The Shadows Saga

by Tagshadow

Shadows Ch. 2 The Whole Story

Daylight was in his eyes, that was the first thing that told him it was morning, the second was the fact that he could feel Spike’s scaly claws poking his side.

“Wake up!” Spike said. Tag opened one eyelid, Spike was standing next to the bed and his head was level with Tag’s. Tag closed his eye again.

“Five more minutes mommy.” He whined. Spike shook his head.

“The princess is waiting for you downstairs. Besides, it’s eleven! Nopony sleeps that long!” Spike exclaimed. When he said this Tag sat straight up, another bolt of anger went through him, but he had gotten good at ignoring it.

“Why didn’t you saw so?” He shouted. And jumped on to the floor, Spike was already at the door. Tag ran to a mirror that was hanging on the wall and quickly looked at himself. His mane was ravaged by a massive case of bedhead. He quickly levitated a nearby brush and fixed his hair in two sweeps.

“That’s Twilight’s brush…” Spike started. Tag trotted out the door.

“I’m sure she won’t mind, I’ll be in the presence of royalty.” He called out over his shoulder as he started to descend the steps. Down to the main floor.

Tag was halfway down the stairs and he paused, looking across the floor. Twilight, Pinkie, Rainbow Dash, Applejack along with the other two he didn’t know were all sitting around a large, white alicorn-

Tag’s pupils became reptilian slits. An unknown force took over him. Princess Celestia looked for the sounds she heard from the stairs; she gasped when she saw Tag and stood up. Tag’s horn lit up, and then he vanished. The six mares turned to see what their Princess had but saw nothing.

“What is it, Princess?” Twilight asked. Princess Celestia focused then her horn lit up. A yellow wall appeared in front of her. There was a soft thud followed by another, and Celestia swiftly summoned a bubble on the floor. The six mares stared at it in confusion until another thud was heard and animalistic snarling. Applejack and Rainbow Dash moved in front of the others protectively, Princess Celestia’s horn lit up with a blinding light.

When the light faded all of the ponies in the room looked at the bubble. The six mares gasped while Celestia sighed. Tag was standing inside, growling and smashing the bubble; the fury in his eyes was terrifying.

“Good to see you again, Tag Shadow.” She said. Twilight stared at her in shock.

“You know Tag?” She asked in disbelief. Celestia nodded.

“Yes, I do know Tag. When you mentioned him in your letter I was skeptical it was the same pony but now I know I cannot be wrong. The pony you see is Tag Shadow the assassin created by Discord thousands of years ago.” The room was silent save for the occasional noise from Tag but Pinkie piped up.

“How is that possible? I was talking to him yesterday and he said that he could not remember past a few weeks not a thousand years! Besides that’s just silly; nopony can live for a thousand years.” She said, “Can they?”

“I’m not surprised, there is a long story to tell but I’m sure that Tag would love to hear it too. I’m going to sever his connection to Discord, that should calm him down for a bit.” Celestia stepped towards the bubble.

Tag was still snarling furiously. Celestia pointed her horn to Tag and closed her eyes, her horn lit up again and she made a cutting motion in the air. Tag suddenly stopped fighting and stood up straight. He blinked a couple of times; his eyes were normal except that they were the size of dinner plates. Celestia released him from the bubble and he sat down hard as his plot contacted the floor.

“What happened?” He whispered. Tag was terrified; he had never felt such rage before in the few weeks of memory he had. Celestia looked down at him, he couldn’t meet her eyes. “Please forgive me.” A tear formed in his eye. He looked up quickly and saw Celestia reach down and dry his tear with a wing.

“Hush my little pony; I forgive you.” Celestia put her hooves on his shoulders. “The is nothing to be afraid of anymore.” She pulled him into a tight hug. Twilight, along with the rest of the elements, was dumbfounded. Tag started to cry, his fear was total. Celestia continued to make comforting noises until his sobs died down. When he was finally quiet Celestia let go of him.

Tag’s eyes were slightly red and he sniffed occasionally but he had calmed down for the most part. Celestia beckoned for him to join the other six. Tag gave them a look of doubt but slowly trotted over and sat down. The others shifted a little farther from him; even Rainbow Dash looked a little frightened.

“Now, the story that I am about to tell will never leave this room; if it did then ponies would come for Tag. Nopony must know about this, understood?” Celestia’s voice was dead serious and the other six mares nodded their heads in shocked silence. “Good, long before I was forced to imprison Luna on the moon, thousands of years before the seeds of jealousy were sown in her heart; was the time when Discord ruled. Our battles against him would become known as the Chaos War. It was not long after we started a military campaign against Discord that we both learned that there was no easy way to win against him; it is impossible to kill a god. A short while after that one of our mages learned how to harness the elements of harmony that we used against him to win the war. But Discord also knew that there was no way for him to win that was why he created Tag.” Celestia explained. Twilight interrupted her.

“Is it really possible to create a pony?” She asked. Celestia looked at her.

