Shadow groaned slowly as he blinked back to reality again. At first he wasn’t entirely sure if he was awake or asleep for he could see nothing whether his eyes were apparently open or closed. The pain of tripping over his own hooves and landing on his face was enough to confirm his wakefulness.
“I’ve got to be dead this time…” he murmured “That was a fire spell… There is absolutely no way I could ever possibly be alive…” He flinched slightly as his hoof connected with something round and metallic, there was a creaking, and a glimmer of light as he touched it.
“Wait a minute…” he said “I know that sound…” He quickly turned the wheel again, squinting a little as a beam of light slowly grew on his right.
The curtain was rising, the same curtain he had been behind when Lightning had surprised him and Vinyl. Someone must have teleported him here before the fire spell had struck, but who could possibly have done that? The dome was still covering the entire castle, the sunlight, filtering pink into the room, confirmed that much. What could’ve happened?
Shadow trotted down the row of dilapidated wooden seats to the door at the end of the hall. He slowly opened it, surprised to be met with the sight of two barded unicorn guards. Even more shocking was the sight of the white unicorn filly commanding them.
“You’re entirely sure there are no more stragglers?” Vinyl asked harshly “You’ve checked every corner of the castle? Every hidden passageway?”
“Yes ma’am…” said one of the guards “Not so much as a mouse remained undiscovered, you may rest easy.”
“Good,” said Vinyl, horn flashing with magic “I would hate to have to punish you… Now go check over everything one more time.”
The guards quickly trotted off leaving a smirking Vinyl. Shadow’s eyes widened as he caught sight of the small blue pendant around her neck. The manna battery! Vinyl was still able to use her magic under the dome because of the manna battery!
Vinyl’s horn crackled again as she summoned a small pink cloud in front of her eyes. “Lord Discord,” she said “The castle has been totally secured; there is no chance of any infiltration.”
“Good,” Discord’s voice emanated from the cloud “Thank you Vinyl, now go make sure every pony is remaining in check!”
“Will do sir,” said Vinyl, the cloud vanishing. Shadow felt his heart sink as he saw her white coat was tinted with a dull gray color. Whatever had happened to Lightning had happened to her too!
He quietly shut the door and walked back along the seats in utter shock. He had narrowly escaped death, but for what? Vinyl and Lightning had been hypnotized by Discord to the point they wouldn’t even recognize him anymore. Whoever this mystery pony that had saved him was, they couldn’t have had his best interests in mind…
No, he couldn’t think like that. As long as he was in control of his own thoughts hope was still alive. He remembered vaguely that Twilight’s friends had something similar done to them when Discord had tried to take over Ponyville, but that was just a story to him. The only thing it really told him was that there was some way to win, a useless factoid considering he couldn’t even begin to fathom what that might be.
Looking at his options he did actually have a few. Unlikely as it may be there was probably some way out of the castle, maybe by secret passage or some other magical trickery. There was a chance, assuming he could escape here, that he could find some way to raise the alarm. He could always turn himself in to Discord he supposed, maybe he would be spared that way. Unfortunately both these ideas seemed utterly ludicrous. There really wasn’t anyone out there capable of defeating Discord, and who might’ve inside the castle had been captured. That and he would probably be killed if he tried to surrender…
Shadow groaned as he stared up at the dark slanting ceiling. Adventures were fun and all, but this was starting to drive him insane. There was no winning course of action, but it wasn’t like he could just sit here and wait to be found. What would dad do if he were in this situation…?
He smiled, suddenly sure of what to do next. If there was anything his dad had managed to drill firmly into his psyche, it was a sense of loyalty. Lightning was still somewhere in the castle, lost in darkness. It was up to him, the lone survivor, to find her and bring her back to her senses, no matter what the cost.
There was a sound of hoof steps outside the hall; obviously no way out that way… He remembered the small wooden door that he and Vinyl had found their way through and quickly flew back up to the stage. It was a bit of a nuisance that the curtain seemed to fall back by itself after it was raised, meaning he had to actually lift it up and crawl under. His tail stuck a little as the curtain flopped down again, but he was able to free himself with little effort.
