//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1: I Am The Shadow. . . 
// Story: Shadowbloom 
// by Matthais Unidostres 
//------------------------------//

In stark contrast to the joyous, innocent laughter filling the area around Sweet Apple Acres, Spoiled Rich stood with the harshest of scowls. He look of utter disgust was directed at her own daughter, Diamond Tiara, as she hopped over watering cans clad in a yellow full on bunny suit, along with Silver Spoon and the three Cutie Mark Crusaders.

Spoiled Rich turned to her husband and said bitterly, "You should be ashamed of yourself. Allowing your daughter to go through this. . .this. . .degradation!"

Filthy Rich just shrugged and said, "She wanted to do it, and look at how happy she is!"

Spoiled Rich stuck he nose up into the air and said, "There are more important things in this life than happiness, such as self-respect!" She then looked around the farm in disgust and said, "Why must we deal so much with these common ponies? And we pay them far too much! Surely we could cut out the kooky old middle mare by simply buying raw Zap Apples and having our own workers make them into jam ourselves!"

Much to Spoiled Rich's surprise, her husband burst out into laughter. He quickly composed himself, however, and shook his head as he replied, "Oh please! The very idea! The recipe for Zap Apple Jam has been an Apple Family secret for decades! You can't just mash them up and cook them. This is a seasonal, rare, magic infused, luxury product that needs to be prepared in a specific way with specific ingredients in specific amounts. Trying to make Zap Apple Jam without the recipe is a recipe for disaster. And no, they aren't ever going to sell the recipe. It'd be easier to get blood from a stone. So give it a rest, dear. I'd hate to see you aggravate yourself in vain."

As Filthy Rich continued to shake his head and chuckle at his wife's idea, Spoiled Rich turned back to glare at the happy fillies before her. Her scowl deepened as she saw Diamond Tiara laughing after she tripped over one of the watering cans, causing a domino effect with caused all five of the fillies to fall down in a heap. Then, when Applebloom came over and gave Diamond Tiara a friendly hug, an idea suddenly struck Spoiled Rich. An idea that put a terribly gleeful and malicious smile on her face.





"You want me to WHAT!?" Diamond Tiara shouted.

"Get the recipe for Zap Apple Jam out of Applebloom," Spoiled Rich repeated.

It was later that day, and the young filly and older mare were in the living room of the Rich Family mansion. Spoiled rich had a cold hard stare as she sat in her chair, while Diamond Tiara had a look of disbelief.

"You can't be serious!?" Diamond exclaimed.

"Of course I'm serious," Spoiled Rich said, holding her ice cold stare on her daughter, "It's quite clear that the little hick holds no ill will towards you due to her not being too bright. What's more, your special talent is for getting others to do what you want them to. Therefore, you should have no trouble getting that recipe out of her. Of course this will take some time, but you have until next Zap Apple Season, and I'm certain a whole year is more than enough time for you to do this."

Diamond Tiara frowned and shook her head. "No way. I'm not doing this," she said with her eyes shut and her nose in the air.

Spoiled Rich's eyes narrowed. "Diamond. . ." she said dangerously.

Diamond opened her eyes and looked right at her mother and said, "I can't betray Applebloom's trust like that."

"Of course you can. That's what ponies in our position do," Spoiled Rich explained like it was the most obvious thing in the world, "It's how we get ahead of our competitors. It's a simple principle of business. It's a principle of nature. Survival of the fittest."

Diamond Tiara shook her head and said vehemently, "That's not true! Ponies can be rich and successful without stabbing others in the back! Grand Stinkin' Rich never did that, and there's no way daddy ever did that either!"

Spoiled Rich huffed and said, "I suppose they didn't, which is why we still haven't reached the level of Canterlot ponies such as Jet Set and Upper Crust. Oooh, those unicorn snobs. . ."

The air temperature in the living room seemed to lower a few degrees for a moment, then Spoiled Rich shook herself out of her dark reverie and continued, "Never mind that. Diamond. . .sweetheart. . .why do you care for those common Apple farmers? What could you possibly gain from associating with them?"

