Morning
It has now been two days since the moon had returned along with the return of those who had been imprisoned on it. In that time Nightwing was able to get a good understanding of what was going on and why things were happening. Thanks to the information from everyone he understood everything very clearly now. The next thing to be done was to figure out what Comet Tail meant when he said the Seven Sins of Tartarus. But before he could begin his investigation Luna gave him a very big surprise. She made Shade his new student.
At first Nightwing opposed the idea due to having no idea as to how teach Shade anything or what to do. But Luna was prepared, she had gone up to the moon and gave Shade a complex Crystal. The exact one that Moonstone used. Without anything to oppose his Teacher he gave in, and decided to teach Shade about magic.
Which is why he was currently in the training room pacing back forth talking to Shade who now had a complex Crystal strapped to her hoof.
"Okay, first rule of magic." Nightwing began. "Magic is everywhere, in the air, ground, and even in you. It surrounds us and binds the universe together. The complex Crystal is tool capable of taking in magic and expelling it in various forms. One of the most famous forms of magic is levitation." Nightwing demonstrated by using his magic to levitate a rock in front of Shade and sat it in front of her. "Now you try."
"Um...how?" Shade asked.
"Well first you need to understand that emotion is the fuel for magic." Nightwing said. "Rage, love, fear, happiness, sadness, these are all emotions that drive magic. However it is said that when one shows no emotion that is when magic is its strongest. Why you might ask? Because magic is a force of energy. There is no such thing as good or bad magic, there is only magic. To wield magic with a complex Crystal one must be void of emotion. Just remain calm and imagine lifting the rock with your hooves."
"Alright." Shade took a deep breath before closing her eyes, she concentrated entirely onto the rock and focused. Her complex Crystal began to glow, but the rock didn't budge. She exhaled suddenly and lost all of her concentration. "I can't." She sighed.
"That's quitting talk Shade. You need to really focus, and if it doesn't work the first time simply try again until you do." Nightwing mumbled, "That's what Teach taught me anyways."
"Alright...I'd like to take a break if I could?" Shade asked.
Nightwing sighed, he couldn't help but think he was doing this all wrong. He had no experience teaching anyone about magic. Luna was the one who taught him how to use the Complex Crystal, but he was doing the exact same thing for Shade and it wasn't working. 'Maybe she needs to learn how to do things on her own?' Nightwing thought.
"Alright Shade, I'll let you take your break. But first I'm gonna show you something."
"What?" Shade asked. "What are you gonna do?"
"Just watch and learn." Nightwing said grabbing Shade's hoof. "There's a famous spell that Shadow Knight's use called Shadow Stalking. Watch carefully."
In the blink of an eye Shade and Nightwing vanished. Then reappeared in the exact same room, only this time everything looked various shades of dark and light grey.
"What...what happened?" Shade asked, taken by surprise due to the sudden change in color.
"This is what Shadow Knight's call the Shadow Zone. A layer that has been spliced between space and time. As long as we are in this zone neither time nor space moves forward." Nightwing explained.
"How is this possible?" Shade asked.
"It's a zone that can be accessed anytime anywhere, and it's much more efficient than teleportation. Come on let's head over to Ranger's." Nightwing said walking out the door.
"If time and space don't move forward, then what about us? How are we not affected?" Shade questioned as she followed Nightwing.
"As I explained before, magic is everywhere. Even in this zone it exists, it's just stuck because there's no time and space. However, since we're here we are moving the magic particles and generating a personal time and space bubble around us. This bubble allows us to move freely throughout the zone with ease. Just be sure not to touch anything okay?" Nightwing said.
"Wait, why?" Shade asked.
"Sometimes whenever something comes in contact with the complex Crystal while in the Shadow Zone it has a tendency to...go crazy." Nightwing shivered, recalling an awful memory.
"So when can I take my break?" Shade asked.
"You'll get to take your break, we just have to walk there that's all. And what better way to get there than by traveling in a zone where time is stuck in one place?" Nightwing grinned.
The sharp winds carried dust and rock across the land. Two ponies draped in protective cloth that covered their entire body and were wearing gas masks were able to tread along in the unbreathable atmosphere. Both could be easily noticed as unicorn's due to their horns sticking out from under the cloth. The two had been walking along the harsh mountains for what seemed like hours before the large gate of Ractous came in sight.
