Twilight discovers a strange room containing many items lost through the ages. It also contains the skeleton of a pony, but it is not quite dead, and it escapes into Equestria. But is the necromancy practicing pony truly so evil?
Whenever Twilight no longer has a use for something, she often teleports it away without thinking of a destination. This results in the item being lost forever. But where do these objects actually go? Twilight resolves to find the answer to this question and discovers a strange room disconnected from the rest of Equestria where various objects have been banished to throughout the ages. Some of them were banished for a good reason, such as the tome on necromancy. And it turns out that the skeleton of a pony that she found isn't quite as dead as she thought, and now has access to a portal into the rest of Equestria. But is the necromancy practicing pony truly so evil?
Twilight Sparkle groaned at her own clumsiness. It was not often that she accidently let go of something she was levitating, but it did happen occasionally, especially when she let her mind wander. She stared down at the shattered remains of her drinking glass.
She shook her head and decided to take care of the mess in the same way that she usually did: by targeting the shards with an unfocused teleport spell.
The sharp glass vanished. Despite being angry with herself for being clumsy, Twilight felt a small amount of smugness at her simple solution. As she often did after employing the spell, she began to wonder where the objects that she teleported away actually went.
This caused her to remember Celestia's own words on the matter from back when Twilight was studying under her as her star pupil.
"Think very carefully about your request, Twilight. Teleportation can be very dangerous, and extremely few ponies have ever managed to master it."
"How could teleportation be dangerous?" asked a younger Twilight in an awe filled voice.
"The biggest danger is splicing. When you teleport, you must focus on every part of your body and not forget a single part. If you fail to encompass every part of your body in the spell, the parts that you forget about will be left behind. It can very easily be fatal. You must practice teleporting objects until you have achieved perfect mastery before I will even consider letting you preform the spell on yourself.
"Oh," said Twilight, now in a very worried voice. "I see. Are there are other dangers?"
"There is one other danger, but it is one very easily avoided. If you do not have a destination in mind when you preform the spell, the object that you are teleporting will vanish forever, never to be seen again. You must never do this to yourself. Fortunately, it is a mistake that you could only make on purpose, as you would never try to teleport yourself for no reason."
"It will make things vanish forever?" asked Twilight curiously.
"I believe so. It is also possible that the teleported objects are deposited somewhere in the world, perhaps at random. I do not believe that this is the case however, as nothing disposed of in this manner have ever been seen again."
"How do you know? Has anypony ever tried to do that to themselves?"
Celestia's face turned grim. "Indeed, somepony has, many years ago. Whatever happened, he became trapped and was unable to return. He was never heard from again."
And so the mystery had remained unsolved, a curiosity that Twilight would consider every time she used the spell, but too dangerous to investigate. But this time, a thought entered Twilight's head that she had never thought of before.
What if I was really careful? What if I ensured that I would have a way of getting back?
Within moments, a plan had formulated in her mind. All I need to do is create a two way portal and then teleport one end away!
For Twilight's plan to work, she needed a loose object that she would be able to teleport away, and it also needed to be flat enough to place the portal on, as well as tall enough to fit herself into should she determine that it was safe to do so. The first thing that had popped into her head was a door. She thought that this was appropriate, as she was in fact creating a 'door' to somewhere far away, assuming that the door didn't just vanish out of existence, and even though the portal would in fact just be an open hole on the front of the door, and not through it.
Doors were not something that a pony would simply go out and buy on a casual shopping trip, so she would have to order one.
The door arrived just after noon the next day. When Twilight stepped out to greet the mail pony, she couldn't help but squirm in excitement.
"Thank you so much for the swift delivery!" Twilight said to the mail pony as she closely inspected every angle of the door. "I needed this for a new experiment and I was worried that I would have to wait for-"
"Could you help me out here?" the mail pony interrupted. "This thing is pretty heavy."
Rainbow Dash happened to be flying near the library observing this spectacle.
"Now why the hay would Twilight be that excited about a door?"
Inside the library, Twilight had propped the door up against a wall in her room. For the moment, she ignored it and turned to face the bare wall on the opposite side of the room. Her horn lit up and a section of the wall was engulfed in magic.
Nothing happened to the wall, but Twilight was not expecting anything yet. The portal would open when she marked the other end. She turned back to the door and engulfed it in magic too.
An oval shaped hole appeared in the door and Twilight was suddenly looking at her own self from behind through the portal. She tried to look back at the wall, only to find that the Twilight inside that portal was looking away from her once again.
It's not so different from a mirror, Twilight thought. Only in reverse. And, I can walk through it.
To prove this statement to herself, she walked through the portal in the door and seamlessly walked into the identical room beyond. As she did so, she watched herself through the portal, studying her movement patterns from the third person. It was slightly eerie to think that she was watching herself.
Well, the portal works, Twilight thought. Now for the moment of truth!
Her magic once again engulfed the door as she prepared to teleport it away. Since Twilight had not selected a destination, distance was not a factor, so the spell was very easy to cast. The door vanished.
Slowly, Twilight turned around to face the portal that was still on the wall of her bedroom, half expecting to see only void. Instead, she gasped at what she saw.
There was a room on the other side of the portal. It looked like it was carved out of stone without any effort made to cover up the rocky floor and walls, except for several paintings that hung from the walls, all depicting ponies. The shattered drinking glass was directly in front of the portal on the ground, but, strangely, there did not seem to be any other debris. There was furniture lining the room, which was the last thing Twilight had expected. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw a couple of bookshelves stocked with books.
Hesitantly, she stuck a hoof through the portal, then immediately pulled it back, as though afraid that she would not be able to. Eventually, she built up the nerve to step into the room, being careful to avoid the sharp glass on the floor.
The first thing that she noticed was that the air was very, very stale. She almost gagged, but it was breathable. Presumably, the air would mingle with the air from the library. She would have to remember to open some windows.
She looked around. There was a door carved into the stone wall. A long table that would probably seat about sixteen ponies stretched across the middle of the room, but it's entire surface was covered with a random assortment of items, including vases, books, papers and quills, bottles containing unknown liquids, pony figurines, a half woven rug, and piles of unidentifiable metal scraps.
Possibly, thought Twilight, these are all things that ponies have teleported away. But how did they get like this?
Twilight saw that one of the books on large table was laying open, but was terribly damaged. Despite this, it looked as though somepony had been reading it.
This is the Daring Do book that Rainbow Dash accidently mangled when she tried reading and flying at the same time! she thought. It was damaged beyond repair. I had to 'get rid of it' and purchase a new copy!
Somepony else has been here, Twilight reasoned. I could hardly expect to be the first to make it here. She tried not to think why a pony would spend their time in the strange place reading a book that they could easily obtain throughout Equestria.
Other furniture included end tables (Again, not an inch of surface space to be had,) benches, a writing station with a matching chair, a coat rack with a single black robe, and a large piano (Who would throw something so expensive away?).
Twilight suddenly saw something laying on the ground on the other side of the room. She walked closer to it and discovered that it was the skeletal remains of a pony. On its back lay a dark grey metal kite shield. The pony appeared to have no other possessions on it. He appeared to have died while curled up on the ground. Twilight tried not to think about it.
"Oh my..." whispered Twilight. She had an idea about who this could be. She crouched down to investigate the remains in detail.
Judging by the skeletal structure, it had been a stallion. There was no way of telling how old the remains were, other than that it had been a very long time since he had died. The pony's horn looked to be unchanged from the process of decay, but his wings were reduced to a relatively unsubstantial extension of bones.
Twilight froze in place as she realized that she was standing over the remains of an ancient alicorn. She was struggling to get a response from her brain.
Finally, a thought managed to make its way into her head. Why didn't the princess tell me?
Twilight continued her examination extra thoroughly, but she was unable to find any indications of who the pony had been. She finally gave up and decided to investigate the book shelves instead.
There were a great many ancient books on the shelves, which excited her immensely, but there were also more recent publications.
As Twilight moved on to the last shelf, the titles of the books suddenly became very sinister.
"How to summon a demon," said Twilight in shock. She continued to read titles aloud. "Advanced Necromancy Theory. 101 Ways to Serve Brussel Sprouts."
It's no wonder that these particular books have been banished! These books are evil!
She turned away from the bookshelf, feeling repulsed. She looked at the stone door, then shrugged and walked toward it.
The door was heavier than usual, but not overwhelmingly so. When she had pushed it open, she gasped at what lay on the other side.
The room beyond was huge. There was also one feature about it that was overwhelmingly dominant. The entire room was packed with shelves carved out of stone, and on the shelves was the hugest and most various collection of junk that Twilight had ever seen. Unlike almost everything in the first room, most of the items here were either broken or useless and unappealing.
Twilight did not bother stepping into the room. She slowly closed the door again. She decided that she had seen enough to satisfy her curiosity for the moment. Now she was going to seek some answers.
She walked back through her portal and found herself in her bedroom once again. She wasted no time in grabbing some paper and a quill.
Dear Princess Celestia,
You may recall that you once told me that nopony knows what happens to objects sent away by an unfocused teleport spell. I decided to investigate the matter myself and took precautions to ensure my safe return. I have succeeded and discovered a strange place closed off from the outside world. It appears to be full of items of all descriptions, including a few forbidden tomes. It is good that these volumes have been hidden from the eyes of those who would use their knowledge for ill.
However, you may also recall that you told me that a pony once used an unfocused teleportation spell on himself and was never seen again. I believe I have found his remains.
You never told me that he was an alicorn.
I would like to know more about this pony. Who was he?
Twilight Sparkle
Satisfied, Twilight went to find Spike and told him to send the letter to Celestia. She then returned to her bedroom, eager to explore the strange place beyond the portal once more.
When she stepped through the portal, she turned toward where the skeleton had been, but stopped. It wasn't where she remembered.
I must have misremembered, thought Twilight. She walked around the entire room, but did not find the skeleton.
Where is he? she thought, growing concerned. She looked around the room again and her eyes fell upon the bookshelf. She reread one particular title.
"Advanced Necromancy Theory..."
Uh oh.
Twilight rushed back to the portal and ran through. She dashed out of her room and then skid to a stop when she saw something lying on the ground near the top of the stairs.
That didn't just walk over here by itself, thought Twilight fearfully.
The skeleton pony had woken up upon hearing a commotion. Confused, he looked up and, to his utter confoundment, saw a real, live pony standing in the room, an alicorn no less. It was a good thing that he was too surprised to speak because this bought him time to think. While having another pony to talk to had been his heart's desire for centuries, it was not his number one priority. Escape was the priority.
And the mare had at last provided a way of escape back into the world of the living.
She would also probably not approve of his current state. She would probably attack him, or even try to run away and close the portal, which would be worse. It would then leave him stranded for the rest of eternity.
That wasn't a risk he was willing to take.
So he bid his time. He tensed up when Twilight had decided to investigate him, but he was extremely good at remaining absolutely still.
Eventually, Twilight opened the door to the 'junk room'. He had hoped for a chance to run then, but the mare never actually went inside. A sensation of despair filled him when she closed the door. Then he realized that she was leaving through the portal again. She would quite possibly be closing it once on the other side. There was no time to waste. He had to move, regardless of the risks. He grabbed the black robe from the coat rack, which he put on as he ran. He would need it to keep ponies from seeing what he was.
Fortunately, the mare did not see or hear him as he followed her out. She seemed to be preoccupied, for which he was immensely thankful. As soon as he was through the portal, he saw that the mare was busy looking in her desk for something. That was his opportunity to make a break for it.
He carefully pulled the door open with his magic and then closed it silently. He found himself in a library. It might be interesting to research what had changed in the world in the last one thousand years.
He stopped running just as he was about to go down the stairs. This was a public library. Anypony might look and see him at any moment. There was nowhere to hide here. Suddenly, he heard movement downstairs. Desperately, he picked a random direction and cast a teleportation spell to take him away.
