• Published 7th Apr 2019
  • 1,571 Views, 39 Comments

Shadow Rising - Shadow Hound



What happens when a visitor from the north of Equestria comes for a visit. A event that will change the Kingdom forever. Secrets get exposed, dimensions get crossed And the sun may never rise again. Find out in this adventure story.

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Chapter Six: The Plan

In the Lycan Empire, in a small room, a pink dragon laid on a small, soft circular bed. She pulled a fleece blanket up to cover her body. The room was not big, but it was her space. It held the few things that she owned.

She was small for a dragon. Her pillow gave her just enough room to spread out.

She breathed out. She was not tired enough to fall asleep even though she was up most of the day. She couldn't sleep because she couldn't stop thinking about her brother. Her brother was currently on a mission with the young prince.

The young prince, that was her main worry. He was usually friendly until he lost his temper. Who knows what would happen? She didn't say anything out loud, that was not her job. If the King heard her say any of this, she would be punished. Punishment for speaking badly about the royal family was severe at best, and deadly at worst.

She laid in bed, looking at the ceiling, with her stomach in knots. She was thankful that her wings had not grown in yet. Such a thing would be a curse and a blessing. The good news is that wings did not get in the way when she slept on her back. How did her brother sleep on his back anyway? The bad news is that by dragon standards, she was still considered a baby dragon.

She sat up and realized that she had an all too familiar feeling in her Lungs. She eagerly waited for what would happen next. She coughed and breathed out. A stream of fire came out of her mouth. When the fire stopped, there was a letter on the floor.

She was between excited and nervous. It was a letter from her brother! Unfortunately, it was addressed to the King. She hoped her brother was ok.

She kicked open her door and yelled, "Message."

Quickly she ran up a set of stairs to the throne room.

She opened the door to see that the King was lying on the throne. His back rested on one of the arms of the chair. His legs were over the other armrest. There were two guards in the room, an earth Lycan to the left of the throne, a unicorn Lycan to the right.

He laid with his eyes closed, so she didn't know if he was sleeping or not. She carefully walked up to the throne. He heard her footsteps and spoke up. "Sprocket, you better have a good reason to bother me."

Sproket held the letter in the air. "It is from Servo. He has a letter for you."

King Archimedes reached out a paw and grabbed the message.

He angrily opened it.

He held it up to his face, "Shadow has disappeared, most likely goofing off."

Sprocket bit her lower lip and squirmed where she stood.

King Archimedes continued, "Shadow has not come back. Servo is acting too controlling."

He moved around and sat on the throne. "Oh, Oh, he has not been back for a few days."

King Archimedes sighed. He said in a low, commanding voice while rolling the S, "Sprocket."

The dragon already had a paper and quill in her hand, "Yes, sir."

King Archimedes looked at Sprocket, "Send a message to Captain Claw. His orders are to leave the Crystal Empire and return. Tell him to march to the morning line and await further orders. They may need to march into Equestria."

Sprocket started writing.

One of the guards, an earth Lycan, elbowed the other one and whispered. "Great! Now we got to go down there and pull his tail out of the fire. He can’t do anything right."

King Archimedes looked over at the guards and sneered. "Excuse me, what did you say?"

Sprocked bit her lip, She was frozen in fear. That poor guy he lasted less than a week.

The other guard, a unicorn Lycan, moved several steps away and pointed a claw at the Earth Lycan.

The King jumped across the room. He knocked the guard off his feet and spoke in the guard's face, "What did you say?"

The guard stuttered. He could not think about what to say.

The King spoke almost in a calm whisper to the guard, "I heard you say something. What did you say?"

The guard struggled for what to say. The Weight of the King pressed on his chest. All he could say was, "Ummmm."

The King snarled, "Forgot already?"

He then used his magic to grab the guard by the neck. The King kicked the balcony door open, and he walked out. He used his magic to hold the guard over the side railing. The guard struggled to breathe.

The guard's helmet fell off. The guard looked down and watched it disappear into the ravine below. The guard managed to let out a small scream.

