> Fighting the Shadows > by Goodbye1234567890 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Chapter 1: True Love Prevails Time > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- My name is Dusk Cloud. At one point in time, I was a human. Now, I'm a pony. When I first appeared in Equestria, the first pony I met was Twilight Sparkle. Now, we are happily married, and have three wonderful fillies. Dawn Shine, Pyro (Heat Wave), and Golden Sparx. They are all triplets, and can be a bit of a hoof full at times, but I couldn't ask for a better family. And yet, there's more; my brother, Morning Dash (he changed his name to that because he wanted to be called by his real name but he wanted to show Rainbow Dash he was thankful for taking him in as her own) is part of the Royal Guard and is second-in-command to Shining Armor, he is also married to Scootaloo and has two wonderful filly's himself. Thunder Cloud, who, when hit by lightning, can go ten times the speed Rainbow Dash can while doing a Sonic Rainboom, is the apprentice of a Wonder Bolt. Twinkle Hooves, she is smart, and small. She is often mistaken by Spike as a giant marshmallow, funnily enough. About five years ago, when my adventure started, a group of evil ponies called the "Shadow Ponies" tried to take Sparx. For some reason, he was one pony of many (including Morning, the main six, Celestia, some other currently unknown ponies, and myself) who interfered with their plans to take over Equestria. In attempt to save him, Morning and I were dragged into the shadows along with Sparx. A pony named Shining Flare, who had been a Shadow Pony for 2000 years but was never officially evil, helped us get away. She didn't make it; she sacrificed herself to save my life. While we were gone, it felt like two days and one night, a year-and-a-half had passed. We were rescued, of course, because if we weren't I wouldn't be telling you this. When we got back, Morning and I were offered spots on the Royal Guard. I declined, but Morning accepted. He and his family (at the time of the happenings of what I am about to tell you) are moving in about three weeks. Usually, when Morning gets back from his duties, he goes home to Scootaloo, eats dinner and then comes over to visit Twilight and myself. He must have skipped going home because he was at my house earlier than usual. When I answered the door he said but one word, "Flare." "Flare," I repeated, "Flare, Flare, Flare. Flare! Flare? What about Flare?" "She is alive! And I don't mean that mare that Pyro is trying so very hard to date," he said, "I mean Shining Flare!" "What do you mean, alive?" I asked, "I watched her get torn to little bits by the Shadow Ponies. She can't be alive." "Well obviously not, I saw her. She even recognized me! She asked about you before passing out," he said excitedly. "What? Flare is alive?!?" came the voice of Sparx as he came running into the room. "Hey, Sparx, what have I told you about running in the house?" I asked sternly. "Oh, go easy on the filly," Morning intervened, "he's excited that Flare is still alive. He hasn't seen her in, what? Five human years?" "So can I come?" Sparx asked, "can I? Can I?" "Go ask your mom" He scampered off to whatever room Twilight was in to ask her if he could come with. "You know," Morning said, "Princess Celestia is stopping by the Hospital with one of her nieces. Who, I might add, is Sparx's age." I chuckled and punched him, which he returned a little harder than what I had done to him. I punched him harder and the same for him. "You... Have just made..." I spun my head in a circle, "A big mistake." "You are crossing hooves... With the wrong Pegasus," Morning said, returning the head spin. He jumped into the air and I followed suit. We floated there for a few seconds. As we were floating, Dawn walked in with a juice box floating in front of her, "You two are such dorks." We fell to our hooves and chuckled for a bit. Dawn was a small greyish unicorn with a long, maroon, mane and tail. She had beautiful eyes, they were a little off-setting though. Her eyes, minus the pupil, were pure white. They are a little creepy to wake up to at six in the morning, but they are charming none-the-less. On her flank was what looked like a small explosion of sky blue. But up close, one could see it had a very complex shape and design. She moved on to the next room with a slightly embarrassed sigh. Teenagers, I thought. "Yes!" I heard Sparx say excitedly. He ran in with an excited look on his face, "She said I can! I'm going to go get ready!" "Hold yourself, Sparx," Morning said, lightly grabbing his tail, "we can't visit until tomorrow." "Awww," Sparx whined, "okay," he sulked off to his room as it was time for him to go to bed. "Oh, Dusk," Morning said right as he was about to leave, "Your coming to the ceremony, right?" "What ceremony? Thunder's becoming-a-Wonderbolt ceremony in two weeks? Yeah, Of course we're going. What kind of family would we be if we didn't?" "Cool. Thanks. Be awake at dawn, and be ready," he said. "I will, now go home. Ya lucky bastard." So he left to go be with Scootaloo and Twinkle, and to get ready for tomorrow. I went into the filly's rooms (Twilight and I still called them fillies) and tucked them in. I went into our (Twilight's and mine) room and got into bed. We made out for a little while. We didn't get into much, we don't do that when Pyro, Sparx or Dawn (Spike usually stays at Rarity's) are home. The next morning I was awakened by Sparx shaking me. I opened my eyes and looked around. I looked out the window, still dark. Yep, it's six in the morning, all right. I grabbed my saddlebag and helped Sparx into his. We met up with Morning at the station and bought tickets to Canterlot, which was where the train was about to depart for. It turns out they were actually waiting for Morning by the order of Shining Armor, as they did every morning. I had some time to think while waiting for the train to make its stop at Canterlot, so I thought about just what my therapist told me not to think about. My time in the Shadow Ponies' complex. I remembered back to when I met Shadow Blade, leader of the Shadow Ponies, for the second time. He was probably plotting his revenge right now, in that dark room where I saw him last. I ended up getting some sleep along the way. I didn't dream about anything realistic, like the things that could actually happen. So nothing life threatening or life changing must be happening in the semi-close future. I woke up to the voice of the conductor on the intercom saying, "We are now approaching Canterlot. Please gather all belongings you don't want to be used as fuel for the engine," that last part he was being serious about. Lately, so many ponies have been leaving their belongings on the train and don't come to pick them up afterwards. So they decided to use the burnable stuff as fuel for the train. The train was enchanted so that whatever was being used as fuel, be it paper or clothing, it wouldn't ruin the atmosphere. This was a request made by Fluttershy (the eco-friendly enchantment idea, not the "burn what was left on the train" idea). After a few minutes the train came to a stop. I woke up Sparx and left the train with Morning. We walked for a little while to the center of the large city. "Follow me," Morning said over the loud chatter of the city, "the hospital is over there." Sparx and I nodded and followed him to a huge building that could have been the castle. Well, that is, If the castle was shaped like a gigantic box and had a huge red "+" on the front. I carried Sparx (not good for my minor scoliosis I was diagnosed with after carrying Morning almost a whole three miles) to the hospital. When we got into the hospital a guard noticed me and asked me to sign his helmet saying that he was a huge fan. I was Fluttershyed but I obliged. I signed his helmet with my cutie mark (a dark blue cloud with a sword going through it) with a DC in front of it. He looked overjoyed as he turned to his fellow soldiers who looked annoyed with him, or maybe they were jealous. We found Flare's room almost right away, as it was right next to the entrance to the first long corridor we were in. When we walked in we saw a yellow bodied mare with an orange-ish mane and tail with her back facing us, "w-who is it?" She asked. "It's me," I said, "It's us!" Sparx said following my statement. "Dusk? Sparx?! I-is that you? Where's Morning? He made it, right?" "Yes, he did make it. He is part of the Royal guard," I said. She tried to turn around so we went to her other side so that she could see us. "Oh, Sparx," she said, more life in her voice, "You have grown so much!" she gasped, "And you have your cutie mark! I knew you would get it sooner or later," she said, admiring his heart of gold. I heard hooves on the floor outside of the door, and then a knock on the door. It was a nurse, "ooh, I am so sorry, but I have to give your wife a shower now. The princess is coming to see her, don't ya know!" Flare blushed a little as I said, "she isn't my wife, and she saved my life. I am already married." "Ohh, so sorry der, I didn't know. If you could please step out for a moment, I'll be done in a jiffy," the nurse said, pushing us out of the room and closing the door behind us. As we were waiting for her to be done, the running water like music, we heard more hooves approaching. This time there were eight of them. The princesses came into view. I put my hoof under Sparx's mouth to prevent him from being a possible fly trap. Princess Celestia and her niece came down the hallway, their loyal subjects bowing. When they got to us I bowed along with the rest. I motioned for Sparx to do the same. His bow was a little late and clumsy. He has met the princess before, but never her niece (whom he seems to have gotten the attention of). The young alicorn giggled at his clumsiness as he face planted on the ground. She reached out to help him out and he took hold of it. Now, Sparx doesn't like getting help from anypony, not even me! "Hello Golden Sparx, it's nice to see that you have grown so much," Celestia said, "This is my niece--" "Celestial Bell," the young alicorn interrupted, "but Everypony I know calls me Bell. I think you know my distant relative, Sweetie Bell? Oh, and Rarity also!" Sparx only nodded, stunned by what he must have seen as beauty. The nurse poked her head out of the room and said that we may go in now; she then bowed and went off to help some other patient. Celestia and I went in as Sparx stayed outside of the room with Bell. When we got in, Flare was facing the door. When she saw Celestia her eyes went huge and started to tear up. "C-Celestia? I-is that really you?" "Do I--" she started, confused. She looked into Flare's green eyes. Tears welled up in her eyes, "F-Flare? I-is that really you? I thought you... You... Died." "I did. I did, without you. I thought I... I..." Flare said as she began to cry. "No, my love," Wait, wait wait! "My love"?!?, "You died right after you attacked me. I had to wonder why you would do such a thing until I saw your shadow dart from under you. I then remembered