//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: My Little Pony: Lights and Shadows - Part II // by OmegaTale //------------------------------// “It couldn’t be…” Fluttershy said, covering her mouth with her hooves. “Twilight, there must be some other explanation…” Twilight shook her head in reply. “There is no other explanation Fluttershy. Zecora and Starlight were the only ones I let into the vault, but Zecora is the only one I took my eyes off of while in there.” The throne room went quiet, this was unbelievable. “Why would Zecora take the amulet?” Applejack questioned them. “Ah thought she wanted it kept safe, there ain’t nowhere safer than that there vault.” Rarity looked to Twilight. “And you’re quite sure no pony else ever went in?” “Without a doubt.” The princess responded. “I was very diligent on the matter.” “What if the amulet was a fake ever since we found it at the ruins?” Rainbow offered up, hoping to find some way around accusing their zebra friend. The very mentioning of the ruins made Luna uncomfortable, and she shifted about on her hooves. “It was not a fake when I saw it there,” Celestia explained. “The Alicorn Amulet lets off a very distinct aura from its crystal, at the time, I could feel it.” Pinkie shrank away in her throne, hating the idea of Zecora stealing from them. She trusted all of her friends so much, to have one go and do this….it hurt her on the inside. “This is most unfortunate,” Celestia said to herself, looking back up and around at everypony. “However, we must stay focused on the task at hoof; the Grand Summit remains our top priority, we can work on finding Zecora after the tension between the nations has been extinguished.” “Princess?” Rarity asked, tapping her hooves together. “I know it is not our primary concern, but what about the Grand Galloping Gala? If the summit does not go as planned….” As unimportant as the gala seemed to some, Celestia was not one of them. “The gala shall remain on schedule, for now.” She said, relieving the stress from the white unicorn. “Unless this conflict makes a turn for the worst, I do not see me announcing its cancellation.” Fluttershy was happy that Shadow wasn’t in the room to hear any of this. He had been talking about the gala and how excited he’s been about going for weeks now. For something like this to cancel it? So close to the event itself? Such a thing would make him so sad. “Alright everypony,” Twilight said, standing up from her throne. “Let’s start getting ready for the summit. We could be there for a matter of days, so be sure you are ready to be gone for that long and that your responsibilities here in Ponyville are looked after by someone.” “We’ll leave you to it,” Celestia said, she and Luna walking to the door. “Best of luck my little ponies, and we shall see you all at the summit.” As the seven mares and baby dragon began their discussion on how best to prepare for their departure, Starfall trotted after the princesses. Closing the door behind him, he came upon Celestia waiting for him in the hallway. Luna already walked out the castle door, and the guards had followed her. “Be careful Starfall,” Celestia told him, her face expressing worry. “I do not know why Zecora would steal the amulet, but these turn of events lead me to believe that Princess Twilight is in danger. You must stay by her side and be vigilant.” “You can count on me princess.” Starfall replied, standing firm with his head held high. “Nothing’s happening to Twilight on my watch.” Celestia smiled. “I have the utmost faith in you, protect her, at all costs.” Starfall bowed his head and the alicorn turned, exiting the castle and beginning her flight back to Canterlot. As the sun peeked over the horizon, Equestria became illuminated by its golden light. The previous day had been a stressful one, and no less busy. The dawn signified the beginning of a new day; four more until the Grand Summit. Applejack often trotted up the hill beside the house to watch the sunrise. Being up bright and early to begin her chores became taxing at times, but this moment always seemed to be worth it. But before her long day was to begin, she needed to think. Looking down upon the orange crystal in her hooves, the earth pony was left captivated by its glow in the morning sun. Apple Bloom had said it was from an “old friend”, but that they said nothing else other than that. Whoever they were must have been real nervous to need her little sister to bring it to her. The crystal was triangular, and very smooth. Although it seemed like some plain, ordinary gem like the lot that Rarity used, this one was unique. It wasn’t because of the shape or the color, or even the smoothness of the surface; it was the strange feeling she had when she stared at it for very long. She couldn’t describe it, it was as if the crystal was staring back at her, almost as if she were looking into another pair of eyes. Some ponies said that the eyes were the gateway to the