The Adventures of Shadow Chaser: The Cutie Mark Crusaders in Marelantis

by RangerBeef

Chapter 8

As I watched Rainbow leave, I felt my anger wash away, it was replaced by a new feeling. Regret. I’d always been a rock for Rainbow to lean against. I’d let my own experience with abandonment fuel my anger and my negativity. I cursed at myself as I began to walk in the direction Rainbow had flown.

This is what you get for never talking to anypony about your past.

That doesn’t matter. Rainbow knows my past.

Not all of it. Not about Skip.

There’s nothing to tell her about Skip.

Oh really? So him choosing the sea over a friend in need is nothing now? It wasn’t nothing back then.

Skip has always been there for me, when I really needed him. I can’t expect him to put his life on hold for every problem I have.

But this wasn’t a normal problem. You found your mother. He owed you enough to help you save her.

No. She was gone before I even found her.

Look at you. Still rationalizing the deaths of ponies you love. Rainbow really hasn’t changed you at all. You had the chance. All you needed was one other pony. And one pony was all you had. And he turned his back on you.

No.

Yes!

----------

“Please, Skip! This is important!”

“I know it is, Shadow, but so are my final exams! If I don’t pass this test I have to wait a whole ‘nother year to retake them!”

“But it’s my mom, Skip! She’s alive and I know where she is! But she’s in trouble.”

“So go get her! You’ve never had a problem handling anything before. Why would you need me now?”

“I…” My sentence stalled as I tried to think of a good reason. “I don’t know. I just want you to be there, in case I need the help.”

He put a hoof on my shoulder. “You’ll be fine, Shadow. You’re one tough colt. You’ve got a fire burning in you that drives you to greatness. And no thugs will ever be able to take that away from you.” I looked up at him and he stared me evenly in the eye. He was speaking from his heart. “Now go to Daisy’s house and take care of this in the morning. If my exams finish early, I’ll be there for you. But I know you can handle anything they can dish out.”

I nodded slowly and faked a smile for his sake. “Thanks, Skip. And good luck tomorrow.”

We parted ways and I made my way back to Daisy’s home. She’d already gone to bed so I took up the couch and struggled to find sleep. When I finally awoke at dawn I felt like I’d been hit by a carriage. This old couch had seen better days and it left me with a crick in my neck. I stretched myself out, mentally preparing for what I would need to do today.

Out of happenstance I’d found out my mother was alive. Not only was she alive but she was here in Bridle Shores Bay. But I still didn’t know why she had disappeared and what she had been after in Bridle Shores. I had quickly dismissed the idea of her abandoning me, she loved my brother and I too much to do that. So what had it been that forced her underground for all these years?

I made my way to the far side of town, being attentive to every detail of the day. No one was following me. No pony in the street gave me more than a glance. It felt like just another day.

As I neared the shipping warehouses I slowed myself and deliberately checked the numbers on each one. I was looking for 2701.

“2699.. 2700.. 2701!” I looked around for any windows but saw only high windows in the back. I made a full circle around the building. It had only one entrance but I had noticed something odd about the roof. From one side there was a wooden plank that connected to building 2700. Thinking it would give me the best element of surprise, I made my way into 2700 and up an old flight of stairs. Their creaks echoed in the empty warehouse and caused me to move a bit faster to limit the noise.

As I reached the top floor, I noticed a small office in the corner. I made my way inside and found a short step ladder leading to the roof. As I pushed a heavy door up slowly I glanced around the roof. Spotting no one I have the door a push and it stopped on its hinges at a 45 degree angle. Stepping onto the roof I looked for the wooden plank I’d spotted from the ground.

Stepping to the edge, glanced down. Mistake. I swallowed hard.

Let’s hope this thing holds.

I stepped gingerly onto the board and it held firm. I took a few more short steps before I felt the board begin to slide under my hooves. I jumped and landed on the correct roof but the board made a tremendous noise as it smashed into the ground.

I looked around the roof for anywhere to hide but it was flat. Save for the single door that led inside, similar to the door I’d emerged from on the other roof. I moved quickly to that door, knowing someone would surely be up to investigate. I made sure to stand on the side of the door with the hinges to me, so that I could catch the door as it opened.

Just as I readied myself the door began to push upward slightly. The pony on the other side was struggling to lift it. Slowly the pushed the door open and I silently caught the heavy weight on the opposite side. Letting it dip to its full open position before pushing it forward with all my might. If this pony had had trouble opening it, he’d surely have trouble stopping it from smacking him in the head.

I was blessed with a loud clang as the door closed once again and I heard the pony stumble down the stairs. I listened intently for signs of movement. Upon hearing none, I hefted the door myself, seeing the unfortunate colt lying at the bottom of the stairs. I did not envy the headache he would wake up with.

