Tossing and turning on his bed in the dark, sleep eluded Shadow. He had stayed in his room all day since their return from Neighagra, but it didn’t matter how hard he tried to forget; the vision wasn’t going away.
He hadn’t spoken to anypony since it happened, not even Fluttershy. Now not only was he incapable of hiding from the voice on his own, but even when beside his friends this madness grew. The sound of his own name…..it made him tremble.
Sitting up from his bed, he turned and fluffed his pillow, driving his head back onto it again as he squirmed about. Turning onto the side facing the window, a dim light struck his eyelids, making them open. The window filled the chamber with a deep, red glow.
Rising up and placing his hooves down on the floor, Shadow approached the source of the light.
Outside, all of Ponyville and the lands beyond were covered in the red light. Looking up, Shadow took a step back and sprinted for the door. Galloping down through the castle and out the entrance, he slid to a halt, eyes looking up at the sky.
The red star from his vision had total command of the night, with both the sun and moon held in suspension around it. The light from the star intensified, rippling the clouds in the sky and making them spiral around slowly.
A whisper in the air made Shadow look around, but there was no pony in sight. Listening for it this time, it came again.
“Why are you doing this…..?”
“W-what?” Shadow said, turning around looking for whoever was speaking.
“Shadow…..why?”
Looking back up at the sky, Shadow shook his head. “No….I’m not doing this! It’s not my fault!”
“You wanted to know the truth...”
Shadow spun around and was standing before the great shadow from his vision.
“It will all be your fault.”
Shadow gasped as he shot up from his bed. With frantic speed, his gaze turned to the window; it was still dark outside, the sun hadn’t yet risen.
Tucking in his legs and holding onto them with his hooves, Shadow eyed the darkness around him, his entire body shaking.
Opening her eyes, Princess Luna felt great turmoil in Ponyville. Rising from her bed, she walked over to her balcony, looking across the land to Twilight’s Castle. Storm clouds gathered over the peaceful town, and moved about somewhat unnaturally. Dreams were her domain, and she felt nightmares tormenting the shadow pony.
A moment’s hesitation was all it took to become curious about the matter. It was her duty to help her subjects in their dreams, was it not? Amidst the confusion and loneliness, Shadow was feeling great fear and pain. What his dreams showed she couldn’t know without entering them, and so the temptation was powerful.
Celestia had not spoken of Shadow since their last argument, and so Luna easily assumed this meant it would be against her sister’s consent. This was not enough to halt her from trying, but it did create a problem for her if Celestia were to find out. How could she though? The night was her domain, not her sister’s.
It was before sunrise, but Luna felt Shadow’s nightmare had ended. She would have to wait for the following night, and wait she shall.
Twilight sat with Starlight in the observatory of the castle, which had been sealed off from any entrance aside from the magic door Twilight had made for it. Inside, a vault similar to Celestia’s in Canterlot was welded into the floor. It was a magic lock that required Twilight’s specific magic spell in order to open.
Placing the Alicorn Amulet in the vault, Twilight walked out as Starlight used her magic to close the door. Twilight inserted her horn into the key slot and her magic sealed it. Stepping back from the vault, Twilight managed a sigh of relief.
“At least we know that dragon can’t get through this.” She said, hoping she was right.
Starlight nodded. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a secure location for anything. I would say this seems like it is a bit much, but we can never be too careful when it comes to this guy.”
The two ponies turned and used their magic in unison to open the magic door and step through into the narrow hallway. Once through, their spell ended and the door disappeared. As they walked down the stairs, a question pieced itself together in Starlight’s mind that she hadn’t yet asked.
“Twilight?” the unicorn said, grabbing the princess’ attention. “Why do you think that dragon wants these artifacts in the first place?”
Twilight had managed to keep her theory to herself since her discovery of the connection between the thieving attempts. It didn’t surprise her that the question had been asked, but she was happy it was Starlight who asked it.
“Well….it’s just a theory.” Twilight began as they descended past the next floor. “Whoever this dragon is, he seems to know more about Shadow than any of us. I have to wonder if all of these artifacts are connected to him somehow.”
Starlight contemplated the idea. “We know it can’t be just to collect treasure,” Starlight added. “No one would go through that much trouble to collect a few ancient items. But then the other question is how does he know so much about them? What they are, where they are, how could he be so well informed?”
That particular question had also been on Twilight’s mind, although the answer was clearly out of their realm of knowledge. “It has to be from an outside source, but I’m not sure it matters how he knows. The fact remains that he knows, and we need to learn to work around it.”
Reaching the first floor of the castle, the princess and her pupil walked across the hall and into the throne room, where Fluttershy and Pinkie were sitting in their thrones talking to each other.
“Oh,” Twilight said, not expecting to see them. “I didn’t know that you two were here.”
