Hello everyone.
Yeah, I know, it's been a very long while. I will start by saying I am so, so, so sorry for not updating. I promised a new chapter, I promised shorts, but didn't deliver due to my issues. I have no excuse and hope you can all forgive me.
Here we are then. The show ended and the new sequel series has begun. I'm sorry I didn't spend that time with all of you.
Chapter 77: A Shadow's Light
It had been a week since I took the potion that made me act like my friends and I tell ya, my head was killing after that, from both the after-effects and the difficult explaining I had to do whenever someone asked what was going on. Needless to say, I told Spike to never let me do that again, and if I did, he had permission to bite my leg.
Anyway, after it all cooled down, I spent my time trying to put it behind me. I still wore the necklace that kept my 'dark half' under control, sometimes I'd forget it was there because I could neither see nor feel it. But it can't last, its a good substitute cure for now, but I need to find a proper cure if I'm never going to be free of the darkness. But right now, I didn't care about that, all I wanted now was to spend time with Twilight and Amy.
Ponyville Library: Amy's room
I sat beside Amy's bed as I gently tucked her in, I smiled warmly down at her as saw how perfect she was. I then got up and slowly stepped away so I didn't wake her. I made my way out of the door and slowly closed it, but not all the way, I left a crack open so the room wasn't completely dark. Once I was in the clear, I made my way around to my bed and saw Twilight waiting for me. As I climbed onto the bed, she turned to face me. "Is Amy asleep already?" She asked with a curious yet surprised look.
I turned to face her as I lied own on my side of the bed. "Yeah, I just told her that story you told me earlier." I said with a smirk, wondering if she'd catch on.
Twilight thought back to earlier, but couldn't remember anything about that, but then she suddenly remembered something. "Wait, do you mean when I told you what I did with the Princess today? That wasn't a story, that really happened." She said.
Yep, she caught on. "Yeah, I know. An hour in the Library, two more reading about the Art of Craftsmanship, it would put an owl to sleep at night." i said with a humorous smirk.
Twilight frowned with an un-amused look. "Oh haha, big comedian." She said before she crossed her front-legs. "And tell me, did you remember to brush your teeth?" She asked with a raised eye-brow.
I thought back and cursed myself for forgetting again. "Can I leave it for tonight, I'm really tired." I said, not wanting to get up again after finally managing to lie down.
Twilight immediately shook her head. "Nope, the last time you did that I woke up with your bad breath right in my face. Now go brush before I have Discord do it for you." she said strongly.
I knew she was using her 'putting her hoof down' mood, so with a small groan, I rolled off the bed and made my way down to the bathroom. "Why couldn't our bathroom be closer to bed?" I asked myself before I reached the bathroom and went inside.
A few minutes later, I finished brushing my teeth and breathed on my hoof and then smelt it, smelling the slight scent of mint on it. "That should be good enough." I said before I turned and made my way towards the exit, taking a second to glance out the window to see if anything was going on. But upon doing so, something could my eye.
I went back to the window and looked down in front of the house to see a hooded-figure staring up at me, a figure I remembered all too well. It was Shadow. I wondered what she was doing here, was this just a random visit, or was it another important message about the True Order. Either way, I should probably go see what she wanted, despite my desperate need to return to bed.
After going down stairs and through the front-door, I stepped out into the slightly brisk night air and walked up towards Shadow, she had her back turned to me as I approached. "So...long time, kinda...what do I owe the pleasure this time?" I asked, trying to keep my cool.
Shadow turned around to face me. "Hello Matthew...I just came by to see how you were holding up. I heard about your...rage outburst a few days ago. Sounded bad, so I just came to check on you." She said.
I gave her a small grateful smile. "Thanks for caring, but as you can see, I'm very much fine." I said, spreading my wings out to show off my healthy body. "I got this necklace thing to keep the dark magic inside me from controlling me." I added before a curious thought came to
mind. "Hey, you seem to know a-lot out this kind of thing, any chance you know how to get rid of this?" I asked, wondering if she had the cure I was looking for.
Shadow then lightly shook her head. "Sorry...I may know a-lot about dark magic, but not that much." She said, getting a small sigh from me. Shadow then looked up at the window of Amy's room and tilted her head. "That room belongs to your daughter, yes? Even after all this time, I still haven't seen her." She said before her purple wings suddenly shot out from under her robe and she flew up to the window.
