Shadow of Fury

A Poorly Concealed Series Of Self InsertsChapter 1 - Well, Hello There

This story begins with a story. Long ago in the magical kingdom of Equestria, there lived six female ponies, who wielded powerful artifacts known as the elements of harmony. But this story isn't about them. This is a story about a maniac, a pegasus, a unicorn, and a changeling. These four all happened to live in Ponyville, where the aforementioned mares(we'll call them the Mane 6 to make things easier) also lived. Yet none of them knew each other. But this anonymity would not last. For soon a series of events would occur which would bring these four closer than any friends ever could be. Besides the Mane 6, of course. This is a tale of war, love, candy, and dinosaurs with jetpacks that shoot lazers out of their mouths. Well, maybe not that last one.

You know what? Let's just get this started.

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In a small house in Ponyville....

"Ugghh....." the changeling said with a groan. He tossed and turned in his bed. He could smell fire coming from downstairs. He could also hear a high-pitched screaming. 'It's far to early for this' the changeling thought. With another groan of discontentment, he got out of bed.

In his brief month-long stay in Ponyville, he had survived by feeding off of the latent emotions that were abundant in the atmosphere around the small town. When he went out, as rare as it was, he didn't bother disguising himself. That was because all of the ponies knew he was a changeling, and actually welcomed him with open arms when he had assured them that he was an exile and shared no allegiance to Queen Chrysalis. But that wasn't what was on his mind right now. What was on his mind was the source of the smell and screaming.

Standing in the kitchen was a robot. A robot in the shape of a cat. True, the fact that its head was made of a cat's skull, a bunch of wires, a lick, and a promise probably helped give the impression of a cat, but there was also the skeletal tail and clawlike hands too. This was Sputnik. He was the changeling's loyal assistant. Which wouldn't be a problem, if the damned thing could actually DO something correctly. As the changeling looked on, he saw Sputnik dance and scream while lit on fire. The small cat-bot looked as if he were trying to win the affections of some female abomination-of-science while simultaneously trying to juggle. The result was quite amusing.

But the changeling was not in the mood for amusing.

"Sputnik!" He shouted.

The robot turned its skeletal head, and said, unnervingly nonchalantly, "Yes, boss?"

"Why are you on fire?" the changeling noticed a pan with some sort of flammable substance also aflame near the kitchen counter. "And what is that?"

"I was just trying to make cereal, boss!" said the cat-bot in an unusually happy tone.

The changeling was unamused, and levitated a bucket of water and put out both flames.

"Sputnik," he began slowly, "We are currently living off of the charity of enemies of the hive. They should have locked us up on sight. We can't risk them getting the wrong idea about us. We can't risk them thinking that we're up to something."

"But we're not."

"Yes, I know," the changeling conceded. "But do they know that? To them, I'm just another changeling, a creature to be feared and despised. They will never truly trust me, and by extension, you."

"Extension," Sputnik said slowly. "Ex-ten-shun. What a funny word!"

The changeling facehoofed. "Sputnik, I don't think you realize the severity of our situation. After I was exiled, I thought I was doomed. Any sane changeling would. Yet somehow, I survived. And I found you, much to my chagrin."

"What does chagrin mean?" interrupted Sputnik.

"Shut up, I'm trying to be serious."

Sputnik let out a slight "aww" of disappointment.

"Anyways, my point is that it is an amazing gift that I am still alive. And here I am, living with ponies, of all things. Sure, they're not rude or condescending, and they smell better than griffins in any case. But I can still sense their animosity towards us. It's not that they don't like us, I think, but more that they don't trust us. And unless something happens to change that, we will just have to stay here, trying to avoid attention. Which we can't do when you carelessly burn the town to the ground!"

Sputnik looked rather guilty now. "But boss, why don't you just go out and make the ponies trust you?"

The changeling let out a hollow laugh. "As if. How do you suppose I do that?"

"Maybe you could try making friends?"

The changeling thought for a moment. "You know, Sputnik, that may just be the smartest thing you've ever said. I have the tiniest amount of respect for you right now."

"I LIKE TURTLES!" Sputnik suddenly shouted.

The Changeling looked at him awkwardly. "And it's gone." He then turned to open a closet, and pullled out his singular most precious possession.

Out from the closet the changeling pulled out a top hat. He placed it on his head and let out a sigh of contentment.

"Oh hatty, how you brighten my day." his face then turned dead-serious. "Very well. I will make some 'friends' and let it never be said that I, Reaper, Ex-High General of the Changeling Army, can't make a few friends!"

