//------------------------------//
// Shadow 
// Story: Fixing Flashlight 
// by Neroson40 
//------------------------------//

	We went back to the Smithy to meet Base. I was expecting him to look like my mom or dad. But no, he looked like me, only without wings. He got one look at me and his face went slack with shock.
“Hey, Kiddo,” I said nervously. What else could I say?
“Um, H-hi…” He was at least as nervous as I was. Play Maker knelt (is that what you’d call it?) so he could get a better look directly into Base’s eyes.
“Base,” He said. “You remember that little talk we had?”
“How you’re not my real daddy?” Base said.
“Yes, well, Flash here is your real brother,” Base’s eyes went wide with fear. Tears formed and he asked the question that I probably should’ve seen coming at this point.
“He’s not gonna take me away is he!?” I know it was wrong, but I let out a lopsided smile at this. If I wanted to take base away, it’d be to somewhere I lived, and I didn’t really have anywhere like that. I mean, I know I was technically living in Twilight’s castle, but I’m not entirely sure how she’d feel if I brought a little kid home with me one day. At Base’s age, that kind of fear would be very real, so that little smile gave him the wrong idea, and sent the tears and screams going.
“Sorry, Base,” I said. “I’m not here to take you away.”
Base was sniffling. “You’re not?”
“Don’t really have anywhere to take you anyway,” I wanted to tell him. “I’m… not sure how my marefriend would feel if I suddenly took the responsibility of taking care of you.” He was too young to know at this point.
“Ace?” Ironsparks said. “Let’s show Flash th’ game we used teh play when you ‘ere yuhnger.”
“Aren’t we a little old for that?” Base said. I jumped on the idea.
“You’re never too old to have a little fun,” Dangit Pinkie Pie! “What’s the game anyway?”
“Warriors of the Elements of Chaos!” Ironsparks said. I was shocked but I played along, not telling Base about Tenebrae and Ventus, but I still couldn’t tell if Ironsparks was in on the Elements of Chaos.
It went like that for a couple of days, and Base was sure that it was just a game, though I wasn’t too sure I could say the same about Ironsparks. We were playing my third round of this game, which eerily resembled what happened with Kayen when I saw a young buffalo girl rushing through the town.
“Help! Someone! Anyone!” Nopony went to her, so I did.
“Hey, what’s wrong?”
“My, tribe was attacked by these weird monsters… most of the warriors of my people are dead, and now their publically going to kill Chief Thunderhooves!” I thought hard about it. Maybe I could reason with them, but if I couldn’t… would I be able to get out without going Guardian? It’s ironic, but it was right then that I realized that I would have to go Guardian if I couldn’t negotiate with these things.
“I’ll help,” Ironsparks and Base rushed to try to talk me out of it. But they couldn’t sway me. And I couldn’t sway them when I tried to get them not to come with me. We got to the camp for the buffalo. There were these cat creatures that stood on two feet and a split tail. One of them, the biggest one in the camp was carrying a sword that looked like a curved-back cooking knife. The things brought out Thunderhooves and had him kneel in front of the thing with the sword. Yeah, I’d need Tenebrae’s power…
“Base, get out of here,” I said.
“What, why!?”
“What’s going to happen here would scar you for life. I don’t want that for you.” With that I jumped out of the bushes and yelled at the top of my lungs. “Tenebrae! Engage!”
I turned into my human form and stopped the thing’s sword with the back of mine. I kicked the creature in the knee, which sent a hiss of pain as I spun around and hit its head with the side of my sword. Three more let out the “mreeow”-ing sound and charged me. I held up my sword, ready to hold them off… then I heard somepony say something completely unexpected.
“Ignus! Engage!” someone jumped between us, holding two spiked wheel/things and blocking all the cats’ weapons with them behind his back. I recognized his face. Gold eyes, red skin, orange hair…
“Ironsparks!?”
“Heh,” He said as he threw his opponents through the air. “Didn’t think you were a Guardian, let ‘lone the Boss!” his clothes were interesting. He was wearing a red coat with a belt that wrapped around it connecting to the outside with a second belt that was sewn into the coat. His pants stopped high enough for me to see the ankles on him, but his shoes were open toed… I know all of this from hindsight.
“Let’s get this over with then!” I yelled as I swung my sword at the nearest cat.
I don’t really remember how the fight went. All I remember is a shadow covering the area, and a flash of fire every now and then burning one of the enemies. It was so dark, I couldn’t even use that “Shadow Sense,” which is apparently that ability I have to tell the location of an object based on the location of darkness. When the shadow finally subsided, I saw Twilight, Soarin, Tenebrae, and the others standing there with my little brother next to them.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I had to do this.” Twilight just rushed up and hugged me as best she could.
“I don’t care,” she said. “Let’s just go home.” I would never agree with anything more.