The Shadow of Equestria

Chapter 1

Simple beginnings

If I were to walk up to someone and tell them that I used to be normal, they would laugh. I know it's hard to believe but for a short part of my childhood, I was the most innocent, carefree, normal child on the face of the planet. I spent my days roaming the woods with my two brothers and spend the nights gazing at the stars as the night sky showed me wondrous things. Out of the two, the latter was my favorite thing to do. Something about nighttime just mystified me. Anyways, I was young, probably somewhere around ten or eleven years old. My brothers were both a year older so I was the youngest. I always looked up to them because they always did the right thing. They never fought, bickered, or argued. It was like they were in perfect harmony with each other and oh how I strived to be like them. Perfect in every way. But you know what they say, good things never last.

We were sitting in the living room relaxing from a long day. My parents were watching the news while my brothers and I were keeping ourselves entertained. Suddenly, the television switched from the boring news channel to another. I thought it was nothing at first but when my father told me to quiet down, I knew it was important.

"We have some very important news ladies and gentlemen. The Black brothers, also known as "The Shadows", have claimed another life in the past week. This will now put the official death toll at 23. If you have any information that would help in the capture of these two killers please contact your local sheriff's office."

A picture popped up on the screen of the television and to this day I would never forget the looks both of those men had in their eyes. They looked crazed, like they would love nothing less than to see your blood slowly staining the floor. The picture went away and the news man came back on.

"If you see either of these men, please keep your distance. They are both psychotic killers and will take action against you if you so much as look at them wrongly. If you do see them, contact the police and wait for them to arrive. Thank you for tuning in tonight."

My father turned the television off and looked towards us.

"I think it's time for bed boys, you've had a long day."

We obeyed and went to bed. I admit, I was worried and scared that the Black brothers would get us too but in the back of my mind, I knew that would never happen. I remember closing my eyes with a smile on my face.

I was awaked from my slumber by a loud thump. I sat up and looked around the room, catching the sight of my brothers who had also been awoken. I was both curious and terrified at what that thump was, in my mind, something came up that caused a chill to run down my spine. The Black brothers. Suddenly there was another thump and then silence, eerie silence. Then out of nowhere, the sound of someone coming up the steps echoed throughout the house. I panicked and placed myself in the corner of the room. My brothers however, found the courage to approach the door and open it slowly as I watched from the corner. That's when I saw those eyes.

There were two pair of them and they were both staring at my brothers with the same crazed intent as the Black brothers. I silently let out a gasp as I realized that the thing that I thought would not happen had happened. There in the doorway of the room, stood the Black brothers in all of their murderous glory. They were tall and covered in long trench coats. I tried to see more of their face but it was covered by some sort of cloth.

"Brother, I thought that you said they didn't have any children." said one of the men.

"It doesn't matter, let's kill them and get out of here." said the other one.

"No brother, let's have some fun and I think that other child in the corner can help us."

My eyes widened, my feet froze, and my breathing halted. I had no idea what to do. My decision was made for me when one of the men took out something shiny and pointed it towards my older brothers.

"Come on out or you can kiss these two goodbye."

I remained frozen until I looked over at my brothers. Both of them had the same look as me, scared and panicked. Their eyes screamed help me as they looked at me. I swallowed my fear and stepped out of my corner.

"Ah, there he is. Now come over here, we want to play a little game."

I slowly made my way out of the corner and began to approach the man. As I got closer, he grabbed me and turned me towards my brothers. He then proceeded to show me the shiny thing he pointed at them earlier.

"This little beauty is called a gun and it was designed to kill people. It will be the thing you use to play this game."

The other man took out another gun and pointed at me.

"Here's the rules, I'm going to give you this and you're going to shoot your brothers."

As he said that, the man put his index finger to his head and made a POW sound.

"However, if you don't have the balls to do so, my brother here will shot your brothers while I kill you with my bare hands

The man placed the gun in my hands and looked at his wrist.

"I'll give you three minutes to decide what you're going to do."

The rest is a blur, even when I try, I can barely remember what happened afterward. However, since I'm still alive, it seems pretty obvious what choice I made.

The next thing that I remember was waking up in a bed, but it wasn't mine. I was in a plain looking room that lacked furniture apart from the bed and a small chair across the room which was currently occupied by a man. This man took notice to me as I awoke and greeted me.

