//------------------------------// // A New Life - Part 2 // Story: Past Actions, Future Consequences // by Rill //------------------------------// Twilight grumbled as a wall of ice cold rain slapped her across the face, the feeling of ice water running through her mane and fur adding speed to the alicorn’s hooves as she ran the final distance to the hospital. It wasn’t just the ice cold soaking that had the youngest Princess in a less than pleasant mood. Somewhere, somepony whose name Twilight wish she knew so she could send them a strongly worded letter had managed to get their weather orders scrambled. As a result, a cold front that shouldn’t have been released for at least another month had been allowed to fly down from the north. When it had hit the warm air over Equestria, the results were a series of storms that most local weather teams, including Ponyville’s, couldn’t handle. The final result had been a week of unstable weather, including high winds that had managed to strip a good portion of the leaves from the trees, much to the disappointment of everypony who was looking forward to the annual Running of the Leaves. Slowing down the last few feet, Twilight trotted into the hospital’s main lobby, her horn already glowing as she used her magic to wring every last drop of water from her mane and coat, contemptuously sending the resulting ball of water flying outside. Shaking her mane one final time, the alicorn trotted down a nearby hall, her mind only paying partial attention to where she was going. With barely a thought, she pushed a door to the side, smiling at the sight of Rainbow Dash as she lay on the floor, doing sit ups. “Hey Twi” The rainbow-maned athlete grunted as she pulled herself off the ground “How’s the weather outside?” “Cold, wet and miserable” The alicorn replied as she set her saddlebag along the wall. “Kinda figured, which is why I stopped by earlier than usual. Fortunately, this mess should be gone in a day or two.” “That’s good to know.” Twilight looked around, nodding at Rainbow’s therapist who was watching the mare. Other than them talking, the large exercise room was mostly silent, save for the sound of the rain hitting the roof. “Where’s Shadow? I thought he’d be here with you.” “Oh, he is” Rainbow Dash grunted, her pace seeming to slow. “Where?” Before her friend could reply, Twilight jumped, barely suppressing a scream as she felt what seemed like snakes and spiders crawling through her mane. Spinning around, the older alicorn barely heard Rainbow Dash’s laughter as the purple mare glared at the black and grey alicorn colt hovering unsteadily before her, his horn wrapped in a golden aura. As much as she wanted to be mad at him, Twilight couldn’t help but smile as Shadow quickly rose out of reach, a pegasus stallion following behind him. Standing there, the purple alicorn watched as he slowly flew around the room, occasionally pulling small dives as he worked his wings. “He’s barely touched the ground in the last three hours” Rainbow said, panting as she stood next to Twilight. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so happy.” Twilight nodded silently as she watched. For the past few months, the most she had gotten out of Shadow was a few minor smiles, and even those hadn’t lasted very long. Here, he was smiling and laughing like a normal colt his age as he made room’s small airspace his own. The sense of happiness and satisfaction Twilight felt at the sight before her chased any lingering chill from her run in the rain fleeing. They’d eventually have to brave the storm outside again when they left, but Twilight pushed those thoughts aside for the moment, content to watch from below as Shadow flew and enjoyed himself. An involuntary shiver ran down Celestia’s back, despite her lying in front of a large fire. Sighing in relief at the end of another long day, the eldest Princess stared at the flames as they danced, her eyes unfocused as she listened to the crackling of the logs instead of the rain from the unplanned storm pounding against the nearby glass windows. Smiling to herself, the alicorn forced herself a little deeper into the pillows around her as she closed her eyes, trying to let all the stresses and problems of the day melt away, if only for a while. Opening her eyes as she finally felt herself relax; Celestia looked over at the steaming mug next to her, her horn already picking it up with her magic. Taking a sip, she winced as the heat of the chocolate tried to burn her mouth and throat on the way down, but being the Princess of the Sun, she was naturally more heat resistant than any of her ponies, or most any other creature for that matter, except for the fire sprites. Groaning to herself at the thought of them, Celestia recalled the letter she had received the day before from General Cinder. While