that you don't have a shadow, as you are the embodiment of light." I looked under Flare, she was sitting upright now, and saw no shadow just as Celestia said. They began to kiss, softly at first, but after a while they were making out like Sparx and Bell were outside of the room. I kicked the door closed. I didn't need Sparx to get any more ideas. Then, Flare became shrouded in a harsh light. When the light died after several minutes, she emerged an alicorn. She looked like Celestia in every way, minus the fact that her body was yellow and her mane was orange-ish. They could have been twins if they hadn't been making out furiously on the cot that once held the earth pony form of Flare. All true love is unique, but none is as unique as this one. It was a love that lasted for over 2000 years. And it will not end for a very long time. > Chapter 2: A Fateful Decision > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I decided to give the newly reunited couple some room when I heard them begin to softly moan. I left the room and saw that Sparx and Bell were gone. I looked for them for a while and eventually decided that they would go to the castle with Celestia and Flare. I went down to the cafeteria for lunch. In the cafeteria, there were millions of sparkling heart designs. It reminded me of Hearts-and-Hooves Day. I looked over at one of the tables, which had a little counter thing that counted down the days to a certain day. And by the way that counter thing was decorated, I'd say that it was counting down to Hearts-and-Hooves Day. Which is tomorrow. It is also Pyro, Dawn and Sparx's birthday tomorrow. I left the cafeteria immediately after I was done with lunch to get Sparx, Pyro, Dawn and Twilight presents. Luckily for me, I brought as many bits as my in-saddlebag wallet could carry. My first stop was a charm store that made charm necklaces, something Dawn has been collecting lately. I looked over the many charms (that were on sale, you would understand if you saw the regular prices) and picked out the one that represents her best. It looked like a star with a heart in it. Supposedly, It brought true love into your lie quicker than usual. My next stop was a novelty shop that Pinkie would have loved, if she hadn't gone goth while we were in the Shadow Ponies' complex. I shook the thought from my mind as I purchased some fake ice that warmed up a drink instead of cooled it down for Pyro. My last stop was a book store. I browsed the many shelves of books, looking for even one book Twilight didn't have. She had so many more books than when she first moved to Ponyville That we had a whole other room, or storage unit, or whatever just for books! Aha! I thought to myself as I found a book that had just come out titled: Are Human Real? By Lyra Heartstrings. To get Sparx's present, I first have to get Princess Celestia's permission first. I thought to myself after putting the things I had bought into my saddlebag. I figured Celestia might be able to do with Bell as she did with Twilight, except for love more than friendship. She could stay with us (in Dawn's room) for a while, learn to live without the spoils of being royalty for a couple weeks. I went back to the hospital, as it was getting late and was time to get going home. When I found my way back to the hospital (I had taken a "short-cut" through an ally way and ran into the meaner part of Canterlot, big mistake on their end) the guards were gone. I went to Flare's room, where there was almost no evidence of Flare (or Celestia) were ever there. The evidence was were they were obviously getting it on. Geez, these two must have been really excited to be with each other! I thought to myself, Well duh! They haven't seen each other in what? 2000 years? I argued with myself. I had been doing this for a while, without even noticing most of the time. So? I hadn't thought of that. You don't have to be so mean about it. "Will you two just SHUT UP!" I yelled at myself. A mare poked her head into my room looking quite worried when she saw the room was empty of anypony but me. "Are you alright, sir?" she asked, "A-are you looking for somebody?" "Yes, I am. have you seen my son? His coat shines like gold. He seemed--" "To be in love with Princess Bell?" she interrupted, "Yes, I have seen him. He and the other princesses left for the castle about an hour ago." "Thank you miss..." "Blitz," She must have seen my confused face, "oh, not bliss, Blitz. Well it is actually Midnight, but everypony calls me Blitz. Have I seen you before?" I was about to answer her when she said, "no, I don't think I have seen you before. Bye!" she scampered out of the hospital and toward the train station. I made the long hike to the castle to retrieve Sparx and to get permission to have Bell live with us. On the way, I swear I saw Blitz, but it wasn't her. I didn't notice it then, but she didn't say "somepony" like all of the other ponies who live in Equestria. She was actually Dawn and Pyro and Sparx's age. How the hell did I know that? I just met the mare! When I finally reached the castle I heard the booing voice of Princess Luna call down as the guards blocked the entrance. "Halt!" she called down from her high perch that overlooked al of Canterlot, "Who goes there?" "Dusk Cloud of Ponyville," I called back, "I have come to retrieve my son, Golden Sparx, the young colt who came here with Celestia." "Let him in." The guards stepped aside, allowing me passage into the gigantic castle. I was greeted by Princess Luna when I got into the main hall. "So you came here for Sparx," she said as we started to walk through the large rooms of the castle, "Yes, he should still be up in Celestial Bell's room. Last I checked they weren't doing anything... dirty." "Tusen takk," I said. I had been researching the many languages of my world and I have been very fascinated with a language referred to as Norwegian. I saw her confused face so I explained it so she didn't think it meant something like your sexy, let's get into bed or something, "In a land from my world," (she knew I was from earth, but we just refer to it asmy world), "they speak a language called Norwegian. And that is Norwegian for thousand thanks." "Dusk Cloud," she said while laughing, "you are the smartest earth pony from Earth I have ever met!" "There's more?" I asked, suddenly being serious, "You've met others?" She was silent for a long while, I had to trot to keep up with her brisk pace and staring off into nothingness. After a while she slowed down and said with her eyes closed, "Yes, I have. A couple thousand years before I was banished to the moon... He appeared. He had fallen from the sky, all bloody and broken. I took him in and took care of him until he got healthy. "He told me he had nowhere to go, that he didn't even remember his own name. So I gave him one: Shadow Blade," she saw the surprised look on my face out of the corner of her eye and went on, "We fell in love not long after that. Oh how I loved him. I loved him so much that I didn't notice that he was filled with greed. He told me that I would be a much better ruler than Celestia would ever be. Thus hatched a plan to make me ruler of this wonderful land. What? Did you expect those dusty old legends to be exactly correct? This plan took thousands of years to plan out and find all of the wrinkles to smooth them out. He didn't age like other ponies. He aged like an alicorn. In fact, he was like an alicorn in every way. Minus the looks, of course," at this, she flips her mane. "He found he could manipulate and travel through the shadows. He could also take over the minds of weak-minded ponies. He told me he could take over Flare and have her attack Celestia. I knew she was weak-minded, but I didn't know that her soul was weak too. I didn't know that her father had just passed, and I agreed. Those who have a weak soul and become possessed by the shadows instantly die the moment the shadow leaves their body. I never realized what a mistake I had made until I was too late. When Flare attacked Celestia, Celestia was only injured. Flare died instantly. He didn't care, he would just take over another pony and finish her off. This time he used me, and I too, had a weak soul. He was caught and arrested. He was sentenced to death, although the shadow never left me. It just waited, letting me do the rest. "Filled with blind rage, I sought to take over Equestria by force. I failed and got banished to the moon where I became Nightmare Moon, The queen of what is known as the Shadow Ponies," she said the last two words in utter disgust. We walked in silence for a long and came to a large door. There were voices coming fro the other side. I couldn't understand what they were saying, but one was defiantly Sparx. "I have to go," Luna said, "thank you for listening to my constant babbling." And with that, she left. I then turned my attention to the door. I cracked it open a smidge, just enough to see inside the room. Sparx was lying down on a bed with Celestial Bell lying on top of him, her front legs on his shoulders. They were sneaking kisses every now and then. I closed the door, hoping that I wouldn't be having grand-fillies anytime soon. I knocked on the door. Immediately following my knock was a gasp and a loud thud. I figured the thud was from Bell, because Sparx asked, "are you okay?" The door eventually opened to reveal Sparx and Celestial Bell standing side by side. Their tails were intertwined and looked knotted. Ironically, they were. "Hey Dad," Sparx said with a sheepish smile, "could you... uh... give us a hand?" Bell looked at him curiously. But before she could ask I said, "Well Sparx as you know, I no longer have any. But I will gladly help you." Sparx tried to hide a laugh and failed, producing a mixture of a snort and a chortle. She looked at us extremely confused and not understanding the joke. Sparx and I burst out laughing, if you had seen her face, you would laugh too. Her snout was a scrunched up, one of her eyes was amost completely closed the other looking frantically between us. I guess Sparx wanted her to understand because he started to explain. "You see," he began, "my Dad, he isn't from Equestria. He isn't even from our world." "What do you mean?" Bell asked as we walked into the main hall. "I have to ask Celestia something. You two wait downstairs okay?" I said. They continued down the stairs, Sparx still explaining to Bell. I continued down a long hallway. I even came across one of those helpful "you are here" signs. I came to a very large door, encrusted with so many jewels that Spike would have been in heaven and Rarity would go into a coma. The door was cracked open a little. I still can't believe I did this, I peeked in and saw Flare on top of Celestia. They weren't doing much (to Celestia's misfortune, she was looking extremely turned on and Flare was teasing her) other than kissing and grinding, well I don't count that as being much. I forced myself to look away from a scene that would come in only once and a lifetime and knock. Thing is, I never had the chance to knock because right as I was about to Celestia