Faded Shadows
Chapter 3
"I wish you could see me now mom, I've grown to be a gentleman like you wanted me to be. Dad, I finally made a name for our family, fixing the mess that you made. You caused all of this and I'm fixing it. I can't wait to see you both again, so we can finally be together again."
The rain was pouring, soaking me as I sat in the dim light of the coming night. It was my only time to visit them, someone would notice me during the day. It's my only chance to talk to them. To tell them how I feel.
"Zhane." I heard from behind me. I turned to see my mother. Her long hair blowing in the wind caused by the storm. "My, how you've grown."
"Mom." I said as I approached the figure. "Is that you?" I asked.
"Of course Zhane." she replied. "Who else would it be? You've sure grown into a very handsome man, minus the scars." she said with a smile.
"How are you here?" I asked. "You-you died." I said.
"That's ridiculous. I'm standing right in front of you. There's no way that I'm—"
A gunshot rang out from behind my mother. A second passed, all emotion and color drained from her face as she slumped over to the ground.
"Dead." said a voice from behind her. The light had already faded and complete darkness surrounded the cemetery.
"Who the fuck are you?" I yelled with tears beginning to stream down my face.
"You should already know who I am." said the person as lightning flashed, showing me standing there, a gun in hand, a crazed smile on my face. "I'm you."
There was a loud bang followed by a bright flash.
It happened again, another nightmare. This time it was about my mother. I don't know why I'm getting these awful dreams. Maybe I'm being punished for what I've done? I have no idea, all I do know is that they've been going on for the past week now.
I sat up in my bed, today was the day that I was going to be released from the hospital and into Celestia's care. The sun hadn't even rose yet, I probably had a few more hours until Agliss would come for me. The best I could do was try to get some more sleep. I didn't want to experience another nightmare but I would need the energy to for the day ahead. I slumped back into the bed and pulled the sheets over my head.
"I would like to thank you all for coming today." said a shadowy figure that sat behind a nice desk. The room they were in was quite large at least twice as big as the throne room in the Canterlot castle.
"I gather you five here today to discuss plans and news." said the shadow.
"It better be important." said one of the members in front of him.
"My news is always important, Chrysalis. I guess I'll start with that then."
The shadow cleared his throat.
"We stand here today, six members strong. The best of the best, faded from importance by those we hate. For some it was by enemies, others by friends or kings. However, today I believe we have found a seventh member."
"Who might that be?" asked a gruff voice next to Queen Chrysalis.
"I believe some of you have heard of him." replied the shadow. "About two years ago, reports out of Equestria speak of a human giving them trouble. To the point that they had hired Azure Phoenix to help with the problem."
"Little pony princess must have had lots of trouble with human if she hired Phoenix." replied a gruff voice.
"Might you be speaking about Zhane Black?" said a feminine voice on the other side of the table.
"Indeed I am, Melody." replied the shadow.
"I remember him, he help me invade Canterlot awhile back!" said Chrysalis. "I don't know what happened to him though."
"It turns out that he was finally captured and turned to stone as punishment for his crimes. However, my informant in the castle tells me that Zhane Black has been freed and is currently residing in the castle. They hope to reform him."
"Hehehe." replied the gruff voice. "I met him once. It was awhile back when I had made my home in Equestria. He had asked me to move closer to Ponyville, to cause panic. I got a good look at his face, his eyes. He's an animal, a monster. There is no way he will be reformed by the Regal Sisters."
"You may be right Ashkin but we can't be too sure. We must proceed with caution. If we want him to join us, we must have him side with us. If they successfully reform him, we lose our chance. I will have my informant keep a close eye on Zhane and continue to report back with his progress. Any questions?"
There was silence.
"Good, now on to plans." said the shadow. "Queen Chrysalis, I would like for you to unite your subjects, start their training."
"Of course." replied the changeling queen.
"Ashkin, I have something special that I would like for you to do. My informant tells me that Zhane will soon have an audience with the Regal Sisters. I would like for you to introduce yourself and cause some unrest."
"As you wish." replied the large red dragon.
"Melody, I want you to recruit as many mercenaries as you can. Please direct them to this location for payment and orders. Solomon, go with Melody and provide her with protection.
"Sure thing." said the unicorn Meldoy. "I'm excited to play my hand. I've been dealt some pretty good cards so far."
"Why does Solomon have to go with pony? Solomon want to fight, not protect." said the Gnoll next to Melody.
"Don't worry big guy." said Melody. "I know for a fact that you'll get to fight somepony soon."
"Solomon will protect Melody." he replied.
"Good." said the shadow as he turned to the final member.
"General Scarhide." he said as the large griffon stepped forward. "I would like you to amass your loyal troops together. It's time for you to make another move. I believe that the East Arches will be the next target."
"I'll do my best." replied the griffon.
"Excellent." replied the shadow. "You all have your orders, you are free to go. May you be safe out there my friends."
The morning came faster than I had expected. As soon as I had closed my eyes to go back to sleep, I was awoken by Agliss. I guess I should be lucky for the dreamless sleep.