I pressed myself low as I moved through the upper floor of this warehouse. Unlike the first, this one was fully stocked with many boxes and containers of all sizes. I needed to make sure I kept the element of surprise on anypony I came across.

As I neared the stairwell, I felt eyes on my back. I turned swiftly but saw no one. No movement. My paranoia was getting the better of me.

Man, I wish Skip was here.

I stepped onto the stairs and thanked Celestia they didn’t squeak. I made my way down them quickly and quietly. The downstairs was set up with many offices and doors; searching all of them was out of the question.

And then I heard a sound that still breaks my heart to this day. A high-pitched yelp. One of pain and a lot of it. I ran forward, stopping at a cross intersection, listening. As the yelp came again I turned and raced down the corridor to my right. I heard it again and again, I made turns without thinking, I was only following the noise that I recognized but couldn’t place.

Finally, I stopped at a door and the yelps were loudest here. I could see the front door from where I stood. Great. Playing super spy cost me a lot of time. I could see a second door leading into the room I was about to enter and found myself wishing more that Skip had come with me.

I took a deep breath, readied my nerves and kicked the door open. The sight I was met with was forever etched into my mind. My mother sat, tied to a small wooden chair, a black pony stood in front of her. Except, he wasn’t a pony. He was something else.

Before I could react to the scene in front of me I was struck hard in the face. I stumbled backward and against the door I’d just come through. I looked up to see my brother standing on his hind legs throwing punches at the air.

“Broomtail!?”

“Hello, baby brother.”

“What’re you doing!? We’ve got to help Mom!”

“Mother is beyond help at this point. Have you ever heard of changelings, Shadow?”

“What? No.”

“Changelings are what you see in front of you. They feed off of love and grow strong with it. It turns out family ties are like a fountain of love. Mother’s been sitting here for three days. Getting drained slightly every day. It’s amazing she’s lasted this long. By my estimates, she should be dead in a matter of minutes.”

His tone was low, his voice deep. Something inside him had changed. Like he’d lost the love within him. I felt my anger rising and I lunged forward planting a solid strike to his jaw. “How could you do this to your own mother!?”

It was his turn to launch an assault. I succeeded in avoiding a few of his punches. “Oh Shadow. You’ll just never understand how the world works. In a number of years, when the changelings have grown strong enough, they’ll attack Canterlot itself and you’ll see Princess Celestia fall to the might of the Changeling Queen.”

“And what are you? Just some puppet in the scheme?” I launched another assault, landing a few blows.

“Puppet? Oh no. I chose the changelings. I know a winning side when I see one. When the war comes Shadow you must be prepared. You must know where your loyalties lie.” He swung hard as he spoke. Trying to catch me off guard.

“My loyalties are to the princess and her land.” My sentence was cut short by a small squeal of pain escaping my mother. The changeling standing next to her seemed to be sucking something out of her body. I punched my brother square in the nose and watched him tumble backward as I rushed to stop the changeling from doing whatever he was doing. I smashed him as hard as I could in the back of the head and he fell to the ground in a heap.

Suddenly, I heard the front door of the warehouse burst open and Skip’s voice began to shout. “Shadow! Shadow, where are you!?”

“In here Skip!”

He entered the doorway and saw my brother on the ground and the changeling slumped near my mother and myself.

I turned to my mother and began to untie her. “Mom! Hold on. We’re going to get you out of here.” I dropped the ropes to the floor and moved to pick her up but she stopped me, weakly.

“Shadow. I’m not going to make it this time. I’m sorry I never told you I was alive. The department used my death to sneak me undercover into the changeling case. I was supposed to return information to them.”

“Mom, it’s okay. I don’t care about the case. Just let me get you out of here.” I moved to pick her up again and was again stopped. She grabbed both of my hooves and clasped them tightly in her own.

“Shadow. Listen. Tell them the war is coming. Tell them the queen is stronger than they suspect. Tell them they need to prepare.” She looked into my eyes and smiled softly. “You have your father’s eyes. Such kindness and warmth in them. I love you, Shadow. No changeling would ever take that away from me…” Her sentence trailed off and I watched her head drop slowly.

“Mom? Mom!?” I grasped her hooves tightly, trying to make her hold on but she had already left us. I felt the tears coming but swallowed the lump in my throat and held the tears at bay. I turned to my brother now standing in the corner, the changeling had moved near him and I felt my sadness turn to rage.

“You did this. You took my mother from me!”

He grinned. “Our mother, Shadow.”