He found himself outside in a clearing near some trees. He stared up at the sun and beheld its beauty for the first time in a thousand years.
But there was something very wrong. He couldn't move his hind right leg. He looked back to see the reason for this. There was a small pile bones under where his leg should have been.
Not good.
His admiration of nature would have to wait. A quick observation informed him that the femur bone was missing.
I spliced myself. Again. I haven't practiced this spell in years. Last time I spliced myself, it had been my tail, and that had been unpleasant enough. This time it was a whole section of my leg, and if I hadn't already been dead a thousand years, I would be a mess.
Despite the fact that he didn't need to breathe, the pony let out an audible sigh. His leg would be useless unless he could get his femur back. And he was not about to go back to the library and ask for it.
"Hey, what are you doing here?"
The skeletal stallion froze, then turned to the voice. There was an orange filly standing at the window of a small tree house. After a moment, two more heads appeared. He had been caught, and he was crippled badly enough that running away would a struggle by itself. He was also magically exhausted from the long range teleport, and it would be a while before he could attempt it again. But he had been caught by fillies. Perhaps they would give him a chance. He quickly lowered his head so that his skull would remain hidden under the hood of the robe.
"Where am I?" he shouted to the fillies, using magic to project his voice, as he did not have the necessary equipment for actual speech.
"This is the Crusader Clubhouse!" shouted the yellow filly with a bow in her mane. "I'm Apple Bloom, that there is Sweetie Belle, and this is Scootaloo! But usually we're the only ones 'round here."
"Is that a shield on your back?" asked Scootaloo. "That's so awesome!"
"It is," replied the stallion. "But I'm lost. And I'm also injured. There's something wrong with my leg."
"Hmm," said Sweetie Belle. "That sounds rather suspicious. Did Diamond Tiara put you up to this?"
"I don't know who Diamond Tiara is," replied the stallion. "It sounds like you don't like her."
"She an' her friend Silver Spoon are big bullies that pushes us around when the adults aren't looking just 'cause she knows we can't fight back!" blurted the yellow filly.
"Oh," replied the stallion in surprise. "So you must know that everypony should be treated equally, no matter what?"
"Yeah, I guess..." replied Apple Bloom.
"Are there ponies that push you around too?" asked Scootaloo in surprise.
"Not exactly. They all scream and run away from me."
"Now why would they do a thing like that?" asked Apple Bloom.
"Because I am old and ugly," the stallion replied with a sigh.
"Oh, come on," said Sweetie Belle. "You can't be that ugly."
"I am. I'm so old, I've wasted away to nothing except a pile of old bones."
"You don't sound that old..." replied the filly uncertainly.
"What's wrong with your leg?" asked Scootaloo.
"I've- crippled it."
"Will you show us?"
The stallion hesitated. If he was going to include these fillies in his plan, he needed to take risks.
"You have to promise me that you won't run away."
"Okay, we promise," replied Scootaloo, and her promise was echoed by her friends.
The stallion took a deep breath, then threw his robe off.
"AAAHHHHHH!" shouted the Crusaders together. They did not run.
As quickly as they had started, the screaming stopped. Nopony moved.
Finally, Apple Bloom spoke. "Ah thought you were exaggeratin'!"
"I meant it when I said I was nothing but bones. So, would you three like to help an old stallion?"
"How do we even know we can trust you?" asked Scootaloo. "What if you're a monster or something?"
"You don't have to be scared of me, look at my leg!" said the skeletal stallion as he turned his head to the right and behind him.
The fillies looked, and then gasped. "Your leg is gone!" shouted Scootaloo. "What happened to it?"
"I, uh, lost it. In the library. And now I can't get it back."
"You mean Miss Twilight has your leg?"
"Is Miss Twilight the purple alicorn?"
"Yep!"
It occurred to the stallion that, most likely, the fillies could not make out the pathetic remains of his wings from their distance.
"So why won't she let you have your leg back?" Scootaloo continued.
"I don't think she has actually found it yet."
"Why don't you just ask her to let you have it back?" asked Sweetie Belle.
The stallion sighed. He was growing weary of having to talk like this to foals. "Because she will run away screaming if she sees me."
"Oh, I see," said Sweetie Belle. She looked at her friends, then back at the skeletal pony. "Would you like us to go ask her for you?"
"No!" said the stallion quickly. "I have to get it back before she finds it! You would have to infiltrate the library."
"Hmm," said Sweetie Belle. She turned to her friends.
"Cutie Mark Crusader Infiltrators?" she asked enthusiastically.
"Yay!" shouted the other two.
The stallion stood dumbfounded for a moment before saying "So you will do it?"
"Count us in!" shouted Apple Bloom.
"Thank you! Now, I've got a plan-"
"Hang on" said Apple Bloom. "Before you tell us about the plan. You never did tell us what your name is!"
Dear Twilight Sparkle,
I am astounded by your discovery, but also slightly shaken. The alicorn whom you have discovered lived two thousand years ago and had only recently reached adulthood. After we had defeated Discord, he forsake any claim to royalty and chose a lifestyle of adventure. Seeking out lost magic and artifacts was his goal, and in those days, there was much of both to be had. He also forsake the use of his given name and took up a new name more befitting of one who lives amongst our subjects: Shadow Shroud.
One day, he became interested in the unfocused teleportation phenomenon. I advised him to take caution, but, as you are aware, he was unable to leave using the same method he had gotten in, presumably because he was disconnected from Equestria. It is sad to imagine him slowly suffocating or starving to death, but at least I now have closure on his fate.
I have a personal interest in seeing this with my own eyes. I will take care of business at the castle today, but tomorrow, I will be making a casual visit to Ponyville. Once I arrive, I would like to see this 'strange place' for myself.
"That is a really good plan," said Apple Bloom. "But... there's a couple of problems.
Apple Bloom looked toward her friends expectantly.
Scootaloo sighed. "I can't fly, and Sweetie Belle can't do much magic."
"Oh," said Shadow Shroud. Of course not! he shouted at himself in his head. It was foolish to assume!
"Don't worry Mister Shadow," said Apple Bloom excitedly. "We'll get your leg back one way or another!"
"Yeah..." said Scootaloo gloomily.
"Hey, Scootaloo."
Scootaloo looked up at Shadow Shroud expectantly.
He stretched out his skeletal wings and gave the fillies a moment to see. "I can't fly either."
"Whoa!" exclaimed Scootaloo. "You're just like Miss Twilight! Except... you can't fly. And now you can't walk very well either."
Scootaloo's expression changed to one of determination. "Come on, let's go get his leg!"
"Rainbow!" cried Twilight into the air, now standing outside the library. "Thank goodness you happen to be here! We might have a problem!"
Rainbow Dash was on the ground in front of Twilight in a moment with an expression of concern.
"What is it Twi?"
"Have you seen anypony... suspicious around the library?"
"Nope. Nopony has gone in or out ever since the mail pony brought you that door. Why were you getting a new door by the way?"
"Oh, you saw that? Well... I might have used some magic and now..."
Twilight paused. Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. "Now what? Something bad happened?"
"You're not going to believe this..."
"Twilight, this is serious. I'll believe anything that you tell me."
Twilight smiled weakly at Rainbow Dash. "Well... an evil skeleton pony came out of the door and I think he's somewhere in Ponyville!"
Rainbow looked into Twilight's eyes suspiciously. "You're absolutely sure?"
"Well... I didn't see him leave, but I am sure! But that's not all! The princess is coming to see me tomorrow! I can't be responsible for a skeleton pony on the loose!"
"So..." began Rainbow Dash. "What should we do?"
"Come inside. I have something to show you."
Twilight led Rainbow Dash into the library and up the stairs into her room. She levitated something off of a table and over to Rainbow Dash.
"Whoa!" Rainbow shouted. "What is that?" She had a feeling that she knew the answer already.
"It's a femur bone. It came from the skeleton pony! I think he might try to come back for it, so I am going to stay here. But I want you to fly around and see if you can find anything suspicious!"
Shadow Shroud was sitting inside the Crusader's tree house and feeling very bored. He had to stay out of sight in case other ponies came around, and he had nowhere to go and nothing to do until the fillies returned, hopefully with his missing femur. He would have to thank them somehow.
He looked around the interior of the tree house, hoping that there would be something of interest. The scribbles on the paper on the wall were slightly intriguing, but he could not make out what they mean. There was also a small box in the corner. It was not sealed.
Inside he found some paint brushes and small bottles of paint.
An idea occurred to him. "That's it!" he said to himself. He carefully hobbled over to the ladder and climbed down. Once he was on the ground, he began searching for suitably sized stones.
Shadow Shroud had just finished his work when he heard voices in the distance. It sounded like two fillies, but neither belonged to the Crusaders. He his creations down and walked toward a window, making sure that he would not be visible from the outside. He had put his robe back on, so if he did happen to be seen, the ponies would not know they were seeing.
He saw the two fillies. One was light grey and wore glasses. The other was a pink filly with a tiara in her mauve mane. He was confident that he knew who these fillies were.
"Hey, blank flanks!" shouted Diamond Tiara up at the tree house as the pair drew close.
She received no answer.
"Hello? Anypony home?"
No answer.
"Then you won't mind if we come up!" shouted Diamond Tiara defiantly. She began climbing the ladder and Silver Spoon followed close behind.
When she got to the top, Diamond Tiara saw that the tree house was abandoned. "They're not here, Silver Spoon."
Silver Spoon had reached the top of the ladder and climbed up. "Hmm," she said. "They're probably out trying another of their fail schemes to get a cutie mark. What should we do now?"
"Hey, let's see what they've been up to," said Diamond Tiara with a nasty grin.
The pair walked into the tree house and began looking around.
"Oh, wow. Come see this, Diamond Tiara."
The filly came to Silver Spoon's side and saw what she was referring to. There were three small figures on the floor. They looked exactly like each of the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
"These are... really good, actually," said Silver Spoon.
"They must have had them made to play some stupid game," said Diamond Tiara. "I'm surprised they could even afford that."
She began to stretch out a hoof to grab one of the figures.
"Don't touch those!" shouted a voice.
Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon both jumped, then whirled around. "Who's there?" demanded Diamond Tiara, angry. "Another blank flank? Where are the rest of your loser friends?"
Suddenly there was movement from the shadows where the sun did not shine through the window. A robed pony stepped forward.
"I don't even have a flank!" he shouted angrily.
"Oooohhh..." said Silver Spoon.
Diamond Tiara was taken aback. This was an adult pony, but he sure had a mouth on him.
"Are you implying that I'm fat?" she shouted.
The pony hesitated. Then he said "well, compared to me, yes, you are fat."
"You liar!"
Oh, here we go, thought Shadow Shroud, annoyed. For the second time that day, he threw off his robe.
The screaming fillies raced out of the tree house and did not bother to use the ladder. They leapt down and took off toward the middle of the town.
Shadow Shroud briefly wondered about what negative repercussions might result from this. He could have remained hidden and they would never have found him. But there was no telling what they might do with his latest creations. While it was true that he could make new ones, he felt obligated to protect them from the two fillies.
They might come back with other ponies at any moment. But he also had to remain in the area to wait for the Crusaders. He would have to find somewhere to hide other than inside the tree house.
"Twilight" shouted a worried Rainbow Dash, who had just burst into Twilight's room.
"Rainbow!" shouted Twilight in surprise. "Did you find something?"
"I saw Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon running through town looking like they had seen a ghost, so I stopped them and asked them what happened. They said that there was an evil monster pony in the Crusader's clubhouse and that they think something bad might have happened to Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom!"
Twilight gasped. "We need to get over there! Do you know where their clubhouse is?"
"Yeah, I do. Let's go!"
Twilight and Rainbow Dash hurried out the door and took off flying, completely unaware that the fillies that they were going to save were trying to sneak into the back of the very building that they had left.
