Chasing Shadows

by RangerBeef

Chapter 4

Shadow wandered slowly through town. He wasn't even sure where he was going. His mind swirled with Rarity's words and his memories of Rainbow Dash. He thought of all the conversations he'd had that day. Applejack being overly polite to him and Rarity saying what she thought needed said. Twilight with her tales of new magic with potential to help him and Fluttershy..

Fluttershy.

What would you do to bring her back?

He had said anything. But did he mean it? He'd already proved that he wouldn't do anything. But he had options. Would he wait on circumstance or should he leap at the chance and take what could be his only hope?

As his mind swirled with possibilities and situations, he suddenly found himself in front of Twilight's library.

"Anything?" he said to himself.

He could see Twilight in the window, flipping closed an old book and turning to head upstairs. As the lights inside flipped off, one by one, Shadow felt his heart harden.

"Anything."

He'd done this many times before, now would be no different. He stepped away from the home and watched and waited. When finally he saw Twilight's bedroom light blink off, he moved into action.

Stepping up to the door, he charged his horn and directed it at the doorknob. After nearly a minute of concentrating on the locking mechanism, Shadow straightened up and rolled his eye as he turned the knob and stepped inside. It hadn't even been locked.

Closing the door as silently as he could he cast one more spell, a muffle spell. His footsteps and movements would all be muffled, so that he could move with the speed he required.

Moving as fast as he could, he approached the book Twilight had left on the table. Opening it and skimming the pages, he quickly realized that he had the right book. It talked about powerful shamans communing with the dead, allowing loved ones to speak to their dearly departed and in rare instances bring back the dead.

The rituals of bringing one back to life were looked down upon as an affront to nature, and it usually required those performing the rituals to do so in secret and then move on from their town of origin.

Shadow mulled this over. He would have Rainbow Dash back but they would have to move? That could be a problem. Anything. He shook the thought from his mind. They would deal with it when she was alive.

He skimmed past several pages before he found the other piece of information he needed.

"Dodge Junction. I've been out there before. Lots of natives. Maybe they're the key." The sound of steps on the stairs cut his research short.

Moving with a quickness, Shadow stepped over next to the stairs, and crouched down. This position would offer the most cover from whoever was descending.

Spike yawned as he reached the bottom step, dropping the hand that had been shielding the candle. He hated storms like this. The rain pattering on the roof and windows always made him toss and turn. He had decided to get a glass of warm milk to try to help him sleep. As he crossed the room and headed toward the kitchen he stopped at the pedestal Shadow had been standing at only moments before.

Shadow felt a bead of sweat form as he watched Spike squint at the book. He noticed something off.

"Huh.. Twilight doesn't usually leave books open." He flipped back a few pages and grabbed Twilight's purple bookmark and replaced it at this new page before closing the book once more. "There. Now she won't go crazy in the morning."

Having solved that problem, Spike stepped into the kitchen to prepare his milk.

Shadow decided not to push his luck. He moved to the pedestal again and opened the book. Skimming the pages he decided he would need to take this information with him. But he couldn't take the whole book, that would certainly be noticed immediately. Identifying the pages he needed he grabbed hold of them with his magic and watched the window and waited for his moment.

Flash! Cra- Rip -ack!

Shadow tore the pages as the thunder rumbled outside, and looked quickly to the kitchen. Spike didn't seem to have noticed. Grabbing the bookmark he replaced it several pages forward where it had been. This would give him a little extra time before Twilight noticed.

Folding the pages and storing them away, Shadow closed the book. Time to leave. He saw the light in the kitchen begin to grow, Spike was returning. Left with no options Shadow stepped as close as he dared to the pedestal and cast his unique spell. Invisibility.

The shimmer that told Shadow he was invisible crossed his vision just as Spike stepped from the kitchen. What he did next caused Shadow to sweat more. He sat at the table not far from Shadow with a cupcake and glass of milk. Every second he lingered Shadow's chance of being discovered rose. His spell did not last forever and prevented him from moving if he wanted to keep it active.

Fortunately for Shadow, Spike did not like to savor his meals. In three bites the cupcake was gone and the milk was downed shortly after. As he scooted his chair out to return to the kitchen with his dishes, he left the candle. Shadow saw his opportunity.

When Spike had slipped from view, Shadow moved and felt his spell dissipate. He leaned into the candle and blew it out. Moving as quickly as he could he stood next to the kitchen door and waited for Spike to return. When the dragon finally did reappear, Shadow held his breath as Spike passed him. With a little distance between them, Shadow slipped into the kitchen and around the corner.

He heard a few mumbles from Spike, likely wondering about the now dark candle. With a puff, the candle sparked back to life and Shadow could see the light head up the stairs until it disappeared from view.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Shadow stepped from the kitchen. He never thought he'd have to infiltrate a friend's home. Especially, Twilight's. He felt a pang in his heart. He knew this was wrong but none of the girls would understand. He had to do this. Anything.

Making sure that everything was the same as it was when he arrived, Shadow slipped outside and moved quickly away from the home. He needed to get to the train station before the last train left for the night. He would be cutting it quite close.

Once boarded, the train rolled lazily out of the station. There weren't many travelers as this time of night which meant the crew moved slower and the train responded in kind. As long as they were on time to the next station no one worries. No one except Shadow.

Sitting hunkered down in his bench seat, he kept casting furtive glances out the windows to the platform. As if expecting Twilight to dash out and try to stop him. When finally the train pulled clear of the station, and then Ponyville proper, Shadow let go of the breath he had been holding onto and sat upright in his seat.

He read and reread the pages he had taken from Twilight's book. They seemed to indicate that the shamans which he sought were rather hard to come by. Only the most experienced guides could find their way in the desert long enough to makes contact.

The route was also fraught with danger. Many natives would stand between him and the shaman. While most were friendly, or at least willing to listen to reason, or trade for safety, there would be a handful that would not like his questions and would no doubt try to stop him in his mission.

Shadow resolved that he would have to find and hire both a guide and a reasonable marksman. He didn't like the idea of having to hurt anyone but he would deal with that when the time came.

Shadow spent most of the night studying the pages before nodding off into a restless slumber.