I was fully awake at the crack of dawn. Ever since I became the Captain of the Guard, I could never sleep past that time. While Sombra slept nearby, I had my feet on my bed, doing my morning pushups.

And seething at how bad our situation was.

A full week had passed, and the other Devil Fruit Users had been doing abysmal. Applejack had yet to call her Devil Fruit forward. Fluttershy was constantly trying to hide and bury her head in the dirt like an ostrich. Rainbow Dash refused to admit her weaknesses. Pinkie treated the whole thing like a game. And Twilight…

Well, now that I thought of it, Twilight was at least trying to take this whole thing seriously.

But that wasn’t even mentioning the amount of times our training got cut off by attacks from more zombie ponies looking to steal our Devil Fruits. None of the zombies had Devil Fruits themselves, thank God. But they still were always attacking at night. It made it hard to tell if someone was sending them in using the Shadow-Shadow Fruit or some other Zombie Devil fruit.

I longed for Zecora and her book; it’d be able to tell me what was going on. I briefly considered shadow jumping over there, but dismissed it. She probably wasn’t an early bird like I was, and it would take too much focus to jump there and back. I’d give myself a splitting headache and be out for the next thirty six hours.

“Fluttershy’s the main problem,” I muttered to myself, finishing my pushups and moving to sit ups. “A unit is no better than its weakest member. Let’s see… she’s timid around ponies, but acts better around animals… maybe I should ask Twilight…”

“Hm…” a low moan came from Sombra, though he didn't open his eyes. “Eric, can you please keep it down?” He rolled over. “A King needs his rest.”

I paused, considering that. Technically, he wasn’t the King anymore. But…

“Thanks for reminding me,” I declared, finishing my last situp and rolling to my feet. I summoned a club from my shadow. “RISE AND SHINE, YOUR MAJESTY!” I boomed, slamming my club into the foot of his bed and launching him into the wall.

“HMM MM GMM!” He swore as he tangled in his sheets. Peeling the former king from the wall, I grinned down at him as he looked up at me with seething rage.

“I will gut you in your sleep,” he vowed through clenched teeth.

“Good luck with that,” I replied with a laugh. Reaching into my shadow, I pulled out his personal saber. “Now… you may not be the King anymore. But that doesn’t mean you can slouch on your Saber skills.” I motioned for him to follow and walked out of the room.

“Even after all these weeks, you insist on calling me your king?” Sombra asked, following me out.

"I don't care what they say,” I replied. “They may have stripped us of our ranks and titles but that doesn't mean anything as long as we hold power to command!" I turned to Sombra and tossed him his saber. "No matter what the princesses say, I am still the Captain of the Crystal Royal Guard as well as the Reaper of the Crystal Empire; a name that struck fear in all those who witness my combat prowess!"

"Well that's just you,” Sombra commented. “I have no power left to command.”

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, Crystal King,” I indicated his saber. “Or would you rather be called by the other name that holds power: Combat King."

"I am no King," Sombra said somberly, looking down at his saber. "A king protect his subjects. He doesn't kill or enslave them.”

Ignoring Sombra's comments, I pulled him into the training ground, only to find someone already inside.

My eyes widened, as I watched an orange pony deliver a devastating kick to a metal dummy. Other dummies lay scattered across the training room floor, and her forehead was beaded with sweat. Her teeth were also clenched, and a vein throbbed in her head, a sure sign of someone that had been working hard for hours, and had made little progress.

"Has,” Sombra mumbled in shock. “Has she been training all night?"

“She’s frustrated,” I replied. “Twi, Pinkie and Rainbow have gotten a handle on their Devil Fruits. She still can’t even turn a finger into a blade.”

Almost as if my words had briefly empowered her, a glint of sunlight reflected off her legs, like they were turning to metal. But then they returned to normal, merely denting the dummy rather than cutting it. My eyes widened in realization.

“But she’s focusing on the wrong places,” I whispered, pulling my guardsman sword.

“What do you mean?” Sombra asked.

Just watch,” I replied, drawing the sword as shadow mist left my body.

I charged. Applejack’s ears twitched, and she swung her left leg around. Her leg clashed against my blade. But instead of blood, there was the spark of metal hitting metal. I smiled and leaped back, lowering my blade.

"What In tarnation?" Applejack mumbled, staring down at her leg. Though it had already shifted back to normal.

"That’s the effect of the Dice-Dice Fruit," I replied, sheathing my blade.

