The setting sun bathed western Equestria in a crimson glow. It wasn’t snowing, but there was a nip in the air that got sharper the further north one went. From the Smokey Mountains to Galloping Gorge, the land was calm and peaceful.
Out from this silence rippled a sonic boom, sending a gust of wind in a wave across the land below. Rainbow rocketed north-west, knowing exactly where she was going.
Ever since Caballeron and his goons found her last hideout, Daring had been using another; one much further away and even more discrete. She had told Dash about it last time they met, and that in case of emergency, Dash could find her there.
It was a bit of a stretch since Daring could be out on one of her adventures, but Rainbow knew it was the best place to start.
“This is so exciting!” Rainbow said to herself, grinning wide. “Maybe I can get a sneak peek at her newest book! Or maybe get to tag along with her on another one of her adventures! Or even-”
Rainbow then remembered what her objective was. This was no field-trip, this was serious business. This dragon hurt Gilda, and Ember, and Zecora! He was sooo going down.
“Stay focused Rainbow.” Dash glared ahead with determination. “This is no time to have a fan-attack. Keep a level-head, find Daring, and get back to Ponyville.”
Soaring over the city of Vanhoover, the sun had now set completely. The moon’s rise began the night as the land darkened. Passing into a new weather zone, Rainbow spotted a rather large culmination of clouds. Vanhoover in the winter…..right.
Entering the thick veil of falling snow, it immediately became more difficult to keep track of where everything was down below. Having to drop a little further in altitude, Rainbow ramped up her speed, hoping the storm wasn’t this bad for too long.
Emerging from under the storm with a light coat of snow on her, Rainbow shook it off. She was now flying over Luna Bay, the northern-most part of the North Luna Ocean. Down below there were a couple islands lying in total silence through the night.
Focusing on the one furthest west, Rainbow dove down and stuck her landing in the blanket of snow. The island itself was small and quiet, having a little forestation, but not much else. Daring had told her that this was the perfect place to keep a hideout; it was remote, fairly easy to get to, and not many ponies knew about it.
Spotting a small cabin not that far away, Rainbow took flight towards it. The window glowed with a hearth’s light, and so Rainbow hurried to the door, knocking on it.
“Daring?” Rainbow said aloud. “Daring Do? It’s me, Rainbow.”
After a few moments, the door opened up from the inside. Daring Do stood with her A.K. Yearling disguise on.
“Dash?” she asked. “Come on in, quick, its cold outside.”
Rainbow trotted inside as Daring closed the door behind her. The cabin was cozy; there was a small lounge area by the lit fireplace, a study with all matter of books just beside it, and a cot to sleep on adjacent to it. There was a door to another room, but it was closed.
“What’s the emergency?” Daring asked, walking over to one of her seats. “And don’t tell me it’s another fan-pony issue.”
Walking beside her, Rainbow sat down too. “No, this is really serious. Twilight needs you to come back with me to Ponyville.”
Taking off her disguise, Daring sat it aside. “What’s the situation? I’m kinda busy myself.”
“Well, you see, there’s this dragon,” Rainbow started to say. “Wait…..busy? *gasp* Are you working on your next book!?”
Daring chuckled, nodding her head. “In a matter of speaking, yes. You were saying?”
Getting a better grip of herself, Rainbow cleared her throat. “Er….hmm, yes. There’s this dragon going around stealing a bunch of ancient artifacts. Twilight found out his pattern, and thinks he’s going for the nymph one next.”
“Nymph one?” Daring asked, confused. “What do you mean?”
“The thief is taking all of the most important artifacts of the five original races of Equestria.” Rainbow explained. “He’s already gotten the Bloodstone Scepter and the Idol of Boreas-”
The mention of the idol made Daring reply, “You mean the Idol of Boreas? The sacred treasure of the griffon kingdom?”
Rainbow nodded, getting into it more. “Yeah! We already have the Alicorn Amulet, and the changelings may or may not have there’s, which leaves only the nymph culture!” Rainbow smirked, saying, “I figured only the world’s greatest treasure hunter could help us.”
Dash had just thrown a lot of information at Daring, and it was difficult to process, not to mention exciting.
“So Twilight believes this dragon is going to try and steal the ancient artifact of the nymphs?” Daring asked, reassuring herself. “How would he even know what it is? Not much is known about the ancient nymph culture.”
“We don’t know how he knows….” Rainbow said, looking down a bit before quickly looking back up. “But he knew exactly where the idol was, where the amulet was hidden, and how to steal the scepter from under the other dragons’ noses!”
