Chapters Prologue: An Unknown History
To whoever finds this book, I entreat you: heed my words, and do not let them fall on deaf ears. A great evil will one day return to the plains of Equestria, and if he is not stopped, the sun will cease to be, and the world will be plunged into eternal darkness. This enemy is wise beyond belief, and ageless, older than any know. He must be stopped.
My name is Silent Shade, a unicorn under the rule of Princess Celestia. It is the fourth year of the Fifth Era of Equestria, or the Age of Celestia, as it will come to be known. It has been four years since Nightmare Moon attempted her takeover of Equestria, and was banished to the moon she so loved. Four years since my foe disappeared into the depths of Tartarus, taking his ilk with him. It’s been four years since my weapon has tasted the cold blood of my enemies. Four long years.
I will not bore you with a description of what I look like. It matters not, as nopony will remember me for that. Nopony should. The only thing I need to be remembered for is this information in this book. There will be those who will toss this aside, but I know that there will be those who will read this and know of his influence. The foe I fight is mighty, but he must be stopped.
This is the last thing I shall ever write. The light is fading from my eyes, and I know that soon, The Void Beyond will claim me for its own. I write this so that others may know of the threat that will one day come back to Equestria. I write so that you may know how to fight back against them. Against the vamponies.
You’ve probably heard of the vamponies before. An old mare’s tale, made to scare the young ones into doing their chores or some such nonsense. And, when you read this, they will have been gone for so long that most will assume that they are nothing but legends. But they are very real, and very dangerous. But none are more dangerous, more lethal, and more cunning than their leader.
Little is known about this being. Even my own knowledge is limited. From what I understand, he was one of the first alicorns to be created, but he loved dark magic, eventually finding the secret to life eternal, albeit at a terrible cost. He is a twisted, dark mutilation of what alicorns are meant to be. And because of the darkness in his heart, he seeks the destruction of light.
There is one other thing about our foe. His name. His true name, his birth name, has been lost to time. There is no record of it. I have only faced him once, and he is terrible to behold. But even then, I did not learn much about him. His is as mysterious and baffling as he is dangerous. But his name, the one he goes by, the one he was cursed with ages ago, is Insidious. A fitting name for a beast such as him.
It is this beast that I have hunted for most of my life. That’s my special talent. Killing vamponies - your career options are rather limited when your cutie mark is a wooden stake - is all I know. It’s all I’ve ever known. I’ve perfected the art. And this is what I mean for this to convey to you. Not only the techniques I’ve developed over the years, but also everything I know about the vamponies. Weakness, strengths, and even some interesting prophecies relating to them. That’s what I mean to convey to you.
I don’t know who will find this. I can hope that my son will one day pick up this book, or the son of my son, or the son of his son. But to whoever picks up my book, do not cast it aside as some old fable. That mistake will be the death of you.
I have done many things I regret over my years. Among them are events that must be recorded; ten events to be specific. I will understand if your opinion of me lessens because of them, but they were necessary evils. I don’t like the fact that they happened either. Know that not a day goes by where I don’t see them in my mind, hear the screams and cries of ponies that I failed. It haunts me to no end. It has been so long since I’ve had a proper night’s sleep. Mostly because I sleep during the day, but that is of little consequence.
And to the one who finds this book, there is something you must find. My weapon. Defiance. I will describe it later, but I have hidden it away where nopony can touch it. In my final chapter, the location will be revealed. Find it. Use it. It will help you, as it has helped me. And know this about it: because of the magic poured into the weapon, it has become somewhat alive. Just treat it well, and it will treat you well.
A final warning before I begin: watch the eyes. The eyes of vamponies are a dead giveaway - please forgive that pun - to the keen observer. A normal pony’s pupils are large and black. Solid black. A vampony will often have streaks of color running through their pupils. The color tends to be in the range of gold to red, but I have seen green and blue as well. It tends to vary with the ranks of the vampony, but I’m not positive as to which rank is which. I have classified some of them, which I will go through at a later point. Just know that the cooler the color - blue, green, purple, and the like - the more experienced and dangerous.
Now, the story must begin. Of course, the best place to begin is at the beginning, so let me start with the day I got my cutie mark. The day that my entire world began to collapse around me.
Author's Note
As is so often read on this site, this is my first story. Criticisms, comments, and opinions are welcome.
I got my cutie mark one day when playing with my sister. We lived with our parents on the outskirts of what would become the cosmopolitan empire of Manehattan. Back in those days, it was just starting to become a large city. Anyway, my sister and I were playing in the yard while mother cooked dinner. We were playing vampony hunter, oddly enough, and she was telling me that she, as the vampony, could survive in the sunlight because she didn’t burn, but sparkled. I didn’t understand her reasoning then, and I still don’t now, but she is completely false. Vamponies burn in the sunlight, turning to ash if they stay out too long. They do not sparkle, as I tried to tell her. It was to no avail, and so I was forced to take down a sparkly vampony. Of course, my technique was perfect. Find a place to hide, wait for the prey to grow close, distract, close for the kill.
Well, wouldn’t you know it, as soon as I had playfully tackled my sister, there was a flash of light on my flanks, and a wooden stake was proudly smiling at my from my coal grey rump. Alright, so I did describe myself in some detail. What are you going to do about it?
Anyway, my sister, still a blank flank herself, was giddy with excitement, but didn’t understand what it meant. I did though, and I was none too pleased about it. I mean, really? What colt wants to spend their life fighting, killing, running from monsters set on draining their own blood? Certainly not me at the time. Now it’s the only life I know. I can think of no other way to live. And I am content with that.
The reaction of my parents was surprising, though. I had expected them to be overjoyed that I had gotten my mark, but disappointed, perhaps angry that I was to slay vamponies. Instead, my father smiled at me when I told him of what I assumed it meant at supper that evening. After we had finished eating, he took me aside to his small study. I was apprehensive, but he alleviated my fears immediately.
“You have no idea how proud of you I am right now, Shade.” I was quite stunned. This was not what I was expecting.
“Father, I don’t understand,” I replied quickly. “I thought you would be disappointed. I thought you would be angry that your son was destined to be a killer... a murderer.” At that point, my father stepped over and placed a hoof on my shoulder. I had turned my eyes to the floor, but brought them up to meet his at the contact.
“You are no murderer. You are no killer.” My father’s gaze was stern, but reassuring. “You will be a warrior, a champion of justice and light. What you don’t seem to understand is that vamponies... well, they lost their sense of what it means to truly be Equestrian long ago. They are cold, heartless monsters, set only on killing, hurting and destroying everything the light has to offer. They seek the darkness and shadows, they seek the destruction of life and light, and they will stop at nothing to see that goal achieved.
“But you, and you alone, have been tasked with fighting back against that darkness. There will be those who will stand alongside you, those who you will come to cherish, respect, and honor, but the duty and responsibility falls to you, son. The forces which move against us are powerful, and they gain strength everyday. A shadow is beginning to fall over the land, and if it does fall, then our world, our very way of life will fall with it. You must protect the light in this world. You must be the one who fights back, even if no one else fights with you. You, and you alone, will be the one who decides our fate, and the fate of all who live in this world.
“But you cannot sit back and let your calling pass you by. If you choose not to act, then the fate which we all fear will come to pass, and darkness and eternal night will cover the land. But if you choose to act, the forces which move against us will become weak, and fragile. They will not be ready for your interference, and so they will be unable to both defend against your assault and carry out their master plan. One or the other will fail, and thus, victory shall be achieved. But only if you act. Only if you decide that you will accept your destiny, and fulfill it to the utmost of your abilities.
“I will train you as best I can, but your natural talents will be the key to your victory. You possess the needed skills to fight the vampony threat. Only you will be able to decide if you will use that skill, or deny it.” He finished his long speech and sighed. I was still looking at him, but now tears had formed in my eyes. My father was right. I knew it, too. But even so...
“I’m afraid.” I told him. “What if I die while fighting them? What if I fail? What... what if something happens to you?” My father pulled me into a gentle hug and held me as I cried, my fears overwhelming me. I just couldn’t bear the thoughts of what might happen. As it happens, most of my fears were perfectly justified, as they did come to pass. But at that point, at that age, I had no idea of what was to come. I was terrified of the unknown, and my father knew it. He had felt pain like that before.
He had been a royal guard, but was dismissed unjustly after an incident he did not commit. Years later, he was given royal pardon and an offer of promotion and return to his position in the guard, but had turned it down. At that point, his family and his new home meant much more to him than his old life. That was why he offered to train me, and that was why he knew my pain.
“I understand. It’s scary, I know. But you have to be strong, Shade.” He said, trying his best to calm me down. “It’s still a long time before you’ll be old enough to begin fighting, so you have nothing to worry about. Now, come on. Dry your eyes.” He set me down gently and I wiped a hoof across my eyes, trying to calm myself down. “I think you need to sleep on this, alright? Come on.” With that, we walked out of the study. But the days that followed were none too pleasant. My sleep that night was fitful and uneasy. I had night terrors of vamponies throughout the night. But there was a constant, comforting presence with me through it all. I had no idea who it might be, but I wasn't complaining. After some time, it spoke to me.
“Young one, do not fear. No matter what may happen, no matter who may abandon thee, we will always be with you, young one. Thou shalt be our champion. Thou shalt be the one who will liberate the night from the foul creatures that plague it. Thou shalt be my light. Do not fear. We are here. We are with you.” The voice calmed me, and the presence flew into my dreams and stayed with me throughout the night, banishing all the terrors and worries that plagued me. I slept calmly for the rest of the night.
The next day, my training began. My father taught me well, not only in ways to fight, but in ways to become strong, to stay fit, and to control my emotions. There were many times that I knew I messed up, but my father kept at it, telling me that learning from my mistakes was the best kind of learning there was. And, looking back, he was right.
I trained hard. I worked hard. And at the end of the day, I slept hard. Everything ached, but I still managed to drift off into a sleep plagued by nightmares. It wasn’t long before I felt it again. The presence that had comforted me the night before came back. It stayed with me again until the light of dawn appeared and I woke. I felt it leave me as my father called my name. And, as I rose to my hooves, feeling every muscle cry out in agony, I knew that it was going to be a long training session.
This cycle continued for weeks. During the day, I would train under my father, honing what little skills I had and learning new ones. During the night, the presence would come into my dreams and sleep beside me, protecting me from my nightly dose of fear and pain. Although I enjoyed spending time with my father, I came to love the night most, as the presence was a constant source of comfort and love that never faded, even if I didn’t quite yet understand who it was.
It was about seven weeks into my training when everything went to Tartarus. We had finished supper about an hour ago, and my sister and I were in the middle of a particularly intense game of checkers. I had three kings and three normal pieces and my sister had five kings. It’s funny how details like that burn into your mind.
Anyway, I had just completed a rather difficult maneuver and secured the victory when there came a knock at the door. It was well past sunset, and most ponies tended to stay indoors after dark. Of course, there was no shortage of surprise, but my father rose and headed to the door. I followed a safe distance behind, my sister in tow. When my father opened the door, we found a rather weak looking pony standing behind it. Needless to say, we were all instantly concerned.
“Are you alright?” My father asked. The pony raised its head, which had been facing the porch, and gazed at my father... If only I had known then what I know now, I could have saved them. The eyes. This is why you must always watch the eyes. We saw it, but we didn’t know what it meant, the red streaks in his pupils. We assumed it was just the way he was born.
It was our first mistake.
“Please, sir...” The pony gasped out, his voice laden with pain. “Would you be so kind to open your home to a lost soul for a night? I’ve not been well for days, and I need a place to rest.” My father nodded quickly and the pony stepped inside. I noticed he tended to shy away from light sources, but made no connection. My father led him upstairs to our loft, asking him about what had happened. By this time, my mother had hurried me and my sister away and into bed. My sleep was fitful again, but the presence came as always. There was something different about it this night. It seemed very urgent.
“Rise, young one, and leave your dwelling immediately. You are in grave danger.”
I woke with a start. The words of the presence had scared me a little, but I knew that it had a reason. So, against my better judgment, I left the house and headed out for a walk under the stars.
It was a perfectly clear night, every constellation visible above me. I could name a good deal of them, but I was more focused on moving away from my house to think much on the stars. I did take in the beauty of what was around me, though. I think it was this night that made me truly realize that we ponies were so odd, sleeping during this time. It was so peaceful. Everything was at rest, and the world itself seemed to be asleep. It was a wonderful feeling, walking along the soft forest path behind our house and listening to the calm and quiet of the night. As I walked, I felt the presence again. It didn’t speak, but I knew that it was protecting me again. I knew that there were many dark creatures that roamed the night, vamponies included. The protection of my newfound friend would later prove to be invaluable.
It was some time later that I finally decided to wander back to the house. The presence didn’t seem to mind, just rolling along for the trip. As I walked back, it slowly dawned on me that I had made a huge mistake. I had run away from danger...
And left my family behind.
My breath halted and my heart nearly stopped as I realized this. It took me a moment to shake the feeling of dread, but once I did, I galloped like I never had before. My family was in danger, and I had abandoned them.
I finally reached the house. But upon seeing it, I knew that my worst fears had come true. The back door was slightly ajar, and there was a red stain on it. My heart sank, but I had to find out what had happened. I ducked inside the house, glancing around quickly. My father’s brief training had taught me to observe my surroundings, looking for any forms of ambush or cover. Luckily, the house was empty of all threats. Immediately I ran for my parents room. But before I reached the door I stopped dead. The door had been ripped off its hinges and cast aside, and where it had stood there was a large, red puddle on the floor. I felt my stomach churn, and I would have been sick right there if it wasn’t for the fact that I could see them. My parents. Dead. No, not dead.
Torn apart.
I ran. I ran away from the door, looking for the room I shared with my sister. Sure enough, that door had been ripped off too, and there were bloodstains everywhere. I felt the tears rising in my eyes, so I turned and ran back outside, into the cool of the night. I ran back into the forest, as far away from the house as I could. I wasn’t really looking where I was going, and the fact that I kept on crying doing my vision a favor, so I had no idea that I wasn’t alone until I crashed headlong into somepony else. I recovered quickly, gazing up at who I had hit. My initial reaction of fear turned to one of awe as I saw cool, comforting blue eyes staring from under an ethereal mane of stars. It was somepony I had only heard of, but never expected to see.
It was Luna.
“Peace, young one.” She said to me, lowering herself down to my level. I felt her nuzzle me gently, and, without thinking, I threw myself onto her, crying and trying to speak. Nothing coherent came out, but the princess didn’t seem to mind. I felt her lie down and set me gently next to her. The next thing I knew, one of her wings was gently laid across me. I’ve never experienced anything quite like that. Instantly my fears and sorrows melted away, as if even her wings were under some sort of spell. I dried my eyes and looked up at her. Her expression shared in my sorrow.