The King calmly said, “Maybe the air will help you think.” He paused for a few seconds and then resumed calmly, "So, what did you say?” After a few seconds, he said, “Come now. Clean your soul and admit it."

The guard pleaded and squeaked when he spoke. “Sorry! I will never… again.”

The King grinned and shook the guard, "Maybe you should get some flying lessons."

The guard gasped, "Noooo.”

The King loosened his grip on the guard's neck, "Hmm? Why not?"

The guard pleaded while tears started flowing from his eyes, "I don't have wings, Your Majesty."

The King smirked, "But flying is so much fun for everyone.” With a grin, he added. “That is, until you hit the ground."

Tears started to flow from the guard's eyes. “I shouldn’t.”

King Archimedes agreed, “No, you shouldn’t have.”

To the guard, the world grew hazy. "You are the best King. I am only here to serve you."

The King threw him back in the room. The guard sat on the ground and gasped for breath. As the guard's vision returned, he started to kiss the floor.

The King leered at him, "Next time, I will not be so generous."

The King yelled at him to get off the floor. The unicorn guard picked his partner up off the ground. He whispered in his ear, "You’re lucky the last guard had wings."

The earth Lycan said, "How is that a bad thing?"

The unicorn guard answered the question with another question, "Ever wonder why there was a job opening?"

Sprocket stood with her mouth open. She was distracted by what had happened and was still holding the letter.

King Archimedes calmly said, "What are you waiting for? Send the letter now. You don't want me to get angry with you."

Sprocket quickly breathed fire on the letter. It disappeared into the flames.

The King walked out onto the balcony of the castle. He looked into the distance. "What has that brat gotten himself into?"

--------------------------

Back at Twilight's castle, the friends were all sitting around the table. Twilight spoke about the Gala and the events that would take place at the event. Eventually, everypony stopped paying attention. The only two ponies trying to look interested were Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. Rarity was scribbling into a notebook, and Rainbow Dash was licking the table. Applejack was resting her head on the table while still looking at Twilight.

After what felt like hours, Shadow struggled to keep his eyes open. Twilight was speaking, but it sounded like she was speaking another language. Shadow laid his head down next to Applejack. They both smiled at each other. He didn’t mind where he was. He just wanted to look at her for the rest of his life.

That is until Shadow heard the best thing that evening.

Twilight grinned to her friends. “And that concludes the meeting.”

Rainbow Dash flew up from her seat. “Good, we have been here all night.”

Twilight looked at Shadow. “Before you go, can I speak with you?”

Rarity smiled at Shadow. “I will get started. You can come by the shop later so I can make sure it fits.”

Pinkie Pie ate the leftover cupcakes plate and all.

Twilight's friends all smiled at each other and walked out the door.

Twilight looked at Shadow. “So, what do you think of Ponyville?”

Shadow thought about it, then replied “It is nice.”

She clapped her hooves together. “Is It different from where you live?”

“A little.”

Twilight looked puzzled. “How much different? Are you from Manehattan?” She points to it on the map.

“Too far east. I’m from west of Ponyville.”

“Whitetale Woods?”

“No.”

“Well, you are not from the undiscovered country because nopony lives there, so you must be from Las Pegasus.”

Shadow grinned. He knew that he couldn’t tell her the truth, that he was from the undiscovered country. “True.”

Twilight squeed, “You’re Lucky. Las Pegasus is very nice.”

Shadow thought about what he told Blaze. The information that the Lycans had on Twilight said that her nickname was the Princess of Friendship and that she was good at magic. To be that good with magic implied that she had to have books.

Shadow said, "Not that nice. There is too much noise to read."

Twilight's wings shot up, Shadow thought to himself “Jackpot!” Twilight giggled at him. “You like to read.”

"I read from time to time.”

Twilight twirled her hair with a hoof. "I have got to show you my library.”

Twilight got off her chair and started galloping to a door. Shadow followed her through the door into a room full of books. Twilight giggled. "I just reorganized it. I have so many books I bet you will find something to read."

Shadow looked around on the shelves for anything interesting. On the top shelf he saw a book mentioning the Crystal Empire. Shadow started to trot up to it. Twilight turned around. “Do you like Daring Doo?”

