-TERRARIA, HOME TOWN, STARLIGHT’S ROOM-
A towering entity was now standing where Shadow Thunder once stood as Starlight’s eyes were widened and her face was currently in a mixture of both recognition and shock. The being that the dark pegasus had become was all too similar to The Pony Of Shadows but with a noticeable difference. This entity’s body and wings were dark blue, much like that of Shadow Thunder, unlike the Pony Of Shadows’s blackened form. In addition, instead of the dark grey coloration of The Pony Of Shadow’s mane, tail, chest region, and the tip of his curved-back horn, Shadow Thunder’s new form was black in these regions.
“S-Shadow Thunder? Is that really… you?” Starlight questions; all while the barrier around her starts to shift in a chaotic fashion. Much like what had happened to Twilight in The Crimson Biome, the activated demonic anomaly was moments away from wisping the unicorn away to the fiery pits of The Underworld.
“I’m coming, Starlight!” The giant pony of darkness roars out as he stomps his way over to the barrier and roars out defiantly before slamming his large frame into the barrier. Much like what had happened before, a series of red electricity emitted from the point of impact but unlike last time, it wasn’t enough to push back Shadow Thunder in his current form. However, the giant dark entity was grunting in response as he continued to slam his girth against the barrier.
Starlight could only watch from within as she witnesses the behemoth trying its darndest to break through with physical force. She then shakes her head from left to right in an effort to regain her composure as she then fires up her horn and tries to teleport outside of the barrier. Unfortunately, and much like her teacher before her, the unicorn mare’s efforts were for naught as the barrier managed to block any of her attempts.
“Raaaaaawr!”
Another powerful roar is let loose by the behemoth which in turn causes the entire room to quake as he then jumps backwards. Upon landing his jump, Shadow Thunder causes the entire room to shake thanks to his mass. Dark energy starts to gather around his horn as Shadow Thunder exclaims:
“Hang on, Starlight! I’ll get you out of there! I’ll never stop until I do!” Upon gathering a sufficient amount of power around his horn, Shadow Thunder rears up his large frame and slams his forehooes back down before unleashing the full force of his horn’s gathered strength. A powerful beam of dark energy is let loose which soon makes contact with the demonic barrier.
[SKSHSH]
A type of beam struggle ensues as the beam of dark energy collides with the barrier. Shadow Thunder growls in tandem as he pushes against the anomaly with all his might being channeled into his horn. Hope was seemingly shining upon them as a crack did indeed form onto the barrier, to which Starlight exclaims:
“It’s working! You’re doing it, Shad-” However, the unicorn mare’s words were cut off and both of their hopes were instantly taken away as the barrier miraculously repairs itself.
“Noooo!” Shadow Thunder roars out in both anger and frustration as he continues to unrelentlessly blast away at the barrier.
Both the barrier and the rune that was positioned beneath Starlight were starting to change once more before the inevitable teleportation process would commence. Shadow Thunder stops his beam of dark energy and stomps up to the barrier once more before unleashing an endless series of physical blows. The behemoth would rear up and slam his forehooves into the barrier with all his might; even ignoring the red electricity that shocks him in response.
Starlight could only watch on helplessly as she observes the large shadow pony’s actions from within the barrier. Then, tears starts to flow down her cheeks all while she continues to smile towards the behemoth as she says:
“It’s ok, Shadow Thunder,” Her words cause the shining eyes of the large dark pony to widen, all while he continues to slam against the barrier. “It’s ok, don’t use up all of your strength just for me.”
“It’s because It’s you that I’m doing this!” The large pony exclaims in response.
“I know,” Starlight responds with both her tears and her smile still present. “But we both know that neither of us are going to breach this barrier, and upon closer inspection… I realized that it’s a teleportation rune.”
“All the more reason for me to get you out,” Shadow Thunder responds as he continues to wail on the barrier with his physical might. “I refuse to allow whoever planted this thing to take you away from me!”
Starlight could only smile towards the behemoth as he continues to try and tear apart the barrier with both physical and magical prowess. She then closes her eyes contently and goes on to comment:
“Shadow Thunder, thank you for saving me from myself. You’re an amazing stallion and I’m so lucky to have gotten to know you,” The large shadow pony roars out again and strikes away at the barrier before she continues: “You have no idea how happy I was when you still wanted to take me out on a date. I was so happy when I got back to my room that I wanted to look perfect for the occasion.”
“Raaaaawr!” The shadow behemoth roars out again.
“I’m so sorry… I guess our date is going to have to be postponed for now. But, I want you to know something...” The barrier was now starting to sizzle out of existence. Unfortunately, this also included the unicorn mare who was being taken away in the process. During this time, Shadow Thunder continues to rage against the demonic anomaly as he even goes on to demand:
“Give her back! I command you to give her back to me!
Raaaaaawr!”
Unfortunately, Shadow Thunder’s words would be unheeded by the demonic forces at work as both Starlight and the anomaly continues to dissipate. However, the unicorn mare was able to finish her words from before as she says:
“I want you to know that… I can really see you becoming my first ever... special somepony.” With those final words, the unicorn mare was now finally gone as the demonic rune dissipated before Shadow Thunder’s very eyes.
The world was cruel in that very moment for the large shadow pony felt as if it had taken away a mare he could potentially form a strong bond with. He wanted to get to know her even more than she had already revealed to him. The dark behemoth was looking forward to their coming date, only for it to be squandered before it could ever even happen. His current expression matched this inner turmoil as he says:
“No… no… NOOOO!”
In a fit of rage, the dark behemoth spreads its wings to their full extent and flies upwards. He effortlessly breaks through the ceiling and continues to do so before he literally breaks through the rooftop of the library. A large shadow pony emerges from the building and continues to fly high into the skies above Home Town.
