Afraid Of My Shadow

by Deyeaz

VI - Melody Of An Orphan (Praxis)

Afraid Of My Shadow

Written by CraimerX and ShadowWeaver

VI - Melody Of An Orphan (Praxis)

“Z-Zeke!?” I exclaimed, jumping about a foot in the air. Trixie had a worse reaction that I did: Upon seeing the Grim Reaper sitting in one of my chairs, the showpony let out another deafening scream and vacated the premises as quickly as possible.

Thank heavens, too. The more she screamed, the more obnoxious and painful-to-the-brain it got. Zeke’s eye sockets seemed to narrow and his teeth gritted. I guess it was painful for him to hear. “Owww, my non-existent eardrums...” Yup.

“What are you doing here?” I asked the Reaper before me as he got more comfortable in his sofa. With a quick snap of his skeletal fingers, the dust that had been accumulated over the years had been eviscerated from every single surface of the house, almost like the dust was never there.

“What? An old friend can’t stop in and say hello?” He chuckled lightly. “I felt that something was awakened, and I grabbed my umbrella, thinking Discord was about and making chocolate rain again... But when I saw no chaos in the world, I knew who was awakened.” Zeke then flashed what would’ve been a smile in my direction.

I kinda felt flattered. Not everyone gets to be friends with Death himself.

Zeke’s gaze lowered to my right hand, and his eyes shot up wide. “Is... is that--?”

“Yes. It is.” I sat on the couch opposite Zeke and raised my hand to let him examine it better. The eye on top of my hand blinked at Zeke, who shivered in disgusted retaliation. “What’s with the reaction? You’re Death, you’ve handled much worse shit than this.”

“That’s not the point. That arm in general is just brimming with Black Magic. Black Magic that apparently only you can control,” Zeke explained. “Hell, that thing probably has more Black Magic then mysel-” He stopped mid sentence, his bony jaw hanging open. The sick popping of joints could be heard as his head twisted at an un-humanly degree and he used his hands to snap it back into position. “Ohhh, this could be bad.”

“Uhh... could you explain that for me?” I asked him, curious as to how ‘this could be bad.’

“As Obi Wan Kenobi would say, ‘I sense a disturbance in the force...’” Zeke looked all around the room, as if looking for whatever made him feel this ‘disturbance.’ “What magical beings have you last been in contact with?”

“Just the Princesses,” I answered honestly.

“Praxiiiiis... You can’t keep things away from Death...”

“Dude, I shit you not, Princesses Luna and Celestia are the only two powerful beings I’ve come in contact with. Trixie doesn’t count, because I could negate her magic with this hand.”

“What OTHER person do you know that has magic as powerful as the Princesses?”

“I want to say Discord... but I haven’t even seen that poor bastard... However... an incident happened at Black Gold and Nutmeg’s cafe in Canterlot... When I touched Nutmeg’s forehead with my hand... I had the strangest vision. It was more vivid than any fever dream I’ve had. But it wasn’t a vision: it was a memory from the past.”

“...That’s getting somewhere. But are you seriously this thick headed?”

“Oh, whatever do you mean?” I retorted sarcastically. “I SWEAR to you that I have not met anypony else. Period. Nopony other than the Canterlotians know I’m alive.”

“Exactly. Not when you WERE alive, and not some’pony’.”

“...What are you getting at?”

Zeke facepalmed and groaned. “JACE! JASON ROMERO, YOU DAFT BASTARD!”

“Guess what, shithead, I haven’t seen him either.”

“I didn’t say SEE. I said HAD CONTACT WITH.”

It dawned on me. “...Well, shit.”

“That’s what I’m saying.” Zeke got up and paced around the room. “If that large of a force disruption occurred... And he’s BACK. Then that means...” He looked down and scratched his bony chin, then turned around slowly. “Aksheal...”

“Aksheal’s back as well?” I ask curiously.

“Indeed. Only a portal to Markarth can create disruptions that large. It means that when Jace started to re-learn his magic, the magic activated the Calling Card and tried to call Jace into the tower... But it brought Aksheal out... But why?”

“I honestly have no idea. Being imprisoned in stone for four years does that to you: it screws with your mind,” I answer.

“The Card is only supposed to bring Aksheal when he’s in a state of danger... From what I know, neither Markarth OR Aksheal are in danger... Unless...”

“Unless?...”

“Unless it’s not just Markarth or Aksheal... It’s EVERYONE.”

