//------------------------------// // February // Story: A Growing Shadow // by KorenCZ11 //------------------------------// “Sunny?” Black as night, likely only a few hours into the new day, and I couldn’t sleep. Moonlight snored less than quietly to my right, and Sunny rolled over to my left. “Hmm…?” Drowsy but responsive, she sat up. “Is something wrong Shadow?” Carefully, I took Moonlight in my magic, and lead Sunny off our bed. Once we were out, I put Moonlight back down and put the blanket back over her. “Let’s go to the deck.” She blinked in the low light of my red aura, but shrugged and nodded anyways. Carefully and quietly, I moved through the berth deck as Sunny hovered beside me to make as little noise as possible, and we made our way to the main deck. Nopony so much as stirred, and we arrived without incident. As it always was, the sky was gray and rolling, fast moving, endless cloud cover, threatening to rain or snow at a moment’s notice. The sea was a rough and choppy as it always was, but thankfully, there was no ice anywhere. We ran into an ice patch once and it was a nightmare. Every unicorn that knew a beam spell was sent to shoot holes in it so the earth ponies could then force it apart with picks. We nearly lost three slaves, and we did lose a crew member… “Well, you brought me out here, away from our nice, warm bed and into the freezing cold in the dark. What’s up?” “I’m sorry. I just… have to clear my head.” There was enough light out that we could see, but not enough that we could do it well. I could make out the shape of her body, some of her face, but little else. “What do you mean? There is something wrong, isn’t there?” She brushed up beside me and put a wing over my back. Sunny was a little bigger than me, despite being a few years younger. “You can tell me Shadow. I won’t tell anypony.” She always made me feel warm. She always smelled nice. She was always so soft and inviting, willing to cheer up anypony she came across. Slave, master, something in between, it didn’t matter to Sunny. They say her cutiemark is supposed to look like the sun. I’ve only ever seen it once. It’s been so long now that I’m not sure what it looks like anymore. “Sunny… when we get off this ship, what do you want to do?” Of the many questions that have plagued my mind as of late, this is the one that gnawed at me the most. I have two gold coins from the old world. If my plan succeeds, I’ll have every coin on the ship we can carry. That should be enough for us to survive on for at least a year or two, but… what do we do after that? I don’t know how to grow food. Sunny can cook, and Moonlight is an earth pony with magic hooves, so she could probably grow plants, but could we afford fertile land, even with all the gold on the ship? There was so much I never considered before. I was so… so ignorant. I didn’t know anything when I arrived here. Just that there was a chance at a better life beyond the sea. The New world was some fairytale dreamland where there was food abound, green everywhere, and the sun and warmth, and freedom. Now I know that isn’t true, or it might not be true. If anything is certain, the New World isn’t a place that’s completely free. Somepony could try to take them away from me. Would I be able to protect them if that happened? Do we need to go somewhere that nopony else is? I don’t know what to do. “Hmm… You’re asking me for what I want?” Of all the things she could’ve said, I never thought that was one of them. “Well, yes. What do you want?” “Huh. Nopony’s ever asked me that before.” I frowned. “Really?” “Really. I was born a slave into a noble house, I was never asked what I wanted or thought about anything. My own mother didn’t even want me. I was raised to serve, and that’s all I knew.” I bit my lip. I still haven’t told her anything about me. I know I can trust Sunny, but if I told her that I was just like her, would she think less of me? “Buuuut…” “But?” “Since you came along, things have been a lot different than before. It… it hurt when the count… but… but even with that in mind, everything has been better since we were given to you. You don’t act like any of the other unicorns. You’re always nice, and you don’t look at us like… like we’re different, ya know? With you, life isn’t so bad. I think… what I want… is to stay with you. I don’t really care where we go or what we do, just that… just that we’re together.” Something soft and wet and warm pressed itself against my cheek. I couldn’t see well, but I could feel her breath on me. My heart started pounding in my chest like a flame dances in the wind, the rapid thump of my pulse was deafening. “W-what was that?” Sunny giggled. “Just a… little thank you. For being the prince that came to my rescue, okay?” I swallowed. “Uh… yeah… t-thanks, Sunny. I um… I feel a lot better now.” She giggled again and rested her head on my neck. “If a pony like you was the king, I think things would be different. A world where…” she yawned, “everypony looked at everypony like they were anypony else… would be nicer, don’t ya think?” “I do.” And that, is what I must do. “One day, I will be king. One day, I will build the world you dream of. The world we dream of. A free world and a green land. A true, new world.” A yawn, and she wrapped herself around me a little more. “Mmhmm… Let’s go back to bed Shadow. It’s cold…” “Yes, of course.” Rather than make her stand again, I pushed Sunny on my back and then headed back toward the stairs. I will build the world she dreams of. No matter the cost. February 27th, The Year of Our Goddess, 608. Today, we spotted land. The sky is white, the land is gray, the sea is black. Everything is the same. Another rock to toil and slave away on, just like any other. They say that there is no king in the new world, that there are no ponies that rule over its ponies, but that is only for the time being. No power has sought to conquer it yet because it is still unexplored. Ponies move in search of a better life, making the perilous journey by sea here, but there is no guarantee that what is waiting for them is better than what they left. There are still slaves and masters, but at least here, there is less chance of being caught by raiders. Ponies more or less tolerate each other because there is no system in place by which one may obtain another… for now. The summer is short, but green and fruitful, or so they say. Summer is something the old world sees once a decade. Summer is something the New world sees once a year. Regardless of what authority lords over this place, just for the taste of summer, the journey is worth it, they say. We shall see. All my curses are in place. I doubt even the doctor could find them all. I’m certain he doesn’t know at least his own is even there. He has taught me every spell of ours he knows, and I have learned just about everything in the book of classical magic he gave me. He’s no longer of any use to me. He’s a stallion of the system that promotes and uses it to his whims, which means the world doesn’t need him either. The crew, the doctor, the viscount. The world would be better without them. The slaves… unfortunately, would be caught and executed if all their masters were found dead and them still alive. It’s better that I just take care of them too. If nothing else… they’ll finally be free of this life. I’m just sorry I can’t take them with me. Tonight will be the last night before the ship reaches port. When the clock strikes twelve, my curses will be triggered, and that will be the end of it. All I have to do is wait, but there are a few things I want to take care of. The Viscount deserves much more torment than simply succumbing to the drain curse, no that is reserved just for the crew that aren’t the doctor. I have bigger plans for them. He hurt Sunny, and it was the doctor’s idea. There’s little doubt in my mind that that was the case, and I’ll drag it out of them, one sharpening spell at a time. The doctor was right. Simple spells can be quite destructive, and even more agonizing when applied to a target. We’ll play a little game. And once we’re done, Sunny, Moonlight and I, will leave this wretched place. After obtaining a map from the captain, it looks like there’s little charted to the north of the settlements in the new world. We’ll build a home out there, and then I’ll start collecting ponies. Slaves, unicorns, foreigners, it doesn’t matter what they are, just that they serve my cause. We will build a world that is green and free. For Sunny. For Moonlight. For Mother. For everypony. And I will be its king.