"He'll pay! He'll pay! He's gonna pay for this!" shouted Shadow.
"Oh yes, Shadow. Come and get me. Your information is wrong. I'm not even who you said I am. So find me, Shadow. Come and get it." said Sigma.
"Sigma!" he shouted before landing. "He's not here. He's left Canterlot. I can't find him. High level teleportation traces."
He was getting terrified stares from the citizens not in their houses. He rushed to the castle. The royal guards were laying around on the ground and injured.
"He attacked the guards. Why are none of them dead yet? What's going on? He's not one to miss so often."
He healed them all and ran inside, then blocked the doors. "Luna? Celestia?" he called.
"We're over here, Shadow!" said Luna.
He ran over to them. They were laying on the ground, heavily injured and almost dead. Luna was breathing heavily and Celestia had a shard of metal embedded in her. She was smiling as if she was delusional.
He quickly healed them and they sat up. "What's wrong, Celestia?"
"The one who killed mom had black hair." she said happily, "Black hair, not white hair. It wasn't you, it was Sigma."
"He'll pay for his crimes."
"Uncle Shadow has always been Uncle Shadow." said Celestia. "Such an evil pony..."
She looked down unhappily. Shadow put his arm around her shoulders. "What happened here?"
"Sigma... He started laughing. He looked at me." said Celestia, "It wasn't normal. Then he smiled. He told me to open the cage. I refused, but he didn't care. He broke free and destroyed the cage. Some pieces were lodged in my flank. I tried to stop him, but failed. I don't remember anything after that."
"After that, he came upstairs and attacked me without hesitation. The guards were no match for him. He ran off, then there was a surge of magical energy."
"That must've been him going to another planet. His little gang is probably there."
"Another planet?"
"Yeah. If he's there, then there will be nothing to worry about for a while."
"Why not?"
"Takes the entirety of our life energies to transport between worlds. He needs to regenerate. Energy takes longer to regenerate than a body."
"Then we're safe?"
"For now at least."
"So what can we do to stop him?"
"I don't know. There are some things I need to know, though. Sigma was a terrible fighter, never missed, and always went for the kill. What happened? Now he's just injuring ponies. It's like he's trying to scare them."
"I'm not scared of him." said Luna angrily.
"He should be the one scared of us." replied Celestia.
"And when I find him, I'm going to tear him to shreds." finished Shadow. He looked behind him. "We may have a problem on our hands. The guards are trying to get in. I hope you can act."
Shadow smiled at her, then stabbed himself in the head with a chunk of metal. The guards broke in a moment after he hit the floor. Everypony stared at his lifeless body. A guard walked up to him and checked his pulse. "He's dead."
"He's dead?"
"Dead."
"He... That's... Could you take him away from here? W... We need some time alone."
"Of course, Princess."
They picked up Shadow and took him away. Some of the guards tried to stay for a little longer, but Celestia removed them. Celestia looked at Luna, then chuckled.
"I wouldn't be laughing if I were you. They think you did it."
"You really think so?"
"I could tell. This can't end well."
"This would be the first time that I was blamed for killing somepony. Luna, Uncle Shadow killed himself so we could escape any rumors of alliance with him. We need to return the favor."
"How?"
"I don't know. I blamed him for mom's death, but..."
"Celestia..."
"C'mon, Luna. If Sigma's back, the guards need a course in deadly combat."
"I never thought the day would come where we would have to train them in these arts. Equestria was so peaceful."
"If Sigma is back, then what about his little gang?"
"If they are back, then these lands will never be the same again."
1478 YEARS AGO
"Mommy, can I sleep with you tonight? The lightning scares me." said Celestia, a young filly at the time.
"Me too! Me too!" said Luna.
"Oh, how can I say no to you two?" said Gaia happily.
"Yay!" They both hopped on their mom's bed and cuddled up next to her. "Love you, mommy. Goodnight!" they both said.
"I love you too." She smiled at them. They quickly fell asleep. "Such beautiful fillies. They'll grow up to be great princesses some day." she said. She kissed them both on their foreheads, then fell asleep.
