> The Nightmare's Apprentice
>  by Epicburst
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue: Shade's Upbringing
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


The Nightmare's Apprentice
Prologue: Shade's Upbringing


Princess Celestia loved the afternoon. All of her meetings were finished, the paperwork has been signed and sent, and it was almost time for dinner. The royal sister sighed softly, slowly walking through the castle gardens. The rainbows of colors and sweet scents of beautiful flowers from all over the world welcomed her and lured her deeper inside. Princess Celestia walked towards the center of the castle gardens to her favorite spot, a rectangular bed of roses. She released another sigh of comfort as she towered over the plants. Slowly, she began lowering herself onto them, just like she did while she was a foal. Princess Celestia let her breathing slow, and her mind wander, as sleep-

"NO!"

Princess Celestia's eyes snapped open, her brief reminiscence of her foalhood shattered before her as Luna's cry of defiance rang through the afternoon sky.

"Luna!"




Princess Luna yawned softly as she aided the moon in its nightly dance across the sky. When began its dance without aid, the lunar princess retired to her chamber. Princess Luna grumbled softly as she climbed into her bed. For the past couple weeks, she herself has been having nightmares. She performed all of the regular spells and wards to herself as she would other ponies, but nothing helped. Before she knew it, her head hit the pillow, and she was thrust into dreamland.

She was having the same dream, just like all the others. It was always the same, yet she never remembered it happening before. In fact, she barely remembered anything about being the Mare in the Moon. Dread racked her body as she swiftly retreated into the depths of the Everfree Forest to her own castle. With practiced ease, she found herself trotting deeper and deeper into the castle until she reached a large chamber veiled in darkness. Luna's nose crinkled slightly as the stale odor of mold, decay, and waste rose through the door to meet her.

She entered the chamber, just like she has hundred of times in her dreams, and like she must have hundreds in the real world. Her vision adjusted quickly to the familiar scene of cages, chains, and other brutal devices that Luna hasn't seen in thousands of years, but her mind did not. No matter how much she begged for the vision to pass, or how many times she forced it to change, it was always showed her the same scene of her brutally torturing foals.  Nightmare Moon entered the chamber, a malevolent  smile etched her features as the guard behind her lit a torch. Princess Luna was unable to hold onto a shiver that forced its way out. She begged once more to whatever spirit was causing this unbreakable vision, but to no avail. Nightmare Moon walked deviously towards the small cages, no bigger than her wing length, that were filled with foals. 

Princess Luna wished she was still stuck on the moon. At least then her thoughts wouldn't be ravaged by nightmares. She cringed as she heard the screaming begin. For what felt like hours, she watched as her evil doppelganger savagely tore apart the colts hides. They tried to beg, to move further into the cage, but there was no room. Princess Luna realized that a few of the colts were not moving, and she thought they were really brave, until she realized that they were long dead and beginning to rot. All the princess could do was watch as the foals hides were torn apart by the brutal lashings, the young ones writhing atop of the fortunate ones that were able to die.

Finally Nightmare Moon granted them mercy and stopped. Walking slowly to the next cage, she couldn't help but smile as she saw no movement from within. Looks like she could retire early today. She paused for a moment to bask in the ecstasy that was her chamber. The wailing of young foals, the beautiful aroma of the weak and conquered corpses, what could be better? Nightmare Moon snapped out of her euphoria as she heard a yawn and movement coming from within the cage of corpses.

"What," asked the young colt from within. "aren't I lucky enough to get whipped to?"

Princess Luna glared at the young foal who dared to challenge her. Of course, she was ready for this. She dropped her standard leather whip, and picked up her chain, barbed whip. As she snapped it against the cage, the foal did not flinch, but instead, he turned to his side.

"Just make sure you get my good side, alright?"

Nightmare Moon spent the next half hour tearing apart the challengers hide. She grinned as she left him writhing as well, but just like the other days, he made no cries, just the regular grunts of discomfort he usually did. Nightmare Moon turned towards the steps and nodded towards the guard, queuing him to extinguish the torches.

"W-wait!" cried a filly. "Y-you never feed us anymore . . . w-what are we supposed to eat?"

Nightmare Moon lashed her tail to the side in frustration. "You have meat in there don't you? You don't want it to spoil." Nightmare Moon grinned wickedly as the room was filled with desperate whimpers from the trapped children. Her work was done for the day, and tomorrow, she planned on feeding them to a dragon.

"NO!"

Princess Luna's eyes snapped open as her body was thrown into a panic. The line between thoughts and actions was erased as she began to yell erratically and move her body in multiple directions at once, leaving her seizing on her bed as her muscles began to spasm violently.

Princess Celestia blasted her sister's door aside and charged in. Seeing her younger sister gripped by panic, she trotted over and held her the loving embrace Luna knew so well.

"Hush now Sister, all is safe." Celestia cooed softly.

Celestia continued hugging and petting her sister's mane gently and began rocking back and forth. Before long, Luna's muffled cries were replaced by cries of fear. Despite the fact that her younger sister's tears were matting her pearl white coat, she didn't care. The problem was getting worse as the weeks passed, and before long they would be out of control.

After a while, Luna's sobs subsided. Letting the silence stretch on, Luna just wished she could disappear again. She knew what would happen next: Her sister would ask her what her dream was about, and she would say that it was the same one, but not remember what it was about. After an hour of this, Luna would curl up in bed for the rest of the day and try to figure out what the dream meant.

Princess Celestia sighed softly, noting her sister's discomfort. "I'm sorry Luna," she said, nuzzling her younger sister softly. "We must talk about this." The younger mare looked up at her sister sadly. "If these dreams you keep happening are too powerful for even you to control, then you must talk about it! I know you are afraid, but this problem will only get worse if you keep it bottled up, okay?"

Princess Luna nodded slowly, unsure of where, or how to begin. "Celestia?" The pearl mare looked down at her sister questioningly, silently asking her to continue. "What happened when we were Nightmare Moon? W-we don't remember anything." 

Nodding, Princess Celestia sat on the edge of Luna's bed. "I don't know how long you were carrying all of your resentment for Luna, but the day you revealed the form of Nightmare Moon, you disappeared. Each passing day, I could feel something stirring. So when you finally revealed yourself, we fought. That battle destroyed our old castle in the Everfree Forest. I underestimated your power, and fell under your might. When I came to, I made the decision to use the Elements of Harmony to banish you to the moon, Immortalizing you as the Mare in the Moon. After a thousand years, you became known as a ponies tale. Once Twilight warned me of your inevitable return, I didn't believe her, but I knew that the friends that she would make in Ponyville would be able to recharge the Elements, and set you free."

Princess Luna listened in awe as her sister recalled details that she had long since forgotten, or that were completely foreign to her. At the end of her sister's tale, Princess Luna sighed heavily with guilt.

"Sister . . . We've done a terrible thing." 

Before Princess Celestia could inquire further, Luna casted a modified dreamwalking spell. Instead of it being casted on herself to enter other ponies dreams, this one targeted both herself and her sister, in order to review the one dream. Seeing the dream twice in one day did not make Princess Luna feel any better, and the fact that her sister was watching by her side did her no comfort. What was even more soul crushing was that as she turned towards her sister for advice, she saw the one thing she hoped she would never see again. Her sister was crying.

"T-Tia . . ." Princess Luna stepped towards her sister tentatively. Princess Celestia made no attempt to wipe away her tears as her sister approached. "We . . . we don't know what to do." Luna stared desperately at her older sibling, begging for her guidance.

"Go to sleep," Celestia said solemnly, wiping away her tears and turning towards the door. "It seems like you've got a lot to think about."

Princess Luna was stunned, Does she really expect me to sleep with those nightmares? "Sister, you don't understand! I can't go back to-"

Princess Luna was stopped mid sentence as her sister inflicted her with a sleep spell. Before she knew it, she collapsed onto the floor, forced to deal with her hellish dreamscape alone.





Princess Luna was stunned. For the first time in months, she was having a different dream. In this one, Nightmare Moon was nowhere in sight, and her ears filled with the quiet sobs of young foals.

"I-I don't want to die!"

"I want to go home!"

"Somepony help us!"

The young colt covered his ears, failing miserably to block the desperate wails and prayers to Celestia. He groaned in discomfort, wiggling deeper among the dead for warmth. The place he was in was cramped, cold, and terrifying. He no longer knew how long it has been since he was taken, but he knew for sure that he was one of the youngest. At first, he couldn't keep his mind strait. The torture was agonizing, and the Keeper was terrifying. It wasn't until he realized that despite him being the youngest, he was the strongest. He needed to save them, any way possible.

Eventually his cage slowly grew less cramped, and he hated himself for silently thanking his keeper for it. With the space I was given, I can sleep easier, gain more strength, and protect the weak.

"Everypony please!" his call swiftly silenced the chamber. "You're just giving her what she wants! She wants to hear us scream, and beg, and cry, just like newborn foals! Just keep calm and-"

"Oh shut up you flank kisser!" Another voice from the adjacent cage growled. "You think you're all high and mighty because everypony else in that cage is dead! While seven of us are cramped together! Just admit it, you killed them didn't you! They all just dropped dead like flies, there are younger fillies in this cage that lasted longer!"

The colt held his tongue. Of course he couldn't deny what those in the other cage thought of him, the entire time he practically begged the Keeper to punish him worse then the others. He knew they wouldn't survive, so he granted them an early respite.

"So what if I did." Please forgive me for this "What are you going to do about it Amber?"

The young colt could feel the tension snap, as Amber bellowed in agony. "YOU KILLED MY SISTER YOU LITTLE BLANKFLANK! IT'S TIME TO TEACH YOU A LESSON!"

"Listen, I didn't kill your sister without purpose! She was suffering, and she knew she couldn't-" The young colt was cut off by the sound of a sickening crunch. Tears sprang to his eyes, his body racked with sobs as he pictured his older brother's face one last time. "T-thank you for saving him for me Amber. He never deserved to suffer at the claws of a dragon."

Before Amber could respond, they heard the defining sound of the door creaking open. Each step of the Keeper echoed through the chamber and blasted through his chest. His body seized in panic as his mind clawed desperately for any type of sanity. Finally, the thunderous hoof steps ended. A whimper of fear left his lips as he heard shuffling echoing through the dark room. The young colt stretched and mentally braced himself to stare into the eye of Tartarus itself.

