Shadow Flame
(The War of Azgaren)
Chapter 3: Decisions
The forest smelled faintly of smoke, the campfire shadow had made earlier still smoldering and the fire caused from Sacred still burning. The rain would inevitably put them both out but for now they were both burning brightly.
"Well well, look at this boys" said the big guard that caused all the problems earlier in the night to a squad of guards standing behind him.
"Looks like Shadow here was practicing his magic to me and look what he did…He summoned an alicorn!"
"Wha- no! She fell from the sky and if it wasn't for her I would've died from you guys!" yelled Shadow
"LIES! Kill this traitor and kill that alicorn too!"
Sacred had a look of terror on her face as she stepped back, Shadow seeing this stepped forward.
"I don't care if you guys hurt me…but if you so much as damage one hair on her mane, I will make you regret ever being brought into this world."
The big guard burst into laughter "You think you could hurt me Shadow, you're weak!"
He raised his hoof at Sacred and yelled "Attack!!!"
"I warned you" said Shadow, his eyes closed and his horn started glowing with a dark red color.
4 guards charged at Sacred, their razor sharp spears were pointed directly at her. the guards all reached her quickly.
"Oh no!" screamed Sacred as she put her arms over her head and ducked. While she did this her body started to glow wit ha faint red outline.
The guards spears all met Sacreds body, but something strange happened. As they hit her the heads of the spears seemed to melt into a pool on the ground, The wooden handles of all the spears burst into flames causing the guards to drop them.
The guards then all fell to the ground. They weren't moving or showing any signs of life, they were dead before they hit the ground. Sacred looked up from her cover, she was confused at what just happened.
"I shielded you with a new spell I've been working on" said Shadow
Shadow glanced at the guards "Remember the barrier I had around Celestia? Well I can also reverse it into a shield that incinerates on coming attacks and after your guards were unarmed, I charred their hearts...a quick painless death, which is much more than you all deserve."
The big guard had a look of extreme anger on his face as he drew his sword.
"I'm going to kill you Shadow and I'm going to tell the princess it was because we found you practicing your magic and that you attacked us."
The guard smiled "She will believe every word of it."
Shadow looked into his eyes. "You want me to Practice my magic….FINE!...Try me!"
The area surrounding everypony was immediately surrounded by fire that reached high into the air, high enough so that pegasi in Cloudsdale could see it.
The big guard grabbed a spear from one of his infantry stallions standing to the left of him and ran towards Shadow.
He threw the spear and it was in a pin point accurate shot towards Shadow ,but as soon as the spear was within range of him Shadow extended his hoof and the spear went into a portal of fire and disappeared.
But the spear was only a distraction now the guard was standing in front of him, he swung his sword. Shadow saw the oncoming attack and smiled, he quickly summoned a sword made completely of blue fire. He raised the sword to block the guards attack. It did a lot more than just block it, the guards sword fell in half as it passed through the blue fire weapon.
The guard now had a look of fear in his face as Shadow grabbed his neck and looked deep into his eyes.
"Now look into my eyes and see your fate..."
The guard was powerless against the gaze of Shadow's fiery eyes. He saw within them a vision of himself surrounded by fire an endless torture awaiting him, his body being cut slashed and torn asunder repeatedly, then seeing himself standing on the top of a cliff above a pool of lava he slowly fell forward into it with a big splash. The only thing left floating in the pool was his skull as it slowly sank into the Scolding depths.
Shadow released the guard from his stare and pushed him forward. He fell to the ground shaking his eyes were glassy and big.
"You...you are going to let me live?" he asked trembling.
"After what you did…I may have let you live, but you just killed yourself."
As shadow said this a small portal of fire opened above the guard and the spear he threw earlier came rocketing down through the his head pinning his now dead body to the ground.
Shadow looked at the other guards and said "Run..." and they did
He released the inferno of fire surrounding everypony and the guards all ran back towards the guard house, and the castle.
Shadow turned to Sacred,
"I'm sorry you had to see that, if it's any consolation I will probably be executed for what I have just done" Shadow looked at the ground "I just can't win..." he fell to the ground, looking down in sadness.
"But you saved me Shadow" responded Sacred
Shadow looked at Sacred,
"This is the first time I've fought for…a friend. It's a lot different than fighting for myself...I didn't care what happened to me as long as you were ok Sacred."
"But shadow….did you say you will be executed for what you did to protect me?"
"Most likely, but I don't care, I've never felt as strong as I did protecting you, I only wish I could live to protect you further..."
A tear formed in Sacred's eye, but she quickly wiped it away she walked in front of Shadow knelt in close and kissed him. This moment seemed to last an eternity for shadow, making him feel warm and loved, a feeling he almost never knew.
"That's also the first time anypony has risked their life for me, Shadow I can't have you be killed for what you did on my behalf…would….would you follow me back to my planet?"