There was a soft boom that echoed throughout the canyon. A figure could be seen flying towards them high up in the air. The figure was then sent into a free fall and landed harshly onto the ground. The figure was a golden Sentinel.
"Halt, who goes there?" The Sentinel ordered.
The unicorn figure on the left spoke, "We're here to visit Spike."
"We did receive any information about any visitors. State your name immediately or be terminated."
"My name is Silver Platter." The figure pointed to himself. "And this is Rarity." Silver introduced Rarity.
"Recognized, Silver Platter and Rarity. Authorization indicates that you are who you say you are. However you will be observed during your visit, so do not try anything."
"Wasn't planning on doing anything of the sort." Silver muttered under his breath.
The Sentinel guided both Silver Platter and Rarity towards the gate. There was a long clank and the gate split in two, creating an opening. The Sentinel, Silver Platter, and Rarity walked passed the gate and into the mountain. The gate then closed behind them, signaling that it was safe to take off their masks. Once her mask had been removed Rarity folded down her hood and shook her mane freely.
A satisfied sigh escaped her lips, "That suit is dreadfully uncomfortable." She said.
Silver removed his mask and spoke, "I didn't think it was that bad, besides I'd rather be uncomfortable than suffocating on pieces of rock." Silver joked.
"Point made." Rarity agreed.
"Follow me if you would." The Sentinel spoke.
Silver and Rarity followed the Sentinel down a hallway with various creatures trapped in cages from small to large. The inside of the metal bowls that stood on top of short stands caught fire, illuminating the room. Silver and Rarity walked along the hallway for a long time before they came in view of a large black metal door with thirty Sentinel's guarding it.
As Silver and Rarity approached, the Sentinel's rank split in half as one side moved out of the way so that Silver and Rarity could pass. The two unicorns walked past the rows of Sentinel's and to the large black metal door.
There was a loud clank and the door slowly opened. The room on the other side of the door lit up as the inside of metal bowls were set aflame. With the room now lit up Silver and Rarity walked in. Multiple Sentinels took guard in front of the for small cells as Silver and Rarity approached the larger one of the four.
"Spike." Silver spoke. "Show yourself Spike, it's us."
There was a soft rumble from the cage, it sounded like something was shuffling around inside.
"So it's true." A deep voice spoke from inside the cage. "The moon truly has returned." A pair of green eyes could be seen from inside the cage. "Rarity...you're just as beautiful as I remembered you were."
Rarity smiled, "And you've gotten bigger than the last time I saw you."
Spike's expression saddened, "I haven't been able to figure out how to reverse it." He said, staring at his claws.
"Spike," Silver spoke. "We've come to take you back."
Spike turned away from the cage, "Then you've wasted your time."
"Don't do this Spike." Rarity spoke, "Don't shut us out, were all your friends and we want to help you. But we can't do anything unless you let us."
"Help?" Spike laughed sadly. "You can't help what's been done." Spike glared at the small cage to the right of his. "As long as Ponies like him exist, I can never return to my home."
"That's not true!" Silver yelled. "You're stronger than that Spike. You aren't the monster you say you are."
"Are you sure?" Spike asked. "Ponies have feared Dragons for ages. The only reason that none of you feared me was because I wasn't a threat. I was just a small little dragon, how could I possibly be a threat to Equestria?" Spike growled, clenching his fists. "But then I grew up, and I became this...beast you see now. There's no place in Equestria for a monster like me."
"How can you say something like that." Rarity said. "Spike you're our friend. Not once did anyone ever think that you were a monster nor did we believe that you'd become one."
Two purple scaled claws curled around the cage bars. Spike leaned in towards the cage, revealing his face. There were multiple scars all over his face. Scars of slashes from a blade or burns from a hot piece of metal.
"What...what happened to you?" Silver asked, his eyes wide with shock.
"I did this. I do this to myself everyday as punishment for what I've done." Spike croaked.
Now Silver was furious, "How could you do something like that?!" Silver roared. "You're hurting yourself because of something you didn't do?! Wake up Spike, you don't belong here!"