"Look!" shouted Apple Bloom happily. "The window is wide open! This'll be easy!"
"Be quiet!" whispered Sweetie Belle. "We don't want them to hear us!"
"Okay," whispered Apple Bloom. "All we need is for somepony to give us a boost so we can climb in through the window!"
Her friends looked back at her. "Oh, alright. Ah'll do it."
She stood in front of the window and tried to hold still as Sweetie Belle climbed onto her back.
"OW! That hurts! Don't put your hooves there!"
"Shhh!" whispered Scootaloo.
"Ah can't help-"
A look from Scootaloo and Apple Bloom took the hint. She tried to keep quiet, but another "Ow!" managed to escape.
Once Sweetie Belle was through the window, it was Scootaloo's turn. Apple Bloom managed to keep quiet for the entire time.
"Okay Sweetie Belle," said Scootaloo from inside the library. "Now let me get up on your back so that I can help Apple Bloom in."
"Aw..."
A moment later, Apple Bloom heard Sweetie Belle shout "Ow! Be careful!"
"See, ah told you!" Apple Bloom shouted.
"Shhh!" whispered Scootaloo.
After a moment, Scootaloo had managed to pull Apple Bloom into the library and hopped off of Sweetie Belle's back.
Suddenly, they heard footsteps. They looked at each other in panic.
"Oh, hey you three!" said the cheerful voice of Spike. "I didn't hear you come in!"
The fillies didn't give a response, so Spike shrugged and walked away.
"That was too close," whispered Sweetie Belle. "Let's spread out!"
Scootaloo was searching the front of the library. Suddenly Spike walked into the room and saw this.
"Do you need help finding a book?" he asked.
"Oh! No, just- just looking."
Suddenly Apple Bloom's voice boomed through the library, coming from upstairs. "I found it! I found it!"
"Found what?" asked Spike, looking at Scootaloo.
"Nothing!" she said quickly before racing off.
"What are these?" asked Rainbow fearfully. She was in the Crusader's tree house with Twilight. "Did that pony turn Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle into tiny little statues?
"No, Rainbow," Twilight assured, but her mind was racing as quickly as her heart. She remembered that she had seen similar figurines inside the strange room.
"These are just stones with paint on them," she continued. "See?" she indicated the paint supplies that had been left out in the open.
"Oh," said Rainbow Dash in relief. "Wait, what? Why would he do that?"
"I think..."
"You think what Twilight?" asked Rainbow Dash urgently.
"I think they might be involved with some kind of voodoo magic!" Twilight finished.
Rainbow Dash did not like the way Twilight had said that. "What does that mean?" she asked.
"It mean's that he might be using evil magic to control the fillies!"
Before Rainbow Dash could reply to this, they heard a voice outside.
"Hello? Mister Shadow?"
"Scootaloo?" shouted Rainbow Dash in surprise. She stuck her head out of the window. "Where have you three been?" she demanded.
Before she could get an answer, Rainbow shouted "What is that?"
The crusaders took on a guilty look. "What is what?" asked Apple Bloom.
Twilight stepped outside and gasped. "What are you doing with Shadow Shroud's femur?"
"Uhm..."
"I asked them to retrieve it for me," said Shadow Shroud as he stepped out from under the shadow of the tree house. Rainbow Dash froze.
"There you are!" cried Apple Bloom. She ran up to Shadow Shroud.
The femur magically floated away from Apple Bloom and fell into place in Shadow Shroud's leg.
He looked up and saw the expression that the mares were giving him. He also realized that Twilight was holding his Crusader figurines in her magic.
"I'm sorry to have caused all of this trouble... I think I'll just be on my way now..."
He turned and began to run. He looked behind him and saw a confused Twilight. Suddenly, a bolt of magic shot from her horn, heading straight toward him.
He screamed and swung the shield off of his back, getting it into position just in time. The magic collided with it and faded without causing any effect.
"Rainbow!" cried Twilight. "My immobilization spell didn't work! Stop him!"
A moment later, an irate Rainbow Dash landed in front of Shadow Shroud. "Just where do you think you're going?" she demanded.
Shadow Shroud tried to run in another direction, but Rainbow Dash was too fast for him. He came to an abrupt stop.
"Okay, do whatever you want!" he cried, defeated. "Just don't send me back!"
Back near the tree house, Twilight had seen that Rainbow Dash had succeeded. She turned to the fillies.
"It's getting late, you three," she told them. "Go home and get to bed. Dash and I will take care of this."
Without another word, she glided down from the tree house to meet Dash. She landed and glared at Shadow Shroud suspiciously.
"What are you going to do with me?" he asked.
"You're going to come back to the library with us," said Twilight sternly. "And you're going to stay there until the princess arrives tomorrow. Then we'll decide what to do with you."
"Why are you bringing my figurines?" he asked as they began walking, confused.
"First, why don't you tell us what you're doing with them!" cried Rainbow Dash accusingly.
The Crusaders watched as Twilight and Rainbow Dash began walking away with Shadow Shroud between them.
"They think he's a bad pony!" said Apple Bloom in sympathy.
"What are we going to do?" asked Sweetie Belle.
"I know what we need to do!" exclaimed Scootaloo. "We have to help him!"
"Miss Rainbow Dash?" asked Shadow Shroud, who was currently standing in the library under the watchful eye of the mare that he had addressed.
"What?" asked Rainbow, clearly annoyed.
"I can't help but wonder, what has become of the princess?"
"What are you talking about?" asked Rainbow Dash in a tone that suggested that Shadow wasn't in the right mind. "I told you, Princess Celestia will be here tomorrow!"
"Not Princess Celestia," said Shadow Shroud. "Princess Twilight Sparkle. Why is she not here to ensure that I do not escape?"
Rainbow Dash glared at him. "You can't escape from Twilight's containment spell," she said, indicating the floor around Shadow Shroud. There was a dim but visible purple aura surrounding the skeletal pony in a perfect circle.
"She said so herself." Rainbow continued. "The only way that you are getting out is if she or I give you permission to leave. And I'm not going to let you out unless there is an emergency of some sort. Twilight is searching your... home for incriminating evidence. I'm just here to make sure that you don't get any funny ideas."
"Wait, the princess is going through my things?" asked Shadow Shroud in sudden panic. "But she doesn't know how dangerous some of the magical artifacts are! You have to make her stop!"
"Yes!" cried Shadow Shroud. "From my days as a hunter of such things, plus all the other forbidden items that ponies have unknowingly dumped in there! I'm keeping them safe from ponies who don't know how dangerous they are!"
"I think Twilight can handle it," said Rainbow Dash nonchalantly. "So you admit that you are in possession of numerous evil and dangerous magical artifacts that could bring harm to ponies?"
"Yes," answered Shadow Shroud. "But you don't understand!" He stopped and shook his head. "We don't have time for this! You have to tell Twilight to stop!"
"I can't leave you here all alone!" shouted Rainbow Dash. "Even if one of my friends might be in-"
Rainbow's eyes suddenly seemed to bulge. "Fine!" she cried. "You can come out, but you had better stay right in front of me where I can see you."
"Alright," said Scootaloo. She indicated the stack of items in the corner of the clubhouse. It was very dark outside and they fillies could only see because of the soft glow of Sweetie Belle's magic. "This should provide the perfect distraction to let Mister Shadow get away!"
"But what about Miss Twilight and Rainbow Dash?" asked Apple Bloom. "Aren't they going to be awful upset with us?"
"That's what the box of chocolates are for!" reminded Sweetie Belle. "They can't be mad at us if we give them chocolates, right?"
"Are you sure about that?" asked Apple Bloom skeptically.
"Trust me, my sister would do anything to have one of these," said Sweetie Belle. "That's why she put them all in this box that she can't open without fetching the key." She hefted the ornate ceramic box in question. "If she didn't lock them away, she wouldn't be able to control herself. But I just happened to know where the key was!"
"So," asked Scootaloo excitedly, "let's make sure that we have everything!" She lifted up a list and began to read aloud from it.
"Scooter. Check. Fireworks?"
"Check!" replied both of the other crusaders.
"One pail of water?"
"Check!"
Scootaloo yawned. "Box of chocolates. Check... Trumpet?"
Apple Bloom let out a yawn too. "Stop that, Scoot. Don'cha know that yawning is contagious? Yeah, ah got the trumpet..."
There was a few moments of silence. "Well?" asked Sweetie Belle." She let out a yawn too. "What else is on the list?"
She looked at Scootaloo expectantly and watched as her eyes closed.
"Why do I feel so tired all of the sudden?" thought Sweetie Belle.
Twilight's eyes were drawn away from the curiosities that the strange room contained and toward one particular lectern. It was no surprise that the book chained to it drew her attention so easily. While there were other books on lecterns lining the wall, this particular book was very different from any other book she had seen before.
It was floating above the lectern. It appeared that the purpose of the chain was not to prevent ponies from stealing the book, but rather to keep it from floating away. The book also was surrounded by a strange deep purple aura, a sure sign of terrible dark power. The book itself was a simple brown color, but showed strong signs of age, despite being presumably untouched for a very long time.
Of course, it would be reasonable to assume that Shadow Shroud had indeed made use of the terrible book. She would have to investigate.
She read the title and discovered that her fears were justified. The book was entitled The Book of Doom.
Twilight readied her magic in preparation to combat whatever horrors the book might conjure, and then, slowly and carefully, flipped the cover and opened to the first page.
Nothing seemed to happened.
Feeling assured that it was reasonably safe, but still keeping her magic at the ready, Twilight began to read.
You must stop reading this book, right now, or you will be doomed. I'm SERIOUS, stop reading this sentence right now. Not another WORD.
Twilight did stop reading, having already stiffened in fear. Apparently, something terrible lied further into the words of the book and the author was courteous enough to warn her of it. It would be so easy to follow the book's advice and avoid whatever terrible things it held. And yet...
A part of Twilight doubted the strange book. This part of her mind forced her to continue reading.
... You're still reading aren't you? What part of 'not another word' do you not understand? It's almost as though you WANT to be doomed! Well, don't say I didn't warn you, because here it comes. The doom is almost upon you. Its in the very next sentence, so STOP right now before you are doomed forever! Alright, this is it, you're doomed! I told you to stop reading, but you didn't listen to me, did you? I hope you are happy with yourself! You never should have read this! ...And, come to think of it, I never should have wrote it.
All of the other pages in the book were blank. The cogs in Twilight's head whirled as she tried to make sense of the insane book. She read it again.
"Princess Twilight!" cried out the voice of Shadow Shroud. Twilight didn't even turn her head to acknowledge the hasty arrival of the skeletal pony. "What are you doing?" he continued. "What is that? Is that the Book of Doom? Please tell me that you didn't read the Book of Doom!" The cover of the book lit with magic and slammed shut.
"So what?" demanded the voice of Rainbow Dash. "Reading never hurt anypony. Even if it usually is kind of boring."
"Well, yes, I did," Twilight admitted. "It... wasn't what I expected."
"And..." Shadow Shroud began in a quieter voice, but still worried. "Do you feel alright? Is everything alright? There's nothing wrong?"
"No. I feel fine."
"I see," said Shadow Shroud, relieved. "Well, you seem to be alright then... You must have a remarkably strong will. The last pony to read that book lost his mind."
"He did?" asked Twilight as she turned to face Shadow Shroud, conveying both surprise and skepticism. "Who was this pony?"
"It was a very long time ago, from back when I used to be a magical artifact hunter. Nopony ever found out what the pony's name was. He just appeared out of nowhere one day and started proclaiming to everypony he met that their doom was near. When anypony asked for his name, he refused to give it, claiming that his name no longer mattered, and that nothing at all mattered, for the doom was coming! He just called himself 'The Messenger of Doom'.
"One day somepony somehow found out that the source of this madness was the very book in front of you. Clearly, it has great power over the minds of those who read it, so I was given the job of securing the book. The pony was insane, but he was right about at least one thing: he met swiftly met his doom. After I managed to get the book away from him, he spent the rest of his days in an asylum."