“We came to check on Shadow.” Pinkie said, looking worried.
“Has he said anything since last night?” Fluttershy asked.
Ears folding back, Twilight had no good news to give. “I’m afraid he’s been hiding in his room all day. Spike and I tried bringing him breakfast and lunch, but he wouldn’t open the door.”
Taken aback by this, Fluttershy knew what she had to do. “I’m going to try and speak with him.” She said quickly, taking flight out of the room.
Pinkie lowered her head and huffed out a sigh. “Why did that mean dragon have to go and scare Shadow like that? That was so not nice.”
“Should we go and help Fluttershy?” Starlight asked, feeling helpless.
Twilight looked at the open door and shook her head. “Fluttershy has a way of getting to Shadow that no pony else does. They just need a little space.” Taking a quick look around the room, Twilight turned back to Starlight. “Have you seen Starfall yet today?”
“Oh, I saw him in town!” Pinkie said excitedly. “He was helping Applejack deliver a shipment of apples! Afterwards he said he was going to help Rarity with something.”
“Okay, just checking.” Twilight adjusted her wings on her back. “I wanted to apologize for my magic beam striking him yesterday.”
Starlight chuckled, not the least bit concerned. “He’s a tough stallion Twilight, and he knows you weren’t aiming at him.”
“I know, I know.” Twilight replied quickly.
Approaching Shadow’s room, Fluttershy took in a breath to help her focus. Reaching out with her hoof, she knocked on the door.
“Shadow?” she asked. “It’s Fluttershy.”
She was answered with silence, except for the sound of her knock echoing in the hall.
“Everypony is awfully worried about you….” She said, looking at the handle, then looking back up at the door. “May I come in?”
She waited for a response, but received none. Perhaps he was asleep? It was possible, but Fluttershy knew better than that. She had been there before, but never like this. Always having friends to help her through her sadness and fear made her more confident and rise out from things like this. Without his friends, Shadow had nothing strong to hold onto, and that made Fluttershy afraid for him.
Grabbing at the handle with her hoof, it was locked. “Please Shadow….” She begged him. “Please let me help you….”
Believing she heard something quiet, Fluttershy gently placed her head on the door to hear inside, but it was all silent again. Turning so that her forehead was pressed against the door, she closed her eyes. Fluttershy knew she was the only pony able to work her way past Shadow’s isolation, but now not even she could get through.
Stifling a trembled, quiet gasp, she leaned back off of the door. She watched it for a couple more moments, hoping and wishing for it to open, but it didn’t. In defeat, Fluttershy turned and lowered her head, walking away.
“I’m so sorry….” She whispered.
On the other side, Shadow sat on the floor in the dark with his back to the door, and tears in his eyes. He tilted his head back and turned it slightly. Unable to hold it in any longer, he covered his face with his hooves and cried.
As dusk settled over Ponyville, Starfall and Rarity walked towards the castle. Massive clouds loomed overhead, bringing with them steady breezes of chilling wind. Luckily, the two of them were nearly there.
“Thank you again Rarity,” Starfall said, looking over at her as they walked. “I know it will look great.”
“Great?” Rarity scoffed, whirling her mane aside. “It is going to look absolutely marvelous for you, Starfall Blitz!”
“How do you manage to plan and make all of them in such a short amount of time?” he asked, curious about her work.
Muffling her laugh, Rarity was pleased at somepony taking the time to notice true fashion. “Time, love, and couture, darling. I enjoy a challenge, and I dare say I do my best work when helping my dear friends.”
Nodding, Starfall much liked the sound of that. Coming upon the castle, he opened the door for her and they walked in, joining everypony else in the throne room. Looks of worry were on just about everypony’s face.
“He’s been in that there room all day?” Applejack asked. “With no food or nuthin’?”
Twilight nodded, looking around at everypony. “Fluttershy tried reasoning with him, but he didn’t even answer her. I’m not sure what he’s going through, but it definitely is a result of what happened at the falls yesterday.”
“Oh my,” Rarity said, wishing she had been there to help. “What ever can we do to help him Twilight?”
“I….I’m not sure.” The princess replied, hating her own answer. “I’m going to go try and speak with him, but if he refuses…..I really don’t know what to do. We’ll just have to hope that whatever he’s going through will pass, and he will come out by himself.”
“Would you like somepony to come with you?” Starfall asked.
Shaking her head, Twilight stood up from her throne. “Thank you, but no. I think, until we know he is alright, we should avoid coming to him in groups.”
Everypony in the room nodded and Twilight turned to the door, taking a few deep breaths as she walked out. Spike lifted up Shadow’s dinner platter and Twilight used her magic to grab it as she went.