The foal cringed as the hoofsteps continued in the darkness. Not knowing where the Keeper was, his mind began going through worse case scenarios. None of which could have prepaired him for what happened next. Before he could make sense of the small buzzing sound, something sparked inside the other cage, erupting into an inferno.

The blaze's heat blinded him, The screams of agony deafined him. All he could do was watch as the last of his friends were eaten alive by the carnivorous flame. By the end of it, the young foal was choking on the stench of cooked ponies.

Nightmare Moon smiled. After an entire month, she finally broke him. At this point he was willing to do anything she asked of him. Her grin grew wider as she realized that her plan could work. With a little training, this foal will become Celestia's demise.

"You like your meat medium, don't you?"

Opening his cage, she gripped him in her magic and levitated the limp body in the air. As she did so, she realized that he was unconscious. Her malevolent grin grew wider as she began to have fun with him, throwing him against the floor. Among the sounds of snapping bones, she was able to hear a small yelp of pain.

"Good, you're awake." Nightmare Moon stepped closer to the crumpled foal, eager to begin. "What is your name?"

The foal, who was teetering on the edge of consciousness, turned away from her. Foolishly thinking that she wasn't even there, or maybe just some kind of dream. A well placed kick to the side staggered the young foal, gripping his entire body in pain. She didn't care though, for every second that he refused to answer, that was every second he wished he would be swallowed by Tartarus. Nightmare Moon continued kicking, stomping, and tossing the young foal around before a strangled cry reached her ears.

"S-Shade!" The young colt coughed, partially choking on his own blood pooling inside his mouth. As he responded, the magical grip he found himself in dissipated.

Nightmare Moon couldn't resist smiling. The foal that had openly mocked her, defied her, and challenged her was nothing more than a child begging for mercy. Perfect, let his training begin. 

Luna's dream began to accelerate. Days passed in what only felt like hours. In that time, it was almost like Shade would be praised with a mothers love for his obedience, and with her fury for any mistake or hesitation. The next few days were filled with vigorous amount of training. They would spar with weapons, read for a break, and than spar with magic. Both Luna and Nightmare Moon were impressed at the speed of which he grasped new material, and how effectively he used them in combat. Before long, it went from Nightmare Moon blasting him across the castle, to him swatting her attacks aside like they were nothing. This is exactly what she hoped would happen. She has crafted a foal who could conquer anypony without hesitation, and tomorrow, he would kill a dragon.





Princess Luna groaned. Her head protesting as she rose to her hooves. She couldn't believe what she dreamed. Was she really torturing foals just because of her jealousy? Shaking the thoughts away, she walked to her sister's chambers. It was when she made it to the door when she realized how upset she made her sister. Luna could not inform her of something even worse then before. She couldn't inform her that for months she allowed children to murder the weak, and then forced them to feed off their corpses. She didn't realize that the door she was staring at for the past five minutes opened, revealing Princess Celestia.

"Luna," she began, her tone hinted an expertly crafted lightness that one could only gain after centuries of leadership. "Did you have another nightmare?" Princess Luna stared at her sister, this wasn't like her. Luna could see past the centuries of practice Princess Celestia had under her hoof, and was not fooled by her tone. Celestia was on edge, a mixture of fear and fury that only Luna could surface. The only thing that made her wish to be back on the moon.

"I did . . ." Princess Luna responded slowly, picking each of her words carefully, not wishing to antagonize her sister any further. "This one was about a single foal, a young colt named Shade." Luna looked up to see a look of disgust on her Celestia's face. "Sister please!" Luna yelled, unable to take the decimating force of disappointment radiating off of her sister. "I don't know any of this! I-I don't know what happened!"

Celestia looked at her begging sister, pleading for her forgiveness. Her expression did not change. "Is the foal still alive?"

"I-I don't know, his training was going well, but . . . Nightmare Moon said something about him slaying a dragon."

The moment Luna finished her sentence, Celestia retired once more to her chamber, closing the door behind her. Luna stared at her older sister's door. This is all my fault. She thought. I should have done something to stop this. I should have never returned from the moon. Luna sat at the throne numb. She never enjoyed her sister's disappointment, but for the first time, she wish she had somepony to wish upon to make this pain stop.

"I'm . . . so sorry."




"Yes, keep going." NIghtmare Moon beamed as her weapon of Celestia's destruction fought four of her guards at spear point. Expertly tearing through their defenses, then savagely tearing apart their armor.

Nightmare paused as Shade hovered over the last of her guards. Shade was dripping with sweat, his black coat gleaming underneath his armor. He raised the spear tip from the soldier's throat.

"What do you think you're doing? Finish him!" Nightmare Moon urged.

"I won't kill him." Shade said, shaking his head and stepping back. "He knows that he lost, and if he doesn't then I would be more than happy to tell him that myself." Shade's voice was hard and empty. The young colt's spirit being crushed days before now. He hated himself for silently wishing that the guard didn't make one last effort to win the battle. He wanted to crush his apponent. He needed to destroy his soul.

The gates to the arena opened once more as two griffons entered the battlefield. Their heavy, yellow armor gleamed in the minimal light that he was alowed to have. Taking to the air, the griffons began to circle him. Shade knew that they were better equipped then he was, but he had magic, they didn't.

Shade closed his eyes and focused. The memories of Nightmare Moon's teachings echoed in his mind. Unlike Celestia's empire, we do not use simple levitations and beams of light. While you are under my reign, you will use the Black Arts. Draw power from the Aether, bend it to your will, and use it to crush your foes. Shade felt the Aether's energy - Mana, she told him- flow through him. He smiled as he felt his horn fill with the magical energy, knowing that it was the end for Feather-Brain #1.

On his will, his horn erupted in flames. Focusing on Feather-Brain #1, he propelled the fireball forward, leaving a burning griffon wailing in agony as he burned to a crisp. Before he was finished admiring his good hoofwork, a searing pain engulfed his rump. Turning, He noted a javelin embedded about three inches deep. Silently scolding himself, he let his left leg go limp, trying to make his muscles contract as little as possible around the skewer.

Following a flash of movement, Shade spotted Feather-Brain #2 taking the the sky with a second javelin at the ready. Grunting with effort, he spun himself around. Readying himself, he raised his right fore hoof, and aimed an attached crossbow at his aggressor. Seeing this, the Griffon through his Javelin. Shade cursed as the jagged edge raked against his armor, nipping hungrily at his hide. Shade adjusted his aim swiftly and fired an arrow, he let out an exhausted sigh of relief as the arrow pierced his opponent's wing, grounding the beast.

Not wanting to take any chances, he began to fire bolt after bolt. The Griffon grunted with effort, as he took a Javelin and began twirling it at high speed. Blocking all five bolts with an expertly practiced maneuver. Shade began panting heavily, his head light from blood loss. In a last ditch effort, he hastily channeled mana, launching a small fireball. Instead of hitting the Griffon, the fireball intercepted his Javelin, causing it to erupt in flames. 

The Griffon had enough of these games and charged. Seeing this, Shade charged also. As they rapidly closed the distance, his body screamed at him. His left side wailing in agonizing pain. Before they clashed, Shade's body collapsed, sending him sliding underneath the Griffon.

As Shade tumbled on the ground, he loosed an explosive shockwave. The last thing he saw was the Griffon turning to ash.

I'm sorry 57, at least by my hooves, you didn't have to suffer.

Shade grumbled. His head was killing him, almost as bad as his side. Opening his eye's slowly, he was wasn't surprised to see corpses and other matter that has long decayed.

Great, I'm back in my cage.

Suddenly, he was back in his cage. His wounds still open and bleeding profusely.

Ponyfeathers! Shade jumped to his hooves. Turning, he examined his wounds, and immediately wished he didn't. He was bleeding from the middle of his ribs down to his rump. The gash luckily wasn't very deep, but it obviously was infected. White puss, yellow ooze, and something green all harvested on or around the gash.

Shade groaned in disgust as he examined his wound further. At this rate, he was going to die before his eighth birthday.

He sighed and looked towards his hooves. Wriggling his hooves in between corpses, he stood in silent agony. Patiently waiting his next task.

Excuse me 42. Sorry about that 27.

What kind of pony would he be if he just pushed his friends around like they were nothing?

The next day was the final test. He was finally going to face a dragon. He knew that this is what he was protecting the others from. Those ponies could not handle the pressure.





Nightmare Moon growled in disgust as she flew to her sister's castle. He took down a forsaken dragon! She split the air with yet another battlecry. A foal no more then eight years of age can't be stronger than her! She was ready. She was going to kill her sister, reclaim Equestria, and plunge it into an ever lasting night! As she approached the castle, she cast one last spell: Chronostasis. Her pupil will never walk this earth again; if anypony would betray her it would be him.

Nightmare Moon cast the spell, locking her apprentice in time permanently. The only thing she forgot about was the egg.





Princess Luna woke with a jolt. Her mind was racing, she finally understood her nightmares. Summoning parchment and quill, she wrote a quick letter. She had no time to waste. She didn't care about how informal it was, all she cared about was correcting her mistake as fast as possible.



Dear Twilight Sparkle and Friends,

Twilight, you must do exactly as I ask. I am undoing an ancient spell. A spell that I haven't cast since I first appeared as Nightmare Moon. Please, In a few hours you will see a young foal appearing out of the Everfree Forest. He will have a black coat, red eyes, and a dark blue mane. He is a unicorn with an unusually shaped horn. It curves sharply forward, coming past his snout. He may or may not be wearing armor. You must help him. He is my worst regret as a monster. I'm begging you.

Your's truly,
Princess Luna



Princess Luna sent the letter. Finally, after so long, she could finally be free of all this guilt. She would be able to peacefully patrol the night, guarding over her subjects dreams instead of locked in her own. After so long without sleep, she was more then ready to repay her debts to her own subconscious.

Princess Celestia glared at her sister as she walked towards her chambers, completely drained. That foal was her final act as betrayal towards me. Celestia thought as she grabbed her own quill and parchment.



Dear Twilight Sparkle,

This letter may be short, but that should only convey its urgency. If you find a foal from inside the Everfree Forest, you must destroy him as quickly as you can without mercy. I urge you. YOU MUST NOT HESITATE! This foal is the last remaining reminance of Nightmare Moon and he must be destroyed. Do not fail me Twilight.

