//------------------------------// // In the sewers // Story: My last shadow // by The Psychopath //------------------------------// "It hurts!" the little filly cried. The moon was still high in the sky and was bearing down upon the filly will full force. That moon would be forever tainted and etched in the mind of the filly. She wanted to call for help, but her strength was leaving her. She didn't know what to do. After all, she was only seven. What does a seven year old know of the outside world, let alone one that was trapped in her own home for so long. The buildings of this place were much taller than she expected. Sure, she had seen them when she peered outside, but the gigantic creations of crystal and brick scared Stellar. How was she going to find anyone in this place. Shadowrette tried her best to see where she was going, but the stars only permitted so much light to pass. The shadows were nowhere in sight, not that one could see them in darkness. A little filly in the darkness wasn't going to be able to do much, and Stellar needed to find some place to get warm. Squinting as hard as she could, the foal couldn't see and, as a consequence, fell off a hill next to the cobblestone pathway and rolled down it like a rock. She hit her head hard against a pile of junk and began to cry loudly again. She now had several cuts on her body. "I want my mommy!" she cried. She expected her mother to arrive from the sky, as per yet another story she was given, but no pony came. This didn't prevent her from crying harder and harder, nearly depleting all moisture from her body. The crying continued through the night, but something rumbled through the junk of the city sewer exit. The filly paid no heed to it, but she immediately felt herself hoisted into the air by an unknown being. She could hear squeaking and mumbling. "Oh dear. A broken leg and cuts from this accursed piles of rusted metal and stone. We'll take care of all of that," the voice cooed. Stellar felt her body shift towards something and heard: "Oh my. The shadows have done a number on her. She looks just like him." "Will she be okay?" a young colt asked. "It's all up to her and her incessant crying." "Foalish mare. You think me so easily destroyed, but I have returned!" Cadence was standing on a floating rock and facing off against an enormous, smokey version of Sombra. His face and horn were the only things that could be seen amidst the mass of smoking tendrils. The sky looked like a stormy sunset. It was very dark and thunder clouds were swirling around the sky. Strands of red, orange, and yellow forced their way through the dense darkness, but it didn't do much but slightly color patches of the clouds. "Sombra! I'll have you destroyed just like last time," she pointed at him with conviction. The mass just bellowed in laughter. "But you were never the one who defeated me. That small dragon did that. In fact, I would very much like to see him again." "He won't be coming. He has two children that will be coming, however. You'll have to settle with them." Cadance threw a hoof to her mouth. Why did she just say that? "I will, but not yet. I will first start by killing or corrupting those closest to you, such as your dear sister-in-law-turned-alicorn, your own child, and then...I'll have you watch as even your own husband becomes corrupted by his own fleshling. He will be unable to fight him back." As Sombra spoke, tentacles rose showing Cadance's children becoming engulfed in crystal and their eyes morphing into Sombra's. They jumped onto another platform and attack Shining who could not attack his own children. He too was engulfed in crystal and suffered the same fate, but the dream reached its epiphany when Shining appeared on her platform and placed a hoof onto her face, much to her cries of desperation and pleas. They fell on deaf ears, and the mare slowly felt her mind slipping into mental enslavement. "Ahhh!" Cadance shouted. The mare fell out of her bed and onto the hard crystal ground next to it. Rubbing her head to appease the pain, the mare's gaze shifted to the walls and ceiling. She saw several shadows wriggle away into the various shrouded portions of the crystal walls like eels. Her bedroom held a huge bed of a circular shape with pink covers decorated with images of the crystal heart. The same could be said for the pillows. All across the walls and between the enormous leading to the balcony sat memorabilia of Shining Armor, such as gifts from other countries or military awards. The floor in front of the bed was covered by an enormous carpet spanning the rest of the room away from the bed. It was intricately designed and had been imported straight from Saddle Arabia. "Cadence? What's wrong? You had a nightmare?" Shining asked. The pink alicorn was looking around at the corners of her room in confusion and curiosity. The shadows she heard so much about never came into the palace. "I had a nightmare about Sombra." "Oh, honey. You shouldn't worry about these sorts of things. He's gone. He was literally blown into a thousand pieces." "But...I swear. I saw those shadows