The Shadow of Equestria
Chapter 4
Escape!
It was dark again; almost as dark as that terrible void I was pulled from. At times, I wished that I had been killed by that blast while at other time; I had wished that I was fully awake and bathing in the blood of those ponies. But I couldn't do anything, I was stuck in perceptual darkness like before. So to keep myself calm, I started to do what I normally did in times of extreme stress, I started to plan. For some unknown reason, just knowing that I had the slightest idea of what I was going to do in the future comforted me. Now was the best time to do so.
"Alright." I said as I began to think. "I'll need to find out where I am first. I could literally be anywhere right now. This presents another problem, I won't know where I would be. Maybe I'll get lucky and have been taken back to Ponyville or maybe I wasn't moved. But, I severally doubt that."
I started to calm down; at least I had an idea. It was better than waking up without a clue in the world. I began to concentrate again.
"Ok, what next? Uhh, I'll uhh... I'll get away from the settlement I am currently being held in and get as far away as possible. Maybe try and find myself an ally. I bet Equestria has one or two shady characters that would be willing to help me.
I paused again before continuing.
"Then I'll... I'll...I'll..."
Something felt wrong; my mind became void of all word and was replaced with nothing. I felt like something was watching me, something was listening to my conversation with myself. It felt...different, like it wasn't anything I have encountered in Equestria. However, at the same time, it felt similar, like Nightmare Moon. It felt like she was near but not at all. I looked left and right into the darkness, there was nothing to be seen. I started to write that feeling off as a symptom of my paranoia and tried to continue with my planning.
"Human." said a deep voice somewhere close to me. This caused me to look around again seeing if I could catch a glimpse of the one calling for me.
"Hello?" I called. "Who's there?"
My answer came quickly.
"It is I, the one you serve, the one you protect, the one who saved you."
"Nightmare!?" I called out. "Is that you?"
"Sadly, it is not. The Elements of Harmony have transformed her back to her original form. I myself, was cast out of that body and thrown into the void. Once again we meet.
"Wait, I don't understand. Nightmare Moon wasn't real?" I asked confusedly.
"No, Nightmare Moon was me, I was the one controlling the body, I was the one who made all of the choices. The owner of the body was Princess Celestia's younger sister, Princess Luna."
"So, you're Nightmare Moon?"
"No." the voice said again. "Without Luna, I am not Nightmare Moon. Throughout time, I have had many names. Demon, Hate, The Dark One, The One Devoid of Light. My real name has been lost to the ages, even I have forgotten. However, you may call me Umbra, a name that suits me quite well."
Nodding, I looked around the darkened sky that was the supposed void.
"So this is the place where you found me the first time?" I asked as I continued to look.
"No, this is your subconscious. The nature of Celestia's magic has placed you in a coma for some time. I'm here to present an escape for you. I think you'll find that I might be your only option."
My attitude wavered and I became increasingly angry. I didn't like the idea of having to beg to be released.
"Why didn't you release me when you had the chance? Do you have a reason to hold me here?" I asked with a sneer.
"No need to become angry Zhane, I do not intend on keeping here. I'm stopped myself from pulling you out of this coma so that I may gain your approval."
"Approval? Approval for what?"
"I require a host to keep myself out of the void and in the real world. I only managed to keep myself from going back by jumping into your subconscious and staying hidden. I am extending an offer to you Zhane, one that would be beneficial to us both."
My rage subsided and was replaced with intrigue.
"Go on, I'm listening."
"I require a host to stay here and right now you're my only choice. I wish to enter your body so that I my stay in this realm."
"Let me stop you right there Umbra." I said with a frown on my face. "I don't like the idea of losing control of my body."
"That's the good thing." said Umbra. "You won't. All humans have a natural ability to use magic, powerful magic. Because of this, humans are able to store vast quantities of mana throughout their bodies. When I look at you, I see that you are completely devoid of any magic. If you allow me to enter your body, I will be considered as mana and thus you would keep control of your body while offering me shelter. The best part is, I'll be able to lend you my power from inside your body. Thus enabling you to use magic."