Signed,
Princess Celestia


> Chapter 1: A World of Regret
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


The Nightmare's Apprentice
Chapter 1: A World of Regret


Chronostasis is a powerful thing, so powerful in fact, that Starswirl the Bearded used it to single hoofedly drive back the dragons, lock himself away in his home to work on a years worth of calculations, and to make an attempt to defy the bloody end of the Elements of Harmony. What he discovered about such a spell, is that it can go one of three ways. The first way is that you are aware that you are in Chronostasis, and you are powerful enough to bend the spell to your will, like Discord; the second is that you have no idea you are under Chronostasis, locked away in your own subconscious for what seems like seconds, like Shade; while the third is that you're highly resistant to most magics, able to shrug it off like it's nothing, like Shade's dragon friend Petal. 

When you have no idea you're under Chronostasis, and you're not strong enough to bend the spell, you're stuck. While your body and conscious mind only feel seconds slip by, your subconscious goes hyperactive. At first it begins to panic, unable to comprehend its situation. If you have a close friend with you, your subconscious mind will begin to make connections with theirs.





Knight to E7

Go fish!

Wait what? Petal, I thought we were playing chess?

Chess is boring! We played 3268 chess matches, 5932 games of tic tac toe, and 9642 silent games! You really haven't matured have you? 

Do you wanna play again?

No, I don't want to play again! I want to get out of this cage! I want to go someplace else without creepy skeletons looking at me!

"They aren't skeletons, they're my friends!" Shade snapped pressing his muzzle against Petal's.

Petal jumped back, startled by the harshness in her friends voice, murderous tone, and sudden movement. Blinking once, she began to smile. She almost forgotten what his voice sounded like after such a long time being stuck.

"What's so funny?" Shade asked, tilting his head to the side.

"You're moving! It's been such a long time since you last moved, I thought that you were going to be stuck forever! We can finally escape!"

"R-really? The last time I was free was so than I could do that favor for Mistress Moon, and that was only a moment ago!"

Petal shook her head, eager to end this conversation and escape. "No, the last time you were free from the spell was a full moon ago." Seeing his perplexion, she sighed. "Let's not dwell on the complexities of relativity, let's go! Break the cage so we can get out of here."

Thank you Nightmare Shade thought, as his horn ignited with flame. Creating a huge fireball, he lobbed it at the cramped cage, blasting it to thousands of pieces.

"Oops." Shade apologized, rubbing the back of his head with a hoof. "That never worked when I tried it before."

"Let's go!" Petal yelled from the top of the stairs. "Aren't you hungry?"

"Starving," Shade replied, trotting up the stairs. "I'm going to get my armor first."

Looking around the dark castle, he felt magic emanating from a wall, and trotted over to it. Feeling around, he bumped into the familiar equipment chest, and took the time to put on his gear.

Attaching his small crossbow and a quiver of bolts, Shade followed the sound of the dragoness's soft humming.

As they trotted towards the entrance, Shade looked around. The castle was in ruins, making it obvious that nopony has been here in a very long time.

"Hey, what happened here?"

Petal slowed down reluctantly, and turned to look at Shade, walking tentatively towards a picture of Nightmare Moon. She grinned as she decided to have a little fun.

Shade had no idea what to do. He hasn't seen his mentor in such a long time. Why is she looking at me like that? I-is she mad at me? Tucking his tail under his belly and lowering himself down to the ground, he inched himself forward. How did she catch us?  I thought she was asleep by now! Before he could begin his cries for mercy, Nightmare Moon herself tugged at his dark blue mane.

"Ahh!" He cried.

Instinctively, Shade focused on drawing mana, and pulsing it outwords, creating a brief inferno. As soon as the spell was cast, he realized his mistake: He just attacked Nightmare Moon. Figuring that all hope was lost for any type of reconciliation, Shade dropped to his side and curled in a ball, prepared for the 'Thousand Lashings of Disobedience'. Forgetting that he was wearing his armor, Shade tried his best to curl up tighter. His body armor, however, was made of a very strong, and very inflexible, metal. Allowing him to just lay straight.

When the lashings never came, he decided to risk opening his eyes. First the left one, then the right one. As his eyes opened, he saw Petal on the floor laughing.

"Y-you should have saw your face!" She cried in between fits of laughter. "I-I swear you almost wet yourself!"

Shade's heart pounded in his chest, and his ears rang. He glared at her coldly. "That's not funny! I thought Nightmare Moon came back!"

Petal stopped laughing and looked at him seriously, rolling herself back onto four claws. "You would have liked that, wouldn't you?"

Shade's ears splayed on his head. The small colt blushed slightly as he cantered forward. Of course he would have liked it if Nightmare Moon came back. Despite everything that happened, she was the first pony that showed any hint of caring for him. Regardless if that care was shown by keeping him in a small cage with decaying colts being his only form of food, at least he would have somepony to care about him.

Of course you like her!

She didn't have you slain in the dead of night!

You're nothing more then her mercenary!

You meant nothing to her!

Silence! Every last one of you, just be quiet!

As his mind waged war with lost souls, Shade didn't realize that he trotted outside the castle. Seeing the change of light from the back of his eyelids, he opened them curiously. Almost instantly, he wished he hadn't.

"M-My eyes!"

Petal cantered swiftly to his side, forcefully placing her claws over her friend's eyes. She chuckled as he fell to the ground, failing miserably at hiding from the blinding light. Eventually, Shade's breathing slowed as he got over his initial shock. Now the only thing that was left was his rage.

"What the hay! Why is that fireball so bright? W-where'd the moon go?" Shade asked each question with more and more venom on his tongue. Eventually, he became frustrated enough to launch ice at the sun in a desperate attempt to see it extinguished.

His plan didn't work out so well.

With his eye's clamped shut, he could not see where the sun was, and just started shooting blind. Although he wasn't able to the evil sun, he did defeat a tree, bush, and a rock.

Petal swatted Shade's muzzle, scolding him for his brashness. "Shade, is that the way you get what you want? Why don't you ask the sun very nicely to go away, and maybe it will."

"Haw haw haw, very funny Petal." Shade scoffed as he slowly tried to open his eyes, only to clamp them back shut. "Let's head back inside, I don't like how bright it is out here."

Petal and Shade retreated back into the castle. Although Shade wanted to go deeper inside where it was pitch black, Petal kept him by the entrance, where a few rays shone through. Eventually, Shade opened his eyes again, grateful for the darkness. Eventually, Petal figured that Shade must have fallen asleep with his eyes open again, because for the next half hour, Petal could feel his eyes fixated on the back of her head.

"Okay, what's wrong with you!" Petal yelled, not being able to take the feeling of his glowing red eyes boring into her soul.

Shade jumped, taking a half step back. Confused at his friend's sudden yelling, he tried to figure out what was wrong. After a long, uncomfortable silence, Petal groaned.

"You were staring at me."

"Really?"

"Yes you were! That's why I asked why you were staring at me!"

"Oh um . . ." Shade looked at his hooves uncomfortably, unsure where to begin.

"What's wrong?" Petal asked, brushing him gently with her tail.

"Oh . . . your scales . . . they're shiny." Shade said slowly, becoming transfixed once again by Petal's spectacularly bright, glistening, rose colored scales.

"You haven't seen them?" Petal asked, smiling softly as his face edged ever closer to her scales.

Shade shook his head. "It's too dark in the cages," he responded, never taking his eye off of his slightly distorted reflection. "and I always return from Her requests before moonset."

Petal almost completely forgot about the requests he used to get. For the longest time, after she hatched, Shade would occasionally break free from Nightmare's Chronostasis. He would leave the cage, always forcing her back in if she were to get out, and leave for what seemed like hours. He would then come back, undress from his armor, get back into the cage, cry for hours, then become locked in time once again. Shade didn't know Petal could see in the dark, that's why he always made it a point to cry in silence, so he wouldn't worry her. The problem was that she could see in the dark, and she was worried. Not so much for the tears, but for the stained blood on his coat.

Even while Nightmare Moon was gone, she could still tell Shade who to kill, and he would do it without a second thought.

"Would you like to touch them?"

Shade nodded swiftly, eagerly rubbing his hoof across her scales for the next hour. Petal scolded him when he would go to low, or when he tried to pull. Eventually, he let loose a yawn and rested his muzzle on his friend's back.

Petal bristled her scales, gently waking the young foal.

"Take your armor off before you go to sleep."

Shade stood and trudged a few steps to the side. Lighting his horn, he casted the only transformation spell he knew: an equipment spell. As the spell was cast, his armor fell in a giant heap around his hooves. Yawning, Shade returned to his Dragonic companion and rested his head on her side. He was fast asleep before he could be asked to scoot over.





The sun was shining in Ponyville. Everypony in town was enjoying the sunshine and the nice warm summer breeze. It was too bad that the six mares inside the Golden Oaks Library couldn't enjoy it. In fact, it might as well have been a graveyard.

Twilight stood over the two parchments. Her mind was racing in a torrent of confusion, fear, anger, and disappointment. Around her stood her closest friends: Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and her number one assistant Spike.

Even Pinkie Pie, the best pony there was to make you smile, was frowning.

"Twi', what the hay is goin' on here?" Applejack asked, rereading over the two Princess's requests.

Twilight frowned. What was she supposed to do? All of her friends where counting on her to make the first move, yet she couldn't. She wanted to help Princess Luna, yet she never wanted to disobey her mentor. Even though she was right, the guilt of how she acted almost crushed her.

"If Princess Celestia is asking us, Equestria's last line of defense, and the Elements of Harmony, to save it, then we must."

Everypony nodded in understanding. All except a yellow ball hiding pressed into the corner, trying to escape the thick air of troubled minds.

"Fluttershy darling, what do you think on the matter?" Rarity asked, bringing comfort to her scared friend with a hoof on the back.

"I . . . I couldn't hurt anypony. Not even if Princess Celestia asked us to. I-I'm sorry . . ." The shy Pegasus began to shy further away from her friends, fearful that the room would erupt with objections and other dissaproving voices.

"Look," Spike sighed, fatigued by worrying about the six ponies'sconstent jabbering. "I don't think that we would be able to help what happens here. If we try and do it fairly, somepony won't get what they want, and the Elements won't work if something bad happens. Why not just bring the foal in, and see what happens from there?"

"Spike, that's it!" Applejack exclaimed. "Girls, ah don' know 'bout ya'll, but ah don't think this little foal could be much worse then Discord!"

Her friends nodded in agreement. Unless this foal who was supposed to be coming out of the Everfree Forest can manipulate ponies minds and bend reality, there was no reason to treat him worse than Discord.

