//------------------------------// // The Long Night // Story: The Shadow Lands // by kento124 //------------------------------// As she sat at the main gate with the cold wind blowing, Silver's mind was elsewhere. She shivered in the cold, remembering an old memory of Shade. She couldn't help but feel worried about him. Silver let out a small sigh as she thought about the nickname she gave him when they were just foals. He was always a hoof taller than her as they grew up, always holding it over her. Silver would always tease him about being in his shadow so much that she started to called him Shade. “Hey, if I’m stuck being your shadow I'll have to follow you everywhere," she would say. She poked fun at  him a lot back then. A drop of something wet touched her nose, interrupting her thoughts. Snow? It had started to snow, which meant that winter was beginning, and its chilling winds were on their way. The temperatures were so cold that they could turn a pony into a frozen statue. Wishing that Lunar would hurry up and get her flank down here so she could read that letter, she thought what is going on and why did he seem so scared?, as a cold shiver ran down her spine. She didn’t understand all of what he said; she just hoped that he was alright. XxX As Lunar ran through the hall toward her teacher's bedroom, her mind raced. Why did he want me to meet Silver by the main gate with his personal magic book? The order made no sense, but she was going to obey it all the same. Ever since Shadow saved her, she had never questioned him. She fondly remembered the promise she made him at their first meeting. The cold morning air was always harsh back in those days at the orphanage. They hoped for a home and a family to call their own through those long and dreary days, but not many got that chance. Most found themselves as slaves or in the military service. Those lucky enough to find a home became maids or butlers. None of them had a family that loved them. She shivered slightly as a tear rolled down her cheek, any hopes she had of finding a loving family going with it. One long winter night, a strange black unicorn came to the orphanage asking to see whatever unicorn fillies they had. “So she’s the only one?” she heard him ask the head caretaker, who responded with a simple nod. “Sir, I promise to try my hardest not to make you angry and to be good," Lunar said, hoping that was enough to get adopted. She could see him crack a smile and his next words surprised her. "If you never made me mad, then that would be boring. Let’s try just being good, leave it at and we’ll see what happens then," he said, patting her head. "Whoa now, let’s not shed any tears and just smile, okay? I'm going to expect a lot out of you so don't waste your time crying. Use it to sharpen your mind." Tears? Without even noticing, she was crying as she quickly wiped them away. The sheer amount of joy of leaving that place had nearly overwhelmed her. By that time, Lunar and the strange stallion were on their way to wherever he decided to go. She made no fuss since this was what she expected to happen. She took a deep breath, gathering some resolve to ask what her future would hold. “So mister, what am I going to be? A maid? A servant? worker, or…” She paused at the last one, a darker image of what it entailed came up. ”Well...” she heard him start as she looked up to see what he would say. “My name is Shadow Wing, and as to what your job shall be...” He levitated a large book to her. “On our way back I want you to read this entire tome on the basic arts of magic." He landed it right in front of her with a resounding thump. “We’ll see about your job after you read that.” He always did things in such a roundabout way. Lunar just barely finished the book before they arrived to what looked like her new home. It was a strange place, with nothing but thick tall hedges with armed guards all around. The large manor that sat behind the hedges felt unsettling due to what she thought was an old-world feel. “So, since you just finished the book, how about a little test? You see these blocks here?” He levitated some multicolored blocks in front of her. “All you need to do is levitate them into a house pattern and you pass.” He took a step back with a small grin and waited. All right, just need to make a house, Lunar thought as she geared up and tried to levitate one of the blocks. Instead, she ended up miscalculating the formula and flung herself into a nearby hedge. As she tried to make out what just happened she could hear the stallion laughing. "Would you like to try that again?" She had just screwed up such an easy spell and threw herself across the yard. “Didn’t I fail?” she asked, feeling a sense of defeat. The strain to lift them was great, like she was lifting a fifty pound boulder. She barely had two of the blocks in position before her spell gave out. “I asked if you’re willing to give it another shot, so are you?" he asked, holding a confident grin, motioning to the blocks. She felt confused by