it had been as professional as one would expect from one national leader to another, she was more than able to read between the lines of the officer’s neat handwriting. If what she had read was correct, the general’s choice for Colonel Ash’s replacement had been approved by the sprite council, and Major Flare was now a full Colonel, yet what the general had left out was how proud he was to see the major promoted. Celestia for her part, hoped to meet the newly minted Colonel soon. The rest of the letter had been the typical whitewashed news that she had come to expect from the general when it came to the comings and goings in his realm. He had mentioned how the council was starting to try and pressure him about Shadow, but his letter had made it clear that it was usually minor and he just had to remind any sprite who got a little too bold about what had happened a few months earlier to get them to back down. For that, Celestia couldn’t express her gratitude. Sighing, the solar princess winced as she took another sip of her hot chocolate, more than glad at the moment that she had managed to get the chef who made this to quit his previous job in Manehattan and join her kitchen staff. Celestia wished she had more to show the sprites about her efforts to get answers, but she still barely had anything of real value, despite the nearly month and a half Shadow had been out of the hospital. It had been at Pinkie Pie’s party, with the colt’s near constant eye on her, that she had realized that if she hoped to learn anything that might let her help him, she’d have to take a much more hooves off approach than normal. To that end, she had had to recruit her former student. Twilight had been willing to help, even before Celestia had explained what was potentially at stake, but like her teacher, the younger alicorn wasn’t particularly thrilled at what was being asked of her. Despite that, Twilight’s efforts had resulted in some minor rewards. Thanks to her, they had been able to confirm that the three ponies killed during the sprite’s initial assault had been Shadow’s family. On top of that, she had also relayed some information that had helped Celestia and her sister answer a few questions they had had. Setting the mug back down, the eldest Royal Sister reread the letter she had gotten a couple hours earlier from Twilight. Needless to say, it had made the princess smile to read that the young colt was airborne again and that his fur and tail would have grown back in by the time Hearth’s Warming rolled around. Next to that letter was another that she had received around the same time. Looking at it, the smile that Celestia had gotten from Twilight’s letter slowly faded as she read the second letter, not because of its content, but because of the fact that its existence was necessary in the first place. Surprisingly, it had been Luna who had first suggested sending the undercover guards to Ponyville to watch Shadow. At first Celestia had balked at the idea, since Twilight and her friends would be enough to keep an eye on him. With that, Luna had spent the following half hour explaining in detail about just how much Shadow feared Celestia, even going so far as to show her part of his dreams that featured the flame-wreathed demonic version of her. Luna had also pointed out that, knowing how he saw her and felt about her, it wouldn’t be much of a stretch to think that he might decide to disappear, and that once he could fly again, he could put much more distance between him and them, making a search that much more difficult. Celestia had eventually agreed to the idea, so long as Twilight knew about it as well, but it wasn’t just to keep him from running that she had agreed to it. Fancy Pants had let her in on some of the recent rumors floating around the nobility, several of which included word of an alicorn colt being found. While she had made sure to keep Shadow’s presence as secret as possible, Celestia knew that it wouldn’t last forever, and that once the nobility found out about him, they would try to use him for their own ends. Besides watching him, the other main duty of the four undercover guards in Ponyville was to protect him as well. Celestia sighed as she finished off her hot chocolate. While she would have loved to tell the nobles to back off when it came to Shadow, she knew she couldn’t. While she doubted they’d do anything if she made it clear he was off-limits, confirming his presence to the nobles would only make him known to the rest of Equestria, which could make him nervous enough to try and run. Looking out the window, the princess watched the storm beat itself against the glass, the rain running down the large windows in sheets. She trusted Luna with her life and knew that it was for the best that she was taking the lead with Shadow, yet part of Celestia