The Shadow of Equestria
Chapter 24
Up North
"So do we have a deal?" asked Celestia as she sat on her throne. "I don't know how you survived against Zhane, especially against that spell he was using. Right now, I don't care what you do or how you do it. I want you to assist in the capture or killing of Zhane Black. You will be paid as the bounty still stands, 1,000,000 bits."
The white Pegasus pony known as Phoenix rubbed his chin with his hoof for a moment.
"As long as those other two you have chasing him doesn't get in my way, I'll do it."
Celestia looked over to Agliss and Yamato who were standing in the corner of the room. They looked back at the Princess and gave a small nod.
"Fine." said Celestia in an annoyed tone. "But I don't care who you are, you will follow their orders. They know a lot more about Zhane than you do."
Phoenix rolled his eyes.
"Whatever, when do we go after him again?" he asked.
"Soon." said Celestia. "It'll take awhile to track him again but once he's found, he won't be able to hide."
"You called Darkwing." said a large Earth Pony as he walked inside a dimly lit VIP room.
"Yes, I need you to round up your best enforcers. I have a target for you."
"Who is it?" asked the Earth Pony.
"As you know, one of your enforcers defected with Zhane a while back. I don't tolerate ponies like that. I want you to find that pony."
"And then what sir?"
"I want you to kill her."
"What about Phoenix sir? We could just hire him again. He'll take care of the problem easily."
"You idiot." said the Pegasus as he walked into the light being produced by the open door. The dark rings around his eyes prevalent. "Ever since he found out who was hiring him, he cut contacts with us and killed our best recruiter. As much as I would like for him to do this, I'm afraid that he wants nothing to do with us."
The leader turned and looked back into the room.
"I want you and your team alone to find her and make her pay for betraying me."
3 Days Later
"Before I leave Princess, I had something I want to ask you." said a certain purple unicorn.
"What is it Twilight?" asked Celestia with a smile.
"Remember back when Nightmare Moon came to Ponyville?"
"I must certainly do Twilight. Why do you ask?" replied the Princess
"Well, I was wondering. Whatever happened to that thing that Nightmare Moon had with her. The thing that tried to attack us. I know you brought it back here but I was wondering if I could go see him."
Celestia paused for a moment and frowned.
"You are talking about Zhane Black, Twilight. Zhane is a human, a member of one of the many extinct races here in Equestria. I hate to say this but Zhane escaped a long time ago. He has been roaming Equestria ever since, evading capture."
"Wh-what!" yelled Twilight. "How'd he escape?"
"Zhane has the ability to use some very strong magic. Magic that not even I would dare to wield. However, this magic is corroding his psyche, making him vulnerable."
Celestia paused and looked at her student.
"Twilight, if you ever see him, no matter where you are, I want you to run as far away as possible. Zhane will not hesitate to kill you or anypony to get what he wants. Just be careful at the Crystal Empire and tell Shining Armor and Cadence that I said hi."
Twilight looked at her teacher, audibly gulped, and nodded as she trotted out of the door and to the Canterlot train station.
"Alright." I said as I held my backpack in hand and my sword in the other. "I'm off."
"Remember." said Red. "It's exactly north of the train station there. Well, that's according to the newspaper. Just follow the train tracks north and stay away from the cities and towns."
"Good luck Zhane." said Poison Spectre. "Bring me back something shiny." she said with a smile.
"You know I will." I said with a smile as I opened the front door and walked outside. I looked around to make sure there were no ponies wondering around. After I was sure I was in the clear, I began my walk to the Crystal Empire.
To be honest, It was a stroke of luck once we read that the Crystal Empire had been found and that the priceless artifact known as the Crystal Heart had been recovered. It sounded almost too good to be true but oh well. I was going to get that treasure.
6 Hours Later
I held my arm up in an attempt to cover my eyes from the snow that was blowing in my face.
"I better get there soon." I said to myself.
"Relax." said Umbra. "If I remember correctly, you're only 20 or so miles away."
That's still a long fucking way." I replied.
"Deal with it." said Umbra. "We're this close to an artifact of great power and all you can do if complain. Just suck it up and continue forward."
I rolled my eyes.
"Whatever, to be honest, I really don't think that we even nee..."
