The Dragon's Abyss

by DarklordAxel20

Shaded Rage

In the Forest, Just Outside of the Campsite

With movements as swift as the wind, Shade neared the opening that lead to the camp, an expression of great determination and at the same time incredible anger covered his face. " I'll tear their feathered bodies to pieces when I get my claws on them!!," it didn't take long before a single griffon came into his view, with a mighty leap, Shade came launching right at the unsuspecting griffon, the poor thing barely had time to let out a scream as a pair of teeth came down on his neck.

" What was that?!," said a griffon soldier to his captain.

The captain of the griffons was too busy tightening a red chain around his captives to notice the cut off scream or his subordinate speaking to him, " The sooner we get you back to the capitol city, the sooner these chains can come off," he ended his sentence with a malevolent laugh before turning towards two soldiers, you two, fly the captives back to the capitol now,".

" Yes sir!," they said in unison before grabbing onto the binds that held Twilight Sparkle and four of her friends, and flew off with them.

" Hahah, I'm sure to get promoted after this," before he could start laughing again though, the sound of a body dropping behind him caught his attention, " Whose there?!,". He turned around swiftly, drawing his scimitar from it's sheathe on his side, " You picked the wrong griffon too..," his eyes widened and his mouth gaped at what he saw before him.

An enraged Shade stood before him, easily towering over him by a head and a half, in one claw a soldier was being choked, under the other was the soldier whose neck he crushed with his jaw and in his tail was the captains second in command, her neck being squeezed by the powerful tail. " You......you're going to pay for that," in one swift movement he hurled the soldier who was in his claws towards the captain, who was just barely able to dodge the body, but was unable to react to the female griffon being tossed into his body, knocking him too the ground.

The griffon captain began to shake from utter fear, "..Wh..what are you," with nothing but adrenaline fueling him, he climbed to his feet, hastily flapped his wings and took off as fast as he could. Despite this however his escape was pointless as the ravenous dragon that took out his subordinates was right behind him and closing in fast.

Fury clouded Shades judgement, he wanted one thing right now, and that was for this griffon to cease to exist, " COWARD!!!!,". His shouts did nothing more than make the fleeing griffon fear him more, " I'll tear you to pieces!!!!," he reached for the fleeing griffon with his claws, swiping at him furiously.

" You won't get me you beast!," the captain stated defiantly as he quickly took a nose dive into the woods in an attempt to lose his pursuer, but to no avail as Shade was still behind him, plowing through any and all trees in his way, while the terrified griffon had to maneuver around each and every obstacle in his way.

With a quick burst of speed, Shade was right above him, latching his claw onto one of the griffons legs, swiftly bringing him to the ground, smashing him against it upon reaching ground level. Despite being slammed against the cold hard ground, the captain still had enough strength to attempt to crawl away, but the attempt was in vain. " Where are you going," the tone he spoke in was as cold as stone, to the point where anypony who heard it would be chilled to the core. He lifted him up with ease, just letting him dangle there, " Where did you take them...tell me and I might not end you.

With a clear quiver in his voice, the griffon captain began to reluctantly speak," ..The..the griffon capital city....the high king wanted them so that his son could had a bride...to show that ...that..the griffons were superi-," he however was cut off by the enraged hybrid, who swung him upwards, " PLEASE NO!!!!,".

His cry however fell on deaf ears as Shade swung him downwards into the ground repeatedly, his superior strength making it easy for the nearly limp body to break the ground beneath. " Begone!!!," after thoroughly crushing the captain with the ground he threw him to the side with incredible power, causing the body to barrel through several trees before nearly coming to a halt, only to be crushed underneath all four of Shades powerful limbs, finishing the job.

Back at the Campsite

Applejack exited the safety of the forest to see the damage that had been done, she could easily tell what was done by Shade and what was done by the griffons, " That's one feller ya don't wanna make mad..,". Before she could fully inspect the damage, the sound of a rustling bush caught her attention, " Whose there, show yerselves,".

On her command, four little heads popped out of the bush, belonging to, Spike, Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, and Scootaloo, all four being visibly shaken up by what happened. " A..are they gone sis," Applebloom asked in a hushed voice.

