The Shadow Lands

by kento124

The Darkining Tides

Author's Note:

Writers block sucks, had one two many ideas but noon i liked. Went and smack my head agents a wall for a while be for this chapter was done and yes i know its short. I can go only so far. Hopefully this doesn't go to dark and new chapters will be rolling out soon, just need some pie. Enjoy.

He glances to the window of the study with an absent stare. The thoughts of the previous weeks still fresh, his mind slow feeding his fear of what might come to pass. The rays of Lunar light began to filter through the glass mural that laid behind him, taking notice of the added light, the dark stallion turn to the light, eyeing the pitcher with contempt and admiration. The blood red stallion surrounded with Safire flames, striking the decisive blow to what he always was told to be a dragon. As the light fade so did the slight admiration for the stallion. He always wished to hold such strength to be able to protect the common ponies. ‘Why am I forced to walk the same path as yours?’

With a deep sigh, turning his emerald eyes to the lone guard stationed just a few feet from the rooms only door. He mused with a small smile as his sight shifted from the guard to the rest of the studies many book shelves that the walls consisted of. The thoughts of his child hood spending time sneaking in to this study, reading many of the same books that now collect dust.

“Is everything alright your Highness?” The sound of her voice caught him off guard. He slowly turned back the guard, his personal knight Bella ding. Her soft tone voice and lean body was quit the contrasts. To such that it would put most of the pegasus guards and some other unicorn guard envies. Her teal coat ever fighting the royal blue and yellow of the uniform she wore.

“Sadly no. from the early reports, he’s still missing and two towns near the Wingle homestead have been getting rowdy.” He unknowingly grown out in a frustrated sigh as he began to shift through the paper work that was spread out on the desk. His eyes caught a situation report, raising it up to his face and began to read aloud, “It appears a lord grindale was hung by the local town’s people after a ‘re-educational reforming’ with towns school teacher.” He shifted the paper a little to the left so he could read Bella’s reaction.

She only raised an eyebrow asking, “re-educational reforming?”

Bellas response wasn’t too surprising but it still gave him a small grin. “He forced her into the towns square for a test. Every wrong answer she was wiped, with only fifteen seconds to answer them.” She still seemed unfazed by his answer yet he could tell that it did affect Bella. Even if the signs of it would be lost to any of the other soldiers, the small twitch in her right eye and the small motion on her lips gave away her emotions.

“He and many more are what give me head aces. Why can’t the people understand that if we don’t work together we all will suffer. By the blessed moons, if that moron would to pop up now…” He paused, shaking his head at the thought. Only when a light knock at the door did he places the idea away to fear later.

“Your highness, I have Lokin as you ordered”

“Send her in,” he responded with a slight glance to Bella who eyed Lokin as she entered. She slowly staggered into the room with what he could tell was fear. From her slight twitch of leg to the nerves fixing of her lab coat, trying to steady herself. The site Lokins fears almost confirm what he was expecting. “So what your progress on reconstruction that’s morons work?” the sound of his voice seem to strengthen her fear, which stress him more.

“Your highness, we’ve been working form what we know and whatever that was recoverable from the fire. Even then, it’s a lose grasp on his theory’s let alone the formulas.” Bella noticed the exaction on her, the heavy eyes, and the sluggish words and from what looked like a few lost pounds.
“I don’t need your excuses when you promised great results, which were said to be done in the coming weeks.”

“Yes, it’s just we have such a small understanding on how it works. He stitch together somehow a astral projection spell which a modified teleportation spell, powered by some magical sores with probably hundreds of safe and patches done to it.” Her pleads seemed to fall on death ears, with a deep sigh he razed a hoof to silence her. His eyes staring directly at Lokin stopped her body dead.

“You’re constant crying appealing. From what I’ve seen from your reports, it’s possible to perform the spell with enough power and a link. Do I need to remind you that this is more than your career. I hate to see what would happen to the Winterfeld if you are to fail.” Pausing to let his words sink in. ‘Any good work needs some incentive or nothing gets done, ‘ he thought while sending a glance to Bella to open the study’s door.