……….
During this time and within Home Town, Shadow Thunder had caught the attention of some bystanders who were currently out and about. They had all bore witness to the giant equine shadow entity breaking out of the library and flying high into the sky as they comment:
“Holy shit! Is that thing, Shadow Thunder?!” Ceeman The Arms Dealer exclaims in shock.
“My word, what happened in the library?! Why does he look like The Pony Of Shadows?!” Rarity inquires in a fashion similar to The Arms Dealer.
“Something went wrong! Shadow Thunder’s gone mad!” Steven The Clothier comments.
“Everyone, let me go and check on him,” Fluttershy says as she spreads her wings to their full lengths. “I don’t know what’s going on but I think-”
“Are you crazy, Fluttershy?!” Ritsu The Zoologist exclaims in response. “You want to go up there and try to talk to that enraged… thing?!”
“I have to, Ritsu! I’m the only one who-” Suddenly, the yellow pegasus’s words were cut off by what happened next as the skies started to blacken; followed soon by roaring thunder.
Both Pinkie Pie and Candy The Party Girl suddenly appears in a duo of pink blurs as the party pony says:
“What in the world is going on?! Why is Slim Shaddy all angry and Pony Of Shadows like?!”
“And why is he creating a crazy thunderstorm?!” Candy exclaims as she then brings out an umbrella from her inventory, which sadly got taken away from a powerful force of wind.
“This is bad! We’ve got to calm him down before he unintentionally destroys the town! The storm’s getting worse by the second!” Vinny The Demolitionist shouts.
Before anyone could go any further, Fluttershy flies into the air and goes off to chase after the enraged Shadow Thunder. Upon seeing the pegasus’s actions, everyone shouts in unison:
“Fluttershy!”
……….
The form of a yellow pegasus could be seen puncturing the storm clouds as she determinedly tries to reach the epicenter of the raging force of nature.
“You can do this, Fluttershy,” The yellow pegasus comments. “Pegasi are perfect for dealing with storms like these… I think,” The shy mare bravely flies into the heart of the storm and gazes upon the angered entity who was responsible for it.
“Raaaaawr!”
The dark entity who was floating before the shy pegasus lets loose a series of enraged roars and with every one that was let loose, the thunderstorm all around them continued to get worse with every passing moment. In addition, black twisters of darkness were starting to form into being as they threatened to descend upon Home Town.
“Shadow Thunder! Please! You need to calm down!” Fluttershy exclaims in an effort to reach the angered behemoth of darkness. Instead of getting a response with Shadow Thunder’s words, Fluttershy barely manages to avoid a bolt of electricity which in turn was blackened in coloration. “Oh no, he’s not listening to me… what do I do?” As the pegasus pondered on her next plan of action, the spiraling twisters of darkness were starting to enlarge themselves and even began to descend slowly, but surely, into the town below.
……….
Taking notice of the spiraling nados of darkness, everyone down below was starting to evacuate the town and move away to a safe distance. During this time, Rarity looks up towards the sky and comments:
“Oh Fluttershy… please be safe, darling.”
……….
High above Home Town and still within the heart of the thunderstorm, Fluttershy has already tried to reach the shadow comprised behemoth with both her words and her actions. But to no avail. However, the yellow pegasus suddenly gets an epiphany as she realizes something. As The Core Of The Slime Gods, she was enabled to use the abilities of every type of slime in existence. One slime’s ability in particular was perfect for this occasion: Princess Pinkie.
“Oh my gosh, that’s right,” Fluttershy comments with a hopeful tone as she begins to channel a pink aura into her cutie mark, which in turn also possesses the mark of the core, as the aura then spreads throughout her entire body. “Princess Pinkie can affect the emotions of those she touches.”
With a determined expression, Fluttershy flies forth with all her will and might as she approaches Shadow Thunder. Bolts of black electricity threatened to intercept her, however, she began to close her eyes in concentration as a sudden multicolored gelatinous dome both surrounds and protects the yellow pegasus. The dome easily defends Fluttershy as she continues to race towards the large shadow pony.
Upon reaching Shadow Thunder, who in turn wasn’t paying her any mind as he was roaring out into the skies above him. With her gelatinous dome still in effect, she manages to reach Shadow Thunder and extends her left forehoof outwards which is currently surrounded by a pink aura.
“Please, let this work,” The shy pegasus comments as her hoof finally makes contact with the dark entity who was still roaring prior to the action. Then, the very moment that her hoof makes contact with Shadow Thunder’s form, the raging storm and darkened skies start to dissipate with a magical force, including the spiraling twisters of darkness. The weather soon returns to normal and the large behemoth that caused it all was beginning to shrink down in size. Soon enough, Shadow Thunder had returned to his original self as the dark pegasus states with a sorrowful expression:
“I… I’m so sorry… I never-”
“It’s ok, Shadow Thunder,” Fluttershy interjects as she then brings the dark pegasus into a hug with her forehooves and continues: “I saw everything when I used Princess Pinkie's abilities… I know what happened to Starlight… and I know that you tried to save her.”
The dark pegasus could only take on a face of both sadness and regret as he responds:
“Sh… she’s gone… she told me that it was a teleportation spell. What’s going on?”
“We’ll figure that out,” Fluttershy replies as she pats Shadow Thunder on his back. “And we’ll find her, together.”
Little did they know, and down below in Home Town, the answers that they seek would soon come to them as a certain group from The Crimson Biome had finally arrived via a spire of flames; thanks to the many and combined abilities of a newly forged weapon: The Bloody Edge.