silently hoped that she was doing the right thing. The crystalline room lay quiet and dark, the only violations of that peacefulness came from the dying remains of the fire the castle’s occupants had built a few hours ago. Now, two of them lay asleep in their bed, while the castle’s newest occupant lay in front of the fireplace, still awake. Shadow stared at the glowing embers, his eyes trained on the few tenacious tongues of fire that had so far refused to die. Despite the warmth and the constantly shifting patterns of red and black on the glowing embers, the young alicorn refused to let himself be hypnotized by the glowing light’s movement. Glancing to the side, Shadow looked at the book next to him, Daring Do smiling cockily at him from the cover. It was the third book in the series, and would be the first real book written entirely in Equestrian that he’d finish on his own. The colt felt more than a little satisfaction, seeing as how he could barely read Equestrian only months earlier. Glancing back at the slowly darkening fire, the alicorn recalled how the fire had originally been Twilight’s idea, since colder weather was scheduled to move in soon and she wanted to get some practice with starting fires in her new home. For his part, Shadow had no problem with her plan, so long as he was nowhere nearby. If he had learned anything from recent events, it was that him and open flames didn’t mix, and he had no interest in seeing history repeat itself yet again. The young Princess had been saddened by his decision, but had ultimately respected it. Shadow had spent the next two hours working his way through his book’s fourth chapter, before a combination of boredom and frustration convinced him to find Twilight and Spike. Initially, the two had been surprised to see him, though neither questioned him when he chose a spot as far from the fire a pony could get, while still being in the same room. Slowly, the night had worn on, with Twilight eventually excusing herself for the night, leaving the colt and young dragon eyeing each other warily as she left. For a while, the two worked to ignore the other, Spike returning to his comic books while Shadow continued with his book, each occasionally looking up to check on the other. Spike had been the one to eventually break the uncomfortable silence as both dragon and colt accidentally locked eyes with the other for the tenth time in two hours. “Why do you keep looking at me like I might attack you?” For his part, Shadow had immediately looked away, focusing his attention on the fire instead of the look of pain and anger on the dragon’s face as he replied that it wasn’t anything personal. “Yeah, and I’m sure the shield you trapped me under wasn’t personal, either.” Shadow knew he should have ignored the dragon’s snark, but he only realized it after he had gotten to his hooves and marched over to the reptile, stopping just outside the range of his breath “You want to know why I’m scared of you? It’s because the last time anypony back home had to deal with a dragon, this happened!” At this, Shadow’s horn flared, an illusion of an undeveloped Dragon’s Bay appearing above the floor. As Spike watched, an absolutely enormous red dragon dove from the sky, its breath completely engulfing one of the ships below, while another ship burst into flames simply from being too close. Shadow let the screams of the miniature ponies linger for a moment before ending the illusion. Spike looked more than a little sick as he turned to Shadow, tears in his eyes, “I would never do that!” Shadow watched the young dragon, not quite sure what to think as he saw Spike tear up. “I mean, sure there was that one incident a while back, but I’m better than that now and there’s no way Twilight and the other girls would ever let me get like that again.” Surprised, Shadow studied the young lizard for a moment. Of all the things he had expected, having Spike honestly admit that he had once gotten out of control wasn’t one of them. Hell, most ponies back home would have avoided admitting they were wrong like the plague. Sighing, Shadow very gingerly sat down “Look” he said, meeting Spike’s eyes with his own “I’ll admit that I might have overreacted a bit when I first saw you” Shadow ignored the dragon’s crossed arms and raised eyebrow, “but unless you want things to continue like they are now, we should probably let the past stay in the past.” Shadow smiled at the memory, remembering how they had hoof bumped on it, the tension in the room slowly vanishing like the logs in the fireplace. While he had meant what he had said about leaving the past alone; that still didn’t mean the colt was suddenly comfortable around the young fire breather. He had also proposed the truce because he was getting tired of constantly monitoring Spike’s whereabouts, but the young