“You are free to leave now,” he stated a simple wave of his hoof. Lokin sat there frozen by what she just heard. The sheer grip of fear that struck her very core, ‘I can’t fail.’ Was her only recurring thought as she forced her seemingly frozen legs to move towards the door, “OH by the,” his words once again froze her in mid step just inside the doorway. “I don’t really care how just get it done.” With that Lokin left the room in silence.

“Well now, with that done. I’ll be waiting for our meeting for later to night since I seem to distracting you.” Bella stated before he could make a remark, she quickly opened the same door again an left His highness, king Shalin to his own thoughts again. ‘Really? You were the only thing in this room that kept me sane,’ he thought as his eye fell back onto his paper work that sat on the desk.

XxX

With each step, her mind had been replaying every conversation with Shadow, trying to find some clues that could help her. some idea, some clue, if anything to help her. “Dammit! Why? Why can’t I think of anything?” She fumed with each step, “It’s like he made so it’ll be like this just to screw with me.”

As Lokin continued to walk from his highness study, the depression that he left her with dragged down her every step, every thought of what to happen to her family when she fails. Her father’s scornful words, the same words that used to drive her, ‘You have amounted to nothing, your brothers, and cousins have all done great things for the Winterfeld name. But you, you and those petty books an weak hove have done nothing!’ his scorn seeming to cross memoir into reality as the mere thought burned her eyes.

By the time she reached the corridors far end, her mind as well as body was in near shambles. Each seconded that past by seemed to increases the wait, the pressure of everything crushing her. By the time she reached the final junction that lead to her lab, Lokin slowly stop. Her eyes focused on her labs door. As she stared, a small tear began to flow. With the drop of the first tear, Lokin’s legs began to shack. As a means to stay up right, she slowly stepped to the left; near the corridors many stonewalls for support. It failed as she slide down to the floor.

She slowly began to weep openly in the halls not care if any would hear. ‘Why!? Why can’t i figure this out? Why?’ Lokin screamed mentally as more tears fell. The tears of everything that could have gone right but went highly wrong. Every failed test, every mistake in her formula and all of her effort amounting up to nothing. In her own pity, Lokin wished she never tried.

‘Are you mad?’

The voice slowly borrowed its way into her mind, repeating it’s self as an old memory came forth. The day the two of the first meet, the day that sparked the rest of her life.

{Several years ago}

“So you wished to become my assistant? Why?” Shadow’s cheerful tone seemed to calm most of anxiety towards asking.

“Well sir wing-“

“Please don’t, just call me Shadow. If need be ad lord if you want,” His abrupt cut off caused her to clam up.

“Sorry sir, I mean lord Shadow,” His seem to strike her as piercing. “Out of all the other researchers, your theory’s and study fall in line with my own. Your spiral study’s and principle experiments of physical magic manipulation drew me toward your work.” She hoped that would be enough to convince him, that, and the lengthy list of a resume she brought with her.

“Well that’s all in and all, but even with list of accomplishments here. That still doesn’t tell me why.” His answer puzzled her. As she tried to come up with an answer that would satisfy him but he continued, “You have all of this and you chose me. Why me? My guess your ether mad or an idiot. So are you mad enough to research the endless void for answers?”

A small smile slowly crept onto Lokins face as the memory played out. She remembered that despite her say yes, she didn’t understand what he meant. It took a few seconds to click before the thought popped into her mind.

‘Are you mad?’

As she picked herself back up, swatting away the tears. She turned toward her lab’s door with a large grin plastered on her face.

“Not mad but definitely crazy.”

--

As each step drew him closer, the constant salutes from the castle guards stated to bother him. The fact they paid their respects to him out of fear that made his stomach twists into knots. For once, he wished it were out admiration. ‘Well, at least there not trying to slit my throat yet.’

Turning the right at the next juncture, a grand looking door stood just down its short hall.
It was intricately carve with a crescent moon on both sides. Paint in a multitude of blues, the light stones showing creating a deep contrast of shadows over it. The sheer sight of its beautiful design sickens him. If he could, he would’ve had it removed and thrown from a cliff.