Daring could tell this was more important than her current quest. Even though she could not think of a motive for stealing all the other artifacts, she knew something that the dragon could do if he got the last one.
“Alright, I’m in.” Daring said, nodding her head.
“Awesome!” Rainbow said, spreading her wings. “There’s no time to waste! Let’s fly!”
Shadow stood looking out his window into the night. He knew he couldn’t stay behind again. If Twilight and the others left Ponyville without him, the voice would come back, he just knew it. There was no guarantee that it wouldn’t happen on the road, but at least his friends would be there to help him.
Shadow knew it was a bit selfish, but more and more he had begun to fear himself. All that had happened, and all that was happening now, had to correlate with what was to come. He would either overcome this part of himself, or it would overwhelm him…..and that was something he couldn’t allow. He felt safer with his friends, especially Fluttershy. The warmth that they made him feel banished the voice and the cold that it created within him.
There was more to it than that though. He wanted to help them, he wanted to be able to prove himself to the princesses, and he wanted it to help him begin a new life.
Hearing the pegasus walk up beside him, Shadow turned his head a bit, seeing Fluttershy smiling at him.
“Are you feeling better?” she asked.
“I am.” He replied, his gaze returning to the window. There were a few quiet moments, but he then broke the silence. “Is it selfish of me to burden Twilight like this?”
Fluttershy shook her head. “No, of course not. Everypony is afraid of something, and it’s never selfish of them to want their friends to help.”
The two stood there in silence once again. Her friend’s lack of a response worried her.
“Shadow?” she asked, tilting her head as she looked at him.
The shadow pony’s eyes were drawn to the darkness outside. A look of curiosity and determination mixed with fear and confusion on his face. A question of existence lingering in his mind. A powerful pull to the dark, countered by a longing for the light. What did it all mean? He didn’t want to know, and yet, his mysterious past continued to haunt him.
All of these thoughts only made the feeling of loneliness intensify. Without his friends there to help him, he stood little to no chance against this presence. He knew he had to stay with them, even if that meant placing himself in the way of danger.
“That’s not who you are.” Fluttershy said, snapping Shadow out from his stillness as he turned to her. “The things you see, and the sounds you hear, none of that matters. It doesn’t matter what you were before; it only matters who you are now.”
The pegasus proceeded to lean her head on his shoulder.
“You are my friend.” She said, closing her eyes. “That’s all that matters to me.”
Shadow looked down at her and he felt his worries slipping away. Whenever he felt her touch, the warmth blanketed him and shielded him from it all. He wanted to tell her something, but didn’t understand what it meant.
“Fluttershy! Shadow!” Spike shouted, interrupting their moment. “Rainbow is back!”
Having not been told about the other ponies that would be there, Daring trotted into the castle after Rainbow in her adventure attire.
“Hello again princess.” Daring said, tipping her hat.
Upon noticing Starlight, Shadow, and Starfall in the room, Daring tensed up a bit, regretting not changing into her disguise.
“It’s alright,” Twilight assured her. “They already know. I’m glad to see you are still well after all those recent adventures.”
Everypony gathered around the Cutie Map. It was late into the night, but they couldn’t wait until morning to get down to business. The presence of a shadow pony would warrant a question or two in time for the adventurer, but she left it alone for now.
“So Rainbow gave me a quick summary of the situation,” Daring said, nodding to the pegasus beside her. “What is it you intend on doing with the artifact of the nymphs should you find it?”
Twilight used her magic to create five images over the map. The images were of the Alicorn Amulet, Bloodstone Scepter, Idol of Boreas, and two question marks.
“We need to secure as many of the items as we can before the thief can attempt to steal them.” She said, levitating the Alicorn Amulet image over Ponyville. “We already have the amulet, but he has managed to take the scepter and the idol.” Twilight levitated those two images off of the map. “Thorax believes that Queen Chrysalis took the Changeling Crystal when she fled the kingdom, which leaves one left.” With one of the two question marks moved off the map, Daring knew what question was coming next. “Daring, do you know what the nymph artifact is?”
She didn’t want to say it. Ironclad secrecy kept this last treasure safe for the last few hundred years. Sure it wasn’t enough secrecy to keep her from finding it, but it would still be better if the world didn’t know. But the situation was dire; Daring didn’t know who this dragon was or how he knew the things he did, but if Rainbow was right, there could be no other way.
“The ancient artifact of the nymph culture is the Sapphire Stone.” Daring finally replied.