soul….so why did this orange triangle seem like it had one? So many questions came to mind. What kind of stone was it? Was it even a stone? Where did this ‘friend’ find it? And why did they want to give it to her in the first place? AJ wasn’t used to asking these kind of questions, and so it surprised her how much the crystal was making her think. Shaking off the feeling, she placed it into her saddle bag and stood up, trotting down the hill to begin her chores. The halls of Twilight’s Castle remained empty and silent, the ponies that usually inhabited it were out prepping for their absence from town. This soon changed as a low-volume beat began echoing through the open spaces and vacant rooms. Dj-Pon3 walked leisurely up the stairwell, her headphones turned up so loud that the sound from them resonated out into the castle. Nodding her head as she went, the white furred unicorn glanced around, searching for somepony. It had been some time since she had walked the halls of the castle. She checked it out shortly after the castle appeared, but hadn’t really gone through it since. Twilight and the girls had definitely done a good job livening up the place, but it still looked like it could use the touch of a DJ; maybe a few strobe lights, loud speakers, couple spotlights, you know, the usual stuff. Having a decent idea of where that party-monster pegasus was, she came upon a certain floor and began walking its halls. Quickly spotting her target, she trotted on up and tapped his shoulder. Starfall turned around, having thought he heard some kind of music in the air, but stayed focused on watching over Twilight in her room. “Oh, hey Vinyl, what are you doing here?” he asked. Lifting off her headphones, Vinyl used her magic to write her message on a little whiteboard with a marker. You busy tonight? Thought we could have another one of those awesome dates at the Neon Palace again, you down? The mere mentioning of their previous date made Starfall turn a slight shade of red. He remembered how wild things had become, but most importantly, how exhausted he was the morning after. Looking over his shoulder at the princess, who was writing down some notes, he stepped out into the hall with the DJ and quietly closed the door to Twilight’s room. “I don’t know…” he said, sounding unsteady. “Last time was a bit extreme. I’m not saying I didn’t like it, I had a great time, but there’s a special event coming up for Twilight and I think I should stay well-rested for it.” Awww, come on, please? One night won’t hurt, it will be fun! Starfall was dangerously tempted. Twilight had said for him to act more like a friend than a guard, but he still had to take his position seriously. That being said….it was still four days until the summit. “Well….” He said, trying to make up his mind. Vinyl smirked at his indecision and wrote something else down as a last-ditch effort to change his mind. Tell you what, you come by tonight, and we won’t stay there as long. That could work. So long as he was ready and able to perform his duties as Twilight’s guard, he could enjoy himself a little bit. It wasn’t until he read the next message that he caught onto her meaning. Instead, we can swing by my place again and pick up where we left off. And the red returned again. Sweet Celestia, how flirtatious could this unicorn be? “Let me get back to you on that offer.” He replied, trying his best to end the conversation so close to the ears of the Princess of Friendship. “I’ll think about it.” He was met with a sly smile from the DJ, who took that a whole different way. She wrote one last message as she turned and walked away. Awesome! See you tonight, stud. Still red in the face, Starfall tried making sure she knew what he had said. “I said I’ll think about it….Vinyl?” Too late, on went the headphones. She must’ve known he was watching her leave, because she swayed her hips a bit as she went. Starfall didn’t realize he was staring at first. The moment he did, he shook his head wildly, tearing his gaze away from the mare. Standing up on her showcase stage, Rarity smiled down at Shadow, who had been asked to drop by to see something special. “What is it you wanted to show me, Rarity?” he asked, curious. Now that she knew the gala was in jeopardy for being canceled, the unicorn had placed an enormous amount of her faith in the clothing she had been making. Not wanting Shadow to catch wind of the disturbing news, Rarity thought it best to give him something to smile at. “For you, Shadow Light, I present one of the most challenging attires I have ever made!” she replied, lifting her head up high. Her magic lit up the curtain and it was pulled aside. “Voila!” The tuxedo’s base color was a bright silver with black trim and lining. A kind of luminous fabric was stitched between the folds over where the chest would be, creating a dim glow best seen in the dark. The buttons beneath the folds were gold colored, like his eyes, and the sleeves darkened