Chapter 10: Refection
“So he asks if he can have one more song, right? Something from when he used to serenade his wife,” said Lightning “And I figure, you know, rich pony, probably has lots of time on his hands for writing music, probably used to be a singer or something. Anyway, I got a song pretty quick, and it was this beautiful thing and there were probably really sweet words for it, and I swear it was one of the sweetest little sonatas I’ve ever gotten to play.”
“Alright,” said Shadow “So why is this a funny story?”
“Hush, I wasn’t done,” said Lightning “Anyway, when I finish, I’m expecting all this sweetness and cuddling but when I look over his wife is staring at him all confused and she says ‘I don’t remember that one’, and I was confused then too so I told them ‘Well he sang it really recently to some pony’, and I think it clicked for me at the same time it clicked for her.”
Charm gasped “What did she do?” she asked, trying to hold back laughter.
“She was right, and well, so was I but you know, that’s just that. Last I heard she got his house in a divorce and some hot guy got her as a sugar momma. They got all sorts of official evidence he was cheating on her too, with…” Lightning got very quiet, leaning in to her two pony audience and whispering the last word “Prostitutes…”
Charm gasped again as Shadow’s eyes bugged “In Ponyville?” he said in a tone of disbelief “I thought ponies only paid for ‘that’ in places like Manehatten or Saddle Arabia.”
“I know,” said Lightning, “I was really surprised too. My brother didn’t want me to find out but it was kind of in the news. They would’ve arrested her for it too, but it turned out she was pregnant!”
“Oh no…” said Charm “She got a settlement too didn’t she? Can you imagine having to raise a foal all on your own? I can’t imagine anything worse…”
Shadow tried to hide his own self-satisfied smirk, being a colt was nice when he thought about how he would be able to miss out on possibilities like that. The expression slipped away as it dawned on him that he had been raised by a single parent himself and it had, in fact ended pretty badly…
“Yeah,” he agreed “Maybe we could talk about something else?”
They were seated at one of the tables still left in the main hall after the great relocation. There were a smattering out in the lobby but mainly the small group was pressed to the extreme edge of the table to accommodate the sudden lack of seating. Shadow was opposite the girls with two empty plates that had contained burgers and a third that still had most of one. Charm had little to eat, but Lightning had met him virtually bun for bun as they played catchup, swapping stories over the meal.
“I’ve got one,” said Charm “It’s about when I got my cutie mark!”
“When you learned how to draw a triangle!” Shadow said, sarcasm and faux paux dramatics blending into one of the most comical tones Lightning had ever heard.
“It is an infinity triangle!” Charm said, her cheeks puffing in annoyance “Fine, if you don’t want to hear about my coolest illusion ever!” she paused, reconsidered, and re-spoke “Okay not my coolest really, but it was really something.”
“Whatever you say,” said Shadow, clearly more focused on finishing his third burger. Halfway into his mouth, however, he dropped the bun and fell backwards, eyes turned into full moons of terror “What the hell?” he shouted “There’s a huge bug in my burger and… oh god I bit out of it!”
Several of the still-eating ponies looked mortified, some abandoning their own dishes to hastily stand and leave. Lightning herself was taking a closer look at her own sandwich, turning puce. Charm stayed still and calm, smirking as her horn glowed ever so slightly yellow.
“Now as I was saying,” she said “Really cool thing, it was only like a year ago. I’m a huge gravity falls fan, right? Love the whole mystery of the thing, I’ve found all the secrets. But when I saw the final episode I just absolutely fell in love with Bill Cipher.”
“There are bugs in our food and you’re talking about a TV show?” said Lightning, staring disbelievingly at Charm “What’s wrong with you?”
“There are no bugs,” said Charm, “I just felt like having some fun with the oaf,” she pointed to Shadow, who was guzzling water to try and eliminate the imagined taste “He doesn’t know about my little trick remember?”
