I quickly relinquished control of Chrysalis, before allowing myself to reform, pure 'wat' running through me. "What did I just see!? All I can tell is that it's not salmon..."

"So it didn't work, I take it." Her eyes widen in shock when Chrysalis scoots over to her, and begins nuzzling her leg, while purring like a cat. "So... it did?" This is...

"Dawwwww. Is so cute!" Ribbon gave me a 'what the hell' look.

"It's not cute, a tyrant is purring and nuzzling me and I don't know what to do about it."

"Back in the pod?"

"Back in the pod." Ribbon takes a whimpering Chrysalis and puts her back in her pod, where she quickly falls into a induced sleep. With that out of the way, I can finally see what's happened while we were gone.

"I'm heading topside." With that, I teleport to the other side of the door, before trotting upstairs, where Scootaloo is somehow still asleep. Before I walked outside, I steeled myself, knowing I could not show weakness. Opening the door, I was greeted to Ponyville overrun by long, thorny vines.

-Ribbon... you're going to want to see what's going on up here...-

'what, did Derpy break my mail box again?'

-... Thorny tentacles. That is all.-

With a flash of light, Ribbon teleports upstairs, where she walks over to the door, and takes a good, long look at this mindfuckery... before closing the door, and looking me in the eyes. "The world is dead to me..."

Wait... Opening the door again, I realize the sun and moon are in the sky, and several vines had inched closer to the door, cuing me to slam it with a mental 'nope!'

"I'm not going out there." I notice Ribbon heading to the forge, but when she opens the door to it, several vines springe out and fall inches short of her, before retracting back into the forge. She promptly slammed the door, before once more meeting my eyes. "Alright, Lets find Twilight, maybe she knows something..."

Those things tried to attack you! "You want me to do the thingie where I became part of you again? I don't want those things getting you."

"Yeah, I felt strong when you were doing that."

"Okay, here go-" I had dissolved into miasma much more rapidly this time, doing it deliberately instead of by accident. Flowing around Ribbon, I waited for the shif- there we go.

'How does this feel to you? To me it feels like a cool breeze.'

-Same.-

After taking a few steps towards the door, we both noticed something. Ribbon had'nt made a single noise. She paused for a moment, before feeling her chest, confirming she was indeed still breathing, yet no sound was made. Stomping a hoof on the ground yielded the same silence.

-Thats some ninja shenanigans right there.-

After Ribbon opened the door, she caught sight of a bright light on the dark half of Ponyville. "Good enough place to start." Ribbon flinched a bit from her own voice, before heading towards the light. Spreading her wings, she took to the air, silent as ever. We did notice several ponies start to panic, but the moment they looked away, they seemed to forget what had them frightened. When we approached the location of the light show, we saw Twilight had drunk some kind of potion, and was standing stiff, her eyes glowing, with her friends watching.

Ribbon smirked as a mischievous idea came to her. Setting down behind them, just as Twilight recovered from whatever she was experiencing, Ribbon cleared her throat. "Gentlemares..." everypony spins around in fright.

"...Ribbon?" Neither of us was expecting Fluttershy to speak up first.

"Yes?"

Shy sighs in relief. "Oh thank goodness, it is you..."

"Who were you expecting, a shade?" Fluttershy hides behind her mane in embarrassment. Waitaminute...

-You found internet memes, didn't you...-

'... Maybe.'

After our brief mental exchange, we noticed Fluttershy stop hiding behind her mane. "Ummm. What was I hidi-" she notices us. "EEP! W-when did y-you get here!?"

"I'm confused, you and were just talking." Hmmmm... this is rather interesting.

"W-we were?" If this is what I think it is...

-Ribbon, I have theory I want to test, you need to get them all to look away.-

3... 2... 1... "DISTRACTION!" Ribbon points at a random object, diverting everyone's attention, where they stare for a few moments...

"Dash, why were we staring at that again?"

"I have no idea Pinkie."

Everypony began looking around, and passed us over several times. Curious, Ribbon used my magic to levitate a rock, the lack of an aura still confusing me.

"What in tarnation!?"

"EEEP!"

Everypony had begun flipping out at the floating rock. It was amusing watching them panic for a while, when I realized something.

-Okay, they don't notice us unless you draw attention to yourself, they forget you were even here the moment they look away, you don't have an aura, and you are completely silent unless you speak...-

Ribbon drops the rock, preparing to presumably troll the hell out of them. "I am a shade..." Fluttershy and Rarity fainted on the spot, Rainbow immediately gave us a challenging glare, Applejack just stood there, waiting for us to make a move. Pinkie was just staring at us, confused, while Twilight looked ready to shoot first, ask questions later.

Ribbon audibly gulps somehow. "...be gentle." Ohshitohshitohshit! I desperately try to somehow put something in between Ribbon and Twilight, and feel her mane twitch just as Twilight releases her spell, and everything goes black as Ribbon reflexively closes her eyes in anticipation.