“They’re gone... something killed them...” I finally managed. Luna nodded sadly, her eyes never leaving mine.
“We know. It was us who told you to leave thy dwelling.” My eyes went wide. My first thought was why, but it was quickly replaced with so for seven weeks, in all my dreams, Princess Luna has been protecting me? I was so confused I couldn’t speak. Luna seemed to understand this, though, and she smiled sadly. “We have been with you since thou gained thy cutie mark. We know that it was thou that was chosen to be our champion. But we cannot begin to tell you just how sorry we are we could not save your family. We visited their dreams as well, but by the time they had awakened, it was too late.” She stopped, looking directly into the center of my eyes. It felt like she was trying to read my very soul with her gaze. “Thou does know what killed thy family, correct?” I started to shake my head, but stopped in mid-movement. I did know. It had been staring me in the face.
“It was a vampony.” Luna nodded. That only added more questions. Luna seemed to sense this, and quickly cut me off before I could say another word.
“Now is not the time. In due course, we shall answer all that thou wishes to know. For now, you need to rest. Sleep, young one. We will stay with you always. From now until the moon fails to rise.” It slowly dawned on my weary eyes just how tired I was, and how nice it was to be leaning against the warm body of the princess, safely tucked under her wing. I closed my eyes and waited for sleep to take me. I felt something prod my forehead, and not a moment later fell into a deep dreamless sleep. The world around me, and all its pain and fear, vanished in a heartbeat.
__________
When I awoke, the first thing that I noticed was that I was no longer in the forest. To the contrary, I was lying in a very large, very comfortable, and very plush bed in a foreign room. I gazed around with bleary eyes, taking in nothing of my surroundings. It was only after I shook my head to clear it that I noticed that I was not alone in the room. The other pony in the room spoke, and her voice made me realize just where I was.
“So, thou art finally awake, we see?” A very fatigued Princess Luna inquired. I could tell that she had stayed up all night - like that was a surprise to anypony - but the fact that I was in her bed didn’t register for a moment. When it did, my eyes went wide and I tried to leap from the covers, but Luna’s magic held me down. She chuckled to herself and gently laid me back down, shaking her head. “Nay, young one, thou needs the bed more than we do. The coming nights will be most difficult for you, we fear.” Her statement confused me.
“What do you mean, nights?” Luna shook her head again, still smiling her tired smile.
“We mean that in order to be our champion of night, thou must adapt to the night as well as the day. Both shall be thy ally, but the night shall be thy mentor and caretaker. So sleep now.” Her horn glowed as she lowered it to my head. “When thou awakens, Silent Shade, we shall begin in earnest.” Her horn touched my forehead and immediately my eyes fell closed. I drifted off into the same dreamless sleep, and knew no more.
__________
It was many hours later, when the sun had set across the sky and the moon had risen, that I awoke, still in the bed of Princess Luna. I rose quickly, looking around. This time, my head was clear, but the Princess was not there to greet me. I hopped out of the bed and finally took a look around the room. It was well furnished, as I expected, but that wasn't the real beauty of the room. As I looked up, my jaw fell open as I gazed at what was on the ceiling.
It was obviously enchanted to reflect the sky outside, but there was something different about this enchantment. I had seen one such as this before, in the Manehattan Planetarium. This one was vastly different. The sky reflected show such detail, showed each star in the sky in all its full majesty, and, in the center of it all, the moon. The gem of the night sky. Luna’s pearl. It was truly a sight to see. I was so engrossed in the ceiling that I failed to notice that another had entered the room. It wasn’t until I heard her laugh that I turned to see the princess standing there, hiding a smile behind her hoof.
“It seems thou likest our ceiling.” She said, stepping beside me. “We put so much into making it perfect. It’s a sight few are blessed enough to see.” She sighed, gazing up into the night she loved so much. “It pains us to no end that ponies choose to sleep during our night, but with the monsters that roam so freely under the light of our moon, we can understand them. That doesn’t take the pain away, but it helps lessen it.” I turned to look at her. There was an emotion on her face that I just couldn’t read. Was it pain? Sorrow? Anger? Or some combination thereof? It was hard to say, but no matter what I could think of, nothing seemed to match her emotion. I could only think of one thing to do. I turned and nudged her leg, and she lowered her head down, thinking that I needed something. But wasn’t she surprised when I hugged her, trying to console her. I didn’t think that it was very significant, but she thought otherwise. She sighed, and I could feel her smile.
“Thank you, young one. That is very appreciated.” She said as I let go, watching her with a newfound smile. “And now, we have an offer to propose to you. We will train you to fulfil thy destiny, but there is a cost.” Her smile faded, and her tone took a tone for the very serious. I instantly felt nervous as she fixed her eyes directly on mine. “Thou must give up part of thy spirit, part of thy very soul, in order to properly fulfil thy destiny. Are thou willing to do this?” I paused, looking inside myself to find the answer.
I didn’t really understand what Luna meant, give up a part of myself. But as my mind began to consider and weigh options, I realized that no matter what she meant, I had no choice but to accept. My family was gone, killed by a monster. I had nothing to go back to, and no future apart from a life of fighting. What Luna was offering me was a fighting chance. And not just any fighting chance, but to be the personal champion of the princess. Her chosen warrior. Her soldier.
“I don’t know what you mean, but I have nothing to lose. I’ll do it.” I watched Luna as I finished my statement. A smile graced her features again, but I noticed something change in her eyes. Where there had once been a gentle firmness there was now a sea of sorrows. Something was tormenting her. And whatever it was, the choice I had made had increased its intensity.
She was in great pain. And I think the sorrow she felt was now no longer her own. The sorrow she felt was in knowing what she would do to me.
And she hated herself for it.
Author's Note
Big thanks to GhostWriter95 for his prereading.
Seven years have passed since the death of my family. Seven years undergoing intense training, under the watch of Princess Luna. Seven years learning about, adapting to, and coming to truly understand the night. And seven years bearing a new burden in my heart. The burden that Luna had placed there that first night.
I had asked her about what she had done, but at the young age of nine, I didn’t really understand what she meant. Now, seven years later, a somewhat older, somewhat wiser, and mostly definitely stronger me decided to take the initiative and ask her again. I wasn’t prepared for what would come next.
As I walked into her room - actually, I should say our room. She had a second bed moved in not long after I arrived - I found her sitting on the plush rug in the center of the room, staring at the ceiling. Her horn was ignited, and I could tell from the look of intense concentration that she was working on a new constellation. I had seen her do it before, and it was always a joy to watch, but this night, there were other things on my mind. Things more important.
“Princess,” I began, coming to a halt near her. She turned to look at me, then shook her head. I understood what she meant, so I sat down next to her, watching her work. It was amazing, watching the stars move around under the control of the princess. It was a power few could ever harness, and I knew that I was not to be one of them. My natural magic abilities were rather limited, and as such, my magic lessons with Luna were always a challenge for me. That made me all the more impressed as a new constellation finally took shape. Luna smiled and nodded at her work, then turned to look at me.
“We know what thou are about to ask. Thou seeks to know what we meant all those years ago. Thou seeks to know what it was that we did. We explained it after we had done it, but it was clear you did not understand.” Her eyes took on that expression she she had worn on the night in question. It was clear to me that it still pained her, and it was difficult for me to not try and console her. During the time I had spent with her, she had become as close to me as I had been to my sister. I truly cared for her, and seeing her in pain made me unhappy. But she surprised me with her next statement. “We put a part of our spirit into thy own.”
I blinked, not quite understanding. “Um... what?” Luna chuckled and shook her head.
“Thy knowledge of the spirit and soul are still rather limited, so we shall try our best to explain. Inside of everypony, we all have a spirit that defines who we are, and who we are to be. It is this spirit, when it comes fully awake, that reveals our cutie mark. At birth, a pony’s spirit is fragile, and susceptible to the world around it. Our parents, our friends, they all have an influence in shaping who we really are. But once a pony’s cutie mark appears, their spirit is set in stone. It cannot be changed... which is what makes what we did to you all the more terrible.
“You see, by tearing away part of your spirit, we ripped away part of who you are. You are not the same pony thou wast those seven years ago. And, in the place of the spirit we took from you, we put there a piece of our own. This is the exact reason why we felt so awful about doing it. Because your spirit now has a part of our own, we are more connected to you than most married ponies are to their spouses. We know of all thy fears, thy dreams, thy aspirations, even thy strengths and weaknesses, and this is how we knew your question before you spoke.” She paused, giving me a look I’d never seen her wear before. She smirked deviously. “Tell us, have you noticed anything different about yourself in these past few years? Perhaps some small flame burning at the back of thy thoughts?”
As she asked the question, I felt something in the back of my mind, almost at the back of my consciousness. I knew, by some odd reason, that it had been there since that day seven years ago, but I was still taken aback by how much she knew. And, looking back, she knew that I had found it. She was smiling, amused by my reaction.
“You see? We are a part of you now.” She sighed, her smiling fading along with her jovial mood. “And this is why we feel so... so wrong. Don’t you understand? We’ve done something so despicable, so vile, that the spell has been hidden away from the eyes of normal ponies for over two centuries. There are scarce few alive who remember the spell exists.”
“Why was it hidden away?” I couldn’t help but ask. She had piqued my curiosity, and, as ashamed as I was to admit it, I was scared. The princess of the night had put a part of her own essence into me, and the thought of another pony sharing my mind, sharing my thoughts, emotions and memories... it terrified me. “And who else knows?”
“As to thy second question, the only three still alive that know of the spell are Celestia, the Arch-Mage Slipstream, and... myself.” Luna paused, closing her eyes and frowning as she spoke the last word. I had never heard her refer to herself in anything other than a plural. The fact that she hated the sound of the word so much she almost choked on it was confusing, if not worrying. It seemed that there were things I would never know about her, no matter how long I served as her champion. She finally regained herself and continued.
“And the first... well, there were ponies long ago, dark mages, who used the spell for darker means, twisting and corrupting it with dark magic.They used it not as we did, but to control the minds of ponies almost completely. There was one pony in particular, a vile and wicked being known as Blood Reign, who violated the spell so perfectly that the ponies whose minds he stole... well, he stole them completely. Normally, when we broke the spell, the ponies recovered themselves after some time. The ponies under Blood Reign’s influence, after we broke the spell... they all perished the moment the connection was severed. Four hundred lives lost, in the blink of an eye.”
I noticed a tear in the corner of Luna’s eye, and knew instantly that I had to do something to try and console her. But there was something that stopped me dead in my tracks as I rose to comfort her. I felt it. Her sorrows. Her pain. Her memory of the event in question. All of it coursed through me. And I collapsed. I had no idea how her emotions and memories had entered my consciousness, but it was overwhelmingly powerful. I lay there on the rug, unable to do anything but sob into it as her sorrow filled me up completely.
It wasn’t until I felt a pair of hooves scoop me into a gentle hug that I finally started to regain control of my emotions. I just sat there, listening to Luna’s heartbeat as her emotions finally faded away. I couldn’t believe what I had just experienced. But that was just the beginning. After a minute, she let me go. I could tell by the redness in her eyes that she, too, had been crying, but she smiled nevertheless.
“We apologize for that,” she rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. “We forgot to mention where we put the part of your spirit when we removed it.” I stared at her blankly for a moment before the words registered. But when they did, I nearly choked as my body decided to breath and swallow in the same motion.
“You- you’re telling me tha- that part of my spirit... is in YOU? ” Luna gritted her teeth and looked at the wall to her left. She was so visibly embarrassed that I wouldn’t have needed the connection to tell me that.
“We had hoped that thou would not react like this... but yes,” Luna answered, still avoiding my gaze. “The connection requires that both parties involved have a part of each others spirit in themselves. In order to make this work, we had to take what we removed from you and put it in our own spirit. Please understand, we had our reasons.” I nodded without hesitation. Sure, I was a little mad about the invasion of privacy, but what could I do against her? She was the princess. And besides the point, she had practically raised me since my parents were killed. I trusted her to a fault, and now was no exception.
“I understand... but how does this benefit us, exactly? I can’t see a way this will help me fight the vamponies.” Luna, who had finally turned to meet my gaze again in relief, smiled deviously again.
“Well... this state of being allows for a few things that will aid you. One, it is the best form of telepathic communication. Allow us to demonstrate.” She closed her mouth, still smiling at me. A short while later, I felt the small flame at the back of my mind suddenly flare up. To me, it felt like the presence from my foal hood dreams had come to me in the waking hours. As if to reaffirm this hypothesis, I hear Luna speak from inside me. ‘You see what we mean?’ I grinned.
“You have no idea how strange that is,” I finally answered. “I mean, I can hear you... but you’re not doing anything... how is this even possible?” Luna shook her head.
‘Ah ah ah, no. That will not do. We wish to hear you speak with thy mind as well. Come now, use thy mind and speak with us.’ I frowned and put my head on my hoof, pondering.
‘But I have no idea how to speak to her with my mind.’
‘Thou just did .’ I started at her voice. Looking back at her, I could see a proud smile on her face. So I continued to muse over this new turn of events.
‘So all I have to do is think, and you can hear me?’ She nodded, and I felt the presence in my mind fade away to the small flame once again.
“As we said, a part of our spirit now lives inside you,” Luna explained audibly, waving a hoof absently. “By putting ours in it’s place, now thou shalt gain some of our knowledge and power. And, when thou calls for us, we shall be able to aid you by lending you our full power. In addition, it makes it much easier to keep track of where you are and what you are doing.” Her expression turned very stern, and I sensed that this was not the end of what she had to say.
“What is it? I know you, and you’re rarely this somber.” Luna nodded, closing her eyes.
“We’ve found him. The vampony that killed thy family. We know where he shall be in two night’s time. And we feel that thou art ready to finally have thy first real vampony kill.”
__________
The two days passed, and I found myself crouched in the underbrush, deep in the heart of the Everfree Forest. Why the vampony was there was beyond me - that forest still gives me chills - but for whatever unknown reason, he was there, not twenty feet away from my hiding place. The only thing keeping me from being detected was my training, my natural talent, and Luna’s magic. Since the discovery of the spirit bond between us, my prowess with the branches of Shadow and Regenerative magics had increased to almost unheard of levels for a unicorn like me. As it stood, I should not have been able to cast the spell I was now hiding behind - a shadow cloak that made the caster invisible in the dark - and yet, there I was.