What Umbra said really had me thinking. In a way, what he was offering was really inciting, especially the part about magic, but that was at the back of my mind at the moment. My first thought was escape, then I would worry about magic.
"And all you wish is to take refuge in my body, like you did with Princess Luna?"
"Yes, except you would keep control. I'll provide you with the means to defend yourself while supplying you with any information you may need about Equestria. I happen to know a thing or two about this place."
I sighed before looking back at the darkness.
"Alright, I accept your offer."
"Excellent!" yelled Umbra from the darkness. "Now I will wake you up from this coma and when you awake, I'll have entered your body. You'll know that I'm there. However, I must remind you that the ponies have yet to heal you of your injuries. Their incompetence goes beyond measures. So when you awake, you will be in pain."
I didn't say anything; I just nodded and waited to awaken from my coma. I could feel something warm surround me, as if the hot, summer sun had begun to shine. This heat caused my eyelid to droop until they were fully shut.
My eyes shot open to be met with the sight of several ponies looking over me. However, my vision was too blurred to make out who they were. The only thing that I could make out clearly were the covers they wore over their mouths. I quickly assumed that the ponies now looking at me were doctors. Maybe Umbra was wrong, maybe they had healed me. Boy was I wrong.
It started out small, like a small pinching in my chest, annoying but ignorable. It then began to build and build until I felt an unbearable pressure in my chest. I only started to worry once the pain became present and once it did, it was noticeable. It felt like someone had stuck a metal rebar in a fire pit and was using it to constantly poke my insides. I couldn't help but scream in pain. Through my pained screams I could hear the ponies around me talk.
"Quick, go get the guards, I want to be ready just in case something might happen." said one of the ponies. "Alert the Princess as well. She'll want to ask this thing some questions."
"Yes doctor." said another voice off to the side.
"Alright nurse, has the alchemists finished the healing potion?" asked the doctor.
"Yes doctor." said another voice. "They finished it this morning and delivered it a few minutes ago. Now that he's awake, I suggest we use it."
There was a loud sound of something made of glass clanking around before the nurse spoke up again.
"Here you go doctor." she said. "I'll try and hold him down while you administer it."
"Excellent." said the doctor. "Now, keep him down."
I could feel some extra weight holding down my head, arms, and feet, keeping them from moving. I then felt something cold against my lips. I had aromatically assumed it to be the glass bottle and opened my mouth wider. From the glass bottle poured some kind of luke warm liquid. I swallowed without hesitation and gagged slightly at the taste. Nevertheless, I could feel the pain in my body slowly disappearing until it was no existent. This finally gave me an opportunity to relax.
"He seems to be stable now. The potion must have done the trick. I want you to check everything once more before the guards get here. I have to attend to the other patient." said the doctor.
"Yes doctor." said the nurse as the as the door opened and closed.
Soon there was nothing but silence, the only sound was the occasional sound of someone scribbling on something. Now the pain was fully gone and vision was slowly returning. Once I could see fully, I was met with the sight of a brown unicorn in a nurse outfit. As I was looking, she had noticed and got my attention.
"Now that you're awake and responding, I'll need to ask you several questions before you leave the infirmary." she said as she wrote on the clip board.
"Where am I?" I asked.
She didn't even look away from her clipboard and completely ignored my question.
"Name?" she asked.
I sighed mentally, might as well go along with it.
"Zhane Black." I said.
There was more writing before she asked another question.
"Age?" she asked.
"22." I said in response.
This time, I was able to ask a question.
"How long was I out?" I asked, thankfully, she answered.
"You have been in a coma for a week. We had no idea that Princess Celestia's magic would do such a thing but nonetheless, we treated you accordingly." said the nurse in a monotone voice.
Before I could ask another question, they were a loud knock at the door.
"Come in." yelled the nurse.
As the door opened, six guards like the ones I had "made an example of" entered the room. Another walked in as well; this one was wearing purple armor, likely a sign of leadership. As they entered the room, I saw one of the guards move over to me and clamp thick shackles bound by chains around my legs.