"But..." began Twilight, unwilling to believe it. "That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard! How could anypony lose their mind by reading this? All it says is-"
"NO!" bellowed Shadow Shroud in a voice so loud that Twilight stopped talking. "You may be resistant to the curse of the book, but the same may not be true of myself or Rainbow Dash! Keep the secrets of the book to yourself until the day you die!"
"Alright, fine," said Twilight. "I promise I won't tell anypony what the book says. It's stupid anyway..." Suddenly she scowled. "What are you doing in here?" She turned to Rainbow Dash. "Why did you let him out?" she asked.
"Look," said Rainbow Dash defensively, "even though I know he's just trying to keep secrets from us, Shadow did make a good point. This stuff is dangerous, Twilight! I can't believe you would mess with this stuff without anypony else here to look out for you!"
Twilight began to reply to Rainbow, but Shadow Shroud had stopped listening. An unexpected movement accompanied by a popping sound drew his attention to the floor near the entryway to the room. Twilight and Rainbow Dash appeared to be too busy talking to pay attention to him. He moved toward the entrance to investigate.
As soon as he was close enough to see what it was, he stopped in surprise. It was his figurine of Sweetie Belle.
But far stranger was the fact that the stone representation of the filly was undeniably and inexplicably posed in terrified panic. He had not even created a mouth on the filly, yet it was now wide open and in full color.
The figurine's front right hoof was outstretched toward the portal leading to the library.
Shadow Shroud struggled to comprehend the strange phenomenon. He turned back to Twilight and Rainbow Dash. They still had not noticed.
Careful to move so as to not draw attention to himself, Shadow Shroud carefully picked up the figurine in his magic and left the room. As soon as the other ponies were out of sight, he dashed through the portal.
As soon as he stepped hoof into the library, he spotted the figurine of Scootaloo in a pose similar to Sweetie Belle's. It was pointing toward the library door.
Shadow Shroud picked this figurine up as well and opened the library door without hesitation.
He was not in the least bit surprised to find Apple Bloom's figurine on the doorstep. It was pointing too, but Shadow did not know what lay in that direction, or almost any direction at all, even if it were not almost the middle of the night.
He picked up the final figurine and hesitated, thinking to himself.
He was certain that there had been nothing special about the stone he had used to carve the figurines out. While it was perfectly possible that somepony could move them in order to confuse him, it was next to impossible for them to have been able to manipulate their pose in such a way.
Yet the alternative was completely impossible.
In Shadow Shroud's experience, the impossible was more credible than the next to impossible.
Suddenly he heard the voices of Twilight and Rainbow Dash. He couldn't make out what they were saying, but, based on their angry tone, he felt fairly certain he could guess what they were saying.
He turned to look back into the library once more. He was determined to cooperate with Twilight and prove to her that he was not a pony to be feared.
But he felt certain that, for a reason yet unknown, the three fillies needed help, very much indeed.
He quickly summoned his shield from the inside of the library (Twilight had been unable to place any kind of magical restrictions on it) and then began running in the direction that the Apple Bloom figurine had been pointing, rapidly accelerating.
Rainbow Dash flew out of the window of the library and visually scanned the area. Failing to find her target, she immediately soared into the sky. When she was sufficiently high enough, she began to hover and search the area below her once again, now with a much greater range of vision. It was difficult to see in the dark of the night, but fortunately the light of the moon was sufficient for her to see the black streak of Shadow Shroud's cloak racing away from Ponyville.
Rainbow Dash was certain that she would be incapable of forcing an evil magical skeleton to return to the library without Twilight's help. But she could follow him and tell Twilight where he went. She took off until she was flying almost directly above Shadow Shroud, and he seemed to be too busy running for its life to notice her.
Suddenly it occurred to Rainbow Dash where exactly the pony was going. She ceased her chase and watched in shock as Shadow Shroud finally ran straight into the Everfree Forest without even slowing down. It would be impossible to follow him from above the trees.
Sweetie Belle awoke with a start. This caused her to bump into somepony with her head.
"Ow!" cried a familiar voice from the pitch black darkness. "Sweetie Belle, I'm so glad you're awake! But what did you do that for?"
"Scootaloo?" replied Sweetie Belle. "Where are we? What's going on?"
"I don't know!" said Scootaloo. "I think we're in a room, but I can't find a way out!"
"Where's Apple Bloom?" asked Sweetie Belle, suddenly beginning to panic.
"Ah'm right here!" replied the voice of Apple Bloom. "Where are you two? It's so dark!"
"Hold on!" said Sweetie Belle.
A light sparked to life in the darkness. While ordinarily too dim to be of much use, the dim light that Sweetie Belle was capable of conjuring was still infinitely more enlightening than the pitch black darkness, allowing the fillies to behold the empty stone cell that they were trapped in.
Standing in plain view beyond the iron bars of the door was a shadowy figure of a very tall pony. Red eyes suddenly flames to life on its face.
The shrill cries of the three fillies was painful to their ears, but this did not deter them from screaming even louder when the shadow seemed to evaporate before their eyes, turning into a cloud of darkness that proceeded to expand and fill the entire room, enshrouding Sweetie Belle's magical light and returning their surroundings to pitch black.
It took a long time for the fillies to stop screaming.
"He went into the Everfree Forest?" cried Twilight in frustration. She and Rainbow Dash were standing in front of the front door to the library.
"Yes, that's what I just said!" replied Rainbow Dash urgently. "Now what are we going to do about it?"
"I think that we should-" began Twilight angrily, but caught herself. She did a quick breathing exercise.
"We're going to ask for advice from Princess Celestia."
"What?" asked Rainbow Dash in surprise. "But he's getting away! Shouldn't we go after him right now?"
"We can't go charging into the forest blind! It could be a trap!"
"Uh, Twilight," said a new voice. "Is this a bad time?"
Twilight turned toward Applejack, who had apparently snuck up on her in the short time that she was arguing with Rainbow Dash. To her surprise, she was accompanied by Rarity.
"I'm afraid that this really isn't a great time," confirmed Twilight in despair. "Is it really important?"
"Well," began Applejack, who was temporarily concealing her concern for her two friends, "It is awfully late, and Apple Bloom was supposed to be back home by now. I tried asking Rarity if the crusaders were staying at her place, but-"
"Oh no!" screamed Twilight. "He has them! Come on everypony, we haven't a moment to lose!" Twilight burst into sprint toward the forest.
Rainbow Dash was the first to catch up, as she had taken advantage of her wings and landed beside Twilight less than gracefully, although she managed to continue at a run. "Twilight! I thought you said you wanted to get the Princess's advice first!"
"Rainbow! He has taken hostages!" exclaimed Twilight as they ran. "It would be irresponsible for us to not take action immediately!"
"Maybe we should slow down?" suggested Rainbow Dash. "Applejack and Rarity can't keep up!"
"Oh! Alright, but only a little!"
Applejack and Rarity both caught up to Twilight and Rainbow Dash at about the same time. "Twilight!" cried Rarity. "What in Equestria has gotten into your head now?"
"We know where Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo are!" shouted Twilight, refusing to slow down. "I'll explain on the way!"
Shadow Shroud finally came to a halt deep in the Everfree Forest. He had ran in the correct direction as accurately as he could manage, but the unfamiliar surroundings of the forest were filling him with doubts. He might run past wherever he was supposed to be going and not even realize it. And, of course, he was lost.
It was also very dark under the roof of the forest in the middle of the night. Shadow Shroud had solved this problem by casting a spell that allowed him to see in the dark, although it only allowed him to see shades of grey. Even though this was much more taxing than a simple light spell, he had opted to not use cast a light spell in case he needed to stay hidden.
He gasped in surprise as he heard a loud popping noise and his levitation magic died away. This was because the figurines of the fillies that he had carried all this way had vanished into thin air.
Judging from the additional weight he suddenly felt in his back, he suspected he knew where they might be. He turned his head around to look. The filly figurines were indeed on his back, still inanimate and yet now laying on their stomachs on his shield with their front hoofs clinging to the front of it in order to keep from falling off. They were all looking into the distance in the same direction with looks of worry on their face.
Feeling even more certain that something was terribly wrong, Shadow Shroud began to gallop through the forest once again in the new direction.
"Hey!" whispered the voice of Apple Bloom in surprise.
"What?" replied the whisper of her two friends, barely audible out of fear.
There was a creaking noise very near to them, but it ended quickly. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, who had been gripping each other in search of comfort, both tightened their grasps.
"Apple Bloom?" Cried Sweetie Belle in a whispered, yet panicked voice.
"I'm fine!" whispered Apple Bloom quickly. "It's just that... the door isn't actually locked. At all."
"What?" Scootaloo shout-whispered. "Then why are we still here? Let's get out of here before the shadow pony comes back!"
"You don't have to tell me twice!" replied Apple Bloom. "Come toward me. Ah can actually see a bit of moonlight in the door outta here."
Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo released their grips on each other and moved toward where Apple Bloom's voice had come from. They found the wall first, but followed it until the wall suddenly was gone. Once they moved through the doorway, they were able to see the door that Apple Bloom referred to. Apple Bloom herself was standing in front of it and silently waited until her friends had all gathered with her.
Taking the lead, Apple Bloom tried the door handle, which thankfully was also not locked. This revealed a large hallway with windows on one side that let in plenty of moonlight. They approached the first window and looked out.
They were greeted with a view of a large square area outside that was surrounded on all sides by ruined stone walls, a garden of some sort, or a courtyard.
"Where are we?" whispered Scootaloo.
"I don't know!" replied Sweetie Belle.
Ah don't know either!" replied Apple Bloom. "But ah really don't trust that shadowy pony thing! Let's keep movin'!"
The fillies slowly started proceeding forward, either looking forward or turning their heads to look out the windows as they passed by.
Until Scootaloo happened to look toward the opposite wall and stop in her tracks. "Wait!" she said nervously.
Her companions stopped and turned to look at her fearfully.
"Um," began Scootaloo as she turned her head back toward the wall. "Is that what... I think it is?"
The other fillies looked toward the wall and froze. There was a shadow of a large pony on the wall and nothing obvious around them to be casting it. It appeared to be looking at them, but did not move.
None of the fillies dared to move or even make a sound, certain that the shadow would spring to life the moment they did.
Without warning, there was noise in the distance, although it was clear that it was the sound of clattering. It reminded the fillies of the sound of numerous metal pots being dropped on the floor simultaneously. Immediately, the shadow turned its head away from the fillies and in the direction that the noise had come from. It lasted for a couple of seconds before dying down below hearing volume. The shadow wasted no time and began to gallop toward the direction that the noise had come from.
It never left the surface of the wall as it ran, and when it reached the door at the other side, it seemed to simply slide between the crack of the doors, leaving no trace.
"So..." said Apple Bloom, no longer whispering. "Ah wasn't the only one who saw that?"
"You weren't the only one," replied Sweetie Belle.
Scootaloo didn't offer a reply. She continued to stare at the door, dumbstruck.
Shadow Shroud was currently in a long room lined with ancient guard's armor, all propped up along the walls as though participating in a ceremony. The only exception was one that had noisily clattered to the floor after Shadow Shroud had discovered that they were a little more fragile than they looked. He was now residing in the rafters of the room, cursing his clumsiness and stupidity, which only added to the frustration of having somehow lost track of the figurines. While he didn't actually notice them vanish, he suspected that they had disappeared on their own initiative.
Nothing further happened for a while, but just when he was about to decide that there had been nopony around to hear, he noticed a black blob moving across the floor. At first he identified it as a shadow and tried to locate its source, but when he failed to find one, he remembered that it should be impossible to see shadows while the night-vision spell was active.
