//------------------------------//
// This fire in my skin 
// Story: Spice on the wind 
// by xscar10 
//------------------------------//


Author's note: I will dabble with doing a duet in this one. Let's see how it goes. ;)


I walked down the stairs, and into a room filled with strange devices and doohickeys.
"Is it alright if I say I am thoroughly intimidated?" I asked as we descended ever closer to said machines.
"Enough kidding, we have work to do." She said walking toward the closest machine.
"Right... kidding." I shook my head. We came to the first one, and she had me hooked up, and covered with electrodes.
"So this thing does what, exactly?" I asked standing awkwardly without my shirt.
"We're going to see how the element in you reacts to other elements, to find out what element it really is." She said, and pulled her element of harmony (the magic tiara) out of a box.
"This machine is really just a prototype, but hopefully it will work." She said, and I felt a slight relief. The machine started as she used her element, sending a constant flow of magic into a large antenna. Immediately after, a twinge of magical power shot though me as well. The energy seemed to flow into my mind, and before my eyes was summoned a massive expanse of knowledge. It flooded my senses, but as it faded into my control, I heard myself talking.
"Though one may seek peace in a world of war, he may often live without it. However if one should find peace in themselves, they may spread it to others." I heard my self say, and as Twilight stopped so did I.
"From all that we know, and what I just felt. I'd say your element is wisdom, plain and simple." Twilight said, jotting it down. 
"Wait, wait, wait... I'm no wise man, how could that be my element?" I asked, and she looked confusedly at me.
"Sometimes, all it takes to be wise is an open mind." She retorted, and I was taken back. I really hadn't thought about it like that.
"Lucky I had the machine calibrated. We had to try at least five times with your fiend." Said Twilight, pulling out another machine.
"Wait... you mean the Captain has an element too?" I asked, unhooking myself from that machine, and slipping into the harness of the next. "Yep, his element was courage." She said, her horn glowing while she fed the machine.
"I can't see him doing anything for a pony." I said, with less discretion then I should have.
"He seemed relieved to be feed of Pinkie Pie for a while, but he didn't bother me." She said, fastening the harness around my back. Odd, did he just hold his tongue around her? Surely she would know what I meant had he said something.
"Never mind. Let's move on shall we?" With that I was focused on the machine.
"Ok; this machine measures the amount of magic affecting you." She said, flipping a few switches. It sent a light stinging, like static, through my skin. The meter on the machine rose steadily from the blue, to the green, then the yellow, but it didn't stop there. It pushed into the red, and the meter strained to keep moving, but it couldn't go any further.
"Exact same results." She said, marking it down on a scroll. We went on for a few more tests, none very interesting.  Mostly just to monitor my pheromone output. It seemed that the pheromone levels were gradually rising, and would randomly spike at certain moments that we couldn't find reason for as of yet.
"Hmm... these reading are mostly inconclusive. We need an environment to test with, and a control environment." She said, and looked me over.
"Ok... what does that mean...?" I asked, and she brought out a scroll with diagrams of me, and a few ponies. There was a grouping of math I didn't know exactly what it was for, but I recognized it as a chemical formula.
"I'm going to need to judge your physical and emotional reaction to certain... stimulants." She said handing me a few more pages.
"I don't like the sound of that..." I said, raising an eyebrow as I looked through the individual pages. Each was a diagram of different types of pony.
"I don't have a diagram of you, because you insist on wearing cloths all the time so we're going to have to do that sometime as well." She explained, handing me the last page.
"I really don't like the sound of that..." I said, reading over the last page.
"Don't worry, I'll try and make the experience as enjoyable as possible." She said, and I gulped audibly.
"Somehow that doesn't console me." I said, and she wheeled the machines away.
"First thing's first. Take off your clothes, and stand over there." She said, pointing toward a well lit part of the room, and sitting with a blank paper at her desk.
"I'm sorry Twilight, but I really can't do that." I said, waving my hands in front of me.
"Come on, don't be shy. You sound like Rarity." She shook her head.