The vampony, completely oblivious to my presence, was not in the form I had seen him those years ago. He was in his beast form, the form that vamponies use when killing prey. His true and terrible form.
No matter the race they were before, all vamponies, when transformed, have skeletal, membranous wings, much like a bat pony. They also have no fur on their entire body, and even their manes are faded and stringy. Their skin is a sickly grey in color, and hangs from them like old rags. Their hooves elongate, and the hard points split in three, forming lethal, sinister claws. Their teeth, once made for the consumption of plant material, sharpen into razer like blades, each of them a small killing machine. And their pupils take the color of the streak that they possessed in their pony form. As it stood, the blood red eyes of my prey had just come to rest on me. He made no sign of recognition, though. Thank Luna the spell worked.
‘Dost thou see him?’ Luna asked. Even though she had been using it more and more, the telepathy was still unnerving, and I had to be careful not to speak out loud.
‘Yes, he’s here. He’s watching me right now, so I can’t make a move just yet.’ Luna seemed pleased with my judgment, but her presence did not fade from me. She was watching, waiting to see what I would do.
As it happened, luck was with me. The vampony had begun to turn away as I answered her. Swiftly I drew my weapon and aimed at the back of his head, where the skull met the spine.
Back in those days, we had stories about vampony hunters. There was Mane Helsing, Hoofy the Vampony Slayer, and many others. But for some reason, all the stories involved the hunter using a close quarters weapon. Even Mane, who early on used what I now held, discarded the ranged weapons for a silver stake. It made for a better story, but was clearly unrealistic.
I took a deep breath and steadied the crossbow in my magical grip, waiting for the right moment to let the bolt fly. The crossbow was plain and simple, and the single bolt was made of purest silver, but it was the best weapon I had ever used. Sure, it had a clunky and abominably long reload time, but it was silent, lethal, and accurate. And that was what I wanted.
The moment I pulled the release, I knew that it would not be an instant kill. There was a fluctuation in the night around me, and the bolt deviated course, striking the vampony just to the side of my intended target. It knocked the vampony off its hooves, but the yelp of pain told me that the kill had, indeed, not been clean.
I emerged from my hiding spot and walked slowly over to the dying form on the ground. It had landed face up, and I felt its eyes on me again, glaring at me with the utmost loathing and hatred. I drew near, staying just out of reach, and watched him. It was strange. I knew that I had just killed something, and yet I felt no remorse, no pain, no guilt about doing so. Instead, I felt a kind of fulfilment. The blood of my family was no longer crying out. They were about to be avenged.
“I remember you.”
I shook myself from my thoughts as the vampony coughed, blood coming from his mouth. I knew he wouldn’t last much longer, so I decided to see what I could get out of him.
“Yes. You killed my family.”
“I know,” He rasped, his voice weakening with every word. “You were the one I was sent to kill. I can’t believe you managed to-” He coughed again, hacking as his unlife began to slip away. “Managed to get away. He was none too happy about it.” His words caught me off guard.
“Sent? He? Who sent you? Why did he want me killed?” The vampony chuckled weakly, his laugh chilling me to the bone.
“Why? Because of that cutie mark. And who?” The vampony chuckled again, then fell silent. His eyes glazed over, and his head fell to the side as his spirit left him, heading down into the nether realm of Tartarus. I knew that it was finally done. My family was avenged. And yet, something bothered me at that moment.
‘Somepony wanted me dead, because of my cutie mark. Why?’
‘Return at once. We shall discuss this matter when you arrive. It is apparent to us that thy safety has been compromised.’ I nodded at Luna’s words, and quickly called upon my magic. In the blink of an eye, I vanished. The forest was at peace, as if nothing had happened. The only sign that anypony had been there was the body of the vampony lying in the dirt. In the morning, that, too would be gone.
Nopony knew of what happened. At least, I thought nopony knew.
But there was another.
Entry Three: A Night in Trottingham
Another two years passed. Princess Luna kept me under close watch during that time, especially after another incident involving three vamponies and getting myself ambushed. It wasn’t my best moment, and Luna was none too pleased. My ears will never truly recover from the tirade. You haven’t quite heard the Royal Canterlot Voice until you hear it at point blank range.
Also during the two year period, my training intensified. My crossbow was always by my side, and Luna’s magic and knowledge was constantly flowing through me. Oddly enough, the newly awakened spirit bond between us had a strange side effect, one which Luna found quite amusing. My mane color changed literally overnight. What had once been forest green was now a bright silver. I was somewhat disappointed, as I thought - and still think - it looked ridiculous, but Luna seemed to think it was hilarious.
“Oh, come now, Shade. It looks rather dashing on you.” She teased. I rolled my eyes, looking over the latest headlines in the paper. There was nothing interesting, which didn’t surprise me in the slightest. Just some ramblings about the latest Canterlot policies, who was the newest Best Young Flyer, stuff like that. It was when I turned the page that I spotted something very interesting. It was hiding among other stories, but a certain description caught my eye..
“I think we have another Phantom,” I said, levitating the paper over to Luna. “Take a look. The condition of the body matches.” Luna glance over it and frowned.
“In Trottingham, no less. Shade, thou knows how we feel about this.” I shook my head.
“I won’t hear it. I have to get out there. Ponies are dying because I’m not doing my job. And I’m not doing my job,” I stopped, leveling a glare at Luna. We’ve had our fights, sure, but this was different. I felt so much fury, so much anger. And all of it was directed at her. I don’t know what made me so mad, but I knew in my mind that it was wrong. Nevertheless, the next words out of my mouth were, “Is because you are too frightened of what might happen to me.”
I braced myself, knowing full well that such a statement, in older days, had gotten ponies killed. I knew that the Royal Canterlot Voice was to follow my impudence, but I didn’t regret it. She needed to understand. And, no matter what it took, I would make her understand.
But she surprised me. I saw a smile appear on her face, and she laughed. She genuinely laughed. It wasn’t a cruel or forced laugh, it was a mirthful laugh, one that had brightened my mood throughout many long years of training. My glare faded into a look of confusion.
“Um... did I say something funny?” Luna shook her head, still laughing. I rolled my eyes and waited for her to finish her fit.
“Nay, nay. It’s just... Thou looks so amusing when you get very serious.” I spluttered. I couldn’t believe she had just said that. It wasn’t even like she was trying to avoid my question. It was as if she just hadn’t been paying attention.
“Did... did you even listen to me?” I was too shocked to yell. Luna nodded, still trying to hold back more laughter
“Yes, yes,” She giggled out. She paused, composed herself, cleared her throat, and then continued. “Yes. And thou art correct. We are being a little... overprotective of you. But thou does not understand. Thou does not know why. Thou hast no idea...” I saw something in her eyes at that moment, and instantly regretted ever getting cross with her. There was such sadness, such loneliness in those blue orbs, I wondered how she managed to get up in the evening bearing such pain.
“Luna... I... I didn’t...” She raised a hoof, cutting me off before I could formulate an apology.
“No... no, thou wert right in thy anger. We were wrong. But thou must understand... being the master of night... when everypony, even thine own sister, takes their rest... it has made us rather lonely.” She closed her eyes, and I could tell she was fighting back tears. “You were our first real friend in a very, very long time. And we were afraid of losing you, to the point where we let our fear cloud our judgment. We shall not make the same mistake again.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t know this before, Princess, but you know as well as I do that I have to get back out there. It’s been four months. Four months cooped up in here. I have to do what I was made to do.” Luna sighed and lowered her head, nodding in resignation.
“Thou art right. But we are still uncertain. Just please be safe.” I nodded. I knew that time was not on my side, so I called upon Luna’s magic and teleported away. The night was still young, and I had to find the Phantom quickly.
A Phantom is the name we gave to the vamponies who held a higher rank among their brethren. It appears that with every successful pony that the vampony managed to convert, the stronger it became. It’s eye color also changed as well. Interestingly enough, though, when a Phantom was slain, every vampony that it had converted perished as well. I’m still not sure how that worked, but it was a pleasant surprise.
As I landed in the streets of Trottingham, the moon full and bright above me, I quickly took in my surroundings. The streets around me were deserted, gently lit by some torches near the sidewalk. Some of the buildings still had lights shining from their windows, but most were dark. It wasn’t hard to see that there was nopony else awake and on the streets, but I still took the precaution of casting the shadow cloak spell and getting off into the shadows of the buildings. I stood near the edge of the sidewalk, gazing around in search of my adversary.
‘Any sign of him?’ The flame ignited as she spoke, and I felt her presence wash over me. I still wasn’t quite used to it, but it was something I couldn’t live without anymore. Her magic abilities and advice were so useful to me that I don’t think I’d still be alive without them. As it stood, I couldn’t see anything, and that’s what I told her. I think I heard her sigh in relief at my words. ‘Alright, just be cautious. We don’t need you getting killed out there.’
‘Got it, Princess. You just watch.’ I walked off down the street, glancing down every alley and into every dark, shadowy place I could see. Nothing moved. Nothing shifted. There wasn’t so much as a breath of wind in the air around me. And that was disconcerting to me. I knew that the Phantom was there. I just couldn’t see him.
Throwing a glance over my shoulder and seeing nothing, I sighed and lowered my head to the street. ‘Where in the name of Tartarus is he? I know he’s here.’ I looked up as I heard a noise to the left of me. There was light in one of the street level windows, and through it, I saw a truly heartwarming scene unfold. A young unicorn stallion, nineteen by my guess, was carrying a blanket through the air over to a mare - I assumed that this was his wife - who was laying on a nearby couch. She looked tired - and sweet Celestia, was her mane a mess - but was still smiling at a small bundle in her forehooves. I couldn’t see it clearly, but I made an educated guess. A baby foal was a big chore, especially in the early years of life. It had been like that for my parents when my sister was born.
The stallion laid the blanket over his wife and pecked her quickly on the muzzle. He sat next to her, keeping watch as she and the foal drifted off to sleep. After a short time, I could tell that they had both entered Luna’s dream realm. He seemed to know as well, so he extinguished the lamp that had been providing the light. The room, and street outside, became dark. I sighed inwardly, my smile dying with the light. That was something I could never have. With my line of work, a family would only be put at major risk. It was something I dearly longed for, but knew would never come to be.
I turned back to the street, and almost instantly heard incoming hoofbeats. They were still a way off, but it was a lead, so I took it. I trotted off in the direction of the noise, keeping my eyes and ears open for anything. It wasn’t long before I saw the source of the noise.
‘Spotted a lone mare. Not the target, eyes are normal. Wandering the street alone so late at night? Something’s up.’ I thought. Luna grunted in assent.
‘Keep an eye on her. She may lead us to the one we seek.’ I nodded and watched her. She trotted down the street a few paces, then ducked down an alley. I watched until the last swish of her tail had faded into darkness, then followed. I hadn’t gone more than a few paces when I heard a second set of hoofbeats, coming from the opposite direction. I turned to look.
‘I found him.’ I told Luna. ‘I think that he’s connected to the mare. If he is... she’s in for a world of pain unless I stop him.’
‘Then hurry. Follow, and watch what he does. Remember, a distracted enemy is the easiest to strike.’ I quickly followed as the Phantom as he ducked down the alley after the mare. It was very dark, but my night vision was keener than a cats - constant time in the dark does that to you - and I was able to keep up without arousing attention. It wasn’t long before the Phantom reached the place where the mare was standing. It was then that I got my first real look at her.
She was a pegasus, and a quite lovely one at that. She had a golden coat, complemented by a crisp, silver mane. It appeared that she wasn’t very wealthy, judging by the state of her coat and mane. And her eyes... I was thankful not to see any streaks in those lovely, emerald pools of light.
To say I was infatuated would have been an understatement.
Anyway, she had just turned to see the newcomer. Of course, I remained unseen. Luna was still watching my movements from the spirit bond, and I could feel she was tense. I, however, tried to relax. The easiest way to reveal yourself by accident is to be caught on edge. I needed to wait for things to unfurl, then make my move.
I sidled up to the side of them as they began their conversation in low voices.
“Do you have it?” The Phantom was asking. His voice was deep, cold, and definitely not Trottingham in origin. It struck me as odd at the time. What would he be doing so far north? It became somewhat clear as the mare lifted a wing to reveal a saddlebag she was wearing. She reached into it and pulled out a scroll of parchment.
“Yeah, it’s here. I still don’t really understand why you want it, anyway.” Her voice wasn’t bearing a Trottingham accent either. I didn’t care, her voice was so sweet and gentle. But I shook myself out of my trance. I had to stay focused. She was in danger...
‘Are you laughing at me?’ Luna instantly tried to cover her giggles the moment I relayed that. Of course. The spirit bond, no matter how useful, did have its downsides. I rolled my eyes and focused back on the conversation. I had missed the most of what the mare was saying, but not all of it.
“... and it’s just an old treasure map. Probably not worth anything. I also don’t understand why you wanted to meet here... at night...” She shifted uncomfortably as the Phantom examined the scroll. He smiled and turned back to her, setting the scroll aside.
“This map is more valuable to me that you might ever imagine,” He growled, taking a step towards her. I noticed that two small lumps had appeared on his back. Not only that, but his color seemed to be fading. “And why meet at night in a dark alley? No witnesses.”
‘Oh crap.’
It was then that I shifted position, placing myself between the mare and the Phantom. Both of them seemed startled, but the Phantom seemed almost livid at the sudden appearance of a potential threat. He couldn’t clearly see me, but the shadows had obscured the mare from his vision.
“What treachery is this?” He cried. I thought the statement was rather cliche, but didn’t have time to think about it. I dispelled the shadow cloak and stood, facing my foe. He had fully transformed, and to say I wasn’t scared would be lying. Nevertheless, I drew my crossbow and held my ground. This mare would not die, no matter what happened to me.
“Not treachery. I guess you could say ‘Divine Intervention’.” It was a play on an old concept embedded in some ponies. There were those who regarded Celestia and Luna as gods in those days. Of course, this is untrue, but there were ponies who believed that. And, judging by the look on the Phantom’s face, he got the message.
“You. This night just got better for me. I can’t wait to tell my lord that I was the one to finally drain your blood.” He growled, readying himself for his lunge.
I had leveled the crossbow at his head, but knew that firing would be pointless. Phantoms were wicked fast unless stunned, so I waited for the roar of the Phantom, and then the lunge. As he lept, I rotated the crossbow and swung hard. Unfortunately, I missed. His aim wasn’t much better, but he managed to slash me in the jaw. A small gash was my reward for my carelessness. I ignored it. Only the bite transformed, and his face was way too close to mine.
