MLP: FiM - The Talent Tournament, Chapter 14

Chapter 14: The Ninja Prince


Shadow Shinobi said to Princess Twilight and all of her friends, as they all ate at their Rainbow Falls inn’s dinning hall, “My full name and title is Shadow Shinobi, the Ninja Prince of the Royal Shadow Clan, the very imperial family that rules and leads all of my homeland of Uma.”

Needless to say, THAT made everypony stare at Shadow with their mouths hanging open, completely shocked… not to mention that a donkey’s “Haw-Hee!” went off in the background.

Pinkie Pie then asked, “…Is this by any chance the part where we’re all so overwhelmed with shock, that one of us at complete random faints over?”

“Ah guess ya can say that,” answered Applejack, as SHE then straight up faint backwards.

“Ditto,” said Flash, as HE then fainted backwards.

“Really?? >_<; ” Twilight asked.

“I guess so, Twilight~ ” said Pinkie Pie, as SHE then fainted backwards just for the fun heck of it.

Rainbow Dash cleared her throat saying, “ANYWAY… Shadow… you’re saying that you’re not only a real ninja, but also a PRINCE of the ninjas in your home country?”
“Yes, Rainbow-chan,” said Shadow.

“DUDE!!!” said Spike, “That is SO awesome beyond belief! ”
“I know, right?! ” Flash, Arrow Swift, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie all said in unison.

Just then, both Trixie AND Rarity straight up zoomed to both sides of Shadow as a not-so-surprisingly interested Trixie asked, “YOU'RE a real prince?!”

“Not just a prince! A handsome Ninja prince!” said Rarity, as both unicorn mares stared at Shadow with big, cute, flirting eyes… aaannnd then they realized that they were BOTH into Shadow, as they looked at each other with fiercely competitive eyes – the kind that were anime-styled and sparking with electricity.

Shadow then used his magic to warp himself Ninja Style over to the other side of the table as he cleared his throat and said, “Yes, well… I’m sure everypony here is wanting to know why I traveled to Equestria in the very first place, aren’t they?”

Pinkie Pie raised her front right hoof and arm up in the air as she guessed, “Oh, Oh! Did you come here on royal duty?!”
“Not exactly…” said Shadow Shinobi, “Do you all recall when I first told you that the Scarf of the Aura Dragon that I wear around my neck used to belong to my mother before she passed away?”

“Yes, we remember,” Princess Twilight replied, “Oh, sorry, I mean… we remember, Your Highness.”
“Also, now that I think about it…” Flash added, “Forgive me here, Prince Shadow, but if I might ask simply out of curiosity… what exactly is your Cutie Mark, anyway? We don’t know what it is because you’re wearing ninja clothing all over yourself.”

“Well, I certainly cannot just show you all my Cutie Mark here at the dinner table, now can I? ” Shadow pointed out jokingly, which of course made everyone laugh since they all knew what he meant by THAT.

“Anyway…” said Shadow, “First of all, you can all just call me Shadow, if you’d like. I am the Ninja Prince of Uma… but for one, I would prefer it if you’d ALL keep that secretly amongst yourselves and NOT share it with anyone outside of this group OR outside of Equestria’s own Royal Family. After all, despite me being out in public on a regular basis, I AM still a ninja… and secrecy – or at least, information-based secrecy – is one of the ninja way’s most important attributes.”

“Don’t worry, Prince Sha- I MEAN, Shadow ” said Starlight, “We won’t tell a soul about your TRUE identity.”

“Good,” said Shadow, “Now, secondly, to answer Flash’s question about what my Cutie Mark looks like…”

Shadow then placed both of his front hooves together in a meditative stance, as he then used his silver-colored unicorn magic on his own eyes, showing everyone at the table with him that temporarily inside each of his eyes at the moment was what appeared to be the following: a silver crescent moon surrounded by four gray ninja throwing stars called “Shuriken”, and crossing over the silver crescent moon was a type of sword called a “Katana” and the sword’s hilt was the head, red eyes, and fanged mouth of a white dragon – sticking out of the white dragon’s mouth was a long, black-colored blade.

Seeing what Shadow Shinobi’s Cutie Mark was now, Princess Twilight and all of her friends were in pure awe.
“Amazing…” said Princess Twilight, “So, THAT is the Cutie Mark… or rather, the very SYMBOL of a ninja from Uma.”
“Indeed it is,” said Shadow, as he closed his eyes and they returned back to their normal state of being magenta-colored with black pupils.

“Have any of us ever mentioned to you that being a ninja sounds like the best job EVER? ” Rainbow Dash asked Shadow.
“Hmm, about once or twice, if I recall correctly,” Shadow replied, “And yes, it IS indeed a job where one would simply say, ‘I love being a ninja.’ ” ***

*** First one to get THAT reference in its entirety gets a cookie. ^_^



Applejack then said, “Well, since we now know all of that, and thank y’all fer sharin’ all of it with us, Yer Highness, what about how Pinkie Pie and I connected our Rainbow Power to YOU ‘cause ya’ll most definitely cherish family?”

