Resolve

The chariot landed without a sound. The occupants departed as the chariot’s drivers were unhitched and sat down to rest. Synth followed the princess as she led him down a white and gold hallway. Silver pillars on either side displayed the detailed décor of the building. He watched in awe as a doorway twice his size opened to let the two of them enter.

When they walked in, they were on the left side of the throne room and directly across of where they stood now, was another doorway. Luna continued to walk as she nodded in the direction of the guards directly ahead. They saluted before opening the doors and letting the pair pass.

Synth was stunned at the size of the room. It was split in three sections, like a pie would be cut. The section they were standing on was marble, the same as the walls. The section to the left was a balcony ledge that had a white looking stone floor. And to the left was a garden with a small stream that flowed over the edge of the balcony.

Synth was too busy looking at his surroundings, he didn’t notice as Luna closed the doors behind them and sat down to look in the stream. He remembered why he was there and forced himself to look away from the lush and green grass.

“Your highness, what is this room?” Synth asked as he now seated himself a few feet from Luna. He looked into the river and was hit with a feeling of calmness. It was shattered as fast as it came.

‘Of course, we’re finally off the chariot with working hooves, and you choose to sit down and look at water. How ungrateful can you get?’ Shade said with a mocking tone.

‘I’m trying to be polite; I don’t want to be taller than her while we talk.’ Synth responded calmly

‘Because sitting on her flowers is so polite…’ Synth quickly got up to find that there weren’t any flowers even near him.

‘Gotcha’ Shade said a laugh coming out after the word.

“Thou may stop with the formalities; we are alone in this room.” Luna said now looking away from the water and towards Synth.

“Oh yeah, sorry about that Luna. So we can talk freely now?” Synth looked around to make sure there wasn’t anything that could be recording this. He was in the royal castle after all, and there weren’t many security measures taken to check if he was a threat.

“Yes, there are only a few rooms in this castle that are safe, and this place is one of them. We have locked the door as well so that nopony would interrupt us while we chat.” Luna was now smiling and Synth glanced over to the door to find an incredible amount of chains and locks attached to it.

“Wow, I can see that. Any reason why you’re going to um… extreme measures?” Synth realized that while nopony could come in, they couldn’t leave unless Luna opened it with whatever magic key she used to lock it with.

“For one, Tia can be quite stealthy when she chooses to and it’s better safe than sorry. Also, we believe that thou know the answer to thy question.” Luna had a serious look as she talked to Synth.

‘You know?? What about me? I Think I know it too.’ Synth ignored Shade and spoke before he could go on a rant about being a citizen of Equestria.

“Yes, I would like to know… How can I stop Shade? I don’t want to be rid of him, only… overpower him if I may.” Synth couldn’t tell what she was thinking, but Luna was definitely thinking hard about it.

“Perhaps… there is a way. If thou shall clash with Shade again, it would be wise to match his strength. Also, I am sure that thou have witnessed… his powers.” Luna looked at Synth and he just nodded.

‘Actually, I haven’t shown you everything I can do, just what I can do that wouldn’t kill somepony instantly. I can show you everything else if you just-‘

“No! And you can stop asking.” Synth said as Shade drew out some of Synth’s well hidden temper.

“We only asked once. Are thou sure thou have not seen some of his magic potential?” Luna was giving him a confused look and it took Synth a while to realize he said that out loud.

“Oh no, Sorry Luna. I was talking to my… associate…” Synth said adding a little pause before associate.

“We wonder, is this associate’s name Shade perchance?” Her face was a serious one, and Synth didn’t know if she was joking or not.

‘She’s really bright…for a moon.’ Shade laughed at his own joke and Synth ignored him.

“No, it’s asshole. Oh wait, that’s just what I call him, my bad.” Synth joked and they shared a friendly laugh.

‘That wasn’t funny, get some new material.’ Shade complained after they finished their laugh.

‘Get a new face.’ Synth didn’t realize how bad that sounded until he heard Shade’s laughter.

‘Did you just-‘

‘Shut up, I forgot.’ Synth tried to focus his thoughts back to Luna as he drowned out Shade’s laughter.

“Well, no matter. We believe we may have a solution to thy dilemma.” Luna pulled out a book and hoofed it to him. He grabbed it and opened to the first bookmarked page. It had a blue sticky note attached to the corner.

Synth read the heading and then a few lines before looking at the title of the book for the first time. “Um, Luna… this book is all about the Everfree Forest…” Luna frowned and looked back at the book.

“Do thou not understand? Where did Shade first appear? The forest. We brought him to life, but he manifested on the Forest’s powers. In an essence, he is a child of that damned forest.” Luna calmed herself before speaking.

“We are sorry, remembering that night is not always easy…” Luna avoided his gaze, and Synth didn’t speak either. She looked up to find him reading the book quickly.

“This is interesting and all, but how does this help me get stronger than Shade?” Synth looked up from the book to see Luna frowning again.

“Hm, what page art thou reading?” Luna couldn’t tell what he was looking at, but she had a good idea…

“Page sixty-nine why?” Synth heard Luna sigh and mumble something.

“Turn to ninety-one,” Luna said before whispering the next part. Synth heard it, “I’ve got to stop leaving the books around for Tia to find…”

Synth turned to the page and recognition dawned on him. “Oh, this makes more sense now.” He was staring at a page with MAGIC as the header. After that, it explained the spells that could be learned regarding the Everfree Forest.

“So, I’m going to be learning how to do all of these?” Synth turned the next few pages to find that the spells were in alphabetical order and the A’s themselves took up two pages.

“No, we will be focusing on the spells that Shade possesses, and then we will progress further. Could thou explain what magic he’s used before?” Luna was looking over his shoulder as Synth pointed out the matches.

“Coating- Endurance: Creates a thick skin in any part of the body. Can create an impenetrable armor. Used to take hits or deal out massive damage.” He turned toward Luna, “He used that today to survive a …very long drop.”
‘Maybe if you didn’t fall over the edge, I wouldn’t have had to do it…’ Shade replied.

“Thou… let him take control?” Luna gasped at this and Synth shook his head.

“He had extra magic and if he didn’t let it go somehow, he could have rampaged…” Luna nodded and looked back at the book.

“What about that one?”

