Prologue: Dawn of Discord.

Princess Celestia galloped past large groups of burning buildings, an expression of pure anger covering her face as she did, while a bright gray stallion rushed away from her, outmaneuvering her in many different ways past buildings.

Finally, once he was within range, Celestia yelled, "NOW!", which caused the stallion's red eyes to widen, until he found himself getting blasted by a light blue ray of magic.

"Accordant Heart! What is the meaning of this?! You murder our allies, you wipe out an entire race... WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? WHAT COULD BE THE POSSIBLE REASON FOR SUCH AN ATROCITY?!"

The stallion chuckled heartily, until he replied, "Isn't it obvious, Celly? I did this because they are far more chaotic than I am... and what would the Element of Chaos be, if he didn't hold his title correctly?"

"Element of Chaos?! ACCORDANT! Just because you are the Element of Chaos doesn't mean that you destroy anything that moves!" With a glare, Celestia lowered her horn, and gritted her teeth. "For your betrayal, I shall destroy you!"

Suddenly, a loud booming voice filled the sky above them. "STAND DOWN, SISTER! THERE HAS TO BE AN ELEMENT OF CHAOS, OR THE BALANCE OF THE WORLD WILL COLLAPSE!"

Celestia looked up, but didn't change her serious expression. "You do not understand, Luna! If we let him live, who knows WHAT he will do to the rest of us?!"

Luna sighed, before landing on the ground in the opposite side of Accordant. "I know... which is why I have a proper punishment for him!" Accordant looked up at her, and smiled slyly. "Until you are able to control your ways, you shall become a monster of many things... you shall no longer be a pony, but a beast, instead! And for the rest of eternity, you shall not be able to murder anyone, ever again!"

With that, she blasted Accordant Heart with a blue ray of light, which caused him to cry out in pain, as his body began shifting in uncomfortable ways, until he was a mere fragment of his original appearance.

Out of anger, he glared at Luna, and asked, "W-WHY?!"

Luna replied, "Get used to it, for it shall be an example of who you have become... Discord!"

With a huff, Discord managed to do a teleportation spell, and disappeared from the burning kingdom.

After Discord was no longer in sight, Luna sighed deeply, while her head hung low, with tears beginning to form within her eyes. Celestia saw this, and slowly trotted towards her. "I'm sorry for your loss, my sister... I know how much the Humans appreciated the night, compared to the ponies."

Luna nodded her head, and silently whispered, "Thank you, Tia... but right now, I need to be alone. Please..." Celestia nodded her head, and then spread her wings out, before taking flight towards a distant city in the middle of a woodland.

Then Luna slowly trotted through the burnt ruins of the city, and sighed. "I'm sorry, my subjects... I have failed you... all of you..."

Before she could even make it halfway across the town, a distant sound could be heard... a sound that caused her ears to perk up. "Is that a... baby crying?!" As quickly as her hooves could take her, Luna rushed towards the source of the sound, until she gasped at the sight before her.

A human woman lied in a puddle of bloodied water, while next to her was a young man. Below the woman's cloak she wore, a baby stirred within, crying loudly. Slowly, Luna walked up to the moving cloak, and lifted the baby with her Magic, until she got a good look at the baby's eyes. Then her eyes widened when she found that she couldn't see a pupil, or an iris within its eyes.

"Are... are you... a blind baby?!" Her tears finally managed to burst through her eyes' barriers, while she floated the baby towards her. Then, when the baby was within reach, she sat on her hind legs, and held the baby with her fore hooves, nuzzling the baby with her nose, which caused the baby to stop crying, and stare in the open space.

"You may not see with your eyes... but that doesn't mean you won't be able to see at all." She said, while her eyes began to glow. Suddenly, the baby's eyes started to glow as well, while it's gaze rested on the moon. Then, when their eyes stopped glowing, a pair of dark blue irises materialized in its formerly blank pupils. If one looks closely at its eyes, they appeared to have endless constellations, while in the center, where a pupil would appear, his eyes glowed white, and were about as bright as the moon.

Then the baby's eyes focused on Luna, which caused it to smile, before it began making odd baby-like moans.

Luna smiled at the baby, and kissed its forehead, while saying, "Don't worry, my child... I shall always protect you... Shadow Blade."

"Mother, look! I managed to hit the center of the target three times in a row!" Shadow yelled, before running up to Princess Luna, who stood in the center of a shadowy cave, observing him shooting an arrow from a bow, and hitting a target that stood fifty feet away..

She smiled at the human child, and chuckled lightly. "Well done, Shadow! You're getting much more used to your capabilities, now!" Then she looked at a light brown-coated unicorn filly with brown spots on her hooves, eyelids, and ears, and an orange mane and tail. "Well, Shadow, I think you've been practicing enough for now. Why don't you go and see if your older sister, Gari needs any assistance?"

Shadow looked at the filly who stood halfway his height, before nodding his head, and replying, "Yes, ma'am! Thank you, mother!" Then he ran off, joining his sister Gari in a rough-housing competition that she started with their other ten brothers and sisters.

With a light chuckle, Luna said, "Alright, my dears! Please be good children, and head on to sleep, now! The sun is about to rise!"

"Aw, but I wanna look at the sunrise with you, mother!" Shadow whined.

Luna chuckled, and hugged him dearly, before replying, "As much as I wish that could happen, Shadow, you know that you can only see in the dark."

Shadow groaned, before nodding his head. "Yes, ma'am... I love you, good-morning, then!"

Luna nuzzled his forehead, which made him giggle, before replying, "I love you too, my children... good-morning."

With that, the children all walked deeper into the cave, and rested on their beds.

"Shadow, do you think mother is hiding something from us?" Silver Stripe asked. He was a young Earth Pony stallion with a black mane that had a silver strip on the tip of his mane. His coat was a dark, coal-like shade of gray.

Shadow, at this time, had dark brown hair, light skin, and was wearing a fine silk pair of red pants, along with a green sleeveless vest over a white long-sleeved shirt. On his feet, he wore a pair of boots made entirely of dark blue silk, with soft wooden pads inside it, wrapped in cotton to produce comfort.