“Alright, Sherlock Holmes, you can stop being smart now.”

Zeke responded with a bony middle finger. “So what have you been up so since you got out?”

“The usual: screwing around and annoying the masses. Same old, same old.” I waved a hand in boredom. “Although... I have something I gotta do first, and it’s of the utmost importance.”

“Before you go Praxis..” Zeke pulled his hood down to show his entire skull, and walked over to where I was sitting, resting a bony hand on my shoulder. “I just want you to know that Lyra is in the best place Heaven can offer...” One socket closed, a wink perhaps. “You can repay me later...”

“Yeah... thanks, man.”

Aaaand just like that, my mood is once again shot to shit.

I left the treehouse and made my way back to Ponyville. I didn’t know where in the world Trixie disappeared to, but I was sure it wasn’t pretty. Maybe she knew of the Everfree’s dangers, and she fled to town?

Either way, I just hoped that she was doing alright.

I didn’t want anypony in the town to realize I had returned. In lieu of this, I needed a disguise.

I looked back at my right hand. Despite looking dangerous and giving me Mr. Fantastic powers, what other things could Black Magic do....?

If I need a disguise... could Black Magic provide me with it?

After concentrating for several minutes right outside the town, a black ethereal flame swirled around me, shrouding my body again. I shuddered in disdain: it was like when I was a Weresatyr, and the pain I felt from the first time I turned over still haunted me even to this very day.

When the flames cleared, I saw that I was about two feet shorter, and I couldn’t exactly feel my arms. One of my horns felt like it had shrunk and had been centered onto my forehead, while the other felt like it had been painlessly ripped off. I looked down and saw that I was covered head to toe with dark-brown fur. When I turned my head, I saw a white tail, and an imprint of a draconian light-blue eye on the sides of my arse. After further inspections, I saw that I had four hooves rather than two, and that I also had a white mane that reached my shoulder.

Hang on: four hooves? White mane and tail? Tattoos on my asscheeks?

“Oh, shit, I’m a pony!” Albeit a faux-pony, but a pony nonetheless. I tried walking around the small field outside the town to get used to this quadruped thing. I honestly have no idea why fanfictions depicted that walking around as a pony was hard as they make it out to be. Granted, it took about a minute or two to actually master the art of walking on four legs, but still, it wasn’t that difficult.

In my new disguise, I finally entered the town. Trying to keep up with holding this mirage firm was not a problem, for Insanity’s Black Magic was infinite, now that I had control of it and could actually use it rather than having it use me.

“So far, so good,” I muttered to myself as I made it to Mane Street, where my Pagoda was. Yellow “Do Not Cross” tape was stretched across the entrances, and police officer ponies were investigating the scene around where I had broken free, scanning pieces of concrete and pressed grass from my hooves.

‘Pffffff.... stupid bastards,’ I thought cynically as I walked past the Pagoda. I looked around for any leads on my destination, but when I found none, I did what anyone else would do: ask for directions.

“Excuse me,” I asked one pony who, after a couple seconds of remembrance, I recognized as Cloud Chaser. “Do you know if there is an orphanage in this town?”

“Of course,” Cloud Chaser answered. “Just go down that road for a couple blocks and you’ll see a really big building.” She pointed a hoof to the north, down a long and slightly winding road. “That building is the orphanage.”

“Um, thanks, ma’am.”

“No problem... but what did you want to go to the orphanage for? From what I’ve seen, you’re new here.”

Oh shit! I can’t believe I didn’t think this far ahead.

“Well, I...” Aha! Alibi time, motherfuckers! “I lost my wife and child in a very terrible cart accident about several months ago. My family was probably the best thing that ever happened to me, but with them gone... I don’t know. I feel empty. Disassembled, even. I’m going to the orphanage so that I can start anew. Possibly pick up the pieces.”

“Oh my...” Cloud Chaser murmured, placing a hoof on my shoulder. “I’m sorry for what happened. I honestly hope you get better soon, Mister... erm-”

“Keen Eye,” I quickly said. “Call me Keen Eye.”

“Alright, then, Keen Eye. I’ll see you around!” Cloud Chaser said happily before walking away. I followed her direction and went north down the road. So far so good, now I just have to avoid running into--

“Hi-I’m-Pinkie-Pie!-Welcome-to-Ponyville!-Are-you-new-here?-Yeah-you’re-definitely-new-here-because-I-know-everypony-in-Ponyville-and-I-have-never-seen-you-before!-We-should-throw-a-welcome-party-for-you!-whadaya-think?!”