"No, you wake up!" Spike roared back. "Why can't you understand that this is where I belong? Everything the High Council said was true. As long as I'm a threat to Equestria I can never leave this cage."
"But you're not a threat!" This time Rarity yelled. "Did you ever stop and think what everyone else thinks of this?! What would Twilight say if she was right here speaking to you?!"
Spike's eyes widened. He remembered all the moments he had with Twilight Sparkle. From the first time she hatched him from an egg, to the time when he had last spoke with her. A twinkle of sadness sparked in his eyes. "Go...leave me."
"Were not leaving Spike." Silver stood firm. "Not unless you're leaving with us."
Spike looked at both Rarity and Silver. He knew that the two wouldn't leave. Not unless something makes them. Spike inhaled deeply, and released a burst of green flames down onto the floor.
"Hostile!" The Sentinels shouted, readying themselves to restrain Spike.
"Stay where you are!" Silver roared, his eyes glowed grey as sharp pillars of crystalline jade shot up from the ground, constructing a wall between Silver and the Sentinels.
"Better run little ponies," Spike growled in a villainous voice, "before I burn you both to a crisp."
Silver and Rarity stood firmly against Spike, not showing any signs of wavering. "I'm not buying it Spike. You say you're a vicious monster. But we both know that you're not. You're our friend, and you would rather die before hurting us."
"Oh?" Spike arched his brow. "If I recall, you two are dating. I love Rarity, always have, always will. But you took her away from me Silver. You took the one I love away from me." Spike growled, his throat started to glow green. "I might feel some guilt from killing Rarity. But you Silver, I have no problem killing you."
Silver stared Spike down, "You lying." He said coldly.
Spike opened his mouth, his throat glowing brighter than before. "Since I'm feeling generous I'll give you two a chance. Leave and never come back, and I will spare both of your lives."
"Were not moving." Rarity said.
Spike knew that they weren't going to leave. They didn't see him as the monster he truly was. Not unless he showed them. Spike lifted his head up, only to bring it down, releasing a burst of green flames from his mouth. When the flames faded a new feeling entered Spike. It felt familiar, almost like he had felt it before.
Pain.
Spike looked down to see both Silver and Rarity completely unharmed. He didn't know how it had happened until he saw his arm. His left arm had involuntarily moved through the cage's bars and shielded both Rarity and Silver from the green flames. His left arm however had taken about sixty-four percent of the damage. His arm pulsed with pain, his once purple scaled arm was now charred black. He pulled his arm back into the cage and held it with his right claw.
"You call yourself a monster." Silver spoke, slowly approaching the cage. "But would a monster shield two ponies from certain death with his own arm?"
"Face it Spike." Rarity spoke, she too started to approach the cage. "You're not a monster. You're not a threat. You're our friend, and we won't leave you here like this."
Spike stared at both Silver and Rarity with disbelief. Then the very thing he feared happened. He had began to cry. Tears dropped from his eyes freely, plummeting down towards the floor. Spike was crying tears of joy. Joy that he wasn't a monster. Joy that he had friends who cared for him. His body then began to shrink.
The once towering tall dragon was now turning back into the little dragon he once was. Spike was now at his normal size. Or, the size he was originally at I should say. Due to his now smaller size Spike was able to leap out from the cell and run towards Silver and Rarity. With tears streaming down his cheeks he buried his face into Rarity's coat.
"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry...I didn't...I was gonna..." Spike choked on his words as he buried his face deeper into Rarity's coat.
A foreleg draped around Spike, pulling him closer to Rarity, "Shhh, there there Darling, it's alright. You weren't thinking clearly. Besides, we weren't in any real danger."
Silver quickly interjected, "Because we both knew that you wouldn't hurt us. No matter what you called yourself."
"You don't need to lie to me." Spike sniffled. "I already know that Silver could've easily blocked my flames with his crystal's. But before you could've constructed your crystals I moved my arm to shield you."
"...yeah." Silver admitted, before his eyes saw Spike's burnt arm. "Speaking of which," Silver walked up to Spike and waived his hoof over Spike's burnt arm. Crystals formed over his arm, covering the burn mark on his arm.
