//------------------------------// // Shadows Ch. 1 The Wanderer // Story: The Shadows Saga // by Tagshadow //------------------------------// Shadows Tagshadow The unicorn colt walked down the beaten path towards the collection of buildings in the distance. His sage coat blended nicely with the grass on either side of the path, and his dark blue mane sat on top of his head, parted down the middle so that his horn stood up straight where it ended. His tail blended both colours and hung out behind him. The buildings were getting larger and he could start to make out the shapes of other ponies as they went about their business. He noticed how friendly they all seemed and he shivered slightly at the memories of the last time he had encountered any ponies. That was when he had left Manehattan, after they threw him out, all because of his cutie mark. He looked back at his flank- “Hi there!” Said a voice. “Ack!” The colt shouted out and prepared to defend himself. He stopped; there was nopony there. “What’s your name?” said the voice again. The colt spun around… and came face to face with the happiest looking pink pony he thought possible. “Uh…” He started. But she started to speak before he finished. “I’m Pinkie Pie! Are you new around here? I’m sure you are! I’ve never seen you before and I know just about EVERY pony around here! That means we need to have a party! A welcoming party! Oh boy oh boy oh boy oh-“ “Please stop.” He whispered. Pinkie stopped and looked at him. “I would really rather not have a party, thank you, but… I’m sure you ponies will throw me out later, just like the rest of them. “ He said and his eyes flashed. Pinkie flinched at the sudden anger in his voice but her inner party picked up without hesitation. “Don’t worry, my friends will NEVER throw anypony out! Ever!” she said and gave a little bounce of glee. “I can introduce you to all of my friends!” she was bouncing circles around him and he was getting dizzy just trying to keep up with her. “I suppose I could stop by for the night, if you would please stop doing that, you’re giving me a headache” He said with a resigned sigh. Pinkie immediately stopped bouncing. “Okay! Deal!” She said and began to shake his hoof painfully. He pulled his hoof away from her and glared as he shook it, trying to regain some feeling. Pinkie did not notice his glare and started trotting towards the town, leaving him to follow in her wake. ---- Pinkie was keeping a fast pace and the colt was having a hard time keeping up. Although he found that he couldn’t stay depressed in presence of the pink pony. “Pinkie! Slow down!’ He called after her. She turned around and waved. The colt sighed and hurried to catch up. He was slightly out of breath and Pinkie gave him a strange look as he sat down. “What are you doing, silly?” she asked. “We’re almost there.” The colt gave her a look. “What do you mean by ‘almost there’?” He asked sarcastically. Pinkie pointed a hoof to her right; the colt looked and saw a large, hollowed-out tree. “I mean that we are almost there! Now come ON I can’t wait introduce you to my friends!” She said. The colt stood up. “I suppose if we are ALMOST there.” He said. Lead the way, I guess.” He said. Pinkie turned to her right, and walked two steps, and then she knocked on the door. The colt’s eye twitched. “Coming!” Called a male voice. The pair waited patiently as the door opened. The colt gave a surprised look as none other than a baby dragon opened the door he didn’t say anything though. “Hi Pinkie! What’s going on?” he asked then he noticed the colt standing beside her. “Who’s your new coltfriend?” he asked. The colt blushed slightly. “I’m not her coltfriend.” He protested. Pinkie took no notice. “Just somepony I found loitering outside Ponyville.” She explained. The dragon’s eyebrow went up as he looked at the colt. “Hey! I wasn’t loitering!” The colt protested again. “Whatever. Come on in! Twilight is studying upstairs right now but I’ll let her know you guys are here. Speaking of which, what’s your name?” The dragon looked at the colt. The colt thought for a minute as he walked in “My name is Tag Shadow.” He said at last. The dragon gave him a look. “Strange name, I’m Spike by the way, nice to meet you.” He said and closed the door behind them. As Spike ran off Tag took a quick glance around. He was surprised to see that they were in what appeared to be a library, and a spacious one at that all the walls were covered with books and a stairway that Spike had disappeared into. He took a seat of to one side and Pinkie joined