The not-shadow stopped in front of the mess of armor. It took nearly all of Shadow Shroud's willpower to not gasp when a dark aura seemed to rise from it, which solidified into the form of a pony, although lacking any specific features.
The pony turned and began to look around. It started taking steps and investigating every corner of the room and even behind other suits of armor. Shadow Shroud's heart would have skipped a beat when the dark creature eventually began looking up and looked straight at him while searching the ceiling. However, it quickly carried on searching the ceiling further on while Shadow Shroud silently thanked his cloak for preforming its job.
Eventually the dark pony gave up its search and returned to look at the fallen armor. It paused in front of the armor for at least a full minute, as though considering.
And then it turned into a shadowy mist and drifted into the armor. It trembled, and then magically rose to its original posture. But it did not stop moving. the armor stepped away from its post and began walking toward the other end of the room.
"What is this thing?" Shadow Shroud wondered to himself. "This creature is far more powerful than any dark spirit I have ever encountered!"
Just when the armor had reached the double doors at the opposite end of the room and had raised a hoof to open them, a sharp cry pierced the night. Shadow Shroud looked away from the possessed armor and toward the unmistakable sound. It was the cry of a filly. What was most concerning however was the fact that the cry had only lasted a about half a second.
Slowly, Shadow Shroud turned to look back to the shadowy creature possessing the armor, taking care not to attract attention from swift movement. It too was looking toward the source of the noise. However, it turned back around only a moment later and proceeded with the task of opening the door and stepping through.
As soon as the doors had swung closed again, Shadow Shroud teleported to the floor and hurried through the door that the shadow creature had come from.
Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo emerged from another door and found themselves exposed to the outside. They were standing on a section of ramparts on the edge of the castle. Scootaloo gasped and hurried toward the outer edge before pointing with a hoof toward the forest.
"I knew it!" she said.
"Wha'?" asked Apple Bloom, confused.
"This is the Everfree Forest!"
"You knew that we were in the Everfree Forest?" asked Apple Bloom, suprised.
"No, I knew that we were in the old castle of the sisters, whatever its called. That's why that shadow pony is here!"
"Why?" asked Sweetie Belle, who was just as confused as Apple Bloom.
"Because," replied Scootaloo, annoyed that she was having to explain, "She's the pony from that one scary old mare's tale! She's the pony of shadows!"
Some of the color drained out of the faces of the other two fillies.
"But, its an old mare's tale!" said Apple Bloom. "It ain't real, is it?"
"Well, I didn't think so at first," replied Scootaloo, "but it looks like it was telling the truth after all!"
Apple Bloom looked toward Sweetie Belle, seeking assurance. "What do you think? Could it really be the pony of shadows?"
"I don't... I don't know," said Sweetie Belle as she turned away. Nopony said anything for several seconds.
"Wait a minute," Sweetie Belle said. "What's that?" She dashed off across the rampart.
Scootaloo and Apple Bloom quickly shared a look, silently acknowledging to each other that Sweetie's attention had dramatically shifted, before running after her.
"It is!" cried Sweetie Belle, coming to a stop. "How did that get there?"
Sitting in front of another door that lead back into the castle was the box of chocolates that Sweetie had swiped.
"Maybe..." began Scootaloo, but she hesitated.
"Maybe what?" asked Sweetie Belle, who was happy for any logical explanation.
"Maybe we brought it with us? And we don't remember it?"
The other two looked at Scootaloo doubtfully.
"Ah don't think so," said Apple Bloom. "It's kinda obvious that the shadow pony put us to sleep. Maybe she brought it? For- some reason..."
"But what if," said Scootaloo as her eyes grew wide, "she didn't knock us out? What if she used her evil magic powers to control our brains and forced us to come into the forest and we brought it with us but we didn't remember because of the evil spell?"
There was a moment of silence.
"That sounds far-fetched," began Apple Bloom. "Although, maybe not. Still, why would the pony of shadows release control of us and let us walk free?"
"Maybe," said Scootaloo, even more excited, "She already used us for her evil plans but we don't remember it and now she has no more use for us!"
"Will you two stop?" snapped Sweetie Belle. "Those ideas are all wrong. It actually doesn't matter how it got up here anyway. If I don't bring this back, Rarity is going to kill me."
Sweetie Belle stepped forward to grab the box. A moment later, she found herself under a bucket of water that had inexplicably fallen from above.
"YEAGGGGHHHH!" she screeched.
Scootaloo and Apple Bloom simply stared dumbfounded at their drenched friend.
"Cold, cold, cold!"
"I knew it was a trap!" cried Scootaloo.
"No you didn't!" replied a very annoyed Sweetie Belle. She began to shake herself in an effort to get water out of her coat.
"Hey!" cried Scootaloo as she backed away from the bombarding drops of water coming from Sweetie Belle.
"Um," said Apple Bloom uncertainly. "Isn't that our bucket?"
If any of the fillies had considered looking where the bucket had come from, they might have seen three figurines on the roof above them, each with a hoof over their face.
Sweetie Belle's screech resounded throughout the surrounding forest and reached the ears of four nearby ponies.
"Sweetie Belle!" shouted Rarity, looking toward the sound in panic.
"They're at the castle!" cried Twilight. "Sound's like we had better hurry!"
The door near Sweetie Belle suddenly swung open and the three fillies yelped as they turned to behold the dark figure behind it.
The figure pulled down his hood.
"It's you!" shouted the fillies excitedly.
"Shh!" urged Shadow Shroud. "I'm really glad to see you too," he whispered. "But you must be quiet! There's a strange creature in this castle who-"
"You mean the pony of shadows?" whispered Apple Bloom. "We've met her. She's not very nice."
"The pony of shadows?" whispered Shadow Shroud. "How did you get away from her? No, never mind," he said immediately. "Tell me later, when everpony is safe." He noticed that Sweetie Belle was holding something. "What's that?" he asked. It was at this moment that he noticed the state of Sweetie Belle. "What happened to you?" he asked in shock. He started casting a magic spell and within seconds Sweetie Belle had a much drier coat.
"I don't really know!" whispered Sweetie Belle. "A bucket of water just landed on my head out of nowhere!"
"Out of nowhere?" asked Shadow Shroud in confusion.
"Yeah! Right out of the sky! Thank you, by the way. I already feel much better."
"I think it was a trap set up by the pony of shadows!" added Scootaloo.
"Probably so," said Shadow Shroud, who had decided to dismiss the case. "But we should get out of here before she finds us. Okay?"
"Okay," whispered the fillies in sync.
"Okay," said Shadow Shroud. "I'm going to check the next room for trouble, and when I say its okay, follow me inside."
The room turned out to be as lifeless as when he had left it only a minute ago, so he returned to the door and indicated for the fillies to follow with a hoof.
This procedure was repeated several times and, to their relief, nothing surprised them in all the time it took to find the exit of the castle, which they found quickly since Shadow Shroud remembered the way.
"Oh, thank goodness," whispered the skeleton pony. "Keep following. We're almost safe."
They all let out a sigh of relief as they stepped beyond the tree line and into the forest.
Shadow Shroud began to cast a light spell for the benefit of the fillies. Nopony spoke as they walked.
Eventually he found himself emerging into a clearing and beholding the dark castle once again.
"What in the..." Shadow Shroud looked down to his smaller companions, who were giving him an odd look. "I swear I was going the right way."
He indicated for them to turn around and they headed back into the forest.
A few minutes later, they were back at the castle again.
"This isn't just a mistake," whispered Shadow Shroud, a wave of dread hitting him as the realization sunk in. "This is magic."
"Magic?" asked Apple Bloom, suddenly terrified. "What do you mean?"
"That shadow mare creature isn't letting us leave the castle."
Suddenly another strange sound pierced the night. It was very loud and sounded as though it could not have possibly come from the throat of any healthy creature as it sounded with a drawn out 'BLAT'.
Immediately Shadow Shroud realized his mistake and extinguished his magic light as he caught a sudden movement in his eyes. The possessed armor was running toward the noise from a point not much further along the edge of the forest.
"What was that?" asked Rarity fearfully, froze in mid hoofstep in the middle of a large castle room.
"Ah dunno," replied Applejack, looking at one of the walls. "But it sounded horrible. And really close!"
"What was that?" asked Shadow Shroud.
"If I didn't know better..." began Sweetie Belle.
Shadow Shroud turned to look at the filly in surprise, having not expected anypony present to answer his question. The filly gave Apple Bloom an embarrassed look.
"It sounded like when you tried playing that trumpet for us."
Apple Bloom was too nervous to give a reply. Shadow Shroud stared before dropping his head and shaking it. "Come with me," he said. "Let's find somewhere safe to wait while I figure out how we can get out of here."
"Alright," said Shadow Shroud to the Crusaders. "Stay right here. You are not to leave this room. Am I clear?"
"Wait!" said Apple Bloom. "What if the Pony of Shadows finds us here and you're gone?"
"I don't see how anypony could find you here," replied Shadow Shroud, somewhat unsure. "This is a secret room only accessible via a secret passage in the courtyard. We're lucky we found it by accident, even though it was a fright when I thought it had swallowed you three up. "I suppose she probably does know where it is" he thought, "but... why would she think to look for you here?"
The fillies looked at the skeletal pony uncertainly. He sighed.
"If she finds you... run, if you can. And scream, scream as loud as you possibly can."
"Are you sure we can't just go with you?" asked Scootaloo.
"I'm sure. I need to confront the shadow pony, and it wouldn't be safe to bring you three with me. She won't find you here."
"Will you at least come back to check on us soon?" pleaded Sweetie Belle. "I don't want to be stuck in a weird dark room for long."
"You can crack the door so that you can see the moonlight," answered Shadow Shroud assuringly. "But no more than a crack."
"Alright."
"Okay. I'm going now. I'll be back soon, I promise.
Twilight, Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow Dash all turned around at the sound of movement outside of the room.
"What's that?" asked Applejack.
"I don't know!" whispered Twilight.
"Well, I'm not scared," said Rainbow Dash confidently. "Let's go see who's making those funny noises!" She flew toward the door.
"Wait, Rainbow!" cried Twilight.
The door suddenly flew open, interrupting the pegasus's flight abruptly.
"Rainbow!" cried the three remaining ponies in unison, but they all froze when they saw the pony in the door. Rainbow Dash let out a groan from the floor.
"It's you!" shouted Twilight accusingly. She tried to use a spell, but to her horror, her horn merely sparked and the magic died away.
Before she could say anything, the pony in armor let out a strange cry and fired a burst of shadowy magic at Twilight. Its cry sounded as if it was coming from a very long way away while retaining full volume. Twilight dodged the burst of magic and tried to use another spell, once again failing.
Rarity was discovering similar difficulty with casting magic. However, Applejack was succeeding in keeping the pony distracted by walking cautiously around her without actually making any move to attack her. The pony released another bolt of magic, this time aimed at the farm pony, which she had been prepared for and dodged easily.
At almost the same moment, Rainbow Dash's hind hooves collided with the pony's armor, making a loud 'CLANG' noise and throwing the pony to their stomach. Somehow the pony was able to roll out of the way of any further harm and was back to their feet before anypony could react, but to everypony's surprise, the armored pony turned around and galloped through the door it came from, slamming the wooden door.
The mares had only just started to move after the pony when suddenly they heard a voice from the outside.
"Whuh-oh! She's seen us! Run!"
"Apple Bloom!" shouted the mares. Applejack made it to the door first, but it refused to budge. She slammed it with a hoof, but it still remained shut.
There was screams from the three fillies. Applejack suddenly got a wild look in her eye and turned around before giving the door an all-mighty buck that caused it to explode outward in splinters.
The mares hurried through the door, but suddenly Applejack stopped. As the other mares emerged from behind her, they froze too.
In the courtyard before them were the Cutie Mark Crusaders, each seemingly bound by dark ropes of magic. The armored pony was looking down at them. The fillies either could not or did not speak, but each had a look of terror on their face.
