Shadow ducked his head as the small group stepped out of the shadows and into the early afternoon sunlight. Pausing for a moment, he took a deep breath, the scent of flowers and trees on the wind. Oh how he had missed this! With a nearly silent groan of pleasure, the young alicorn found himself in a crouch, his wing spread out and ready to fly before catching himself. Next to him, his slip up had not gone unnoticed as the rainbow-maned pegasus laughed gently at his mistake. “Trust me Shadow, I know how it feels.” Seeing the colt’s face sour at his mistake, Rainbow Dash ran a hoof through his short mane before turning the mane ruffle into an impromptu noogie, “But you’ll be airborne before you know it, and I’ll finally be able to fly next to an alicorn who doesn’t need to complete a checklist before take-off.” The older flyer added, looking over at her friend. Seeing her friend’s raised eyebrow, Rainbow laughed nervously. “I’d stay with you guys, but unfortunately I have to be elsewhere. See you two later.” Not waiting for a response, the mare leaped into the air, her wings already cutting through the air before gravity could try and bring her down again.
Shadow watched Rainbow Dash live up to her name as she rocketed away. The way she had left, by jumping into the air and leaving everypony else in the dust reminded the young orphan of his sister and how she’d do that more often than not, especially when she wanted to make a point. Feeling his stomach sink, the colt turned to Twilight.
Next to him, the older alicorn was simply shaking her head. Seeing her young charge’s questioning look, Twilight shrugged, “For as long as I’ve known her, Rainbow Dash has never been one to stay in one place for too long, especially when she thinks she might be in trouble.” Tilting her head, Twilight trotted down the hospital’s front steps, stopping at the bottom partly to make sure Shadow was following, and partly to make sure he could handle the steps. Smiling at how the colt casually defeated the admittedly minor challenge, Twilight turned back towards town, falling into step beside Shadow.
For a while, the two ponies didn’t speak, one simply content to let the silence continue for as long as possible while the other had more questions than she knew how to deal with, but didn’t want to possibly upset the only pony who could answer them. As they walked, Shadow couldn’t stop looking around at the town around him. Around them, ponies came and went, some occasionally waving at him and Twilight, while most seemed content to ignore them. Shadow wondered if this was normal or if the townsponies were obeying some order to give the two alicorns room. Passing a couple stalls, the colt could see a couple ponies buying or selling, occasionally haggling over the posted price. Where ever he looked, Shadow couldn’t stop noticing how Ponyville was so similar, yet so different, to what he had grown up with. The buildings around them had exposed wooden beams with a white material forming the wall. Shadow found himself wondering how well the walls held in the heat during the winter, though he doubted it mattered much when he noticed how the roofs were thatched instead of made of something more sensible, like wood or stone shingles.
“I hope I’m not getting too personal” Twilight said after a while, as the pair turned down a less crowded side street, “but I’ve been wondering what led to your ascension.”
“My ascension?”
“You know” Twilight replied, slightly confused at Shadow’s response, “What did you do to become an alicorn?”
Shadow frowned to himself at her question. What did she mean? “What’s your story?”
Happy to get more than two words out of him; Twilight happily obliged by recounting her story. Shadow listened in slowly growing disbelief as the older alicorn talked. “So let me get this straight” He said after a few minutes, “Your ruler and teacher gave you a book with an unfinished spell, not knowing what it did, while knowing full well you’d try to solve it, and yet she didn’t even warn you about possible consequences?”
“No, but considering how much I know about magic, Princess Celestia probably figured she didn’t need to.”
Shadow chose to not voice what he actually though, “and yet, you still wound up screwing up your friend’s cutie marks and this entire town in the process.”
“Yeah” Twilight winced at the memory, “I’ll admit, it probably wasn’t one of the smartest things I’ve ever done, but I still fixed it in the end, inventing a new kind of magic and ascending in the process.” Shadow didn’t miss the note of pride in her voice, sighing at how dense some ponies could be. “Oh, we’re here already? That took less time than I thought.”
Looking up as Twilight spoke, Shadow found himself standing in front of what had to be the most garishly decorated building he had ever seen. Following Twilight inside, the colt wasn’t surprised to see that the inside hadn’t been spared either, though it was more toned down than the building’s exterior. Looking around, Shadow looked uneasily at the frozen pony shaped figures around the room. While he had seen a few in a storefront in Manehattan, he still found himself approaching one of the figures with a little apprehension. Reaching out a hoof, Shadow gently pushed against the figure, feeling the silky-smooth cloth draped over the model’s haunches. Sighing to himself that the ponyquins were exactly as they appeared, the slightly emboldened colt took a closer look at the cloth. The dress the figure was wearing was a riot of colors that would no doubt make the eventual owner stand out in a crowd. Slowly shaking his head, Shadow wondered to himself how much this dress cost.
