Shadow Rising

by Shadow Hound

Chapter 17: Family Ties

Twilight stood at the entrance of the Canterlot Castle and looked down the palace path to see if more guests were arriving. A smile spread across Celestia’s face as she watched her former student in her crown greet the guest. The pride inside of her was unmeasurable. Twilight was a little filly when she became her student, and now Twilight was welcoming other leaders. She rooted for Twilight for all the years and watched her grow up. Unlike her former student, Sunset Shimmer, Twilight was loyal to a fault.

Twilight looked up at her former teacher. “My legs are getting a little sore. Can we take a break?”

Celestia smiled at Twilight. “All in due time. Some of your guests are still arriving.”

Twilight sighed. “Can’t we greet them inside?”

Celestia explained, “You are the pony that invited them, and it would be best if you were the first pony they see. It lets your guests know how important they are to you and it is only proper that you let them inside of the castle.”

“Can I go inside for a moment to get something to drink?” Twilight explained.

Celestia asked with concern. “What is bothering you? You seem distracted.”

Twilight explained, “I was hoping to talk with Thorax about Shadow.”

Celestia, “Oh, Twilight, stay calm and do not worry about such things. Right now, greeting your guests and other leaders is more important.”

Twilight mentions, “Shadow seems so different from other ponies. He doesn’t even know how to break into random song. What if he is a changeling spy?”

Celestia responded, “Don’t distract yourself with what-ifs. Just be yourself and be friendly. Everything will work out.”

Twilight said, “As they did with Queen Novo?”

Celestia responded with a simple shrug, “It could have been better.”

Twilight asked, “Why didn’t you defend me when Queen Novo attacked me?”

Celestia explained, “That was not an attack. She was sharing her thoughts and opinions. It would have been rude for me to stop her. She is a fellow ruler and the hippogryphs are our allies.”

Twilight asked, “Why is she still so mad? It was so many moons ago.”

Celestia said, “Queen Novo has gone through a lot. Please don’t blame her. The world was not kind to her. Because of the Storm King, her husband is gone, and that pearl was the only thing keeping her kingdom safe.”

“I see,” Twilight responded with a whisper.

Celestia added, “I knew you were safe. She didn’t mean any harm; if she did, I would have stopped her.”

Twilight asked, “How is Princess Luna doing? Is she going to be at this Gala?”

Celestia stated, “She is still upstairs getting ready.”

Twilight said, “Shouldn’t you go check on her?”

Celestia said, “My duty is to you right now.”

Twilight explained, “I will be fine. All I need to do is smile and wave.”

Celestia grinned, “Are you sure you don’t need me for moral support?”

Twilight stated, “After talking with Queen Novo, I feel like I can talk to any creature.”

Celestia laughed, “Twilight, I am so proud of the mare you are growing into.”

Twilight blushed, “Ah, thanks, Princess Celestia.”

Celestia said, “I will be right back after checking with my sister.”

Twilight said, “I’ve got this.”

Celestia responded, “I know you do. Don’t forget to greet the guest.”

Twilight nodded. “Of course.”

Celestia walked into the castle and cantered up the main staircase. Twilight looked down the path leading up to the castle gate to see that no creature was arriving. Twilight sighed and knocked her hoof against the ground. She looked from side to side. After a few moments, she could see that nothing else was in sight.

Twilight turned to speak to a guard, “I need to get a bit to eat. Please tell me as soon as a guest arrives.”

The guard saluted as he replied obediently, “Yes, mam.”

Twilight nodded, “I will be right back.” She added under her breath, “right after I talk to Thorax.”

---

Celestia trotted up to the door. Her heart sank when she heard Luna crying on the other side. Gently she pushed open the door. Celestia saw her sister lying face down on her bed. She asked her sister. “Are you ok? What bothers you my sister?”

Luna sniffled and sat up on her bed. “I am fine, sister. You may leave now.”

“You have been up here for a while.” Celestia asked, “Are you not feeling well?”

“I am not going,” Luna replied while staring out her window.