dragon didn’t need to know that. Yawning, the lone alicorn slowly stood, eyeing the glowing coals before him. In the back of his mind, Shadow knew that they didn’t pose a risk since they were surrounded by crystal, but he didn’t move an inch as he ignited his horn; a shield bursting to life over the fire’s glowing remains a moment later. As far as the colt was concerned, it didn’t matter. He would never make that mistake again. Shadow watched as smoke from the coals filled the small area covered by his shield, until he could only see a slight glow from the grey cloud before him. Waiting for a few more minutes, Shadow let a hole form in the top of his shield, allowing the smoke to pour into the chimney above. Turning to a nearby bucket, Shadow picked up the water in it with his magic, forming it into a ball that he then threw into his shield, the sound of the coals hissing at the sudden bath reaching his ears as he kept the water and resulting steam trapped under his shield. Eventually finding himself satisfied with his work, the colt left the room, his improvised fire extinguisher still in place above the now dead coals. Fighting back another yawn, the young orphan slowly made his way to his room down the hall, his horn gently glowing above him, its light casting shadows that seemed to dance as he walked by. Quietly pushing his door open, the alicorn let the glow from his horn fade as he saw that, thanks to the bright moonlight streaming through his window, he could see everything just fine. Smiling, Shadow walked to the large window, pushing it open to find himself greeted by a cool autumn breeze. Feeling himself waking back up, the lone colt surveyed the town before him, finding the sight of Ponyville slumbering beneath a slightly cloudy moon-lit night sky strangely relaxing. Taking a deep breath of the night time air, Shadow looked behind him, his wings already half spread. Smirking, he gently set his book on the nearby bed before launching himself out of the open window. Hearing the familiar rush of air as gravity pulled him down; Shadow spread his wings, wincing as he felt them strain to change his course. With a little more effort than he was used to, the young alicorn pulled up from his dive with a few feet to spare, shooting into the air, the ground and castle quickly dropping away. Getting another taste of the freedom he hadn’t fully enjoyed since the night of the island fire, Shadow pumped his wings, ignoring the growing burning sensation as he shot into the air, his altitude growing by hundreds of feet every minute. Flaring a wing while tucking in the other, the colt rolled in the air as he reached the apex of his climb. Below him was the ground, above him the moon and for the moment, everything in between was his. Letting gravity take over for a moment, he let his horizontal spin continue, his speed increasing until he opened his eyes and wings at the same moment, the movement of his wings sending him into a horizontal cartwheeling spin across a small piece of Ponyville airspace. Tucking his legs back in, the colt pulled up, sending himself into another dizzying spin. Feeling himself go weightless for that one single moment when gravity wasn’t yet in control, Shadow smiled to himself. This was what flying was to him. He would have been the first to admit that a pair of wings was the best way to get around, but up here, with nothing but himself, the open air, and the stars and moon as his audience; this was what truly made him feel alive again. Spotting a house-sized cloud nearby, Shadow dropped like a hawk on an unfortunate mouse, his horn glowing as he used his magic to force the cloud to shrink and condense. At the moment where the cloud would become a very small thunderhead, the young alicorn hit it at full speed, the cloud vanishing as its condensed water soaked the colt. Pulling up, Shadow threw himself into the hardest cartwheel he could manage. Stopping himself at the critical moment, the night dancer froze in midair, while the water that he had gathered on his wings and body flew off, arching through the air, the moon’s light catching the water in the air, creating the most perfect moonbow he had ever seen. Panting, Shadow slowly lowered his raised hooves. Looking around, he could see what seemed like all of Equestria before him. Beneath him, Ponyville lay peaceful and silent, blissfully unaware of the performance it had just missed, while next to the town, the Everfree Forest stood like a silent corpse, its burned and scarred trees unmoving in the night’s gentle wind. Beyond the town, the fields rolled on silently, the year’s final crops waiting to be harvested. Spinning around, Shadow could see the glowing mass of clouds that marked Cloudsdale, while beyond that, Canterlot clung to the side of its mountain like a yellow gem in a