“Coating- Traction: Enables user to lower or increase traction in any part of the body. Used to gain speed or avoid collisions.” Synth finished reciting it out loud and then looked at Luna. “That’s what he used to be faster than me…”

‘In all fairness, I still would have been faster than you without it. I just wanted some fun…’

“Those both sound like they would be tough to master. It would be best if thou saved them for last.” Luna looked at the next page and Synth saw something.

“Environmental Takeover: Changes the landscape to reflect the owner’s desires. Used to catch enemy off guard. Reverts back depending on amount of magic used.” Synth recalled how his battle with Shade started.

“He turned the floor into grass and we both had home advantage…”

‘But I still won…’

‘Just stay quiet for once.’ Synth was starting to get annoyed of the voice interrupting to add his two cents.

“That sounds pretty advanced as well, Shade must be very powerful to exhibit mastery of all three.” At this point, Synth found a spell that caught his eye.

“Form- Recreation: Allows for the change of both property and appearance of organic substances. Can be used for inconvenience or confusion of the enemy.” Synth undid the pouch on his legs.

“He made this, and it took a lot out of him.” Synth handed it to Luna and she inspected it. She handed it back nodding.

“Finely crafted, I applaud his attention to detail. Although it must be another advanced spell if he had trouble with it…” She looked back at the book and marked two more spells.

‘Why aren’t you stomping then? I don’t like being led on…’ Shade grumpily said.

‘Just be glad she liked it…’ Synth looked over to see what she’d marked.

“Night Eye? Hidden Shadows? Why those two?” Synth read the descriptions and could find nothing about them that resembled anything Shade did.

“Thou have only been searching for spells pertaining combat, but until the time comes, thou should focus on increasing all of thy abilities. These should increase thy usefulness in non-combat situations as well as prove to be good starters for your magic training.”

“Um, I guess it’s alright. But which ones should I learn first? I can’t learn them all in the week…” Synth remembered how long it took before he learned the spell to move grass. It was the first one he learned, even before he learned the basic telekinesis spell every unicorn knew.

He was the last in his class to learn telekinesis, but the first to be able to cast any spell whatsoever. Luna didn’t seem fazed by his worries though.

“We do not expect thou to master every spell in the week. Work on one spell during the day, and then in the night show us your progress. Do this for the six spells every day, and then when thou return to Ponyville, continue thy training.” Luna walked towards the door and kicked it.

From the other side, a muffled group of ‘colorful’ words came out. “Really sister, I thought better of you.” She turned away as Celestia replied on the other side.

“I’m sorry sister, I’ve just been bored lately. I’ve been trying to keep myself occupied all day.” It was muffled, but it was definitely Celestia.

“Shouldn’t you be sleeping sister? The day has now ended.” Luna replied now looking over the balcony edge towards the city below.

“Oh alright, just please feed Philomena at two. She had a late lunch today.” With that, it grew quiet.

“Philomena?” Synth asked as he closed the book and sat down in the grass again.

“That is her pet phoenix. It has been by her side for many years now. We had always wanted a pet of our own, but there is nothing we find that interests us that will live long enough.” She looked a little sad, and Synth realized that a pet didn’t sound like a bad thing.

“Yeah, now that I think about it, I’ll probably ask Fluttershy for a new pet. I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for an immortal creature of the night though.” Synth found Luna smiling at him.

“Thy intentions are good and thy heart is pure. Do not let Shade take that away from thee.” Luna walked back to the door and unlocked the locks using at least twelve magical keys.

“We will see thee tomorrow night. Until then, goodbye.” Luna let him walk out and Synth turned back quickly realizing something.

“Where will I be staying? Should I go into town and find my old house?” Synth asked remembering that if he needed to, he still had a home in the center of the city.

“Oh no, we have prepared a room for your week stay. It is on the third floor, and you should figure out which one is yours. Left Wing of the castle, make sure to study for tomorrow night.” She tossed him the book and then shut the door as he exited. He found that he didn’t even know where the stairs were, let alone the Left Wing.

He went to ask the guards, but noticed the stairs in the corner of the room. He slowly walked over to them as he felt the stares of the guards on him the whole time. He started to go up the stairs and noticed about half way that there were only four floors in this tower.

He reached the third floor and looked around after a few minutes of walking by the wooden doors; he couldn’t tell which one was his. He turned another corner and his eyes went wide, as the view in front of him shone on him like sunlight. He took a few steps up to the door, and slowly opened it.

The doorway was covered in vines and the carpet leading up to the door was a grass path. When he looked inside, the whole room was like a jungle. It all seemed so real. He noticed the king sized bed in the middle with a well camouflaged dresser next to it. On the left of it, there was a doorway leading to the restroom.

He prepared himself to sleep the whole time gaping at the room around him. Grass floor with flowers and a wall that looked straight out of a temple ruin. He was glad he didn’t get lost on the way to find this. He quickly put his cloak on the dresser and turned out the lights. He moved his necklace and book to the top of the dresser on top of his cloak. He got in the bed slowly and got himself comfortable.

It was soft and had a smooth texture to the blanket. He quickly closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
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The door appeared in front of the green coated colt. Turning around, he noticed another door directly behind him. It was open, and there was a red trail leading from it. It stopped under his hooves, but he didn’t know why. Turning back, the door from before had turned into two separate doors. On the left was an open door with darkness behind it. On the right was a closed door with light spilling out from underneath.

He took a step towards the closed door and it slowly opened, he took another and it continued to open. Now he looked at the other door and noticed it was closing. He didn’t know what would happen, but it seemed like the best idea he could come up with.

He walked to the area in between both doors and found that they were both equally open. He sat down to make up his mind and suddenly both doors closed and the light from the right one receded back under.

Quickly standing up, he walked up to the one on the left and found he couldn’t open it. He tried the other one and found it was locked as well. Turning around, he saw the door behind him silhouetted a figure his size. It pointed a hoof at him and then moved it across his neck.

The green colt slowly backed up as the figure came closer and lifted his hoof to strike. He closed his eyes and found it never came. In its place he opened them to find rolling hills and a stream crossing the land. He stood up and looked to the tree he had been leaning on. Directly behind it was a red sand desert.

