Author's Notes

Hello again, William Sable here.

As with my previous novel, I'd like to set out a few notes before you begin reading A Shadow Falling. This novel takes place directly after the previous book, A Shadow Rising. Therefore, if you have not read the previous iteration, you will have ABSOLUTELY no idea what is going on. I would suggest reading that first. Character notes are located in the first book as well, so any character questions should be cross-referenced with those notes.

With that out of the way, a quick recap/note:

- The name Shadow Storm is not going to be changed. The name is reflective of his personality and has major symbolic references to the storyline.

- Again, I tried to keep most of the characters within their set personalities. That being said, I also strived to reveal more than what meets the eye.

- Any and all constructive criticism will be very much appreciated. Feel free to message me or post a review if you have any suggestions.

Alrighty then, those are out of the way. One more thing:

This book may have a substantially different feel than the previous one. This is due to the conclusion of several plot and character elements, such as Dash and Storm's relationship. I am hoping to create some tension between the two, however I will not being doing the Soap Opera style "break up, get back together, repeat" tension.

There may or may not be less action in this novel. We'll see as it progresses. There will definitely be more of a mystery element in this one.

I'd also like to note that the plot in this novel, as with the last one, may be very cliche. I'm trying my hardest to keep the story flowing nicely, whilst introducing new, unexpected features.

That's all I have to say. If you're a new reader of my work or a returning one, enjoy!

Prologue

"Ugh…"

Shadow Storm moaned as he awoke. His head was aching badly. He had no recollection of last night.

'Where am I?' he thought.

All he could see was his green mane, stretched down over his eyes. Taking his dark hoof, he gently moved it out of the way, making sure not to touch his head. He rolled slightly to his left and felt his heart jump to his throat. He quickly flattened himself against the ground.

'Oh dear Celestia…'

The ground was rather soft. Indeed the ground was actually a bed. Shadow was now in a predicament. He was in bed, with Rainbow Dash.

'You gotta bucking with me,' he thought, 'I wasn't that drunk… was I?'

As he rolled to his right he sighed in relief. A familiar little dragon was at the foot of the bed, sleeping soundly. All about the room were ponies, mostly his friends, sleeping in different places.

'Thank Celestia…'

Shadow slowly arose from the bed, avoiding stepping on anyone or making noise. He made his way slowly toward the door, avoiding the sheets and other tattered items spread about the room. They most certainly had a party in here; he knew the look from flight school. Storm grinned; he was almost to the door, and freedom. As luck would have it, however, a single misstep onto a cup that was lying on the ground near the door completely destroyed what little silence and stealth Storm had.

Within seconds, Storm found himself stumbling backwards. He managed to steady himself after smashing against a bookcase, but it was too late. Everything but the walls appeared to be falling down, as bookcases, tables, cups and other trinkets flew about the room in a Rube Goldberg effect. Shadow winced, sat down and grabbed his head with his hooves, the loud noise strenuous upon his headache.

Slowly but surely, everyone in the room gathered the courage to wake up and look about.

"Uh… Shadow… what the hay is going on?"

Storm turned his head and looked over at Applejack. He burst out laughing, unable to restrain himself at the sight before him. A confused orange Earth pony sat in front of him, dressed in some kind of archaic looking gown. The Ponyvillian frowned and stared at Storm, waiting for an answer.

Still laughing, Shadow finally answered, "I have no idea."

A moan caught Shadow and Applejack's attention. Twilight Sparkle slowly rose out of a pile of bed sheets. Her mane was completely disheveled and she had a bottle of some kind over her horn. She too, feeling the effects of the previous night, grabbed her head, attempting to will away the pain.

"Uhn…. What happened?" Twilight muttered, resting against the bed.

Storm slowly stood up and walked over to the window, glancing out to check the time. It was barely dawn.

"I can't even remember last night," Shadow answered, "Apart from my speech professing my undying love for Dash… that went pretty good."

Applejack stood up as well, and sat in thought for a moment.

"I remember Twi's brother saying something and someone else saying something, and then all I can remember is people drinking Sarsaparilla."

Storm nodded, agreeing with the orange pony. He stared out the window into the vastness of Canterlot, the white city's streets beautiful, even with a headache.

"Well, we must have drank a lot, considering the damage done to the room," Shadow noted, as he turned to look back at the rest of his friends.

By now, everyone was awaking, with mixed results. Oddly enough, Rainbow Dash seemed chipper and happy. She stretched her pale blue legs as she awoke with a yawn. As Twilight attempted to gain her balance, she noted that she no longer seemed so different; she was more like her old self. Rarity seemed fairly lucid, although she immediately became worried after noticing her royal purple mane was no longer properly groomed.

"Well, judging by this," Dash stated with a smile, "I think it's safe to say this GGG was the Best Night Ever, considering how bad the last Best Night Ever was."