"I'm sorry girls, but I can't do that." Twilight said quietly, slowly shaking her head. When she saw them looking at her confused, she decided to elaborate. "The Princess trusts me enough to take care of this problem, and I won't fail her now. This is obviously very important to her, and if she wants the foal destroyed, there has to be a good reason for it."

"I'm with Twilight on this one girls." Rainbow Dash said, placing a bookmark in the newest Daring Do book. "Look, I highly doubt Princess Celestia would tell us to do anything that would lead to the destruction of Equestria, and I highly doubt she would make us go out in the middle of the night and assassinate any random foal that just so happens to be Princess Luna's apprentice." The others nodded as Rainbow Dash continued. "What if her apprentice is super evil or something?"

Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie looked at the two mares with apprehension. Were they really willing to go out their and slay a poor foal?

Sensing the tension in the room, Spike walked in between the two groups.

"So how about this," He began looking towards Twilight, then to Fluttershy. "You girls first try reforming him, but if it doesn't work, or if he hurts somepony, then you use your Elements."

Everypony nodded in agreement. Twilight walked over to her number one assistant and gave him an affectionate nuzzle.

"Thanks Spike." Twilight turned back towards her friends. "Why don't we all just spend the night here? Just in case something happens."





Shade hated the night. That wasn't to say that he preferred to be under Celestia's sun, but he still hated it. The main reason for his discomfort under Luna's moon were the souls. At night, all fifty seven souls of long dead Ponies, Griffons, and other creatures that he killed, came back with a vengence.

You'll kill anypony, won't you?

Nopony loves you anymore.

You should go straight to Tartarus!

Do you even care about the lives you ruined!

We are the only ones who know your worst fears.

We will tell the world, that Shade is no more than a murderer!

Burn him alive! That's what he did to me!

Poison the meat that he eats!

You cannibal! You never even eaten  a blade of grass!

How could you tear me away from my two foals!

Open him up and hear him beg for mercy!

Break his horn and stab him with it!

You killed your own brother!

Send him to the sun!

You're sadistic! You shouldn't even been born!

Your own parents regretted having you!

You were a mistake! A foalish prank of Discord's to make us suffer!

Kill him in his sleep!


The rants of the souls became more and more vivid. All sorts of ways to kill him mercilessly. No matter how they said they would kill him, it all came back to one topic: Kill him in his sleep. They liked this plan the most.

Shade could no longer take it anymore. His conscience gnawed away at his heart until he could feel nothing but agony. The worst part was: He couldn't even deny any of the accusations.

"Will you just BE QUIET!"

Shade's eyes snapped open, and his breath was coming to him in ragged gasps.As his vision cleared, he realized he was curled up in a ball, with tears streaming down his face. Beside him was Petal, her wings fully extended and her body raised in a combat stance.

As Shade continued to pant for air, Petal folded her wings and dropped back on four legs.

"Shade?" The name's owner knew exactly what she was going to ask next by the tone of her voice. "Did you have another nightmare?" Petal asked softly, looking him dead in the eyes. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Shade turned towards his armor pile and ignited his horn. As the armor assembled around his body, he looked outside. We'll be waiting for you.

"Let's keep moving." Shade noticed the look of concern on Petal's face and sighed softly. "Please, just don't let me fall asleep."

Confused by the odd request, Petal didn't notice that Shade started heading out. Trotting in order to catch up, she fell in line right behind the young pony. 

They continued at a brisk trot through the Everfree Forest, and it wasn't until moonset that Shade's stomach growled, and they slowed down.

"Why are we stopping, I'm not tired yet." Complained Shade.

Petal just shook her head. "Of course you're not tired yet, when your stomach growls that means you're hungry! Go hunt for something, just remember that I like my meat cooked."

Shade nodded at Petal and began to walk off. He didn't make it far until he stopped and turned back around.

"How would you want me to do it?" Shade asked, his voice growing colder at the thought of his next kill.

"Try using electricity this time, you've burned enough things for one day."

Shade nodded and trotted further into the Everfree Forest.

Shade walked slower and slower the farther he got inside the forest. His heart fluttered with excitement as his imagination went haywire. Visions of deer falling victim to thunderbolts, the cries of fawn as their tiny hearts quit under the enormous voltage. The image of one deer collapsing as it took a crossbow bolt to the neck.

Shade stopped completely as he entered a clearing. Looking around him, his ears splayed back as he saw two deer feeding off plants. A doe and a faun. Closing his eyes, Shade pictured how he would manipulate the mana. The bolt will fire at the faun, killing it. It then jumps to the doe, stunning it. Shade smiled as he felt energy fill his horn, crackling softly with electricity. Opening his eyes, he aimed at the faun's heart, and fired.

Shade was stunned by what he saw. Blue electricity arched from his horn, strait into the faun. From there, a smaller bolt jumped from the faun to its mother, giving her a heart attack. That was exactly how he pictured it, and it all happened in less then a second. Remembering that the mother was still alive, he galloped over to her and leaned over her ear.

"I'm sorry." He whispered as he jammed his sharpened horn through the suffering mother's throat.

Shade's ears perked up as he sensed something from the treeline. Before Shade could inquire any further, terror gripped at his chest. Turning, he saw a figure coming at him from the sky, so he lit up his horn, and soon it was crackling with electricity. Shade remembered how he was supposed to prepare himself for battle. One by one, every muscle in his body flexed. His stance shifted to that of a crouch so he could avoid the avian's talons and claws. Lastly, he let the world around him slip into the background of strange colorless blobs, the only thing he cared about was his target, who was now enveloped in a red glow.

Foreseeing the flight path of his opponent, Shade assaulted it relentlessly as blue lightning arched from his horn into the victim's body. The creatures flight path shifted into a dive. Switching tactics, Shade's horn dropped to freezing temperatures. Focusing on the wings, he launched five ice spikes. All of them were completely ineffective.

Before Shade could do anything else, he felt a familiar, yet sharp pain in his muzzle. Shade fell hard on his rump, staring forward and rubbing his muzzle. The colors of the world around him were filled in, as the shapes became more distinct then blobs. Petal stood in front of him, her eyes a mixture relief, annoyance, and a hint of something he couldn't name. Petal sighed softly and pulled him into a hug.

"You panicked again, didn't you?" Petal sighed as Shade nodded in disappointment. "I knew I shouldn't have let you out of my sight. This place is no place for foals you know."

Shade pulled himself out of the hug roughly, and turned himself away from his friend. "I'm not a foal! I'm a warrior that was hoof picked by Nightmare Moon!" Before Petal could argue, Shade said something that he began to regret even before it left his muzzle. "How could I possibly kill a dragon like you?"

The look of fury that etched Petal's features was furious enough to rival Nightmare Moon. Shade knew better not to mention the fact that she came from a dragon egg that he chose to spare years ago, and the fact that she never shown her discomfort towards the fact that her mother was killed scared him even more.

Within seconds, a decade of suppressed rage, frustration, and depression poured out of the dragoness. "You of all ponies should know that Shade! You should know damn well how to kill a dragon, figuring you killed my mother!" Shade's ears splayed backwards, yet Petal didn't care about his fear of her right now. If she was going to say it, now was the best time. "Oh, but how would I know your mother?" Petal exclaimed in a rudely satirized mimic of Shade. "Because you plucked my egg right out from her den! You killed my mother Shade, but did you ever apologize for it? NO!" Petal began backing Shade into a tree. "If you did apologize, should I even accept it? So far, you apologize by hatching me inside your crummy old cage, forced me to sleep on rotting foal carcasses,  and whenever you would go out on Nightmare's assassinations, you still wouldn't let me out! You left me in there for ten years!"

Steam began hissing out of the dragoness' nose. The release of anger that has been stored for a decade showed no sign of slowing. "But do you want to know why I stayed with you this far Shade?" Petal glared at the foal, forcing his eyes to meet hers. "It's because of that look you had whenever you returned from those missions Nightmare sent you on. That look of agony written in your eyes. Unlike you, I was never trapped in time. So instead of breaking free, I decided to see what's inside that sick, twisted head of yours. I spent months in your head before you found me Shade! I know you even better than you know yourself, and do you want to know what I figured out? I figured out that you're a monster! You are a sick little monster that's just trying to run home back to his mother. But you want to know the funny part? YOUR MOTHER NEVER WANTED YOU! SHE WAS THE ONE THAT TOSSED YOU IN THAT CAGE! So what do you do Shade? You just get yourself a new mommy. The closest thing you've had was Nightmare Moon, and she hated you! Every single day of your miserable life she tried to kill you, but when she couldn't, you were made her champion that's supposed to destroy the Elements of Harmony and kill Celestia, but you don't even know how. So now I'm stuck keeping my eyes on you, because you're now my responsibility! You say that you're a warrior, but you're so foalish, you think paintings on the forsaken walls are the real thing! Now, for everypony that you kill, their blood is on my claws! Just like the blood of my mother is on your hooves."

Petal sighed as the years of pent up anger vanished into venomous words. Looking underneath her, she saw tears streaming down Shade's face.

"Look, I know why you killed those fifty six ponies, and I know that they don't understand but-" Petal stopped as Shade began to shake his head.

"Fifty seven . . . one of Nightmare's requests was a twofer."

"Do you even think before you say the things that you say!" Petal yelled in defeat and began walking towards the treeline. "Look, I can't be with you right now, just . . . stay close. I'll find you later." On that note, Petal trotted through the thin barricade of trees, and disappeared. 

Shade was stunned. What just happened? He wracked his brain, desperate to learn of any form of reconciliation with his friend. Shade gasped as he remembered that Petal was leaving. Swiftly, he raced in the direction she left in, and slowly worked his way through the trees. His heart sunk as all he could see was the side of a cottage.

Shade snapped out of his stupor when a drop of moisture landed on his cheek. Sniffling, he wiped the tear off his cheek. Sighing to himself, he looked up at the dark storm clouds. As Shade crossed over a small bridge, more and more tears began to stream down his face. He continued walking aimlessly, silently crying to himself.

I'm not crying! Warriors don't cry! Only foals cry because their friends leave them! It's . . . just the rain . . . As the last thought left his subconscious, the storm began.

The wind howled like a pack of timberwolves. The rain battered him like its goal was to strip him of his hide, every droplet stinging like a bee. Eventually, the weight of Petal's words were too much for the young foal, and the realization that he may never see his friend again.

You killed my mother Shade!

I know you better than you know yourself!

You're a sick, little monster!