And with that, the changeling known as Reaper walked out the door to prepare for his new life.

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Meanwhile, somewhere else in Ponyville....

Most ponies would say that Willus Word the unicorn was insane. And most ponies would be right. Nopony really knew why he was so crazy, and nopony had the courage to ask. He seemed fine at first. Then he got his bookstore. It all went downhill from there.

Willus had some sort of strange attatchment to his books. To the point that he would risk his life to save them. There is a library in Ponyville, but Willus never enters. And nopony wnats him to. They know that the combined crazy of Willus and Ponyville's resident librarian could only end in a storm of chaos worthy of Discord himself.

Presently, Willus was pacing inside his house, mumbling to himself.

"Books, books, so many books! What to do with all these books? Read them of course! Why, I could probably read five of them in an hour! Yes, so many books!"

Of course, nopony knew he what he was doing. That was because he was currently in a room called the, "Super-Happy-Fun-Time" Room. Occasionally, Willus would have lapses of sanity. During these lapses, He tried to prepare for future lapses of insanity by putting himself in this room. He also ran his bookstore and tried to be as friendly as possible to the ponies he encountered. He remembered a changeling who came in once asking for books on pony anatomy and history. He thought it odd at first, but decided that as a new resident of equestria, the changeling probably wanted to know as much of his new home as he could. He didn't think more of it after that.

"Oh, but what if something happens to the books? My precious books? Why, what if somepony horribly cruel came and ruined them? No! Don't talk like that Willus! But, Willus, I speak the truth!"

Willus also had a split personality disorder. It was confusing for most ponies, including himself, because both halves of himself shared the same name. Neither was willing to change their name, and so now they were trapped in eternal confusion.

"Why can't you just trust that not all ponies will- Will what, Willus? Burn everything? Destroy all these precious books? MY precious books? OUR precious books? MY precious books?!"

Willus sighed. He hated when he got like this. But the memories of the past were too painful, and his insane half always seemed to win these arguments. True, he tried his best to keep him under control, but sometimes it was just too much. He knew what all the other ponies thought of him. They thought he was a freak. And he was a freak. If only he could show them the real him.

"I AM THE REAL YOU!" he shouted.

"NO!" he responded to himself, "I won't let you be the master of my fate!"

"I AM THE MASTER OF YOUR FATE!"

"No, you're not! GO! I want to make friends for once!"

"Friends? We do not need friends! Only our PRECIOUS books!"

"NO! I will make friends! I will fix all that you have done!"

"You cannot fix what I have done. You cannot even survive without me!"

"Yes I can! Now GO! LEAVE NOW AND NEVER COME BACK!"

There was no response.

Just silence.

Willus suddenly felt a little awkward.

"Hello?" he asked.

Still no answer.

Then he laughed. He was free. Until he heard himself in his mind.

'I am not gone. I will simply wait. When you are at your lowest, when you see what all the other ponies think of you, then I will strike.'

And then Willus heard nothing else from his insane half.

Willus laughed again.

Let the darkness of insanity try and take him again. He would show it! He would make friends! He was sure the pink hippo-headed manticore standing next to him would agree! Wait, what?

Willus did a double take where the strange beast had once stood.

"Hmmm... Guess you can take the Willus out of the crazy, but you can't take the crazy out of the Willus." He giggled maniacally a bit, before regaining composure. Then he went to the door, and stepped out. It was time for his new life.

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Meanwhile, somewhere else in ponyville....

The green unicorn walked calmly through the town streets. His name was shamrock. His cutie mark was of a three-leaf clover, with the number 17 in it. He didn't like to explain it. Most ponies would say he was blessed. He would say he was cursed. For him, it was impossible to take a life. This doesn't seem so bad, except that that includes his own. And though he would never admit it to anypony, sometimes, there was nothing he wanted more.

But Shamrock tried not to let anypony else be bothered by his internal struggles. In fact, most ponies would say he tried too much. He was fairly well-known around Ponyville, and all the ponies he knew agreed on one thing. He was too gentlecoltly. To the point that it was kind of annoying. He always seemed to be disgustingly polite, and never took sides in an argument. This resulted in most ponies avoiding him when they could, and in his avoiding them when he could. It wasn't that they didn't like each other, they just didn't like the awkwardness.

RIght now, Shamrock was grocery shopping. A fairly average activity for anypony to partake in. Yet still, he fretted. As he looked at all the smiling ponies around him, he couldn't help but feel out of place. But hunger always drove away anti-sociality, so for now, he would have to just swallow the awkward and get what he needed.