a bit in color the closer to the hooves they went, creating the illusion of a cascading silver shadow. What caught Shadow’s eye the most, however, was his Cutie Mark Crusader symbol that was woven into the luminous fabric at the attire’s front. “Rarity, I….” Shadow said, having trouble finding the correct words. A bit of worry consumed the unicorn for a moment, but it was soon cast aside. “This….this is amazing, how did you….?” Rarity replied first with a smug grin. “Only the best of the best for my newest friend.” Walking up onto the stage, Shadow examined the tuxedo more closely. As he had stated before, he was not one to know fashion, but to see something like this….he didn’t need to know fashion. It was stunning, captivating, and almost impossible to look away from. Turning to the master designer, Shadow looked in complete shock. “I…I don’t have any money…” Shaking her head, Rarity gave him a smile. “It’s a gift darling, no charge.” What small inkling of doubt that may have existed in Shadow was erased; he had the greatest friends in all the world. Before he had the chance to, Rarity gave him a hug, which he returned in a heartbeat. This didn’t seem real….why was he so concerned before? What had he been so depressed about? He honestly couldn’t remember, not in this moment. What remained of his troubles became washed away, and all he could think about now was the upcoming event itself. When at last the two parted, Rarity fluffed up her mane a bit, turning and closing the curtains. “My oh my, won’t you be the talk of all of Canterlot.” She chuckled. When he thought about the gala, the first thing that came to Shadow’s mind was….oh right, there was that. He thought about the Hearth’s Warming Eve party, which got him thinking about her. It wouldn’t hurt to ask, would it? “Rarity?” Shadow said, convincing the white unicorn to turn about. He looked a little embarrassed, but that wasn’t going to be enough to stop him. “I was wondering…..could you, teach me how to dance, you know….properly?” Today was just going to be one pleasant surprise after another it seemed. Rarity had never been asked that by a stallion before, but it showed just how passionately he wanted to learn. “It would be my pleasure, Shadow.” She replied, smiling with a degree of elegance. Rarity led Shadow down onto the boutique floor. She used her magic to clear some supplies away and give them enough space. Simultaneously, she levitated her record player into the room and set one of her favorites to play. Turning to face him, she took in a breath. “Let’s begin.” Sitting in a booth at the Sugarcube Corner bakery, the Cutie Mark Crusaders enjoyed their milkshakes, paid for by none other than Pinkie Pie herself. They had delivered the crystals yesterday evening, and were talking about their friends’ reactions to receiving them. “You should’ve seen Rarity!” Sweetie said happily. “Her face just lit up like I knew it would!” Apple Bloom smiled, but the smile faded away fast. “That’s nice….Applejack wasn’t very interested in the crystal as much as where ah got it. Ah can tell she liked it, but ah really wish she’d been more excited about it.” “Well Rainbow Dash loved it!” Scootaloo said proudly, her little wings flapping wildly. “She said it was awesome of me to deliver it to her and that the crystal was super cool!” The more Apple Bloom thought about it, the more she became curious as to when Twilight and her friends saved the dragon’s life. She didn’t think they ever all went over to the Dragon Lands at the same time. It wasn’t that she questioned his honesty, but she did wonder how the girls could’ve saved him. “Are y’all curious as to how that dragon was saved by our friends in the first place?” she asked her two companions. “Ah’m not sayin’ he was lyin’, but ah feel like if it were that important to him, he would’ve told us more about it.” Sweetie scratched her chin. “I was pretty skeptical about it at first, but after he gave us the crystals and left, it really didn’t bother me anymore. I mean, why would he lie just to give our friends some rare crystals?” “Does it really matter?” Scootaloo chimed in. “I was only cautious of him because I didn’t know what he wanted, but like Sweetie Belle said; after he gave us the crystals he just left.” She shrugged her shoulders. “What reason could he have for hiding it from us?” Apple Bloom gave a small nod. “Yeah, ah guess you’re right.” Sweetie then noticed how quickly Scootaloo was downing her milkshake and used her hoof to stop her. “Scootaloo! Not so fast, I’ve told you before what happened to Button Mash when he got his super brain-freeze.” “Oh relax Sweetie,” Scootaloo said with an aloof grin. “I live for extreme challenges, a brain-freeze is nothing.” “Heya girls!” Spike announced as he walked through the bakery door. “Howdy there Spike!” Apple Bloom waved to him. As the little dragon sat in the booth, Pinkie Pie whizzed by and left him his favorite milkshake order; sapphire crème. “Thanks Pinkie!” Spike shouted. “WELCOME!” the pink flash replied, zipping back behind the counter. “So how was the princesses’ visit yesterday?” Sweetie asked the dragon. “We heard they stopped by for a casual visit.” Spike would’ve tensed up, but he had somewhat expected them to ask, so he already had a story for when the topic was brought up. “Yeah, they wanted to stop by and see how Shadow was doing. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are really starting to take a liking to him!” “Well that’s good at least,” Apple Bloom said with a smile. “Ah think Shadow was a might concerned about what they thought of him.” “Did Princess Celestia give Twilight our tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala yet?” Scootaloo asked enthusiastically. Riiight, there was that one too. “Umm, no not yet.” Spike said, trying to recover from his nervous expression. “But she assured us that they’ll be arriving soon.” “Awww….” All three fillies said at once. “But don’t you worry!” Spike said, trying to cheer them up. “I’m sure your sisters will take you as their plus-ones again.” Sweetie Belle nodded, “Yeah, I guess there’s still a bit of time until the gala anyway.” “Besides,” Apple Bloom added, already recovered. “Now that we’ve helped someone out, we can focus on findin’ Zecora again!” “YEAH!” Scootaloo and Sweetie said at the same time. “Don’t get your hopes up,” Spike scoffed, taking a big taste of his milkshake. “After stealing from Twilight’s Castle, she’s probably long gone.” The CMCs all stared at Spike like he had said something insane. “Zecora did what now?” Scootaloo asked first. Spike realized what he had said mid-sip of his milkshake and accidentally took in a gasp. Brain-freeze, brain-freeze, brain-freeze! Nearing the end of her work day, Applejack decided to take a breather up by the barn. She had talked to Granny Smith and Big Mac about the summit without having to use too much detail in explaining what it was about. Hiding something as big as this was difficult to do, especially from family. She didn’t lie to them, but she could’ve told more of the truth as well. Big Mac walked on by with the last cart of apples from the orchard. He descended down into the cellar and unloaded the cart. Returning up to the surface, he stowed away the cart and walked on by his sister again. “All done for the day?” Applejack asked him. “Eeyup.” Her brother replied. “How’s your hoof?” she asked. “Act’n up at all?” Big Mac shook his head. “Nope.” AJ nodded. “Good, well, don’t go doin’ nothin’ risky today, ya hear?” The big, red stallion chuckled, nodding his head. “Eeyup. See y’all at dinner tonight.” As her brother walked away, AJ looked back out across the orchard, taking in a deep breath. She hoped Big Mac was up to the task of doing all the apple-bucking while she was gone. What with his sprained hoof the other week, she had been a little nervous about leaving the chores of the farm mostly all to him. Looking down at her saddle bag, she hesitated before reaching in and taking out the triangular crystal again. Tilting her head a bit, she held it up to the light and watched how it glowed under the bright rays of the sun. Maybe she should’ve been more appreciative of Apple Bloom bringing it to her; it sure was a neat looking stone. She supposed it just bothered her to not know who her sister got it from. But the more time that passed, the more she realized she didn’t really care. Fact was that somepony gave it to Apple Bloom, and Apple Bloom gave it to her. “Hehe,” she chuckled to herself. “Ah wonder what Rarity would think of it. Probably go beggin’ for me to give it to her.” That being said, Applejack couldn’t see her giving it away. Not only would it hurt her sister’s feelings, the crystal itself was just so alluring to Applejack; looking at it every now and then could help her get her mind off of work for once. “Applejack!” Apple Bloom shouted out, making her big sister’s ears perk up. “Applejack, where are you!?” Dropping the crystal to the ground, Applejack was up on her hooves in a flash, and just as she turned to race around the corner, her little sister rounded it, stopping in front of her. “Apple Bloom, what’s wrong!?” Applejack asked quickly. The little filly was exhausted, for she had just galloped home all the way from town. Her eyes failed to hide the pain she was feeling, and it stung AJ down to her core. “It’s all lies…..ain’t it?” Apple Bloom asked, nearly out of breath. “None of it is true….” Applejack reached down to her sister. “Now Apple Bloom, what in tarnation are-” “No!” the filly shouted. “Zecora didn’t steal from Twilight and run away….did she?” Having no idea how her little sister heard of this, Applejack stood with a lack of words. Her gaze remained, nearly broken at seeing her sister refusing to believe what she had heard. With tears now building in her eyes, Apple Bloom began to tremble. “Did she...?” Few things were powerful enough to cause Applejack