The armored pony looked up at the mares, and then suddenly began to speak.
"We... meet again..." said the eerie voice of the mare, as though carried by the wind. The voice was unmistakable. It was then that the mares realized that they had been mistaken about the pony's identity, but their faces were already frozen in shock.
"Let them go, for goodness sake!" shouted Rarity.
The pony hesitated only a moment before answering with, "Of course... I have no quarrel with mere foals... and I have no quarrel... with even you... three... So you may take the foals and leave this castle... as soon as you surrender yourself to me... Twilight Sparkle..."
Color drained from each of the mares faces.
"No..." whispered Rarity.
"No, Twilight. This can't be!" said Applejack.
"There has to be another way!" insisted Rainbow Dash.
"But..." began Twilight. "We can't take that chance. I have to do it."
"Twilight!" whispered Applejack in deep concern.
"Do you promise," said Twilight shakily, "that everypony else can leave if I agree to this? That they will not come to harm?"
The other pony seemed to hiss in annoyance, but immediately afterward answered with "Yes... I swear it."
"Then I..." She approached the fillies. "I surrender. Do what you will!"
Twilights friends stared at her incredulously.
"You... are mine now, Twilight Sparkle."
Ropes of dark magic began to form around Twilight. Her friends could only watch, dumbfounded.
As soon as the magic was complete, Twilight looked up into the face of her captor. "You gave your word," she growled, somehow managing to come off as threatening.
Without a word from the other pony, the bindings around the fillies disintegrated into nothingness. The fillies did not move.
The armored pony turned back toward the mares. "Take your foals and leave... lest you all intend to bear witness to these coming events..."
For a long time, none of the mares spoke a word, and neither did the armored pony. Finally, Applejack found the courage to say in a strained voice, "Come here, you three. Please."
For a moment it seemed that the fillies were about to follow her order, but Sweetie Belle held out a hoof and stopped them. She turned and looked straight up at the armored pony.
"Miss Shadow Pony?"
The armored pony hesitated, and then looked back down at the filly, somehow appearing surprised. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom looked at Sweetie Belle as if she were insane.
"Sweetie!" snapped Rarity in disbelief.
Sweetie Belle ignored her. She turned to look at Twilight, who's expression was begging for her to do as she was told. Sweetie Belle's face hardened even more. She turned back around and picked the ceramic chocolate box off of the ground. It had remained unnoticed until then. The added confusion did little to help everypony's state of mind.
"These are the finest candies in all of Equestria," continued Sweetie Belle without pause. "They're really expensive and really, really yummy. So..."
She produced a key and inserted it into the lock and turned it. She lifted the lid, revealing at many gold foil wrapped spheres inside.
She paused and stammered for words. After looking down at the ground, she finally managed to say, "If I give them to you... Will you let everypony go?"
There was dead silence for a full fifteen seconds.
And then there was a burst of magic.
Everypony watched, horrified as the box fell to the dirt and round candies exploded away from it in all directions, littering the ground with golden specs everywhere. The armored pony was shaking slightly.
And then, against all expectations, laughter began to fill the air. It started off quietly, but quickly escalated to a distant and hollow guffaw. The armored pony began to lose control of herself as laughter overtook her completely.
And then there was a sudden motion from above quickly followed by the metallic rattling of armor.
The nightmare let out a ghostly groan as she lifted herself from the dirt that she had been plastered into, having sobered up immediately. She scrambled to her hooves and looked up and saw a robed figure behind a strange dark shield that collided with her helmet a moment later. It hit with far more force than it should have been able to give and caused her to stumble back several steps. The robed pony wasted no time in charging her down with another shield bash.
The frustrated shadow allowed her armor to simply fall away as the shield hit her a fourth time. The armor was flung behind her violently, leaving behind a dark and featureless form.
The shield collided with her once again and she let out an eerie scream of rage before dissipating in a cloud of smoke.
She reappeared behind the robed pony and fired a beam of magic at him. However, the robed pony managed to get the shield in front of the beam, which proceeded to have apparently no effect. The robed pony started charging at her again and she let out a sound that might have been a snort and vanished once again before reappearing again and repeating the attack.
Meanwhile, the three mares were trying their best to ignore the battle and usher the crusaders to safety. They had rapidly fled the scene, but Rainbow Dash was already back. She dive bombed at the shadow pony, but to her surprise, she passed through as though the other pony did not exist, although it give her the strangest feeling of discomfort.
Rainbow Dash hovered in the air and observed as the battle escalated, wracking her brain for some way of helping. The shadow pony had apparently decided to simply blast the robed pony with as much magical power as possible as quickly as possible. To Rainbow's astonishment, this too seemed to have no effect, as the shield seemed to somehow project a magic dome around the pony that she knew to be Shadow Shroud, absorbing the blast completely. The bombardment was disrupted as the Pony of Shadows vanished again to avoid her approaching opponent.
The Pony of Shadows did not follow up with another magic blast. Instead, she simply stood still and watched Shadow Shroud carefully. He charged once again.
She deftly dodged tried to fire another beam of magic, but the other pony anticipated the counter attack and swung away from the magic.
But even as the skeletal pony was turning around for yet another counter attack, the shadow pony pounced on him. He did not have time to react since he was still recovering from the last attack and suddenly found himself being thrown to the ground. He desperately tried to pull his shield into position for a solid bash, but to his horror, the shadow had managed to pin it below her body. Her face was peering down at his with far too little distance separating them.
Both ponies hesitated. Shadow Shroud realized that the hood which normally concealed his identity so well had been thrown free from his head from the impact. He continued to struggle in vain, but the shadow pony did not even seem to react. Suddenly he stopped struggling and also began staring, but his focus was no longer on his opponent.
There was an unnatural and erratic light on the ramparts of the wall above him. It seemed to be a part of a strange object that he could not make out. After examining it for a moment, he realized that there was a oblong tube object decorated with spiral stripes and with several more tubes protruding from it, all fixed in a small wooden frame support of some kind. It was pointed in their general direction. He realized that the light was coming from combustion.
A moment later there was an extremely loud and shrill whistling noise as the strange object lit up even brighter and hurled itself at the ground below, and then the world around them exploded with light.
The tubular monstrosity hit the ground and ricocheted, all the while unleashing strange sparking lights in a spherical pattern around it and overloading the ears of everypony present with overwhelming popping and cracking sounds. It quickly lodged itself in the ground, where it continued releasing sparkles and also began making 'BANG' sounds that were accompanied by a flashes of light.
Shadow Shroud had thrown up his shield and was trying to protect both himself and Twilight (who had curled up into a ball) from the exploding monstrosity. Once the thing had become stuck in one spot, he took time to search for the shadow pony.
To his utter disbelief, he discovered that the flaming, sparking object was provoking a severe reaction from the creature of nightmare. She was distantly screaming in pain as the flashing waxed and waned alongside the ever-present fury of fiery sparks. Her form appeared to go transparent with each flash. He watched as she actually moved to hide in the breastplate of the ancient pony armor, although it was not complete protection.
The eye-burning and ear-assaulting device was showing no signs of letting up. In fact, it seemed to grow more severe as time went on.
Shadow Shroud began to slowly move, continually bracing himself against the rain of sparks and burning specs that pelted his shield. Although his progress was slow, he was slowly creeping closer to the nightmare.
Even amongst the cries of pain, the Pony of Shadows gave Shadow Shroud a threatening look. This was, of course, ignored, as the pony was currently under too much stress to act.
Shadow Shroud stopped his advance and carefully stopped down and picked up an oblong ceramic box, key still in place and lid still hanging open.
And then he picked up the piece of armor that the shadow was currently lodged inside of and exposed the inside to the lights.
The nightmare immediately replaced her screams of pain with howls of rage as her form was involuntarily drawn toward the relative darkness of the box's interior. It was as though her form had changed to liquid and was being sucked into the box from the armor. In moments, the dark form of the pony had disappeared inside it.
And then Shadow Shroud slammed the lid and clicked the key. After this, he began applying the strongest containment and suppression spells he knew to the box, ignoring the agonizingly loud sounds coming from the strange device, and ensuring that the creature now trapped within would have no hope of escape by brute force.
Suddenly, as he was applying spells to the chocolate box / makeshift prison, the sounds and around him vanished rather suddenly so that he looked up from what he was doing for a moment.
Twilight was standing right beside him with her horn alight and the strange tube device was drenched with water, quelling its rage.
He looked back to the box and finished casting the last of the spells. The box had started to shake violently, which concerned him, but it was not unexpected. The monster within wanted out. Once he was certain that the magic would hold, he finally allowed himself to relax a little. He turned back to Twilight.
She was stammering. Shadow Shroud did not allow her to do this for long, however.
"You have no need to apologize to me," he said in a weary voice.
"No, that's not true," Twilight burst out. "I was wrong about you. You never put those fillies under a curse, and you are not an evil pony! Maybe you did use a little bit of necromancy, but you have proven to me that even with your body gone, your sense of morals is still completely in tact, and I should have seen that"
"You were only trying to be reasonable, and to be safe, Twilight. I specifically chose to betray your trust, all in the name of helping others. You had no way of knowing. It's over now."
"But why couldn't I have been more like Scootaloo, or Apple Bloom, or Sweetie Belle?" demanded Twilight, close to tears. "They saw you for what you are when the Princess of Friendship refused to see it!"
Shadow Shroud did not even get a chance to answer, as Rainbow Dash suddenly landed between the two ponies.
"That..." she began. She hesitated. "That was not something I was expecting to see when I woke up today," she finished. "And I guess... we have you to thank."
"Actually," thought Shadow Shroud, "I can take far less credit for all of this than I can even begin to explain. But I will worry about that later."
"I'm just glad that everypony made it out safe," said Shadow Shroud sincerely.
"You did far more than that," replied Rainbow Dash. She looked to Twilight. "You saved everypony. It was amazing!There's no way you were trying to hurt Scoot and the others. That blame goes to the Pony of Shadows," she finished disgustedly.
"They were supposed to be somewhere safe, away from that nightmare," replied Shadow Shroud with frustration. "They shouldn't have been captured like that, and I let it happen!"
"But they were being held hostage to begin with," replied Rainbow Dash, confused.
"Only in a fashion. They were magically forbidden from leaving the castle grounds, but they were allowed to roam free. They shouldn't have been used as leverage."
"Well, that's strange. Why would she let them wander around only to hold them for ransom later on?"
"I don't know," replied Shadow Shroud. "To be honest, I don't want to know. I just want to get away from here."
There was a moment of silence. "So what are you going to do with that... box?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"I suppose the safest place to keep it would be... in my place," proposed Shadow Shroud. "If you don't have a problem with that?"
"Actually," said Twilight. "I think we might want to ask for opinions from the princesses on this matter. Both of them."
Shadow Shroud gave her a confused look. "You refer to two princesses other than yourself, I assume."
"Princess Celestia and Luna. Let's just say that... They both... have a personal interest in this. Especially Princess Luna."
Shadow Shroud let out a sigh. "Well then, lets go find everypony else and let them know that we're safe."
Twilight gasped. "How could I forget about them? They must be worried sick!"
"I'm dying to ask," said Rainbow Dash as they hurried off, "Where did you get that huge firework thing?" The admiration in her voice was not lost upon Shadow Shroud.
"... Would you believe me if I told you that it was just... there?"
"Really? You're sure? I... I don't know whether to believe that or not."
There was a knock on the front door of the library, causing Twilight to hop up from the floor with her friends (the Cutie Mark Crusaders had been made to go to bed in a guest room upstairs) and answer it.
Princess Celestia was on the other side of the door with two guards at her side.
"Princess Celestia!" cried Twilight happily.
"Twilight! It is so good to see you again!" replied Celestia, who turned and nodded to the guards, who walked away. When Celestia turned back toward Twilight, she gasped in surprise.