"Nurse, remove the leather straps and step back." said the pony in purple armor.
The nurse complied and loosed the leather straps around my hands. However, these were instantly replaced with tight fitting iron shackles.
"Get up." demanded the pony in purple.
I had no choice but to comply, so I pulled my feet over the bed I was laying one and pushed myself off. Now at complete height, the pony in purple went to the door.
"Start moving." said one of the guard ponies behind me as he prodded at me.
I looked back slightly before I began to follow the purple armored pony. I could still feel the pain of my injuries but it was a small pain, easily ignorable. We eventually reached a small room with a small table in the middle that looked slightly like an interrogation room. The purple pony pushed me in the room and sat me down at the table, chained me to places in the floor and walked off.
Now I was all alone in a small room, hooked to the floor, unable to leave. I looked to my right and saw a large window that reflected my image. It was obviously a one way mirror. So if this was an interrogation room, who was going to interrogate me? My question was answered as the door opened and a familiar face walked in. One that I already had much hate towards. It was that sun princess Celestia.
She looked at me and I looked at her. In that moment, I could see a look of pity in her eyes which was quickly replaced with hate. She broke eye contact and walked over to the table before sitting at one of the chairs. She stared at me for several moments before starting to talk.
"Why did you do it?" she asked in a professional voice.
"Do what?" I asked with a smirk on my face.
Clearly keeping her anger under check, Celestia replied. "You know exactly what I am talking about human. Why would you do that to those guards? Why would you help Nightmare Moon? Why did you intend to kill us? Did your parents not instill a sense of pride and justice into you as a child?"
"My parents weren't there to teach me shit." I replied. "I've been on my own for most of my own life. I don't need some pony questioning me about my every action."
Celestia's mouth slowly formed a frown. "You best watch your language human. You are in no position to talk in that way."
"Who are you to judge me? I am not under your rule and you best remember that."
Celestia's anger was quite visible now. She placed a hoof on the table and snorted loudly. She completely ignored my previous insult and continued with the questions.
"Why would you help Nightmare Moon, of all ponies, why her?"
"Because she saved me from the void and gave me a new purpose." I replied.
This caused Celestia's eyes to widen.
"She pulled you from the void?! Her judgment may have been clouded by anger and jealousy but she knows better than to pull anything from the void."
She calmed down before asking another question.
"What is your magical affiliation?"
There was that question again, in a different form. All of those ponies constantly assumed that I was able to use magic. I didn't understand their reasoning behind it. Part of me wanted to tell her about Umbra but another part was yelling "DON'T TELL HER ANYTHING!"
That had to be Umbra talking, warning me. Even though he didn't say anything, it was a gut feeling. I felt like I should keep quiet about it and so I did.
I frowned slightly.
"Why do you ponies constantly ask me that question? I have no magical abilities and never did."
"Then what did Nightmare Moon see in you? What use would she have for a human that doesn't know magic?" asked Celestia.
"She was more interested about my skills in my profession than nonexistent magical abilities."
"And what would your profession be?" she asked.
"Take a guess." I said with a slight smile. "I'll give you a one hint though. Think about what happened to your poor guards at Ponyville."
"You killed two and maimed the other but I don't see how that..."
Celestia kept her mouth open, like the realization of what I had said hit her like a ton of bricks.
"I love doing what I do Princess. It makes me feel so alive and when I kill something, the feeling is like nothing of this world."
"What kind of monster are you?" asked Celestia.
I leaned forward and looked her in the eyes.
"I'm human; I'm the worst kind of monster, the one that actually exists. The one that stalks you in your nightmares as well as real life."
Celestia emotion had now completely flipped. She went from angry to terrified. It was easy to see in her eyes, the way they shrank when she looked at me. It was like she was looking at some sort of foul creature. She turned and yelled to the door.
"Guards!"
The door quickly opened and four guards walked in.
"Yes ma'am?" said the one in purple armor.
"Take this..." she paused to look back at me before continuing. "This human to cell block E and keep him under constant surveillance."