Your own mother didn't want you!

Your mother was the one who tossed you in that cage!

With each recollection Shade made, he could feel a little bit of his spirit fade. My own friend doesn't even like me! Eventually, the realization that he had absolutely nopony anymore was too much, and he collapsed. For the first time in his life, he sobbed vocally. As his body was wracked with sobs, he screamed in a mixture of regret, confusion and fury, hoping to draw somepony's attention. For the first time in his life, he knew he couldn't stand alone, and he begged for somepony - anypony to help him. As he wailed into the night sky, his voice was ripped away by the wind. He was alone.





Big Macintosh has long since remembered all the sounds the house could make. The thudding of Winona's tail coming from Applebloom's room. The creaking of the stairs, and of Granny Smith's rocking chair. The gentle pinging of rainwater falling into the leak bucket in the living room, and Applebloom's snoring. It was none of these sounds that woke him up though. This sound seemed to be battling the wind. This sound was only heard for a second before it set him on edge.

A foal was wailing in pain.

Big Macintosh shot out of bed, determined to rescue the foal. Entering the hallway, he walked down the wooden stairs as quietly as possible, which for him, wasn't quiet at all.

His heavy frame making the stairs creak with every step, almost tripping over Applebloom's rubber ducky, and giving a startled grunt as he was almost sent cascading down the steps were just the most noticeable of issues.

As he trotted over to the front door, the screen was swinging wildly. He haphazardly placed an apple bucket by the door. Using the frequent flashes of lightning as his only light source, Big Macintosh began searching for the foal.

With his mind racing, Big Macintosh never noticed the full strength of the storm. The violent gusts of wind, and the liquid projectile bullets that were propelled along with it. With another flash of lightning, the red stallion noticed a small, uncharacteristic lump in the middle of the road. As he trotted to the now unconscious foal, desperate to help at any cost, his mind stopped.

Lightning flashed above, and thunder roared shortly after. Big Macintosh never noticed the marks on his body made from the water that now clawed at him. All he saw was the foal. The foal of shadows with the glowing red eyes. The foal that plagued his nightmares from foalhood until now. 

Now he could get his revenge. After all, who wouldn't want to kill their parents murderer?
> Chapter 2: The Shattered Past 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Big Macintosh's mind was racing. The foal whose coat was battered by the rain looked exactly the same as he did ten years ago when he murdered his parents.

He couldn't help but release a soft chuckle. For years after he witnessed his parents murder, he had nightmares. He always pictured that the very next day, the monster would come back. Even when he grew up into a stallion, he always pictured a stallion coming back into the house and stabing him in the dark. Now the tables were turned. Now he was going to destroy this evil beast. It was as easy as crushing an apple.

Big Macintosh lifted his hoof off of the foal's skull, prepared to jam it into his skull.

"Kill him in his sleep!"

Two voices rang in his ears. They sounded so familiar, yet so distant.

"Kill him in his sleep!"

"Macintosh!"

The name's owner snapped out of focus, his hoof weakly colliding with the foal's head, but without enough force to accomplish his revenge plan. Turning, he saw a drenched Granny Smith.

"Ah know ya ain't doin' what ah think yer doin'. Why would ya do such a thing!" Granny's voice struggled to overcome the force of the storm.

"She doesn't know anything! Kill him in his sleep!"

"Don't touch him Macintosh, ah know ya must be angry, but enough to kill a foal?" Granny Smith trotted over to Big Macintosh and touched him on the shoulder. "Ah know it hurts, but not like this."

Big Macintosh sighed heavily. "What do ah tell Applejack Granny? What about Applebloom?" Big Macintosh looked back down at the foal. His coat now soaked in mud. "What can ah tell 'em Granny? 'This here foal is the one who killed John an' Honeycrisp, an' he's stayin' with us for a while?' Ah can't do that Granny!" Big Macintosh shook his head vehemently. "If ah kill 'em now, it'll save him the trouble of dyin' in this storm."

Granny Smith shook her head and turned back towards the house. "An' what'll Applejack say if she saw a dead foal outside? Would ya leave Applebloom out in this storm because she made a mistake?"

"He ruined our lives Granny!" Big Macintosh roared, his booming voice being accentuated with a flash of lightning and a boom of thunder. " He took away the greatest thing that ever happened to this family! Applebloom hardly even knew 'em!"

The withered, green mare turned slowly and nuzzled the stallion. "Then ya need ta ask yerself, 'what would Ma an' Pa do?' Ah know they'll show ya the way." Granny Smith turned and walked into the house. Leaving Big Macintosh with his thoughts.

He sighed heavily. What would Ma an' Pa do? Transfixed on the thought, he was surprised at how forcefully the the answer presented itself.

We would kill him in his sleep!

Grumbling, Big Macintosh changed the question. What would Applejack do? Thinking hard, he pictured his younger sister picking him up gently, and racing back inside. She would carry him into the guest bedroom and make him as comfortable as possible. He could see Applejack trying to figure out how to get that armor of his off, and deciding to call in Twilight for help.

Big Macintosh sighed, he might as well get Twilight after bringing the foal in. Slowly, but not carefully, he carried the foal in; letting him bump into walls and the floor a couple times was did not bring him the same satisfaction as killing him would, but passive aggression would have to do.

After setting the foal down roughly on the guest room's bed, he prepared himself for the storm; equipping himself with a poncho, he set out at full gallop towards the library.





Despite it being past midnight, all six ponies and one dragon were wide awake having a fun time. Pinkie decided to make their stay an official 'Braving the Storm Slumber Party' party, and it was in full swing. Marshmallows were being roasted, Spike was going back and forth between the kitchen and the library bringing more and more goodies, pillows were being stacked for an eventful pillow fight, and the laughter was cheerful and light.

It wasn't until Big Macintosh's hoof thundered against the door that the party was over. Curiously, Spike walked over and opened the door, being sent reeling from the red stalion's forceful hoof.

"Big Macintosh?" Applejack began trotting towards the door. "What brings ya over here in the middle of this storm? An' why are ya comin' over so late?"

"Applejack, Ah need ya ta come home, right now." Big Macintosh's voice, which was usually serious, carried a hard edge to it. Applejack knew that this wasn't a request.

Immediately, Applejack knew something was terribly wrong. With a reassurring nod from her friends, She braced herself and charged into the storm, swiftly followed by six other ponies and a dragon.

The journey to Sweet Apple Acres wasn't usually a long one. The usually uneventful treck instead was filled with a caravan of stumbling mares, falling branches, and curses that were lost in the gale. Soon, the six mares and dragon found themselves exhausted against the brutal harassment of the Everfree's strength. As they stumbled forward, they struggled to follow the calmly walking stallion in front of them. Finally, the caravan of ponies made it to Sweet Apple Acres, and went inside.

Thankful for the respite, everypony let loose a sigh of relief. The comfort of shelter didn't last long though as Big Macintosh turned towards them and told Applejack to come upstairs. Despite being inside, and the warmth of the fire flooding the house, the atmosphere was thick with danger. As they walked up, with every step they took, everypony could feel that something was not right; this feeling being accentuated by roars of thunder, growls of wind, and the pounding of water.

Big Macintosh led them into the guest room. All appeared normal at first glance, until they saw the small black foul on the bed. Tenatiously coming closer, Applejack decided to get a better look. She noticed his tail was frayed and frazzled, and his muzzle was matted with blood.

"What's that he's wearin'?" Applejack questioned.

They all looked at the young foal who was roughly set on the bed. His black fur was being covered by glowing, dark blue armor of some kind. Twilight looked closer, and unlike the Royal Guard's armor, this one had no straps to be found. It curved tightly around the black foal, and expanded as his chest filled with air, yet as she knocked a hoof against it, the strange armor seemed unyielding to any outside force.

Taking a pace backward, Twilight performed a basic disruption spell, ending the lingering magic that held the armor together. As the spell was cast, the effect was immediate; Shade's armor fell to pieces around his small frame.

"Look at him!" Rarity gasped, taking a tentative step forward. "The poor darling looks simply dreadful!"

The six mares drew closer to the young foal, examining the deep gashes, scars, and other abnormalities of his midnight black coat and Spike climbed on Twilight's back to get a better look. Applejack turned when she heard her older brother grumble, and walk out of the spare room. Curious, Applejack followed.

As she entered the hallway, Applejack was surprised to see that her older brother, a mature stallion that wasn't the quickest to violence, was fuming. She noticed all of the warning signs: Ears splayed back, wild eyes, lashing tail, and twitchy hooves.

"Big Mac," Applejack called as she entered the hallway. "what's wrong with ya? What's gotcha all riled up?"

Big Macintosh let loose a frustrated sigh, the thoughts in his mind relentlessly urging him to get his revenge on the monster who killed his parents.

"Applejack?" Big Macintosh huffed slowly, "Ya don't remember what happened, do ya?" As he watched his sister, her face showed confusion, disapointment, and a hint of anger. Big Macintosh slid over next to his sister, who was trying to pretend like she had no idea what he was talking about. "applejack," Big Macintosh sighed. "Do you remember what happened to our parents?"

Applejack sighed. The only thing she remembered about her parents was that Big Macintosh, the loud, mischivious, outgoing, stallion became silent. Ever since that day, for whatever reason, her older brother changed forever.

"What happened to ya Mac'?" She asked, her voice dropping to a whisper as she looked tentatively at Applebloom's door.

"Ah saw AJ . . ." Applejack looked up, her eyes gleaming with tears. "Ah saw 'em get killed."

"What?" Applejack's voice quivered as long repressed memories began to resurface. "Ya saw who killed 'em, an' ya never thought of tellin' me!"

Applejack glared at her older brother, her mined fogged with thoughts. Did he not trust me?

Big Macintosh sighed and nuzzled the trembling mare softly.

"Applejack," The stallion whispered in her ear, keeping his hooves around her as a restraint. "The pony that killed our parents is the one sleepin' on the bed. That foal was the one who ruined our lives."





Petal was furious. I told him to stay close! She continued to berate herself as she sliced through the night sky. Searching desperately, her ears perked as they caught a sound other than the manotamous drone of the howling wind and growling thunder.

"Look at him! He looks simply dreadful!"