He sat up, looked at his younger brother, and replied, "Of course she is, Silver Stripe... we all have secrets somewhere. It's just for our safety that she keeps them from us, though."

Gari groaned, then said, "Will the two of you please try to get some sleep?! I need to have my sleep, so that I can take the Balance Test tomorrow!"

Shadow smirked, before replying, "Aren't we both taking the same test, Gari?"

Gari groaned, before replying, "Please don't remind me... I still don't understand why we both have to take the same exam!"

When their single lantern in the center of the cave room dimmed out, they remained silent, until nothing but feint snoring could be heard.

"Are you sure you're okay, Mother?" Shadow asked. He was wearing a taller, but similarly-colored set of clothing, yet this time, he also wore a long, pure white cloak over his entire body that blended in with the scenery's colors. He walked closely to Luna, who had her right hind hoof caught in a trap.

It was broad daylight, so Shadow had to wear a bandana over his eyes. With it over his eyes, he was able to see clearly, unless the bandana were to be removed. Even so, he was sixteen years old, and more than capable of sensing anything from a mile away before it could even find him.

"I'll be fine, Shadow... it's just a basic Paralysis Trap... something Silver can easily disarm. Please, go find him for me! Be careful, though! Changelings have been spotted recently, and can easily manipulate your family members!"

"Don't worry, Mother... I can easily tell the difference, since you've given me the Eyes of the Moon." Then he looked out in the distance, and smiled. "Looks like Gari is on her way here now... perhaps she'll know where Silver went."

As if on cue, a mare wearing a dark blue cloak rushed through the bushes, as her cloak began to turn as white as Shadow's. "Mother! I heard your cry of pain! Is everything okay?!"

Shadow cleared his throat, and replied, "We need to get Silver here, as soon as possible! Can you watch over Mother, while I get him?"

Gari looked concernedly at Luna, before nodding her head. "Please make haste, Shadow! We can't be out for too long, when the Changelings could be anywhere!"

Shadow nodded his head, and then replied, "Don't worry. I'll return quickly."

With that, he ran through the bushes, and began climbing the trees, until he reached the top, while his cloak began to turn a darker blue color, as he ran deeper into the darker sides of the White Tail Woods.

Finally, once he reached the familiar cave, he ran inside, only to stop at the kitchen area, where his brother Silver Stripe was eating. Then he cleared his throat, which caused Silver to stop his eating, and smile, before waving his hoof at him.

"Silver, we need you to get your Paralysis Remedy! Mother is in need of our help!"

Silver's eyes widened, before he nodded, and asked, still with his mouth full of the daffodil sandwich, "Is she alright?!"

Shadow shook his head, and replied, "No time, now! She is, but she won't be much longer, if we don't bring her the remedy!" Silver nodded his head, and followed him out of the kitchen area, where he slid his travel pack on his back, and in the matter of seconds, the two of them were headed back to where Luna was.

Once they made it, they were relieved to see that she and Gari were still there, unharmed. Then Silver ran up to Luna, and said, "Mother! Are you okay?!"

Luna chuckled lightly, and replied, "Oh, Silver! Of course I'm okay! Sorry if I caused a raucous at home... I wish I didn't end up waking you sweethearts up!"

Shadow smirked, before replying, "Nonsense, Mother! You can never be a burden to your children!"

Before they could continue, a small green filly with a creamy yellow mane that was braided on both sides trotted up to them, and panted heavily.

"Apple Smith?" Gari asked, before running up to her, and patting her on the back. "What's wrong?!"

Apple sighed, before replying, "I'm sorry, Gari... I must've dozed off again, when you needed me to work on the apple trees!"

Gari smirked, before shaking her head. "It's alright, Apple! You're still young, and need your rest! Who knows? Maybe you'll earn your Cutie Mark with something Apple-Related!"

Apple smiled weakly, before nodding her head. "You're right, Gari... I'll try planting some apple trees over by the field way over yonder! If they grow, I may just start farming 'em!"

Shadow smirked, before murmuring, "Perhaps she'll even turn into an apple, at this rate!" Then, once Silver finished freeing Luna from her Paralysis Trap, the group headed back to their home in the cave, while Shadow continued his talk with Luna.

"Listen, Shadow... I didn't want to have to say this, but... I fear that I may have to visit less often than I have been."

Shadow looked at her, while his face showed slight confusion. "You're... not abandoning us, though, right?"

Luna chuckled weakly, before replying, "Of course not, Shadow! You're my children! You'll just have to take all that I've taught you into account, and help the other children that join our family, the same way I have taught you and Gari... the two of you seem to be the most skilled of the children... so I ask that the two of you lead the family, if something ever happens to me."

Shadow slowly nodded his head, and held his arms out, while Luna and he embraced in a mother-to-son hug. "All that was good in me... began with you, Mother. Thank you..."

"No... this CAN'T be happening! It just can't!" Gari shouted, while being held back by Shadow. The two of them had tears covering their eyes, as they witnessed a bright rainbow fly up to the moon. Shadow could feel what happened, and knew what it was that happened.

"Nothing more can be done, Gari... we have to take responsibility, and guide our youngest siblings, now... Mother has been banished... but she will return!"

Gari glared at the Alicorn Princess who flew down, clearly showing pain in her eyes. "And when she returns... I will see to it that she learns what she just put us through!"

Shadow looked at, who his mother must've referred to as "Auntie Celestia", then back at Gari, before shaking his head. "She isn't the one to blame, Gari... I know it was Discord. If anything, he's the one who will pay for his actions!"

When they returned to the cave, they all wept throughout the night, until the morning sun caused them to fall asleep... everyone except Shadow, who sat on the top of a large tree.

He closed his eyes, and began speaking to the Moon... which was normally a way how he could communicate with Luna from a long distance.

"Mother... I know you're still in there." He weakly smiled, and looked up, his short goatee-style beard showing up in the moonlight. "When we hear your voice again... your children shall respond." He paused for a moment, before continuing. "Apple Smith has finally developed her Cutie Mark... and we helped her join another family... a life of violence was never something she was cut out for, anyways... but she's still very much part of our family! We have her keeping an extra eye out for us in the daylight. Should anything happen, she will call us by playing the lullaby you always sang to us."

