//------------------------------//
// Chapter 9: More Fighting 
// Story: The Guardian Shadow 
// by KnightBrony 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 9

More Fighting


I had no idea what to expect when I got to the town square, but when I got there I immediately thought of about twenty things that I would've rather seen than what was there. In the town square were ten diamond dogs, all carrying weapons and all looking very mad. The leader wore a gem encrusted breast plate, bracers, a helmet, two bandoliers of those chemical vials strapped across his chest, and a spear and sword strapped to his back. The other dogs wore simple breast plates and had simple spears and clubs, two of them also armed with net launchers. They had five ponies, two pegasi, an earth pony, and two unicorns, tied up at their feet, one of the pegasi bleeding from a head injury. The townspeople were cowering in fear, and they had good reason too. These dogs were obviously angry about something, what that was I didn't know. 
I found out quick though, because the leader stood up on a box and yelled “Give us the stripe pony and the arrow pony. They killed our brothers, and they must die for it. If we don't get them, we will kill these five here, and then burn the town to ashes. You have one hour.” his speech surprisingly clear for a diamond dog. 
So that's it, these dogs must be part of the same pack as the dogs from last night, but how'd they know me and Scarlet killed them. They must have had someone hiding nearby, and when he saw how strong we were, he ran away to get reinforcements. I had to think of a way to beat these guys. I could go get Scarlet, but that would leave Jade vulnerable, plus I couldn't risk Jade getting hurt. She may be good with that bow, but something tells me they'd capture her before she could fire off the first shot. That left me with only one option, fight them alone. I thought of my assets, my sword, my alchemy, and my preflex (Author's note: preflex is what I'm calling Shadow's power to see slightly into the future in a fight and react). My alchemy was getting better,  but not good enough to take on ten dogs at once. I'd need some way that I could either take them out all at once or find a way to separate them so I could fight them separately. After running through about thirty plans, all of which ended in unnecessary death or destruction, I got an idea. It was crazy, but then again crazy saved me with the Ursa Major, so I thought it could work. I slipped into an alleyway and set my plan in motion.

The dogs were where I left them, the hostages and townsfolk even more terrified since the hour was almost up. Luckily no one knew that Scarlet was one of the people they were looking for, and I had made myself scarce while I prepared my plan. The dogs were getting antsy, the majority sharpening their weapons for the inevitable bloodshed. Five minutes before the hour was up, I set my plan in motion.
Step 1, surprise the enemy. The dogs were probably expecting me and Scarlet to be brought to them in chains, but they got the biggest surprise ever when I stood on the top of the town hall and yelled “So I hear you've been looking for me!” in a sarcastic tone. The dogs all turned, their eyes wide at my entrance.
The leader pointed a claw at me and yelled “Where is arrow pony, we demand you bring her out!”.
“She's of no concern to you, now let the townspeople go and surrender, and maybe you'll get to leave here with your heads still attached to your shoulders” I said, my voice mocking and arrogant.
The leader drew his sword and retorted “Let's see you back those words up, stripe pony”.
I gripped my sword “Fine, but first you gotta catch me,” I yelled as I jumped into the alley and ran.
The leader drew his sword “After him, fifty gems to whoever brings me his head!” he said, the rest of the dogs running over each other to try and catch me. They split up to cover more ground to catch me, but I had a little surprise for them. I had made duplicates of myself, not to real but enough to trick the dogs into believing they were real. The dogs tried to get their allies to aid in my capture, but when they heard the chorus of “He's over here,” that's when my plan got a bit evil. Along with my duplicates, I had also placed the same transmutation circle by each one, and when the dogs were all placed by the duplicates, I set step 3 in motion, take out the enemy. Using an example from episode one of FMA: Brotherhood, I used a circle far away from the others to create a mass transmutation. I activated the circles and used them to create multiple spikes from the ground, skewering the dogs all at once. I could tell my plan had worked from the chorus of screams I heard as the dogs were killed. I could tell their leader had heard them too, 'cause from where I was hidden I could still keep sight of the leader and the hostages. When the dogs were killed, his ears pricked up and he looked all over to see where they were coming from. That's when I began Step 4, take out the leader and free the hostages.
