The Guardian Shadow

by KnightBrony

Chapter 16: A New Ally?

Chapter 16

A New Ally?

After getting checked out of the hospital and saying goodbye to the Mane Six, we headed to Canterlot. Before we left however, I stopped by Sugarcube Corner and got the cakes I had ordered. Thankfully, Pinkie remembered too and had made fresh ones.

We opted to take the train since walking there would be a major pain. Strangely enough, we didn't get any stares from the station attendants. Guess they must be used to unusual travelers. Jade was nervous about riding the train in the first place, so we got a private car to help her relax.

Since the train ride would take little over five hours, while everyone else was enjoying the scenery, I decided to study my alchemy book. Now, I already had a working knowledge of alchemy before I found the book, and have become fairly good at using it since. Still, I had only looked at the first couple chapters, and it was a big book. There was a lot of information in it. Detailed diagrams about the best ways to construct a circle, ways to make a Chimera (put that under the list of things I never want to read again), and even a few chapters about Alkahestry.

As I was reading, I noticed something strange. There were two different types of writing on the pages. The main text and writing in the margins. The writing in the margins said things like “Very useful in a pinch”,”Never use under any circumstances!”, “Great for parties.” At the back of the book was a hoof-written message in the margin style that read:

“To whosoever finds this book, I give a warning. This new magic, Alchemy, is very mysterious. The things contained in this book can be very helpful, or very dangerous if used incorrectly. I still do not know everything about this strange magic, but I do know it is not for the faint of heart. Be too weak or too cocky in its practice and you will be destroyed. It allows one to do things not even the Princesses themselves could do. If you decide to study this magic as I have, remember this. All things come with a price, life flows only forward, never back. Finally, and most importantly, beware of Truth.

S.B.

That last line had me sweating.

“Beware of Truth? He couldn't mean...The Truth? Could he?”.

“You okay Shadow, you're sweating,” Scarlet said. I quickly closed the book shut and tossed it back into my bag

“Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little hot that's all,” I lied. Scarlet lifted an eyebrow but shrugged and went back to her seat.

“There's no way Truth could exist, right?" I asked myself. The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. If alchemy exists, then Truth must exist as well.

“What am I worrying about? Truth only appears to people who attempt Human Transmutation, and I'd never...” My mind went to the vision I had of myself, holding a bloody Scarlet in the middle of a human transmutation circle. I shook my head.

“No I refuse to let that happen. No matter what happens, I can't turn to that,” I thought to myself. I looked over at Scarlet, who was looking out the window. Her eyes lit up.

“Shadow, we're here. It's Canterlot,” she said. Everyone got up from their seats and looked out the window. I have to admit, Canterlot is a sight to see. I can understand why people are so fascinated by it. The castle towering in the distance, flags blowing in the wind. It was like looking at something out of a fairy tale.

“Wow, that's amazing,” I said.

“I know. It's even better than I remember,” Scarlet said.

“You've been here before?” I asked.

“Only once, when I was a little filly. I came here with my...” her smile faded and she looked down.

“What's wrong Scarlet?” I asked.

She shook her head “Nothing. I'm fine. We should get our stuff together, we'll be arriving soon,” she said trying to change the subject.

“Yeah, sure,” I said.

“Something's definitely bothering her,” I thought. I looked over and saw Scarlet smiling as she gathered her stuff. My thoughts turned back to the vision of the human transmutation circle.

“I won't let that happen,” I thought as I gathered my things.

After getting off the train, we made our way to the castle and took in the sites. Despite the snooty people, Canterlot is a really cool place. Shops selling everything from groceries to books lined the streets. The streets were so clean it was almost scary. The only downside was the people. Just about every single pony there was dressed in expensive clothes, and spoke in that annoying voice rich people speak in.

Needless to say, we got a lot of stares. Mostly me and Jade. I had my sword strapped to my back and my bracers on my forelegs. Jade had taken my cloak and wrapped it around herself to try and hide. Unfortunately, the cloak only covered her top half and her paws were still visible. It didn't help that the stares we were getting were ones of disgust rather than curiosity or confusion.

I could hear ponies whispering “Why is that thing here?”, “I can't believe they got past the guards”, “Filthy beast”.

I walked up to Jade, who was shivering under the cloak.

“Jade, just ignore them. Only the weak and cowardly pick on others, “ I said. Jade poked her head out from the cloak.

“Why can't they just leave me alone?” she asked.

Before I could answer, I heard someone yell “I can't believe they let that mutt through into the city. I guess Canterlot's really gone to the dogs,” they said. I turned and saw that some rich pony and four others were laughing at the apparent joke he made. Jade covered her face with the cloak.