Shadow paused, he looked at Sacred and then bowed to her,
"Sacredwind, My Princess I will follow you anywhere, be it hell and back. I don't care as long as I am by your side"!
Sacred smiled and helped Shadow up from the ground.
"It's settled now lets go home Shadow"
Sacreds horn started glowing with a green flare as the ground under her and Shadow lifted up and started floating into the air slowly going farther and farther into the sky.
"There they are!" screamed the voice of a male pegasi, when he yelled it caught the attention of other pegasi in the area. Some of them were equipped with bows which they started to use to fire at Sacred and Shadow.
"Uh-oh" said Sacred as an arrow flew past her and Shadow "I can't focus this magic while avoiding these arrows."
The 2 were very high in the sky at this point, they just passed the level of Cloudsdale
"We almost have them!" yelled one of the pegasi
"Damn it" Thought shadow "They caught on to us so fast…..but I have a plan that just might be crazy enough to work…"
The ground under Shadow and Sacred was crumbling and riddled with arrows. Shadow turned to Sacred and asked, "Can you produce air with your magic so we can breathe in space?"
"Yes I can."
"Good, now you have to trust me on this. wait here!"
"Wait Shadow, what are you doing?"
Shadow looked at her and smiled "Don't worry, i'll be back in a flash."
Shadow jumped off the side of the floating mound of earth leaving Sacred looking over the edge in fear at him.
Shadow was falling quickly, he passed the majority of the pegasi that were chasing him and they all turned around to look at him, a few flying towards him.
As shadow was falling he thought to himself, "C'ya Equestria, I'm going to start off new and I'm going to protect MY princess."
The pegasi almost reached Shadow but before they could smoke and ash hit them in the face as Shadows blazing wings of fire appeared behind him. He looked at the Pegasi and said,
"Catch me if you can!"
Then he exploded into the air with the force of 3 dragons blowing fire as hard as they could in one direction, he rocketed past the pegasi burning their wing and causing them all to fall to the ground.
"Nooo the spell! I can't hold it!" yelled Sacred as she opened her wings and jumped off the side of the mound that had started falling to pieces.
"But where is-!!"
Sacred didn't get to finish her sentence before Shadow grabbed her in midair rocketing towards the sky.
"Miss me?" He smiled at her. Sacred smiled back at him.The 2 ponies manes was waving through the air majestically as they rocketed higher and higher into the air. They eventually broke the sky and entered the great blackness of space.
"Sacred now the air!"
"Right!", Sacred horn started glowing green again, when it did it formed an air tight bubble around herself and Shadow sealing in the air she was magicly producing.
Shadow flew towards an asteroid in orbit of his planet and landed on it with Sacred,
"I think this is a bit more stable than a patch of ground."
"I'm going to have to agree with you Shadow, Wow we made it out of there without a scratch!" she exclaimed
"Speak for yourself" said Shadow as he showed her an arrow that pierced clean through his right leg.
"Oh no Shadow! I can't heal you if that arrows is still in there!"
Shadows wings of fire closed and then blew away as ash into space.
"Sacred I can get rid of the arrow, but you will have to heal me fast or I might bleed out."
"Alright Shadow, I promise. I won't fail you."
Shadows horn charged with magic and the shaft of the arrow flashed and was gone.
"NNRRGHH" screamed Shadow as the arrow disappeared, blood now pooling in the hole.
"Hold still now" said Sacred, she put her hoof over the hole left by the arrow while her horn was glowing, it quickly mended in a matter of seconds.
"Sacred your healing ability is amazing-" the 2 caught themselves locked in each other's gaze. Sacred's eyes were shining like the world's most precious emeralds and Shadows like that of a candle in the dark, both of their heads started slowly moving towards one another as they exchanged another kiss. This one longer and more passionate than the first.
After the kiss the 2 were laying down cuddled next to each other when Shadow said,
"Now, you never got to tell me about yourself back on Equestria, I'm sure we have a lot of time to talk now, if you don't mind I'd like to hear first why you fell out of the sky."
"Oh yes" said Sacred "Here's my story."
"I am Princess Sacredwind of the planet Azgaren. My father,the king rules the planet. Everypony loves him for he is a kind and loving king who lets everyone speak, he took everyponies opinion. But what I don't understand is this, it was the day before I was to be crowned as the heir to the throne over my sister. I felt bad because I knew she wanted the throne very badly, but my father said she wasn't pure of heart and that she could never rule to his expectations…. Anyway my father burst into my room breathing hard and told me this."
"Sacred I'm sending you far away….return as soon as you can, trust me it is for the good of the planet that you do this!"
"Next thing I remember is blacking out and waking up in space just before crashing into that place you called Equestria."
"I sure hope everypony back on Azgaren is alright….I shouldn't have to worry though my father can handle anything!"