when I woke up. He even threatened Valiant Heart. He couldn't know about him!" "Well...Sure. I think 'Sombra' was just created using your imagination. As for the shadows, the moon is shining bright outside. I'm pretty sure you blew the sheets when you fell down and screamed, so they created shadow effects." "But--" "Cadence. If you start to panic for no reason then what will become of the crystal ponies who live here?" The mare thought awhile and tapped her chin a bit, just to finally nod in acceptance. "You're right. I needn't stress for a dream. It couldn't mean anything. I'll just...scooch back under the covers." "Great. Now make sure to get some rest. Tomorrow, there's a carnival that will be had, and Spike, Rarity, and their children will be coming for it." "Spike?" "...They celebrate the hero who saved the kingdom...You know!" "Oh. Oh! Oh yeah! Heh heh," Cadence nervously chuckled. Shining just stared at her and frowned. "You're still thinking about that dream, aren't you?" "Well..." Cadence twiddled her hooves. Shining hugged her tightly and kissed her on the cheek, leaving the mare stunned and bewildered. "Don't worry about any of that. It might take a day or two to forget. Trust me, I know. But you shouldn't keep your mind stuck on that. Valiant Heart will be coming home tomorrow as an escort for the 'Hero of the Crystal Kingdom'," Shining teased. "Right. Thank you, sweetie. Good night." "Good night." As the two began falling back asleep, a shadow in the highest, furthest corner of the crystal room frowned and bared its teeth. "Stupid foal. She was supposed to succumb to the fear. It was so simplistic yet so efficient. It's all because of that 'brave' stallion of hers," the shadow spat. "If I only I could get one of his black crystals and bring it to that guard. Then all the 'love' barriers would be destroyed between the two and fear will grip them. Problem is, I don't know where 'she' is." The shadow scratched its chin. "I need to find her quickly. Who knows what happened to her," the shadow chuckled. "Yes. I admit it was a risky move, but the riches were too much to give up on." "Keep her still!" a voice shouted. Stellar was struggling against her captors and still crying from the traumatic events and the pain her leg was creating. Despite her struggling, she felt something touch her broken leg, and the pain was so intense she blacked out. She didn't even hear the resounding and cringe-inducing 'crack'. In fact, she barely noticed anything at all. Several hours later, the filly awoke in a panic to a frightening new area. This place wasn't like her old home. In fact, it was gross and smelly. The walls were made of red bricks and were covered in a green moss. This place was damp and moist and even the many torches kept in close proximity to each other created an uncomfortable lighting. The filly put her left hoof on the ground and removed it immediately. She showed obvious disgust and accidentally let out an 'ew'. "Oy! The thing is awake," a young colt shouted. "She's not a 'thing' you idiot!" The voice was quickly followed by the sound of a smack which was, itself, followed by a squeakyy 'ouch'. Shadowrette was greeted by a plethora of little rats who came to her and began sniffing her hooves. Naturally, she reeled back in at the little things poking her with their tiny pink noses. "Don't worry. They're just rats. These ones are harmless," a young stallion said. A tall stallion with an olive-green coat and a golden-brown mane and tail greeted the filly. His eyes were the same color as his mane and seemed full of compassion. Why, he barely seemed older than Stellar. The filly wasn't going to be fooled though, and she continued to back away. She had enough with false kindness." "Go away! Get-ah!" the filly winced. Stellar shut her eyes automatically in pain, then looked at her foreleg. It had been put back into place and was held tightly with two chewed up planks of wood and a soggy white cloth. She looked at it, then at the stallion with an open mouth. "We patched you up!" he said with joy. "Who are you?" "Who are we?" the stallion repeated. Several foals began to creep out from around the corners of the sewer walls, drop down from the ceiling, or just emerge from sewage evacuation tunnels placed high above the ground. Stellar began to cower and was shrinking into a tiny fluffy ball with her tail starting to cover most of her face. She noticed that many of these ponies were very young. In fact, there was another filly around her age holding a very young foal in a dirty blanket. Another thing Shadowrette noticed was that several of them had traits similar to her own. Some had the slit pupils like her. Others had longer horns with reddened forms. Even more had a strange metallic form slivering over their muzzle and along their backs. The pegasi, however, had wings made of, or at least surrounded by, black mist. Many others had a combination of two traits, but these barely stood out more than those with only one trait. "We are just those little misfits that no pony wanted. What's your story?" the colt asked with a sincere smile.