Petal's wings pumped harder as battled the storm, swiftly approaching an old house. Her scales were relentlessly assaulted by the rain, creating a dull throbbing feeling. Shaking off her discomfort, she kept searching. As the wind tore at her wings, and the rain battered her body, she finally found the source of sound. A small farmhouse just outside of town. Flying roughly around the perimeter, she looked for the sound's source. Finally, she found the room she was looking for, and perched outside. Peeking through the window, she saw the prone form of Shade, lying in a tight ball. This was the weakest she's ever seen him. Petal couldn't help but feel a mixture of anger and shame.

He depended on me! How could I let him down like that?! Steam hissed from her nose as her frustration grew, clouding the glass. How could I . . . How could I tell him the truth?

Petal's eyes widened as two of the ponies left, and the rest lowered their voices to whispers.

"He's an enemy of Equestria, Twilight! Look at the blood on his coat, where do you think he got that from?" The cyan mare hissed, struggling to restrain her voice to a whisper. "Why can't we just turn 'em to stone like we did with Discord?"

"Rainbow darling," Another mare walked up towards Shade. "I am all for making rational decisions, but don't you think Applejack should get a vote?"

Before anypony could nod in agreement, the front door of the room burst open, revealing an orange mare. Petal noticed that the mare was obviously upset: her eyes were filled with tears, her body was trembling, and her teeth were gritted in a vicious snarl.

"Girls!" She called, causing everypony in the room to jump. "This ends now. Mah vote is to seal him in stone so he never sees the light of day again." The five ponies looked at each other, then nodded.

As the six mares nodded, they got into formation. The purple unicorn's eyes began shining brightly, as her crown began to lift her into the air. Shortly after she was airborne, the others followed, connected to a rainbow colored tendril. One by one, the tendril passed through the other's necklaces and grew substantially in power. It wasn't until the tendril passed through the orange one that Petal knew something was terribly wrong. The colorful energy was swiftly corrupted by a dark, evil one, reflecting her wishes perfectly. Before any of the mares could react, the dark energy funneled and launched itself towards Shade.

Petal gasped as the house shook violently, and a huge beam shot outward, eliminating everything that got in its way. As the beam died down, and the smoke cleared, she realized that the room was filled with rubble, and there was no sign of there ever being a bed, a wall, or a sleeping black foal. He was destroyed.





The souls had him right where they wanted him: In a dream. At first, they just showed him random dreams, things that Shade had forgot, yet never wanted to remember. When they saw that wasn't hurting him like they thought it would, they started showing visions of family members. Not all of them were his family, but it included Petal's mother, his mother, and the parents of young foals. They showed him the dragoness's death over and over again. At first he was shocked at how cold he could be, even with his best friend. After the twentieth time, he began to feel numb. The wound they opened was dried out of blood.

Then they struck home. The spirit he hated the most showed him how much he was unloved. Tossed into torture by his own mother. The spirit showed how, from the very beginning, he was never wanted. After his birth he was left for dead, but when he survived, his mother never cared for him like she did with the other foals. She would scold them for acknowledging his existence, beat him whenever he stepped hoof inside the house, and constantly berate him. You will never be loved! The closest thing you will ever have to it is just the bait in a web of lies!

She was right.

Shade could accept the fact that she was just letting off steam, but she was telling the truth. It wasn't the fact that Petal's words hurt him, which they did, it was the fact that he heard two voices assaulting him. Petal's voice, and her soul. She was speaking the truth, and with every fiber of her being, she hated him. The one friend he ever had thought that he was a monster. Petal thought that he was just a burden that needed to be contained, a mistake, a bastard.

The visions faded, and he was alone with the spirit. For some reason, even after a millennium, he still remembered his mother's name: Solaris. She reminded him that she moved on; she reminded him how much pain he caused her, and how he must be destroyed. Her voice rang in his ears. Not angry, but regal. The voice she used when she didn't want to show her emotions. She began telling him to wake up, that it wasn't his turn to die yet, that he didn't deserve this. She was lying.

That's why Nightmare Moon had him. His mother never cared what happened, as long as she was no longer involved with his life, and as long as he wouldn't show his face around her anymore. Yet Nightmare Moon did her a favor. Nightmare Moon forged him into a weapon. Something they could both use for revenge. At first, the feeling was mutual. Nightmare Moon agreed to let him get his revenge first. She let him out in the dead of night, into his mother's home, and into her room. He took care of the rest. Nightmare even showed him his brand, a jagged imprint of a wisp that he was branded with since he was first trapped in a cage. She told him that this meant destruction; a savagery that would tear his opponents apart from their very souls.

Sadly, Shade didn't feel very powerful at the moment. His visions faded and his mind cleared. He was as close as he was going to get to waking up. As awake as the souls will let him.

The spirits were giving him hell. Now that he was asleep, they could get their revenge. All at once, he was subjected to everything the souls wanted to do to him. Everything that Shade did to them. Simultaneously, he was torn to shreds, burned alive, crushed, choked, drowned, suffocated, skinned, and every other horrible thing he did to them; the spirits rejoiced, their excitement growing as they subjected him to more and more tortures. Shade couldn't escape. His soul was in too many fragments, each piece holding a small piece of consciousness.

He couldn't take it anymore. Shade's corporeal form began to writhe in agony. Aside from his screams, all he could hear was the laughter. Laughter that hasn't been heard since the defeat of Discord, or the end of the Dragon war. Finally, Shade understood. All of these ponies that were each slaughtering his soul in as many ways as they possibly could, they were trapped. None of their souls could make it to Tartarus, because they weren't finished yet. They all had one desire, one last wish: Revenge.They were rejoicing that their only wish had come true, and they could finally rest in peace.

As each of the seventy six souls dispersed, Shade collected his mangled remains. As he collected the final piece of his mutilated soul, he realized that he was now completely alone. Now nopony wanted anything to do with him. His ears splayed back as he saw a light, a painful light. As the light bathed him, it was not with brightness, just pure pain. A strong, yet familiar powerful agony.

This was the same pain he felt when his mother had abandoned him. Whatever this light was made of, it was from his mother. Even after all these years, Solaris was still ruining his life. As the light ebbed, even more feeling washed over Shade's body. His ears rang violently, and his entire body tingled. As Shade looked around, he realized that the dreamscape was shattering.





Applejack panted hard as all of her energy left her body. Every ounce of anger she felt a minute a go was nowhere to be found as she was lowered to the ground by the magical embrace. She was about to allow herself to fall asleep until she felt like something was wrong. Looking at her friends, their eyes were wide in fear. Turning, Applejack realized that half of the room was gone. The ceiling, the wall, and everything with it was destroyed. Outside was a trail of destruction. Rows upon rows of trees were obliterated, all leading towards the east field where a crater was the apparent epicenter of destruction.

"What happened!" Twilight gasped, awed by the destructive force of the Elements. 

"Everything's destroyed!"

"We killed him!"

"Girls!" Twilight stomped her hoof violently, shattering the panic in the room. "Spike, send a letter to Princess Celestia and tell her what happened, see if she can give us any helpful information." Twilight nodded as her number one assistant saluted and began writing a note to the princess. "We should check things out, try and figure out what happened. Big Macintosh can stay here and start cleaning things up."

Applejack shook her head. "Twi' there ain't anythin' to clean! This room is completely destroyed! It's missing a ceiling, a wall, and it's filled with water!"

Nodding with understanding, the seven ponies trotted outside to check out the damage. It was alot worse than it looked. All of the trees in the general area of the impact have been destroyed. The blast let out some type of radiation that killed them within seconds. The crater was glowing with a strange black energy, one that Twilight hasn't felt since she opened King Sombra's door in the Crystal Empire. How could something like this happen? Twilight thought as she examined the wreckage closer. How could the Elements of Harmony cause such destruction?

At this range, everypony could feel the energy emanating from the crater. A dark, hungry energy that washed over them slowly, like a timberwolf stalking its pray. As the ponies stalked closer, they could make out a shape in the center of the hole. Its power wracking there bodies every second. The figure struggled to lift itself to four hooves, desperately battling the violent weather that pounded its small frame.





Energy. That's all he felt, enough of it to make Pinkie Pie look like she was in a coma. He wasn't sure what happened after he was awake, or how exactly he survived the blast, but he didn't care. With this power, he could do anything. Destroy anypony. He could feel his entire body working. Air rushing into his lungs as he inhaled, blood rushing through his body. He could feel the mud shift as his weight did. Yet he couldn't feel the rain. The storm of the Everfree no longer mattered to him, it wasn't worthy. He could end it with just a thought. I control this storm! Shade began shifting through his memories, of a blue sky and no clouds in sight. He asked for clear weather, and the Aether granted it. Within seconds, the clouds dispersed, and the wind slowed. The only thing remaining in the sky was Celestia's sun.

As Shade grew fully concious of his surroundings, he realized the gashes on his body. Blood and dirt soaked his fur, his mane and tail were a mess, and one of his ribs pushed against his flesh, threatining to tear through. Shade grunted as he pictured himself in perfect health, before this entire thing happened, and once again, the Aether granted his wishes. Whatever this energy was, he wanted more.

Shade jumped slightly as the voices of mares rang in his ears, and instantly, he was equipped with his armor, ready for battle. They tried their best to kill him, and they failed. Now it was his turn, and he was going to show them the importance of getting this right the first time. He faced the six mares on the edge of the crater, watching in horror as he casually walked towards them. I'm going to make them pay.

"What is your name!" Shade called as he walked up the slick mud without trepidation. Shade smiled as his vision began to go gray, and his lust for battle grew. "I must know the name of my next victim so I can send you directly into the pits of Tartarus!"

Shade's focus shattered as the six souls infront of him disappeared. As his bloodlust ended, he realized that he was in the middle of a field with nothing but Appletrees.

"You already know my name."

Shade turned towards the voice behind him, surprised that somepony could catch him so off guard. He reared on his back hooves and spun, ready to destroy the intruder, until he realized that it was none other than Princess Celestia. The one he was destined to murder.

"What brings you here?" Shade asked calmly, closing the gap between him and his pray. "Don't you know what I'm going to do to you now?" Shade's eyes flared with anger, his read irises piercing through into Celestia's soul. "I'm going to kill you."

Before Celestia could react, Shade begun his attack, launching wave after wave of dark energy towards the solar princess, giving her no time to do anything except to dodge. Shade was moving faster now, never pausing, never hesitating. Only launching barrage after barrage of energy. He smiled as Celestia slipped, allowing one of the dark blasts to skewer her hind leg.

"You lied to me!" Shade screamed as the princess writhed in agony. "Why even dare challenge me? You know you will just fall like the others." Shade snarled at the princess and leveled his horn towards her face. "What a waste, I thought this would be more fun. Seeing you again, I thought things would change. It's over; goodbye Princess Celestia."

