//------------------------------//
// Offending Shadows 
// Story: Sons of Damas 
// by Tatsurou 
//------------------------------//

	The sparring session between the two Princesses, the Prince, and the King ended with no clear winner save the Canterlot construction companies.  As such, Celestia and Luna saw Shining Armor and Cadence off on their honeymoon from the train station at the foot of Canter Mountain, rather than the palace...mostly because the palace - among other structures - would need to be rebuilt from the slope up.  Admittedly, all four royals looked quite relaxed and pleased with themselves, despite the collateral damage.  The nobles were less sanguine about the affair, but no one was really listening to them.

Celestia smiled widely as she handed the itinerary over to Shining Armor while Cadence put their luggage away on the train.  "I picked this spot out a few months ago," she explained softly, "and I think it's just perfect for the pair of you.  The cabin is up in the far north, well away from normal communication routes to give you complete privacy and solitude, and it's well stocked enough that you shouldn't want for anything."  She smiled widely.  "Long snowy nights to cuddle in for warmth, peace, solitude, and just a hint of adventure as you battle the elements, and who knows what else."

Shining stared up at Celestia flat eyed.  He waited until she was taking a sip of her morning tea before speaking this time.  "Alright, how far from the cabin is the forgotten Kingdom, in which direction, how long after our arrival do you expect it to come bursting out of the ice and snow in its dramatic return, and what connection does Cadence have to it?"

A quick shield deflected most of the spray as Celestia lost most of her morning blend failing to maintain her composure.  It would take many hours before her nasal passages were the same.  Luna and Samos showing no reticence with their amusement did not help.  "I will not bother trying to deny your conclusions' validity, brother royal," Luna offered playfully.  "But pray tell, why do you assume the connection is to your bride?"

"Because Celestia said she made the arrangements months ago, and she bet against me sprouting wings," Shining answered readily.  "Speaking of, why was that something you were even betting on?"

Luna grinned as she leaned in close.  "Sister has seen many signs and portents that such a fate awaits your little sister when the time is right.  I have confirmed such things with my interactions.  Twilight is an ascendant awaiting, and only the proper triggers and conditions needed to unleash that potential.  When this was explained to me, I demanded to know why only Twilight was under such close observation for such an event, and not her entire clan."  She stood up straight with a wide grin.  "It eventually came to a wager, which I won."

Celestia sighed, glad that her humiliation wasn't total in this instance.  Luna hadn't mentioned how childish the debate became before the wager was proposed.  Those poor maids.  Those poor cakes.  "The nearest border is approximately half a mile northeast of the cabin," she spoke up, deciding to actually address the questions asked.  "Cadence has a blood connection to the royal line of the kingdom, and I expect it to react to her presence, so I have no idea how long after your arrival it will happen.  I expect soon after, though."

Shining sighed as he turned to board the train.  "I'll be sure to tell Cadence to not bother unpacking, then," he grumbled under his breath.





Shining sighed to himself as he watched the mass of shadows approaching the edge of the Crystal Empire.  The place had popped up just as he and Cadence had been settling in at the cabin.  In point of fact, the shakes that heralded its return had happened at the exact moment the pair had gotten comfortable enough to come to the conclusion it wouldn't arrive until the next day and decided to start enjoying their honeymoon.  Disappointment was tempered by expectation, and Shining had been glad to be so savvy as a result.

The kingdom had been quite beautiful, but it quickly became apparent that it was under a curse of some sort.  No one walking about the buildings could remember much about themselves, or about what had been done...and any attempt to press them for information led to them cowering in fear as the curse asserted itself.  While not very welcome in terms of learning about the kingdom itself, seeing it happen enough had allowed Shining to triangulate the source of the curse, and he'd sent Cadence to search the palace while he marched to the edge of the kingdom to confront the caster, whom he could sense had powerful dark magic.

As the shadow wave approached, Shining snorted contemptuously.  "Is this supposed to scare me?" he asked callously.  "A wave of darkness swallowing everything?  Parlor tricks."  Sending his magic into the air, he created a twist of Blue Eco that turned the arctic wind against the wave of shadows, pushing it back.  "Surely you have better."

A head that bore remarkable similarity to his own Black Knight form crested the wave of shadows.  "You do not fear the dark, puny creature?" the head hissed, pitching its voice in an attempt to be terrifying.

Shining snorted derisively.  "I know the dark well," he responded bluntly.  "Well enough, at any rate, to know better than to fear a light show from one who is its puppet, and not its master."

The shadow figure snarled angrily.  "What could you, a royal of the Light, possibly know of DARKNESS?!" it demanded angrily.

Sighing, Shining triggered his transformation to Black Knight.  While still uncomfortable, one new aspect of it was actually painful.  The feathers of his wings fell one by one, rotting away as membrane spread between the bones, turning bird wings to bat.  With the pain passed and the transformation complete, the Black Knight stared up at the shadow creature.  "More than you would think...Sombra."

Sombra stared in amazement, the wave of shadows collapsing in on itself as he took his physical form.  "Wha...how?" he asked, plainly disbelieving.

Black Knight smirked.  "That's a long story," he responded.  "I'm Ar-Mar, though this form is called Black Knight."  He shrugged his shoulders, flexing his wings.  "This will take some getting used to."

Sombra took a step forward, stunned.  "You achieved apotheosis...when touched by darkness?" he gasped out.

"Well, yeah," Black Knight explained.  "But I meant the feathers falling out for this transformation.  That actually hurt."

"Bah!" Sombra dismissed.  "Not even a flesh wound!"

Black Knight grinned and chuckled.  "A sense of humor, huh?  Nice."  He jerked his head towards the kingdom.  "Got some sort of connection to this place?  I assume so, if you cursed it."

"I once lived and ruled here," Sombra proclaimed proudly.

"Then you'll know where a bar is.  Good."  Turning, Black Knight led Sombra into the kingdom.  "Think you can lift the curse on the bartender enough so he'll remember how to serve us?  If we're going to be swapping stories, we're going to need plenty of booze."  Black Knight shuddered slightly.  "I'll need a good amount in me just to deal with reliving some of those memories..."

Sombra followed along, curiosity having trumped hostility...for the moment.