The moon began to continue with its lowering process, until the light could be seen from the horizon. "Until we meet again... Good-Morning, Mother."

Chapter 1: Within the Black Fog.

"And now, Equestria, look at where your Princesses stand, now!" Tirek shouted, as Twilight Sparkle, Princess Cadence, Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna all four stood on the top of a recently-built platform with four trapdoors that stood below their hooves. Around their necks, thick ropes were tied in a noose knot.

Swarming the ground levels of the city of Canterlot were evil shadow-like ponies that all had red, ruby-like eyes. They all wore pitch-black armor, and were staring at the four princesses, and some were even mocking them.

Around the walls, tons of Earth Ponies, Unicorns, and Pegasi watched in horror, as their rulers were about to be hung. Amongst the crowd were five mares, each of which cried relentlessly, as they watched their friend, Twilight Sparkle, look at them, and shed a tear towards them.

"And now, I shall give them their last rites!" Tirek shouted, before walking closer to Twilight Sparkle. The next thing she knew, she felt a painful sting on her right cheek, where Tirek slapped her. This caused Rainbow Dash to retaliate in the distance, only to be held back by some of the shadow knights.

"And now..." He turned to Celestia, and stretched his hand back. Then, with the same amount of force, he managed to slap her across the face, which caused the crowd of Ponies to gasp.

"Finally..." He then turned to Luna, and smiled menacingly. "I still believe you have yet to find subjects who will honor you, after what you've done to them so many years!" With that, he slapped Luna across the face, only this time, he didn't stop there. "And to think... all I had to do was possess Discord, then curse you with the 'Black Heart', and you lose your entire kingdom! Tell me... how does it feel to face death, knowing that NOTHING even loves you, and won't even mourn for your loss?!"

From the distance, Applejack lowered her head, and began to cry, until she turned to her left, and saw her grandmother, Granny Smith, reach inside a saddlebag. Her grandmother wasn't even shedding a single tear, and wasn't even paying attention to the events taking place!

"Granny Smith! What in Equestria are you doing?!" Applejack silently asked, unable to hide her feelings of extreme rage and confusion that built up within her veins.

Granny Smith, however, gave her a glare that caused her to back up slightly... she hasn't seen her grandmother give that kind of look before. In her own words, she would say that it 'Beats Fluttershy's stare by a land-slide'.

Silently Granny Smith pulled, from the saddlebag, a small, dark blue music box with a golden trim along the edges. Engraved in the center of the top of the music box, a picture of Princess Luna's cutie mark could be seen.

After placing her hooves on top of, and below it, she closed her eyes, and began whispering something incomprehensible for Applejack at the time.

Finally, after winding the music box five times, she gently placed it on the ground, while an eerie tune began to play from it.

As the music began to play, Applejack looked around, and noticed the scenery begin to slowly change... almost like the fog was starting to turn gray.

Tirek noticed this, and glared at Granny Smith, while the music box continued playing its music. "You, there!" He shouted, pointing at Granny Smith. "What do you think you're doing?!"

Granny Smith merely smirked at him, and replied, "You wouldn't know... would you, Tirek?" This statement caused Applejack to gasp in horror, while she tried talking her grandmother out of whatever she was doing.

Tirek was about to respond, when he looked around, and began hearing the sounds of very thin objects flying through the air. As he heard those sounds, he gasped when he saw his shadow guards slowly falling limply on the ground.

Then the double doors to the gallows area swung open, revealing one figure... a tall, bipedal creature that was cloaked in a dark blue hooded robe.

Tirek's eyes widened when he saw just what this creature was. "Y-you... it can't be! I've already killed your entire race!"

The figure merely walked forward, ignoring any words that Tirek said. Then, once the shadow guards began running up to him, he merely continued walking, while the guards fell to the ground by arrows coming from all directions.

Applejack stared wide-eyed at the events that were unfolding, and when she looked up at the giant walls that separated the gallows from the main city, her jaw dropped open at the next sight that she saw. The sky was turning pitch-black, with dark blue clouds moving at an unnervingly fast pace.

Through the clouds, she was able to see a pair of glowing white eyes, followed by another four pairs, and then, before she knew it, the entire top of the walls that surrounded the gallows was covered in shadowy figures that had glowing white eyes. She, of course, wasn't the only one who noticed them.

Tirek's eyes widened, as he sensed a power that he couldn't even comprehend within each and every one of these mysterious figures. "It... it can't be!"

After balling his fists, he looked down at Shadow, who was merely walking towards him, as more of his men continued to drop dead before even getting near him. "THIS ISN'T OVER! I HAVE ALREADY TAKEN OVER EQUESTRIA, SO DESTROYING YOU WILL BE MORE THAN EASY!"

He then drew a longsword with a pure white blade, and a golden handle that parted both ways, then lifted it over the rope that held the trapdoors up. "AND I WILL START BY KILLING THESE PRINCESSES, SO NOBODY WILL RULE THE THRONE, IF YOU WIN!" With that, he cut the rope, right as the four Alicorns began falling below the trapdoor.

Before they could land, however, Shadow already anticipated this move, and threw four wide-tipped, sharp knives towards the ropes, which cut the four princesses free. This infuriated Tirek even more, before he glared at Shadow, and yelled, "NO!"

The next thing he knew, Shadow held onto his hood, and lowered it behind his neck, revealing his long, center-parted brown hair, along with his long beard that lowered to the upper half of his chest. Over his eyes, a blue blindfold was tied tightly.

Behind his waist, he drew two light blue Longswords, and held the one in his left hand backwards, while the one in his right hand was pointed towards Tirek. "You have a lot of crimes to pay for, Tirek... and we shall see to it that it is paid in full."

Tirek merely spat on the ground, and replied in a calmer manner, "We'll see about that, Human!" He motioned for two shadow knights to go towards the human. "Kill him! He's a Child of the Night... an Assassin!"