He walked up to the flower stand. As he looked over the various treats that lay before him, he considered what to get. He then moved over to the carrot stand, deciding he should probably watch his weight.

He turned to the owner of the stand. "How much for eight carrots?"

The orange-maned mare was caught off guard. She turned around, as she had apparently been in a deep conversation with a grey pegasus mare. "We'll finish this later," she said with a slight edge in her voice to the aforementioned pegasus, who flew away.

"I'm sorry, that was my roommate. I'm Carrot Top. You wanted eight carrots right?"

"That would be correct," Shamrock replied.

"Well, that would cost ya eight bits! I try to keep things simple."

Shamrock was a little confused. "So the carrots are a bit a piece? That doesn't seem like it would make a large profit."

He thought he heard her mutter, "It doesn't," but before he could ask she simply stated, "It's enough. Now don't worry about my problems, and enjoy your carrots!"

Shamrock began to walk away. "Thanks," he said.

As he walked away from the carrot stand, he sighed. He couldn't help but think back to the mare's conversation with the pegasus. Sure, he hadn't heard any of it, but it must have been nice. It must be nice to have someone to talk to, someone who would listen to your problems without complaint. But he could never have that again. He couldn't risk it. Not after everything that had happened to him.

Then again, why couldn't he? So what if the past was painful? He could move on, right? Right? In truth, he didn't know. But maybe he could try again. Wasn't that the reason he came to Ponyville in the first place? To start a new life? Besides, he could be worse. He could be a babbling maniac, like that Willus character he had seen once before.

Yes, that's it! He would make new friends! Maybe that Willus guy got lonely! Maybe he wasn't too bad! With the start of a smile, Shamrock walked off calmly. Gone were the days of isolation and anti-sociality. Now, he would start his new life.

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Meanwhile, somewhere else in ponyville.....

The golden pegasus walked into Ponyville. This was the first time he had ever stepped hoof into the small town, although he had seen it in the valley below canterlot in his brief stay there. This was Lightning Hawk. Even though he was orphaned at a young age, he didn't let the past bother him. Instead, he was a traveler.

There weren't many places in Equestria that Lightning Hawk HADN'T been in. But, by some mysterious stroke of fate, Ponyville was one of the few places he hadn't been to. And, quite frankly, he was a little bored. Sure, he had seen many great things in his travels, like the Pony of Liberty, the Empire Solar Building, and the Leaning Tower of Pony(he had realized there that his kind wasn't very creative with names). But he had seen all of that before. And he was bored. Gone was the wonder he had felt when he first beheld the wonders of the world, gone was the sense of adventure he got when traversing a mountain. Now, all he wanted to do was settle down. He didn't feel like going on any adventures anymore, but rather, he just wanted to lead a normal life and make a few friends.

As Lightning Hawk walked into Ponyville, he noticed a green unicorn pass by.

"Hello!" the unicorn shouted as he passed.

"Hi!" Lightning shouted back, but before he could say anything more, the unicorn had already left. It appeared as if he were in a hurry to go somewhere.

"Hmmm. Odd." Lightning said to himself.

Lightning continued on his way into Ponyville. Everywhere he looked, he saw something that could only be described as 'quaint'. There were 'quaint' food stalls. There were 'quaint' carriages. And all of the ponies that wandered to and fro, attending their daily activities, were also 'quaint'. Everything was all so 'quaint'. And it was perfect.

If there was any place a pony like Lightning Hawk could settle down, it was here. And besides, maybe he would make a few friends? Indeed, it looked as if Lightning Hawk's life was on the up and up. But that is not always the case.

Just then he heard a noise. Somewhere off in the distance. He squinted, trying to determine what it was. There it was again! Closer this time. Whatever it was, it was loud. And it was headed this way. It went off a third time, unnervingly close now. That's when Lightning, and all the ponies around him, realized what it was.

It was a roar.

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Author's Note: Alright, hello Everypony! This is the first story I've ever written, so please excuse any rookie mistakes. This story was meant for my local herd, hence the title, but I do want it to be much more. I know I'm really cryptic about a lot of things in this chapter, but trust me, all will be explained in due time.

For now, I just wanted to say that this story will be worked on a lot. So there will be updates hopefully as quickly as possible. Also, the story takes place in between seasons 2 and 3. As I write this, season 3 has yet to appear, so sorry for any continuity problems that may arise.

Go forth and multiply!

E = mc^2

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