Big Macintosh's mind was racing. The foal whose coat was battered by the rain looked exactly the same as he did ten years ago when he murdered his parents.
He couldn't help but release a soft chuckle. For years after he witnessed his parents murder, he had nightmares. He always pictured that the very next day, the monster would come back. Even when he grew up into a stallion, he always pictured a stallion coming back into the house and stabing him in the dark. Now the tables were turned. Now he was going to destroy this evil beast. It was as easy as crushing an apple.
Big Macintosh lifted his hoof off of the foal's skull, prepared to jam it into his skull.
"Kill him in his sleep!"
Two voices rang in his ears. They sounded so familiar, yet so distant.
"Kill him in his sleep!"
"Macintosh!"
The name's owner snapped out of focus, his hoof weakly colliding with the foal's head, but without enough force to accomplish his revenge plan. Turning, he saw a drenched Granny Smith.
"Ah know ya ain't doin' what ah think yer doin'. Why would ya do such a thing!" Granny's voice struggled to overcome the force of the storm.
"She doesn't know anything! Kill him in his sleep!"
"Don't touch him Macintosh, ah know ya must be angry, but enough to kill a foal?" Granny Smith trotted over to Big Macintosh and touched him on the shoulder. "Ah know it hurts, but not like this."
Big Macintosh sighed heavily. "What do ah tell Applejack Granny? What about Applebloom?" Big Macintosh looked back down at the foal. His coat now soaked in mud. "What can ah tell 'em Granny? 'This here foal is the one who killed John an' Honeycrisp, an' he's stayin' with us for a while?' Ah can't do that Granny!" Big Macintosh shook his head vehemently. "If ah kill 'em now, it'll save him the trouble of dyin' in this storm."
Granny Smith shook her head and turned back towards the house. "An' what'll Applejack say if she saw a dead foal outside? Would ya leave Applebloom out in this storm because she made a mistake?"
"He ruined our lives Granny!" Big Macintosh roared, his booming voice being accentuated with a flash of lightning and a boom of thunder. " He took away the greatest thing that ever happened to this family! Applebloom hardly even knew 'em!"
The withered, green mare turned slowly and nuzzled the stallion. "Then ya need ta ask yerself, 'what would Ma an' Pa do?' Ah know they'll show ya the way." Granny Smith turned and walked into the house. Leaving Big Macintosh with his thoughts.
He sighed heavily. What would Ma an' Pa do? Transfixed on the thought, he was surprised at how forcefully the the answer presented itself.
We would kill him in his sleep!
Grumbling, Big Macintosh changed the question. What would Applejack do? Thinking hard, he pictured his younger sister picking him up gently, and racing back inside. She would carry him into the guest bedroom and make him as comfortable as possible. He could see Applejack trying to figure out how to get that armor of his off, and deciding to call in Twilight for help.
Big Macintosh sighed, he might as well get Twilight after bringing the foal in. Slowly, but not carefully, he carried the foal in; letting him bump into walls and the floor a couple times was did not bring him the same satisfaction as killing him would, but passive aggression would have to do.
After setting the foal down roughly on the guest room's bed, he prepared himself for the storm; equipping himself with a poncho, he set out at full gallop towards the library.
Despite it being past midnight, all six ponies and one dragon were wide awake having a fun time. Pinkie decided to make their stay an official 'Braving the Storm Slumber Party' party, and it was in full swing. Marshmallows were being roasted, Spike was going back and forth between the kitchen and the library bringing more and more goodies, pillows were being stacked for an eventful pillow fight, and the laughter was cheerful and light.
It wasn't until Big Macintosh's hoof thundered against the door that the party was over. Curiously, Spike walked over and opened the door, being sent reeling from the red stalion's forceful hoof.
"Big Macintosh?" Applejack began trotting towards the door. "What brings ya over here in the middle of this storm? An' why are ya comin' over so late?"
"Applejack, Ah need ya ta come home, right now." Big Macintosh's voice, which was usually serious, carried a hard edge to it. Applejack knew that this wasn't a request.
Immediately, Applejack knew something was terribly wrong. With a reassurring nod from her friends, She braced herself and charged into the storm, swiftly followed by six other ponies and a dragon.
The journey to Sweet Apple Acres wasn't usually a long one. The usually uneventful treck instead was filled with a caravan of stumbling mares, falling branches, and curses that were lost in the gale. Soon, the six mares and dragon found themselves exhausted against the brutal harassment of the Everfree's strength. As they stumbled forward, they struggled to follow the calmly walking stallion in front of them. Finally, the caravan of ponies made it to Sweet Apple Acres, and went inside.
Thankful for the respite, everypony let loose a sigh of relief. The comfort of shelter didn't last long though as Big Macintosh turned towards them and told Applejack to come upstairs. Despite being inside, and the warmth of the fire flooding the house, the atmosphere was thick with danger. As they walked up, with every step they took, everypony could feel that something was not right; this feeling being accentuated by roars of thunder, growls of wind, and the pounding of water.