Celestia said, “It would be much more fun if you joined us downstairs. What if Twilight needs you?”

Luna sneered. “I doubt it. Twilight Sparkle already has a good teacher in you.”

Celestia said, “If you don’t go, everypony will miss you.”

Luna threw an old stuffed toy at Celestia. Celestia caught it with magic and then placed it on a side table. Luna yelled. “Leave me alone.”

Celestia replied, “Are you going to be ok if I leave you alone? Remember what happened 1000 years ago?”

Luna said, “It is not like the last time. I have kept my relationship with the guards professional, and I have nopony that cares about me.” Luna flopped onto her bed, face first and sighed into the pillow.

Celestia said, “I will always be here for you. And you have Twilight.”

Celestia walked up to the bed and rubbed the back of her sister’s head.

Luna replied, “That is not what I meant.”

Celestia responded, “What is bothering you?”

“Nothing is bothering me. Go back to the Gala.” Luna replied.

“I know that you are upset,” Celestia said.

“Everything is fine.” Luna requested.

“I am not going downstairs until you tell me what is bothering you.” Celestia retorted.

Luna sighed, “Very well then. I am happy for Twilight Sparkle. You have chosen your replacement well but I have never had a student of my own.”

Celestia gave Luna a grin. “She has grown into a capable mare. And you helped her grow just as much as I have.”

Luna winced, “Yeah, by being nightmare moon.”

Celestia responded, “By being just as good of a teacher as me.”

Luna questioned her sister with a tilt of the head, “By being Nightmare Moon?”

Celestia sighed, “I am sure that when the time comes, she can control the night and the day.”

Luna scoffed, “When do you expect her to sleep? Checking on pony’s dreams takes all night. I am sure that doing your royal duties and mine would be exhausting and leave her no time to sleep.”

Celestia smiled. “I agree it is. Maybe you can teach Starlight Glimmer how to control the night.”

Luna replied, “I doubt it. It took Twilight years to be ready, and Starlight does not have that long before we leave. I would guess that Starlight would need to learn eight years’ worth of magic and lessons in a few months. Can any pony learn that fast?”

“She beat Queen Chrysalis. She was also a student of Twilights. So she has already had friendship lessons.” Celestia reminded.

Luna explained, “She beat one villain one time. Twilight has passed every test you have thrown at her, and I have faith that she will pass her test tonight.” Luna grinned, “Besides, how would I even test a pony so they can learn to control the night? Dream walking is not easy.”

Celestia proposed. “I could help you create a test for Starlight Glimmer.”

Luna sighed, “Is there even enough time? Cronos made it sound like we need to move on from this realm in less than a year.”

Celestia replied. “It will have to be enough. We can train her.”

Luna replied, “Twilight had years. It is times like this that I wish I could give my powers to my son.” Luna’s eyes started to tear up. “But he is no longer with us.”

Celestia rubbed her sister’s back. “I understand. I wish I could have found him. He would have been a great student.”

Luna said, “The closest thing I have to a student is the Tantabus and it can’t respond when I talk to it.”

Celestia gasped, “You didn’t destroy it? After it almost escaped the dream realm the first time, I thought you would have.”

Luna explained, “I can’t destroy it. I created the Tantabus. Destroying the tantabus would be like destroying my son, or maybe daughter. I can’t really tell.”

Celestia replied, “I understand your point, but the Tantabus is different. You might want to talk to Dr. Wolf about your feelings.”

Luna quipped. “On Tuesday, I have another appointment.”

Celestia replied, “I am glad to hear that. And when are you going to destroy it?” Celestia gave Luna a stern look of disapproval. “So it doesn’t escape.”

Luna explained, “I was going to destroy the tantabus, but it gave me the look, dear sister. It looked so cute and adorable. Only a monster would destroy something so innocent. I feel like it wants to be better.”

“And you are leaving it alone, right?” Celestia asked.

Luna waved her hoof. “Mostly.” She chuckled, “I only visit it every night. And play with it. And talk to it. And read it stories.”

Celestia replied, “I wish that you wouldn’t. You are more social with the Tantabus than other ponies at the Gala, and it worries me.”