The two knights nodded, before shape-shifting into human knight's bodies, while one held a longsword, and the other held a spear. Then they both walked towards Shadow, who merely continued walking. Then, with his reverse-gripped left sword, he deflected the lunge by the knight on his left that held the spear, before using his right-handed sword to clash with the other knight's sword, before spinning his left sword's blade across the throat of the spear knight, and crossing the swords, as the sword-wielding knight did a downward swing, which led to its stomach getting cut open.

When his two targets were on the ground, Shadow sheathed his swords, and ran towards Tirek, while behind his sleeves, he held a black, circular object that was concealed in a glove.

As soon as he was within reach, Tirek tried to decapitate him, only for his sword to get caught by an oddly shaped pair of blades that Shadow drew from his sleeve. The blades resembled clamps, but instead of merely clamping onto something, they also appeared to be able to pierce into something, and open it widely.

Shadow then pulled Tirek's sword out of his hand, and released it from the clamps, before jumping into the air, with the clam-blade in his left hand. Then, before Tirek could even react, he soon found his lips impaled by the blades, while Shadow pressed a button on the handle that forced his mouth open. Finally, Shadow jammed the black object inside Tire's throat, and closed the clamps. When they closed, they left a metal sheet in-between Tirek's lips that sealed his mouth shut, much to his fear.

Turning his head from the sight, Shadow said, "Back to Tartarus with you, Demon!" While Tirek roared in a mixture of pain, defeat, and fear. Then, in the matter of seconds, his entire upper body was blown to pieces.

The minute the deed was done, the shadow knights, and their corpses, all vanished, while the ponies' eyes began to glow their normal color again, prior to their paled states.

Out of the wooden floorboards, the four princesses slowly rose from the trapdoors, and stared wide-eyed at the scenery before them.

"How..." Was all Twilight could say, before her eyes locked on the figure that towered over her by two and a half times her height.

Then the figure turned towards Luna and, while the dark clouds quickly faded from the sky, walked towards her, and held his arms out, while she began to cry, before she, too, ran up to him.

After a thirty second hug, Shadow looked Luna in the eyes, and smiled, before saying three words that caught the entire city by surprise.

Chapter 2: Inner Peace.

It has been a few weeks since the events of Tirek's reign. After the Elements of Harmony placed the final key into the box below the Tree of Harmony, Twilight Sparkle's new home was made... a large crystal tree-like palace. With peace finally returning, the ponies' lives ran back to normal again... except one, who was curious about the events that took place weeks ago.

The minute Tirek was killed, and their hooded heroes freed them from their bindings, they mysteriously vanished... almost like they were saved by ghosts. Applejack was lost in thought during the next harvesting day, which was, coincidentally, two weeks after their rescue.

She sighed, and continued bucking the trees that had empty buckets below them. "Ah don't reckon this day could get any better, at least! The sun's all bright, an' ah ain't seen a bad apple yet!"

"Tell me about it..." A masculine voice spoke from above the tree she was standing next to. The sudden voice caused her to gasp, while her eyes widened, and once she looked up, she stood there speechlessly at the source of the voice.

Shadow Blade was resting on a branch, wearing his cloak over his usual garments, along with his blindfold, and was looking at a half-eaten apple in his right hand that he was chewing on. "They are rather juicy this time around!"

With both eyes widely open, Applejack slowly asked, "H-hey! Ain't ya that fella from a couple weeks ago?!" Then she paused, and added, "An' ain't that one of OUR apples from up here?!"

Shadow shrugged, then replied, "Yes, and yes. This specific tree, in fact! Don't worry, though. I didn't poison them, like some of the rumors say."

Then Applejack tilted her head, and asked, "Wait, so y'all don't poison apples?!"

Shadow chuckled lightly, then replied, "Hm? Oh, no! We DO poison apples, but we only do that to the targets we either hate, or are assigned to kill secretly... which has actually gotten more common, now that I think about it!"

Slowly Applejack backed away, only for Shadow to sigh, and jump from the branch. When he landed, he rose to his feet, revealing the fact that he was over three times Applejack's height. He smiled, then said, "Don't worry, Applejack... our families are tied by a blood pact, so we will never harm you, or your friends."

"W-wait! HOW did ya know mah name?!" She asked, now looking even more dumbfounded.

Shadow shrugged his shoulders, then replied, "We have eyes and ears everywhere, AJ... and we were there since the day of your birth."

"Hold on... ya knew mah parents?!" She asked, which made Shadow look down.

"I did... and they were, unfortunately, killed for one reason..."

Applejack raised an eyebrow, and asked, "What was that reason?"

After a long pause, Shadow replied, "They were Children of the Night."

With her jaw dropped, Applejack shouted, "THEY WERE WHAT?!" She then slammed her hoof on the ground, and glared at Shadow. "Ah don't believe ya! Ah don't believe ya one bit!"

"You deny it, yet your Element proves you wrong, AJ... you can see my honesty... but if you want more proof, then please tell your grandmother 'Thy Kingdom Sleeps'. She will know what it means."

He turned around to leave, until Applejack asked, "Why ain't ya lookin' me in the eye?! An' why's that there blindfold over yer eyes?!"

Shadow stopped in place, and turned towards her again. This time, he didn't say anything, but walked up to her instead, and lowered to her eye level. Slowly, he removed his hood, and began untying the blindfold from behind his head. Then, once he revealed his eyes, she gasped.

"Th-they ain't got a single pupil in 'em!" Then the realization hit her. "W-wait... so yer BLIND?!"

Shadow shook his head, and replied, "Not in the darkness. When I'm in the sunlight, I have to wear the blindfold, for it shadows my eyes from the light... and allows me to see." He could tell that he was only confusing her even further, so he sighed and added, "You know what? Can you walk me into the shadow of a tree, please? I can't see."

Applejack tilted her head in confusion, but did as he asked. The minute he stepped under the shadow of a tree, however, Applejack stared wide-eyed at his eyes, as the night sky started to appear in the centers of his eyeballs, followed by the moonlight shining in the center. "What the..."