I felt her mane shoot up in front of her just before the spell would have hit, and feel the spell hit it, none of it actually reaching Ribbon. After several moments of nothing, Ribbon opened her eyes, and we found her mane had moved itself in between herself and Twilight, and ribbon was shocked she wasn't dead.

-Excuse me while I deal with this...- steeling myself, I peeled myself off Ribbon, much to everyone's surprise, and reformed in front of her. "Her statement was merely a joke, you insufferable simpletons! Be thankfull I do not wish to seek retribution..." everypony rapidly backed away from me and Twilight, expressions of 'oh crap' on their faces. My anger quickly zeroed in on Twilight, as I focused my glare on her, causing her to squirm under it.

I suddenly felt a slight tap on my side, and swifty pivot my head towards the source, and teach the fo- Ribbon? I felt my fury evaporate, as she swiftly withdrew her hoof up against her chest, 'eep'ing from the glimpse of my glare she caught.

"My apologies, I did not mean for you to see that."

"It's ok. We probably shouldn't do that shade form again."

"We must find the source of this foul growth, post-haste..."

Twilight was the only one up to the task. "I know what we need to do, I think."

"Please do go on?" You have my interest Twilight, do not waste it.

"We need to go back to the castle in the Everfree." Not that place again... do we even NEED to go there.

-did you ever get those traps cleared out?-

'They were very thorough and took all the poachers stuff.'

"I do not see the relevance of that place... do please inform me of what I am missing."

"We need to find a crystal tree, the princesses took the elements from it."

"Discord was involved, I presume?" Wait for it...

"Why does it always have to be me, Can I not be innocent?" And from nowhere, Discords in a lawn chair eating chips, wearing a pair of sunglasses as he watches everypony panic.

A wicked grin emerges on my face. "I never said you were guilty Discord, merely involved. Thank you for admitting to it though." He just continues to shove chips in his mouth.

Now how to motivate those fools... yes... that will do nicely. "Ponies... tonight, we march..." everypony in our little group turned to look at me.

"Dear Faust no..." ah, Ribbon knows where I'm going with this.

Drawing Akumu, much to everyponies surprise. Pointing it towards the Everfree, I marched, everypony in our little group following behind me.

As we headed into the forest, I overheard Twilight talking to Ribbon. "I'm confused, why has she become so cold and spiteful after the dinner in Canterlot?"

"I'm not entirely sure, But she feels almost, insecure or afraid now. She said before that you can see souls or something, has it changed at all?" There were a few seconds of silence as Twilight activated her soul vision, before she gasped.

"Its... its so full of cracks that the slightest jolt might shatter it, and it looks like it might implode..." I get the sense that she's examining it closer... "Ribbon... her soul... its... bound itself to yours, and it feels like thats the only thing keeping it, however loosely, anchored to the material plane!" Wait, what!? Is she implying that when Ribbon passes away, I'll fade into nothingness? It makes sense, in a twisted sort of way. A shadow cannot exist without an object to cast it... Ribbon is my cster

"Its what? you mean she's attached to me, literally?"

"Its a strong link, a VERY strong link. I get the feeling Chi simply will not leave you, and NOTHING will keep her from staying at your side..." unless you destroy what casts it, a shadow can never be destroyed, only made to vanish for a time...

'Do you think maybe you really are immortal so long as I'm alive?' I... I think it might just be so.

-As long as the caster exists, the shadow cannot be destroyed...-

'Can you maybe word that better? It makes me sound like a necromancer.'

-I am your shadow... so long as you live, I will not die...-

'Better, but it would be better not to risk it.' Ribbon, I can still feel pain, so of course I'm not going to try it... Wait. That vine wasn't there before... oh shit! Their moving! Almost immediately, Twilight begins blasting them, while Ribbon sets them on fire. I begun hacking away at any that got close, Akumu cleaving through them like paper.

One of the vines got the drop on me, and quickly wrapped around my torso, sending spikes of pain through me as it impaled several locations. Knowing things were about to get ugly, I tried to get them going. "Run, you fools!" And boy, did they run. Twilight literally dragged Ribbon behind her, as they fled towards the castle. Swinging Akumu wildly in my magic, I chopped through vine after vine, even as the one around my chest continued to tighten and puncture me, lifting me into the air. They wouldn't stop coming, after what felt like hours, the familiar headache of magical faguiet begun setting in.

Turning to the mass of vines beneath me, I spat at them. "Do your wors-*urk!*" one of the vines had wrapped around my neck. The shock make me drop Akumu, and I couldn't focus enough to pick it back up. I was now both suffocating and bleeding like a stuck pig, but I still struggled as more vines begun flailing at me, the thorns ripping into me. Is this how I end? Feeling one wrap around my horn, every thorn sending shockwaves of agony through me, I felt it begin to pull. My body spasmed in agony, even as the vine kept pulling, until with a loud crack and a volcano of pain, I watched in horror as my horn snapped clean off. I tried to scream, but only the sound of gurgling emerged, and several trails of blood dripped from my mouth.

