• Published 26th Jan 2016
  • 2,000 Views, 45 Comments

Shadows Of My World - HopeForTheFew



A man escaping the grip of torture finds a way to leave. A way to find his family again. Join him as he finds a way back to where he belongs, where his love truly is. Join him as he marches through the shadows of his world.

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The Heart Of The Matter

The man closed the door, his pack on his back and a bright journey ahead of him. He said his last goodbyes to his family as he walked out that door. Of course he would return though, it was just a business trip after all. This was his first big offer, his first hit, and if this proved to be good for his family then he wouldn't have to worry about the bills anymore. He was heading of to the Pony lands, Equestria that laid far in the East. It would be a few days journey but, it would all be worth it if the deal was fulfilled.


And so the man began his journey, waving goodbye to his family as they bid him farewell. Once the man crossed the first hill, the sight of his home was no longer visible. The man, turned his head one last time toward where his house was located, he sighed, turned back and started to walk to his destination. It would indeed be a bright journey, but it would also be a lonely one...


Three weeks ago the man was offered a deal. He was a carpenter, the best in the land, and Equestria supposedly wanted what he could offer. If the deal succeeded then he and his family would move right outside the city of Canterlot for a couple years, or until he could make the quota of devices they wanted him to craft. That, was the hard part, the deal was, was that they would deliver him the supplies and he would then transform the supplies (wooden objects/old dead trees from the Human lands.) into whatever they would desire be it within reason. Making master pieces out of straight up logs was a hard business. Though he had been doing it all his life, it should've been just a simple task in the end, a hard but simple one.


But we all know that man had something quite different heading his way, don't we? So, from here on out, I'll tell you the story of what happened to end him in his particular predicament...


So this was it; Canterlot. This was the first pony city that the man had ever gazed at before, and by judging how long it took him to get there, it was well worth the walk. The beauty of the city was breathtaking, especially for someone who lived in the woods his entire life. The stone architecture was magnificent and the shapes and designs that surround this tower and that tower, were fantastic to the eyes. The man had heard stories of the wonder of Pony kinds cities, especially their capital. And now he knew they were all true.


The only thing he didn't realize was that the city was ugly, on the inside.


The man traveled up the streets of the city, heading toward the office unit he was told to head toward. During his walk, he received many stares, it was obvious the ponies didn't receive to many Humans, after all, they are a slightly hidden race, the Humans are.


It took some time, but, the man finally reached the building he was aiming for. There was a large clock tower not to far from the man, he glanced at it, checked the time and, to the mans surprise, he was almost late, he had left a day early to make sure he arrived on time, but here he was... 'Must have been the time in the Everfree.' The man thought as he turned back to the building in front of him and walked in, pushing the door open as he did so.


The inside of the building was just like an office or bank back home. Ponies carried on back and forth, jotting down notes and chatting amongst each other. The man walked up to the counter where a female pony was sitting twiddling her hooves, however that was possible. The man, with dark bags under his eyes walked up to the pony, when she didn't notice him, he tapped on the desk. The pony muttered something and when she looked up from her hooves, fear shot up in her eyes and she flopped out of her chair. The man chuckled softly and reached over the counter, grabbing the mares hoof and bringing her up.


"I'm here to see Sir Shining Armor." The mare nodded her head, not taking her eyes of the man as she reached for her notepad that resided to the left of her. "Oh hurry up will you, I'm already almost late." He said, the mare flinched when he spoke but did as he commanded. She gazed at her notepad.


"Is your name T~Timothy Red?" The pony asked, still appearing to be scared.

"That is correct." The man replied.

"Mr. Shining Armors office is directly behind you. Room number 3." The pony said, pointing a hoof toward the door.

"Thank you." The man said before heading toward the door where his business inquiry was waiting.


When he opened the door, the man was greeted by a well lit room and a pony staring at him oddly. The man smiled as he walked into the room. He heard the door close behind him and, when he looked, he saw two big burly brown ponies guarding the door and staring at him with sly smiles. "Sit down, Timothy." Shining Armor said. The man looked back at the pony and then down at a chair in front of him, his smile now gone. The man took a seat and stared hard at Shining. 'How did things change so quickly?' The man thought.


Shining Armor slid a document toward the man. He picked it up and examined it.


After about fifteen minutes the man realized something out of the twenty page document.


"You want to turn my work into the arts of war." The man said as he looked up at Shining Armor, surprise in his eyes. "We haven't raged war in over an age, not even helped in any wars. And we wont start now." The man said sternly.

"Look, you and your people have the strongest wood in all of Eques, we are on the brink of war and we need that wood!" Shining Armor said, slamming his hoof down in emphasis of his opinion.

"No." The man said standing up, tossing the document on the office table in front of him. "We will not aid you in your endeavor. Our nations aren't even allies!" The man said turning around, ready to walk out the door.


