Chapter 7: Night Shade
"Allow me to introduce myself... I am Night Shade."
Mare-Do-Well and Daring Do stared down the dark gray unicorn in front of them. Stray Wind stayed behind the two heroines, her heart pounding as she peeked over Mare-Do-Well's shoulder.
"So you're the sleazeball that's been ordering around those cloaked ponies, tearing apart cities and attacking innocent bystanders, huh?" Mare-Do-Well snarled as she pawed the ground.
Night Shade grinned and brushed her red mane out of her face as she began to walk in place. "And you're the costumed weirdo giving my followers a difficult time." She looked over Mare-Do-Well before adding, "Though I have to admit, you actually look pretty stylish. Especially the hat."
"Pfft," Mare-Do-Well scoffed. "Go ahead and flatter me all you want, that's not gonna stop me from stomping you."
"Is that so?" Night Shade chuckled. Her eyes shifted to Daring. "And you, Miss Daring... you saved me quite a bit of trouble getting that Relic from the temple in Saddle Arabia. You really are as good as you make yourself out to be in those books."
Daring snorted as she spread her wings. "And you think I'm just gonna hand it over after all that? How about we hand you a prison sentence instead?"
Night Shade simply laughed. "Sorry, I'll just have to decline that offer. I've got prior engagements." She whistled, and stood back as six ponies in cloaks dropped down from the rafters above, landing between Night Shade and the two heroines. Mare-Do-Well and Daring stood their ground as they slowly approached.
Night Shade's mouth curled into a smirk. "I'll see you ladies later, if you're still conscious then." She turned around...
...and the chest containing the Relic was gone.
"What the-?!" she shouted, her eyes darting around for the chest. She spotted it floating behind Mare-Do-Well and Daring, enveloped in a pink aura.
Everypony turned around and spotted a pink unicorn in an olive vest and pith helmet, her horn glowing. Stray Wind's eyes widened as everypony's gaze fell on her. "Aw dammit," she muttered.
Daring turned towards Night Shade with a sly grin. "You weren't even monologuing, and she already snatched the Relic out from right under your nose. That's pretty pathetic," she teased.
Night Shade's eyes narrowed into an intense glare as a large scowl formed on her face. "GET HER!!!" she shouted, pointing her hoof at Stray Wind.
"Oh crap!" Stray Wind turned around in a flash, sprinting towards the opposite direction as she maintained her magical grip on the chest. Night Shade and three of her minions charged forward and leaped over Mare-Do-Well and Daring Do, pursuing Stray Wind through the auditorium. The remaining three pawed the ground as they glared at the two heroines.
"You go after her!" Daring Do ordered. "I've got these punks!" Mare-Do-Well nodded and ran off in the opposite direction as the three cloaked ponies charged at Daring. She responded by taking off into the air and extending her hind leg as she slammed into one of the ponies, knocking him to the ground. She ducked as another pony swung a hoof at her, following with a sweep kick before flipping up and launching herself into the third pony.
Mare-Do-Well chased Night Shade and her three goons through the backstage area, using her telekinesis to launch whatever she could at them. One of the lights she threw clocked a cloaked pony on the head, knocking him out instantly. Night Shade's horn lit up, her blue aura enveloping a large speaker that was promptly tossed in Mare-Do-Well's direction. The masked mare leaped onto the speaker, bouncing off it and propelling herself towards her target. She tackled the gray unicorn, the two of them tumbling around before crashing into a pile of stage equipment.
Mare-Do-Well threw Night Shade off and jumped to her feet, narrowly dodging a swing from one of the cloaked ponies. She blocked another blow before striking the pony in the stomach, flipping over him, and giving a strong kick with her hind legs. The impact sent the pony flying into a large wooden crate where he lay unconscious. The hero turned to Night Shade, glaring at her through her mask.
"Not bad," Night Shade remarked with a sly grin on her face.
"I'm just warming up." Mare-Do-Well tapped her forehooves against the floor before charging towards Night Shade. As she approached, however, the cloaked unicorn's horn lit up. With a taunting wave of her forehoof, she vanished.