“Well, it IS a third order of business on my part,” said Shadow, “But to be honest… it’s quite a long tale.”

“Well, it IS getting close to everypony’s bedtime,” said Princess Twilight, “Care to share with all of us a nice bedtime story before we all call it a night, Your Highness?”

“Heh heh, clever,” Shadow chuckled, “Alright, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to tell everypony here. However, again, this story is completely true and does NOT leave anyone nor anywhere outside of this group of ours. Understand?”

“Okie-Dokie, Shinobi,” said Pinkie Pie, “Now hurry up and tell us your amazing ninja bedtime story already! * squee * ”
After saying THAT, Pinkie Pie suddenly put on a nightcap and brought a small bag of popcorn.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes as she said, “Just roll with it, Shinobi- I MEAN, Your Highne- I MEAN, Shadow, heh. ”

“Uh… very well then,” said Shadow, as he cleared his throat and told his tale…

“A long time ago in my homeland of Uma, which is quite far from Equestria here… on the other side of the world, actually… I was Uma’s young Prince of the Royal Shadow Clan, the very imperial kingdom that rules over all of Uma, leading its many citizens to a good age of peace, order, and unity. I, of course, mean all of that in the REAL way… none of that power-mad, paranoia-based dictatorship nonsense. And yes, I do know that sounds kind of an extreme thing to say, but hopefully you get my point that Uma IS a good country to its own citizens AND can be so to other countries and their own citizens as well, if given the chance to do so. Anyway, Uma is a good country to live in, BUT before I became its Prince or was even born at all… almost all of it was divided in half amongst itself due to an overwhelming war between the Shadow Ninja Clan and the Sakura Samurai Clan. And yes, I know I’m suddenly changing from me when I was younger to an actual history lesson, BUT just listen because it is an amazing one. For so many years… almost far too many to count and keep track of, really… Umanese ninja and samurai alike clashed with each other in combat, always trying to determine which type of warrior was better than the other. Then one fateful day… an elite ninja stallion of merely 18 years old named Shadow Sword fought with a samurai mare named Sakura Shoguneko, who was also only 18 years olds. Now believe it or not, back in those days, ladies in Uma were almost COMPLETELY forbidden to EVER become real warriors at all, BUT Sakura Shoguneko was much more than a prime exception to that gender-based expectation. And Shadow Sword learned that up close and personal, as he and Sakura Shoguneko fought with each other, clashing their powerful katana blades in battle as if there really was no tomorrow for either one of them. Needless to say, one was a formidable opponent to other. Eventually, they clashed their katana blades so strongly, that the metal weapons actually SHATTERED into a hundred pieces! Surprisingly, both warriors were unharmed…. but from there on out, they had to fight each other with just hoof-to-hoof martial arts… and also use magic since coincidentally enough, they were both Unicorns. Anyway, the two warriors just fought and fought and fought for so long, that they were only focused on each other instead of the world around them… until finally… they were locking hooves with each other so strongly and also looking into each other’s eyes with such focus and determination… they both saw something in each other they had never seen before in their entire lives… a kindred spirit dwelling within the warrior Pony they were fighting. And then they looked around each other and realized that the war they were in… between ninja and samurai… wasn’t proving who the better warrior was… The war was only proving that both warrior clans were so flawed, so arrogant with their own blinding prides, that everypony was failing to see that their so-called ‘glorious war’ was only destroying Uma… destroying their own homeland in its entirety… and there was absolutely NOTHING glorious about that. Fortunately, both warriors were Unicorns, so they quickly combined their magical powers to launch a bright, symbolic signal of peace high up into the sky… and it was actually bright and loud enough to get both the ninja and samurai clans to stop fighting with each other just long enough for Shadow Sword and Sakura Shoguneko to state that their war was only destroying Uma… and that all it was proving that both clans… both warrior families… were just being arrogant idiots who were shaming all of Uma… and themselves. Both warrior clans looked around at their devastated homeland, and realized that both young Unicorns were speaking the absolute truth. At that moment, both Shadow Sword and Sakura Shoguneko declared that there should be a truce of peace between both clans to at least try and repair all of the damage they had done to Uma… and remarkably, both ninja and samurai all agreed completely. It took more than 5 long years to pull it off, but both clans managed to put Uma back on track, AND they had looked to both Shadow Sword and Sakura Shoguneko for guidance on all of it. At this point in time, both young Unicorns had already become close friends and partners in the restoration movement. Suddenly, from both above the heavens themselves AND deep within the planet’s crust, arrived the mightiest of creatures… DRAGONS.”

“DRAGONS?!?!” everypony listening to Shadow Shinobi’s story asked out of complete shock.
Shadow replied, “Yes. Dragons. ^_^ ”

“Whoa… ” Spike said in pure awe.