his answer. She didn’t understand what he meant - if he was being serious or toying with her before sending her back to the orphanage. She couldn’t go back to that dreadful place. She couldn’t fail. She tried to focus with all her might, and they slowly lifted off the ground. As she tried to focus on the blocks, they slowly slipped away. She could feel the tears welling up as she tried again, but to no avail. As she tried for the fourth time the tears flowed down her face freely before he stepped in and stopped her fifth try. “Whoa there, anymore and you could really hurt yourself.” She hung her head low with the thought that she failed. "I’m sorry that I couldn't finish, but please don’t send me back! I’ll try hard not to fail again. I'll try anything, just please don't send me back there!” she begged with all her heart. Her thoughts and feeling of loss were cut off by the feeling of something wrapping around her. “Now what did I say about crying?" She noticed that he was hugging her just before he threw her into the air. The whole moment took her by surprise and she let out a yelp just before he caught her in his own magic. “To be honest, this was a test for something that is hard to find." His words stunned her mind as she simply stared at him blankly. "You see, those blocks are nearly impossible to be moved by any novice. I made them to be that way because as a ‘high level mage’, I get applicants daily with all this false gusto, not to mention the arrogant ones that expect everything to be handed to them.”. He paused and set her down. “They fail that test saying I was making fun of them. None of them tried as hard or as many times as you did. You even managed to lift one, which most of them couldn't do, so you pass. You see, I would rather have a student that will give a hundred and ten percent than a student who calls it quits before even giving something their best effort." As everything he said started to sink in, he suddenly yelled, “WELCOME, MY NEW STUDENT!" Lunar felt reborn that day. She followed him and his rules ever since... well, most of them. XxX Lunar was brought back from her reverie as she rounded the last corner. She had finally made it to her teacher’s room. It wasn’t hard to find since they carved his image into the door itself. She always thought that the door was silly, with the picture of him summoning minions to protect the castle from an unseen danger. She couldn’t understand why they didn’t just put a plaque with his name on it by the door like they did in the barracks. She gave a little giggle at the thought of him as a soldier and proceeded to open the door. As she pushed the door open, she quickly lit her horn, illuminating the dark room.. “Why was the door…” she asked out loud, just noticing the pile of books that slid out from behind the door. “Why are you so messy?” she commented to herself as she looked around the wild, empty room. She walked about the room, looking for the book he mentioned but had no luck, until she took note of a piece of paper stuck to the closet door. As she came upon it she found it to be a note, addressed to her. She read:          "Okay, Lu, if you're reading this then I must have sent you to get the book. Inside, there is a letter for Silver. You must make sure she gets it. I left you with a saddlebag with some of your things in it and the book. Don't worry, I’ll be with you shortly. Your teacher, Shadow PS. The book is in the closet." She pushed opened the door to the closet, tossing the letter aside. It revealed a lab with beakers and shelves of magical ingredients. ‘Yep, as others would use this place for formal dresses or their work attire, he uses it as his personal study lab,’ she thought, rolling her eyes. She let out a small sigh and began to look for the saddlebag he had mentioned in the note. As she walked through the study she realized that this was her first time being in here. She couldn’t understand why he had two labs, but three? “Why does he need all this?” Lunar soon noticed the saddlebag near the wooden desk in the far back of the study. She quickly ran up to find the book and an envelope addressed to Silver along with a few other things inside. She quickly grabbed the saddlebag, placing it on her back. She made her way out of the study, closing its doors. “Okay, now I just need to make my way to the main gate,” she muttered, proceeding across the room to the door. When she finally left and closed the door to the room a deep scruffy voice caused her to jump. "May I ask what you’re doing?" She quickly turned to see one of the Shalin Royal Guard staring at her. "Ah... hello, um, I’m just grabbing a few things,” she managed to say as she remembered teacher’s words. 'Don't trust no-one.' “Really? Must be something for you to go into his room. Do you mind if I check what they may be?