The Kings Shadow

by Zandar13

A Reflection Of Grace Or Despair

…...“Hello? Is some pony there?”......

Greymanes eyes shot open at this foreign and unknown sound, a voice? Maybe it was going to be another bout of madness or a new memory of the King though it was a strange way to start one, perhaps he was growing too comfortable in his prison. He sat still and closed his eyes as he prepared for the onslaught of hellish nightmares and blood curling visions of the mad Kings past, wonder if it would pick up where he left off or would start anew. After a minute or two or stillness he slowly peaked one eye open and saw the mirror reflecting in front of him, the same grass, same blue sky, same glowing marks that showed his time while imprisoned, and no blood or fire or screams.

Strange, maybe it really is him going mad again and hearing voices once more though why now was the question. Perhaps the hope and wishful thinking snapped his mind again or something but if he can reason with himself like this than he must not be mad or insane like before but if not then what?! It couldn't be that his birthday wish came true could it? No, that would be impossible due to the Kings magic hiding the area his mirror prison was in and even without it the place was in a part of the forest that nopony would ever look in.

He sighed and sat up and slowly trotted up to the mirror and layed his head and right hoof against the reflective service and closed his eyes and breathed a heavy sigh as to the ridiculous thought of being rescued. Slowly thinking that his wish will never come true a few tears began to trickle down his muzzle only to disappear since they don't exist in the real world, he had long given up hope and it was foolish to have started again. He deserved to be here to atone for his sins about unleashing King Sombra upon all of Equestria again and all thanks to his stupidity and fear, how he had easily let that rancid King dissolve his mind and plague his heart with lies and sludge.

If only his home had not burnt down then he would of never of had to leave and search for a new home then he would not of had to come to Ponyville and hear them all say those things to him and made him doubt himself in the first place. He was perfectly happy being alone and fending for himself, to be the strange grey pony on the outskirts of Canterlot, to have no one know about him to even think about him or care. No family, no friends, not a single soul to pay him any mind and allow him to carry on his life without regrets or pain or suffering because of the thoughts of others, to simply have and be nothing.

Well in here he has nothing now but if the King ever tells of his resurrection then history will know of him to be the weak minded fool who unleashed the evil King and sank the world into darkness. Even those three fillies he met by his house a year after the events in Ponyville would probably only see him as a monster who lived in the Everfree, the small white unicorn, the orange pegasi, and the yellow earth pony with a red ribbon in her mane. The whole world by now thinks of him as such a terrible monster who made a deal with the devil and set him free and yet here he is, wallowing in his prison and crying his eyes out over some imaginary voice that gave him a sliver of hope.

“Hello?! I can hear somepony crying out here! Where are you?!”

Once more Greymanes eyes shot open and his eyes started moving like crazy to try and find the source of this new voice, was it really real? Was someone really out there looking for him? But how? Why? It didn't make any sense, how could there be someone out there to look for him? How? How? HOW?!

“Where are you?! Please say something!”

This time the voice was starting to get quieter and farther away. No! With whatever sliver of hope he had left he slowly lifted his hoof off the mirror and tapped it softly at first again and again. He could not believe it still, somepony had escaped the reign of the King and was here!

“Hellooooooo?! Where are youuuuuuuuu?! Say something! Anything!”

Once again the voice was drifting further and further and now his hoof pounded on the mirror with new hope but his voice had left him when he needed it and at most he could barely let loose a quiet “Help”. Withing the next few minutes his hoof was moving at speeds which even surprised him as it smashed against the magic mirror and with each growing minute his voice slowly grew until the third minute when it sounded like a stampede was traveling across the reflective surface of his prison door and his lungs burned as he shouted “HELP!” over and over again.

Nothing.

No sound, no voice, no incoming hoof steps to come to his aid and rescue, and the slightest ray of hope which sparked his soul was vanishing into the darkness along with his spirit. His hoof felt raw as it stopped its assault and his throat was hoarse and sore from the sudden outburst of hopeful screaming and his face was drenched from the downpour of tears ranging from sadness to happiness and then to devastation. Though a fire was ablaze in his throat he continued to voice his call of “Help” to the now long gone savior.

THUD

His head fell upon the surface as his tears renewed their strength and vigor as his heart broke and spirit shattered as his birthday wish become wasted and once again it was his fault. If only he had spoken up sooner and done something instead of wallowing in self pity and doubt, if only he had shouted sooner, if only he had smashed harder and louder, if only he.....if only he.....if only he had not been a fool. But here he was, alone and sad and without hope. He leaned more into the mirror and allowed his tears to flow and resigned himself to his fate once more.