Big Macintosh led them into the guest room. All appeared normal at first glance, until they saw the small black foul on the bed. Tenatiously coming closer, Applejack decided to get a better look. She noticed his tail was frayed and frazzled, and his muzzle was matted with blood.
"What's that he's wearin'?" Applejack questioned.
They all looked at the young foal who was roughly set on the bed. His black fur was being covered by glowing, dark blue armor of some kind. Twilight looked closer, and unlike the Royal Guard's armor, this one had no straps to be found. It curved tightly around the black foal, and expanded as his chest filled with air, yet as she knocked a hoof against it, the strange armor seemed unyielding to any outside force.
Taking a pace backward, Twilight performed a basic disruption spell, ending the lingering magic that held the armor together. As the spell was cast, the effect was immediate; Shade's armor fell to pieces around his small frame.
"Look at him!" Rarity gasped, taking a tentative step forward. "The poor darling looks simply dreadful!"
The six mares drew closer to the young foal, examining the deep gashes, scars, and other abnormalities of his midnight black coat and Spike climbed on Twilight's back to get a better look. Applejack turned when she heard her older brother grumble, and walk out of the spare room. Curious, Applejack followed.
As she entered the hallway, Applejack was surprised to see that her older brother, a mature stallion that wasn't the quickest to violence, was fuming. She noticed all of the warning signs: Ears splayed back, wild eyes, lashing tail, and twitchy hooves.
"Big Mac," Applejack called as she entered the hallway. "what's wrong with ya? What's gotcha all riled up?"
Big Macintosh let loose a frustrated sigh, the thoughts in his mind relentlessly urging him to get his revenge on the monster who killed his parents.
"Applejack?" Big Macintosh huffed slowly, "Ya don't remember what happened, do ya?" As he watched his sister, her face showed confusion, disapointment, and a hint of anger. Big Macintosh slid over next to his sister, who was trying to pretend like she had no idea what he was talking about. "applejack," Big Macintosh sighed. "Do you remember what happened to our parents?"
Applejack sighed. The only thing she remembered about her parents was that Big Macintosh, the loud, mischivious, outgoing, stallion became silent. Ever since that day, for whatever reason, her older brother changed forever.
"What happened to ya Mac'?" She asked, her voice dropping to a whisper as she looked tentatively at Applebloom's door.
"Ah saw AJ . . ." Applejack looked up, her eyes gleaming with tears. "Ah saw 'em get killed."
"What?" Applejack's voice quivered as long repressed memories began to resurface. "Ya saw who killed 'em, an' ya never thought of tellin' me!"
Applejack glared at her older brother, her mined fogged with thoughts. Did he not trust me?
Big Macintosh sighed and nuzzled the trembling mare softly.
"Applejack," The stallion whispered in her ear, keeping his hooves around her as a restraint. "The pony that killed our parents is the one sleepin' on the bed. That foal was the one who ruined our lives."
Petal was furious. I told him to stay close! She continued to berate herself as she sliced through the night sky. Searching desperately, her ears perked as they caught a sound other than the manotamous drone of the howling wind and growling thunder.
"Look at him! He looks simply dreadful!"
Petal's wings pumped harder as battled the storm, swiftly approaching an old house. Her scales were relentlessly assaulted by the rain, creating a dull throbbing feeling. Shaking off her discomfort, she kept searching. As the wind tore at her wings, and the rain battered her body, she finally found the source of sound. A small farmhouse just outside of town. Flying roughly around the perimeter, she looked for the sound's source. Finally, she found the room she was looking for, and perched outside. Peeking through the window, she saw the prone form of Shade, lying in a tight ball. This was the weakest she's ever seen him. Petal couldn't help but feel a mixture of anger and shame.
He depended on me! How could I let him down like that?! Steam hissed from her nose as her frustration grew, clouding the glass. How could I . . . How could I tell him the truth?
Petal's eyes widened as two of the ponies left, and the rest lowered their voices to whispers.
"He's an enemy of Equestria, Twilight! Look at the blood on his coat, where do you think he got that from?" The cyan mare hissed, struggling to restrain her voice to a whisper. "Why can't we just turn 'em to stone like we did with Discord?"
"Rainbow darling," Another mare walked up towards Shade. "I am all for making rational decisions, but don't you think Applejack should get a vote?"
Before anypony could nod in agreement, the front door of the room burst open, revealing an orange mare. Petal noticed that the mare was obviously upset: her eyes were filled with tears, her body was trembling, and her teeth were gritted in a vicious snarl.
"Girls!" She called, causing everypony in the room to jump. "This ends now. Mah vote is to seal him in stone so he never sees the light of day again." The five ponies looked at each other, then nodded.
As the six mares nodded, they got into formation. The purple unicorn's eyes began shining brightly, as her crown began to lift her into the air. Shortly after she was airborne, the others followed, connected to a rainbow colored tendril. One by one, the tendril passed through the other's necklaces and grew substantially in power. It wasn't until the tendril passed through the orange one that Petal knew something was terribly wrong. The colorful energy was swiftly corrupted by a dark, evil one, reflecting her wishes perfectly. Before any of the mares could react, the dark energy funneled and launched itself towards Shade.