He placed his finger over his mouth, and covered his eyeballs with the blindfold. Then he looked around the fields, and saw that she had a lot of trees that still had yet to get bucked. "You look like you have a busy day ahead of you. Tell me... would you like some help?"

Applejack huffed, then replied, "Thank ya kindly, stranger, but Ah reckon Ah got it taken care of! Check this out!" With one of her hind legs, she bucked a tree, and caused all of the apples to fall out of it, and into the buckets. "See? Ah gots it taken care of!"

Shadow stood there silently, until he burst into laughter. "Oh, Applejack! You remind me of your grandmother! She always chose to do things the hard way!"

Applejack glared at him, and asked, "Excuse me?! The HARD way?! Why, this here is the easiest way to do it!" Then she leaned towards him, and asked with squinted eyes, "Unless ya reckon ya can do BETTER?!"

Shadow shrugged his shoulders, before holding his right hand over the ground, and walking in seemingly random directions. Applejack looked at him confusedly, and asked, "Um, what in tarnation are ya doin'?!"

Instead of speaking, Shadow merely continued walking around, until he reached a certain spot in the center of a large group of trees. Then he lowered himself to one knee, and felt the ground below his hand. Finally, with one swift motion, he slammed his palm in the center of the ground, which caused the area around them to shake slightly. As Applejack looked down, she saw, what looked like, a pulse in the grass that resembled the pulses that water makes when something was flung in it.

Then her eyes went wide once she saw the apples from the trees that were touched by the pulse fall out of them... all twelve of the trees. "H-how in the..."

Shadow patted her on the shoulder, and replied, "If you find your inner peace, you can find the 'Soft Spots' of the ground, as well!"

"Soft spots?" Applejack repeated, to which he nodded. "But how do Ah go about findin' mah 'Inner Peace'?"

"I could tell you... but I think your grandmother learned more about it than even I could." Shadow replied.

With a serious expression, Applejack nodded her head. "Alright, then! Thanks Mr... uh..." She looked around, but at that point, he was nowhere else to be seen. Then the realization hit her. "Wait a minute! Ah never even got his name!"

Chapter 3: Shadow of Canterlot.

Author's Notes:

I recommend listening to THIS AWESOME SONG when the time calls for it! (You'll know when you read!)

An apple salesman was standing in the center of the Canterlot Market. He was a tall stallion with a short brown mane, and a long brown beard. On his chest, he wore a red t-shirt with a pair of tan stallions on the logo, both with 'Candy Cane' patterned manes, and one with a red mustache. Below their heads on the logo, the words, "Flim and Flam" were written.

He had a sign that read four bits, but as he had his back turned, he was removing one that said "two bits". As his back was turned, he managed to see, out of the corner of his eye, a tall, bipedal figure walking from behind his stall, carrying an apple, and chewing it.

"HEY! THIEF! THIEF!" The apple salesman yelled, which caused Shadow to look at him with a deadpanned expression.

"This isn't even from your farm, sir." Shadow replied. The stallion didn't seem to believe him, though. With a sigh, Shadow said, "Very well, then... you brought this on yourself." With one swift motion, he swiped a small bag full of apples, and hid it within his coat. "NOW I'm a thief!" He yelled, as he began running towards the large crowd of ponies, all of which stared at him wide-eyed, while a group of guards looked from the stallion pointing his hoof at Shadow, to Shadow himself. Without the slightest delay, they began running after the human, who began running past large crowds, and dodging moving wagons.

One of the guards began shooting magic bolts after Shadow, but each of them ended up missing. Finally, when the first alleyway could be seen, Shadow quickly ran towards it, knocking down a pile of small bouncing balls in the process. The minute the guards ran that direction, they started slipping and falling, buying Shadow enough time to run through the alleyway. Unfortunately for him, though, he saw that it led to a dead end.

Turning around, he also noticed the guards swarmed the entire alley, and were hot on his tail. When they were close enough, they pointed their spears at him, and said, "HALT! You're under arrest, for the violation of the laws of their majesties, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna! Anything you say can-" Before the guard that spoke could finish his sentence, however, he gasped in fear when Shadow jumped onto his back, and from his back, leaped onto a windowsill, which he quickly climbed on, and wall-jumped over the gate, dodging the spears that they threw in the process. Without hesitation, the guards began leaving the alleyway, all while the one guard who was speaking stared wide-eyed at the area the human escaped from. "Th-THAT was unexpected!" He said, before slowly backing away.

From the other side of the wall, Shadow hung for dear life, as he looked behind his back. Sure enough, the building that he was next to was none other than the Canterlot Spa. Looking around, he spotted the guards starting to run his direction. Quickly, he reached into one of his pockets, and pulled out a black ball. "My apologies." he said, before throwing the ball towards the nearest window of the Spa, and leaping from the wall behind the ball.

From within the Spa, a group of four mares were taking a bath; Lyra Heartstrings, Bonbon, Vinyl Scratch, and Octavia. The next thing they knew, their peaceful time of relaxation was interrupted by a loud explosion, followed by a mysterious hooded figure flying in shortly after the explosion took place. At first they screamed in terror, but then their eyes locked on the tall hooded man who stood in the center of the room at that point. Then they stared in awe, as they realized just who he was.

In a sultry voice, Lyra said, "A man!"

With a friendly smile, Shadow tilted his hood down in a greeting manner, and replied, "Afternoon, ladies." As he said that, they started to giggle, while he walked towards the bathtub, and lowered himself to one knee, causing the four mares to swim his way. Then he pulled a large bag of bits from his pockets and asked, "Mind keeping a secret for me?"

"He's in here! I'm sure of it!" A knight captain yelled, causing four other knights to rush to his aid. "On a count of three, we barge in, and apprehend the criminal! One... two... THREE!" The next thing they knew, they knocked the door down, causing Lyra and Bonbon to jump in panic, while Vinyl and Octavia pointed towards the wall with the hole in it.

"HE RAN THAT WAY!" The four mares shouted in unison, as Lyra and Bonbon raised their hooves where the others were pointing.