I watch her do this and a look of panic came on my face. "Wait! Wait!" I said in a rather loud whisper before I flew up towards her. I hover beside her as we look through the window and see Amy still sleeping in her bed.
I stare at her for a moment before I turn to face Shadow. Even though I couldn't see her face fully, I could still see her purple muzzle sticking out from under her hood, and the small smile that formed on it. "She is beautiful." She said before she turned her head to face me. "I'm happy for both of you, Matt." she said.
"Urr...thanks Shadow." I said before we both floated back down to the ground until our hooves touched the grassed. "So was there anything else you needed? Any news on the True Order? That is, what's left of them." I asked, wondering if there was any other reason why she was her.
Shadow shook her head. "Not yet, they've been quiet lately...which scares me. Be on your guard, I doubt they'll stay this way." She said, getting a simple nod out of me before she turned and prepared to take off into the sky.
"Wait!" I said, stopping her from taking off and regaining her attention. "Before you go...can you tell me who you are? I mean, who you really are?" I asked.
Shadow was quiet for a moment before she finally spoke. "...I told you already...I'm no-one...just a shadow." She said in a dead voice before she turned and quickly took off into the sky, disappearing into the night.
As I watched her go, part of me wanted to follow, the other part said I should just accept that she doesn't want to talk about who she is. But that was the part that interested me the most. She knew so much about me, my life and the True Order. She even said that I once freed her, whatever that meant, and she kissed me for it. All that, and yet, I didn't even know what she looked like. But I had to respect her decision and not push for answers. I was about to head back inside before I noticed something on the ground.
I took a close look to see it was a ticket or something, an advertising card maybe? The fancy font on the front said 'The Phoenix Nest - Las Pegasus: Featuring the Purple Beauty'. I looked at it with wonder before an idea started to form in mind.
The next day: Sugarcube Corner
After explaining what happened with Spike, we both went somewhere a bit more private...or at least somewhere where no-one would care about what we were saying. Spike and I sat at a table with some sodas as he held the card for the Phoenix Club in his claw. "So let me get this straight, this Shadow person shows up out of no-where, saves you from drying up in the desert, and now she's just showing up randomly?" He asked as he placed the card down on the table.
I nodded. "Yeah, its weird. I mean, she seems like a friend more than a foe, but its still weird that she so...fascinated with my life." I said before I put my mouth on the straw in my soda bottle and sucked some of it up.
Spike did the same before he gulped it down. "What exactly makes you think Shadow is so interested in you? I mean, what if you're just one of the few ponies that she's talked to?" He asked.
"Because no-one else has even heard of her, at least not anyone around her. The buffalo know her, but that's only because she stayed with them for a while." I said, thinking back to when the Little Strongheart told me about Shadow.
Spike thought it through and saw my point. "Uh-huh, ok, so what exactly do you want to do?" He asked before he took another sip of his drink.
"I want to find Shadow and find out who she is and how she knows so much about the True Order." I said, know such a task would be hard, but not impossible.
Hearing this made Spike stop sipping and spit-take his soda-filled mouth in a safe direction before he returned his attention to me. "What?! Whow, wait! You never said she was a 'True Order expert' or whatever. Matt, we're already on their bad-side enough, do you really think its smart to go snooping around about them?" He asked, sounding scared that we'd get in more trouble with them than we are already.
"Spike, I killed two of their own, stopped most of their plans, and we already know they're far from finished, how much more trouble could we possibly get in with them?" I say, feeling as though we had already passed the point of no return already.
Spike was silent for a moment before his scared look died down a bit. "I urrr...guess you're right." He said before he returned to the subject. "But still, you have no-clue who she is, right? How are we supposed to find her? Are you gonna go back to Appleloosa and ask the buffalo?" He asked.
"I ask them while I was there, they know as much as I do." I said before a smirk came on my face. "But now, I have a clue to where I might get more answers." I said before I placed my hoof on the card for the Phoenix club and slid to further towards Spike. "Last night, Shadow dropped this when she left, I think she's been to this place a few times if she's keeping advertisement cards." I said.
Spike looked at the card before picking it up again. "You think she's a regular?" He asked as he returned his gaze to me, I gave him a nod before he looked back down at the card again and read more of it. "Who do you think The Purple Beauty is?" He asked curiously.