Luna replied, “Nopony will even care if I go to the Gala and the Tantabus looks happy to see me.”

Celestia replied, “If you go downstairs and talk with the guest, then you can see how much everypony cares about you.”

Luna replied, “Why should I ruin their night by going downstairs?”

Celestia asked, “Is that why you don’t want to go downstairs?”

Luna said, “I want to go down. The thought occurred to me. I have never been to a Gala in the 5,000 years of my existence. But I am afraid. What if I mess everything up? I don’t want to be hated. What if Nightmare comes back? I don’t want everyone to remember me for destroying the Gala.”

Celestia replied, “I don’t want you to feel forced. We will only go down if you want us to.”

Luna replied, “What if they all hate me?”

Celestia proposed, “Then I will send them to the sun.” She chuckled. “So they can burn like the bugs that they are.”

Luna’s eye twitched. “Are you sure you don’t need to see Doctor Wolf?”

Celestia grinned, “Just kidding, but seriously . . . I will do anything to protect my sister.”

Luna gave a weak smile.

Celestia smiled back. “They are not going to hate you. Nightmare is gone forever and the Elements of harmony made it so she can never take over your body again.”

Luna proposed, “You should at least go down and have fun.”

Celestia smiled at her sister, “I will not leave you alone. We can stay up here for right now.”

Luna Questioned, “What about the Gala?”

Celestia said, “Twilight has things under control.”

Celestia pet Luna on the head and stroked her hooves through Luna’s hair. Celestia hugged her sister. “Everything will be ok, Luna. Right now, you need me. I am here for you and will not leave you alone as I did 1000 years ago.”

---

A white bipedal wolf sat up in a chair reading. He looked over the brim of his book and yawned. He looked at a clock above a fireplace and saw that the time was late into the night.

“Oh dear” he said quietly to himself.

He looked over to his Phd which read “Dr Wolf” that hung proudly on his wall. He then pulled back his head and sneezed.

“Oh my. Is someone talking about me? Maybe I should keep my schedule clear for the next few days in case one of the princesses needs me,” he said while he looked at the clock.

Dr wolf then took a sip of tea and continued reading his book by the light of the fireplace.

---

Shadow took Applejack’s hoof, and they walked to the ballroom dance floor. Shadow walked effortlessly one three legs but Applejack struggled. Ponies swayed back and forth in each other’s arms to the beat of the music. The soft strings of violins filled the night air. Shadow cracked his neck left and right.

Shadow grinned excitedly as he said, “Let us get ready to show queen Novo why she shouldn’t make bets.”

Applejack blushed. “Ah ain’t have no idea what Ah’m doing. This here ain’t a square dance, Ah reckon.”

Shadow looked into her eyes. “It is ok. I know what to do.”

“Really? Where did ya learn how to waltz?” Applejack asked.

Shadow replied, “Would you believe me if I told you that Queen Novo and I had the same teacher?”

Applejack gasped. “Honestly, it is a little hard to believe.”

Shadow grinned, “I am just a bag of surprises.”

Applejack shrugged. “Must be.”

Shadow lifted Applejack onto her back legs and held her forehooves. “The first step is to lean into each other. We also need to use each other for balance.”

“This does not feel natural.” Applejack wobbled on her rear legs as she tried to keep her balance.

Shadow grabbed Applejack’s left hoof and placed it over his shoulders. “So one of your hooves goes here.” He then grabbed her right hoof and held it outwards. “And I can hold your other hoof.”

Applejack struggled to say up on her rear legs and said, “You sure you know what you are doing?”

Shadow grinned. “Even if I don’t remember, Lycans are trained to notice patterns. If you watch the dancers, they are moving repetitively to every beat and note in the music. So they are moving to every beat in the song that is currently playing. So it is easy to predict when and how they move. Like a friendly sparring match, but with less blood.”

Applejack responded. “Stop using them fancy words and just tell me what to do.”

Shadow replied, “It is not much different than fighting. I just need to watch the hooves of the other dancers and copy them.”