As she walked towards the stairs, Twilight began going over what to say in her head. She had to find some way to talk to him in order to help. Although, it damaged her morale to know that Fluttershy tried and couldn’t get a single response. The kind-hearted pegasus may be Shadow’s closest friend, but he was Twilight’s friend too. She couldn’t just sit back and wait for whatever was happening to blow over, she had to try.
Just like Starfall had said before; she was the Princess of Friendship because of who she is. She had within her the qualities of a good friend, and she knew that Shadow did too.
Beginning to ascend the stairs, Twilight began to get a better grasp over herself. She could do this. Shadow was in trouble, and his friends were going to do everything in their power to hold him up until he overcame it.
Reaching the correct floor and walking over to his door, Twilight used her breathing technique to put one last bit of calming ease into her mind. Raising her hoof, she gently knocked on the door.
“Shadow, it’s Twilight.” She said softly.
There was a pause, but Twilight knew that wasn’t going to be enough.
“I know that whatever happened yesterday did something to you, and that it must be making you feel terrible,” she continued. “But your friends are here to support you. We will respect your decision to remain alone, but at least have some dinner; Pinkie Pie made it especially for you.” She said in a light tone to help the mood.
Using her magic, Twilight lowered the dinner platter to the floor in front of the door. She looked back up at it, but again, there was no reply.
“No matter what happened, what you saw, or what you heard….we still care about you, all of us.” Twilight said with a smile. “You have so many friends who care; Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Starlight Glimmer, Applejack, Spike, Rarity, Starfall Blitz, and me…..”
Giving it a few moments, Twilight rolled her eyes, but then smiled.
“Yes….and Trixie too.” Taking a step back from the door, she knew that was every last bit the words she needed to say. “Sleep well Shadow.”
Turning around, Twilight walked through the hall and down the stairs. A minute or so after she left, the door creaked open and a hoof emerged from it, grabbing the dinner platter and pulling it inside before shutting the door.
Feeling a chill crawl up his spine, Shadow awoke to find that he wasn’t in his room. All around him lie ruins of some kind of town, with all the buildings burnt down to shells and the streets withered into shattered paths.
Quick to rise up onto his hooves, Shadow glanced around, trying to figure out where he was.
“Sh-Sh-Shadow…” whispered a voice from behind him.
Turning to find the source of the voice, Shadow saw nothing. The wind blew through the ruins, bringing down a few precarious building remains.
“Please….don’t hurt us.” A different voice said from another direction.
Frantically spinning around, Shadow began to hear them all.
“Why are you doing this?”
“I thought we were friends.”
“Why Shadow?”
“You said you would be there for us.”
“All I ever wanted was for you to be happy.”
Covering his ears with his hooves, Shadow fell down onto the ground, his eyes clenched shut. The voices echoed in his head, each one different, coming from all directions. Shaking and trembling, he cried out in fear, wincing as he sprawled over the dirt below.
A bright flash of light banished the voices as Shadow cowered away from it.
“Shadow Light, this is not real.” Spoke a new, more powerful voice.
Shadow peeked out from his hooves covering his face to see Princess Luna leaning over him, a look of concern in her eyes.
“P-Princess Luna?” he asked, not sure whether or not to believe she was real.
Helping him up onto his hooves, the Princess of the Night nodded to him. “You are trapped in your dreams, and I have come to help you defeat this torment that befalls you.”
Feeling the ice-cold chill once again, Shadow yelped as he was dragged into the shadows of one of the ruined buildings, disappearing from sight. Luna galloped over to the shade, but he was gone. Looking around, Luna could not feel his presence.
“Shadow!” she shouted, her voice echoing into the emptiness. “Shadow!” she repeated, getting the same response.
Moments after she cried out his name, Luna felt a chilling cold in her back. The sensation felt strangely familiar, and it left the princess speechless as she stopped turning around so rapidly.
“Luna…..”
That voice…..she had heard it before, but where?
“It’s been so long, Luna…..I’ve missed you.”
The entire world around her went dark, as if night had been started in the blink of an eye. Luna glanced around, not able to see anything because of the total darkness. Then, from above, the moon appeared, offering a dim, ghostly light upon the ruins.
Confused by the dream, and a bit frightened, Luna attempted to pull herself from it, but nothing happened. Wide-eyed, she tried again, but once more was denied.
“Going somewhere?” asked a different, clear voice from behind her.
Luna slowly turned to see her shadow had lifted up off from the ground and formed her own silhouette under the tainted light of the moon.
“Who….who are you?” Luna demanded of the figure.
A bone chilling laugh followed the princess’ demand and the figure quivered, white eyes opening from the pitch-black form.
“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten me already.” The voice chuckled.
The shadow grew into a taller, more foreboding silhouette of an alicorn. Darker colors began to fade into focus, and the eyes turned into pale slits behind an evil expression. It didn’t take long for Luna to understand.