“And that’s not all, my little dragon friend,” Shadow Shinobi said to him, “For you see… many dragons from both the sky and the ground had arrived to the restored Uma to congratulate both the ninja and samurai clans for putting their differences aside and working together to restore Uma… especially since Uma was the dragons’ homeland as well. Both Shadow Sword and Sakura Shoguneko apologized with all of their hearts for what their clans had done to Uma, the homeland to not only the warrior Ponies and dragons, but also to ALL its beloved living creatures and beings. ALL of the warrior Ponies deeply and sincerely apologized to the dragons… so much so, that some of the Ponies were actually crying out of complete regret over what they had done… especially Shoguneko herself. Fortunately, the dragons were moved by the warrior Ponies’ absolute sincerity and accepted their apologies with pride… but the dragons felt that the only way such a calamity would NEVER happen to Uma again is if the Shadow Ninja and Sakura Samurai joined together as one clan with the dragons’ own, so that it would lead all of Uma to a brighter future. Now, at the time… and as unbelievable as this might sound… Uma didn’t HAVE a Royal Family to lead it. In fact, Uma was actually just a group of huge islands that had nopony to rule or lead the entire country at all because it wasn’t claimed by any other country or nation in the world, due to the many dragons that were living in Uma UNTIL the ninja and samurai all chased the dragons out of it so they could use it for their supposed ‘perfect battlefield’ to fight each other on. However, now that all of THAT was behind them… the Shadow Ninja, Sakura Samurai, and dragon clans all had to come together as ONE unified clan in order for Uma to truly prosper again… and then some. So, it was decided that Shadow Sword and Sakura Shoguneko would combine both of their own individual clans into one, with the dragons’ blessing of course, thus automatically making the dragons an equal part of the unified clan since Uma was the dragons’ homeland as well. Yes, I know that the ‘automatically joining through blessing’ part probably sounds like it doesn’t make much sense now, but THAT is how Umanese politics were and worked at the time… especially since Uma was just BEGINNING to build its own politics. Anyway, also at the time, the only way for this to work was if Shadow Sword of the Ninja Clan and Sakura Shoguneko of the Samurai Clan… married each other. At first, both of them didn’t know what to say since it was all so sudden. Granted, they were already close friends and partners at the time, but the thought of them being an actual couple REALLY caught both Unicorn warriors off guard. However, they looked deeply into each other’s eyes… and by some miraculous act of fate itself… well… once again, just like when they first met and ended up connecting with each other spiritually, they looked back on over the past 5 years that they had spent together working together to restore all of Uma… and somehow, someway… they knew deep down inside their hearts that they were destined for each other. So… both Shadow Sword and Sakura Shoguneko combined their clans into one through marriage, and the dragons became part of that clan as well by blessing both warrior lovers with the right to rule and lead all of Uma.”

“Well, the part about the dragons IS a little confusing, Shadow-darling, even it WAS just the birth of Umanese politics,” Rarity pointed out to Shadow Shinobi, “But that story does sound amazing… and it sounds like that Umanese warrior wedding was absolutely romantic~ /)^//3//^(\ ”

