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// Standing Out (19) 
// Story: Monster 
// by BlackWing 
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Standing Out



Once Lyra left his head to pass his message to the princess, (Celestia couldn't talk to him herself because, although she is more powerful, Lyra has more natural talent for telepathy, and can speak to him over range, or even across dimensions, while the princesses cannot), Nightshade found himself alone in his mind once again, and had pleasant dreams of time spent with Scootaloo, and the fun they'd be able to have now that he wasn't a secret anymore. He was particularly looking forward to the running of the leaves, in only three day's time. First things first however, he had a presentation to make, and a couple of bullies to shut up. Donning his black coat, the one he normally only wore in the forest, he brought Scootaloo to school, along with several props, avoiding being seen by her other classmates. If he wanted to make an impression, he'd have to surprise them.


Taking care to avoid being seen, Nightshade climbed through one of the school windows, and perched himself in the rafters above the classroom. It was an old style school, only one room, and no artificial lighting. It was illuminated entirely by sunlight, coming in from the various windows. Perfect, with his black coat, he'd be nearly invisible up there. The school bell rang, and Cherilee brought the students in to begin the day.

"Class, today we have a very special visitor. As we all know, Scootaloo was adopted some time ago, and today we finally get to meet her adoptive parent!" Cherilee was also excited at seeing him up close. She had only gotten a glimpse at the town meeting, but as her teaching nature required, she was intrigued by the strange being.

"Without further delay, let's get started. Mr.Nightshade?" She looked around, he was nowhere to be seen. The class searched, and couldn't see him. That's when Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon began teasing.

"See, I knew he wasn't real. Adopted by an alien and living in the Everfree forest? You could have though of a better lie than that." Alright, now that he knew who the bullies were, he carefully positioned himself, and hanging onto the support beam upside down by his feet, dropped down. When Diamond Tiara turned back to the front of the class, she was face to face with a black cloak.

"Who's not real? I could have sworn you meant me." Nightshade said with a smile. Let's just say she freaked.

"Sorry about that, didn't mean to cause a scare." He said, taking off his coat and putting it on the coat rack. "Just wanted to make an entrance."

Cherilee, actually thought it was pretty funny. While she loves all her students, she agreed that those two needed to be taught a lesson. Without his black coat, he was much less frightening, even if he towered over the teacher. She just smiled.

"Well, now that that's out of the way, let's get started shall we? My names Nightshade, I came to Equestria about two years ago, and lived in the Everfree forest. I adopted Scootaloo about a year ago, and finally made my reveal to Ponyville last week." He was interrupted by Pip, who he had met at the 'Meet the Monster' party.

"Is it true that you fought the princesses?" Crap, he didn't want to have to talk about this.

"Unfortunately, it's true. We had a difference of opinion, and when you get people, or ponies as powerful as ourselves, arguments tend to get a little heated." He explained sullenly, he really didn't want to talk about it.

"So wait, you're as strong as the princesses?" Another pony piped up.

"Not even close. I can hold my own, but I'm no match for them. Now, shall I get on to my demonstration?" Desperately trying to change the subject.

"What could you possibly show us? You don't have magic, you're just a forest monster." Silver Spoon. Damn bullies are annoying. Nightshade had a scowl. Cherilee picked up on it.

"Now, that's no way to talk to our guest."

"Actually, I think I'll just show them. Luna explained at the town meeting that I have a, unique, ability. I think maybe I should show it to the class, that way they get a better understanding of it." He said.

"Is it safe?" Cherilee looked worried.

"Of course. I've been doing this for years, and it's not like I'm going to be using it on the students." He shot Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon a wicked glare. They gulped nervously. Pulling out four plants out from behind the desk (he had placed them there when he arrived), he set them on the top.

"Do you all know what these are?" He asked. Applebloom piped up.

"They're apple trees!" Of course she'd know.

"That's right, and what do you notice about them?" He asked.

Diamond Tiara, being a know it all, had to answer. "Well duh, the one on the far right is dead."  Before their very eyes, they watched as the plant which was wilted and black sprang to life, turning vibrant green. They all watched wide eyed as they witnessed it come to life, while another wilted.

"Correction, it wasn't dead, it was very close however. My power is I can transfer life energy from one thing to another, and allowed me to heal the sick plant, at the cost of this one." He motioned to the now wilting plant. It came to life as well, as all three of the others wilted slightly. 