"Ah, you're awake, I thought you would stay asleep forever." said the man as he stood up from the chair.

"Where am I?" I asked as I sat up in the bed.

"You're in the Henborrow Orphanage."

The man paused as he looked me over me. I could see the pity in his eyes.

"Do... do you know what happened son?" he asked.

I remembered that night very clearly, it was something that I never wanted to relive but I kept thinking about it.

"No." I lied. "What happened?"

The man sighed and offered a hand to me.

"Let's take a little walk, I'll tell you once we reach where we're going."

I took the man's hand and was slowly pulled out of the bed. The man let go and motioned me to follow. We left the room and entered a hallway full of doors. The man turned right and led me down the long hallway and up a flight of stair. We came upon a door with a glazed glass window that read "Graham Winthrop." He opened the door to reveal an office decorated with war metals and military propaganda. On the far end sat a desk and opposite of that was a chair. The man who I had assumed was Graham Winthrop motioned me to sit in the chair as he sat down at the desk.

"Now." he said as he sat up straight. "I have some very unsettling news for you. I'm afraid that your family... they were murdered two days ago. When the police had arrived at the scene, they found your family dead and you. You were unconscious and sent to the hospital for examination. Once you were cleared, you were sent here to Henborrow. Do you understand?"

I didn't answer; in fact I wasn't even listening. I knew what had happened, I wasn't stupid. Why else would I be in an orphanage.

"Hello, you in there boy?" asked Mr. Winthrop as he got my attention.

"I heard you loud and clear Mr. Winthrop." I said as I looked him in the eyes

"Smart too." Mr. Winthrop said under his breath. "Please, call me Graham."

I nodded and let Graham continue.

"Alright, with the bad news out of the way, I need to tell you two things. One, I was in the military for a good portion of my life so I like to support our military. To do that, I give everyone that passes through this orphanage a choice. The choice being once they finish high school they can either go and try to find some way to pay for college or they can join the military. You'll have the same choice Zhane and considering how young you are, you have all the time in the world to decide."

Graham paused before continuing.

"Two, when you arrived at the orphanage, the police came by and told us that it would be best if we changed your name. It's only a precaution just in case "The Shadows" want to come back and... I think you know what I'm getting at here. Lucky for you, it's safe for you to keep your first name but your last name has to go.

"So." Graham said as he began to write on a piece of paper. "What do you want your last name to be? Please try and keep it on a reasonable level."

I thought and thought but nothing would come up. I tried of name after name with no luck. Finally, that damned memory decided to pop back into my head. Those psychopathic killers with their dead stares, The Black brothers.

"Black" I said. "Zhane Black."

I was horrified with myself. I had just decided to take the same last name as the two men that killed my family. Graham didn't even object, he just looked at me for a second and nodded his head like he thought nothing of it.

"It is now set in stone." he said as he punctuated his words with his writing and the click of the pen he was using.

"Alright, everything is set. Your room is the same one you woke up in. You will be supplied with the basic necessities but if you want to decorate your room, you'll have to pay for that yourself."

"Yes sir." I said.

"Good, now I bet you're hungry, let's get you some food."

I spent a good seven years in that orphanage, the first year was... difficult for me. I wasn't much of a people person, my brothers were. Now I was all alone, my only friend being Graham. The first year ended and the second came up. Then the third and fourth and so on. As I aged, I developed different kind of mindset, I hated other people. They were too nosy, fucking stupid, or just plain annoying. I hated every aspect of our society and tried to seclude myself from it. I usually did this by staying in my room most of the time. However, when I did this, Graham would always find out and he'd always pull me out of my sanctuary and into the blight that is our society.

Other than my...unique mindset, nothing interesting ever happened in that orphanage. Except for one particular time that thrusted me into my current occupation.

My clock beside my bed read 5:00 AM, the time that I liked to get up at. Most of the other kids at the orphanage weren't up yet, so I cherished this time. Absolute silence, time to think and plan my day. I collected the clothes that I was going to wear that day and opened my door slightly. I looked down the hallway to make sure no one was there. I did this anytime I had to leave my sanctuary, it was a daily practice.