Spike lifted up his arm to inspect it. The pulsating pain he felt was replaced with a cool feeling that washed over his arm. He looked to Silver and said, "Thank you."
Silver smiled warmly, "No problem. Couldn't just let you go through that after saving us."
"So...what happens now?" Spike asked.
Rarity smiled, "Now, we go home. All of us."
Silver turned to the Crystal wall, his eyes glowed grey and the crystals sunk back into the floor. "We're gonna need another gas mask." He said to the Sentinels.
Sweet Apple Acres. If the place wasn't the perfect spot for relaxation then the world would be upside down. Nightwing decided to let Shade spend her break on the farm while he tried to figure out how he could help Shade with her Complex Crystal. While Shade lied against one of the trees, Nightwing was pacing back and forth trying to figure out a way to help Shade.
"Why did Teach have to throw this on me out of nowhere?" Nightwing complained. "A little warning would've been nice. I don't know the first think about teaching someone how to use a Complex Crystal. I mean sure, when I first learned I was able to get an understanding of it very quickly. But I'm a Shadow Knight, I've got some weird Shadow pony's soul that's merged with mine, and she doesn't. She doesn't have a handicap like I did. Ugh! This is so frustrating!"
Nightwing looked to the sky and demanded, "Give me a sign of something for crying out loud!"
Nightwing's demand was answered by an object hitting him on the side of his head. "Ow!" Nightwing hissed, the sharp part of the object poked forcefully into his cheek. He looked down to see that what had hit him was a Crystal. A Complex Crystal, to be specific. One that looked
Exactly
Like
Nightwing's.
"Gotcha!"
A young colt with with light brown fur, a blonde mane and tail, freckles on his muzzle, and blue eyes. The young colt had pounced onto the Crystal like a cat onto its prey. The colt then saw Nightwing, "Oh, hey there Nightwing."
Nightwing stared at the colt with wide eyes and his mouth slightly agape.
"Oh shoot." The colt snapped. "You're not my Nightwing you're past Nightwing. Sorry for the confusion."
Nightwing grabbed the colt by the shoulders and looked him dead in the eyes, "You. Why are you here?"
"You sent me here, or rather, your future self sent me here. Geez," the colt shook his head. "Time travel is so confusing."
Nightwing then noticed something, "Appleseed, how many times have you and I met?" The colt was about to speak but Nightwing placed his hoof over his mouth. "And when I say 'I' I'm talking about past me, not future me okay?"
The colt, now named Appleseed, nodded his head. Nightwing removed his hoof and Appleseed spoke. "Once." He answered. "This is the only time you and I have met. And why are you calling me Appleseed?"
"Isn't that your name?" Nightwing asked.
"No, that's my-" the colt stopped himself, lost in thought, carefully choosing his words. "-er... I mean, yes. Yes Appleseed's my name."
"Okay then..." Nightwing said skeptical. "Why did future me send you here?" Nightwing asked.
"Actually the plan wasn't to send me to this timeline at all." Appleseed said. "The plan was to take me to the time when a crack in space and time appeared at Ranger's farm."
"So why are you here?" Nightwing asked.
Appleseed snickered, "That's a funny story actually. See you were about to send me to the timeline when you accidentally threw your Complex Crystal into the portal and it ended up here. Somehow."
"Why did I need you to go to Ranger's farm?" Nightwing asked.
"To study the crack of course. Speaking of which I should probably head back now." Appleseed sat up. "But before I do I need to know." Appleseed looked at Nightwing very seriously. "Have you checked on Granny Smith yet?"
Nightwing tilted his head, "Granny Smith? You mean the old mare with Alzheimer's?"
Appleseed shook his head, "I can assure you that she doesn't have Alzheimer's. Do me a favor and go check on her please?"
"I go check on her no matter what don't I?" Nightwing sighed, noting that there was no escape from his fate.
Appleseed shrugged, "All I know is that no matter what I do I can't change the future."
As soon as Appleseed said that a blue portal opened up behind him, "Remember this, the concept of reality is an illusion, our universe is a giant book, and msylcatac eht eraweb!" Appleseed shouted before he fell into the portal, which disappeared the moment he fell into it.
