The Dragon's Abyss

by DarklordAxel20

Bit by Bit

The Next Day, Inside Twilight's Castle

After having experienced the first night of sleep without a nightmare, in the longest time, Shade awoke to the sound of chirping birds outside the bedroom window. He opened his crimson eyes and began looking around the room, stopping when his eyes laid upon a sleeping Spike, but no Twilight, "...Twilight? " Not wanting to awaken his sleeping son, Shade silently slipped out of the bed, and out of the room, making his wake out into the castle hallway. He quietly walked throughout the large hallways, at first glimpse they didn't seem that big, but upon going through them himself, Shade soon found out they were longer than he had previously thought, however his trek through the halls was brought to a halt by the sound of running water, " Twilight? "

Twilight sat alone in her castle's bathroom, she had originally intended on getting an early start on her day with an early shower, however all she could think about were the events that took place three nights ago. She stared at herself in the mirror for what seemed like the longest time, even with the mirror fogged up, she could still make out what looked like tears dripping from her eyes, "...I'm so confused..." She closed her eyes, images of her brother and Cadence flashed by, followed by several images of Shade, each one a different side of him she had witnessed, from him being depressed, to him being infuriated, but out of all of them, all she could care about was a singular image, the kind and caring Shade that she had come to know. She kept her eyes closed as she brought herself to remember the events that bothered her so greatly, "...I'm sorry....but my choice is final... "

Three Nights Ago

Twilight stood over the unconscious form that was Shade's body, the did her best to keep from bursting into tears as she gently rubbed his head, "...Shade.....please be OK ". She had kept everypony except for Spike out of the room ever since Rainbow Dash brought him, she had wanted her brother and Cadence to meet Shade so badly, but not like this.

Spike sat outside the room, waiting for Twilight to come out, he had tasked himself with keeping anypony except for Twilight out of the room, however despite staying strong for her, inside Spike could feel his heart tearing, he just recently had gotten his father into his life after going his whole life, he couldn't lose him now, but even so, he stayed strong, he knew that Shade wouldn't want him to cry, not now. He jumped up quickly once Shining Armor came into his point of view, he positioned himself in front of the door, showing that it was off limits at the moment.

" Spike, please let me in, Twilight hasn't left that room all day and I'm worried about her, " Shining Armor pleaded to the small dragon.

Spike swiftly shook his head, " No, nopony is allowed in this room until Twilight says so, " he stood firmly, ready to stand in the way of the door for almost anything.

Anything, except for the door opening behind him, causing him to fall forward, " Oh! I'm so sorry Spike! " Twilight cried out as she helped the young drake up to his feet.

" Twilight, " Cadence began, " We're worried about you, you've been in that room all day, I'm sure he'll be fine, " she did her best to console her aching sister-in-law, but to no avail.

Twilight lowered and shook her head slowly, "...You don't know that Cadence....he's been hurt a lot before...but never this bad...his body isn't healing like it should...almost like it's preventing itself from doing so... " her tone of voice was somber and filled with pain.

" Twilight what are you talking about? " Shining Armor asked in a much confused tone, " What do you mean not healing like he should be, just who do you have in that room? " his tone was quickly going from confused to upset.

"...Wha..what do you mean Shining...I...I already told you...his name is Shade...he's my colt friend.. " she tried her best not to stammer on her words, doing what should could to explain again to her brother while keeping as much of a secret at the moment as she could.

However, Twilight's secrecy only upset her brother more, " That isn't telling me anything Twilight, now please, get out of the way, I want to see this....thing...for myself, " although he hated getting upset with his sister, Shining armor was just making sure this dragon, or pony, or whatever it was, was how she described.

Twilight's heart dropped at the sound of her brother calling Shade a thing, she was so shocked that she paid no attention as he moved her out of the way, and opened the door. She however, came back to her senses upon hearing the door open all the way, " Shining Armor wait don't! " but when she turned to her brother, he was stiff as could be as he stared upon the bed that Shade was laid in.

Images flashed through Shining's head, images of the beast that snapped his leg like a twig, images of the beast that murdered all those innocent ponies in the mines, there was no mistaking, the creature he was staring upon, was the very creature that put Shining Armor in the cast he now wears. " Cadence get Twilight away from here, it's that..that thing!! " he shouted out to his wife.

Cadence instead, came rushing into the room, instantly glaring upon Shades unconscious body, " So this is where it ran off too.. " she said in an angry voice.

" No stop!!! " Twilight cried out as she teleported in front of them, blocking them off from Shade, " don't hurt him!! " she pleaded.