Once I was sure the hallway was empty, I shot across the hall to the bathroom on the other side. Once inside, I locked the door and turned the water on. I quickly got in the shower, clean myself, and got out. I never liked to spend too long in that shower just in case someone were to wake up. I got dressed and poked my head back out of the bathroom door. Once I had determined it was clear, I shot across the hall and back to my sanctuary.

I closed the door and let out a long sigh, it felt good to back in my room once more. As I looked around my barely lit room and noticed something sitting on my bed. I approached it and saw some clothes with a letter attached to it. It read

Put these on and met me at the front door, we're going to have some fun!

-Graham

I put the note to the side and examined the clothes. It was a long sleeved camouflaged shirt with matching pants and a pair of heavy boots. I moaned in annoyance as I took off the clothes that I had already put on and began to don the camouflage. Once I had them on, I looked out into the hallway and slowly made my way to the front door of the orphanage. As I approached the door, I saw Graham waiting there like the note said.

"You're looking sharp son, almost as good as me, ALMOST." Graham joked.

"What exactly are we going to do?" I asked as I noticed that Graham was wearing camouflage as well.

"We're going to pit ourselves against nature in a game of wits. We're going to do something every boy must do to become a man. We're going to use our instincts and cunning to outsmart the beasts of the wild."

"I'm afraid I'm not following Graham." I said I looked at him plainly.

"We're going hunting." he said

"What is the point of this activity?" I asked.

Graham sighed. "If it makes a difference, no one will be there; it'll be just the two of us."

I looked away briefly and nodded. "Alright, let's go."

We then exited the orphanage and got in Graham's truck. Once inside, He started the truck and we went down the road. About fifteen minutes into the car ride, Graham spoke up.

"So, you're about to finish your last year of high school. Have you made up your mind about your choice?"

I shrugged. "I haven't given it much thought."

"I think you would make a damn good soldier." Graham said proudly. "You're smart and you're fit, which I don't understand because you spend all of your time in your room."

"I guess we'll see when the time comes." I said.

It was silent for the rest of the car trip. Once we reached the spot where we were going hunting, Graham stopped his truck and told me we were here. I got out of the truck and followed Graham to the back. Once there, he handed me three things, ear plugs, an orange vest, and a rifle.

"Alright, be sure your wearing those ear plugs and that orange vest before we head out."

"Why do I need the vest?" I asked as I put them on.

"The orange will help me see you in the thick trees. It's just a precaution to prevent hunting accidents."

I nodded and continued to listen. Graham was now holding one of the rifles.

"This little beauty shoots a .308 caliber, more than enough to take down a deer."

I watched as Graham walked me through how to load the gun, how to hold it, and how to switch the safety on and off. After I got the basics, Graham took me out into the woods and pointed up a nearby tree.

"You see that tree stand up there?" he asked.

I looked over to the tree and saw a metal ladder leading to a raised metal chair on a platform.

"Yeah." I said as I nodded.

"That stand will give you a great look over the woods. I'm going to go sit in one that's close-by. You see a deer, you shoot it. If I hear a shot, I'll get out of my stand and come help you look for what you shot."

I nodded and watched as Graham walked off into the woods. I then looked to the ladder and started to climb. I got to the top and sat in the chair. I sat in that chair for a good hour and almost decided to give up but I heard a rustling in the woods in front of me. I watched intently as a large buck walked out of the foliage and stopped right in front of me.

I slowly raised my rifle and looked through the scope. I clicked the safety off and aimed at the deer. My heart began to beat faster and faster and my vision narrowed. My finger started to slowly pull the trigger back, inch by inch, until a loud boom followed by a hard kick came from the gun. Once I was able to steady the gun, I saw that the buck was just lying there. I felt a rush of adrenaline and quickly climbed out of the tree stand and ran towards the motionless deer.

As I approached, I could smell the bitter scent of blood in the air. It excited me for some reason. The fact that I had the power to do something like that was invigorating. I heard another rustle behind me and saw Graham walking towards me.

"I'll be damned, you actually killed one, a good one at that." said Graham as he bent down to examine the body.