THE NEXT DAY
"Wake up, you two." she said softly.
"Hi, mommy." said Celestia.
Luna was still asleep. "Tia, could you wake up Luny please? I have to be somewhere."
"All this royal stuff is getting in the way of our fun time." she complained. She started to tap Luna, and Gaia walked out of the room.
"Gaia."
"Shadow! You returned!" she said happily.
He walked along side her, bag resting on his back. "Today's the big day." he said.
"Yup. Today's the day we're gonna finally finish building Canterlot."
"Can you believe it? Twenty years!"
"I know. It has taken a bit of time. Shadow, I want to say, thanks."
"All I did was help. There's no real need to thank me. But if you wanted to, you know what I like."
"Right. So, Shadow, you never told me, who are you?"
"You don't know?"
"You never told me. You kept dodging the question."
"Oh, Queen Gaia. If you knew who I was, who I really was, you'd come to find life dreary and boring. You'd find yourself insignificant compared to me."
"But life is full of wonders and excitement! And with Canterlot finally finished, we have more able bodied ponies to help with that!"
"Yeah, life is beautiful. Gaia, keep those fillies safe. They'll hit their growth spurt soon. They're gonna be the future of this world. Don't let anything happen to them."
"What's with this all of the sudden?"
"Just keep 'em safe."
"Uncle Shadow!" they both said happily, running towards him.
"Luny! Tia!" he said happily before being tackled to the ground. He started laughing. "I haven't seen you two cuties in a full month! We need to meet up more often. How have you been?"
"I learned a new spell!" said Luna proudly.
"Oh really? Which one?"
"This one!" she said happily, using her spell. She lifted into the air surrounded by a magical aura. "I can fly without using my wings."
"That's great! Be careful though, it's pretty hard to steer. What about you, Celestia?"
"Nothing really new happened with me." she said.
"Really? That's a shame. Hey, how 'bout we all go get some pie? How's that sound?"
"Yay, pie!"
"How 'bout it, Gaia? Come get some pie with us!" he said happily.
"Sorry, Shadow, I'm busy all day."
"Aw, can't you skip a day?"
"You know I can't."
"Well, alright then. C'mon you two, lets get that pie." he said.
"Yay, pie! Yay, pie!" they chanted happily, bouncing around him.
They walked out of the castle and onto the newly paved road. Shadow took them to a nearby bakery and got them their pie. "Eat up, girls."
"Thanks, Uncle Shadow!"
"Thank you!"
Shadow felt a twinge in the side of his head. He started to rub it, but that only made it feel worse.
"What's wrong, Uncle Shadow?"
"Oh, it's nothing. Just a little headache. Feels like there's something on my head. Is there?"
"I don't think so." said Celestia.
"What's wrong with your mane?" asked Luna.
"My mane?"
He reached up and pulled some hair over his eyes. "My mane's turning black. What's going on here?"
"I don't like it." said Luna.
"Hmm... Well, I'll figure it out later, you just eat your pie." They both smiled and resumed eating. Shadow looked out the window and into a crowd of ponies. They were all looking at something. "That's odd."
He looked back at Luny and Tia. They had just finished eating their sweet treats. "So how was it?" he asked, smiling.
"Uncle Shadow, are you feeling alright?" asked Celestia.
"I think so, why do you ask?"
"Your mane got darker all of the sudden." said Luna.
"Really?" he asked. He reached into his bag and pulled out a mirror, then looked at himself. "What's up with that thing? Mane's don't just decide to change colors. Has it been 22 years already? Stupid oracle. I hate it when they're right. Lets go home. I need to get you back to your mom."
"Aw, really?"
"Yeah, sorry. Lets go."
Halfway there, Shadow put a hoof on his head and tried to rub it again. "My head hurts." he said.
"You just need to take a nap. Everything's better after a nap!" said Celestia cheerfully.
"I bet you're right. I'll be fine in the morning."
There was an incredibly large group of ponies in front of the castle. "Hey girls, I think your mom's got an announcement." he said.