Shadow sighed in defeat, "I have heard about the Adventures of Daring Do." This was not a lie.

Twilight pointed to a shelf. "I have every issue. I even have two issues of some books. If you want to, you can borrow one of my extra copies.”

Shadow looked out a large window to see that it had gotten dark out. Twilight was looking right at him, smiling, almost creepy. It didn’t make matters any easier that she was being so nice. In the Lycan Empire, nobody would willingly give anything up for free.

Shadow thought about what to do and what to say. He couldn’t look at the book with her staring at him. He would need to be alone in the library, or alone with the book. Shadow decided against waiting for Twilight to turn around. Shadow forced out a yawn. “I would love to look at them, but it is too late for my brain to work. Can I talk to you about it tomorrow?”

Twilight responded, “Of course. We have all day tomorrow to talk about Daring Do.”

Shadow trotted towards the exit of the library and out the castle. For some reason, Twilight was still following him. Shadow pondered if she had figured out that he was not who he said he was. Shadow turned left down a hallway. Twilight spoke up, “The door is to your right.”

Shadow frowned, “Thank you.”

Twilight smiled. “Don’t worry about it. I still get lost.”

Shadow grumbled. He didn’t normally get lost, but the castle was a maze. He thought maybe she was just a helpful pony. Even so, Shadow kept an eye on her. The last thing that he wanted was to be attacked by her when he was not looking.

Eventually, he reached a long hallway.

Twilight spoke, “The exit is right through that door.” Shadow sighed. She spoke but yet she still followed him. Now his main thought was on what to do about his pack.

Shadow had not seen his pack all day. He knew they were going to be mad. He knew that Servo was going to have some strong words for him. He decided that bringing food back was the perfect thing to get them to calm down and to get on their good sides.

Twilight trotted in front of Shadow and pushed the main door open.

Shadow trotted up to her. "Thank you for your greetings. Have a great night, Miss Sparkle."

Twilight said, “You can call me Twilight.”

Shadow nodded, “Thank you, Miss Twilight.”

Shadow galloped through the door into the outside air. Finally, I am out of that hot castle and into the beautiful night. The night air was noticeably colder than the air inside the castle. He heard Applejack gallop behind him.

Applejack asked, “How did it go? You didn't mock her, did you?"

Shadow put a paw to his chest, "Me? I was the perfect gentle colt. You would have been proud."

Applejack smiled, "Where to next?"

Shadow looked confused, “Shouldn’t you be going home? It is getting late.”

Applejack frowned, “I was hoping that we could spend some more time together.”

Shadow sighed. “Why would you want to spend time with a guy like me?”

Applejack leaned into his body, “I had fun.”

Shadow smiled. “I had fun too, but it is getting late. I need to go back to my pack. They are going to be so mad at me.”

Applejack, “Ya know what tends to calm anypony down?”

Shadow, “If you say food, great minds think alike. I was going to go to the store first.”

Applejack, “At this time, not many places are going to be open.”

Shadow, “I will find them.”

Applejack, “They will not be open for too much longer. I better go with you.”

Shadow, “I would prefer if you don’t.”

Applejack, “And if you don’t get any food?”

Shadow sighed in resignation, then conceded, “Fair enough. I guess you can come with.”

Applejack, “Let's get to it.”

They both galloped down the road.

-------------------------------

At the castle of the two sisters, The Lycans sat around in the middle of the entrance. Servo pulled the door to the castle shut. Surprisingly, even after years of neglect, it still worked, and it swung shut.

Servo insisted, “I can’t do anything. The King said to wait here and not to move.”

Whitwolf said, “What are we going to do? We need food.”

Blaze said, “We have not had any protein in a few days.”

All of the lycans at the same time nodded and said, “Yeah!”

Eclipse said, “If we do not get protein, we are going to get sick.”

Servo yelled, “I can’t tell you to disobey orders.”

Shirwolf said, “When you sent him the message, did you mention anything other than ratting out on Shadow?”

Whitewolf said, “I say we leave right now.”

