Faded Shadows
Chapter 4
I groaned, trying to cover my ears. The two guards assigned to guard my door by Stone Cutter had made it their mission to make me as angry as possible.
"I mean seriously, what kind of being with that kind of power gets captured." replied the guard on the right. "Talk about a waste of time."
"I bet you all those kills were fake." said the guard to the left. "I bet you only kill two ponies."
"Nine guards, fifteen Black Hooves, six bounty hunters, and twenty-eight civilians." I replied back.
The pause told me that I had managed to cease the onslaught.
"Why would you keep track of that?" asked the guard on the left.
"Bragging right." I replied with a smile.
"Heartless bastard." mumbled the now disgruntled guards as the conversation ended.
I smiled and leaned back in glorious silence. But something else was eating at me. Making what to talk about something I haven't thought about in a long time.
"Do you know what my kill count was back where I lived?" I asked the guards.
No response.
"In Equestria, it's fifty-eight, but back where I'm from it's seventy-two. It used to be seventy-four but that's a long story."
"Why did you take two off?" asked the left guard.
"The two I took off were my older brothers, Carson and Andy. I wanted to respect them by not having them on my kill count." I replied.
"What does it matter?" asked the left guard. "You still killed them. I don't think any amount of respect would pardon you from killing them."
"Who said I did that just so I would have peace? I did it out of respect for my family."
"If you had respect for your family, you wouldn't have killed them in the first place." retorted the left guard.
"Sadly, it wasn't my choice." I said with a blank stare.
The left guard turned to peer into the room, giving me a good look at her face. Her fur was blue under all that armor, a horn jutting out from her head, her face oddly feminine. A small scar snaked its way down the side of her face before disappearing into where the armor met the fur. Her body told me battle tested while her eye told me something else. She looked at me in a way that only Celestia could. Like she was looking at a monster with sadness, a look of regret in her eyes. Like she actually cared.
The guard hesitated for a moment before turning back again.
"What do you mean by that." she asked.
I froze, still taking in the piercing look the guard had give me earlier. After a moment, I came back down from my thoughts.
"If I could go back and fix something in my past, it would be their deaths. I should have just said no, I should have died that day, I should still be with them right now."
I feel flat onto my bed and looked at the ceiling.
"I wouldn't be here right now."
The she-guard turned once more but before we could make eye contact, a loud rumble followed by a semi violent shaking vibrated through the castle.
"What in the world was that?" asked the other guard as he braced himself against the quake.
"I have no idea." replied the she-guard. "Let's forget about him and get back to Stone Cutter. That Hex shield will keep him in."
With that, the two ponies guarding my room broke away from my room and off to find their Captain. Leaving me to sit there in my thoughts. Why in the world did I just do that? Why would I go into something so personal, that's not like me? Maybe I'm losing my mind, maybe I'm actually getting soft? I shrugged off my own questions and rolled over on my bed. Today had taken a toll on me and I need some rest. I closed my eyes and settled in. Hopefully, my rest would go undisturbed.
"Dragon!" declared a majority of the guards now gathered in the garden grounds. The dragon's touch-down had caused the entire area to shake. Probably alerting several citizens to its presences.
Surround it!" yelled Stone Cutter. "Unicorns in the front, initiate Alpha Sigma! Pegasi, air formation Delta!"
The orders echoed throughout the gardens as the guards rushed into formation. The Unicorn guards came forward, their horns glowing, and cast a large wall of light on all sides of the large dragon. The Pegasi, with weapons ready, flew to the top of the wall and stood their ground, protecting the only weakness in the wall. The Dragon, dumbfounded by the ponies ability to organize so quickly, sat and waited. It was only a matter of time till the Regal Sisters arrived.
"Make way for the Princesses!" yelled Stone Cutter as the crowd of guards parted, allowing the Regal Sisters easy access.
"Ashkin." said Celestia. "What are you doing in my kingdom? If I remember correctly, your coven has been barred from entering Equestria. So state your business here before I expel you from my land."
The giant, red Dragon let forth a mighty laugh.
"I am quite surprised at the way your guards handled my arrival. I feel as if I had arrived earlier, this wouldn't have happened."
"What is your business here?!" demeaned Celestia. "Speak or I will remove you against your will."
"Since when did Celestia think she could threaten and Elder Dragon like that?" asked Ashkin as he started to stare down the Princess.
"Don't test me, Ashkin!" yelled Celestia as her horn began to glow. "Why are you here?!"
A moment of silence passed between the two before Ashkin frowned.
"If you must know, I'm just visiting. I wanted to see the famed stone gardens of Canterlot. I've heard a lot of one particular stone that was released recently. Just consider me curious."
"I suggest you leave, Ashkin." said Celestia with the sternest stare she could manage.
"I've met him as well, Celestia. Back when I made my nest in one of the nearby mountains. He approached me with a request. When I looked upon the human, all I saw was an animal. A caged one at that."
The large Dragon spread his wings to their fullest, easily breaking the shield holding him.
"I hope you don't come to regret your decision, Celestia." said Ashkin before he took to the skies, knocking the Pegasi away from him.
Once the Elder Dragon had flown away from the castle and over the surrounding mountains, Celestia's face turned red.