"Shadow, can you take us up there?"
"Please, Shadow?"
"Sure thing, you two."
He picked them up and put them on his back. He took off and landed next to Gaia.
"Hi, beautiful! I brought your fillies." he said.
"Thank you, Shadow Streak."
He looked over the edge. Everypony was waiting for Gaia to say something. She walked up next to him and he stepped back.
"Citizens of Canterlot, and of all of Equestria, I have gathered you all here today on this glorious occasion to tell you how thankful I am for your help in making the city of Canterlot possible. Your work has finally come to a close. Canterlot is indeed completed, as the rumors have said. This is a momentous occasion indeed. After twenty long years of work. Now is the time to help others in need. We need to build other cities so this nation can prosper. As of today, there will be a new nation. May Equestria live on, with the citizens of it being treated just and being happy during their life times."
The ponies cheered. Shadow walked inside. He didn't care for speeches that much. He spent much of the rest of the day walking around inside the castle. He headed over to the library and started reading some books. He found himself studying Starswirl's notes more than anything.
"Shadow Streak, the Queen wants to see you." said a mare.
"Alright. Show me the way."
She nodded and walked to Queen Gaia, Shadow close behind. He walked into the room alone. "How'd the speech go?" he asked.
"Everypony loved it!" she said happily. "Where did you go off to?"
"I went to the library." he said, "So, what'd you want to see me for?"
"I want you to tell me who you are." she said, "I have asked you for three years, but you always found a way to avoid answering it. Not this time. Neither one of us are leaving this room until you say it." She used her magic to lock the door.
"But you'll starve to death!" said Shadow.
"I've prepared for that." she said.
"What if I choose to break my way out?"
"Oh, please. Do you really think that I wouldn't count for that? I bet this room can stand up to those bombs that the humans created."
"There's only one bed in here."
"I knew you wouldn't mind, Shadow."
"I don't mind, it's just that... Anyways, I can outlast you." he said.
"You cannot."
He looked in her eyes. "You can last for four months in here. I've lasted longer. Longer than that and even longer still! Don't try to beat me in a contest of endurance, because you will lose. I could stay in here until Canterlot rots above me. Then I'll climb out of the ruins on my own."
"Yeah right." she said sarcastically.
"Are you doubting me?"
"You have no proof."
"You want to see proof?"
"Any proof you have will be good enough for me. If I get proof, then I'll let you go right now."
He walked over to her and placed his hoofs on the sides of her head. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then re-opened his eyes and took a step back.
"I... I had no idea. I'm sorry, Shadow." she said sadly.
"Do not make me do that again. It's painful."
"Shadow, what was that?"
"Many years, waiting. No food, no water, no company, no family, no anything. I waited all that time."
"Why did you wait?"
He sat down on the bed and said, "My friend was put into a permanent state of spatial-temporal stasis after a failed experiment. He was trying to separate time from space. He used my body energy to do it. Just for a split-second, he succeeded. This hole in the universe was only maintained for less than a second, but one glimpse... it was horrible. After that, he was frozen in space-time. After about three million years, I finally gave up. To this day, he's still on his home planet, frozen. I still visit him from time to time, but it's just more painful each time I go."
She wrapped her arms around him and placed her head on his chest. "That's so sad."
"Don't you worry about a thing. You've just seen countless lifetimes worth of loneliness. You'll be a bit shaken for a few minutes."
She didn't move. He held on to her and patted her back. "That was too much, sorry."
"Shadow, you're ancient. I knew you were old, but alicorn old. Not this. Your life is so sad."
He parted her mane and kissed her forehead. "Gaia. Young Queen Gaia. C'mon, lets get out of here."
"Right."
She stood up and opened the door. Shadow rubbed his head. "Hey, Gaia, my head's been hurtin' all day now."
"You probably just have a headache."
"But it hurts, a lot. It hasn't gone away. It's getting worse."
"Don't be such a baby. You've had worse. I've seen you get crushed by a collapsing building."
"I know, but..."