As he inspected the dress, the young colt froze at a flash of movement just on the edge of his vision to his right. Slowly turning his head, Shadow felt his heart slowly start again as he spotted the pure white cat curled up on the windowsill, watching his every move. Lowering his hoof, the lone alicorn slowly approached the cat, lowering himself until he was eye level with the feline. “Hello” Shadow whispered, slowly raising a hoof. Letting the cat smell him, he slowly moved his hoof, gently brushing the animal’s fur. “You were so quiet, I didn’t see you.” Moving towards the cat’s neck, the colt gently scratched, smiling at how the feline obligingly raised its head. Spotting a piece of metal, Shadow lit his horn, turning the tag until he could read it. “Opales… Opalesce… Opal… What a beautiful name for such a regal lady.” The feline purred, seeming to approve of the colt’s compliment. “You know, I had a cat back home, and you would have had him wrapped around your paw.” Seeing the cat look at him, Shadow nodded. “Oh yeah, he would have fallen head over tail for you. He would have made an absolute fool of himself if he thought you would have approved. Of course, so would every other male cat in town if they saw you…”
Twilight watched as Shadow slowly approached one of the ponyquins. The colt seemed unsure around the thing, and Twilight wondered if he had ever seen anything like it before. As her young charge gently prodded the ponyquin, the young Princess silently excused herself, her horn glowing as she magically silenced the hinges on the door that led into the boutique’s main back room. Gently closing the door behind her, the alicorn turned around to find the walls of the small room covered with drawings. Picking up one of the many drawings on the floor, Twilight was surprised to see a half-drawn vest for a pegasus on it. Setting the sheet back where she found it, the princess picked up another sheet, this time with a vest wearing unicorn on it. Setting it aside with the others, Twilight quickly trotted up some nearby stairs, resisting the urge to call her friend’s name out “Rarity?”
“In here, darling.”
Twilight stuck her head through the door, unsure of what to think. Every surface of the room was covered in fabric; even the open air hadn’t escaped Rarity’s burst of inspiration as at least a dozen vests gently hung in the air around the room. As she watched, a number of pieces of ribbon floated from a nearby table only to quickly find themselves being stitched to a waiting vest. “Get a large order?”
“I wish, Twilight” Rarity replied, glancing over her glasses for a moment as she eyed her latest work. Apparently unsatisfied, the town’s fashionista pulled the thread with her magic, tossing it into a nearby waste basket before setting the now free ribbons aside. “Custom orders have been a little slow recently” The white and purple mare said as she eased her way around a couple floating vests, as if simply brushing against them might damage them, “Not that I’m complaining of course, since it’s given me time to work on my latest line.” The unicorn gestured to the cloth-covered room around her.
“Vests?”
“Why not, Twilight?” Rarity asked at her friend’s incredulity. “Dresses are fine for formal occasions, but vests can be worn anytime, making even the plainest pony into a trendsetter.” Having freed herself from the room, the two mares walked up the stairs into Rarity’s kitchen. “So what brings you here? I thought you’d be at the hospital with our young hero.”
“We were.”
“We?”
“They decided to discharge Shadow, so I thought I’d show him around Ponyville before bringing him to the castle.”
“He’s here?”
“Last I saw…” Twilight replied, trailing off as she saw her friend’s eye twitch “Rarity?”
Without warning, a number of combs and brushes appeared seemingly out of thin air before attacking Rarity’s coat and mane. If Twilight hadn’t known better, she would have suspected that her friend had teleported them from wherever she kept them. It would have surprised the alicorn if her friend hadn’t strategically placed a number of beauty products around her the boutique in the event she needed them on short notice. It reminded her of a certain pink mare who had emergency stashes of random items scattered around the town. “How could you not warn me, Twilight? I thought we were friends.” Rarity chided as she held her head stiff while a comb and brush worked her mane. “If I had known you were bringing him over, I would have cleaned up and made myself somewhat presentable.”
Twilight shook her head at her friend’s complaints. “If I knew they were going to let him go today, I would have let you know.”
“I know you would have, darling. I’m just not fond of getting such little warning for things like this.” Apparently satisfied with her appearance, Rarity left the small army of hair products on the table as she trotted out of the room, with Twilight following right behind. “You have to tell me what he’s like.”
“Quiet.”