said, "Come on in Dusk." I was stunned. How long had she known I was there? I thought to myself. Much worse, what is she going to do? She is gong to condemn me to death in a prison, I just know it. Oh, I am Sooo dead. "Your highness," I said, "I was just about to ask you if--" "Yes I know," Celestia interrupted, "on Hearts-and-Hooves day, that being tomorrow," she smiled at Flare and kissed her for several seconds, "Where was I? Oh, yes. I want you to come and get Celestial Bell and bring her with you to Ponyville. I want her to see what true love is, and to see what it is like to be out of the castle. I also want her to be treated like a normal pony." Right then, I heard Bell scream, "WHAT?!" and appear in the room in a brilliant flash of yellow and the scent of the ocean, "What do you mean 'bring her to Ponyville'? I don't want to go to another city! I want to go to the countryside!" "Ponyville is a small town on the countryside. It has a really awesome forest and lakes, and plains and everything," I said so that she didn't get the wrong image of Ponyville. "And you'll be with Sparx," Flare said, "What about that?" A huge grin spread across her face. "Oh, and don't tell Sparx," I added, "you are his birthday present tomorrow." She nodded and disappeared with a cool breeze. I looked at Celestia and Flare, who were making out. Flare looked at me and smiled mischievously and began to grind with Celestia. I needed to get out quickly. Like that would help, when I got out Flare sent an image of what they were doing. I can't tell you what they were doing just to keep this at a teen rating. All I can say is that it was very dirty, and very hot. After a while, the image disappeared after a while. I got down to the main hall to see Sparx and Bell making out. I guess he finished explaining to her. I gave Sparx some time to say goodbye to Celestial Bell. "Will I ever see you again?" Sparx asked after they were done kissing. "I have a feeling we will be seeing each other again very soon," she said with a twinkle in her eyes. They kissed again and I grabbed Sparx to make sure he came with. I had to literally drag him from the castle all the way to the main part of the city before he willingly came with. "I'm never going to see her again," Sparx sadly sulked, sinking slowly in his sagging seat, "she's just so," he paused, "so beautiful." "I'm sure you will se her again," I said, using my acting skills that I gained from starring in a few movies to sound like I was trying to cheer him up but was failing terribly, "after all, she is your... What do you call it? Fillyfriend? And tomorrow is Hearts-and-hooves day, right?" "Yeah, but what will I tell the other mares who want to go out with me? Do I tell them I am dating a princess/ Do I tell them I am dating Celestia's niece?" he said, his voice escalating with every word. I looked around to see if anypony noticed Sparx's outburst. The only other two in the car were two unicorns. They looked around Morning's age. The one who was sitting directly behind Sparx had a white coat, like pure snow. Her mane was a mixture of light and darkish purple. She was staring at Sparx with her large, emerald colored eyes. "Hey Belle, hey Lucky" I said referring to the other unicorn, Lucky Charm, Sweetie's fiancé. He had a rust-red mane and tail. His coat was a light green. He had a horseshoe with a four-leaf-clover on top of it for a cutie mark. Truth is, he is actually a Changeling. Only Twilight and I know about this, not even Sweetie knows. It is pretty sad actually, but we made a Pinkie Promise not to tell anypony (I don't even think Celestia knows either). "Hey Dusk," Lucky said as Sweetie Belle ushered Sparx out of his seat and began to walk around him, studying him like when Rarity inspects a model, "long time, no see. Have you gotten any requests to be in any movies coming up? How's Twi?" "She's good," I said, not paying attention to Sparx's stuttering as Sweetie lifted up his tail and looked through his mane, "And, yes I have. It is called: World War Z. It is about zombies killing off almost all pony kind. Then a journalist, me, is called upon to help eliminate the undead problem because he is the only ne who was obsessed with getting ready for something like that catastrophe." "Ow, ow, OW!" Sparx yelled as Sweetie's magic aura, or whatever it was, peeled open his eye lids and mouth. I just ignored him and continued on with my conversation. "Dusk, Dusk, Dusk. Why is it that you always get a lead role in something with zombies in it?" he said with a smirk on his face. "I don't know. They are fascinating." "Sorry, Dusk. I couldn't help myself. I was just trying to find out if he is a good fit for Bell," Sweetie Belle said, blushing a deep red making her cheeks look like flattish tomatoes. "Well?" Sparx said, looking quite annoyed. "Well, he is in great physical condition. But he could cut off of the hayburgers a little. He is good enough for her," her voice had changed a bit since she was a filly. She now sounded like Rarity, but with a higher pitched voice. "What's that supposed to mean?" Sparx asked. Just then the conductors voice came on over the intercom, giving the same warnings as it did this morning. We gathered all our belongings and left as soon as the train pulled into the station. "See ya Dusk, we should get together sometime. You, Morning and myself. Since we are all fathers, well I am going to be one. Sweetie still thinks that the tests are faulty," he said with a grin. "Really?" I said, I lowered my voice so that Sparx and Belle couldn't hear, "Does she know about your... Um... Secret yet?" The look in his eyes gave me the answer. He isn't proud of what his mother (Chrysalis) did and still won't stop apologizing for it. Actually, I heard from Scootaloo, it was Lucky who saved the CMC. Which started their relationship. "Sorry, I know it is hard. But if she truly does love you, she will overlook that. I mean, Twilight overlooked the fact that I am a human, right?" "Yeah, thanks," he said, cheering up a little, "I will tell her tonight." "Okay, see ya Lucky. Have a good night." We got home and had a late dinner. Sparx had school so he needed to get to bed. He had to get up early with Dawn and Pyro. That is when I am going to go to the train station with Morning to get Bell. After he was in bed, I sat next to Twilight and said, "Sparx fell in love with an alicorn." "Don't we all at some point in time?" she said with longing in her voice. "Only if you count as one," I said and kissed her. I put my hoof to her mouth as she was about to talk, "I know you were one a few years back, but that was before I met you." I explained the situation to Twilight and she was speechless. She stared at me with her beautiful purple eyes and said, "Are you serious? Sparx really attracted her? Not only that, but Celestia likes mares?" "Yes," I answered calmly, "in fact, she should be doing it with Flare this very moment." "Fine, I'll let her stay here. But if I end up as a Grand-mare at this age," (we are 24 human years old), "I am- no, you're- going to kill him." I began to laugh, but when I saw her face I thought she was being serious. It turns out I'm not the only actor in this library house. She began laughing and I laughed along with her. We laughed for almost all night. Well, until Rarity (spending the night with Spike) came out and shushed us. "I still don't see what he sees in her," Twilight said quietly after she left. I had to suppress my laugh as bst as I could. Which I failed at doing. You never know when true love may strike. You never know when evil may strike. You never know that the one you think is the one, isn't who they say they are at all. For those who don't know what World War Z is, it is a book (soon to be a movie) by Max Brooks. Here is the trailer. please comment on how awesome this movie looks. > Chapter 3: The Day of Shadows > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sparx, Dawn and Pyro got up early to get to school. They were surprised to see me up as early as they were. They had a routine so they didn't question why I was up so early. They got some breakfast and headed out the door. I went out the door a few minuets after they did and went over to the train station, where I saw Morning getting his ticket. I bought mine and boarded the train with him. Wow, he must be really tired. usually by now he would have noticed me. I thought to myself as I sat down right in front of him. "Oh hey Dusk," Morning said right as he yawned making it sound like, "Oh eey uhhsk." He straightened up and immediately woke up, "Huh? Wha-? What are you doing here Dusk?" "I'm picking up Celestial Bell. Who, I might add, is in a romantic relationship with Sparx after only one day," I said with a proud-of-my-son smile on my face. "Right. And I'm the captain of the royal guard," he said, rolling his eyes. "Just you wait, Morning. Just you wait. You'll see," I said. The train arrived at Canterlot early, thus bringing my arrival at the castle a full two minuets ahead of schedule. I was greeted at the castle by Shining Armor, accompanied by Celestial Bell. He kept wanting to provide an escort but I denied him every time (I usually said something that made no sense what-so-ever). I started to walk away from the castle, Bell right at my tail following my every action. Almost as if she was trying to be normal and not royalty. The train for Ponyville wouldn't come for a while so we went to a restaurant. I got some oatmeal and some orange juice. Bell got the same thing, seeing that I enjoyed it very much. "Dish," Bell said around a mouthful of oats, "Dish ish really," she swallowed, "good." Not very princess-like when it comes to eating, is she? Just like Sparx. I thought while taking the final sip of my OJ, "Well, the train should soon. We should get some tickets." She took her last bite of her oats and came along with. I left the tip on the table and went outside. We began our journey into the city to the train station. The elderly stallion who was selling the tickets tried to give them to us for free, but I insisted he have us pay. I eventually gave in, but gave him the money instead to do with as he pleased. "Now," I said once the train started, "let me lay down some rules. Rule one, I don't want my son's heart broken. Rule two, if the two of you re in any room alone together the door stays open. Rule three, don't touch Pyro. Unless you want to burst into flames." She looked a little astonished and then nodded, "I know who that is. He is your other son. Radiates heat, right? My aunt told me about him. He sounds awfully arrogant, too." As we were riding the train, I got to see what she actually looked like. Her body was a light woodland brown, like tree bark. Her mane and tail were light green with red, yellow, orange and brown highlights, like the leaves of autumn. The way she moved was almost like wind blowing through a thicket of leaves. "You know that when we get to our house, you won't be pampered," I said as a fair warning. "I know," she said matter-of-factly, "being pampered all the time is boring. I want to go out, see the world. This is the