Rainbow and Twilight froze and looked like their minds were processing this new information. Although the two of them knew Daring’s series better than the others, they had all heard of it before.
“You mean that there blue one from yer first book?” Applejack asked.
Daring nodded. “It was my first great adventure.”
Dozens of unanswered questions from book one of Daring Do’s series now made sense. It took the two fan-ponies a few more seconds to comprehend it, but when they came around, they came swinging.
“So the basin was the home of the nymphs!” Twilight blurted out.
Rainbow turned to face her. “And the tribes of Tenochtitlan based their entire culture and heritage off of them!”
At the same time, the two said, “This is so awesome!!!”
The rest of the group waited patiently for the fan-attack to end. Elbowing Twilight, Spike cleared his throat, being as discreet as he could. Twilight stopped her frantic moment to see everypony looking at them with blank expressions, including Daring. Rainbow slowed to a halt at the silence, the two of them looking a little embarrassed.
“Well then this should be simple.” Starfall stated, feeling more at ease. “The Sapphire Stone is on display at the Baltimare Museum of Ancient History. All we have to do is go and pick it up.”
“Yeah, about that….” Daring said, grabbing the attention from the throne room. “That’s not the real Sapphire Stone. It’s a duplicate I gave the curator to throw off Ahuizotl or Caballeron if they ever tried to steal it again.”
Rainbow chuckled, winking to the adventurer. “Smart move. A whole lot of ponies thought you would make a spin-off story about the Sapphire Stone after your first series ended.”
“So, where is the real stone?” Rarity asked, curious.
Daring grimaced. “That’s what I wanted to eventually explain. The Sapphire Stone is safe where it is now; there is no way that this dragon could possibly know, I never told anypony where I hid it.”
“Daring,” Twilight said, leaning forward. “Zecora and I were the only ones that knew the Alicorn Amulet was hidden where it was, but that dragon had somehow found out too.” She took in a breath, not wanting to sound overbearing. “I know this must be difficult, you’ve been finding and protecting ancient artifacts for years, but this thief….it is unbelievable how accurate his attacks have been. We can protect the stone, but we need to find it before he does.”
She didn’t need any time to think about it, Daring knew Twilight had only the best of intentions. There was a confrontation that would be done in time for the stone’s security, but for now, Daring had to tell them. Or better yet.
“I’ll take you to it.” Daring said, nodding her head. “If the threat to the stone is that serious, then I will do my part to help you protect it.”
A wave of relief swept over everypony as the adventurer agreed to help.
“So where are we headed?” Rainbow asked, already pumped.
Daring hoisted herself into the air using her wings and pointed down onto the map. “Neighagra Falls. Get some sleep; we leave tomorrow at dawn.”
The early morning express emerged from the cave underneath the mountain headed north. Luckily the carts were heated, for it was a very cold morning. Pinkie, Rarity, Applejack, and Spike sat in their own booth, while Rainbow, Twilight, Daring, and Starfall sat in theirs. While Fluttershy, Starlight, and Shadow had walked off to the back cart some time ago.
Everypony sat in relative silence, except Pinkie Pie, who was humming and swaying her head back and forth. Daring and Twilight both dreaded the idea of arriving to find that the dragon had already taken the stone, and so they watched out the window impatiently, able to see the falls getting closer.
Starfall was made nervous by seeing the two of them so on edge. He and Rainbow tried playing a card game to pass the time, but the negative atmosphere about the train cart killed the fun in it.
From out the door leading to the back of the train, Fluttershy walked and sat in one of the booths alone. She too found herself staring out the window, looking at the falls.
“So Daring,” Twilight said, ending the silence. “Where at the falls did you hide the stone?”
Not looking away from the scenery, Daring replied, “A secret spot I found; one that’s practically invisible to the eye.”
“And you’re sure no pony else knows about it?” Twilight asked.
Daring now looked over at the princess, nodding with a serious expression. “Absolutely. Never told a soul. I check up on it every few weeks, and the Sapphire Stone is always there, undisturbed.”
Starfall then pitched in. “What if you were followed? Could someone have seen you checking on it?”
“I am always very discrete.” Daring scoffed, turning back to the window. “I change disguises every time, no one ever follows me there, I made sure of it.”
Twilight’s gaze returned to the window as well. “Alright then. We just had to be sure.”
“I guarantee you no one knows where we’re going.” Daring finished, wanting to believe in it herself. The sky was still brightening from the rising sun, the reflection of its light flashing across the snow-covered grounds.