Diamond smiled, not a smug smile but a contented smile, and paced back in forth in front of her mother. "Well, I've gained a lot already. A better understanding of my Cutie Mark, more friends, other ponies are more comfortable around me. I'm more happier now than I ever was."

"They have nothing more to offer you. They're of no more use to you," Spoiled Rich replied without a moment's hesitation.

Diamond stopped pacing and shot back with a frown, "If I betray Applebloom, I lose everything! My new friends, my good reputation, Silver Spoon will probably ditch me all over again-."

"You don't need all that! You have everything here! You're financially secure, you have gourmet meals, expensive toys, jewelry, dresses, all the luxuries," Spoiled said in disbelief, "If you lose friends due to jealousy, you could easily make newer, better friends that are of the same social class as you."

Diamond just shook her head and said, "You don't understand, mother. You just don't get it."

"Enough!" Spoiled shouted furiously as she pounded the arm of her chair, "You will get me that recipe, Diamond Tiara!"

"NEVER!"

"Then you can say goodbye to your allowance!" Spoiled threatened.

Diamond shrugged and said, "Don't need it."

"WHAT!?"

Diamond smirked and said, "Daddy taught me all about stocks and investments. I save up my bits and asked him to invest it for me. I spent a month or two reading newspapers and looking at old records, then I picked out what I wanted to by and how much. Just as I hopped, it went right up and now I've got all the money I'd ever need. You can cut off my allowance if you want, but there's no way daddy is gonna let you take away that money that I earned just because I wouldn't take part in corporate espionage."

Spoiled Rich just sat staring at Diamond Tiara with her jaw hanging open. The filly took that as a sign that she had won the argument, and she turned and exited the living room, leaving her mother to stew in a whirlwind of shock, anger, and burning frustration.





The next day, Spoiled Rich sat outside a cafe, staring down into a cup of coffee. She had a very unpleasant night, as the confrontation with her daughter had resulted in a very restless night's sleep. The feelings of betrayal and anger had still not yet faded, and she had gotten up very late. She didn't have the stomach to eat at her own dining room table, so she had swiftly left the mansion and come to this cafe, which she felt was sufficient enough for a mare of her importance and social class.

The sound of familiar laughter pulled her out of her own thoughts, and Spoiled Rich looked up to the Cutie Mark Crusaders talking with a brown, Blank Flanked colt with a propeller beanie hat on his head.

Spoiled Rich's focus zeroed in on Applebloom, her eyes firing hatred at the little filly. Spoiled was positive now. It was Applebloom that had corrupted her daughter and poisoned her mind. She despised Applebloom. She loathed Applebloom. Spoiled Rich mentally cursed the entire Apple Family as her gaze bored into the yellow filly's body.

And then, at that very moment, where her malice and hatred had reached its apex, Spoiled Rich spotted something.

Celestia's Sun was at just the right angle to cast Applebloom's shadow up onto a nearby building. The shadow stood long and tall against the side of the structure, the head resting atop a dark pillar, with tips of Applebloom's bow sticking up like a pair of horns.

And then, two red glowing eyes appeared.

Spoiled Rich's jaw dropped as she stared in horrified fascination at the shadow, which appeared to be staring back in her in turn. Then it got worse, a red glowing mouth appeared, curved into a smile. Then, it got even worse, as while Applebloom continued to stand still as she spoke to the brown colt, the shadow raised a forehoof and smoothly waved at Spoiled Rich.

Then, the eyes and mouth disappeared, and the four young ponies ran off, taking all of their shadows with them.

"Um. . .madam?"

Spoiled Rich very nearly shrieked as she turned to see the waiter standing right next to her.

"Is everything alright?" he asked again, concern evident in his voice and face.

Spoiled blinked once, her mind slowly beginning to function as it got over the shock of what it had witnessed. As Spoiled's brain once again became sharp, calculating, and devoted to profiting, a smile spread across her face as a new idea came to her.

"Yes. . ." she said softly, "Everything's just fine. . ."