Nightwing stood motionless, the gears in his brain sputtered and groaned as he tried to process what just happened. "You know what? No, not even gonna bother." Nightwing gave up on trying to figure out what had just happened and decided to do what Appleseed said he was going to do.
Nightwing didn't understand what Appleseed meant when he said that Granny Smith didn't have Alzheimer's, and frankly he didn't care. All that he cared about was getting this done so he could get back to helping Shade.
Nightwing entered into the Sweet Apple Acres house. Inside the house Ranger was pulling out a pie from the oven. Ranger sat the pie on the window shelf for it to cool off.
"Howdy Nightwing." Ranger tipped his hat. "What can I do for ya?"
"Do you know where Granny Smith is?" Nightwing asked.
Ranger tilted his head, "Why would you want to see her?"
"I'm gonna check on her." Nightwing answered.
"A doctor just came by about thirty minutes ago." Ranger sounded like he was protesting against Nightwing.
"I'm better than a doctor Ranger. I'm Nightwing."
"That's what I'm kinda afraid of." Ranger muttered under his breath. "Okay let me take you to her." Ranger sighed, walking up the stairs with Nightwing following behind.
The two walked down the short hallway until they stopped at the metal door. Nightwing opened the door and took a step into the room. His hoof was wrapped in the white cushions that were sewn into the floor. Granny was currently resting on the bed.
"Hey Granny." Nightwing shook the sleeping Granny.
"Huh, wha?" Granny mumbled as she was stirred awake. "Who's there?"
"The name's Nightwing, I'm here to check on you." Nightwing introduced himself.
"Check on me? I don't need to be checked on I'm perfectly fine." Granny smiled.
"Now you say that, but I know that you're not. So I'm gonna have to ask you to take off that blindfold." Nightwing reached for the blindfold over Granny's eyes.
Granny Smith flinched backwards. "I'd prefer it if ya didn't do that Shadow Knight."
Nightwing froze, he looked at Granny with a frown, "What did you just call me?"
"Nightwing. That is yer name isn't it Youngin?" Granny smiled innocently.
"Yes that is my name, but I never said that I was a Shadow Knight." Nightwing glared at Granny. "Who are you?"
Granny looked away from Nightwing and screamed, "You! It's you, get away from me foul Reaper!"
Nightwing grinned, "Nice try, but I know there's nothing-" Nightwing turned to where Granny was facing, and his heart dropped into the pit of his stomach. "There..."
Nightwing went pale with fear. What stood before him, in the corner of the room, was a tall and slender pony. The pony wore a black suit and pants over its white coat that had black tendrils dancing from his back. The pony also didn't have a face, no eyes, no mouth, no nostrils, just a blank white face.
The sight of the creature sent fear into Nightwing's mind. He wanted to do something, anything. But his body remained completely frozen. Good thing Ranger was in the room, he did the smart thing that anypony would do in his situation.
Chuck a chair at it.
Surprisingly the plan worked. The chair collided with the creature and it broke into pieces. Ranger then grabbed both Nightwing and Granny Smith and ran out of the house. Once he was sure that they were far enough from the house he gently sat Granny against the trunk of a tree. He then glared at Nightwing and shouted, "What the Tartarus was that, Nightwing?!"
Nightwing, who was still shaken up by what just happened, wearily replied, "I don't know." He held his head. "I don't know what that thing is but...but I feel like I should remember it."
"Well whatever it is, send it back to wherever you got it from before it kills us." Ranger shot.
"Wait...you think I brought that thing here?" Nightwing asked.
"Well obviously you brought it here." Ranger pointed out. "How else could it have gotten in the house?"
"I don't know how but..." Nightwing paused, his eyes locked on the trees behind Ranger. "Ranger...did the Apple family ever have a forest of pine trees?"
Ranger raised an eyebrow and tilted his head. He then looked behind him and saw a literal forest of pine trees behind him. He turned back to Nightwing to see another forest of pine trees behind him. He looked all around and sure enough, everywhere he looked there were pine trees. Pine trees had surrounded the house in a circle.
"What devilry is this?" Ranger demanded.