Petal gasped as the house shook violently, and a huge beam shot outward, eliminating everything that got in its way. As the beam died down, and the smoke cleared, she realized that the room was filled with rubble, and there was no sign of there ever being a bed, a wall, or a sleeping black foal. He was destroyed.
The souls had him right where they wanted him: In a dream. At first, they just showed him random dreams, things that Shade had forgot, yet never wanted to remember. When they saw that wasn't hurting him like they thought it would, they started showing visions of family members. Not all of them were his family, but it included Petal's mother, his mother, and the parents of young foals. They showed him the dragoness's death over and over again. At first he was shocked at how cold he could be, even with his best friend. After the twentieth time, he began to feel numb. The wound they opened was dried out of blood.
Then they struck home. The spirit he hated the most showed him how much he was unloved. Tossed into torture by his own mother. The spirit showed how, from the very beginning, he was never wanted. After his birth he was left for dead, but when he survived, his mother never cared for him like she did with the other foals. She would scold them for acknowledging his existence, beat him whenever he stepped hoof inside the house, and constantly berate him. You will never be loved! The closest thing you will ever have to it is just the bait in a web of lies!
She was right.
Shade could accept the fact that she was just letting off steam, but she was telling the truth. It wasn't the fact that Petal's words hurt him, which they did, it was the fact that he heard two voices assaulting him. Petal's voice, and her soul. She was speaking the truth, and with every fiber of her being, she hated him. The one friend he ever had thought that he was a monster. Petal thought that he was just a burden that needed to be contained, a mistake, a bastard.
The visions faded, and he was alone with the spirit. For some reason, even after a millennium, he still remembered his mother's name: Solaris. She reminded him that she moved on; she reminded him how much pain he caused her, and how he must be destroyed. Her voice rang in his ears. Not angry, but regal. The voice she used when she didn't want to show her emotions. She began telling him to wake up, that it wasn't his turn to die yet, that he didn't deserve this. She was lying.
That's why Nightmare Moon had him. His mother never cared what happened, as long as she was no longer involved with his life, and as long as he wouldn't show his face around her anymore. Yet Nightmare Moon did her a favor. Nightmare Moon forged him into a weapon. Something they could both use for revenge. At first, the feeling was mutual. Nightmare Moon agreed to let him get his revenge first. She let him out in the dead of night, into his mother's home, and into her room. He took care of the rest. Nightmare even showed him his brand, a jagged imprint of a wisp that he was branded with since he was first trapped in a cage. She told him that this meant destruction; a savagery that would tear his opponents apart from their very souls.
Sadly, Shade didn't feel very powerful at the moment. His visions faded and his mind cleared. He was as close as he was going to get to waking up. As awake as the souls will let him.
The spirits were giving him hell. Now that he was asleep, they could get their revenge. All at once, he was subjected to everything the souls wanted to do to him. Everything that Shade did to them. Simultaneously, he was torn to shreds, burned alive, crushed, choked, drowned, suffocated, skinned, and every other horrible thing he did to them; the spirits rejoiced, their excitement growing as they subjected him to more and more tortures. Shade couldn't escape. His soul was in too many fragments, each piece holding a small piece of consciousness.
He couldn't take it anymore. Shade's corporeal form began to writhe in agony. Aside from his screams, all he could hear was the laughter. Laughter that hasn't been heard since the defeat of Discord, or the end of the Dragon war. Finally, Shade understood. All of these ponies that were each slaughtering his soul in as many ways as they possibly could, they were trapped. None of their souls could make it to Tartarus, because they weren't finished yet. They all had one desire, one last wish: Revenge.They were rejoicing that their only wish had come true, and they could finally rest in peace.
As each of the seventy six souls dispersed, Shade collected his mangled remains. As he collected the final piece of his mutilated soul, he realized that he was now completely alone. Now nopony wanted anything to do with him. His ears splayed back as he saw a light, a painful light. As the light bathed him, it was not with brightness, just pure pain. A strong, yet familiar powerful agony.
This was the same pain he felt when his mother had abandoned him. Whatever this light was made of, it was from his mother. Even after all these years, Solaris was still ruining his life. As the light ebbed, even more feeling washed over Shade's body. His ears rang violently, and his entire body tingled. As Shade looked around, he realized that the dreamscape was shattering.
Applejack panted hard as all of her energy left her body. Every ounce of anger she felt a minute a go was nowhere to be found as she was lowered to the ground by the magical embrace. She was about to allow herself to fall asleep until she felt like something was wrong. Looking at her friends, their eyes were wide in fear. Turning, Applejack realized that half of the room was gone. The ceiling, the wall, and everything with it was destroyed. Outside was a trail of destruction. Rows upon rows of trees were obliterated, all leading towards the east field where a crater was the apparent epicenter of destruction.
"What happened!" Twilight gasped, awed by the destructive force of the Elements.
"Everything's destroyed!"