"Twilight and Starlight aren't here right now, but if you need any help finding anything, just ask me," Spike said with a smile as he stood dutifully with his wings flapping at the ready.

Spoiled Rich looked around at the Castle of Friendship's massive library and said dismissively, "I won't. Please go away."

Spike blinked, caught of guard by Spoiled Rich's rudeness. "Oh. . . but I-?"

Spoiled whirled around on the little dragon and shouted, "Go! Leave me in peace, whelp!"

Spike cried out in fear and swiftly flew out of the library, closing the doors behind him.

Spoiled Rich sighed in relief, and trotted over to the "D" section of the room. She scanned to selves closely, and smiled when she found a book entitled Demonology, written by a pony named Dark Stranger. *

Spoiled Rich smiled gleefully as she brought the book to nearby table and said, "Once I find the proof I need, the Princess will have no choice but to toss that wretched demon child into Tartarus, and I will have my revenge."





As it turned out, Spoiled Rich's plan did not go as smoothly as she had hoped. After three hours, there was a whole stack of books on demons and evil spirits that Spoiled had flipped through in search of anything similar to what she had seen earlier that day. She was now hastily flipping though one last book, now fully irate with her patience worn very thin.

"Nothing, nothing, nothing!" she shouted angrily, her face twisted into a snarl, "What kind of library is this? It has nothing of any use to me! I should have this place condemned! I should have all these books burned! Princess Twilight owes me restitution for wasting my time here with-!"

Spoiled Rich froze suddenly, and she swiftly turned back a few pages until she found what had caught her eye. On the right page was a strange diagram, and on the left was a title that caught her interest.




Summoning Demons Linked to Individuals


While many demons and evil spirits posses creatures, certain varieties chose to enter symbiotic relationships with living hosts. They exist in their host's mind or heart, and often remain undetected for long periods of time. The demon or spirit is often able to feed of the host in ways that may not even do considerable harm to the host, other than the occasional nightmare or temporary mental breakdown or panic attack. That is not to say that these types of beings are weak, benign, or harmless, as they may have stronger forms or highly ambitious agendas that could be catastrophic if allowed to get too far.

However, the most intriguing aspect of these situations is that it allows an opportunity to safely summon these demons or spirits and converse with them in a controlled environment. By placing an image of an individual who has been linked with a demon (preferably one which includes the individual's Cutie Mark) at the center of the octagram (which must be drawn with blackened charcoal) and candle setup shown on the opposite page, and repeatedly reciting the incantation included below the diagram at a time between midnight and the first hour, the demon linked to the individual can be summoned within the octagram for a time. As said earlier, this ritual is very safe, as not only can the demon or spirit not escape the octagram, but also cannot lie or make use of any of its powers on anycreature outside of the octagram. However, an important fact the summoner must be aware of is that the demon or spirit can make use of some of its powers if the summoner allows it to. 

The demon or spirit will return to its host either when it is told to leave or when the first hour begins, whichever comes first. Even more intriguing is that this summoning ritual does not require unicorn magic, as it utilized both the subtle ambient magic in the air as well as the magic of the planet itself. Therefore, non-unicorns, non-ponies, and even non-magical creatures are able to perform this ritual as well.




Is scáth tú.
An fíor féin.




Spoiled Rich stared wide eyes at the two pages, then he wicked, gleeful smile returned once again. Grabbing a piece of paper and a pencil, Spoiled Rich frantically began copying the diagram and writing down everything she needed to know, a dark scheme swiftly forming in her mind. Once she was done, she quickly put all the books back into their place, having made sure to remember exactly where she had gotten each one so that no one would be able to tell what she had been researching. Then, with her notes in her possession, Spoiled Rich made her way out of the castle, saying to herself, "Well. . .now all I need to do is find that Featherweight pegasus Diamond told me about once. . ."





The entirety of the Rich household was asleep. . .with the exception of Spoiled Rich.