"No-idea, probably some act for the club." I answered before I changed the subject. "Anyway, it seems this club is in Las Pegasus. All we have to do is get there, find the club, and ask around. Hopefully someone has some answers." I said, making it sound easy.
"'All we have to do'?" Spike repeated, making it sound not as easy. "Well that's all very good, but do you know how far it is to get to Las Pegasus? What are we supposed to tell Twilight where we've gone without telling her about Shadow?" He asked.
"Well we might have to make something up, y'know...like its an important assignment or something." I said, throwing out suggestions.
Spike gave me a disapproved look. "I don't know, Matt, I mean if you keep making stuff up to sneak around behind everyone's back, you could cause a-lot of hard to your relationship." He said.
I thought about what he said and I knew he was right. If I kept lying to Twi, it would cause problems, I loved her too much to risk that. "You're right Spike." I said before i sighed through my nose. "Guess this is one of those things that'll have to be left alone, right?" I said with a weak smile.
Spike returned it. "Yeah, I guess." He said in agreement.
As we both started drinking again, Pinkie suddenly came up to us. She looked super tired and worn out. "Hey guys, can I get you anything else? Refills? Cake? Anything?" She asked, taking some short breaths as she spoke.
We both looked at her as we gulped down the drinking our mouths. "No thanks Pinkie." I said before I looked her over. "Looks like you have enough on your hooves, everything ok?" I asked curiously.
Pinkie looked at me and smile. "Yeah, just had a massive order to make for a client from outta town, I still can't believe someone from Las Pegasus ordered treats from all the way out here. Business is really boomin'! We all finished it just now, all we need now is to find someone to deliver it. Too bad you're on your day off, huh Matt? Oh well, I guess I'll find someone else to do it. In the meantime, just call me back if you need anything else." Pinkie said before she hopped away back to the kitchen.
Having recovered from being stunned by the over-coincidental opportunity Pinkie just presented us with, Spike and I gave each other one look before we both had the same crazy idea.
-Hours later: Las Pegasus train station
It took a very long explanation and a few hours on a train, but Spike and I finally arrived at Las Pegasus. Upon exiting the train, we were nearly trampled by a crowd of ponies wanting to eagerly get started on their trip. Guess what everyone said about this place was true, Las Pegasus is a big party, I'd hate to see what this place was like during Spring Break.
Despite this, Spike and I continued on with our mission to find Shadow. But first, we had to make a pit-stop at the local diner to deliver the orders Pinkie got. After a short search while dragging around a wagon full of goods, we found the diner and dropped them off. Once that was settled, Spike and I started searching for the Phoenix Club.
"So, how come that diner ordered stuff from Ponyville? Why didn't they just order stuff from their own bakers? Plus, how did you convince Twilight to let you come all the way out here? I mean, doesn't it seem weird that you delivering something for Pinkie even though you only work for Applejack?" Spike asked as we made our way down the street to try and find the club.
I looked down at him to answer. "Well Pinkie's bakes are good, word travels fast. Also, I don't really need Twi's permission to come out here, I'm a grown guy after all, but sti I just said Pinkie asked for a big favour and you and I were thinking of coming here away, that's true enough. And finally, my work as Applejack's delivery pony makes be qualified to do it for others, so I tend to do some deliveries for Pinkie from time to time." I said, hopefully answering all his questions, but just in case. "Anything else you want to ask?" I say with a small smirk.
"Yeah, how far do you think this place is? Feels like we've been walking for hours." Spike said, sounding like he was getting tired of walking.
I then stopped and looked around with a puzzled look. "Good question." I said as I keep looking around some more. "I'm gonna go fly up above these buildings and see if I can see it." I said before I spread my wings and attempted to fly up above the buildings.
But as soon as I did, I was stopped by a security Pegasus who wore shades and blew her whistle at me. She then spat it out so she could speak. "This is a no-fly zone, you're going to have to land, sir." She said calmly yet firmly.
"Y-Yeah, ok." I said slightly nervous before I slowly lowered back down until I was next to Spike again. I watched the security pony also land a short distance away before she carried on. Once she was gone, I looked down at Spike. "No-fly zone? Since when is that a thing?" I said, a bit agitated.
"Maybe because it's such a busy place and they don't want accidents." Spike said before he gave me a curious look. "So what now?"
I thought for a moment before I looked down at Spike, then a crazy idea came to mind. "Say Spike...ever been thrown up into the air and yell down what you see?" I asked, smiling deviously.