Scarlet eyes watched the train as it approached. The dragon sat on the highest point of Neighagra Falls like a statue, having waited for the ponies to finally arrive. Took them long enough. Prying his gaze away from the locomotive, he opened up his satchel and looked down into it, shifting through a few items inside.
Feeling a breeze of wind on his scales, the dragon looked up and to the north. The Crystal Mountains almost entirely lined the horizon. The sky was much darker in the mountain range, for a massive blizzard was brewing, it had been for several days now.
Storms from the Crystal Mountains never spilled further down into Equestria, but this one held promise. Lightning lit the blackened air and there was a steady ripple of winds coming from them.
The dragon smirked as his eyes returned to the approaching train.
Arriving at the station, it held no surprise that no pony else was there at this time of year. Daring sprang into a quick trot, having changed into a new disguise with a long coat and scarf. Everypony else followed behind her, each of them wrapped up in winter clothes provided by Rarity, of course.
Guiding her ten companions, Daring led them up Misty Trail, which led directly to the bottom of the Neighagra Falls themselves.
It was still rather early, but the sun helped to warm up the group as much as possible. The winter scenery of the falls was gorgeous, but unfortunately, the group had no time to stop and sight-see.
It took a good hour of trekking the trail, but finally they arrived at the base of the falls. The lake underneath it was frozen everywhere aside from the actual falls themselves, the force of the water too rapid for the air to freeze. There was a decently sized campsite along the lake’s edge where the group stopped to take a breather.
“So here’s the catch,” Daring told them, turning around. “You have to fly in order to get to the entrance.”
Pinkie Pie looked bummed out. “Awww!” she whined. “I wanna see the Sapphire Stone too!”
“Where is it that we can’t just up and walk to?” Applejack asked, glancing around at any open paths up the cliff side.
Daring got out from her disguise and pointed directly at the falls. “It’s in a cave behind the water of the falls, around 350 feet up.”
“It’s behind the water?” Rainbow said, looking up at the roaring falls. “That’s so cool!”
“Alright everypony, listen up.” Twilight said, turning to them. “Rainbow, Starlight, and Starfall come with me and Daring to the cave. The rest of you, just sit tight and wait for us.”
Fluttershy didn’t question the decision for her not to go too. The question was, however, addressed by somepony else.
“Why doesn’t Fluttershy come too?” Rainbow asked, curious.
Twilight gave the shy pegasus a knowing look. “I imagine she wants to stay here with everypony else. Am I right?”
Fluttershy answered with a nod, looking up at the falls.
Shadow wanted to help, but he didn’t have wings or magic to get him there. He had already come along to support his friends, so he may as well not slow them down now.
The five ponies took flight up towards the water as the others began setting up the camp for when they returned.
Daring knew exactly where she was going as she hovered just out of reach of the haze made by the falls. Ascending up hundreds of feet, she led her followers up to a certain point of the falls, eyeing it to make sure it was the right one.
“Okay, here comes the tricky part!” Daring shouted, having to be loud in order to be heard over the roaring waters.
“Wait!” Twilight yelled, stopping her from proceeding. Knowing a better, safer way to get through, the alicorn used her magic to create an awning a few meters above them. The spell forced the heavy veil of water above to disperse away from the wall, revealing the hidden cave.
Chuckling to herself a bit, Daring nodded her head. “That’ll do it.”
Flying inside, Twilight waited until they were clear and stopped the spell, allowing for the water to fall and cover over the entrance once more.
Dimly lit through the light behind the veil of water, the cave was shaped much like a corridor with a wide entrance and more narrow passage leading a dozen yards into the solid rock. Water trickled down from the ceiling and lined into small streams that lead out the cave from the corners of the entrance. At the very end of the tunnel, the Sapphire Stone sat alone on a makeshift rock pedestal. Even in the darkened passage, the brilliance of the stone’s blue gem shined bright.
“And there it is,” Daring said, now knowing she had nothing to worry about. “Safe and sound.”
Twilight was able to take two steps towards it before Daring Do flew in front of her, halting her advance.
“Don’t you see princess?” she said, trying to finally prove her point. “The stone is safer here than it would be anywhere else in Equestria.”
Shocked at this, Starlight replied, “You said you would-”
“I said I would take you to it,” Daring interrupted her. “And now I have. Look; I rigged this chamber to be one big, dangerous trap. Trust me, I know booby-traps. It is impossible to reach the stone and get out of this cave alive.”