“Really?” Rarity paused mid-stride at Twilight’s pronouncement “He seemed fairly talkative when I met him.”
“Maybe it’s just me” Twilight replied, “But unless I’m wrong, I think he’s afraid of me.” Seeing the unicorn’s raised eyebrow, the Princess of Friendship sighed. “I’ve been watching him for the past week and he seems the most comfortable around Rainbow Dash. Even during therapy, he’s more open around her or his therapists. Around me…” Twilight shook her head, “I’m lucky to get three words out of him.”
Rarity chuckled at her friend’s words. “While he might be afraid of you, I think you might be missing something, darling.”
“Like what?”
“He might be like that because you intimidate him.”
“Me? Intimidating?”
“Don’t sell yourself short, dear.” Rarity said as she shifted a number of vests around her work room, “How many unicorns-turned-alicorn have faced Nightmare Moon, Discord, Sombra, Changeling hordes and Tirek?”
“But I wasn’t alone during any of those.”
“True, but how many of us became alicorns?” Smiling at her friend’s slowly dawning comprehension, Rarity returned to searching the room. “I have no doubt that Rainbow Dash has been telling our young friend all about you and our adventures.” Finding what she wanted, the unicorn briefly lifted a dozen vests off the relatively small box, before setting them back. “On top of that, look at it from his perspective, Twilight. How many alicorns do you think he’s ever met?”
Twilight paused at her friend’s simple question. How many had he met? While rarity’s explanation made sense, it still didn’t explain why the clone reacted in pure fear at the mere sight of Princess Celestia, or herself for that matter.
“Everything alright, dear?”
Twilight nodded out of habit “Just thinking.”
“You have plenty of time to think later, Twilight.” Rarity said, trotting for the stairs, “There’s a colt downstairs I’ve been waiting for over a month to properly meet.”
Following her friend, the alicorn held the door for Rarity, coming to a stop next to the unicorn, finding herself just as slack-jawed as her friend at the sight before them. Around the room, Shadow was slowly walking; a normally temperamental white cat calmly perched on his back, curled up as if this was the most natural thing in the world for her. Occasionally, Shadow would tease the feline with a black feather, earning him a playful growl and an occasional swipe. The two mares simply watched in silence at the display, both unable to comprehend what they were seeing. While Twilight was surprised to see the seemingly nervous colt smiling and laughing as he played with the cat, Rarity was in shock that Opal not only tolerated the colt, but seemed to actually enjoy his presence and actively played with him!
The two mares watched in silence for several minutes as Shadow and Opal played, the colt occasionally nuzzling the cat while talking almost the entire time. As Shadow turned, Twilight and Rarity saw Opal’s attention zero in on them, a growl and hiss letting them know the cat’s feelings about being spied on. With a final hiss, the temperamental ball of fur leaped from the colt’s back, her tail raised as she resumed her position in the window.
Shadow frowned at Opal’s sudden mood change. Had he done something wrong? Catching a reflection in the windows, the young alicorn spun around, finally seeing the two mares in the back. How long were they watching me?
“Sorry about that darling” Rarity said, seeing the colt frown. “We didn’t say anything because, quite frankly, we were surprised that Opalescence was being so friendly and we didn’t want to interrupt you two.” Seeing the colt relax a little, the unicorn slowly made her way into the room, the box balanced on her back. “I heard you just got out of the hospital. Congratulations.”
“Thanks.”
“The fresh air must be nice.” Seeing the young alicorns shrug, the older mare smirked. “I know we didn’t get to talk much a couple weeks ago, but I wanted to give you something to properly thank you for saving my sister Sweetie Belle’s life.” At this, Rarity ignited her horn, bringing the unassuming box around and setting it on the floor before Shadow.
Looking at the mare with a raised eyebrow, Shadow focused his magic on the box, pulling on the unnecessarily large bow on top. Setting the ribbon aside, he slowly opened the box, his heart all but stopping at the sight of what lay inside. How? I thought I lost this? Shadow lifted the red and black vest out of the box like he was lifting an egg. Gently unfolding it, he could barely believe his eyes. How had she gotten her hooves on it and, more importantly, how had she made it look brand new? Shaking his head in confusion, Shadow asked.
“I had all of the material I needed here.” Rarity replied as Shadow draped the vest over his back, sliding his free wing into one of the inner pockets. The mare didn’t need her years of experience to know what he was going to say next. The frown on Shadow’s face as he adjusted himself told her everything. “Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do about the original, so I did the best I could to make as perfect a copy as I could.”
