March 31, Hearts and Hooves Day,
Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie just left Sugarcube Corner when Jynx found them.
“Twilight!” she cried she stopped in front of the lavender pony, “Discord... did something... to Shiro...” she was trying to speak between breaths, “He tried to drive him mad with an illusion of him killing me. Shiro didn't go mad, he went insane! He turned into some black thing. He said to find you and stop him. He said he'd hold him as long as he could. I’m scared.” She was crying by this time.
“Follow us Jynx, we still need to get Applejack.” the six mares ran as fast s they could to get the farm pony.
They banged on the farmhouse door.
“Applejack, come on we need you. Discord's back!” Twilight shouted.
The door opened, “Wut?” said AJ, “Discord? As in Discord, Discord?”
“Yes, and he did something to Shiro.” Rainbow Dash said, “Come on. Let's go kick his flank!”
“Um... don't we need the Elements?” whispered Fluttershy.
“Oh no... I forgot.” Twilight said, “What'll we do?”
“Ah suppose we'll just have ta fight, till the princess brings 'em.” AJ said.
The seven made there way back to town but stopped when they heard the screaming. Ponyville was burning.
“No!,” Twilight gasped, “This is nothing like last time. Discords never been violent.”
They ran into town. Looking for the chaos god. They passed three bodies on the way and began getting very scared.
When they found the source of the death and destruction they froze. There in the middle of town, surrounded by three more dead bodies and that of a little filly in it's mouth was a black cat with fiery eyes.
Jynx's eyes widened, “Shiro... no.”
The others looked at her and back at the black beast. They couldn't believe what Jynx said.
“That's Shiro?” Twilight said. Jynx nodded.
Now they were terrified. They knew what he was capable of.
The black beast saw the seven mares and dropped the filly. With a low growl he began stalking towards them.
He pounced at a petrified Fluttershy only to be knocked away by a concussive bolt.
“Girls, run! I’ll hold him off!” Twilight said.
“We're not leaving you.” said RD.
“I have an idea but I can't fully control it so I need you girls out of the way.” She pleaded.
“Grrr, I’ll be right above you!” Dash said as she zipped up and circled over head
Twilight focused, looking deep in her own mind. She found the seal inhibiting her power. Celestia put it there so she wouldn't be a danger as she learned how to control it. When she moved to Ponyville though, Celestia gave her the means to open it just in case it was needed. Right now, it was needed.
The young princess opened her glowing white eyes. Her mane grew, flowing like water, dark purple with a red and gold stripe. A magic aura surrounded her. She swatted away the beast as if dove at her, sending it crashing into a house. It wasn't even stunned.
Again, and again, and again it charged her only to be flung away. She was leading it out of town, where she could let loose with out hurting anypony. She led it to a hill over looking town. It's out of the way and her mother will easily see when she arrives.
She continued backing away from what was once her friend until she tripped over something. She looked down to see what looked like a dragon's claw, and a blood trail leading into the Everfree Forest.
The distraction gave the black cat time to leap at Twilight as she was undefended.
Twilight looked up just to see the jaws of death come down on her. She shut her eyes hoping it would go away. She thought for a second it worked, because she was still alive.
She opened her eyes to see Shiro wrapped in chains. Twilight looked over to see Jynx standing on her hind legs holding a crystal towards Shiro and chanting something.
“Twilight!” called a voice from the sky.
“MOM!” Twilight called.
“Girls, come and take your elements.” Celestia said as she opened the box.
The six mares obliged as Jynx continued her chanting.
The Elements of Harmony gathered facing the evil creature, and activated the magic. They rose into the air as a magic aura enveloped them. Twilight's eye's opened with the soft glow as a rainbow shot up from the ponies and arced toward the chained beast. It let a ear shattering roar as a flash of light blibed everypony.
“Shiro?” Jynx looked back ready to welcome back her new fiance, but her smile dropped as she watched.
As the smoke cleared it revealed the snarling visage of the black beast, encased in stone.
“I don't understand.” Twilight said, “When we used it on Nightmare Moon it cleansed Luna of the evil, why didn't it do the same for Shiro.” she began crying, “Why did it turn him to stone?”
“Because the beast you see is a part of him.” Luna landed beside her niece, “The nightmare was a parasitic entity that possessed us. The Elements of Harmony cannot cleanse Shiro any more then it can cleanse Discord.”
“So there's nothing we can do?” Jynx had desperation in her voice.
“I am sorry.” Luna said.
Jynx fell and wailed in grief. Her sobs were joined by the eight others as they all mourned the loss of a friend.
“H,he asked me to... to marry him this morning.” Jynx said holding up her hoof to show the ring, “How does that happen? Not even two hours ago I was the happiest mare in Equestria, but now he... he's...” she couldn't even finish. She collapsed, unconscious from the strain on her mind.
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
April 1,
Jynx woke in the hospital the next morning feeling numb. It couldn't be true. She knew it had to be a bad dream, but at the same time she knew it wasn't. Shiro was gone. She would never see him again. She couldn't even cry, she just stared at nothing.
That look in his eyes... that was NOT Shiro she thought.
She rolled over to stare at the ceiling.
“Jynx, you're awake.” Twilight was next to her with Rainbow Dash sleeping in another chair.
Jynx turned back to the ceiling.
“I'll go let the doctor know. He said he needs to talk to you about something.” she said and left.
Dash yawned as she woke up. She saw Jynx was awake.