Underneath her mask, Mare-Do-Well's eyes widened. What the heck-?! Skidding to a halt, she spun around, frantically trying to catch a glimpse of her opponent. Lovely, my first fight with a unicorn that can teleport. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a flapping black cloak above her. A quick glance upward revealed Night Shade running across the rafters high above. Eyes narrowing, Mare-Do-Well lit up her horn and teleported in front of the gray unicorn, who stopped in her tracks.
"And just where you do you think you're going?" Mare-Do-Well snarled as she swung her forehoof towards Night Shade. She ducked the attack before taking a jab at the masked mare, who retaliated by swatting her forehoof aside. The two unicorns fought on the rafter, neither one of them backing down as their forehooves moved in a flurry of attacks. Night Shade's horn lit up, firing a magic blast that was easily dodged by Mare-Do-Well. She charged towards Night Shade, using her acrobatic skills to avoid additional blasts as she approached the gray unicorn. Closing in, she rolled forward and used her forehooves to propel herself towards her opponent, her hind legs extended as she slammed into her. The impact from the blow sent Night Shade flying a couple feet, landing on her back at the end of the rafter.
Grunting in pain, she started to get up, only to hit the rafter with a thud as Mare-Do-Well pinned her down. She looked at the masked mare's featureless face. "Gotta say, I'm really impressed," she complimented with an amused grin. "Never thought I'd see a unicorn who can hit as hard as an earth pony and move like a Wonderbolt."
Mare-Do-Well leaned towards Night Shade's face, her eyes glaring menacingly through her mask. "And that'll be the last thing you see before I knock you unconscious and drag you to the Royal Guard," she growled as she raised her forehoof.
Night Shade looked down and smiled. "I'd be more concerned about your pink friend down there."
Mare-Do-Well froze at Night Shade's remark before turning to the direction that she was pointing. Below her, she spotted Stray Wind with her back against a wall, her pith helmet gone and the chest sticking out from one of her saddlebags. She was levitating a broom in front of her, ready to defend herself from two cloaked ponies who were slowly approaching her.
"You boneheads better stay back!" she shouted, though there was a hint of fear in her voice.
One of the cloaked ponies, a hovering pegasus, turned to the other, gesturing towards the pink unicorn with her hoof. "Get a load of her, she thinks she can take us because she's dressed up like Daring Do," she chuckled as the other pony tried to keep himself from bursting out in laughter. "You think we should go easy on her?"
The other pony shook his head, and the two began closing in as Stray Wind flattened against the wall, frantically rummaging through her saddlebag with her forehoof.
Mare-Do-Well's eyes narrowed dangerously at the sight of her friend in trouble. Oh no, you don't! she thought as she prepared to drop down and assist Stray Wind. But before she could move, she was struck with a burst of magic that knocked her off the rafter. Though disoriented by the blast, she managed to grab on with her forehoof, her body dangling precariously above the stage as she tried to shake the stars out of her eyes. As her vision corrected itself, she looked up and saw Night Shade standing above her, her horn lit up as she grinned evilly.
"It's nothing personal, Miss Mysterious," she said as Mare-Do-Well, still dazed from the sudden attack, tried to concentrate on a teleportation spell. "Well, getting rid of Celestia is, but dealing with you isn't." Another blast of magic struck Mare-Do-Well. She lost her grip on the rafter and began to plummet to the stage below.
Oh crapcrapcrapcrapcrapCRAP!!! Mare-Do-Well frantically extended her cape in an attempt to break her fall. She was somewhat successful: the cape's gliding enchantment slowed her descent, but not enough to keep her from hitting the ground with a thud and skidding across the floor. "Ow... jeez, that's gonna leave a mark..." she groaned as she shook her head and slowly got to her hooves.
"Hey Mare-Do-Well!" a voice called out. Mare-Do-Well turned her head and spotted Daring Do flying towards her. "You okay there?" she asked as she hovered next to the masked mare.