to feel this level of emotion. Her sister was the strongest one. The mere sight of the filly so afraid, and so sad…it wounded her. “It’s what everypony’s been sayin’, yes.” Applejack answered. Apple Bloom felt a tear roll down her face. There was no pony else’s opinion that mattered to her. She didn’t care if the rest of them said it was true as long as her sister, her faithful sister, told her that they were all wrong. “A-and….do you think she did….?” Apple Bloom managed to ask through the tears. The evidence was unquestionable. Twilight herself said that only Zecora could have taken it. As much as AJ came to care about Zecora, there was no other alternative, she had to have been the one who took it. And yet…. As Applejack hesitated to answer, the crystal on the ground behind her began to glow, small grains of dirt slowly rising up and around it. The bond Apple Bloom had with Zecora was strong. Applejack could tell that her sister placed a lot of her happiness and faith in the zebra. Years ago now, she had been the first to befriend Zecora, and show everypony just how wrong they had been about her. The truth sat on AJ’s tongue, ready to be spoken, ready to see the tears flow from her sister’s eyes, but still she did not speak. Applejack loved her sister, and cared about her feelings. If the little filly were to know….it would damage her, and it would take so much for that damage to be healed. With all her instincts and morals begging her to tell the truth, Applejack was compelled to say what she had to. “No, Apple Bloom,” she replied, smiling softly. “They are all wrong.” Apple Bloom looked up at her sister, a small crack of a smile breaching the surface and fighting back the tears. “Zecora would never do that to us….to you.” Lunging forward, the filly hugged her big sister, who embraced her tightly in return. Her eyes closed tight, Apple Bloom let all of her worries and doubts wash away at hearing her sister’s comforting words. Applejack, however, felt a tear roll down her face as she felt the weight of the deception crushing her own morale. Nopony should ever have to lie to their sister. The dirt rising around the orange crystal fell back to the ground, but the fierce glow remained and intensified. A small, pulsating light began at its core, reaching all three corners of the triangular stone and moving back and forth much like an ocean tide. On his way back from his appointment with Rarity, Shadow trotted with a bit of a skip in his step. He was pumped up for the gala, having never known he could be so excited for something this much. Now that he had a suit and was learning to dance, he felt more and more confident in himself. He felt invincible, as if nothing could stand in his way or ruin his day. But just as he felt this, a sharp pain suddenly appeared in his head. Stopping abruptly, he winced, holding one of his hooves up to the side of his head. His vision flickered and blurred as the level of pain spiked. “No….” he said painfully. “Why now….?” Losing all sense of his surroundings, Shadow fell to the ground with both hooves now held firmly against his head. A high-pitch chime grew louder and louder in his ears as the darkness grew and engulfed his vision in its entirety. As the light returned, Shadow began to see shapes and color once again. But unlike before, the sun was shining brightly on his face, and the cool, winter air had been replaced by a summer’s heat. He tried turning to look around, but his eyes seemed to wander beyond his control. Panic set in as the first sounds began whispering past the ringing in his ears. He tried to speak, but there was nothing, as if his voice had been silenced. The surroundings are what became clear first; lush, green grass and strange, bright trees dotted the landscape. The sky was a perfect blue tint, and far off in the distance, there stood tall mountains. It was when his gaze finally turned slightly that he saw a massive structure, almost like a pillar, rising high above the mountains, and looking as if it were dozens of miles away. All that lied beyond it was dark, and almost charred-looking lands cloaked in shade. Now past the point of panic, Shadow tried making sense of what was happening. His hearing became clearer, and there was a voice that spoke out, but it sounded fuzzy. After hearing it, Shadow felt his head turn to see a figure walking beside him….a dragon….a black dragon, with golden spikes like a mane on his turned-away head. It was him….the dragon from the falls, the one that made him have the nightmares! Shadow tried desperately to shout and struggle, but his efforts were fruitless. It is when the dragon turned to look at him that Shadow felt his senses return, even though it was all still slightly blurred. “Well?” the dragon asked him. “Are you coming with us or are you chickening out again?” He had golden eyes, not the deathly red ones that Shadow remembered. That is also when he realized how much younger the dragon looked, but