“Discord had long since abandoned playing by the rules; he is a trickster. He is always looking for ways to bend the rules but not even he can break them. He found a loophole and that was to make up an imaginary friend. He then created a body, which can be done easily enough. He more or less programed the brain of the body to match his friend. He did this twice; once with Tag, and once again this time he created a unicorn that he called Tor. Tor is as close to family that Tag has anymore now that Discord has been returned to stone.” At the mention that he had family Tag looked straight at Celestia.

“What happened to Tor?” He asked; his voice was still shaky.

“I will get to that at the end of the story.” Celestia replied softly. “After he had created Tag and Tor Discord still needed a way to eliminate us. It is impossible to kill a god directly, that was another way that Discord bent the rules. He created two weapons that would indirectly… kill us by removing our very souls from our bodies. One was a blade with a design from a foreign land far across Equestria’s southern border and across the Sun Sea, this was called Tagia and was given to Tag.” They all looked at his cutie mark, even Spike who had crept down the stairs after Tag. Sure enough the blade was there on his flank. Celestia continued. “I believe that it is called a kunai knife in that land and is used by assassins there too. Discord also created a weapon for Tor, this was a bow called Torais. Another thing that was special about this weapon was the fact that no physical arrows are required to fire it.” Twilight interrupted again.

“How would that work?” Twilight wondered aloud. Celestia sighed patiently.

“The bow would draw from the user’s life force, making it out of the energy and causing it to take solid form. That made sure that every arrow was sharp, efficient, and completely silent; the arrows could cut through air like a knife through butter.” Celestia explained. Twilight still looked unsure.

“But wouldn’t that mean if Tor had fired enough arrows, he would die?” She asked.

“Yes, but Discord did not and still doesn’t care about life; as long as he gets to have a good laugh in the end, so he didn’t care about Tag or Tor. That was why he sent them straight to the palace. I remember the night they came like it was yesterday, because it will never leave my mind for the rest of my eternal life.” Tag was terrified. What did I do? He despaired. Celestia cleared her throat.

“It was another long night, at least it was the night hours; back then the sun and the moon rose at irregular intervals. I suspect that Discord changed it so the moon would stay up for a while longer than average. It was dark, and I was getting nervous because the moon had never been up for so long before. I was going to check on Luna before I went to sleep and I had almost made it before the smell hit my nose; it was the smell of blood.” Celestia’s voice shook a little.

“I ran for Luna’s room, I had to make sure that she was alright. I got to her doors and saw that the guards had been slain; one’s throat had been cut and the other had a hole between the eyes. I pushed the doors open slowly and saw that nothing was the matter. Luna was sleeping peacefully on her bed. I started toward her but something told me to stop. I took a closer look and could see that there was a disturbance in the paths of light. Perhaps it was my early sun power starting to work but I found that with a little focus I was able to reveal Tag, he was standing right on top of Luna with Tagia in his mouth ready to bring it down upon her. Tag must have sensed he had been revealed because he looked at me with those cold reptilian eyes. The hatred in them was total and it petrified me to the spot. Tag… smiled at me and it took me a second to realize why, Tor was standing behind me with Torais pointed at the back of my head. There was nothing that I could do, and they were going to kill Luna in front of me!” Tears were forming in Celestia’s eyes but nopony dared to stop her. Tag was staring at his hooves.

“It was then that Luna’s attendant, Water Drop, threw herself upon Tag, causing him to miss. I used that instant to buck Tor in the face, knocking him out cold. I turned around to see that Water Drop was still struggling with Tag but the commotion had woken up Luna and she was moving in to help. She was too little too late…” A tear splashed onto the floor in front of Tag, he looked up and into Celestia’s eyes. The pain and suffering amplified by the thousands of years of time was all too much. Tag broke down sobbing again, the elements were all looking at there hooves with no idea what to say. Celestia pulled herself together. “Tag slashed Water Drop’s leg and then her throat as she fell. Luna stopped dead in her tracks. Tag jumped on her, pinning her to the floor. Luna did not fight; she was very close to Water Drop you see. I could feel the rage inside building up and I channeled it through my horn, the light was as blinding as the sun. And Tag stopped long enough for Luna pin him by the throat. I used my magic to collect Tag, Tor, Tagia, and Torais. I left Luna alone to grieve and I took all four to the guards.” Celestia paused to gather herself; tears were flowing down her face. The rest of the room looked at her with horrified faces.

“I took Tag and Tor to the dungeon and imprisoned them I also left two guards at each of the cells. I took Tagia and Torais to the castle vaults and locked them in the deepest part. I thought that that was the last that we would see of them for the rest of the war. We held Water Drop’s funeral the next day.” Celestia sniffed again.