Princess Celestia smiled. Just as naive as ever. Princess Celestia flared her horn. With the proximity being so close, the full force of the purge tore through Shade's body, ripping the new energy out of him. Princess Celestia sighed softly as the young foal's body fell onto her.

"Princess Celestia!" The name's owner sighed softly as she recognized her student's voice. This would not look good, and avoiding the situation was impossible. Grunting, Celestia ignored the fire in her thigh and forced herself to stand.

"Princess, what happened? Are you okay? Princess, I'm so sorry, I don't know what happened!" Princess Celestia smiled as her student released a barrage of questions.

"I got your letter Twilight, figuring out what happened, I decided to bring you girls back to the library, I had to take him on alone." Princess Celestia looked at the six ponies in front of her. Their gaze shifting from her to the seemingly dead foal.

"D-did you?"

Celestia shook her head. "No, I only removed the energy that you charged him with; Chaos. While charging the Elements of Harmony, you need to maintain a clear mind. But if you let it get fogged, especially with the thoughts of causing pain or suffering, they become corrupted. I assume one of you has some ties with this him, ties that must be resolved before his departure."

Twilight knew what she meant by departure, and she knew that they had to destroy him, but what did she mean by ties? What did they have left to do with this foal?

Before Twilight could inquire further, Applejack took a pace forward. Her face guilty and her eyes cast down. "Yes Princess. Ah guess Ah do have a rather . . . personal matter to deal with him."

Princess Celestia nodded, a distracted look lightly etched her features.

"Don't we all."





"Look, I don't care when the librarian will be back! Where in Tartarus is she!"

Spike was confused. After he sent the letter to Princess Celestia, he began working on his daily chores. An hour of dusting books, another cataloging all of their conditions. A third creating more lists for Twilight, and writing a reminder to restock on apples. As Spike was in the middle of polishing his gem collection, he heard a loud crash.

Usually that meant Rainbow Dash was visiting, so he wasn't very motivated to stop working. It was when he heard the crashing of shelves and other displays that Twilight had set up for different experiments that week. Suddenly, he found himself in front of a beautiful dragoness. Wait, what?

Spike's reflection was shattered as the alien female lashed out at him once more. Pinning him roughly against the wall, fangs gleaming. He had to think of something to say, he had to think of something to defend himself with. How could he let somepony push him around like this? That right was reserved to Twilight and Rarity only!

"Why don't you look for her yourself?"

That was the wrong answer.

Spike found himself flying across the room into a bookshelf. Grunting as rows of shelves collapsed and heavy encyclopedias and reference guides cascaded onto his body, pinning him down. A sharp hiss echoed in his ears as the scales on his back grew chilled. Spike's inner flame grew, automatically maintaining homeostasis with the changing temperatures.

Suddenly, the door opened.





As Twilight watched her mentor leave, she gripped Shade in her magic, levitating him off the ground. Agreeing on the library as a suitable place for an interrogation, they made a beeline for the Golden Oaks library. Once they arrived and opened the door, what they saw was absolute chaos.

The front door was destroyed. It's fragmented remains scattered around the floor. Month long alchemy projects that she moved upstairs were destroyed, their sensitive components either chewing through the floor, or dispersing in the air. The non-fiction section and the encyclopedia/reference section's shelves were also destroyed. Their precious cargo toppled over into a single, jumbled mountain of books, coated in a strong frost. Who could have done this?

The culprit in question was a pink, quadrupedal dragoness.

"Drop him!" Spat the intruder, crouching down, fangs gleaming.

Twilight accepted Petal's challenge, dropping the young foal from her magical grasp. Swiftly, Twilight launched five magical bolts, colliding with her skull. To Twilight's surprise, she found an ice spike in her leg.

Shit.

After all my studying, how could I forget that dragons, stronger dragons, are resistant to arcane magic?

As Twilight silently berated herself, she wondered why the floor was getting closer.





Twilight gasped. The past half hour came rushing back in a blur, but she understood one thing: She was in danger. With that dragoness around, Celestia knows what damage she could do!

Panic gripped her chest as she was surrounded by unfamiliar surroundings. Lifting herself up, she was greeted by a wave of dizziness, and a solid orange hoof. Looking around her, she was greeted by five of her friends.

"Howdy Twi'," Applejack whispered. "easy there sugarcube, everythin's alright." Noticing Twilight's confusion, Applejack explained the situation. "Yer upstairs Twi', Spike's right next to yer bed restin'. Has a mighty cold, but Fluttershy an' Pinkie are headin' to Zecora's to get him some medicine. That other dragon is here also, we wouldn't let 'er leave with the youngin'. Ya collapsed during yer bout with her, gotcha pretty good with that ice of hers, but it'll heal. We would've jumped in, but she said all she wanted was the foal. Hasn't left his side since."

Twilight swiftly processed the information. Spitting out questions, scenarios, and the like. Judging that she should check on her number one assistant first, she grunted softly as she rolled herself to the edge of the bed and peered over the edge. Spike was taking ragged breaths, like he was struggling to breath. By his feet laid his blue blanket, tossed aside in his discomfort. His body was fidgeting under the affects of a magic induced sleep that seemed a lot more like a nightmare. Hot coals wrapped in a towel laid on his forehead.

"S-Spike?" Twilight groaned as she reached a hoof down and touched his stomach.

It was ice cold.

At his mistress's touch, Spike woke instantly from his uneasy slumber, and composed himself as much as possible. He had to be strong. He couldn't let Twilight see him like this, not when she needed him so badly. He didn't know the details, but something was terribly wrong. For multiple hours after Twilight collapsed on her bed, before his body felt so cold, she was having a nightmare. Twilight was usually the brave one. If it wasn't a surprise test, she faced her problems with a level head. Most of the time. Now was one time when she needed him, and he couldn't let her down.

"Oh, hey Twi', didn't know you would be up so soon. How are you feeling?"

Twilight's heart sank. His voice is so weak . . . yet he's trying to be strong.

Without answering, Twilight wrapped Spike in her magic and hoisted him onto her bed. Climbing out from underneath the covers, She pulled Spike towards her chest, sharing her warmth with him. With practiced ease, Twilight encased both of them in the sheets. Twilight smiled at the cradle-like contraption she made. Just like when he was younger.

For the first time, Twilight got a good look at her surroundings. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity were hanging by her bed, tentatively watching the duo beneath them. A pink colored dragoness was curled around the black foal. Rocking gently back and forth, whispering something in his ear. Just like a mother would do to her foal. Just like she did to Spike. Feeling Twilight's gaze, Petal stopped her rocking. Looking back at the black foal, she whispered something in his ear, then raked his muzzle with a claw.

Within seconds, the young foal resting in her arms was awake and alert. The power of his gaze made Twilight tremble. As Shade regained his bearings, the dragoness tucked him underneath her wing, and fell asleep. Yet Shade never dropped his gaze from the four ponies above him. His soul shattering glare held unyielding, unblinking through the night, up until Pinkie and Fluttershy's return.





Shade wished Petal had woke him up sooner. With the souls in Tartarus, he thought he was free from their torment. Of course, Shade was wrong. Instead of the souls of his victims torturing and tormenting him, they just made them relive the murders from their own perspectives. Even though Shade never said it, he was happy that Petal was there with him. She woke him up before the nightmare became too much, before he would snap. Now he was alone with them. He watched every step they took, he heard every sentence they said, and he felt their unease. He was perfectly trained on the enemy. Just one mistake, and he would send them all to Tartarus. Nothing could break his concentration.

Throughout the night, Shade watched as the four ponies above them all fell asleep, and two more ponies arrived with medicine for the drake that Petal incapacitated. Before Shade knew it, night gave way to the morning. Birds began chirping, greeting the warm summer day. Shade knew that today was a day of answers. The day that whether he wanted to or not, he would have to come clean. He would need to tell Petal about her mother, not only that, but about the rest of her family too. He would have to tell them how he ruined the lives of young foals everywhere. Even worse than that, he would need to tell them about his own past.

The minutes ticked by one at a time. After an hour, Petal stretched her limbs, tail, and wings. Feeling his body against hers, she turned to him.

"Shade, about what I said before . . ."

"Don't." Shade said bluntly, squrming his way out from under the dragoness's wing. "You made it pretty clear how you felt, and how others feel about me. It's true, I am a monster, just cutting ponies down left and right. I'm dangerous."

Petal sighed. She would give up anything to make him understand. "Shade, listen to me." He wouldn't meet her gaze. "You are perhaps the strongest pony that I've ever met. You're brave, intelligent, and a wonderful friend. Yet you're afraid Shade." Petal lifted his muzzle to hers. "You're afraid of your past, you're afraid of the future, and you're suffering in the present. You don't know what's going to happen with those souls, and you don't know how other people are going to treat you. If they will abandon you like I did. Shade, I'm so sorry I left you. I know I said that nopony loves you, but I do Shade. No matter what, I will always love you, even if you kill again."

Shade stiffened as Petal wrapped him in a warm embrace. It's not that he wasn't expecting her to hug him. it was just that whenever anypony touched him, it was usually in order to kill him. Shade sighed, his last chance of escape was locked as the bell knelled eight times. If anypony didn't want to kill him yet, which they did, they definitely would by the time he was finished.

The six ponies created a semi circle around him. Trapping him in a corner. His eyes were wild, searching for any excuse to attack or to bolt, yet he found none. He prepared himself to charge as the orange colored mare stepped forward, her eyes flashing with anger. When he didn't move, he realized that Petal was standing on his tail.

Applejack took a tentative step forward. The foal in front of her looked like a cage timberwolf, prepared to do anything in order to escape. Applejack smiled. She had questions to be answered, and she wasn't afraid of poking a wolf. As Applejack sat in front of the young foal, she decided to get strait to the point.

"Who are ya'll?"

The question was left to hang as Shade refused to answer. Giving a frustrated sigh, Petal gave his muzzle a sharp blow, reminding him that refusing to answer was not an option.

" I'm Shade, that's Petal." he grumbled.

"Where did ya'll meet?"

"I found Petal as an egg in a dragon's cave. She takes care of me, and helps me care for myself."

"What did you have to do with mah folk's death?"

"Everything."

Applejack was caught off guard. The seemingly stubborn, childish foal was now staring her dead in the eyes. His expression was cold, almost lifeless. Yet it seemed eager. Eager to answer the next question. The question they all knew was coming.