“That is… so mean,” said Lightning, a hesitant smile creeping onto her face “Did he… taste it?”
“Well no,” said Charm “But by the look of things do you think he really had to?”
Shadow stood, looking on the verge of foaming at the mouth “What the actual buck…” he said, taking a dizzying step towards the table before stumbling away from it again “That was… so awful…”
“Oh laugh it off,” said Lightning “There wasn’t actually a bug, it was just a spell.”
“Hex,” Charm corrected “Technically illusions fall under the category of hexes, at least when cast singularly. Spells have visible effects on lots of ponies but hexes-“
“I don’t care,” said Shadow “I don’t have some weird pointy bone coming out of my head so I honestly don’t have any reason to care. Just please, stop.”
Charm gave him a look of clear discontent “You’re very rude, you know that?” she said “And totally lacking in a respectable sense of humor.”
“I just don’t like being the butt end of a joke,” said Shadow “Don’t screw with my head and we should get along just fine.”
“Not that there’s much in there to screw around with anyway,” said Charm, sneering “Hexes only work that well if you aren’t smart enough to cope with it.”
“Okay…” Lightning muttered to herself “Definitely not a thing…”
Shadow seemed to have run out of comebacks at this point, so instead of responding he stood, shook his mane into an even more unruly position, and stomped off with what he hoped was an air of confidence.
“Hey, stop that kid!”
Lightning and Shadow, used to this call referencing them, swiveled towards the voice. Charm, merely interested, turned more casually, missing entirely the sight of a large white mass barreling into Shadow head on and not stopping.
“What the hay?” said Charm, watching Shadow get carried through the hall and into the kitchen “What was that?”
Lightning stared after, equally dumbfounded “I have no idea.” She said.
“Get off of me!” Shadow shouted, trying to dislodge himself from the stuck position between two solid points “Let me go! You’ll be sent to the guillotine for kidnap of the duke of Canterlot!”
“Sorry dude!” The voice from the white mass below finally made itself known “I did not mean to do that!”
Movement ceased far too abruptly as Shadow found inertia carrying him away from the white mass, across the tiled floor, onward to slam against one of the metal refrigerators back first. He slumped, dazed by the impact, before looking up to view his assailant. White fluff, beady orange eyes, and horns that signified him as one of the buffalo, this strange character looked like bad news from every angle.
“Who are you?” said Shadow, taking a firmer stance “What are you trying to do here?”
“Long story,” said the buffalo “I heard there was free food or something going on in here, and I’ve been pretty much living on apple pie for the last few days so that sounded like a chill deal. Then these two dudes in armor stopped me at the door asking what, and I quote, ‘some dirty buffalo is doing trying to get into the hall’. And naturally I was kind of mad about that, because you know, that’s racial profiling, but I went up to him and said that I heard there was free food and I wanted some.”
“Pie…?” asked Shadow.
The buffalo carried on undeterred “And he said ‘We don’t feed riffraff like you’ and he poked me with his spear. Not like stabby poke you know, just a love tap, but that was incredibly rude! So I decide to just buck it, because I’m hungry and these guys are the worst guards ever so I kind of shoved past him into the cafeteria thing. Then he starts shouting and telling everyone to get me so I took off running and that’s when I bumped into you.” Finally he paused, squinting, then exclaimed “Shadow! You son of a dog, it’s been years man!”
Shadow, already long outside rational fields of understanding, gawked at the buffalo “Do I know you?” he asked.
“It’s me dude,” said the buffalo “Mesa, your old time-travel buddy? You and I tried to start a war!”
Shadow’s gut reaction was to mention that was on the other and he had played no part, but other things were clicking worse “Black Mesa?” he said, looking incredulously at his assailant’s pale, white fur “Really?”
Mesa’s ears flattened “Yeah, I know,” he said “Load of manure, it’s not just freakish and mutant it’s ironic. But dude, old times’ sake, you’ve got to get these guards off my tail!”