" Yeah...it's OK to come out ya'll, just...don't try and look at anything, it ain't pretty," she waved her hoof towards her as she ushered the four young ones towards her, wrapping her front legs around all four of them. "Sweet Celestia, I'm glad you four are alright, for a while I thought them griffons done snatched you up like they did everypony else...,".

" B..but my dad got them right, he got griffons who took everypony and got them back didn't he," Spike said with hope in his voice.

Applejack's silence wasn't exactly helpful, his little head lowered in sadness, " No son I didn't, but I did find out where they were taking them though,". Shade exited the forest into the opening that held their camp, his head lowered, " If only I had control of myself...they wouldn't have gotten away with them...,".

At the sight of his father, Spike jolted towards him, hugging his front leg with no intention of letting go at the moment, " Dad....you'll save them won't you, you'll save Twilight and the others right," he looked up to his father with tear filled eyes.

Shade looked deep into his sons eyes, the sadness in them seemed to bring out something Shade hadn't felt in the longest time, a sense of purpose. Sure he had destroyed the golem, but it wasn't because they needed him too, it was because he wanted it gone, this was different, " I will son, I'll bring them back, we all will, ".

His words brought a large smile to his son's face, but not only his son's, but also all three members of the cutie mark crusaders, along with Applejack. " Just one question sugar cube, how in tarnation are we all gonna get there, I sure as hay ain't lettin my little sister, or her friends go with us if we gotta go through some dangerous place just to get there," she spoke with clear concern in her voice.

" Don't worry, I have a way of getting us all there in one piece," a look of great determination could be seen in his deep red eyes as he spread his wings.

Upon watching his wings spread, Applejack had a clear idea as to what he had in mind, and without much thought she walked towards Shade. " OK, I get what you've got planned, but I swear if anything happens to my sister or her friends I'll..," she took a deep breath to calm herself before continuing, " Just promise me you'll take it easy with all the flyin sugar cube, OK? ,".

With a firm nod, Shade gave a nonverbal promise for the safety of Applejack, her sister, and her friends, " Lets go then,". Without hesitation, Shade lifted the cutie mark crusaders onto his back, his son onto his head, and picked Applejack up in his front legs in a bridal-like position, making her blush slightly out of surprise, " Hang on tight, the take off is always the roughest part. He began flapping his powerful wings, which began to kick up large clouds of dust and dirt around him as he readied himself to take off, " Ready!!, Go!," with one powerful wing flap, he launched upwards into the air, getting high enough that he could see past any nearby mountain ranges.

Applejack covered her eyes with her hooves, She had been this high before, but the last time she was she in the safety of a balloon basket, " I thought you said you'd take it easy with the flyin! ," she shouted.

" Open you're eyes," Shade said to her, his voice seemed to be calmer than usual.

Albeit she did it reluctantly, Applejack removed her hooves from in front of her eyes, and what she saw made her eyes widen slightly. Despite having a rather bumpy takeoff, they were now flying smoothly, as if they were a gust of wind, and from this height they could see just about everything. " Th..this is amazin, we're so high up, everything is so small, but it doesn't look like we're gettin anywhere fast, I thought you could fly faster,".

" It's true I can, but to tell the truth, at the speed I'm flying right now, we'll reach the griffon capitol city by sunrise, if aided by the wind current," Applejack gave a slight nod to show that she understood what he was saying. " Just rest for now, once I find a suitable place to land I'll inform all of you," he said in a slightly hushed tone, and one by one, they fell asleep, excluding Spike, who sat atop his fathers head, staring off into the distance, a worried expression on his face. " Just rest son, they'll be OK, I promise, and if they even so much as lay a talon on any of them, I'll tear them to shreds,".

Spike couldn't help but form the slightest smile on his face, despite his fathers dark threat towards the griffons, he could only think about how he was going to save his friends, "..Goodnight dad,".

