Shadowmere

Celestia was not amused by Shadowmere's method of arrival in Ponyville. Although she liked watermelon juice, as expensive as it was to import from Gryphonya, having a piece of watermelon slowly trailing down her face, soaking her in cold watermelon juice, was most certainly not a fitting look for the Princess of the Sun.

She turned to her faithful student, discovering she had faired better as at least she hadn't suddenly had a watermelon hat added to her head. Celestia burst out laughing when she saw Twilight's frown under the fruit helmet before she wiped away the watermelon from her own face.

"Next time, Spymaster, would you kindly not shower me and my faithful student with watermelon when you appear? As amusing as it may seem, royalty is supposed to be the pranker, not the pranked."

Shadowmere's slightly insane looking grin vanished. "This time, Princess, it actually wasn't my fault that my new weapon decided it was a inspired idea to teleport me several miles above where I was supposed to appear. Speaking of the Wabbaspear," Shadowmere looked over the field of watermelons "-where is it?" He noticed Pinkie and Connor engaged in a wrestling match over a Sweetroll and smiled. It was good Connor was still around, he would need him later.

Twilight threw her head back, tossing the watermelon helm off her juice-soaked head. "Rarity is going to have a fit at this..." she muttered to herself. "Where did all the watermelons come from, anyway?"

Shadowmere began kicking watermelons out of his path as he searched for the Wabbaspear. "That was me." He turned to his left, jumped over the still wrestling bundle of steel and pink hair that was Connor and Pinkie, before he proceeded to pick up the Wabbaspear.

"Or, more specifically, this. And now I'd cover your heads if I were you before..."

Celestia and Twilight looked up to find a mass of levitating cheese wheels held in a red glow above them. Shadowmere also noticed the flying cheese and facehoofed. "Something like that happens." he finished as the red glow vanished from the pile of cheese, dumping it on Celestia and Twilight's heads.

Shaking the cheese off her, Celestia stood back up with a disapproving expression on her face. "Where did you get that, and can you stop dumping random things on our heads?"

Twilight 's head popped out from under the large pile of cheese and was no doubt about to ask the same question of him when she heard her mentor ask them for her.

"This," Shadowmere span the Wabbaspear around in his hoof. "Is the Wabbaspear. It can cast any spell and can be used by anyone or anything. The only downside is the spell used- if its regular or 'unicorn' magic, something about the spell will be different so a different coloured glow, more or less magicka than usual used, etc. But if you use the staff's spell, random stuff happens. Like a rain of cheese or watermelons. As for where I got it, Sheo gave it to me. And it acts on its own initiative sometimes, as you have just seen. It really is rather annoying like that." Shadowmere gestured to them.

A very loud shout that sounded suspiciously like Luna to Shadowmere echoed over the darkened square. Celestia sighed loudly. "Luna was... Somewhat distraught when you failed to appear, and she seems to blame Nightwing for some reason. You aught to go save him her..." Celestia searched for the right word to describe her sister when she was angry."-tirades can be rather brutal when you're on the receiving end of one. And is it just me, or are you a little... Off, today?"

Shadowmere shrugged. "Probabaly. Falling out of the sky like that will do something to your mind. I'll be back to normal by tomorrow, though. Or I hope."

Celestia nodded. "Now you really should go save Commander Nightwing's flank before Luna tears it off with her rant.."

Shadowmere grinned, hoisted his staff onto his back, and ran off towards the station as Luna's shouting began to increase in volume.

Twilight turned to her mentor. "He really is a bit strange sometimes, isn't he?"

Celestia laughed. "That he is my student, that he is. But he is still entertaining to have around."

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A deep voice announced "Flawless Victory" as Connor heaved Pinkie off of the Sweetroll with a loud groan. He grinned, seeing his opponent in the battle for the Sweetroll lying on the floor before he got up to search for his prize.

After a few minutes of searching around the square, finding nothing, he returned to find a smug-looking pony sitting on the ground, sweetroll crumbs on the ground.

Connor's cry of despair could be heard throughout Equestria.

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"You should have chosen your words more carefully, Commander. He is not here, and yet thee insists he is not dead. Perhaps thou canst explain where Shadowmere is, then, Nightwing?"

Nightwing gulped under Luna's steely gaze. The Lunar guard had learned to fear it during the time after their Princesses return, and Nightwing was now on the receiving end of it.

He would have much rather remained in Canterlot with those Daedra from wherever they came from than suffer one more berating from his commander-in-chief.

"Um... He's...He's... He's gone off to gather reinforcements!" Nightwing began to back up towards the platforms edge.

"Is that so? Pray tell, when shall he return?" Luna walked after him, maintaining her iron stare on him.

"He will come back..." Nightwing looked around, desperately searching for inspiration and to avoid that stare. "At some point."

"Thou lyest, Commander. Luna forced the panting Commander to the edge of the platform as she continued to advance.. Our Spymaster, is dead, is he not? I will punish you for lying to me, Commander, so answer truthfully or face the wrath of thy Princess!

"He's dead." Nightwing answered bluntly.

"I'm afraid you'll still have to punish him then, Princess." Shadowmere added to the conversation as he walked out of the gloom that was part of the early night. "Because, as you should be able to see, I am still perfectly alive and healthy. Although," Shadowmere looked back towards the square. "I hope you have a taste for watermelon and cheese. And Nightwing," Shadowmere turned to the Night Guard Commander. "Sorry for not saving your flank earlier."