I swung the crossbow again, this time connecting with his side. The force of the blow knocked him away, but didn’t do much to stun him. He lunged again, slashing at my side. He managed to nick me, but I ignored it as well. Training with Luna really paid off sometimes, and my focus proved that. A third swing of my crossbow finally managed to hit him in the face. It knocked him flat on his back. Quickly I swung the crossbow about, bolt side facing him.
By that time, he had recovered enough to rise to his hoofs, only to find my crossbow was pointed between his eyes. I saw a flash of panic appear as I pulled the release. The bolt struck true, killing him instantly. His body fell, making a soft thump as it hit the ground. Not too far off, I heard two more similar noises.
‘That was far too close, Shade.’ Luna scolded. I rolled my eyes.
‘Just a couple of scratches. No big deal.’ I heard a huff of indignation from the other end, and then silence. Her presence didn’t leave, though.
I sighed and sheathed my crossbow, turning about to face the mare. She was petrified with fear. I stepped over, waving a hoof in front of her face. No response.
“Hello? You alright?” At the sound of my words, the mare collapsed. I smirked. ‘Well, that’s to be expected. I’m bringing her back with me, alright? I need to ask her some questions.’ I heard giggling from Luna.
‘Is that the only reason you want to bring her here?’ I growled at her remark, turning about to find the scroll that the vampony had wanted so badly. Fortunately, it hadn’t been damaged in the scuffle. I hefted it up and tucked it away in the saddlebags I wore. Then, I stepped over to the mare, placed a hoof on her shoulder, and teleported the both of us back to Canterlot. The streets of Trottingham were safe once more.
For now.
__________
I was pouring over the map when the mare finally awoke. We were in Luna’s room, and the night princess had her attention fixed on the map as well. It was a moment before either of us realized she was awake.
“Where am I?” She asked. I turned to look at her. She still looked scared, but seemed to be alright otherwise. Smiling, I turned away from the table and beckoned her over.
“Canterlot,” I replied as she stepped over, sitting beside me. “Specifically, Princess Luna’s room. Don’t worry, you’re safe here.” It was then that the mare noticed the princess. She bowed quickly under Luna’s hard stare. I just watched. Luna frowned for a moment, then smiled softly.
“Rise, young one,” She told the mare, her voice uncommonly gentle. “There is no need for that here. We are glad to see that thou art well. Pray tell, what is thy name?” The mare smiled at her words.
“Calm Breeze,” She replied jovially. Luna made the other introductions, then asked how she was feeling. Breeze was still smiling as she replied. “I’m alright. But if it wasn’t for Shade here, Princess. What was that thing anyway?” I frowned, turning back to the map.
“It was a vampony.” She gasped and I nodded, grimly. “Yes, they are very much real. And for some reason, interested in the map. What’s the significance?” She frowned and shook her head.
“There is none. This map is just directions to an old ruin.” She leaned over the table and pointed with her wing at a spot on the map labelled “Hall of Undoing”. “The region is just north of Manehatten. I’ve been there. Yeah, there’s a ruin, but you can’t get in, even if you wanted.” Luna and I were both surprised.
“Why is this?” Luna beat me to the question. Breeze just shrugged.
“There’s no door. I checked around the entire ruin. There’s nothing there, Princess. It feels... wrong, though.” She paused, searching her brain for the words to say. “That’s why I kept the map. It feels like there should be something more, something there, and yet there isn’t. It also feels dark... like there’s something evil trapped inside, waiting to come out. Something terrible...” She shuddered visibly, clearly unsettled by her memories of the place. I cut in before Luna could ask her anything else.
“There’s something that bugs me, though,” I said, more to Luna than the mare. “The vamponies want this map. They still want me dead, too. So, whatever’s inside this ruin,” I tapped my hoof on the spot. “We have to find it first.” Luna nodded.
“And quickly. The vamponies have been getting more active. They’re getting bolder. We fear it will not be long before a full scale attack is launched.” I nodded at her words, something burning inside me. I wasn’t sure it was time to say it, but Luna needed to know.
“Indeed. But there’s something about that you’re not going to like.” She tilted her head, and even Breeze seemed intrigued. “There’s a pattern to their attacks. You know about that cult that worships you, the Lunar Convent?” Luna nodded. “Out of all the recent victims we’ve been seeing, there’s been a pattern with some of them. Eyes gouged out, throats slit, blood completely drained. And every single one killed in this manner was a member of the Lunar Convent.” I walked away from Luna, towards her room’s balcony. I waited for the question.
“What does it mean, Shade?” She finally asked. I sighed.
“They’re targeting you, Luna. They want you. And they’re sending a message.”
Entry Four: Under a Red Sky
As you may have guessed, it wasn’t long before Clam Breeze and I got married. Yeah, I know, big surprise there. Luna was ecstatic about it. It was hilarious, being lectured about my antisocial tendencies by the princess of the night. Right, where did she think I got it from, considering she’d raised me for most of my life?
Anyway, it was a bit rough at first. We couldn’t decide on where to live. I thought it’d be best to stay in Canterlot, but she didn’t really like the castle life. Eventually, we found a small town just south of Trottingham. It was a quiet place, and seemed safe enough. Of course, I went in first to do cleanup duty. Three vamponies were hanging around the place. Low ranked lurkers, not a problem for me. They dropped quick, and at last I was satisfied that the village was safe. We moved in not long after.
Then came the issue of my job. Luna decided that the best course of action would be to spend time with my family, and she would only call for me if it was urgent. It worked out quite well, as most nights I spent at home. I occasionally pulled an all-nighter, but for the most part, I slept pretty soundly nestled against Calm Breeze. Life became quite peaceful for me after that. We didn’t want for anything - working for a princess had some really nice benefits - and we were happy. Life was wonderful.
But all good things come to an end.
I was sitting in Canterlot with Luna. It was seven months after I got married, and those months had been very quiet in vampony activity. The only movements we had seen had been more Lunar Convent ponies. It was disturbing enough how they were killed, but the fact that Luna was their real target was my real problem with the attacks. The fact that I had trouble catching them was also getting on my nerves. They knew I was after them, so they never stayed in an area for too long.
Anyway, I had just taken down a particularly bothersome Phantom that night, and earlier that day, I had visited the ruin on the map. It was my first visit to the place, and, true to Breeze’s word, there was no sign of any sort of access point to get into the ruin. And, also true to Breeze’s word, the place felt wrong. It felt evil. It felt... to be honest, it felt like it was calling me. There was something in there that wanted me. And it wanted me badly.
Luna was smiling as I talked about home life, about Breeze’s latest antics. At last, she finally spoke up.
“So, when can we be expecting to see some young ones running about?” I coughed for a moment, startled by her question.
“Um, well,” I began, unsure of how to phrase this. “We’re trying. As soon as it happens, we’ll let you know. Actually...” I turned away and looked at the floor. “We were hoping that, when it happened, if you would be the young one’s godmother?” Looking back up, Luna had put a hoof over her mouth. It was clear by the smile she was trying to hide and by the flush on her cheeks that she was touched by my question.
“We would be delighted,” was her reply. I smiled, satisfied that another small thing had been lifted off of my chest. One less thing to worry about.
It was then I felt it. A fluctuation in the flow of the night. Something big. These were not uncommon, but there was something different about this one. I know Luna felt it too. She dropped her hoof, her smile fading in an instant. Neither of us moved. We merely let the night speak to us. It felt like it was calling me. Pleading for me to move.
“Shade, go,” Luna commanded, closing her eyes. She was far more in tune with the calling of the night then I was, and so she could pinpoint the exact location of the discrepancy. “This is big. Bigger than anything you have yet encountered. Go to her. Now!” I knew exactly where she meant, and called upon her magic to get me there. But I couldn’t move. The teleport wasn’t working. Something was blocking me. So, I teleported to outside the town.
The moment I landed, I felt what was wrong. Before I could even see the flames, I could feel them. Looking up, my heart sank like a ship at sea. The entire town was ablaze. And, in the sky above, no stars could be seen. A curse had been placed on the night sky that lay over the town. It was blood red. Another message by the vamponies, this one directed to me. It was a sign. That all in the village were gone. They were all either dead... or worse.
Including Breeze.
Fury began to build within me. I felt a rage I had never felt before. They had gone too far this time. Even as Luna’s presence began to fill me, I drew my crossbow and gazed around. I found a solitary vampony standing at the edge of the inferno. He was laughing maniacally. I growled, charging towards him.
As I drew close, he turned to see what this new noise was. “Hey, he’s here! It’s-” was all he managed to say before my bolt met his throat. He collapsed with a gurgle, and I approached, pulling the bolt free. It was bloody, but I cleaned it on a patch of his skin, reloading the crossbow and turning to face the village.
‘You have got to be kidding me.’ Seven vamponies emerged from the heart of the flames. At the head of that small group was a Phantom, and she looked none too pleased that I had just slain one of her children. I knew that I was in for a real fight, but I didn’t care. I had lost too much to them. And they were going to pay.
I lept forward into the fray, but didn’t immediately go for the Phantom. I wanted that one to suffer the most. I wanted it to feel my pain before I killed it. Luna was trying to communicate with me as I lunged, but I ignored her. My mind was clouded by a bloodlust, nothing would sway me.
My bolt met the head of a vampony, taking him out of the equation. I landed and spun, connecting the crossbow with the head of another. It knocked him flat, but didn’t kill him. With the small breathing room I had, I sheathed my crossbow and drew two silver bolts from my quiver. Then the vamponies closed around me.
I felt the slash of the first before I could react. He got me across my side with his claw, tearing a huge gash in me. I retaliated in kind, planting a bolt in the side of his skull. He collapsed. Whirling about, my bolts managed to stop a second slash, this one aimed at my flank. The claw in question now had two puncture wounds in its center, and the vampony cried in pain, backing off. Another took her place, and I made short work of him, driving both bolts into his neck with blinding speed.
A second slash was the reward for my carelessness, on the back of my left hind leg. I collapsed, the pain driving me to the ground. But I managed to drive the bolts into the roof of the vampony’s mouth as he dove for the finishing blow. Tossing him aside, I felt a regenerative spell flow through me, courtesy of Luna. The wound on my leg stopped hurting instantly, but wasn’t fully healed. I knew it wouldn’t be ‘til the fight was done, and so I had to push through the pain and blood loss.
As I rose, twirling the bolts, I took in the situation. Now there were only four left, including the Phantom. Judging by the look on her face, I could tell that my plan was working. She was enraged by the deaths of the four. I leered at her. A furious enemy was a clumsy one.
But a distracted enemy got themselves killed.
There was a third slash, this one on my back. The pain was unbelievable. I would have fallen again, but Luna’s magic began to pour into me. She held me up, holding the pain back and trying to keep the wound closed. I knew that this fight could kill me if it lasted much longer, so I made my move. I spun and threw the two bolts, taking two more of the vamponies through their eyes. Drawing two more silver bolts, I found the vampony I had wounded earlier, the one that had just wounded me, and decided that the bolts were too good for him. Instead, I lifted him up with magic and threw him at one of the burning houses. His cries lasted for a good minute before the fire finally claimed him.
At last, there was only one. The Phantom was stunned. Even with three slashes, two of which would have normally spelled my demise, I was still standing. Not only that, but I had killed all eight of her children without so much as a second thought. I could see the hesitation in her eyes. So, I called out to her.
“Is that it?” I cried, goading her. “Are you just going to let me slaughter them, and then slink off to your master? Or will you fight me and die with honor? Come, let me end your miserable existence.”
‘And we thought that one Phantom was cliche.’ I ignored Luna as the Phantom roared, her rage getting the better of her. She pounced forward, and it was then that I remembered the one thing about Phantoms: you have to stun them first.
I leapt aside, dropping the bolts and grabbing my crossbow. She managed to get me across the face, near the same spot that Phantom in Trottingham had hit me. The pain coursing through my body was at excruciating levels now, but I had to fight through it. I aimed the crossbow at her, but then remembered as she spun about that it was empty.
‘Oh, for the love of Celestia!’ I jumped aside again, much earlier this time, and drew a bolt. I had to keep dodging in order to buy the time I needed to reload. ‘I have got to find something better for this thing’s ammo.’ I managed to get the bolt in, but my momentary lapse in concentration allowed for a fifth strike, once again in the face. I swung the crossbow and, to my surprise, heard crunching. I turned to see that I had struck the Phantom in the mouth, and broken quite a few of her teeth. She screamed in pain as I whirled about and pulled the release. The bolt struck true and she fell, her scream dying with her.
At last it was over. I let myself fall, panting heavily as the bloodlust lifted and the adrenaline faded away, replacing itself with more pain than I would have thought physically possible. Luna’s magic began to flow through me, mending the wounds the vamponies had inflicted upon me. The pain didn’t quite leave, but the edge was most certainly gone when she had finished. Also, every wound had been sealed, so the flow of blood was finally stopped. I felt shaky and weak, but I knew that something had to be done. The flames of the village were dying down, but they weren’t dead yet.
‘What can we do about this fire?’ I asked. Even my thoughts sounded weak. Luna knew it, too, but chose not to say anything about it. Instead, she reached out around me with her magic.
‘Is there a body of water anywhere?’ I nodded, giving her the general location. As I watched, her magic lifted the entire body of water - what had once been a lovely little pond - and used it to douse the flames. It took some time, but at last the blaze was finally quenched. As soon as Luna gave her all clear, I dashed forward into the village, searching for any signs of life.
There were none.
I quickly ran up to what was left of my house. It was nothing more than a charred remain, but I still began to cast spells, trying to find if she was still nearby. If she was still alive. Or if she was among the ashes. To my relief, I found nothing that showed she was dead. But I also found nothing to show she was alive. I sat in the ashes of what had once been our home, feeling the tears creeping up at the edge of my eyes.
“She’s alive.”
I turned to see an earth pony stallion standing behind me. He looked weary, but nodded at my look. “There were some of us that managed to get away before the blaze took hold of the whole town. She ran south with the others. I ran north to try and get help from Trottingham, but something made me come back. She told me you would be coming.” He gestured for me to follow, and I did so. This stallion was largely unremarkable, green with a navy blue mane. He had a scroll for a cutie mark, which told me he must have been a scholar of some sort. Other than that, he didn’t seem to be that impressive. But he still surprised me.
“I saw something as I ran north. It was off to the west. I don’t know exactly what it was, but I think I can point it out. It might be important.” As we reached the edge of the village, he lifted a hoof and pointed west. The moon was just beginning to draw near the edge of the horizon, and I knew that soon, Luna and Celestia would begin the process of lowering the moon and raising the sun. But that wasn’t what really caught my eye. What caught my eye was standing on a plateau not too far off, a shadow against the radiance of the moon.