Behind him Shining Armor grew a twisted smile. "I don't think you have a choice." He said and when he said that, one of the big burly ponies blocked the door before the man could leave.


The man turned back to face Shining Armor. He raised his fists, ready to strike, but before he could, he felt two hard legs surround him, holding him so tight it felt like he was going to pop. He grunted as he watched helplessly as Shining Armor got up out of his chair, walked toward him, staring at him wickedly.


"One last chance." Shining Armor said, pointing toward the document on the table.

"No" He said and when he said that, he saw a hoof flying toward him in slow motion. And when it struck, stars exploded and the mans world went black...


"You know, I'm glad you said 'no'." Shining Armor said as he circled the chair the man was strapped too. Though the man was barley conscious, he could still focus on the words the unicorn was speaking. "Since you said such a beautiful word, I get to have some fun." The man shook his head, trying to wake up, but it was to no avail. It was as if he was drugged...


The man kept trying and trying again, he was just so, so tired. He then felt a sudden pressure on his head. Then the pressure suddenly turned to pain as it shot throughout his entire body. The pressure and pain grew and it felt like something was crushing his head. His nails dug into the arms of the wooden chair as he tried to scream but the gag in his mouth muffled it all. The next thing the man knew was once again, another darkened world...





But this was different. It was like being blind, he heard everything going on around him but he had no control over his body, like he was asleep or blacked out.


"I wish this was an easier job then the Griffons made it out to be." Shining Armor said, apparently not realizing the Human was still awake. "Oh well, I'll be able to have some fun and get handsomely paid for it too." The pony said, snickering a bit as it walked out the door, turning the lights off as it did so.


And now the man was alone, able to reclaim his thoughts. Oh if only it were that easy, but in that time, the only thing the man wanted to do, was sleep. And so he did just that; slept.


'I wonder how long it takes us to realize just what's happening to our hearts. How we can stop caring so easily, I wonder why it has to be repeated over, and over again.


But, I suppose the planet will keep on spinning wont it? I wonder...

Oh how I wonder...'





Shining Armor put down the note, confusion in his heart as he day dreamed. Who sent that note? Who decided to send it to him? Did they know? Shining gazed once more out of the hundred times he already looked at the address. It was sent directly to him, but there was no return address. He scanned it and there was no magic about the note nor the envelope it came in. It was almost like it, just, appeared.


It was a mystery, that was for sure, but it could wait for later. As of now, he had rather ugly job to do.


The unicorn stood up from his office chair and walked to the door. All the paperwork was starting to put a strain on the pony and he knew just the stress reliever, but that would have to wait.


He walked out of his office and out of the building he temporarily worked in. Once he assured the Griffons would leave them alone he could go back to doing what he always used to do. He could go and spend time with the wife and have a merry old time. Shining Armor smiled at that thought. That was the one thing that trumped torture any day. But, that time had yet to come, all he could do was have some patience.


Before he knew it, Shining was inside the castle of Canterlot. It was once a marvelous site to the pony but now, after he had grown used to it, it became boring. That's just another reason he started his 'bad habit' of torturing innocents.


He kept moving forward and, in another few minutes, he found himself outside the throne room of the Celestial Sisters. He gave a curt nod to the two guards who were positioned at the door. They returned the nod and they both began to open the door. When it was opened, Shining Armor walked inside, smiling to the Princess of the sun as he did so.


"Good afternoon, your highness." Shining Armor spoke as he walked toward the princess.

"Good afternoon, Shining Armor. I assume you know why your here?" Celestia said as she lit up her horn and cast a spell around the two.

"I do, your highness." Shining replied, his face, once a proud smile turned into somewhat of a frown.

"How is the contract going?" Celestia asked.

"Not good, Timothy wont crack, his heart may be too strong for us. We might have to end up taking his family." Shining Armor said, his stare now one of hate.

"We can't do that, then we'll have a bigger problem if the Humans decide to get involved." Celestia said.

Celestia was deep in thought, doing her best to try and think of something. Then the gears started to turn.

"Why don't we just control him?" She said, hope raising in her voice.

"It would be extremely dangerous, but, we could give it a shot. Its the only thing we haven't tried yet." Shining Armor replied eagerly, all the more pain he could pour into the man, the better.

"You do that, report back to me if anything happens." Celestia said as she released her spell and sent Shining Armor out of the room.


But I suppose we all know that tactic didn't work, now don't we. Well, let me summarize the weeks the man spent in his prison. Pain, upon pain, upon more pain. But as they themselves said, he has a strong heart. And that one thing meant the difference between giving up and fighting to the death.


To set confusing to rest, the man could not turn what he owned into a weapon, that land of his has been passed on through generation to generation and he knew just what would happen if he signed that contract. All Hell would break loose is what.


But in a certain way, that happened already didn't it? Well, the end comes for the next chapter, I just Hope you all can find some enjoyment from it.