//------------------------------//
// The Shadow is Cast 
// Story: Equestria's Dark Shadow 
// by InTheStands 
//------------------------------//

	Disclaimer: I claim no ownership of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Nor do I claim it for Dark Shadows. Both are property of Hasbro (and Lauren Faust) and Warner Brothers, respectively. I also claim no rights to any franchises mentioned as the story progresses - credit will be given once the properties appear. All I claim, however, are the story and the original characters that will appear.
And now, without further ado....


EQUESTRIA'S DARK SHADOW


Chapter 1: The Shadow is Cast


An air of excitement could be felt around Ponyville if one were to travel the leaf-covered land. It was still at least a month away, but no one could quell the anticipation of one of the more celebrated Equestrian holidays: Night Mare Night.
It was a night of food, fun, candy, and costumes. A night that, originally reserved for the infamous Night Mare Moon, now served as observance of the return of Princess Luna, sister of the reigning Princess Celestia.
Depending on the pony asked, Night Mare Night was also the night of mischief and pranks. The only question was what prank to pull - a question one unicorn and her friends were close to answering...


§§§


Ponyville's library was all aglow as the occupants inside gathered around, waiting for their friend as she prepared upstairs. A total of five ponies were there:
Rarity, a unicorn with a curled, purple mane and a white coat.
Rainbow Dash, a cyan pegasus with a rainbow-colored mane and tail.
Fluttershy, a yellow pegasus with a pink mane long enough to hide her face in, which she often did.
Applejack, an orange earth pony sporting a small cowpony hat and bands at the end of her yellow mane and tail.
And lastly, Pinkie Pie, an all-pink earth pony with a perpetually cheery outlook.