"Time to greet the day, Zhane." said Agliss. "Your audience with the Princesses is in thirty minutes."
"Fuck that." I said as I got of bed. "The last thing I want to do is talk to them."
"You won't get anywhere but a jail cell with an attitude like that." replied Agliss. "It would be in your best interests to not be so difficult during the next few days. That would help a lot."
"Whatever." I said. "I'm ready to go."
I jumped out of bed, looking down I saw that the undershirt that I usually wore with my cloak was ripped to piece. On top of my left eye still being covered, I looked like a bum.
"Any chance I could get some new clothes?" I asked.
"Any chance you could convince somepony to make you replacements?" replied Agliss.
"Fine then." I replied back. "I'm ready to go."
"I'm not so sure how the guards will react to him, sister." said Luna as she and Celestia sat in their thrones, looking to the entrance.
"There is no need to worry about anything." Celestia replied. "I made sure that they would be well behaved. I have Captain Stone Cutter to thank for that."
"Stone Cutter?" Luna asked. "I was not aware that you had announced a new Captain. Especially one that has a history with Zhane."
"I have complete confidence that Stone Cutter will do the right thing." said Celestia as she looked across the guard filled room, eyeing the one-winged Captain conversing with some of the other guards. "I hope." she said quietly to herself.
"Are all of these really necessary?" I asked as I realized that much more than handcuffs were being strapped to me.
"Just a little precaution. Nothing to worry about." replied Agliss as he watched the guards apply more of the restraints.
"Ow, that hurt you fucker." I replied as I felt a pinch from one of the restraints.
"Get over it." replied the guard applying the chains.
Annoyed by the answer, I bent down and grabbed the pony by the throat. I lifted him to my height and pulled him close.
"It would be a good idea not to piss me off right now. I'm not really in a good mood." I said as I started to squeeze harder.
At that point, I started to realize that the surrounding guards had all drawn their weapons and had them pointed at me. I felt a hand clasp my shoulder who I assumed was Agliss.
"Remember what I said earlier."
I gritted my teeth and let the guard go. He backed as far away as he could and began gasping for air.
"Let's go."
"Princesses, Zhane Black is ready for his audience." said a guard that had just entered the room.
"Good, he may enter." replied Celestia.
The guard turned to the giant double door and motioned to the guards standing near them.
"Open the doors!" shouted the guard as he returned to his place in the room.
The guards stand next to the door nodded and proceeded to pull the doors open, revealing the two humans behind them.
"Alright Zhane, please try to not cause trouble." Agliss whispered into my ear as we started to enter the throne room.
"No promises." I replied as the door closed behind us.
The first thing that I noticed were all of the guards in the room, there must have been at least one hundred of those fuckers. I guess Celestia's first concern was safety. The weird part was the silence. It was so quiet that the sound of the chain latched to my body echoed throughout the throne room. At the end of the room I could see both of them, Celestia and Luna, the sternest looks on their faces. They looked at me as if I was a child that had done something wrong. I can't begin to tell you how this annoys me.
"You may stop there Zhane Black." said Celestia. "Guards, you may return to your posts. Captain Stone Cutter and his squad may stay."
A symphony of groans sounded out as most of the guards funneled out of the room leaving six of the guards still standing there. The six ponies stepped forward and took their place in front of me around the thrones. As I looked at the six guards in front of me, I notice that one had the Captain's purple armor on
'I guess Shining Armor is no longer Captain.' I said to myself.
The other thing I noticed was the fact that the Captain only had one wing. It was weird but I put that behind me and looked up at the Princesses.
"Well Mr. Black." started Celestia. "Or should I call you Mr. Howell?"
"I think you should shut your fucking mouth." I replied.
"Why make idle threats in chain?" she asked. "You have no way of enforcing such a change."
"You'll be amazed at what a human can do." I said with a smile.
"Yes, I've seen this with my very eyes. One human can murder an entire village, manage to evade a kingdoms wrath, and over all cause chaos that this country hasn't seen in centuries."
"Then why let me free?" I asked.
"Because I believe in second chances." Celestia replied. "I've done the same thing before. I've let dangerous things go and they saw the errors of their ways."
"I don't think that's going to work this time." I replied snidely.
"You're probably right but that's why I have Agliss here to help, to keep you in line. As well as the guards you see before you. They are the best of the best, easily capable of taking you down if you get out of line."
"I doubt that." I said.
A small nod came from the Captain in front of me and the other five ponies sprang into action. They surrounded me, weapons drawn. The Captain approached and entered the circle. For some reason, he looked familiar.
"We will not hesitate to take you down if you act out." he said as he approached me.
"Now I remember you." I said. "You're that pony whose wing I ripped off. I still remember the way you screamed." I leaned down and looked him in the face "Like a little bitch."
"Zhane." started Agliss. "Don't make me repeat myself."
I frowned and stood back up. Making fun of the new Captain would have to wait.