"Shadow! You're lagging!" she called from down the hallway.
"Coming!" he replied, running after her. "My head really hurts. It's like five months of volcano all at once, but concentrated into a single area."
"Mommy! Shadow!"
"Luny! Ow. Tia! Ow!"
"Are you alright, Uncle Shadow?" asked Celestia.
"It's like my headache has a headache with a headache."
"Maybe you should go to the hospital." said Gaia.
"Yeah, hospital."
"Do you think you can fly right now?"
"Yeah, I can still fly."
"Then lets take the air route."
"Y... Yeah."
They all ran to the balcony where Gaia gave her speech.
TAP! TAP! TAP!
Queen Gaia turned around and looked at Shadow. He was faced around and had his head against the wall. "Are you alright, Shadow Streak?" she asked.
He turned around. His forehead had a trail of blood coming out of it and he wore a broad smile. He grabbed his head and stood up on his back legs, reeling back as if he was in pain.
"Uncle Shadow... You're scaring us." said Celestia, backing away. Luna was behind Celestia.
He slammed his head against the wall again. "My head feels like it's being torn apart from the inside..." he said painfully.
He reeled back again, then tripped over the edge of the balcony. He fell to the ground, still holding his head. He didn't move.
"Shadow Streak?" said Gaia.
"Uncle Shadow?" said Luna.
"Shadow?" said Celestia.
"Hey buddy, are you alright?" asked a pony near him.
Shadow quickly grabbed his head again and arched his back up. He sat up, then backed away from the crowd that had gathered around him. His mane was jet black and his eyes had dark bags under them and were narrowed angrily.
"Listen you two, I want you to go inside. Go inside and stay there." said Gaia. "Tell the guards, defense plan delta-7."
"But mom..."
"Listen to your mother, fillies." said Shadow, who had quickly flown next to them. "If you know what's good for you."
They ran inside and left only Gaia and Shadow on the balcony.
"What are you doing, Shadow?"
"I'm not Shadow anymore. You're going to call me Sigma."
"Who are you?"
"I'm not going to tell you."
"Why are you here?"
"I'm here for one reason and one reason only."
"What is it?"
"I'm going to kill you, Gaia. I'm going to kill you, your subjects, your fillies. I'm going to kill everything here."
"If you lay a hoof on anypony I'll make you rue the day you threatened me."
He walked towards her. She stood her ground. Sigma lunged at her with a wide smile. She tried to get out of the way, but Sigma grabbed her hoof and threw her against a wall. He placed his hoof above her shoulder, then drew it downward. The stone in the wall molded around her arm in a ring, holding her against it.
She tried to attack him, but he stepped away. "Now now, Queen, you don't want to hurt yourself, do you?" he said.
She tried to yank her arm free, but only managed to bruise it.
"This may take a while."
"What are you talking about?" she asked angrily.
"I could torture you, let you bleed until you die. I could murder everypony but you. You would be all alone. I could bury you alive or drop you in the middle of the endless desert."
"Why are you doing this, Shadow?"
"I'm not Shadow, I'm Sigma. Say it with me, Sigma. Sig-ma."
"Why are you doing this?"
"Somepony's getting impatient. Fine, I'll tell you. I like to hear the sounds of breaking bones. I like to feel flesh tear beneath my hooves. The reason I am doing this is because I love to cause pain. The screams of the undeserving is music to my ears!"
"So you're here to cause pain?"
"Oh, yes. And you're going to be my first victim!"
"Then I'll just have to stop you." she said. She looked at her arm and said, "This is gonna hurt." She yanked her arm again and twisted it. She felt her shoulder dislocate and winced. "I'm not gonna let you do this, Sigma."
"There's my name! I knew you'd get it."
She slid her arm out of the ring. Sigma just stood there smiling at her. Gaia used her magic and tried to relocate her arm.
Sigma laughed. "If you want to relocate a shoulder, you need to do... this!" he said. He grabbed her arm and violently shoved it back into it's socket, making her scream in pain. "There's that scream! That wonderful scream!"