“I’m sure a whole lot of ponies thought like that too when they made traps for the treasures you’ve taken.” Starfall stated. “I agree with Twilight; we need to take it back to Ponyville.”
Rainbow, however, didn’t look too convinced. “I don’t know….” She said, thinking that what Daring said made a lot of sense. “I think she’s right. If that dragon hasn’t come to find it yet, I doubt he even knows where it is.”
“That’s because he can’t know where it is.” Daring scoffed, shaking her head. “It’s not possible. The five of us are now the only ones that know where the Sapphire Stone is. As long as all of you keep this a secret, no pony will ever know it is here. Including your thief.”
Twilight couldn’t believe this was still a debate. “We can’t afford to underestimate this dragon anymore. We need to stay absolutely certain that these artifacts are kept safe! Leaving it here unprotected would be a terrible mistake!”
Now frustrated, Daring began to lose her temper. “It’s safe behind thirty feet of deadly traps! What good will guards do against this dragon if he was capable of stealing the Bloodstone Scepter from the Dragon Lord herself!?”
“Princess Twilight has commanded it!” Starfall said in the princess’ defense. “Treasure hunter or not, you are still one of her subjects!”
Glaring at the royal guard, Daring raised her chin and looked away from him in disrespect. “As if you or anypony else could protect it! You useless guards can’t even keep the princesses safe!”
Now she had pushed him over the edge. Yelling in anger, Starfall grabbed Daring and threw her against the wall, pinning her there. “TAKE THAT BACK!!!” he shouted in her face.
Rainbow squeezed in between them and pushed Starfall off of her.
“That’s enough!” she yelled, razing the tension. “Let’s just head on back to the camp and talk this through like ponies!” Glaring at Starfall, she said, “Not animals.”
Feeling ashamed of himself for losing control like that, Starfall couldn’t bear to look Rainbow in the eyes. He backed away, keeping his head lowered.
The five ponies shared a moment of extremely awkward silence before moving to exit the cave and reunite with their friends.
This would not be an easily made decision. The ponies were torn on both sides of the argument. Rainbow, Applejack, Rarity, Spike, and Fluttershy were all on the side of Daring to leaving the Sapphire Stone in the secret cave. While Pinkie, Starlight, Starfall, and Shadow sided with Twilight in wanting to take it in order to keep it safe.
Majority would normally have carried the decision, but this was a topic that Twilight was not letting go. She had become too paranoid of the dragon’s capabilities to just allow the stone to stay here hidden in a cave.
Midday turned to afternoon, and the afternoon went on into the evening with the debate staying strong. The growing cold pressed the group to make up their minds, but yet they remained, unable to do so.
They were not arguing for every moment of it, but as the hours went by, no pony budged an inch. Daring wasn’t letting them take it, and Twilight wasn’t leaving without it.
Like a predator stalking its prey, the dragon watched from outside the ponies’ vision as they squabbled amongst themselves on what to do. He sat up on the very edge of the cliff overlooking the falls, very easily able to watch the group as the biting chill nibbled away at their focus.
Amused at their disunity, he debated whether or not to move as soon as he could, or continue to watch them argue for a bit longer.
Waiting for the cover of darkness, the dragon wanted every possible advantage in getting into the cave, and making a quick exit before any of them knew he was there.
Having spotted Shadow early on, the dragon knew that he at least had an insurance policy if he were to be caught. It would grant him more than enough time to get away, although escaping that rainbow-maned pegasus could prove to be challenging.
Giving himself the pleasure of watching the debate for a few more moments, the dragon then focused on the spot where he saw them enter the cave. Diving off from the cliff’s edge, he glided down to it and hovered in mid-air just outside the misting falls. The torrent of water fell heavy as it plummeted to the lake below. The dragon knew he could use his fire breath to evaporate an opening long enough to fly through, but he needed to remain unseen; a plume of flames in the winter night at this height would be seen for miles, and would no doubt attract the attention of the ponies on the lake-shore below.
Grimacing as he eyed the icy waters, the dragon shivered at the thought of what he had to do.
“Oh I hate this, I hate this, I hate this….” He mumbled to himself, backing away from the falls to give himself enough space.
Arching his back, the dragon took off at full force towards the falls, aiming just above where the cave entrance was. Flying into the misty haze, the dragon soon came to regret this strategy. The force of the water slammed him down harder than he had anticipated, making him smack against the rock on the other side, missing the entrance.
Pulled down by the massive water surge, the dragon struggled to regain his heading. Having been spun around, he did not know where which way it was to get out of the falls’ wrath. Even if he did, it would most likely smack him down further if he moved his wings into the wrong angle.