"No...why?" Spike answered with a worried tone due to noticing my look.
"No reason." I said before I sat down and quickly grabbed him with my two front-hooves, this made Spike panic and try to struggle out of it. "Don't worry, I'll catch you every time, just try to yell down what you see." I said, and with put even giving him a say in the matter, I threw him up as high as I could. Spike yelled in fright and panic before he came falling back down and into my hooves. "Yeah Spike, the point of this is that you tell me what you see up there, I thought that was obvious." I said as I held Spike.
Spike took deep breaths before he glared up at me. "Sorry, guess I wasn't listening while I was tossed into the air!" He said sarcastically.
"Ok, fair point, sorry. Wanna try again?" I asked.
Spike was silent for a moment before he sighed in defeat. "If it means we find this place faster, go ahead." He said as he crossed him arms.
"Good man...ok, here we go." I said before I tossed Spike into the air again.
From where he was in the air, Spike looked around and spoke the first thing he saw. "Casino!" He said before he dropped back and into my arms. I moved further up from where I was and threw him up again. "Arcade!" He called before we repeated the action. "Some other pony being thrown into the air." He called before we once again repeated the action. "An opening of a new building by some guy named Glad Mane." He called before he fell back down.
I had just started this, but I was already getting tired of it. As I threw Spike up again, I was about to stop this and try something other way of finding the club when I look in front of me and I was stunned by what I saw. It was a club building with a blue neon sigh with a changing image. First it was a flame, then it was a pile of ash, then it was a large bird. These images went in a loop. The name of the building was the Phoenix club. "Hey, here it is." I said, staring at the building for a moment before Spike came back down and landed on top of me, making me drop down onto the ground. "...ow..."I groaned as I weakly opened my eyes and Spike leaned up on my back in a daze.
Spike then shook it off and looked up at the club. "Hey, here it is." He said, clearly not hearing me when I said that a second ago. "So what now, do we just go in and ask if there's anyone named Shadow in there?" He said as he got off my back.
I got up and shook off my own small daze before I looked down at him. "I don't think so, something tells me Shadow doesn't really want to be found. I think we should go in and wait until she comes out by herself." I said.
"But how do we know if we find her? We don't even know what she looks like." Spike said before he thought off another issue. "Also, you said she's been watching us for a while, right? Won't she recognise us?" He asked.
I thought about both questions and they were indeed very troublesome. "Hmm...I guess we'll just have to know her when we see her, if she's in there at all. So for her recognising us, we might have to wear something to hide our faces or something." I said as I tried to think of what to do.
Spike looked around before he said a jokes and costume store on the other side of the street, a small smirk grew on his face as a idea came to mind.
-A few minutes later-
Spike and I slowly entered the dark and almost packed club. Spike was wearing a trench-coat, hat and shades over his eyes while I only had one of those gag glasses with a fake nose and moustache attached. "You really suck sometimes, you know that?" I said, not liking my face right now.
"Maybe next time you should ask before throwing me up into the air." Spike responded as we both made our way towards an empty table.
We soon sat down and looked over to the stage to see a group of country ponies playing banjos and singing a square-dance song. I looked around and some ponies taking interest, but most of them looked bored as hell.
"Are these scented candles? They tend to make me sneeze after a while." Spike said, looking at the lit candle in front of us.
"Don't worry about it, buddy, lets just focus." I said as I continued to examine the room.
As time went on, Spike and I picked up some flyers that were on our table and used them to cover our faces, just in-case Shadow showed up. "Ok, here's the plan. Scope the place out, find Shadow, wait for the right moment to get time alone with her, and finally settle this." I say in a whisper.
"Oh my gems!" Spike gasped in shock.
I quickly looked at him with concern. "What?" I asked, wondering what spooked him.
"Brightly Sparx is performing in the centre of town tomorrow! I love her!" Spike said, eagerly holding the flyer closer to read more. "She has the best songs! Hit me Filly one more time, Colts, Gimme Mare!" He said, recalling all Brightly's songs.
Due to the obvious similarity with another celebrity I knew, I couldn't help but snicker at the song's names. Spike noticed this and looked at me. "What?" he said before he suddenly sniffed, making a ticklish scent go up his nose. Spike looked at the candle in front of us again before he took a sudden deep breath. Then with one gust, he sneezed hard, not only blowing out the candle, but also unleashing a burst of fire that incinerated the flyer in his claws. "Oops, I did it again." He said, letting the ashes of the flyer sink through his fingers.