She jumped away and said, "You're a monster! What happened to the Shadow I know and love?"
"I've taken his body. It's mine now. I finally have a physical form that I can cause pain with."
"Sigma, you're not going to hurt anypony." she said.
"Yeah? Try and stop me."
She used a spell against him. He sidestepped it and tried to tackle her, but she dodged it. He swung at her and hit her in the chest, making a gash across it. She turned around and ran inside. He ran after her. She ran to the room that they were in a few minutes ago. She dived behind the bed and hid from him.
"He won't stop. He won't show mercy. He'll find me. What can I do? What can I do?" she said. She started to cry. "Why is he doing this to me? Pull yourself together, you're crying like a filly. He's scary, but if I want to save Equestria, I have to do something to stop him."
"Oh, Gai-a!" called Sigma playfully. "I know where you are!"
She waited until he got in the room, then stood up and sealed the doors. "Sigma, you're not going to hurt anypony. If I can do one thing, one thing at all, I would make sure my kingdom is safe."
Sigma just smiled a her. "I'm trapped in here with you."
"Neither of us are going anywhere for a long time."
He walked closer to her. The closer he got, the more she became afraid of him. "Within this week, Gaia, you're going to die." he said.
"Within the week? Why not now? Why not get it over with and be done with it?" she asked.
"I have plans for you, Queen Gaia."
"What kind of plans?"
"Maybe I'll rape you."
She backed away.
"Tell ya what, you let me out and I'm not gonna rape you." he said.
"You're sick!"
"It's an honest offer." he said.
She looked away angrily. "You're never getting out of this room."
He growled at her. "You're pissing me off!" He lunged at her and grabbed her head. He slammed her against the wall and said, "Let me out of here!"
"I'd rather die."
He growled like an animal again. He let her go, jumped back, and smiled. "How about a board game?"
"What?"
"I want to play some board games. I'll keep you alive so long as I'm entertained. Why should I live an eternity without a little fun? You got any games in here?"
"No. I made this room so you..."
"Shadow. Make that mistake again, you'll die."
"So Shadow would have nothing to do and be forced to tell me."
"Big flaw in your plan, locking yourself in here with him. He's very... persuasive, if you know what I mean. So there's nothing to do in here. I know what I've said earlier, but I've lost interest. You're going to break before me. That's an absolute fact. You could be in pain for years to come if I want to see that. I'm not big on physical torturing, even though it generates lots and lots of screaming. Shadow is, but not me."
"How can you say that about Shadow? He's the nicest pony I know!"
"Listen you little bitch, you know nothing about Shadow Streak!" he said angrily.
"Will you tell me?"
"No. He won't let me tell anypony. He has his reasons for doing that, and I have mine for heeding his orders. He is a great pony. He would burn himself alive if it would prevent somepony getting a paper cut. He hasn't been in that situation yet, but he would. He could do so much better than you, and yet he chooses to stay on this rock with you."
"What are you talking about?"
"Earlier he said that his friend was on another planet. There's life out there, lots of it. Shadow wiped out hundreds of species on his own. They deserved it, though. He is one of the most wanted criminals in this universe."
"Shadow isn't a criminal! He's sweet and kind-hearted and would never hurt anypony!"
"Have you ever looked in his eyes? Ever truly saw what was behind them?" She looked down. "See? You have. You know what I'm talking about. Enough of this. You got any bandages?"
"Yeah, over there in the bathroom. Why do you need them?"
He walked over and grabbed them. He went back and said, "Lemme get that for you."
"Why are you doing this?"
"That's a huge gash. If you keep bleeding like that, I'll have nopony to make scream." he said cheerfully, "And if you refuse, I'll just happen to forget a pain killer while I'm closing it."
"You're going to..."
"I'm a certified doctor. I know what I'm doing. You're gonna need stitches for that."
"Does this mean..."
"No it does not. You'll die by my hooves some day, so just relax."
He walked back to the bathroom and grabbed some chemicals. He mixed them together and gave them to her. "Drink up."
"What is it?"