The water was ice cold, and it felt like daggers against his scales as he became soaked. Only one direction to go then.
Beating his wings as hard as he could, the dragon defied the waterfall, rising up through its powerful deluge. Feeling his body heat spike, he felt an enormous burst of strength fill his body. The moonlight cast a shadow of him inside the falls, and it began to grow, shaping into a monstrous form.
Feeling his stamina return to him, the dragon rose through the falls with relative ease. Coming up upon the cave entrance, he hovered forward and landed on the rock. What water remained on his body turned to steam and rose off from him. His shadow shrank and returned into what it once was.
Churning his head around, a few cracks sounded off and he quivered, folding up his wings behind him.
“Wow….” He said to himself, pleasantly surprised. “What a rush.”
The chamber was very dark, the muffled sound of the falls at his back echoing through the secret cave. The Sapphire Stone glowed dimly through the darkness, inviting the dragon in.
Tempting as it was, this dragon was no fool. Call ponies whatever you want, but they were no fools either, especially this Daring Do character. He had heard of her exploits, her adventures and quests. While it was foolish of her to document these accomplishments for the whole world to see, it gave testament to her innovation and bravery.
Reaching into his satchel, the dragon pulled out a folded up length of canvas. He removed a few logs that were in the folds before opening it entirely. Flying up to the ceiling, he nailed it in place to cover up the entrance.
Now that he was no longer at risk of being spotted for it, the dragon placed the logs on both sides of the passage and breathed a light flame onto them, better illuminating the chamber. Now able to see it in its entirety, the dragon inspected the passage.
There were small holes in the walls, too small for projectiles, but much too big to ignore. The ceiling leaked water at its lowest points, telling the dragon that there was a trap to flood the chamber. The cave floor looked plain enough, although, the rock looked slightly different than the walls and ceiling. Then there was the pedestal itself, which he would work out when he eventually got to it.
Looking up at the walls by the entrance, the dragon reached back into his satchel. Rummaging about in it for a moment or two, he pulled out two devices that were wired to metal boxes welded on their sides. Placing the devices up onto the walls on either side, the dragon gently flipped the switches beside the boxes.
Turning back to the passage, the dragon took in a breath. Spreading his wings, he used them to hoist him up and keep him off of the floor. Slowly, he moved forward. There was no reaction, nothing seemed to happen.
Now beyond the holes in the walls, he touched down to the cave floor, again, nothing happened. Letting out a held breath, the dragon stepped up to the pedestal. It wasn’t normal stone, and the grooves on its sides told him that it most likely lowered into the ground.
Slowly reaching out for the stone, the dragon prepared to make a quick exit. But before he could take it, a locking noise sounded off and steel pistons released bars of a dome, which covered over the stone in protection.
Squinting at the strange reaction, the dragon spun around when he heard more pistons releasing out of sight. Clouds of pale gas shot out from the holes in the walls. Before he had much time to react, the pedestal quickly slid down into the floor all the way to the steel dome, sending out sparks as it did. The sparks passed into the gas clouds and the entire chamber ignited in a fiery explosion.
The blast erupted out of the cave entrance, incinerating the canvas the dragon had used to block it out.
As everypony else sat around a fire debating still on how to proceed, Shadow sat on the lakeshore, watching the moon illuminate the night.
First it was the flash of light and flamethrower that emerged from the cave that caught his attention. Then came the loud bang that stopped the argument dead in its tracks.
Standing up and stepping back from the sight, Shadow flinched at the sight of the inferno. Daring Do whizzed past him, followed by Twilight, Rainbow, and Starfall. Applejack sprinted for the cliff-side to climb it, accompanied by Pinkie and Rarity.
Shadow looked back and forth between both groups, then looking back at Fluttershy and Spike, who stood in horror of the sight above. Facing the falls again, Shadow sprinted towards the frozen lake.
Reaching the cave entrance, Twilight used her magic to let them all in again. They kept themselves off of the cave floor, which simmered from the flames of the explosion.
Within the flames that burned around him, the dragon was hunched over, his wings covering himself as they steamed from the heat of the blast. Rising up off of the floor, his wings separated, and he opened his red eyes.
“Good evening princess,” he chuckled, snorting black smoke out his nostrils. “Pleasure to finally meet you.”
Turning with his right claw raised, the dragon delivered a powerful strike into the steel dome, puncturing it, and ripping the Sapphire Stone out by force.
