//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: Shadows // Story: Nexus of the Void // by Dragonchampion01 //------------------------------// Chapter 3: Shadows Alern’s eyes narrowed as he looked around. Indeed it was a ruin of some kind, the walls and pillars around him a crumbling mess. Alern thought back to what Twilight had said. “Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. Would explain the insignia, at least.” Alern walked up the stairs, entering the ruin. Inside, Alern saw a massive entrance hall, the old windows and walls shattered and crumbling. In the center of the room, a strange object stood, resembling an ancient planetarium, but missing some of the planets. “Odd,” Alern said, eyeing the missing planets. Suddenly, Alern froze as he heard a sound, a tiny murmur, hardly louder than the wind around him. Alern looked around, noticing a large stairway nearby leading up to another part of the ruin. Walking over to it, Alern felt the hairs of his mane begin to stand on end as he felt a strange presence around him. “So, you come to the Everfree Forest as unprepared as when you awoke. How genius,” Alern’s inner voice taunted him, whispering into his ear. Alern stamped a hoof on the ground defiantly. “I can take care of myself. I have Zecora’s potion, after all.” “Oh, really? When a few Lupus Minors managed to beat you so easily? If I remember correctly, Zecora saved your flank that time, just as you were about to become dog food.” Alern gritted his teeth. The voice inside of his mind was much more vocal, and much more annoying. Ignoring the voice’s taunts, he began walking up the stairs, the presence around him becoming more defined as he climbed. Finally, he reached the top of the stairs, slowly opening a pair of rotten wood doors, looking inside. There, sitting on the floor, was a single orange mare, her fuchsia mane curled around her shivering body. Around her, shadows flickered in and out, taunting, teasing, always staying out of sight. Alern walked into the room, prompting the shadows to quickly hide themselves in the darkness. Walking over to the mare, he nudged her with a hoof. The shadows slowly began to advance. “Hey, mare. You alright?” Alern made a mental note to think of something better to say next time he rescued somepony. The orange mare’s eyes flickered open, her light purple eyes looking up at Alern carefully. “Who… are you?” Alern shook his head. “That doesn’t matter. What matters here is that you are in the middle of the Everfree Forest-“ “I’m in the Everfree Forest? Why am I here? I remember going to sleep in my bed, and then-“ Her voice was panicked as she franticly looked around her. “Stop panicking!” Alern shouted. The Orange mare flinched, quieting down quickly. “I think we have other problems besides the fact we are in the middle of a ruin in a dangerous forest. Darker matters,” Alern said, pointing a hoof at the shadows, which were slowly advancing. “What are those things?” The mare asked. “I don’t think it matters. They look like living shadows, and they are getting closer. I say we leave; I don't want to find out what they will do when they reach us.” Alern stamped a hoof near one of the shadows, causing it to retreat a few inches. Grabbing the orange mare under his wing, Alern shoved her toward the door, backing slowly to follow as he watched the shadows creep ever closer to the two of them. “Alright, RUN!” Alern shouted, pushing the orange mare down the stairs. The two quickly ran back into the main part of the castle, Alern looking backwards as they ran. As they reached the entrance hall, Alern looked over at the orange mare, who was shaking her head groggily. “Alright, now, what’s your name?” “Scootaloo,” The orange mare replied, looking around. “Are we really in the Everfree Forest?” Alern nodded, watching the stairway carefully for any signs that the shadows had followed them. “Yeah, we’re in the ruins of the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters, I think. “This is where Twilight and her friends defeated Nightmare Moon!” Scootaloo said, looking around at the ruin. “This place is so cool!” Alern sighed. “Well, we don’t really have time to spend here. There’s several others who are also missing, so-“ “Others? What do you mean, missing? What’s going on?” Scootaloo turned to Alern, confused. “I mean that you and several other ponies just walked off in the middle of the night. Nopony knows where you went, or where you walked off to, but if you’re here, then I would wager that the others are in this forest as well.” Suddenly, Alern stopped as he heard the hoofsteps of another pony begin to approach the entrance of the castle. Spreading his wings and leaping in front of Scootaloo, Alern glared at the door. “Stay behind me.” Alern could feel the presence from before start to make his mane stand on end, the feeling giving him a chill down his spine. As the hoofsteps got louder, Alern waited to see who it was. Suddenly, a familiar face looked into the ruin, and spotted Alern. “Alern! Are you alright? I just saw you disappear, and- You found Scootaloo!