"Ah don't understand,” she insisted. “Why couldn't I use it before?"

"Probably because your strengths lie in your legs rather than your fists,”

“But… how’d ya move so fast? I didn’t even see ya.”

“Shave Technique,” I replied. “It’s one of six powerful techniques called the Six Powers. Took me years to master all of them.”

"The Six Powers?" Applejack asked.

"Techniques that require great amount of training to acquire. I don’t really use them, but…” Suddenly, an idea formed in my mind. “Hey. Let’s try something.”

“What is it?” she asked. I pointed at the dummy she had been wailing on.

“Throw a kick at that dummy.”

She laughed. “That all?” She started to fix her stance, but I stopped her, and pulled her back a few feet.

“Just throw a kick,” I insisted. “Don’t jump forward. Don’t try to close the distance. Don’t assume you’re going to hit it physically.”

She tilted her head. “Did you hit yer head, partner? I can’t hit somethin’ without… well, hitting somethin’!”

"Trust me,” I said. “Just kick. With all your might.”

Still grimacing at my idea, Applejack put her foot back, and kicked. At first, nothing seemd to happen. She glared at me, irritated.

“See?” she asked. “I told ya…”

But I moved to the dummy, and smiled. Turning to her, I pointed out a small nick on the dummy’s chest.

"Don’t be so sure about that, farm girl,” I replied, indicating the cut. “You see this?” She tilted her head at it. “This is from an extremely weak Tempest Kick.”

"Tempest what-now?"

"One of the Six Powers, which allows one to kick so hard they can turn the air itself into a razor sharp blade.” I smirked at her look of disbelief.

“Y-Ya gotta be jokin,” She insisted, as I walked away and lifted my own leg. “There’s no way anyone could…”

With a swift kick, I sent an air blade through the dummy. I split it diagonally, the top half slamming on the ground and sending up a cloud of dirt. A slash mark even appeared against the wall. Applejack’s words died in her mouth, her jaw hanging agape at the display.

"What...In… Tarnation...?" she stuttered.

"That,” I lowered my stance. “Was the Tempest Kick. With the proper training anyone can do it.” I swatted at her flank. “I suggest you start training your legs."

Applejack's dumbfounded expression turned into a determined glare. "Until they break," she replied.

"That's the spirit," I flashed a smile to the orange mare before turning to Sombra. "Alright Sombra. Time to...."

I stopped short. Instead of Sombra, a trail of kicked up dirt lay before me. My vision briefly shifted to red.

“That… Mother Fucker…” I growled, struggling to remain calm. Applejack helped.

“Ah take it Sombra ain’t too keen to train with ya,” she commented.

"His swordsmanship is going to falter when he needs it most," I replied. I let out a frustrated sigh. "I’ve trained hundreds of soldiers… and their king. And yet, none of them have ever treated it like a game, refused to admit their own weaknesses, and none of them have ever been this afraid of their own shadows.”

Applejack faltered. “Yer referring to Pinkie, Dash and Flutters, ain’t cha?”

“That obivious?” I asked sarcastically. I sighed again. “The longer we wait, the more our enemy grows.”

“Well, why not leave em here?”

"One, the Tundra Dragons are severely dangerous when one enters their territory. Fluttershy could be invaluable for that. Second; if any one of those zombies wields the Glint-Glint Fruit, then I’m done.”

"That fruit’s yer weakness?"

“It gives it’s user the ability to control Light; the weakness of all shadows.” As I spoke, I drew my sword, going through the sword drills. Sombra wasn’t there, but using the sword felt a bit better than pacing.

"What are ya going to do then?" asked the earth pony.

"Well first I need to fix the weakest link in this unit,” I replied.

Applejack grimaced. “Flutters, right?” I glanced at her. “C’mon, I’m her friend, and even I can see it; the poor girl hates fighting.”

“But she doesn’t understand,” I insisted. “Her fruit can be extremely powerful. She just has to awaken it’s hidden potential.” I swung my sword and pivoted back to Applejack. “That fruit can do more than communicate with animals; it also give the user the ability to control them!"

But Applejack shook her head. “She won’t do that,” she insisted. “She cares too much about the animals.”

I paused, sheathing my sword. “What was that?” I asked.

“She… cares too much about em?” she replied.

I grinned. Walking to the orange mare, I put both hands on her shoulder.

“Applejack,” I said. “You are an absolute genius.”

She blinked at me in confusion. “I just… told the truth,” she mumbled.