“ His eyes were locked on her as he took a step forward. She didn’t know what he wanted, but she had to think of a way to get out of this. An idea struck her. "Well, sorry for being rude, but I need to get going, so I'll be off now." The guard leapt for her, but before he could reach her Lunar's horn lit up with a flash, which stunned the guard. He stumbled to the floor, quickly getting back to his hooves and looking back at the empty spot where the filly once stood. XxX A shiver shot through Silver from the cold weather as she cursed the snow that fell. “How long will it take her to get here? It’s freezing out here.” she complained, now knowing why her friend was willing to switch his shift with her. Silver faintly noticed a flashin the distance. She squinted to see what it was. Thinking it was a lantern going out, she paid it no mind until the she heard a pony calling her, “Silver! Silver, where are you!?” She noticed a small pony in the distance as it gave off a small light. “Hey! Over here!” She yelled trying to get its attention. She apparently did as the small filly came running toward her. As the filly came into view, she noticed in relief that it was Lunar. “Lunar, hey, did you get the letter he left?” she asked when Lunar arrived. She seemed to have been running for a bit as she was huffing for air. “Ya, here,” she managed to say between breaths, lifting the envelope to her. As she opened and removed the letter from the envelop, Lunar gave a slight look around as she noticed a tower of smoke in the distance. "Silver, what is burning over in the distance?" Lunar pointed to the west courtyard. The smoke surprised her, thinking of what was over in that section as her heart went as cold as the snow itself. The only thing over there was his lab as her thoughts jumped back to those words. She quickly opened the letter and began to read: Dear Silver,          If you're reading this now near wherever I sent you, my worst fears might be coming true. In the years before you came to the castle as a royal guard member; back when I first came to the castle myself, I met the king. He was different back then, he was kinder, but the times have changed him. His goals changed after his father died from poison, he’s grown colder since then. As the rebellions popped up, and the wars that followed, he became secluded and crueler to the world. I feel I’m partly to blame because I couldn’t save him before he fell so far, and with the corrupted government guiding his actions the land will die. He decided to steal what he needed with war to keep the land living; not stopping that was my second sin. My thread was sacrificing the kingdom’s people to him to keep the peace. You may think I had no choice but I did. I could have joined the people in rebelling and torn this empire in two, but that would have meant killing him. To this day, I think of him as a dear, close friend, even if that faith is waning. I have been able to enter their world and observe their culture. It’s a place that he can’t be allowed to destroy and ravage no matter what; they don’t deserve such a punishment. Therefore, as you read this, I’ll be confronting him one last time for a straight answer... but I could guess what it would be. Therefore, I asked you to take care of Lunar for me, because if they hold anything against me she might end up paying for it. Don’t worry; I’ll be joining you a bit later. Make sure she learns everything in that book; I know she can do it. In the town nearby, there will be a pony in a cloak in the brush on its outskirts. Just call out Shade and he’ll show you where you should go. You’re Dear Friend, Shadow “Shady” Wing. PS. Be safe. She stared at the letter as the knot in her gut grew. She looked back to the smoke as a loud explosion rumbled in the distance. She could feel everything he feared had happened. "Silver, what is going on? What was that?" She noticed Lunar looking up to her, pleading for an answer. She felt helpless, as all she could do was follow his letter’s instructions. What he said about Lunar was right. From the four years she knew Lunar, she ended up loving her like a sister. She took a deep breath to steady herself as she began, “Lunar, we need to leave right now. We’ll meet up with Shadow later because he had things he needed to do, but we need to go now, okay?” Lunar simply gave a nod as confusion racked her face. She just lied to Lunar or what felt like a lie, she didn't know when, where, or if they would ever meet him again. "Right, we need to get to the town just outside of the castle walls, hopefully before the winds pick up.” She finished just as a loud voice caught them by surprise, “There they are! HALT! You are under arrest for rebelling against his Highness and the Kingdom of Shalin!” They both turned to see five members of the royal guard rushed toward them in a mad dash. She quickly hunched down, saying, "Get on! It’ll be faster.” The filly hastily climbed on, grabbing around her neck as her wings flared. Once Lunar grabbed hold she began to gallop toward the main gate, leaping into a short flight over it. She landed just outside the main gate, pausing to get her bearings as she started towards the town’s direction. Hearing the guards