//------------------------------// // Chapter 6 // Story: My Little Pony: Lights and Shadows - Part I // by OmegaTale //------------------------------// “This will be your room.” Twilight said, gesturing inside the door for Shadow, who walked through. “At least until we can find you a more permanent home here in Ponyville.” Shadow was different, Twilight thought it may have had something to do with being in the light so long. His shadow-like feature had dialed down quite a bit. No longer flowing behind him, his mane and tail hung like everypony else. Looking around at the room and its enormity, Shadow slowly walked further in. “This one is big…” Following in his hoof steps, Twilight said, “Starfall and I are going to walk around town. If you feel up to it, you can come along, but if you need some sleep after everything that has happened I totally understand.” “That is very kind of you Princess Twilight,” Shadow replied, turning to her. “But Fluttershy is waiting downstairs to show me to her home.” Twilight nodded. “Well, we should be back before long. Will you be alright with only Fluttershy?” “I will. Thank you for…..well, everything.” Shadow answered. Twilight smiled in return. “You are very welcome.” She turned and trotted out the door. Twilight knew Shadow needed some time before stepping out of his comfort zone and meeting other ponies. She knew that Fluttershy would help in any way she could, and that Shadow would have more than enough time later on to try and get into the friendly spirit of Ponyville. Descending the stairwell, Twilight spotted Starfall awaiting her at the bottom. He stood up straight the moment she came in sight. “Just the two of us?” he asked. “Just the two of us.” Twilight replied. They walked out from the castle door and headed into town. Ponies trotted by and pegusi flew around overhead, every day there was cheer and happiness all around. It amazed Starfall, even after having heard so much about the lively town, to see everypony getting along and being so happy. “I wish more of Equestria could be like this.” Starfall said, his head constantly turning to try and see the ponies around him. Twilight chuckled at seeing him moving around so much. “Your head will get dizzy if you keep spinning it around like that.” Immediately, Starfall’s head whipped back to face forward, raising his hoof to scratch his head. “Hehe….sorry.” “Well there’s no need to apologize, Ponyville is a wonderful place.” Twilight said proudly. “Besides….Pinkie Pie has a nose for frowns. They don’t last long here.” Starfall laughed a bit, shaking his head as he gave up trying to figure out the pink mare. Twilight looked over at Starfall, realizing that she had never asked him something. “Have you ever been to Ponyville before Starfall?” The question obviously hit Starfall in a more sensitive spot, because his happy expression faltered a bit. He recovered, but Twilight had already seen it. “I have, just once.” The reaction made Twilight curious, although she didn’t want to make him uncomfortable. “Did something bad happen while you were here?” Starfall took in breath and then looked over at her. “It was when Tirek had escaped.” The mention of the centaur’s name did its work on Twilight as well. “After the princesses all gave you their magic, Celestia called for me to come here and do what I could to keep Tirek off of your trail. But by the time I arrived, you and your friends defeated him.” Twilight looked a little confused. “And you just returned to Canterlot?” Starfall nodded in return. “Why didn’t you come to the castle for the celebration we had?” “To be honest,” Starfall said, sounding amused at his own response. “Seeing you and your friends like that made me too timid to even try and meet you. I had already been told, at that point, that I would likely one day be your guard. So it was a bit intimidating to see what I potentially had to be dealing with and then see you overcome it so gracefully.” Starfall then chuckled to himself. “Sounds pretty pathetic of me looking back at it though, doesn’t it?” Twilight caught the humor, but still shook her head. “You’re here now, that’s all that matters.” Starfall nodded in return, facing back forward. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Walking past Sugarcube Corner, the two caught the scent of sweet-smelling, baked goods inside. Compelled by their appetites, they decided to stop for a bite to eat. Luckily for Shadow, the path to Fluttershy’s cottage was mostly out of sight. It wasn’t that he wanted to stay away from everypony else, but he figured that he should approach the whole idea slower. The knowledge that he used to be something else, and potentially bad, made him even more nervous when around other ponies, especially when he has those eerie visions. “So, why do you think your mane and tail stopped floating?” Fluttershy asked him. Looking at himself as he walked, Shadow shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe it has something to do with