Things were starting to shut down, as my limbs rapidly went numb, the pain no longer a problem. Soon the numbness spread all over me, and one by one, my legs went limp. More vines begun constricting me, until only my face was visible. I could feel my heart slowing, as I lost all control of my body... as I closed my eyes for a final time, my only thought was how I failed Ribbon. My heart gave out, yet still my conscious lingered, something keeping me from fully leaving this realm. My senses finally gave out, and I was left alone in my mind...

I had been wandering this infinite blackness for days, drawn inexplicably to some unknown point. I dared not stop moving, for it felt like something was following me, and if it caught me, I would be consumed by the nothingness, and cease to exist. Hearing sounds that should not exist, I begun picking up speed, feeling that un-thing drawing closer. Looking behind me, something that I cannot remember was but a few feet from me, causing me to nearly drop from the shock. By now I was at a full gallop, and was praying something would help me.

'The light, Jack! Head for the light!' Maria? In the distance, a faint light appeared, and I altered course to head for it. Whatever was chasing me was still gaining, and as the light grew brighter, I put on a desperate burst of speed. An ungodly scream of pain rang out as the thing behind me was repulsed by its brightness, the glow enfluging me.

I awoke in a white void, a sense of relief washing through me as I realized that thing could no longer get me. Getting onto my hooves, I looked around the vast emptiness, confused as to how I wound up in this mess. Am I truly dead this time...?

"No Jack, you are not dead... not fully, anyways." Whipping my head around, my eyes settled on a eggshell white pegasus, and widened.

She stood there with grace, her wild red mane moving like a flame every time she shifted her head, stirring memories within me. But it was her eyes that brought those memories to the forefront, those beautiful cyan eyes, glinting like ice, yet holding an inviting warmth.

"Hello, Jack..." that voice... it can't be her, can it?

"Maria..." she slowly walked up to me, pulling me into hug.

"I'm sorry, Jack, but its true, you are immortal, so long as Ribbon lives. I was told so by her, the one from whence Equestria came." I could feel her tears on my back, even as tears of my own begun falling.

"I... I-i'm sorry... I failed you Maria... I j-just was-"

"There is no need to apologize, Jack, as no fault exists. But even then, I forgive you." My tears slowly subsided, as I held her close, refusing to let go, when I saw flakes of light rising from her, even as she gave me a sad look. "My visit, it seems, is nearing its end..." I became aware of a tugging sensation in my chest, and saw, through Maria's now fading form, a thread of green and teal blue, leading from my chest to somewhere far above us. "Look over her, Jack, for you are both destined to do great things..." I felt myself yanked in a direction I couldn't hope to comprehend, and 'woke up.'

I became 'aware' of my surroundings, yet I could still not feel or move my body. The vines are gone, thats a plus... The sound of sobbing finally registers to my senses. Ribbon is crying for me...

I hear the sound of somepony landing. "I-i-i can't believe it... why didn't I stand and fight by her side... even I couldn't be that loyal to somepony I only knew for less than a year..." Rainbow, you're too kind...

Rarity, Pinkie and Fluttershy had begun crying rivers.

"Tarnations... there are no words..." Applejack was utterly dumbfounded by how I hadn't thought twice about sacrificing myself.

"Ribbon... I'm so sorry..." Twilight had draped a wing around Ribbon -albeit awkwardly, considering Ribbon was the same only slightly smaller than me- in an attempt to comfort her. Ribbon leaned into Twi's shoulder, and begun bawling.

I felt something click, and was shocked when magic begun building despite my horn being broken. I watched in fascination as shadows begun coating me, and everypony else started freaking out. Skin and fur begun growing, and I screamed noiselessly as something erupted from my skull, revealing a new horn. I felt the damage to my throat healing. I sensed myself filling with blood, as functions resumed. Gasping, sweet air filled my lungs, and I forced myself to stand, even as pieces of the shadows covering me broke off, and my headache intensified. Just as the last pieces fell off, I got glomped by Ribbon.

Blowing my mane out of my face I- wait, what?! My mane was no longer the same deep, star filled blue Lunas was, instead it was beyond black, to the point it looked like it had been cut out of the fabric of reality, leaving a void in its place... also, it had a few holes in it, making it look like an old towel.

-That HURT. And I think I have magic exhaustion...-

'Of course you do, and I'm not fixing it this time.'

-uhhhhh... I think Twilight is about to go crazy like during that incident with the doll.- She takes one look at Twi, mouths 'oh buck.' And quickly teleports us home, before Twilight decides to try SCIENCE!

We arrived in the basement, where I discovered Ribbon giving me a lusty look. "You look like you could use some stress relief..." yes, I just died, and I wanted sex, sue me... giving Ribbon the best pair of bedroom eyes I could manage, I was already imagining what she would do to me...

"You're going to pay for dieing on me."