//------------------------------// // The Shadow War // Story: The Rise of the New Elements // by FirestarPhoenixwing //------------------------------// It had been a few months and I was still a filly. Twilight has been researching in the Canterlot library and me, spike and my other five friends decided to stay and help her. I wouldn’t mind being a filly but any pony I don’t know treats me like I am a filly even when I say I’m not a filly and that I went through Tartarus and got changed into a filly by a shadow pony lord. (Yeah, I wouldn’t believe it either, but I was there.) When I asked some pony to come with me so ponies could stop thinking I was a thief, homeless, or ditching school, Fluttershy volunteered. It made sense because she has almost the same coat color as I do, so she could look like a older sister or my mother. Yikes, that's a scary thought. (No offence to Fluttershy.) It’s better than being judged as a criminal, or a ditcher. Anyway Fluttershy would help me with shopping sense the shop owners wanted to always know where my parents are and where I got the money. The Cutie Mark Crusaders are very sweet. They let me play with them because the training equipment was way too big and heavy for me, and because I was generally had a skinny average build when I was a filly I naturally looked and felt that skinny. I already had trouble with it as a mare. It just shows how I was able graduated to become a Royal Guard without training. One day we were playing tag and I was it. The Crusaders dashed across the hall and I was gaining on them when two workers with a glass pane came in between me and the Crusaders. I didn’t have time to slow down. I thought ‘I wish I could teleport.’ when fire shot up around me and I appeared on the other side of the glass before I crashed into it. So now I can teleport like unicorns only with fire. - Since it had been fairly quiet in Equestria I took the opportunity to try and fix up my element that shattered during the first shadow pony appearance. I decided to take Spike with me on a chariot to Ponyville so I could communicate with my friends. I told the guards to wait by the chariot while Spike and I walked to the tree of Harmony. When we got there I went up to the tree of fire and found that the tree had restored the Element of Fire. The stone was in one piece like it had never shattered. I took it off the tree and turned around to go back to Ponyville, I said, “Ok spike, I think we can go back thanks for accompanying me here.” “Oh,” said a voice in my head, “I don’t think you’ll be going anywhere but with us little filly Firestar!” Shadow ponies. They seemed to be the same ones that first ambushed us at the apple farm, I thought. They were holding Spike hostage. “Yes, we are the ones that ambushed you at the farm,” they said as if they could read my mind. “You will come with us.” “And if I refused,” I asked? “You have no choice, you are surrounded. You would be killed before you could even make a move,” they whispered. “Fine, but-” I didn’t get to finish my sentence. I think they knocked me out but the next thing I knew was I was waking up in a metal cage tied up. Spike wasn’t with me and I heard the shadow ponies whispering that they had no use for the little dragon so the let him go. Good, I thought I hope he can make it back to Ponyville safely. My bindings were cloth so I was able to burn through it easily. The shadow ponies didn’t know about my teleportation spell. Once I teleported out of the cage I snuck behind some crates to get a bearing of my surroundings and then I tried to sense where my Element was. ‘I should have a connection since we both create fire’. To my surprise I could sense it. There was a shadow pony trying to melt it down. Carefully I snuck from crate to crate until I arrived at the place the shadow pony was trying to melt my element down. “You know, you're only making it stronger,” I told him. The shadow pony turned around but before he could make a sound I summoned a small fireball that dissolved him. I took my element and flew off. The sun had already set and I knew I had only a little time before the Shadow ponies would find that I escaped and would start looking for me. I couldn’t see Ponyville any where so I decided to spend the night in the trees. Heh. Funny my first adventure escaping a place was spending the night in a tree. In the morning I could clearly see the rooftops of Ponyville nearly half a mile from where I was, and some smoke about 100 yards away from me. How the Shadow Ponies were able to live so close to Ponyville without being noticed I had no idea. Once I arrived in Ponyville I found Spike safe with the Royal guards. “Firestar where were you? I was just about to send a letter saying you were kidnapped.,” said spike. “Could we send a letter anyway? There is a shadow pony camp less than a mile into the Everfree Forest.” “A-a- but all the shadow ponies were defeated. We destroyed the portal from their world to ours. Never mind just tell me what to wright.” My friends, I fear that the shadow ponies have built a camp less than a mile away from Ponyville. I don’t know how they are here and I can not defeat them on my own. Me and Spike will need help, please send the Royal guard to help us. Your friends, Spike and Firestar. Once all my friends and the Royal Guard showed up we immediately made a plan. We were supposed to take the Shadow Ponies by surprise. As we were approaching the camp when Shadow Ponies burst out of the trees and surrounded us. It was a trap. “Royal guard, hold your ground we won’t be taken captive. We have to defeat all the Shadow ponies. Attack!” We charged the ponies and almost overwhelmed them. We pushed them back to their camp in the first 10 minutes of the battle. As I evaporated a shadow pony I charged another when it shot me with a shadow bolt of magical energy. I tripped and stumbled. I looked over myself but there didn’t seem to be any damage. Then I got shot again. My vision swam and my legs felt like a I was carrying a load of apples on each leg. As I went down I could hear my name being called. I heard Twilight give the order to retreat and Rainbow Dash and fluttershy flew me out of the Everfree to safety and into Ponyville. I was a little dizzy and my vision turn grey and swimmy, so, I’m not sure what happened but when Princess Celestia showed up it went something like this… The Princess arrived almost immediately as Rainbow and Fluttershy