"How dare he make a fool of me." she said in a soft voice.
"Don't let it get to you sister." said Luna. "We have bigger things to deal with."
"I would consider the strongest Elder Dragon that has ever existed knowing about Zhane's reformation a pretty big deal." replied Celestia.
After a moment, Celestia sighed and turned back towards the castle.
"I must go, I have a meeting to attend with the Griffon High Priestess. Go do whatever you please, Luna. Just be back in time to raise the moon."
Luna watched with concern as her sister walked back to the castle, head held low.
"These last few weeks have certainly taken its toll on Princess Celestia." said Stone Cutter as he approached the younger Princess.
"These last few weeks have been hard on all of us, Stone Cutter." replied Luna. "It seems that every day, a new problem rears its ugly head. I haven't seen sister like this in a long time."
The royal sister turned to the Captain of the Guard and looked down into his eyes.
"Please keep up the great work, Stone Cutter. Your leadership skills are really help in times like this."
"Thank you Princess Luna." said the Captain as he bowed thankfully.
"Now, if you will excuse me, I have matters to attend to." said Luna as she launched herself into the sky.
The Captain watched the Princess fly onto one of the many overhanging balconies and out of sight.
"I just hope times like this doesn't happen too often." said Stone Cutter as he turned to direct the guards in the garden back to their original positions.
The Griffon High Priestess was certainly an interesting character. Her face and body were more than enough to tell the whole story. It is custom for High Priestesses to give up one of their senses to gain a sixth sense, a type of clairvoyance. The High Priestess that Celestia had invited to the castle had given up her ability to see, which was, again easy to notice. Along with the plethora of guards she had brought along with her, it was very interesting.
"How's everything in the Griffon Kingdom?" asked Celestia as she took a sip of her tea.
"Horrible." replied the High Priestess as she attempted to grab the tea cup in front of her multiple times before getting it on the fourth try.
"The armies of the Shadow Man are slowly but surely taking the entire kingdom over. They took the East Arches yesterday and continue to move even closer. The King can do nothing but sit and wait for his own demise because he refuses to act."
"What have you foreseen about your country's future?" asked Celestia.
The High Priestess frowned and sat her tea cup down.
"It is grim, Celestia. I see death, I see destruction."
"I thought you have already seen that?" asked Celestia. "Why do you come here, telling me ahead of time that you have news important to me? I hope you don't think that by sitting here, you'll change my position about helping in a foreign matter?"
"Please, listen to me." said the High Priestess. "I received a new vision several nights ago. I saw my land, dying from the war. On the mountains that border us I saw six shadows looming over my land. One of the shadows descended and took our land. The shadows then turned their sight to Equestria."
"What does this mean?" asked Celestia.
"I believe the same thing that caused General Scarhide and his men to desert and attack our empire is going to target Equestria next. It would only be a matter of time before it would happen."
There was a small pause.
"We need your help, Celestia. Please don't make me beg. We either fight together or we all fall." The High Priestess leaned forward to get her point across.
"You know what the nobles have told me. They oppose a movement to help the Griffon Kingdom." said Celestia.
"The nobles don't have to know about it." said the High Priestess. "I do have an idea if you would be willing to listen. Though I suspect you will decline."
Celestia placed her own teacup down and readied herself.
"What would it be?" she asked.
"I have heard rumors lately about Equestria and about a certain species lost to us thousands of years ago."
"No." replied Celestia. "If whatever you ask is about them then my answer is no."
"Why?" asked the High Priestess. "I've seen them Celestia. I've seen visions of three humans here in Equestria. Do you know how much they would help us in this war."
"Three?" asked Celestia with a bit of uneasiness. "There are only two."
"Lying to a High Priestess is not wise, Celestia." replied the High Priestess. "I saw one as fast as the wind itself, one with the power of twenty dragons, and one as dark as the darkest night. The last one is the one that terrifies me the most."
"Why is that?" asked Celestia knowing all too well what she spoke of.
"His aura is darker than the other two, more grim and full of sadness. The smell of regret and anger linger around him like a pungent odor. I can't help but feel sorry for this human but at the same time, I can't help but feel terrified."
"His name is Zhane." replied Celestia. "He is exactly as you say. Two years ago, he cause a lot of trouble in Equestria. He committed many murders and was eventually turned to stone."
"Where is he?" asked the High Priestess.
"He resides in the statue gardens." lied Celestia.
"You're lying again." replied the High Priestess. "I can feel his aura. I would never forget an aura as unique as his."
There was a pause.
"I wish to see him." said the High Priestess.
"That's out of the question." replied Celestia. "He's too dangerous to be around."
"I assure you, I am more than capable of handling myself."
Celestia thought it over quickly. She had to be careful because the last thing she wanted to do was to piss off the High Priestess of the Griffon Kingdom. As long as Zhane was completely restrained, he would be completely neutralized as a threat.
"Guard!" yelled Celestia.
One of the nearby guards approached her and bowed.
"Go find Captain Stone Cutter and ask him to bring Zhane to the dining room. Triple the restraints and double the guards escorting him. Captain Agliss will return in time to take Zhane back to his cell."
"Yes Princess."