“And the story doesn’t stop there,” said Shadow Shinobi, “Shadow Sword gave Sakura Shoguneko a ninja-styled scarf as a wedding gift to her, and Sakura gave Shadow Sword a samurai-like headband as a wedding gift to him. However, here’s the thing: the ninja-styled scarf Shadow Sword gave Sakura was partially made from the scale of a powerful ally dragon… one that was colored a mix of luster black and bloody red… a dragon named Koanryu… ‘The Black Dragon’. Koanryu was one of Uma’s most powerful dragons and let Shadow Sword have one of the dragon’s scales to make a wedding gift for Sakura out of in whichever way Shadow Sword chose, in exchange for making sure that Koanryu’s very spirit would be transferred to someone or something else when the time of his death would arrive. So, Shadow Sword accepted those terms, and used Koanryu’s given scale to make Sakura’s scarf… and Shadow Sword made the dragon scale become part of the scarf by infusing it with a powerful magic stone… a stone that looked like purple amethyst, but WASN’T purple amethyst at all… and for some reason, no one in Uma today can recall what that gemstone REALLY was. Anyway, with all of that done, Sakura had her wedding gift now: a lovely ninja-styled scarf. However, eventually came the time of Koanryu’s death, so Shadow Sword honored his agreement to the Black Dragon and transferred his spirit into the scarf that Sakura wore around her neck as a way to have Koanryu look after both the husband and wife. Koanryu humbly accepted it. And there’s one more thing: the dragon scale of Koanryu… well… like how Alicorns usually live a much, MUCH longer time than most Ponies do… some dragons – SOME dragons – can live almost just as long because only a select few dragons have a special, rare, youth-restoring power within them called ‘Nealife’. Because of this, Koanryu lived a long life of his own, but his youth-restoring power was about to die out when he gave one of his special scales to Shadow Sword to use in the creation of his wife’s wedding gift. Koanryu shared all of this knowledge with Shadow Sword near the end of the Black Dragon’s days. Fortunately, this didn’t mean that Sakura herself would die just because she wore her dragon-scale embedded scarf, BUT Shadow Sword would have to use all of his power in both magic and ninjutsu to restore the full strength of the Nealife in Sakura’s scarf. That way, SHE would live long and prosper as much as possible… and then some. The gift of life is a beautiful thing. Shadow Sword asked Koanryu why the Black Dragon wouldn’t let the Shadow Ninja try to restore HIS own youth and life powers. Koanryu simpy replied, ‘It is because you and I already made a deal, remember? My spirit will continue to live on in something or someone else when I die, thanks to you… and the reason why I want it to be like THAT instead of me living much longer as I am is simply because at my old age, at this point in my life, especially when I’m near the end of my days… my journey as a dragon has come to its destined end… I know it… I can feel it… and to try and delay the inevitable of this old dragon by restoring MY life instead of making sure that someone as young and beautiful as your wife, Sakura, lives as long as possible would be a big mistake. I know what you are thinking, Shadow Sword… anyone would jump at the chance of saving the life of an oldie like me. But no, because when it comes right down to it… I am COMPLETELY SATISFIED with the life I have lived a as dragon, all the way up to this point. My journey as a dragon is now over, such is the will of destiny itself. However, thanks to you, Shadow Sword… I will be reincarnated as something or someone else, and go on a new journey as such while you and your wife will live long and happily together.’ Shadow Sword understood Koanryu’s words, and it was around THAT time that when Koanryu died, Shadow Sword used all of his power to have Koanryu’s spirit be transferred to Sakura Shoguneko’s scarf, so that Koanryu’s spirit would not only live on, but also protect Sakura, Shadow Sword, and their entire new family together. However, by some unbelievable twist of fate… even with the gift of extended life and youth given to Sakura... she gave it all up to save someone else: hers and Shadow Sword’s newborn son, who ended up being born far too soon and was… actually dying because of it.”

THAT made everypony gasp out of pure shock, including even the guys.
Shadow Shinobi then said, “Well, no need to fret over it, I assure you. Still, it was a very overwhelming time for Shadow Sword and Sakura Shoguneko… None of the professional healing Ponies or doctors had the ability to save the newborn foal’s life before it would be too late, BUT the mother did. The newborn’s life was saved that day… but it happened because the mother used her own magical power to transfer all of her life energy and magic into her scarf – the very youth-restoring, life-extended scarf that was made from Koanryu’s dragon scale AND surged with his spirit’s power. Combining the lives and powers of both Koanryu and Sakura Shoguneko resulted in a fused spirit dragon whose life-based energies made the scarf have the power to save the newborn foal’s life beyond all expectations… and it did just that. It was from then and there that the magic scarf would be known as ‘The Scarf of the Aura Dragon’. Because the powerful dragon spirit living inside of the scarf had and still does have the power to extend and save one’s life, making their aura stronger.”

“Whoa…” said everypony in pure awe.
“I’ve gotta say, Prince Shadow Shinobi,” said Starlight Glimmer, “THAT entire story is incredible! ^^ ”
“I know, right?! ” Princess Twilight and Pinkie Pie asked in unison, Pinkie Pie of course having her mouth stuffed with popcorn.
“That story really is amazin’, Shadow ” said Applejack, “But, uh… what exactly does it have anything to do with YOU? I mean, other than the fact that it does explain how yer special Aura Dragon Scarf was created in the very first place.”

Shadow Shinobi took in a deep breath, exhaled calmly, and then he said, “Well… believe it or not… the two warrior lovers in that story, Shadow Sword and Sakura Shoguneko, are actually… well… my parents.”

THAT surprised everypony at the table as they all asked, “Your WHAT?!?! O.O ”

Shadow Shinobi continued, “And that newborn foal in the story who was born too soon, BUT was saved thanks to such a selfless act of sacrifice by his mother and basically the family’s dragon friend? Yes, that was ME. < : ) ”

Everypony asked, “It was WHO?!?! O.O ”

“And considering how long ago it all happened…” Shadow Shinobi continued, “…truth be told, while I do look like I’m around the same age as just about everypony here at this table… I am actually more than a century old. ”

Nopony else at the table said anything to THAT… but their mouths all did drop down hard on the dinning table while a donkey’s “Haw-hee!” went off in the background… once again.

“I…” Princess Twilight Sparkle spoke up, “I think… I think I need to lie down.”

“Ditto,” said everypony else, as Rarity quickly used her unicorn magic to bring out her symbolic, red lounging chair… to which everypony immediately fainted backwards upon together, only to outweigh and overcrowd the lounging chair… and cause it to collapse into about ten broken pieces.

