The Shadow of Equestria

Chapter 5

The Spectre in the Cell

Finally free at last, away from those accursed ponies but still stuck inside their castle. They have probably deployed multiple platoons of guards by now, just as an attempt to stop me. However, I would escape before that would happen, I would leave and never return for as long as I resided in Equestria. However, another realization had hit me as I ran down the exquisitely decorated hallways. I remembered that the ponies still had my push daggers, something that I held near and dear to my heart, just like my cloak.

I contemplated searching for them. Even though I have a magical power to help, it always felt good to have a push dagger ready to kill. The only problem that I saw was that of location. I had no idea where they took the damn things and it would probably take hours to find. Ultimately, I had to choose the former thought and leave them behind. It hurt me to do so but weapons are replaceable.

I continued to run down the hallways looking for a means of escape. There was an occasional door here and a door there but none that looked to lead anywhere. Eventually, I came upon a dead end with one door at the back wall. I had no idea where it went and I had no intention to find out. So I turned and began to leave but was stopped when I heard the sound of armor clanking around in the distance. That meant the guards were gaining on me and my only way was through that door at the end of the hall. So, I sighed and quickly ran over to it, pulled the door open, and entered.

Once inside, I didn't like what I saw. I saw rows and rows of jail cells; they must be the cells blocks. I cursed myself, how could I have been so stupid as to walk right into the jail of the castle. It was like surrendering whist I had the upper hand. There I made the decision to turn around and face the guards; maybe my newly found powers would see me through. As I turned, something called out from one of the cells.

"Hey you! Come over here, I can help."

With my curiously peaked, I turned and walked to where the noise had originated from. I approached the cell and was greeted by the sight of a sickly looking Pegasus pony. Her hair was a messy assortment of black and green, her feathers ruffled and bent at odd angles. There were dark bags under her eyes, evidence of many sleepless nights. Scars laced her body from her head to her feet. To top it off, she had a glazed look in her eyes.

"What do you want?" I asked with a frown on my face.

"Let me get a good look at you." she said as she approached the bars even more. She started to eye me down, looking at every feature. After a moment, she looked at my face.

"So you actually do exist." she said in a voice of disbelief.

"What are you talking about?" I asked the pony.

"News in Canterlot travels fast, especially to those who followed Nightmare Moon's teachings. We heard of a creature that aided in returning and protected her. We were interested in seeing if this was true and decided to look into the matter. That led to my incarceration."

I wanted to walk away, to run, but as soon as I heard Nightmare's name mentioned, I decided to stay.

"Why are you so interested in me?" I asked.

"You were with the Dark Queen. You were able to bear witness to her majesty and protected her till the end. Till those Elements destroyed her. The Black Hooves are in awe of your skills and wanted to find you and protect you."

"The Black Hooves are a group of ponies that dedicated themselves to serving me. Aside from being annoying and easily impressed, they had their usefulness." said Umbra as the pegasus pony finished.

"So you want to protect me?" I asked with a questioning look.

Not just me." said the pegasus. "All of my brothers and sisters as well."

"Accept their help, they'll be useful in the long run." said Umbra.

"If you want to help me, find me a way to escape from this castle." I said.

"I can do more than that; I can offer you a place to lay low. Just get me out of this cell and we'll get going."

I looked at the pegasus for a moment. I had just met her and I was putting faith in her to get me out of the castle. I would have said no and walked away but she was my only hope at the moment. So I complied.

I looked at the cell door and found where the lock was located. I placed my hand on the lock and watched as an unknown force began to eat away at the lock. It took a good twenty seconds for the lock to completely disappear but once it had, the door swung up freely. I held the door open and watched as the pegasus walked out and motioned towards me.

"Follow me, I know the way out." she said as she started to run deeper into the jail.

I sighed and followed.

We ran a good five minutes until we hit the back of the jail. Underneath us was a large metal plate that had a picture of a sun and a moon on it.

"This is a sewer entrance." said the pegasus. "The Black Hooves use it to get around Canterlot without being seen. We also use it to escape from places we don't want to be, like a jail. However, these things are heavy, so could you help?" she asked.

I rolled my eyes and approached the sewer entrance. I looked for a place to grab and found that the plate was littered with holes just big enough to slip my fingers into. So I bent down and began to pull on the plate until it lifted from its resting place.

"Awesome, be sure you place the thing back before we start going." said the pegasus as she jumped into the hole.

I then turned, lowered myself into the hole and pulled the plate back over before I let go. Now in complete darkness and a cramped tunnel, I focused on finding my way forward. I reached forward and grabbed a hold of a wing I assumed belonged to the pegasus.