"Been better," Mare-Do-Well replied as she stretched her legs, checking to make sure nothing was broken. "But Stray Wind's in trouble-"
*SMACK!* "Ow!!! You're asking for it now, you brat! ...Wait, what're you're doing wi-? GAHHHH! HIT THE DECK!!!" *SMASH!!!*
Mare-Do-Well and Daring turned towards the direction of the commotion just as one of the cloaked ponies flew through the air and smashed cleanly through a wall, creating a pony-shaped opening. Stray Wind ran out into the open, dropping a broom that had snapped in two. On her tail was the cloaked pegasus, who was stumbling as she rubbed her head.
"Whoa," Daring muttered as she stared at the damage Stray Wind just caused. "You sure she's not a fighter?"
"Hey! Stray Wind!" Mare-Do-Well called as she and Daring dashed after her.
The pink unicorn looked towards Mare-Do-Well, her horn lighting up as the cloaked pegasus closed in on her. "Heads up!" she shouted. The chest floated out of her saddlebag, flying towards Mare-Do-Well just as Stray Wind was tackled to the ground. The masked mare's horn lit up as she snatched it.
The cloaked pegasus pushed herself off Stray Wind and charged full speed towards Mare-Do-Well.
"Up here!" Daring Do yelled as she flew up into the air, gesturing to Mare-Do-Well. She threw the chest in Daring's direction, and the tan pegasus caught it with her forehooves before zooming off. Night Shade's minion stretched out her wings and took off after Daring. The two fliers looped and flipped through the air, with Mare-Do-Well following behind on the ground. Just as her pursuer was catching up, her forehoof outstretched as she reached for her opponent's grayscale tail, the archaeologist tossed the chest over her head. "Too slow!" she teased with a smirk as it soared over the cloaked pegasus's head. Groaning in frustration, she turned around and flew after it, only to hit the ground with a thud as Mare-Do-Well jumped up and propelled herself off her back.
"Coming your way, Stray Wind!" she shouted as she used her hind leg to kick the chest towards the pink unicorn.
"I got it!" Stray Wind called as she backpedaled, stretching out her hooves. At that moment, however, she was shoved aside as the chest was enveloped in a blue aura. Night Shade stepped out from behind the curtain, her mouth curled into an evil grin. Mare-Do-Well and Daring stopped in their tracks, eyes widening.
"Oh no..." Daring muttered.
"Looks like I win this round, you three," Night Shade taunted as her horn lit up. "Thanks for the souvenir."
"Don't let her get away!" Mare-Do-Well yelled, galloping as fast as she could towards Night Shade. She dived towards her target, but the last thing she saw before the gray unicorn vanished right in front of her was a goodbye wave courtesy of her forehoof.
As Mare-Do-Well got to her hooves, Daring ran up to Stray Wind, who was rubbing her head. "You okay there, Stray Wind?" she asked.
The pink unicorn nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. What about you two?"
Daring smiled. "A few small bruises, but nothing I can't handle."
Sunset pulled off her mask and hat, letting her mane fall loose. "Still a bit sore from that fall, but I'm alright." She sighed as sat down next to Stray Wind. "But now Night Shade has the Earth Relic."
"We'd better make sure to find the other two, then," Daring replied. "As long as we keep the other two Relics away from her, she can't unlock the Amulet's full power."
Stray Wind looked up. "Even if Night Shade did find the other two Relics, it's not gonna do her much good," she said.
Sunset and Daring stared at Stray Wind. "You DID see her make off with that chest containing the Relic, didn't you?" Daring asked, her eyebrow raised.
"I saw her make off with the chest. But I didn't see her make off with the Relic." Seeing her two companions' confused expressions, Stray Wind opened her saddlebags, a sly grin visible on her face. Using her magic, she levitated something from it. Sunset and Daring gasped, their eyes widening at the object she was holding.
A miniature, crystalline bust of an earth pony, its empty eyes emitting a small glow.
"The Earth Relic!" Sunset and Daring shouted excitedly, Sunset wrapping Stray Wind in a tight hug while Daring took the Relic in her hooves.
"I hope you don't mind," Stray Wind muttered. "I kinda used some of its power to fight off those two goons that were chasing me."