"We killed him!"
"Girls!" Twilight stomped her hoof violently, shattering the panic in the room. "Spike, send a letter to Princess Celestia and tell her what happened, see if she can give us any helpful information." Twilight nodded as her number one assistant saluted and began writing a note to the princess. "We should check things out, try and figure out what happened. Big Macintosh can stay here and start cleaning things up."
Applejack shook her head. "Twi' there ain't anythin' to clean! This room is completely destroyed! It's missing a ceiling, a wall, and it's filled with water!"
Nodding with understanding, the seven ponies trotted outside to check out the damage. It was alot worse than it looked. All of the trees in the general area of the impact have been destroyed. The blast let out some type of radiation that killed them within seconds. The crater was glowing with a strange black energy, one that Twilight hasn't felt since she opened King Sombra's door in the Crystal Empire. How could something like this happen? Twilight thought as she examined the wreckage closer. How could the Elements of Harmony cause such destruction?
At this range, everypony could feel the energy emanating from the crater. A dark, hungry energy that washed over them slowly, like a timberwolf stalking its pray. As the ponies stalked closer, they could make out a shape in the center of the hole. Its power wracking there bodies every second. The figure struggled to lift itself to four hooves, desperately battling the violent weather that pounded its small frame.
Energy. That's all he felt, enough of it to make Pinkie Pie look like she was in a coma. He wasn't sure what happened after he was awake, or how exactly he survived the blast, but he didn't care. With this power, he could do anything. Destroy anypony. He could feel his entire body working. Air rushing into his lungs as he inhaled, blood rushing through his body. He could feel the mud shift as his weight did. Yet he couldn't feel the rain. The storm of the Everfree no longer mattered to him, it wasn't worthy. He could end it with just a thought. I control this storm! Shade began shifting through his memories, of a blue sky and no clouds in sight. He asked for clear weather, and the Aether granted it. Within seconds, the clouds dispersed, and the wind slowed. The only thing remaining in the sky was Celestia's sun.
As Shade grew fully concious of his surroundings, he realized the gashes on his body. Blood and dirt soaked his fur, his mane and tail were a mess, and one of his ribs pushed against his flesh, threatining to tear through. Shade grunted as he pictured himself in perfect health, before this entire thing happened, and once again, the Aether granted his wishes. Whatever this energy was, he wanted more.
Shade jumped slightly as the voices of mares rang in his ears, and instantly, he was equipped with his armor, ready for battle. They tried their best to kill him, and they failed. Now it was his turn, and he was going to show them the importance of getting this right the first time. He faced the six mares on the edge of the crater, watching in horror as he casually walked towards them. I'm going to make them pay.
"What is your name!" Shade called as he walked up the slick mud without trepidation. Shade smiled as his vision began to go gray, and his lust for battle grew. "I must know the name of my next victim so I can send you directly into the pits of Tartarus!"
Shade's focus shattered as the six souls infront of him disappeared. As his bloodlust ended, he realized that he was in the middle of a field with nothing but Appletrees.
"You already know my name."
Shade turned towards the voice behind him, surprised that somepony could catch him so off guard. He reared on his back hooves and spun, ready to destroy the intruder, until he realized that it was none other than Princess Celestia. The one he was destined to murder.
"What brings you here?" Shade asked calmly, closing the gap between him and his pray. "Don't you know what I'm going to do to you now?" Shade's eyes flared with anger, his read irises piercing through into Celestia's soul. "I'm going to kill you."
Before Celestia could react, Shade begun his attack, launching wave after wave of dark energy towards the solar princess, giving her no time to do anything except to dodge. Shade was moving faster now, never pausing, never hesitating. Only launching barrage after barrage of energy. He smiled as Celestia slipped, allowing one of the dark blasts to skewer her hind leg.
"You lied to me!" Shade screamed as the princess writhed in agony. "Why even dare challenge me? You know you will just fall like the others." Shade snarled at the princess and leveled his horn towards her face. "What a waste, I thought this would be more fun. Seeing you again, I thought things would change. It's over; goodbye Princess Celestia."
Princess Celestia smiled. Just as naive as ever. Princess Celestia flared her horn. With the proximity being so close, the full force of the purge tore through Shade's body, ripping the new energy out of him. Princess Celestia sighed softly as the young foal's body fell onto her.
"Princess Celestia!" The name's owner sighed softly as she recognized her student's voice. This would not look good, and avoiding the situation was impossible. Grunting, Celestia ignored the fire in her thigh and forced herself to stand.
"Princess, what happened? Are you okay? Princess, I'm so sorry, I don't know what happened!" Princess Celestia smiled as her student released a barrage of questions.
"I got your letter Twilight, figuring out what happened, I decided to bring you girls back to the library, I had to take him on alone." Princess Celestia looked at the six ponies in front of her. Their gaze shifting from her to the seemingly dead foal.
"D-did you?"
Celestia shook her head. "No, I only removed the energy that you charged him with; Chaos. While charging the Elements of Harmony, you need to maintain a clear mind. But if you let it get fogged, especially with the thoughts of causing pain or suffering, they become corrupted. I assume one of you has some ties with this him, ties that must be resolved before his departure."