"If you're done antagonizing Stone Cutter, I would like to get on with business." said Celestia as she gazed at Stone Cutter to call off his squad. The Captain turned away from me, taking the rest of his squad with him. Upon returning to their positions, Celestia continued.
"I hope by now that you realized that I wouldn't let you go free."
"Why not?" I replied. "It would be more fun that way."
Celestia scoffed.
"I'm not letting out of my sights this time. You are going to be tracked at all times. You are now a dog on a leash, you only go where I want you to. To make it even better, you will serve Equestria and fix the mess that you caused."
"What if I say no." I replied.
"What if I hand you over to the ponies that you hurt two years ago. I'm sure they would love to get more acquainted with you." snapped Celestia.
I groaned, I could see the sincere look in her eyes. She was serious about all of this.
"Don't think I'm going to be friendly to a murderer of my subjects. You won't believe how many of my own guards opposed this decision. I will not allow you to ruin anything else. I will have you killed if you even think about hurting anymore of my little ponies!
"Sister." said Luna as she placed a hoof on Celestia's shoulder. "You need to remain calm."
Celestia took several deep breaths before continuing.
"We will discuss more tomorrow. As for now, you will be escorted to your room by Captain Stone Cutter."
The Captain, along with his squad, approached me, grabbed my restraints, and started to lead me out of the throne room. I took one last look at both the Princesses and Agliss before turning to follow the Captain's lead. From there, we walked out into a long hallway full of doors.
"Let me make something clear to you, Zhane." said Stone Cutter as he turned towards me. "You step out of line, you will be put down. I'll throw you out to the guard training room floor, I'll let them handle you. You make any attempt to hurt the Princesses, I will personally strike you down."
We stopped at one of the room, the door opened revealing a nice room. A queen sized bed, night stand, and dresser were in the corner of the room. A table and several chairs where on the other side of the room. I looked over to the windows of the room. The black iron bars blocking escape was enough to tell me this was my new cell, a box to keep me in. The guards use ushered me into the room while they stood outside the door. Several of the guards stepped in to remove all my restraints except for the collar around my neck. Once they were done, they stepped away.
"The moment you try that." I replied back. "Is the moment you lose your other wing."
"Doubt it." replied Stone Cutter as he motioned to one of the soldier around him. "Frost, I need a double reinforced Hex barrier blocking the door frame. Allow for custom entry and exiting."
"Include the usual in the entry?" asked the unicorn that Stone Cutter had called on.
"Yes, also added Captain Agliss to that as well. If anypony wants in that isn't in the Hex design, they'll have to come to us to gain entry." replied the Captain.
A flash of blue sparked from the unicorn and in an instant, a large blue colored barrier was now blocking the door.
"You will be served meals twice a day and a bathroom is in the door to your right." said the Captain as he walked away.
"Frost and Flare, you two will keep watch for the first hour. Until Celestia can get other guards to watch the door, we will do it."
"Yes sir." replied the two ponies the Captain had called on. While the rest of the squad walked away, the two ordered to guard the door remained. Once they were in position, the door to my room slammed shut, cutting me off from the rest of the castle. As I familiarized myself with the room, I only had one thing on my mind. It was no matter what I had to do, I would not be trapped in this room. I wouldn't be able to stand it. If cooperating would get me out of this room, then I guess it is my only option.
However, the moment they take their eyes off of me, the moment they let go of my leash, is the moment I run as far as I can make it. Not even Agliss would be able to stop me.
"That wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." said Agliss. "I still don't understand why all the guards at the beginning were necessary?"
"Just scare tactics, Agliss." replied Celestia. "Nothing more."
"If I'm done here, I would like to go check on Yamato. It's been a week since I've left him alone in Oasis."
"Go ahead, Agliss." said Celestia. "Take your time, you're in no rush to come back."
"In that case, I'll be back in a few hours. Try not to let Zhane escape while I'm gone."
With that, Agliss disappeared into a flash of light. Celestia sat there at her throne with a frown.
"Ha ha, very funny." she said to nobody.
Alright, first off, I'd like to apologize for the two week delay in-between this chapter and the last. Its been a very hectic last two weeks and with school, work, and of course, Destiny, My schedule's been packed. I have been writing though, so I guess that makes up for it just a little.
If you're curious on what I did the last two weeks this is what happened.
Monday: School, Work, Destiny, Silent Hill
Tuesday: School, Work, Destiny, Silent Hill
Wednesday: School, Work, Destiny, Silent Hill
Thursday: School, Work, Destiny, Silent Hill
Friday: School Work, Destiny, Silent Hill
Saturday: Sleep, Work, Destiny, Silent Hill 2
Sunday: Sleep, Sleep, Destiny, Sleep
It pretty much goes the same for the next week. At least I've progressed in Silent Hill. I'm now on Silent Hill 3 :)
Other than that, I'm excited to get this story rolling. After many long nights of typing and retyping and editing, I'm ready to start updating again.
Hope to see you guys next Monday.