"I don't know." Nightwing answered before his lit up. He then realized that there was someone he had forgotten about. "Shade!" Nightwing sat up straight in an instant. "I have to go find her." Nightwing was about to run off into the forest until something grabbed his wing and pulled him back.
"Now wait just a flabber jastin minute ya varmit."
A voice with a southern accent spoke. Nightwing looked back to see Granny Smith was the one holding back his wing. She looked...different. Her blindfold had been removed and she looked a lot younger than before.
"Granny Smith...you're alright." Ranger said in disbelief.
"I'm feelin' better than 'alright' youngin." Granny smiled, "and call me Smith."
"Okay then, could you please let go of my wing so I can go rescue my student Smith." Nightwing growled at Granny.
The creature with no face stepped out of the house. It didn't open the door, instead it walked right through it like a ghost walks through a solid wall.
"Listen to me, I.....don't know what that thing is or where it came from. But I do know that it feeds off screams." Smith stated.
"Scream once, permission to be seen. Scream twice, permission to be tagged. Scream three times, permission to be taken." Nightwing said in a robotic monotone voice.
"Hey ya know the rules." Smith tilted her head at Nightwing. "Have you by any chance dealt with this thing before?"
"I don't...I can't remember." Nightwing groaned, his head felt like it was on fire.
Ranger spoke, "Well you can remember later, that thing is closing in and I don't wanna know what happens when it catches up with us."
Smith, Nightwing, and Ranger all took off into the forest. But before disappearing into the forest Smith stopped and gave the faceless creature a final glance. A smile appeared on her face before she then disappeared into the woods.
Shade was at a loss for words for what she was seeing. Pine trees, as far as the eye could see, were everywhere. They surrounded the once apple orchard, and turned it into a forest of pine trees. What was really peculiar was that there seemed to be no end to the forest. No matter how far she looked or how high she flew up into the air, Shade could not see the end of the forest. It didn't make sense to Shade, how could a forest completely take over a farm in a matter of seconds.
It was seemingly impossible. Shade then landed, hoping that she'd be able to get a better understanding. As she walked through the forest of pine trees she learned two new things. The first, was that each tree looked exactly alike. Their bark pattern, the height of the trees, and the length of the pine needles. All of it looked exactly the same. The second thing she learned was that thanks to the fact that every tree looked the same she was now hopelessly lost. She thought about flying up and getting a bird's eye view of the place.
She unfolded her wings and arched her legs, readying herself to leap into the air. But before she could her body froze up. Her muscles tensed and her body refused to move. Her eyes went wide with fear upon seeing what was before her.
The faceless creature.
It stood there with an aura swarming around it that could make the bravest of ponies soil themselves. The faceless creature blankly looked at Shade, standing impressively still. The creature then took a step forward.
Then it took another step.
Step after step the creature took. Before Shade knew it the creature was only a couple of inches away from her. The tall creature leaned down and faced Shade. The creature's empty eyes bored their way into Shade's.
The creature raised its hoof over where the mouth should've been. A soft and ghostly, "shhhhhhh." came from the creature. The sound sent shivers down Shade's spine and made her want to jump sixty feet in the air and book it. But instead of doing that she remained still as a statue. The faceless creature then raised its head back up and simply walked past Shade.
Shade fell onto her rump and sat there, her eyes wide and her pupils dilated. She could see her entire life flash before her eyes as the creature stared her down. She didn't know what that thing was and she didn't want to know. Right now she just wanted to sit and not worry about the terrifying creature from Tartarus that just passed her.
"Shade!"
Shade yelped in fright as someone called her name. She hesitantly turned her head to look behind her, expecting to see the faceless creature once more. To her relief it wasn't the creature but rather Nightwing, Ranger, and Smith who had called her name. Nightwing quickly rushed to Shade and hugged her tight.
"Thank Teach you're alright." He said relieved, releasing Shade from his hug. "Come on we have to get out of here before it finds us."
But it was too late for that plan. As soon as Nightwing spoke black tendrils erupted from a part of the forest. They whizzed past Nightwing and Shade and wrapped themselves around Smith. The tendrils wrapped around Smith's body tightly, squeezing her like doll. Smith squirmed and shifted her body, trying to free herself from the tendrils grasp.