"It's for science." She said, levitating her pen in front of her. "I know, but humans have a vastly different anatomy than ponies. Especially something quite noteworthy." I said, and the word noteworthy caught her ear.
"What? It can't be that embarrassing can it?" She asked, and I scratched my head searching for words.
"Well... you see... umm... how do I put this? A few organs are... external." I said, and her eyes widened.
"External organs?!" She nearly had her jaw drop off her face.
"Yes, human males have a few very important external organs, and cannot uncover them unless they are alone... or under the correct conditions." I said, rather awkwardly.
"Well what are the correct conditions?" Twilight asked, and I knew this wasn't going to me over easy.
"The conditions are none of you concern, because you aren't going to be seeing them." I said, and regretted ever even telling her. Her curiosity is going to get the best of me somehow I know.
"Fine...I guess I can work with eighty percent of a diagram. Now then, lets's move on to the stimulant testing." She said, and I looked down at the papers.
"Out of the frying pan..." I said to myself.
"So, how will we be going about this?" I asked, and she trotted up stairs to the door. She called for Spike, who she conversed with for a moment before sending him off.
"Put on those electrodes in front of you." She said, standing at the top of the stairs, and I did. In a few moments Fluttershy flew in, and stood shyly in front of me.
"Hi Fluttershy, what's going on?" I asked, and she said something, but it was indecipherable through her squeaks.
"You're going to be testing the effects of stimulants on your pheromones." Twilight restated.
"What kind of stimulants?" I ask nervously as Fluttershy was hooked up with electrodes of her own.
"You're going to kiss her." She said, and I nearly fell off my feet.
"Does Dash know what you're doing?!" I ask sitting up quickly.
"Yep, and she's next after Applejack." Twilight said, as she switched on her machine. 
"Am I dreaming? This is too weird to be real..." I said, pinching myself sharply.
"I-It's ok if you don't want to kiss me. I understand." Fluttershy said in the most freaking adorable little voice I've eve heard. 
"For science?" Twilight offered, and I sighed.
"For science." I repeated, sitting in front of Fluttershy. We sat across from each other for a few awkward seconds before we both leaned in. We kissed, and she tasted sweet, and a bit like strawberry. As we parted, Twilight pulled out the results.
"As expected, the stimulant caused a spike in pheromone output in you, but on an unexpected note it seems Fluttershy emitted a counter pheromone." Twilight said, as she read.
"Counter pheromone?" I asked, and blinked confusedly.
"Yep, you were as affected as she was." Twilight said.
"Oh my. Is it my fault?" Fluttershy asked as her face flushed.
"No, it seems to be a natural reaction of a mare's body." Twilight said, and shuffled though her papers.
"Thank you Fluttershy, can you send down Applejack on your way out?" She asked, and I felt the dread of the next few moments sink in. Fluttershy left, and down came Applejack.
"Alright, I'm here. What am I supposed ta do?" Asked Applejack, sitting in front of me.
"Just lean in, and kiss." Twilight said, pen ready in the air.
"Alrighty, if ya say so." She said, closing her eyes as she leaned in. I was bout to close my eyes too, when I felt her hooves on me. One on my collar, one behind my head. She pulled me in, and really laid one on me. To my surprise, she didn't taste like apples... what're the chances? It was more of a cinnamon flavor. As the kiss broke my eyes were wide in surprise; something tells me she's been planning that.
"Whoa big spikes on both your parts." Twilight said, laying the chart aside. "Alright, just a few more mares. Applejack send down Rainbow-Dash please?" She said, and Applejack, trotted happily up the stairs. In a few moments a slightly agitated Dash, flew down.
"Twilight I was Ok with a few of them, but Rarity?" She said in an angry tone.
"Yes Rarity s important to the study." Twilight said, nudging her toward me.
"Fine, but make sure she only gets a short kiss." She huffed.
"Hey babe." I said, smiling at her.
"With me however, feel free to steal second." She teased... or at least I think it was teasing. She proceeded to push me onto my back, lay on me, and give me one long kiss.
"By Celestia's wingtips!" Twilight exclaimed, and we looked up to her. "Your kiss sent the machine into a frenzy!" She said, as smoke started coming from it.
"What did we do?" I asked, glancing at Dash.
"It looks like you mixed the pheromone with adrenaline, and it... well directly affected both of you libidos." She said, and both of our faces blazed red.
"So... every time we kiss-" Started Dash.
"You're stating a party for each other." Twilight finished, Dash and I looked at each other.
"That explains a few things." Said Dash, sitting on my stomach.