"Hey, if you wanted to feel me up, you could've just asked." she said in a snarky voice.

I removed my hand and growled slightly.

"I'm in no mood for games pony." I said.

"No need to get angry, I was just messing with you." she said with a laugh. "Just stay close to me and we'll be out of here in no time."

I didn't say anything and just followed the sound of hooves hitting cobblestone in front of me. We kept walking for a good 15 minutes until I was bombarded with another question.

"I never got your name or what exactly you are. Mind telling me?" she asked.

I stayed silent before finally answering.

"My name is Zhane Black and I'm a human."

"Wait, you mean like those humans from Equestrian legend?" said the pony in a surprised voice.

"I have no idea, I never heard of the legend and thus I have no idea if I can compare them to myself." I said truthfully.

"If we get the chance, I'll be sure to fill you in. I sure you would find it very interesting."

"So, are you going to tell me your name or am I going to be kept in the dark?" I asked slightly annoyed.

"Name's Poison Spectre, I'm an Enforcer for The Black Hooves." she said. "We don't have much longer till we get to the place we're going. Then you'll be able to meet our leader."

"Sounds like fun." I say in a sarcastic voice as I continued to follow Poison Spectre into the sewer.

Princess Celestia let lose a grunt of displease once she received the new that Zhane had escaped from the guards and was now on the loose. It was one thing to have a monster running around but another to have a murderer stalking her subjects. She would find him at all costs and make sure that he was detained.

There was a knock at her chamber door, must be a guard bring information on what had happened.

"Come in." she said softly as she watched the door open until it revealed the pony standing behind it as her sister.

"Dear sister." Luna began. "We believe that we are in more danger than thou thinks." she said.

Celestia frowned slightly. The mere sound of her sister using the old tongue saddened her and reminded her of the mistake she had made long ago. For now, she ignored it and continued the conversation.

"No need to worry little sister. Zhane is a human that possess no magic powers unlike his kin that once inhabited the north."

"You are wrong dear sister!" shouted Luna in an uproar. "He used magic as his means of escape. Not just any magic either, this magic felt dark, so dark that we recognize who owns the magic. It is the one devoid of all light, the very demon that took control of us as we became Nightmare Moon."

Celestia gasped in surprise. This new development was shocking to say the least. On top of the other information about Zhane, this finally tipped the scales.

"This is not good little sister." Celestia said as she looked towards Luna with a grimace. "Before he escaped, I learned some very disturbing news from Zhane himself. He told me that he killed things for a living, that's why he did that to those guards."

"He was the one that cut off Stone Cutter's wing?" asked Luna with a look of unbelief in her eyes.

"I'm afraid so little sister." Celestia said with a look of sadness. "However, there's one more thing I find disturbing about Zhane."

Luna looked at her sister with interest.

"What would that be dear sister?"

"All the humans are supposed to be gone. They were killed by something that must have wielded great power. Knowing Captain Agliss and Captain Yamta, they probably went down fighting." Celestia said with a slight laugh.

"We should go investigate if thou's curiosity seeks answers dear sister." said Luna and she smiled in a knowing way.

Celestia rolled her eyes.

"We need to deal with Zhane first. If all else fails, we will go to the Oasis and find something that could help us."

Celestia turned and began to write on a piece a paper on a desk nearby.

"Little sister, I need you to alert the town guard as well as the troops stationed in all major cities as well as Ponyville, that a dangerous creature has escaped captivity and is on the loose. Begin an immediate search of Canterlot and find Zhane at all costs."

"Of course dear sister." said Luna as she turned and walked out of her sister's chambers to alert the guards of her sister's plan.

Celestia herself continued to write on the piece of paper until the page was full. She then picked it up with her magic, rolled it up neatly, and tied a red ribbon around it. She then enveloped her magic around the letter and watched as it vanished. She hoped her student would get the letter in time, this is an important matter and Celestia feared for her safety as well as the other Elements.

Here's Chapter 5 for Everypony. Enjoy!

In this chapter, I decided to throw in that last bit with Celestia and Luna just to add a bit more story to this story. One or two of the later chapters will be dedicated to the humans of Oasis and what happened to them.

This will be the last chapter for a while. The next chapter will go up on September 30th. The reason is that I am currently in the process of moving to a different state and everything has been quite hectic. I was barely able to push this chapter out before we had to pack up my computer. We move on Friday, we should be settled in early that week and once settled in, I will begin to write another chapter.

See everypony on the 30th