But I didn’t have time for technicalities. Dropping into my shadow, I resurfaced in Twilight's room. To my surprise, Twilight was still awake. And even better, she was practicing with her powers. Her arms were crossed over her chest, while numerous other arms covered the walls and ceiling.

“Well done,” I noted.

She yelped in surprise, the arms vanishing in a flash of petals.

“Oh, Eric,” she stammered. “I was just… um…” she crossed her arms behind her. “What can I do for you?”

“I need help with Fluttershy’s training,” I replied. “And I think you’re the only one who can help.”

She quirked an eyebrow. “How?”

Fluttershy was tending to the animals in the garden. As a black hand emerged behind her, she blinked in surprise as the animals scattered.

“What’s wrong,” she started to ask… just as the hand grabbed hold of her tail. “No!” she screamed as she was dragged away. “Leave me alone! No!”

But the hand was insistent, and dragged her into the shadows. Giving up, the yellow pegasus covered her eyes and whimpered, waiting for death as she was pulled upside down.

“You can open your eyes, Fluttershy,” I said calmly above her.

Fluttershy’s eyes shot open, finding herself inches from my face. She blinked in shock.

"Oh! H-hello Eric," whispered the pegasus. With a nervous glance down – or up, from my perspective – she tried to keep her skirt from falling up. "Um… could you… um, you know… put me down now?" she asked shyly.

With a grin, I set her on the ground. The instant she was down, she scrambled to her feet and looked for the exits. Unfortunately, I had planned for that. All the exits were blocked in darkness. No one there but us.

“Um… where’s the exit?” she whimpered.

“First,” I said, “You gotta save that.” I pointed to a box covered with a black sheet.

Fluttershy’s ears dropped. Her eyes widened in fear. “But…”

The sheet flew away with a flourish. Sitting in the box, beating its little white paws against the bars, was a single white rabbit. Fluttershy’s eyes went wide.

“Angel?!” she stammered. She moved to free it, only to fall over Eric’s outstretched foot.

“Hang on,” I replied, as a shadow double appeared next to the cage, and opened it up. At the same time, several other shadows separated from my own and began to rise. Fluttershy gaped in alarm as they took the shape of large, feral wolves with jagged teeth, razor sharp claws and burning red eyes.

“Shadow Wolf Pack,” echoed through the shadows.

The shadow wolves turned to me. And I uttered one simple command:

"Kill it.”

They barely got to moving before Fluttershy was trying to race for the rabbit. Once again, I caught her by the back of the sweater. I threw her away as the wolves chased the rabbit through the shadows.

“Eric, stop!” Fluttershy pleaded. “This is cruel!”

“You want to save it?” I asked, shadows wafting from my body. “Fight!”

Her teeth gritted. She gazed at the rabbit, as it valiantly ducked and dodged the wolves. Whimpering in fear, Fluttershy tried to dodge past me, but my foot caught her in the stomach, and knocked her further away.

“Please, it’s just an innocent rabbit!” Fluttershy begged.

“Get past me and you can save it,” I ordered.

But she remained on her hands and knees. Tears spilled down her eyes.

“Why are you doing this?” she sobbed.

“Because if you don’t learn how to fight, you’ll die,” I replied bluntly. “And if you die…” I indicated the rabbit as one of the wolves managing to smack it with a paw. “Who will take care of your animals?”

“I…” Fluttershy stammered, her eyes only on her rabbit.

“No one,” I answered for her. “You die. And then they’ll die. “Now, are you going to let them die, or are you going to fight to protect them?”

Her fists clenched. With a scream… she vanished. I blinked in shock before she suddenly reappared in front of me, an expression of rage adorning her delicate features and her fist drawn back. My eyes widened.

“That was the Shave Technique!?”

Before I could stop her, her fist plunged into my face, throwing me backward. A burst of pain surprised me, racing from my nose all the way to the back of my skull. Even the shadow wolves paused in their torment of the rabbit, staring at me in disbelief.

“That… hurt?!” I thought. I looked up at Fluttershy, who briefly glowered at me before lunging to help her rabbit. She didn’t even seem to notice what was on the tips of her knuckles. “She has an aptitude for Armament Haki!”

I smiled. With a snap, the wolves backed away from her, vanishing back into my shadow. Fluttershy stared around, her arms around her rabbit, before the sound of my clapping caused her to turn back to me.

"I'm proud of you Fluttershy,” I declared. “Not only did you manage to land a hit on me… but you also used the Shave Technique.”