necklace. Smiling at the beauty around him, the colt’s eyes fell on the horizon, that familiar ache rising in him again. He had felt it every day he had been trapped in the hospital and, until recently, every day he had been trapped on the ground. He could feel the ache tugging at him, urging him to listen and follow his desires. He could feel himself being drawn to the southern horizon, and Shadow knew it wouldn’t be that hard, compared to what he had gone through before reaching Ponyville. With everypony in town asleep, it would be the work of a minute to grab his saddlebags and by the time anypony noticed him missing, he’d be miles away, and now that he could fly, he could cover more ground faster, making it harder for anypony pursuing him to find him, let alone catch him. And yet… And yet, despite every instinct in him screaming at him to grab his stuff and make a beeline for the rainclouds in the far distance, Shadow hesitated, the beat of his wings slowing until they flapped just fast enough to keep him aloft. Why didn’t he go? Why didn’t he take the perfect opportunity the universe had presented him and put as much distance between him and Celestia as possible? Sure, he had no doubt that he was being watched, but what were the chances that they were watching him now, and, even if they were, what where the odds that anypony, even Royal Guards, could catch a black and grey alicorn colt when his namesakes was all around, waiting for him to hide among them? Slowly, thoughts of the ponies below began to fill his mind. Below him, the ponies of Ponyville had opened their lives to him. Sure he had helped save a number of its residents, but even ponies not directly affected by his actions that day still smiled and waved to him. Those simple gestures he got everyday were more than what he had gotten back home in a couple months. These ponies had welcomed him into the town, thrown him the single greatest party he had ever attended, and had made him feel welcomed outside of his home for the first time in his life. Beyond that, they all knew exactly what he was, and yet they had never so much as batted an eye whenever he walked by. Was it because of Twilight living in town? Was it because they never had to deal with an alicorn like Star Trail or the results of her madness? In the distance, he could see Sweet Apple Acres and Apple Bloom’s house, silent and dark like the rest of the town. Turning his head, the hovering colt could see Rarity’s boutique, where Sweetie Belle was spending the weekend while their parents were out of town. A couple blocks away, Scootaloo’s house added to the surrounding peaceful calm. If he vanished, what would his friends think? How would they react when they heard the next morning that he and his saddlebags were gone? As if he needed any help, he could practically hear their pained voices, asking Twilight and Rainbow Dash why he had left so abruptly, asking them where he had gone. Shadow felt his heart sink as their imagined questions ripped at him, his spirit flagging at what they and Rainbow Dash would look like when they realized he wasn’t coming back. What would Rainbow Dash think? She had been the first pony in the town to visit him in the hospital. She had spent hours upon hours of every day sitting by his side as he recovered, reading him books and telling him tall tales of the adventures of her and her friends and the exploits they claimed as theirs. Shadow knew he had gained Rainbow’s respect. He could see it in her eyes and hear it in her voice. What would she think of him if he ran away? Would she understand? Or would she consider him a disappointment who was ultimately unworthy of her respect and completely uncool? Turning in the air, Shadow gazed at Canterlot in the distance. Was this what she wanted? Was Celestia watching him at this very moment, waiting for him to make his move? Was she hoping that he’d try and run, so that she could finally swoop in and snatch him in the dead of night, with nopony the wiser and, thanks to him, a perfect excuse ready for anyone who asked about him? Part of him wondered why she was taking her time, but Shadow ignored the persistent question. It wasn’t important at the moment. Would leaving mean abandoning his Princess, his Queen? Even though he would remain loyal to her until the day he died, what would Luna think if he fled? What if Celestia turned on her again, and she spent another thousand years on the moon because he hadn’t been there to help defend her? Shadow frowned as questions began to grow in his mind. Why was everypony nice to him, even though he was very clearly not one of them? Why didn’t they treat him like royalty, like they had when Celestia and Luna were in town? How much of what he knew about Equestria was correct? What percentage was true and what percent was false? What