“It…it cannot be….” She whispered, backing away.
From the silhouette, finally the truth was brought under the moon’s light. The mane, the tail, the fangs, the horn, the wings, the armor, and the eyes.
“Oh, I am.” The dark alicorn chuckled. “Nightmare Moon will always be a part of you. No matter how much you lie to yourself and those pitiful ponies beneath you; you will always know the truth.”
Luna shook her head, feeling a wall behind her block her escape. “No…..no longer am I the nightmare that plagued Equestria! No more am I-”
Leaning down to Luna’s eye level, Nightmare Moon cackled a sinister laugh. “You fool….so long as you draw breath, I will always be here, waiting for your feelings to release me once again! Now I shall turn your precious dreams into nightmares, and you shall see what power we have together!”
Luna felt the shadows of Nightmare Moon grab hold of her and bring forth that dreadful cold all over her body. She screamed and struggled, but was powerless against the darkness.
All of a sudden, a blinding light filled the dream. Nightmare Moon shielded herself with her wings and Luna was forced to close her eyes and look away.
“You want to see power? You’ve got it, Black Snooty!” boomed a voice from beyond.
A torrent of bizarre, blazing magic swallowed Nightmare Moon, who only had time to yell in pain as it erased her from existence. A claw reached through the wall behind Luna and grabbed hold of her.
Luna gasped as her eyes shot open. Without hesitation, she backed away from wherever she was until she bumped into the wall behind her.
“Easy there twitchy,” Discord said, floating over top of her with an amused grin on his face. “Don’t hurt yourself.”
“D-Discord?” Luna managed to gasp, her chest still heaving from the horrifying experience.
“That’s all you have to say?” he asked, looking disappointed. “I come here to find you trapped in an ancient creature’s dream, destroy that evil doppelganger while she was bullying you, and pull you out from said dream, and all you have to say in response is my name?” Raising his chin and looking away, Discord snorted in disgust. “How princess-like of you.”
Discord, hearing a sound he dreaded, turned back to see the princess weeping into her own hooves.
“No…” he snapped. “No, no, no!” Grabbing hold of her shoulders, Discord tried shaking her out of it. “Don’t you dare start-”
Discord was silenced when he felt Luna grab hold of him and cry into his shoulder, terrified from the nightmare she had just been pulled from.
Letting out a long sigh, Discord couldn’t believe how sentimental ponies could be. Whenever they cried, he felt the fun-loving side of him shrivel up into a ball and sulk until it was over. Patting her on the back, the draconequus tried comforting her best he could.
“Wow….” He said, not realizing how scared she was. “Guess I arrived right in the nick of time, huh?”
Skidding across a cold, stone floor, Shadow rolled to a halt. Lifting his head, he tried to make sense out of what just happened.
“Princess Luna?” he asked, slowly rising to his hooves. Glancing around, he squinted into the dark to identify where he was. Occasionally there was a dim flash, lighting the area for fractions of a second.
As his eyes adjusted, Shadow began to vaguely recognize his surroundings. Cold and damp floor, withered stone walls, far-off sound of thunder and strike of lightning….he was back in the ruins of the Castle of the Two Sisters.
“Luna!” he shouted, feeling the anxiety of the castle ruins creeping back into his mind. “Luna, help!”
Galloping blindly into the dark, Shadow almost immediately smacked against a crumbling column, sending him down to the floor. High-pitched cackling sounds emerged from the darkness behind him and he was quick to rise, fleeing through the shadows. There was a rumbling in the floor and walls that seemed to follow him, echoing frightening noises all around. The cackling morphed into laughter, which was joined by several other, disturbing voices.
The only hope Shadow had remained attached to what Luna had said. “None of it is real!” he shouted as he ran, not looking back. “You aren’t real! None of you are!”
The noises and shaking of his surroundings slowed and quieted down, as if he was escaping them. Not convinced of his safety, Shadow continued to gallop through the dark until he could hear them no more. Slowing to a trot, he stopped and looked behind him, the darkness of the chamber greeting him with its silence. Taking this momentary respite to think, the shadow pony continued down the nightmare hallway, not knowing where it may lead.
Spotting light ahead, Shadow’s walk turned into a trot. Returning as if on cue, the distant sound of laughter turned his trot into a full gallop. Louder and louder the laughter grew, almost upon him in the dark, just as he reached the breach in the castle wall, leading outside.
Emerging from the ruins at full speed, Shadow pumped the brakes, spinning about to face the exit he had escaped through. Nothing followed him, and the sounds had once again stopped. A wave of relief came over him as he then began to wonder what was really going on.
It was then that he noticed the glow. Having been so caught up in running at the light to escape the sounds, and emerging to be sure he wasn’t followed, Shadow completely ignored that all was cloaked in a colorful tint. Eyes looking to the sky, all of the fear anxiety became thrust upon him again.