The sound of the main doorway opening and closing caused Shadow to turn back toward the curtain quickly. “I didn’t even notice this area,” came a deep voice “We’d better look it over, but I don’t think any pony could’ve made it this far.”
“I think I saw something…” said another voice that Shadow was relieved to recognize as one of the guards who had escorted him to the castle, Dawnstar? “Behind the curtain! Did you see that?”
“You’re jumping at shadows,” said the first voice “Better check anyway I suppose. That unicorn would probably vaporize us if we missed something…”
Ignoring the obvious irony of this statement, Shadow dashed for the little wooden door and slipped out. He looked up and down the stone walled hallway, trying to get his bearings. He could probably find his way back to his room from here, which was as good a place to start looking for Lightning as anywhere. The only problem would be getting there without being seen…
“Why do we even have to guard the Prince’s tower?” asked one of the two guards stationed at the bottom of the staircase to his compatriot “It’s not like there’s anyone to guard here anymore.”
Nightwing, who happened to be the other guard, didn’t respond at once. “How can you say that Ironmane?” he said finally “You can’t talk about the death, not just of a prince, but of a six year old child, as a casual thing…”
“Sure I can,” said Ironmane with a shrug “He was going to walk through life with a target on his head before any of this happened, better he’s gone soon.”
Nightwing shuddered, he hadn’t been forced to be “grayed out” as many of the guards were calling it, but even worse was having to listen to and cooperate with those who had been. Almost exactly half the guard had been left to their own minds, and they were almost always paired with grayed out counterparts. Discord had clearly done this to make the mood of chaos and misery even more awful. Poor Ironmane had been one of the sternest and most steadfast stallions on the guard, but even he had been broken, re-made, and left as the heartless husk of a pony.
“Doesn’t make any difference so long as we get paid after all,” said Ironmane with a malevolent grin “Maybe Discord as a new ruler will give us some more employee benefits.” Nightwing contained the urge to put his eye out.
Nightwing’s gaze was suddenly caught by a small gray feather floating down in front of his eyes. He snatched it out of the air and looked at it carefully. It was fluffy, like the feather of a young pegasus, but where had it come from?
He looked up and nearly fainted at the impossible sight before his eyes. Wide eyed and frightened, flapping his wings silently to press himself against the ceiling, was Shadow. Nightwing looked quickly to Ironmane, who was too busy picking his nose to notice his reaction, then back up to Shadow. How was he still alive? Was he grayed out? It was difficult to tell due to his natural coloring, but Discord’s minions wouldn’t have to sneak around…
Nightwing gave Shadow an imperceptible nod, which made Shadow relax slightly. He then proceeded to straighten his legs and walk, upside down, up the stairwell to the tower. Nightwing let out a smile, maybe there was some hope yet. The prince was both determined and ingenuitive. There was a chance, however small…
“What are you grinning at?” asked Ironmane.
“Just thinking about a discarded Equestria,” said Nightwing vaguely, hefting his spear with just a little more vigor.
Shadow found himself stopping and staring at the door to the tower room, not entirely willing to open it. He was more than a little bit afraid of what he might find on the other side of that door. There was a chance Light wouldn’t be there at all, and he wasn’t sure whether that would be better or worse than if she was.
Just as he had forced himself to reach out for the door, it flung open on its own and he scrunched himself back up on the ceiling. Vinyl walked out of the room, her pelt even darker than last time he had seen it. She looked livid, stomping out the door like a hurricane.
“You’ll see thunder brain!” She called back over her shoulder “Next time you go against me it won’t be nearly so easy!”
So Lightning was in there… There really was no turning back now. He dropped down to the floor and walked carefully into the room. It didn’t look any different from where they had left it this morning, except some pony had made the bed and fixed the popcorn machine.
He saw Lightning sitting on the front row of the theatre seats, spinning a joystick idly. The huge screen displayed a game of pac-man which Lightning didn’t really seem focused on. As he watched she got a game over and proceeded to just stare at the screen. Shadow found himself waiting for a tantrum he knew would never come.