I frowned, the sensation I was feeling had gone away. It was the best feeling in the world and it only lasted for a few moments. I had to feel it again, it was like a drug, and it was addictive. But the only living thing around me at the time was Graham. My mind was conflicted, Graham had been my friend for most of my life but that feeling was amazing and I wanted to experience it again. Finally, I made up my mind; I lifted the rifle and aimed it at Graham. That day, I discovered the feeling of killing, thanks to my dear friend Graham.

I moved around for a year after that. I was living off the money that I saved up over my younger years. I never really finished school and therefor never made my choice about going into the military. It didn't really matter to me; the only thing that did matter was getting to feel that wonderful sensation again. From time to time, I would go into the forest and hunt. Although I felt the sensation I wanted, it wasn't the same as the sensation I felt when I killed Graham. Speaking of him, the police never found his body or his truck. I covered up his body so well; they would probably mistake it for mine. They never found me either, they gave up on the search about two months in. I laughed at their stupidity; it just goes to show you what my society had come to. After some time and several more visits to the forest, a national newspaper article from a month ago, that I somehow missed, caught my attention.

"At 10 o'clock this morning, the trail of the infamous Black brothers has come to an outrageous conclusion. Both Lewis and Ashton Black were found innocent of their murder of 56 innocent citizens under pleas of insanity. They were tried again for the suspected murder of Zhane Howell. As a boy, Zhane survived meeting these two psychotic brothers but was left without his family after the encounter. He went missing almost one year ago and when police went searching, they had found a burnt corpse that matched Zhane's description. Due to a lack of evidence, all charges were dropped against the two. However, because of their insanity plea, the brothers have been sent to an asylum for the criminally insane in northern Montana."

This article both enraged me and humored me at the same time. For one, they thought that Graham's body was my own and secondly, I had done very little to the corpse. I was mad because the article had brought up memories that I would have rather kept repressed. I did a little more digging and found the name and address of the asylum that now held the Black brothers. With some careful planning and a few needed objects, I was ready to finally meet "The Shadows" after eight long years.

I was happy about my plan so far, it involved another killing. I needed a state trooper's car for my plan to work out so I got the attention of one, had my moment of euphoria, and took his clothes and car. The perfect plan, so far. As I approached the front gate, the guard stopped me.

"I'm sorry officer; this is a restricted area only accessible by government employees."

I had to think up something quick, literally anything would do in this situation.

"Well I have orders from my headquarters to talk to the Black brothers. We recently found a decomposing body of a fellow state trooper that has "The Shadows" written all over it." I said as I congratulated myself on that excellent lie.

The officer looked around momentarily and rested his arms on the windowsill of the driver's side.

"You think that this will get them out of this asylum?" he asked in a nonchalant voice.

"We actually have the evidence and if what I can get out of them is important, they'll be locked up for life."

The officer nodded slowly and motioned me forward.

"Once inside, tell the secretary what you're doing here and she'll take you to those two pieces of shit."

"Thank you kindly, I'll be sure they never see the light of day again." I said as I drove away from the front gate and parked. "Fucking idiot." I laughed as I got out of the car and walked into the building. Once inside, I immediately noticed the secretary and approached her.

"Good day ma'am, my name's Sgt. Nathan Stewart, I'm with the Montana State Troopers. We have recently found evidence that would finally lock the Black brothers behind bars. I need to talk to them immediately."

The secretary looked at me and smiled widely.

"Thank god, I was hoping they would get another trail. They're in the main room, just go around the corner and it's the first room to your right. I'll buzz you in."

"Much obliged ma'am." I said as I left the secretary and walked down the hall to the main room.

Once I reached the door, I found it unlocked. Inside the room were about fourteen or fifteen people in white clothes that somewhat resembled pajamas. An officer to the side got my attention and pointed me to the back corner of the room. I could make out two men sitting at a small table playing chess. I thanked the officer and headed over to the table. As I approached, the two brothers looked up from their game and chuckled slightly.

"Looks like we have another law dog that's come here to visit us brother." the one on the left laughed.

I ignored his comment and pulled up a chair. I sat down and looked at the two. I looked back into the eyes of my nightmare fuel for some many years. I had to gather up the courage to talk to them. I removed my hat and sunglasses and looked at the two brothers.