The red star bathed the land in its dark, dreadful glow. The sky was no different than it had been from both times before; the sun and moon remained yielding the world to the third celestial form’s power. The clouds all dispersed from underneath the blazing star, and all the others continued their motion in a perfect circle around the event.
Shadow’s eyes became locked onto it, filling them with a reddish aura. A serenade of haunting cries and howls began and blended together. Each one joined the others, the multitude of sounds converged, and formed a single, terrifying voice speaking one….dreaded word.
“Erebus.”
Opening his eyes, Shadow was lying in his bed underneath the covers. Drifting over to see the window, he saw the dim light being denied entrance into the chamber, it was mid-morning.
Afraid that this was still all his nightmare, Shadow stayed down, not moving a muscle. Taking in a few deep breaths, he tried lowering his hastened heart-rate. Not to be confused with calm, Shadow was mortified by what he had just experienced, and the fear of it continuing kept him petrified to the spot.
He closed his eyes to help overcome the weariness, but a sudden flash of red made them open wide. He flinched, as if he was afraid something was about to happen. It was never going to end, was it? He was never going to be free.
Celestia sat in her chambers, sipping at a cup of morning tea. Eyes glancing over at the clock, she squinted, looking to the door behind her before facing forward again. It wasn’t like Luna to be late, not to their morning tea that is. The two sisters had gotten past their previous argument, but now stayed silent as the grave on the matter of Shadow, much to Celestia’s delight.
Although the matter was kept silent, it was by no means non-existent. Every guard at every post all over Equestria had been on the lookout and constantly searching for the black dragon. Word had reached Celestia that the new Dragon Lord had been attacked and that the dragon himself had been spotted in Griffonstone. It was all happening too quick, and the princess was powerless against it.
Pushing the problem aside in her head for the moment, Celestia tried getting back on track. She resumed reading one of the scrolls in front of her, a trading offer from Saddle Arabia again. Unable to keep focused, Celestia looked at the clock again.
“Is that golden-leaf tea?” Discord asked suddenly, making Celestia jump a bit and face forward with her eyes shut in annoyance. “You wouldn’t mind in the slightest if I joined you, right?”
“Not in the slightest.” Celestia said sarcastically, opening her eyes into an unamused expression.
Discord raised his chin and turned his head slightly, saying, “My dearest Celestia, your gaze has always been sharper than your words, but this look you’re giving me seems blunt, have you been losing your touch over the years?”
“Am I supposed to believe it is mere coincidence that you came here as I await my sister?” Celestia asked, not affected by the previous comment.
“Hmph,” Discord pouted, crossing his arms. “This is the thanks I get for saving Luna from her nightmare last night? How very grateful of you.”
Derailed by the statement, Celestia squinted at the draconequus, asking, “What?”
Discord sat down on the seat opposite of the princess and leaned back against the soft cushion. “Your brave sister delved into Shadow’s dreams last night.” he said, making Celestia freeze in shock. “She became trapped and tormented there by the presence of Nightmare Moon.” Before Celestia could ask, Discord continued. “No, she doesn’t know what it meant, not yet at least.”
Closing her eyes, Celestia grimaced, her face contorting in anger at hearing this. With a new level of drive, she concluded that enough was enough. Standing from her seat, the princess turned and used her magic to grab hold of the purple potion on her nightstand.
Surprised by the sudden move to the potion, Discord said, “Celestia? What are you-”
“No more will I allow this mystery to go unanswered.” She interrupted him, levitating the potion to her. “No more will I let it harm my family!” Charging dark magic with her horn, Celestia unleashed it on the glass jar, transforming it into a white-colored potion. “I must know the truth…”
Without letting another word escape Discord, Celestia lifted the mixture to her mouth and swallowed down several gulps of it. The draconequus was at a loss of words….thank heavens….and waited for some sort of reaction.
After a moment of anticipation, the princess’ eyes glowed white.
The bright blur of the world became dark, and Celestia’s vision returned. She immediately recognized her surroundings as the entrance chamber of the Castle of the Two Sisters. Turning around, her heart sank.
A hole in the ceiling shined the moon’s light down upon an alicorn, a white alicorn, with a flowing, multi-colored mane. Up above, Nightmare Moon laughed maniacally.
Celestia was looking down at herself, who she was over a thousand years ago. Her past-self stood and looked up upon her sister, her eyes narrow. “Oh dear sister, I am sorry….but you have given me no choice but to use these.”
Turning her head, past-Celestia used her magic to raise the Elements of Harmony statue from the floor, the arms turning about and coming to a halt once the statue had been lifted completely.