I called from my hiding place “Now, what was that you were saying about taking my head?”
The leader looked around confused “Where are you, show yourself?” he said, a twinge of fear in his voice.
I stepped out of the alley, the townspeople making way for me as I did so. When the leader saw me, his eyes showed a mixture of fear and hatred.
“I'm right here, and unless you wan to meet the same fate as those other dogs, you'll release the hostages and leave immediately,” I said gripping my sword.
The leader wavered for a moment, trying to decide.
“What's wrong, you scared little pup,” I said, my voice mocking.
As soon as I said that I wish I hadn't, because the leader's look lost all it's fear, now replaced with hatred and rage. 
He lifted his sword “You will pay dearly for that insult stripe pony!” he said and lunged at me.
I drew my sword and parried his strike, only for him to grab his spear and hit me square in the face. OK, I may have underestimated this guy, but that didn't mean I was gonna lose. Thanks to that last blow, my preflex had finally kicked in. He was gonna lung with his spear and then slash downward with his sword. With this in mind, I ducked to avoid his spear and rolled to the side to dodge his sword. After avoiding his attacks, I took my sword and slashed his spear in half, leaving him with just a hunk of splintered wood. He tossed aside the spear and gripped his sword with both paws, giving his strikes added strength. His strikes were getting faster too, his eyes murderous and bloodthirsty. If not for my preflex, I would've been killed quickly. I may have been dodging his attacks, but I could only dodge for so long. I needed to end this quickly or someone was going to get hurt, either me or one of the townspeople. I waited for him to lung at me with his sword, and that's when I cut of his arms at the wrists. His sword clattered to the ground as he screamed in pain. I placed my sword against his throat as he fell to his knees. He eyes still had that look of hatred and anger, but that fear from before had returned.
I pushed my sword a little harder against his throat “You have lost,” I said, my voice tired from battle.
“Go on then, finish the job, kill me like you did my brothers,” he growled, his voice cold and angry.
The feeling I had when I heard those words directed at me was like getting the wind knocked out of you. I had already killed nine diamond dogs, and was about to kill a tenth. I may have killed them to defend the town and Scarlet, but that didn't excuse the fact that I killed them. It seemed like death was following me around like a lost puppy. First the Ursa Major, then Silver Thorn, then the dogs from last night, and then now. Apart from the dogs last night, who Scarlet took care of, I had killed them all. I refused to become a murderer. 
I removed my sword from his throat “No, there's been too much death today,” I said somberly as I went to cut the hostages out of their bonds. 
The leader dog yelled at me “Where are you going you damn coward! Get back here and finish me off! KILL ME DAMN YOU!!!” He screamed.
I turned to him and said “No,” my voice sad as I turned back to help the hostages. 
The leader dog screamed and someone from the crowd yelled “Look out!”.
The leader dog had tossed his sword in the air with his foot, grabbed it in his teeth, and was charging at me. I slung my sword off my back and stabbed him through the gut. His sword fell out of his jaws and clattered to the ground as he fell. I slung the blood off of my sword and cut the hostages out of their bonds, the uninjured pegasus rushing towards the one with the head injury. The earth pony stallion captive walked up to me and said “You saved us, thank you,”.
I looked at him somberly and said “Killers don't deserve praise,”.
I took one last look at the leader dog before I left, a pool of blood now surrounding him. I thought about how much more death I would see before my journey came to an end, and judging by today and the goddess' earlier warning, I guessed I was gonna see much more. 
I turned to the earth pony and said “Can you do something for me?”.
He nodded and said “Sure, anything,”.
“Gather up the bodies and bury them,” I said.
He hesitated for a moment, but then said “Right away, uhh..”
“Shadow,” I said.
“Yes, right away mister Shadow,” he said, and called a few more ponies over  to help gather the bodies. I walked back to the hospital, the fight weighing heavy on my body and my mind.