…GOD-FUCKING-DAMNIT!

A blur of pink shot up in front of me, obscuring my vision with pink. Bright blue eyes burrowed into my soul, and a smile as large as a slice of watermelon is facing my direction. I backed away as quickly as possible, Pinkie Pie’s random appearance taking me by complete surprise.

“Um... hello,” I said nervously as I waved a hoof at her.

“Hi, how ya doin’?” Pinkie asked ecstatically and quickly. Dear God, this pony needs to lay off the sugar. “So I just wanted to invite you and everypony in town to Sugarcube Corner for your welcome party!”

A quick little recap: Pinkie Pie, the freakin’ patriarch of hardcore partying, has invited me to party with every single individual in town. Normally, I would say yes, but I was on a mission. Plus, I wasn’t exactly the best person around crowds: I usually kept to myself or I would only hang out with a select few people.

But how the hell do I get out of this hole that I dug myself into?

“Er... well, ya see... HOLY CELESTIA, A DISTRACTION!” I pointed my hoof to my right, down a branching street. Pinkie took the bait instantly.

“Ooh, where?!” She asked as she looked down the road and bolted down it. Without a moment’s hesitation, I cautiously gallop up the road towards my destination.

After a couple moments of intense jogging, I slowed down and looked behind me, making sure that the pink equine wasn’t following me and dragging me against my will to a party of what could possibly be apocalyptic proportions. I turned my head forward again and smiled, glad that I had reached my destination. It was like Cloud Chaser said: the building was a tall foundation, pastel-colored like every other building I saw. It probably stood at about twenty feet, with a width of about eighty feet; they gotta accommodate those kids, after all. Above the door was a solid yellow pony on a red shield, the pony rearing on its hind legs with a smile on its face. The actual sigil reminded me of the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ capes.

Speaking of which, I might want to see what those three fillies are up to.

In the meantime, however, I must press on.

I walked over to the door, opened it, and stepped inside. I was standing in a large square room, with plastic chairs lined up against both the left and right walls. Two hallways, on the left and on the right, flank the desk that rests against the wall in front of me. Sitting behind the desk was a dusty red Unicorn mare with a red and pink mane, silver eyes, and half-moon spectacles. The mare was working intently on whatever paperwork had been placed in front of her.

I walked over to the desk and cleared my throat to signify my presence. The mare looked up and smiled at the sight of me.

“Hello, there!” She greeted. “How may I help you?”

“Hello. I’ve been wanting to adopt a child, that is alright with you,” I respond.

“Oh, certainly!” The mare reached into a cabinet and pulled out a piece of paper labeled ‘Adoption Form’. “Would you like to receive a boy or a girl?”

“A boy, please.”

“Very well.” The mare pointed her magically-levitating pencil to the hallway on my left. “Go down this hallway and choose the child you would wish to adopt. Then come back here and sign the form.”

“Alright, then. Thank you.” I smiled and walked down the aforementioned hall. On the left and on the right, I saw doors with several different names: Starfire, Wind Ripper, Sunny Skies, Shadow Breeze, etc. So many names of different colts, yet the rooms seem to be occupied. At the end of this long hallway was a window. My incredibly sensitive hearing picked up the sounds of children laughing. I walked over to the window and saw the colts and fillies of the orphanage playing and laughing. I scanned the crowd, yet I didn’t see my son. Though I saw something... Odd.

As the small army of children played, hollered, and enjoyed their camaraderie, I saw a tall black figure standing in the midst of it all. He was being paid no mind whatsoever. I almost mistook it for Slenderman, had it not been for the scythe in the figure’s skeletal hand. The figure turned his head to face me and fired a wink before disappearing into black mist and fleeing the scene.

For a fraction of a second, right when the wink was fired, my vision changed again. Instead of a large playground filled with pony children playing on green grass in the light of the sun, I witnessed a graveyard, with small tombs lined up in a systematic order, the green grass now brown and dying as a blood-red moon was raised past the horizon.

My eyes grew wide when everything changed. I backed from the window slightly and then looked back at the rooms, seeing the names on them were gone and now replaced with new names. The halls were different than before: they appeared decrepit, the walls’ taupe paint chipping off. The floorboards were slightly moldy, and they creaked with each step.