Servo said, “I will not allow it.”

Triage stated, “We have to go. For us to remain healthy, we need protein in the next few hours.”

Servo stood in front of the door and stomped his feet. “I said no.”

Eclipse pleaded, “We are going to be right back.”

Servo, “You need to follow orders.”

Whitwolf growled, “There are 5 of us and 1 of him. I say we take him.”

Servo, “I see how it is. None of you can follow orders. You better come back as soon as you eat. The King is not going to like any of this.”

The group of Lycans pushed their bodies onto the door. It slowly began to creak as it opened. The doors started to swing open on their own and finished with a thud. The group looked out onto the path.

Blaze licked her lips, “I wonder if they sell rabbit soup.”

Whitwolf tilted his head at her, “There is no way that they sell that.”

Whitwolf looked back at his brother. “You are hurt. You better stay here. I will bring you back something.”

Shirwolf smiled, “Thanks, brother.”

The rest of the Lycans ran out onto the path. They turned back into ponies as they ran. Shirwolf watched the group disappear into the forest. Servo slammed his claw into the door.

------------------------

Shadow and Applejack galloped across Ponyville as fast as they could. In the distance, they came up to the last store with its lights on. The pony at the counter was just starting to sweep and turn off the light.

Shadow yelled, “Stop!”

The pony frowned at them. “I was just starting to close up.”

Shadow stated, “Please, we only need a few things.”

The pony rolled her eyes, “Ok, but make it fast.”

Applejack and Shadow galloped into the store. Shadow used his magic to grab a cart quickly.

Applejack turned to Shadow, “Do you want some fruit?”

Shadow shook his head, “No. I need to get things with protein in them.”

“Why is that?”

“It is a Lycan thing. You need to eat protein, or you get sick and pass out.”

“Like falling asleep,” Applejack realized.

“Yeah, but you don’t wake up.”

“We are in the wrong store, then. They don’t sell meat.”

The store owner chimed in, “Hurry up! I should have closed 5 minutes ago.”

Shadow turned to her, “I am. Thank you for letting us in.”

Shadow used his magic to levitate a jar and showed it to Applejack, “Anything like this. Peanut butter has protein in it.”

Shadow put the jar and a few others into the cart. Shadow went down another aisle and put a carton of eggs in the cart.

Applejack trotted up to the cart, “Do these beans count?”

Shadow smiled, “Yesss, they do.” And then Shadow hovered a few more cans into the cart.

Shadow looked at Applejack. “I can’t think of anything else that has protein in it.”

Just then, the cans exploded out of the cart and fell on the ground. Shadow screamed out, “Ah!! What the!" as he jumped back and almost fell into Applejack. Applejack did not even flinch.

Pinkie Pie was now sitting in the cart. She yelled, "You could always make Quessadellas."

Shadow sat with his mouth ajar, “Where did you come from?”

Applejack grinned, “She does that.”

Pinkie Pie walked up to the counter and placed a tray of cupcakes on it.

The store owner looked irritated and said, “No, we are closed.”

Pinkie Pie begged, “Oh, come on! I got here before closing time.”

The store lady grit her teeth, “Fine, but only because I never saw you trot in.”

Shadow just watched Pinkie Pie. "I thought only unicorns could teleport."

Applejack rolled her eyes, “It’s Pinkie Pie. Don’t question it.”

Shadow said, “But it doesn’t make sense.”

Applejack said, “It never will. It hurts ma brain to think about it. Just accept it.”

The register pony said, “Come on. I don't want to be here all night.”

Shadow looked at Applejack. “What is a Quesadilla?"

Applejack looked over at the store pony and noticed her getting visibly angrier. The store pony was taping her hooves on a table. To hurry things along, Applejack focused on the shelves and ignored Shadow's question. Applejack asks, “Do we have enough food?”

Shadow levitated the cans back into the cart. “We should. We have like seven cans of beans.”

Applejack and Shadow trotted up to the register. They paid for the food, and then Shadow teleported it all into a bag. The bag disappeared.

Shadow grinned, “I love being a unicorn.”

