//------------------------------//
// Finally 
// Story: Casting a Shadow 
// by Ssendam the Masked 
//------------------------------//

I leafed through the psychological profiles of the Elements of Harmony idly while I adjusted the schemes even further. This had taken quite a long time to acquire, and I was not regretting it. With this, I could work the plan even better- predicting who would likely break first. 

The pink one was obsessed with parties and could reputedly teleport and break the rules of reality. Plus, there was a definite sugar addiction. Bipolar tendencies, manic-depressive, wham bam thank you ma'am. Family includes one geologist, the others just farmed rocks. I resolved to kidnap the family to demotivate her. 

The white unicorn was a fashionista. Dramatic, more cultured than her boorish friends, that was for sure. Quite a shrewd business mare; I could respect her designs. I leafed through a couple of samples and nodded approvingly. She definitely had talent. I would make sure that her family would be abducted as well. 

Orange was the head of the Ponyville branch of the Apple family. That clan was incredibly well-spread- their connections had been hard to overhear, but thanks to their gossip, they were unknowingly supplying me with a lot of information- especially about the rumours of my latest creation. From their whispered reports and my own observations, I was pleased to find that The Plan was on schedule. I resolved to let the Apple family be... too many to kidnap. 

From what I could tell, the yellow pegasus was an animal caretaker and a general vet, as well as a complete doormat. A dependency complex, that's for sure. Nothing of interest there then. Maybe I could kill her ironically. Her own animals tearing her apart. I paused, then shook my head. Not practical enough. Besides, I didn't need new Elements of Harmony popping up, now did I? 

The blue pegasus was reportedly extremely loyal to her friends. Classical narcissist, with ADHD and hyperactivity. I noticed that she wanted to be a Wonderbolt... how interesting. Well, something about how petty that dream was struck me as amusing. I decided that it was in my best interests for miss Rainbow Dash to enter the Wonderbolt Academy. However, I did need to weed out potential applicants. 

I idly pulled out the birth records of the vast majority of pegasi and started perusing them. My spies had been busy- taking photos of every single birth record, just in case I needed it. I crossed out the pegasi who were already on the team, and got to work with newspaper reports on them. Eventually, I found a likely pony who would be very... useful to me. 

Her name was Lightning Dust, and she was reputedly the fastest pony in the skies. She certainly had an ego to match her reputation. I paused at that. Ego. I definitely had an ego. Was I right in judging her unfairly for it? After a moment, I shook my head. My ego was justified- after all, apart from alternate versions of me, there was only one other man in the multiverse who had that- him and his other versions of himself. Plus, I'd spent four thousand years learning the exact limitations of each and every single one of my powers, their applications, their uses for one with understanding... plus, I'd spent a lot of time also mastering my art. 

Thus resolved, I decided to make Lightning Dust an offer she couldn't refuse. 

I walked out, shapeshifting quickly into a pegasus- bright green body and brighter red mane. I looked like an eyesore, but that was the point. Lightning Dust would need some pony who she couldn't simply ignore. I pulled on my Kakama and grinned. Time to finally acquire one of my pet goals- high speed perception, as well as improved eyesight. 

Chuckling, I pulled out a piece of paper and started to write in an elegant, easy to read style. I explained to Lightning Dust that I was a representative of a new company. I wanted to help her maximise her full potential. I really wasn't lying; I wanted her to reach her full potential. It's simply that fleshbags are fundamentally limited by their mortality. Thus, I needed to ensure that I snapped her up and... added her to me when she was in her prime.


==Later...==


Teleporting to a nearby town to get train tickets was so easy I didn't even have to blink. The ticket seller was a Changeling drone. I smiled at him. "How's the Queen?" 
He smiled back at me brightly. "She's excellent- there's so much love in Equestria, we'll never go hungry! And it's all thanks to a certain... advisor." 
I kept playing along. "Oh? And who is that, I wonder? Must have been very wise." 
The drone nodded, leaning forwards. "Yes, his identity is a secret. But what's really great is that the Alicorns have accepted Chrysalis as their equal! Truly, the Great Era of the Changelings will never end." 
I smiled in a friendly way. "Good for you, my Changeling friend. Be seeing you in a while." With that, I boarded the train to Baltimare, where Lightning Dust was currently residing.

The train ride was long, dull and boring. I slept, or rather gave the impression of sleeping. The local gossip was centred around how much Chrysalis had been helping Equestria- apparently, she'd helped out with some wedding thing and had lent soldiers to hunt down something or other. Likely me. I smiled in my feigned sleep. Nice to see that Celestia still had some of her edge. Even if it was nothing compared to what she'd been before... it was nice to see that I had some manner of competition. 

When I finally arrived, I casually navigated the choked platform, ensuring that any collisions with me felt properly flesh-like with some minor elasticity. Such a simple power had so many interesting uses, when one had half a brain. 

The rest of my little trip was locating the small apartment room where she lived- in a sky hotel. Nifty building, that- a large cloud pushed here and kept in place by powerful weather magic. Liquid Rainbow came down from the very top of the building with a convenient fountain- a nice little trick, especially with the neon lighting that made it glow like a liquid rave festival. These things were exclusively pegasus buildings, but would open to the occasional unicorn with a cloud-walking spell. Naturally, I had no trouble flying up and landing on there. Weather control allowed me to solidify the cloud beneath me, so that I could walk here safely. 

I found her room number after a polite conversation with the receptionist, and I went up to meet her. I knocked on her door politely, and I waited. After about a second, the door was thrown open and I was pulled in. I blinked, before smiling. 
"You have incredible speed, miss Lightning Dust." 
The green pegasus nodded with a cocky smirk on her face. "Damn right I'm the fastest. Ain't nopony faster than I am." 
God she was arrogant. I mean, I wasn't exactly humble myself, but even I knew that I wasn't perfect. I could name, throughout history, about twelve ponies who were faster than she was. But I kept quiet, and stealthily projected a Silence field around the room. Nobody would hear what was going on in this room.

I cleared my throat. "Yes, I can see that. I'm offering you the chance to be... even faster, if you so want." 
Lightning Dust's eyes widened at that and she scowled at me. "What, EVEN faster? Please, that's impossible, you dingus." 
I am over four thousand years old. I am a genius of the highest calibre. You're not even worthy of my attention, and I'm only here to absorb you and gain your senses.
I kept the stream of insults inside me and I casually laid an arm around her shoulders. "Of course, of course. After all... we both understand your place in the multiverse." And with that, I showed her the knowledge I'd been cursed with. She saw herself, in relation to the grandeur of the entire multiverse. Every, last, bit of it. 

I was glad that there was a field of silence projected around this room, as she screamed loud enough to deafen most people. I chuckled mirthlessly as she flopped on the ground, golden eyes wide. "Yes, we DEFINITELY understand our place, don't we you little egomaniac?" She wasn't listening, and she'd finally stopped screaming. Good, I was getting rather sick of that. Instead, she just sat there, staring at the wall. The impact of the vision, coupled with its suddenness, had broken her utterly. 

I kept talking. "You know something? You're not the most important being in the universe. How does that make you feel?" With no answer forthcoming, I continued talking. "I'll tell you something; you only got a couple of seconds. Me? I see that EVERY DAY. No break." 

I got up close to her face, and she scrambled backwards. "Now then..." My shadow hand came out of the centre of my chest, enveloping her. I grinned like a feral animal. "It's just about time for dinner. Open wide." My pony chest split open, revealing my green, gaseous true form. "It's time to eat."