about Twilight’s ascension? Why didn’t they hear about Luna’s return? Did the adults back home know the truth, but kept it from the kids, or did they not know themselves? Hovering there in the night sky, Shadow looked across Equestria, conflicted and unsure what to do. Luna soared over Equestria. Below her, the land lay in slumber, her subjects enjoying their rest in peace and comfort. Turning from Canterlot, the youngest Royal Sister flew over the city’s edge, the forest below slowly rolling by as she headed for Ponyville, the town that had been the first to welcome her back after her return, and the town that seemed like her second home. Luna closed her eyes as she flew, taking the chance to enjoy the sense of freedom that only an astral form could give, though she sorely missed the wind in her mane. Seeing the beloved town growing in the distance, the Princess of the Night slowed as she thought she saw something shoot into the night sky above the town. Curious, the elder alicorn glided toward the sleeping town, her eyes searching for whatever she had just seen. Looking up, she felt her jaw drop, only for it to become a smile as she watched a particular black and grey colt flying above the town, cutting through the air as silently as an owl as he swooped and dove and spun. Luna had been overjoyed a week earlier to hear that he had started flying again, but to see it for herself, and to see him do it so fluidly and gracefully? This was a sight she knew that she would treasure for years. As she watched, Luna almost clapped at the routine’s finale, the light of the moonbow shining down on the town, but she held back, knowing full well that the gesture was wasted, since nopony would hear her. Framed by the bow, she could see Shadow, his chest heaving as he caught his breath. Moving closer, Luna watched as her potential future student took in the land before him, his eyes eventually settling on the horizon to the south. Uh oh Luna didn’t need her magic to know what he was thinking, his eyes told her everything. Yet, he didn’t make a move, instead seeming to slowly rotate over the land, taking it in again. Would he run, or would he stay? Slowly, the lone pony lost altitude, his wings locked into a simple glide as he bled excess altitude in favor of steady speed. Smiling, Luna pulled up alongside the colt, her eyes reading the tension in his muscles and conflict in his mind as he flew over the town and surrounding farmlands. Banking with him, she followed Shadow as he finally approached the Crystal Castle. Falling back, she hovered, watching with uncertainty as the young alicorn hovered before the open window before crawling through it. Slowly, a smile grew on the princess’s face as a golden glow enveloped the glass window, closing it and shutting the room off from the outside world. With a flick of her wings, Luna passed through the solid crystal wall, her smile growing as Shadow crawled into his bed, his breathing becoming slow and steady moments later. Sleep well, my little pony. I shall see you soon Luna thought, her astral form vanishing a moment later. Shadow huffed as he stomped his hooves in an attempt to stave off the cold from the snow he was standing in. Around him, Ponyville lay under a foot thick blanket of powder and fluff, much to many ponies’ surprise. Despite the dusting the weather schedule had called for, the alicorn had known as soon as he had seen the clouds moving in that they were going to get more. Shadow tried not to laugh too hard at the memory of the look on Twilight’s face that morning when she opened the front door, only to find her trust in Cloudsdale misplaced. Despite the scarf around his neck and his seemingly iconic red and black vest, the colt still found himself pacing back and forth in front of Scootaloo’s house in an attempt to stay warm. What could possibly be keeping her? Like always, he had walked to Scootaloo’s house to join her on the walk to school, and like always, he was waiting for her outside. Normally he didn’t mind too much, since Equestria’s weather was much more mild and predictable compared to what he was used to back home, but just because he didn’t mind waiting didn’t mean he didn’t find it annoying when she was late, which she usually was. Finally resolving to knock on her door and ask if he could wait for her inside, Shadow had barely turned when the door behind him burst open, an orange and purple blur barely missing him as it shot out of the warm house with a very familiar buzz. “Sorry! Sorry! I overslept and-” Scootaloo paused mid-apology as she finally noticed how much snow she was standing in “Where the hay did all this come from?!” Shadow couldn’t help but chuckle at her reaction. Seeing her look at him, the colt pointed at the sky above them. The filly took one look up before fixing him with a glare