I shut my eyes tightly, praying to relieve myself of a nightmare that I thought would never end. Once a few seconds go by, I cracked open one of my eyes, and sighed in relief that everything returned to normal: the old names, the grass outside, the foals playing.

I can’t believe I saw that...

I shook my head, vainly trying to remove the images from that strange vision. I turned around and decided I would head back home... maybe Riku wasn’t here....

I’m almost halfway down the hall... until I hear it.

It was the sound of a lyre being played beautifully, starting off with a few flourishes of its strings, then proceeding on to quick, well-timed plucks, the sound being all too familiar for me.

I walked back down the hall until I reached the door where the music was coming from. I saw a plaque with the name “Riku Moradov” on the door. Amongst the strings being plucked angelically, I even hear someone HARMONIZING with the music, the voice rising and falling in pitch to keep with the tune. I quietly opened the door and stuck my head in.

The room was your basic idea of a room, sans the electronic technology. I saw a bed on the right side of the room, with a small chest of drawers at the foot of the bed. I also saw a small writing desk and a chair. On the floor was a soccer ball, heavily battered by the hooves of many who had kicked it. And on the bed was a little satyr boy, his eyes closed as he played a golden lyre, his chest rising and falling as he hummed with the music he created.

Koji Kondo would shit himself TWICE if he saw this.

The satyr seemed to have felt my presence, because he had stopped playing the lyre to look at me. When he opened his eyes, his brown irises met my magenta ones. He jumped back in surprise at the sight of me, but I sent a smile to reassure his fears. It did ease his qualms, yet only by a little bit. “W-who are you?” he asked shakily.

“Well... you really wanna know?” I responded. Riku nodded. I sighed, and tried to channel the Black Magic again. Like before, black flames started to encircle me once more. Riku screamed in shock and fear. As quickly as they had come, the flames vanished, returning me back into my satyr form.

“Remind you of anyone?” I asked him rhetorically, my arms akimbo. Riku slowly got up, his eyes slowly welling with tears.

“B...Baba?” He muttered. I nodded, and the boy came and tackled me full force in a massive hug and cried into my chest. I returned the hug and held him tightly. A few minutes pass by, and we finally separated from one another.

“Ready to go, kiddo?” I watched Riku grab a red suitcase from underneath his bed and quickly walk over to his chest of drawers. He opened both the suitcase and the three drawers, unloading the clothes and toys that the latter held and placing them in the suitcase, the clothes only consisting of shirts and hoodies. Once he finished with loading up the trunk with his personal belongings, I return back into my pony form, Riku restraining from screaming again. Once the flames vanished again, I crouched low and let Riku hop on my back, the handle of his suitcase extending.

“Oh!” The mare exclaimed when me and Riku both appear in the main room. “Riku, you must be a very lucky boy!”

“Thank you, Ms. Blossom!” Riku exclaimed. I walked over to the desk, and signed the adoption form with my mouth, for I had not learned how to use Unicorn magic just yet. It was a little challenging, yet I had finally done it. Riku signed his signature on the paper, and we turned to depart.

“Hang on!”

...Only to be stopped by Ms. Blossom.

GODDAMNIT!!!

“Yes?” I commenced, irritated by all these interruptions.

“How come you signed with your mouth and you didn’t use your magic? You’re a Unicorn, aren’t you?”

Shit! Cat’s outta the bag!

Think, Fluffy, think!

“Well... I had never learned how to properly use magic before: I was an orphan, and so I had nopony to teach me how to perform magic. Plus, I didn’t like the curriculum of the schools back in... Denfur. Teachers did less teaching and more doing; they didn’t guide us in our education.”

“Oh... I see now. Well, take care, Mr.... um-”

“Keen Eye,” I answered for her.

“Okay, then. Bye, Mr. Eye! Bye, Riku!” Ms. Blossom waved at us from behind her desk, and me and Riku returned her farewell.

We both head on back down the road towards my house, where Trixie might’ve returned by now. Luckily, no one bothered to stop and talk to me. I turned my head and saw Riku laying face-down on my back, his small tan body rising and falling as he fell asleep, the trunk’s handle barely being held on by his frail grasp.

D'AAAAAWWWWWW!!!!

“C’mon, buddy,” I whispered to him. “Let’s go home....”

Comments

[kragor]

kewl
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[Stormy Sunrise]

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YAYA UPDATE

[lolz anonymous]

dawww

[Weavuh]

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This is great! Can't wait until next chapter dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_Lyra2.png