//------------------------------// // Allies // Story: The Queen of Shadows // by megabyte97 //------------------------------// Going from seeing my old teacher in Toad Town to being cooked over an open flame is pretty jarring, but I don’t have very much time to think about it before the minotaur notices we’re awake, pulls his free hand back in a fist, and punches us in the face. “Son-of-a-” I yell as pain erupts in our mouth. Tears well up in our eyes as I lock onto the minotaur with a murderous glare. ‘Big mistake,’ I think, latching onto the anger we feel. The air grows cold and the light seems to dim as the wooden wagon suddenly lurches to a stop. The grey minotaur stumbles to the right and looks to the front of the wagon, no doubt wondering why his two companions have stopped. I can feel the tiny group’s confusion as our mouth twitches up at the corners. The ethereal hand beneath the wagon gripping the axle goes completely unnoticed. I do not give them a chance to investigate. Using our anger, I force the shadows at the corners of the wagon to grow until the small pockets connect with the minotaur’s shadow. The bull jolts upright as if a bolt of electricity went up his spine. The minotaur’s arms are visibly straining against an invisible foe and a moment later I can hear the minotaur’s companions scrambling to the back of the wagon in response to the bull’s pained grunt. Two brown diamond dogs scramble into the back of the wagon with crude spears in their paws. They are wearing rags stitched together into clothes and necklaces with three fangs on each. They rush over to the minotaur asking what’s wrong, but my curse is keeping the bull busy trying to save his free will. The bull hunches over, dropping to his hands and knees, and while the mutts are trying to find what is wrong with their large companion I slowly extend the shadow coming from the bull towards the two dogs. The mutts yelp as the shadow connects the three offenders and I smile as the shadow starts crawling up the dog's legs turning their brown and matted fur into midnight black pelts. The spell latches onto the mutts’ fear to speed up the transformation, forcing their muscles and bones to grow, and taxing their bodies to their limits in order to meet the spell’s demands. I feel… strange, listening to their bones and joints snap and pop as they whimper in agony. I suppress the dogs’ minds and make their bodies go beyond their limits, the spell supplementing the energy produced by their agony in place of the nutrients in their bodies. The rags covering their bodies rip and fall to the wagon floor, and with one final burst of power the spell completes the mutts’ transformations by giving their heads a more wolfish shape. The mutts collapse next to the minotaur, who was watching the transformation of his companions with wide eyes as they were repurposed to suit my needs. The bull’s struggles redouble against my invisible restraints as my new pets stagger to their paws. ‘Release me,’ I signal silently to my pets via thought. The jagged bones protruding from my pets’ paws make quick work of my bindings. Sitting on the piece of wood, I swing our hooves over to the right side and stand up. I stagger a little, but my host’s muscle memory kicks in and I steady us before we fall. It feels strange walking again after such a long time, but I quickly return my focus to the final offender of the little group. Looking upon the straining minotaur in front of me struggling not to fall, I find the idea of transforming the helpless bull into a mindless beast… surprisingly unwanted. Gazing upon the minotaur in a professional black suit kneeling before me, I make a choice. The bull bellows and lurches up, his mouth opening to its widest as tendrils of smoke pour out of the surrounding trees. The minotaur watches on in fear as the smoke reaches him and starts filling his mouth and slithering down his throat. The bull starts to shake violently as more of the black substance forces itself into him. The bull stops shaking a few seconds later and several seconds after that his arms fall limp to his sides. The black substance dissipates after I am certain the binding is complete. “Rise,” I command. The grey minotaur climbs to his hooves, sweeping off the specks of dust on his suit before looking at me. “Bow,” I command. The minotaur complies, bending his upper body, his eyes never leave my own. “What is your name, servant?” “Ironhide, your majesty.” “What were you doing before coming into my service?” “Delivering a ring thought to be magical in nature.” “...Show me,” I demand. Ironhide walks to the edge of the wagon before jumping off, my pets and I close behind as he circles around to the front of the wagon. He grabs a bag fastened to one of the handles and pulls out a large golden ring about the size of my host’s torso. Taking the ring in our hands, I can immediately feel the artifact’s magic. It is a strange piece to say the least, the most prominent effect of the item being tied to the feeling of lust… “Where is our clothing?” I ask Ironhide, letting the ring in our hands fall to our sides. The magic in the ring is curious, but it is not important right now. “Several hours behind us, we discarded your clothing on the trail.” I turn to my large black pets, “Fetch my clothing. Do not destroy it.” My pets growl an affirmative before racing off back towards our belongings. “Where were you headed before you came into my service?” “We were heading towards a city to resupply before completing our contract with our employer.” I look at Ironhide for a moment before returning to the back of the wagon. “Continue on to the city, pull the wagon behind you so that I may see this town with my own eyes.” The minotaur straightens his suit before bowing to me, “As you command, your majesty.” I sit down in the wagon and lean back against the left wall. This entire ordeal has brought a very serious matter to my attention. I have no allies. I do not have an army either. If I truly wish to punish the alicorn sisters for imprisoning me, I must have both; for even though I can match the sisters in terms of raw power, I will be fighting not just the sisters, but all of Equestria and its allies. ‘...’ ‘Perhaps, I have more allies than I thought,’ I think with a small smile. ‘I just need to contact them.’ Swiping our hand across the wooden surface of the wagon, I jerk it up as a splinter embeds itself in our finger. Using my host’s annoyance I call upon my magic and force the shadows to take form in the palm of our right hand. The shadows twist and warp until they congeal into a black crystal ball no bigger than a jawbreaker, a gold star turning inside it. I open my mouth as I start pouring magic into the orb I call a star point. “If you ever find yourself in need,” “You will find me an ally indeed.” “But be warned, this goes both ways,” “And be ready when it comes time to pay.” “Smash this orb upon the floor,” “And call upon me, the Shadow Queen.” Upon finishing the spell weave, I open a tear in the dimension and throw the star point into the void. I close the rift and turn to see my pets running up to the wagon, our clothing secured in their paws. They lunge into the back of the wagon and lie down panting from exhaustion. I walk up to them and collect our clothes, taking a moment to bend down and pat them on the head. “Good dogs.”