Red sand… thought the green colt as he got a closer look. Now he noticed that what he thought was rocks were really bodies of suited royal pony guards. The red color was their blood spread out over the grass. He was the only one alive as he backed away, fear entering his body. He tripped and fell into the stream and pulled himself out quickly. He would have run, if not for the glimpse of a reflection he had in the stream.

He stopped and looked back into it. It was still clearing itself from his sudden fall into it, but he could tell there was something wrong. His eyes were the same color, but the scars around his eyes and the dried blood on his chin sent chills down his spine. The blood wasn’t his; that much he could tell.

He couldn’t stop himself from looking over the rest of himself. It looked the same, but there was something off. It was his cutie mark, it was different. The normal purple looking thorned rose was longer and curved with shades of red on the thorns. He jumped back and tripped over a rock rolling down the peaceful hills leaving a blood trail as he went.

Suddenly he came to a stop and looked into the dark sky as he looked at an array of stars. He looked back around to find the sunny day was now dark and gloomy, with a dark colored colt holding a sword to his throat. Synth could tell he looked familiar, but couldn’t point it out. He could hear him sing softly from the distance between them.
“When the sun goes down… the stars come out… like the ghosts of yesterday.” Suddenly he lunged forward and Synth tried to jump to the side.
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Synth rolled over and fell onto the floor landing on his face. He paused to recollect himself from the nightmare. ”Ugh, what time is it?”

‘Time for you to get a watch,’ Shade responded as usual from his vantage point in Synth’s head.

“Leave me alone, I just had a bad dream…” Synth slowly lifted himself from the grass floor and lied back onto the bed.

‘I could see that. It was very weird, even I couldn’t tell what that was about.’ Synth responded.

“Wait, you saw that? I thought Luna stopped you from seeing my dreams.”

‘She got lazy, she doesn’t let me change them but I can still see them. I’ve seen two dreams of yours and only one of those was actually interesting.’

Synth tried to recall what the dream before that was. He couldn’t remember but it wasn’t a nightmare that’s for sure. “What was the other one? I don’t really remember those kinds of things very clearly…”

‘It was about cupcakes, lots and lots of cupcakes. I think you should get that checked out.’ Shade said.

“I really shouldn’t eat cupcakes for dinner… But it was so good…” Synth fantasized about the cupcake Pinkie gave him two days ago.

‘Why don’t you go see if they have any cupcakes downstairs. You are missing lunch after all.’

“Wait, lunch? How long was I asleep?” Synth sat up and looked out the window.

‘About twelve hours…I don’t think that’s very healthy…’

“What do you mean? More sleep the better…”

‘I mean talking to yourself.’

Synth looked around to make sure nopony was listening to the conversation. He made sure the coast was clear before shaking his head. “’I’ve gotta-“Synth hit his forehead with his hoof.

‘I’ve gotta stop doing that. I’m going to develop schizophrenia soon…’ Synth said correcting his earlier mistake.

‘I’ll add that to the list of disorders you have, including insomnia and retardedness.’ Shade replied not even trying to hide his chuckle.

‘Ha-ha, that’s very funny… insomnia?’ Synth looked out the window now, getting a guess on what time it was using the sun.

‘Yesterday you slept about seven hours and now you slept fourteen. That’s not normal, unless you count Rainbow’s naps…’ Synth smiled at Shade’s humor.

‘Well, I guess I was more tired than I thought. Next time, I’ll make sure not to have a nightmare so I can wake up early.’ Synth put the necklace around his neck and made sure it was clean.

He reached over to get his cloak and realized he couldn’t find it. He looked around a few minutes until he gave up.

‘I did put the cloak right here right?’ Synth gestured towards the dresser where he put the cloak the night before.

‘Yeah, you put it there…’ Shade said with something entering his tone.

‘Do you know what happened to it?’ Synth had a feeling Shade was responsible for the missing cloak.

‘Yes…’ Synth heard his voice get a little softer as he spoke.

‘I may have, upgraded it for you…’ Shade continued hoping he wouldn’t ask how.

‘How?’ Synth asked.

‘Shit…I may have leaked some magic out while you were sleeping…’ Shade prepared himself for a verbal assault, but none came.

‘Okay, then where is it now?’ Synth looked back around for anything out of place, but nothing stuck out.

‘Where you left it.’ Shade responded glad he didn’t care that he used his magic with permission.

Synth turned towards the dresser and could only see the green vines that covered it and blended it with the floor. He reached out to move them aside, when he hit a soft fabric.

‘No way…’ Synth pulled and the vines moved with the fabric as he put the new cloak to the light. It was a light green with a vine decoration on it. It was completely smooth like it was before, but it looked like real vines covered it. He looked on the inside to find a floral pattern with a darker green background in it.

‘Like it? I thought it would show that I’m…not all bad.’ Shade had a very long pause before continuing. ‘I want a chance to prove myself…’

Synth was taken aback, not by the statement, but how he felt that Shade meant it. It still didn’t change what he’d done before, but it was a start.

‘I don’t think I can trust you, and I’m pretty sure I never will… But, thanks. This was my dad’s so I always wore it. It became part of me somehow, and now it feels like it just got better.’ Synth was smiling again at the cloak as he twirled it in his magic, until he noticed something on the collar.

‘Enough of the life stories, I already know all of that. I just wanted to ask… for a truce,’ Shade went quiet and Synth was once again surprised by his words.

‘Truce? What do you mean?’ Synth responded as he pulled the cloak over to look at the collar.

‘Until you leave this castle, I won’t have any fun because you’ll always be watched. So, if you’ll let me join in on your ‘training’ then how about I agree to not cause any harm? Think of this like those deals you made when we first met.’ Shade said as Synth read the words on the collar of the cloak.

‘Sure, but remember any time I think you’re going overboard, I’ll stop you… but that reminds me, those deals we made before in the forest, how did you know those things?’ Synth started putting on the cloak with a smile on his face.

‘Luna… but I’ll tell you the details later. Right now, you’re so hungry that I’m feeling it too…’

‘Oh right, I guess it is pretty late.’ Synth walked over to the door and pulled it open. He took a step out and stepped in something wet. He looked down to find a tray with a bowl of cereal and other foods on it.