After positioning his son safely between his horns, Shade close his eyes slightly before mumbling to himself, " Goodnight son,". Upon opening his eyes seconds later, he could feel his anger welling up inside, but even that wouldn't deter him from saving Twilight and the others, and in the process, he could tear apart any griffon who stood in his way. " Don't worry girls, we're on our way," and so, they flew through the night sky.

Canterlot Castle, at that Same Moment

The night had been a rough one for the princess of the sun, not only had she been at war with her emotions, but she couldn't sleep without dreaming about him. Celestia tossed and turned repeatedly, normally she would have been deep into her nightly sleep by now, but something was different tonight, ever since earlier that night, all she had been able to do was think of Shade, whether it be how much she knows that he hates her, or wondering if he still has feelings for her. " That's enough," she said in a stern tone to herself as she got up out of her bed and walked to the balcony attached to her room, staring out at moon that her sister provides to everypony every night. With a deep sigh, she mustered a sentence that she had been contemplating saying all day, " I'm going to see him tomorrow night,".

" You're going to what?!?," Celestia turned around at a rapid pace to see her younger sister standing in her doorway.

" Luna?!, what in all of Equestria are you doing in my room so late in the night..? ," she said in her tired tone of voice.

Luna couldn't help but look guilty, " The truth is..I've been outside you're door for the past half hour..I couldn't help it not only could I hear you tossing and turning, but I could hear you mumbling, Sister I'm worried about you,". The lunar princess lowered her head, she couldn't find it in herself to look her in the eyes at the moment, " Ever since he was freed....all of those painful memories you worked so hard to put away, they just came back, why would you want to see him,".

Celestia turned her head away from her sister to look out at the night sky, " Luna...you wouldn't understand, he may be a force of darkness, but he has a heart of gold.....even if he does hurt others..,".

" Sister," she began to speak before letting out a small sigh, " If this means that much to you...then I will support you, but I will never see...him...as an ally,". In a matter of seconds upon speaking, Luna was quickly pulled into a hug by her older sister, causing her to smile lightly.

Before the two could say anything more on the subject, one of the royal guards walked in, a scroll was help in his magics grip, " You're hignesses, forgive me for interrupting, but I have a letter from princess Cadence and prince Shining Armor,".

" Thank you, you may return to you're post now," Princess Luna instructed the guard. After waiting to be totally alone again, Luna opened the scroll, " Well sister, let's see what they wanted to tell us sister, shall we,". She quickly but carefully unrolled the scroll, the skimmed across every single word written on it, her eyes widening slightly upon getting halfway through it.

Celestia grew worried as she saw the look on her sisters face, " What..what's it say,".

The Griffon Capitol City, the Very Next Morning

Upon arriving in the city, Twilight and her friends had been immediately taken to the palace dungeon, where they were restrained with the same magic inhibiting chains that they had been brought there with. She awoke to the voices of her friends, her vision was blurry and her head ached from the hit to the back of the head she received upon waking up last night. " G..girls?," her voice was slightly groggy from the pain in her head, " Is..is that you..?,".

" Easy there Twilight, you got hit on the head pretty hard, dirty stinking griffons, got us while we were asleep," Rainbow Dash said, it was as clear as day that she was angry, angrier than she's been in a long time.

Rarity took her attention from the crying Fluttershy, and diverted it towards her angry cyan friend, " Please Rainbow Dash dear, you need to stay calm..," it was clear that she too looked to be on the verge of tears, but managed to keep herself from doing so.

The ever so happy Pinkie Pie however, seemed totally unaffected by all this, she kept her big cheerful smile, " Hey girls don't worry, we'll be outta here in no time, yep yep yep!!,".

Twilight shook her head, making her vision slightly better than when she had awoken, " Wha..what do you mean Pinkie,".

" Yes dear, we're trapped in some awful, dirty dungeon, who knows what they want from us..," slight despair was in Rarity's voice now.

" You girls are forgetting something, they didn't get allllll of us, aaaaaaaand there's a really strong pony dragon with her!," said Pinkie Pie, her hopeful smile began spreading to her friends, save for Rainbow Dash who was still flustered at the scenario.