“Mesa, I’m a duke,” said Shadow “I don’t really have the authority to get you out of whatever mess you’re in right now…”
Almost on cue the door to the kitchen swung wide, and a white furred unicorn in gold armor burst in, looking livid. “Alright you little rogue,” he said, lowering his spear and walking towards Mesa “Get away from the duke and no one gets hurt.”
Mesa made a slightly exaggerated effort to put Shadow between the guard and himself “Come on man,” he said “You’re smart, help me out here.”
Shadow sighed “It’s alright Dawnstar,” he said, addressing the guard “He’s one of the guests for tomorrow. That little stunt is kind of his idea of a practical joke.”
Dawnstar looked baffled, almost dropping his spear in shock “But,” he said “He’s a buffalo, a goddamn monster of one too. He has white fur!”
“You don’t think that’s just a little bit of a stretch?” asked Shadow “He’s, like, twelve. What sort of havoc do you think he’s going to wreak in such a ‘monstrous’ way? Well, I mean, any havoc that I haven’t already taken care of?”
Dawnstar slowly raised his spear back to his side, glaring hard at Mesa “If he so much as speaks out of turn he’s going to the stocks…” he said “And believe me, we’re all watching…”
“Thanks Dawn,” said Shadow, kicking Mesa before he could make a retaliatory remark, “And don’t worry, we’ll keep him so in line he’ll lose two dimensions!”
“I hope so…” said Dawnstar, slowly turning and taking his leave.
Shadow’s artificial smile didn’t so much slide away as it did careen off into the distance. When he turned on Mesa again he looked something beyond livid. “What the buck was that?” he said, desperately trying to keep his voice down.
“I already told you,” said Mesa “And he did too, that guy’s a total racist.”
“I don’t care,” said Shadow “You’re not even supposed to be in Canterlot, hell, no one is even supposed to know you exist! I’ve genuinely tried to be calm and tolerant today, but when a literal ghost from the past turns up and tackles me in the dining hall he had better be bringing some answers with him about why he’s here…”
“Easy, flyboy,” said Mesa, about as intimidated by this outburst as he would’ve been by an angry kitten “I just took off for a while, to adventure, you know? I figure you can get behind that.”
The rage slipped away from Shadow, slightly. A very small and locked away part of his mind stirred at the mention of an ideal he had once held in high worship. “Still,” he said, trying to suppress the growing sense of empathy “Why here? Why now of all times? Is there something going on in Appaloosa?”
“Well, no,” said Mesa “There was a cart heading this way, I remembered I had a prominent contact among royalty and I figured it’d be cool. Oh yeah, I kind of need some bits.”
The anger stepped back through the door of Shadow’s mental palace and lit a firework “Bits?” he exclaimed “Your only goal here is to get money?”
“No way!” said Mesa, but his eyes betrayed the lie as he cast around for an alternative “I heard there was a really chill party going on here and I wanted to get in on that, you’re hosting right? You could totally get me in!”
Shadow wasn’t even sure what to think anymore, but somewhere an idea surfaced that would be both fun and vengeful at the same time “Tell you what,” he said “I’m not giving you any bits, but if you can get them for yourself feel free to join the party.”
Mesa found himself stunned “But,” he stammered “Dude, I’ve got to pay the guy who gave me a ride here, he’s going to kill me if I don’t. Just, like, twenty bits man, come on!”
“Sorry,” said Shadow, brushing past him towards the exit of the kitchen “But really, I’m not sorry. Good luck!”
Out in the hall Lightning and Charm had watched Shadow be carried away with emotions spinning somewhere between shock and amusement. There was a thought, briefly, of going after him to see just what had occurred, but the sight of a guard running to the scene deterred that. In this case it very well might be better to just avoid trouble, as fun as it might be to fling forward.
“You think he’s okay?” Charm queried.
“Yeah,” said Lightning “He’s kind of stupid but he’s made it out of worse. He’ll be fine.”