Sunset grinned. "That guy who crashed through the wall, huh? I don't think even Applejack could buck that hard."
"Yeah, that Relic packs a lot of punch," Stray Wind replied.
"How'd it feel?"
"I can't exactly say... exhilarating, I guess." Stray Wind let out a sigh. "But I think I'll stick with cosplaying and decorating, this is just too much for me."
Daring hovered in front of the two unicorns as she held the Earth Relic in her hooves. "Okay, we've managed to keep the Earth Relic safe. But now there's the matter of finding the other two."
Sunset nodded. "Right, the Relic of Flight is up north, and the Relic of Magic is somewhere on the countryside."
"And even if she doesn't have all three, they can still be a threat by themselves, as Stray Wind demonstrated," Daring added, gesturing to the missing chunk of wall nearby before turning towards Stray Wind with a cocky grin. "But for now, all Night Shade has is an empty chest."
Stray Wind smirked. "Not exactly... I left her a little something inside."
An empty cave sat on a cliff overlooking the outskirts of Canterlot. Suddenly, a bright flash of blue light appeared, and a gray, red-maned unicorn in a black cloak appeared out of thin air. Her horn was lit up, and hovering next to her, enveloped in a blue aura, was a chest.
"Heh heh heh," she chuckled. "That was too easy. Now I just need the rest of the Relics, and then I can pay a visit to Celestia!" Levitating the chest in front of her, she pried it open, ready to claim her prize...
"MOON PRISM POWER!!!" a female voice shot out.
"What the...?" A puzzled expression appeared on Night Shade's face, followed by an annoyed one as she looked inside. Instead of a magical relic, she found a figurine of a white, blonde-maned alicorn with a pair of incredibly long, curly pigtails. On her forehead was a golden tiara with a red gem in the middle, and she was wearing a white sailor outfit with a blue skirt and red bow.
Night Shade levitated the figurine from the chest, staring at it for a full minute before deadpanning, "You've gotta be freaking kidding me."
"I right wrongs and triumph over evil, and that means YOU!" the figurine declared heroically.
"Oh shut up," Night Shade snapped as she tossed the figurine over her shoulder and off the cliff behind her. "Your series sucks, anyway."
"Welcome back, guys!"
Sunset Shimmer and Stray Wind disembarked from the train as Rainbow Dash greeted them on the platform.
"Glad to see you, Rainbow Dash," Sunset answered as she hoof-bumped the blue pegasus. "Where's the others?"
Rainbow hoof-bumped Stray Wind before answering. "All of them are busy and couldn't make it. Rarity's working on a commission for Sapphire Shores, Pinkie's throwing a birthday party for Cheerilee, and Applejack's off on a delivery to Dodge Junction. Fluttershy's looking after Tank, he hasn't been feeling well lately."
"And Twilight?" Stray Wind added as the the three ponies made their way from the train station to Twilight's castle, Rainbow hovering beside them.
"At the Canterlot Archives. She's trying to find out more about that Amulet thing Night Shade's after. But enough about that, how was the convention?"
Sunset and Stray Wind looked at each other. "Well..." Stray Wind slowly answered. "You could say that meeting A.K. Yearling was the highlight of the trip. Speaking of which, we've got a little something for you." Her horn lit up as she levitated an autographed copy of the latest Daring Do novel. Rainbow's eyes widened as she snatched it out of the air.
"Aw, yeah! Thanks a lot, you guys!" she exclaimed excitedly as she pulled Sunset and Stray Wind in a tight hug.
"Ack...! No problem, Rainbow Dash..." Stray Wind gasped as she and Sunset tried to push her off.
Rainbow released her grip on the two unicorns as she flipped through the air. Flying backwards, she read the signature on the cover. "'To Rainbow Dash and her friends, always stay adventurous and daring! Your friend, A.K. Yearling, aka Daring Do.'" She squealed in delight as she held the book tightly to her chest, Sunset and Stray Wind smiling widely.
"She also trusted us to keep an eye on something for her," Sunset said, bringing Rainbow out of her fangirl state.