‘Do you see it?’ I asked Luna. It was a long moment as I stared at it, still trying to take in the fact that it existed. At last, Luna replied.
‘We see it. We are just still having trouble believing it.’ As I watch, the being shot a bolt of magic to the sky above the town, which was still blood red. The color vanished, and the true night sky became visible once more. How it did this, I would never know. All I know is that I was watching the master of the vamponies at work.
And, judging by the silhouette of his massive wings and horn, he was an alicorn.
All other thoughts were driven from my mind as I watched the mysterious alicorn slink off into a forest set near the plateau. I knew that this was going to be a once in a lifetime opportunity, and that wasting it would be the most foolish mistake I could possibly make. I immediately set off in pursuit, my mind fixed on this new threat. Whoever this was, he was immensely powerful, as was evident by his knowledge of magic that I didn’t even know existed. I asked Luna about it.
‘We are not sure. There have been many books saying that spells that work to that effect exist, but we have never found one containing the spell itself. For this being to know one... he must be very learned... and old. Older than anypony we have ever encountered.’ I mulled her statement over. Most alicorns seemed to have a much greater lifespan than normal ponies. Was it even possible?
‘Is it possible that he is older than you and your sister?’ Luna’s response was in the affirmative.
‘Natural born alicorns have lifespans that can last several millennia. It is very likely that he has been around for at least a thousand years more than we have.’ Luna’s statement was worrying, but I pressed on. I had a job to do, and if this alicorn was involved with the vamponies, then he needed to be taken down, no matter the cost.
I reached the edge of the forest a short while later. It was imposing in the darkness of night, and I sensed that there were numerous foes hiding in its depths. Regardless, I strode in, determined to find my target.
The forest was deathly quiet. There wasn’t a breath of wind, not a chirp or buzz from insects, not even the call of a nightingale or owl graced the place. It was as if the entire forest was cowering in fear from the horrors that were slinking about within. It unnerved me slightly, but Luna’s presence comforted me, so I pressed on. The forest hadn't appeared that large upon first entering it, but as I walked, I found that it didn't appear that I was making any sort of progress. I stopped, looking about me in confusion. Then it dawned on me.
‘What is it, Shade?’ Luna inquired.
‘He’s placed a curse on the forest. I’ve been walking for some time, but I’m not moving anywhere. Can we dispel it?’ Luna didn’t respond immediately. She focused on the world around her, trying to determine exactly what the spell holding me back was.
‘We do not know. The spell is one foreign to us. It may take some time.’ I nodded, standing perfectly still. My ears twitched to and fro, trying to pick up any sort of noise.The forest was still deathly quiet. But I caught a noise. It was close. And I didn’t like it.
My magic instinctively wrapped around my crossbow and, bringing it to bear, I turned in the direction of the noise. I had heard faint laughter, but there was nothing visible in that direction. I frowned, lowering the weapon.
‘That’s... odd. Have you got anything?’ Luna gave me a negative. I groaned, shaking my head. Another sound from behind me caused me to jump and whirl about. Once again, I found myself staring at vacant space. ‘Really beginning to irk me.’
The laughter came again, from off to my right. I leveled my crossbow at the area where it had originated, but didn’t pull the release. At this point, all of my training was beginning to slip away as the unknown taunted me. I don’t know why I did this, but at that point, I decided to take a more direct approach to my problem.
“Stop hiding and face me!” I called into the shadows. My jeer was met with more laughter. I couldn’t find the source, but it was angering me to no end. In a fit of rage, I loosed a bolt into the darkness, in the direction the voice was coming from. Luna was about to reprimand me when I heard the bolt make impact not on wood, but on flesh. I grinned.
‘Twas a lucky shot.’ I could tell Luna was trying to hide her amusement and astonishment, but didn’t comment on it. ‘Oh, and we think we can breach the spell. Hold still.’ I felt her magic surge through me. Almost instantly there was a change in the forest around me. It seemed less grim and foreboding. I smiled, thanking Luna before moving back off into the underbrush.
Now I felt I was making progress. The forest around me felt different as I moved and ducked around. Thankfully, I encountered no other hostile threats other than the poor sod that had been taunting me. Not until I stumbled upon a small clearing, that is.
I immediately cast a shadow cloak spell and ducked silently into cover to watch the scene before me. The alicorn was there, with two vamponies beside. He was talking to them. It was the first time I got a good look at him.
I was shocked. I had expected him to look decrepit or run down, but it was quite the opposite. His coat was the purest white, without spot or discoloration, without even the slightest patch of loose hair in it. It was flawless. His tail and mane complemented it well, being the purest shade of muted silver that I had ever seen. They were flawless as well, styled like Canterlot elite.
His eyes were pitch black, and seemed endless when you looked at them. But, even then, I could pick out the shades of pure violet in his pupils. He was their master, alright. But his cutie mark was what stood out most. It was a crown, and a regal one at that, overlaid with gemstones and what appeared to be velvet. The crown of a real king. But behind it lay a sword, tipped with blood. I thought I understood what it meant, and it did my mind no favors.
It appeared that I was in the presence of either a usurper or a kingkiller. Or both.
I strained my ears, trying to catch what he was saying to his minions. I could barely make out his voice, but it sounded young and powerful. The voice of a king.
“...yes, I know,” he was saying. “I’ll deal with it. You have your tasks, now get about it. The night won’t last forever. At least, not yet.” With that, the two vamponies dashed off. The alicorn sighed, turning about and fixing his eyes upon me. I thought that maybe it was a trick of the dim moonlight, but I was horribly wrong.
“You can stop hiding. I know you’re there, hunter. Come out and face me like a stallion.” I felt compelled to do as he said. The nature of his voice was one of sinister, yet benevolent power. I wanted to listen to him. But Luna, being the better half of me, chipped in before I made so much as a single step.
‘Shade, thou does realize that this is perhaps the most powerful enemy you will ever face? Do not, and we mean this, DO NOT fall for his tricks. He most certainly has a voice to charm the birds out of the trees, but it’s a snake’s tongue. Venom lies behind his words. Be wary.’ I nodded at Luna’s words and stepped into the clearing, dispelling the shadow cloak. The alicorn smiled.
“That’s better. What did Luna tell you? Be careful around me? She’s right, you know.” I was more shocked by the fact that he knew Luna had spoken to me than the fact that he had known I was there. I would have voiced this, but he cut me off. “I can sense her. A spirit bond between the two of you? Isn’t that cute. I think she may fancy you, hunter. She didn’t do this for any of her other hunters.” I blushed furiously at this, and I heard Luna stutter something in the back of my mind.
“I’m a married stallion.” I replied. I don’t know why I did that, even now. I guess that the sound of his voice put me at such ease that I felt comfortable making small talk. The alicorn just smiled.
“You’ve heard of herds before, haven’t you?” I didn’t think I’d ever hear a squeak like that ever come from Luna. It was so high pitched I swore a different being was linked with me. She seemed embarrassed, but there was something else. I ignored it, filing it away for later.
“Right... you said that there were other hunters?” The alicorn nodded sagely.
“Oh yes, there were more. It’s been over two hundred years since I last fought one, though. What was his name again... Mane. Mane Helsing. He’s probably just a storybook character to you know, but he was once real. To think, he thought he could kill me with that silver stake. Laughable. But not you. You are different. So, so different from that oaf. I can sense that about you. You possess wisdom and courage beyond the others, but that can be attributed to your princess. It’s probably all hers.
“Oh, but where are my manners? Neither you or your precious princess know who I am, so allow me to introduce myself. I am... well, you may call me Insidious. My birth name has been lost to the millennia. I am the only one who still remembers it, and I choose to let it die. It was a stupid thing. Doesn’t quite carry the power I do.” He turned slightly, stepping to the side of the clearing, his eyes fixed on the moon. It was hard to see it through the trees, but it was there.
“So... you’re a vampony?” I asked. “Probably an important one, judging by your eyes.” Insidious smiled, turning back to me.
“You’re more clever than I first thought, hunter. Yes, I am an important vampony. A VIV, you could say, or Very Important Vampony. More specifically, I’m the original.” I guess I made an amusing face at this, because he started laughing. I’d heard a laugh like his before. It bothered me that Luna sounded a lot like him when she laughed.
“The... original?” I asked, still stunned. “But that means... you’re ancient. I mean, real ancient...” Insidious rolled his eyes, still chuckling to himself.
“No, really. Thanks for the heads up.” I narrowed my eyes as Luna growled in my mind.
‘We do not like him. We do not like this one at all.’ I agreed. This being, though wise as his age, was turning out to be quite rude. I guess not every evil force in the universe is going to be serious, after all. I was going to ask Luna something else when Insidious brought me back. He was continuing with what I guessed was going to be a monologue.
“You’ve caused me a lot of trouble, you know that? Especially with that business in Trottingham a few months ago. That map was rather important... but I guess it doesn’t matter. I just wanted to refresh my memories of what the walls did tell.” He paused, raising a hoof to his mouth. He was pondering something. I thought I might know, but were those walls really significant? Could he be speaking of the evil thing trapped in the ruin? I didn’t have long to think as he turned back to me.
“So, hunter... you know, that is getting really old. Tell me, what is your birth name?” I told him. He seemed amused. “Silent Shade? It’s a good name for a creature of the night, but not you. I can sense that you have not truly become one with the night, only with its magic. And even then, you are still rather limited in your knowledge. You still love your day. Well, allow me to tell you something, Shade.
“The day is coming to an end.” His words confused me.
“Um, no. The day is just beginning. It will be dawn in a little over an hour.” Insidious sighed, shaking his head.
“You miss the meaning of my words. Yes, you are correct, the new day will dawn, and soon, I will have to be back in the comfort of my darkness. But your precious sun will, someday soon, fail to rise. And when that evening dawns, when the moon holds it’s place in the sky for the beginning of a new era, then the day shall end. Your world, the world of Equestria that you hold so dear, will fall to me. And a new one shall rise. One blessed by the glories of the night.”
“Right... and my special talent is applebucking.” I jeered. Insidious growled at me.
“Do not act like a foal. You have no idea who you’re messing with.” I rolled my eyes, anger getting the better of me again.
“Alright, I’m done with this. You’re insane.” I growled back at him, drawing my crossbow. “I don’t care who you are, where you came from, or why you’re doing this, but know this: you’re a vampony. You’re my enemy. And you’re dead.” Insidious stared at me for a moment, then began to laugh. I felt my hooves buckle out from under me as his horn glowed black. I couldn’t move, and I dropped my crossbow as my own magic was cut off. The presence of Luna also seemed to be severed. I heard her call out my name before she was silenced. Whatever he was doing, he made one thing clear to me: I was helpless before him.
“You foal. You really think that you, with your petty crossbow and shadow magic, can kill me? Please. That pathetic weapon can’t hurt me. And your magic? I created her, the shadows you love to cling to. She bends her knee to me, and no matter how adept you are at using her, she answers to me as her last authority. If I tell her to stop, she stops. If I tell her to go, she goes. And if I tell her to cut off your magic, restrain you, and cut you off from your princess, she does.
“You know nothing of who I am. You know little of the world, and the manners and means by which it works. You think yourself so wise, so tough, but you are nothing, nothing, compared to me. I have been since the beginning, and I will be til the end.” He stopped talking, instead just watching me as I tried to fight against his magic. It was so powerful. There was literally nothing I could do against it. At last, I finally stopped fighting, and instead took to glowering at him. He laughed.
“You know? I like you. You’re much more fun that the others that I fought over the millennia. Allow me to do something that I’ve never done before: I will tell you a story. So just relax and listen well.
“You may not believe this, but I have, as I said, been here since the beginning. I don’t really remember much from those days, but some of the details are burned into my mind. What do I mean by beginning? I mean the creation of our world! The dawn of the first day! That is the time I speak of. That is the time I was born. I have been alive for well over seventy thousand years. And I still don’t look a day over 30!
“Well, at the time, the world was at peace. There was evil in it, yes, but most chose to live in harmony. Then there was me. I sought power. I sought immortality. And I sought the darkness. And by my actions, true corruption began to seep into the world. More and more, ponies and other creatures began to fight, quarrel, and generally be more wicked than before. Nopony knew that I was the source, and so my work continued.
“All of this was for the gain of my race, the alicorns. I wanted us to be immortal, to be the ones who ruled over all Equestrians for eternity. But, in order to gain that immortality, some heavy costs had to be paid. Sacrifices had to be made. Magical barriers had to be breached. The shadows had to be controlled. And the sun had to be blotted out. It still does.”
I found out that his magic was not keeping me silent, so I spoke up. “And you feel no remorse? No sense of loss? Nothing? You lost your sense of what it means to be Equestrian a long time ago, it seems.” Insidious frowned, turning his eyes to the grass below and shuffling.
“Is that what you think? No, I still regret some of the things I had to do to get here. I mean, I killed my own sister and drank her blood. That’s not a thing to do lightly, but it was necessary. You see, the blood of alicorns is special. It is laced with pure magical essence, and thus, it makes killing an alicorn a crime punishable by death. In fact, the magic in the blood itself, when an alicorn is slain, is what kills you. Unless, of course, you drink of it. And that is what I did. And look at me now!” His demeanor changed quickly, and he grinned wickedly down at me. “I have the power of gods. I have an army. I have the mortals cowering in their homes. I have the princess of the night on the verge of emotional collapse. And you really think that you can challenge me?”
“I can try. Oh, by the way, thanks for the Trottingham incident. I met my wife there.” I was trying to act like I didn’t care, but this revelation troubled me. This alicorn was basically claiming that he was the original, that he was, as he is known in our ancient texts, The Eldest of All Evil. I didn’t want to believe him, but I saw no other options. Luna and her sister knew of all the alicorns in the world - the whole four of them, at the time - but they hadn’t seen this guy coming. And he was a vampony. You’d think that’d make headlines. There was no other explanation. This was the real deal.
And I was trying to taunt him.
“Oh yes. I remember her. Pretty little pegasus. Wasn’t she in that village I just razed?” I felt a new wave of hatred wash over me. That was low. That was real low. He just kept on smiling.
“So, you seek to bring about eternal night? For what end?” Insidious rolled his eyes.
“Were you even paying attention? I’m a freaking vampony, and my army consists entirely of vamponies as well. You’re telling me you don’t know why I need eternal night? Really? ” I glared at him.
“Why... why are you doing all this? Killing ponies, destroying the world around you... what is to gain from all this? What do you seek from this mindless destruction?” He turned around, his eyes turning to meet the heavens.