that told him precisely what she thought of his answer. Yawning, the two young ponies started for Sweetie Belle’s house, with Shadow’s horn glowing as he used a shield to cut a path for them. “Dude, you’re good with magic right? Don’t you know a spell or something to get rid of all this snow?” Shadow smiled at his friend’s complaints; of course he knew a couple spells that would work. “Of course I do, but three wouldn’t work fast enough, two would leave too much ice behind, and the last one shouldn’t really be used near buildings. Besides, this is great shield practice.” The colt laughed as he heard his friend mutter something about excuses. He had never told her or anypony else, but it was moments like this that she reminded him of Star Gazer, and his chest tightened every time she did. “Hey, you still got any Nightmare Night candy left?” Shadow didn’t bother to hide the smile that he always got when he remembered the single greatest night of his life and how Princess Luna and her guards had reacted when they saw him dressed up as a smaller male version of Nightmare Moon and the half-dozen armored thestral clones with him. “Of course I do.” Since candy and other sweet treats were an extremely rare treat for him back home, he had never quite developed a sweet tooth like his classmates. While he enjoyed candy as much as the next pony, he didn’t have as high a tolerance, which naturally meant he still had candy left over when everypony else had finished their off weeks earlier. “Why?” “Wanna trade?” Shadow looked behind him, “What do you got?” “Hey ya two!” The alicorn and pegasus turned to look at the yellow and red earth pony filly who had shouted to them, Sweetie belle trotting along behind Apple Bloom. “Morning” the lone colt replied as he yawned yet again. “What took ya two so long?” Silently, Shadow looked behind him at Scootaloo as they walked “let me guess, ya overslept again?” “Yeah” For her part, the pegasus at least looked sorry. Shaking her head with a smile, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle joined Scootaloo and Shadow, with the colt still in the lead. As he walked, the colt only paid half attention to what the three fillies were chatting about. No doubt they were talking about finding their cutie marks, like always. Silently, Shadow wondered if things had been a little different and he and his sister had lived here, would she have become a crusader. Before he could think about it much more, Shadow hissed, gritting his teeth as something large and cold slammed into his side and exploded. Whipping his head around, the alicorn moved his shield, the wall of magic intercepting the remaining snowballs that had been launched at them. In between two nearby building, the colt and three fillies could see a certain pair of fillies laughing at them. Shadow’s horn brightened slightly as he called on his magic to soothe the pain in his side. While his burns had healed and his fur had mostly grown back in, he was still more sensitive than usual where he had been burned. These two fillies knew it as well, which was probably why they had hit him there. For whatever reason, Diamond Tiara treated him like she did the other crusaders. Shadow suspected it was because he had publicly stood up to her on his first day of school, and had damaged her image as a result. It didn’t matter much to the colt as he gazed narrowly at the bully and her crony. “Are you alright Shadow?” The young alicorn glanced over at Sweetie Belle, who was looking at him with concern. Smirking, the colt placed his shield between them and the two other fillies. “In a moment, I’ll be more than alright.” Flaring his horn, Shadow whistled, the short blast echoing around the small square. A second later, several dozen snowballs rose into the air, each surrounded by a thin aura of his magic. Smiling like a cat that had cornered a mouse, the colt whistled again while raising a hoof to point at the two fillies. For their part, the two targets had the sense to run when they realized they were suddenly outmatched. At once, half of the snowballs streaked after the two, while the other half shot into the air to chase from above. The whole exchange had taken less than two minutes, and as Diamond Tiara’s screams faded into the distance, Shadow found his three friends staring at him with a combination of shock and awe. “Remind me never ta get inta a snowball fight with ya” Apple Bloom said. In the distance, all four ponies could hear the school bell ringing and they took off, running as fast as they could with Shadow still acting plowpony. Reaching the front steps of the schoolhouse, Shadow and his friends trotted the last few steps into the building, all four sighing as the building’s heat washed over them “Morning you four.” Looking up, the four students greeted their teacher, with Shadow