"And this time, I spread it across all three of the healthy plants, so now all of the can recover. You can see how this might be useful in healing, as the damages which on one would we too great, It can be spread across the others, meaning all four of these apple saplings will now grow and be healthy. At several points, Scootaloo has been injured, and I healed her injuries by taking them onto myself, and then passing them onto some trees in the forest." It was so much easier to explain using the plants as an example.

"So, it's a kind of healing magic?" Asked one of the ponies.

"Actually, it's not. Magic doesn't follow the rules of conservation. You can just conjure something out of nowhere. With this, there's a trade. I can't heal something without causing injury to something else. If I don't have a source of energy, there's nothing I can do. While I can use my own to heal something else, that means I have to take all the injuries myself, and if they are bad enough, I'd end up in the same situation as whoever I'm healing." Seems like they finally started to understand.

So is it just healing that you can do?" Asked another.

"No, I can manipulate all forms of life energy. Exhaustion is something else I can pass off. For this, I'll need a volunteer. Any takers?" Nopony raised their hooves except for the crusaders, and Pip

"Alright, Pip since Scootaloo, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle all know me, it wouldn't make for much of a demonstration, so I'll pick you." He went up to the front of the class. The others looked at him like like she was crazy.

"Now, Pip trust me, there's no reason to worry, just a little demonstration. Now, please tell the class a little about yourself." He motioned to her.

"Well, my names Pip, and I moved here little over a year ago from Trottingham and I..." He passed out and fell over.

"What I just did is I gave my tiredness to him, and since he's smaller than me, he has less capacity for energy than I do, and it was enough to put him to sleep. Alright, how about I give him a wake up call?" With that Pip woke back up.

"What happened?" He asked.

"I just put you to sleep, by taking away all your energy." Nightshade responded. The entire class was amused by the stunt. That's when another pony asked a very serious question.

"You said you could transfer all kinds of life energy, does that mean you can bring back the dead?" The question stunned him. He had never tried. It broke all kinds of rules and morals, and he just wasn't willing to go there.

"Well, I've never tried, but one thing you should know is that life itself is a little different. Every living thing has a 'spark'. Think of it like the flame of a candle, except that you can't light another candle just by putting it near. It takes the flame. So if I were to try and bring back the dead, it would cost another life, of equal value. Myself and you ponies all have a great deal of life, so I don't think it'd even be possible for me to move that much, even if I had willing volunteers, and it goes against everything I believe in." He paused for a moment to let that sink in.

"On the other hand... er hoof, for something like a plant, or maybe an insect, that has a very small amount of life, it should be possible. For the sake of learning, I'm willing to try." This was unfamiliar territory, and he didn't much like playing god. After all, if something died, it was NOT meant to come back. One of the students brought forth a dead butterfly, and looked with pleading eyes.

"Well, alright, but stand back, I haven't done this before, so I have no idea what will happen." He placed his hands on the butterfly, and on one of the plants. They both glowed green for a moment, the plant withered, died, and began to rot. The butterfly's wings repaired themselves, and slowly, it began to flap them. It flew up, out the window and into the sky. The class cheered.

"Now remember, it would not be possible for me to do this with anything bigger, like a pet cat or something, and certainly not ponies. Besides that, it would be wrong. It's not for me to take life from one and give to another." Nightshade looked at the dead apple sapling with regret. "Given that I am dealing with some apple saplings and butterflies, I think I can for the sake of demonstration. Any other questions?"

Scootaloo asked a question this time. "You said the flame of life. What if something were to have two? For example, taking the life of one of the saplings and giving it to one that was still alive, would it have two?" He was almost hurt by the question, and it seemed to go against everything he knew, but she was curious, and he couldn't blame her.

"Well, I'm not sure, and since I'm here to demonstrate, I'll try, but everypony stand over there please, near the back of the class, I have no idea what's going to happen." Cherilee looked a little worried, but so far everything had gone well, so she decided to trust him. He focused, placing one hand on each plant. One wilted and died, just like with the butterfly, and the other began to glow a very bright green. It began to flash brightly, everyone covered their eyes, and the plant exploded, knocking all the other plant pots off the desk, and causing the one it was in to shatter.