Shining Armor's eyes widened as he watched his beloved younger sister protecting this monster, " Twilight, what's gotten into you, do you know what that..that thing is!! " he practically shouted, trying to reason with her, but with no success.

" He's not a thing!! He is Shade!! My coltfriend, my hero!! and I love him!!! " Twilight responded, shouting just as loud.

" Shining, " Cadence said to get her husband's attention, " I don't know if this thing hypnotized Twilight, or if she's actually in love, but she won't let us near it without forcing her too ".

Shining was torn, he'd never had forced Twilight to do anything, they had been the best of siblings growing up, " Cadence....if that thing is controlling Twilight...I'm gonna make it pay! " his horn began glowing as he picked his sister up and moved her out of the way, despite her protest.

" No, let me, " Cadence said as she approached the unconscious half breed, only to stop and mumble something under her breath, "....however...if he's not controlling her...Twilight will hate us both forever... " her horn began glowing brightly as she prepared to attack to sleeping dragon.

" NO!!!!! " Twilight screamed as she began fighting back, both her eyes and horn began glowing a ghastly blackish red as she quickly overpowered her brothers own magic, " I WON'T LET YOU HURT HIM!!!!! " she let out a magical shockwave, knocking both her brother and Cadence against the walls of the room, hard enough to crack them greatly. It didn't take long for her to come back to her sense and look upon the damage she had done, the room was practically destroyed, the windows shattered, and both Shining Armor and Cadence laid upon the floor, unable to move. " What...what did I do... " but before she could panic or anything of the sort, she saw that Shade, and the bed he laid upon, were unscathed, untouched by her furious magical outburst " Shade! "

Managing to open his eyes, Shining Armor watched as his little sister threw her front legs around the monster that he witnessed take innocent lives, " Twily....why...he's a murderer...why would you defend him, " he truly wished to know, for the life of him he couldn't figure it out.

She looked at her injured brother, both regret and sadness could be seen in her teary eyes, "..I know that he's a murderer Shining...he told me his whole past....he was betrayed by the one he cared for most when all he needed was somepony to console him...I've chosen to look past the bad he's done...and look at the good he's done....and..and I love him..and he loves me... " Her eyes darted towards Cadence who had managed to stand herself up, albeit in a wobbly manner, and make her way towards Shining Armor.

"...So....I guess that means you're choosing....him.. " Cadence asked quietly.

Twilight's eyes were as watery as a lake at this point, "...I'm sorry...but my decision is final..now... " she did her best to hold back the massive amount of tears that wanted to flood from her eyes, "....Now...please leave...he needs his rest... " she turned away from them, laying her head on Shade's chest, not wanting to watch as the two left.

Twilight's Castle

Twilight remained staring in the mirror, the memory replaying in her head, making her relive one of the hardest choices in her life, of whether she sided with, her lifelong family, whom had cared for her since her birth, or Shade, a pony who had only recently come into her life, but in the short time he had, managed to steal her heart. She was brought back to reality at the sound of the door creaking open, " Huh, the uh..the bathrooms occupied Spike, so don't come in! " she quickly grabbed a towel, wrapping it around her still dry body.

" Do I sound like my son to you? " Shade asked as he stepped into the bathroom, staring at Twilight as she did her best to cover herself up, despite always being without clothes, " Um, what is it that you're doing? " he said, slightly confused as to why she was hiding her body.

" Oh! Sh..Shade, what are you doing in here, cou...couldn't you tell I was in here, now..um please wait outside while till I get finished, don;t you know it's impolite to walk in on a mare while she's undressed? " her face burning red with embarrassment as she tried to get him to leave.

" Twilight, " Shade said in a simple, yet serious tone, " You're always undressed, I don't see why this would be any different, " he moved the rest of his body into the room, closing the door behind him and looking upon his love.

" O-oh, yeah I guess you are right, " she said as she dropped the towel, still blushing as brightly as possible.

Upon further inspection, Shade could tell something was amiss, through her embarrassment, he could see sadness inside her glimmering eyes, " Twilight, what's wrong, something is bothering you, please, don't hide anything from me, I want to help, " he took a step closer to her and placed his claw on the side of her face.

" There's no hiding anything from you I guess... " she could feel her tears rushing back to surface, she couldn't hold them back this time however. " I...I..I hurt my brother....they..they wanted to hurt you...they said you were the one who hurt all those ponies...please...tell me the truth...I won't think any less of you if you did..but please...tell me... " she practically clung to him as tears poured out.