"Same here..." I said, and Dash raised a bow.
"Like what?" She asked, putting me on the spot.
"Well... honestly? You know the other day when I was in a hospital bed, and we kissed?" I started, and Dash nodded.
"Well I found myself staring at the haunches of both princesses for no apparent reason." I said bluntly and received odd looks from Dash, and Twilight.
"I'm not gonna lie." I said, shrugging off their looks. "... and what did you mean?" I asked Dash, who was taken back.
"U-uh...! I... don't know what you're talking about!" She said, shifting her eyes back and forth.
"You were affected too, don't lie to me." I smirked.
"Unlike you, I have some self control." She turned up her nose at me, and I snickered.
"Sure... You were probably checking out Big Mac or something right?" I teased.
"No I didn't! I was at home!" She insisted.
"Wait. Turned on at home?... Oh! Now I understand." I said, snickering louder this time. 
"Wha?! No! I didn't mean-" She started, but I interrupted with laughter.
"You really are more human than I care to think about." I shook my head, and she put her hooves on my mouth.
"Shut up!" She commanded sharply. Twilight all the while had her head buried in her papers.
"Ok, Rainbow-Dash, moving on. Can you send down Rarity?" She said, trying to get as much work done as possible. Dash snorted.
"But...! Fine... but this isn't over." She grunted as she flew upstairs. We went on to test with Rarity, Pinkie pie, Vinyl Scratch, and a few other mares who volunteered. Twilight had some more tests to do, but I had jobs to do, bits to make you know. She eventually let me leave, and I was off on my first task.
It was an easy job, just some heavy lifting. I carried barrels of cider down into the apple family's cellar for Big Mac. Next I was helping Berry Punch fix her roof. While I was in the middle of laying down the tiles, when I heard a voice above me.
"Hey nimrod..." The Captain said, hovering above me.
"What is it?" I said, wiping sweat from my forehead.
"Have you heard from Shallow?" He asked, landing next to me.
"Not much, why?" I asked, looking up at him. "I haven't heard from him yet... It's strange. It's not like him to go without talking. He usually does just to hear himself speak." Said Captain, scratching his chin.
"I'm not one to prattle on when I'm unwanted." Shallow said appearing beside us, and scaring me  to near death. The Captain however was unaffected, and actually seemed to expect it.
"Shallow, we were just talking about you." Said the Captain, crossing his arms.
"You know what they say, speak of the devil and all that." Said Shallow, with a tip of the hat.
"It's good to see you, old friend." Said Captain, smiling for the first time since he was freed.
"Come now old boy... It can't be that good to see a half dead, malnourished, old bag of bones like me." Said Shallow rolling his eyes.
"As mad as always I presume?" The Captain asked, and Shallow nodded.
"Forgive my interruption, but why exactly are you here?" I asked, laying another tile.
"Oh yes, you know that favor you did me? Well I found time in my ever so busy schedule to repay you." He said, adjusting his hat, and baring his fangs. Come to think of it, much of his appearance is odd... Ponies don't have fangs, he's as tall as Celestia, but he's not an alicorn. I don't even have to mention his eyes.
"Repay me how?" I asked, looking up at him from my side.
"It should be here any minute now." He grinned, and my confused eyes met with the Captain's.
"What do you mean, it should be here?" Asked the Captain, and as if on cue, we heard a commotion in town. I stood up to see the royal carriage rolling into town.
"That actually wasn't me..." Said Shallow looking surprised himself, and not pleasantly so. 
"You two keep your heads down, I'm going to see what's up." I said, and hopped down off the roof. I walked over to see princess Celestia stepping out of the carriage. She immediately noticed me in the crowd, and started walking toward me, a stern look on her face.
"Is something wrong my Princess?" I asked, as Luna exited the Carriage as well.
"Yes, and regrettably you seem to be the suspect of a number of crimes." She said, and my eyes widened, as did the eyes of those in the crowd.
"I'm... what?" I asked, taken back.
"You'll have to come with us." Said Luna, a softer look on her own face.
"I'm not going anywhere without an explanation." I said, clearly with more authority than I possessed. This time the Princesses, and all onlookers were taken back. Clearly nopony had ever spoken to Celestia like that before.
"You overstep your bounds child." Said Luna, slightly angry.
"Humans aren't known for being docile things, nor do we obey without question. Answer me." I demanded, and Celestia was clearly angered now.
"YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO COMMAND ME, BOY!" Said Celestia in her royal Canterlot voice. It sounded more demonic than I thought it would. 