With that, I burst out laughing because I found all these oblivious remarks he kept making hilarious.
At that moment, the banjo group on stage was done, getting little applause as they left the stage. An Earth Pony in a suit then came on stage in front of the microphone. "Thank you Spitbucket and the gang." He said, watching the hillbillies leave before looking at the rest of us. "Ok folks, now its time for the main event!" he said.
With that, a lot of the crowd started getting excited. I looked around and saw some moving closer to the stage, mares rolling their eyes and letting out annoyed groans, and stallions brushing their hooves through their manes and checking their breath. I was a bit curious about this and returned my eyes to the stage.
"You know her! You love her! She is the gem of our little club her in Las Pegasus. Please give it up for the Purple Beauty, Zell!" The announcer said before quickly getting off the stage.
As soon as he left, the room went dark and a spotlight shun upon the black curtains behind the stage. Everything was silent before there was a burst of music which mostly involved maracas. My eyes, and every other male's eyes, were glued to the stage as a slender purple leg stepped out from behind the curtains.
The mare then fully came out into few and everyone cheered loudly, with some guys giving cat-calls and pulling bouquets of roses from out of no-where.
The mare on stage was beautiful. She looked like Luna, but had a similar mane to Cadence, but held back in a ponytail while a small part of her fringe covered her right-eye. She wore a sparkling black dress with matching hoof shoes.
As the stallions drooled and mares either cheered or groaned out of jealousy of her, my eyes went wide as anything in both shock…and fright.
"Hey Matt, is it me, or does she look…familiar?" Spike asked, squinting his eyes to try and put his finger on it as he took a sip from his drink.
My eyes didn't leave Zell as I responded. "Spike…that's Zelga!"
Spike instantly did a spit-take and choked a bit. "W-What?" He said, struggling to talk.
As we both sat there in disbelief, Zell walked up to the microphone and started to sing.
Zell: "Don't…tell me that you…don't like…anything about me
I've seen it in your eyes, that look…you think that I don't notice?
Don't hind what your feel inside…baby, I could feel the same
What to do? Its up to you…
So maybe your should try again…or maybe you'll just fade away! Yeah, yeah, yeah!
Betcha Neva! Betcha Neva…Betcha Neva thought we'd get this far!
Betcha Neva, Neva ever…Betcha Neva thought you'd touch my heart!
Betcha Neva, Betcha Neva…Betcha Neva thought that I'd surrender!
Betcha Neva thought that you would ever get with me…I Betcha Neva thought of that.
(Betcha Neva, Neva ever) No, no, no…(Betcha Neva thought of that)
Don't…you be afraid…to try...'cause you don't even know me
Why…can't you read between…the lines…you know how it should be
Don't hind what your feel inside…baby, I could feel the same
What to do? Its up to you…
So maybe you should try again…or maybe you'll just fade away! Yeah, yeah, yeah!
Betcha Neva! Betcha Neva…Betcha Neva thought we'd get this far!
Betcha Neva, Neva ever…Betcha Neva thought you'd touch my heart!
Betcha Neva, Betcha Neva…Betcha Neva thought that I'd surrender!
Betcha Neva thought that you would ever get with me…I Betcha Neva thought of that.
(Betcha Neva, Neva ever, Betcha Neva, Betcha Neva thought of that
Betcha Neva, Neva ever, Betcha Neva, Betcha Neva thought of that)
Maybe you should try again…or just fade awaaaaay!
Betcha Neva! Betcha Neva…Betcha Neva thought we'd get this far!
Betcha Neva, Neva ever…Betcha Neva thought you'd touch my heart!
Betcha Neva, Betcha Neva…Betcha Neva thought that I'd surrender!
Betcha Neva thought that you would ever get with me
Oh I Betcha Neva thought of that!
Betcha Neva! Betcha Neva…Betcha Neva thought we'd get this far!
Betcha Neva, Neva ever…Betcha Neva thought you'd touch my heart!
Betcha Neva, Betcha Neva…Betcha Neva thought that I'd surrender!
Betcha Neva thought that you would ever get with me…
I Betcha Neva thought of that."
With those last lines and flirtish wink, Zell threw a smoke bomb down in front of herself and vanished in its pink thickness. The crowd thundered in applause and whistles as they clapped their hooves.