She was down in the mansion's basement, the darkness illuminated only by the furnace in the far corner, and the eight candles sitting at each of the eight points of the octagram Spoiled had drawn on the floor with charcoal. In the center of the octagram was a photograph of Applebloom. It was a perfect image, capturing her entire body, including her Cutie Mark, as per Spoiled Rich's instructions. The photo had cost her 200 bits, as there was a list of instructions Featherweight needed to follow. 

"Don't get caught, get her entire body, don't let anypony see you, make sure her Cutie Mark is in the shot, make sure nopony knows you took the picture, and most importantly: DON'T YOU DARE TELL ANYPONY ABOUT THIS JOB OR I WILL MAKE YOUR LIFE MISERABLE!"

As Spoiled Rich stood before the setup, she felt that it was the best 200 bits she ever spent. She looked down at her notes to make sure everything was just right, and she nodded and said to herself, "Alright, Apple Family. You let everypony else think that you're so pure and wholesome and honest and perfect, so you're all just as a good as the Rich family even though you're poor, plain folk? Ha! Well, soon enough, the truth will come out!"

Spoiled Rich's smile was triumphant, and her eyes were gleaming with justification as she continued, "That stupid little filly is nothing more than a demon possessed hick, and tonight is the first step in exposing that fact to all of Equestria. Your family will be disgraced, and the Rich family will be able to swoop in and buy up everything you own for cheap! It's the beginning of the end for you, Apples!"

Spoiled Rich dropped her notes and glared at the image of Applebloom, focusing all of her hatred upon the little filly. Then, she began to chant the incantation.

"Is scáth tú. . . An fíor féin. . . Is scáth tú. . . An fíor féin. . . Is scáth tú. . . An fíor féin. . . Is scáth tú. . . An fíor féin. . .Is scáth tú. . . An fíor féin!"

Suddenly, the eight candles suddenly burned tall and bright, filling the basement with orange light. Then black octagram started to hum, and it began glowing crimson red. Then the towering flames of the five candles arched towards the center of the octagram and converged down onto the photo of Applebloom. The picture promptly burned to ashes, and out of the ashes rose a black mass, forming into a small pillar as tall as Spoiled Rich. Then the top of the pillar formed into something that resembled Applebloom's head. Her ribbon was there as well, but from Spoiled Rich's point of few, the ribbon looked more like a pair of horns on the mass' head.

Then, the two red glowing eyes and smiling mouth appeared.

"Hello, Spoiled Rich," the shadow said in an echoing, feminine voice, it's mouth moving and changing in size in a very unsettling way as it spoke.

Spoiled Rich stumbled back a few steps and said, "H-how do you know my name?"

"I have access to everything in Applebloom's mind," the shadow replied, "Every. Single. Thing."

Spoiled Rich shuddered a bit, but then swallowed the lump in her throat and said, "Alright, demon! I want answers and I want them now! What vile things did those backwards Apples do to attract you to them?"

"I was just roaming throughout Equestria, going back and forth on it," the shadow replied.**

Spoiled blinked in confusion, "What is that supposed to mean? Answer me! Why were you inside Applebloom?!"

"I needed sustenance. She needed help. I helped her, and she sustained me," the shadow replied again, still smiling as it maintained a level, albeit reverberating tone.

Spoiled frowned, "So. . .you were just hungry? That's it? No. . .perverted Apple Family rituals that attracted demons from far and wide which turned Sweet Apple Acres into a festering den of perversion?"

"No."

Spoiled Rich's right eye twitched, and she shouted, "But why did you reveal yourself to me earlier today!?"

"You were giving off so much anger. So much hatred. More anger and hatred that I've sense in a long time," the shadow said with air of nostalgia in its echoing voice, "Applebloom couldn't feel what you were giving her, but I could. And it was tantalizing."

The wealthy mare was both disgusted and fearful as she spat out, "Fr-freak!"

The shadow didn't response. It simply remained there, smiling at Spoiled Rich.

The wealthy mare stomped her hooves angrily and said, "You can't be serious! What a complete waste of time! And money! You're worthless to me! There's nothing you have that I-."