Twilight knew what she meant by departure, and she knew that they had to destroy him, but what did she mean by ties? What did they have left to do with this foal?
Before Twilight could inquire further, Applejack took a pace forward. Her face guilty and her eyes cast down. "Yes Princess. Ah guess Ah do have a rather . . . personal matter to deal with him."
Princess Celestia nodded, a distracted look lightly etched her features.
"Don't we all."
"Look, I don't care when the librarian will be back! Where in Tartarus is she!"
Spike was confused. After he sent the letter to Princess Celestia, he began working on his daily chores. An hour of dusting books, another cataloging all of their conditions. A third creating more lists for Twilight, and writing a reminder to restock on apples. As Spike was in the middle of polishing his gem collection, he heard a loud crash.
Usually that meant Rainbow Dash was visiting, so he wasn't very motivated to stop working. It was when he heard the crashing of shelves and other displays that Twilight had set up for different experiments that week. Suddenly, he found himself in front of a beautiful dragoness. Wait, what?
Spike's reflection was shattered as the alien female lashed out at him once more. Pinning him roughly against the wall, fangs gleaming. He had to think of something to say, he had to think of something to defend himself with. How could he let somepony push him around like this? That right was reserved to Twilight and Rarity only!
"Why don't you look for her yourself?"
That was the wrong answer.
Spike found himself flying across the room into a bookshelf. Grunting as rows of shelves collapsed and heavy encyclopedias and reference guides cascaded onto his body, pinning him down. A sharp hiss echoed in his ears as the scales on his back grew chilled. Spike's inner flame grew, automatically maintaining homeostasis with the changing temperatures.
Suddenly, the door opened.
As Twilight watched her mentor leave, she gripped Shade in her magic, levitating him off the ground. Agreeing on the library as a suitable place for an interrogation, they made a beeline for the Golden Oaks library. Once they arrived and opened the door, what they saw was absolute chaos.
The front door was destroyed. It's fragmented remains scattered around the floor. Month long alchemy projects that she moved upstairs were destroyed, their sensitive components either chewing through the floor, or dispersing in the air. The non-fiction section and the encyclopedia/reference section's shelves were also destroyed. Their precious cargo toppled over into a single, jumbled mountain of books, coated in a strong frost. Who could have done this?
The culprit in question was a pink, quadrupedal dragoness.
"Drop him!" Spat the intruder, crouching down, fangs gleaming.
Twilight accepted Petal's challenge, dropping the young foal from her magical grasp. Swiftly, Twilight launched five magical bolts, colliding with her skull. To Twilight's surprise, she found an ice spike in her leg.
Shit.
After all my studying, how could I forget that dragons, stronger dragons, are resistant to arcane magic?
As Twilight silently berated herself, she wondered why the floor was getting closer.
Twilight gasped. The past half hour came rushing back in a blur, but she understood one thing: She was in danger. With that dragoness around, Celestia knows what damage she could do!
Panic gripped her chest as she was surrounded by unfamiliar surroundings. Lifting herself up, she was greeted by a wave of dizziness, and a solid orange hoof. Looking around her, she was greeted by five of her friends.
"Howdy Twi'," Applejack whispered. "easy there sugarcube, everythin's alright." Noticing Twilight's confusion, Applejack explained the situation. "Yer upstairs Twi', Spike's right next to yer bed restin'. Has a mighty cold, but Fluttershy an' Pinkie are headin' to Zecora's to get him some medicine. That other dragon is here also, we wouldn't let 'er leave with the youngin'. Ya collapsed during yer bout with her, gotcha pretty good with that ice of hers, but it'll heal. We would've jumped in, but she said all she wanted was the foal. Hasn't left his side since."
Twilight swiftly processed the information. Spitting out questions, scenarios, and the like. Judging that she should check on her number one assistant first, she grunted softly as she rolled herself to the edge of the bed and peered over the edge. Spike was taking ragged breaths, like he was struggling to breath. By his feet laid his blue blanket, tossed aside in his discomfort. His body was fidgeting under the affects of a magic induced sleep that seemed a lot more like a nightmare. Hot coals wrapped in a towel laid on his forehead.
"S-Spike?" Twilight groaned as she reached a hoof down and touched his stomach.
It was ice cold.
At his mistress's touch, Spike woke instantly from his uneasy slumber, and composed himself as much as possible. He had to be strong. He couldn't let Twilight see him like this, not when she needed him so badly. He didn't know the details, but something was terribly wrong. For multiple hours after Twilight collapsed on her bed, before his body felt so cold, she was having a nightmare. Twilight was usually the brave one. If it wasn't a surprise test, she faced her problems with a level head. Most of the time. Now was one time when she needed him, and he couldn't let her down.
"Oh, hey Twi', didn't know you would be up so soon. How are you feeling?"
Twilight's heart sank. His voice is so weak . . . yet he's trying to be strong.