"...It would seem that I did...I am sorry... " she could hear regret in his voice, but the way he worded, was as if he didn't know if he had or not, as if he had blacked out at the moment. " It was a blur, I awoke inside what looked like a cave, but the first thing I saw..was the last thing I wanted to see at that moment...royal guard armor...I " he stopped himself, doing his best to try and piece the dark memory together.

" You panicked, " Twilight suddenly said, " You were scared, confused, you didn't want to go back...it's alright Shade, I said I wouldn't think any less of you.. " she remained close to him, not wanting to pull apart form him at the moment.

"..I did...that's exactly what happened..only when I was fleeing did I come back to my senses...had I been at my full power at that moment... " he shuddered at the thought.

Twilight lowered her head, her tears still present, "....I made a choice....I...I chose you over them...I...I'd choose you over all of Equestria right now...well, maybe not my friends or Spike, but over all else...but...even though I felt like I made the right choice...I still feel torn...conflicted... "

Shade gently patted the back of her head, doing what he could to console her, " That is a common response to what you went through, there comes a time in everypony's life where they must make a choice that creates a tear within themself, only time can fix that tear, time, and the help of somepony close to them ".

She lifted her head up, staring into his crimson eyes, he never would cease to amaze her, he was so wise, so caring, even when he himself were aching as much as Twilight was, " You're right Shade...thank you, " she wiped the remaining tears from her face, picked herself up on her hind hooves, and placed a kiss on his nose.

On a dime, Shade suddenly changed the tone of the conversation with a single question, " Um, Twilight, it's a bit foggy in here, are we going to take a shower, or just stand in the steam, " he asked in a quizzical tone.

" Oh right, yeah I guess we should...wait.. WE!!!! " she practically leaped onto the ceiling at the sudden thought of showering with Shade, " Wha..what..what do you mean by we Shade? " she was sweating bullets, her heart was racing, and her face was a deeper shade of red than it was previously.

" Well, I mean we're both in here, we're coltfriend and marefriend, we love each other, why can't we bathe together, is there a law or something against it? "

Twilight's entire face was as red as Shade's eyes at this point, her eyes were as wide as could be as she thought of something to respond with, but despite freezing up, something deep inside told her to just go along with it. " She took a deep breath and relaxed herself, looking at him and taking a deep gulp, " alright, we can, " she did her best to smile without looking nervous.

Shade gave a small smile and walked past her towards the source of the running water, " Alright then, I could use a nice wash after being bedridden for so long ".

Twilight let out a small giggle, " You're right, you do kind of have a smell to you, not a bad one, but one that needs to go ".

Twilight's Throne Room Half and Hour Later

Twilight's friends had arrived only recently, where they sat, awaiting their best friend to join them, but she hadn't arrived yet for some reason. " Where is she?! " Rainbow Dash said, rather impatiently at that.

" Hold yer horses Rainbow Dash, " Applejack told her, " We can't go rushing her, Shade might be better, but that don't mean she won't wanna spend a little time with him ".

" Last I checked, Twilight was in the bathroom, " Spike replied, " As for where my dad is, I'm not sure, " he passed cups of tea around to each one of them before heading back to the kitchen to grab them snacks.

Rainbow Dash gave out a snicker at the thought of something, " Oh yeah, she's definitely spending a little time with him, if you catch my drift, " nopony else laughed, except for Pinkie Pie, but that's for obvious reasons, Applejack gave her a small hoof punch on her shoulder as an immediate response to Rainbow Dash's joke.

" Rainbow Dash! " rarity gasped, " You know better than to talk like that, what if spikey wikey heard your awful sense of humor ".

All Rainbow Dash could do was roll her eyes, " Come on girls, grow up, it was just a little joke, " she leaned back in her seat, trying her best to relax whilst waiting for her tardy friend.

Right then and there, Twilight entered the room, a bright smile adorned on her face as she came to look upon all of her friends, " Girls, you're here already, " she then started blushing after realizing that she had arrived late to a meeting that she planned.

" there she is, " Applejack pointed out, " What took ya so long sugar, Spike said ya were in the bathroom, did ya slip and fall, or forget you were in there or somethin of the sort? " she asked curiously.

As if right on cue, Shade walked up by Twilight's side and wrapped one of his wings around her, " So you planned a meeting today and forgot that you planned it? " he asked while slightly grinning.

Twilight lowered her head slightly, her face glowing red, she let out a slight growl from the embarrassment and bumped her hoof into Shade's still sore ribs, " I just forgot, OK? I mean it happens to everypony, doesn't it? "

" Ow! " Shade cried out from the sudden jab at his ribs, " True, I suppose it does, " he replied as he rubbed his aching rib cage.