As he stepped forward, Lightning turned to look at him, her expression completely disinterested. “So Discord was right,” she said in a monotone voice “You aren’t dead.”
Shadow felt a little flutter of hope as he saw that Lightning wasn’t nearly so gray as Vinyl was. “I guess I’m not…” he said carefully “How did you know?”
Lightning clambered out of her chair and walked over to him. “Discord noticed first,” she said “He said when a pony gets incinerated he can taste the fat in the air. Then Vinyl sensed your presence somewhere in the castle so they started a manhunt.”
“I see…” said Shadow, an idea starting to form in his mind “Hey Lightning, do you remember the first time we met? You were acting like Pinkie Pie on a sugar high. And you had those huge ridiculous shades?”
Lightning gave him a blank look so he continued “I know it was crazy, but the Everfree Forest was fun too. We kind of saved each other didn’t we? If either of us had gone alone we would never have gotten out! And coming here? I would never have thought of that if you hadn’t kicked mom!” He found himself laughing a bit, the scene seeming so ludicrous now it was so far in the past.
“And the garden…” said Shadow, face falling as he still saw no change in Lightning’s demeanor “Surely you remember the garden…You know… How we almost…” He found himself getting a little red, but he shook it off “Come on Lightning, you have to remember…please!” A tear fell down his face as he looked down at his hooves. It wasn’t working…
“Hey Shadow…” Lightning said.
Shadow looked up quickly, suddenly hopeful.
“How much do you think I could get for that old guitar?” asked Lightning “I’m thinking fifty bits at least.”
And just like that he found himself totally without hope again. Lightning’s coat turned darker as he watched, a clear sign that his little speech, far from helpful, had driven her deeper into the darkness clouding her mind. His ears drooped, and almost imperceptibly, his green mane sank to a dark gray.
As he descended slowly back down the stone stairway he realized how little effort he was putting in to being unseen. What did it really matter though? Lightning and Vinyl were beyond his help, what else did he have to do? If Discord would find him right now would it really be so bad?
He was vaguely aware of a dull thud from somewhere up ahead, but he didn’t pay it any mind until he felt a hoof on his shoulder. “What do you think you’re doing?” he heard Nightwing’s voice “He very nearly saw you!”
Shadow looked up to Nightwing, then over to where the other guard was unconscious on the ground. “I don’t care…” he said “Discord’s won…”
“You can’t talk like that!” said Nightwing urgently “We need to get you out of here, come on!”
“What’s the point…?” Shadow muttered “It’s not like I can do anything about it…”
“I won’t condone that attitude,” said Nightwing, glaring at him “You are our only hope, you understand that? You are the only chance we have at stopping the draconequis, and as such you are completely forbidden from giving up, you understand?”
Before Shadow could voice a reply he found himself being pushed, almost carried, down the hall. It was interesting that Nightwing would have such faith in him… His slowly darkening mane lightened just a little.
Nightwing led him to a door that Shadow was barely able to catch a glimpse of before he was forced against one of the walls. Nightwing eased the door open and kept a watch on the room while Shadow forced his way forward to get a look himself. He was able to see a sliver of the main hall. He shuddered slightly as he saw the red dragon’s tail of Discord.
“Now let’s try that again, came Discord’s voice from the hall “I want this song to go swimmingly this time!”
“He’s got the whole orchestra set up in the main hall…” said Nightwing thoughtfully “I think if he dismisses them we should be able to move through the hall unnoticed, we’ll blend right in.”
Shadow, somewhat frustrated he wasn’t tall enough to get Nightwing’s viewpoint, merely focused on what he could see and started listening. The whole hall suddenly burst into a chorus of music, fast and hectic, yet still somehow holding an enchanting melody. And as the music started to pick up, Discord started to sing.
