"Shadow... where are we?" Shade looked around the room they were in. It was like someone had stolen everything from the Canterlot throne room when they weren't looking, including the lights.

"Well... we haven't really had a home in a long time. We've just stayed up in the clouds." He looked around the room. It was far too dark. His horn lit up, and small orbs of light appeared along the walls, mimicking torches. "This place was just... here. So I figure, we might as well have it."

Nightshade gave him a puzzled look before shaking her head. "That's right... we've been living on our own for a while now, haven't we?" She sighed, rubbing her forehead with her hoof. "This sucks."

Nightshadow chuckled. He had yet to fill Shade in on what happened during the large gap in her memory, but caution told him not to tell exactly everything that happened. Especially her pranks. What mattered to him now was that his sister was alive, well, and by his side.

Shadow found himself pulled from his thoughts. "It's... a little dusty, don't you think?" She said, kicking at the floor which prompted a small dust cloud to erupt before slowly dispersing itself.

Shadow nodded. "Yes, but... well I have never really taken the time to learn any spells meant to clean. We can always stop by the library later..."

Nightshade gave him another look of confusion. "Library? You mean the royal library?"

Nightshadow shook his head. "No, sis. Ponyville’s library. There's a town not far from here by the name of Ponyville. They've got a very extensive library down there." Shade nodded, but Shadow could tell she was still confused. "You'll love it." He said, remembering a certain lavender unicorn that lived in the library. "The ponies down there are all friendly."

"I used to love it. Why would I love it now?" Nightshadow gave his sister a knowing look. Shade sighed. "I know brother, we can't stay in Canterlot. I just... I don't know." She started but trailed off, looking at the ground apologetically.

Shadow began to light up the rest of the room, conjuring various orbs of light on the walls, and putting enough energy into them that they would be permanent. If it was to be their home, it should at least be well lit.

"It's alright sis. I'll help you get adjusted. Just think of it like growing up again. It'll be fu-" He stopped himself when his eyes caught up with one of the walls. Something was hanging off of it. Shade didn’t pay attention to her brother, being as entertained as she was, still lifting small clouds of dust from the floor. Curious, Shadow pointed his horn towards the center of the mass, brightening the whole wall up with an orange light.

It was a tapestry, similar to the one he had seen years before in the royal sister's throne room. This depicted something else though; two black Alicorns standing in the middle, wings flared as a rainbow, a yellow bird-like claw, and a red mist converged upon them from separate directions. One of the Alicorns had squinted-red eyes, while the other one had a hoof to its chin.

‘It looks as if it were... laughing.’

A small plaque was underneath, as well as a scroll taped onto the wall. Shadow trotted closer to investigate it. The plaque had a thin layer of dust covering it, but the note was written in a brand-new parchment.

The plaque read:

"Paragons of Survival- To have lived as long as they have, with the enemies they made and thought they had made, is a testament to one's will."

Nightshadow turned his head up and gave another inquisitive look towards the tapestry, before looking down and levitating the note towards him.

The note underneath read:

"Dear Shadow

I knew you would come here. Well... sort of knew anyway. I figured you might want a few things to liven up your new home. By the time you have finished reading the plaque and this note, a small bag will have appeared next to you. There will be a book straight from the royal library as well as a few history books for your sister, which will help you make this place more livable.

I bet you wonder why you feel the need to stay here of all places, in this dank old castle. You know now that Celestia would spare you a room, if not have one built for you (don't be too hard on her, she and her sister never wanted to hurt you and you know it) if you would just ask. But you feel like you need to be here.

Maybe one day, I'll tell you why you feel that way. Until then.

See you someday soon-

Number Seven."

Nightshadow shook his head. The mysterious earth pony had done much for them, but he found himself questioning why. And how? Such magic was beyond even the Royal Princesses themselves... how had an earth pony done the impossible? His eyes turned down to the note one more time.

'Maybe one day, I'll tell you. '

Nightshadow snorted and pushed the note away from him with his magic. The note shivered for a moment as if it could feel cold, before burning up into nothing in the blink of an eye. He looked down to the ground, and just as the note said, a large saddlebag had appeared. Nightshadow found this to be peculiar, as all teleportation spells involved the sudden light burst from the amount of compressed energy. He examined it a bit, before setting it aside for later.

"Woooooow..." He heard his sister's voice behind him. "Is that... us?"

Nightshadow turned to meet his sister's amazed gaze. "I think so. You want to keep it?" She nodded vigorously. Nightshadow smiled warmly and turned back to gaze at the tapestry once more. He frowned when he noticed the note had somehow found its way back underneath the tapestry. He grunted and picked the note up in his magic once more.

"P.S.

Lighten up a bit, kid! Learn to smile every now and then, hmm? I bet Twilight would prefer to see you smiling."

Shadow let out an annoyed sigh and frowned. The letter was once again enveloped by his horn’s aura before burning to a crisp. He eyed the wall, making sure nothing else would appear afterwards, and then turned to address his sister. "We're going to take a trip to town for a few things..."

She smiled at him, seemingly delighted at the thought of leaving the dank, old castle. "Sounds like fun!"