Spike and I were still in a state of shock before we slowly looked at each other. "…We're getting answers…now!" I said firmly before both got off our seats and threw our disguises away before rushing over to the backstage entrance.
After getting backstage, we poked our heads around a corner and saw Zell enter her dressing room with a large bulky stallion in shade glasses closing the door behind her. He stayed there in front of the door as he sat down and crossed his front legs in front of his body.
"Great, a bodyguard, now what?" Spike asked. I didn't answer as I came out from around the corner and went towards the bodyguard. "Matt! What are you doing?!" he panicked in a loud whisper before he followed behind me.
The bodyguard turned to me and straightened up before he held his hoof out. "Whow buddy, can't go in there, lady's orders." He said in a calm but strict tone.
I stopped in front of his and gave a simple smile. "Oh don't worry, I was just hoping you could pass a message onto Zell for me. Could you tell her that an old friend is here to see her? In fact, forget that, tell her Matt is here to see her…she'll know what it means." I said in my smile turning into a sly smirk.
The bodyguard looked at me with a raised eye-brow. "O-…-k." he said with confusion before he opened the dressing room door and went inside, leaving the door open a crack.
Spike looked at me with confusion while I leaned my head closer to the door with my ear up straight, waiting for the news to hit Zell.
"YOU'VE GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!" A scream came from the room, making my smirk grow bigger.
It wasn't long before the bodyguard came back out, his mane a little bit scruffier than before. "She urrr…will see you now." He said, holding the door open for us.
"Thanks biggin." I said as Spike and I walked past him.
Once inside, the guard closed the door and we looked around. The room looked nicely decorated. The wall we pink and a large mirror was at the end of the room with light-bulbs around the frame. Stuck to the mirror we some autograph headshots of Zell and photos of her time at the club. It was complete with a cushiony bed and a walk-in closet.
"Welcome, my fans." A voice said. Spike and I looked in the direction it came from and saw Zell walk around of the closet wearing a nightgown. "Couldn't wait for an autograph?" She said with a charming smile, clearly acting innocent.
I stepped forward with a small glare in my eyes. "Nice try, but I know it's you, Zelga. You should've picked a different disguise than the one you used in Ponyville." I said as I look her up and down, remembering all the trouble she caused the last time she looked like that.
Zell didn't even try to hide it, she just let her smile down and groaned. "I always thought you would show up sooner or later."She said before she made her way over to her mirror. "I guess its my own fault. I got too noisy."
"No." I said before I walked up to Zell as she used her wing to grab a hairbrush and comb her mane. "Just a bit sloppy." I finish before I place the Las Pegasus ticket she left behind of her makeup desk. "So…you're the girl who's been following me around? My so-called shadow?" I asked.
Zell sighed before she placed the brush down and turned to face me. "Yes…I am Shadow." She admitted.
I was more confused than shocked about this. "But I don't get it. You saved me in the desert, you've been giving me information about your own organization. Why do all those things after what happened between us?" I asked.
Zell frowned a bit. "Because…you saved me. I told you already." She said before she turned back towards her mirror.
"No, I'm pretty sure I killed you. I saw you get crushed by the boulder." I said, thinking back to the end of our big fight.
"Its…complicated." Zell said as she looked at her reflection. "You see…when the True Order first rose, I wasn't completely on board with it. My brother…our leader…didn't like that. So he used a spell which brought out my darkest side. Thus, Zelga was created. My true self was locked up deep inside, I was a prisoner in my own body. But after we fought, you managed to weaken the hold the darkness had on me. Near the end, I managed to retake control and I used the all the inside me dark magic to teleport myself away, finally freeing myself and leaving everything of Zelga behind. The remains you found where just the husk of my dark body. I woke up here in Las Pegasus shortly after and I've been here ever since." She finished before she turned to me. "I…didn't want to hurt you or anyone. But my brother…his grip is strong and I could stop myself." She explained, getting slightly teary in her eyes. "I did so much while in that body. I tortured Ponies, threw a bomb into your marriage, blackmailed Fluttershy, played Big Mac…I know there's no way to make up for any of that, but…I'm sorry." She said as she lowered her head.