Celestia watched the memory painfully as her past-self hesitated, drawn still by her longing not to harm her sister. She pushed past the feelings, flying up to the center sphere and using her magic to summon the Element of Magic, the other elements rising to her side and encircling her. The elements hastened until the glow shined bright all over the alicorn, lifting her mane and tail by the surge of great power. A rainbow aura pulsed from her as she gauged her control over it.
Taking a step forward, Celestia turned from her past-self to Nightmare Moon, who patiently awaited her sister up in the night sky. Why was the potion showing her this? Her memory wasn’t perfect, but this was something she could never forget.
Past-Celestia lifted herself up into the sky and faced down the dark alicorn across from her, whose magic veil began to power up. With tears in her eyes, Celestia’s past-self began charging the elements, aiming her horn at her sister. Both alicorns fired their beams of magic, but Nightmare Moon stood no chance. Engulfed by the light of the blast, her eyes widened and she flinched backwards.
“No!!!” she shouted, the rainbow colors surrounding her and transforming her into a cascade of light, striking up at the moon, and imprisoning her there. Trapped on the moon, for a millennia.
Lowering her head, Celestia took in a sharp breath, trying her best to remember that her sister was home once again, and this was just a memory. The bright light made by the elements around past-Celestia dimmed, making the alicorn look back up at her former self.
Past-Celestia was lowered back down to the castle floor, her eyes cast upon the image on the moon, the prison she had just banished her sister to.
Tears still filling her eyes, she gasped, falling down onto the floor, the elements falling as well. “Luna…..” she whispered, her voice trembling. “If only I had just been there for you….” Closing her eyes tight, she let out another gasp, the tears falling down onto the stone. The elements around her began to grow dim, their colors fading. As the alicorn lie there in dismay, they transformed into stone orbs, the only one remaining being the Element of Magic.
Celestia watched closely, recalling something important happening, but not quite able to remember what it was.
As the elements devolved into stone, the chamber darkened, clouds limiting the light from the moon into a dim ray upon the white alicorn.
“Awww, how sad.” A voice whispered in the shadows.
Both Celestia and her past-self glanced around, unable to see where the sound had come from.
“She wanted to tell you how she felt….she really did, but she thought you didn’t care.” The whisper echoed with a hint of humor.
“Who is there!?” Past-Celestia shouted into the dark, standing up from the floor. “Show yourself!”
A chuckle came from the shadows, and with it returned Celestia’s memory, she could remember it all. This was when she discovered the truth….the truth about Luna.
“You never wanted to see me before, why now?” the quiet voice asked. “Luna tried telling you about me for years, but you never listened.” Past-Celestia gasped, taking a step away as she saw the golden eyes in the dark, staring at her. “Such a shame; I figured this would have been more of a challenge, but, it is what it is I suppose.”
Celestia shook her head, seeing why the potion was showing her this. “No….enough!” she shouted, her hooves rising up to her head. “No more! Please, no more!”
“What did you do to her!?” Past-Celestia demanded of the shadow.
The golden eyes narrowed, and a smile formed through the darkness. Celestia’s eyes glowed bright white again and the world around her vanished.
The brightness remained, making any kind of vision impossible. Celestia was aware of the light, trying to focus through it, but having no success.
“Take it, please.” Spoke a voice through the white veil.
Celestia was confused why she couldn’t see anything, or maybe why the potion wasn’t allowing it. Taking a few steps forward didn’t help, but another voice stopped her from moving.
“What do you want me to do?” asked an older, more familiar voice, one Celestia recalled hearing long ago.
“Hide it away…..far away, where no pony can ever find it.” She pleaded him, sounding desperate. “It must never be found.”
There was a pause, but the other voice then said, “That isn’t what she would have wanted, you know that.”
“No….it isn’t, but it is what we must do, for the sake of Equestria.” Replied the other, the sound of hooves telling Celestia that she was trotting away. “They are all needed together in order for the hymn to begin, so long as one is left un-found, he can never return.”
Celestia was so lost in the conversation that she didn’t even notice the voices fading out until they were little more than whispers.
“Very well….” The old voice spoke, barely loud enough to be heard. “But know this young one; power such as this can never truly be forgotten. One day, perhaps centuries from now, the world would have been better off if this was never made a secret.”
Then it all ceased, Celestia could tell by the feeling of void around her. The brightness intensified even further, and she felt the potion’s power take over.
After a few moments, the bright light in her eyes dimmed down and disappeared. There was no sound aside from the far-off melody of wind. Celestia could see out across all Equestria, the land far below bowing to her gaze. Looking down, she saw Canterlot sitting upon the cliff-side; she was atop what the ponies called ‘the mountain of Equestria’, and it was a flat top. Having a peculiar feeling, Celestia slowly turned around and was left speechless.
The remains of a small temple sat in ruins at the very peak of the mountain. Withered pillars stood, overgrown by plants. Broken statues of numerous creatures stood in defiance of time, and depictions of ponies were etched into every inch of the stone, as clear as day.