Shadow felt his stomach sink, “The original?” Rarity nodded grimly as her horn burned to life, a lightly wrapped black package floating over from one of the room’s corners. Shadow’s vision blurred as the older mare set the package down, silently opening it to reveal his original vest. Shadow had always loathed the thing, telling it multiple times how he would have loved to toss it in the fire and watch it burn. Now that it had more or less come true, Shadow felt a piece of himself shatter, as if a friend had died. Just a quick glance told him that Rarity wasn’t joking. If he hadn’t worn it for so long, he might not have recognized the burned and blackened scrap of cloth. Rubbing it with a hoof, he could see a little red showing through. Taking a closer look at her vest, Shadow felt a smile gently tug at his face, knowing how his mom would have peppered the mare with sewing-related questions. “Thank you, Ms. Rarity. It’s just like how my mom would have made it.”
“Your mom?”
“She made all my vests so I could have a normal life.”
Unnoticed by Shadow, Rarity glanced at Twilight, mouthing her question; normal life? Seeing the alicorn shrug, Rarity decided to let the question go. “If you want to keep it, you can take it with you, though judging by your bag” Rarity leaned over, glancing at the colt’s bulging saddlebag, “you might not have room for it.” Smiling at his groan, the unicorn lit her horn again, pulling another package out of hiding. Seeing his questioning look, Rarity opened the box, revealing the brand new saddlebag. Floating it over, she smiled as Shadow all but grabbed it with his magic as he scrutinized it from seemingly every possible angle. “I figured you could use a new bag since you lost the other one…” Shadow glanced at the bare side of his harness. “Though I couldn’t find the same… material… as the original…”
Shadow silently laughed to himself; if only she knew where his mom had gotten the material for his bags. “I don’t think anypony could get their hooves on the same material at this point. I think mom used the last of it to make bags for me and my sister.” Strapping it to his harness, Shadow opened the top flap with his magic, reverently setting the remains of his vest inside. First chance he got, he’d check to see if any spells were attached to the bag. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Rarity, but even though she was a unicorn, she was also apparently friends with Princess Twilight and he wouldn’t put it past the purple mare to try and add a spell or two to the bag to let her get in it whenever she wanted to. Turning to the boutique’s owner, Shadow lowered his head in respect, “Thank you Ms. Rarity for the vest and bag.”
“Think nothing of it, darling. It was the least I could do after you risked your life for my sister. You are always welcome here, and I’m sure Opal wouldn’t mind seeing you again.” For her part, the feline glanced up at the mention of her name before returning her attention to the world on the other side of the glass, pointedly ignoring the talking ponies.
Shadow winced as he and Twilight stepped out into the mid-afternoon sunlight. Around them, the few ponies walking by still paid them no mind, much to the colt’s relief. Following Twilight, the colt took in everything he saw as they walked through the town. Ignoring most of what Twilight said, Shadow instead focused on the vest he was wearing. When Rarity said she tried to copy the original as closely as possible, she wasn’t joking. Everything about it was the same as the previous vest; even the stitching, though the vest felt a little large. Had she made it slightly larger so he could grow into it, or had he lost weight?
“So” Twilight said, finally getting Shadow’s attention, “You never answered my question.”
“Sorry” Shadow replied as they walked past a booth laden with apples, “What was the question?”
“What did you do to ascend?”
“I was born.”
Twilight stopped mid stride at the colt’s answer. Born? “What do you mean?”
Shadow shrugged. “I was born like this.”
Twilight shook her head “I’ve never heard such a thing. Even the princesses ascended.” Shadow doubted that, but said nothing. Who was he to ruin other ponies’ delusions? “If it’s not too personal, why do you hide your wings?”
“I had to hide them to protect myself and my family.”
Twilight frowned “From what?”
“You don’t want to know.”
The older alicorn sighed to herself as one question was answered, only to be replaced by new ones. How could a pony be born an alicorn? Was he immortal? Why would he need to hide what he was? Groaning at the latest additions to her growing list of questions, Twilight looked up as their final destination, a gaily painted red building familiar to the town’s residents grew in the distance. Twilight sighed in relief to herself as they approached the quiet schoolhouse. Besides giving Rarity a chance to give Shadow his vests, Twilight had also used the opportunity to keep Shadow away from the schoolhouse. Cheerilee had wanted to show him around before he started school, and both mares had decided that it would be best if there weren’t any other students around. While Twilight had no doubt the other students would be more than welcoming, they might be a little too welcoming, possibly overwhelming the young colt. Pausing at the school’s front sign, the princess let Shadow look around while also letting him catch his breath.
