for but- "

"You know, you did like to talk your way out of trouble," She tightened her grip on the blade, "But talkers like to lie don't they?"

"What?"

She jammed the knife into his midsection and her vengeful grin turned into a look of regret as she realized the gravity of what she had just done, Ginger struggled to draw choked breaths as his shirt began to grow red.

"I'm so sorry..." She whispered before she shoved the stallion over the side of the basket, looking away as he plummeted.

Nightshade leaped to his feet as he spotted a shadowy figure crossing the dim dance floor. I see you!

He threw Ace to the floor as a shot rang out and a pony in a suit hit the floor. It only took Nightshade a moment to realize who it was, and felt sick as he saw Struck and Sioux leaning over the fallen figure.

"You just had to get in the way... Didn't you?"

There was a deafening bang and a dull pain in Nights' skull as the sound faded away.

Chapter 13

Nightshade gasped, and he saw Struck, Sioux, and Strike walking away from him. What the hell? The last thing he recalled was seeing Strike die... But that was impossible because he was watching her joke with Sioux as they walked. Something wasn't right. This all felt familiar to him.

"Guess it really is up to us. Strike is gonna be following Struck's tail all night... Déjà vu."

He felt sick as Ace began, "Why- "

"I'll tell you when... you're older..."

He felt bile rising in his throat, he needed a drink. He felt dizzy.

Ginger and Hazel sat at their table laughing and drinking. Hazel was in the middle of telling a joke when Ginger felt the strong urge to look around, he did so and saw Magnolia approaching. He stood and gave her a warm hug, he felt a sharp pain in his midsection and instinctively clutched his stomach.

"Hey, Gin, you alright?" Magnolia looked worried and he slowly sat back down.

"Y-yeah... Must've been something I ate. Mag, this is Hazel. He's been staying with me for the last few days."

"Is that right?" Ginger felt sick again as she said that. "Well, if you trust him in your home, he must be alright. Hazel, was it? Nice to meet you, good to know I'm not Ginger's only friend."

She giggled and Hazel burst out laughing.

"H-hey! I have other friends!"

"The teddy bear you sleep with doesn't count," Magnolia added, making Hazel cackle with laughter and Ginger looked thoroughly embarrassed.

"The what he sleeps with," Hazel asked with a wide grin.

"You didn't have to tell him that!"

Nightshade grabbed a glass and drank quickly, he felt his sick feeling go away. But he couldn't understand why the feeling would arise anyway. Had something happened? Why did this feel so familiar?

"You ever get that feeling of Déjà vu? I hear it can make a pony sick to their stomach," Nightshade turned to see Totoro sitting at a table alone.

"What are you doing here? You're supposed to be in confinement." He growled.

"Celestia let me come on account of my good behavior."

"Bullshit. You told her something was gonna happen, didn't you?"

"So what if I did? I also told her that it would happen no matter what, the universe doesn't care about her feelings. She's powerless to it, and so are you."

"We'll see about- "

Toro stomped a foot, "What is it with you ponies? Don't you get it? Did you not hear me? That kid is doomed to die tonight. Isn't it strange how you seemed to think that you experienced this before?"

"How- "

"How do I know? I have to commend you on one thing, Nightshade Valentine. You don't give up. This isn't the first time you came to talk to me, you dolt, do you know how many times I watched you bungle the universe's plan just because you didn't like it?"

"What?" He felt all the sounds of the Gala dampen as he focused on Toro.

"Now you're starting to get it. I'm tired of reliving this night. All because of you. Because of you, I watched two innocent ponies die because you couldn't deal with it. Who are you to bend reality to what you want? That isn't how it works, and I'm going to enjoy watching you get what you've been fighting to prevent! This is the true reality because you won't interfere this time..."

He grabbed Toro in anger, and she shrieked, causing two guards to pin Nightshade down.

"Th-this stallion wouldn't leave me alone after I told him I wouldn't go home with him, I think he's had too much to drink."

Nightshade struggled as he was hauled outside, "No! You can't do this! The prince is in danger! You have to let me go!"

The two stallions roughly threw Nightshade on the ground outside.

"Why don't you sober up a bit, General?" The unicorn guard chuckled and drew his rifle when Nights tried to approach the doors, "Go home."

Nights panted heavily in defeat. There was nothing he could do, If he made his way back inside he would be arrested on the spot. Hit a button on his communicator and he was transported to Pandora. He didn't care if there was a way to save him, he was going to do it. He sped over to the controls and attempted to land Pandora inside the castle, his ship took off but no matter where he tried to go Pandora refused to go anywhere near the castle.

Computer rushed out of the depths of Pandora, "Sir! She can't land! This is a fixed point. If Ace doesn't die tonight, you could tear space and time. Nightshade, please. None of us wants this, but if you don't stop... You're going to destroy us all."

Nightshade threw his fist into the console angrily, "I don't care! This isn't fair! Why him? He never did anything wrong!"

There was a silence that settled over the ship as Pandora aimlessly flew over Canterlot. He couldn't even hear the hum of Pandora's engines. He didn't want to see Ace die. Not again. Ace could live on in his heart and mind. He reached under the console and opened a hatch, flipping a switch as Pandora passed the moon...

Chapter 8

"YOU WHAT?!" Nightshade flinched at the fashionista's yelling, "That was a two thousand dollar shirt! And you just ripped the sleeves off? Are you insane?"

She could be heard from outside, where Lyra and Bon Bon paused in confusion for a second.

"I spent hours on that shirt! It was the finest silk I had access to!"

Nightshade sheepishly stared at her patterned floor, Sweetie Belle and Ace sat on the couch behind them silently.

Nightshade stammered, ready to move in case she threw something at him, "W-well you see there was a bit of... an... Explosion. A-anyways, that's not why I'm here! You know the Gala's next week, right? Ace here doesn't know what to wear."

The anger faded from her eyes as she lit up, "Our dear prince needs something to wear?"

"-Wait, I never told you-"

"Nightshade, I've known our dear Ace longer than you. Sweetie Belle, bring him over. Now... Nightshade- "

"I know, I messed up! I didn't think I was gonna have a detour."

She waved a hand dismissively, eyeing up Ace, "I'll see about making you another. I'll call you in an hour or two when I've finished his measurements."

It was 10 am when Nightshade left. He promptly returned at midday, when Rarity didn't call him back, he knocked on the boutique door.

Rarity opened the door looking confused and tired, "Nightshade, what are you doing here? I told you to come back later- "

"Rarity," Nightshade pointed at the clock on her wall, "It's midday. You said you'd call me back, you never did. Where's Ace?"

"Oh well, I got his measurements and he said he was bored, so I let Sweetie..."

She froze.

"You did what?"

"I let him run off with Sweetie!" Rarity cursed under her breath. "You should probably go find him before they do some damage."

By the time Nightshade had gotten home, it was nearly 9 pm. Luna's moon shone brightly.

Nightshade closed the front door, "So tell me how exactly you ended up at Diamond Tiara's house?"

"Well they said something about going to a party, I told them I was tired, and they told me to drink some drink... I can't remember what it was. It burned a bit, though."

Nightshade facepalmed, "Of course they got into the cider... How did..."

"Oh no, it wasn't cider, I had that at the party. It tasted sweet. What they gave me was sour, they said it would give me energy. And then I blinked, and I was at a party."