being in the sunlight.” He looked up, the warmth on his face still making him feel strangely happy. “I was afraid of it at first, but it feels amazing.” As they crested a small hill, the cottage came into view. “Here we are.” Fluttershy said with a smile. Small birds filled the air with their songs, little bunnies hopped along the grass patches, and squirrels scaled trees left and right. There were so many animals, Shadow scoffed as he smiled, trying to look around at them all. As soon as Fluttershy stepped over the small bridge, all of the animals flocked to her. She giggled and said, “Why hello little friends, how are you all this lovely day?” Shadow had stopped a few steps away from the bridge, somewhat afraid of what the animals would think of him. At first, the animals did not notice him, but after one saw him, all of their heads turned and eyes focused on him. He stood with his front hooves crossed and head lowered, his ears folded back. Like they had with Fluttershy, all of the animals moved in unison towards and surrounded Shadow. The birds landed on his back and head, the bunnies rubbed against his legs, and the squirrels crawled all over him, all of them making happy sounds. Fluttershy looked surprised and nervous, hoping Shadow wouldn’t be spooked by them. Shadow felt something flutter inside his chest as he looked at all the animals cuddling up beside him. It was similar to the feeling of sunlight, but even more intense. Thoughts and fractured memories flooded him as he felt his mouth curve into a smile. The feeling of someone close to him, someone from a long, long time ago. Shadow lifted up his hoof and pet one of the bunnies, who thumped their right leg in excitement. The sight was enough to make Fluttershy tear up, but she managed to fight the urge away. She knew he was special. Suddenly, the door to Fluttershy’s cottage swung open, scaring the animals all away. Discord appeared out from the opening holding a platter of cucumber sandwiches. “Welcome home Fluttershy!” he shouted, then turning his gaze to her friend. “You too Shadow.” His eyes glowed dimly at the mention of his name. Town Square was as lively as ever. Kites filled the air as little fillies and colts ran them around with their parents. Tree Hugger had her nature group outside doing a yoga session in the bright sunshine. Ponies trotted by with saddlebags full of goods from the market, stopping by the social gathering before heading out. All of this while Lyra and Bon Bon sat on one of the park benches, talking about their plans for the next Hearth’s Warming. Twilight and Starfall had run into Pinkie at Sugarcube Corner, and they got themselves a couple free muffins. They walked through the expanse of ponies, being greeted and waved at practically with every step. “Yes, hello.” Twilight said with a smile, turning to wave at somepony else. “Hello, good afternoon.” Starfall nodded to a few ponies, but Twilight obviously got more of the attention. He had begun to meet the townsfolk, but he was still pretty new. Applejack had just pulled her apple cart into the square when she noticed the two of them. “Howdy there Twilight, Starfall.” “Hey AJ, decided not to get any sleep?” Twilight asked. Applejack chuckled and tipped her hat. “Nah, I’m fine. Besides, got a might amount work to catch up on since we’ve been gone.” Starfall took a look at the large cart. “Would you like some help?” “Thank you kindly Starfall, but I can handle this on ma own.” Applejack replied, pulling down the latch on her cart and opening it. “You two get a move on, can’t sell any apples with the princess and her guard takin’ up all the attention.” Twilight and Starfall chuckled, walking on and waving back to her. Deciding that they have been out long enough, the two of them began walking back to the castle the long way. “Do you have a plan for what to do with Shadow?” Starfall asked as they walked. Twilight tilted her head a bit. “I wouldn’t call it a plan, but I had thought to try introducing him to ponies around town. If he could make some more friends, I’m sure he’ll begin opening up.” Looking over at Starfall, she asked, “Are you a bit worried about him too?” Starfall nodded. “I am. But with you and everypony else helping him, I’m not concerned about him making friends.” Facing forward, Starfall knew he had to say it. “I’m more worried about who he was in the past.” “It is complicated to imagine, but he obviously wants nothing to do with that part of him.” Twilight replied. “And it shouldn’t dictate how we treat him.” “Of course not,” Starfall agreed, hoping not to come across the wrong way. “It’s just…..there, you know?” Twilight let out a sigh. “I understand what you mean. It is difficult to not know exactly what we are dealing with, but as long as we can keep him happy here, it shouldn’t matter either way.” Starfall nodded in agreement. As their walk came close to its end, Starfall noticed somepony waiting for them at the castle door. He squinted as they got