“Why? They always ask why... Well, time is running short for the both of us, so I’ll be quick. I was meant to rule, but when I attempted to seize the throne, I was met with great opposition. The rest of my race did not agree with me when I tried to explain that we were meant to rule, to be immortal. And now look at where that’s gotten them. The princesses you so love are creating alicorns with magic. With magic! These are pseudo-alicorns. Abominations. Blasphemy. The natural born line is dying, and the princesses are doing nothing to change that fact. So, I will remove them, establish my kingdom of night, and rule for all of time.” He turned back, smiling deviously. “And there’s naught you can do to stop me.” He paused, igniting his horn again. A small medallion appeared out of thin air. He placed it around my neck.
“Go to the Hall of Undoing with this. Then, you will see. You will understand. Oh, and tell your princess something for me. Tell her ‘Blood Reign’s work is not yet done. Brace for the coming Nightmare.’” He turned away his horn lighting up. I felt the magic barriers drop around me, and felt my magic - as well as the ever-comforting presence of Luna - rush back to me. “One last thing: without your precious princess, I was able give you a little parting gift. Let’s hope the Canterlot surgeons are skilled. You’re gonna need it.”
I had just begun to rise as he spoke. As his statement finished, all of the wounds I had received in the fight earlier tore open. I cried out in pain as my blood began to flow fast away. I collapsed, sure that death would claim me then, but it was not to be. Luna, who had felt the attack on my body in her own mind, was pouring all of her magic into me, trying as hard as she could to halt the flow that spelled my demise. But for all her work, she couldn’t stop it completely.
‘Ready thyself, Shade. We are bringing you home.’ I shook my head, and with the last of my strength, raised my crossbow once more. I took aim and let fly the bolt. It struck Insidious on the back of his leg. He stumbled, then whirled about to face me. I grinned cockily through the pain.
“Immortal, yes. But not invulnerable.” I groaned out, the pain becoming overwhelming. I struggled to rise to my hooves, but still managed it despite my injuries. The grass beneath me was stained red, but I didn’t care. “One day, Insidious. One day, you will meet your match. It will not be me, that I understand. But it will come. And when it comes, I will know of it, even in death. I will laugh as your scream echoes throughout what lies beyond. And I will laugh until it finally fades away.” I smiled, feeling myself become weaker every second I was standing upright. “Keep the bolt. As my gift to you.”
There was a double meaning to me leaving the bolt with him. One, I wanted him to remember me. I wanted him to remember who gave him that wound. But there was another reason. All the bolts I carried were slightly enchanted, making them easy to track down. I was giving Luna an easy way to find him. If anypony could destroy this monster, she and Celestia could.
I gave Luna the okay. The crossbow fell to the dirt as Luna’s magic enveloped me completely. I didn’t care if I lost it, I could always make a new one. Plus, more of my enchanted items to trace.There was a distinctive pop, and then blackness.
Less than a second passed before I found myself back in Canterlot, still on my hooves. I turned my head blearily to see Luna, gazing at me in horror. I felt consciousness slipping away from me, and I managed to get off a single word before I collapsed.
“Luna...” I hit the ground hard, the blackness creeping up around my vision. I heard Luna yell distantly, calling out for something, but I couldn’t make it out. My mind didn’t want to try, either. At last, my mind let go of reality, and drifted off into the bliss of unconsciousness. The pain vanished from my body, and I knew no more.
__________
It was some time later that I awoke. I was in the Royal Infirmary, bandaged up like it was nopony’s business. I groaned, trying to move, but I discovered that I was magically restrained. This was odd. I turned my head to see if anypony was there, but I was alone. This was also odd.
‘Where in Tartarus is everypony?’ I thought, still a little too groggy to speak. It was less than a second later that Luna’s presence washed over me. She seemed relieved and overjoyed that I had finally woken up.
‘Shade! Thou art finally awake! Give us a moment, we will be there shortly.’ As if on cue, the sound of rushing hoofbeats rapidly approached the room was in. A moment later, Luna, along with two of the royal healers, were in the room. They were making my injuries a bigger deal than they really were, fussing over every little scratch that I had. It annoyed me a bit, but I was happy to still be alive, and overjoyed that I was safe once more.
“What happened?” Luna, who had been smiling so widely, tears of joy wetting the fur of her face, immediately became very somber. It seemed like she was hiding something. Something that pained her immensely.
“Well, when thou did arrive back here in Canterlot, thou was in quite a delicate state. It’s been very worrying for the past few days. We thought thou might not make it more than a few times. It seems our healers were more than capable, though. Thou art still alive, after all.”
“You lost a great deal of blood,” One of the healers, a grey unicorn mare, added curtly. “Any longer and you would have been beyond saving. You’re very lucky to be alive, Shade. Very lucky indeed.” I thanked her before turning back to Luna.
“Where’s Insidious? Did we lose him?” Luna nodded.
“We are afraid that, after we drew you away, we accidentally severed all magical connection with the area, instead choosing to focus on you instead. We hadn’t expected him to do that to you, and we were so worried. Your crossbow and bolt have vanished, and we cannot trace them. We have tried, but he has simply vanished from the world. He crawled back into whatever hole he came from, and is now in there, most likely plotting his next scheme.”
“What of Calm Breeze? Where is she?” Luna hesitated. So that was it. That was the last thing I wanted to hear. And yet...
“We could not find her, nor any of the others that escaped the village. We fear the worst. We...” She hesitated again, chewing on her words for a moment. “I am sorry, Shade. I am so, so sorry.”
It was the second time she referred to herself with singular wording. The fact that she did so told me so much more than her words did. It told me that she, and she alone, truly felt the deepest sympathy a pony could feel. It told me that, as a friend and as the pony who had raised me, to her, losing Breeze was almost like losing her own daughter. It hurt her deeply.
But it didn’t hurt me.
She was wrong. I knew it. I could feel it. Breeze was still out there. I told her as much, but she shook it off, telling me not to go on such foolish hopes.
“Hope is all we have now, Luna.” I replied calmly. The spells restraining me had finally been broken, and I was sitting up, stretching my hooves and wings. “We are facing a truly unstoppable enemy, one we thought was dead. We need all the hope we can get.” Luna sighed once again in the face of my reasoning, nodded in defeat.
“We can see that we will not cause you to stray from your path. But please, tell us. What did Insidious tell you to tell us? We could not hear it.” I told her. She tilted her head in confusion. “Now, what is that supposed to mean?” I shook my head.
“I’m as clueless as you are, but one thing is clear to me. It’s a threat. He’s reaffirming my suspicion that you are their target. And now, he’s gearing up for the next move. This game has been in play for some time, and every move we make, he counters. We cannot let him win, but every time we try and stop him, he manages to slip around us. He didn’t even seem all that concerned that I’ve been wiping out his minions.
“He knows something we don’t, and whatever it is, it’s in that ruin. I have to find out what it is, or we’re doomed.” Luna nodded.
“Indeed. The Hall of Undoing has a lot more to play in this little game of his than first meets the eye. When you are well, you will go at once. In the meantime, we will devote a battalion of Night Guards to finding the survivors from the blaze. We will find Breeze.” I thanked her, laying back down and closing my eyes. I was so tired at that moment. The healers and Luna noticed, and left me alone as I drifted off to peaceful sleep.
Well, it would have been peaceful, were it not for a chilling presence that visited me that night. Luna’s comforting warmth seemed to be splintered from me, and in it’s place, a bone-chilling breeze had blown in. An icy voice accompanied it.
“My master is right. Your princess should be ready. Her shattered emotions, her vast longing, her burning jealousy... I hunger for them... she will be mine. Mark my words, hunter. Your princess will be mine. And her night, my night, will last forever...”
And I could not wake from this Nightmare.
It took me some time before I finally felt ready enough to go to the Hall of Undoing. The wounds inflicted upon me by Insidious and his minions were more severe than we had at first thought, and the one on the back of my leg could have crippled me, were it not for Luna.
She did so much for me, and expected nothing in return. It puzzled me to no end why the princess of the night, one of the most powerful beings on the planet, would consider me worthy enough to take care of and raise as her own. What could I ever be that she wasn’t, that she couldn’t? What was it that drove her to do what she did? I’d never learn that. She took it with her to the moon, and even now, as I feel my body weakening, waiting for death, those secrets elude me.
Regardless, it was over a month before I finally worked up the strength to go to the Hall of Undoing. During that time, Luna’s battalion of Night Guards had searched all over Equestria to find the survivors from the village. But there had been nothing. They hadn’t found hide nor hair of any of the ponies that had escaped the blaze. After two weeks, they were ready to give it up, but Luna kept them at it. Now that a month had gone by, Luna finally relented. The ponies were still marked as Missing, but Luna felt she knew the truth.
They were gone. And this time, I believed her. I could no longer feel Breeze like I could that first night. She was gone. Maybe not dead, but she was most certainly not here.
The night Luna made the call, I was working on building my strength back up. More specifically, I was sprinting around the outer walls of the castle. I had been running for some time, my endurance less than what it had been, when Luna finally caught up to me. She landed beside me gracefully as I struggled to catch my breath. It hadn’t been easy to run as hard as I had. I knew that the wounds had taken their toll on me, and that I would never be as strong as I once was. That didn’t stop me trying, stubborn as I was.
She frowned as she watched me, struggling not to vomit on the ground in front of me. The walls had just been cleaned earlier that day, and I’m pretty sure Luna would have had a fit had I removed the contents of my stomach in front of her on the nice, shiny wall.
“Thou are pushing thyself too hard, Shade,” she scolded, laying a hoof on me gently. “Thou must realize that, because of those wounds inflicted upon thee, thou will never be as strong as thou once was. Thou must accept that.” I nodded half heartedly, still panting. She had been using older Equish a lot more often, and it was somewhat amusing to me, but she was right, even if I didn’t like it. I didn’t want to accept that I had royally screwed up. I didn’t want to take the blame. I didn’t want to admit that I had made the mistake.
But I had no choice. My foolish pride, I realized, would be the death of me. I had to try and fight it. I had messed up, and because of that, I was not only weakened, but I had let our foe slip away with only a small wound, insignificant to the beast. Nothing I could do could make up for that. But I had to try.
Luna called me out of my reverie when she continued speaking. “Shade, there is something more. It has been a month... we are calling off the search. We feel that there is nothing more to profit in scouring the land for ponies who we are sure are no more. We tried, Shade, we tried so hard to find them, to find her. We are... I am so sorry.”
What I felt at that moment, I will never be able to describe. The emotions were so cluttered, so disjointed, that I could barely produce coherent thought. All I knew is that she was right. My wife was gone. Gone from this world. We had been together for not even a year, and already, I had to bear the pain of losing her. It was exactly what I had feared would happen from the beginning, but had been too foolish to care about. I couldn’t think, couldn’t feel, I couldn’t even produce tears. My body simply refused to work. I barely even registered that Luna had spoken in singular wording again.
Then the wall came up. Something inside of me snapped, and my emotions faded away, sealing themselves in a place my mind refused to delve into. My pain, my sorrow, a part of who I was, was cut off from me. I was broken, a different pony than the one who had been running not five minutes earlier. This new pony refused to let my emotions hinder me. And I knew what I had to do. I had to break Insidious. I had to kill him. And the Hall of Undoing held the key. Only then could I finally be free. Free of pain. Free of remorse. Free of monsters and evil constantly ripping away from me what I valued most. Free of him.
And that’s when my mind started to embrace something. A shadow at the back of my mind gave me a point on which to fix my blame. And that point was Luna. I blamed her for what I was feeling. I blamed her for the death of my wife. I blamed her for everything. She was the reason that I was constantly throwing myself in harms way, risking my life so that her night might be liberated. It was completely unjustified, and I knew it, but I didn’t care. I wanted a vent for my fury. She was that vent.
I lifted my head, and, without so much as a passing glance to Luna, I walked away. She seemed stunned, now that I look back, but I barely even noticed at that moment. I had one thing on my mind, and that was to go. Luna called out to me, and I stopped, turning to level my gaze at her. She froze under my stare, and part of me felt sorry that I was so cold to her. The rest of me could care less.
“What... where are you going?” She asked hesitantly. I rolled my eyes and turned about, continuing my march to my room - her room - but I gave her an answer.
“To the Hall of Undoing. I’m going to end this.” I don’t know what I did to her with my response, but I know Luna didn’t stop me. She should have, though. She should have stopped me right then, should have forced me to think it through, should have let me cry the pain away. Instead, she let me walk away.
And to this day, I still regret not turning back.
__________
Less than a day later, the amulet around my neck, I arrived at the Hall of Undoing once more. The ruin hadn’t changed since my last visit. It was largely unremarkable, a decent sized stone building, half tilted into the dirt around it. Vegetation was creeping up the sides, coating the grey craftsmanship in fields of green. And, to top it all off, there was still no door. No latches, no handles, no levers, no buttons, not even a knob or pressure plate. Nothing. The walls were carved from a single piece of uncut stone, smooth and imposing. And unrelenting.
I watched the ruin, trying to decipher how I was to get in. Luna was trying to reason with me. I could hear her voice in my head, trying to bring me back, trying to tell me I was being rash and foolish, trying to console and comfort me. I ignored her, trying as hard as I could to block her out. I didn’t want her sympathy anymore. I wanted justice. I wanted revenge. And I would do anything to achieve that goal, regardless of the cost.
As I approached the ruin, the amulet around my neck began to glow. I paused, looking down in wonder as the glowing began to turn into a full fledged light. The amulet was giving off raw, magical power the likes of which I had never felt before. But this was no benevolent power. The power radiating outwards was dark in nature, similar to the shadow magic I so loved. And, as I watched, the power began to seep into me. I could feel it trying to breach my mind, and for a moment, the mental barrier I had set up broke as I realized that this power was trying to attack me, to destroy my mind.
But I was wrong. The power wanted a point of focus, and instead of attacking me, it seeped into my horn and out in a beam of power. The amount of pure energy pouring out of me was staggering, and I nearly blacked out from the spell that I was unwillingly casting. After a long moment which felt like an eternity, the spell ended, leaving me to crumple to the ground, gasping for air. My head felt like it had been crushed by a hydra, and I could barely focus. To my relief, although I wouldn’t admit it right then, Luna hadn’t left me. She began to take the pain away into her own body. I was surprised by this, but then remembered that alicorns have a higher tolerance to pain than normal ponies. What was mind numbing to me was only a bad migraine to her.