Normally, Rarity would freak out over this, but she actually said instead, “Well, thankfully, I’ve got 5 more of these back home.”

“So, wait a second…” said Spike, “Prince Shadow… you’re actually saying that you’re well more than over 100 years old?! Is it because of the Aura Dragon Scarf having life-and-youth restoration powers?”

“Correct on both things, Spike-san,” said Prince Shadow, “The Aura Dragon Scarf is composed of pure good magic, even if there is a life clock to its magic… BUT that won’t reach its end for a long, long time. And of course, me being trained in the sacred art of Ninjutsu has taught me to very, very disciplined.”

“Dude…” said Noble Wind, “If everything you’ve said is true, then you must have spent the past 100+ years living an adventurous warrior Prince’s life, right?! ”

Prince Shadow frowned at, as he suddenly became speechless.

“What’s wrong, Shadow?” Princess Twilight asked him with concern in her voice.

“Well…” said Shadow, “Actually, to be honest… me being here in Equestria and fighting actual monsters like Dark Mind and his mind-controlled minions has been the very first and ONLY adventure I’ve ever had in my entire life.”

“WHAT?! O.O ” Everypony asked.

“DUDE!!!” said Flash Sentry, “You’re a Ninja Warrior Prince who’s more than old enough to be anyone’s great-great grandpa, and you haven’t had so much as ONE real adventure in your entire life?!”

“Yes, well, THAT is where my issues with my father lie,” said Shadow, “For starters… my father, Shadow Sword, is the current Emperor of all of Uma… and he’s barely ever let me leave or live outside of our palace’s walls before. In fact, this is the very first time in my entire life that I’ve EVER been outside of Uma… and on the other side of the entire planet, no less. My father has always trained me in the martial and magical arts, mainly Ninjutsu, all inside of our palace. That’s all he ever wanted me to do with my life: study and live Ninjutsu in order to become the kind of leader that Uma needs. Do not get me wrong: I have already grown to love it and my fellow Umanese citizens in our kingdom very much… but from when I was a child to around our present day, I slowly began to realize that because the Aura Dragon Scarf I wear around my neck extends my life in order for me to live long and well… all while my own father got older and older and older until he looked and was and currently is a little older than what my century-old self was supposed to look like… I never truly lived a full life. At least, not one OUTSIDE of the life of a Prince. My father and the rest of our family do mean a lot to me, and always will… but every single time I asked them to please let me just live like a normal stallion, they kept saying that it was beneath someone like me. However, I retorted by saying that while my bond with my entire family IS strong, I felt like I needed to find bonds OUTSIDE of our family – outside of Uma, in order to fully understand the entire world I live in… that we ALL live in. I felt like it was the only way that I was going to be the kind of Prince that Uma would TRULY need. Everyone in my family came around to the idea… but my father didn’t. I asked him why he kept denying me such an important experience… and he said that it was because the outside world turned on my mother’s side of the family… the Samurai side.”

“Wait, what?! O.O ” everypony asked at once.

“Are you all going to just keep saying things in unison during this entire conversation? ” Prince Shadow pointed out.

“Uh, sorry ^^: ” said Princess Twilight, scratching the back of her head, “But still… what do you mean the outside world turned on your mother’s side of the family? ”
“Well,” said Shadow, “I might have neglected to mention that during the time that my mother and father were married, the ninja and samurai and dragon clans all lived peacefully together AND ruled and led Uma with great strength, guidance, and wisdom. However… a year after Koanryu died and his spirit was transferred to living inside of Sakura’s scarf so that he would watch over and protect her… something horrible happened to the Royal Umanese Family.”

“What happened?” Arrow Swift asked.

Prince Shadow took a moment before answering that question, “…The Ronin Pirates happened.”

“The what?? ” Rainbow Dash asked.

“The Ronin Pirates,” said Shadow, “The word ‘Ronin’ basically means ‘a samurai who has gone completely rogue’. That they have casted away all senses of honor, dignity, decency, and morality from their very souls. And these Ronin were just that – so much so, in fact, that they took up a life of piracy for themselves. Now, don’t get the wrong idea: these rogue samurai were NOT affiliated nor related to any of my family’s own Sakura Samurai at all. However, what they were… were the Sakura Samurai’s archenemies. They had arrived in Uma looking to pick a fight with the Sakura Samurai as some sort of horribly misguided and arrogant way of settling their feud once and for all. So, the entire Royal Umanese Family – all samurai, ninja, and dragons – stood together and fought the Ronin Pirates… ALL of them.”

“Cool!! ” said Rainbow Dash, “I bet it must’ve been an AWESOME battle! ^3^ ”

Prince Shadow took another moment before answering, “…According to my father and our family’s history scrolls… THAT battle was not awesome… It was anything but that… because during the battle, the Ronin Pirates used dark magic to… ‘defeat’… ALL of the Sakura Samurai that were in our family… ALL OF THEM… except for my mother, Sakura Shoguneko, of course.”