Although I admit your twists and tricks
Posed an interesting challenge for me
Yet despite all this, I captured you all
So now what? Oh just wait and see…
Take it from me, awesome is he, my name is Discord
Spirit of chaos, poised for destruction, I’ll let you see…
I won’t take a moment to stop
So don’t you even dare try to block
This awesome performance, a chorus of dissonance
You don’t stand a chance, so come here and dance
With the draconequis who is he, who is me!
Discord! Hold sway over the moon!
The sun will never shine, not even come time of noon!
So sing with me won’t you? (Lest I destroy you)
For the lord of chaos it’s me!
A power enough to conquer Celestia!
Awesome and wonderful, malevolent, despicable
Oldest and fiercest, wisest, and greatest
Unstoppable as the sea! It’s me!
So if you’re still unsure, I’ll give you just a little bit more
I’ll show you the rest, death to all the rest!
And that leaves the awesome and powerful me…
Discord!
The final note was allowed to hand in the air for what Shadow thought was a uselessly long time, after which the orchestra gave a final few notes. If he were completely honest he had to say he thought the entire song was entirely awful, but now wasn’t really the time. As terrible as it was though, it was intriguing, and it was likely that it had served its purpose of intimidation quite well.
“Alright my little ponies!” Discord’s voice came again “You may return to your boring daily routines, but be ready! I may have another fantastic stroke of inspiration at any time!”
There was a flash of light, which Shadow supposed was Discord teleporting. This notion was confirmed by Nightwing pushing him forward into the hall. “Come on,” he said “Stay close to me, if we’re spotted, bolt. You’re more important than I am.”
Shadow nodded, allowing himself be maneuvered down the main stairs and into the gaggle of ponies packing up instruments and milling about the hall. It looked like this group had a few less ponies grayed out than there were on the guard; dissonance most likely interfered with the music. Whatever the reason, it still provided just that little bit more bustle to camaflouge them amongst the crowd.
Nightwing led him on to the bottom of the main stairs and performed a perfect U-turn, walking around the side of the large staircase to a small, inconspicuous door. Shadow thought it looked a lot like the side entrance to the old stage, probably built around the same time. Nightwing took a key out from a pocket of his armor and opened the door.
“Go on,” he said “It’s a little dark down there, but it should be safe. No pony would think to look there, and if they did they would need the key to get in, it’s magically locked.”
Shadow stared at the few black stone steps he could see before they vanished into darkness. He shuddered “Where does it lead?”
“The archives,” said Nightwing “Go, quickly! This opportunity will not last us long.”
Shadow took a few tentative steps down into the blackness. He turned quickly back to the light from the doorway, convincing himself that so long as he saw that light everything would be okay. Nightwing proceeded to shut and lock the door with a snap, plunging poor Shadow into darkness.
So this was what it was like to be blind, not being able to tell the difference between open and closed eyes. He found himself shaking violently, pawing his way through the darkness to find the next step, then the next, and steadily calming down as he realized this wasn’t going to be quite as hard as he thought. He spread his wings to feel both walls, trusting more and more in his ability to safely put one hoof in front of the other…
A missing step suddenly dropped him into open air, his head dropping forward as he tumbled head over hooves downward into the darkness. He fell like this for a full minute before landing, battered and bruised, on a pile of paper. He groaned, forcing his damaged self weakly to his hooves again and stumbling forward across the strange crinkling material that seemed to be the floor.
It was now that he finally discovered that his eyes were, indeed, open. He caught a glimpse of dim light on the other side of what he was able to recognize as a bookshelf. He tried to flap his wings, wincing as he realized they were badly hurt. He groaned as he walked around the large bookshelf, looking up to see the light emanating from a unicorn’s horn.
“So…” said the unicorn, seeming to only be vaguely aware of him “The Prince Shadow has come for a visit, I’m correct…again…”
Shadow took a curious note of the strange symbol that was her cutie mark, then the magical light she was conjuring, then to the huge foreign scroll she was reading from. Questions burst into his mind like a barrage of fireworks, making it hard to think of any single thing to say.
“Who are you?” he finally asked the seemingly most obvious question.