I lost it. I started walking up to them when Scarlet grabbed my shoulder “Shadow, ignore them. They're just a bunch of idiots. Besides, we don't want to cause any trouble,” she said.

“Grrh, fine! Let's just get to the castle already,” I said. As we began stomping off, the five began shouting more insults.

“Oh, where's the dog going. Back to one of your little holes to cry with your tail between your legs,” one of them said and they laughed.

That's when I did something stupid. I punched a nearby lamppost with enough force to send it flying. Everyone apart from my friends looked shocked and scared.

“Next one I hear talking shit about my friend will be eating through a tube for the rest of their pathetic life,” I said. No one said a word.

“Come on guys, lets go,” I said. They all muttered their assent and we continued to the castle.

When we got the castle, my jaw dropped. Canterlot castle is definitely an awesome place to see. High marble towers, gardens filled with flowers of every kind, and fancy flags blowing in the wind. The whole place seemed to glow with an aura of royalty.

Scarlet bopped me on the head “Enough gawking Stripes, we've got a job to do,” she said.

“Uh, Right, sorry,” I said.

After we got past the front gates, and a rather rude questioning by the guards, we made our way to the main castle. One thing I noticed as we walked into the castle was that the people were less “want to punch in the face annoying” rich people and more scholars and guards. We also didn't get as many weird looks, which I was expecting since the Princesses must get visitors from all over.

Thankfully, the Princesses had sent me a letter telling me where I needed to go when I arrived. They even included a map, which I was grateful for because given the size of this castle, I would've probably gotten lost. The letter said to meet them, or at least Celestia since it was daytime, in the Throne Room. With a little bit of struggle, and some help from the guards, we found our way there. When we got to the door however, I wasn't sure what to do.

“So, should I knock or just go on in?” I asked. Everyone looked as confused as I was.

“Well, might as well just go on in,” I said pushing the rather heavy doors open. Seriously, what is with castles and giant doors. When we walked in, Celestia was in the middle of talking to some rich pony, and she looked bored out of her skull.

“....And so Princess, if you implement my plan, you will be able to ..” the rich pony said. When Celestia saw me and my friends, she perked up.

“Ah! Shadow, so good to see and your friends have arrived. Sorry Lord Twill, I have some other business to attend to, but I will consider your proposal,” Celestia said.

“But Princess I haven't gotten to the part about.....” Lord Twill protested.

“Perhaps another time Lord Twill,” she said, giving him the “GTFO” look.

Lord Twill bowed and said “I'll take my leave then Princess. Please excuse me,” and left. Once he was gone, Celestia heaved a big sigh of relief.

“Thank goodness you showed up. I couldn't stand listening to that self-important snob for another minute,” she said.

“What was he trying to push?” I asked.

“He was trying to convince me to change the kinds of flowers we have in the courtyard,” she said.

“What in the hell for?” I asked.

“I don't even know, I tuned out a while ago,” she said rubbing the sides of her head “Regardless, thank you for coming. I must admit, I was not expecting you till tomorrow,” she said.

“I thought it best if we got here as soon as possible, which reminds me, I have a gift for you,” I said and pulled the cake out of my bag, still in perfect condition thanks to a spell I had Twilight put on it to make sure it stayed intact. The second I pulled out the cake, Celestia grabbed it in a magical aura and brought it in front of her. She was about to bite into it before she regained her composure.

“*cough* Thank you Shadow, this is much appreciated. But, now we need to get down to business,” she turned to a pony in glasses with a clipboard “Please bring me the reports from Bridleburg,” she said.

“Yes your highness,” the secretary said and produced a folder from out of nowhere.

“Thank you, now Shadow. As you've heard, disappearances have been occurring around the town of Bridleburg the past four months. At first it was just a couple ponies, but the disappearances have been steadily increasing. We've tried sending guards to investigate this matter, but their efforts have turned up nothing. My sister and I are greatly worried about this matter,” she said.

“I can see why, do you have a list of the missing?” I asked.

“Of course,” she said. The secretary handed the hefty folder to me.

“How many are missing so far?”

“Thirty,” she said. I looked over the list of the missing. I couldn't see any correlation between them at first glance but I'd take a closer look later.

“Hm, strange. I'm assuming this is where I come in,” I said.

“Correct. You and your friends will be heading there undercover. Once you're there, do everything you can to find the one doing this,” she said/

“So what should I do if I find this guy?” I asked.

“I'll leave that to your best judgment,” she said. That made me nervous. She basically said that if I caught this guy, I decided his fate. Just freaking great.