"Hang on Granny!" Ranger shouted, grabbing the black tendrils he tried to pry them away.
Ranger was able to pull Smith out of the Tendrils grasp. But in doing so, the Tendrils this time were aimed at Ranger. The Tendrils wrapped around Ranger's body tightly, binding his legs together. Before Ranger could try to break free the Tendrils pulled I'm into a dark park of the forest.
More Tendrils sprouted from the dark part of the forest that Ranger had been dragged into. This time however the Tendrils wrapped themselves around Nightwing. The Tendrils were about to drag Nightwing away just like they had done with Ranger. But before Nightwing could've been pulled into the forest Shade grabbed onto him and pulled against the Tendrils.
"Shade listen to me very carefully." Nightwing spoke, "No matter what happens you can't scream. This thing that's attacking us, it feeds off of screams. Under no circumstances are you to scream. Got that?"
"I'm not letting go Nightwing." Shade pulled harder against the Tendrils, only for the Tendrils to start pulling both Shade and Nightwing into the dark part of the forest.
Nightwing looked Shade directly in the eyes and said, "Shade let go."
"What?!" Shade shouted.
"Listen, if you keep holding on then we're both gonna get pulled in. I need you to let go." Nightwing said.
"I'm not letting go Nightwing." Shade said. "I just met you, I can't lose you now."
The touching moment was short lived as Smith yanked Shade away from Nightwing. Nightwing slipped through her hooves and was pulled into the dark part of the forest.
"No!" Shade shouted. "I just got him. I can't lose him, not now."
"Didn't you hear a word that Shadow Knight said." Smith hissed. "Keep your voice down or he will find us. Now come on, we have to get to the house and fast."
Shade didn't want to leave, she wanted to storm headfirst into the dark part of the forest. But she knew that it would provide no useful results. The only thing that would happen is she'd get captured by the Tendrils. With tears in her eyes Shade turned away and ran with Smith.
The Tendrils were hot on their tails as both Shade and Smith ran. Shade didn't know exactly where Smith was leading her to, but as long as it was away from the Tendrils she didn't care. Smith and Shade ran into a circle clearing of the thick forest, the house at the center of the circle. Smith bursted through the door, Shade entered and shut the door. The Tendrils banged against the door violently. Shade braced against the door, the force of the Tendrils pounding traveled through the door and hit Shade.
Soon the pounding came to an abrupt halt. Shade stopped bracing the door and her body slumped down. She rested her body against the door in exhaustion.
Smith eyed the worn out Shade like a cat eyed its prey, "It's a bit early, but I guess I have no choice." She muttered.
"Smith, we need to brace the house. We're gonna have to work together, but there might be a chance. If we can board up the windows and block off the doors, then maybe we can keep that thing out." Shade said.
Smith wasn't paying attention to Shade, she was too busy looking in the kitchen for a tool. She pulled out drawers and opened cabinets. But she couldn't find what she was looking for. Smith began to get irritated that she couldn't find her tool. Until she pulled out a drawer and she smiled. In the drawer was silverware from spoons to knives, but the utensil she was eying was a sharp steel kitchen knife with a wooden handle. Smith gripped the knife, her face was the picture of a giddy mare.
Shade continued to ramble on about how to fortify the house, "Smith, do you know where you keep some spare wood. If you have some then we can get started right aw-"
Shade was cut of as the steel knife sunk into the door, inches away from her face.
"Damn, I missed." Smith spoke, this time however her accent was now normal.
"Sm-mith...what are you doing?" Shade stuttered, thinking that there must've been a good explanation for what she had done.
"Trying to kill you of course." Smith answered calmly. "Can't have you alive now can I."
Shade's eyes widened. She immediately sat up and tried to run out the door.
"Oh no you don't!" Smith tackled Shade and pinned her down. "You're not going anywhere."
"Why are you doing this?!" Shade demanded, struggling to be free of Smith's grasp.
"What good will it do telling you?" Smith asked, pulling the knife out of the door. "You're going to die right now. Telling you what I am will mean nothing." Smith covered Shade's mouth, "Do me a favor and don't make to much noise."