As the group quetly conversed amongst themselves, they heard the upstairs door close. Their attention was now focused on the unicorn they've been waiting for: Twilight Sparkle.
"Where's Spike?" Rarity asked aloud, referring to Twilight's young dragon assistant.
Twilight promptly answered as she descended the staircase. "He's back in the bedroom. It's part of the trick."
"A trick I hope we'll finally get to know about?" Rainbow Dash asked. "You've been talking about it all week."
"Just relax," Twilight lifted a foreleg in defense. "Yes, I'm going to tell you about it. You ready?" They all answered positively. "Okay. Now, I know I basically mastered teleportation. But there's still so many other techiques that can be learned."
"Like what?" Dash asked, her interest piqued.
"How about changing the effect of the teleport?" The librarian questioned in response. "Having it take on more than a standard flash? Such as...fading in from nowhere? And on top of that, having it combined with another ability like hovering?"
"...Pinkie?" Rainbow Dash smirked. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"
"That depends," The pink pony began. "Are you thinking of what to get Gummy for his birthday, too?"
"Should've known," Dash muttered. She spike up. "No. I mean Twilight giving us the ultimate setup for a ghost prank for Night Mare Night!"
"Ohh...okay, NOW I'm thinking what you're thinking! And I think it's neato!"
"But..."
"But?" The pegasus and earth pony's spirit dropped only slightly as Twilight interjected.
The unicorn rubberd one foreleg with the other. "I've only just started testing the effect. I don't want to promise anything, but I also don't want you disappointed if it fails."
Applejack vocalized with a huff. "Well how're you gonna know unless you do it, sugarcube?"
"Wasn't practicing magic the reason you got so good?" Fluttershy asked before lowering her head, whispering, "if you don't mind my saying..."
"Besides," Rainbow Dash waved off the warning, "It's not like all of my Night Mare Night plans depend on this working. Just show us!"
"Very well," Twilight decided after hearing her friends. "Spike set up some things upstairs in my room. If this goes right, not only should they slowly fade in, but they should be floating as well." She backed up from the seated group of ponies. "Ready?"
As they answered with a 'yes', Twilight's horn began to glow. Her friends watched as her brow furrowed in concentration, then as she closed her eyes. To their surprise, her horn started growing brighter and brighter.
"Uh...Twilight?" Rainbow Dash asked, but was shushed by Rarity.
"These things take concentration," The dressmaker explained.
"But THAT much?" Dash shot back.
At this point, Twilight was gritting her teeth, her mind focusing on the effect of the teleportation, how much she was teleporting, and making sure they all floated. As her horn reached nearly-blinding levels of brightness, the five ponies thought they could faintly see a feather quill, a drinking mug, and a book hovering in the air near the unicorn.
"It's working!" Pinkie Pie sprang up and bounced on her hooves. Her boucing slowed to a stop, however, when the ghostly images promptly disappeared.
And a shot of bright purple light shot out straight from Twilight's horn and through the ceiling. A loud crack filled the air of not only the room, but all of Ponyville.
The library showed no damage from the practical laser of magic. But the five equines were more concerned for the purple unicorn that was catching her breath and sitting on the floor, exhausted.
They clamored around her, asking questions in unison. Twilight waved them away.
"I'm fine!" She panted. "Really. I was...afraid this would happen?"
"You knew?" Rarity asked, dumbfounded. "You KNEW about the magic blast happening?!"
"Huh?" The purple pony mumbled. "No...I meant the spell not working. What about a blast of magic?"
"Are you kidding?!" Rainbow Dash shouted in a mixture of astonishment and offense. "You didn't FEEL it shooting out? There was a HUGE shot of magic that blasted out of your horn and into the-"
The pegasus was interrupted. Not by anypony in the room, but by the extremely loud, sharp 'thud' they heard outside from up above. It sounded like something large had just hit the tree that the library was in. A second later, another, softer thud was heard. This one sounding as though it landed right outside.
After they recovered from the startling noise, they looked at one another. Twilight stood up, and led them out of the front door.
Outside was a clear night, save for a few clouds. Soft glows emanated from the nearby houses, as well as the large tree that was the town library. Twilight and the others carefully walked outside, looking for any unusual sights.
Soon enough, they found it.
And it was completely unnerving to the six of them.
"Holy..." Rainbow Dash whispered loud enough for them to hear.
The ponies found themselves staring at a large, black casket. It was rectangular, with the lid facing upwards. It was covered with ornate and intricate designs. On the front was large, decorative 'C'.
But what was the most disturbing thing of all was its size. No pony - not even an alicorn, the largest equine there is - needed a casket this large. Of course, the question of why it was so big was quickly replaced with the question of...
"...Why is this here?" Fluttershy timidly asked, growing more fearful every second she stared at the object. "Why is there a coffin here? Outside the library?"
"You think it's what made the noises?" Applejack asked, looking up. "You...think you got it here, Twilight?"
"I...might have," Was the answer. Even she was unsure of how and why the casket was laying in front of them. She also wondered why the casket landed face up. Almost as if it was weighted, if something was inside it.
If something.
Was.
INSIDE IT.
The air was pierced with another sound. A sound that, along with the sight, none of them wanted to hear or see at this point in time: The sound of the casket banging.
And the sight of it jarring with each sharp knock.
The ponies responded by shouting, screaming, and darting backwards, staring on in horror. Finally, with one last knock, the casket's lid flew open, hanging lazily on its hinges.
Then it appeared.
Something rose out of the coffin into a sitting position. It was almost completely black, and looked as though it was hunched over. The six ponies felt themselves growing cold with fear as the watched a hand grasping the side of the coffin. A sheet-white hand, looking slightly decayed, sporting five fingers and nails sharpened to a point. They could only respond by slight whimpering. Unfortunately, it heard them.
It showed its face to them. A bizarre, pale, round face unlike any of them had seen in their lives. What looked to be black hair covered the top of its head, and ended just above its eyes in a strange curled pattern. It looked at them in a combination of shock, surprise, and anger. Then it bared its teeth at them.
Teeth that bore sharp, white fangs.
It rose up fully out of its coffin, towering over them. It clenched its teeth before finally shouting at them in a masculine voice:
"WHAT IS THIS?!?!"
The six of them could only respond by shrieking and running. Whatever it was, it was large, menacing, and absolutely furious. They took off as fast as they could - Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash even helped to push the other four as they glided away - leaving behind what could only be described as a monster.
The monster breathed heavily. He looked up at the tree, then to his casket. Bending down, he pulled out what looked to be a cane, decorated in ebony and intricate designs, ending at the ivory handle carved to look like a canine of some kind.
Realizing it took no damage, he held onto it as he stepped away from his coffin, gazing at the scene around him. The questions raced through his head, each fighting to be the one he asked aloud. Before he could do any such thing, he heard a loud creaking. He turned his head sharply.
And what he saw only spawned even more questions.
"Hello?" The tiny scaled being called out, sounding like a young boy. The purple dragon stepped out of the building, his eyes adjusting to the night environment. "Twilight? I thought we were trying out your new tricks!" He walked further, looking around. Upon turning towards the dark, pale-skinned creature, he froze. His eyes widened as the towering figure slowly approached, one hand raised and outstretched towards him. As Spike felt himself hit against the tree building, he stared up in horror as the creature neared. He gulped before feebly calling out one last time:
"Twilight?!"


§§§


"Is it following us?!"
Fluttershy's head darted backwards. They had traveled a formidable distance in escaping the creature. Though from the look of it, nothing seemed to be chasing them. She looked to the others and shook her head.
Rarity let out a loud sigh. "Oh, thank heavens."
They caught their breath as they rested at the fountain that marked the center of town. After a moment, Rainbow Dash shook her head.
"What did you DO, Twilight?"
"I don't know!" The purple unicorn gave her only answer. "Nothing I read said that this would happen!"
"Well obviously it did!" Rainbow Dash replied, gesturing towards the library. 
"Both of you, calm down!" Applejack intervened. "Now why don't we stop fixing the blame and start figuring out what to do?"
"Right," Twilight sighed. "What about Princess Celestia? Maybe she would know what this thing is, and how to deal with it. We just need Spike to send..." Then it dawned on her. Her pupils shrank as she let out a sharp gasp. "SPIKE!"
Within a second, she bolted away from her friends and back to the direction of the library. The others followed, their fears quickly overcome by their determination to save the young dragon from whatever peril the creature put him in. 
Their only fear at that point was the possibility that they would be too late. But they hoped to the heavens their fears were unjustified.