Shadow and Applejack trotted away from the store. They stood still for a few moments. Shadow taped his hoove into the ground, creating a hole. He was unsure of what to say.

Applejack leaned into Shadow and kissed him on the cheek. Shadow blushed and smiled. “I thought that you didn’t want to kiss me.”

“I never said that. I just don’t want my friends to know that you and I are old friends.”

“Why does it matter?”

Applejack frowned, “How do I explain to them that I like the son of Luna, who is also a Lycan from another kingdom? Oh, and is over a thousand years old?”

Shadow looked down. “Good point. That does take some explaining.”

Applejack, “So why have you never brought me to the Lycan Empire?”

Shadow, “Bring you to a land filled with large dangerous creatures that would snap anypony in two. The Lycan Kingdom, where the main thing on the menu is meat. Then there is the fact that I’d have to explain to a race of meat-eaters that ponies are not going to destroy us all.”

Applejack snickered, “Yeah, that is a mouthful.”

Shadow kissed her, “It is like I said the last time, you are safer here in Ponyville.”

She put a foreleg around his neck, and he put his arm around her. She pressed her head into his, and they looked into each other's eyes. They held each other for a few minutes and smiled.

He whispered into her ear. “I don’t want to let you go.”

She whispered into his ear. “I am so glad that you are going to the Gala.”

Shadow slightly jumped at that thought. He still has not mentioned it to his team. He hoped that he could convince them. He hoped that the food and the information about Twilights library would persuade them.

They let go of each other.

Applejack stood by a sign that read Sweet Apple Acres. “Bye. See you tomorrow.”

Shadow smiled, “See you tomorrow.”

Shadow watched as she slowly trotted down the path toward the farm. He felt like a jerk. He wanted to go back to her farm with her. He wouldn’t mind being a farmer for the rest of his life as long as he could be with her. It would be worth it to wake up every morning to see her smiling.

The problem is that being a prince means that he couldn’t.

He had a pit in his stomach. He wasn’t sure if it was from watching her trot away or from the dread that he felt. The last thing that he wanted to do was talk to Servo again.

When Shadow could not see Applejack anymore, he fought off a tiny tear in his eye. He didn’t want to sob like a little foal, so he looked up at the beautiful night sky and let the wind blow through his mane.

His peace was cut off by the sound of a voice.

“Awww, I am surprised that anything makes you sad, you monster.”

Shadow looked down and growled, “Don’t call me that, General Seaspray.”

General Seaspray raised an eyebrow, “Why? After what you did earlier, you deserve it.”

General Seaspray looked at Shadow, “You really like her.”

Shadow grit his teeth, “Don’t touch her.”

General Seaspray, “I would not hurt her. She is innocent. However, she might want to know about the conversation that we had earlier.”

Shadow looked at Seaspray, “What do you want?”

“I want the pearl shards.”

“I will return them to you, but I need more time.”

“You shouldn’t have stolen them.”

“You shouldn’t have increased the price.”

“You need to learn a lesson.”

Shadow growled at Seaspray. “And who is going to teach me, chicken wing?”

Seaspray snapped his claws and two more Hippogriffs landed beside him. Shadow stopped growling and started to trot back.

Seaspray and the two hippogriffs started to trot toward Shadow. They had him cornered. Seaspray said, “Not so tough now, Little Monster.”

Shadows back hit something. He kept his eyes on Seaspray, “You are going to pay for this.”

Seaspray taunted, “What are you going to do about it?”

They heard someone say from across the path. “What are we going to do about it?”

Shadow looked over to see four members of his pack standing there. They ran in front of Shadow.

Seaspray demanded, “Go home! This doesn’t concern you.”

Whitwolf said, “Nobody touches my packmate.”

Seaspray, “Do you want to start a fight?”

Whitwolf grinned, “It is five to three. I like those odds.”

Seapray looked at Shadow, “You have 48 hours to bring me the pearl shards, or Applejack will know everything.”

Shadow smiled while he looked at his packmates.

Seaspray called below as he flew away, “All of Equestria will know.”

Shadow sighed, “That might get bad.”