"Twilight, are you... quite alright?"
"Of- course I am!" replied Twilight, the drowsiness as apparent in her voice as it was on her face. "Why wouldn't I be?" She let out a nervous laugh.
"You look... tired."
"Oh. Um, I have a... tiny confession to make," Twilight admitted.
"Yes?"
"I..."
Celestia did not say anything as Twilight trailed off, instead choosing to wait and let her explain at her own pace.
"I... haven't slept in over twenty-four hours."
"I see," replied Celestia, hiding a smile. "I understand. The prospect of exploring a room full of items of the distant past would be far too interesting for you to waste time sleeping."
"Oh, yeah," replied Twilight nervously. "About that... I have another confession to make."
"Oh?"
"Well, it turns out that... there was a complication. I- I just didn't want to bother you with it last night because you already said that you would be coming today and I didn't want to destroy your schedule..."
"Twilight, you know that if something important happened that I would want you to tell me."
"It was alright, actually. I was able to handle everything just fine... in the end. I know I should have sent you a letter about it, but I didn't want to just surprise you with a letter out of the blue and say 'By the way, it turns out that...' "
"I can't do this," Twilight declared. "You... You need to come in and see for yourself.
Twilight stepped aside and indicated for the confused and curious princess to enter the library.
"Hello, my little ponies," Celestia said in greeting to the unexpected company in the library, turning her head to each one to show that she was addressing every pony present. Suddenly her head snapped back to stare at Shadow Shroud, who had his hood down.
There was a moment of awkward silence. Shadow Shroud had not realized that this meeting would be so difficult for him, but now that it was happening, he found his mind locked up. He managed to say, "Celestia," in greeting, but his tone betrayed his feelings at that moment.
Celestia started moving her mouth, but no words came out. Shadow Shroud was beginning to have thoughts of his own that made him wordlessly leave the main lobby and step into the kitchen and out of sight.
He heard the voices of Twilight and her friends assuring the Princess, but he could not make out what they were saying.
He had managed to avoid breaking down in sentimental joy at having returned to the world once again after a long two thousand years of isolation. This was probably because his mind was so desperately trying to ensure that he would not experience it a second time to actually indulge in his emotions. By the time he had earned pardon from Twilight and Rainbow Dash, he somehow already felt at home in the world once again.
But this was much different. Everypony that he had come to meet over the course of the previous day had been somepony that he had never met before. But Princess Celestia was one of a tiny hoof-full of living ponies in the world who had known him in his previous life. One of the only ponies who remembered the things that he had done, both the good and the bad. And now she was the sole pony now having to reconcile to herself that he was in fact not dead, a belief that she had held for two thousand years.
He was an abomination now. Would Celestia decide that the pony that she had once known was dead?
She would be right. His memories from two thousand years ago seemed almost unreal, as if they did belong to another pony. Two thousand years of isolation was certain to have completely altered his mind to the point that he did not think or act at all in the same manner as the pony who Celestia had once known.
As he stood in the kitchen brooding, he suddenly saw Celestia in the door way. When she saw that he had looked up at her, she raced forward and threw her front hooves around him.
"Shadow Shroud!" she cried. Tears were forming in her eyes, but she did not allow it to impair her speech. "What is this that you have wrought for yourself?"
"I... I have no excuse," replied Shadow Shroud, silently thanking that he was physically incapable of crying himself before rebuking himself for such a thought. "I was in such agony."
"It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what means you are here before me today. It has been so long since I first wished for just one last chance to see you again. Why, I shall never let you out of my sight again!"
"Celestia," said Shadow Shroud uneasily. "You must tell me. What of your sister, Luna?"
Celestia slowly loosened her embrace. "She is well. She will be so happy to learn that you live still. Although, in truth, I am relieved that your return is after her troubles were resolved."
Celestia gasped. "I should not have said that," she declared. "If I had been able, I would have returned you to Equestria without hesitation on any day. It is just that, it would break my heart to inform you that Luna was... unavailable.
Shadow Shroud nodded slowly. "I have already heard. Twilight gave me something of a lesson on the subject."
Celestia looked downcast.
"Come, we should return to Twilight and the others," he said, trying to distract Celestia. "I think they want to tell you what happened last night themselves."
"Are you okay, Princess?" asked Twilight carefully when the two ponies had returned.
"Yes, Twilight," answered Celestia happily. "I'm better than I have been in a long time."
"Show her what we... brought back from the castle, Twilight," said Shadow Shroud.
Twilight nodded and levitated the ceramic box into view before placing it before Celestia.
Celestia jumped in surprise when the box started shaking violently all on its own. Afraid to touch it, she looked at it from above and at all sides. She even peered into the keyhole, but there was only blackness.
"What is this?" Celestia whispered.
"That," said Twilight, "contains the spirit of the Nightmare."
Celetia's face hardened. "How did this come to be?" she asked, carefully levitating the box and testing it's magic wards.
"Nightmare had created a plot to lure me into the Castle of the Pony Sisters, so that she could gain revenge on me, or possibly to find out if she could corrupt me in my new alicorn form. She captured three of my best friends' little sisters to lure us to her," Twilight said, motioning toward the other mares in the room, who wore grim expressions.
"She didn't hurt them!" Twilight said quickly before Celestia could overreact. "They're all just fine now. Princess... I have another confession to make."
Celestia did not speak, so Twilight carried on. "I thought that Shadow Shroud had taken them at first. I thought that he was a monster!"
"But?" said Celestia, more harshly than she should have.
"But he was there to save them, Princess. He saved us all!"
Over the next two hours, the details of the night were explained to Celestia.
"I know that I said this already in the presence of the others," said Celestia, who was currently walking alone with Shadow Shroud through his home. "But I want to say it again to prove to you how sincerely I mean it. I am in your debt for saving my little ponies."
"Celestia... I am afraid I can't accept your praise."
"What?" asked Celestia in surprise. "Why ever not?"
"Because I attacked Nightmare spur of the moment. I don't know what I was hoping to accomplish. The most we could do to each other was knock each other down for a moment and bruise each other's pride. I was incapable of capturing her, and she was incapable of incapacitating me. Were it not for the fact that she had captured Twilight, I wouldn't have done anything so stupid. But, it was all I could do to just keep her busy and away from Twilight for as long as I could."
"But you did capture her," replied Celetia in confusion. "The firework was... rather unorthodox, but also an ingenious distraction! How ever did you come up with the idea?"
"I didn't come up with the idea," replied Shadow Shroud in a tone indicating that he was making a crucial point. "I didn't even set it up.
"But I almost certain that I know the ponies that did."
He stopped walking and his horn lit with magic as an object floated in front of Celestia and was set at her feet.
"This one," said Shadow Shroud. Celestia stared in surprise at the figurine of Applebloom.
"This one," the skeletal stallion continued, setting another down, and then another. "And this one."
Celestia smiled. "I had almost forgotten your talent for sculpting. It has been unappreciated for a great many years. You say that the fillies are responsible for Nightmare's capture?"
"In a fashion," answered Shadow Shroud cryptically. "You'll see what I mean in a minute."
"But there is no chance that they could have brought anything as large as the firework that you described upon capture, and they could not have found such a thing at the castle!"
"I know!" cried Shadow Shroud in frustration. "I tell you, those three are far more clever than they look. I'm certain that they helped us at least twice. Maybe three times. It doesn't make any sense any other way!"
"How can you be so sure?"
Suddenly, there was a popping noise from below. To Celestia's astonishment, the figurines were now huddled together with guilty expressions on their faces.
"There!" shouted Shadow Shroud, almost manically. "You see it? You see it?"
"I see it," assured Celestia. "That wasn't you?"
"No! I've been watching these... ponies for a couple of hours now, and I swear, these things have minds of their own, and they know things that they shouldn't!"
"Know things?"
"Yes, like when somepony is in trouble and needs help, or where to find... random... stuff like they did! Sweetie Belle insisted that she had taken that box from her sister, but you know that that can't be! She found it at the castle!"
"Except..." said Shadow Shroud, suddenly calming down somewhat. "The box was trapped. It dumped a bucket of water on Sweetie Belle's head when she picked it up. It's like, these things," he indicated the figurines. "were playing a prank or some nonsense!"
"Could it not be that they were hoping for Nightmare to be the one to fall for the trap?" offered Celestia.
"That- could be actually," said Shadow Shroud. "It wouldn't have worked, but maybe they didn't know that..."
"It would seem that the fillies are under the mistaken impression that Nightmare has a weakness for sweets. They might find that true of my sister, but Nightmare would not have indulged in such things.
"You mean you think that Sweetie Belle- the real Sweetie Bell, and this, figurine... were thinking along the same lines?"
"It is probable. Tell me, how can these fillies preform tasks if they are inanimate? Aside from apparent teleportation."
"Again, I don't know! Every time they do that 'pop' thing, things just change all at once! Can you believe, I saw with my own eyes a miniature zipline spontaneously appear in my own home? The high end was attached to the top of a bookshelf, and those three were sliding down it with silly expressions on their faces. They rode it all the way down and then hit the wall. They just stayed like that though. I removed them from the thing, and a moment later I find them all with hooves over their muzzles!"
Celestia stopped blinking. "So they can spontaneously summon a zipline?"
"No, I know where they got the materials for it. Magical artifacts are in the minority around here. This place is loaded with junk more than anything, I just like to keep it out of sight, and out of mind. I don't know how they found it all of course."
"Shadow, was I incorrect in my assumption that you created these figurines?"
"... No. But I did not put any spells on them, of any kind. I don't know what's happening."
"It sounds to me," said Celestia, suddenly taking on her "teacher" voice, "that these are simply fillies being fillies. Their... lifestyle appears completely alien, and their relationship to their breathing counterpart is questionable, and, although you did not see it coming, they are under your care now. Have you told anypony else of these circumstances?"
"No."
"You may do as you see fit," said Celestia. "However, I advise you that it is not wise to leave three fillies unattended."
"That is my final words on this matter for now," said Celestia as she began to walk back in the direction that they had come from. Shadow Shroud followed her. "I will not be intruding upon Twilight or yourself any longer, as I still have duties to attend to. I am taking the nightmare with me. Luna will ultimately be the one to decide her fate."
Celetstia stopped in front of the portal, then turned around abruptly toward Shadow Shroud.
"Let me look at you once more before I go, and be glad! For it is not the last time, but one of many more to come!"
"Hello!" came the cry of Shadow Shroud's voice from below. "Anypony home?"
The Cutie Mark Crusaders scrambled to the window of the clubhouse and saw the skeletal pony standing outside.
"It's you!" said Apple Bloom happily. "What are you doing here?"
"Actually," replied Shadow, "I was hoping you three could help me.
"Help you?"
"Yes. I have a question for each of you. If I want to get on your sisters' good sides, what would I need to do?"
"You mean other than save us from the Pony of Shadows?"
"Yes."
Rainbow Dash awoke to a strange noise. She groaned and sat up on her cloud, nearly falling over when she realized that she had company.
"Whoa!" she shouted with a start at the unexpected guest. "How'd you get up here?"
"I just teleported up," answered Shadow Shroud. "Sorry that I woke you up."
After a moment Rainbow Dash let out a laugh. "You know, I forgot for a moment that you're still an alicorn, even if your wings-"
She stopped and turned red with embarrassment. "Sorry."
"It's fine. I just came up to ask you something."
"Oh?"
"Would you mind posing for me?"
"Posing for you? What, did Rarity put you up to this or something?"
"No! I just wanted to make a little sculpture of you. So that I have something to remember the fastest pony I have ever met."
"Really?" asked Rainbow Dash, intrigued. "So, even two thousand years ago, you never met anypony as fast as me?"
"That's right," answered Shadow Shroud honestly.
"Well, alright then," said Rainbow Dash, standing up. "It's the least I can do for you to look awesome."
