At Carousel Boutique, Shadow Light stood in a very painful pose as his Auntie Rarity sketched them down on a pad.
"Shadow Light, darling, I must thank you for being a model for your dear, Auntie Rarity," She said sweetly to the young colt as he whined quietly from the pain he felt from standing in the pose to long. "Tell me how are you doing?"
"I can't feel my neck." He complained to his aunt as his hooves struggled under him.
"Oh don't worry, sweetie, this won't take much longer."
Shadow continued to quietly groan and whine because that was the same this his Aunt had said thirty minutes ago. After a few more grueling minutes of holding the pose Rarity finished sketching and said, "Alright, Shadow, you can stop posing."
Shadow broke the pose thankfully the second those words left Rarity's lips. As much as Shadow hated being a model, he loved his Aunt enough to be one whenever she asked him to be. Taking a moment to get feeling back into his neck, Shadow looked up and saw Rarity smiling at him as she used her magic to give him a glass of water.
"Thank you, Auntie Rarity." Shadow said politely
"You're welcome darling," Rarity replied "I know that pose wasn't very comfortable, but it will surely help me make the most beautiful of outfits."
Rarity stared at the ceiling with a dreamy look in her eyes as she envisioned crowds among crowds of ponies lining up at her store to buy her newest outfits. She then levitated another glass of water over to her as she began to ramble about how successful she would be. Seeing her use her magic so perfectly made Shadow Light a bit jealous that she had such perfect control of her magic. He then suddenly spoke up snapping Rarity out her fantasy.
"Auntie Rarity, can I ask you a question?" He asked her softly
Rarity looked down at her young nephew and replied, "Of course sweetie, you know you can ask me anything?"
Shadow looked at the ground and rubbed one of his forelegs with his hoof as he asked his question.
"Um, well, I was wondering how you got so good using your magic."
Rarity looked at him for a moment knowing where this was going.
"Are you still having trouble with your magic, Shadow?" she asked
Shadow nodded his head sadly. A soft smile formed on Rarity's face as she placed a hoof under his chin and lifted his head up with her hoof to look him in the eye's while she talked to him.
"Oh, sweetie," she began "There's no need to be Upset. Using magic takes both practice and time. I should know, when I was a little filly I had trouble controlling my magic sometimes too. But the more I practiced the better I got with it. I may not be as skilled with it as your mother is but I know it took her time and practice as well to be as strong as she is with it. So chin up, darling, I know one day you will be as great as your mother is with Magic as long as you give it time and practice and with your mother by your side teaching you, you will be able to control it in know time."
A small smile was able to form on Shadow's face as Rarity gave him a small kiss on the forehead.
"But, darling, if I may ask why are you so fascinated all of a sudden with being good at magic?" Rarity asked curiously "I know you want to be as your mother with magic, but I think there's something else making you want to get better."
Shadows smile faded away and he looked back at the ground in sadness.
"I'm tired of being picked on by Star and all the other colts and fillies in Ponyville, about not being able to use my magic right." He said sadly. "They all think I'm a freak because I accidentally shoot magic."
Rarity huffed angrily hearing Star's name
"Oh, that horrible, filly, I swear, if those new ponies in town don't control they're daughter, your mother and I will take matters into our own hands." She snapped out loud making Shadow a bit scared. Rarity saw this and quickly apologized.
"Oh, I'm sorry sweetie," she said softly before turning away and rubbing the side of her head in irritation about the subject. "I just can't stand hearing about that filly picking on you all the time. I hear that another filly that just moved here is having the same problem with her."
Rarity looked back at Shadow Light and gave him another soft smile before speaking to him once again.
"You shouldn't just let yourself be bullied by her, darling. You need to stand up for yourself, don't let her bully you. I know it sounds easier said than done, but I promise you, if you find the courage deep down inside of you, you will be amazed just how easy it is to be brave and stand up for yourself."
A smile reformed on Shadows face and he nodded his head, understanding what his aunt just told him. He then heard the chime of a clock on her wall showing them how late it was.
"I better get home before, Momma, get's worried." Shadow said to his aunt. "Thank you for talking to me, Auntie Rarity."
Rarity bent down and nuzzled his cheek as she replied, "Your welcome, darling, thank you for helping me today, my sweet young nephew, now run along."
Shadow hugged her quickly and ran out of the boutique while shouting behind him, "Bye, Auntie Rarity!"
Rarity softly smiled as the room became quiet and said, "He's such a sweet child, Twilight has done well raising him."
Running through the town Square, Shadow saw several ponies closing up their shops. Some of them waved to him as an elderly stallion called out happily, "Evenin', Shadow Light, you better be gettin' home before it get's too dark."
"I will, sir!" Shadow responded as he ran through the streets.
The colts and fillies in town may be mean to him, but the adults have been very kind to him for as long as he can remember. Even though he was bullied he did love his hometown.
Running down the square, Shadow saw Zip and Zap's house. He wished the two colts that were his only friends could come out and play, but they had gotten into trouble and they're mother grounded them after they pulled a prank on Mayor Mare. They had offered her a drink they had made using special herbs from the Everfree Forest and the drink made her voice voice high and squeaky.
Leaving town square Shadow heard a familiar voice nearby as well as another much quieter voice he did not recognize.
"What's the matter blank flank are you gonna go crying home to your Mommy again?" The familiar voice asked cruelly.
Shadow ran towards the source of the two voices and saw Star standing in front of a cowering, teary eyed young Pegasus filly about his age. She had a sky blue coat with a pink mane and tail and in her mane she wore a sea green bow.
"That must be the filly, Auntie Rarity, was talking about." Shadow said to himself quietly not wanting to be heard by star.
"You are so pathetic," Star said cruelly with a mean grin on her face, not knowing Shadow Light was behind them. "I can't believe your a Pegasus, and you can't even fly. Your just like Shadow Light, your nothing but a freak. What happened did your Mommy drop you when you were a baby? Oh Wait, you still are one!"
The filly at this point broke down and cried.
"That's right cry you little freak. Don't ever touch my beautiful coat again. I don't want it getting ruined with your blank flank germs." Star said almost threateningly
The filly continued to cry as she spoke up in a broken and scared tone of voice.
"I-I'm sorry I-I didn't m-mean t-to bump into y-you." She sobbed.
Star imitated her mockingly and laughed at her misery.
"Oh, yeah I also heard you like to sing to animals, I bet they all hate your singing because your voice is so horrible." She teased cruelly.
The filly cried even harder as Star continued to verbally torture her. Shadow watched on in disbelief as the spoiled rich filly completely verbally abused the poor filly just like she did to him.
"What do I do, that little filly needs help." Shadow said to himself wondering how to help her, Suddenly the voice of his Auntie Rarity began ringing in his ear as he remembered something she said to him.
"You need to stand up for yourself, don't let her bully you. I know it sounds easier said than done, but I promise you, if you find the courage deep down inside of you, you will be amazed just how easy it is to be brave and stand up for yourself."
Remembering those words Shadow took a deep breath and came out of hiding just to hear Star something horrible to the filly.
"I bet your Mommy doesn't even love you. You should do her a favor and just get lost, because I bet she won't go looking for you."
Shadow gasped as the Filly cried as hard as she could.
"That's enough Star, you leave her alone!" Shadow shouted at the filly
Star turned around and glared angrily as she instantly recognized Shadow's voice.
"Oh, look it's the other blank flank freak." she teased to Shadow Light
Shadow was hurt by those words but he stood strong not taking anymore of Star's cruelty towards the filly she was bullying.
"Go away, Star!" Shadow snapped
"Oooh, Nice comeback." Star replied dripping with sarcasm. "Don't you have something to destroy with your stupid magic?"
"That filly didn't do anything to you, now leave her alone, and go away." Shadow said angrily
Star simply glared at Shadow Light as the colt did the same to her.
"Whatever," Star scoffed "I don't need to deal with you losers."
With that said, Star got ready to leave, but not before looking back at the crying filly and kicking several clouds of dirt on her with her hind legs. She then walked past Shadow Light and painfully rammed her backside into his side as she moved, almost knocking him over. Shadow rubbed his side in pain as Star walked off with her nose high in the air.
Shadow let out a sigh of relief now that Star was gone and he went over to filly to check on her. She looked up at her savior with fear in her eyes. She had dirt all over her face and in her mane and tail thanks to Star kicking it on her and she was still crying but not as hard since she was looking at the pony that helped her.
"Are you alright?" Shadow asked softly but worryingly.
The filly shook her head before burying her face into her hooves and continuing to cry.
"I'm sorry that, Star, said all those things to you." Shadow said softly to her trying to provide comfort.
The filly looked up at Shadow as she heard the kindness in his voice. The tears continued to stream down her face as she sniffled and whimpered.
"W-why, did she h-have to s-say all those m-mean things?" She sobbed.as she spoke to Shadow with fresh tears in her eyes.
Shadow shook his head at her before saying, "Don't listen to her, she's always mean."
The filly couldn't help but continue to cry as Shadow looked at her sadly. The filly eventually calmed down a bit and brushed her tears away with her hoof as she sniffled. She saw lightning giving her a soft smile and she finally gave him a small weak smile.
"Th-thank you for helping me." The filly said sniffling a bit.
"You're welcome," shadow replied kindly "I couldn't let Star keep saying mean things to you."