""Well, I think that's it for today's demonstration." What happened was completely unexpected. Having a second life force caused the plant to react violently. It's a good thing that it was just a plant, and a lucky thing that he couldn't do it with anything sentient. It would be way too much temptation to have that kind of power. Besides, if a plant had that kind of blast radius, what kind of destruction would be caused in the case of a pony? Better to never find out. "Any other questions?"


"So, what's your cutie mark?" Diamond Tiara asked. She sure had her priorities.

"Well, since I'm not a pony, I don't have one." Here it comes.

"You're a blank flank? That's like, so lame." Typical.

"Lets just say I have many talents, and there's no cutie mark that could cover them all." Yeah, fuck you too.

"Well, if there's no other questions, that concludes my demonstration. It was a pleasure being here, and I hope it was informative. I should get out of your mane and let today's lesson begin." He turned to Cherilee. "Thank you for having me today."

"Don't mention it, it certainly was... interesting." She responded. "Alright, class, you are excused for lunch. Mr. Nightshade, may I speak with you a moment?"

"Of course, what do you need?" Even though he wasn't a student, teachers always scared him a bit. He didn't care if they were mad, but having them 'disappointed' was the worst feeling ever.

"While I'm glad to finally be able to meet you, I noticed during your presentation you were a little.... upset." She said. Being around kids all the time, she knew how to tell the feelings of others.

"Yeah, I guess I was. One thing I always hated about my world was bullying. Seeing it happen here too, it just, I see myself. I was an orphan too, and as you already know, I was different, it made me stand out, and not in a good way. Seeing it happen all over, it just makes me really mad you know?" He explained. She nodded in understanding.

"Well, you did a very good job not showing it, and put on a wonderful performance today. It was quite a show, and I don't think Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon will be bothering Scootaloo anymore. You're a wonderful dad to her." Cherilee was interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat, they both turned to see Celestia standing in the doorway, and bowed. Nightshade bid Cherilee farewell, and walked with the princess.

"So, what was so important that you couldn't come to Canterlot, and I had to come all the way here?" Said the sun princess with a stern tone.

"Family appreciation day. Scoots has been looking forward to it for a very long time, and I couldn't just blow it off." He answered.

"Oh, I know, Lyra told me all about it." She laughed slightly.

"You were trying to troll me, weren't you?" He said, returning his own.

"Ah, yes, the social engineering prank from your world. Indeed I was."

"Too bad I'm a master at it. You have much to learn, grasshopper." She was slightly upset that he referred to her in the same way a teacher refers to a student, but by this time she was used to it. he was someone who wouldn't suck up to her, so she could speak with him on equal terms, which is why she was here.


"I need to speak with you, regarding a certain entity." She said calmly.

"That's what I needed to talk to you about. As this is a sensitive issue, perhaps we should do it somewhere more private? Like in my mind?" He suggested.

"That, is a good idea." She said, now in thought. "An old enemy of ours, an evil creature from the time of my parents, King Chronos and Queen Aurora, has resurfaced. It is powerful, and my parents were only able to banish it. It calls itself Nightmare. Over one thousand years ago, it possessed my sister Luna, and transformed her into Nightmare Moon. I wielded the elements of harmony, but was unable to separate it from her, and was forced to banish her to the moon. Three years ago, she returned, and Twilight and her five friends wielded the Elements, and were finally able to return her to her original form. Nightmare did not die, however. It was weakened and has been hiding. We have been tracking it to try and destroy it before it regains it's power."


"I understand that all of Equestria will be in danger if this, 'Nightmare' is allowed to roam free, but what does this have to do with me, specifically?" Nightshade asked.

"We believe it may be targeting you. Nightmare seeks to possess those with power, like Luna or myself. It uses our desires against us, and twists us into something we are not. In the case of my sister, she wanted to be loved. It told her that if she allowed it, it would make Equestria love her. When it took over, it sought to make this happen by bringing about eternal night." Celestia explained. "It has been watching you, and at seeing you able to use your strength and wits to stand against both of us on equal terms, it has made you its priority."

Thinking back, Nightshade remembered the dark cloud in his mind, the entity that bled misery and wrath. That had to be it.