Celestia had never been to the top of the mountain before. Thinking back, she didn’t understand why she had never gone there. Walking forward, she gazed upon the mysterious ruins, her mind filled with questions. This was incredible; an ancient temple? At the peak of the mountain on which she lived in her castle? Astonishing. How had she never heard of it before?
“What is this place…?” she asked herself quietly, walking ever so slowly through it.
A whisper in the air made her stop, listening for any kind of sound. That was strange; it was as if it came the moment she spoke. As the world was kept in silence, something inside the temple ruins moved, but when Celestia turned to it, she saw nothing.
Without warning, her eyes glowed bright white again. But before the world was whisked away…….she heard it.
“Come find me.”
Starfall looked outside the window, seeing the blizzard outside get even worse.
“Are you girls seeing this?” he asked, in disbelief at how quickly the storm had escalated.
Everypony sat uncomfortably in the throne room, the looming storm outside filling the air with the sound of thunder and howling winds. Just last night the clouds began forming in the skies, threatening the citizens of Ponyville. The pegasi tried their best, but were unable to eliminate the blizzard.
“We tried everything!” Rainbow said, raising her hooves in exclamation. “Nothing’s worked!”
Starlight stood with Starfall, looking out the window, and then turning back to everypony. “It feels a lot like the Deep Freeze from the Frozen North. It can’t be natural; even my magic couldn’t do a thing to it.”
Fluttershy turned to Twilight, the two of them believing they knew what this storm really was. Twilight looked up at the ceiling, great worry in her eyes.
“Rise above it Shadow…..you have to.” She said to herself.
In the darkness once again, Shadow stood alone amidst oblivion. The voices probed at his ears and the flashes haunted his eyes. He winced away and tried hiding, but it did him no good. Monstrous sounds boomed around him as he felt a wave of ice-cold air strike him all over.
“Surrender to it Erebus…for it shall never stop…”
The red star hung overhead, just out of reach, bathing Shadow in its crimson glow. He could feel the claws from before grabbing at him, keeping him anchored down as the voice continued.
“You cannot escape who you are…”
The terrors rammed at Shadow’s sanity, his grip on reality beginning to bend. Though it didn’t help, he kept his eyes shut tight, leaning over with his hooves over his head. He stopped struggling against the forces holding him and focused entirely on not letting the voice overwhelm his mind.
“And neither can your friends…”
Shadow felt tears swell up his eyes. The thought of anything happening to his friends was unbearable. As he had remembered from before; they were all he cared about, he had nothing else in the whole world. No family, no home, no memories, and no purpose.
“That’s it…just a little more…”
These dark thoughts summoned the great shadow once again, rising just in front of Shadow as he stayed cowering low to the floor. It reached down towards him, preparing to take over as the trembling shadow pony was powerless to stop it. He was losing….it was all falling away…..he had nothing left.
That was when it all came to him. How could he have not seen it before? How could it have taken him this long to realize?
“Fluttershy…” Shadow said quietly.
The great shadow stopped, looking down at him in general confusion.
“What did you say?”
“Twilight Sparkle…” Shadow continued. “Pinkie Pie….Rainbow Dash…”
“What?”
“Applejack.” Shadow said, lifting his gaze to the terrifying shade in front of him. The golden color in his eyes began to brighten. “Rarity. Starlight Glimmer. Spike.”
Stepping away from Shadow, as if repelled, the great shadow began to quiver.
“No, what are you doing!?”
“Starfall Blitz!” Shadow shouted, standing up as he stared down the creature, the light from his eyes dispelling the forces around him from holding him still. “Princess Luna! Vinyl Scratch! Octavia Melody! Derpy Hooves!”
The great shadow looked all around in confusion, the darkness lifting from the nightmare. Shadow’s entire body began to shimmer, a veil of silver-like aura cascading around him.
“How are you doing this!? Stop! Enough!”
Shadow glared at the weakened shade with powerful, determined eyes. “Ponyville is my home. I have only great memories of my new life. My purpose has changed, and no longer am I this monster of the past.”
The dark creature growled, but cowered away, being pieced apart by the light emitting from the shadow pony before it.
“This is impossible!”
Closing his eyes, Shadow felt the warmth return and expel the cold from his body. He could see them….his real family, they were all there waiting for him. Opening his eyes, they blazed with a radiating aura, spiraling off of his eyes into a small trail behind him.
“Your voice shall haunt me no longer! I am not afraid!” Shadow yelled, raising his hooves into the air as he rose up on his hind legs. “My friends are my power!”
Stomping his hooves back onto the floor, the blackness around them became shattered, flooding the dream with a blinding light from all directions. The great shadow hissed and roared, howled and screamed as it tore the shade apart, each piece dissolving into the light. Once the last bit of the great shadow was gone, a dark shock-wave flared out from the space and rippled the dream.