Without answering, Twilight wrapped Spike in her magic and hoisted him onto her bed. Climbing out from underneath the covers, She pulled Spike towards her chest, sharing her warmth with him. With practiced ease, Twilight encased both of them in the sheets. Twilight smiled at the cradle-like contraption she made. Just like when he was younger.
For the first time, Twilight got a good look at her surroundings. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity were hanging by her bed, tentatively watching the duo beneath them. A pink colored dragoness was curled around the black foal. Rocking gently back and forth, whispering something in his ear. Just like a mother would do to her foal. Just like she did to Spike. Feeling Twilight's gaze, Petal stopped her rocking. Looking back at the black foal, she whispered something in his ear, then raked his muzzle with a claw.
Within seconds, the young foal resting in her arms was awake and alert. The power of his gaze made Twilight tremble. As Shade regained his bearings, the dragoness tucked him underneath her wing, and fell asleep. Yet Shade never dropped his gaze from the four ponies above him. His soul shattering glare held unyielding, unblinking through the night, up until Pinkie and Fluttershy's return.
Shade wished Petal had woke him up sooner. With the souls in Tartarus, he thought he was free from their torment. Of course, Shade was wrong. Instead of the souls of his victims torturing and tormenting him, they just made them relive the murders from their own perspectives. Even though Shade never said it, he was happy that Petal was there with him. She woke him up before the nightmare became too much, before he would snap. Now he was alone with them. He watched every step they took, he heard every sentence they said, and he felt their unease. He was perfectly trained on the enemy. Just one mistake, and he would send them all to Tartarus. Nothing could break his concentration.
Throughout the night, Shade watched as the four ponies above them all fell asleep, and two more ponies arrived with medicine for the drake that Petal incapacitated. Before Shade knew it, night gave way to the morning. Birds began chirping, greeting the warm summer day. Shade knew that today was a day of answers. The day that whether he wanted to or not, he would have to come clean. He would need to tell Petal about her mother, not only that, but about the rest of her family too. He would have to tell them how he ruined the lives of young foals everywhere. Even worse than that, he would need to tell them about his own past.
The minutes ticked by one at a time. After an hour, Petal stretched her limbs, tail, and wings. Feeling his body against hers, she turned to him.
"Shade, about what I said before . . ."
"Don't." Shade said bluntly, squrming his way out from under the dragoness's wing. "You made it pretty clear how you felt, and how others feel about me. It's true, I am a monster, just cutting ponies down left and right. I'm dangerous."
Petal sighed. She would give up anything to make him understand. "Shade, listen to me." He wouldn't meet her gaze. "You are perhaps the strongest pony that I've ever met. You're brave, intelligent, and a wonderful friend. Yet you're afraid Shade." Petal lifted his muzzle to hers. "You're afraid of your past, you're afraid of the future, and you're suffering in the present. You don't know what's going to happen with those souls, and you don't know how other people are going to treat you. If they will abandon you like I did. Shade, I'm so sorry I left you. I know I said that nopony loves you, but I do Shade. No matter what, I will always love you, even if you kill again."
Shade stiffened as Petal wrapped him in a warm embrace. It's not that he wasn't expecting her to hug him. it was just that whenever anypony touched him, it was usually in order to kill him. Shade sighed, his last chance of escape was locked as the bell knelled eight times. If anypony didn't want to kill him yet, which they did, they definitely would by the time he was finished.
The six ponies created a semi circle around him. Trapping him in a corner. His eyes were wild, searching for any excuse to attack or to bolt, yet he found none. He prepared himself to charge as the orange colored mare stepped forward, her eyes flashing with anger. When he didn't move, he realized that Petal was standing on his tail.
Applejack took a tentative step forward. The foal in front of her looked like a cage timberwolf, prepared to do anything in order to escape. Applejack smiled. She had questions to be answered, and she wasn't afraid of poking a wolf. As Applejack sat in front of the young foal, she decided to get strait to the point.
"Who are ya'll?"
The question was left to hang as Shade refused to answer. Giving a frustrated sigh, Petal gave his muzzle a sharp blow, reminding him that refusing to answer was not an option.
" I'm Shade, that's Petal." he grumbled.
"Where did ya'll meet?"
"I found Petal as an egg in a dragon's cave. She takes care of me, and helps me care for myself."
"What did you have to do with mah folk's death?"
"Everything."
Applejack was caught off guard. The seemingly stubborn, childish foal was now staring her dead in the eyes. His expression was cold, almost lifeless. Yet it seemed eager. Eager to answer the next question. The question they all knew was coming.
"What did ya do to 'em?"
Shade's eyes flared. If it was in excitement or anger, the six mares could not tell. They took a tentative pace back as Shade gave an almost feral like grin.
"The better question is, 'what didn't I do to them?' Not much really, since they had something they wanted to protect."
The six mares were stunned. Such a small foal, with an even smaller voice that they just heard a second ago, sounded so evil.
"I entered through the second floor, a simple stream of wind took me straight to the second floor window. Once inside, I noticed a small cradle, on the side of the room. Peeking inside, I saw a small red headed filly. I was under strict orders to destroy anypony I saw by my patron, but I judged that she was not mission critical and moved on. Good thing too, I can smell that she's been here recently.
"I continued down stairs, the warmth of the fire in the den made me wonder how much hotter I could make things, but I was my patron eared me forward and reminded me of the stakes. Downstairs, I spotted one of two targets, a mare. Yet I over estimated the integrity of the home, and the floorboards gave away my position. She turned, startled, and that's when I noticed a foal in her hooves. She asked for mercy, begged me to let her put her foal down first, it was easy enough, so I granted her quarter. She asked me to give her a message. 'I'll always love you my little Appleseed.' Seconds after that, she felt the sting of my blade, and the warmth of my flame.
"That's when I heard the door slam closed behind me. I turned to see a red mountain of a stallion. He glared daggers at me and began his onslaught. He was a lot faster than I imagined he could be. Beat me half to death before I could bring him to his haunches. Just like the other, I granted him a momentary quarter. He wanted me to give his hat to the foal his wife put down to bed. After that, he too succumbed to my blade. With my mission complete, my patron granted me a pardon, and she let Petal survive."
Silence.
Everypony in the room was thinking the same thing. How could he say it so casually? It was like he was just telling a friend about his day! Everypony stood in an awkward silence. Silently wishing Applejack never asked the question in the first place. Nopony had any objections when Applejack took it upon herself to start beating him to death.
It took a few hours, but Applejack finally calmed down enough to stop ravaging the helpless colt that was underneath her. The five ponies couldn't watch the onslaught anymore. Hours of screaming filled the library. Yet there were no cries for mercy, and no mercy was given. Twilight had to handle it to the colt, he was tough. From the first blindsiding attack at his muzzle, he just stayed limp, allowing his body to be tossed, beaten, and battered like a rag doll.
When the slaughter was over, Applejack hovered over the colt, her hooves roughly gripping his neck.
"That's enough."
For the first time, they heard the dragoness's voice. It was hard and caring, yet it gave no room for argument. For however many words she spoke, they were law.
The vibrant dragoness walked casually to the battered foal's side. Nuzzling him gently, she helped him rise to his hooves.
"Wait downstairs. I'll check up on you when I've finished here."
"O-Okay . . ."
Applejack was surprised. His entire demeanor has changed. Before and during the beating, he was cold and uncaring. He was somepony that could murder somepony else as soon as ask for their name. Yet after, he was on the verge of tears. Who the hay does he think he is?
"Please, excuse him. He can't control himself sometimes."
"Well that's no excuse! Who the hay does he think he is! How could he talk about murdering Applejack's parents as if he didn't even care! How could-"
Petal glared daggers into the boisterous cyan Pegasus that was flying before her. Effectively ending her tirade. Sighing, she closed her eyes, trying to remember happier, less complicated times. When that failed, she knew that she owed the ponies an explanation.
"There's something you must understand about him. After he was tossed into the clutches of Nightmare Moon, he was tortured, enslaved, and forged into the perfect weapon. His 'Patron' has imbued him with Chaos, so he will be almost unbeatable in battle. So his will would be unbreakable, and her hold would be undeniable. Ever since Nightmare faded, he has begun to lose control more and more. The foal you were talking to earlier was not the same foal I know, that was the weapon. Forged to destroy Celestia and her Elements of Harmony.
"I just wish there was a way to show you his past . . ."
"Wait!" Twilight jumped to her hooves. "Maybe there is! Princess Luna gave me a scroll that explained the Dreamwalking process! Maybe if I modify the spell, I can project the memories for us to see!" Receiving nods of agreement, Twilight called Spike over. "Spike, I need you to find Dreamwalking: Taking the first Step for me please."
Saluting, Spike hopped off the bed and went to grab the scroll from the other side of the room, giving the Dragoness in the center an awkwardly wide berth. When Twilight received the scroll, she began vigorously studying, soaking, theorizing, and then modifying the information.
"I hope you don't mind darling, but this is going to take a moment, go see to your friend, we'll tell you when we're ready."
Petal nodded and walked down to the first floor. She heard it before she saw it. A part of her was glad to hear it, but the other was begging that it wasn't real, that she was mistaken. But she wasn't. In the middle of the floor was a black ball, sobs wracking its small frame. She paused, part of her stunned, another feeling like an intruder, yet most of it was in an attempt to preserve the precious display of equinity that was on display.
As Petal sat and watched, the young foal's sobs became even more agonizing, soon transforming into howls of agony. She couldn't take it anymore. The normally brave, courageous, nightmare induced foal- her foal, was dying. He no longer had the will to go on. He no longer had the will to fight the Chaos Weapon that was inside of him, and it was tearing him apart. She took a step forward and called out to her foal.
"Shade." She called gently.
Shade froze, locking himself in place. Any emotion he was showing a moment ago was long gone. There was a long pause. Minutes ticked away and he still hadn't moved, still hadn't made a sound. Just as she was starting to get worried about him, she heard a small squeak.
"They hate me . . . they all want to kill me."
Petal put a claw on his back. "No, it's not like that-"
"Stop lying to me!" Shade snapped, tearing himself away from Petal's comforting embrace. There was no more time for these lies. "They hate me just as much as you do!" Petal took a step back as Shade glared up at her, his irises becoming vertical slits. Straight into her soul. "How many times do I need to do this Petal?! How many times do I need to die inside for you to understand!" Petal silently berated herself as her flank bumped against a bookshelf. "I can't do it anymore! The only way to be free is to die, and I can't do that either! He won't let me die until I destroy the Elements of Harmony! I tried it your way Petal, I tried making friends but I just made six more enemies!
"You said that this was a good thing, that being free will make me feel better, but I'm not. I can't shake these forsaken nightmares! I'm forced to relive the killings over and over again, and it's all your fault!"
Petal needed to think quickly. The conversation's obvious conclusion that Shade would kill her. He would force her around until she made the mistake of showing her underbelly, then he would strike, sealing her fate.
"Shade, please listen to me." Petal shivered as his gaze grew even colder, his eyes unfaltering. "I know it's hard, but please, I need you to be my strong warrior one last time. That's all I'm asking."
Petal watched as his body visibly relaxed. His irises regaining their ovular shape. He sighed softly, obviously not interested in Petal's option.
"Petal?" Shade faced her once more, his eyes wild with fear. "When the time comes, and they do decide to kill me, could you do it?Only Nightmare knows what's going to happen to me."
"Shade," Petal said, draping her wing over him. "I won't let that happen, I promise you that if they want to kill you, they're going to have to kill me first."
With a promise made, Shade and Petal went upstairs to meet his fate head on.
Petal had to say. No matter how many times she said she would never say it, she just had to. Shade was messed up. Of course she had nested in his memories for a while when he was trapped in his cage, but these were different. She could tell that they were the same memories, but they were different. They were more demented. Twisted.
The six ponies sat comfortably on the bed as Shade was connected to a wooden chair. He tensed visibly as the young dragon strapped the metal headgear around his skull. Before they knew it, his memories were being projected on the wooden wall.
Within the next two hours, they played through most of his foalhood. The white mare known as Solaris, and her three children. One of them an obvious mistake. The audiance relived his torture, and the murders. They watched in awe as Shade, barely even four years old, took down a dragon. They watched as he struck out into the midnight, assassinating whoever Nightmare Moon wanted.
Petal watched as Shade tracked down his next two victims. Two pegasai on the local weather team. For some reason, the deaths of those two ponies hit the group hard. The cyan Pegasus flew out of the room in anger, and the cyan mare began to cry. This was going to be harder then she thought.
Princess Celestia scolded herself. How could I let him get away! She paced around her chambers, forgetting about her already healed wound. Hours passed before she heard a quiet knock on her door.
"'Tia? A-Are you alright?"
Celestia sighed at her sisters presence. Reluctantly, she opened the door.
"What happened to you?" Princess Luna asked, trying to conceal her eagerness for more information about her long lost student. "D-Did you kill him? Are the Elements safe? Oh please 'Tia just tell me already! You know I don't like guessing games!"
Celestia managed a small smile. Her sister's pout bring back happier memories. "No," She began, leading her sister inside. "I couldn't do it . . . After so long, I thought I was more then ready to destroy him, but I couldn't." The solar Princess growled in disgust, ashamed that her weakness could get a better of her like that. "I just don't know what to do anymore Luna."
Princess Luna walked over to her distressed sister, who was now sprawled out on her bed. "I know you think that what happened is your fault, but don't think that way. Twilight and her friends have a way of fixing things, no matter how blown out of proportion they are. The blame is not your burden to carry alone. I too had my role to play in his life, so if anything, we are both to blame."
Princess Celestia grumbled softly. How could I make this mistake? How could I just give up like that? If I would have tried harder, we wouldn't be in danger! Breaking free of her reflection, she looked up at her sister. " I couldn't do it Luna . . . After thousands of years of throwing that part of me away, I still couldn't bring myself to kill him . . . Why Luna?" The solar monarch looked to her sister, desperate for an answer, for any type of reassurance. "Why couldn't I just finish what I started so long ago?"
Princess Luna nuzzled her sister softly, stiffing a small chuckle. "No matter how much time has past, and no matter how much of your own being you throw into the depths of Tartarus, love always finds its way into ponies hearts. I don't think Cadance will be willing to help you again Celestia." Princess Luna looked her sister in her eyes. " You just need to find the right moment, and ask for your son's forgiveness. That's the only way you're going to fix the mistakes you made thousands of years ago."
Princess Celestia sighed, remembering a darker time. Next to the banishment of her own sister, it was the hardest thing she has ever done. Tossing her foal out into the cold. Yet, as the days after that decision went by, she found herself adamantly loathing her newest creation. Her resolve steeled, and she was prepared to do one of the most difficult things in her life. I must fix one of the worst mistakes of my life.