Applejack responded. “But how? An’ what am Ah supposed to do?”

Shadow said, “It is simple; move the way I tell you to.”

Applejack nodded.

Shadow said, “First take one step back. Next move to the side and then close your legs. For now, repeat those basic moves and try to do them on every beat.”

Applejack slowly moved the way Shadow told her to. She looked around. She noticed that her movements slowly followed the other dancers.

Shadow replied, “You are getting it. Back with your right. Side with your left. Close right hoof to the left.”

Applejack looked down at her hooves and continued.

Shadow nodded as they loosely started following the other dancers.

Shadow replied, “Back to Left, side with the right. Left to right.

Applejack replied, “Impressive. You learned all this from fighting.”

Shadow admitted, “The fighting stuff. It is easy for a Lycan. We fight a lot, and you learn to follow pawwork.”

Applejack replied with a grin, “Impressive.”

Applejack and Shadow watched as the stallions spun the mares. Shadow’s eyes twitched. “Ok, so maybe it has been a while.”

Applejack sighed, “So what now, fancy hooves?”

Shadow replied, “Let’s just dance like nothing happened.” He gently nudged Applejack to the left. Applejack followed. She then started to step to the right.

Shadow smiled. “See? You are starting to get it.”

Suddenly Shadow saw a table flying toward them.

Prince Rutherford screamed, “Pony table not like Yak table.”

Applejack yelled out Shadow’s name as Shadow pushed her away. She fell backwards as the table barely missed the side of her hat. Shadow balanced on his rear hooves and grabbed her front hoof to stop her from falling. Applejack’s head flipped back. Applejack looked up at Shadow while balancing on a back foot. The audience cheered.

Applejack giggled. “So what was this about Lycan training?”

Shadow responded with a grin. “We don’t train with Yaks.”

Queen Novo cheered, “That was amazing dancing. Well worth the bits.”

Shadow half smiled at Applejack. “I am surprised that I remembered that much.”

Just then Something hit Shadow on the head. Shadow looked in the direction he was hit from to see that General Seaspray was walking over to Queen Novo.

Shadow said to himself. “Oh shoot. How much did he see?”

Applejack replied, “Just think if you move to Ponyville, we can dance like this every day.”

When Shadow didn’t respond, Applejack asked, “Is everything ok?”

Shadow whispered to AJ, “Let’s talk on the balcony. Not as many eyes out there.”

Shadow and Applejack walked out to the balcony. There was nopony but a green mare with yellow hair in a honeycomb hairstyle. She scoffed when she saw Applejack and then walked back into the ballroom.

Shadow opened his mouth to say something but Applejack beat him to it by saying, “Let it go. I don’t feel like starting a fight with a Hoity Toity rich snob.”

Shadow looked up at the moon and replied. “That is one of the good things about Equestria. With all the parties, it never gets boring. It’s even better up here since you can see the moon.”

Applejack replied. “If you like it so much, ya could move to Ponyville. The spoiled milk farm is still empty. If you live there, we could be neighbors.”

Shadow held Applejack into a hug. “That is a wonderful offer. I would love to live next to you and spend time with you. You are an excellent dancer.”

Applejack said, “Ya know, if you move to Ponyville then we can dance like that every day.”

Shadow looked at Applejack and replied, “I wish I could, but my father would come looking for me.”

Applejack replied, “Shucks. Y'all can move to Ponyville.”

Shadow replied, “My father wouldn’t even consider that. It would be more likely that he would set fire to Ponyville to ensure I can never return.”

Applejack sighed, “Ya really think he would?”

Shadow replied. “He would, and he has. My father tends to make sure he gets his way.”

Applejack replied, “Twilight could speak with him. Show him a better way.”

Shadow said, “My father is set in his ways. He will never change.”

Applejack said, “But you can.”

Shadow replied, “I may look like a unicorn right now, but I am an alicorn. Alicorns are power, and he would never give up that power. I am surprised he let me leave the kingdom. ”Shadow sighed before going on to say, “He trusted me to take care of the pack. I should have stayed with them, but I wanted to see you.”