The knight captain nodded his head, while his cheeks started turning pink. "Y-yes, ma'am! Th-thank you, a-and... S-sorry for distracting you four!"

"WELL, GET THE BUCK OUT THEN, YOU SICK-MINDED PIGS!" Vinyl shouted, as she threw a bar of soap towards the captain.

Nodding his head nervously, the captain ran out of the room, followed by the other four knights to run right after him. When they were out, Vinyl used her magic to raise the door back in place, and barricade it. Then she moved a large towel over the hole in the wall, and winked at Octavia, who stood near the barricaded exit, and nodded. Then Lyra poked her hoof in the water, and began tapping on an object inside. "The coast is clear!" She whispered.

From within the water, Shadow stood up, bare-chested. With a smile, he gently rubbed below Lyra's snout, and said, "Much obliged, love." With that, he stood from the pool, and walked towards the shelf where he hid his clothes. His eyes were covered by a small towel, while every other part of him was practically bare. Even so, he didn't need to see to know that the four mares were staring at him.

"Perhaps we should meet again!" He said, while turning his head, and placing his undergarments on. "It seems you like what you see, after all. Unfortunately, though, I have a train to catch."

With a groan, Lyra said, "Aw, you gotta go so soon? We could make this day worth every bit, if you'd like!"

Shadow started buttoning his green shirt, before replying, "As much as I would love to, I still have to take care of my family. You know how it goes."

Bonbon nodded her head, and replied, "We know, handsome... you are a Child of the Night, after all!" Then she gave him a wink. "But who knows? Maybe we'll meet again, someday!"

With a slight chuckle, Shadow clamped his right shoulder-pad back on, and covered his head with his hood, replacing the wet towel with his favorite bandana. "Time shall tell, loves. Until then, farewell!" With that, he walked out of the room, leaving the mares giggling at each other.

The second Shadow looked out of the window to the fifth story, he saw that the entire ground level was swarmed with knights who were looking for him. "This one could be quite a challenge..." He silently told himself. "Perhaps I should stay on the roofs." Quickly, he opened the window closest to the walls, and began climbing it, while looking around, making sure nothing could see him.

Finally, once he reached the tenth floor of the Spa, he looked around, and began devising his plans. He did so for thirty seconds, until he nodded to himself about his inner plan.

Drawing a bow that a guard left behind in the Spa, and aimed at the sky, he pulled an arrow that he painted a blue-colored glue over, between the string and the bow itself, avoiding the blue liquid from touching his fingers. Then, after counting from ten to one, he released the arrow, and waited for the arrow to land. The target: a pegasus stallion carrying a wooden cart in the sky. Once the arrow made contact, Shadow quickly grabbed the rope, and into the sky he flew.

Unfortunately for him, though, the stallion noticed, and began flying towards the ground level. After seeing this, Shadow quickly began swinging on the rope, until they were close to the buildings. Then, once the time was right, he released the rope, and rolled onto a building's flat roof, where he continued to run, and leap from roof to roof, all while dodging flying spears from the guards that noticed him.

Finally, when he was nearing the train tracks, he smiled to himself, as he continued running towards the tracks. Then a fire red-maned mare wearing a blue jumpsuit landed in front of him, blocking his path in the process. "End of the line, buddy!" The mare said in a brash tone.

Shadow sighed, before walking towards her. Then she reacted by throwing her hooves towards Shadow, attempting to attack him. What she didn't expect, however, was for him to deflect and dodge every blow she attempted. Out of exhaustion, her body finally gave in, and she found herself on the ground panting for air, while Shadow walked right past her, and on the other side of the train tracks.

Out of anger she stood back up, and began flying his direction, only for him to lift his right hand up, and crush a small white orb between his fingers. From the orb, a blinding light shone throughout the area, causing the Wonderbolt to crash into the railings of the train. In an attempt to stand, she realized that her hooves were stuck in-between a rail, as the train's horn blew from the distance.

With a loud gasp, the Wonderbolt shouted, "No, NO! SOMEPONY! HELP!"

Shadow, at this time, had his back turned away from her, but once she began screaming, he turned to his right, and sighed. Then, as the train neared the crying Wonderbolt, Shadow quickly stood on the railing, and shoved her out of the rail, right as the train blurred right past her.

With widened eyes, she looked to her right, where the train was headed, before looking at the train tracks in horror. "Th-that... that could've been... ME!" After saying that, she burst into tears, right as a group of guards came from behind the corners, and looked at the crying Wonderbolt. Then, once the train cleared, they looked at where Shadow was, only to gasp.

"He's... he's GONE!" They stated out of confusion, as not even the smallest hints of blood could be found anywhere.

"I was wondering when you'd show up, brother!" Gari said, as she lifted Shadow from a hole cut at the bottom of a train cart.

With a smirk, Shadow replied, while placing a large board over the hole, "Just looking after my family, sister. You know how it is." When the board was placed, he reached into his right sleeve, and pulled the bag of apples that he took from the stall. "And besides... I knew we would need something to eat along the way, right?"

Gari nodded her head, while she motioned for the others of the group to gather around. The group consisted of Shadow, Gari, Silver, a young unicorn stallion named Earth Whisper, and an even younger pegasus mare named Steel Wing.

The five siblings sat in a circle around the boarded exit, and enjoyed the apples that were provided for them. "I know, it isn't the same as Apple Smith's... but I can guarantee you that they are still out there, thanks to her granddaughter." Shadow said, which caused Gari to smile at her brother.

"I take it your meeting went well, then?" She asked.

"Even better," Shadow replied, "I think we may have another member of the family coming up."

Gari's eyes widened, while she smiled slyly. "Oh? You think so?"

Shaking his head, Shadow replied, "I know so..." Then he realized the face that his sister was giving him. "...What?"

"Oh, nothing!" Gari replied, keeping her smile on her face. "...Lover-boy!"

At once, Shadow's cheeks turned red, while he looked at her confusedly. "W-what?!"

"There's no need to hide it, Shadow... I KNOW you have a crush on Applejack!" Shadow was about to retort, when she gave him a sly wink. "Trust me... I KNOW that feeling!"