him. “Soooooo…” she started. “Were you from?” she asked. “I’m not necessarily from anywhere, I wander around more or less, doing odd jobs for ponies.” He said. Pinkie laughed. “What’s so funny?” He asked. “I meant: where were you born?” she giggled Tag sighed he thought for a moment, and another… and another. “I’m not sure.” He said. Pinkie looked at him sideways. “What do you mean you can’t remember?” she asked him. Tag was really thinking about it and realized that he couldn’t even remember before a few weeks ago at most. “Strange, I can’t seem to remember much at all now that I think about it.” He said, before Pinkie could say anything another voice called out from the direction Spike had disappeared. “Hello Pinkie. Spike told me you were visiting, and that you brought your new coltfriend.” Tag looked up and looked for the source of the voice. He saw a lavender unicorn standing at the foot of the stairs. Tag stood up. “I’m not her coltfriend.” He said. Pinkie sprung up to the unicorn and gave her a hug. Tag walked over to her and offered a slight bow. “My name is Tag Shadow.” He said. The unicorn nodded to him. “My name is Twilight Sparkle, student of Princess Celestia and librarian of Ponyville.” She said. Tag felt a bolt of anger go through him when he heard the name. He brought himself back to the present and looked at Twilight, she was looking at him with a frightened look on her face. “…What?” he asked. “OH! Um… you just got a really angry look on your face, is everything okay?“ She said. “I don’t know, honestly.” Tag replied. Twilight didn’t look convinced. “What brings you to Ponyville?” she asked him. “Oh, I’m just wandering around Equestria, looking for the odd job to do.” He said. “Don’t you have a special talent?” Twilight asked and looked at his flank, she froze when she saw his cutie mark. “What s that?” She asked. Tag looked at his cutie mark, he didn’t even know what it was, same as everypony who saw it, but it gave all of them a strange sense of foreboding. That was why they kicked him out of Manehattan. Tag looked closer at it, it was like a knife, but not like the knives used to chop vegetable in the kitchen. This one was double sided, and had circle at the other end of the handle. “Taaaaaaaag.” Tag seized up. “Who said that?” He asked. “Who said what?” Pinkie asked. Twilight suddenly froze. “What? What is it?” He asked her. Twilight whispered something in Pinkie’s ear; she nodded and dashed out the door. Tag hated being left in the dark. “Okay, seriously, what the heck is going on?” he demanded. Twilight looked at him. “Sorry.” She said and her horn began to glow. “What?” Tag asked he was starting to panic now. He tried to make a run for the door but the light overtook him first. ---- Tag awoke in a strange dark room. He sat up and rubbed his head. Why did this always happen him? Before, they kicked him out, this time he was kidnapped by a couple of mares. Oh god, what did they have planned for him? Tag groaned inwardly. Hopefully something kinky… He thought. Probably not, maybe they make me into cupcakes? He thought about it. He shivered violently. “Now what?” He asked out loud. “Is that a rhetorical question?” said someone. “No.” Tag said. “Good.” It said again. A creature popped into existence in front of Tag, it had a long snake like body and what looked like a mess of other parts from other animals. The sight of it revolted Tag. The creature sensed this too and put on a hurt face. “What’s wrong, do you not like what you see?” The… creature struck a suggestive pose and Tag looked away quickly. “I-uh-it-bwuh?” was all he could say. The creature suddenly looked thoughtful. “Do you not recognize me?” it asked. Tag shook his head. “Who, or what are you?” The creature smiled at this. “Little old me?” It asked with a sweet voice. It stepped forward. “I am Discord. Ruler and creator of chaos, creator of you.” He explained. “Daddy?” Tag asked mockingly. Discord frowned. “Hey, I make the funnies around here.” He said and sighed. “They grow up so fast.” “What do you want, uh, Discord?” Tag asked. “I want you to play courier for me.” Discord explained, Tag said nothing. “When you wake up, I want you relay this message:” Discord walked up and put his arm around Tag. “You have not won.” The words contained so much venom that Tag flinched from Discord’s mouth. When Tag looked back Discord he was laying on a hammock between two palm trees. Tag just stood and stared. Discord looked at Tag. “You can go now.” He said and snapped his fingers. ---- Tag opened his eyes again, he could