Everypony in the crowd had cleared a large area away from us. I stood stubbornly in a stare down with the most powerful creature in Equestria.
"Sister, perhaps we should just heed his request?" She said, being more reasonable than either of us.
"...Very well. You've been charged with breaking into the royal palace, consorting with known criminals, plotting against the crown, and treason." Celestia's words struck me like a sledgehammer.
"On what grounds could you possibly make these claims?!" I asked, eyes even wider than before.
"You were seen a number of times, sneaking around the palace by royal guards, and headed towards the cell of our most dangerous prisoner. One claimed to have seen you break into Luna's very room." Said Celestia... figures, I'm not exactly stealthy looking. I was seen every time I went in there probably.
"So you have the testimony of a few guards that I might have been seen in the palace, but that doesn't mean I was ever actually there." I said, trying to save myself from what would undoubtedly be years of persecution, and possibly life in prison. 
"We didn't come without evidence." Said Celestia, and her horn began to glow. A large flare of light flew up, showing me talking with Shallow... Crap.
"Oh... Well that's... condemning." I said, face-palming.
"Now... You will come with us." Celestia insisted, and I sighed in defeat.
"HOLD IT!" Yelled the Captain, landing in front of me.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Celestia demanded.
"You will not do to him what you did to me." He said, and opened his wings.
"You were imprisoned. How did you get free?" Celestia asked, glancing at me.
"I broke myself free. My chains wore down with age; I merely outlasted them." He lied, but Celestia bought it.
"Regardless, it seems the both of you were found consorting with Shallow." She said, and the Captain growled.
"And? What did he do to be placed in his cage?" Asked the Captain.
"He planned to overthrow me." Said Celestia, and the Captain scoffed.
"Please. You imprisoned him because he was becoming more powerful than you!" The Captain insulted the princess, and even I cringed at the look she gave him. He still looked unphased by her.
"Mind your tongue." Luna said, stepping forward.
"Hold on!" I said, and everyone looked at me.
"I was there, fine, but I wasn't planning treason. I was delivering mail." I said, and Luna knew what was coming.
"I snuck into the palace to give Luna a love letter." I said, and now every set of eyes in town were on me.
"I already showed you we know of your speaking with Shallow." Said Celestia, and I crossed my arms.
"Who did you think it was from?" I said raising a brow.
"You mean... those letters... were from Shallow?" Luna asked, and looked almost sad.
"Yes, and I probably shouldn't have told you that... but it's better than going to jail." I said, and Celestia didn't seem to even remotely believe me.
"You expect me to believe that Shallow was sending love letters to Luna?" She asked, and I understood how flimsy my story sounded.
"No, I expect you to." Said Shallow appearing beside me.
"Shallow?! How is it possible?!" Celestia looked more scared than surprised strangely enough.
"As long as I've been locked away, I've been getting my strength back. I can do little more than make illusions, but it's better than nothing I suppose." He said, and Celestia took a step back. He then turned to Luna who wasn't nearly as scared as her sister.
"I suppose now that you've seen the face behind all those letters was a sickly thing as I, I'm not quite so romantic, eh love?" He said with a dishearted sigh. Luna wordlessly walked toward him, she raised a hoof to touch his cheek which passed through, and out his other cheek.
"Did you mean the things you wrote to me?" She asked, and he nodded.
"Then you are just as romantic as I imagined you." She said, and he smiled halfheartedly.
"Sister...? Do you believe them now?" Luna asked, and Celestia looked like she's suppressed her fear with her anger.
"No." She said simply, and Luna looked thoroughly shocked.
"No?" Luna said, not wanting to believe her sister's words.
"No. Shallow is devious, conniving, and untrustworthy. I can't believe a word from his mouth." Said Celestia, and Shallow closed his eyes. He looked like he was sad, but he expected her words.
"He's changed. He's spent decades in that place, rotting away, he's learned his lesson for whatever he did." I said pleadingly, feeling his pain myself.
"Save your breath brother. She clearly is incapable of forgiving me. No matter what you say, her mind will not change." He said opening his eyes, and holding his head proudly high.
"I accept my fate. I plan on spending the rest of my days in my cell, as I have." He said, and Celestia stepped forward.