Shadow knew the building they stood next to was a school. Even if he could barely read the sign in front, he didn’t need to know Equestrian to recognize a schoolhouse when he saw one, especially when it looked almost exactly like the one back home. The building itself looked to be in good shape, if the fresh coat of paint was any indication, though one look at the utterly devastated playground left the colt wondering who was in charge and how they could have such screwed up priorities.
Following Twilight through the front door, Shadow was struck by how different it was. Across the walls, papers covered in a riot of colors and shapes flapped in the slight breeze. That alone was a surprise to the colt, since paper tended to be expensive and using one sheet, let alone multiple sheets, for something like this would have been considered a waste. Deciding to keep the observation to himself, the colt followed Twilight to the front of the school’s single room, where Cheerilee sat behind her desk, watching her newest student.
“Welcome to Ponyville Elementary, Shadow.” Smiling at the colt’s polite nod, the mare walked around the desk “I don’t know what school was like for you back home, but the schedule is fairly relaxed and routine.” As he listened to his new teacher, Shadow took a closer look at the room. Most of the room was taken up by nearly three dozen desks, which Shadow found comforting, since it meant that there were probably other unicorns in the class besides Sweetie Belle. Along the walls were a number of cabinets and shelves loaded down with various books. Through the large windows, golden light streamed through, guaranteeing that the room always had plenty of light. Following Cheerilee, Shadow found himself standing next to a large pile of pillows on a small, low platform. “Since you still can’t sit yet, and since I’m not going to make you stand while everypony else sits, this was the best Twilight and I could come up with.” Taking her cue, Shadow climbed into the small nest of pillows, adjusting a few until he was comfortable. “The class was curious about it, but all I told them was that it was a surprise for Monday.”
Smiling at how he could imagine the other students reacting, Shadow slowly stood, thanking Cheerilee for the pillows. Following the two mares to the door, he bowed his head in thanks a final time before leaving with Twilight, waving one final time before his new teacher returned to her work “Where to next?”
Twilight didn’t miss the hint of sarcasm in Shadow’s question. “Fortunately” The older alicorn said, “We have nowhere else to be other than going home.” Twilight heard the barely suppressed snort from the colt, and she mentally kicked herself for her choice of words. Since when would he consider Ponyville home, when he had no family to go home to? “Sorry. We’re going to my home and since you’ll be staying with me, I’d like to try and make it as close to a home for you as possible.”
Shadow didn’t say anything, shrugging an acceptance to her apology. No place can be home without my family, and reanimation magic was banned for a reason the colt thought as the two walked in silence. Shadow wasn’t sure where they were heading until he saw the crystalline castle glinting in the distance. Back home, he had often imagined what an entire building made of crystals would look like, and as he walked toward one such building, Shadow found all that he had imagined sorely lacking. The first thing that caught his attention was how the light played off the castle’s numerous facets, bathing the land around it in a rainbow of colors. The second thing that stunned him was that the building wasn’t made of one kind of crystal. The base of the crystal tree was one color, while the trunk was another and the actual living area was yet another color.
“Welcome to my home, Shadow.”
Shadow didn’t know what to say, opting to keep quiet, lest he say something that made him look like an idiot. How did they make this building out of crystal? Why did they use crystal? Was it because somepony important lived here and everypony in town needed to be constantly reminded for some reason? Watching as the large oak front door parted for them, Shadow felt his legs grow weak at the sight that greeted him. Around the inside of the crystalline trunk, wooden shelves loaded with books circled the room, rising from the floor all the way to the ceiling. He had thought that the library back home had a decent collection, but one glance told him that all the library books back home could have fit on the first level’s shelves and there still would have been plenty of room for more.
"Hey Twilight, you got a letter from Cadance-"
Shadow jumped at the voice that greeted the pair as they walked in. Turning around, Shadow froze at the sight of the creature running towards them, his heart stopping for a split second. The young alicorn didn't hear anything the lizard said as it approached. All he could see was the pointed tail, the reptilian eyes, the scales and its claws. Before anyone could react, Shadow's horn flared as the strongest shield the colt could create slammed into place over the reptile so quickly that the lizard ran face first into the shield’s wall before it could stop. Though he had never seen a live one, Shadow knew what he had just trapped. Everypony back home would have known. Slowly stalking toward the trapped monster, the colt smiled to himself as the lizard pounded futilely on the shield. It could pound on it for the next week for all the colt cared and it still wouldn't break free. Finally seeming to notice Shadow, the young reptile stopped beating the shield as it focused on its captor. Approaching the trapped creature, Shadow slowly started to circle his shield, his eyes never leaving his captive.
"Hello… Dragon."