Everypony around Prince Shadow knew EXACTLY what he REALLY meant by the word ‘defeat’, which of course made Rainbow Dash stand still and feel bad.

“Oh…” said Rainbow Dash, “Prince Shadow, I am SO sorry! I swear that I didn’t mean to… Aw, man, I feel so stupid now!”

“Rainbow Dash, it’s alright,” said Prince Shadow, “You didn’t know. Anyway… to put it simply, after that battle with the Ronin Pirates, they WERE defeated once and for all… as well as locked away in prison so that they would never harm anyone ever again… but the first real victory of the newly created Uma came at a very heavy cost… The Royal Uma Family would then become known more commonly as the ‘Royal Ninja Family of Uma’… mainly because my mother, Sakura Shoguneko, had become… the very last Sakura Samurai. However, she reached out to the outside world to see if anyone would be willing to help all of Uma and its Royal Family out. Fortune smiled upon on us then, as the one to lend us a helping hoof at such a desperate time of need was none other than Equestria’s very own Princess Celestia. But even with her help in restoring Uma’s new kingdom, the scars from the battle with the Ronin Pirates were already running deep… especially with my mother and father. THAT is why my father believed that me, his one and only son, interacting with the outside world was a bad idea: because the world is almost always too unpredictable and chaotic for anyone’s own good… because one minute the world decides to be cruel to you, then the next one it’s deciding to try and help you in desperate times of need… and vice-versa. However, even if what my father said was true… that the world and life itself can be cruel sometimes for whatever understandable or completely random reasons… I refused to believe that it was just THAT black & white and nothing more. So, even though my father and I truly did love each other… we argued and fought over the whole thing for what seemed like forever… until one day, we… well… unbelievably out of rage… just… at the exact same time… said… ‘Shoguneko would completely hate you for being so stupid!’ ”

THAT left everypony around Shadow Shinobi speechless, as Trixie said, “Ssss, ooooh… THAT must have been a real slap in the face for both of you, huh?”

“Trixie!” Twilight and Starlight said to her at the same time.

“No, no, it’s okay,” said Shadow Shinobi, “And to answer your question, Trixie-chan… yes… it very well was just that. So, naturally, my father and I were both in shock over what we just said to each other at the exact same time. We didn’t say another word to each other after that… How could we? What exactly WERE we supposed to say then? And so, we just slowly walked away from each other… and we didn’t talk to each other for the rest of the week… or the week after that… Honestly, we just did not talk to each other for about a month.”

“A whole month without speakin’ to yer own daddy?! O.O ” Applejack asked, completely shocked by this, “Ah… Ah don’t believe it… That’s just awful! < : ( ”

“Well, that is how it was,” said Shadow, “Until finally, one night at dinner… we miraculously apologized to each other AT THE EXACT SAME TIME.”

“WOW,” said Spike, “What are the odds? O_o ”

“Indeed,” said Shadow, “Anyway, after we apologize to each other… we pretty much cried and hugged it out. < : )   After that, my father finally agreed to let me see and experience the outside world, as long as it was of a place of HIS own choosing. Even in his own old age, Emperor Shadow Sword never forgot about Princess Celestia’s kindness from so very long ago. So, he got in touch with her through the mail, explained to her what was going on, and Princess Celestia agreed to accept me as her newest pupil in the lessons of experiencing what life and friendship in this big world of ours have to offer. Now, like she told YOU, Princess Twilight… it WAS short notice at the time since I was very eager to get started on my first real adventure ever… so, very sorry about that, really. ”

Twilight chuckled it off and said, “It’s fine, Shadow, don’t worry. So, I take it THAT is when you made your trip all the way over to Equestria?”

“Yes, after I said goodbye to my father and family,” said Shadow Shinobi, “And I got here by ship, though it took me many weeks before I finally arrived in Equestria. During the voyage, I wrote to Princess Celestia through magic mail services, and she told me all about you and your friends and your many crazy yet incredible adventures and experiences together, Princess Twilight Sparkle. I became very intrigued and wanted to meet and get to know you all as soon as possible, and by the time that I had finally arrived in Equestria, just under a week had passed since Starlight Glimmer here and her small ragtag team of rescuers managed to save you all from the Second Changeling Invasion. So, I made my way to Canterlot Castle, introduced myself to Princess Celestia, and soon enough… met all of you, my new righteous Pony friends, during that entire Manticore and Timber Wolf episode in the Everfree Forest because of Dark Mind. Then we took care of that problem just before you all started to get to know me via Lie Detector Spell and then allowed me to help you all in trying to stop Dark Mind, and well… as they say… the rest is history. ”

Everypony smiled at that last part.
Suddenly, the Mane Seven all formed a big group hug around Prince Shadow while each of the girls were actually starting to cry.
Noticing THAT, Shadow said, “Oh, my. I guess my storytelling abilities are much more powerful than I thought, aren’t they? < : ) ”