closer, thinking he had seen her before. “Oh, hello Derpy.” Twilight said, making the delivery mare spin about. “Hiya princess!” Derpy answered as cheerful as ever, she flew around the corner and pushed a crate into view. “Special delivery here for you from the Crystal Empire.” Starfall looked deep in thought, he could swear he had met her before. “Wait….” He said, remembering back to the day he got his cutie mark. “Derpy?” The gray mare looked his way, and she too had a reminiscing moment. It took a few seconds, but then her face lit up. “Starfall!” In a split second, Derpy tackled Starfall to the ground giving him a hug. Twilight took a quick step away, a little confused. “You live here in Ponyville too?” Starfall asked, still being hugged tight. “It’s been sooo long!” Derpy said with a large smile. “You two know each other?” Twilight asked, finding the scene adorable. Being released, the two stood and Derpy jumped up onto Starfall’s back, hugging him again. He turned to Twilight, saying, “Derpy is the filly I protected from the bullies the day I got my cutie mark.” Derpy flew up into the air and landed beside Starfall. “He was the first pony ever to stand up for me like that!” “Awww.” Twilight said, her head tilted. “Does this mean you live here now too?” Derpy asked him, excited. After receiving a nod in reply, Derpy did a quick flip in the air, accidentally ramming into the castle wall. She landed upside-down, her smile still covering her face. “Yay!” Twilight took a break from the cute reunion to look into the crate. “Oh, Starfall it’s your new armor.” Starfall helped Derpy up and then trotted over to the crate, smirking when he saw it all. “Awesome.” “Then I said: Magic? My dearest Princess Celestia, I haven’t even put on my top hat yet!” Discord joked, the sound of a drum set battering in the background. Shadow sat with a completely blank expression on his face while Fluttershy began squinting at Discord, knowing him all too well. Discord tugged on a tie that appeared around his neck. “Hot crowd, hot crowd.” He mumbled to himself. Fluttershy rose from her seat, saying, “Discord, can I speak to you for a moment?” “Oh but of course Fluttershy,” he replied humbly. “Anything for my best friend.” Shadow remained on the couch as the two walked out back. As soon as they were out of earshot of Shadow, Discord gasped a sigh of relief. “You sure took your time; after two hours of jokes you finally pull me away. Any longer and I would have begun to run out.” “What are you doing Discord?” Fluttershy demanded of him. “I thought we got past all of this after you became friends with Tree Hugger.” Discord looked offended. “You think I’m jealous of that….thing in there?” He crossed his arms and turned his head away. “Honestly Fluttershy, I don’t know how you come up with these ridiculous allegations.” Fluttershy sighed. “His name is Shadow, and he’s a pony.” Discord disappeared and reappeared close to Fluttershy, saying, “That creature is no pony! And I won’t have anything like it near my friends! Especially you.” Fluttershy looked shocked. At first she thought it was jealousy, but the way he said that and how he reacted made it seemed more like…. “Discord?” she asked, concerned. “Are you afraid of him?” Grinding his teeth together, Discord’s eyes flared up. “Oh Discord….you don’t think he’s evil too, do you?” “Fluttershy,” Discord replied, clenching his claws. “You don’t know who he is or what he’s capable of.” Now aggravated, Fluttershy answered back sharply, “Are you saying that you do?” Discord’s temper simmered down in the face of his best friend being so angered. “Well….” He said, fumbling about with his words. “He…..um, well he’s-” “Shadow is my friend, and he is a good pony.” Fluttershy stated in her bold voice. “You don’t even know him and you are saying he is evil. If everypony judged others because of their past then you wouldn’t even be here Discord!” Fluttershy flew up to his face. “Shadow is here to stay. You can either accept that or…..or, just…..leave him alone.” With that, she flew back into her cottage and shut the door. Discord stood there, silent and still. He couldn’t get mad at Fluttershy. He didn’t think he could get mad at any of them anymore. He wasn’t doing this because he was angry or jealous or even afraid. Chaos was important to him, but as much as he hated to admit it, there was something far more special to him now. “Celestia.” Discord said, appearing in front of her. Sighing as she rolled her eyes, Celestia replied, “Not now Discord, I am really in no mood for your crazy antics.” There was no punchline or reality altering spell that followed. Discord floated up the steps and looked at her with a rather serious expression. “We need to talk about this….Shadow character.” Celestia looked to him with a raised eyebrow. “What of him?” “You don’t honestly believe he is as innocent as the girls say, do you?” Discord questioned her. Hardly amused, Celestia lifted a scroll with her magic to read. “I