Shadow's entire face was red at that point, while he looked away, and crossed his arms. "Well, it's not just me who should check their feelings, Gari... I 'KNOW', as you would put it, how you felt about that 'Big McIntosh' fellow... and don't forget who it was that kept you from planting a dagger in the back of his marefriend, Cheerilee."

And now, it was Gari's face who was red. "H-HEY! You said you wouldn't bring that back up!"

Shadow stuck his tongue out, as the two older siblings argued, while the three other siblings merely watched and laughed from the distance, as the train moved on towards "Smokey Mountain", far north of their home, "White Tail Woods".

Chapter 4: Hidden Truth.

Applejack just finished bucking the last of the apple trees, and was on her way to the barn... yet her thoughts always turned back to what the mysterious hooded figure said to her a few hours ago. What he said about her family. "Is it true?" She silently asked herself. "Am ah REALLY related ta Assassins?!" She shook her head, and glared at the ground. "Of course not! Why, ah reckon' if ah told Granny Smith that phrase that fella told me... 'Thy Kingdom Sleeps', Ah reckon she'd think Ah'm spoutin' a lotta hooey!"

After placing the apples from the wagon she carried down, she walked out of the barn she placed them in, and shut the doors. Then she trotted inside the house, and let out an audible yawn. "Granny Smith! Ah'm done with the Western Orchard, now!"

From the distance, the elderly mare's voice replied, "Hmm? Oh, um, nice work out there, AJ! Ah'm a might proud o' how well you've done today!" Then she paused for a moment. "But ya seem a bit off... how come ya wasn't done as early as ya normally are?" From the kitchen, Granny Smith slowly trotted into the living room, walking on her walker as she took every step slowly.

"Ah'm sorry, Granny... Ah've just had a lot on mah mind, is all!" Applejack replied, relaxing on the couch. Granny Smith finally made it to the other side of the couch, and slowly sat on the cushion to Applejack's far left.

With a concerned expression, Granny Smith asked, "Is it about that there music box Ah plaid a couple weeks ago?" Applejack's ears perked up at that statement.

Finally, after a small moment of silence, Applejack sighed. "Granny... was mah parents Assassins?"

Granny Smith's eyes widened at that statement, before she shook her head frantically. "N-no! O' course they wasn't! Why would ya think o' somethin' like that ta begin with?!"

With a sigh of relief, Applejack smiled and replied, "Oh, it was nothin'! Ah was just worried, is all..." Then her smile faded into an uncertain frown. "...Actually... Ah was wonderin', an' please don't think Ah'm crazy, but..." She paused for a another moment, which made Granny Smith look closely at her, as her expression turned from curiosity to concern.

"What is it, dearie?" Granny Smith asked.

Slowly, Applejack opened her mouth again, and said, "...Thy Kingdom Sleeps?"

Then, there was silence. Granny Smith's concerned expression turned to one that looked hurt. "Ah reckon it's time Ah told ya, then..." Granny Smith turned towards Apple Bloom, who just trotted into the living room from the back room that led to where the hog pen was. "Apple Bloom, AJ an' Ah are gonna be out fer a while. Why don't ya go an' visit Sweetie Belle, over at the Boutique?"

Apple Bloom stared at them confusedly, while Applejack just stared at Granny Smith just as confused as her sister. "Is somethin' the matter, Granny?" Apple Bloom asked.

Granny Smith smiled at her, and replied, "Everything's fine, dearie! Ah'll just be gone fer, like... about a week, or so. Tell Big Mac that Ah'm puttin' him in charge!" Then she turned to Applejack, and motioned for her to follow her out the door.

At first Applejack hesitated, unsure of what was going on. The next thing she knew, Granny Smith opened the doors to the cellar, and motioned for her to follow again. The two of them walked under the seemingly endless staircase, until they reached the very bottom of the cellar. At this time, it was pitch black... but oddly enough, Granny Smith walked through the darkness without the need for light. Another thing that Applejack found odd was that she didn't bring her walker with her.

"G-Granny? W-what's goin' on?" Applejack hesitantly asked.

Granny Smith turned towards the wall, and replied without even looking her way, "All will be revealed soon, AJ. Jus' keep silent fer a second, please." Applejack nodded her head, while Granny Smith pulled a torch downward, which opened a hidden passage in the wall behind the barrels of cider. The sight of the tunnel caused Applejack's eyes to widen, but she remained silent, as she followed her grandmother through the tunnels.

Finally, once they reached the end of the last tunnel, they were inside a large, dome-shaped room. In the center of the room, two large coffins were placed. Both of them had metal, apple-shaped plates on them; the one on the left made of silver, and the other one made of gold.

Applejack's jaw dropped the minute they entered the room. She looked at Granny Smith, and was about to ask her about the coffins, but Granny Smith already beat her to the punch. "Applejack... this 'ere is yer parents... Silver Apple, and Golden Apple." She lowered her head, as a tear began to fall from her right eye. "An' yes... they were involved in the Children of the Night."

With a gasp, Applejack asked, "S-so... you lied ta me about them bein' Assassins?!"

Granny Smith glared at her, and before saying another word, Applejack soon found herself pinned to the wall by none other than her own grandmother. Holding her glare, Granny Smith shook her head, and replied in a harsh-sounding tone, "Ah would NEVER lie to ya! They were NOT Assassins!" Then she released her granddaughter, and walked back towards the two coffins. "Ya wanna know the truth, though? Very well, then..." She looked down for a moment, and took a deep breath. Then, after turning her head to the left, she looked Applejack in the eye, and said, "Ah was the Assassin..."

Applejack just stood there silently, unable to comprehend what she just heard. Granny Smith weakly smiled at her, and then said, "Ah wasn't cut out fer the job, though... so Ah left that lifestyle in the hooves o' mah older brothers an' sisters."