I was cut off by a large blast that originated up ahead. I moved my hand to see where it come from only to be thrown to the ground by some unknown force. I quickly got up and pull my sword out expecting to fight either Agliss, Yamato, or Phoenix, that weird bounty hunter. Instead, I noticed that the snow had stopped falling and that in the distance, a large castle stood proudly among the surrounding snow. My continued inspection was cut short by something landing in front of me. I looked down to find a reddish-blackish object sitting in the snow.
"What the fuck is that thing?" I asked to myself.
"That, dear Zhane, is called a catalyst. A conduit for magic."
"Looks like a unicorn horn to me." I said as I picked it up.
"It matters not Zhane." replied Umbra. "Hold that in your hand and surround it with your magic. I will do the rest."
I shrugged and did as Umbra said. I placed the horn in my hand and wrapped it in my magical aura. After about a minute or two of sitting there with my hand in front of me, Umbra replied.
"You may stop Zhane, it is finished."
"What exactly did you do?" I asked as I dispersed the magic and seeing that the horn was gone.
"I merely absorbed the catalyst into your body. With this, the strain caused by casting your magic has been reduced. This has opened up a whole new path in terms of spells for you. Just keep that in mind next time you go into battle."
"Don't you think that it's kinda strange to find something like that out here in this arctic hell?" I asked Umbra.
"Again, does it really matter. The power is yours now, enjoy it. But, if you're able to get your hands on the Crystal Heart, your magic will increase tenfold because of that catalyst."
The word power peaked my interests.
"Alright, let's continue towards that castle." I said with a smile and impatience lining my body.
After a good fifteen minute walk, I had finally entered the castle town. Oddly, the entire town was empty as I walked the streets.
"Where the fuck are the ponies that live here?" I asked myself as I continued to walk down the street. As I reached the center of the town I saw a large group of what appeared to be shining ponies gathered in the town square.
"Looks like I found them and there's no way past them to the castle. I don't even know where the Crystal Heart is."
I shrugged.
"Looks like I'll have to ask them." I said as I walked towards the group of ponies.
As I approached, one of the ponies somehow caught sight of me and alerted the rest of the group to my presence.
"Dear Celestia, another monster! Everypony RUN!"
With that, all of the ponies in the square scattered until there were only several left. I looked across the square to see that annoying unicorn and her friends. The last time I had seen those ponies was the night that Nightmare Moon was defeated. I smiled and approached the group.
"Don't take another step!" shouted one of the ponies in the group. A purple armored unicorn stepped forward, horn glowing with magenta colored aura. I had seen the guard before at the wedding and the first and second time I was held at the castle. Why he was there, I had no clue.
Smiling, I took one more step and looked at the guard. Almost instantly, he launched a magenta colored magic bolt at me. I laughed as I put up a barrier that easily deflected the bolt. The guard growled and began to launch multiple bolts at the same time. These bolts bounced off the shield just as easily as the first. During these time, I began to get closer and closer until I was as close as I needed to be, I launched a shadow bolt at the guard. To block it, the guard conjured a barrier of his own but was sent back several feet once the bolt hit. The guard dropped the barrier and began to breathe heavily.
"Now." I said to the group of ponies. "Would any of you be kind enough to point me to the Crystal Heart?"
"Wh-who are you?" asked the orange Earth Pony with the cowboy hat.
"That's Zhane Black." said the annoying purple unicorn.
"Looks like my name is getting around." I said. "I am Zhane Black, The Murderer of Sunpeak, The man who has bested Celestia and her bounty hunters many times over, The Shadow.
I paused.
"Now, answer my question. Where is the Crystal Heart?"
"We're not telling you anything!" yelled the rainbow-haired Pegasus as she flew directly at me.
To react, I simply grabbed her out of the air with a mass of my magic. With the Pegasus caught, I brought her close, close enough to whisper into her ear.
"I could end you with a single thought. I could rip out your insides and hang you from a tree with on twitch of my finger. I could kill all of your friends and make you grieve until you end up taking your own life. Just remember that as you remain at my mercy."
At that point, the Pegasus was already in tears. I turned to the rest of the of the group and smiled.
"I'll make this simple." I said as I moved the magic to the Pegasus' wings. "Either you tell me where the Crystal Heart is or I rip her wings off. Your choice."