"I'm surprised you don't remember me. So let me give you a reminder. I think your words were "Now come on over here, we want to play a little game. Here's the rules: you shot your brothers and you live or you don't and you all die."

The two brothers looked towards each other and smiled.

"Well if it isn't little Zhane Howell. Tell me, how are you still alive?" asked one of the brothers.

I laughed lightly. "What makes you think that was my body?" I asked.

One of the brothers looked closely at my now revealed face and smiled.

"I can see it in your eyes Zhane; you've felt the marvelous sensation that is taking another life."

The other brother smiled and laughed lightly. "Then I understand why you are still alive. You killed somebody, charred their body beyond recognition, and planted your DNA on the corpse so it looked like you were murdered."

My eyes widened slightly. "How were you able to figure that out?" I asked.

"Great minds think alike Zhane." said the other brother.

The brothers paused and went back to their game.

"The chess game has continued Zhane and both knights have been taken out of play. It would seem that the game is almost over and the victor decided. But, there are some people that would like to see the game continue for a long time. So there are piece that can take the place of the knights and continue for them."

One of the brothers began to move a pawn up the board.

"The pawn, one of the most useless and looked down upon pieces. However, with the right direction, this piece will replace its fallen comrades."

The brother's pawn finally reached the other side and replaced the pawn with another knight.

"Now this pawn can avenge the knights and live on for them."

"What are you getting at?" I asked.

The two brothers looked at each other and smiled. Suddenly, one grabbed a sheet of paper and started to write something down. The other brother looked at me.

"Like I said Zhane, the knights are out of action and a pawn is needed to replace them." The other brother finished writing on the paper and handed it to Zhane.

"On that sheet of paper is an address. At that address is a large red barn. There you will find all the things you need. But here's the question Zhane, is the pawn ready to succeed the knights? We can see it in your eyes Zhane, you may have only killed a couple times but you love it, it's easy to see. All we want is for someone to continue where we left off, we want someone to pick the title of "The Shadow" up and continue in its name."

The other brother spoke up.

"This society is disgusting and corrupt. The citizens are no better than the criminals they lock away. We served as the judge, jury, and executioner for these slobs called U.S citizens. Now that you know, are you willing?"

I sat there and thought for what seemed to be an eternity. At first, I was angry to see them but as we talked, I became more and more intrigued. I should have been a little more hostile towards them; they were the ones that killed my family. The question now was if I would continue their work. If I would pick up the mantle of "The Shadow" and work in their name. I went over the cons first. There was only one I could think of and that was getting caught like the Black brothers. Other than that, the pros heavily outweighed the cons.

I pulled myself out of my mental dilemma and looked at the brothers.

"What makes you think that I'll do this? You were the ones that killed my family and honestly, I would love nothing more than to end both of your miserable lives."

The brother on the left of Zhane frowned.

"That's the reason we want you to help us Zhane. Not everyone can kill like we can; it takes a certain mindset to do what we did. But, when I looked in your eyes, I could see a man that enjoyed what he did. Though we did kill your family Zhane, we left you alive and that's all that matters at this point. The past is the past, let it go."

This statement put me into another dilemma. I was happy about what I did but I hated the Black brothers for making me this way. Although I hated them, the Black brothers had some truth in their words. To top it all off, replacing them as "The Shadow" will allow me to feel the ultimate pleasure of killing another human being, hunting the most dangerous game. SO I looked at the brothers and nodded.

"Alright, I'll do it."

The brothers smiled and looked back to their chess game.

"Just follow that address, everything you need is there. We will be watching to see what you do with this newly found title." said one of the brothers.

With that, I could feel that the conversation had ended. I got up from the table and began to walk out of the main room. Before exiting, I stopped at the secretary's desk.

"I have everything I need, thank you for your cooperation ma'am."

"Anytime." she said.

I quickly exited and climbed back into the police car. I made my way away from the asylum and stopped in the middle of the road to check the paper. It was folded multiple times and inside of the paper was some neatly written hand writing. It had an address, some small town in Kansas. I closed the paper and put it into my pocket; I knew where I was going. Soon, I ditched the State Troopers car, got myself a new ride, and began my trip to Kansas.