first I have ever been away from Canterlot, y'know." She looked out the window as we passed a forest. She suddenly did gasp that would have Pinkie put to the test. Is this the first time she has ever seen a forest? That is kind of sad. Well, not really. She has never been outside of Canterlot untill now, so I dopn't really blame her. She continued gasping like Pinkie whenever we passed a forest or a lake or a mountain for the rest of the ride. "Just wait untill you see where you will be staying while you are with us," I said simply. "Why, isn't it a normal house? Like the ones in Canterlot?" she asked after my statement. "Not even close. Not. Even. Close." The rest of the ride went by quickly until we got to Ponyville. As we left the station, every pony we passed bowed to her. I could tell she was uncomfortable with all the bowing to her. We hurried out of the station and into the main part of town. There were so many ponies bowing to her that we could barely pass. I ran into Big Mac and looked into his eyes. Thankfully he understood and bellowed, "everypony MOVE!" "Thanks Mac." Mac replied with his traditional "Eeyup" and continued on his way. Now with the path clear, we made great progress and made it within sight of the house. I heard another Pinkie-like gasp as a brown blur passed by me. I caught up with the excited mare and opened the door, "Welcome to your... New...... Home?" She was already gone. I found her in Dawn's room putting her saddlebag next to the same bed that I used when I first started living here. I remembered the first time that I started having feelings for Twilight. I was helping Spike put away books when the entire shelf fell on top of me, nearly crushing me to death. When I came to, I found Twilight tending to my wounds. Compared to when I first came to Equestria, these were paper cuts (pun intended). When I came back to reality, I realized that I was hungry. I went to the kitchen and Bell followed me. I saw Twilight sitting on one of the chairs, many of the hairs in her mane were sticking out. What was weird was around this time, Twilight was either studying or at one of her best friend's houses. "Twilight, are you okay?" I asked, approaching her. "Yes, I am quite fine," She turned around to face me, her eyes were red and she had an evil look on her face, "Thanks for ASKING!" She lunged at me at the last word. Before I knew it, I was engulfed by darkness. I hit my head on the ground and passed out. > Chapter 3: The Day of Shadows (In Sparx's eyes) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- My name is Golden Sparx, but everypony just calls me Sparx. Very recently, yesterday in fact, I met the mare of my dreams: Celestial Bell. I have one brother named Pyro and one sister named Dawn, and we're triplets. Today is Heats-and-Hooves Day. It is also our birthday. I was excited to get home. Sadly, though, Pinkie hasn't been herself. Supposedly she hasn't thrown a party ever since her pet, Gummy, passed (which was before we were born). It was actually sort of depressing. Okay, that was the introduction I am required to tell you. On to today. Come on. I thought to myself, staring impatiently at the clock. Come on! Today is the day I am finally accepted as a stallion! I don't want to spend all of it in school. After a long while of waiting, the bell rang. I ran out of the school and met up with Pyro and Dawn. Dawn's eyes were shining as bright as light bulbs. Pyro had his "excited look" (composed of a straight face and an angered look on his face) plastered on his face. He has never been good at showing the correct emotions, has he I thought to my self as he walked off towards the house. "We better catch up with him," Dawn said, staring off in the wrong direction. She always seems to be doing that. It's almost as if she can't see. I thought with a shrug. As we walked through the center of town, I felt an extremely cold feeling in my chest. Something isn't right. I thought to myself, and hurried to catch up with Dawn. When we got home, I saw Pyro (with his "excited look" still on his face) and Dawn running into the house. I tried to yell for them to stop, but I was too late. I heard a blood-curtailing scream echo from the open door. Oddly enough, that was not Pyro (yes, he does scream sort of like the one I just heard). And it wasn't even close to being Dawn's scream. I ran as fast as I could into the house to see a very, um... vexing sight (I have been trying to use more complex words). What I saw was Bell crying over Pyro and Dawn, who were out cold. I looked at her with wide eyes, "What are you doing here, Bell? Why aren't you at the castle?" "Sparx? Oh my god!" she said as she embraced me, "I'm so sorry. I thought that they had come to take me away!" "Hang on Bell," I said to calm her down, "slow down a little. Take a deep breath. and tell me exactly what happened." She pointed a hoof toward a corner that was darker than usual. It was an unnatural pitch-black, "Your mom, she... She was the one who attacked him. Your dad. They both disappeared as soon as they touched that corner." "Hmmm," I hummed thoughtfully, "this is befuddling. We should wait untill they wake up." "shouldn't we let somepony know what happened?" she asked me. "No, there would be too much of a panic. And plus, we don't know what is on the other side. Except maybe death. But we should go get my uncle, Morning. He had today off. It is Hearts-and-Hooves day, after all," we began to lean towards each other, "No, no. We have to get help first. Then make out time." "What about them?" she said pointing towards Pyro and Dawn. "I'm sure they'll be fine. I'll leave a note, just in case," I grabbed some paper and realized, "Um... I don't really know how to write, eligibly," I said blushing, making my golden cheeks look more like cherries. "I'll write it," she said with a smirk. The note said: Dear Pyro and Dawn, I'm sorry about Celestial Bell (the pony who hit you, and my fillyfriend) She was scared because she saw Mom attack dad and pulled him into that corner (she made an arrow pointing to the corner) Do NOT go into that corner until we get back. We are getting Uncle Morning and will be right back. Sparx We left the house and made our way to Uncle Morning and Aunty Scootaloo's house. When we made it there, I knocked on the door. We heard soft weeping and a soothing shhh. "Come on in," said a voice I haven't heard in a while. It was Thunder, who was home early. Bell and I walked in to see Thunder trying to comfort his sister, Twinkle, who had been home sick from school. "What happened?" Bell asked, kneeling down next to them. "She keeps saying something about our mom attacking our dad. Then she points over there," We looked over to where he was now pointing and Twinkle was staring at. What I saw was a very dark corner, similar to the one back at my house. The funny thing is that we are in a tree, the only place for them to go is down. But I didn't see anything when we came to the house. Odd... I thought to myself. Thunder looked up, right as Bell used some sort of magic that put Twinkle to sleep, and realized who he was talking to. I walked up to Bell and our tails intertwined. Thunder looked between the two of us and stammered endlessly, "Sparx... You... Her... What... When... How?!" We chuckled and Bell lifted Twinkle onto Thunder's back, "I'll explain on the way back to my house, Cuz." I explained everything that had happened yesterday. Up until The part at the castle, "We didn't do anything. Well, except for some furious making out and her falling asleep on me." "Lucky," he said, "all the mares I meet at the academy are all into other mares. And here you are, my younger cousin no less, making out with royalty." Bell began to blush a deep red, as if roses were sprouting on her cheeks. I smiled at her and kissed her. We laughed until we got back to the library, also my home, remembering the task at hoof. We walked in to see Pyro yelling at Dawn, as he usually does when he feels like yelling. Dawn was just sitting there, taking it as she usually does, with an angered look on her face. Bell saw this and used the same magic on Pyro. Instead of falling asleep, her just shut up right away. He stared off into the distance with a content look on his face, like he was watching a house burn or a really big bon fire (which, ironically, is the name of his fillyfriend. The only one, other than me, who can touch him and not burn to a crisp). Dawn looked at the three of us, not including Twinkle, and asked, "where's Uncle?" "Same place as Mom and Dad," I responded simply. "Well, then what are we waiting for?" Pyro asked, back to his old arrogant self, as he tried to jump into the black corner. He became cloaked in a mystical forest green aura, and stopped in mid-air. "We shouldn't just jump into places we are unprepared for. We need supplies, food and the sort," Bell said, taking charge, "we don't know what's down there, or how long we will be down there, or if we will even come back. But I do know this much: we have to save them, or die trying." By now, Twinkle had woken up from her peaceful sleep. She heard Bell's speech and immediately after it ended she began bowing. Thunder followed suite, then Pyro, then Dawn. Finally I, too, bowed. She seemed confused about why we were bowing. I knew right then what and I know it now, we were bowing to the future ruler of Equestria. We went about gathering supplies for a challenge that, no matter how much we prepared for, we would never be ready for. When we finished we met back by the corner. We all (except Pyro) had water and food. Bell had found a 500 foot long rope from Sweet Apple Acres, and a ten foot chain for Pyro. She tied the rope to the chain and had me put the chain on Pyro. She then tied the rope onto a very sturdy pillar that helped keep the library upright. Then she tied it to each of us. "You never know what could happen," she said when Thunder questioned why she was doing this. "Everypony ready?" I asked. I looked at the others, who nodded. I looked at Bell, who was tied right behind me, and kissed her, "Three.. Two... One... Go!" We all jumped into the corner and were instantly consumed by darkness. I felt the rope loosen, then tighten, then loosen again. Finally, we fell to the ground with a painful THUD! When I got up, I couldn't see a thing. But I did feel an overwhelming sense of de-ja-vu. I ran off into the darker darkness and came into a room that I knew I had been in before. The room was filled with tiny red lights. Every now and then two would go out and instantly flash back on. Thing is, They weren't lights. Whenever you find yourself surrounded by despair, never give up. Especially when all hope is lost. Never give up hope, never back down. For you may be the last shred of light in this hopeless world of utter darkness. > Chapter 4: A lost Hope Found > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- We were surrounded and hopelessly outnumbered. Hundreds of pairs of eyes were staring evilly at us, waiting to strike. We all huddled close, Twinkle in the center, as far away from the menacing eyes as possible. I glanced over at Pyro, who had lost his fiery attitude and was shaking like a leaf in a very strong wind. In fact the only one who wasn't shaking was Twinkle. "Welcome back Sparx," said a very familiar evil voice, "I've been waiting." A few lights came on revealing so many Shadow Ponies that, even with the lights on, the room looked pitch black. Standing right in front of us was Shadow Blade, the leader of the Shadow Ponies. Behind him were nine ponies hanging from the ceiling with hooks in their hind legs. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, Uncle Morning, Aunty Scootaloo, and my Mom and Dad. I couldn't do anything but stare in horror at the site I was witnessing. I heard gasps and sobbing from the other five with me. I felt a small body push past me. It was Twinkle, she was showing absolutely no fear, no emotion. She calmly walked up to Shadow, until she was only a foot away from him. I saw her lips move, but I couldn't hear what she said. "What was that?" Shadow asked, not hearing it either. "YOU BUCKING BASTARD!" Twinkle screamed. At first he looked surprised and confused, then he brought a hoof up into the air and brought it down at full force at her tiny fragile head. Every pony looked away, even the other Shadow Ponies. There was a loud crack and the sound of a body falling to the floor. Silence I looked up to see Twinkle, still standing, with a bloody hoof. She spat on the bloody body of Shadow Blade and said, "don't touch my family again." I was staring, along with everypony else in the room, open mouthed at the very surprising scene (minus, of course, the nine unconscious ponies hanging from the ceiling). Twinkle looked around the room, her eyes filled with rage. All of the Shadow Ponies fled the room in true terror of the small four-human-year-old filly. Thunder flew up with Bell and they carefully removed the nine ponies from the hooks. He set them down on the ground. I heard a cough and a moan. Shadow Blade was getting up, after Twinkle smashed his head open! Really? I thought as I walked over to him. "I... I will kill you all!" he rasped. his face was completely covered in blood. "I highly doubt that," I said in disgust, "you were just killed by a four year old," I crushed his head with my hoof, "pathetic," deep down, I knew he would be back. We waited for a while, tending to the wounds of the nine. Slowly they all woke up in immense pain. The one who screamed loudest was Fluttershy. Pyro must have heard a sound, because he turned around and the air turned warm. "No, please, don't hurt me. I'm not one of them," she said. A unicorn stepped out of the shadows. She was a dark maroon with a dark blond mane and tail. She was tall, but she looked like she was about my age. "Please, let me help. I have no idea how I got here, but please let me help," she said shakily after seeing the nine wounded ponies, "I'm no doctor, but I can get them up and running in no time." We let her help, and she did just as she said she would. She asked if we could make some steam with sarcasm, but when Pyro said he could her ears perked up. We poured water on Pyro, who recoiled as the cold water touched him, and the room filled with steam. In almost no time, the unicorn was closing the wounds while Bell was keeping them calm. After the wounds were closed, the only one who was still out cold was my dad. The unicorn revealed that her name was Midnight Cloud, "but everybody calls me Blitz," she said, "also, I'm not from this world. I'm from Earth." Right after she finished that statement, my dad sat right up. ------Dusk------ Everything was dark. No, this was darker than dark, this was the Shadow Pony's lair. I was upside down and dizzy. There was a sharp pain in my hind legs. I could feel blood running down (maybe up?) my legs. I wasn't alone. As my vision adjusted to the darkness, I saw that I wasn't alone. To my left was Scootaloo and Morning. Hanging to my right was Twilight and the other Mane 6. Twilight was barely conscious, and didn't say anything. She tried to look at me, but passed out because the obviously immense pain that she was feeling. As she went out, so did I. The next time I awoke was to the words, I'm from Earth. I sat up and looked around to see 15 ponies looking at me. I looked down at my legs to see they were hook and blood free. I looked above my head to see nine hooks, all bloody and dripping with the very same substance. I looked at the pony who said that she was from Earth. I recognized her as Blitz. She looked me over, as if trying to recognize me from before the hospital. "Dusk, honey, what's wrong?" Twilight asked me, putting a hoof on my shoulder, as I stared intently into her eyes. I think I felt a migraine coming on, which means I am close to remembering something from before I was a pony. "D-Dusk? A-As in D-Dusk C-Cloud?" Blitz asked with tears in her eyes. I nodded slowly and she hugged me, tears streaming from her eyes like rivers, "I knew it was you when I saw you on the show! And at the hospital! D-D-Dad, I missed you." Almost everypony's jaws fell open, all except Twilight's. I swear, she went from being a light purple to being a deep, deep red. I knew right then that I was dead. Who am I? Zecora? I tried to make a run for something, but she got to me before I could even move a muscle. So, this is where Pyro get's his anger problems. Interesting. "Wait!" Blitz yelled right before Twilight was going to possibly rip out my throat, "back on Earth, he was my step-father. He was a paraplegic because of a freak accident two years before he met my mom. I was born six months after that," she turned to Twilight, who was looking even angrier with every word, "it takes nine months for a human baby to be born," Twilight seemed to calm down a bit, but was still red, "He died when I was six months old. He was taking a shower, in a chair that people paralyzed from the waist down sit in, and lost his balance. He hit his head on the water faucet and died." Twilight got off me and went back to her normal color, looking rather embarrassed. I looked over to Dawn and Sparx. Dawn looked frustrated as she hoofed over ten gold bits, the money of Equestria (I found that out about a year after I appeared). Sparx looked at her smugly and said, "told you so," before he put a coin in his mouth and swallowed. "Sorry Dusk," Twilight said softly, "Why didn't you tell me you had a daughter before all this?" "I didn't," I saw the sad face of Blitz and corrected myself, "I mean, I don't remember. When I hit my head on that faucet, I must have acquired amnesia. Which explains why I couldn't remember much." "Okay," Celestial Bell intervened, "now that you are awake, let's find a way out." ---------Sparx---------- With me in the lead, our group of 16 left the safety of the room and went to where we came from. I looked up and saw a small light up above us. I asked Thunder to fly up there and secure the rope. He flew up there, and in a few minutes he came down and asked Rainbow Dash, Twinkle (she had to be carried up as she couldn't fly just yet), Uncle Morning, and Aunty Scootaloo to help him pull us up one at a time. After about half-an-hour only Bell and I were left. She could have flown up with the others, but she decided to stay with me. The rope fell down next to me. "I'll fly up, you take the rope," she said, "I'll stay next to you, if you want." We kissed as she tied the rope around me, "Oh, wait, I'll be right back." I brought the rope with me into the room that we were previously in. Thankfully there was a lot of slack in the rope. That and Shadow was still there, dead as a doornail with a cracked open and bloody head. I tied the rope around him and dragged him out. I pulled on the rope and was lifted by the group of whoever was pulling the rope. I had Bell fly up and tell them to pull harder because there was some extra weight. In about two minutes, I was out of the darkness. When my eyes adjusted to the blinding light, I saw that we weren't in my house, or even my Uncle Morning's house. We were in Lyra Heartstring's house, and she was staring at us. "You should really do what they're doing," I said as my dad and uncle disappeared into little clouds of dust. "Why?" she asked and scrunched her face in confusion. "Just do it," I said as I pointed to the pictures of what I guessed were humans, and to the jars of organs that were supposedly from humans. Her eyes went huge and she, too, disappeared into a cloud of dust. The rest of us walked out calmly, laughing. I turned to Lyra, or at least where she was. I looked back in front of me and saw a mint green form, chasing the three former humans. As I was laughing, a newspaper flew into my face. Heh. The date is probably something like 2034. I thought as I looked over the newspaper. When I found the date, I saw that it was 2-15-2013 (the same day it was when we entered the Shadows). Thunder and I were in charge of dragging (much to our enjoyment) Shadow Blade to the police station, where we met up with Uncle Morning, Blitz and my Dad. When the police saw us dragging him, they were very surprised. When Dad explained, they saw that it was Shadow Blade. "Didn't we already execute him?" one asked. "Yes, you did," said a deep female voice, "which is why I am taking him with me, far beyond Canterlot." Everyone looked at the door to see Princess Luna. Everyone bowed except Uncle Morning, who saluted. "Lead Officer Morning, I request that you accompany me." "Yes ma'am." They took off into the night, to their distant location. We all waited, letting what just happened sink in. "Well," Bell said with a yawn, breaking the silence, "let's go home." "Blitz, dear, do you have a place to stay?" Aunty Scootaloo asked Blitz politely, "we have an extra room if you'd like." As we were walking back to the library, an odd thought crossed my mind, "Bell, I have one question. Why are you in Ponyville?" "Well, your dad asked Aunt Celestia if I could stay with you and your family. I have been told by my aunt to find out what true love is," (by now we are in front of our house), "happy birthday, Sparx," she said before kissing me. I felt piercing eyes watching us make out from above us. It was either my mom or dad. I waved off the watcher (or watchers) and continued to kiss Bell. Whenever I'm around her I get this feeling that this was meant to be. Forever. And I Pinkie Promise myself that I will make that happen. I heard a very distant voice scream something, but I couldn't make out what it said. I told Bell that this weekend we would have the house to ourselves. As I said this, a mischievous smile crept onto her face, "It's getting late, we should go inside," she walked in the house. When I got into the house, I saw her go into Dawn's room. Blitz was staying at Thunder's house, but I don't think she like him much. I think she has eyes for Dawn. Is that weird? I mean, their technically sisters. Well step-sisters, anyway. Oh well, it's none of my business, I have Bell and that's all I need. All the thinking that I had just done made my head hurt. I hopped into bed and passed out right away. Just when you think that you have escaped your past, you find