don’t need to explain Twilight’s good will to you.” Discord made the scroll ignite into flames and he was standing right behind it. “You can feel it too.” Taking a step back, Celestia said cautiously, “Feel what?” “Try to think of this like a game Celestia,” Discord spoke softly, trying to paint a better picture for the princess. “You know the hand of your opponent, but not how they plan to use it. I know you can feel the dark magic about him; Twilight and Luna can’t, but you and I…..we know it all too well.” “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Celestia stated, lifting her chin and looking away. Discord flew closer. “Yes you do. It is the same magic that compelled you to tell Luna to fly away to the Crystal Empire the moment you saw it.” “Enough!” Celestia shouted, spinning about to show her eyes glowing like the sun. Discord flew back a bit and waited until the piercing light from Celestia’s eyes died down. “You want to protect your sister, and I want to protect my friends.” Fluttershy and Shadow left the cottage not long after her heated argument with Discord. Luckily for her, Shadow was too occupied with keeping Angel Bunny at bay inside to overhear their talk. As the sun began to set, they started their walk back to the castle. “I apologize for Discord.” Fluttershy said as they walked. “He can be a bit of a chatterbox if you let him.” “Oh I know.” Shadow said with a chuckle. “He probably means well though.” Fluttershy offered a meager smile at the statement. “Yes, let’s just go with that.” Approaching the castle, Fluttershy only then took into account how few ponies there were out and about. It was getting late, but even still, the streets never emptied like this so completely. Opening the door, the two entered a rather dark, silent castle. Their heads stooped, they walked slowly into the inner chamber. Suddenly lights filled up the castle and a host of ponies hiding about shouted, “Surprise! Welcome to Ponyville!!!” Fluttershy gasped and raised a hoof to her chest, but Shadow had a far worse reaction. He cringed down to the floor, his coat and mane rippling in the wake of the sound. In an instant, he became surrounded by smiling, welcoming ponies. Fluttershy tried looking through the crowd, but couldn’t catch sight of him. Shadow’s eyes widened and his mouth curled up into a frightened curve. Everypony moved to greet him as Pinkie hopped up and down, thinking she was a genius. All of the sound, light, and movement blurred together as Shadow began to feel a freezing feeling rush to his back that quickly spread all throughout his body. Twilight and Starfall walked in from the stairwell above, not aware of the surprise, and moved quickly to try and reach the shadow pony through the excited ponies. Fluttershy tugged and pulled at them, crying out, “Stop it! Stop it you’re scaring him!” Pupils dilating, Shadow felt the chill come over him entirely. The sounds of the ponies around him became mixed together and distorted in his ears. It all became high pitched and then switched to a low, deep sound. “Hide all you want….” Something whispered to him. His eyes darted around, the blurs of the ponies morphing into shadowed images around him. Amidst the chaos, two eyes opened through the crowd. “You can never get away….” Shadow tried backing away from the face as it drew closer, but he felt locked in place. He raised his hooves to his head as he felt something grab hold of him. “From me.” Shadow yelled as loud as he could, which sent a shock wave through the chamber, silencing the ponies and making them back away. Twilight had just touched him with her hoof, but she too backed away with the others. A bright, red light flashed from Shadow’s forehead, followed by a wave of magic that expanded out from him and doused all the torches and lights in the chamber, covering it in complete darkness. Terrified shrieks rang out here and there as the lights remained off. After a few moments, the torches and lights re-lit. Shadow was gone. Fluttershy looked around frantically. “Shadow!” she cried. Racing off into the castle, she continued to shout his name. Applejack and Rainbow came in through the door, having heard the earsplitting scream from afar. Immediately, the earth pony stormed up to Pinkie. “Pinkie Pie! What were you thinking!?” Looking shocked, Pinkie replied sounding confused, “What? Everypony likes a surprise welcome-to-Ponyville party.” Twilight tried keeping sight of Fluttershy, but she was off in a flash. “Come on everypony, follow me!” She took off after the pegasus, believing Fluttershy knew where she was going. Starlight stayed in the chamber. “It is okay everypony!” she said aloud. “Just a problem with the lights, don’t panic.” Placing a hoof on the door, Fluttershy slowly pushed it open. Shadow sat alone in the dark on the floor, facing the wall. She paused, but then slowly approached him. Shadow breathed heavily, his eyes clamped shut and his neck arched. His flattened ears flickered at hearing