"So let me get this straight," said Applejack, standing in the orchard. "You saved mah sister. And all ye want in return... is to let you make a little statue of me?"
"If it's not too much trouble."
"Course it aint!" she replied, setting the apples that she was carrying down. "Just... don't include all the dirt an' muck. And make sure that you get my good side!"
"This is a statue," reminded Shadow Shroud. "That means it shows all of your sides."
"Oh. Tha's right."
"My goodness, you a professional at this!" exclaimed Rarity excitedly, examining Shadow's work from every angle. "How wonderful! You have such sophisticated detail and elegance! I can see why you went searching for the best when you asked me to model for you!"
"Thank you?" replied Shadow Shroud. Sweetie Belle had assured him that Rarity would jump at the chance to be the center of attention, but he had assumed that "narcissistic" was a strong word.
Rarirty gasped and held her look-alike figurine to her mouth. "Do you know what would be marvelous?"
"No?" anwered Shadow Shroud, staring at the figuring contacting Rarity's lips.
"This is just begging for an appropriately sized little dress! And do you know what would be the perfect dress?"
There was a popping noise. Shadow Shroud stared at the figurine.
"Oh no," he thought, horrified. "This wasn't supposed to happen for a little while! Where did that even come from? Where did she get it?
Rarity looked down at the figurine for a moment, and then looked back up with shock.
"That. Is exactly what I was thinking!" she cried. "How in Equestria did you know?"
"Lucky guess?"
There was knocking at Shadow Shroud's door (which had recently been installed in front of the portal for the sake of privacy). He answered immediately and was greeted by Princess Celestia.
"Celestia!" he said with relief. "I'm glad you could come. I tell you, I'm about this far from being driven completely insane!" He held up his front hooves to demonstrate, leaving almost no space between them.
"I am sorry that I could not respond quicker to your request," replied sympathetically. "You know how it is."
"I do," Shadow Shroud affirmed. He hesitated. "How is Luna? She came to say 'hello' the day after your visit, but she didn't stay long. Is she okay?"
"I believe she was feeling rather overwhelmed with all of the news at the time. I am unsure as to the wisdom of her decision to keep Nightmare so close, but it was her decision, and I do agree that nopony should have to subjected to void for the remainder of all time. Of course, at first all she could extract from the box was fits of rage, but after about three weeks the nightmare seems to lose her will to fight. Luna simply... Talked with it. I would often be there to listen, although I was primarily keeping watch over her... just in case.
"She doesn't say anything hateful to Nightmare, nor does she make accusations. She just... tells it what is happening in Equestria. And Nightmare just listened. And then just yesterday, she began to speak back, although I am unhappy to report that she was hateful. Luna just took it all.
"Of course, I wasn't going to let that creature get away with such hate, even if Luna was willing to let it go. When Luna was absent, I confronted the abomination myself and made it clear to her how much more I would allow before sending her prison to Tartarus."
"From the way Nightmare reacted, I was sure that I would have to make good on my word, and I do not think I would have regretted it. Much. But, this morning...
"I found Luna using Nightmare as an opponent in chess."
"Wait!" exclaimed Shadow Shroud in horror. "Luna lifted the magic suppression spell?"
"No, she did not." Celestia assured. "She made it clear that she will not ever let Nightmare out unless I can agree with her that, by some miracle, she could be trusted. Nightmare was calling out coordinates that she wanted her pieces to move to, and Luna moved them for her."
"And she wasn't being hateful?" posed Shadow Shroud doubtfully.
"She was not. She made a comment about how it was foolish that the only pieces to actually look like ponies were not the king or queen, and remarked that the role of king and queen should be swapped because it is a ridiculously long standing tradition from when Equestria was under the rule of Discord.
"She was also rather smug when she ultimately emerged victorious. She needs to learn to be more gracious."
Celestia sighed. "I am growing weary of this talk of Nightmare and Luna. It causes me enough stress when I am in their presence. What of your problem that you so desire my help?"
Shadow Shroud sighed. "I have been studying the nature of the pony figurines while I figure out what to do with them. I have actually been able to learn much, despite my confusion. Almost everything about them just leaves me flabbergasted. But one thing that I have determined is that they only become 'animate' if I, the creator, have a personal connection with the pony that I sculpt.
"I take it that you determined this through trial and error," mused Celestia. "And had at least one success."
"I did. I started out by creating figurines of the fillies' sisters. That at least put an end to the stress of them making a giant mess of my possessions. They... keep the fillies out of trouble, or at least make them clean up whatever mess they make. Which is what I was hoping for."
"This reinforces my belief that they are somehow reflections of the living pony," Celestia said.
"It does," agreed Shadow Shroud. "Although they hardly duplicate the actions of their counterpart. I checked. They do seem to act in ways that I would expect from the real ponies. And I know for a fact that they have their memories."
"So what is it that is causing you such stress?" asked Celestia.
"Come see" said Shadow Shroud, exasperated.
He led Celestia to a locked door.
"They can't get out if the door is locked," Shadow explained as he undid the lock. "It looks like they teleport around the place, but if they can't walk out, disregarding the fact that they don't seem to walk at all, they don't appear outside. And they used to wander all over the place before I locked them in."
Celestia made a sour face. "Isn't locking them in a little harsh?"
He paused while twisting the door handle. "Actually, one of them can still get out. Twilight. But it's not really a problem because I figured out that she likes to sneak into my library. The one full of regular, not-dangerous-magical-tomes books that aren't filled with dark magic. I have way too many books.
"But I don't think the others mind being locked in here. They... set up in here."
Shadow Shroud swung the door open and Celestia gasped. There was a miniature village set up in the room. It was composed of replicas of the homes of the elements of harmony (including a farmhouse), but no other residences. There was also a lone water tower and the Ponyville schoolhouse, presumably for the fillies.
"Did you make this for them?" asked Celestia in shock.
"No, they did!" he shouted in frustration.
"Why do ponies taking care of themselves bother you so?"
"Because the way they do it... just doesn't make any sense!"
"I'll admit," Shadow said in a calmer tone. "I made the library. I thought that it would be nice for them to have somewhere familiar to be. The fillies seemed happy enough, but the others were just... sad, I suppose. I didn't know why they would be at first. When I gave Twilight a proper tour of my home and took the opportunity to ask what might make her friends sad, without giving away any hints about... all this.
"She immediately said that they would be unhappy if they couldn't see their friends, and then it hit me that I had to get them all in here. I made Twilight's figurine right then. Pinkie Pie was easy, she let me sculpt her figurine without a fuss. Fluttershy was a little harder, but she did want to thank me for saving the fillies. She's astoundingly skilled at standing completely still.
"Actually, that was one thing I could not get across to Pinkie. She stayed in one spot, sure, but she wouldn't stop. Bouncing. It turned out alright though. I'm guessing her hair is always a frazzled mess."
"But then they all got together and hollowed the library sculpture out themselves. I've looked inside, it's a pretty accurate reconstruction. And then Twilight suddenly started sending me letters, which I can't believe I didn't think of. I had to use a magnification spell to read it of course. She asked for more building materials.
"I did bring them wooden logs and stuff. I don't know how, but they broke it all down and made it into that town you see there. And I also wrote back to Twilight asking her about the nature of the figurines, but... she doesn't seem to know! It's almost like she doesn't even realize that they are stuck in one spot most of the time! I'm actually pretty sure that, from their perspectives, they aren't. It's crazy.
"And then she told me that she was getting lonely without Spike, and so I had to go and recruit him too.
"And by that time, they had finished making all these buildings, and those trees suddenly popped up out of nowhere!"
Celestia followed Shadow's hoof to the Apple family farm. Sure enough, there was an orchard planted in a patch of dirt. Actually, she realized that the entire town was sitting on dirt. It only expanded enough to reach all of the structures, but it was there. Celestia focused on the little apple trees.
"These are alive. And bearing tiny apples," she said.
"You're telling me. The ponies are made of stone. Strange, but I can live with that. The buildings are made of wood and a little bit of scrap metal, for sinks and utensils, except the library."
Celestia looked at the library again and noted that it was not a living tree. She wondered if it would have been if Shadow Shroud had not created it himself.
"But where. In Equestria. Do you get seeds that grow one foot tall apple trees?"
Celestia was dumbfounded.
"I don't know where the seeds came from, but at least when I saw carts loaded with tiny little apples start showing up, I knew where they came from. What did not make sense in the least was when baked goods started popping up outside Sugarcube Corner. They don't have any hay or wheat. They don't have a processing mill. They do have flour. Also, that pink pony is making way too much cake. There aren't enough ponies here to eat it all, and it just piles up.
Celestia took note of the stack of rather delicious looking cakes in front of sugar cube corner. Unfortunately, it would barely be a morsel if she were to devour it herself. Then she reconsidered Shadow's words. "They have need to eat then?"
"I've never seen any of these ponies actually eat or drink anything, but I have seen dirty plates in the sink. Filled with water."
Celestia took a step back and considered the town for a while. Finally she said, "Well, I must admit that this is all rather startling, but there is nothing to actually cause worry as far as I can tell."
"You are right, even though this doesn't make much sense, it's not actually a problem," replied Shadow Shroud. "Except one thing. Do you see the school?"
Celestia looked at the school again. She realized that at some point while they had been talking, several ponies had appeared outside of it.
Several fillies and colts.
Oh dear.
"The Crusaders needed to have their regular teacher to continue their education. She was terrified of me until Apple Bloom proved to her that I wasn't a threat. And then they wanted their class mates. But this isn't the end of it. Applejack and Applebloom miss their family, Fluttershy is getting lonely without any animals around, and everypony at school needs somepony else to take care of them other than Miss Cheerlie. And the new ponies are going to want more friends. And those ponies are going to want more friends. So guess what I get to do for the next who knows how many weeks?
"Make friends with every last pony in Ponyville."
Celestia burst out laughing.
"What is so funny?" demanded Shadow Shroud.
"I'm sorry," said Celestia, who was trying to control a fit of giggles. "It's terrible that this has happened to you in such a way as to make it look like a chore, but... I think you could do with making a few more friends."
"A few?"
"Well," Celestia said, suddenly not laughing. "Everypony you used to know is... gone, Shadow. And Ponyville as a whole needs to learn that you are not a monster."
"Not everypony I knew is gone," said Shadow Shroud. "There is Luna and yourself."
"And we will always be. But we have our royal duty."
"Some things never change," muttered Shadow Shroud.
Celestia smirked. "There is one other you may meet that you once knew. In fact, if you are to meet everyone in Ponyville, your meeting is inevitable.
"What?" asked Shadow Shroud in surprise. "Who?"
"Discord."
"DISCORD? I'm sorry, as in, Lord of Chaos Discord?"
"Yes. He has... changed. For the better, I assure you."
"Forgive me if I'm skeptic. Are there any other evil powers running around that I thought were long gone?"
Celestia kept silent.
"You're kidding me! Sombra?"
"Sombra was defeated once and for all about a year ago," said Celestia.
"Tirek?"
"Still confined in Tartarus, as he hopefully ever shall be."
"Bahamut?"
"...What?"
"Don't tell me you've forgotten," said Shadow Shroud, not believing it for a moment. "He's only the hugest living thing in the universe. By several orders of magnitude."
Celestia said nothing. "Looks like a thousand mile long snake with claws, but is supposedly actually a spacefaring dragon? Big droopy mustache? Doesn't acknowledge the existence of anyone he can't see, which is almost everyone? Idea of a gourmet meal is a nice round star? Like our own sun? Almost ate the sun itself just after Discord was defeated? The only reason he didn't is because you appealed to his arrogance? Swore he would be back after two thousand years before taking off?"
"I know of whom you speak," said Celestia uneasily. "That dragon is the size of the entire country. If he were anywhere near Equestria, our astronomers would have located him. We are safe from him for now, and we are prepared for him should he be foolish enough to make an appearance."