yourself needing to look back to it. But when you do find it, don't expect a warm welcome. > Chapter 5: Can't Get Any Worse > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------Dusk---------- I awoke in a cold sweat with a loud gasp. I had just had the worst "dream" I had ever had. I was in the morgue, where Shadow Blade was to be held, with Morning and a small group of guards all in armor. Right as they were about to close the door to the morgue forever, a huge blade of shadows stabbed through the chest plate of one of the guards. His helmet flew off and I saw that it was the same one I had signed just yesterday. Then a huge hand came up behind another and dragged him into the shadows, only to be dropped from the ceiling out of nowhere. Even with every last guard (but Morning) dead, he kept up a fight. He dodged blades, claws, and hands with ease. It was a pretty big morgue so he had enough room to fly around, the whole time keeping an eye on his shadow. The door to the morgue holding Shadow Blade flew open. The body tray slid out to reveal a bloody, battered Shadow Pony. "So that is why they made you sub-captain of the Royal Guard," he said with an evil chuckle, "it's a pity I have to kill you. We could use someone like you on our side. Your brother, perhaps?" he laughed maniacally so loud it shook the whole room. He closed his eyes and mouthed the words I'm Sorry Dusk. Still in the air, he took his aim and concentrated his energy with all his might. Generating electricity around him. "Y'know," he said, his voice sounding like he was a dubstep singer, "there's a reason my name used to be Thunder Dash. And this here is why." He pushed forward with enough force to tip a steamroller on it's side. He shut his eyes, which were streaming with tears, tightly. Right before he made impact with Shadow, he opened his eyes (which now were like rivers of tears, no doubt fogging his vision) and looked in my direction. He and I were thinking the same thing, he wasn't going to see the next day. He wasn't going to be there when Thunder becomes an official Wonderbolt. When Twinkle fly's for the first time. And he would only slow Shadow Blade down. He made impact and everything went white. -------back to reality------- Everything was still white as I was led, most likely by Twilight, to the nearest bathroom. I was hyperventilating, my blood was pounding in my head, I felt a huge void inside of me that would never again be filled. Ever since we were human children, Morning and I had a very strong spiritual connection. If he got hurt, I got hurt. If he died, it was possible that I could die or go insane. The only other one who knew of this was Sparx. My ears were ringing and I couldn't hear a thing. Although I did hear the vibrations of frantic voices around me. I felt a hoof strike my face, then the extremely hot sensation of flames dancing on my cheek, then water hitting those flames. Pyro had smacked me. I sat straight up and screamed, "MORNING NO!" and burst out crying, "He didn't deserve it," I kept repeating, "he didn't deserve to die." -------Sparx: about ten minutes earlier------- I awoke to a very loud gasp that filed the house, and probably the surrounding 50 feet. Pyro and I looked out the door and looked around. I saw Bell and Dawn doing the same. We were suddenly pused into our rooms by a magical force followed by Mom ushering Dad down the hallway. His eyes were rolled up in his head. He was also sweating up a storm, which I thought was genetically impossible seeing that we are ponies. Oh well, never question what you don't want to explain in extreamly long paragraphs not like this one. I felt a sudden pain in my gut and collapsed. I saw Pyro do the same, and heard a thump in Dawn's room proving that she felt it also. It felt as if a very large peice of my soul was stolen from my body, along with a part of my sanity. Images of a very familliar pegasus impacting with another completly shrouded in shadows engulfed my mind. When we had finnally recovered, thanks to Bell, we galloped to the sound of running water. When we got to the bathroom, Mom had a bucket of water in her mouth and was about to splash Dad in the face with it. As soon as the water left the bucket, it became shrouded in a forest green light. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," Bell said, dropping the water in the bath tub, "in the state that he's in, he could die." "Do it, I don't care anymore," Dad said quietly. "Pyro, if you please," Mom said referring to Pyro. Pyro rolled up imaginary sleeves and smacked him across the face. I saw smoke rise from the smoldering patch on his face. Mom looked at Bell, who nodded saying with her eyes: Now you can hit him in the face with water which she did. Dad closed his eyes for a moment, then snapped them open with the second extremly loud gasp of the day. His eyes were back to normal. Then he suddenly screamed "bloody murder". "MORNING NO!" he shouted with mind shattering intensity. Then he stopped and began to sob, "He didn't deserve it. He didn't deserve to die." "U-Uncle Morning i-is dead?" Pyro said, tears welling up in his eyes, "N-NO! IT ISN'T TRUE! YOU'RE LYING!! TELL THE TRUTH! Tell...the...truth..." Pyro stormed out of the room, leaving the house close to bursting into flames. Luckily, he went out the door (undoubtably a pile of ashes........again) "Oh Dusk... I'm so sorry..." Mom said, hugging him tightly. "How are Thunder and Aunty Scootaloo and... oh dear Celestia... Twinkle, how are they going to react?" Dawn asked, looking suddenly worried. The only emotion I felt during all of this was empty, nothingness. Ever since I was just a filly, the one emotion that never regestered in my mind was sadness. No matter what, I couldn't regester it. A perfect example of this was when my grandpa (on my Mom's side, since my dad is a human and has no memories of it) passed on. I was the only one not crying. When I came back to reality, I found that I was in the bathroom alone. I looked around and saw tracks leading out of the house, and to Aunty Scootaloo's. When I got there, there was loud crying. Very loud. So loud that it nearly filled the entire forest surrounding it. I walked in to see Dad comforting Aunty Scootaloo, and Bell bringing a sleeping Twinkle into her room. Thunder, on the other hoof, was looking like he could tear off Shadow Blade's head clean off (although I think that is more of his little sister's terrtory than his... please don't tell him I said this...), which I most definatly will help him do. "What's going on?" said a sleepy Blitz as she came in the room with a yawn, "Why is everyone--" She suddenly stopped when her eyes fell on Dawn. Dawn had eyes streaming out of her tears tears streaming out of her eyes. I think that is what got to her, the fact that Dawn was crying. She then turned to me with anger in her eyes, "What happened? Why is she crying?!" "Our uncle is dead," I responded, completely monotone. "Oh..." Blitz said after a while, "I'm so sorry..." She walked over to Dawn to comfort her. They left the house and went into the surrounding forest. I realized why Dad had reacted the way he did just moments later, when I felt non-existant lips on my own. I looked around and saw that Bell was on the other side of the room, talking with Mom and the others, so I ruled her out. Dawn and Blitz? I thought. Wow. I thought Dawn liked colts! I saw Pyro in the corner, looking tortured. I realized that we all have a very strong spirtual connection, and if one were to be broken that we could die... or go insane. Great... My dad is gonna go crazy. I'm going to be known as the colt not only dating a princess who should be waaaaaaay out of his league, but also as the son of a crazed stallion. Woo-fricking-hoo. "Sparx?" Bell said, approching me, "How are you doing?" "Pretty good. You?" "Um... could I talk with you, in private?" "Sure. Let's go outside." We walked out of the house and into the surrounding forest, where we made out for a very long time. Oh what I wouldn't give to see Pyro's face right now. I thought to myself with a grin. I heard some moaning from deeper in the forest. I tried not to think of what Dawn and Blitz were doing, but failed with extreame epicness. What was going on with them was affecting me (and most likely Pyro too) and I couldn't control it any longer. "Sparx? Is there anywhere where we can continue this without being compleatly public about it?" Bell asked before I could even react to her sudden... change in attitude. "Actually, yes. But it is quite a hike," I said, knowing her answer already. "Let's go!" She said, dragging me the opposite direction of our destination. "Uhh, Bell?" I said, "Wrong way." "Oh, sorry... got a little excited, that's all." --------------------------------- Pretty soon, we were standing right outside of the Everfree Forest. A forest no pony dares to enter (except for Zecora and any visitors) unless they are derranged, stupid, or just plain suicidal. "A-Are you sure about this?" Bell asked shakily when we took the first step into the forest. "Yes, just follow me. Not much longer now." We walked with our tails intertwined untill we came to a large cement building. Before I had "discovered" it, it had been a warehouse that was completely burnt down. I actually got the story of what happened from Aunty Scootaloo. It happened right before she had met Uncle Morning. Sweetie Bell and Apple Bloom had been fillynapped and were taken to this place. Aunty Scootaloo got away and told Applejack and her boyfriend (not coltfriend, boyfriend), a human who appeared in Equestria but hadn't been turned into a pony like my Dad. They went to save them and almost died in the process. A few weeks later, Uncle Morning fell into Cloudsdale and was later adopted by Rainbow Dash. He learned to fly and eventually came to visit Ponyville, where he met Aunty Scootaloo and taught her to fly. I closed my eyes and remembered the time it took for Uncle Morning and I to fix this place up. During that time I became closer to him, in a way that couldn't be replaced even by true love. But, hey, it's pretty dang close right? I told Bell the story of how I found this place... well started to actually, because after the first few words her lips locked onto mine. We shambled into the bedroom I sometimes slept in when I just needed to be away from everything. *CENSORED* Great things come from great dreams. Great dreams come from great possibilities. Great possibilities have great consequences. A quick thanks to MrTyreste for letting me reference his story: Apple of Another Color. Please read it. > Chapter 6: The New 6 (pun intended) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- While Twilight and I were trying to comfort Scootaloo, I hadn't noticed that Dawn, Blitz, Sparx, and Bell had left. When I did notice that they were gone, Scootaloo had run out of tears. Her eyes were red and puffy. When she stopped sobbing, she and Twilight brought Twinkle to her room. This gave me some time to talk with Thunder, who looked extremely pissed off (I don't blame him either). As I walked over to him, I saw Pyro. When I glanced