"Really? Sweet! What is it?" Rainbow asked, trying to contain her giddiness and failing miserably.
Sunset's eyes drifted to the saddlebag on her side. "Actually... we should wait for Twilight to get back first."
Rainbow groaned in disappointment. "Aw come on, can't you show me now?!"
"Sorry, Rainbow Dash. But it's incredibly important that she hears about it."
"Why? It's not like it's a..." Rainbow's voice trailed off as a thought came to her head. She stopped in midair, eyeing her friends suspiciously. "Wait a minute... did something go down at the convention?"
Her crimson eyes met Sunset's cyan ones as she leaned in closely, pointing her forehoof at the pendant around Sunset's neck. "Something that required a certain costumed hero to step in?"
Sunset Shimmer smiled nervously. "Maybe...?"
That's it for Chapter 7! With the help of Daring Do and Stray Wind, Sunset returns to Ponyville with the Earth Relic, while Night Shade is stuck with a talking figurine that's mocking her. 
This chapter took a lot longer to finish because of a temporary case of writer's block, a bunch of revisions, and frequent distractions (to the point that simple proofreading took HOURS 
). I don't know how long it'll be for the next chapter to be posted, but I'll try my best. 
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ALL THE YES! Stray Wind is now best Sunset shipping partner.
Ah, the old switcharoo. Clever, Stray Wind.
Also, cool new cover art!
5641832
25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m040suCQ0D1rpglhvo1_400.gif
5642174 How many internets do I win?
5642184
One for now. Such things must be taken in moderation.
5642107 Thanks! Made it last week, and people are really loving it. There's a full size version available on my DeviantArt page if you want to check it out!
5641832 "Uh......"
fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2015/049/7/3/image_by_joeycrick-d8ilegq.jpg
...That's the only response I have to that.
5642706 .... I don't know how to take that.
5642711 I don't know how the real Straywind (the one in the photo) would take it, either.
I've actually shared the chapters where her pony counterpart plays a major role with her. She enjoyed Chapter 5, haven't heard from her about 6 and 7 yet.
5642859 Oh.... well now this is awkward.
5642872
Swapping the relic with a Sailor Moon doll that just happens to say lines that come out as insults? Genius! I can't wait to see what comes next.
Just finished reading this, not sure about it
I know it's supposed to be a comedy, but there's nothing actually funny beyond references, and there's far too many of those, particularly in the last couple of chapters, and most I didn't even get. Besides that, Night Shade was especially anticlimactic and there was far too much fan pandering done to that cosplayer pony. But the action scenes are enjoyable and the plot is fairly interesting, so I'll track it for now and see if I like it more down the line.
5674816 Well, I appreciate the honest feedback.
You bring up a good point about the Comedy tag and the constant references. I'll try to tone them down in future chapters, and I've gotten rid of the Comedy tag. As for Night Shade, I was in kind of a rush with getting Chapter 7 out, and I had to deal with very frequent interruptions that threw me off while I was writing it. 
If there's a reason why it seems to end abruptly, that's probably why. Even now, as I'm writing Chapter 8, I'm still facing interruptions. And I currently have no plans for featuring Stray Wind in a future chapter, she's finished her part.
Thanks for your feedback, and for giving the story a chance.
Hmm... For some reason, I'm getting a vibe similar to something Gandalf said to Frodo in Fellowship of the Ring:
A completely normal pegasi found herself touched by the power of one of the oldest and most powerful magical weapons in existence (eclipsed only by the Crystal Heart and the Elements of Harmony themselves). In doing so, she was also revealed to be quick-thinking as well as brave and true of heart in the face of evil.
Sometimes, the Will of Destiny finds itself expressed through the least likely of ponies. In my heart, I wonder if this is the case now and if, in the end, Night Shade's pursuit of power will only lead to the creation of another champion to oppose the schemes formed in her hateful and corrupted heart.
They are good ponies Stray Wind, at least they wish to be. All that they lack is a light to show them the way. And it is for this reason above all others, their capacity for good, that Magic gave them the greatest gift that it could give them... It gave them you.
Night Shade's Boss Theme: