Continuing in my Equestria dreamscape. In my last posting http://www.furaffinity.net/view/6385105 all of us who were gathered in the Morning Garden of the palace in Canterlot heard through me the story of Paynes Gray and Sunrise and their lives in Everfree before its destruction.

Finally we got to the part of tale that brought us more or less up to where we are today. When Nightmare Moon came into existence in Everfree and refused to allow the sun to rise word quickly spread from castle that something was terribly wrong. Even without the rumors swirling around the city it soon became obvious to any pony who was awake that the sun should have arisen quite sometime ago. Soon even average ponies in the street were hearing stories of armed conflict in the castle and the sounds of a battle could be heard from within the castle walls. Some ponies fled the city for the surrounding countryside. Some rallied and went to the castle to try and assist Princess Celestia. Many were never heard from again.

Paynes Gray and Sunrise desperately wanted to help Celestia but were uncertain what they could do to help her. Yes Paynes possessed an amazing magical talent but what good would summoning plant tissue and minerals for Celestia? As the battle in the palace grew even more fierce Paynes came up with a plan. They could not stop Nightmare Moon but the Lord of Shadows might.

Sunrise was immediately suspicious of the idea but with the battle now spreading into the city she was willing to consider drastic actions. But first they decided to build some safety margin into the summoning. They decided on two safety margins which they thought would allow them to control the Lord of Shadows.

One an additional page was added to the back of "The Kingdom of Shadows" that Paynes had written and illustrated that bound the Lord to the book. If the book was destroyed or that new page torn from it the spell would vanish and Lord would cease to exist.

Two Paynes and Sunrise bound the Lord of Shadows to their existence. If either one of them died then the spell would be broken and once again the Lord would vanish from reality. They thought this would give them some measure of control over them. With hindsight Paynes admits they did not think through all the ramifications of their actions. It was a desperate plan hatched in the middle of war zone.

With preparations made Paynes began painting a massive life size version of the Lord of Shadows by bonfire light on the cobblestone street outside their home. Using every ounce of paint and ink he had and a mop for a brush he sketched out his creation. Finally it was time to perform the summoning.

The idea Paynes had in mind was to have the Lord of Shadows capture Nightmare Moon and pull her into the Kingdom of Shadows just as character did in the novel. Once that was accomplished Paynes would destroy the book breaking the spell. Yes he realized he was condemning Luna to effectively damnation but desperate times required desperate measures.

Pouring every bit of magic he had into it, he and Sunrise watched as his nightmare creation came to life. The normal form that the Lord of Shadows takes is that of gigantic black raven-like bird that appears to be made of oily black smoke. Like the smoke from a tire fire come to life. Despite his massive size the Lord of Shadows is capable passing through and hiding in the tiniest cracks and crevices. So long is shadow. Any shadow. The Lord can survive. Only in a land with no shadows can the Lord of the Shadows not exist.

Having come into existence the Lord of the Shadows looked upon the two little ponies that had created him and immediately was filled with disgust for them. The Lord knew what he was and how he things worked in pages of the book. In "his" world ponies didn't just summon the Immortal Lord of Shadows to clean up messes they had made! No they feared him and treated him with the dread and respect he deserved! These ponies needed to be taught a lesson. However he could also sense that powerful magic bound him to these two ponies and that crummy, page worn book. He had no desire of being changed into a fictional character again that some delusional pony created. No. He had plans of his own now. Unfortunately he needed these ponies survive. So he listened to their list of pathetic demands and instructions as if he really cared. Then he struck!

He couldn't kill them but that didn't mean he couldn't "put them in their place". Swiftly to Paynes horror the Lord grabbed Sunrise through her shadow and yanked her into his realm. Desperately attempting to grab his wife's hooves Paynes watched helplessly as his wife vanished into the cracks in the cobblestones. With a smooth, cold, ruthless voice he declared that she was now his "permanent" guest in the Kingdom of Shadows. Now he had just one little bothersome pony to deal with, and he had something special for this meddlesome one. Oh yes, something quite exquisite.

He couldn't just leave Paynes behind. The little do-gooder might figure out how to undo his magic or destroy the book out of desperation. Besides eventually the worthless hunk of pony flesh would eventually die in this world anyways that would by default break the spell that allowed the Lord of Shadows to exist here. In the book he was immortal and he had no desire to relinquish that power. Sunrise was in his realm now and so long as he existed so did she, but he had no desire of making Paynes one of his "permanent guests". Besides if he brought him into his kingdom there was chance. No matter how small. That those two might think of a way to cause him trouble.

Instead the Lord of Shadows cast a final spell that changed Paynes into a subject from the Kingdom of Shadows. Then having made him into a subject of his realm he promptly banished Paynes from there. Thereby condemning Paynes to an immortal existence in Limbo; trapped between the world of positive space and negative space. With those two taken care of he picked up the book in his bill and flew off. Ponies can deal with their own problems! Which Celestia soon did.