Eyes becoming bright white, Shadow flinched as he felt a massive surge of wind rise up from the bright floor. It lifted his mane and tail, spiraling up into the beyond.
Everypony had slept in Twilight’s Castle that night. Both because of their worry for Shadow, and the blizzard’s growing intensity outside.
Although it was the morning, the town remained grey underneath the vastness of the great winter storm. Rainbow and Pinkie were playing a card game as Applejack and Rarity helped to comfort Fluttershy, who was more stressed than anypony else. Twilight, Spike, Starlight, Trixie, and Starfall all sat at the library table, talking over their plan to possibly evacuate the town.
The library door swung open and all eyes turned to see a shocking sight.
His mane and tail flowed gently, as if caught in an endless, calm wind. His black fur looked less shaded and more like actual pony fur. And his eyes had new life about them, looking upon his friends with a gaze befitting of a family member. Shadow had emerged from his isolation an entirely new pony.
“Shadow!” Fluttershy exclaimed in happiness, rushing over and embracing him in a hug.
In an unexpected twist, Shadow lifted her up as she hugged him and twirled her around, laughing as he did. The shadow pony’s cheer lit up the entire chamber, widening the smiles on everypony’s faces. It only took a few moments for them to converge on the two, engaging in a group hug.
After the warm-felt hug, the group expanded, giving Shadow room to look around at them all, looking the happiest they had ever seen him before.
“What happened to you?” Starlight asked.
“Yeah,” Rainbow added. “Are you alright?”
Shadow beamed with pride, nodding without hesitation. “Better than alright.” He replied.
The happy reunion was halted by the loud bang and roll of thunder outside. Shadow looked out the door and across the hall to the entrance chamber, trotting out and following the sound of the storm.
Everypony else followed suite, curious about his intentions. Shadow continued down the stairs and to the front door, opening it wide. The ponies all shuddered as a breeze of cold air swept into the hall, but not Shadow. Galloping out into the snow, he slid to a halt, looking up into the raging tempest.
“Not in my home.” He said sharply, focusing all his thoughts on the happy memories of his friends. A flash of golden light then emitted from his forehead, the shadowy image of a horn appearing. The darkness caused by the storm yielded to the magic his horn created, and dispersed near instantaneously from the sky.
Without the dark powers holding them in place, the storm clouds separated from one another and began to stem the flow of snow and winds. In moments, the swirling blizzard was changed into a gentle morning flurry.
Turning to his speechless friends, Shadow’s horn vanished, and he said, “Come on! Let’s go see if anypony else in town needs us!”
The slopes of ‘the mountain of Equestria’ were steep and rugged. It would take a master climber to scale them, but luckily for the princess and draconequus, they could fly. The morning sun was still rising in the east, shining its light over all the land, now no longer burdened by the massive storm.
Discord huffed as they flew ever higher, drawing closer to the peak. “Why can’t I just magically poof us up there?”
“I already told you,” Celestia replied, glancing over at him. “You can come with me to the summit, but once there, I have to continue alone. Besides, I needed to stretch my wings a bit.”
“Hmph, well I sure didn’t.” Discord whined, catching up to her. “How can you be so sure that all the answers are up here? Even if there is something at the peak, you think it will just magically solve all our problems?”
“Of course not.” Celestia answered him, her eyes now zeroing in on the summit as they made their approach. “Now wait here.”
Crossing his arms, Discord made a rocking-chair appear and sat on it, still suspended in the air. “Just hurry up and go already.”
The view of the world was just like the one from the vision. There was no comparison; the lands below, covered in its layer of snow, seemed a lifetime’s travel away. The steady, endless winds sang softly to her as it flowed by. Everything was right….except for the temple.
The vision showed by the potion must have been from long ago because the temple was now a mere shell of what she had seen before. Overgrown in its entirety, the ruins were almost completely erased by time; with only a small overhang inside the temple and most everything else withered away.
Stepping inside the ruined structure, Celestia walked slowly, inspecting what remained of the temple itself. Nothing seemed to be of specific help; it was all too damaged and old to read or understand. Why would she have been shown this place if there was nothing here?
Feeling the same breeze on her fur from the vision, Celestia turned around, facing the exit. She walked back out, her eyes inspecting the summit around her.
There was a pony looking out at Equestria on the edge of the mountain. Her coat of fur was luminous, and seemed to almost glow, even in the light of day. Her mane and tail were the same way, only a slight bit darker. Her entire body had a gem-like shimmer, which led Celestia to believe she was a crystal pony. The princess approached the pony, stopping a few steps behind her.
With a serene voice, the crystal pony spoke without turning around. “So, you have come.”