"Yes ma'am." exclaimed the guard as he and his friends unhooked the chains and began to pull on them, forcing me up. Groaning slightly, I complied and stood up from my chair and slowly made my way across the room. As I passed Celestia, I could see the look of fear in her eyes, a sense of dread. I ate that up, it joyed me that I was able to instill that kind of fear into a Princess. If telling her that I was a murderer unsettled her, then I could literally scare her out of her skin with the stories I could tell. However, I doubted that I would get another chance to be alone with the Princess again. Whatever cell block E was, it sounded unpleasant.
I was lead out of the room and into the long hallway. Everything was quiet exist for that nagging feeling in my head, the one I associated with Umbra.
"Escape!" was the single word that crossed my mind as I was led down that long hallway.
The only problem was the way of doing so. I had no weapons, no leverage against armed guards. My push daggers were probably no longer obtainable and I was lucky they didn't take my cloak off of me. I almost fretted the upcoming incarceration until I remembered the one thing that Umbra told me. He told me that he would provide a means of protection. If so, where was it? Where was this magic he promised to me?
As I walked, I focused on my hands, hoping for something happen; nothing did.
'Dammit Umbra, you said I would be able to use magic. Why can't I?'
"Want it, and focus again. You'll get your desired results." said the voice in my head.
Finally with an answer, I focused on my hands again.
'I want this, I want to get out of here, I want to be free.'
Nothing happened, so I tried again.
'I refuse to be locked up. I want to be free.'
Still nothing, I frowned, I was now angry.
'I refuse to be jailed. I will kill every pony in this damned castle if that's what it takes to be free. I will be free, nothing with stop me! I will be free!'
A sudden surge in my hand caused a small shiver to travel down my spine. Soon another passed and another, until the surges became constant. I could feel an unusual pressure in my hand, one that I felt the need to release. So it got too overbearing and my hands began to ache as the pressure built up more and more. Soon, I saw a spark of energy pass over my hand; I could feel the pressure reaching an apex. Whatever was causing the pressure was going to be big. The guards beside me didn't even notice. I was going to kill the one in purple first; it was going to be amazing. However, I didn't account for an extra pony, no less an Alicorn to alert them.
"Stop!" I heard from behind me. I turned to see and small dark blue Alicorn that faintly resembled Nightmare Moon. That's when it hit me, that was Princess Luna. That meant she probably knew what I was trying to do.
"Guards, I implore thee to step away from that vicious human. He is preparing a very large spell, so large that I could feel it from across the castle grounds."
With that, the guards turned and backed away slowly, surrounding the small Princess. The only one that remained was the pony in purple armor, his horn glowing.
"Captain Shining Armor!" called out Princess Luna. "What is thou doing over yonder? If the human is able to cast the spell, thou would surely perish."
"No worries Princess, the iron shackles on his arms and legs suppress any and all types of magic."
"I'm afraid that the magic that this human wields is similar to that of Nightmare Moon's. Making those shackles obsolete." yelled Princess Luna.
The look of fear in the pony's eyes was astounding. He backed away quicker than I thought was physically possible for any living creature. Now with all obstacles out of the way, I was one step closer to freedom.
"What do you gain in doing this human?" asked Princess Luna.
My answer came after a twisted smile.
"Freedom." I said as the pressure from my hands ceased and a large, black wave of force blasted forth in all directions.
"Run." said the voice in my head. I quickly agreed and ran as fast as I could with the shackles around my legs. I needed a way to remove them. Nothing was around but something told me to grasp the chains, so I did just that. As soon as I touched the chains around my feet, a loud hissing was heard throughout the air. As quickly as I had placed my hand on the chains, they were gone. An empty void replaced the area they had once inhabited.
Now free from my bindings and with this wonderful power now granted to me by Umbra, I had full reign on my own design and the only thing on my mind was freedom.
Here's chapter 4 for eveypony. Enjoy!
I did not post another chapter Friday but that does not rule ou the two a week option entirely. I will continue to look at m writing and see if I'm comfortable with posting two a week.
See everypony Friday or next Monday!