When I got back to the hospital, Scarlet bombarded me with a million questions
“Where were you? What happened? Why are you covered in blood? Why….” I held up my hoof to silence her.
“Remember those dogs from last night, well a few of their friends came here looking for revenge. They took some of the townspeople captive, but they’re safe now”.
“What happened to the dogs?” she asked.
I hung my head “They’re dead, I killed them”.
“You killed them?” she asked a little shocked.
I nodded “Yes, I….” I couldn’t hold it anymore, I broke down in tears right there.
“Shadow, what’s wrong?”
“I killed them Scarlet, I killed them. They were living creatures, and I killed them.”
Scarlet tried to comfort me “You had to; ponies could’ve gotten hurt if you hadn’t”.
“THAT DOESN’T EXCUSE IT” I yelled.
“Shadow….”
“I’m a murderer, a filthy disgusting murderer” I whimpered. I probably would’ve continued like that for hours if not for Scarlet giving me a good smack across the face.
“Ow, what was …” as I got up Scarlet got right in my face.
“Listen Shadow, you did what you had to do. If you didn’t ponies could’ve gotten killed, you could’ve gotten killed. You are not a murderer, do you hear me. If I ever hear you call yourself that again I swear to Celestia I will slap you clear to the moon, got it!” She yelled at me, her eyes serious.
I sniffed and said “Y-Yes Ma’am” my voice cracking.
She backed away from me “Good. Now, let’s get you cleaned up, you reek of sweat and you’re covered in blood.” She said, her voice taking on a mocking tone.
“Okay and Scarlet,”
“What?”
“Thanks,” I said.
Scarlet blushed a little and said “S-Shut up and go clean yourself up stripes before I smack you again,” her voice embarrassed.
“Right,” I said as I went to clean off the grime and blood from the days events.



After I had finished cleaning myself up, it was almost night, the sun almost ready to set and make way for the moon. Since I didn’t want to leave Jade alone at the hospital, we were allowed to stay there until she recovered. When I got back, Scarlet was passed out on the couch, mumbling something in her sleep. I grabbed a blanket and pillow the nurse had left out and lay down on the floor, my sword lying next to me. 

I didn’t get much sleep that night; every time I managed to fall asleep I was met with horrible nightmares. After three tries I gave up and just lay there staring at the ceiling. The day’s events still haunted me. Despite Scarlet literally slapping me out of my earlier breakdown, the guilt of what I had done stayed with me. I never liked killing, even though I knew that it was sometimes necessary for survival. However, killing for survival is far different than what I did, what I did was cold, calculating murder. I may have been doing it to protect people, but that still didn't excuse it. I picked up my sword and just stared at it, the blade clean of the leader dog’s blood. Ever since I got this thing it’s been nothing but fighting.
“Maybe I should get rid of this thing,” I thought out loud.
“Not a wise decision young one”, a voice suddenly said.
Hearing the voice I wheeled around the room, my body placed in a fighting stance.
“Who's there?” I said.
“Uhh, down here,” the voice said. I looked down, not seeing anything.
“Down where?” I asked, not sure where the voice was coming from.
“The sword you foolish boy,” the voice said.
I looked down at my sword, and saw that it was glowing so faintly that you would've never noticed it if you weren't looking for it.
“Ahh!” I yelled and dropped the sword.
“Ow, is that any way to treat a friend?” the voice said annoyed.
“Friend?” Scarlet snorted behind me, I changed my voice to a whisper so as not to wake her or Jade “What do you mean?” I asked, still struggling with the fact that I was talking to a sword. Then again, I was a human turned zebra in a land inhabited by magical talking ponies. I guess anything goes in this world.
“Come now Shadow, surely you haven't forgotten me already,” the voice said, starting to sound very familiar.
I thought for a moment about the sword's voice, the way it spoke, how it knew my name, and how it said we were friends. Suddenly the pieces all came together, tears coming to my eyes as I realized  who the voice was.
“Silver Thorn?” I asked, tears coming down my face.