yelling for a squad of fliers, she quickly picked up its general direction and began to race towards it. Just then, a couple of pegasus guards came over the wall racing after them. "Hold on, this is going to get rough!" she nearly yelled at Lunar, trying to conserve her breath as she picked up speed. She didn't dare look back, knowing they were following just behind by the sound of their commander’s orders. I need to shake them before I reach the town, she thought as she began to push herself even harder, beating her wing into a strange horizontal motion. The woods beside them began to blur as she could feel Lunar’s hold tighten as she gained even more speed. As she ran, the sound of her pursuers became more distant. She held her speed, only slowing as the town came into view. As she stopped, she could feel her body ache from the run as most of her muscles felt like rubber. "Sorry Lu,” she wheezed, trying to catch her breath as she let the filly down. “I’m fine but...” She noticed Lunar paused to shiver. She knew they had to get out of the cold soon or things would get worse.“What did you do? I looked back and saw them trying so hard to catch up, but then they all just faded in the distance.” She felt some relief at the thought that none were able to follow them. “Well, you always wondered what my skill was, it’s speed. There’s not a pony alive who can keep up with me,” she stated with a bit of pride. "So did they give up?" Lu questioned with a bit of fear as she knew the answer. “They may have broken off their pursuit but that’s because they knew they wouldn’t be able to catch me. They would wait for the storm that’s coming in to trap us. We need to find that pony Shadow was talking about before that happens,” she explained as she began to look around the outer edge of the town. "You did say Shadow, so I must be your pony," A strange low tone voice said from behind, causing them both to jump. They quickly turn to see a dark hooded pony exiting some bushes near a dead oak tree. They couldn’t make out who he was due to his hood that covered his face as he quickly walked past them. He faced the road that leads into the town as Silver asked, “So, mister...” He abruptly cut her off, “ My name is not important getting you to a house before the storm comes and the guards follow is. So come, come,” he stated as they both looked at each other. "Right, but how do you know Shadow?” Silver questioned him, looking to him for an answer as he turned back to face them both. “Like some others, I owe him a favor for my life. Now come, time is a luxury we can’t afford,” he said as they entered the town. She felt a cold chill as they walked past the darkened homes, with the only sound being their hoofsteps on the light snow. She couldn’t tell if it was from the cold air or the creepy feeling of the empty town. “Unsettling, right?” he asked as if reading her mind. “The whole town is quiet, not a single light to be seen anywhere. Ponies don’t venture out due to the coming storm, but it’s mostly because of the castle guard.” He paused as they entered the town square. She could tell from the way his head pivoted that he was searching for something. Her shivers were rattling her more as they began to follow him again. She snuck a glance at Lunar, seeing a scared look upon her face. “I’ll be alright Lu, I just hope the place were going has a heater because it’s freezing out here,” she said in hope of taking Lunar’s mind off what was happening, and she heard the filly giggle. "Where is this place you're taking us?” He just kept walking, saying, "It’s near the outskirts of town, on the other side of the plaza. You can warm up there." She gave a weak smile at the notion of being warm again as a particular home came into view. “Is it that one?” she asked. He gave a small nod, but as they reached the front of the house her smile faded. The house was in dreadful shape. Its paint was peeling off and the wood beneath was splintering. The door and windows were in the same shape; the windows were broken and the door hung ajar on only one hinge. He pushed the door open, and it gave a loud creaking noise before pulling free from the doorframe and crashing to the floor. Silver was shocked at what she saw and Lunar gasped. The inside was just as bad, with cobwebs and broken or rundown furniture scattered about. "What are you trying to pull?” she demanded, taking a step forward raising her hoof to the pony.As soon it made contact the robe fell as if nopony was in side. "W-what the?!" Silver stuttered when a push came from behind that shoved her and Lunar into the room. As they landed, she heard Lunar scream, looking up to see a ghostly figure with purple eyes staring at them from the doorway. Silver tried to hurry to her hooves until she heard a voice say, "Sorry, but it was the only way to keep you safe." Its horn glowed as an arcane circle appeared on the floor and entrapped them in a bright light. "Please take care,” was the last thing she heard before an explosive pulse knocked her out.