‘I guess they didn’t want me to miss breakfast…’ Synth pulled out his hoof and levitated the tray into his room, closing the door as he turned away. He placed the tray on the dresser and jumped on his bed.

‘You’re going to eat breakfast in bed… during lunch…why haven’t you thought about this before?’ Shade said.

Synth was too busy eating his waffles to notice, but when he took a bite of cereal, he found it was awful. He spit it out and started to wipe his tongue with a napkin.

‘That tasted like hoof… oh…’ Synth looked back to the cereal and pushed it to the corner of the tray of food.

‘I wonder why…’ Shade said sarcastically and Synth once again found himself ignoring him.

Synth grabbed an apple and devoured it quickly. He ate his strawberry pop tarts and drank his orange juice to finish the meal. He used his magic to slide the tray under the door, eliciting a groan from Shade.

‘You are getting really lazy. Don’t you want to at least go downstairs and walk off the meal? Or say hello to the princesses? I’m sure Celestia would have a lot to talk about…’ Shade said watching as Synth patted his stomach and burped.

‘Royalty sure know how to eat their breakfast… and I need to study remember? I already used up a lot of time sleeping, now where did I put the book…’ He looked towards the dresser and found it void of literature.

‘Oh, I didn’t want it to be effected when I changed the cloak so I moved the necklace and book onto the floor. I guess I didn’t put the book back,’ Shade said and Synth looked around the floor. He noticed the corner of the book peeking out from under the bed.

He levitated it out and turned the book to the page on F’s he scanned through and found what he was looking for. ‘Form- Recreation, is that what you used on the cloak?’

‘Yeah, I guess so. I never really called them by names though, I just did it.’ Shade said looking through the page as Synth did.

‘Wait, what’s this…? Form- Summoning, sounds like fun.’ Shade said looking at the words. Synth read the rest of the paragraph.

‘Summons a beast in the form of an inhabitant of the Everfree Forest. The user’s familiarness with the spell will determine the strength of the beast while the ability of the user will decide the duration and stability of the beast. If not controlled properly, the beast can go rampant and no longer follow the user’s requests.’ Synth shook his head.

‘Why not? You get six spells to try out, and I only want this one…’ If Shade could pout, he would have.

‘You can’t control it, if it wasn’t for that fact, then it wouldn’t be a big deal.’ Synth was already turning the book to find the first spell he’d try out.

‘I can do it, just give me a chance. Otherwise your life motto will get you…’ Shade said.

‘What life motto?’ Synth was sure of what he’d say, and his mouth had a smile tugging on it.

‘Karma’s a bitch,’ Shade said and chuckled. ‘It explains your life perfectly…’

Synth chuckled as well fully expecting it considering Shade had it engraved into his cloak collar. ‘I guess it does. You know what… I’ll let you try it out. Just try not to summon a Manticore, that’s like three different creatures …’

‘I’ll start with something small, I don’t even know if I’m capable of summoning a Timberwolf, much less a Manticore.’ Synth let his magic fade away and was once again filled with warmth in his head.

His horn glowed with energy and blasted the area in front of him. The room was filled with a light smoke and there was a small poof. In front of Synth was a small rabbit that was jumping up and down.

A high pitched voice sounded in the room. “It worked, it worked! I made another you!” The bunny stopped jumping and looked at its paws. It looked back up at Synth and then started stomping the ground.

“What the fuck? Why am I a rabbit?” Synth burst out laughing and had to hold his sides for fear of laughing to death. He was rudely interrupted by a kick to the face. It was like being hit by a paper ball. He laughed even harder as the rabbit continued its furious assault.

“Don’t laugh! I guess I just need some more practice…” he walked away and Synth sat himself up holding back further laughter.

“It’s… a start…” Synth felt his magic returning to his head and a warmth travel to the back of his mind. “So, are you stuck as a rabbit?” Synth reached over and picked him up by the ears.

“Ow, no. I just decided that instead of trying to control it from a different mind, I could send some of my mind with it. I guess I used up too much magic though, because when I used the spell I passed out in your head.” Shade was trying to get Synth to release his grip on his eyes by swinging blindly to no avail.

“Oh, so now there are two of you…” Synth put him down and frowned.

“No, I can only be this… rabbit, until the magic wears off…but until then, I guess you could say there’s two of us. And technically, this helps me maintain control of the spell.” The rabbit smiled and Synth was about to die of adorableness, until he punched him in the face.

“Ow! What was that for?” he recoiled, the impact was on his nose and it surprised him.

“For treating me like, well a rabbit.” He turned away and hopped towards the book on the ground.

“Well you look like one and you act like one… What should I name you?” Synth received a glare from the rabbit that made him want to laugh again.

“How about you shut up and start your magic practice…” Shade threw the book into Synth’s face and sat down crossing his arms.

“Okay, okay little devil.’ He turned to the N’s section. He found it and concentrated his magic to his horn. Then he let it spread to his face and cast the spell. He closed his eyes as he felt them changing. When he opened them, he was hit by a piercing light.

“Ahh! It hurts!” Synth closed his eyes quickly and in a few seconds, he felt them returning to normal.

“What? Did you use too much magic? I think it’s more of numbness than a pain…” Shade was watching his actions as he covered his face.

“No, I just forgot something…” Synth was wiping his eyes as he opened them again and looked around.

“What? That you aren’t good at casting magic, or are you developing Alzheimer’s disease now? I think you’re getting old…” Shade hopped up to the bed and sat down in the more comfortable seat.

“No, I just need to turn off the lights.” Synth said as he walked towards the wall where the lights were.

“Wait, did you just…Oh. My. God. You idiot…” Shade laughed very high-pitched and squeaked a few times as he kicked his legs in the air laughing at Synth.

“Shut up, I didn’t think it would do that…” Synth found the light switch and flipped it. The room was darkened and Synth used his magic to close the curtains on the window. It was really dark now, but there was a light streaking through the curtains still.

Synth recast the spell and found it went smoother than last time. The whole room was now a green and he could see everything clearly. He turned towards Shade and found his body was a yellow and orange blob. It was like a night vision mixed with an infrared vision.

“This is totally awesome, I can’t wait to-“Synth saw the rabbit jump from the bed and pull aside the curtains bringing pain into his eyes instantly.