“Worse?” said Charm “That guy looked like a weird colored buffalo. Those things can run as fast as fifty kilometers per hour! Poor duke is probably a bruised and beaten mess right now.”
“Oh, no,” said Lightning “He has most definitely had more painful experiences. You didn’t see his cutie mark did you?”
“The asteroid?” Charm said “Yeah, of course I saw it. I figure he’s an astronomer or something? It does go with the whole sun, moon, stars thing the royal family has going, celestial bodies and all.”
“He chases stars,” said Lightning “Shooting stars. He gets an angle on them or something while they’re still in the air and gets them to specific places on the ground. A big part of the treasury is from gems found in those.” Lightning found herself smiling “And space salt, there’s a special market for that now or something.”
“I did see that,” said Charm “Space salt, at the gift shop, I didn’t really understand it,” she peered towards the kitchens again, where some squabble was apparently taking place “So he chases asteroids huh? That’s one Hell of a line of work.”
“Don’t get him started on it,” Lightning cautioned “I remember he used to go on for hours about all the nitpicky details and how dangerous it is…” she paused “The castle has a gift shop?” she asked.
“Not, like, in the castle,” said Charm “It’s the first building you pass while leaving though, you should’ve seen it when you were walking here from the train station, it’s a little hard to miss.”
“I took a bit of an alternate route,” said Lightning, feeling somehow sheepish “You don’t occur to me as the type who’d shop for souvenirs though, why were you there?”
Finally it was Charm’s turn to flush, her cheeks looking purple with the contrast “My mom works there,” she said “I live way down on the bottom level in somepony’s spare room. They’re very nice but, you know.” She trailed off “It’s a long walk, but I spend most of my time here at the castle.”
“Oh,” said Lightning, feeling somehow worse “My parents were both on the royal guard, and my big brother was too for a long time. Now he picks apples and the royal family pays me to keep doing my music thing.”
“The arts endowment?” Charm asked “Like, extra welfare for ponies who do artsy stuff that can’t really sell right?”
“I actually get a lot of money for shows too,” said Lightning, worried to sound a braggart “It’s sort of a really rich and exclusive thing to have me play a family piece for somepony. Apparently I’m kind of a big deal or something…”
“Must be really good at what you do,” said Charm, looking down at an empty plate “I didn’t get my cutie mark until all that long ago, like I said, maybe a year? I feel like I’m a little slow…” she paused, collected herself, and continued “If my only talent is conjuring illusions then am I just going to end up as a show-pony somewhere? Humiliated and beat down like Trixie? What kind of a talent even is that for me to wait for…?”
Lightning wasn’t even sure what to say at this point, so she moved a little closer, and very carefully wrapped herself around Charm in a tender embrace, hoping it would be enough. The forced smile from the blue filly showed that it had.
“Sorry,” said Charm “I know we just met and all but, I don’t really confide that in many ponies because… well I don’t really have any friends. Magic is so taken for granted up here, no one wants to talk about it or study it and the ponies that do are just… stupid! Because we have to go and look up what everyone is doing as easy as walking.”
“No way…” said Lightning, casting for the right words “What you’re doing is totally different. I don’t really understand magic, I know, but, like you said, unicorns do it like walking most of the time. But what you’re studying isn’t like walking magic is it? It’s like running magic, and every pony can walk but only a few can run the five K in less than fifteen minutes!” she blushed “Sorry, I kind of did that once, I got fourth place but it was still awesome…”
“No, I get it,” said Charm, sitting up a little straighter and looking Lightning in the eye “That’s how I see it too, but you can’t explain that to every pony in the world. I’m just glad someone at least gets it.”
“Well, sort of,” said Lightning “Still, you know, earth pony! Magic isn’t something I really understand like you.”
“Just shut up while you’re still awesome,” said Charm, blushing as she pulled out of the hug. She gave a quick look back, then to her plate again. Finally she jumped forward, kissed Lightning’s nose, and sat again, blushing wildly and looking away “That never happened, got it?”