" Hey," Twilight started to say, " Pinkie is right, they didn't get Applejack, and Shade is with her," this information was just enough to lighten the mood between all five of them. " We'll be out of here in no time girls, I'm sure of it," however, right after finishing her sentence, the sound of heavy metal hitting the floor passed her cell, followed by that of a regular griffon guard, forcing the five mares to stop all forms of communication.

The guard that had passed by their room, came back a few minutes later and opened the door, " The king wants the five of you in the throne room, now,". Three more guards entered the room with him, picking up their captives forcefully and carrying them to their kings throne room.

" Shade, please hurry, we need you.. ," a tear slipped from Twilight's eye as she was carried away with the rest of her friends.

"

Just Above the Griffon Capitol City

Shade had flown all night and all morning, momentarily speeding up, despite the fact that Applejack didn't like this one bit, but they had finally made it. " We're here, now lets get down there and find them,".

Applejack could see the anger welling up inside of Shade, but she knew that anger was what he'd use to get her friends back. " Now don't do anythin drastic sugar cube, we want our friends back, but we don't wanna start a war because ya couldn't control yer tamper, alright?,".

After letting out a long sigh Shade nodded to Applejack, his silent response was enough to bring a small smile to the farm ponies face.
" Now, I want everypony to hang on tight, I'm gonna make a dive bomb for that pond right there," he pointed to the small body of water that rested in the center of the city.

" What what?," Applejack's eyes widened, but before she could object, Shade had already begin plummeting. " Sweet Celestia please let this be over soon!," while Applejack was praying to Celestia that she'd survive this endeavor, the girls and Spike were having the time of their lives.

In a matter of seconds they made impact with the water, making a great splash, but to prevent them form being harmed, Shade managed to hold everypony in his front legs, and turned his back towards the water so it would hit him first. All six of them emerged from the water, unscathed by the fall, but soaking wet, " that was fun wasn't it,".

" YEAH!!!," shouted the fillies and Spike.

" It was absolutely not fun!, ya nearly gave me a heart attack Shade, why in tarnation would ya do somethin like that!," Applejack spoke in an almost scolding tone towards the hybrid.

Shade climbed out of the water along with the rest of them, " That's why," he pointed towards crowds of griffons going towards the royal palace. " If I had simply flown in we would have been noticed, so I decided a less..expected entry,".

What he said wasn't what she was expecting, and at the same time, it was, " So to stay unnoticed, ya decided to fall from the sky like a darn comet, makin the loudest splash possible,".

" In a sense, yes, and the sound that the splash made wouldn't exactly matter, the cheers of the crowds were enough to hide the noise we made,". With a single flap of his powerful wings, Shade kicked up a powerful gust of wind, strong enough to dry off himself and everypony with him.

" Hey dad," Spike walked over to his father and hugged his front leg, " What are you gonna do now that we're here, do you have a sort of plan,".

With a slight grin, Shade looked down at his son, " I'm gonna go crash whatever party is going on, I want the five of you to stay outta sight,".

" Now just wait a gosh darn second, I thought ya said you'd keep calm, now I hear yer gonna go and stir up trouble!," Applejack scolded him once more, but this time her scolding was quieted by one of his claws covering her mouth, making her blush from the sudden contact.

" Just trust me ," and without another word, he spread his wings, started running, and took flight towards the palace.

Apllejack let out a slight sigh, " I sure hope you know what yer doin sugar cube,".

Not too far away from the park that Shade and the others had landed in, on the very street that the crowds had surrounded, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie, were being paraded around in a cage to show that not even they could stand against the mighty griffons. " I can't believe this! those no good, dirty griffons are making us look like zoo animals!," Rainbow Dash said in a rage, her friends remained silent, save for Pinkie who continuously spoke of where they were going.

Staring out in the distance, Twilight couldn't help but wonder if Shade was really coming for them, " Shade..where are you, we need you.. ," Tears began welling up in her eyes as they neared their destination, that is until a black blur in the sky caught her attention from the corner of her eye, she knew only one thing that was that color and could fly that fast, " He's here,". Should couldn't help but show off a large hope filled smile," Girls it's him, he came for us," and in a matter of seconds, Twilight's smile spread to all of her friends except for Rainbow Dash who attempted to keep a calm and cool demeanor despite being extremely happy on the inside.