“Hello? Are you the pony I heard earlier?”

“GASP” with this sudden new voice piercing his solitude he fell away from the source and rolled away before weakly standing up on his legs like a new born foal. Once his legs seemed to be able to stand on their own he slowly raised his wet face back to the mirror, half expecting it to be some sort of trick or phantom produced by his jailor but instead of some crystal pony with blood shot eyes and broken bones or a fiery servant of the vile King stood a normal pony.

Well, not exactly a normal pony per say, this was an Alicorn mare with lavender fur and a two striped mane who stood only a few inches shorter than me and stared at me with purple eyes that studied my ragged form. With no reason to keep up my appearance while ensnared in the mirror my black mane had grown wild and long and my tail dragged behind me while my fur was a mess and had no sense of style or reason and grew over every other part of my body. I was a total mess in her eyes, a stranger, a beast, a prisoner, a monster.

But neither of us broke eye contact as we continued to stare at each other for what seemed like forever but not as long as my imprisonment and just as I was beginning to muster the courage of thought and reason to talk she had the will to break the silence first by asking “Are you alright? Why are you out here all alone in the Everfree Forest? And why are you crying? Come closer!”

With those words he had simply obeyed since his mind was blank with confusion and shock and he slowly shuffled his way forward until he was just in front of the mirror and sat down. With short ragged breaths he slowly gained his thoughts before he spoke “I.....i-i-I am alri-igh-ight”

A small smile tugged at her lips “That is good to hear, but why are you all alone here in the Everfree?”

“Because I must be for what I have done and here I must remain for my sins” his head slumped forward and a frown had crawled forward.

“What do you mean? Who are you?” she asked next and she tilted her head to the side in curiosity.

Greymane gulped and stuttered for a bit before he answered with “My name is Greymane and this is my prison for all eternity”

Her eyes went back and forth as her mind raced through her thoughts “Greymane, Greymane, Greymane” after another few seconds of thinking her eyes went wide with realization “It's YOU! We have been looking for you forever!”

He flinched at this and he turned his head away in shame and prepared for all the new curses and foul words towards his character.

“Yes! You are the one that the girls saw during Discords invasion nine years ago! And who Fluttershy and the Cutie Mark Crusaders saw a year later! We have all been so worried about you!”

With this he slowly turned his head back up to the mare but with a look of shock and complete and utter confusion while his mind thought 'Worried? Why would she be worried about me?'

“Oh my goodness! This is SO wonderful! I cannot believe I found you! And in the Everfree of all places!” during her little rant she had begun doing a small victory dance in place with a grin a mile wide plastered on her happy face.

Still dumbfounded with shock and confusion, Greymane re-found his voice and asked “Why?”

Her dance slowly stopped and she straightened out her body before dawning a face of confusion as well “Why what?”

“Why would you be worried about me?! You should be furious with me! You should want me dead!” he said with a growing load voice.

The mare gasped at this and slowly stepped forward to him “Why in Equestria would I want you dead?!” he face now molded with a look of shock, confusion, and dismay.

“What do you mean?!? It's because of me all of Equestria is enslaved!” his voice boomed now.

“Enslaved?!Now your not making a lick of sen-OOF” she sputtered as her face smooshed into the mirror that led into my world “What the hay?” she replied as her hoof came up and tapped the surface multiple times.

With that Greymane calmed down a little “This is where I have been, this is my prison” he declared.

The lavender mare continued to poke the mirror all over until finding the edge to which she walked forward while skimming the surface to find the wall to this “prison” but instead when she looked around she no longer saw the grey stallion. With this startling revelation she darted her head back and forth to see him appear and disappear again and again before coming back to the front and she began to study just what she was seeing. “What is this? Where are you?”

“I am where you are but not where you are, I am in the reflection of the world, in this mirror world while you reside in the real world” he calmly claimed.

She waved her hoof and she could see her own reflection as well as the boulder behind her and the trees, the grass, and clear blue sky. She could see everything behind her except for him “But how is that possible? How can you be a reflection with no body?”

Greymane hung his head low and bit hit lower lip “Through dark magic cast forth upon me by an evil unicorn King”

With this she made another loud gasp “King Sombra?!?! He did this to you? But why?” her face now displaying concern and worry.