Lightning had been stunned by the quick action, agreeing with a short nod before turning again. They wore similar silly smiles, looking away from each other in a private sense of mutual glee. Minutes passed, the commotion in the kitchen continued, and the two fillies searched in vain for the words to break the silence.
“Excuse me,” those very words were spoken from another source “Is this seat taken?”
Lightning and Charm turned together to see a young zebra, her hoof on the place Shadow had been, apparently staring vaguely into space. She wore an expression of contained triumph, but none of it had carried to the soft tone of her voice. From this position she appeared to be trying to strike a heroic pose.
Charm giggled “I think there’s enough room by Shadow’s big butt for you to sit next to him,” she said “Of course you can sit. The good stuff is mostly gone though, you should’ve gotten here earlier…”
“You try finding your way through a place this big and empty…” the filly spoke in a tone too low to really hear as she took her seat, but seemed shameful anyway as she looked up “Sorry, I didn’t mean it, but yes, thank you.”
Charm raised an eyebrow curiously as the zebra felt around the table, touching lightly upon a few dishes before ladling salad onto an abandoned plate. It was outside of what charm had learned as civil behavior and it confused her greatly, but Lightning found it oddly familiar. She cast around for a reason that might be before alighting on a vague possibility.
“You remind me of someone I know,” she said “Does the name Iris Stripes mean anything to you?”
Iris nearly choked on her food, her ears turning in Lightning’s direction while her eyes expressed sheer shock “How do you know me?” she stammered “If you want the potions I already passed them on to Celestia, you can’t have them.”
“Iris, calm down,” said Lightning “Do you really not remember-“ she caught herself “Oh right, you can’t see… it’s Lightning Strike! We met a long time ago when a friend of mine pulled you out of the snow.”
“So… you two know each other,” said Charm “Again…”
“Not really…” said Iris “It’s been a very long time, more than four years I think? You’re that really tough girl who was with-“ she gasped, sounding more like a squeak “Oh my, is that the same Shadow? Is he here?”
“It is a common name.” said Charm
“Well ‘Shadow, Duke of Canterlot’ isn’t,” said Lightning “I guess you want to catch up too huh?”
“Oh, well I’m sure he’s very busy,” said Iris, starting to move out of her seat “I wouldn’t want to intrude, he probably has some very important things to attend to after dinner. I could be a distraction and make him accidentally spill something or…”
Iris squealed as she backed away from the bench right into somepony else. She turned on a dime, intending to apologize, then froze. There was a ruffle of wings, the smell of sky and fire together, the breathing sound of lungs acclimated to absurdly low pressures. He was taller, more muscled, the contact with his chest had been enough to communicate that, and she could sense his presence towering over her as her mind shaped a Pegasus in the blackness, molding the color gray.
“Iris?” said Shadow, his expression Inquisitive.
“Yes…?” Iris stammered, backing up to the benches again, blushing furiously “Sorry, I thought you were away with the loud person from earlier, I don’t want to get in the way, I’ll just-“
She squealed again as Shadow cut her off, enveloping her in a forceful embrace and holding her there “Oh my god,” he said, half to himself, feeling her mane and fur to confirm the reality “It’s you… Iris.” He pulled away holding her at leg’s length “I thought I’d never see you again.”
Charm whistled, and Lightning smirked. The two exchanged knowing looks as Shadow glared back at them Iris hesitantly pushed her way back into the hug, nuzzling into the crook of his neck and inhaling sharply.
“You’re more burned than before…” she said, concern peeking through her tone “You’ve been doing dangerous things this whole time haven’t you?”
“Yeah, I probably look like I spent time in a toaster oven,” said Shadow “Oh wait, you wouldn’t-“
“Stop talking,” said Iris, quiet but demanding, still absorbed in him “I just need another few minutes okay?” she nuzzled closer, almost desperate to just hold him in place.