"Not only that, but I will be strengthening the spell on your cell once I return." She said, and his eyes darted open.
"No! You can't!" He exclaimed, seeming frantic and fearful.
"I can and I will." She replied. "You'll kill me!" He barked, and Luna gasped.
"You know fairly well that magic is the only thing keeping me alive, if you cut me off... I will surely wither to dust!" He claimed, and his already fiery eyes burned with anger and fear.
"Sister you can't!" Luna exclaimed, turning to her sister.
"I will if I must." She said grimly.
"No! Please! I'll do anything! I'll- I'll- I'll-" He stuttered, but the Captain interrupted.
"You can't just kill an innocent man!" He said, stepping forward.
"He is not innocent! He caused the deaths of hundreds!" She claimed, and I looked at him, his face read as the guilt of the truth.
"It's true, I did, but that's not who I am anymore. I was drunk with power, and an angry drunk at that, but I know now that I was wrong! Their deaths were a tragic thing, and I am deeply... truly... sorry." He said, bowing his head, and tears streaming from his eyes. At this even Celestia paused.
"Sister...?" Luna said, and we all felt sorrow for this poor soul. Celestia seemed to doubt her decision, and everyone was silent.
"Perhaps... I was wrong. Maybe you really have changed." She said, and turned to walk to her carriage. Luna's face lit up, as did Shallow's, mine, the Captain's, and onlooking ponies.
"All of you, come with me." She said, and we all got in the carriage. We all sat silently, and she took us to the castle where she brought us to Shallow's cell. "Why did you bring us here?" The Captain asked, and Celestia turned to us with a smile.
"It seems I may have wrong about him. He just might have actually changed." She said, and I smiled.
"Sister... What did he mean when he said he would die?" Luna asked as we walked.
"Shallow... was in an accident long ago. He has been holding his body together with magic for twenty four years, that's why I didn't completely cut him off from magic. For a long time he blamed me for what happened." Celestia said; the Captain and I exchanged looks.
"What exactly did happen?" I asked, and Celestia sighed.
"I saw his potential with magic, and decided to take him as an apprentice. He had great power, but little control. The more I taught him the more his power grew, and the more reckless he became. I told him that if this continued, I couldn't keep him as a student. He was outraged, and in a fit of anger let loose a spell. This spell sent out a plague among the inhabitants of Canterlot; it would have spread out to all of Equestria had I not tricked him.
He accidentally gave himself the plague that he had caused, and was trapped in the palace dungeon. He staved off the plague, and it stopped spreading through himself, and the Ponies of Canterlot. I thought he would never regain his strength... Clearly I was wrong." She said, and we were all enthralled in her story.
We looked to Shallow's illusion, who was oddly quiet. Almost ominously so.
"How long was he supposed to be imprisoned?" The Captain asked, walking slightly slower.
"I was planning on keeping him imprisoned for five hundred years." Said Celestia, and the Captain only glared at her. 
"Understandable, given the nature of the crime." I said, hanging my head slightly.
"Why would he react in such a violent way to such a little thing?" Luna asked; I was wondering the same, but didn't come to ask.
"It... may have meant something more to him than an apprenticeship." Celestia replied.
We came to Shallow's cell, and we saw his illusion fade. We looked through the bars to see a much more withered Shallow. His ribs and spine shown through his skin, his brown fur was short and thin. His skin underneath looked pale and almost sickly. His black mane and tail were unkempt, and greasy. His eyes the same fiery shades of red, yellow, and orange, with pupils like small coals in the center. His hat atop his head though... seemed untouched by time.
"Now you see me as I have lived in here, corroded and broken. What point have you to make by coming here, and seeing me like this?" He almost sounded as if to plead for us to leave.
"I wish to offer you a deal." Celestia said, and his ears rose.
"A deal?" He repeated back to her.
"Yes. If you agree to use your powers for the good of Equestria, and return to being a force for harmony as my student... I may set you free." She said, and he seemed shocked, to shocked even to speak. He merely blinked, and rubbed his eyes. 
"Do mine ears deceive me? Am I hallucinating again? A cruel dream of hope my mind has conjured from the depths of my id? No this is real, I can feel the floor under my hooves, and the weight of my hat. I can truly be free?" He seemed to be reveling in his own delight as he walked over to the door.
"Luna..." He said, looking to her.
"Yes?" She answered, looking expectantly at him. 