Rising unsteadily, I looked towards the ruin, where the beam had been shot. My jaw dropped in disbelief. There, in the center of the unbroken wall nearest me, was a doorway. Beyond it lay a darkness so thick, I swear I could have cut it with a knife. I could see nothing inside of the ruin, so I approached cautiously. By this time, I had stopped ignoring Luna, if only because she had just saved me from severe mental trauma.
‘Shade... did it work? What was that?’ She asked, her voice pained and laden with worry. I peered into the ruin, doing my best to try and keep as low a profile as possible.
‘The amulet reacted violently to being in such close proximity to the ruin. But, there is a doorway. I can’t see in, though.’ I replied, steeling myself for what lay ahead. I knew that something important lay inside. And whatever it was, it could change the tide of the whole struggle. I had to find out. But the dark unnerved me. It was so perfectly dark, it was as if the chambers inside swallowed light.
‘Be careful.’ I nodded, and, lighting my horn with a basic light spell, stepped forward into the ruin.
Instantly I realized that this was no ordinary darkness. My magic spell, though weak, should have given off a great deal more light than it was. This darkness was enchanted. And magic could not break it. Immediately I sidled over to the wall and pressed myself against it, taking precautions in the event that threats lay within. As it happened, I managed to press myself against a sconce in the wall, in which was resting an unlit torch. It seemed the magic of the ruin did more than just make the dark terrifying, it preserved whatever was inside of it.
I knew that the torch may be able to breach the darkness, but I was none too keen on lighting it. Elemental magic had always been a challenge for me, fire being the worst. But I had to try. I struggled to remember the spell I needed to light it. And, once I did remember, I struggled even more to produce the flames the spell called for. After much straining, the torch flared into live, as new and bright as the day it had been placed there. I smiled, tired and mentally strained from trying to light the thing.
Removing it from the sconce, I turned and swung the torch into the darkness. Instantly there was a change. It was still quite dark, but the torch was producing ample light to allow me to see. And it gave off enough light to reveal what was on the wall opposite me. I gazed in awe at what was now revealed to me.
Stepping over, I took in the sight of the carving on the wall. A beautiful picture had been painstakingly crafted into the wall, the unicorn that did the work sparing no expense on the artwork. It was quite amazing. But what was more amazing was the condition of the carving. For as old as the ruin appeared to be, the preserving magic did more than keep the torches usable. It made the pictures clear. And it made the writing below it legible.
Or it would have been, if I could read it. I called to Luna for her aid. ‘What is it? What didst thou find?’
‘It’s a wall carving, and it confirms Insidious’ claims. Seven alicorns stand beneath six rays of light. And one of them looks exactly like that damned monster. There’s writing below it, but I can’t read it. It’s not a language I’m familiar with.’ I felt Luna’s presence fill me more fully, and a strange tingling sensation settled itself behind my eyes. I heard Luna mumbling something to herself as she studied the writing through my eyes.
Of course thou is not able to read that. It is First Era Equish. Writing like this hasn’t seen the light of day for more than six millennia. This is quite the find. And, if this is a carving, it gives us a good guess as to just how old the ruin is. We will spare the details, as we would much rather it be that thou were able to decipher them. Hold still.’ I felt her presence wash into my mind, her magic igniting inside of my consciousness. As I watch, the strange script began to morph and twist before my eyes, Luna’s magic granting me the knowledge of how to read this ancient text. Not long after, in perfect Equish, there lay an inscription.
‘Six beings of great power, before all was, united to bring life to the world on which we now live, the world of Equis. As they parted, the beings created seven overseers to watch over the races. These overseers, two pairs of siblings and three single children, were granted a piece of the power and magic of the beings, transforming their bodies, and giving them flight and magic. The names of these seven have been lost to time, and there are none alive who remember them.’
I paused, tilting my head in confusion. ‘This doesn’t make sense. There should be some record of the names of these seven.’ Luna agreed, but did so half heartedly.
‘Indeed, but maybe there are reasons the names are now lost. We think that these alicorns may have planned it so that their true legacy was lost.’ I nodded, about to turn away, when another thought entered my mind. And it was one that was not only ironic, but infuriating to me due to the pure hypocrisy.
‘Insidious complained that the natural born line of alicorns was dying, but he himself was born of magic. Unbelievable.’ I growled and shook my head, turning away from the carving and looking towards the wall opposite me. To my surprise, there was another carving there, along with another inscription. It seemed that this place was a place of history. A record of things past. But I also remembered that Insidious had wanted to “refresh his memory” on what the walls said. Perhaps there was more than just history.
Prophecy.
I calmly strode to the next carving, giving it a quick once over. ‘There’s another. It’s got two alicorns standing before one of the beams from the previous carving. Insidious is not one of them.’ I turned my attention to the inscription below it. After I finished reading it, I tilted my head.
‘That can’t be right. These carvings are in impeccable condition, and yet there’s text missing here. It says that the beings were blessed with deep magic because of... something that had a natural connection with chaos. The beings were putting the magic in the alicorns as a failsafe in case whatever it was became too much for the alicorns to handle.’ Shade tilted his head and frowned. ‘What is it that got wiped off the carvings? What happened to wipe it off, anyway?’ Luna didn’t respond immediately.
‘Could it be Insidious wiped himself off?’ I shook my head.
‘Not likely. If he wiped himself off, why leave himself in the first carving?’ Luna seemed to agree with that, but still seemed a bit troubled.
‘But what could it be, then? The spell in question is one known to us. It is a very powerful memory spell, made to remove all traces of the beings existence from the world. Texts, works, and most importantly, memories. It is a spell that no soul can cast alone, but it is feasible. But the question we have now is why?’ I was as lost as she. Whatever was hidden, whatever was wiped away, it was done so for a reason. And we had no idea why. I turned from the carving and moved on, further into the ruin. Every so often carvings and inscriptions would appear out of the shadows. It was all a history of our race.
It started with the founding of the old kingdoms, when the races were divided into three factions. It moved on to the great war between the pegasi and the unicorns, the one that had nearly ravaged all Equestria to the point of making it uninhabitable. Other races had joined in, including the beings that had been wiped away from the previous text, and this only made it all the worse. In the end, the seven alicorns had to intervene - and that was when the legend of their race being divines came into being - and by their actions, all Equestria was saved. For several thousand years there was an unstable peace between the kingdoms. But it was shattered in the blizzard that ravaged part of our land, and thus began the tale of Hearth’s Warming Eve. But it was an event right after the unified Equestria was founded that caught my eye. I stopped, gazing at it in wonder.
‘Okay, I get it that the wiping away was powerful, but this is ridiculous. There’s a whole chunk of the carving missing here. It shows an alicorn being struck down, but there’s nothing doing the killing. This place is getting a little too strange for me.’ Luna agreed, and my eyes glanced over the text. It was so riddled with missing pieces that it was difficult to decipher exactly what had happened, but one sentence caught my eye: ‘It was not the first time this has happened.’
‘We gather that this must be after Insidious’ murder of his sister, yes?’ I grunted in affirmation, turning away to find the next carving. But I was surprised when I found that the next carving no longer existed. It had been completely wiped out, except for two words: ‘The Purge’. I paused, gazing at the words in wonder.
‘Do you have any idea what this means, Luna?’ She gave me a negative, so I went on. I had no idea what it meant by Purge, but I understood that this was the moment when the spell was cast, wiping whatever race had been so in tune with chaos out of existence. It confused me, but I cast it to the back of my mind. The carvings were moving into more modern events. Discord’s sealing away was on the wall, as well as the pegasi revolt at the end of the Second Era. There were more, but none caught my eye for some time.
Not until I saw myself.
I stopped dead in my tracks. ‘No way. No way in Tartarus that’s...’ Trying to convince myself otherwise did nothing to remove the carving from the wall. It was a carving of myself facing down Insidious, crossbow out and empty. The bolt was lodged in the back of Insidious’ leg, the same leg that I had hit the night I had met with him. And even the wounds I had received were on the carving of me. I read the inscription quickly.
‘At the time of the last hunter, The Eldest of All Evil will return to Equestria from his slumber. The hunter will make his stand against him, but it has been foreordained that the hunter shall surely die...’ I stopped, gasping and dropping the torch as my eyes crossed the last part of the inscription. ‘No... that... that’s impossible.’ Luna was slightly confused.
‘Shade, what is it? What hast made thou so frightened?’ I hesitated. My emotional wall was still shattered, and for the time, I had temporarily forgiven her for breaking me, so I was conflicted as to whether or not I should tell her about what I had read. Seeing as she could easily find it out if she wanted, I decided to take the easy route of honesty.
‘The hunter shall surely die at the hoof of the one who raised him.’ I didn’t want to believe it. Luna seemed at a loss as well. This wasn’t just a prophecy - one that had come true for the most part - but it was also the declaration of my death. I refused to believe it, refused to accept that this wall was telling me that I would die by Luna’s hoof. But I couldn’t deny that the carving was accurate to what had happened, despite being carved thousands of years prior. ‘This is impossible. You wouldn’t... you would never...’
‘Thou need not worry. As long as we live and draw breath, we refuse to bring thou to any harm. That demon shall not have his way with us.’ I was still distressed from what I had seen, but Luna’s words gave me a bit of relief. I turned away quickly, picking up the torch and moving on to the next carving. It didn’t help my nerves at all. In fact, it only made things worse for me.
‘I don’t believe this... this is you... no, wait, it looks like you, but it’s not. Whatever this pony is... she’s blotted out the sun, and she’s killed Celestia.’ I shook my head. ‘This place is evil. If this is what Insidious wanted me to see, then he’s absolutely twisted. And kind of foolish. Why is he revealing his plan to me?’ Luna didn’t respond. I felt that she had pulled herself away, leaving me alone in the ruin. Something I said about the most recent carving must have made her very uneasy. I resolved to deal with it later, instead turning to the text.
‘The day will come when the younger will lose herself to her emotions. It is then that the Nightmare shall come in. On that day, the sun shall fail to rise, and the elder shall fall. The night will last for eternity, and the whole of the world will descend into darkness.’ So that was it. That was his plan. He wanted to take Luna for himself, and make her his weapon, the thing that would undo the day. That was why she was targeted. But his method was strange. ‘Lose herself to her emotions? The Nightmare shall come in? That makes no sense.’
‘It makes perfect sense to us, Shade.’ Luna had come back without my knowledge. The was a great deal of pain and sorrow in her voice, but I wasn’t as concerned as I was confused.
‘What do you mean it makes sense? What does it mean?’ She was silent. I asked again, but she refused to answer. Although I was growing slightly worried for her, I was more furious than concerned at her silence. Growling to myself, I turned away from it and tried to move further into the ruin, only to find myself facing the back wall. There was one last carving here. I felt my eyes go wide and the blood drain from my face. The torch fell once again as my magic failed, rolling over to the foot of the wall, giving the carving an eerie glow.
Two alicorns stood side by side, on a balcony overlooking Canterlot. Behind them and off in the upper left, the moon stood in it’s place, unmoving and bright. And at the hooves of the two alicorns, there lay the body of a unicorn stallion. His body was burned, bloody and broken, with the hoof of the female alicorn resting on his head. It was obvious to me who the three figures were. And I was frightened. This was the end of the prophecy. And it was a gruesome end for all.
This carving had no inscription. The picture spoke for itself. At the end of this conflict, Insidious and his partner, the alicorn who looked like Luna, would win, I would be dead, and the night would last forever. It was no pleasant picture, but it was the one that Insidious was working towards. One that I had to stop.
‘Prophecies like this... they can be undone, can’t they?’ I got no response from Luna. ‘Luna... these can be undone, right? Right?’ Still nothing from her. It was the first time I had been legitimately afraid in years. This was something beyond my control, and it was something that was condemning me to die.
But that wasn’t the only thing that was hidden in the ruin. I felt something odd beneath my hooves, and, looking down, spotted a strange circular pattern on the floor beneath my hooves. There was an indentation in the center, small around round, almost the perfect size for the amulet I wore. Deciding to give it a try, I took the amulet off and placed it into the indent. It slid gently in and began to glow again. I had to hop quickly out of the way as a large cylinder rose out of the floor and into the chamber. It appeared to be hollow, with a latched door on the front visible from the glow of the torch and the amulet. Undoing the latch, I slid the door open.
To my surprise, there wasn’t much inside. It seems that whatever this vault held, most of it had already been looted. There were a few scraps of paper, an old book, and two scrolls still inside, along with empty containers and wall sconces. I took a quick look at the book, levitating it and the torch to myself. The cover was blank, as were the pages inside. Sighing, I threw it back in, glancing quickly at the scraps of paper as I took the two scrolls. They appeared to have writing on them, but most of it was smudged and faded. The vault may have done it’s job in preserving them, but the spell must have been damaged the first time it was opened, explaining the poor conditions of what lay within.
Opening the scrolls, my attention was immediately captured by what was upon them. They were blueprints. Blueprints and schematics for weapons, of ancient design, and most certainly not made by Equestrians. Looking them over, I realized that the weapons would be useless to me, as half of the equipment was foreign to me. But there were some elements that intrigued me. It was then I formulated a plan. I had lost my first crossbow to Insidious. But with the designs on this page, I could make a new one. A better one.
The emotional wall was suddenly repaired. I felt nothing but loathing and burning rage in my soul. I now had the means to enact my revenge. I would not allow the prophecy to come about. I was going to defy my fate.
That was what started my descent.
By the time I had returned from the Hall of Undoing, the mental barrier I had set up was back in place. Inside, I was formulating a plan, calculating every last detail down to the point where the final bolt would hit flesh, and the death of my adversary would come. It was a great plan, and I was more than pleased with myself at the time. But outwardly, I was cold, stoic, and I refused to so much as look at Luna as she came to see me. I was still very bitter towards her, for calling off the search, for letting me down. I felt justified. I felt right.
So it was that I brushed past her, before she could utter so much as a complete sentence. I could hear her stuttering behind me as I left, her confusion laced in the words she tried to make. It pleased me, for some dark motive, that I caused her to do so. But that was not my objective at the time. My objective lay deep within Canterlot Castle. In a place few have seen, and fewer still are granted access.
My hooves padded down the steps that would lead me to my destination, and as I descended, I felt my sanity, my emotions, descend with me. I felt a dark road lay before me, one filled with blood and tears, one which would leave me victorious or dead. And yet I strode on, and did not look back. Even when Luna pushed into my mind, and tried to bring reason to my madness, I refused to so much as humor her words. I wanted it. I wanted madness. I thought it could bring me release, bring me peace.