Spike added, “Yeah, I guess they are. Anyway, Shadow, your story was great. Although… the idea of a good Pony using youth-restoring magic that’s actually good magic itself? I don’t know… I mean, all things from your ENTIRE story considered, Prince Shadow, it does sound good AND you do sound and seem disciplined in its use, but… with all due respect, Your Highness… I’m concerned since Twilight and I once met a villain who used magic that’s KINDA similar to your scarf’s.” ***

*** Check out “MLP: EG – High School Chronicles” in my gallery for more details on that.


“That is true, Spike,” said Princess Twilight, “And I’m a little iffy about it myself… but that horrible villain was STEALING the life energies of his victims in order to have any magical powers of his own at the time. Prince Shadow here said that his own mother AND Koanryu are using their own life energies in that magic scarf to not only save, preserve, and extend his life, but to also make sure that he lives his life to the fullest. Because THEY... willingly... chose... to do just that for Shadow.”

“Hai,” Prince Shadow nodded in agreement, “They did choose to do so of their own free will. They have and always will look out for me… and I honor their sacrifice by living life to the fullest AND making sure I deliver justice wherever and whenever it is needed – our recent victory over Dark Mind being one very prime example. I don’t really know if the magical energies within the Aura Dragon Scarf will last forever, but I’m making sure that they are put to good use by protecting the innocent and defeating evil. It is what both my mother AND Koanryu would want me to do. ”

“Well said, Prince of all Ninja ” said Flash Sentry.

“Well,” said Applejack, “It’s nice to now know why my and Pinkie’s Rainbow Power connected with YOU at the time, Shadow Shinobi: it’s because like us, you really do care about family AND honor it.”

“They’re right,” said Arrow Swift, “You really do, Prince Shadow… more than I probably did…”

“How do you mean, Arrow-san? ” Prince Shadow asked the green archer stallion, “Is something wrong? ”

Arrow Swift sighed and said, “It’s just… well… I know what it’s like to have family-related problems… but YOU seem to have mastered them better than I have. I guess you really ARE more worthy to represent family than I am.” ***

*** For more details on this matter, check out “MLP: FiM – Bullseye of the Tiger” in my gallery.



“Now don’t ya’ll go sellin’ yerself short, Sugarcube,” Applejack said to Arrow, “About half of us here know EXACTLY what kind of family problems yer talkin’ ‘bout, BUT we also know that ya’ll HAVE already gone and dealt with them completely. Maybe not as strongly as Shadow here has, but definitely strong enough and then some. ”

“Applejack is right, Arrow-darling,” Rarity said to him as she gently hugged him, “Each of us may have our own flaws and issues, but we CAN rise above them, regardless of whether or not we’re perfect. ”

Arrow Swift blushed a little when Rarity hugged him, but he also smiled as he said, “Thanks, Rarity. I really appreciate that… and you guys are right. Whether we’re perfect or not, we DO have the power to become much better than we are today as long as we do so the truly right way or ways. THAT is something that Dark Mind completely failed to realize.”

“True dat,” said Noble Wind, folding his arms and nodding while smiling in proud agreement, “TRUE… Dat. Anyway, thanks for telling us that incredible story, Prince Shadow. I’m sure we all loved it. Right, everypony?”

“Uh-huh! ^^ ” they all agreed sincerely.

Flash then asked, “So, if nopony here doesn’t mind me asking… why do you guys think Dark Mind was REALLY trying to do when it copied everypony’s abilities and talents for itself AND was always thinking we Ponies aren’t special? I mean, YEAH, it was all a part of the monster’s ‘Take Over the World’ scheme, but that couldn’t have been ALL it was looking for. I mean, maybe it’s just me, but… ya think the villain was trying to… I don’t know… maybe… find its OWN special talents and abilities, or something like that?”

Starlight Glimmer sighed a little as she said, “If you ask me, Flash… I think you’re onto something. I mean, whether Dark Mind knew it or not, or even realized it or not… maybe the REAL reason that monster was copying everyone and trying to make them feel like dirt… was because deep down inside… what Dark Mind REALLY wanted all along… was a chance to stand out individually, to become something truly great like every other living being and creature has the potential to do almost everyday. However, since Dark Mind came from Tartarus of all places, the monster didn’t really know the first thing about what it truly means to stand out by being yourself… your good, balanced self… and show everyone how special you really are from deep down inside your heart and soul. So, Dark Mind copied the abilities of others and tried to use them as its own… all because it didn’t know anything else to do for itself… because it didn’t know the RIGHT way to discover the REAL special power, the real special talents, hidden deep inside its own heart and soul.”