Applejack replied. “We could start a family and settle down.”

Shadow replied, “And I want you to have a family. I want you to find your special somepony, have foals with them and grow old together. It is something I can never offer you, just like other ponies I have met. You would grow old and leave me. If we did start a family, we would always be in danger, and you would live a life on the run from my father.”

Applejack replied, “What if I become a Lycan? Could we live together then?”

Shadow asked, “What about your family and farm?”

“Big Mac has Sugar Bell. They can take care of the farm. As fer Applebloom, she’s getting older. She ain’t be needing her big sister forever,” Applejack said.

Shadow replied, “If you became a Lycan, I would lose you faster. When a pony becomes a Lycan they go wild for about 10 years.”

Applejack gave Shadow a look of confusion.

Shadow explained, “We call the 10 years ‘The Teething’. You would get very aggressive and you would be controlled by instinct. It is extremely painful. Not every pony survives this process. I can’t risk losing you. I don’t know what it is like to be a pony, but I can tell you that life in the Lycan Kingdom is rough. Only the strong survive. And, even then, only for so long.”

Applejack yelled back. “Are y’all saying I am not strong enough for ya?”

Shadow replied, “I am saying that the Lycan Empire breaks even the strong eventually.”

Applejack replied. “I wouldn’t ever say never. You don’t know what tomorrow will bring.”

Shadow smirked. “I just want to keep you safe. As long as my father is alive, I can’t leave the kingdom. My father is 1,000 years old. I don’t want you to wait for a time that will never come in Pony years.”

Applejack replied, “I understand, but we should discuss it later.”

Shadow replied, “Maybe.”

A brown stallion with a deli mustache walked onto the balcony. With every step, his hooves smacked into the hard floor with a loud sound. He soon looked at Shadow and said, “It is a wonderful moon out today. Can I chat with you alone for a bit?”

Shadow replied, “Who are you?”

“I am your Uncle Cronos. Hello Prince Shadow. Can your pony friend go back into the Gala so we can talk?” Cronos flashed Shadow a friendly smile.

Applejack replied, “Why should I?”

Crono turned to Applejack and replied, “So the prince and I can talk alone. We have some sensitive matters to discuss. Don’t worry. We will have a friendly chat.”

Applejack growled. “I don’t know about that.”

Shadow looked at Applejack. “Everything is going to be fine.”

Applejack pouted. “Fine, but if you hurt Shadow, I will buck you into the next zip code.”

Cronos replied. “That shouldn’t be necessary.”

Applejack walked backwards through the arch and back into the ballroom to the Gala.

Shadow looked at Cronos. “Who are you, and what do you want?”

Cronos asked, “What do you think of that farm pony? How did you both meet?”

Shadow said, “Be careful what you say. If you threaten her, I will tear your throat out.”

Cronos replied, “I am not threatening. I’m just having a talk with a prince under the full moon night.”

Shadow replied. “You must be mistaken. I am a simple pony from the west.”

“Let me guess. You are from Las Pegasus.” Cronos grinned.

Shadow frowned, “How did you…..”

“Know you were going to say that,” Cronos replied.

Shadow replied, “Don’t tell me you could read minds.”

Cronos answered, “Of course not. That would be silly. I am in charge of watching the current timeline and stopping any bad events from happening to Equestria in this dimension.”

Shadow shook his head, “Oh yeah. That makes so much more sense.”

“Very clever saying that you come from Las Pegasus. It is out west but not too far west, and not enough to get you in trouble. If you have a Freudian Slip.” Cronos commented.

Shadow responded. “What are you talking about?”

Cronos said, “Do you mean to tell me you do not know who Freudian was?”

“Yeah, I knew Freudian Slip. He was a stallion from about a hundred years ago.” Shadow answered. “Dude liked to make things seem grand but there was always a way you could tell that he was lying.”

Cronos replied, “So you do know?”

Shadow replied by asking, “Who are you?”

Cronos replied, “I already told you.”