Rainbow Dash did her best to hold in her laughter, not at Shade being hit by Twilight, but by the fact that her little joke might actually have been real, " So, Twilight, " she started, trying her best to hold up her composure and not let her laughter out, " What kept you so long, or should I say, who, kept you so long, " she couldn't help but snicker as her own laughter fought against her.

" Ra..Rainbow Dash!! " Twilight cried out at her, " That is none of you're business! " but her outburst only seemed to fuel Rainbow Dash's laughter, causing her to burst out laughing as loud as possible.

Both Applejack and Rarity rolled their eyes, Fluttershy covered her face trying to hide the blush on it, and Pinkie, well, Pinkie had no earthly clue what they were talking about, but decided to laugh along with Rainbow Dash. " Ignore her Twilight, " Applejack told her best friend, " Now, sugar cube, what did ya need us for? " she had been wanting to know since she arrived.

After convincing Shade to let her go, Twilight made her way to her throne and took a seat, looking at her friends, still slightly blushing from the previous ordeal, " Right, the reason I called you girls here, " she gave a small cough to clear her throat before continuing, " The reason I called you here is because of what happened yesterday and the day before, about how the map lead us to that village that Starlight Glimmer was controlling ".

A growl came from Rainbow Dash who was still ticked off over the whole ordeal, " That dirty no good...why if I ever get my hooves on her, she'll regret ever doing what she did! "

Twilight's eyes darted over towards her cyan friend, " Calm down Rainbow Dash, everything is fine now, so let it go, " she watched as Rainbow Dash let out a loud sigh and slump down in her seat in defeat. " Alright, now if I may continue, as I was saying, the map lead us somewhere we were needed, so maybe, the map will keep leading us places we're needed, it only makes sense, " she looked around the room, taking in her friends expressions as they took in her words.

" If you ask me, it seems like that map is some kind of radar for trouble, " Shade suddenly stated, catching everyponies attention. Spike just then walked into the room, instantly spotting his father and readying himself to run to him, " you say it lead you, here, " he pointed to the village on the map, " and yet you didn't know where, here was, until you found out, perhaps the map is able to take you places you don't know about, " Shade was suddenly cut off by the feeling of a small body latching itself onto one of his legs.

" Good morning dad! " he said cheerfully to his father, who in return gave a warm smile.

" Good morning son, " everypony in the room let out a small "Aww " at the sight of Shade's fatherly affection, which was promptly met with a rather angry growl, causing the girls to giggle and laugh at him.

" Oh yeah, I almost forgot, " Spike's eyes slightly widened as he let go of his father, and made his way to the kitchen. Shade remained where he stood, looking slightly confused as to why his son suddenly run off, only to have his question answered upon seeing his son come out carrying two trays of snacks, " I thought since some of you girls might not have gotten a chance to eat breakfast yet, that I'd make everypony a snack, some sandwiches and fruit, I hope you all enjoy, " he smiled as he laid the trays and small plates out.

Shade smiled as he watched his son handing out the snacks to all of his friends and Twilight, " Heh, he did the same thing I did at that age, I enjoyed cooking with my mother, seems like he picked up the knack all by himself though ". Shade's smile remained as he watched his son, but only when he offered him a piece of fruit did it grow, " Thank you son, and as gratitude for this, I'll show you something ". Taking the fruit in his claw, Shade tossed it high in the air, watching as it rose up, and then as it plummeted, along with everypony else in the room. Right as it reached his eye level, Shade released the same magical blade from his horn that he used against the metal griffon, using it to slice the fruit apart at blinding speeds, only to retract it as the freshly sliced pieces landed safely upon a plate waiting in his other claw.

" COOL!!!! " Spike exclaimed, jumping up and down and looking at his dad like he were a celebrity.

" Indeed darling, " Rarity added, " Such skill and swiftness, oh you must be able to work wonders with a sewing needle! " she said, getting slightly starry eyed.

" Whoa! " Rainbow Dash's eyes got wide, " Now that's some speed, and you weren't even flying, you must do everything fast, isn;t that right Twilight, " she said, snickering again.

" Ignore her sugarcube, " Applejack said as she patted Twilight on the shoulder, " But I gotta agree, that was some fancy trick ya did there Shade ".