“ Alern relaxed, folding his wings to his sides. “Twilight, thank Fau-“ Alern felt the presence get stronger as Twilight walked closer, his gut instinct telling him to not allow her to take a single step toward him. “Twilight, stop.” Twilight quickly obliged, stopping a few yards away from Alern and Scootaloo. “Alern? What’s wrong?” Alern honestly didn’t know. The feeling was beginning to overwhelm him, and he could fee a tingle at his muzzle as the sickly sweet scent of feral magic entered his nostrils. “Twilight, do you remember when we kissed?” Alern asked. “Kissed? Ew!” Scootaloo said behind Alern. “Kissed? Oh yes, I remember that. You are really good at kis-“ Alern didn’t wait for her to finish the sentence, instead charging right at the violet unicorn. Head butting her in the neck, the two ponies went flying, Alern continuing his charge until he felt the two of them strike a wall, a loud snapping breaking the silence around them. “YOU ATTACKED TWILIGHT!” Scootaloo screamed, backing away from Alern as he leapt aside. “That isn’t Twilight,” Alern said, gritting his teeth. “She kissed me on the forehead, not the lips.” The false-Twilight grinned evilly, her eyes turning as black as pitch. “Seems like we have to do this the hard way,” Twilight’s voice quickly turned dark, the tone a sickening void as it vibrated around them. The false-Twilight shimmered for a moment, twisting itself into a large black dragon. The dragon snarled, and released a roar that shook the foundations of the ruined castle. “Scootaloo?” Alern asked, unfurling his wings. Scootaloo gulped loudly. “What?” “Stay behind me.” Scootaloo glared at Alern, standing beside him and unfurling her own wings. “I can take care of myself!” Alern smirked, turning back toward the black dragon towering over the two. “If you had just come with me, everything would have been fine. But no, you had to be all intelligent. Intelligent prey always makes a mess of things.” The dragon taunted, lifting his claw to strike. Alern and Scootaloo leapt aside as the claw struck the ground where they had stood moments before. Flapping his wings and taking to the air, Alern charged at the dragon, using his momentum to deliver a kick to its chin. “Is that all you’ve got? I’ve seen better at a filly’s competiti-“ The dragon was cut off when Scootaloo leapt from the ground, delivering a massive flying kick to his stomach. The scales caught some of the blow, but the mare’s kick was not something that could be taken lightly. “Nice kick, Scootaloo!” Alern said, calling down. Scootaloo smirked in response, leaping aside as the dragon brought his tail down to counter the kick. “You blasted little wench! I’ll crush you, no matter what the master says!” Alern caught the ending of the sentence, flying aside as the dragon swiped at him. “Your master? You mean you aren’t the one behind the ponynappings?” The dragon laughed, eyeing Alern with his massive serpentine eye. “Me? A mastermind? No, I am nothing but a minion for the Master. You, however, don’t need to worry. Soon you’ll be-“ Alern smirked viciously. “I don’t think so.” Grabbing the vial he had received from Zecora from his saddlebag, Alern quickly uncorked the liquid, and drank it in one gulp. A rush of strength and power flowed through him, and he quickly twisted in the air and he bucked hard, directly into the dragon’s eye. There was a sickening sound as the eyeball popped, sending blood and eyeball fluid down the dragon's face. The dragon roared in rage and pain, thrashing behind him. His tail swiped a wall of the ruin, smashing it quickly. Flying down, Alern landed next to Scootaloo in time to pull her away from a vicious tail lash. Alern grinned. The power in his muscles from this potion was an incredible feeling; a rush of adrenaline accompanied it and sped his movements. As the dragon rubbed its sore eye, Alern leapt towards its chest, and delivered a massive blow. A resounding crack could be heard, echoing through the stone hall, as the dragon’s scales shattered on his chest, black blood dripping from the cracks. Alern quickly chained his movement to another blow, delivering a swift punch to the dragon’s chin. Scootaloo quickly seized the opportunity, and instead quickly kicked at the dragon’s leg, causing it to lose its balance. It roared as it toppled backwards, scales hitting the floor with a loud clacking noise. The black dragon roared in anguished pain as it took a step back. Pulling itself up, it looked around, and saw Scootaloo. Lifting its claw, the dragon slashed out towards her. Alern saw the blow, and as fast as he could shot towards her. At the last moment as the claw was about to crush her, Alern grabbed it, yanking hard, using the last few moments of the potion to lift the entire dragon up, and fling it into a wall, which quickly crumbled. Alern quickly turned back to Scootaloo as he felt the strength fade, leaving his limbs sore and tired from the exertion. “Come on! Let’s fly out of here!” Scootaloo shook her head. “I… can’t fly.” Alern sighed. “Of course.” Grabbing Scootaloo around the waist, Alern lifted into the air as his wings pumped furiously. The two of them flew into the air. “I’ll get you for this, you pathetic pony!” Alern heard the dragon