“Ahh!” Synth covered his eyes and just as he did, they reverted back to normal ones. He stood up and blinked his eyes a few times. “What was that for?”

“Well, I can’t do it right now, my mind is unconscious and it needs to rest before I cast another spell. I thought this was the next best thing.” Shade hopped out of the way as Synth threw the book at him.

“Okay, I might have deserved that. But the book didn’t…” Shade picked up the book and brought it back to Synth and he sighed.

“Well, close the curtains I need to keep practicing for later tonight. But I could use a rest, my eyes hurt for some unknown reason…” Synth said rubbing his eyes.

“Well you’re not the only one; I can’t feel anything inside of your head, this spell needs to be fixed. Or you need to let me rest without you using your magic…” Almost as if on cue, there was a knock on the door.

“Synth, are thou awake? We heard screaming and assumed the worst.” Luna’s voice called out from the other side.

“It’s alright Luna, I just had a nightmare. I’m okay now,” Synth replied.

“Oh we are sorry; our sister left us much paperwork last night. We could not fulfill all of our duties lately.” Luna said.

“It’s alright Luna, it wasn’t a big deal. You should focus on your own work, I can take care of myself for now… and shouldn’t you be sleeping? It’s like noon…” Synth said.

“Well, we just finished our paperwork. Our next destination was our sleeping quarters but we heard thy screaming and came over.” Luna said and Synth heard her yawn.

“Well have a good sleep Luna; I’ll see you later tonight.” With that, he heard her shuffle away and he sighed.

There was another knock on the door and he turned back to it. “Yes?”

“You missed lunch sir; we brought some leftovers for you to eat in your room.” The voice was light but had a thick accent. It sounded like a Prance accent.

“Okay, I’m busy now, but leave it at the door... please.” Synth said remembering his manners at the last second.

“Yes sir.” He heard a clink as the tray was placed in place of the already eaten tray of breakfast.

After a few seconds to let the pony get far enough away, he opened the door and levitated the tray inside. Placing it on the bed, he got a sigh from the rabbit.

“Pig, you just ate. All that’ll do is- carrot!” Shade crossed the distance in one long bunny hop and landed on the tray, taking the carrots and running into a corner of the room to nibble on them.

“Now who’s the pig?” Synth laughed as Shade stopped his eating to give him a ‘menacing’ glare, for a rabbit. Then he took a big bite of the carrot.

“Eh, Shut up Doc.” He said striking a pose as he said this.

“Okay, I guess we all have our faults.” He turned to the food and started shoving the fruit salad into his mouth.

“Hm, interesting.” Synth looked up from eating to look at Shade.

“What?” He asked while Shade continued to stare and only taking small bites of the carrot.

“Oh, it’s just that I noticed a few of your traits… acedia, avaricia, and gula just now… You’ve changed a lot since I met you.” Shade turned back to his eating and Synth’s mouth opened but no words came out for a few seconds.

“W-What?” Synth was confused, he hadn’t heard those words before and they didn’t sound like very good traits.

“Don’t worry about it, it’s not important… maybe,” Shade said finishing his carrots.

Synth would have responded if not for the knock on the door. “Um, yes?”

“Sir, we have been informed to assist you in your magic practice. Orders of the princess herself” The voice was official and emotionless.

“Okay, give me a second.” Synth forced most of the food into his mouth and tossed some celery to Shade who ate it hungrily.

“These taste so good while I’m a rabbit…” Synth heard Shade say in between bites.

Synth swallowed the food in his mouth and gulped down the rest of the glass of apple juice before walking to the door. He opened it slowly and found himself facing six guards, three dawn and three shadow guards.

“Sir, are you alright?” asked one of the dawn guards while two of the shadow guards smiled awkwardly.

“Yeah why?” Synth opened it the rest of the way and stepped out.

“Well…how do I put this?” The dawn guard turned towards the other dawn guards and they just nodded, their faces staying stern.

“Is there something in my teeth?”Synth moved his hoof to his face and the dawn guard stopped him. He pulled out a mirror and Synth looked in it and blushed. His face was covered in a variety of fruit pieces and small leaves of lettuce.

“Oh, give me a second…” Synth stepped back in the room and shut the door before hearing their reply. He turned to the restroom and quickly ran in. He splashed water on his face and used one of the towels to make sure his face was clean. For good measure, he wet his mane and combed it back to the style it was before.

Synth walked back to the room and opened the door. The guards stopped what they were talking about as he reappeared. “There, all better now.” Synth said.

“Um ok, sir. Where do you want to practice your training?” The dawn guard asked, his face turning back to a stern one.

“Uh, how about the Royal Gardens? I think that’ll be a good spot.” Synth said responded.

“Okay, we’ll see you there in ten minutes. It’ll give you time to… never mind five minutes.” The guard turned around and he heard some snickers from the shadow guards but the dawn guards walked away quickly.

“O..kay” Synth closed the door and looked towards Shade. Who was eating everything that Synth couldn’t fit in his mouth.

“You could have said something…” Synth asked the hungry bunny.

“I’m sorry, but what would the guards think if I talked?” He pointed a large cookie in his direction before taking a large bite.

“I meant about how I looked.” Synth said, sad to see the food was nearly gone.

“Well then, you look pretty bad, happy?” Shade replied as he finished his cookie.

“Anyways… You coming or what?” Synth grabbed the book and placed it on the dresser.

“Yeah, but I hope I wake up in your head soon. I don’t want to stay quiet while you do…whatever it is you’re going to.” Shade jumped off the bed and walked towards the door.

“Wait, how am I going to explain a new rabbit coming out of nowhere?” Synth thought about this but Shade wasn’t listening. He opened the door and Synth ran to stop him. When Synth stepped out though, a shadow guard was standing there holding Shade by his ears.

“Well, I guess this little guy belongs to you…” He handed Synth the rabbit, who managed to get two hits to Synth’s face before he lifted him out of reach.

“Yeah, he’s mine alright…” Synth gave him a look and he stopped resisting, and crossed his arms.

“Ah, he looks like a handful. I have a pet back home that can be like that sometimes. You just have to show them who’s the boss.” The shadow guard petted his head to which Shade gave a growl.

“Well, anyways. Name’s Silver. You’re Synth right?” The guard asked to which Synth nodded and he saluted.