“Thanks for the stone.” He scoffed, tossing it up and catching it.
Daring and Rainbow both took off at him. Having hid his satchel under the protective veil of his wings, the dragon quickly stashed the Sapphire Stone away in it, just in time to be slammed into by the two pegasi.
Separating them with his claws, the dragon spun them about and tossed them both into the walls, making for the exit. Starfall was there in time to tackle him back, but the dragon grinded to a halt, his claws tearing at the rock floor. Swinging a claw at the royal guard, Starfall ducked beneath the strike and attempted to buck-kick him. The dragon blocked the kick and used his wings to blast a gust of wind at the pegasus, shooting him backwards.
Daring was up and at him first, jumping onto his back and getting him into a head-lock. The dragon growled and backed up, grabbing at the pony’s hooves. Feeling the wall behind him, he slammed her into it repetitively, loosening her grip. Able to release himself from her, the dragon flipped her off of him, sending her to the floor.
Before the dragon could stomp the adventurer, Rainbow shoulder-tackled him in the back, sending him into the wall.
Twilight tried using her spells to slow him down, but nothing seemed to be working. She waited for an opening and tried firing a magical beam at him. The dragon back-clawed the beam at it ricocheted into Starfall, who was blasted to the floor.
Seeing Twilight distracted from striking her friend, the dragon made a break for the exit. Daring jumped up onto his back as he ran, but it didn’t stop him. Building up speed as he ran, the dragon barreled through the waterfall with Daring still hanging on.
Emerging from out of the falls, the dragon spread his wings and tried to fly, but the searing heat explosion caused by the trap had ripped into the wing membrane, causing the two to plummet down towards the frozen lake. Daring punched and kicked at him as they fell, but one strike from his claw halted her offense.
Seeing the ice incoming, Daring spread her own wings, slowing, but still smacked down hard.
The dragon leveled out and tried his best to slow down. He made contact with the ice and caused a big crack, bouncing off of the thick sheet and sliding across it, using his claws to try and slow himself down. He eventually came to a stop, face-down in the cold. His breath became steam as it left his mouth and he lifted his head. Slow to rise, the dragon was in shock for a moment or two before shaking his head, clearing it. Just as he did, he was struck by a buck-kick and sent back down to the ice sheet.
Shadow turned back around, trying to keep from slipping on the ice. “Stay down!” he warned, doing his best to sound intimidating. “Everypony! Come here, quick!”
Shaking his head again, the dragon looked up at the shadow pony and chuckled.
Twilight, Starfall, Rainbow, and Fluttershy all arrived at around the same time, surrounding the dragon to keep him from escaping. AJ, Rarity, and Pinkie were still on the Cliffside, now headed down. Daring was limping their way, hurt by her fall with Spike running towards her to help.
“Give yourself up!” Rainbow growled. “You’re surrounded and have nowhere to go!”
Offering up a slight laugh, the black dragon sat up, sitting on the ice. “I’ve had worse odds before.” He inspected his wing, which trembled in pain from the impact and tearing.
“Who are you?” Twilight demanded of him.
Looking up at the princess, the dragon smirked.
“A humble servant.” he replied, rising up onto his claws.
The ponies all tensed up as he stood, in fear of how he still could after all of that. The frigid, cold air made for an especially terrifying moment between them all. Howling winds and flurries of risen snow made the stare down all the more bitter.
“Servant of who?” Shadow finally said, no longer able to hold the question in.
The dragon fixed his gaze on the shadow pony, eyes sinister and tireless. An evil grin covered his face, and his fangs glinted in the moonlight.
“Why…..you of course.” He answered.
Locking eyes with the shadow pony, the dragon’s gaze darkened.
“Almighty Erebus.”
Shadow felt the world shifting about and he stumbled backwards. Fluttershy asked him something, but her voice was blurred and he couldn’t understand. His vision darkened and he took another step back, his eyes glowing bright.
“What have you done to him!?” Fluttershy shouted, catching Shadow as he fell to the ice, his whole body tensing up.
“Just trying to help.” The black dragon mused, taking a device out from his satchel. “He couldn’t even remember his own name.”
Spotting the device in his claws, Starfall shouted, “Don’t move!”
“Rule number one of evil plans,” the dragon chuckled. “Always have a Plan B.”
Pressing the button on the device, the mechanisms in the cave entrance activated and exploded. Several other explosions all over the falls erupted into the night, making the very ground shake.
The falls rumbled and cracked, ruptured by the explosives.
