I, in no way, own My Little Pony. It is property of Lauren Faust and Hasbro
Faded Shadows
Prologue
"And with one final blast, The Elements of Harmony were able to stop the crazed human and turn him to stone. Today, he still stands in the very spot where he took in his final breathe. Now, any questions?"
Hooves began to fly into the air left and right at such a speed that surprised even the professor. He smiled and pointed at the nearest student.
"Miss Gardens?"
The mare lowered her hand.
"If humans are so dangerous, then why did Princess Celestia have two in her guard at the time?"
"Excellent question Miss Gardens." replied the professor. "The Princesses have made several statements say that Captain Agliss and Captain Yamato were fillyhood friends of theirs. They had offered to help stop Zhane Black and stop him they did. Next question."
More hooves raised into the air and the professor pointed to another student.
"Mister Stone?"
The stallion lowered his hoof.
"Why did the Princess worry about releasing this info to the public? What harm could it have done and why wait till two years later to tell everypony about this?"
"If you think about it Mister Stone." began the professor. "It all boils down to keeping the public from panicking. If the entirety of Equestria knew that some murderous monster was on the loose, shops would have closed, towns would have been deserted, panic and anarchy would have become the basis in which we live. Keeping this info from us for two years is a move that I would not have suspected from the Princesses but they know what to do and I'll leave it to them."
The professor turned and looked at the silver clock on the wall. It was getting close to 3:00 and the student would be released from school any minute now.
"We have time for one more question." the professor announced as he scanned the room for one last pony.
"Miss Light." the professor said as he called on a mare in the front row. "The final question is yours."
"Thank you Mr. Breaker." replied the young mare as she lowered her hoof. "All I want to ask is what do you think about this human?"
"Hmm, what an interesting question." said Professor Breaker. "There's so much that we don't know about this human simply because the Princesses are unwilling to share the information. If what was said through eyewitness reports were true, then I would be disgusted with this human. It was obvious that Zhane Black was on the lower part of the moral compass. I'm glad he got what he deserved but killing somepony the way he did is unacceptable as is any type of murder. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying this human was a mad dog. It was reported that he was quite smart in outwitting the Royal Guard and several other forces after him. I don't believe that he was a sick and twisted as the papers made him out to be. If you take anything away from this lesson it's that bad deeds do not pay in the end."
A loud ring suddenly burst to life, indicating it was time for school to be over.
"Don't forget to do your homework tonight and turn it in first thing in the morning!" Professor Breaker yelled over the bell as he watched his students file out of the classroom.
"What are you doing later today?" asked Green Gardens as she and Stone Plate walked out of the room together.
"I dunno." he replied. "You got something in mind?"
"I want to go see that statue, the one of Zhane Black." replied Gardens.
"I dunno." said Stone. "I hate that place even without knowing that it houses some of Equestria's greatest criminals."
"Come on Stony." said Gardens. "It'll be fun, I promise."
Stone Plate rolled his eye and then smiled.
"Fine but you own me for this."
The two students walked out of their school and made their way to the castle. Unlike The School for Gifted Unicorns, Canterlot University was across town and thankful, a lot less expensive and demanding than the former. After walking about ten minutes down several back alleys and finally entering the main road, the couple had reached the castle gates.
"Good morning citizen." said the guard. "Please state your business here."
"We were hoping to look around the gardens." said Stone as he smiled at the guard.
"Of course." said the guard as he smiled back. "Just keep in mind that it will be closed off at sundown but take your time and enjoy the sights."
The guard stood to the side and allowed the two to pass.
"Thank you!" shouted Gardens as they got further and further away from the guard.
Once the guard was out of sight, Gardens began to dance on her hooves.
"I can't wait to see this statue. I wander what he looks like, I can't wait."
Stone just rolled his eyes and started down one of the nearby paths looking at every statue they passed. Eventually, they hit the castle wall and decided to follow it. Sticking to the wall, the couple came upon a small hidden section of land containing only one statue.
"I think that's the one." said Stone Plate as he approached it.
"Zhane Black." he read as he looked at the gold plate hooked to the base of the statue. He looked up to see a chiseled face with a small frown quite visible. Scar were also visible and easily identified from where they were standing.
"You're the lucky one." said Garden as she nudged Stone with her hoof. "You're joining the Royal Guard after school which means you get to know every little detail about Zhane."
It suddenly became silent for several moments.
"I just can't help but feel sorry for him." said Gardens. "I don't know what it is but looking at him makes me feel a little sad."
"He's a sight to see, is he not?" called a voice from behind the couple. The two ponies turned to see Princess Celestia in all of her regal glory. The two bowed in respect for their leader.
"You may raise." said Celestia as she watched the two lift their heads and look upon the Princess. "I'm surprised that somepony actually found this little place. I did my best to try and hide it."
"We're sorry Princess." replied Stone. "We did not mean to trespass."
"Nonsense." said Celestia. "The Canterlot Gardens are open to the public. That includes this part as well." The Princess gazed upon the statue and looked back at the two. "I'm interested as to why you two were trying to find the statue of Zhane Black."
"Our Professor at Canterlot university just finished a lecture on Zhane today and we got curious." replied Gardens. "He told us that the statue was still here and I really wanted to come see it."
Celestia smiled and walked up to the statue.
"Did your teacher make him out to be a mad dog?" asked the Princess.
"No Princess." replied Gardens. "He just said that his acts disgusted him. He told us that he was very smart in the way he did things."
"I'm surprised." said Celestia. "Most of the teachers at the school in the castle tend to mark him as a maniac."
Celestia turned and approached the two ponies.
"He was nowhere near being a maniac. He was a conflicted man that worked on the basis of having a purpose. The day he said he lost his purpose was the day that he was turned to stone. He then realized that he no longer need one and accepted his fate."
Celestia paused.
"Don't get me wrong, he deserves to be punished for what he did to my little ponies. I just don't think that turning him to stone was the right thing to do."
There was another pause.
"Sorry for wasting your time like that." laughed the Princess. "Just me rambling about the could have and would haves. It has been a pleasure to meet the both of you."
"The pleasure is ours, Princess." replied Stone Plate as he bowed.
"If you'll excuse me, I have some things to take care of. Please come visit again. I would love to have another chat with the two of you."
With that, Celestia unfolded her wings and took off back towards the castle. Stone Plate waited a moment before breaking the silence.
"Alright Gardens, now we get to do what I wanna do."
"And that would be." replied Gardens as she continued to watch the sky.
"Let's go eat." he said as his stomach produced a loud growl. "I'm pretty hungry."
Gardens laughed slightly before hitting Stone with her hoof.
"Alright then, but you're paying this time."
Celestia watched from her balcony as the two ponies walked from the statue and out of the garden. With a small sigh, she turned back towards her room and walked in. Her floor was littered with scraps of paper, her desk covered in scrolls, books lined the walls. Any pony would take one look at her room and call it a pigsty. She liked to keep it this way, well, ever since Zhane had been turned to stone. She shook her head, she didn't care what other ponies thought, it was her private quarters, not theirs.
She walked towards the desk and pulled out a blank piece of parchment. Producing a quill and some ink, she began to write on the parchment.
Note:
Third year of imprisonment is about to come for Zhane. Go out to Canterlot and buy some nice flowers to lay next to statue. Also, invite Agliss and Yamato as well.
There was a loud knock on the door. Celestia quickly pushed the parchment away and look up at the door.
"Enter."
The door opened slowly to reveal Luna walking into the room.
"Dinner is almost ready sister." Luna said with a bright smile.
"I'm not hungry." replied Celestia in a low voice.
Luna frowned.
"This is the fifth time this week you've skipped a meal. Now you tell me what's wrong or I will not leave till you do." demanded Luna.
Celestia looked back at her desk, looking at the lonely piece of parchment sitting there. Suddenly a blue glow surrounded the parchment as it shoot across the room and right in front of Luna. She stayed silent for a few moments before looking back up at her sister.
"You're still going on about this? I thought you put all this stuff behind you?"
"I can't help it, Luna." replied Celestia. "Every time I see that statue I can't help but think about him. Every time I try to forget it finds a way back in."
"There has to be some way to put you at ease?"
"I have been thinking about something we could do." replied Celestia.
"What would that been?" asked Luna.
"Well... we could...you know... do that thing... you know... what we did for …...Discord."
Luna stood silent in the room.
"Are you crazy, I can't even imagine doing something like that your something like Zhane. That would be social suicide!"
"No pony would have to know. We would keep him in the castle until he improves." argued Celestia. "We could send him with Agliss and Yamato to Oasis or something else, I don't know."
"You know how fast Discord betrayed us once Tirek offered him power? Who's to say the same thing won't happen to Zhane."
"I know it won't! I won't let it!" yelled Celestia.
It was silent for a good minute or so.
"We have to give it a chance Luna. I would put me at ease if I knew that he was given a second chance. If he fails to change then so be it. However, I will not spend the rest of my days filling like I could have done something for him. That's the last thing I want on my mind as I lead this country or having to deal with other countries."
Luna let out a small summer
"I'm with you sister, always, and I'll support any choice you make. If you want to do this, we'll need to take some precautions and take into considerations that we don't have the Elements of Harmony anymore?"
"We can work around that Luna." replied Celestia. "I need you to contact Twilight Sparkle and her friends as well as Princess Cadance. They'll want to be present. I'll send a letter to Agliss and see if he'll come. I want the Royal Guard on full alert, access to the garden denied for civilians, and castle tours closed for that day. I want your Lunar Nights to keep watch over the statue for the next few nights just in case. Also, I want them to try and find that Bounty Hunter, Azure Phoenix. I want him here on a royal summon."
"Anything else?" asked Luna.
"I could also go for some dinner." Celestia replied with a smile.
Alright, new story time. Enjoy!
This is just a little teaser until the story actually starts. I am still currently working on the story and hope to post it latter this summer.
See everypony latter this summer
Blazing Inferno 65