"I believe you may be right Celly." He used a nickname. While she may hate formalities, that was just pushing it, and she put on a scowl. "Last night, I found some sort of dark cloud in my mind. It was going through my past, and it brought up lots of bad things that happened to me, and things I did. It looked, pleased, at the sight. It was the creepiest thing to ever happen to me, even more than having you, your sister, and Lyra in my noggin at the same time." 

He shuddered thinking about the entity, now known as Nightmare. "But I think I know how to keep it away. When it was in my mind, I started thinking of happy things, Scootaloo, this world, all my new friends. At that, it looked disgusted, and then it left."

"This is good. Now we KNOW Nightmare is targeting you, and you know how to keep it away. It will try to make you an offer. What ever you do, do NOT listen to it. If you accept it will possess you and all of Equestria will be in peril." She was serious. "What's more, it normally only attacks those with a high life force. Luna survived the separation because she is immortal, but even she was left in a severely weakened state. If it were to possess one such as yourself, we would have to use the Elements to drive it out, and the separation would kill you."

That struck a nerve. It would kill him? It was definitely not worth having it, whatever it offered. After assuring Celestia that he would not give in to it, and learning that the only way to destroy it would be to use the Elements on it while it did not have a body, but the Elements would need a rest period after being used, so they could not be used twice in a row to drive it out and then destroy it, he went on his way. So, even the Elements had their limits. It made sense, the ultimate pure magic, capable of returning a possessed god to normal, had to have a trade off, all things did.

The rest of the day went by well, time spent building his house, which was turning out magnificently. Rainbow Dash flew over after a couple minutes.

"Hey, what'cha doin?" She said is her usual, laid back manner. She was feeling a lot better after she hung out with Scootaloo for the day, and showed her Cloudsdale.

"Oh nothing, just building a house. I'm kinda crashing at Fluttershy's right now, and while she doesn't mind, I'm eager to get out of her mane." Nightshade explained.

"She likes ya, you know." He didn't take Dash for a gossip, he figured that'd be more of a Rarity thing.

"Yeah, I know, but we both decided that it would best best to just stay friends. I only just got out in the open, and I just want to take things slowly." It was true, he wasn't ready for a relationship, and things were just way to awkward.

"Speaking of slow, you entering the running of the leaves?" Rainbow Dash could be absolutely infuriating at times, but then again, this was a good opportunity.

"Yes I am, and that gives me an idea. Let's make a bet." At hearing the idea of a bet, Rainbow's ears perked up. She loved winning, and since she's sure she would, she loved bets.

"I'm listening." She said.

"Okay, if I place ahead of you in the running of the leaves, you have to help me build my house instead of taking naps. I could use someone who can fly to lift the heavy support beams, and neither Fluttershy nor Scoots can do it." That would be good, he really needed to help.

"And if I place ahead of you, you have to take Fluttershy on a date." Wow, really? Dash was playing match maker.

"Are you trying to make me throw the race, Rainslow Dash? I thought you were talking about if I lost." Rainbow was fuming at the name. He didn't call her Rainbow Crash, he had made up a whole new insult, and she wasn't just going to take that lying down.

"Ok fine, when I win, you have to buy me a whole barrel of cider when cider season starts. You'll have to camp out for a week in front of Sweet Apple Acres to get it." She was serious now.

"Deal." Nightshade agreed. They both spat in their hand/hoof, and shook on it.

"I can't wait for all that cider!" Said Dash as she flew off into the sky to continue her nap. She suddenly turned back, and got right in his face.

"None of those freaky powers of yours, understand?" She was dead serious.

"As long as you don't use wings." He was reminded of a story Applejack told him about the running a few years back.


That reminded his of something else. Sweet Apple Acres. Well, he had already made a bet with Dash, why not AJ as well? She was running too. He ran off to the farm.


"Hey Applejack, can I talk to you for a minute?" He called out.

"Sure, come on over sugarcube." She yelled back.

"Promise not to buck me?" He returned, grinning wide.

"Jus get yer hide over here!" She was obviously not happy to have that brought up again. He hopped the fence, and walked up to the farm pony, grinning wide.

"What'cha need?" She asked, taking a break from bucking. It was almost the end of the season, and she needed to get the last of the apples off the trees before the running of the leaves, because after that the pegasi would start the snowfall immediately.

"Well, I just finished talking with Dash, and we made a little bet on the outcome. If I beat her, she has to help build my house, and if she beats me, I gotta buy her a whole barrel of your cider, BEFORE Pinkie gets to it." He laughed.