“Hay, big sis, how are you feeling?” she asked and got no response, “I figured. I miss a lot too but you two were...” she had to force back tears, “Just remember your little sister's here for you.” still nothing.
The doctor came in, “Ah, good morning, Jynx. How are we feeling?” no answer, “That's understandable.” he flipped through her chart, “You don't have any injuries, and will be able to leave today. We took some blood work, and found something you should know. You're pregnant.”
Rainbow Dash, Twilight, and Jynx jumped at the news
Jynx responded, “Wh, Wh, What?”
“You're pregnant.” the doc repeated.
“Th, That's not p, possible.” Jynx said, “I've only ever been with Shiro. We're not even the same species.”
The doctor said, “We can redo the test if you'd like.”
“Yes, please.” Jynx said, “I need to be sure.”
Twilight spoke up, “I know a spell that can tell me if you are, Jynx.”
“Could you, please. Forget the test, doc.” Jynx knew that Twilight's spell would probably be more accurate than any medical test.
The lavender princess charged the spell and aimed it at Jynx. After a couple minutes the spell was finished and Twilight looked at her friend and smiled with a mixture of joy and sorrow. She just nodded, and Jynx knew what she meant.
A tear rolled down her face as she placed a hoof on her stomach, “I guess I’ll always have a piece of him with me after all.”
“So, I’m gonna be an aunt?” said Dash and embraced her sister.
“I'm moving in with you then.” Twilight said, “You'll need somepony to help around the house, and my library has too many stairs.”
“I couldn't ask you to do that, Twilight.” Jynx said.
“You don't have to, I’m offering. Ponyville did just fine with out a librarian before I moved here.” she smiled at the scholar.
“Hay, Twilight.” Dash said, “Why do you know a spell like that?”
“AJ and Big Mac are trying to have a foal of their own, and you know how AJ feels about hospitals.” Twilight laughed.
“Yeah, she hates them even more than me.” Dash said.
Jynx was surprised how much she cheered up. She got one last gift from the tiger she loved.
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Fluttershy was sitting outside humming with her animal friends when a familiar voice rumbled behind her.
“Kataya,”
Fluttershy smiled as she turned around. There's only one living soul that called her that.
“Grandmother!” Fluttershy said as the ancient golden dragon came out of the forest, “I'm happy to see you, but isn't it dangerous to be here? If you're seen...” she didn't finish her sentence.
“It's OK, Kataya.” she said, “My reason for coming outweighs the danger. I have come to collect you.”
Fluttershy's smile dropped, “Collect me? Why?”
“The time nears. You must fulfill your destiny. It is time you learn the Derat Tagal.” the old reptile said
Fluttershy's eyes filled with fear. She knew there was only two reasons her grandmother would teach her the Derat Tagal, the Dragon Song. The first was if she were dieing, which was unlikely. The other was... the shadow.
“Are you sure it's coming?” asked the timid pegasus.
“It is already among us.”
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Celestia and Luna sat silently crying at the terrible sight before them. Beside the pedestal that once held the statue of the mad god, was a new one this one with the snarling, deadly, figure that had been called the black beast.
They couldn't bare to call it Shiro. That thing was NOT Shirotora. Shiro was kind, loved to make others days brighter, and would gladly sacrifice himself for a complete stranger.
This thing was an evil killer. It had even killed a young filly.
“Why?” asked Luna.
“He wasn't himself. He had something in him that none of us knew about.” Celestia said.
“Not that.” Luna looked at her sister, “Why would Discord do than to him? According to Jynx, Discord used an illusion to make Shiro think he murdered her. The strange thing is Jynx claims that he said somepony lied to him.”
“Yes, I've been think about that as well. First somepony hires Gil the griffin and Gray Fang to assassinate Shiro and then Discord is freed to corrupt him. I fear something terrible is going to happen. Somepony wanted him out of the way, and now they've succeeded.”
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Jynx walked inside her home and sat at the fireplace.
“I'll make us some dinner.” Twilight said and trotted off to the kitchen.
Jynx stood back up and went into Shiro's room. He hadn't slept in it for some time, so he turned it into a kind of study/trophy room. Jynx never could understand why he took trophies. He said it was his way of honoring his adversaries, so he could look at the thing and remember how they fought and died.
He always was a romantic. she thought with a small smile.
She looked at the pieces that adorned his shelf.
A barghest tooth. The one who had killed Candle Light, and tried to kill Twilight. The reason he made his oath
Gil's feather. She smiled at that one. She hated Gil as much as the rest of her family. First he used Dash then he tried to kill Shiro. Jynx was glad he was dead.
Gray Fang's amulet. He was such an odd one. A savage killer with honor. It was unusual for werewolves to act the way he did.
A manticore claw. Shiro let it live after it tried killing her parents. A week later it tried killing somepony again. He was upset that he had to kill this one. He never liked killing, even though he had to do it so often.
Piercing Light stood separate from the rest. Although he considered it a trophy, it was more than that.
It was a representation of who he was, a symbol of what he called Bushido. Righteousness, benevolence, courage, respect, loyalty, honesty, and honor. That was the code he tried to follow.
“Jynx,” Twilight called, “Diner's ready.”
Jynx left her fiance's room and went to eat with her best friend. Neither spoke as the ate their food.
After they finished Twilight set herself up on the couch.
“Good night, Jynx.” she said with a smile. She really didn't feel like smiling after loosing one of her best friends, but it was for Jynx.
“Good night, Twilight.” Jynx returned as she went into her room.
She climbed into her bed for the night. It never felt so cold.