"The Crystal Heart is at the top of the castle on a pedestal." said a pony that I had not noticed before as she walked out from the group. "Just put her down and I'll personally take you there."
I took a good look at the pony and realized that she was the pony that Chrysalis had imitated during the wedding. I thought for a moment and released the magic on the Pegasus.
"You better be true to your word or I will murder every pony here." I said.
"I assure you I am always true to my word. Just follow me." she said as she walked towards the castle.
I smiled and followed, leaving the Pegasus to her friends.
"Yamato, did you feel that?" asked Agliss as he turned to his partner.
The black-haired man nodded.
"Did you finally find him?" asked Phoenix as he approached the man.
"I have, he's up north."
"Groovy, let's go get him." replied Phoenix with a smile.
"How do you sleep at night know that you murder ponies for fun." said the pink pony.
"I simply put my head on my pillow and go to sleep. Killing doesn't keep me from sleeping." I said sarcastically.
"You will be stopped." she said as we reached the top of the castle.
"Doubt it." I said as I walked ahead of the pony and into the room at the top of the stairs. I opened the door and walked out on to the room with no walls, at the top of the castle. I had no idea why they thought this was a good idea and I didn't care. In the middle of the room was a large pedestal that held the prize I sought, the Crystal Heart. My eyes widened and I walked over to the beautiful crystal. With steady hands, I grabbed the crystal and held it close. I could literally feel the magic pulsing from the crystal as I held it.
"Having fun there?" I heard something say in front of me. I looked up to see Phoenix hovering in place with his wings just over the edge.
"Surprise." he said with a smile. "Happy to see me."
I began to back towards the door but stopped once I heard the sound of a sword begin drawn I turned back to see Agliss and Yamato standing in front of the pony that brought me up there.
"Drop it." said Agliss.
I smiled.
"No." I replied.
"You have nowhere to go. A fall from here will kill you and you won't get past us. You're only option is to come with us or we will kill you." said Agliss.
I turned to see that Phoenix had landed on the floor.
'What do I do with this thing?' I asked Umbra.
"Same thing with the catalyst, surround it with your magic and I'll do the rest."
'Fine but make it quick.' I replied as I began to surround the heart with my magic.
"I'd much rather die than go back with you." I said.
"I've beaten you once Zhane. I will beat you again." said Agliss. "Even with your magic you're no match for me."
"You say that now." I said as I heard Umbra tell me that he finished absorbing the heart. "Just wait till you see what I can do now."
I dispersed the magic and revealed that the Crystal Heart was gone.
"He's done something to the Heart! Are you just going to stand there?" asked the pink pony.
"He absorbed it to obtain it's power. As soon as he got his hands on it, there was no way of getting it back." said Agliss
I took a deep breath and smiled.
"It was nice meeting you all again but I must go." I said as I held up my hand and quickly casted a spell I had been working on for a long time. A large mass of dark smog surrounded me as my vision went black. I laughed to myself, perfecting Nightmare Moon's means of transportation was the best idea I had thought of in a long time. Now all that was left was to get back home.
"He's getting too strong, just like Avalan." said Agliss as he stood there watching Zhane get away. "I have to stop this before it get too far. I will not have another Oasis incident happen on my watch. I will kill you the next time I see you Zhane Black."
Poison Spectre sat in her room pacing, waiting for Zhane to show back up. Ever since they met in that cell in the Canterlot Dungeon, she had developed a bond with the man. She would trust him with her life, go with him where ever he need her too, if he would let her. She would do things for him that she wouldn't do for Darkwing. She always worried about Zhane whenever he went off like he did. With those other two humans and that weird Pegasus chasing him, for all she knew, Zhane could be dead.
Spectre's inner rant to herself was broken up by a loud crash that came from the other room.
"Red, you okay?" she called out.
No answer.
"Red? Red!?"
No answer.
Spectre started to walk to the door but stopped once she heard the door knob start to turn. The door opened and several ponies walked in.
Spectre stayed silent and let the ponies speak. She knew exactly who they were and it scared her shitless.
"You crossed the wrong pony Spectre. Now you're time's up."
Here's Chapter 24 for everypony. Enjoy!
Phoenix is an OC owned by Neo Masamune
See everypony Thursday!