“Horse manure! You never cared about either of our parents. You never loved them or me. You don’t get the luxury of having loving parents that you don’t appreciate.” I stalked toward him as I spoke. “I hope your queen brings this war and I hope she has one hell of an army because I’ll gladly tear through them all if it means a single ounce of vengeance against you and your perverted view of life!”

“You’ll get your chance, Shadow. You’ll get your chance.” There was a flash of green fire around the two of them and then they were gone.

I turned to Skip. I wanted to be angry at him. I wanted to shout at him and make him feel terrible for making me do this alone. But even then I knew it wasn’t his fault.

“I called the police, Shadow. They should be here soon.”

“Why did you come? What about your exams?”

“Exams can wait. Something told me this couldn’t.” He glanced at my mother still in the small wooden chair. “I’m sorry, Shadow.”

“Yea. Me too.” I walked out of the room and out of the warehouse.

----------

And then you bottled everything up. All that rage at Skip, at the cheangelings, at your brother, and you just locked it all up. Why? So you could yell at the ponies you love?

I left that question unanswered as I found Rainbow waiting by the pink dome wall. She still looked mad.

“Rainbow. I…”

“Save it. Let’s just get out of here and back home.” Her tone was harsh. She was definitely still angry.

“Okay,” was all I could manage to reply.

Solar arrived shortly after and had a unicorn with him.

“Okay, here’s the deal. You two may have noticed that everyone inside this dome looks like a regular earth pony or pegasus. That’s part of the magic of the dome. It keeps us in a form for best getting around. Crystal, here, is one of the shamans that keep this dome in place. And she’s going to grant you both a temporary spell that turns you into real mermares to help you swim faster.”

Rainbow and I nodded in unison as Crystal took a step forward. "I'm going to need both of you to take a very deep breath and then step outside the dome."

"How are we going to step outside it? Wouldn't we run right into it?" I asked.

"Normally, yes. But our bubble is different from your standard magical dome. Ours is paper thin and permeable." Rainbow Dash gave her a quizzical look. "That means things can pass through it. And for me to cast this spell on you two I'm going to need you to step through and remain close to each other."

Rainbow Dash and I nodded and turned to face the wall together. I glanced at her and noticed an excitement in her eyes. "Ready?" I asked and extended my hoof to her.

She looked at me with a grin, "Am I ever not ready?"

She took my hoof and we both took a deep breath as we stepped easily through the bubble, feeling the ocean encircle us.

We both looked at each other and tried to turn to look back inside the dome when we both noticed a sphere beginning to surround us. We hugged tight and let Crystal work her magic.

Just as my lungs began to yearn for fresh oxygen, the sphere dissipated and I heard Crystal shout from inside the dome. "Take a deep breath!"

Rainbow and I traded worried glances before we both inhaled deeply. It felt not unlike breathing air but a part of me felt heavier. I looked at Rainbow but she'd already put the odd feeling behind her and was testing out something entirely new to her.

Her light feathery wings had been changed. They now featured fine webbing and looked to be scaled. She zipped this way and that, testing her new found fins.

I looked at myself wondering what changes would be made for a pony with no wings and was presented with a bit of a shock. My hind legs were gone. In their place was a scaly tail with a large fin used to propel me.

I wiggled my new tail, testing its initial feel; something in me said this was natural, like I had been doing it my whole life. Perhaps it was part of the spell.

I turned back to the dome and Crystal and shouted a thank you. She nodded graciously and turned to head back to her duties. Solar stepped through the bubble and I watched as his feathered wings changed into the same scaly web that Rainbow had. He laid out his plan for us.

"I've sent my teams in every direction. We will be heading north, as that's the direction of Equestria. If your ship is out there, we'll find it."

"Oh it's out there." Rainbow said, as she swam up next to us.

"By the way, the spell you're under is a little flimsy. If you take in a breath of air then you'll be reverted back to normal. So if you hit the surface, be sure you're done swimming before you take a full breath."

With that warning in mind, we headed off to the north.

Comments

[DaMagiks]

(would have commented earlier but was busy)
Oh damn this was a heavy one (but of course great)

My heart is broken (again!) with Shadow's attempts to put his past behind him and not blame himself for the past events.
Even if Skip had come with him, I think it was already too late for his mother to ever fully recover.
It was a nice twist though having her be undercover to investigate the changlings.
Shadow's speech to Broomtail was epic and he would have beat him to a pulp with his rage if he hadn't teleported with the changling. But damn Broomtail is NOT someone to be messed with (he killed his own mother without any regrets and then gloated about it! ).

And he and Dash made up somewhat so that's good. dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_Rainbow_dealwithit.png
Also the transformation to sea ponies was awesome (especially how it tricks the user into thinking that they are a natural at swimming). dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_Lyra2.png