see the wall of the library but it was strangely purple compared to before. He could also see out a window; it was the middle of the night and the moon shone in the sky. Tag tried to sit up but a headache crashed down on him. He moaned out loud. Off to the side he heard a familiar voice, Spike? “Hey guys! I think he’s waking up!” Tag tried to sit up again, this time he was careful to not be too quick. He realized that the reason the wall was purple was because he was in a purple bubble. He poked the wall and his hoof bounced back. He sighed. Yes, definitely cupcakes, he was going to be made into cupcakes, and yet he was at piece with that, well he would be in pieces for that. Okay, bad thoughts, focus on right now. He heard the sound of a closing door and turned around slowly. Six mares were standing in front of the bubble, Twilight and Pinkie were among them but the others were unknown to him. “Um.” Was the only thing that he could think too say. One of the unknowns, a Pegasus used this to jump at the bubble, her rainbow coloured mane getting in her eye as she fluttered her wings. “What is that supposed to mean, huh? HUH?” The words reverberated around the inside of Tag’s skull, causing lots of pain. He clenched his head between his hooves. One of the other Unknowns, an orange earthpony with a Stetson hat on pulled the rainbow maned one back. “Rainbow Dash! Would ya stop runnin’ into everythin’ headfirst?” She said. Rainbow Dash sat down on the floor and sulked. “At least I’m trying to get somewhere, Applejack.” Rainbow Dash muttered. “Please can someone explain to me what’s going on?” Tag asked as he rose is head from his hooves. A white Unicorn came up. “I thought that is what you were supposed to do.” She said. Tag gave her a confused look. Thankfully Twilight came to the rescue. “Give me a few seconds to explain.” She said and sat in front of the bubble. “First off, please accept my apologies this was the easiest way to keep you detained. When I first saw you I felt that there was a strange presence with you, I couldn’t quite place my hoof on it so I decided to dismiss it. When we looked at your cutie mark I suddenly felt the presence again except it was much stronger, and I finally recognized it.” “Discord?” Tag offered. All six mares looked him in shock. “What? Is he a bad thing?” “Are you serious?” Rainbow Dash shouted. “He’s the one who plunged Equestria into chaos a few weeks ago, and we’re the ones who turned him back into stone.” She explained, there was a hint of pride in her voice as she said the last part. Tag was skeptical. “You six? I doubt that, Discord seemed like he would be powerful enough to take on waaaay more than just six simple mares.” He said. The orange one, Applejack? looked at him with a smile on her face. “That’s jus were yer wrong, you see, we’re not jus yer normal group of mares. We’re harberin the elements of harmony.” She explained. Tag was once again skeptical. “I don’t even know what those are.” He said. Twilight stepped forward. “That’s not the point. The point is that after you showed us your cutie mark, I could feel Discord like he was in the room with us.” Tag snorted. “So?” “So, we need to keep you here until I can contact Princess Celestia abou-“ “DON’T SAY THAT NAME TO ME!” Tag snarled, his headache disappearing. All six mares jumped and one of the two unknowns, a yellow pegasus, hid behind Rainbow Dash. “How rude!” The white unicorn scolded. Tag could feel his headache returning again. “Who asked YOU?” he argued. She looked at him, there was a strange emotion in her eyes, but he couldn’t put his hoof on it. “I believe that the current situation allows for any of us to assert our opinions, thank you.” She said and pointed her nose up at him. Ouch Tag thought. “True, but that doesn’t mean that I care about it.” Tag shot back. Before the white unicorn could say anything Twilight stamped her hoof on the floor. “STOP ARGUING, everypony calm down!” Her shouting caused Tag’s headache to return with full force. He put his head in his hooves again and scrunched up his face. “As I was explaining.” She paused, nopony interrupted. “ We should call Pri- I mean, her about this so that it can be investigated.” She said. Tag sighed. “What if I don’t want to stay?” He asked. Applejack grinned evilly. “You don’t get a choice.” She said. “Fine, I assume that I will be staying here the night then?” Tag asked. “Yes.” Twilight said and flashed her horn. The bubble around Tag popped and he fell to the ground. “Wouldn’t it have been a better idea to keep me in the bubble?” He