It's important to know if you are dealing with shadows.

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Nightsky was perplexed by the fact that his running could not be stopped. He was beyond exhaustion, his legs ached, he had even fallen asleep, and he kept running. He had fallen asleep, and he was still running. What kind of force had possessed the poor horse to push his body to the point where it exceeded his physical limits. His legs were sore, his entire body was cramping, the pain was enormous, but try as he might his body would not let him stop. The dark blue unicorn looked down at his legs and noticed that, despite the soreness everywhere, the muscles in his legs were roughly four times larger than before.

"How far have I run?" He wondered to himself.

"You have been running at sixty miles an hour for about five thousand miles. Physically impossible for a horse, but I am altering you to make you supernatural. When I'm done you'll be able to run as fast as a sports car, indefinitely." That voice was back, as Nighsky had put on the cloak to cool down a bit.

"What's a sports car?" He had never heard of anything like that.

"A machine that travels distances at very fast speeds. I'll not explain anymore, it is not relevant to the mission. Have you noticed the shadows?" It questioned him with a rather uncaring voice.

"It seems like they jump sometimes, becoming solid and then non-existant again in the same second." The blue horse had been wondering about it for a while, maybe it wasn't dehydration.

"Next time you see it, think about moving it somewhere else, I would like to see if you have the curse."

"Curse? I have a curse? Nopony told me about this! Am I going to die?" The misfit pony was panicking.

"I see it as a gift. Very few have it, and they can only use it with the cloak to amplify the power. You may die, but not from the curse, most likely it will be of your own stupidity. Now go back to sleep so I can work on you." It growled in his head.

A few seconds later he was out cold, enveloped in his own shadow, and dashing across the progressively colder plains faster than any other horse ever had. What he didn't see before he fell into his dreams, however, was the large pony flying above him and watching.

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Celestia looked down on the horse to confirm that it was true. Death was coming back and he was reaching out to ponies for help. Even now she could see the poor unicorn's body being changed in front of her. He was wearing the armor of her greatest enemy, which she knew had at least a small part in what was happening, and he was running faster than anypony had ever been recorded at. It was terrifying to see the extent of Death's powers even when he was trapped, chained, and beaten down in a cage made of burning light. It was obvious that the poor pony was sleeping, but it didn't explain why he was still running. As the solar princess watched Death's key, she noticed her shadow acting up.

"What would you do if I told you I hate you? What would you do if your life's on the line?" That dreaded voice rattled in her head.

"No, you can't do this." The princess was panicking.

"I'll be breaking your body so don't try fighting. You have to keep them fed, or the dead keep biting." It laughed at her.

A skeletal demon ripped away from her shadow. The blackened pile of magically revived bones flew up towards her and pulled a sword from it's chest. As it passed her in the air, the sword was dragged across her pelt, cut her down to the bone, and engraved a line into her ribs. The demon came back down with surprising speed and impaled her back, cutting into her stomach and spilling blood into the airstream behind them. Unfortunately for the demon he had brought his head down on to Celestia's horn, even more unfortunately for the alicorn, the skeleton shattered and drove chips of bone into her skin. Her now crimson coat was already healing, but again, as she was screaming, she heard that voice.

"Good night, sleep tight, don't let the dead bite." As the monster says this her own shadow reaches up in a tentacle and wraps around her neck. "Wrap a rope around your head and watch you as you take flight."

Her neck jerked backwards while she was flying at significant speed, therefore snapping her neck and crushing her windpipe. Celestia plummeted to the ground and crashed with several popping sounds as more bones broke. She would be sitting there for a few days while she healed. Lying there, all alone, in her own blood, with nothing but pain and Death himself to keep her company.

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Luna watched her masters efforts with joy. That timid horse that had been sent to her to start a quest was now undergoing the same changes Despair went through to become her masters horse. Only this one wouldn't get his horn cut off, he would be controlled by her master until he got close enough to make a distraction. Her master would break free and release darkness over the world, and reign forever with her at his side.

"Luna dear, how have you been?" The voice she loved so much bounced around her head.

"I have been lonely master." She nearly crooned.

I haven't, I have the company of these incompetent angels."

"It will be over soon master, and I have a present when you come back."

"Well I'll look forward to that then, goodbye Luna. See you soon." The queen of the night sighed as the last sound of her lover's voice echoed away.

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Being trapped in the light didn't hurt nearly as much as it did ten thousand years ago. The fact that you could crack the containment plates now was an accomplishment, but you couldn't let the angels see, or your only chance would be lost. Soon though, you would be free and the world would feel your fury.

Author's Note

The first person to tell me the song I made a reference to gets a sneak peak at The Angel of Death. Also, tell me what you like about the story so far. All constructive criticism and compliments are accepted.