at him, I saw he looked tortured by some unseen force. I paid him no attention for the moment. "Hey Thunder," I said, "How are you holding up?" His only answer was a disgruntled grunt. Yep, he's pissed "We can make a plan," I said quietly so only he could hear me, "a plan of revenge." At this, his eyes darted from the ground to me. A look of interest flashed in his eyes. This lasted for only a moment and took very quick eyes to see. "Right now, he is on his way to kill me," I said. As I was about to continue, Pyro interrupted, no longer looking tortured. "But to do that, he is going to have to kill me first." "And us," Twilight said, walking in with Scootaloo who nodded. "And me," Thunder said. "And us," Sparx and Bell said in unison walking in together. "And me," Dawn said, walking in with Blitz (whose mane was all messed up and had a twig in it. I paid it no attention). "And me," Blitz said immediately after Dawn (who, I just realized, also had a twig and even some leaves in her mane). "And me," Twinkle said with a yawn. "And us," Said a voice from just outside. We all looked out the window to see Princesses Celestia, Flare and Luna. They all seemed to be in some sort of armor, as if expecting some sort of war. They came in, their armor not making a sound as they moved. We talked for a while about what was going on and the situation at hand. The only one who knew That Morning was dead was Luna, who had seen it in my dream. Celestia apologized to Scootaloo. "Why are you apologizing Princess?" She asked with a sniffle. "Because it was i who asked Shining Armor to request him on the royal guard," she answered, "Dusk, if you had accepted, you, too, would be dead by now. And we would not be ready for the onslaught that would soon follow." "We must not let his death be in vain," Flare said. "Shadow Blade will be here soon," Luna said, "Despite the morgue where he was being held is on the border of the Badlands." "Do not worry, my student," Celestia said when Twilight asked if her brother was all right, "Shining Armor and his troops have retreated to the borders of Canterlot, Which is in the process of evacuation to Meclopolis, far to the east. Yes, it is home to the fabled 'Supercolt' but I will not get into that now, Pyro. Cadence is in charge of the evacuation, so there is no need to worry." "Thank you," Twilight said with tears in her eyes, in fear of losing her only blood-related brother. "I have just one question," I said as I raised my hand like I was in school again. "What is it?" Celestia said all ears. "Who's replacing Morning?" The Princess smiled sheepishly and giggled nervously, "Well..." and continued her nervous giggle. ----------------------Scene Shift: Border of Canterlot (third person) ---------------------- "PRIVATE DERPY HOOVES, FRONT AND CENTER!" Shining Armor yelled into the group of nervous looking soldiers. "Yes, uh... Sir?" Derpy said, stepping forward with a clumsy salute that knocked down the soldier on her right. "I can't believe I'm doing this but, I really need a second in command... Derpy, you are no longer going to be known as Private. You are now my Second-in-Command... In replacement of lieutenant Morning." Derpy straightened out and got a look of seriousness on her face for the first time in her life, "Yes Sir, thank you Sir." Shining Armor, not expecting to see this side of Derpy, was very surprised. He quickly recovered as soon as he saw a large black wall in the distance. It was closing fast, "Derpy, how about you show me your leadership skill-- wha?!?" The reason he said that was because a mark showed up on the outside of her armor. Instead of the dots that speckled her flank that was long thought to be her cutie-mark. It was a shining sword with a sun behind it. ----------------------Scene Shift: Scootaloo's house (Dusk's perspective) ---------------------- Everyone (except the princesses) stared open mouthed. Derpy had made the academy a living death trap. I still think that she did it on purpose. Come graduation, she was the only one (other than Morning) who was graduating. I had told Twilight my thoughts on that after words. And now we were having the same conversation. It had some inappropriate words in it and very sexual themes in it so I will not mention what we said... sadly. "TWILIGHT!" came a voice from outside. "What is it Spike?" Twilight called back, poking her head out the window, "We're sort of busy planning revenge, so could you make it quick?" "I... have a letter for... Sparx, Pyro, Dawn, Thunder, Twinkle, and Celestial Bell. It didn't say who it was from though..." Spike answered. The letter levitated from his claws and went into the house. The blinds went down and the letter opened. Inside was a lengthy note in sloppy hand-writing. "Dusk? I may need your help for this. I can't read this," She said. I went over and took the note from her magic grasp. I unfolded it and read aloud. Attention Sparx, Pyro, Dawn, Thunder, Twinkle, and Celestial Bell. The six of you are what stands between chaos and peace. You are what I have begun to call: "The New 6" also known as The Elements of Light. Sparx, with your heart of gold, is the spirit of compassion. Pyro, with your fiery soul and unbreakable determination, is the spirit of perseverance. Dawn, who trusts everyone and never gives up on someone, is the spirit of empathy. Thunder, with your shocking dedication and loyalty (I think you get it from your grandmother), is the spirit of leadership. Twinkle, with your enormous strength, heart, and cheerfulness, is the spirit of optimism. Celestial Bell, with your soothing voice and ability to calm even the most aggressive and fearful creature, is the spirit of Serenity. Please do not fail me, or the people reading this. The Author "The Author?" Pyro asked scrunching up his face, "Who's that?" "He's the teenage human who is writing this!" Pinkie said, appearing from nowhere and was sitting on the ceiling, "Wha--" she yelped as she fell. As usual, I catch her in midair, "That never gets old!" she said, laughing. "Pinkie? What are you doing here?" Twilight asked. "Ya mean what’re we doin' here?" said a voice anypony could recognize. The rest of the Mane 6 walked in. The last one to walk in was a very pissed-off looking Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy was desperately trying to calm her down. Bell saw this and tried to help her to no avail. Every attempt just got her even angrier. "How can I calm down when my own SON just died?!" She shouted and ran out of the house. I looked at Twilight, who nodded, and followed. Luckily, she hadn't gotten very far and hadn't flown anywhere either. "Rainbow," I said, walking up to her, "I... I know how you feel." "No you don't" She turned away to hide her tears from me, "You have no idea how I feel. He was the only one who ever called me 'Mom'. And nopony else will. I can't have foals, Dusk," She turned back to me, "I'm infertile. I had no parents. I was a failed science class experiment." WARNING FROM AUTHOR: THE FOLLOWING SCENE DOES NOT PARTAIN TO THE STORY. IT IS A MINI STORY THAT I MADE UP JUAST TO FILL UP THE WORD COUNT, JUST LIKE THIS IS. ENJOY erm... ah.... enjoy. "What do you mean?" I asked, now confused at the sudden change in storyline. "When I was just a little unborn filly, some scientists injected me with a rainbow colored serum," she flipped her mane (which, over the few years, had begun to grow a little over her eyes) and continued, "They also maximized my capabilities. My stamina, speed, resiliance, strength, and a few other words i have no clue how to say." "you were a scientific breakthrough?" I asked, astonished that the mother of my brother was created in a lab. awesome! I thought. "Y-yes... but you have to Pinkie Promise to never tell anyone. Never." "I Pinkie Promise to never tell another soul about the things you have told me today," I said, doing the motions to a Pinkie Promise. "FOREVER!" we heard Pinkie scream from inside the house followed by a very high-pitched scream. "Was that Fluttershy?" Rainbow asked. "Nope," I sighed, "That was Pyro. Who, I forgot to thank you for. For all three of them. If it weren't for you and Fluttershy, Twilight and I might not have... well you know..." While we were walking back to the house, we heard a cannon that has to do with partying go off. I looked at RD and she looked at me with a huge grin. I knew we were both thinking the same thing. Pinkie Pie is back. > Chapter 7: The Last Shred of Light > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sure enough, when we got back into the house, there were streamers and everything. There was even a banner that said: Why didn't you tell me your birthdays were yesterday?!?! I looked at Sparx, who was talking with Dawn and Bell. Then I looked at Pyro. I was so surprised when I saw his face that I almost fell on my side. He was dancing with Pinkie Pie (who was wearing heat proof gloves). But what really surprised me was the fact that he was smiling. He had never smiled in his life. Not even as a filly. And now here he was, dancing with Pinkie Pie on the day after his birthday. Suddenly, Pinkie gasped. Not her usual gasp, but a gasp in pain. She walked carefully over to Twilight and whispered into her ear. Twilight's eyes widened in panic, "we need to get you to the hospital!" At first I was confused as to why. But then something happened to me that hasn't happened in years. A vision of the future. We were in the hospital room, gathered around a small cot. On the cot lay Pinkie Pie and her newborn foal: a colt named Surprise Party. What do you expect? She's Pinkie Pie! The only one not gathered by the cot was Rainbow Dash, who was sitting in a corner sobbing. I walked over to her to talk to her. When I got to her, though, I found myself under a large pile of rubble. When I came back to reality, I was on the floor covered in rubble. The image had repeated so many times that I had no clue what was real and what wasn't. Geez, I've got to get that looked at. I thought to myself. While I was being freed from my prison of hospital ceiling rubble (Aren't hospitals supposed to be safe?]) by Twilight, I caught a glimpse of Sparx and the other "New 6" galloping out the door. I looked outside and saw the wall of shadows closing in on Ponyville (Canterlot was already consumed). It seemed like every minute it got faster, approaching Ponyville with greater speed. Please Sparx, don't fail us. Because if we all die, you're grounded for life. ----------------Sparx's perspective---------------- As soon as we got out of the hospital, we saw the Princesses fly off toward the center of town. I saw this, and headed the opposite direction. Ahead of us (minus the countless fleeing ponies) was a gigantic wall of shadows. I remember hearing the story of when my mom and her friends saved the Crystal Empire, and now I was in a similar situation. Minus the fact that it was actual shadows we were attacking instead of some lord of dark crystals or whatever they were. NOTE FROM AUTHOR: This song makes this part even better. It is only the instrumental and no words. As we were hurrying toward the wall, the