It was in this state of mind I arrived at the Lunar Forge. It was a place of reverence to the night, a place of deep magic and strong steel. It was a place I was familiar with. In the time I had spent under Luna’s training, she had brought me here on numerous occasions. It was here that I learned the art of smithing. It was here I forged the crossbow that I had lost to Insidious. And it was here that the dark road began.
The room itself was a work of wonder. Set near the far wall was a large forge, complete with tons of metals and coals to work with, still as clean as it was the day it had been placed there. Near that was a small anvil. It was in almost pristine condition, due to magical enchantment. The wall to my left was a large, glass window, enchanted so that one could only see out. It was this that window that gave the room it’s beautiful, blue glow in the light of Luna’s moon.
Set before the window was a large pool of water. As the weapons crafted here needed to be cooled, sometimes several at a time, this pool had always been of great necessity. To my right were large shelves, loaded with weapon molds and the necessary materials to create them. Near that was several tables and desks, used to create new blueprints. It was the perfect forge.
Striding over to one of the tables, I sealed the door behind me, making sure that the forge’s enchanted lock - one that had never been breached - was in place before removing the scrolls from my side and laying them out on the table. Both the strange weapons lay before me in the light of the moon, with details on their design, and how they functioned. Glancing them over, I pulled another parchment from it’s place, took up a quill, and began to draw.
The design had to be flawless, and only something that I could use. Therefore, it had to be enchanted. But no simple enchantment would do. I had thought that my magical powers could be lost if I carried out the proper enchantment I needed, so I cast that aside as the quill flowed beneath my grasp. As limited as my magic was, I needed it, so losing it wasn’t an option. So I began to toss other ideas about. The one I settled one was more concept than fact, but it was my best chance. The hard part was carrying it out.
As my design came into life on the parchment before me, implementing both of the other weapons with my personal weapon choice into a flawless instrument of death, I began to plan. I needed to pour a great deal of my magic into the weapon in order for this to work, but I was willing to go as far as my limits would allow. Even if this took nights, I would make this weapon come to be. It was the only thing my mind would focus on.
At last, I held up the parchment, satisfied with the design. Sure, there were a few corrections, and I was no artist, but what needed to be done was clear. How everything fit together, how everything was made, was explained simply and plainly. It was time to begin my work.
I strode over to the forge and glanced inside, checking to see if the coal was fresh. It was, so I called upon the same spell I had used in the ruin to light the fires I would need. It took a deal of work, but soon enough, the coals were burning, heating to the point where they could melt normal steel. But I wasn’t working with average steel.
There’s a reason why this forge was used by so few. The enchantments surrounding it are there to keep the pony smithing safe as they work with one of the rarest metals in Equestria. The metal was recovered from a titanic cavern that lay beneath the Crystal Empire, filled to the brim with gemstones and this metal. It’s harder than anything I’ve ever seen, and the princesses have armor and weapons made for them from this metal. And the Lunar Forge is the only place in all of Equestria where it can be smithed.
It’s known among ponykind as Star Steel, as most believe it came from the heavens. However, it was not like true starlight steel, which was recovered whenever one of Luna’s stars came crashing down to Equis. No, this was ore from the earth beneath their hooves. The true name of the metal is something only the princesses knew, but Luna had divulged the information to me one evening. It’s heard of in legends and stories, but few knew that mithril actually exists. And I was about to forge the greatest crossbow the world had ever seen.
Of course, aside from the mithril ore, I needed molds for the parts and silver for the bolts. Some of these were there, and so I immediately set about getting the silver ready for molding while I worked on creating the molds for the crossbow. It wasn’t unduly hard to work with these molds, as they were enchanted to work in cohesion with thoughts, but it took more time than I had anticipated, and soon I had to turn away from the molds to deal with the silver. The forge was set to a heat higher than any normal smith’s, so any metal smelted faster than normal.
As I poured the silver, I pondered over how hard what I was doing was for some ponies. I had enchanted molds for the bolts, so that when the metal cooled and hardened, the bolt was ready for use. Most ponies had to take the time to hammer and shape the metal to sharpness in order for it to be used. It felt a little wrong, but I didn’t complain. It was saving me time, which I needed.
The last bolt mold filled and cooling, I hurriedly gathered the mithril I would need and got it into the forge so I could continue working on the crossbow molds. There were so many small and intricate parts that needed to be made, and so much magic to be poured into the molds themselves in order to further my goal. It took some time to finish them, but I got it done before the mithril was ready. This gave me some time to formulate the spell that I needed.
Luna had taught me years ago that it was possible to make a living weapon. It sounded weird at first, but she explained that the weapon wasn’t alive per se, but instead it reacts to the way it’s used, changing it’s appearance or even it’s power based on your actions. Sometimes it’ll even stop working or, in the case of a blade, stay your hoof with its own magic when it knows you’re in the wrong. I didn’t believe her at first, but she showed me how it was done. It doesn’t work all of the time, but when it does, the result is impressive.
I stopped myself, frowning in disgust that I had started thinking about the princess and her role in my life. I hadn’t forgiven her for what I thought she did to me, so I was still bitter. The fact that I had to rely on her memory made me even more disgruntled. Shaking it off, I went to check on the mithril. It was ready. So the process began.
I poured the mithril into each mold, some of them small and intricate, others large and without much flair to them. Each one had its purpose in the whole of the weapon, and each one had to be perfect. It was straining to fill so many molds, as the bucket holding the mithril was very heavy, but I pulled it off. Setting the bucket down as the last drop settled in the mold, I turned and check the bolts. The silver had set and they were ready. Pulling the molds apart and taking the bolts out, I gently laid them in the pool. There was some hissing and steam, but it quickly faded.
I pulled them out and laid them out to dry before turning my focus back to the mithril. It set much faster than you would expect, and time was of the essence. Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite ready, so I had nothing better to do but count my bolts. A total of seventy shots lay before me, sharp and gleaming bright. It pleased me that so many could be made in such a short time. It meant that I never really had to worry about running out, no matter how many I used.
I sat, twirling one of the bolts with my magic, still waiting for the mithril to cool. Memories of past visits to the place were drawn out in the silence. I forced them back, as every single one involved the one pony I was growing to hate. I knew that it was wrong, I knew that I was being foolish, was being self-righteous. But I couldn’t stop myself from hating her. I kept telling myself that she was responsible, somehow.
At last, the mithril was ready. I opened all the molds and, after they took a quick dip in the pool, laid the parts before me. There were so many, but they were perfect. The casing of the bow impressed me the most. The intricate patterns I had unintentionally woven into the metal gave it a certain elegance that most weapons lacked. This was to be no ordinary tool. This was, in my mind, to be a weapon of legend.
The process began. Not only was I assembling the weapon, putting each small part in it’s proper place and making sure that it functioned as it was made too, I was filling each part with a bit of my magic. Each part of the weapon had to have an indwelling connection to me in order for this to work. It was strenuous, to say the least. My magic wasn’t all that strong without Luna, and pouring bit by bit away made it harder to place all the parts in order. But I pushed through. I had to do this.
I had to stop numerous times to take breaks, panting heavily from the mental strain that it placed upon me. Using this kind of magic was no easy feat, and for a unicorn of my ability, it was all the more difficult. The amount of magic that left my body with each spell was dangerous, but I pressed on carefully, making sure that I never overdid the spells. Doing so could have rendered me permanently without magic, and the weapon useless to me.
It was with relief that I wiped my brow some time later, smiling down at the wonder I had created. Glowing in the light of the moon, brighter than any jewel, gold, or silver, was a crossbow. But no ordinary crossbow. This was one that could only be wielded by a unicorn, and one that bore a connection to myself. It was a fusion of magic and technology in a way none had seen.
The crossbow was sleek, about a hoof and a half long with elegant curvature of the lath, or bow part. The drawstring itself was of mithril wire, almost unbreakable and enchanted with elasticity. But this is where the similarities end. Instead of a nock for the bolt that attached to the drawstring, instead there was a revolving chamber, cut through with eight rests. Seven would hold the bolts, five to a rest. These were spaced around the outer edge. The eighth, in the center, connected to the nock and drawstring, making for a simple reload. There were smooth, enchanted sliding plates in each rest, moving out of the way to drop the bolt into position after each shot.
The reloading system was made all the more simple by what was under the lath on the stock of the crossbow. A small grip rested there, in a groove that led almost to the release. By pumping this grip back to front, the nock would be reset, and a new bolt would be loaded with little to no hassle. A true marvel of engineering. And this from the unicorn who couldn’t cast a simple fireball.
Engraved along the sides of the stock were graceful patterns, along with lettering that I couldn’t read, but knew what it said. As Luna’s magic and knowledge of the ancient script from the temple had faded, I wrote down the name I gave the weapon. Pleased with the appearance in the old script, I had ensured that it was engraved onto the side.
Defiance.
Smiling at the outward appearance, I reached out with my magic and felt the weapon, seeking out a small flicker, a flame of life. Not true life, like what I possessed, but a sentience nevertheless. I sought out the enchantments making the weapon aware and adaptable.
And there it was. I could feel it. It was just a small flicker, but the moment my magic touched it, it flared into true life. Lifting it into the air, I tested the weight, feeling the enchantment morphing the weapon’s appearance beneath my grip. As I watched, the shimmering, silver glow was replaced with a beautiful, familiar, soft golden hue, intertwined with streaks of black, blue and violet. It had taken the two most familiar to me and implanted them into itself. Breeze and Luna had been accepted by it. I smiled, loading the weapon and placing the rest of the bolts in the pouches I wore.
The door to the Lunar Forge flew open. It was the first time in all of recorded history that anything had ever breached the doors. And if something had that power, it was obviously a threat. I swiveled about, bringing the weapon to bear, only to find myself face to face with the one pony I didn’t want to see. Luna stared wide eyed at the crossbow.
“What... have you done?” Her voice wasn’t cold or angry. Instead, I sensed wonder and concern therein. She was both impressed by my craftsmanship, and afraid of it. I couldn’t help but feel a little smug. That was two birds with one stone there. I decided to humor her.
“The ruins held one last secret. Blueprints. The weapons they held were useless to me, but I found that certain elements could be implemented onto my preferred weapon. Thus,” I gestured to the crossbow. “I built her. I built Defiance .” Luna nodded, taking the weapon from my grip. I didn’t want to let it go, but she was much stronger. Plus, unlike me, she wasn’t likely to turn the weapon on me.
“It’s alive... we can feel it,” She mused, running a hoof along the lath. “This is most wonderous. We taught you well, it seems.” A small smile played at her lips, and even though I didn’t want to admit it, she was right. She had taught me what I knew about smithing. And my skill, apparently, impressed her.
She levitated the weapon back to me, and I took it quickly. The feeling of being seperated from it wasn’t one I liked. She was still smiling softly.
“What dost thou plan to do with this new instrument?” She inquired. I frowned, unsure of how to continue. She hadn’t moved from her place in front of the door, and teleportation didn’t work down in the forge. If I told her of my plans, she would most certainly try to stop me. But I wasn’t very good at lying, and she knew me too well. I had no choice.
“I’m going to kill him.” Luna’s smile vanished, replaced by a severe look. She shook her head.
“Thou will do no such thing. Thou art not in thy right mind, and we know it. There is something else at work inside thy mind, Shade, even if thou does not feel it. Your thoughts are addled by it, and it is causing you to do and say things that you do not mean. Think hard, Shade. This is not the foal we found in the forest all those years ago.”
“No,” I snarled back, adamant in my rage. Her words rang true, but I wouldn’t listen. “I’m not. I’m what you forged me into! I am the result, the culmination of all your training and care! I am your weapon, your sword against the vampony threat! I am nothing more than a soldier to you, another hunter to be discarded or killed, and you know it!” With each sentence, my voice rose in volume, reaching the point where I rivaled Luna on a very mild Royal Canterlot Voice tirade. “I am nothing to you! I am nothing but a shell of my former self! I never wanted for my life! I never wanted to kill for a living! I never wanted for my wife, my family, to be killed, to be taken from me! I never wanted any of this! And it’s because of you!”
“YOU WILL BE SILENT.” Her words rang out in the room. They were a command, one I could not refuse, filled with power and authority. Immediately I closed my mouth, my mind racing and waging a war inside, fighting for control of my emotions. I couldn’t read Luna’s expression, but it wasn’t a friendly one at all. She was mad as Tartarus.
“You dare to insult us like this, Shade? You dare to believe that we do not regard you in the highest of thought? You believe that we care so little for you that we have not seen the damage we have done to you? You are the closest thing to a son that we have ever known, and it pains us to no end that we are responsible for your hardships in no small amount. But that does not change the present. That does not change here.
“You are in great pain. We cannot allow you to leave this place in your present state of mind. You will do more harm to yourself and those around you than you will to the enemy. You will not leave our sight until we can extricate whatever it is that is plaguing your mind with these thoughts.” Luna closed her mouth, the echoes of her voice ringing in my ears. But for all it was worth, her words had lost meaning to me. My mind was fighting my judgment, and I wouldn’t let her stand in my way. So I did the only thing I could think of.
I aimed Defiance right between her eyes.
“Stand aside. Now.” I growled. The look on Luna’s face was one of complete shock. She hadn’t expected me to retaliate like this, and now I had her at a disadvantage. “You, nor Celestia, nor any force in all Equestria will stop me. Now get out of the way, or I will not hesitate. I need to put her through her paces. You’d make an excellent practice shot.” I couldn’t tell what Luna was thinking at that moment. Her face seemed blank, until it contorted into a look of unbridled rage.
“How dare you. How dare you threaten us like this? Ponies have been killed for lesser acts.” I scoffed at her words, Defiance never wavering for a second.
“I don’t care. Get out of my way. You refuse to do what is necessary. All you do is abandon hope. I’m going to do what I can. And if you won't help me, then I want nothing more to do with you. Now move.” Luna opened her mouth, ready to give a retort, but she closed it again. Sighing, she dropped her head. I paused in wonder. This wasn’t what I had expected.
She seemed to resign herself. I could sense she had lost her will to fight. No, not that. She saw no point in reasoning with me anymore. She felt I was too far gone for her to save. And, I sensed, she felt like she had lost more than just a friend. She had lost something far greater. At least, that’s what I thought. Whatever the case, she stepped aside.
“Shade... please don’t do this. We want to help you.” She reached out to me, trying to bring me to her, to call me away from my mission. I wouldn’t have it.
“When I return, it will either be as a victor... or not at all.” With that, I strode out of the forge, past three Lunar Guard that I hadn’t noticed before, and away. Once I felt my magic become strong enough, I teleported away into the night.
Later I found out that two of those guards had been given orders to keep tabs on me, for Luna’s sake.
The third had gone to Celestia.