"Full body numbing."
"Why not just my chest?"
"Don't question me. Drink it." She kept looking at it suspiciously. "If I was gonna do anything to you, I would've done it. In the many years you've known Shadow, have you ever once been able to stop him from doing whatever he wants? You've tried to stop him bunches of times. Every one of those ended up with a hospitalized queen. Now, drink it!"
She gave it one last look, then drank it. She fell to her back. Sigma grabbed a needle and some surgical thread. A few minutes later, he examined his work, then used a spell on her. She sat back up and felt her chest.
"Just ignore that for the next ten days and you'll be good as new. Provided you live, of course."
He looked around the room, then walked around and grabbed many things.
"What are you doing?"
"I need a way of contacting my gang. If they haven't been caught yet, they'll help me out."
"Nopony can get in or out of this room!" she shouted angrily.
"And yet, I'll be out murdering again some day."
He looked at his pile of items, then started to put them together. After about forty minutes, throughout which Gaia was watching his every move, he had a large, rectangular device. He pushed a button on it and said, "Hello? Anypony there? I'm stuck in Canterlot and Gaia has really put the works on this one. Come get me. I swear, if you kill anypony, I will personally atomize you. They're mine, all mine!"
He turned back to Gaia and said, "Yeah, it didn't work, nopony was there. Guess I'll just have to create a hydrogen bomb and blast myself out of here." He looked around. "This technology isn't advanced enough to do that. I can't do it with these. If it was just Shadow trapped in here, he could do it lickity-split. He's good with nuclear physics. Stupid, stupid humans. Quite possibly the stupidest sentient species."
"What was that device?"
"The humans called it a telephone. Talk over long distances. Ponies shouldn't have this technology for maybe two thousand years."
Gaia just stared at him. "Sigma, I thought you were a merciless killer, but you seem almost normal."
"I'm not gonna kill ya now. I'm not a necrophiliac."
"Sigma!"
"Shut up. Hmm... I could carve chess pieces."
"Out of what?"
"Bone? Mine of course, yours wouldn't grow back. I'm not gonna face a jellyfish at chess." She giggled. "Look at you, seeing the light in a situation. No, not bone. Hmm..."
He walked around a little. "I know!"
He tore some bricks out of the wall, then used a spell on them and they turned into pieces of a chess board. He grabbed a chunk in his teeth and carved 64 squares in the floor, then placed the pieces down. "You go first." he said.
She sat down across from him. A half hour later, they were still locked in their chess game. "You're good." said Sigma, "Very, very good."
"Thanks. You're not bad yourself."
A few moves later, Sigma was backed into a corner. She moved her piece, then said, "Checkmate."
Sigma looked around the board, then said, "Ow, my pride." She laughed again. "You're having fun."
"It's hard not to. I love chess."
"Not many creatures can get a checkmate with me, and nothing can checkmate Shadow. 'cept the Doctor, but that's irrelevant."
"You keep talking about Shadow. Why?"
"He's just a subject we're both familiar with. Like when you're talking to somepony, and they don't care about what you're saying. They just smile and nod." Sigma smiled at her. "What should we do now?"
He started pacing the room. He was muttering something, but Gaia couldn't hear him. "I could either let the four months go by, or do it now." he said.
"What are you talking about?"
"Death by starvation, or a murder." he replied, "Your choice."
"You're giving me a choice?"
"Sure. Why not?"
"You sick, sick monster!" she said.
"You flatter me."
She looked right into his eyes. "I want to stay long enough to make sure you can't ever leave this place."
"You keep revolving around the same subject. I'm apparently not going anywhere. Four months. Four... months. Four-months. Four-months-four-months-four-months. Four... million months. Yes. Four million months. I'll force you to live for four million months."
"You can't force me to live for 300000 years. Royal alicorns don't last past 200000. There isn't even enough food here to last us a year."
"Tell that to me in 333333 and a third year's time on the dot. Or at least until Canterlot collapses. Then I'll slaughter whatever species is dominant. Then other species populating the world. Then I'll set my sights on the universe. Won't that be grand? Maybe you could join me. We could control the entire universe. It wouldn't be that hard actually. Just a bit of wreaking havoc and we'll be all set."
"I'm not gonna join you in anything you do."
"You can't be locked in a room for years with anypony without ending up as friends. Shadow did it tons of times. Most weren't by choice."
"I'll never be friends with you."
"You pessimist."
"I'm not a pessimist."
"Yes you are."
"No I'm not!"
"Prove it."
"How could I do that?"
"Give me a smile." He grabbed her cheeks and pulled up. "Smile!"
"Sigma, that hurts."
"I don't care." he said happily. He moved his hooves around. "You look funny!" She swiped his hooves away from her face. "Party pooper. If you're gonna hate me, hate me when I kill ya. Before then, find a way to stop me, because unless I'm stopped, you'll die. Aw, I'm making everything all mean and gray. Should be happy and yellow! Yellow's a cheery color, right? Or did I miss something? No, yellow's always gonna be cheery. Well, I've been wrong before."
"You're like a filly."
"The last pony to say that, other than Shadow, was greater than you, and I killed him for it."
"That means you took Shadow's body before, correct?"
"Well, yes and no. You see... No, I'm not gonna tell you that. That's a story for another day."
"Why not now? Why can't I hear the story now?"
"Because now, it's late and time to sleep." he said, "For you, not for me, I don't sleep."
"You don't sleep?"
"I have never gotten a wink of sleep in my life."
"Doesn't that hurt?"
"Well, yeah, of course it does."
"Do you want to sleep?"
"Every day."
"Maybe I could help you."
"Why would you help your executioner?"
"I am queen of these lands and all of pony-kind. You're still a pony, no matter what you've done. That means you are one of my subjects. I help my subjects, including somepony like you."
"You don't want to regret this decision, and yet, you will."
"I'll take my chances."
"And I'll kill ya!" he said happily.
"How can you say those horrid things so easily?"
"And what things are those?"
"You kept saying that you would rape me, thank the heavens you said you'd lost interest, and you constantly say you'll kill me. Most ponies throw up if they even began to think about those."
"If you've killed enough, you really don't care about who you hurt or what you do."
"But when did it all start?"
"It ha always been, and always will be. It's my special talent."
"Special talent?"
"Causing pain. I'm so good at it! It's like a filly and their cutie mark. But, neither of us have our cutie marks. We're both constantly blank."
"Sigma, have you ever thought that hurting ponies wasn't really your special talent?"
"I've given it no thought."
"Sigma, if you think it's your special talent, and you don't have a cutie mark for it, then maybe you weren't meant to do it."
"But what else could there be? It makes me so happy when I do it! And I'm good at it. Really, really good."
"I'm sure you are, but if it isn't your real special talent, what is?"
"I'm also a great battle tactician. I took an entire militant planet without a single casualty on my side. Then I slaughtered them all. Friend and foe alike."
"How about something non-violent?"
"I'm a great baker." he said.
"You're a baker?"
"I don't mean to brag, but I make the best apple pie in the universe. Literally. It was entered in a universal cooking contest and won. Earlier, you mentioned you could help me sleep."
"Yes, I have a sleep spell I can use on you. Stand still and I'll be done in a moment."
He stood right in front of her. She used the spell on him, then shot back and was slammed against the wall. Sigma laughed. "You alright over there?"
"What'd you do that for?" she asked angrily.
"I didn't do anything."
"You broke my spell!"
"Not on purpose."
"What do you mean?"
"I didn't do anything on purpose. Maybe I just don't sleep."
"There has to be another explanation."
"Spell resistance, spell wasn't done right, spell wasn't strong enough, spell simply failed. All possible."
"Are you trying to pin this on me?"
"That, or I just plain can't sleep." His ears perked up. "Somepony is screaming. I love it!"
"Who is that?" asked Gaia.
"It's Celestia. Her voice sounds so pained. It's great!"
"What's happened to Celestia?"