“Does this happen often?” Charm hissed to Lightning.
“More than I think it should,” said Lightning, shrugging and putting her attention more towards a cup of cider “Had some cute DJ wrapped around his hoof when I knew him, really odd thing after the end of it all…”
Something seemed to click in Charm’s mind just then “You mean the one who overcame the effects of an age spell with the use of a manna battery?” she inquired “Not just any old thing either, not that they’re common, but the lunar pendant? The necklace with all the magical energy of Nightmare moon?”
“Sure…” said Lightning “I mean, no idea, but that’s pretty much what it did? It made her eyes turn blue too so that was a little odd, and it…” she trailed off, trying to visualize something “It did something else, but… I don’t really remember it.”
“Well, I guess it can’t be anything serious,” said Charm “But Luna, I would kill to get my hooves on that.”
“It was important though,” said Lightning, closing her eyes and trying to think “It was part of the reason why I haven’t seen Shadow in so long. Why can’t I remember?”
Charm gave her a curious glance “Are… you alright?”
“No,” said Lightning, slumping on the table with a sigh “Everything sucks and I don’t know why. If I think about it too much I just go nuts…”
“Well, if it helps,” said Charm “I get the feeling you’re not the only one out of the loop. Well, I know I’m out already but…” she trailed away “Never mind, you’ve got your own thing going.”
“Light!” Shadow’s voice slipped between comments “You guys want to head back to my room? I got the new smash bros game and I want to see if you’re as good at it as you are at fighting is magic!”
“Hey, I want in on this!” said Charm “I haven’t gotten to use my gamecolt in ages! I got the 2d version of the new model but I’ve got the game!”
Shadow took on an evil smirk at this comment “Oh, you only have it for the new gamecolt?” he asked “I got it early for the IU system, that way some of us,” he turned to Lightning “Will actually get to play.”
“I couldn’t afford it!” said Lightning “Those things are like a hundred bits and that’s for the cheap ones!”
“It doesn’t matter anyway,” said Charm, waving a hoof “Because I think we all know who’s going to be the winner.”
“You want to bet, sky for brains?” said Shadow, trying and failing to associate an insult with the color blue “I’ll take you on right here, right now!”
“Please…” said Iris “Can we maybe just go…? I don’t want any real fighting to happen…”
“Oh don’t worry,” said Charm, smirking slightly “Our ‘winged wonder’ here isn’t even worth my time. What do you say to an all-night competition? My mom lets me stay nights at the castle sometimes when I have a lot of studying to do, I’ll just say it’s something like that.”
“And hey, I’m overnight here anyway,” said Lightning “I’ll just have to let Octavia know… at some point maybe.”
“That… sounds sweet!” said Shadow, “What about you, Iris? Everything cool to stay on your end?”
“I… I don’t know…” said Iris quietly “I was supposed to go back on the train before nighttime… do you think she would be mad? If I sent a letter back and everything?”
“We’ve got magic that can probably tell her what’s going on in just a few hours,” said Shadow, clearly not sharing in her doubts “I guess we’re all set for this! Maybe we should invite…” he turned around the hall, just catching sight at the door of a white pelt “Mesa!” he shouted “Where are you going?”
Mesa seemed reluctant to turn back, shaking his head slowly and going back to whatever it was he was doing “I’ll see you at the party or whatever!” he shouted back.
“You make fast friends…” said Lightning “Where do you figure he’s going then?”
“He’s probably hiding from that guy he owes money to,” said Shadow “Either that or selling volcano insurance…”
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Volcano insurance?
5192062 Sorry if that joke wasn't super clear, it could be just a regional thing but there was kind of a running gag that i see on TV a lot but the joke is sort of that there's nothing so much as a mountain out here so sell people volcano insurance and you never have to pay them. I think it was on family guy even...? Either way, vague joke, meant to elaborate on it but there's a lot going on with them right now so i sort of slashed the full joke.