“Yes Shadow, it is I,” said Silver Thorn.
“But I thought you died, I...killed you myself,” I choked up, still sore over having to kill the Elder Manticore, tears forming in my eyes
“You did, and I thought my spirit was to go the great beyond, but somehow my soul wound up bound to this blade,” he explained, clearly as confused as I was.
I wiped the tears from my eyes “How do you suppose that happened?” I asked.
“I've no idea, a soul being bound to something is a rare occurrence even here in Equestria. It's extremely rare and powerful magic, magic I've only seen present in those with the Ursa's Blessing,” he said.
“What's that?”
“It is a power given to those who can slay an Ursa Major. You see, Ursa Majors are creatures of immense magic and strength, which is why all creatures try their best to steer clear of them. So whoever can slay an Ursa Major gains the Ursa's magic and strength,” he said.
I stared at the sword, unable to believe what I had just heard.
“Shadow, are you okay?” asked Silver Thorn.
Suddenly everything strange about my powers started to make sense. I was able to swing my heavy sword so easily and heal so quickly because I was imbued with the magic of an Ursa Major. I knew killing one was an impressive feat, but I never knew it could grant me such power.
“Shadow, snap out of it!” snapped Silver Thorn.
I snapped back to reality “Silver Thorn, what you just said explains everything. Before I met you, I faced an Ursa Major in battle and killed it. When it died, it dissipated into light, some of which went into my body and some into my sword. That must have been the Ursa's Blessing,” I said.
It was Silver Thorn's turn to be in stunned silence.
“Silver Thorn, maybe that's how you got bound to the sword, it must've been the Ursa magic,” I suggested.
Silver Thorn snapped out of his shock “That's certainly a possibility, but for now we can not be sure. Regardless, the truth will show itself in time,” said the Manticore.
“We can only hope,” I said. I sighed, my mind wandering back to the earlier. Man, I'm starting to sound like a broken record. 
Silver Thorn spoke up “Shadow, are you all right? You seem troubled,” he asked in concern.
I looked at the sword “Nothing, just thinking,” I lied.
“You're thoughts dwell on your fight with the diamond dogs,” he said, almost reading my mind.
“How did you...” I said.
“I'm your sword remember, I was there,” he said annoyed.
I blushed in embarrassment “Oh, right,” I said.
“Shadow, I know you feel immense guilt for what you did, but you must learn to forgive yourself,”  he said.
“I know, it's just....”
“You fear your own abilities,”  he said.
The Manticore hit the nail right on the head. I still felt guilty about killing the dogs, the slap from Scarlet helping to alleviate me some, but there was still something I couldn't shake. My problem was I had killed them like I was getting rid of a pest. I pulled a Vlad the Impaler with the lesser dogs and made the leader suffer before I killed him. I wasn't myself, it felt like something had taken control of me, like a primal instinct.
I answered the Elder Manticore “Yes...” I said somberly.
“Shadow, you have been granted a great power. Not just the Ursa's Blessing, but you're alchemy as well. Power is not something to take lightly, it can corrupt even the most pious of creatures. The important thing to remember is not to let the power control you, you must control the power,” he said.
“I don't know if I can,” I said.
“Shadow, in the short time I have known you you have proven yourself to be a most remarkable person. You have shown honor, courage, kindness, and a high respect for life. I have no doubt in my mind that you can control the powers which you have been granted,” he said.
Silver Thorn's words resonated in me like a cleansing bell. No one had ever believed in me like this before. People back on earth had always scoffed at me and told me I would never amount to anything. Who would of thought I'd finally get such praise from the soul of an Elder Manticore trapped in a sword.
I wiped a few tears forming in my eyes “Thank you Silver Thorn, I promise I won't let you down,” I said with determination.
“I know, but for now rest,” he said.
I yawned “I think you're right,” I said. I laid the sword down where it was before and lay back down on the floor.
“Good night Silver Thorn,” I said.
“Good night Shadow,” he said.
I closed my eyes and went to sleep. No nightmares. Just sweet, blissful sleep.