her enter the room. “I’m…..” he stammered. “I’m sorry….it was just…..just…..” “Shhh….” Fluttershy said soothingly, wrapping her hooves around him from behind in a warm hug. “It’s alright, it’s alright.” Shadow leaned his head onto hers which was over his shoulder. He was trembling and sounded horrified. Twilight peeked into the room, but then immediately pulled out. Turning to everypony who stood in wait, she said, “Let’s give them some space.” An hour passed and guest ponies from the party all returned to their homes. Everypony else sat in the throne room, waiting for any sign that Shadow was alright. Fluttershy walked through the door and everypony’s heads turned her way. She flew up in the air and sat comfortably on her throne. “He is better now.” She told them. “He had just become overwhelmed.” There was a wave of relief that swept over the room as Twilight asked, “Is he resting?” Nodding her head, Fluttershy replied, “Yes. He seemed calmed down enough.” “Oh thank goodness.” Rarity said, resting her head back. Applejack looked around at everypony, a bit worried. “Does it bother anypony else that Shadow was able to do that with the lights?” “He appears to have strange magical abilities.” Twilight answered, looking deep in thought. “Their effects aren’t like spells that are focused and specific, they were more like impulses.” Twilight looked up and around at everypony. “I’ve never seen magic used like that before.” Starfall nodded, saying, “Thinking back, when we were chasing him in Manehattan he was lost in a panic. I saw it in his eyes, he wasn’t concentrating, and the magic he used seemed to happen automatically.” “Well….” Fluttershy finally spoke. “If that is true, then we need to be more careful about how we act around him. Pinkie, you need to-” Fluttershy looked around the room, but the pink mare was nowhere to be seen. “Pinkie?” Rainbow said, spinning around. “Where’d you go?” Sitting in the dark, Shadow rested on his bed, upright and wide awake. He was afraid to sleep, afraid that he would hear it again, the voice. It is such a terrifying thing, to fear yourself. He had thought that having no memory of his past would make it easier to live, but he was wrong. Whoever he used to be was still there, somewhere deep down in Shadow’s core. The cold that he had felt, it started in his chest and reached out to every part of him. The voice echoed from that same place, and it haunted him. His ear twitched and his eyes darted over to the door to see Pinkie Pie. “May I come in?” she asked, her head lowered a little bit. Shadow nodded and the pink mare walked inside and sat on the bed beside him. Shadow peered over at her, and she tried offering an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry about tonight.” She said, tracing circles on the bed sheet with her hoof. “A lot of ponies tell me I’m too over the top….I guess they were right. I just wanted you to feel welcomed here.” “I know.” Shadow replied. “I’m sorry too.” Pinkie looked at him, confused. “About what?” Shadow faced forward, looking into the dark. “Being like this. I wish I could be more like you, always so happy and fun….” His gaze lowered to the floor. “Maybe then I wouldn’t be so afraid all the time.” “You wanna be like me?” Pinkie asked, a huge smile conquering her face. “That’s easy! All you have to do is smile.” Shadow looked at her. “It can’t be that easy.” “Trust me.” She said, spinning around to face him. “Smile.” Shadow hesitated, but then faced her as well. It was difficult with everything that had happened, so his first attempt looked like little more than a wince. “No, no, no,” Pinkie said, resting her hooves up on his shoulders. “Here, this should help.” Pinkie pulled Shadow into a hug, holding him tight. It took a moment, but all of the cold fell away. Like with the sunlight and animals before, Shadow felt the warmth again, that perfect feeling that filled his chest with heat. He hugged her back and his small smile transformed into a wide one, closing his eyes. Pinkie’s head stretched around to see his progress. “You see?” she said. “There it is.” Opening his eyes, Shadow felt the happiness return. He held Pinkie tighter, not wanting the feeling to leave. “How did you know that would work?” he asked. Pinkie chuckled to herself. “Caught a glimpse of the author’s notes, he accidentally left them on the desktop again.” Shadow paused, squinting his eyes. “Wait….what?” Fluttershy watched from the door as the two friends hugged one another. Her own smile filled her face and she closed the door. A knock on the throne room door was followed by Derpy opening it. She had a letter in her mouth and trotted it over to Twilight. Using her magic, she picked up the letter and opened it, reading it over as Derpy went and sat next to Starfall again. Spike saw a worried expression on Twilight’s face as she read it. “What is it Twilight?” “It’s a letter from the Dragon Lands….” She replied, looking up from it. “Something has happened to Ember.”