Shadow corrected, “I mean who. Why do you care? Do you have a family? You have to give me something to work with.”

Cronos said, “It is ok if you do not remember. We last spoke over 1000 years ago. If you can call it speaking, you mostly said simple words like Goo Goo, Gaa gaa, and Bottom at that age. And asking for your stuffed Stallion what was it called, The Tantabus.”

“How do you know me?” Shadow demanded.

Cronos replied, “Shouldn’t I know my nephew? Remus.”

Shadow grinned, “I have not heard that name in a long time. You are my uncle.”

Cronos answered, “And I am just checking up on you.”

“If you care so much, why didn’t we meet sooner?” Shadow questioned.

Cronos replied, “I do apologize. The time was not right.”

Shadow said, “So what changed? Why talk to me now?”

Cronos answers, “I can’t tell you. Doing so would create a very unfavorable timeline.”

Shadow raised his voice, “Unfavorable? When I first became a Lycan it took me almost 100 years to stop teething. I went insane, then I got bored of it and then I turned sane again.”

Cronos questioned, “But did you survive?”

Shadow sighed, “I survived, but not everyone did. Many Lycans lost themselves to the madness. We were Luna’s Children of the Night, and we traveled out of equestrian to start a kingdom for her. And she never returned.”

Shadow’s eyes darted back and forth before settling on Cronos, “You could have saved us.”

Cronos replied, “With your father, why do you care? Doesn’t he always say survival of the fittest?”

Shadow replied, “All the Lycans are Iron Born, warriors forged just like the metal we sell. He may seem harsh, but his teaching method has made us strong.”

Cronos said, “It has left the kingdom weak and afraid of his retribution.”

“Don’t talk about things you don’t understand,” Shadow shouted.

Cronos said, “I know that you can see it. Your father doesn’t see the Lycans as anything but pawns that he would be willing to sacrifice for his benefit. Your father only cares about how much power he has and how he can use it to gain more power. Your father is the definition of a monster.”

Shadow spoke and pointed a hoof at Chronos. “You knock it off, you old prune. My father has kept the Lycans safe for 1,000 years, which is more than I can say about you.”

Cronos said calmly, “You are so much better of a king than your father would ever be. Would you live with the cowpony if your father wasn’t there to stop you?”

Shadow clenched his jaw so hard that his teeth hurt. “I don’t have to listen to this! What you speak of is treason.”

Cronos said, “I am not a member of the Lycan kingdom, how would it be? besides What I speak of is the truth.”

Shadow said, “Choose your words very carefully. King Archimedes would do anything to keep the kingdom safe.”

Cronos replied, “Dear, Shadow, your father doesn’t care about your friends. To him, they are just numbers.”

Shadow looked up with murder in his eyes, “If you don’t watch what you say, I am going to destroy you.”

Cronos replied, “How am I making you mad now?”

Shadow explained, “You speak of treason, and you dare to mock my pack by calling them friends.”

Cronos said, “If you are so angry then maybe a sparring match will clear your mind.”

Shadow laughed, “With you? I feel like I could break you in two.”

Chronos firmly planted his hooves into the floor, “I may seem old but I can still keep myself safe. It would be most interesting to see how your magic has grown.”

Shadow growled and stomped a hoof to the ground. “His shadow extended out into the ballroom.” A few seconds later Shadow responded, “There is nobody near us but several guards. Did you plan this?”

Cronos explained, “I told them to make sure that nopony bothered us. Regardless of any sounds that they hear.”

His eyes started to glow green and purple smoke flowed from his eyes. A black tentacle flowed like water out from between the bricks of the balcony. At the end of the tentacle was a large blade that swung and hit the floor. “Fair warning. I am not responsible for any damage that I do,” he ordered, “Come on. I will let you throw the first punch.”

Cronos rolled his eyes, “Then you will be waiting for some time. I am not here to fight you. I only want to talk.”

Shadow grinned, “What a shame. There is no honor in beating up some old guy.”

Cronos asked, “Then why jeopardize your honor and fight?”

Shadow giggled, “Because it is fun.”