set me down on a bed. “Princess,” said Twilight, “She’s this way we must hurry.” Princess Celestia approached me, “I hope you can hear me Firestar. This will only take a moment to get the poison out of your body.” I started glowing with the Princess’s magic. I felt the shadow poison seeping out of me. My vision started to clear and I started regaining my senses. “Princess Celestia,” I said, “Thank you. I owe you me life once again.” “I was happy to help,” said Celestia, “Let’s get you some fresh air.” We walked outside a few yards away from the inn we were in. “When I got the poison out of you I saw it fly off,” said Princess celestia, “I had a feeling it was meant for something.” “What do you mean,” I asked. “Well, during the battle did they try to fire the magic bolts at any pony else?” “No.. Wait are you telling me that they were specifically trying to target me for something?” “Yes, but not just something, I think they were going to summon their Shadow leader using your body. With you defeated and unable to stop them they might have had a chance to take over Equestria. Suddenly there was a flash, in front of us was a portal of darkness. My friends run up to us. “What's going on,” asked Twilight? “You were right Princess Celestia, it’s the Shadow lord,” I said. A large shadowy figure came out of the portal, just as terrifying as the last time we met. “Ah, Firestar, I see you are still a filly, as I cursed you to be,” Said the Shadow Lord. “As you may have guessed, I was supposed to take over your body using the shadow poison that was in your body. Then no pony would be able to stand up to me while I take over this world. But no matter there is still a little poison in you, I can sense it, eventually you will either die or you will be turned into a shadow pony. With the poison in your body I can control your fire ability.” His horn began to glow with magic. All of the sudden I was seeing my worst nightmares and pains. “Oh, yes I forgot to mention, I can inflict your worst memories, past pains, and nightmares,” said The Shadow lord. “Foul creature, We shall defend Firestar from you until our last breathe,” said Celestia. The pain stopped. “Haha, you think I will take you all on alone,” asked the Shadow lord? He started multiplying. From 1 he became 2. From 2 to 4 until there was one of him for each of us. Each pony was in combat except me. The Shadow lord said, “Firestar I offer you no bloodshed if you give up and let me take over Equestria. I can bring back your parents from the dead. You could relive your childhood. I made you a filly for a reason.” “You planned all this? And my parents, They would be flesh and blood not just ghosts,” I asked? “Yes,” he said. “Firestar don’t listen to him, He’s has to be lying! Think about it, he will rule all of Equestria and turn us into slaves or shadow ponies, or both! Friendship will be lost forever and even if he’s telling the truth bringing the dead back to life is unnatural and shouldn’t be done, it can’t be done, it’s forbidden” said Spike who didn’t have a Shadow lord to fight. He probably thought spike was not worth the effort. “But spike, I could get my family and my childhood back,” I countered. The shadow poison was affecting my brain. I knew it but I could bring myself to stop it, I wanted my family. “Equestria can be handed over by one mare. To do that would be taking every pony's life and throwing it away. “Y-you're right, I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you for a minute there Spike, I wasn’t in my right mind,” I said, “ I can’t accept your offer Shadow lord, the fate of Equestria can’t be put on the shoulders of one pony. Instead I think you should take my offer, leave and never come back.” “You think I would just leave. I wouldn’t have even followed through with my own promise. This talk was only a way to let the poison settle in and do it’s work. You should listen to your dragon friend more often. Unfortunately for you that’s the last time you will ever listen to him. Now you will become a shadow pony in a minute,” said the Shadow pony. Then he gave me a curious look, “You should be dead or at least be a shadow… I see. You're a different species, one of the last of your kind. This is why the poison didn’t work, It’s wearing off too.” “ If the poison has worn off then you can’t control my fire anymore,” I said. I blasted him in a flamethrower effect. The shadow lord’s other bodies dissipated. I approached Princess Celestia, “ Princess, he isn’t easily beat by fire when I was in his realm I used a supernova effect on him bigger than I’ve done before and he still survived, barely hurt from it. But I was thinking, do you remember our battle with Clytius? What if we did that with all of us?” “I see, good thinking Firestar. Let’s give it a try.” We all grouped up, the Bearers of Harmony, The Princesses, and me all concentrating our magic. I closed my eyes feeling more of my power combining into my magic fireball. For several minutes there was silence and nothing happened. Then I heard the Princess shout “NOW”! I opened my eyes and released everything I had at the shadow pony. The blast was so powerful that the shadow lord was pushed back into the portal. Then the portal closed. we were so tired that we fell to the ground. - I was stumped at what the shadow lord said about me being a different species. So I asked Twilight if she could figure out what I was. She said she would have to do a blood test. Rainbow Dash agreed to be the pegasi test pony once we got back to Canterlot. Twilight also said that maybe could find cure to get me back to my normal size and age that I was before the shadow lord changed me to a little filly. A few days later Twilight came back with the results. She said that there was only one major difference and once she looked back into the book about the Elements of Equestria she figured out that one of my ancestors had been a dragon pony, but over generations I look like a regular pegasi. The only trait I still have from the dragon pony ancestor is the fire ability. Twilight also said she found the cure to make me a mare. Twilight casted the spell and I was back to normal. We have started to rebuild our homes in Ponyville. Twilight's castle took very little damage from the explosion as only the entrance was partially destroyed. My house is almost done being rebuilt. My new mission from Princess Celestia is to seek out any shadow pony camps and destroy them.