A part of me didn't want to believe her, she had lied to my face before. But another part could see the sadness and regret in her eyes. If she was acting, she deserved an Oscar. I sighed and thought about Luna, how she was in a similar situation once. True I wasn't around during the whole Nightmare Moon thing, but I still know the details. I thought hard about this before I took a step closer and place a hoof on her shoulder. "I…can't say I forgive you for what you did to use…but I'd like to try." I said, getting a small look of surprise from Zell. "So…all of that is why you've been following me around?" I asked as I stepped back.
Zell nodded. "Yes, I've been following you because I owe you my life…and, of course, because you need all the help you can get." She said, suddenly becoming serious.
"What do you mean?" I asked with a tilted head.
"Because you don't know what you're really dealing with. My brothers, the True Order, they're unlike anything Equestria has faced before. This isn't some group that sprang out of no-where with hopes of taking over, they've…we've…been planning this for thousands of years. We prepared for everything. That is…until you came along." Zell explained. "At first, we thought you wouldn't be much of a threat…just another number to add to our slave count."
"You're making me blush, go on." I say sarcastically with a raised eye-brow.
"But you've proven more than that. You killed Thorn, freed me from Zelga, and pretty much got in the way of the Order's plans." Zell continued. "You're on my brother's radar now, Matt. He will prepare and he will be ready when you finally meet."
I took all this in with a heavy heart. She was right, I had no idea what I was facing. Thorn and Zelga had nearly killed me and there was still this Rage guy and the leader of the whole thing left to fight. A part of me wanted to throw in the towel, call it all off, take Twi and Amy and go hide somewhere where they'll never find us. But I knew it wouldn't solve the anything. As long as the Order remains, we'll never be safe. I looked at Zell and huffed. "So will I." I say. "Come back with us, Zell. We can prepare for them together. You have information on them and I'm sure I can convince everyone to give you a chance."
"No!" Zell said loudly in what looked like fright. "I…I can't. I can visit now and again, give you any knowledge you need on fighting the Order, but I can't be involved." She said while stepping back a bit. "My brother has eyes and ears everywhere…if he finds out I'm still alive and that I'm helping you…I'm terrified of what he might do to me. He might trap me in a dark body again or just straight up kill me. I'm sorry, but I spent years trapped as Zelga…I refuse to risk going back." She said before she turned her back to us.
I wanted to tell her to not be afraid and it wasn't just her life that was at risk, but I could see she wasn't ready for this, at least not yet. "Ok Zell…but if you ever change your mind…you know where to find us." I say before I turn and make my way towards the exit.
As I walked past Spike, he gave me a concerned look. "You wanna just leave her here? Are you sure that's a good idea?" He asked as he followed me out.
As I left the room, I looked down at him. "I know its risky, Spike. But since our fight, she's done things for me that Zelga would never do. Besides, she's not wrong, we need all the help we can get if we're going to fight the True Order. If we can get one of their own on our side, it will be a huge advantage." I said. Spike closed the door behind us before we made our way towards the club exit.
Meanwhile inside the room, Zell looked herself in the mirror again and sighed as her ears dropped. She closed her eyes to take a few deep breaths before she opened them again and what she saw frightened her. Zelga stood behind her, her eyes glowing red and her horn charging. Zell spun around only to see no-one was there. She looked back at the mirror and only saw herself.
Zell took this chance to throw a sheet over the mirror, afraid the image might return. She sat down on the floor and held her hooves over her eyes, whimpering slightly.
That night: Ponyville Library
When Spike and I finally got home, I felt I had to tell Twi everything that happened. That a mysterious figure had been following me, that it turned out to be Zelga that goes by Zell now, that she says the True Order will be coming for us more than ever. She was my wife after all, we're partners, I believed we could work it out.
Well…I was wrong.
I yelped and ducked as I book flew over my head and hit the wall behind me. "You tell me all of this now?!" Twi yelled as she used her magic to pick up more books.
"Twi, I only found out it was Zelga today. If I had known earlier, I would've told you everything." I said as I hit behind a pile of other books, quickly ducking as Twi threw more at me.
"Zelga tried to ruin our relationship, Matt! She hurt our friends! Endangered all of us the moment she stepped into town! How could you just let her go like that?!" Twilight said angrily as she prepared to hurl more books.
I stood from out of my cover. "Because she reminded me of Luna!" I said loudly. "She was trapped in darkness and now she's free. She's been helping me and she saved my life when I was trapped in the desert. I owed her for that at least." I said, grabbing a pillow with my hooves and holding it in front of me.