Shade stopped moving. Everything now made sense to her. As Smith reared her knife into the air, Shade chomped down on Smith's hoof. Smith pulled her hoof away from Shade's mouth. Shade then lifted her head quickly and back headed Smith in the face. Smith stumbled backwards and landed on her back. The knife skidded across the floor.
Before Smith could get back up Shade pounced onto her and punched her in he face. She continued to deal blow after blow to Smith's head, her face started to bruise and turn read from the pain. Shade stopped, her breathing matched the speedy beating of her heart. "You're the one that creature's after aren't you? It's chasing you not me, Nightwing, or even Ranger, it's you. So if you so afraid of this thing," Shade sat up and grabbed Smith's hind leg and dragged her to the door, "Then I think it's time for you to face your fear."
Realizing her intentions Smith began to squirm, her hooves scraped against the wooden floor, desperate to stop Shade from taking her outside. "Shade listen to me, we're good friends right? I didn't mean what I said, I'm just...dealing with a lot of stuff. I overreacted okay, there's no need to take me out there. Hey, how about you let me go and we start boarding up the house huh? That sounds fun right?" Smith's confidence was fading, she frantically begged Shade to let her go, her voice was breaking and she along with it.
Shade ignored Smith, she didn't care what she had to say. Shade kicked open the door and dragged Smith outside.
"No!" Smith yelled, hooking onto the doorframe. "I won't let you!"
Shade pulled on Smith as hard as she could, but she would not budge. Shade became angry, her eyes glowed dark blue and she bared her fangs. "GET OUT!" Shade roared, ripping Smith and pieces of the doorframe outside.
Smith rolled on the ground, pieces of the wooden door frame rolled with her. Smith groaned, her body ached and burned with pain. She slowly stood up, and in doing so a black Tendril wrapped around her hind leg. Smith frantically tried to pull the Tendril off her leg. More Tendrils wrapped themselves around Smith's body. She struggled and the Tendrils got tighter.
Smith then froze. Her entire body was unable to move as she gazed in horror at a the faceless creature. The faceless creature approached Smith, the creature lifted her chin up, getting a good look at her face. Once the creature was satisfied it let go of Smith's chin and walked up to Shade. "Thank you for your assistance, Shade." The creature spoke, its voice was raspy and had an echo to it.
Shade pointed at Smith, "What is that, and what has it done to Granny Smith."
"That." The creature turned to Smith. "Is a Wanderer. A soul that has escaped the void. I was sent here by my Master to return this Wanderer back to the void. But she had put her soul in a living body. This made it difficult to find the Wanderer. But all is good and all is right. The Wanderer will be put back into void, and Granny Smith's soul shall be returned to its body."
"Before you do that," Shade spoke abruptly, "I have to know...are you the Spook that haunted Nightwing on Nightmare Night?"
"No." Was the creature's response. "But I do know of the one who did."
"Who? And why?" Shade asked.
"Who?...I cannot say. We do not carry names as you ponies do. But I know the reason why the one you call 'Spook' haunted Nightwing." The creature said. "We love to play the Game with ponies. The Game is fun, and ever so enjoyable. And when the Game is done, and we've had our fun, we erase the memories of those who have played."
"Then how come Nightwing remember's?" Shade asked.
"He remember's because we want him to. He will be the one to play a major part in the story." The creature then started to approach Smith.
As it walked it started to sing. ""All alone, forgotten and cold. Sleeping far away. Always watching, forever silent. Never go away. Say goodbye, to the light. That you all use to see. Let go, to the light, and let me hear you," As the creature sang, Smith looked to be on the brink of insanity. Her breathing was going at impossible speeds, and her heartbeat could be heard all the way to the house.
"Scream."
"That's when I found you all here, unconscious." Shade explained to Nightwing, Ranger, and Granny Smith. (Who is now back to normal)
After the faceless creature took the Wanderer back to the void, it returned Ranger, Nightwing, Granny Smith, and Shade back to the normal world. Shade took everyone inside and draped blankets over them, along with giving them cups of hot chocolate. Nightwing took a sip from his cup and said, "Welp, that answers all my questions. Good job Shade." Nightwing took another sip from his cup. "Also, let's all agree, right here right now, to Never speak of this to anyone ever again."
Everyone nodded in agreement.