Shade watched form above as the mobile cage made it's way into the palace, he positioned himself right above the palace, picking the perfect spot to dive bomb through the roof. However his planning was interrupted by the sight of two griffon soldiers flying right at him, " Or, perhaps i could improvise," he grinned wickedly as the griffons closed in.

Now inside the throne room, Twilight's gaze was distant, she kept staring towards the ceiling, she knew Shade was here, and she knew he would save her and her friends.

Meanwhile across the throne room, the king and queen griffons looked closely at their captives, thinking over which one would make the perfect bride for their son, " Well my darling queen, I think the alicorn would be perfect for this occasion," said the king in triumphant tone.

" And what of the other four dear, what will become of them," his queen asked in response to his statement.

The king griffon took a moment to think about what his queen said before speaking again. " We'll get rid of them, I'm sure they would sell finely if we just...happened to....lose them to slavers," the king gave out a dark chuckle as he rose from his throne and stepped toward the cage that held the five ponies. Walking along with the king were four fully armored griffons, one of which held the key to their cage, " Well my son can only keep one of you little ponies, so the rest of you will be sent away after the wedding ceremony, as for the pony he will be marrying it is y-," the king was caught off by two griffon soldiers flying down through the roof of the palace, slamming into the armored guards that surrounded the king.

" HE'S HERE!," the five caged ponies shouted in unison.

Shade descended towards the king griffon through one of the holes he had made by slamming the two soldiers through the roof," So you're the scum that's in charge," the tone in his voice was as threatening as ever.

The king backed away quickly as Shade touche the ground in front of the cage, " Wh....who are you, what are you?!, guards!!,"on his command several armored guards came to his aid, quickly surrounding the hybrid intruder.

Undeterred by the sight of the guards, Shade walked towards the startled king, swatting away any guards that came near him with a single swipe of his tail, " You're going to pay for this, and there will be hell to pay..," his eyes began to glow a deep blood red as he neared the now frightened king.

The royal griffon fell backwards as he watched the dragon rear his head back, flames pouring from his mouth, he hastily made it back to his throne, his face very pale, " RELEASE THE ADAMANTINE SENTINAL!!!," he shouted with fear in his voice.

" The what?," shade looked around wondering what he meant, before suddenly feeling the earth beneath his feet shake. " What the hell is going on?!," and before Shade's eyes, a massive crystal shot out of the ground, being the same crystal that held the golem that nearly destroyed all of Ponyville, and in it, rested a huge metal griffon. " No way," other than those two words, Shade was speechless, and right as he spoke, the metal griffons eyes shot open, directly focused on Shade, " You want me, come and get me,".

Author's Note:

Hey there ladies and gentlecolts, sorry for the delayed release of this chapter, as of recently I've been looking for work for myself, some things are going better than others, but anyway I will try and get the continuation of this chapter out as soon as soon as possible. Knowing that those of you who read my stories, enjoy them makes me very happy, I thank all you, and I can't wait to talk to you guys and gals again soon. Also from now on I will be putting a question with every authors note, I want you guys and gals who read the chapter to give a reply in the comments, if the answer to the question has anything to do with a future part of the story, then it's quite possible it will make it into that part .

Question: Who do you think Shade will end up with, sure he has a steady and strong relationship with Twilight so far, but that doesn't always mean shes the one, so who do you think it will be, it can be an obvious answer, or it can be one that nobody at all would expect, can't wait to see what some of you have to say

Comments

[Azrael the alicorn]

Twilight makes the most sense to me. After what he has said to her in Assault Part one it would be weird if he just get with Celestia. And of sure he will not get together with Chrysalis, given what her plans are.
BTW, speaking of chapter 6: I got to say that I'm a bit disappointed that Twilight didn't said anything to Shade about her feelings. I was kind of hoping for a heartwarming scene in which the two share their feelings to each other.