bowing his head. “You don’t happen to know where Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon are, do you?” All four shook their head. While they had seen them, they could be anywhere by now. Looking out a nearby window, Shadow smiled at the two rapidly growing figures in the distance. “They’ll be here in a minute” He replied. As Cheerilee walked to the front of the room, Shadow closed one of the front doors, much to Diamond Tiara’s shock. “Let us in, let us in!” “Shut the door, shut the door!” Somepony behind Shadow called out. Ignoring the heckler, the school’s lone alicorn held the other door, slamming it shut as soon as Silver Spoon’s tail cleared it. Silently, everypony listened as the two doors were pelted by the snowballs that had been chasing the two tardy fillies. Forty-six, forty-seven Shadow frowned shouldn’t there be one more? As if on cue, another thump signaled the end of the final enchanted snowball. Turning to the two panting fillies next to him, the colt offered his hoof to Diamond Tiara, who took it, much to everypony’s surprise. Helping her up, Shadow leaned forward, until his mouth next to the bully’s ear “Next time, I won’t miss.” Cheerilee watched everything from her desk. While she didn’t know the details, she had no doubt that Diamond Tiara and her friend had tried something, only for it to backfire on them. Normally she would have asked for details, but since it was the last day of school before the holiday break, and since nopony had gotten hurt, she was more than willing to let it slide. “Alright everypony” She said as her students took their seats “We got a few things to go over this morning; then we’ll go to the library for the rest of the day to work on your reports, where I’ve also arranged for a special surprise.” Around the room, the fillies and colts whispered to each other, speculation about the surprise running rampant. Even Shadow was as in the dark as everypony else, which more than a few classmates found hard to believe, since he lived at the library. “Settle down everypony.” Cheerilee said after a moment “The sooner we get done here, the sooner you can see the surprise.” The teacher wasn’t surprised when she suddenly found herself facing a couple dozen perfect angels. Smiling, she picked up a piece of chalk with her fetlock as she turned to the chalkboard behind her. She couldn’t wait to see their faces. Sighing in contentment, Shadow settled down on the chair. Of all the possibilities he could think of, a party catered by Pinkie Pie waiting for them at the library was not one of them. Leaning back, the colt burped, smiling at all of the amazing food around him. Pinkie Pie had outdone herself in his opinion. Not only was there a small mountain of baked goods in the middle of the ground floor but around the room, the pink mare had placed tables covered with various dishes and foods, ensuring that no pony went hungry. Around the library, his classmates worked on their history reports, some doing so while still snacking. As Ms. Cheerilee had put it, the purpose of the report was to help her students get a deeper grasp of their country’s history, by focusing on ponies that had made an impact on the nation, large or small, good or bad. She had gotten the idea from Granny Smith after the mare’s history lesson on Family Appreciation Day the previous year. Closing his eyes, Shadow focused on the clear crystal before him, ignoring the faint glow coming from it. The moment he had heard the report’s topic, there was only one pony he wanted to do his report on. His teacher had also stressed that she wanted each report to be as unique as possible, with more points for creativity, which had only made the colt’s smile grow. Taking a deep breath, Shadow ignited his horn, the matrix of the fragmented spell held in the crystal appearing in his mind’s eye. Around him, he could hear everypony talking, but it was the sound of Princess Twilight and Ms. Cheerilee talking that grabbed his attention. Standing by the still oversized mound of pastries, he could hear his guardian talking about her holiday plans, how they were going to the Crystal Empire to visit her brother and his wife, then stopping in Canterlot on their way back to see her parents. Snorting to himself, Shadow tuned the two older mares out. Crystal Empire? While there were several book in the library about the fallen Empire, everypony he knew acted like the place still existed, instead of having disappeared a thousand years ago. Frankly, the young alicorn wouldn’t have been surprised if it was like that Whinny Land tourist trap he had heard about, only based on a ‘long lost Empire of crystal ponies’ instead of rides and attractions. Focusing on his project, the colt agreed with Princess Twilight on one thing: this ‘Crystal Empire’ was certainly going to be interesting.