"Well, looks like you got your work cut out for ya, but what's it got to do with me?" She asked. Nightshade got straight to the point.

"I was wondering if you wanted in on a bet yourself?"

"Hmm, alright, what the hay. If I win, come spring, you gotta help me with these here apple trees. They sometimes get sick over the winter, and I want em in tip top shape for next season." Applejack motioned to a MASSIVE orchard of trees. If he had to help with all those trees, he'd be way behind on getting his own maple business up and running. but some things just had to be risked.

"Fine, but if I win, you gotta have me over for dinner to meet the family. Applebloom has been dying to introduce me. And, If I lose to Dash, you'll set aside a barrel for me so I don't have to camp out for a week. And I already got the deal with Dash, she won't fly, and I won't use my powers." He knew that would be the next thing on her mind.

"Good, I wouldn't want no cheatin. And besides, I'm gonna be beating the both of you." They went through the same spit in hoof and shake ritual that he had done with Rainbow, and he headed back to Fluttershy's. Tomorrow, he had to deliver a dress to Manehatten for Rarity, but he had Saturday off, and he knew she'd been wanting to spend more time with him.

Scootaloo came home from school, saying it was the best day ever, how even though Diamond and Silver were still the same, all the others thought he was awesome, and they saw him walking with the princess, and a dozen other things. After that they sat quietly and had some tea, while Angel munched on a carrot. He still wasn't impressed that Nightshade and Scoot were staying over, but he was slowly getting used to it, and besides, it would only be for a couple more days while the house got finished.

"So, Fluttershy, I've got to deliver a dress for Rarity tomorrow, which will take me just about all day to get to Manehatten and back, but, I'm off on Saturday. You want to hang out, just as friends I mean." He said. Angel just rolled his eyes. It was painfully obvious to him what was going on, but other than charades, he couldn't voice his disapproval, so he didn't bother. He just went into his custom made rabbit house and slammed the door, before anything mushy could begin.

Nightshade didn't know, but Fluttershy had heard what he and Rainbow Dash had said. If having a date with her was the punishment for losing, then he'd try to throw the race, even if it meant he wouldn't get help building his house. She blushed at the thought. He really did like her after all, but was taking things slow for their mutual benefit.

"Well, umm, that would be okay, I mean if you want to." She began to blush again. They both quickly turned their heads to avoid looking in each other's eyes. They didn't want a repeat of last time. Having dinner, they all went off to bed, Nightshade sleeping on the couch again.


Once again, in his sleep, he found not Lyra, but Nightmare. It circled around him, like a snake wrapping around it's prey. In the same, icy voice it asked.

"What is it you desire mortal? I have seen your memories, but the only desire I find is to survive. Where is your ambition? Where is your drive?" It was genuinely confused. Everyone had something they wanted to achieve, some hidden need, that they couldn't accomplish on their own, either because they were too weak, afraid to try, or didn't know how.

Not afraid at all, Nightshade replied with a laugh.

"I know what you are, Nightmare. I know how you work. You want to tempt me with power. I do have desires. I want to win the race in three days, I want Scootaloo to be happy, I want Fluttershy...... to be my friend. But these are all things I can do on my own. Scootaloo is happy, so long as I'm here. I'm hanging out with Fluttershy Saturday, and the race,  I want to win, but it would be meaningless if i didn't do it on my own. Even if I lose, all that changes is I help my new friends instead of them helping me. I don't need you.

Nightmare was mad. It knew it had been caught. Humans are by nature corruptible, but this one remained firm and resolute. With a huff and a growl, it left his mind, and Lyra did not take it's place. He had pleasant dreams of being surrounded by good friends, in a new house, having pancakes with maple syrup.



Alright. So that;s chapter 18. I think it went pretty well. Again, this is going to be the level of shipping, nothing super heavy. He also learned NOT to mess with the natural order of things, via an exploding plant. Makes for a good show though. Not really much in this blog, other than Trollestia popping up. I just thought I'd add it this chapter, and I don't think I'll use it again, for fear of it being over used.

 How does Manehatten take the presence of an alien? How will the 'date' go, Who will win the running of the leaves and, more importantly, the bets? Find out in the next chapter of 'Monster' "Running with the ponies" *Cue music: Running in the 90's, Initial D*