“Why? So I can remain here and watch Equestria burn under his reign and become enslaved under his rule. Since I exist in a place where I should not I do not eat, I do not sleep, and I cannot die. I can only watch through this mirror. I cannot change anything in the mirror world, only when something changes in the real world does it change in the mirror world. I have sat here for 8 years and endured the cold of winter and the harsh rays of sun and though my body should of withered long ago I remain. As per my punishment and reward by the King” Greymane lifted his head and held it there to look at her as she soaked in this new information.

Her mind raced as she absorbed this information and while normally she would be giddy that such a complex spell exists she was also horrified that this poor stallion had been forced to endure such torture but the few key words he had been saying have been bugging her and she is acting on them by asking “Why do you keep saying it is a prison? What did you do to be imprisoned by King Sombra?”

With a heavy heart and a long drawn breath Greymane prepared himself for the eventual words “Because eight years ago, I was the one who set King Sombra free from that rock behind you. I was the one who struck a deal with him, to allow him to inhabit my body as to have revenge against all those who did us wrong. But he tricked me and he had summoned this mirror which housed his soul and when I gazed upon it his soul invaded my body and transformed into his old form but as soon as the painful transformation was complete he expelled me from my body and into this mirror. He then told of his eventual betrayal and his plan to conquer and enslave all of Equestria and that my reward would be to live in this mirror, unable to die for all of eternity while I watched the world burn” before he could take his next breath he was stopped by his own tears that swelled up again and he had to catch his breath “and....and that is why.....that is why I am here. So suffer for my foolishness, my weakness, and my stupidity and here I must remain. Forever more”

The mare sat there wide eyed and mouth aghast as she processed this new, disturbing information. It was because of him that King Sombra had returned, which now perfectly explains how he returned so quickly and had recovered just as swiftly. It also could explain what happened to him shortly after his return and why they were able to subdue him. Should she leave him here, just as he said he was now in a perfect prison for his crimes and admitted to it freely. She took a glance over to the stallion and though she was angry as soon as she had her eyes upon him she only felt sadness for him. To be alone, unable to eat or sleep or feel anything for eight years and thinking he had doomed his home must of drove him mad with guilt and to see him breaking down shows that he is sorry and feels regret. Taking a moment and a collective sigh she trotted up to the mirror to sit down and rest her left hoof against the mirror “Greymane”

He winced once more as she interrupted his thoughts while he looked up to meet her in the eye “y-y-yes” he shakily replied

“I am going to go to Canterlot and report everything to Princess Celestia and I and going to ask to have you released from this prison. I am sorry that but I am going to have to ask you to wait a little bit longer before coming back to the real world. I really am sorry but this spell is too complicated and I do not have extensive knowledge on dark magic to reverse it without harming you” she declared to the stallion with a hint of kindness peaking on her face.

Greymane looked at her with even more confusion “But why?! Why would you do this to the pony who released that evil upon Equestria! Why would you help a wretch like me?! Why? Why? WHY?!” he honestly pleaded.

What happened next shocked Greymane to his very core as she began her reply with a warm smile “Because no pony deserves this kind of cruelty. And while I am not sure I can fully forgive you, I am willing to help you” after that the mare withdrew her hoof, turned around, and began to charge her horn as bright sparks began to burst forth “I will be back, I promise” and with that she disappeared in a flash of magic and once again Greymane was all alone.

He could do nothing but stare blankly into the open space that once held a lavender Alicorn mare who was now on her way to Canterlot to inform the one and only Princess Celestia about him and what he had done. But could he really be set free? Would he be free? But does this mean that King Sombra failed? Just what has truly happened these eight long years? “I never even caught her name” he sighed as his mind raced once more with a million questions and right before he shut his eyes he noticed a small bit of purple writing upon the mirror which read 'My name is Princess Twilight Sparkle and I will return, I promise'.

He read the little note over and over again and another hundred questions popped up about their being another Princess in Equestria but for now he lied down in front of the mirror and feigned the motion of sleep to relax himself while he thought of the millions of new questions buzzing around his mind but only one mattered to him. Only one questions that made him stir and become restless.

“Will she keep her promise?”

To Be Continued...

Author's Note:

Hello all! Again! So yeah, after I wrote that short chapter (which was cut short to add the element of SURPRISE and cliffhanger) I just had the urge to finish the rest like I originally wanted to. So here it is! And guess what?! Its long! Muahahahaha! Had fun writing this one and I cant wait to write the next one! Hopefully you all like it as well!

Enjoy!!!

Comments

[Mad Maudlin]

Interesting read so far, but may I suggest cutting those paragraphs into smaller ones for readability?

[Zandar13]

5042875

Thank you! Glad you like it so far! And I shall work on it post haste!