“The what?” Fluttershy asked.

"Look at your knuckles,” I encouraged.

Glancing down, Fluttershy blinked. A black substance covered her knuckles.

“W-What the fudge cake…?” she stammered, trying to rub it off. I took her hand and held out the black marks.

"That is Armament Haki,” I explained. “Think of it as a layer of armor.” I held up her hand. “This type of Haki is the physical manifestation of one's own will.” I looked at her in pride. “Your will to protect the animals."

Fluttershy gazed down at her rabbit, who was clinging to her chest like a baby. My hand started to fall over it, but Fluttershy yanked it away, a fire coming back into her eyes.

“I have no intention of harming it,” I promised, holding my hand out.

Fluttershy’s eyes narrowed… only for the rabbit to squirm out of her arms and leap into my hand.

“He’s right, Fluttershy,” the rabbit said, in a voice that made Fluttershy’s ears perk up.

“T-Twilight?” she stammered.

I tossed the rabbit in the air. With a flash of light, the rabbit vanished… and Twilight appeared, landing gracefully on the ground.

“B-But how?” Fluttershy stammered.

"I just used a harmless spell that allowed me to take the form of one of the rabbits in the garden before you arrived,” Twilight replied. “And then I used an illusion spell to make it look like the real thing.”

“That… I…” Fluttershy stammered. “I… suppose that was pretty smart…”

“It was Eric’s idea,” she replied, motioning to me.

"I need help with Fluttershy's training and you're the only one who can help."

“How?”

"Do you by any chance have a spell that could turn you into one of the animals in the garden?"

Twilight furrowed her brow. Heading over to a bookshelf, she moved her finger over several of the tomes.

“I’m assuming you want to motivate Fluttershy so she can train,” Twilight admitted as she searched. “You’ll need me to look as realistic as possible. I’ll need an illusion spell to top it all… ah!” she cried in pleasure, pulling a book from the shelf and opening it. After a moment of searching…

“Here we are,” she said, grinning. “The spell seems simple… but I’ll need a rabbit to do it.” She set the book back in its place and checked the time. “We’d better get to it now before Fluttershy wakes up. She usually tends to the animals in the garden in about ten minutes.”

“Won’t be a problem,” I replied. Grabbing hold of the unicorn, I dropped us into the shadows, and resurfaced in the shade of the trees.

There, Twilight went to work. With a flash of magic, she hit one of the rabbits, and in a flash of light, she turned into a purple version of one. I picked her up and placed her on my shoulder, making our way to the training ground as she worked her illusion spell, turning her fur a more pale color, and - for some reason - making herself look male. When she noticed me staring, she shrugged.

"Fluttershy has a personal favorite rabbit," she admitted. "Mean little thing, but she absolutely adores him. Hopefully, it'll help."

I hummed, before a thought came to me. “I haven’t seen your brother, recently,” I noted. “Did he go back to the Empire?”

“Yeah,” Twilight admitted as she worked. “When he heard that our enemy stationed himself in the Frozen North, he had to make sure Cadence was safe." As we entered the training grounds, she added, "So how do you want to proceed with this?"

"Well first you're going to sit in a cage made from my shadow while I get Fluttershy in the garden. You're going to have to act just like a scared rabbit, cause I'm going to use my powers and create a pack of shadow wolves to 'kill you.'"

Her eyes widened. "Uh... what?"

"Don't worry," I said quickly. "In reality, they'll just chase and make it look like they'll eat you. During that time I'm going to fight Fluttershy myself and see if she can be brave when pushed." I set her down, as she rubbed her little paw.

“Okay…” she muttered. “So… don’t talk, act scared, and run like my life depends on it.” She nodded. “Anything else?”

“Pray,” I replied coldly. “If this doesn’t work, I may have to drag her into the Frozen North.”

"So…. What now?" Fluttershy asked.

"Well... I'm going to train you in how to use more of your Armament Haki as well as your combat training.” I grinned and pat her shoulder. “But I promise I will try to be as gentle as possible.”

She bowed her head. “Thank you,” she whispered.

I glanced up at the sky. “Now, all we’ve got left is Rainbow’s Denial, and Pinkie’s childish outlook.” I exhaled. “I honestly don’t know which is going to be harder.”

The War of Shadows Arc Ch. 3

if you want your Oc in this fanfic just put this in the comments or meesage me
Name:
Race:
Description:
Devil Fruit:(optional)
Backstory:(Their backstory will determine whether or not if I can use them)

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