It was a long trip, took me nearly 18 hours to get to that small Kansas town. It also took about two hours to find the damn address but I eventually found it. It was as they said, a large, red barn complete with a silo and everything. It was literally the only building for miles and to get there you had to take a bunch of back roads. It was a real pain. I got out of the car I had stolen, approached the barn, and pulled the large red doors open. As soon as the darkness inside was illuminated, it was wondrous to see what was inside. The inside was littered with newspaper articles and reports on the Black brothers. They seemed to have an unhealthy satisfaction with seeing the outcome of their work.

I went further into the barn to find a desk, a locker, and a storage bin. I carefully approached the locker first and opened it. Inside were two guns but not just any two guns, there were the guns used by the Black brothers. I pulled them both out carefully and inspected them. Both guns were ones that I recognized, they were the same ones they used that night they came to visit my family. These are those shiny objects that they used, the one I used. I flipped the gun over to reveal that they had a name etched on each gun. The left one had the name "Lewis" etched on it while the other had "Ashton" etched on it.

Besides the guns, the locker was full of. 45 ammo. I pulled all of the ammo out of the locker and laid it on the desk. Once it was empty, I closed it and moved on to the storage bin. I opened it to reveal several trench coats, similar to ones the Black brothers wore. I laughed, they weren't kidding when they said they wanted me to be "The Shadow" in their place. I pulled the coats out of the chest and placed them on the desk next to the two guns. Now it was time to check the desk. It had four drawers, two on each side. So I opened the top left, there was nothing in it except for several pencils. I opened the one below the first. It too had nothing in it.

I moved on to the top drawer on the other side, there was actually something in this one. Inside were several push daggers, a fall back in case the guns were to fail. I counted four in total and put them on the desk with the other stuff. Now only one drawer remained, so I opened it and to my surprise there was something inside. I pulled it out of the drawer to get a better look at it. It was a crudely made book. The spine was nonexistent, the stitching that held the books in place was worn looking yarn, and the pages themselves look old. I opened the book to see a name at the top.

"Nathaniel Greene, 1875"

Under that there was another date.

"1902"

Under that there was a list of names that seemed to go in alphabetical order. I counted a total of 34 names. I turned the page and saw another name.

"Andrew Rickett, 1905"

"1916"

With that name, there were 24 names. I flipped the page and saw the same thing over and over. It was a name, a year, another year, and more names. None of it made any sense until I turned to the latest page. This page read,

"Lewis and Ashton Black, 1996"

The spot where the second year was supposed to be was empty. However, the names were still there so I began to go down the list. About halfway down I stopped on four familiar names.

"Ethan Howell"

"Jane Howell"

"Andy Howell"

"Carson Howell"

It was the names of my family and once I saw my families' names on that list, I realized what it was, it was a record book. I understood now, there was a reason that they gave me the address, the reason they want me to be "The Shadow" in their place. Because they weren't "The Shadow", the man before them was "The Shadow", and the man after him was the same. "The Shadow" wasn't a single person; it was a group of people that were dedicated to making the memory live on.

I set the book down on the desk and grabbed one of the pencils out of the top drawer. At the top, under their name I wrote the current year "2013". I quickly flipped the page and began to write my name.

"Zhane Black, 2013"

I slammed the book shut and put it back in its drawer. It was now official; I was now "The Shadow".

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Several weeks later.

Two black vans pull up to that small asylum for the criminally insane in northern Montana. Out of the two vans came seven men dressed in black suits and one well-dressed man. Slowly, as a group, they walked to the entrance of the asylum. Once inside, the well-dressed man began to speak.

"I want two of you to check the video archives for evidence of this guy. I want another two to ask around to see if anybody knows anything. The last three are with me."

As the well-dressed man completed the order, the group split just as he ordered. Two went for the video archives, two started to question the staff, and the last three stayed with him as he walked through the door and into the main room of the asylum. He looked around and found who he was looking for, two men playing a game of chess in the corner of the room. The well-dressed man signaled his men to wait as he approached the two playing chess.

As the man approached, one of the men noticed him and spoke first.

"Looks like Agent Warren has come to visit his trophies brother." said one of the brothers.

"Shut the fuck up Ashton." replied Warren. "I have half of the FBI on my ass because someone else is killing in your name. You're going to tell me who this guy is before I have both of your asses tossed in prison where you two belong."