how he still had to look up at him. “N-no, I’m definitely coming!” Shadow heard his voice reply without command. Now completely lost, Shadow tried with all his might to understand. “Atta boy Erebus!” came another voice. Shadow’s vision glanced over to his left to see a brown and white, young griffon walking alongside him. “We’ll make a brave pony out of you yet.” Wait a minute….Erebus? That’s when it came to him; this was a memory, an old memory, a memory of his life before his imprisonment in the castle ruins. But why was this happening now? All of his previous visions had been of horrifying sounds or shattered thoughts, but this memory was almost as clear as day. “Hey Gelder, is Sketch waiting for us there?” the griffon asked the dragon. “I’m sure he’s taking his time,” the dragon replied with a chuckle. “You know how changelings are, Silver; they never rush anything.” All of this was so strange. A pony, a dragon, a griffon, and now a changeling? Where was he? Just how old was this memory? Shadow felt his head turn, looking back and up upon a massive mountain that they seemingly had just descended from, a path leading up beyond sight. His head turned back forward as the griffon and dragon were slightly ahead of him and hustled a little to catch up. “Here we are.” The griffon said excitedly, the three of them looking down a small slope at a cavern, hidden away behind some trees. “Should we wait for him?” The dragon thought for a moment, but then looked at Shadow. “What do you think? Want to wait for Sketch here?” he asked. Shadow didn’t hear a response, only saw that his head nodded in reply. The black dragon muffled a small laugh and shook his head. “Figured you’d say that. Come on, he’ll get here when he gets here.” Watching both Gelder and Silver spread their wings and glide down to the cavern entrance, Shadow hesitated before racing down to join them. The three young ones entered the eerily dark cave and trekked through the darkness together. This was when Shadow was given more time to think instead of observe. So, this was a memory of when he was just a colt? Three friends; a dragon named Gelder that looked like the black one from the present, a griffon named Silver, and some changeling named Sketch. It was odd, but when he heard the names, he did remember something vague much like this. It was as if every second he recalled in this memory made him remember it on his own. The reason he was seeing all of this was still unknown to him, but at least now he felt more up-to-speed with it. A dim light splintered through the veil of darkness, giving Shadow the sight of his friends’ silhouettes in front of him. Approaching the light without any words, the three happened upon an opening in the cave that was lit by luminescent crystals. The underground chamber was big and round, with a small ring of rock surrounding a shallow pool of crystal-clear water. “Hey.” A voice surprised them from behind, making Shadow and Silver jump. “Don’t do that Sketch!” Shadow gasped, as he could tell his heart was racing by how rigid his breathing was. Sketch was indeed a changeling, but he looked like the new ones now. This confused Shadow because he thought they had only recently become their brighter selves through sharing love instead of stealing it from others. He had the big, bright eyes, but his body colors were a bit darker, closer to the colors of the old changeling form, the scarier one. Twilight had recently finished her documentary on the new forms of the changelings, Shadow had taken it upon himself to read it. “I figured you guys would try coming in here without me.” The changeling huffed, his wings fluttering for a second. Gelder was the only one of the three not jump-scared by their friend’s sudden appearance. “Well, if you would’ve just hurried up, we wouldn’t have had to.” Sketch chuckled, shaking his head. “Whatever, now let’s see if this adventure was worth it.” The four split up, looking for what Shadow assumed had to be some kind of treasure. As young as they were, and as adventurous, they had to be treasure hunting. He knew young ones too well by now. Eyes searching the water, Shadow’s gaze fell upon an object under the surface. He paused for a second to squint, focusing more on the object. But just as he reached down for it, a claw snatched it out from the water. “Haha, too slow.” Gelder scoffed, holding the strange stone up in the air. “That’s not fair!” Shadow heard himself respond. “I saw it first!” The dragon stifled a laugh. “Treasure hunting 101 little Erebus; see it all you want, whoever grabs it, takes it.” Well that was hardly any kind of logic, Shadow thought. Then again, they were still very young, so being that level of stubborn and hard-headed only seemed natural. Shadow was left puzzled as he saw himself glance around quickly, but then stopping suddenly. “Hey Gelder,” he said in a calm, cool tone. “Can you imagine how much my sister would love having a rare stone like