“Letterheart…” said the unicorn after a pause “You’re also wondering why I’m down here, what my cutie mark represents, and how I am able to perform magic underneath the barrier.”
“Um…yeah…” said Shadow, too astounded to do anything else.
Letterheart turned and smiled at him from behind what appeared to be reading glasses “I think it would be best to answer the last question first,” she said “Which should hopefully explain the others. I am blessed with an abundant intellect that allows me to comprehend most everything. That’s my talent in life you know, and it also allows me to invent certain things. For instance, I use a unique magical signature that is neither archaic nor modern magic. As such, Discord’s barrier holds no power over me.”
A plate suddenly appeared on the table beside her scrolls, laden with fruit. “I do suppose you’re hungry,” said Letterheart “Please, help yourself.”
“Oh, thank you!” said Shadow, moving to the table and reaching up for an apple. He winced as his injured wings were stretched, and again as he dropped back to the ground, landing on a weakened leg.
“You should’ve been more careful on the stairs,” said Letterheart, her horn glowing again. Shadow suddenly felt the pain vanish as he flexed a bit.
“It was you…” said Shadow, coming to the realization “You’re the one who teleported me out of Discord’s attack!”
Letterheart sighed “I knew exactly when it would happen,” she said “I have known every detail of the party since Twilight visited me. I knew I would save you, it wasn’t within my physical power to do otherwise.”
Still not entirely understanding, Shadow took a look around the shelves that extended upward apparently far higher than the reach of the light. “Why didn’t you bring me here?” he asked “It seems safer…”
“I didn’t use a proper teleportation spell,” said Letterheart “It was a simple fast travel, easier to perform but same concept. It returned you to a safe place from your own recent memory, that being the stage. The advantage of this was Discord has more ponies suspicious of casting fast travel than he would those who could cast a full on teleportation spell.
Shadow still really didn’t understand, “You had Nightwing bring me here though,” he said “Why did you want to see me?”
“I didn’t,” said Letterheart casually “Nightwing brought you here to keep you hidden. I doubt he even knows who I am…” she paused for a moment “I do know… what’s going to happen…”
“Huh?” asked Shadow.
“You’re not as much as a tell as your mother,” said Letterheart “But just seeing you lets me calculate events far into the future with a one hundred percent success rate. I’m not at all disappointed with what I know, but it isn’t fun to now.”
A scroll suddenly floated down from out of the reach of the light. It looked newer and less yellowed than the others. “I wrote this idea myself years ago…” said Letterheart “I think I’ve finally found where it fits into place… Read it Shadow…”
Shadow looked at Letterheart for a moment before tenderly unrolling the scroll. It took him a moment to read the words, and a while longer to piece together how they fit into the complicated diagrams. He looked back to Letterheart, an expression of shock on his face.
“You expect me… to do this?” he asked incredulously “These are shooting stars! That isn’t possible!”
“I knew you would say that,” said Letterheart “Just as I know what you’ll do with the information. Think about it Shadow, those wings of yours are far from the standard flight material of a young pegasus colt.”
Shadow spread his wings self consciously, waving them around carefully and slowly. It wasn’t something he hadn’t heard before, on the contrary, it was the first thing any pony ever noticed about him. He could fly, which wasn’t just rare in ponies his age, it was unheard of.
He felt his heart pounding in his chest as he looked over the diagram again. Whatever Letterheart had thought out it fit in a horrifying way. His mind flashed back to the dome in Luna’s tower, to the tiny black specks that had been so abundant. The sand that burned when it approached a world…
“I know, already, that the seriousness of this must weigh heavily on you,” said Letterheart “But I have to say, because I am scared to death of the day I’m wrong about something, that you must be careful. You were born an altitude flier, but that doesn’t mean any of this will be at al safe. First, you must succeed with the mission, and second, of equal importance, you must survive.”
Papers rustled about the room as Shadow waved his wings about. His red eyes flashed, the fear being swiftly replaced by violent determination. The gray in his mane vanished into the air and fell like dust around his hooves. Even his coat seemed to take on a brighter sheen.
“I need to get outside the dome.” He said.