asked as he got to his hooves. “Yes but unfortunately I cannot keep up that kind of magic while I am sleeping… so you’ll just have to be on your best behavior until morning.” Tag stared at her. “Do you really trust me that much?” Twilight laughed. “Obviously not! Your going to stay in the bedroom, follow me.” Twilight looked to her friends. “You girls should head home for tonight, I’m sure we’ll be fine.” Tag felt insulted, she was acting as if she could take him on by herself. Then again, she had taken him out before. Tag sighed. The five mares left, which left Tag, Twilight, and Spike. “Lead the way.” Tag said but his stomach growled. Twilight giggled a little. “Perhaps something to eat first.” She suggested. Tag nodded. She led the way into the kitchen. “Is there something in particular that you would like?” She asked. “I guess a dandelion sandwich would be nice.” He said, Twilight started to get out the bread with her telekinesis. While she was making the sandwich, Tag wandered over to the table. He sat in silence until she came to the table with it. Tag picked the sandwich off the plate with his own telekinesis; his headache protested weakly, a sure sign that it was going away. The sandwich was enveloped in a sage green aura as it floated towards him he took a bite. He chewed silently and Twilight pulled out a quill and a parchment and began to scribble with her magic. “What are you doing?” he asked. Twilight stopped scribbling and looked at him. “Writing a letter.” She said, she did not have to say to whom she was writing, Tag could guess. He felt another bolt of rage when he thought of the name. He waited for it to pass and resumed eating; they sat in silence, Twilight’s scribbling the only noise. “Why are you being so nice?” Tag asked. Twilight stopped scribbling and looked at him. “What do you mean?” She asked. “You’re holding me here against my will, but you feed me food from your kitchen and let me sleep in your bed. Wouldn’t it have been easier to condemn me to your basement and be done with it?” He clarified, Twilight looked at him. “Just because you are forced to be here doesn’t mean that I’m going to treat you like a rabid animal. Besides, maybe you’ll be in a better mood tomorrow if you have something to eat tonight.” She explained. “Hmm, I guess I would be in a better mood tomorrow. Don’t think that I’m not grateful; I really am, but my experience with other ponies is not exactly good.” He said. “What do you mean?” Twilight asked. “The last city I visited, Manehattan threw me out within a day of me getting there. All because they saw my cutie mark.” Tag didn’t even look at his flank lest Discord send him another message, speaking of which… “Uh… Twilight?” “What?” She asked back. “While I was out cold, Discord visited me.” Wen he said this Twilight’s eyes widened but she didn’t say anything. “He told me that he was the ruler and creator of chaos, and that he was the creator of me.” Twilights gasped but still did not say anything. “Before he sent me back he told me to relay this message to you: You have not won.” He finished and when he looked at her, she was shaking slightly. “A-Are you sure about that?” She asked. Tag nodded. Twilight scribbled something hastily and rolled up the scroll. “Come with me. SPIKE!” she called out. The baby dragon jumped down the stairs. “What is it Twilight?” He asked. He was awake but Tag could see the bags under his eyes. Twilight handed him the letter. “Send this off please.” She said and pulled Tag up the stairs. The upstairs area was really just a landing that encircled a higher part of the main floor; there was a door at the top of the stairs. Twilight pushed the door open with her magic and motioned for Tag to get inside. “What? What is it?” He demanded. “Nothing, there is something that I have look up, please go to bed.” She said and Tag reluctantly walked into the room only to hear it slam behind him and Twilight locking the door. Tag sighed and looked at the bedroom; it consisted of a bed, a basket, a small window and a bookshelf on the far room. There were also two other doors in the room, one was a closet and the other was a bathroom. Tag lay down on the bed, and looked out the window. What a day it has been. he thought. Found a new place and they found something wrong with me. At least they didn’t make me into cupcakes. Tag frowned. Why do I keep thinking about cupcakes? He asked. He couldn’t think of a reason why. Confound these ponies, they drive me to think about cupcakes. The moon was the last thing he saw as his eyes closed.