“I’m here to escort you to the Royal Gardens sir, Celestia’s request.” He stiffened up, but Synth shook his head.

“You don’t have to be so formal about it, I’m only here for the week.” Synth followed Silver as he started walking towards the stairs.

“Actually…don’t tell anyone, but us Shadow Guards are new here and the Dawn Guards have been making sure we do everything exact.” Silver looked around but the only thing close by were the stairs.

Synth looked down the stairs and groaned. “I know right? I hate it when ponies abuse their power…” Silver looked back to Synth smiling.

‘Did you just accidentally make a friend? How does that happen?’ Shade said from inside Synth’s head.

Synth continued walking down the steps but they seemed to never end.

‘Welcome back Asshole.’ Synth thought and received a kick from the rabbit Shade on his back.

“Hey, I finally rest up enough and that’s all you can say? I should trip you down the stairs…” The rabbit jumped off his back and reached out with his foot.

“Wait-“ Synth felt the foot stop his hooves momentum and his body fell forward. The stairs were like cheese graters as his body slid and bounced on nearly every one. He finally stopped after what felt like forever, and faced the ceiling above.

‘Karma…’ Shade said and then laughed.

‘is a bitch, I get it…” Synth groaned as he picked himself up slowly. He heard a shout from Silver as he was getting up.

“Hey, you okay?” Silver called after him. He was running quickly down the steps with Shade hopping down behind him.

“I’m just… fine.” Synth got up to find a few cuts on his hooves and bruises starting to form on the rest of him. “I’m gonna feel this tomorrow…”

“Here, let me help,” Silver reached the bottom and his horn started glowing. The magic surrounded Synth and then entered his body. His pain was relieved instantly.

“Oh wow, thanks Silver.” Synth stretched his limbs and found them completely restored.

“Well, it’s my duty to heal you during your training. I need to be efficient about it.” Silver looked at the rabbit happily hopping down the stairs. “But I’d keep a close eye on this guy…”

“Oh, I will. But I’m sure he’s sorry…”

‘I’m not… you deserved it.’

‘All I did was call you an asshole. You could have seriously injured me,’ Synth responded.

‘Well when you put it like that…’ Shade said, jumping on Synth’s back.

‘There’s no way you could put it to make it sound better…’ Synth said to end the conversation.

“So, how about I tell you about the others while we walk?” Silver continued as he led them towards the exit doors.

“Sure, go ahead,” Synth said.

“Well, of the Shadow guards, there’s Split, Slash and me. Split is going to be using his night powers for your training, and Slash will be checking your progress and making sure things go… smoothly.” Silver looked around again but there wasn’t anything Synth could see. “Not much to say about Split, but he’s a lot like Luna. He can move and bend the shadows to do what he wants. It’s also useful that he can do Night Eye. It’ll help us keep an eye on the situation.”

“The dawn guards are Comet, Nova, and Streak. Comet is a lieutenant, and he’s in charge of the trio. Nova and Streak are supposed to be the closest thing he has to friends, and they are wicked strong. I kind of feel sorry for you, but I’m sure they won’t go…too hard on you. Watch out, they might not look like it, but Nova is a seriously powerful Unicorn. He knows a lot of support spells, and it only makes the other two that much stronger…” He looked around and Synth thought of his next question.

“So, who’s in charge of you Shadow guards?” Synth noticed that he smiled.

“Well, we all are. Luna said that there doesn’t need to be ranks because it’s all about trust and teamwork. But I guess I have the most say considering I’m older than them.” He opened the door and held it open for Synth and Shade.

Synth walked through and then walked back in to get Shade who was waiting at the doorway. He carried him out by his ears and set him down outside.

‘What was that for?’ Synth asked curious of his intentions.

‘I wanted to see how long he’d keep it open.’ Shade sighed and looked up towards the gardens in front of them.

“Well, it’s about time. We said five minutes and it’s been six. We’re already behind schedule.” Comet said as he pointed toward the clock directly above the doorway.

“Sorry about that, my little associate here was being difficult.” Synth motioned to Shade who blew a raspberry at him.

‘You’re so immature…’ Synth said.

‘Thanks, I try.’ Shade said now jumping onto his back.

“Well, we must hurry. Which spell would you like to train? We have a specific training course for all six but only enough time for one a day.” Comet explained.

“Night Eye, I think that’s what it’s called.” Synth recalled from memory the spell he tried earlier.

“Good, get the easy stuff out of the way first. We’ll get prepared; you three brief him on the details. We’ll start on my signal.” With that, Comet teleported the three dawn guards away and Synth saw the Shadow guards visibly relax.

“Okay, we have to make this quick…” Silver took a long breath and pointed at the unicorn shadow guard next to him. He had the same look as most of the shadow guards, but his mane had a blue stripe in it.

“Split will keep these gardens dark, and help hide me and Slash from being seen. You need to use the spell to find and locate their hidden Intel location. How you do that is up to you, but without that spell, it’ll be difficult. The three Dawn Guards will be protecting it, and will use force. Don’t die.” Silver now pointed at the Pegasus shadow guard next to him. He had a Yellow stripe in his mane where Split had his.

“Slash will be your referee, he’ll check your progress and make sure that both teams play fair.” He moved his hoof to himself. “I’ll be the medic. When you’re too hurt to continue, call out Medic and I’ll pull you out to heal you. Every time I do though, you have to start over because they’ll move the Intel spot to a different place.” Silver started panting. Synth realized he had a red stripe in his mane where the others did. “I’ll make the field like a maze after we start, so that it’s not too wide open.” He turned to Synth with a worried expression.

“Got it? It’s a guard’s training game, that Luna changed into a practice course. They will try to hurt you though, and you can do the same. Remember though, they are the only things stopping you from getting that Intel.” Silver looked up to the sky and Synth turned to look too.

The red blast in the air exploded as a firework. “Good luck.” Synth heard Split say as his vision darkened. He noticed Split’s horn was lit up and he was lifting the three of them in a blackish cloud. Shade was waving goodbye as he was also lifted. They blended into the darkness and Synth could no longer see them. The sky above shifted in the darkness as the crack of thunder initiated the start of the game.