Shallow  Luna  Both


 It starts with one word.
I don't know which.
Doesn't even matter which one you pick.
It's like we just click.
Feels like I swallowed a salt lick.
 Like a kick to the stomach.
I don't know.

The things tomorrow will bring.
Your heart is a maze but I have wings.

Watch you fly by and far away.
 We'll be together at the end of the day.
It's so ideal.

So many years alone.
Tomorrow you'll have more than just a window.
The days drag on.
You didn't even know.
No tears at all as I stand below!

I was locked up inside.
Every tear I cried, came from the heart.
All you mean to me, will probably be a jubilee, of the soul, and why

We are so close, and yet so far.
But in the end, our love is all that matters.
We had pit falls, we had cell walls.
But in the end, our love is all that matters. 

One word.
I don't know which.
Doesn't even matter which one you pick.
It's like we just click.
 Like a kick to the stomach.
So we'll always remember how
We got these scars.

But now I'm finally free 
of these chains that are binding me.
 Remembering all the letters you wrote to me.
I'm glad that we can finally be together.

I wish I knew what I was looking for.
To think my life will change with an open door.
I'm ashamed of things I've been.
but you will forever be my best friend.

I've been trapped inside.
I've been trapped on high.
And I'm falling apart.
All you mean to me, will probably be a jubilee, of the soul, and why

We are so close, and yet so far.
But in the end, our love is all that matters.
We had pit falls, we had cell walls.
But in the end, our love is all that matters. 

I give my love to you.
Flown so far that I don't know.
With all this there only one thing we both know.

I give my love to you.
Flown so far that I don't know.
With all this there only one thing we both know.

We are so close, and yet so far.
But in the end, our love is all that matters.
We had pit falls, we had cell walls.
But in the end, our love is all that matters. 



Say what you wish, but that brought a tear to my eye. The Captain and I both stepped away from the door, and Celestia slipped her horn into a node in the wall. With a glimmer of light she pulled away and the door made a ghastly groan as is descended into the floor.
Shallow stepped slowly out of the cell, and as he did his skin mended, his fur grew, and he was filled with a new vigor. He was positively glowing... in fact his eyes actually were glowing.
"After so many long years, I feel the sweet caress of magic flowing through my veins." He sighed with relief, and Luna walked up to him.
"Ah Luna my love, I finally can feel the silk that is your fur against my hoof." He said, gently touching her cheek, and she blushed. They leaned in, kissed each other softly, and now they were both almost glowing. They parted, and smiled; hers a gentle, warm smile, and his a large goofy grin. Seeing his sharp fangs... I wonder if that effects their kiss?
"This is incomparably, and foremost, the best day of my life, nonpareil." He said with extuberant charm.
"Shallow, now that you are free... what will you do?" Celestia asked, and he turned to look at her.
"Well first I'm going to see how much stronger I am now that I'm free. Then I'm going to take a walk... Finally I'm going to call all my friends." He said, walking past us.
"Your friends?" Celestia asked confusedly. "Oh yes, I've been able to make illusions for years, I was able to interact with many ponies outside. Some I am quite fond of." He said with a chuckle that sent shivers down my spine.
"Come! Follow me! I want you all to see just how strong I am!" He said, trotting gleefully down the hall. I can't be the only one having second thoughts, can I?