"Why would we tell you anything Warren, we simply made sure that "The Shadow" would live on." said Lewis as he mouth curled into a smile.

"This can go two ways Lewis, you can help me or I can beat the information out of you. Either way, I will find this guy and put a bullet between his eyes and after I'm done with him, I'm coming for you two."

"There has been many of us Agent Warren, if you kill him, you'll just rise another in his place." chuckled Lewis.

"I know good and well about the legacy of "The Shadow" and you know what, I'll make sure it ends with this guy."

Ashton looked over to Agent Warren.

"Just when you think you have cornered him, he will slip from your grasp. It is your nature to fail."

Agent Warren began to redden as his anger against the two brothers was rising. Before he could do anything, one of his men burst through the doors of the main area.

"Sir, we got something!" he yelled.

Agent Warren looked backed to the brothers and sneered before leaving the room. He exited the main room and followed his colleague to the video archives.

Back in the main room, the Black brothers looked at each other with a wicked smile.

"He's done well in the past couple weeks. He's even managed to get the FBI's attention already. He is proving to be a worthy successor to "The Shadow." said Lewis.

"Let us not get our hopes up too high brother, it's only a matter of time till he slips up." said Ashton.

"Let's just hope that won't happen for a long time." said Lewis as the two began to play chess again.

Inside the video archives, Agent Warren was carefully watching as a State Trooper car suspiciously made a visit to the asylum.

"What the fuck am I watching?" asked Warren in a rather rude manner.

"This tape was recorded three weeks ago." began the man showing him the tape. "If you look closely, you can see the car's numbers. Once I ran these numbers, I found out that it belonged to an officer that was found dead on the side of a major highway."

The man typed on the keyboard and another video popped up of the same officer conversing with the Black brothers. The man fast forwarded the tape and stopped it. He pointed at the screen.

"Look right there, tell me what you see?" he asked.

Warren looked at the screen for several moments before discerning what it was.

"It looks like a note or letter of some kind." Warren said as he came to a sudden realization. "Get a still frame of that man's face." he said.

The man fast forwarded until the man in the video started to walk away. The man operating stopped the video and zoomed in on his face while cleaning the image as best as he could. The man stopped as the face came into view.

"Analyze his face and run it through the citizen database, I want results as quickly as possible. I want to make sure that "The Shadow" is gone for good this time."

"Yes sir." said the man operating the video system as he began to do as he was told.

That first month as "The Shadow" was amazing. I was truly happy for one time in my damn life. I finally found something I could enjoy but that one news article was enough to ruin it all. I was walking the back streets of some city looking for some way of entertaining myself when fate suddenly decided it was time to ruin my day. A newspaper blew right in front of me and stopped. I would have ignored it but something on the paper caught my eyes. I picked up the paper and began to read.

"The Shadow revealed"

Earlier today, the FBI released a statement about "The Shadow". In this statement, it was revealed that the copycat killer known that took the name "The Shadow" is a man named Zhane Black, but wait, it gets better. The FBI went a bit further; they revealed that Zhane's last name wasn't Black as originally thought. His real name is actually Zhane Howell, the only survivor of the Black brother's many murders. In an interview with one Agent Warren of the FBI, he stated that he will stop at nothing to stop Zhane and put an end to his murderous rampage. Agent Warren also said this, "We are already tracking Zhane's activities across the country and are currently looking for him."

Zhane is 6'3 with black hair and hazel eyes. He normally wears a large black trench coat, gloves, and a hood or mask to conceal his face. If you see him, do not approach him. He is extremely dangerous and well-armed. If you do see him, keep a distance and contact your local sheriff's office.

I can't accurately explain my anger after I read that article. Out of that anger came determination, a determination to keep doing what I loved. I told myself that day that I would keep going even though they knew who I was and I did. I kept killing for two more years. Over that time, I was living up to the title of "The Shadow". I was doing things that would seem impossible to an average human. I was an actual shadow, always right under their noses and always gone without a trace. But, I slipped up every once and a while, giving Agent Warren and his goons another step up on me. None of those slip ups were like the one I had on that fateful night. The night when I was found.

I had been laying low for the last month after killing some old broad in the city and I decided to get myself a hotel room.