"She must've learned about us in this room." he said, "Celestia's throwing a storm of a temper tantrum. Big ol' hissy fit. Little baby wants her mommy. Oh, boo-hoo-hoo."
"You shut up!"
"Or what? You gonna cry about it? Ya gonna cry you big baby? Whaa! Whaa!"
She reared up on her back hooves and came down on his head. "Shut up!" she shouted. She continued to strike him. Her blows started to get weaker and she was crying.
Sigma grabbed her hoof and threw her to the ground, then stepped on her back. He leaned down to her ear and whispered, "All you have to do is open the door and you can see Celestia and Luna again. You get to see your cute little babies again. You can hear her. She's crying out for you, 'Mommy! Mommy! I want to see my mommy! Where's my mommy?' But she'll never see her mommy again, will she? It's all your fault. You're to blame for this. There's only one way out of this room and you know it. There's only one way to see your fillies, and you have the key."
Her hooves were over her eyes and she was silently crying into them.
"Don't you care about what happens to your babies? Don't you want them to have a mom? Don't you love them? Don't you love your fillies? I don't think you do. You never want to see them again. Their cute little faces. Their happy little voices. Unless you let yourself out of here, these things will be forever out of your grasp. Never knowing what your babies will grow into. Never knowing what they will turn out to be. They won't have anypony to help them through tough times. Nopony there for them. They'll be so lonely. They'll think you abandoned them. You'll make your own fillies hate you before they're even grown up."
She screamed. Sigma got off her back. 'My work here is done.' he thought. He sat away from her and enjoyed the show.
She was in turmoil. Her face was soaked in tears and she was screaming. She remained like this for a good ten minutes, then stood up and looked at Sigma.
"Hey, what's the matter with you?" he asked her.
She growled at him, like he did to her, then advanced towards him. He smiled at her and said, "You've snapped sooner than I thought you would."
She collapsed to the ground. Sigma stood over her and laughed. "Your mind shut down! How painful. In the morning, or whenever you wake up, you'll be in pain. So much pain."
He picked her up and laid her on the bed. He stood near the door and the room got darker. "Sun activated lighting. Genius!"
He heard a click. The door creaked open. He looked at it like it was dangerous. "What's going on here?" Gaia walked out, and Sigma followed her. "Gaia, are you feeling well?" he asked.
She didn't react.
"Mommy!" said Celestia, running over to her. She grabbed on to her and held on tight. "I thought you would be stuck in there forever."
"It's alright, dear. The lock was just jammed. Shadow here was helping me fix it."
Sigma walked past them and grabbed Gaia's tail in his mouth, then dragged her away. "Where are we going, Shadow?" she asked calmly.
"You know damn well I'm not Shadow." She didn't answer. 'Her mind was crushed. Did she forget?' he thought.
He brought her outside. Celestia and a guard had been following them. Luna joined them after a few seconds. Gaia was smiling and humming to herself while she was being dragged.
"So we went outside?" she asked.
He let go of her tail. "Get up." he commanded.
"What's wrong, Shadow?"
"Does the name Sigma mean anything to you?"
"No, should it? You dyed your hair. I liked it white. Complimented your old eyes."
"Oh. Rest in peace, Queen Gaia."
He used his hoof to shove her against the wall and jammed his other hoof through her chest and out her back. She smiled at him, a small trail of blood coming from her mouth, then fell to the ground.
"Mommy?"
"Are you ok?"
The guard tried to tackle him, but he quickly killed him with a blow to the head. Celestia and Luna were holding on to their mom, crying. Sigma ignored them. He felt something odd. 'Was I poisoned? How? She smiled at me. That bitch!'
Sigma walked back over to Gaia. Luna and Celestia didn't notice. He closed her eyes, then took off into the air. He coughed up some blood. 'I recognize this poison. How did she get her hands on this much?'
He flew into the Everfree. He found a cave and went deep into it. He sat with his back against the wall. "That... son of a... bitch. I... hate you... Queen... Gaia!" He was breathing heavily. His hair was graying.
"I love you, Queen Gaia."