Whitwolf said, “Boss, where has he been?”

Shadow, sounding almost excited, tried to explain, “I have an idea. I will tell you as soon as we get back to camp.”

Triage said, “We have to go get some food.”

Shadow, “I have that taken care of. We can eat when we get back to base.”

-------------------------

At the Castle of the Twin Sisters, things were not any better. Servo paced back and forth. A small groove had formed on the floor. Servo said to himself, “They are going to get us all in trouble, or worse.”

Shirwolf responded, “They are fine. You act like they are pups.”

Servo kept walking. “Once the king finds out, we are all in trouble.”

Shirwolf barked, “Stop pacing! You're making me dizzy.”

Servo sighed. “The King is going to be mad. Shadow has not returned, and now the others walked off. Why do I even bother? Maybe I should just walk off and not return.”

Shirwolf laid on his back. “It would save my ears.”

They both looked up when they heard a bang at the door. Servo hid behind a fallen pillar. Shirwolf sniffed the air then waged his tail.

The door opened up. Shadow and the other Lycans walked in laughing. Blaze kicked the door shut, then the room filled with a bright light as the five ponies turned back into lycans.

Blaze said, “Don’t forget, you will pay.”

Eclipse smiled, “How about two bits?”

Servo broke the laughter, “We have our orders. The orders are to stay at the camp and wait for Captain Claw.”

Shadow shook his head, “Why did you tell my dad?”

Servo answered. “What if you were in trouble?”

Shadow, “I am an alicorn. I don’t get in trouble.”

Servo growled, “That is not what I have seen. Why were you gone all day?”

Shadow, “I have a way to fix the Heart of the Lycan empire.”

There was a pause. The Lycans all looked stunned at Shadow. Shirwolf spoke up, “Are you going to tell us, or do we need to play guessing games?”

Shadow waved his paws in the air, “I saw a book on the Crystal Empire. If I can get my paws on the book, I might be able to save the Heart of The Lycan Kingdom.”

Servo groaned, “Our mission is not to get the book. Our mission is to stay here.”

Shadow calmly said, “Do we know where here is?”

Servo, “Our orders are to stay here.”

Shadow put an arm around Servo, “Stay here in the castle, in Ponyville, or stay in Equestria?”

Servo, “It just said to stay here.”

Shadow, “So we can stay ‘here’ in Ponyville and get what we need. We’d still be obeying orders.”

Servo, “I don’t think it works like-”

Shadow, “So I will stay here and get the book out of Twilight's castle, and maybe save the Empire.”

Servo questioned, “Wait! The book is where?”

Shadow tried to look casual, “It is in princess Twilight's castle.”

Servo made an X with his arms, “No! Do not sneak into a princess’s castle!”

Shadow grinned and pointed a paw at his chest. “I am not going to be sneaking. I was invited.”

Blaze chuckled, “Best king ever!”

Shadow said, “I might be able to grab the book when I am getting ready for the Gala.”

A few of the Lycans cheered for him.

Servo looked disgusted, “No! No! You do not need to go to any Gala.”

Shirwolf said, “What are you going to do? Rat out us all?”

Whitwolf said, “He should at least try.”

Servo pleaded, “That is going against orders.”

Shadow responded, “I am not going to go that far away. With one howl, I can be back.”

Shirwolf looked at his brother. “Should we vote on it then?”

Whitwolf and Shirwolf both nodded at each other and raised a paw. Blaze and Eclipse soon raised a paw. Triage looked sheepishly at the pack. She then slowly lifted a paw into the air.

Servo shrugged his shoulders, “I guess I am getting outvoted.”

The pack giggled.

Servo sighed, “I am not going to stop you, but you need to come back right after the Gala because of what your dad is going to do if you cause any more problems.”

The pack cheered.

Servo sat in a corner and kicked some pebbles around. He sighed, “I am going to be fired out of a cannon. Into the sun.”

Author's Note:

Wow that chapter was fun to write. what did everyone think. Did anyone expect that! I can't wait for the Gala. Is anypony else excited!!

Have a great day everpony!