‘So, an Environmental Takeover? I guess I know who’ll be teaching me that later…’ Synth said as he charged forward casting his Night Eye spell and plunging into the new warzone.
------------

Run. That was all he could think of as a magic blast was sent his direction. It hit the bush next to him and for a second the area was brightened. It extinguished quickly though, and Synth was once again plunged into the darkness. He turned and ran into a bush. He made himself comfortable and looked out into the darkened path.

“Can’t hide, I’ll find you eventually.” Synth heard a few feet away. It was a dangerously close voice, and it seemed to be getting closer.

“Gotcha,” He briefly used the spell and came face to face with the yellow faced Nova who charged a spell from less than a foot away. He immediately canceled the spell as fear consumed him. From close up, that would do more than just sting.

Synth jumped out of the bushes and ran in the other direction. He collided with a rock. When he reactivated the Night vision, it was actually Streak who lifted him up and then opened his wings and flew up a few feet before dive-bombing at the ground. The spell wore off and Synth’s life flashed before his eyes, until he suddenly stopped and was back on the ground unharmed.

“Hey, what was that about?” Synth activated his spell again to see two shapes standing in front of him. What he heard was Streak’s voice.

“That’s against the rules. Magic practice or not, wings aren’t allowed to be used for aerial strikes or surveillance advantages.” He heard Slash’s voice as he seemed to recite that from memory.

“Buzz kill, it would have taught him not to run. I mean it was all in good fun…” He saw one of the shapes fly away and Synth stood up.

“Yo, Synth. That was a rule break, so you get a free healing. That means you can call Medic and they can’t change the location of their Intel. But you can only do it once, so don’t waste it.” Synth’s night vision faded as he saw Slash fly back up towards the sky.

“I won’t…” Synth made sure he was okay before returning to his aimless wandering.
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“Rule Break, should have seen it coming… This is Comet we’re talking about…” Slash returned to his vantage point above the gardens.

“Well, no pony’s ever beaten him before. Even when the roles were reversed, he managed to get the fastest time in the class. That’s what Luna told me before she assigned this game.” Split responded form his position in the dark fog.

“Still, he has enough trouble with backtracking that they don’t even have to move and he’ll never find the Intel. Look, he just went down that path again.” Slash pointed at the path that Synth was now cautiously walking down. “He’s not even close to any of the others… What do you think Silver?”

The pair now looked towards the older colt that was looking at the battlefield curiously. “Hmm, that’s strange…” Silver said raising a hoof and pointing.

“What? He’s probably not even using the spell, by the looks of it…” Split said lazily as his horn lit up briefly, sending an extra surge towards the darkness around them.

“No, look at how Comet has the area covered… there’s too many openings, and those three aren’t even covering the entire west side…” He put his hoof to his forehead thinking.

“Yeah well, he probably thinks he’ll never get that close. That’s what I’d do…”Slash said and then blinked a few times. “Wait, he’s using the spell again. It doesn’t look very stable, maybe about thirty seconds at the most.” Slash wrote this down as Split levitated him a notepad.

“I still don’t get how you can do that…” Split said putting the notepad down after Slash finished writing.

“You just put the pencil in your mouth and then- “ Slash saw Split’s glare and stopped. “Okay… well whenever he uses his magic, energy gets sent out. It’s the same kind of magical energy Pegasus use to make weather. I can see that and tell how much is being used. That’s why Luna picked me for this.” He looked over to the Rabbit next to him.

“Isn’t that right?” He started to scratch its head, but it slapped away his hoof and sucker punched him. “Ow! What was that for?” He looked over to see the rabbit shrug his shoulders.

“He’s probably cranky because he can’t see. Let me fix that…” There was another surge of energy and instantly the rabbit’s attitude changed. He sat down and looked over the scene in awe. “See, that’s all he needed.”

“Hey guys, I just thought of something…” They both turned to see Silver pointing down gardens. “What would happen if you went down the East path… and stayed on that path?” They did a simulation in their head, and shook their heads.

“Wouldn’t work, the three of them are on the east side and they only go west one at a time.” Split said showing how Nova had taken over for Comet on the West side and the East had two guards.

“That’s just it, they are too focused on the west side, that if Synth went just on the edge of the east path, he would only need to wait for Comet to take his shift and then it’ll be over.” The two now reexamined his tactic and nodded.

“Wow, that’s brilliant. We would always go either straight down the line, or on the west. Nopony ever thought about going east…too bad we can’t tell him that, it’s against the rules…” The trio now just watched in silence, but the rabbit was rubbing his paws together.
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‘Now go left.’

‘My left or your left?’

‘It’s the same…’
‘Oh…’ Synth responded still confused as to how Shade could see in this darkness.
‘Use your magic again…’ Shade said as he saw Synth almost run into a statue.
‘Okay.’ Shade heard a few scribbling on his right and turned to see Slash writing it down.
Perfect, as long as Shade had Synth using his magic every now and then, and taking dead ends and backtracking on occasion. Shade was guiding him across the now bright path he was seeing. He was getting comments from the three guards, but they seemed to be cheering him on.
Everyone was going to benefit from this exercise… that is everyone except for the Dawn Guards. They were now unaware of the green colt about to breach their second line of defense.

‘So, I go through here?’ Shade heard him say as he squeezed through a hole in the bush barely avoiding Nova as he walked into that spot right after.

‘Good. It should be just straight ahead now…’ Shade smiled at the direction he sent Synth. This was going to be fun.

“Hey look guys, even the rabbit’s happy that Synth’s about to win!” Split said making Slash look too and smile.

“Actually, he was doing great so far, but now look …” Silver directed them to where Synth was now headed. Directly at Comet who was walking in his direction.
------------

‘Now where?’ Synth waited a while, but no response came.

‘Hey Shade, what’s next?’ Synth once again waited, only this time there was a response.

‘Next, we have some fun. I did get you this far, didn’t I?’ Shade said getting serious.

‘You didn’t…’ Synth got his answer when he activated his Night Eye and saw Comet turn towards his position and run towards him.

‘Do your best…’ He heard Shade say before Comet was in front of him.

“I didn’t think you’d get this far. Most guards don’t. But I guess there was a reason the princess picked you.” Comet used his magic and the air around him seemed to shimmer.
------------

“That magic, it could really hurt Synth… maybe we should stop him…” Slash said getting up quickly.