" Applejack is right, " Twilight finally said, " As a matter of fact, that's one thing I've been wanting to ask you ever since we got back form the griffon kingdom Shade, what is that magic you're using, and how do you use it, oh wait! let me get my paper and quill! " she suddenly jumped up and to rush off and get her supplies for taking notes, but she was stopped in mid air by Shade managing to catch her.

" There's no need to take notes Twilight, " he stated, gently sitting her back in her throne, " it's called, " he took a few steps back, " the Magi Blade! " he cried out as the illuminating ethereal blade extended from his horn, glowing the same color as his magic's aura.

" The Magi Blade?! " Twilight asked, curiosity and enthusiasm practically pouring from just that simple question.

" That's right, the Magi Blade, short for Magical Ether Blade, an incredibly powerful blade, created from condensing the raw magic within a unicorn, or alicorn's body, and focusing it at the base of the horn, rather than the tip ". Twilight soaked up every word like a sponge, only fueling her desire to write down everything Shade was saying, " Give that built up magic enough focus, and it'll start to take a physical form, magic you can touch, but you wouldn't want to touch this blade, the raw magic has heat like properties, making even the slightest touch painful, this also allows it to cut through just about anything, as you saw before, and the more magic you push into it, " he stopped momentarily to focus, letting the blade coming from his horn to suddenly expand in length, along with the vibrant aura surrounding it, glowing brighter, " The more powerful it becomes and the longer you can make it, making this spell vital in close and long range combat situations, perfect for self defense ".

Twilight watched as he drew the blade back, her eyes widened with amazement, her mouth left agape, speechless as to what she had just heard. It took Applejack clapping her hooves together in front of her face to snap her out of her trance-like state, " Uh, sugarcube, are you OK? ya sort of blanked out on us ".

Twilight nodded, albeit she wasn't focusing on her friends, her focus was primarily pointed towards Shade, she had come to learned in the time that she knew him, that Shade was a master at using several forms of magic, some that she herself had already mastered, but this was one form she had never even heard of, or knew of, until she witnessed him use it. " Shade, " she called to him in a slightly hushed voice, " Please, teach me how to use that, " she stared in the eyes, again, crimson met violet, as she internally, and externally pleaded for him to teach her how to use the spell he had just demonstrated.

Shade stood silent for a few minutes, contemplating his beloved's request, on one claw he knew that someday it might help her, or even save her life, but on the other, training could be rigorous, as it takes most years to master it, but something deep inside Shade told him to let her, that he should believe in her. " Alright Twilight, " he finally responded after taking time to think it over, " I will teach you how to use the Magi Blade, but only because I care so much about you, and this could someday save your life, as techniques like the Mage Blade, even have the capability to incapacitate foes like myself, with enough power pushed into them, " the room stayed silent, everponies, including Spike's, eyes widened at what he had just said.

Twilight's eyes were opened the widest, could she really handle such a form of magic this powerful, while she wasn't sure of herself, she was sure of one thing, Shade must believe in her greatly if he thinks she has what it takes to learn such a spell. She gave a confident nod and smile in response to Shade, " I'm ready Shade, I'll do whatever it takes, if there's a form of magic out there, I want to try my hardest to master it! " she raised her voice, albeit in a confident manner. Shade grinned at her, impressed with her confidence, he motioned his head towards the exit of the room, " Wait, so we're going to learn it now?! " she was taken aback by this, she hadn't expected him to teach it to her so suddenly. However, rather than speak, Shade only nodded, and made his way towards the rooms exit, Twilight shook her head, building up both her composure, and her confidence even further, " Alright then Shade, I'm right behind you, " when she saw he had already left the room, she leaped from her throne in a panic, " Sh..Shade!! wait for me! " leaving everypony else in the room giggling at her being tardy, yet again.

Author's Note:

Well hey there ladies and gentlecolts, nice to see you all again I've been trying a little harder to put chapters out faster, I've also been attempting to write chapters for all my stories at the same time, and it just so happened that this stories chapter got finished first, but don't worry, I'm still working on the others, including, something new . Anyway, a lot is going on in this chapter from what we can tell, and there's even more to come I promise you that . Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this new chapter, if you did feel free to comment what you thougt, I'm always happy to see comment's it's one of the many thing's I enjoy about writing, seeing what everyone else thinks of my work
Well that's all for now, enjoy the chapter, and I'll see you all again real soon

Comments

[GrimmWolfDragon]

Glad you back great chapter, can't wait to see what happen next. Keep it up

[Azrael the alicorn]

I hope that Shade will find a way to prove that he's not a monster to Cadence and Shining. Also, cool stuff the Magi Blade, I'm sure that Twilight will learn it pretty fast.