Spoiled Rich suddenly ceased her tirade, as once again an idea came to her. The second thing the shadow had said suddenly snapped back to the forefront of her memory, and a feeling of smug satisfaction rose up within her once again. 

"Alright, demon," Spoiled Rich said as she strutted close to the edge of the octagram, "I want to know the exact recipe for Zap Apple Jam. Down to the smallest detail. Now tell me."

"I don't have to do what you say," the shadow replied.

Spoiled Rich looked as thought she'd been struck in the face. "Wh-what!? How dare you! Do you know who I am!"

"Yes. I just told you earlier."

Spoiled just stammered incoherently for a moment, then she said angrily, "W-well, do you know what I went through to get to this point?! I walked right into Princess Twilight's library, I searched through all those books, and I figured how to work this ridiculous summoning ritual all without being discovered by the Princess, her dragon servant, or that little sycophant Starlight Glimmer!"

". . . Starlight Glimmer. . ." the shadow echoed, still smiling as its eyes widened slightly.

Spoiled Rich paid no attention to this as she continued her tirade, "And then I paid 200 bits to that little pegasus for a photograph, and now I'm up at a completely unreasonable hour and missing out on some well needed beauty rest after having a horrible night's sleep last night!"

"You sound so upset. . . I want to help you. I can help you. And I will," the shadow said as it leaned forward towards Spoiled Rich, "If you want that recipe, then I'll gladly give it to you."

Spoiled Rich nodded in entitlement and said, "That's more like it!"

"I can give it to you by tomorrow night at this time."

Spoiled frowned at this and said, "Why can't you tell me now? You said you knew everything that little hick knows."

"I never said that I knew everything she knows. I only said that I have access to everything in Applebloom's mind. That recipe was of never of any use to me, so I saw no reason to learn it. But I can easily go and acquire it at any time."

Spoiled huffed and nodded, "Fine then. Go on and get it then."

"I will, but first I need you to solemnly swear to do something for me in return," the shadow said as it held out a forehoof towards the mare.

Spoiled appeared offended once again, and she said, "Why should I do anything for you? You should be honored to be doing something for me!"

"I'm working on something special. I want you to be a part of it."

Spoiled turned her back on the shadow and said, "Why should I."

"When my plans succeed, the Apple Family will lose everything."

Spoiled's eyes widened, and her eyes turned downwards to the notes she had taken from the book. Her gaze fell upon the words 'the demon cannot lie in octagram', and then she immediately turned back around to face the shadow and said excitedly, "It's a deal!"

Spoiled held her own forehoof out and stuck it through the octagram's invisible barrier. She and the shadow shook hooves as the shadow said, "Do you solemnly swear to-."

Spoiled grinned slyly as she interrupted the shadow and said, "Oh no. I'm making the terms here! Ahem! I solemnly swear to help you in your plans which will end in the Apple Family losing everything they have provided you give me the detailed and complete recipe for Zap Apple Jam, including the harvesting and cooking and preserving processes."

"As easily said as done," the shadow said as it gave Spoiled's hoof one final shake.

Chills ran down Spoiled Rich's spine as she felt a bone chilling breeze whistle through the basement.

The shadow's hoof let go and was pulled back into its dark form, and it said, "Shall I depart now?"

Remembering what the book said, Spoiled nodded and said, "Of course. You may go. I release you. I'll summon you again tomorrow night."

Still smiling its ever constant glowing smile, the shadow slowly suck into the floor, melting down into a perfect circle of inky blackness within the red glowing octagram. Then, the octagram and the candles all went out, suddenly plunging Spoiled Rich's surroundings into darkness.

The mare gasped and panted as her eyes slowly adjusted to the small amount of light being generated by the furnace in the corner of the basement. Eventually her heart-rate and breathing calmed down enough for her to let out a cackle of triumph.

"Yes! Finally! It's about time those Apples learned who the real superior Ponyvile family is!" she boasted as she stood proud.

Spoiled Rich just stood there in the basement for a moment, then she frowned and looked down at the pentagram, ashes, and spent candles. 

"I suppose I have to clean this mess up myself. Humph! Disgraceful. . ."