//------------------------------// // Hidden Shadow of the Past (part 1) // Story: Traces of a Hidden Shadow // by Teotle //------------------------------// Teotle watched as Nyx and Day Dreamer fell under Sombra's fear spell, unable to help them. Soon following after, he found himself in a desert of black sand, only it wasn't sand. Teotle could sense spirit energy in the ground, not the kind he normally found in equestria's landscape, no, this was the ashes and crushed bones of millions of ponies and animals. It was as if they all just crumbled away from the erosion of fire and decay. The ground felt hot under his feet, like a furnace set ablaze. Teotle looked around for any sign of his friends, or any life in particular, but there was no one, no villages, no trees, no rivers or lakes, not even a mountain or a small hill, it was like they all were swallowed by the earth. He All he found in this wasteland was the burning atmosphere and the odor of a world that was long dead. He heard nothing, no wind, no birds chirping, no fillies and colts playing together. The silence was deafening. "Hello?" Teotle called out. He then said to himself, "What happened here?" "You happened here." Sombra said, appearing from behind Teotle. "Or, at least, you soon will. "What?" Teotle asked in confusion. "You know of what I speak. You remember your past, don't you?" Sombra asked back. "I know that I'm one of seven children who were born to kill each other." Teotle replied. Sombra laughed and said, "You still don't know." "know what?" Teotle asked again. Sombra then asked, "Haven't you ever wondered why Celestia and Luna allowed you to stay with Twilight Sparkle when they found you?" "They told me that they trusted Twilight's judgment on how to help me, mostly because of what happened with Nyx when she became Nightmare Moon." Teotle replied. "Yes, they did tell you that, but did you ever wonder the real reason?" Sombra snapped, shaking his head. Teotle stared at him for a moment, unable to think of an answer, until finally he said, "Not really, I didn't care what the reason was. After being sent away from home by my own mother and being turned away by everypony I met in equestria, I just wanted to belong somewhere at that point." Sombra grinned and said, "Then let me enlighten you. A long time ago, after I was banished from my empire, Princess Luna wanted someone, anyone, to enjoy her night as much as she did. She wanted to raise a child of her own, but Celestia forbade it. She didn't think Luna was ready to take care of a foal of her own. She hadn't even found her special somepony yet, but she wanted a child so badly." "What does this have to do with me?" Teotle asked. "Well, I'll tell you." Sombra replied. "One Night, many years after telling Celestia about wanting a child, Luna was watching the night sky, gazing at the stars that she so carefully placed for all to see, but with no surprise, nopony stayed up to look at them. So, after much debate with her self, she made a wish upon those stars, she wished, she hoped, she dreamed, she prayed that she could find someone who would appreciate her night sky." Teotle listened in wonder and confusion, why was Sombra telling him this? What was the purpose? Was it meant to trick him, was this all true, did it really happen? He couldn't be sure until he heard the whole story. Sombra went on and said, "When Luna made that wish, something happened that she didn't expect. A gateway, a portal to another world opened up from the face of the moon. When it opened, Luna saw something fall through and land into the Everfree Forest. She went to investigate the spot where it landed, when she did, she found something extraordinary." Teotle raised an eyebrow and asked, "What was it?" Sombra replied, "The object made a huge clearing in the forest with a large crater in the center. Within that crater, Luna found a black wolf cub." Teotle was shocked. He then asked, "Who was it, how did it get there?" "Luna never found out. He had no memory of anything when he woke up." Sombra answered. "All she knew was that her wish was granted. Luna took the cub to the Castle of the Two Sisters in secret. She bandaged some minor injuries the cub had from the impact of the fall. She nursed it back to health, fed it, even gave him a name." "What was his name?" Teotle asked. Sombra's grin grew as he said, "She named him Shadowflame." The desert was silent after those last few words. Teotle's jaw hung open with disbelief. "No!" Teotle shouted. "That can't be. If what you say is true, then my father was over a thousand years old before he had me sand my siblings." "That's the tricky part of the story." Sombra explained. "You have been deceived, Teotle, you don't know who you truly are." "Teotle shook his head and asked, "Then tell me. Who am I?" "After a few years of raising him in secret..." Sombra continued, "...after she became Nightmare Moon, Shadowflame felt betrayed. He felt that his love wasn't enough to make her happy. When she was banished by Celestia, that is what truly devastated him. Shadowflame was soon discovered by the royal guard and captured. Celestia believed that he did something to her sister to make her try and doom the world into eternal night. Suddenly, Teotle had a flash of memory. He found himself laying on the floor, shackled in a dungeon where two royal guards stood over him. They began to kick and stomp on him, asking questions like, "What did you do to the princess? Why did she turn against us? How did you get into the castle?" They shocked him with their magic and threw him across the dungeon cell like a rag doll. All the while, Teotle pleaded for them to stop, begging for mercy, and calling out to his mother. "Teotle!" Sombra shouted, snapping Teotle out of his memory. Teotle then asked, "They blamed him for what happened and then they tortured him?" "You are correct, sir." Sombra said, as if he was the host of a game show. "Celestia would never result to torture." Teotle protested. "Are you sure?" Sombra asked. "Remember, Celestia was forced to banish her only sister for a thousand years. That can have ever lasting effects on someone." Teotle turned away from Sombra, unable to meet his gaze. "Teotle?" Sombra asked. "Why do you think you had that flash of memory just now? Did it not feel like you were there, taking the beating yourself? Remember, Nyx had the same memories as Luna when she became Nightmare Moon."