shadows around us began to bend and take the form of ponies. "Shadow Morons!" Pyro shouted as he hit one in the side of the head, burning his adversary in the process. "Way to point out the obvious, Hothead," Dawn said, hitting one Shadow Pony in the eyes with a blinding spell while kicking behind her, hitting one that was standing upright, about to pounce on her and do who knows what, in the family jewels. When she saw him staring she plainly said (while hitting another in mid-sentence), "What? Just because I'm blind doesn’t mean I can't protect myself. Oh, and you might want to go for the eyes of the one behind you." Pyro looked behind him and hit his new adversary in the eyes, then bucked him with so much force that his jaw might've broken. When the fallen enemy hit the ground, he melted into the shadows. A few seconds later, he came up behind me. I bucked his face and hurried over to help Twinkle (who didn't really need my help, but I was getting board and wanted to get a little more action instead of just standing around watching). "C'mon we have... to...go," Bell yelled as a gigantic shadow towered over her and the rest of us. Suddenly, Shadow Ponies came up out of the shadows by the millions. Right as they were about to attack, a booming voice sounded across the town. We were looking at the thing that was once the normal sized Shadow Pony that had come to kill all of us. "LEAVE! I WILL DEAL WITH THEM," Shadow Blade roared. There was a loud screaming as a mare that I knew (not on a personal account) from school attempted to run away. Of course, Shadow noticed and chuckled. She had a mane just like her mother, Bon-Bon, except that it was orange and red. Her coat was sort of yellow-ish orange. Her name was Bon Fire, the only one (other than me) who can touch Pyro and not be hurt. And a giant fist (I guessed what it was, judging by the stuff Ms. Heartstrings taught us in biology) was streaking toward her Pyro saw this and was suddenly gone. Replaced by a smoke puff in the shape of him. His path was lined with fire as he streaked toward her. He caught the fist right before it made impact with the shaking mare. "GO! RUN BON RUN!" Pyro screamed in pain. I knew he wouldn't last very long under the force he was holding. "Th-thank you Pyro," Bonnie (as we called her) stammered. "YOU INSOLENT LITTLE SPARK!!!" Shadow thundered, "I WILL CRUSH YOU!!!" Pyro wouldn't last much longer, and I needed more time to come up with a witty saying. Everypony was watching. The ones who were to afraid (or too stubborn) to leave their houses, peeked out of their windows and watched in fear. Aha! That’s it! "He's not a Spark," I said, "I am. You killed my uncle. You continuously tear my family apart. You've tried to kill me, my cousins, my family, my friends, my... more than friends. Why shouldn't we kill you? Give me two good reasons." "OKAY. ONE, BECAUSE I CAN KILL YOU ALL IN AN INSTANT," he started. "Could we hurry this up?" Pyro whined, "I think my back is going to give out soon." To everyone’s surprise, the fist dissipated. Pyro fell to the ground. Bon Fire gasped and hurried over to him. "SECONDLY, I AM YOUR FAMILY," Shadow said with an evil laugh. "No..." I whispered, and began to collapse. Bell caught me and supported me. "WHAT? CAN'T KILL ME NOW? YOU SAID I DESERVED IT, JUST YESTERDAY IN FACT." he taunted. For the first time, I let my anger get the best of me. I never noticed that I began to float, shining like an over-powered light bulb. I didn't notice that the others doing the same. I hadn't noticed that Shadow blade watched with pure terror. I didn't realize my eyes were closed, or the fact that there was a huge wave of light when I opened them. What i did notice, was that I had began to descend from the air. I reopened my eyes to see that the wall of shadows was gone. As were the Shadow ponies. No more Shadow ponies. No. More. Shadow. Blade. Instead, out cold where Shadow Blade was standing or looming or whatever he was doing, was a dark purple earth pony that resembled my father. Slowly "Shadow Blade" woke up. As he did so, eveypony from the hospital room (even Pinkie and her foal) came up behind us. I turned around to see my dad, with a swollen left eye, watching every one of shadow's movements. When he opened his eyes, the first one he saw was Princess Luna. Who was looking like she was somewhere between murderous rage and shock. "Luna! My love!" he looked around, "Where... Where is Lunar Eclipse?" "Dead, thanks to you," Luna spat, "After you were executed, I was banished to the moon. He was banished from Equestria. I watched as he was mauled by a pack of wild beasts." Shadow's eyes traveled to my dad. As soon as he saw him, his eyes widened. "Dusk? Is that really you?" he asked, his eyes getting teary. "Father? Dad?" he ran forward and hugged him, tears streaming from his eyes, obviously recognizing his voice. After they were done with the short reunion, the old shadow blade turned to Luna, "Luna, I am dearly sorry for how I treated your family. I wasn't in the right state of mind. I was already a Shadow Pony when I got here. I had black-mailed a young man to kill a young woman who was married to a friend of Dusk's," he said, answering our confused looks, "could you please give me another chance?" She considered for a minute and said, "I may trust you less than I did when I first met you, but I will give you another chance, Shadow Blade." "I am sorry, but I do not wish to be called that horrid name again. I may not remember my original name, but I must find a new name." "What about Dusk Relic?" I blurted out. He muttered it a couple of times under his breath and then said, "Perfect! Although, won't ponies get the two of us confused?" he stood next to Dad, and looked like he was his twin, except purple. "Well, everypony who isn't referring to you as 'Dad' or 'Grandpa' could call you Relic" Mom said. "Thank you Miss...?" "Missus Twilight Sparkle," Mom said, "your son's wife." "That reminds me," Shadow Grandpa said, turning to my Dad, "You've yet to properly introduce me to your family." "Well," Dad said excitedly, "this is my wife, Twilight. And our fillies: Sparx, Dawn and Pyro. Oh! You'll never guess who else is here! Where is he anyway? Has anyone seen Morning?" somehow he had managed to say the name in perfect slow-mo. Aunty Scootaloo instantly began to sob at the mention of her husband's name. "Dad," I whispered, "Uncle Morning is dead, remember?" "Morning," Grandpa Relic (I like that), "is... Dead?" "Yes," Aunty Scoots said in mid-sob, "You killed him." At her comment, Grandpa closed his eyes, turned away, and walked off. I turned back to see Mom whispering angrily to my distressed aunt. As she was whisper-yelling, I saw my dad and Princess Luna go after Grandpa. I have no clue how the heck I came up with this... a thought that was not my own said in my head. Why did I just hear a voice that isn't even mine? I thought. Wha--? Oh crap... oh crap oh crap! Suddenly there was a large flash of light. I felt like I was being tugged from behind. I turned to see a gigantic portal. As soon as I saw it, I was sucked inside. > Chapter 8 (well the epilogue): That one Chapter in the Author's Perspective > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Before you read this, I must warn you something. This chapter (epilogue) is one giant Fourth Wall breakage. If anyone reading this gets sucked into their computer or tablet or whatever you have, or one of my characters comes out of said device, call me at 366-822-5563 (look at the keys on your phone, there is a secret message. PM me if you give up). Also, in this chapter, the author's (mine) shadow speaks to him. All of those lines will be in bold and italicized One day, I was writing as usual. Another day, still writing. A different day, I was editing Friendship is Recovering. A day a week from then is tomorrow... Still writing. Suddenly, I heard a voice in my head, which wasn't uncommon for me (DOUBLE NEGITIVE! Confused much?). Hey Cliff. What ch'ya doin'? My shadow said. "Shut up shadow," I said getting annoyed at the... um... 125 time he has asked me that today, "I'm trying to kill you off in this story." That hurt, my shadow said in mock sadness. That really... hurt. "Ugh," I ugh'ed, "just leave me alone." Can't, I sort of attached to you. Plus we both know that I am not Shadow Blade. All of your characters are based off of the life you are living. "So...?" I said getting ready to scream. Sooo... Dusk is based off of you. Smart, human, young. Although he's, what? 29? And you're 15. Sparx is your hopes and dreams. Pyro is your unbreakable determination and slight anger problems. Dawn is trust in all living creatures (until they give you reason to otherwise). Thunder is your leadership and understanding of other's pain. Twinkle is your hidden strengths and child-like mind. Celestial Bell is this story, where you go to express your feelings for this world and escape from it. Flare is your imagination. Morning is actually based off of both your little brothers. Shadow Blade is all your hardships; he is all the sadness and anger you went through in your life. Dusk relic is your hopes to lead a normal life, although I highly doubt you will. You ARE talking to me. "You forgot one," I taunted. Blitz is just Blitz. You just put her in to get Dusk and the others out alive. it said blankly. And I am NOT an IT, I am a she. "What? How? I'm a boy!" Shadows are the opposite gender than the one casting them. I stammered a bit and continued writing for a bit. I ignored the rest of my shadow's snarky comments for a whole hour. Finally, I came to the end of Chapter 7: The Last Shred of Light. And I broke the Fourth Wall like a bawz. "Oh God, I'm so stupid," I muttered to myself. What? Can't I'm your shadow. What's wrong? "Sparx is talking to me," I said and banged my head on the wall. Oh... that's not good. You better hope-- A portal opened right in front of me and a middle-aged man stepped out. His name was Doctor Who, from the show Doctor Who. Okay, now I'm sure you're dreaming... "Cliff!! I have very important news!" Doctor Who said, "It is a message from Doctor Whooves, from Equestria." "Spit it out already!" I said, wondering why the heck The Doctor was in my room. "I know that you know that Dusk knows that Celestia knows that Sparx knows that Twilight knows that Rainbow Dash knows that Daring Do knows that I know that Doctor Whooves knows that you know that I have no clue what i am talking about..." he said gasping for air. "Wait, what?" I asked, my head spinning and feeling like it was about to explode. "No time, I have to go now," and with that, he disappeared. What just happened? "I have no clue..." -------------------------------------- The next story happens at the same time as: Courage is Magic, By Raizou I helped edit that story so there won't be any confusion. To understand the next story, you will have to read it. The title of the soon to come story of mine is: Flaming Justice...... I think... If you have a better title (I know some of you do) please leave it in the comments. I do read over every one of them, no matter how many.