roar, black blood dripping rom the eye and the chest wound. Alern resisted the urge to shout something back, instead focusing on flying away from the ruin, the emerald trees forming a sea below them. “Alright. Where in Tatarus did you manage to learn to fight like that?” Scootaloo blushed. “I’ve… been training with Rainbow Dash for the past five years.” “She must be a good teacher.” “She’s the best! And she’s the best flyer in Equestria, and…” Scootaloo went on to detail Rainbow Dash’s accomplishments until Alern cleared his throat. “Alright, Scootaloo, that is a bit… weird that you are so infatuated with her. But anyways, do you know where any of the other ponies might be?” Scootaloo shook her head. “No, I don’t. I fell asleep in my bed and the next moment, you were waking me up. I don’t remember anything.” “Sounds like someone I know,” Alern mumbled, looking around. Alern noticed a clearing as the two of them flew, and Alern took a deep breath. “Alright, let’s stop here.” Landing quickly, Alern put Scootaloo down on the ground, folding up his wings to his side, noticing a bit of a cramp developing. That mare was heavier than she looked, and his muscles screamed from the aftereffects of the potion. “So you say there were other ponies that disappeared?” Scootaloo asked, looking around. “Yeah, if I remember correctly, it was you, Appleflower, Sweetie Pie, and someone named Diamond Crown or something.” “It’s Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Diamond Tiara,” Scootaloo said impatiently. “Get their names right.” “Friends of yours?” “Applebloom and Sweetie Belle are friends, but Diamond Tiara is more of a bully. She’s been mean to other ponies since she was a filly.” Alern shrugged. “Whatever.” Suddenly, Alern heard a rustling from the bushes nearby. Leaping to protect Scootaloo instinctively, Alern spread his wings as a shield. “Easy now, you pegasi. You need not fear, it is only I.” Zecora stepped from the bushes, looking at Alern and Scootaloo. “I see you have found young Scootaloo. You know that Twilight Sparkle is looking for you.” Alern couldn’t feel the strange prickling of his mane, but he decided to ask anyways. “Zecora, what color was the bag you gave me?” “What an odd question to be had, but I will tell you green is the color bag.” Alern nodded. “There was something in the forest that took Twilight’s shape. I had to be sure.” “Zecora, do you know anything about any other ponies that have been through the forest? There are three others that are missing, too.” Scootaloo asked, stepping from behind Alern. “Sweetie Belle, Diamond Tiara and Applebloom, have all been returned to their families too. Each of them I had found, and returned them without messing around.” Alern groaned. The rhymes again. “The two of you should follow me, and I will lead you out of the trees.” Zecora turned toward the way she came, smiling. Alern and Scootaloo followed the zebra as she led them through the forest, soon coming to her home. As they got close to the door, Alern saw it swing open, and Twilight’s happy face appeared. “Scootaloo! Alern! You’re alright!” “Yeah, yeah, we’re fine,” Alern said. “And do I have a story to tell you.” Turning to Zecora, Alern smirked. “I’m pretty sure we can make it back to Ponyville on our own. Thanks for the help again, Zecora. “The pleasure belongs to I, young pegasi.” Zecora replied with another smile. Twilight, Alern and Scootaloo walked toward the path, Alern quickly telling Twilight what had happened after he disappeared. The shadows especially interested her, and the shape changer as well. “You mean you actually head butted me?” Twilight said, glaring at Alern. “I knew it wasn’t you, I mean…” “But you still head butted me! And without hesitation, either!” Scootaloo was giggling beside the two as they fought, stepping out of the forest into Ponyville’s outskirts. “Yeah, totally without hesitation.” Alern snapped sarcastically. “You did save Scootaloo, though. That was quite heroic.” Twilight replied, messing up Scootaloo’s fuchsia colored mane. “Zecora said she found the other three wandering past her house. I guess Scootaloo was the only one who managed to make it all the way to the castle.” Alern looked at Twilight, his eyebrow raising. “You seem to be treating this as some sort of simple thing.” Twilight giggles. “Of course! There’s been instances in Ponyville where I was turned into a statue by a cockatrice, and my friend Fluttershy saved me, there’s also been multiple times where things have gone wrong, and-“ Twilight continued on as they reached the center of town, where the crowd was celebrating the return of the young ponies. “There’s Mr. Streak. I’d better go, Twilight, Alern.” Scootaloo smiled, and then walked over to a grey pegasi, who was standing in the middle of the crowd. When he saw her, he smiled, and began talking. “Is he her dad?” Alern asked Twilight. “No, just a foster father. She’s an orphan, you know.” Twilight replied. “Oh.” Alern looked around the crowd, and shrugged. “I guess that’s that, unless you think there are some other heroics to be done?” Alern joked around. Twilight laughed. “It is getting late, I certainly hope not.”