“Oh no!” Rainbow shouted, taking off without a moment’s pause towards her friends, who were still on the rock face.
Twilight watched her fly away, and then turned to look at Fluttershy, who continued to hold and shake Shadow.
“How does it feel?” the dragon asked her, grabbing her gaze. “To know that even with your precious friends, you stand no chance?” Clenching his claws tight, he looked up at the moon, and then back at the princess. “Until next we meet, Princess Twilight.”
With a roar, the black dragon slammed his claws into the ice, causing a wave of cracks to appear. Twilight and Starfall backed away as the cracks approached them. Breathing fire onto the ice beneath himself, he broke through and into the water, taking off under the protection of the ice sheet.
Twilight went to follow him, but didn’t make it far.
“Twilight!” Fluttershy cried, making the alicorn turn around. “Shadow needs our help!”
Shadow’s eyes glowed brighter, and it began to look like he was in pain; he winced and clenched his teeth, moving about in fear. A breeze of wind began to spiral about him, carrying the flurries of snow as it intensified.
Looking back at the fading shadow of the black dragon beneath the ice, Twilight spun around and sprinted for her friends, followed by Starfall.
Rainbow got to the cliff as it began to collapse. Zooming up to her friends, the pegasus grabbed hold of all three of them, pulling them out from the range of falling rocks.
Shadow thrashed about in the darkness, feeling things grabbing him to hold him still, and hearing shouts and screams all around him. The name was repeated over and over and over again.
“Erebus…..Erebus…..Erebus…..”
The darkness around Shadow morphed into scenery. He was standing in the fields just outside Ponyville.
At first he was confused. Instead of random noises or flashes, everything was clear. The forces stopped pulling on him and the sounds ceased. Something was wrong though, the land was covered in a strange light. A dark red, though it was shimmering, as if in the reflection of a gemstone. Looking up into the sky, both the sun and the moon were out, motionless in the sky.
In between them was a red star, conquering the celestial forms as it covered the land in its aura-like color.
“What is this….?” Shadow asked aloud.
Suddenly, Shadow’s shadow from the red light grew into a massive, monstrous one. It reached up and rose from the ground, lifting into reality. Shadow backed away in horror, but it mirrored him, not allowing him to escape.
“I did warn you...”
“No…..” Shadow cried, stumbling down onto his back in fear. “No…..”
“You can never escape who you are...”
“I am nothing like you!” Shadow yelled, his voice trembling.
The shadow rose completely from the ground, standing tall with widespread wings and a jagged horn glowing bright red.
“You will awaken...”
Shadow stood and tried running away, but the figure’s magic grabbed him, pulling him back towards it. Shadow screamed and tried with all his might to stop it, but the pull was too strong.
“This meaningless world will be destroyed…”
Shadow shook his head, screaming. “No!” Dragged before the monstrous figure, it looked down at him.
“And your friends will disappear, forever.”
The shadows grabbed hold of him and began channeling into his body. Shadow yelled and flailed about, but he was powerless against it. The dreaded chill returned to him. Feeling his own body grow, Shadow panicked, unable to control himself. A horn began to emerge from his head and pitch-black wings grew out from his back.
Squeezing his eyes shut, he felt the cold overwhelm him.
“No!!!” Shadow felt tears fill his eyes.
One of those tears fell to the floor and the darkness around him rippled. A voice cried out through the torment, piercing the shadows.
“Shadow!”
Opening his now glowing red eyes, Shadow looked up.
“Shadow! Wake up!”
The voices worked to fight back the shadows, becoming louder.
“None of it is real Shadow! Wake up!”
He recognized that voice…..Shadow knew them all.
“Shadow please wake up! I need you!”
Fluttershy? Was that….her voice?
A bright light then shined from Shadow’s chest, purging the darkness swirling around him.
“Go to them now, but understand this...”
The light swallowed Shadow’s vision, turning everything white.
“........I will return.”
Shadow gasped as he woke up, his eyes returning to their golden color. The swirling tempest about him stopped instantly, calmed by his awakening. His first reaction was panic, and he began to thrash about.
“Shadow!” Fluttershy said, holding onto him and earning his gaze. “It’s alright.....we are all here for you…..you’re safe.”
His eyes still filled with tears, Shadow buried his head into her embrace, crying like a child. Everypony watched without a word, the winds still clawing at them.
Daring was gone, having taken chase after the black dragon. Neighagra Falls was deformed into lesser waterfalls cascading down the scarred cliff sides. The winter night was dark, and cold, and as silent as ever.