“It was several months later that one of our mages, Starswirl the Bearded found out about the elements of harmony. He directed Luna and I in their use until he was sure that we were ready to take on Discord. We called out for a final showdown and he accepted. As he stood before us with a target on his middle he snapped his fingers, I had not suspected he would summon Tag and Tor with their weapons. I was a fool to not even think about it, I was too excited about ending the war. Now it was three against two. Thankfully the castle guards led a charge, it was a foolish charge but it bought Luna and I enough time to imprison Discord. As he slowly turned to stone Tag and Tor turned to stone as well. They were still fighting even though they knew they would lose, eventually it was over and our casualties numbered just over one hundred. Discord was placed in the gardens so that we could keep a close eye on him; Tor was taken to a shrine just outside of Manehattan. Tag was taken to Fillydelphia and put in the shrine of Luna. Tagia and Torais were stored once again in the deepest vaults in Canterlot.” Celestia finished and fell silent, she seemed at a loss for words. “If there are any questions that you would like to ask please ask them now.” Tag looked up. But the white unicorn from yesterday asked a question first.

“How was it that Tag and Tor were able to turn invisible?” She asked. Celestia smiled in spite of herself.

“A good question, Rarity. When Discord made Tag and Tor he gave them both a specialization in magic that would help them hide from us. Tag was given the ability to bend light around him, rendering him invisible to anyone but me, that was why I could sense him in Luna’s room. The magic is known as ‘Tagging Shadows” and that is why I expect he was named Tag. Tor was given the ability to tear a section of shadow away and wear it like a cloak that is known as “Tearing Shadows”.” Tag asked his question next.

“Why is it that I’m no longer a statue?” He asked.

“Not long ago, a few weeks at most, Discord escaped from his imprisonment, Twilight and her friends put him back. One would think that you would have returned to stone too, but a theory I have is that all of those years in stone has weakened his bond with you, maybe that is why you did not return to stone.” Tag had another question.

“If I have been released, does that mean that Tor has been released too?” Celestia frowned.

“Yes. I have already organized a search and will check for results when I get back to Canterlot.” Celestia looked around. “Are there any more questions?” she asked. The yellow pegasus squeaked, her voice was so quiet Tag had to focus to hear it.

“What will happen to Tag now?” She asked.

“I have released Tag from Discord’s control, his is his own pony now Fluttershy. The only thing to remind him is his cutie mark and I cannot change that. I would suggest that he stay in Ponyville so that I know were he is at all times.” Celestia said Tag gave her a confused look.

“I thought that I was no longer under Discord’s control?” He stammered

“Yes, you should be but I wouldn’t put it past Discord to try again. That is why it is important that I find Tor; Discord still is connected to him and might try to use Tor against us. Now if that is all the questions then I must be on my way back to Canterlot, there is much work to do.” With that Celestia stood up and walked towards the door. The rest of the ponies followed her. Outside was a carriage waiting for the Princess. Before she entered Celestia turned to Tag.

“Perhaps now is the time to stop wandering and settle down, ask your new friends for a job or at least a place to stay.” She said Tag nodded.

“Thank you, Princess, I suppose it is time for me to settle down. If you find my brother, please tell me, I would like to meet him.” He replied.

“I will do that. Good luck!” Celestia called out as the carriage took off.

All seven ponies returned to the library where they sat together and thought what would happen to Tag. Applejack was the first to suggest something.

“Ah suppose ah could let him work on the farm fer awhile…” She trailed off. Applejack examined Tag. “Do ya think you would be good at buckin’ apples?” she asked. Tag gave her a confused look.

“Bucking apples? What’s that?” He asked.

“That’s when ya hit a tree with yer hind legs to make the apples fall.” Applejack explained. Tag shook his head.

“I doubt I would be good at that, my legs are not exactly the strongest around her.” He said. Rarity lit up.

“Maybe you could come and work in my boutique!” She exclaimed.

“Sewing is not exactly my thing.” He muttered Rarity looked at him.

“I could teach you; it’s not that hard once you know what you are doing.” She said. Tag looked hopeful.

“I could give it a shot.” He said. “But, where would I stay? I can’t live in a library.”

“You could stay in the boutique, I have a guest room on the top floor. Oh yes! That is what we should do!” Rarity gave an excited bounce but caught herself, she cleared her throat and sat down, Tag couldn’t help but laugh a little, then the other five mares joined in.

“If you really think that I can do it, then I’ll try.” He said. Rarity looked slightly annoyed that everyone was laughing at her but smiled when Tag accepted.

“Glad to help a friend in need.” She said. Tag could feel a tear in his eye. Fluttershy walked up to him.

“What’s wrong Tag?” She asked the kindness in her eyes was painful to Tag.

“I’ve never had friends before…” he said. Silence filled the room. Pinkie ended it in an instant.

“Well now you’ve got six new friends!” she said and pulled them all into a group hug. Tag sniffed.

“Thank you all.” He said.

Comments

[Tagshadow]

Just a heads up: I won't be posting any chapters tomorrow or the day after that because I'm writing the grade 10 literacy test 2 days from now. (fun) So please be patient and if I don't have a headache I might have the mental capacity to get another chapter up the day after tomorrow.
-Tag