that?” The dragon’s smirk faltered as his golden eyes looked back at the stone. “Just saying,” Shadow continued. “Imagine how happy she would be.” Shadow watched the black dragon, deep in thought. There was no way….no way he would do it, he’s a dragon after all. “Fine.” Gelder huffed, turning and chucking the stone behind him. Fumbling forward in the shallow water, Shadow caught the stone. He couldn’t believe that had worked, something as simple as…..wait, did he just say sister? As in, his sister? He had a sister!? “Wow Gelder,” Silver said, nodding in approval. “That’s very noble of you.” The dragon sneered at his friend. “Shut it, let’s just get out of here before our parents find out we left again.” The four converged on the exit and Shadow was left adrift with questions. The biggest one had remained since the very beginning of the memory; why was he seeing this now? It was as he tried concentrating that he looked down at the stone and a rogue thought ran through head, from himself in the past. “I’ll find my sister a flower, the celestial lotus is her favorite, but as for this…this is mine.” Without warning, all of Shadow’s senses blurred uncontrollably again and darkness conquered everything around him. Jolting awake, Shadow’s first feeling was the cold, evening air rushing over his body. He stood up from the ground, shaking himself clear of the small bit of snow on his fur. Luckily, no pony had seen him, and hopefully he hadn’t been lying there for too long. “What is going on?” he asked himself quietly. His senses came back similarly as they did in his memory, but no longer blurred. “Was that….? Wait, I had a sister?” He couldn’t remember anything else, unfortunately, he hadn’t given her a name. So that was what the world looked like, wherever he was. It sure didn’t look like the world now. The next thought that came to mind was the giant pillar. Gazing across the horizon, he dared to imagine what it must have been. Looking down at his hooves, their black fur shifting in the wind, Shadow took in a breath. He felt so lost. Starfall paced the floor in his room, he had never felt so much pressure on such a small decision. Again, he didn’t want to be rude to Vinyl Scratch, but the situation took priority over something so trivial as a date. Princess Celestia’s warning of Twilight’s safety played over and over again in his head. He knew what he had to do, just not how best to go about it. Twilight wouldn’t like him accompanying her every moment of the day, but she did give him the freedom to explore the best ways to protect her. Depending on the situation, he was responsible for choosing her level of security. She would respect his decision to be alongside her 24/7, but at the same time, he didn’t want to make her uncomfortable. It was all one big nightmare. Unless… “Starfall?” Starlight asked, poking her head into his room. “Twilight and I are about to go for a little walk through town, would you like to accompany us?” “Actually Starlight, can I speak with you for a minute?” Starfall asked the unicorn. Walking into the room, Starlight offered a smile. “Sure thing.” Starfall’s worn expression puzzled her. “Is everything alright?” The pegasus shook his head. “No, it is not. I need your help.” Now concerned on an individual level, Starlight replied, “Of course Starfall, what is it? What’s wrong?” “None of this is coincidence; the attacks, Zecora’s disappearance, none of it.” Starfall said to her in a somewhat hushed tone. “Princess Celestia feels the same way and deep down I think you do too. Twilight is in danger, and we must do whatever it takes to protect her.” “Why are you telling me this?” Starlight asked him, frightened for her friend. “Because I need you to help me.” He explained. “With everything that’s been happening, she has been experiencing more stress than ever before. If I were to guard her every moment of every day, that stress would no doubt become even greater. So when I am not present, I would ask that you watch over her and be prepared for anything.” Thinking about it, Starfall had a point. Twilight had instructed him to guard her as much as he saw fit, but if she were to see him guarding her every second, she would no doubt feel more anxiety. For the time being, she had to stay clear and focused for this summit, and so by Starlight agreeing to do her part in protecting the princess, she would stay on task and be protected at all times. “Alright,” she replied, nodding her head. “I’ll do it. With the both of us protecting her, no threat will stand a chance.” Grateful she took the idea so well, Starfall felt more at ease. Perhaps now, without the stress, he could take a few hours to himself. “Thank you. It’ll just be until we leave for the summit, after that, I’m sure I can-” “Starfall!” Twilight shouted excitedly, barging into the room. “A letter just arrived from Rainbow Falls! Your parents want you to come home for a visit!” And just like that, the stress came back again.