"Right, I'll have to maintain the disguise for the two of us though..."

Nightshade frowned. "Why do we have to 'disguise' ourselves? I like the way I look just fine!"

"It's not for us. Other ponies will get... scared if they see what we really look like." Nightshadow replied, a stern look on his face.

"Why?" Nightshade frowned a bit at him.

Nightshadow paused and thought for a moment, unsure of how to answer. "I know about a few books we can look at later. For now, just trust me, okay?" It would feel wrong explaining to her how much she looked like the demon-mare... especially with her on that condition.

"Fine." She huffed.

Nightshadow suppressed a laugh."Alright, then. Let me go ahead first, I need to check on something." Not giving his sister a chance to ask questions, he teleported just outside Ponyville with a loud pop. He chuckled to himself. She would be irate when he returned, but it would be good fun to him. Besides, he had to come up for a reason why his sister didn't remember anypony.

The sun was just now rising over the horizon. Shadow stared off towards the small village, smiling.

'As nice a place to call home as any...'

Authors note: We began with a short one, so we end with a short one. I figured it was as good a place as any to stop it, though I know some will not agree. Also, I made a bet with a friend that I wouldn't end up killing off any of the main or side characters before the end of this fiction. Looks like I won that bet.

Epilogue:

Several months later:

Seven appeared on the dirt road. He didn't make noise whenever he moved throughout the world as those unicorns did. But then again, he was different. He quickly scanned the terrain around him. It was a horrible scene.

Dead ponies. A lot of dead ponies, mixed in with a few gryphons here and there. Some were bent at unnatural angles. Others were torn in the middle. But gryphon and pony alike were bloodied. The smell was one of death mixed with rust, but being as bad as it was, Seven did not grimace. He saw an overturned carriage with several guardsponies lying in a circle around it. Judging by the scene, Seven would be able to tell exactly what had transpired here, at least if he didn't already know.

He searched around for a little bit before he found his target. One pony still standing. The dark shape stood motionless, staring blankly at the ground. Seven approached his friend.

"You know, Shadow, the natural response when you lose a loved one is to cry." Nightshadow did not respond, not even moving his eyes, prompting Seven to continue. "But you’re not the type to do that, are you? I guess you just shut down when something like this happens. Some ponies are like that. Like me."

Nightshadow did not answer at first, but Seven caught movement coming from Nightshadow. He stared at what Seven could now see was an almost unrecognizable lavender mass on the ground.

Almost unrecognizable.

She was covered in cuts and bruises. Death had come for her, and Seven knew it had not come quickly.

"Can you... help her?" Shadow said, finally breaking the silence.

Seven frowned and turned his head to face Shadow before shaking his head side to side. "I can't. I'm sorry."

Shadow turned to face Seven, glaring at him in anger. "Why? Why can't you?"

Seven closed his eyes and shook his head again. "I wish I could, but there has to be a price for such things. It's the rules..."

"What about Shade?"

"Luna covered for you, remember?"

"Then I offer myself, in exchange." Nightshadow said quickly.

Seven sighed. "One pony's life is not equal to another."

"Then how many lives would it take?"

Seven scowled. "I'm not offering that kind of deal. As I told you when we first met, I am not Discord."

"THEN WHY ARE YOU HERE IF YOU CAN’T HELP!?" Nightshadow’s voice boomed through the air as he shouted accusingly. Seven did the opposite of what Shadow expected. He smiled, widely.

"I didn't say I couldn't help. I said there would be a price." Seven focused, and in a brief red flash a paper was floating beside him. He willed the object to float to Nightshadow, where he could read Seven's terms.

I _______________ am allowed the chance to repeat the events that occurred on the date of _________ and allowed to change said events in hoping that the outcome will be more desirable. In exchange, I agree to be bound in service as guard to the provider of this contract for the sum total of one-hundred and fifty years, regardless the outcome of my reliving of past events. This contract is unbreakable by any court in or outside of the realm of Equestria, and may only be rendered null under the decisions of this contracts' holder.

Nightshadow gripped the paper in his magic as he read through the short contract. "It's really that simple?" He said, glaring at Seven as if the earth pony was playing some kind of joke on him.

Seven chuckled. "I didn't think you would give it much thought. They never really do." A red quill warped into existence next to Nightshadow. "A few things to keep in mind here buddy: You don't have to do this. I would understand completely if you flat out refuse me."

"Not happening." Shadow said as he took hold of the quill in his magic as well.

Seven chuckled once more. "Sign the Date first, then your name. You'll wake up on that day. Good 'luck'." And then he was gone.

Shadow was once again alone.

He looked at the heap on the ground one final time, almost feeling a tear form, before shrugging it off and hastily scribbling his name in on the paper.

Shadow suddenly felt tired. Drained. As though a great weight had been placed upon him. He let go of both contract and quill, but the sound of those hitting the ground never came. He thought, for a moment that the world was tilting on its side, but then realized it was in fact him falling over.

When he hit the ground, everything around him seemed to fade to black.

And then he woke up.

To be continued...

Authors note: Or have I?