The filly's smile began to grow a little more now that she realized her savior was very nice. Shadow continued to smile and then gently rubbed one of the filly's forelegs with his hoof to help give her some more comfort, just like his mother did for him. The two remained silent as Shadow reached out a hoof to help the filly up to her hooves. The filly looked at the hoof for a moment and slowly grabbed it and Shadow gently pulled her up. The filly then brushed all of the dirt out if her mane with her hooves and brushed her tail against a nearby tree getting all the dirt out of it as well. She then went back to Shadow light and Shadow finally spoke up.
"So, um, what Star said about you flying, is that true?" he asked the filly
The filly started to tear up again thinking that Shadow was going to start teasing her now. Shadow saw this and immediately started shaking his head violently and holding his hooves up telling her to stop.
"No no, no, no, I'm sorry. Please don't start crying again, I'm not trying to make fun of you. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." Shadow said frantically.
The filly looked at him and wiped her eye's with her foreleg while sniffling.
"R-really, you're not gonna make fun of me?" She asked shyly through sniffles.
Shadow shook his head replied, "No I'm not"
"Okay," the filly responded "Yes, what she said is true, I'm a very weak flyer."
Shadow simply smiled and nodded before saying, "It's alright that you can't fly, I have a problem too, I can't control my magic."
The filly's face beamed up a little bit hearing that.
"Really, then you understand me?" she asked Shadow who nodded his head in response.
The filly then suddenly hugged Shadow Light, nearly tackling him to the ground.
"Oh, thank you! Thank you so much for understanding!" She said happily as she hugged him. The filly then noticed what she was doing and blushed with embarrassment before letting go. "Um, hehe, sorry." She said with a little giggle.
Shadow simply waved it off. "It's alright, by the way my name's, Shadow Light."
The filly looked at him shyly and smiled at him sweetly.
"My names, Sweet Note." She said to him
The two remained silent for a Moment before Shadow realized that star was teasing her about something else.
"Um, Star said something about you, liking to sing to animals, do you?" He asked her.
Sweet Note blushed a little bit and replied, "Yes I do, since I came here to Ponyville, I go to the fields every day and sing to the animals and they seem to like it."
Shadow Light smiled at her, Sweet Note was just like his Auntie Fluttershy in so many ways.
"That sounds great I would love to hear you sing sometime, I'm sure my friends would like it too."
Sweet Note continued to blush at the compliment and rubbed one of her forelegs with her hoof.
"By the way, where did you move from?" Shadow suddenly asked
"Oh, my, Mommy and I just moved here from, Cloudsdale." Sweet Note replied.
Shadow smiled at her sadly.
"It must have been tough to move away from all of your friends." he said to her.
Sweet Note's smiled immediately disappeared when she heard Shadow Light say that.
"Um actually, Shadow Light, I've never had any friends." She said sadly
Shadow's smile smile now disappeared upon hearing that. She was just like him until he met Zip and Zap. He felt a little bit sorry for Sweet Note, she was a really nice filly. Shadow then remembered something that Zip and Zap had said to him, everyone needs a friend.
"Well, do you wanna be friends with me, Sweet Note?" Shadow asked her.
Sweet Noted gasped at hearing that and her smile quickly returned, bigger than before.
"Do you really wanna be friends with me, Shadow Light?" She asked hopefully
Shadow smiled and nodded his head.
"Of course I do, your really nice, and everyone needs a friend." he replied to her.
Sweet note then tackled Shadow Light into another hug.
"Oh thank you so much, Shadow Light!" She said happily before realizing she was hugging him. She blushed in embarrassment again and let him go. However before either of them could say anything their heard a voice coming from over a hill.
"Sweet Note!" The voice called out.
The two looked up at the the hill and saw a young Pegasus mare with a light blue coat and a light purple mane and tail smiling and waving at them.
"Sweet Note, it's to come home, honey!" The mare called out.
"Coming, Mommy!" Sweet Note called in response before looking at Shadow Light. "I better go home, Shadow, do you wanna play with me tomorrow?" She asked him sweetly.
"Shadow nodded his head is response before saying, "Of course, Sweet Note, we're friends now. I'll come by tomorrow and I'll introduce you to my other two friends, I'm sure they'll want to be friends with you too, and maybe we can listen to you sing to the animals."
Sweet Note blushed again at hearing her sing before saying, "That sounds fun, Shadow Light." She then turned around and ran towards her Mother while calling back to him, "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Bye, Sweet Note, I'll see you tomorrow." Shadow called back as he watched her hug her Mother and disappear over the hill with her.
Shadow Looked up at the sunset and Smiled before turning and running home to Twilight with a smile on his face to tell her all about the day he just had, he had just made another new friend and he couldn't be happier than he was now.