“…THAT is why you did what you did, and THAT is why you failed… am I wrong?” Princess Luna asked Dark Mind, as she and Discord had just finished putting Dark Mind and the Neuronox – along with the imprisoning barrier the monster and its precious trinket were captured in – ALL in an even bigger bubble-shaped, barrier-like prison cell deep in the lowest levels of Tartarus itself.

Dark Mind just looked through its Neuronox’s looking glass as the heavily damaged, evil artifact floated there in its new bubble-shaped prison.
Dark Mind’s orange eyes were just staring at both Discord and Luna like it was speechless and yet also emotionless… like the monster had been more than just defeated… it had been spiritually broken.

Dark Mind then just turned away from both Luna and Discord, as it then said to Luna to answer her question about if Dark Mind really did do all of the evil it had done just to know what it’s like to stand out from everyone else, “…Does it even matter anymore? I lost. You beat me at my own game… and now I’m paying the penalty for it… because evidently, I never stood that much of a real chance at winning against the ‘power of friendship’ in the very end of it all… did I?”

“Not really, no,” said Discord, “And trust both me and Luna here, ‘cause WE should know what THAT is like.”
“So I keep hearing…” said Dark Mind, as he sighed and then said, “…Whatever chance I might have had at being special BEYOND Tartarus… it’s gone… I wasted it… I wasted my entire life… and there’s no hope for me getting out of here now… is there?”

Luna replied sincerely, “Well, who knows? Maybe after you’ve reflected on EVERYTHING you’ve done, you’ll get another chance at life, but ONLY if you promise to never use your copying or mind-breaching powers ever again. Least of all, like how you used them this week.”

Dark Mind responded, “Even though that sort of thing… playing those sorts of games… is just in my nature?”
Discord stated, “It’s in MY nature as well, but I was still able to reform myself for the better despite it… and despite all of the damage I did.”
“Only because you WANTED to be reformed by PONIES of all things,” Dark Mind pointed out.
“I know! It’s crazy, even for ME, right?! ” Discord exclaimed, though his smile faded away quickly when he could see that Dark Mind was still not showing any signs of joy.

Discord then folded his arms as he said, “Well, Dark Mind… who knows? Play your cards right from here on out… and I mean, play them right FAIR AND SQUARE for a change…  as surprising as that might seem coming from ME of all characters , and you just might actually get out a lot sooner than Tirek himself ever will.”

“Thanks for the supportive vote of confidence…” Dark Mind replied half-heartedly, still not looking at either Luna or Discord, “But I seriously doubt I’m ever going to get out of this prison… because I don't deserve freedom or a real chance to stand out in life or a real chance to shine or ANYTHING of the sort… not even in the slightest… and we all know it.”

Both Equestrians looked at each other, Discord shrugged his shoulders at Luna, and then Discord got ready to use his warp magic one last time to teleport himself and Luna all the way back to Canterlot to inform a fairly worrisome Princess Celestia of everything that had happened AND that Dark Mind was finally defeated and put back into Tartarus where the creature belonged as punishment for its crimes against all of Equestria, if not against the entire world.

However, just before Discord could snap his fingers, Dark Mind then said to both him and Luna, “Wait!!! Before you go… there’s something you should know… I don’t know WHY all of a sudden, I feel like I should tell you this, but… well… when I said that I forced myself OUT of Tartarus in order to be in Equestria in the very first place… I lied… I was actually sent out of Tartarus.”

“By whom??” Princess Luna asked, “Explain this instant.”

A good number of seconds passed before Dark Mind looked at both Luna and Discord, but when it did… its orange eyes were looking quite serious, as it said to both Equestrians, “All I can tell you is this… The Black Pearl and Huntrix Apex partially served as communication devices to Aisenma and Hunter Trapper respectfully… I am by the far the ONLY dark artifact from Tartarus with an actual living, thinking sentient spirit within it… and everything Tartarus-related that’s been going on in Equestria for quite a number of Moons now… is all because of… well…”

“Because of whom?!” Luna and Discorded demanded to know.

Dark Mind then simply answered, “Beware of Mystmancer… and the Ebon Geddon…”

And at that very moment, Discord’s mind felt like something inside of it just snapped on and was practically like electricity surging through his brain, as he gasped quite deeply.
Princess Luna noticed Discord’s behavior as he asked him, “Discord, what’s wrong?”

Discord quickly recomposed himself as he panted heavily and then looked at Princess Luna to say to her, “I KNEW all along those magic weapons that Flash, Arrow, and Shadow have looked and felt familiar to me! Those very weapons really DO have the power to be the Elements of Harmony’s complete equal!”

“What do you mean? What is going on?!” Luna asked Discord.
Discord was quite serious right now, as he looked at Luna and said to her, “It’s the old legend… the one that’s even older than Celestia’s legend surrounding the Elements of Harmony… the old legend that’s practically a PROPHECY in its own right!”

“Which legend are you talking about exactly?” Princess Luna asked Discord.

Discord replied , “The Elements of Peace…”