“No, it’s not against the rules to… kill. And I don’t think he’d go that far. He’s not even a guard.” Split said, but Silver just had a look of horror on his face as Comet ran forward.
------------

Synth managed to dodge out of the way as Comet barely missed him. It left a scratch on his left hindhoof though, and he slid to a stop.

“Come on, there’s no way you can hope to beat me like that. If you don’t do it fast, the other two might come and give me a hand…” Comet raced forward and landed a solid blow on Synth’s shoulder.

Synth cried out as he was sent into the bushes. ‘Shade, a little help?’ Synth slowly left the bushes, the pain in his body clear.

‘Okay, but I don’t know how much I can do, half my minds in the other body. Synth felt his body go warm as he let Shade take over. He pushed himself to the back of his mind, and saw what both the rabbit Shade saw, as well as the other Shade.

‘Wow, I didn’t realize how much magic I used on those Night Eye spells…’ Synth let his mind relax as he watched Shade stretch.

‘Well you had your practice, I think it’s time I got mine.’ Shade turned towards Comet who was watching confused as Shade stretched.

“You done with your yoga? I’d like to make you scream Medic now…” Comet said now running forward to hit Shade.

Shade sidestepped at just the right moment, he did a quick kick to the gut of the dawn guard as he passed by. Comet stumbled and then turned around rage filling his features.

“You need to do better than that!” He yelled running again towards Shade who stuck out his tongue.

Comet came close, and Shade was about to lift a hoof for a hit to the neck. It was a pressure point he planned to test out if he got the chance, but just when he was about to lash out, the vision turned dark.

“What hap-“ Shade was hit and lifted into the air. He landed sliding and on his back.

‘Here, let me use my magic quickly…’ Shade did what Synth said and the light returned.

‘Well that’s inconvenient, I need to rely on your Night Eye spell? I might actually have a tough time here…’ Shade rolled away as a hoof slammed where he once was.

“Not fast enough…” Shade said as he rose up and landed a backhoof kick to Comet’s jaw.

Comet recoiled and Shade saw his opening. He forcefully took over his magic control and gave himself a picture of where Comet was last. He covered his hoof with a black coating and uppercutted where he thought he thought his chin was. He hit something that didn’t feel like a chin.

“Ah, fuck…”Shade heard Comet say. He let Synth reuse the magic and looked at Comet clutching his arm.

‘Eh, close enough…’ Shade said to himself as Comet stood back up, anger in his eyes.

“You’re dead!” Shade watched as the Comet’s yellow hue went orange and then he unleashed a barrage of magic bolts at him.

Shade dodged every one that came at him. It wasn’t his speed, it was the wildness of Comet’s shots. They didn’t even look like they were formed properly. He stepped to the left just as Synth’s vision faded and he was hit by a wild shot.

“Ah! Medic!” Shade yelled clutching the molten hot wound on his right shoulder. Another blast hit his leg and Synth reused his magic so Shade could see the raw anger in Comet’s eyes as he finally stopped his barrage.

Silver appeared next to Shade and quickly healed his wounds. Nova and Streak came out of the bushes a few feet away.

“Hey, Comet. You alright?” They asked as Comet continued to stare at Shade.

“Yeah, but how about you two help me show this pony why we’re undefeated…” Comet said a tinge of danger in his voice. They nodded and Silver whispered into Shade’s ear.

“I’ll heal your magic too, I want to see you win this…” Silver whispered as he used his magic and made Shade feel unstoppable.

“Thanks, I won’t lose…” Shade said and he meant it.

Silver teleported away and Shade was faced with the three dawn guards. Two of them were grinning at him, and the other was glaring.

Slash’s voice was heard in the distance. “Continue.”

Comet charged forward followed by Streak and Nova. They formed a V as they approached. Shade stomped the ground with his left hoof and magic sparks came out. He closed his eyes and undid Synth’s magic, and Used his own.

Shade had enough of these guards, and especially Comet. He stomped the other hoof and listened as they approached. He did something that Synth didn’t know was possible, he saw without his eyes.

Using the ground to find their location, he used magic to wrap their hooves into the grass. Nova tried to shoot magic at him, and Shade dodged by listening to the sound of the magic. He activated his magic on his hooves and ran up to them before they could do anything. Lifting a hoof, he slammed it on Comet’s chest and it drove him backwards until he hit a tree, snapping it in half.

Shade continued with the momentum and bucked using his back hooves. He hit both of the others square on their shoulders and sent them flying. Shade sped forward to Comet and lifted his hoof charged with magic. Synth saw his intention and tried to force control. He managed to slow down the hoof, and then completely bring it to a halt directly above Comet.

“I-I surrender!” Comet screamed as the hoof came to a rest on his head.

Split’s voice came from a surprisingly close range. “Dawn guards surrender, which means that Synth wins.” Shade finally receded; Synth opened his eyes and turned around to face the Shadow guards. They looked worried but seeing Synth turn around caused them to celebrate.

“That’s the first time someone beat them!” Split said floating himself down off the cloud of darkness

“Wow, Synth that was some good magic!” Slash said landing and closing his wings.

“We agree, that was most entertaining…” They turned to look at Silver who shrugged.

“Don’t look at me.” They instead looked behind Silver to see Luna walking over.

“Your Highness!” All of the guards bowed, even Comet who made the effort to stand and then slump to the ground.

Synth was too shocked to see her, that he didn’t notice them being formal. He reached out and grabbed Shade the rabbit and put him on his back.

“Luna, I-I mean your h-highness… why are you here?” Synth said remembering how there were Dawn guards around.

“That is alright, call us by name. We are sure that the events today will not be spoken.” She gave the dawn guards a wink and they turned away and looked at the ground while they nodded. Nova even whistled as he started to clean off his armor.

“Synth, thy events today were spectacular, but there is something we must discuss. We are sure thy know what we are speaking of…” She motioned toward the rabbit and Synth hung his head. He nodded and followed her as she led him towards the Throne room.

“Hey, I think that she likes him.” Split said.

“Idiot” Slash said hitting Split on his head.

“Ow! What? I was talking about the rabbit…” Split said rubbing his head.

Author's Notes:

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