"What did ya do to 'em?"

Shade's eyes flared. If it was in excitement or anger, the six mares could not tell. They took a tentative pace back as Shade gave an almost feral like grin.

"The better question is, 'what didn't I do to them?' Not much really, since they had something they wanted to protect."

The six mares were stunned. Such a small foal, with an even smaller voice that they just heard a second ago, sounded so evil.

"I entered through the second floor, a simple stream of wind took me straight to the second floor window. Once inside, I noticed a small cradle, on the side of the room. Peeking inside, I saw a small red headed filly. I was under strict orders to destroy anypony I saw by my patron, but I judged that she was not mission critical and moved on. Good thing too, I can smell that she's been here recently.

"I continued down stairs, the warmth of the fire in the den made me wonder how much hotter I could make things, but I was my patron eared me forward and reminded me of the stakes. Downstairs, I spotted one of two targets, a mare. Yet I over estimated the integrity of the home, and the floorboards gave away my position. She turned, startled, and that's when I noticed a foal in her hooves. She asked for mercy, begged me to let her put her foal down first, it was easy enough, so I granted her quarter. She asked me to give her a message. 'I'll always love you my little Appleseed.' Seconds after that, she felt the sting of my blade, and the warmth of my flame.

"That's when I heard the door slam closed behind me. I turned to see a red mountain of a stallion. He glared daggers at me and began his onslaught. He was a lot faster than I imagined he could be. Beat me half to death before I could bring him to his haunches. Just like the other, I granted him a momentary quarter. He wanted me to give his hat to the foal his wife put down to bed. After that, he too succumbed to my blade. With my mission complete, my patron granted me a pardon, and she let Petal survive."

Silence.

Everypony in the room was thinking the same thing. How could he say it so casually? It was like he was just telling a friend about his day! Everypony stood in an awkward silence. Silently wishing Applejack never asked the question in the first place. Nopony had any objections when Applejack took it upon herself to start beating him to death.





It took a few hours, but Applejack finally calmed down enough to stop ravaging the helpless colt that was underneath her. The five ponies couldn't watch the onslaught anymore. Hours of screaming filled the library. Yet there were no cries for mercy, and no mercy was given. Twilight had to handle it to the colt, he was tough. From the first blindsiding attack at his muzzle, he just stayed limp, allowing his body to be tossed, beaten, and battered like a rag doll. 

When the slaughter was over, Applejack hovered over the colt, her hooves roughly gripping his neck.

"That's enough."

For the first time, they heard the dragoness's voice. It was hard and caring, yet it gave no room for argument. For however many words she spoke, they were law.

The vibrant dragoness walked casually to the battered foal's side. Nuzzling him gently, she helped him rise to his hooves.

"Wait downstairs. I'll check up on you when I've finished here."

"O-Okay . . ."

Applejack was surprised. His entire demeanor has changed. Before and during the beating, he was cold and uncaring. He was somepony that could murder somepony else as soon as ask for their name. Yet after, he was on the verge of tears. Who the hay does he think he is?

"Please, excuse him. He can't control himself sometimes."

"Well that's no excuse! Who the hay does he think he is! How could he talk about murdering Applejack's parents as if he didn't even care! How could-"

Petal glared daggers into the boisterous cyan Pegasus that was flying before her. Effectively ending her tirade. Sighing, she closed her eyes, trying to remember happier, less complicated times. When that failed, she knew that she owed the ponies an explanation.

"There's something you must understand about him. After he was tossed into the clutches of Nightmare Moon, he was tortured, enslaved, and forged into the perfect weapon. His 'Patron' has imbued him with Chaos, so he will be almost unbeatable in battle. So his will would be unbreakable, and her hold would be undeniable. Ever since Nightmare faded, he has begun to lose control more and more. The foal you were talking to earlier was not the same foal I know, that was the weapon. Forged to destroy Celestia and her Elements of Harmony.

"I just wish there was a way to show you his past . . ."

"Wait!" Twilight jumped to her hooves. "Maybe there is! Princess Luna gave me a scroll that explained the Dreamwalking process! Maybe if I modify the spell, I can project the memories for us to see!" Receiving nods of agreement, Twilight called Spike over. "Spike, I need you to find Dreamwalking: Taking the first Step for me please." 

Saluting, Spike hopped off the bed and went to grab the scroll from the other side of the room, giving the Dragoness in the center an awkwardly wide berth. When Twilight received the scroll, she began vigorously studying, soaking, theorizing, and then modifying the information.

"I hope you don't mind darling, but this is going to take a moment, go see to your friend, we'll tell you when we're ready."

Petal nodded and walked down to the first floor. She heard it before she saw it. A part of her was glad to hear it, but the other was begging that it wasn't real, that she was mistaken. But she wasn't. In the middle of the floor was a black ball, sobs wracking its small frame. She paused, part of her stunned, another feeling like an intruder, yet most of it was in an attempt to preserve the precious display of equinity that was on display.

As Petal sat and watched, the young foal's sobs became even more agonizing, soon transforming into howls of agony. She couldn't take it anymore. The normally brave, courageous, nightmare induced foal- her foal, was dying. He no longer had the will to go on. He no longer had the will to fight the Chaos Weapon that was inside of him, and it was tearing him apart. She took a step forward and called out to her foal.

"Shade." She called gently.

Shade froze, locking himself in place. Any emotion he was showing a moment ago was long gone. There was a long pause. Minutes ticked away and he still hadn't moved, still hadn't made a sound. Just as she was starting to get worried about him, she heard a small squeak.

"They hate me . . . they all want to kill me."

Petal put a claw on his back. "No, it's not like that-"

"Stop lying to me!" Shade snapped, tearing himself away from Petal's comforting embrace. There was no more time for these lies. "They hate me just as much as you do!" Petal took a step back as Shade glared up at her, his irises becoming vertical slits. Straight into her soul. "How many times do I need to do this Petal?! How many times do I need to die inside for you to understand!" Petal silently berated herself as her flank bumped against a bookshelf. "I can't do it anymore! The only way to be free is to die, and I can't do that either! He won't let me die until I destroy the Elements of Harmony! I tried it your way Petal, I tried making friends but I just made six more enemies!

"You said that this was a good thing, that being free will make me feel better, but I'm not. I can't shake these forsaken nightmares! I'm forced to relive the killings over and over again, and it's all your fault!"

Petal needed to think quickly. The conversation's obvious conclusion that Shade would kill her. He would force her around until she made the mistake of showing her underbelly, then he would strike, sealing her fate.

"Shade, please listen to me." Petal shivered as his gaze grew even colder, his eyes unfaltering. "I know it's hard, but please, I need you to be my strong warrior one last time. That's all I'm asking."

Petal watched as his body visibly relaxed. His irises regaining their ovular shape. He sighed softly, obviously not interested in Petal's option.

"Petal?" Shade faced her once more, his eyes wild with fear. "When the time comes, and they do decide to kill me, could you do it?Only Nightmare knows what's going to happen to me."

"Shade," Petal said, draping her wing over him. "I won't let that happen, I promise you that if they want to kill you, they're going to have to kill me first."

With a promise made, Shade and Petal went upstairs to meet his fate head on.





Petal had to say. No matter how many times she said she would never say it, she just had to. Shade was messed up. Of course she had nested in his memories for a while when he was trapped in his cage, but these were different. She could tell that they were the same memories, but they were different. They were more demented. Twisted.

The six ponies sat comfortably on the bed as Shade was connected to a wooden chair. He tensed visibly as the young dragon strapped the metal headgear around his skull. Before they knew it, his memories were being projected on the wooden wall.

Within the next two hours, they played through most of his foalhood. The white mare known as Solaris, and her three children. One of them an obvious mistake. The audiance relived his torture, and the murders. They watched in awe as Shade, barely even four years old, took down a dragon. They watched as he struck out into the midnight, assassinating whoever Nightmare Moon wanted.

Petal watched as Shade tracked down his next two victims. Two pegasai on the local weather team. For some reason, the deaths of those two ponies hit the group hard. The cyan Pegasus flew out of the room in anger, and the cyan mare began to cry. This was going to be harder then she thought.





Princess Celestia scolded herself. How could I let him get away! She paced around her chambers, forgetting about her already healed wound. Hours passed before she heard a quiet knock on her door.

"'Tia? A-Are you alright?"

Celestia sighed at her sisters presence. Reluctantly, she opened the door.

"What happened to you?" Princess Luna asked, trying to conceal her eagerness for more information about her long lost student. "D-Did you kill him? Are the Elements safe? Oh please 'Tia just tell me already! You know I don't like guessing games!"

Celestia managed a small smile. Her sister's pout bring back happier memories. "No," She began, leading her sister inside. "I couldn't do it . . . After so long, I thought I was more then ready to destroy him, but I couldn't." The solar Princess growled in disgust, ashamed that her weakness could get a better of her like that. "I just don't know what to do anymore Luna."

Princess Luna walked over to her distressed sister, who was now sprawled out on her bed. "I know you think that what happened is your fault, but don't think that way. Twilight and her friends have a way of fixing things, no matter how blown out of proportion they are. The blame is not your burden to carry alone. I too had my role to play in his life, so if anything, we are both to blame."

Princess Celestia grumbled softly. How could I make this mistake? How could I just give up like that? If I would have tried harder, we wouldn't be in danger! Breaking free of her reflection, she looked up at her sister. " I couldn't do it Luna . . . After thousands of years of throwing that part of me away, I still couldn't bring myself to kill him . . . Why Luna?" The solar monarch looked to her sister, desperate for an answer, for any type of reassurance. "Why couldn't I just finish what I started so long ago?"

Princess Luna nuzzled her sister softly, stiffing a small chuckle. "No matter how much time has past, and no matter how much of your own being you throw into the depths of Tartarus, love always finds its way into ponies hearts. I don't think Cadance will be willing to help you again Celestia." Princess Luna looked her sister in her eyes. " You just need to find the right moment, and ask for your son's forgiveness. That's the only way you're going to fix the mistakes you made thousands of years ago."

Princess Celestia sighed, remembering a darker time. Next to the banishment of her own sister, it was the hardest thing she has ever done. Tossing her foal out into the cold. Yet, as the days after that decision went by, she found herself adamantly loathing her newest creation. Her resolve steeled, and she was prepared to do one of the most difficult things in her life. I must fix one of the worst mistakes of my life.