That was slip up number one.

I found a small hotel and rented myself a room. The only problem was that I was in my trench coat, the one that the cops always tell citizens to look out for.

That was slip up number two.

After I paid for the room, I immediately went up to it and fell asleep without realizing my earlier mistakes.

And that was slip up number three, ding ding ding, someone give this dumbass a prize.

Well I got a prize alright; I got to wake up to the sound of a helicopter flying around the hotel. I shot up and looked out of the shaded window. Down in the parking lot I saw dozens of police cars, several SWAT vans, and Agent Warren with a stupid fucking grin on his face. He looked up at the hotel before motioning to someone behind him. Once I saw the black attire of the SWAT team, I made sure I had everything and bolted out of my room. I ran for the stairs but stopped halfway when I heard the SWAT team making their way up. I panicked, frozen in place as I thought of what to do. All it took was a couple of bullets from the SWAT team to get me moving. I turned around and began to run back down the hall. I looked back to see that the SWAT team sent by Warren were hot on my tail. So I pulled out Lewis and Ashton, my guns, and began to unload on them as I ran.

I fired several times and looked back to see that my shots were doing nothing. The SWAT's protective clothing was blocking my bullets. I cursed silently as I neared the end of the hallway. The only thing in front of me was a window, followed by a 25 foot plummet to the ground. I turned to see the SWAT as they began to close in on me. I looked back to the window; it was my only escape, so I did what I had to and shot the window out. I then ran as fast as I could and jumped out of the window. The next few moments were what I could describe as pain, pure pain. I landed to the sound of a crunch, a very sickening crunch. It felt like my chest was on fire as I breathed in and out. It felt like someone had pushed a hot knife into my lung. I coughed several times, much to my dismay, and felt the warm trickle of blood in my lips. I wasn't going to die like that, broken and defeated. If I was going to bite it, I wanted to give them a run for their money.

So, in a rush of adrenaline, I pushed myself up and began to hobble away. In front of me was a forest, the perfect spot to hide from those pigs. I began to make my way to the forest and didn't stop until I was as far as my body would take me. I lowered myself against a tree and sighed deeply. It was probably the end for me, the end of my joy, the end of my satisfaction, the end of "The Shadow". I closed my eyes, I hoped that my injuries from the fall would kill me before Warren got to but like most of my life, my hopes were crushed. I heard the sound of shuffling in front of me followed by the sound of a pistol being cocked back. I weakly opened my eyes to see a grinning Agent Warren as he held his pistol to my head.

"After all this time I finally caught up with you Zhane. I have to admit, you caused more trouble and panic in two years than the Black brothers did in seventeen, but now it ends. Any last words Zhane?"

I smiled and weakly said "How does it feel to know that your best was not good enough to stop people from dying?"

I got the pleasure of seeing Warren's face go red one more time before there was a loud sound, followed by a bright flash, followed by darkness.

How is everypony doing this fine day? I hope everypony out there had a fantastic summer. Anyways, as you can see, my new story is making its debut today. After much consideration and a lot of planning, I decided to prewrite most of the story over the summer and release it now. So, let me give you guys some details.

Alright, first things first, you'll notice that this story is in first person. I am writing this story in a style of writing that is basically our main character writing a story of his life. If you're still confused, go to the prologue of this story and read carefully.

Next on the list is something minor. At key points, were I see fit, the story will switch its style of writing. I will write about certain interactions that Zhane wouldn't possibly know about. I am doing this to add some depth and variety to this story. I will do my best to indicate when I do this with a special line break like this

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Next is that this story is following the show but only in places I need it to. This whole story won't revolve around just the main characters and their exploits. I plan on this story revealing more of Equestria while staying in line with the show. After the next chapter goes up, I will post a lists of episodes that our main character will be involved in on my tumblr. I you would like to see that, go to my profile and click the link.

Next is the story schedule. I will release on every Monday unless I give everypony a heads up before hand.

Lastly is the length. I do not plan for this story to be as long as The Royal Protector is. If I could give everpony a rough estimate, I would say this story would be about 75,000 - 80,000 words max. I might pass that but we will see.

Whew, that was a lot to type. I hope you enjoy this new adventure and please feel free to comment or review. See everypony next Monday!