“Thank you for putting your trust in me Princess, I'll do everything I can to help,” I said, my voice a bit shaky.

“Thank you Shadow, I trust you and your friends can handle this,” she said.

“Wait, what about the guard you said you'd be sending with us?” Scarlet asked.

“Oh yes, almost slipped my mind. You may enter now Iron Spear,” Celestia called. We all turned to see the guard who had burst into Sugarcube Corner yesterday walking into the room. Getting a better look at him, he was different than most of the other guards. He was a unicorn with a light gray coat, a black short cut mane, and a shield and spear for a cutie mark. He was dressed in typical guard attire. He walked up to Celestia and bowed.

“Iron Spear at your service my lady,” he said.

“Rise Iron Spear. You will be working with Shadow and his friends to help find who is responsible for the kidnappings in Bridleburg,” she said in a very authoritative voice.

Iron Spear took of his helmet “My lady, with all due respect, I do not feel that these people can handle this task. I and my fellow guards are more than capable of handling this,” he said. Ouch. Ok, I can see that he's gonna be a problem.

“I have no doubts about your or your fellow troop's abilities Iron Spear. But as it stands, the kidnappings continue and I will stand for it any longer,” she said.

“But my lady,” he protested. Celestia merely stood up and stared at him. You ever have those times where a parent just stares at you when you're arguing with them, and you just know that's the right time to shut up. Think that multiplied by ten.

Iron Spear bowed his head “Forgive me Princess, I will work with them. Forgive my rudeness,” he said.

“It is alright Iron Spear,” She said and sat back down.

“Well, now that that's all over with I say we get going. Thank you for your time Princess, we'll be sure to find this guy,” I said bowing a little.

“I am sure you will. Good luck to you,” she said as we walked out of the throne room.

Once we were out of the throne room, I turned to Iron Spear.

“Well, looks like we'll be working together on this,” I held out my hoof “Let's get along, I'm Shadow,” I said. He looked at me and swatted my hoof away. He got up in my face.

“Listen to me now zebra. I don't know how you got the Princess to trust you, and I don't care. I will not be taking orders from the likes of some random zebra and his band of freaks. Once we get to Bridleburg, I'll handle this on my own,” he said with pure malice. Everyone looked about ready to punch this guy, Scarlet even reaching for her bow. I held up a hoof to stop her.

“Well, someone's got a chip on their shoulder,” I looked him in the eye “Listen, I know you feel resentment to me. I mean, a band of unknowns being sent on an official mission that normally would be handled by guards? Of course you'd be mad. But hear this, I'm doing this not just to help the Princess. I have my own reasons, and I will not have you getting in the way,” I said. He looked at me with increasing anger.

“How dare you speak to a member of Celestia's royal guard that way you whelp,” he said and swung at me. I dodged his hit, swept his feet out from under him, and flipped him onto his back, putting my sword against his neck.

“If you couldn't guess, I'm stronger than I look. Try that again and I won't be nice,” I said taking my sword form his throat. As he got up, rubbing his neck, I turned to look at him.

“One more thing. If you ever call my friends freaks again, you'll get to see just how skilled I am with this sword,” I said with as much as malice as I could muster. He looked at me with a look of pure hatred. He huffed, got to his feet, and walked away.

“We'll be waiting at the train station at five o' clock, don't be late!” I called as he stormed off.

Everyone walked over and Scarlet said “Shadow, I don't like that guy. I say we just leave without him,” she said.

“I'm with her, that guy's a world class douchebag,” Nova said.

“Whether we like him or not doesn't matter. If the Princess says he's going with us, he's going with us. I've already had my fill of talking back to all-powerful deities, and I'd rather just get this over with. Clear?” I said. Everyone mumbled their agreement.

“Good, now how about we all grab some lunch before we head out. I'm starving and we're in for a long trip“ I said. This elicited a resounding agreement. As we headed out to find a place to eat, I couldn't help but feel nervous. This wasn't going to be easy, and having that Iron Spear guy along for the ride wasn't gonna make it any easier.

One thing was certain though. I could not fail. Not only in finding the kidnapper, but also in finding a lead to Chrono. I looked over to see Jade actually smiling and laughing with everyone as we walked.

“ I have to find him. If for no other reason, to make her happy. After all she's been through, she deserves at least some happiness,” I thought as we exited the castle.

“I will not let her down.”

Comments

[qamar-ling]

(I will not let her down) your just saying something bad is about to happen.

[Phobos]

“Next one I hear talking shit about my friend will be eating through a tube for the rest of their pathetic life,” I said. No one said a word.

This made me happy.