Twilight kept her firm face before she sighed and dropped the books held in her magic. "Sometime you're too good, Matt." She said before she walked away to re-shelve all the books she threw. "I just don't understand why you would trust her." She said, not even looking at me.
I placed the pillow down and walked over to her. "Why do we trust Luna? Why do we trust Discord? We trust because we know people can change, Twi. If you saw the look on her face when she explained what happened to her, you'd want to believe it too…I know you would." I said.
Twilight turned to face me with a gentler look. "I know Matt, but we have to think of Amy…If Zelga is right and the True Order is as dangerous as she says, she's in more danger than we thought." She said while a look on worry in her eyes.
I placed my hoof on her cheek and turned her head to look me in the eyes. "And I will protect her…with everything I have. I will risk everything to make sure these Order assholes don't lay a single hoof on you or Amy, I'll bet my own life on it." I say with no shred of dishonesty.
Twilight's ears lowered a little as I said this. "Matt…I'm scared." She admitted.
"So am I, Twi." I say before I pull her into a loving hug. "But we'll get through it together, like we always have." I say as I hold her closely, never wanting to let go.
The next day: Sugarcube Corner
Much like with Twi, I felt obliged to tell the others about my discovery. They more or less had the same reaction, only they didn't throw stuff at me. But after a while I managed to calm them down and we got to calmly talk about it.
We all sat around a table enjoying refreshments as we talked.
"So Zelga's alive, huh?" Rainbow asked as she held a cup of cider in her hoof.
I turned to look at her. "Yeah, but its actually Zell now. Zelga was her darker form." I explained.
"She can call herself whatever she want, doesn't change what she did." Applejack said strongly, slamming her hoof on the table.
"I know Applejack, but like Matt said, we might need her for what's coming." Twilight said as she placed on hoof on my shoulder.
"I'm a bit confused." Rarity said. "If the True Order has been preparing this for thousands of years, why aren't they attacking now? Not that I want them to come, but you'd think they'd surely be ready by now."
"Maybe it's a surprise attack!" Pinkie said loudly. "That's the worst kind of surprise! And you know I don't believe anything could be a bad surprise." She said.
I thought about what Rarity said and wondered that myself. Why didn't the True Order attack all at once? Why are the members coming one at a time? "Maybe they're not as ready as we think. It took Luna a-thousand years to come back from the moon, it took longer for Discord to break out of stone, maybe they're planning something that takes more time than we're thinking." I suggested before I looked around at all of them. "But don't worry, I won't let them win…I won't let them hurt any of you."
"That's brave of you, Matt. But you're not the only one fighting them." Twi said before she stood up and grabbed her cider cup with her magic. "We're all involved in this now. If the True Order comes for us, we'll be ready like always. There's nothing we can't do when we work together, remember?" she said as she looked around at all of us.
The other looked at each other before they too grabbed their cubs and held them up, they clanked them together above the table for they all looked at me to do the same.
I looked at each of them and grabbed my own cup. A fight was coming, a bigger one than I was expecting. I couldn't guarantee our victory this early on, but we should as hay weren't gonna make it easy for the Order to beat us. "Let's kick their flanks." I say before I clank my cub against theirs.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter.
The song I used in this chapter was called 'Betcha Never' by Cherie. I don't own anything.
Well, I'm not really sure what to say at this moment.
Again, I'm super sorry about taking so long. A lot of stuff happened when I was writing this chapter. First I lost the save file of it, then I lost some of the progress I made on it, then my laptop broke and I lost the file again. So yeah, it was a lot of stop and go.
Also, I'm sorry to say this might be my last chapter for a while. Not because of writers block or anything like that, but because my passion has all but died out. It got harder to write this Fic and I kept getting sucked into other things.
I can't say I'll never return to this Fic, I think about the story I've written here all the time, I think about where it could go. But thinking about its future and making it reality are different things. Maybe one day I'll return to complete this story, but I wouldn't hold your breath for a new chapter.
I'm going through a lot of personal issues, mostly involving the show itself, and I can't write this Fic while I'm in this state.
I can't tell you how bad this makes me feel. I promised I'd never give up on this Fic and I've let you all down. I am unbelievably sorry and I hope you can forgive me.
However, this doesn't mean I might stop writing all together, I might make some more Fics in the future. But again, don't hold your breath.
I guess that's all there is to it. Thank you all for sticking with me through this and I hope to one day hear from you all again someday.