The tentacle blade headed towards Cronos. Cronos quickly dashed to the side. The blade nearly hit him and instead landed on a wall with a metallic ting. Cronos gasped for air and straightened his cloak. The tentacle flowed up Shadow’s suit sleeve like water.

Shadow smiled, “You shouldn’t have disrespected my father. The punishment for even talking about treason is death.”

Cronos said, “I seem to have made such a big mistake?”

Shadow’s expression turned serious. “ It is my duty as the Prince of the Lycan Empire to punish All who speak badly of the king.”

Cronos asked, “What about your duty to your friends in the Castle of the Twin Sisters?”

Shadows growled. “The Lycans in my pack are not friends. Don’t insult the Iron Born like that. Friendship is weakness. Friends can leave, but pack is family.”

Cronos just said, “I see, my mistake.”

Shadow stood on his hind hooves. He held out his right front hoof. A long spike came out from his suit sleeve.

“Friends will stab you in the back.” Shadow stood on three legs and pointed a needle-like blade at Chronos. “Just like I am going to do to you.”

Shadow held the blade out and lunged toward Cronos. Cronos moved to the left.

Blood started to drip from the side of Cronos’s face. Cronos said, “Careful, boy, I am not mad. but you are disappointing me.” Cronos stepped back and ducked. He watched as the blade barely missed his throat. “Threaten me, but I will not fight you right now. How am I supposed to know Lycan customs?”

Shadow replied, “What is the matter? Afraid you are going to lose? Or are you waiting for Seaspray to come and back you up?”

Cronos replied, “I don’t care about Seaspray.”

Shadow breathed heavily and gasped for air, “That is something we both can agree on.”

Shadow held the blade out and lunged toward Chronos. This time Chronos knocked the blade upwards. As a result, the blade passed harmlessly above his head.

“Nice try but you left yourself open,” Cronos said.

Shadow threw a punch with his other arm. When he did, Cronos grabbed his arm. Shadow headbutt Cronos and thus forcing him to let go.

Cronos said, “What would Applejack think if she saw you acting like this? You are embarrassing yourself. Now calm down.”

Shadow grinned, “Come on. I drew first blood. We have to fight now until one of us wins.”

Cronos pressed a hoof to the side of his face. The cut faded away. “I don’t see any evidence that you did anything.”

Shadow held out his arm and the blade went back into his sleeve. Shadow sat down and breathed out. “Seriously, it is no fun when you can heal.” Shadow sighed, “Fine, we will stop, but you have to call it a draw.”

Cronos sighed, “I don’t care what you draw now. Do you feel calmer?”

Shadow gave a little pout face “Maybe.”

Cronos replied, “Then answer the question if you please.”

Shadow ordered, “I will answer your question, but first, you need to follow some rules.”

Cronos said, “Very well then.”

Shadow pointed a hoof at Cronos, “First, don’t disrespect my father. He is not even close to being a monster.”

Cronos said, “I will not, but you must agree that his methods are not the most friendly.”

Shadow said, “I will agree to nothing. He is my father, and I will not betray him.”

Cronos said, “Very well then. What is your second point?”

Shadow replied, “Second, I do not need friends. That word is an insult in the Lycan Kingdom.”

Cronos replied, “My apologies.” Cronos bowed, “What would you do to protect your pack?”

Shadow replied, “To protect my pack.” Shadow paused for a moment, “I would tear down this castle if it meant keeping them safe.”

Cronos noded, “I see, and that doesn’t sound like a Lycan. What happened to survival of the fittest?”

Shadow stated, “I feel normal when I am with them. They are special to me, and they need to be protected. I would do anything to keep them safe. Them and their children.”

Cronos snickered. “I may seem like an old prune to you, but I understand what you mean. No matter what happens tonight, you need to think about how much your pack means to you.”

Shadow replied, “Of course.”

Cronos replied, “One more thing. You should say hi to Luna. My sister would be pleased to hear that you are doing well.”

Shadow replied, “She doesn’t care about me. She would have looked for me, for us, if she did.”