Applejack slowly trotted towards the two coffins, and stared at them silently for well over a minute. Finally, after the minute of silence was up, Applejack asked, "S-so... how exactly DID they die?" There was more silence, until she turned to Granny Smith, who at this point, had her head lowered to the ground, as tears fell from them. At first, Applejack was about to ask what was wrong, but then the thought hit her right there. The answer was plain clear to her... her grandmother's children were in those coffins. "Ah'm sorry, Granny... Ah didn't mean ta..." She was interrupted by her grandmother shaking her head.

"There's nothin' ta be worried about, dearie... Ah was just bracin' myself ta tell ya." Applejack raised an eyebrow, but slowly nodded her head. "Yer parents... they lived on the apple farm with me... grew up under mah hooves. Kinda like you do. O' course, it was yer mother who was mine. Yer father, however, was her best friend, an' eventually, her lover." She paused for a moment, and took a deep breath. "Since Ah was from a group known ta kill, Ah was defensive at first... but when yer mother saw me standin' over yer father, about ta deal a killin' blow on 'em... she stepped in the way, an' defended 'em." Then she weakly smiled, and turned to Applejack, who still had a look of disbelief. "Oh, how happy Ah was that Ah didn't kill 'em that night... because when Ah saw how much they meant to each other, Ah allowed them ta own a farm o' their own, over in Smokey Mountain." Another group of tears fell from Granny Smith's eyes, as she turned towards the coffins again. "An' when they had yer little sister, Apple Bloom, they wanted me ta take care o' y'all. Yer older brother, Big Mac was the one who carried y'all over here..." She lowered her head, and began to cry. "The reason why they asked me ta do that, though..."

Before she could finish her sentence, she was broken down into tears. Applejack, in turn, didn't realize that she, too, was crying over the news. She had a feeling that she already knew the answer, judging from the state that Granny Smith was in. "H-how did they get here, though?" She asked, now embracing her grandmother in a hug.

Granny Smith, while returning the hug, replied, "Ya must've met Shadow Blade by now, I reckon? The 'Human' that killed Tirek?" Applejack nodded her head. "Well, it was he who tried to save 'em. He even took a few arrows from the ones who killed them... but even that wasn't enough to save them. He didn't take it too well, neither... they were as close ta him as they was to me..." She let out a long sigh. "That... was the first, an' last contract that he failed ta complete..." Then she slowly broke from the hug, and trotted towards the area between the two coffins. It was then that Applejack noticed a small stone chest in the center.

"Granny? What're ya doin'?" Applejack asked, as she trotted towards Granny Smith.

Granny looked at Applejack, and smiled, before stepping to the side. "Ah'm just doin' what yer new friend's message meant." Then she winked at Applejack, who looked back towards the exit, and towards Granny Smith again. "Ah want ya ta take what's in this chest, an' head fer Canterlot. When ya get there, ah want ya ta give what Ah'm about ta give ya ta Conductor. He'll know what it means, too!"

Applejack raised an eyebrow, then asked, "W-wait... does CONDUCTOR know about-" Before she could even finish her question, Granny Smith already had her snout covered by her right hoof.

"Don't question it, AJ... we've got eyes everywhere... but not ALL o' them're our own!" She whispered to her curious granddaughter, who whimpered, and nodded her head. "Ta answer yer question, though... no, he ain't." As she said "no", however, her eyes started moving up and down.

At first, Applejack was confused about the odd "sign language", but after two seconds of thinking, it finally clicked to her. Her grandmother must've been signaling her a "yes", while saying something else to throw any curious eyes and ears off track. With a wink, Applejack replied, "Oh, alright, then... so Ah just need ta deliver this ta Conductor?"

Granny Smith nodded her head, before pointing towards the chest. When Applejack trotted up to it, she slowly lifted the lid from the top of it, and stared at what was inside it.

Folded neatly in the bottom of the chest was a dark blue cloak. Applejack tilted her head in confusion, and slowly lifted it out of the chest with her teeth. Then when she pulled the cloak out completely, a small satchel fell from within the folds, which let out a silent "clanging" noise. Out of curiosity, Applejack gently placed the robe on the ground, and began nosing through the satchel.

Inside it, she could see a small silver necklace. On the center of the necklace was a silver circular pendant. When she looked closer at the silver pendant, however, she noticed that a corner of it was darker, making it the resemble a crescent moon.

Quickly, Applejack placed the necklace back in the satchel, and buttoned it shut again. Then she unfolded the cloak, revealing a belt that the satchel fell from, and wrapped it around her waist, before attaching the satchel back on it. Finally, after taking a deep breath, she wrapped the cloak around her shoulders, and looked at Granny Smith. "Granny... what'll Ah need ta do when Ah get there?"

Granny Smith smiled at her, and trotted up to her, before placing a folded piece of paper in her satchel, and winking. Then she turned towards the exit, and started trotting along, motioning Applejack to follow her as she did. Without wasting another second, Applejack silently followed her, but was stopped when Granny Smith held her hoof out in front of her.

"Go on ahead o' me, Applejack. Do not, under any circumstances, return here... an' don't turn yer back fer a second!" Then Granny Smith turned around, and trotted behind Applejack. Out of curiosity, Applejack was about to turn around, until Granny shouted, "GO!" Without a moment to lose, Applejack nodded her head, and galloped through the hallways, shortly followed by the sound of blades being drawn.

Granny Smith glared at a tall bipedal figure who wore a red cloak similar to Shadow's. Like Shadow, he stood three times her height. Slowly, he drew a scimitar, and pointed it at Granny Smith. "You may think you know what you're doing... but your little 'Applejack' is as good as dead, now."

For a second, Granny Smith stood there silently. Then a smile began to form on her mouth. "Ya might be taller than me now, Red... but ah know ya ain't a real human... ya just a jealous ol' coward who thought he could take Shadow's form!"

Red grinned at her, and smiled. Then, in a low-pitched voice, he said, "The Brotherhood of Blood has no emotions, you foolish little pony." Slowly, more stallions wearing red cloaks started appearing from the shadows of the room around them, each with their eyes covered in their red hoods. "And as such, we will not be troubled in killing you."

Granny Smith sighed, and sat on her flanks, while the door that led from the tunnel to the burial site closed. From outside the dark tunnels, Applejack galloped, now with tears filling her eyes.