If on a mental command, the door swung open as he approached it, revealing luxuries room. A room he grew fond of for all the wrong reasons. He quickly picked up his pace entering his bedroom, heading straight for the bed. By the sound of the door closing, he flung of himself onto the bed. ‘Finally today ends.’

The crown slipped from his head, landing just in front of his snout. He stared at with a longing look taking in like every other day, the jewel that were embedded in it. Each small curve, every small scratch, ‘Father, what I am to do?’ Letting out a sigh, he move the crown over to the night stand near the bed. The sound of a click caught his attention as he turned to what was his bookcase. The bookcase was slowly moving away from the wall revealing a passage way.

“You know making this thing move on its own, pushing it sucks,” the voice all too familiar with its complaints. He made his way off the bed, couldn’t resist a smile to the pale gray mare that walked out.

“True but, Bella, that would defeat the purpose of the secret passage then.”

“Though I’m not one of your great grandfathers bimbos now am I?” She stated walking toward him, planting her lips onto his. “Good evening Lin.”

“The same to you Bell.” ‘Father you were wrong at every corner.’

--

“My lord, were ready to begin and the center stage is ready.” The voices of all a stallion called out to her. ‘So now it begins’ she looked down to the lab, to all the researchers that volunteered to be her tonight. “I will not fail,” She noted to herself, raising a hoof to one of the consoles many buttons. With a click, a alarm sounded. Heavy steel doors slammed shut all-round the lab. The event startled the researchers still in the staging area.

“My Lord!” The sound of one of her many assistants rushing to tell her what she just did. “Every pony in the staging ground has got locked in. We have-“

“Good, that means we’re ready to begin.”

“What?! But.”

“You heard me, go to your post! Or do I need to replace you?” She could see the fear that grew in his eyes, the fear of death. As the stallion quickly made his way to his post of monitoring the output of the experiment, ‘I will not fail father.’ With a flick of another switch activated a loud speaker, “Bridged opening test, all researchers prepare for test.” The confusing voices of those still trapped in the staging area asking what was happening.

In a low whisper, “I will burn for this but Shadow, you pushed us to such methods.” She turned to a Mare researcher that stood behind her near the master control switch. The look of disbelief was painted on her face, “Start the experiment.” Lokin’s words cold as ice, made the mare hesitate. ‘She apparently has an idea of what is to happen,’ Lokin walked over to where the mare was standing. Her opal blue eyes filled with fear, the shacking of her teal colored hoof that was on the master switch.

The light of Lokins aura around her hoof caused her to yelp. With her eyes, pleading Lokin leaned in closes, “We are all guilty.” She proceeded to lower the mares hoof until a click was heard. The mare clasped to the floor as she began to cry as Lokin turned around to the screams of those still in the staging grounds. She walked up to the spot she was standing before, the sight of the researchers banging on the doors begging for us to let them in, to her surprise some were even prying.

There scream soon turn to cries of fear as the spell circle in the staging grounds began to activate. ‘Little did they know they sealed the own fate.’ As the spell pulsated through the room, their cries soon turn into those of pain. She watched as it slowly began to latch on to the closer ones as the rest cries became historical. The sight of their flesh and bone being devoured by the spell was sickening. The crying of the mare behind her was now to a whimper, trying to block out the sound of them dyeing; Lokin couldn’t handle it all. She quickly turned away, her head hung low as she empty her stomach next to her.

It was a good twenty minutes before the screams stopped. Risking the sight, Lokin looked up to find the room empty. The only evidence of those who were in there was their scorch marks on the doors, trying to blast them down and their cries that echoed through her mind. Her gaze turned to the spell circle, which surprised her. “It worked,” she whispered trying to gain back some composure. ‘It actually worked, it really did.’ Her mentally celebration was cut short by the sound of the whimpering mare and the others wondering what just happened.

“Miss, we are all guilty and forever we shall remain guilty.”