Cronos smiled. “Do you ever wonder what your life would be like if the Children of the Night never left Equestria?”

Shadow said, “All the time.”

Cronos said, “I know that, if you do not talk to her, you are going to wonder what would have happened. You are going to wonder what could have been.”

Shadow asked with concern, “But what if she hates me?”

Cronos smiled, “That is not very Lycan thinking.”

Shadow demanded, “Stop mocking me. I am Iron Born.”

Cronos said, “Let us say that she does hate you. At least then you will know. I have seen many ponies live their lives with regret for things they didn’t do. Do you want to look back at this time and still wonder what could have been? Time is the only resource you can not get back and she has less of it.”

Shadow replied, “You might be right.”

Cronos looked at Shadow, “Go have fun. And go dance with that cowpony that you like ‘talking to.’ She is talking to her friends right now, and I have a feeling that Twilight is going to want to speak with you. Don’t be afraid to talk with her.”

Shadow replied, “Ok uncle. I will talk with Twilight.”

Cronos said, “Don’t forget about your pack. You need to remember how much they mean to you. Life can not always be about battle.”

Shadow smirked. “Ok, Uncle, but we really should catch up.”

Cronos answers, “When the time is right, we will speak again.”

---

Minuto trotted up to Cronos. “Are you ok sir?”

Cronos said, “I am fine.”

“I would hardly say that you are fine. What if he cut your head off?” Minuto asked.

Cronos sighed. “He was not going to do that.”

Minuto stated, “That is not what it looked like.”

Cronos replied, “The timeline told me that I would be fine.”

Minuto replied, “You could have had me or Hora handle the prince. We are younger and could have stopped him faster.”

Cronos smiled, “I appreciate your offer. But I checked the timeline and I had greater success. If I had sent anyone else they would have been destroyed.”

Minuto nodded.

Cronos snickered. “If he wanted to cut my head off, he would have. He was just saying hi, in his own way.”

Minuto trotted up to him. “Even if he was, I wish you didn’t tempt him so much. You really got him angry.”

Cronos said, “It is what he needed to hear.”

Minuto said, “You could have stopped him. Why didn’t you?”

Cronos said, “Because it is what I needed to do.”

“You could have been hurt,” Minuto replied.

“I knew he wasn’t.” Cronos smiled at his assistant. “Wonderful throw by the way. You hit him where I needed to so he would see Seabreeze.”

Minuto saluted. “I will do my best.”

Cronos explained, “I need you to get in place for the next part of my plan. I need to speak with Cadence.”

Cronos started walking into the ballroom. A green mare with yellow hair in a honeycomb hairstyle trotted up to him. “Excuse me, did you forget something?”

Cronos held out a brown bag and tossed it to the mare. “Here you go. Your nation thanks you for your services.”

The mare opened it up to see a diamond tiara. “Wow! This looks divine.”

Cronos grinned. “Just remember our agreement. I need you to wear it in the ballroom. And, I want you to stand between the two guards that I have ordered to stand near the opening of the balcony.”

The mare grinned. “Oh I am never taking it off. The last time I saw one that looked this good, a snotty little filly was wearing it.”

Cronos grinned at turned to Minuto. “We must hurry. Time is not on our side.”

Minuto rolled her eyes. “Is it ever?”

Cronos replied, “I hope I am not too late. Her family is in grave danger.”

Author's Note:

So for clarification the end of this chapter lines up with the last chapter. At the end of the last chapter Cronos did indeed get to talk to Cadence.

This chapter was a challenge to write. Mostly because of the question, how do you do the waltz if you have four legs. I hope everyone enjoyed it. Sorry it took so long to get the chapter out.

Dancing ponies for the win.

Comments

[Starlight Nova]

10772035
I meant in terms of word count, both in total of the story and individual chapter length.

[Shadow Hound]

11314892

I try to keep each chapter less than 7,000 I do not know how long the story is going to be. I might cut it short because I don't know how long FimFic is going to be around for and because of work it takes me a long time to write.

To finish with this ark it is going to be another 100,000 words easily.